November 12, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

The families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government to do more to bring the hostages and missing persons home.

Families of the hostages held a rally on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel, which also included in attendance the former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin.

More than 200 hostages were taken into Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7.

The families are demanding that the international community and the Red Cross ensure medical assistance for the hostages, “as they do for Hamas,” the press release said.

"Two hundred and thirty nine innocent people went to sleep on the night of October 6 and within less than 24 hours we lost all contact with them, without a drop of information. Where is the Red Cross, the organization that is supposed to care for human rights? Why haven't they demanded to see the condition of the infants,” said Maayan Zin, mother of Dafna (15) and Ella (8) who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in Israel with their father.

Noam Perry, whose 79-year-old father, Haim Perry, was taken from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel said there can be no healing until the release of all the hostages.

Rivlin said he joins the families in the demand to return all hostages home, and urged world leaders to get information and act within all arenas to free the hostages.

The former president said he also contacted the Red Cross this week and asked them, "How should we respond to your demand to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza when you do not compel Hamas to allow you to visit all the hostages?”

Orly Gilboa, mother of 19-year-old Daniela Gilboa, who was kidnapped from a party in Re'im, Israel said, "I've finished the stage of hugs and empathy. I want to see actions that will bring my daughter and the rest of the hostages home now.”

Heavy fighting near Gaza’s largest hospital has left it in a “catastrophic situation,” with patients and staff trapped inside, ambulances unable to collect the wounded and life-support systems without electricity, health officials and aid agencies are reporting.

Hostilities around the hospital, Gaza’s largest, “have not stopped,” according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, with constant bombardment preventing evacuations and making it too dangerous for ambulance journeys, according to the organization.

A freelance journalist told CNN the situation is dire, with medics working by candlelight, food being rationed, and other resources dwindling.

Three newborn babies died after the hospital went “out of service” amid intense fighting in the area, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which claims the hospital is surrounded on all four sides by Israeli forces and under “complete siege.”

The Israeli army told CNN it is engaged in “ongoing intense fighting” against Hamas in the vicinity of the hospital complex, but denies firing at the northern Gaza medical center and has rejected suggestions the hospital is under siege. Israel has said it is in touch with hospital leaders and has offered assistance with evacuations.

CNN has been unable to confirm whether anyone was able to leave the hospital complex over the past day.

Here are other headlines you should know:

French President Emmanuel Macron called on his people to stand up against "the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism," in a letter published Saturday night by French newspaper Le Parisien.

More than one thousand antisemitic acts were committed in France in one month, Macron wrote, adding that this number is three times more than the number of hate attacks executed against French Jews all of last year.

Macron emphasized that this in turn has caused the Jewish community to experience "legitimate anguish," saying they are going as far as to erase their names to protect themselves.

Macron went on to reiterate his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself, saying "putting Hamas out of harm's way is a necessity," while simultaneously stressing that "this defense must be accompanied by the resumption of political dialogue and ensure the protection of civilians and hostages in Gaza."

The letter was released on the eve of Sunday's historic march against antisemitism being held in the French capital. Macron addressed the march in his letter saying he sees it "as a reason for hope."

This comes a day after Macron called for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it is "the only solution" to the war between Israel and Hamas.

At least 126 people were arrested in London on Saturday following a large pro-Palestinian rally and counter-protests, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

Police intercepted a group of 150 people who were launching fireworks towards the end of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PCS) march that attracted over 300,000 people, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said in a statement issued Saturday afternoon. 

Arrests were made after some of the fireworks struck officers in the face, the statement read. 

A CNN team on the ground also heard shouts and observed a heavy police presence as a group of far-right protestors tried to storm a war memorial, the Cenotaph, on Armistice Day. 

Large groups of pro-Palestinian supporters had also marched pass the US embassy in London. Similar demonstrations were held in Brussels, where thousands took to the streets.

The English Defense League (EDL) is a far-right group founded by Tommy Robinson who, according to Robinson’s account on X, was at the Cenotaph to pay his respects on Saturday. 

"The extreme violence from the right wing protestors towards the police today was extraordinary and deeply concerning, " Twist wrote.

Nine officers were injured while confronting the violent crowd getting to the Cenotaph while a remembrance service was taking place, Twist explained. Two officers will require hospital treatment after sustaining a fractured elbow and a suspected dislocated hip. 

Several officers are still deployed across central London in case of anymore "outbreaks of disorder," Twist concluded. 

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the violent scenes seen in London on Saturday in a statement posted to social media, saying "all criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law."

The General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza has said operations at the Rafah land crossing will resume Sunday for the departure of foreign passport holders.

It emphasized that only individuals whose names are on the list that was released on November 1 will be permitted to travel through the Rafah crossing.

The Rafah crossing failed to open Friday for foreign nationals wishing to leave Gaza, highlighting once again the frustrations facing diplomats looking to get their nationals out of the strip.

CNN spoke to two diplomatic sources in Egypt about the process – one of them described it as “long, non-transparent and arduous.” 

Hostilities around Al-Shifa Hospital Saturday “have not stopped,” according to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

“The ambulances can no longer move to collect the injured, and non-stop bombardment prevents patients and staff from evacuating,” the organization said in a statement.

A freelance journalist based at the hospital told CNN there were still dozens of bodies at the hospital awaiting burial, but that people feared going outside to bury them. 

Medics inside the hospital are working by candlelight, Sarsour said. Other resources are also getting scarce.

Some background: The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the hospital was under "complete siege" Saturday, and that a floor of the complex's surgery building was heavily shelled. The ministry says three newborn babies died at the hospital after it "went out of service" due to heavy damage.

Israel’s army has said there is “ongoing intense fighting” around the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, but denied claims it was firing at or laying siege to the complex.

It has also said it is in touch with the hospital director and willing to help people leave. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday evening that the hospital staff has requested help evacuating babies from the pediatric department, and that the IDF "will provide the assistance needed" Sunday.

CNN has been unable to confirm whether anyone was able to leave the hospital complex over the course of the day.

The Israeli military has said it will help evacuate babies from the paediatric unit of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital tomorrow. 

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a press briefing on Saturday: “The staff of the Shifa Hospital has requested that tomorrow we will help the babies in the pediatric department get to a safer hospital. We will provide the assistance needed.” 

Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza said three newborn babies had died at the hospital after it went “out of service” amid intense fighting in the area.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday rejected growing international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying that Israel's battle against Hamas would continue and ruled out a role for the current Palestinian Authority government once the war ends.

"With all our force, with all our might, we’ll continue until the victory," Netanyahu said in a televised speech.

Responding to questions about whether the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the occupied West Bank, may govern Gaza after the war, Netanyahu said there would be "full security control in Gaza, with the IDF’s ability to enter whenever we want, to kill terrorists who can re-appear."

"I can tell you what will not be - there will not be Hamas. Moreover, there will not be a civilian authority there that educates its children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, eliminate the state of Israel," he added.

"There will need to be a different thing, but in any case, with our security control."

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah gave his second speech since the Hamas-Israel war started via video link from an undisclosed location Saturday, in which he addressed the situation in Gaza and clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Nasrallah called the situation unfolding in Gaza "big, exceptional and dangerous in this region and the world,” adding that what will emerge from the death and destruction in Gaza "will be generation after generation of resistance fighters."

“This painful event and these grave crimes are an expression of Israeli revenge. This is the spirit of a vicious revenge that have no moral or humanitarian or legal limits. It expresses the true nature of the entity (Israel),” he said. 

On clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border: Hezbollah’s strikes on Israeli territory have increased in number and employed more advanced weaponry over the last week of cross-border fire between Israel Defense Forces and the powerful, Iran-backed armed group, Nasrallah said in a speech Saturday.

Hezbollah has in recent days struck deeper into Israeli territory, Nasrallah said, marking an escalation in the month-long flareup, where the fighting has largely stuck to a 4-kilometer (about 2-mile) radius around the border.

He said Hezbollah used self-detonating, explosive-laden drones in an attack on Israeli positions for the first time in the paramilitary group’s history. (The Israeli military has acknowledged Hezbollah's use of an attack drone in at least one of the strikes claimed by the Lebanese armed group.)

Hezbollah has, also for the first time, fired Iran-made Burkan missiles, which have a payload of up to 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds), on Israeli positions, Nasrallah said. Hezbollah this week released video showing a large explosion caused by a Burkan missile.

Nasrallah accused Israel of hiding its casualty figures from Hezbollah's attacks on the border.

On the US: Nasrallah accused the US of “administering” the Israeli operation in Gaza and chastised it for supporting the continuation of Israel's operation in Gaza.

Nasrallah said “all pressure” to bring about a ceasefire should be directed toward the US. He praised militant actions against US positions in Iraq in recent weeks and said they would only “stop” if the US pushes for a ceasefire in Israel.

Hezbollah's chief described Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria as having created “supporting fronts” for Hamas in Gaza.

CNN reported earlier this month that the US intelligence community believes – for now – that Iran and its proxies are calibrating their response to Israel’s military intervention in Gaza to avoid direct conflict with Israel or the US while still exacting costs on its adversaries. But the US is also keenly aware that Iran does not maintain perfect control of its umbrella of proxies – in particular over Lebanese Hezbollah, the largest and most capable of the various groups. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, the group that attacked Israel on October 7, and has long positioned itself as fighting against Israel. US officials are deeply concerned that the group’s internal politics may cause Hezbollah to escalate simmering tensions.

Nasrallah's speech last Friday: In his first public, in-person speech since 2006 — when a monthlong war erupted between Lebanon and Israel — Nasrallah said "all scenarios" are possible on the Lebanon-Israel border, warning Israel against further escalation of its operations there. He also urged for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling it Hezbollah's first priority.