November 30, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel needs to make further efforts to protect civilians in Gaza — such as designating safe zones in south and central Gaza — when Israel resumes its military action against Hamas.

Blinken said Netanyahu "agreed with the need for this approach" to protect civilians and that the Israeli government offered "concrete steps" to do so.

Blinken said Israel must avoid “further significant displacement of civilians inside of Gaza," adding that displaced civilians must eventually be allowed to return.

“There must be no enduring internal displacement,” Blinken said.

Blinken also said Israel should avoid damage to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, power stations and water facilities.

Hamas released a brief hostage video of Yarden Bibas, the father of 10-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the death of his wife and two children in an airstrike.

CNN has not confirmed the deaths nor the claim of the airstrike and will not air the hostage propaganda video. CNN also does not have any insight into the location of where it was filmed.

The armed wing of Hamas on Wednesday claimed without providing evidence, that Kfir, his brother Ariel and their mother Shiri Bibas, were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The Israel Defense Forces called the video cruel on Thursday and said they have yet to confirm the deaths.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari added Thursday that this is an "act of psychological terror which Hamas is using against families of hostages … aimed to apply pressure, to hurt and damage our resilience. Hamas’ claims concerning the Bibas family are yet to be confirmed.”

Yarden Bibas, the husband and father in the video, speaks directly to the camera appearing distraught with a photo of his wife and children superimposed by Hamas in the upper right corner. Speaking in Hebrew and likely under duress, the father pleaded for the Israeli government to bring him and the rest of his family home so they could be buried in Israel. 

Yarden Bibas has been held captive since October 7, separate from his family.

More hostages are expected to be freed from Gaza and return to Israel Thursday night, the Israeli military said, adding that their release is progressing.

"At this hour, we’re progressing and are waiting for the return of more hostages, expected to come back tonight as part of the framework that has been agreed," Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a news briefing.

Hagari did not specify how many more hostages are expected to be released Thursday night.

Two Israeli women hostages were released from Gaza earlier in the day. More were expected to be freed within hours — released in a separate batch because they were being held in different locations in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.

“Overnight, we have insisted that the current framework to return women and children will be fulfilled, and we’ll do so for tomorrow as well,” Hagari said. 

Thursday's release of hostages came after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for a seventh day. Egyptian and Qatari negotiators are working to extend it further, Egypt said.

A total of 2,781 trucks carrying thousands of tons of international aid have crossed from Egypt into Gaza since October 21 through the Rafah crossing, according to an Egyptian official.

The aid comprises a substantial quantity of medical supplies and medications, amounting to 3,176 tons, according to Ayman Walash, director of Egypt's foreign press center.

Additionally, the aid includes 13,348 tons of food; 10,359 tons of water; 3,203 tons of other relief materials; and 137 tons of tents, Walash said during a press briefing in Al-Arish, Egypt, on Thursday. 

On the ground: A CNN team driving on a highway toward the Rafah crossing has observed hundreds of trucks loaded with aid awaiting entry into Gaza. One truck driver told CNN he has been waiting for 10 days to enter Gaza.

The two Israeli hostages, Amit Soussana and Mia Schem, freed by Hamas on Thursday are now in Israeli hospitals, Israel's health ministry said. 

Hostages are being released on Thursday from different places and at different times, because they were held in different locations in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.

A Royal Jordanian Air Force plane carried out a parachute drop of urgent relief and medical aid in Gaza on Thursday, according to a statement issued by the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces.

“This operation marked the third time aid has been delivered to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza, Hospital 76,” the Jordanian Army said.

Jordan has previously air-dropped medical aid packages to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza on November 6 and November 12.

Residents in Gaza confirmed to CNN that they heard the sound of a plane around the time of the Jordanian military's announcement.

Two Israeli men that were missing after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7 have been confirmed dead.  

Aviv Atzili was killed on October 7, his family confirmed. He was the husband of Israeli-American woman Liat Beinin, who was released from Hamas captivity Wednesday.

It’s not clear where Atzili was killed. He had been missing since Hamas attacked his kibbutz during the attack. Atzili was 49 years old, according to a spokesperson for kibbutz Nir Oz. The family was notified of his death by the office of the chief rabbi, Atzili's father-in-law Yehuda Beinin said Thursday.

Ofir Tzarfati, 27, another Israeli man who went missing after the attacks, is also dead, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed Thursday. The IDF hasn’t yet specified when and where Tzarfati was killed.

Since October 7, an estimated 46,000 housing units in Gaza have been completely destroyed and more than 234,000 have been partially damaged, according to a United Nations report on November 29.

Satellite analysis by researchers at the CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University estimate that between 26% and 34% of all structures in the strip have been damaged as of November 29. Comparatively, those figures were between 20% and 26% on November 18. In the Gaza and North Gaza governorates, where the heaviest concentration of airstrikes has occurred, an estimated 52% to 65% of structures have been damaged.

Here's where the damage has been located:

Read more about the damage analysis.

The Israeli government is willing to discuss a different framework for the release of men and soldiers held by Hamas — so long as those releases continue, a member of Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, told CNN Thursday. 

“Hamas wants to set new terms for the men and the Israeli soldiers,” Danny Danon said, adding that “we are close to the end” of the current phase of the deal.

Danon is a former Israeli permanent representative to the United Nations and is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

He said that he did not believe Hamas would release all the hostages it holds because the militant group views them as bargaining chips for a negotiated end to the war.

“The US secretary of state shares the Israeli government view that there needs to be a new regime in Gaza,” Danon said. “But our international partners are more interested in what comes after Hamas than we are. Israel is putting its energy into prosecuting this war and defeating the enemy first.” 

He said that Israel had paid a “high price” for the release of women and children.

“And we are also willing to pay a high price for the others. But we also understand that military pressure will bring us closer to the release of hostages," Danon said.