December 6, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved the recommendation made by the War Cabinet to allow a “minimal" increase in the amount of fuel entering daily to prevent a “humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics” in the southern Gaza Strip, the prime minister’s office said in a statement Wednesday. 

The decision comes after US pressure to allow more fuel into Gaza, which led the cabinet to meet on Wednesday night. 

“The minimal amount will be determined from time to time” by the War Cabinet, the statement added.  

The amount of additional fuel that will now be allowed to enter Gaza is not clear — and will be subjected to the cabinet's decision. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that the current limit is two fuel tankers — about 60,000 liters — per day.  

Netanyahu said Israel's war efforts in Gaza are supported by its humanitarian effort, noting that Israel is allowing in the "bare minimum" of fuel trucks, and also aims to prevent disease outbreaks in Gaza that could halt the ground operation. 

The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, met with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian leaders on Wednesday.

The White House said along with Abbas, Gordon met with Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); Head of Palestinian General Intelligence Services Majed Faraj and Palestinian business leaders while in Ramallah.

Per the White House, Gordon discussed “the situation in Gaza,” with local officials, with the official underscoring “the imperative of increased efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need and to protect civilians” while providing updates on his meetings earlier this week with Israeli officials.

Gordon emphasized that "Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, that Hamas poses an unacceptable terrorist threat to the Israeli people, and that Hamas cannot control Gaza when the fighting ends," the readout said.

Gordon also discussed the situation in the West Bank, including visa restrictions for Israeli and Palestinian individuals “believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had reached “a new moral low” after Guterres invoked a rarely used clause on Wednesday.

Guterres used the UN charter to formally refer the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council for discussion, urging its 15 member nations to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe" in the besieged enclave.

Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to say the secretary-general decided to activate “this rare clause only when it allows him to put pressure on Israel.”   

The envoy reiterated his call for the secretary-general to resign immediately. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also called on Guterres to resign, saying that the UN chief’s “tenure is a danger to world peace.”  

Guterres’ decision to invoke the clause is "an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women," Cohen wrote on X. 

A furious diplomatic spat between Israel and the UN broke out in October, with Israeli officials calling for the resignation of Guterres after he said Hamas’ October 7 attacks on the country “did not happen in a vacuum.” 

CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Richard Roth contributed to this report.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday urging for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The move comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres formally referred the situation in Gaza to the Security Council on Wednesday. 

The UAE says its draft resolution is supported by Arab countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is comprised of 57 member states. 

CNN's Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 80 aid trucks in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday. 

On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of the lacking access to humanitarian aid in the strip after the end of the seven-day truce between Hamas and Israel. 

The number of aid trucks "is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November," OCHA added. 

An Egyptian official said 50 aid trucks entered the strip through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, and OCHA said 100 trucks went in on Monday. 

Asma Khalil and Eyad Kourdi contributing reporting to this post.

The civilian casualties in Gaza is too high, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday.

Speaking several days into the renewed offensive by Israeli forces in southern Gaza, Miller said the US wants "to see the civilian death toll lower than it has been."

"A good component of this is the problem presented by Hamas embedding in civilian sites in Khan Younis just as it did in Gaza City, but that doesn't lessen the burden that's on Israel to do everything it can to reduce civilian harm," he said during a news briefing.

Miller noted the conflict in southern Gaza was "still at an early stage," and would not say whether the US believes Israeli forces are carrying out this part of their offensive differently than in the north. 

Miller said that the State Department had "some very frank conversations with the government of Israel about that when we were there last week," when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Israel.

"We continue to have very frank discussions with them about this question, and I think I'll leave it at that," he said.

Last week, Blinken said Israel must prosecute the war differently in the south than it did in the north.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is stopping its ambulance operations in northern Gaza after the lack of fuel and the closure of hospitals in the area made it impossible to evacuate civilians, the organization said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Yesterday evening, operations at the PRCS ambulance center in the northern governorate of Gaza came to a halt,” the PRCS said.

In the northern area of Jabalya, the PCRS’ operations are still ongoing to handle minor and moderate cases, where it receives at least 250 injured patients daily, the organization said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 80,000 residents in northern Gaza are now without health coverage.

Israeli forces have breached Hamas "defense lines" in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the military has been involved in a fierce battle with Hamas militants since Tuesday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said on Wednesday.  

“Over the last 48 hours, these three divisions (98, 36, 162) along with another division in the east, are fighting with high intensity against terrorists. We have breached the defense lines of Jabalya, Shuja'iyya and the Khan Younis area,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said during his daily press conference.  

It comes after the IDF said the Israeli military has begun carrying out raids against "Hamas strongholds" in the center of Khan Younis, the territory’s second-largest city.  

Within a few hours after the IDF forces surrounded the city, “the soldiers pierced through the defensive lines of the Khan Younis Brigade, encircling it and for the first time began to operate in the heart of the area,” the military said.  

The Khan Younis Brigade is one of the two most significant brigades of Hamas, according to the Israeli military.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Wednesday said that the IDF forces have encircled the house of Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The IDF would not say where it believes Sinwar is, but that he was “underground.” Sinwar is originally from Khan Younis but it is unclear if he is currently there.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has formally referred the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council, urging its members to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe" in the besieged enclave.

Guterres delivered a letter to the president of the Security Council, José De La Gasca, on Wednesday, invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Article 99 gives the secretary general the remit to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

In his letter, Guterres said the conflict has created "appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

The UN chief highlighted the plight of Gazan civilians, who he said are facing "grave danger" on a daily basis.

"Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defence Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to break down soon due to the desperate situation, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible," he said, warning the situation could worsen if the spread of disease reaches epidemic proportions and mass displacement creates "pressure" on neighboring countries. 

In the closing paragraph of his letter, Guterres urged Security Council members to "press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe" and support his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.