December 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Israel believes Hamas had about 30,000 fighters in Gaza before the war began on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN Sunday. 

The fighters were divided into five brigades, 24 battalions and approximately 140 companies, the IDF told CNN’s Alex Marquardt, each with capabilities including anti-tank missiles, snipers and engineers, and rocket and mortar arrays.

Israel’s national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the people killed in Gaza since October 7 were “Hamas terrorists.”

Hangebi added he did not think that the Hamas leadership had expected the scope of Israel’s response to the assault against southern Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed. 

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said Saturday that 17,700 people had been killed in the territory since October 7.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it struck more than 250 targets in the past 24 hours, including what it called Hamas military communication sites and tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said one of its fighter jets struck a Hamas military communications site adjacent to a mosque in southern Gaza. Ground troops who helped direct the strike then carried out a raid on the site, according to the statement.

In response to a CNN question about the mosque, the IDF told CNN it was unable to provide further details.

The Israeli military said it continued to engage in intense battles with Hamas fighters in the southern city of Khan Younis this week.

About 17,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s assault on the strip in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters.

CNN cannot independently confirm either side’s figures.

Some context: On Saturday, the IDF issued “an urgent appeal” for civilians to evacuate from much of Khan Younis amid fierce fighting in the area. It is unclear how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza. 

According to Hamas, 104 mosques and three historical churches have so far been destroyed. It accused Israel for the destruction of the oldest mosque, the Great Omari, calling it a "heinous and barbaric crime."

Speaking at the Doha Forum, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh suggested it is unrealistic that Israel will be able to eradicate Hamas, telling CNN's Becky Anderson: "It's not going to happen."

Israeli officials have vowed to eradicate Hamas from Gaza in response to the Palestinian militant movement’s October 7 attack on Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and more than 240 others held hostage.

Shtayyeh said the main concern of Palestinians today is that they "want a stop of the atrocities and genocide that is happening."

Hamas death toll: In a video statement Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US for vetoing a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and vowed to continue in "our just war to dismantle Hamas."

Israel has so far killed more than 7,000 Hamas militants, according to the country's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi.

He told Israel's Channel 12 on Saturday “this is the minimal estimate, it could be higher since we don’t know everything.”

At least 17,700 people have been killed in Gaza and 48,780 others have been injured since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says he "will not give up" calling for a ceasefire in Gaza after the Secretary Council failed to pass a resolution demanding an immediate one.

"Last week, I delivered a letter to the president the Security Council, invoking Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations for the first time since I became Secretary-General in 2017. I wrote that there is no effective protection of civilians in Gaza," he said while speaking Sunday at the Doha Forum. 

The article has not been invoked since 1989 and allows the secretary-general to call a Security Council meeting on an “issue that may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.”

Guterres warned that the healthcare system in Gaza was collapsing and said "expect public order to completely break down soon."

"An even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt... We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast, deteriorating into a catastrophe, with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole, and for peace and security in the region," the Secretary-General said. 

Last Friday, the UN Secretary Council failed to adopt a resolution demanding the immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza after a veto by the United States, a permanent member state. The veto was strongly condemned by aid groups as a "callous disregard" for human suffering and a "vote against humanity."

The resolution - presented by the United Arab Emirates - would have also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access. 

Neither Israel nor Hamas is showing the same willingness now as before last month’s week-long truce to resolve the war, said Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, a key negotiator, at the Doha Forum Sunday.

The Gulf state continues its efforts with partners to facilitate negotiations to resolve the Israel-Hamas war, he said, but "we are not seeing the same willingness" as in prior weeks. 

"It always takes two parties to be willing to such an engagement. Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before," he said.

When asked by which party, he responded: "Both parties."

Al Thani discussed the recent pause in fighting in November, which brought the release of some hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying Qatar feels "deeply disappointed that the parties didn't give a chance for further efforts to be taken."

An influential voice: Qatar played a mediating role between Israel, the US and Hamas during painstaking negotiations last month that led to the release of dozens of hostages.

Qatar’s prime minister, who was said to have engaged directly with senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha for the agreement, said at the time that his country hopes the development will establish “a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that will put an end to the war and the bloodshed.”

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani opened the Doha Forum on Sunday condemning the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. 

Without mentioning Israel, he went on to condemned the targeting of civilians, including women and children, as a violation of international law and said the crisis has "highlighted the great gap between East and West and between the various generations and highlighted the double standards and the international community."

"The world actually is split between some who called for putting an end to this war and putting an end to the war machine, and some who are hesitating to call even for a ceasefire," he said. "Some people are trying to reshape this conflict as a religious war. However, this conflict was and still a matter of occupation, and a matter of people whose right to self determination was taken away over decades."

Last month, Qatar brokered a deal with Israel and Hamas to allow a temporary pause in fighting to allow for the release of some hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. 

This post has been updated to change the name of the Qatari official quoted.

The Israeli military has instructed residents of much of Khan Younis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip, to evacuate to the Al-Muwasi area, a strip of land with few facilities on the coast, as well as specified blocks shown on an IDF interactive map.

Earlier, the IDF issued what it called "an urgent appeal" for civilians to leave much of the area in and around Khan Younis where fierce fighting is underway.

However, it’s unclear how many people might be aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza.

Here are other headlines you should know:

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has played a crucial role in the war between Israel and Hamas, acting as a "neutral intermediary" in coordinating the recent transfer of hostages back into Israel, as well as the return of Palestinians from Israeli detention.

Being in the line of fire is something the ICRC has faced for the past 160 years – being present at virtually every global conflict and crises, also responding to natural disasters like the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, which tore through the country killing thousands.

But the organization has also had to defend itself against criticism in the past week that it’s not been doing enough to help remaining hostages in Gaza.

Read more: Why the Red Cross is one of the world's most celebrated humanitarian organizations

The Israeli military has instructed residents of much of Khan Younis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip, to evacuate to the Al-Muwasi area, a strip of land with few facilities on the coast, as well as specified blocks shown on an IDF interactive map.

The Israel Defense Forces said:

Earlier, the IDF issued what it called "an urgent appeal" for civilians to leave much of the area in and around Khan Younis where fierce fighting is underway.

In a post on ‘X,’ the IDF’s spokesperson for Arab media, Avichay Adraee, urged residents of the "neighborhoods of Al-Katiba, Al Mahatta, and the city center in Khan Younis Governorate” to evacuate.

 Adraee specified five blocks (47, 55, 104 – 106) on the map published by the IDF.

 “We call on you to leave where you are urgently and go toward known shelters west of Khan Younis,” he said.

It’s unclear how many people might be aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza. It’s also unclear what shelters Adraee is referring to. CNN has reached out to the IDF for further clarification. 

Al-Muwasi is a strip of some 20 square kilometers on the coast. 

A statement last month by United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups such as Care International, Mercy Corps and the World Health Organization, said the area could not function as a safe zone until all sides pledged not to fight there.

Al-Muwasi is largely open land but has already seen an influx of people trying to escape from the fighting.