December 15, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Hamas built its tunnels to withstand possible attempts to pump water into them, a spokesperson for the militant group said.

The comments from Osama Hamdan at a news conference in Beirut on Thursday were in response to reports of potential flooding of tunnels by Israeli forces inside Gaza.

Israel has told the United States it has begun “carefully testing out” flooding some of Hamas’ tunnels with seawater “on a limited basis” to assess whether the operation could be scaled up to degrade the group’s tunnel network on a larger scale. 

Israeli officials have assured their American counterparts that they’re only doing this in tunnels where they do not believe hostages are being held.

Separately, Hamdan addressed the issue of possible fresh talks aimed at releasing more hostages held inside Gaza, appearing to lower any expectations of progress.

"There will be no negotiations and no return of the prisoners until after the complete cessation of the aggression against Gaza and responding to the demands of the resistance," Hamdan said.

There are still more than 130 hostages held inside the enclave.

A top United States national security official was briefed on the details of Israel's military campaign in Gaza on Thursday, according to a White House readout.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.

The briefing on Israel's military operations included details on its "objectives, phasing, and setting conditions for shifts over time from high-intensity clearing operations to lower intensity surgical operations against Hamas remnants,” the readout said.

Some more background: During his meetings with the Israeli prime minister, the White House previously said Sullivan asked “hard questions” about the Israeli offensive, including efforts to be more surgical and precise in the Israel Defense Forces' targeting.

He also raised the imperative of moving to a new phase of the conflict, which has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza, US officials said.

The Biden administration has been signaling to Israel that it wants it to transition to a lower intensity phase of its war on Hamas within weeks, a senior US official said.

Next, Sullivan will go to the West Bank on Friday to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to an administration official.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s “days are numbered,” a senior US official said, as Israel looks to eliminate the highest-ranking leader in Gaza. 

“I think it's safe to say his days are numbered. I also think it's safe to say it doesn't matter how long that takes,” the official said on Thursday, following meetings in Israel between United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israeli officials.

Noting that several Americans were killed in the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the official said Sinwar had US “blood on his hands.”

Israel has publicly accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind Hamas’ terror attack against Israel – though experts say he is likely one of several – making him one of the key targets of its war in Gaza.

While in Israel, Sullivan held extensive meetings with Israeli leadership, including the war cabinet and the Mossad intelligence chief that lasted two hours.

The talks included “heavy discussion” on protecting civilians, and the Israelis briefed Sullivan on efforts to separate civilians from Hamas.

The talks also included detailed discussions of efforts to free hostages held in Gaza.

“There are a number of initiatives now being pursued” to secure the release of additional hostages, the official said, though could not “state with any confidence which initiative might gain traction.”

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that he wants Israel to focus on saving civilian lives when asked if he wants Israel to scale back its assault on Gaza.

The comments come in the wake of the White House struggling to clarify comments from the president this week criticizing how Israel has handled the war.

Biden did not answer an additional shouted question on whether he thinks Israel is violating international humanitarian law. The president spoke for approximately 14 minutes. 

Some background: On Wednesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked multiple times by reporters about the president’s blunt claim that Israel was beginning to lose global support in its war against Hamas because of the “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.

Kirby repeatedly emphasized that the Biden administration sees Israel’s “intent” to minimize civilian deaths, despite Biden himself saying Israel was not being deliberate and careful. 

Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee why the White House insists on saying Israel has the “intent” to minimize civilian casualties, Kirby responded that “sometimes in war… the best-laid plans don’t get executed exactly the way you want.”

Four alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting terror attacks on European soil have been arrested by German and Dutch authorities, Germany’s federal prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.

Three people were arrested in Germany and one in the Netherlands on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, the prosecutor said.

Hamas is classified by the United States, the European Union and other nations as a terrorist organization.

Of the three arrested in Germany, two were Lebanese nationals and one was an Egyptian national, said the prosecutor. The person arrested in the Netherlands was described as a Dutch national.

The prosecutor outlined the first names of the individuals arrested, but in line with German privacy law is not disclosing surnames of the suspects. CNN is not naming the individuals.

CNN has reached out to Lebanese, Egyptian, and Dutch authorities for comment.

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Four suspected members of Hamas arrested in Europe over alleged terrorism plot | CNN