October 16, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

Israel's top domestic security official took responsibility Monday for the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people, according to the country's Army Radio station.

In his first comments since the attacks of October 7, Shin Bet chief Ronan Bar wrote in a statement, "Despite a series of actions we carried out, we weren’t able to create a sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted."

"The responsibility is on me," Bar said.

Shin Bet is Israel’s domestic security agency, tasked with combating terrorism.

In remarks before the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the security and intelligence failures leading to the Hamas attacks would be investigated by the government.

The father of a missing American-Israeli IDF soldier said he spoke with several US senators and the White House about his son and is in communication with the State Department and FBI.

Rubi Chen, father of Itay Chen, said he recently spoke with several US senators who traveled to Israel, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Chen was on the phone call with President Joe Biden last week and other families of missing Americans, he said. What was supposed to be a 15- or 20-minute call turned into a 90-minute conversation, he said.

“I think all of us felt that commitment of time and listening, and also sharing a little bit of his personal loss that he had as well,” Chen said. “It gave us that feeling that he cares deeply about this and has the best people on his team supporting to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible.”

Chen told CNN he is in contact with the State Department and FBI and has been assigned a case manager. There’s been “very open conversations and fluid flowing information between the two sides,” he said.

Chen said he hasn’t received any new information about his son who went missing after Hamas’ attack on Israel last Saturday.

Hamas on Monday urged Egypt to open the Rafah crossing so that aid can enter Gaza and those who have been injured can be transported for treatment.

In the wake of attacks by Hamas, Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza, which has been pummeled by Israeli airstrikes. That makes the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt the only viable outlet for people to leave the enclave and to send in supplies.

But the crossing has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross, as vital humanitarian supplies pile up on the Egyptian side of the border.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with the Israeli “war cabinet” in Tel Aviv, according to the traveling press.

His meetings in Israel – his second round in less than a week – come as Israel seems poised for an imminent ground incursion.

Blinken said he wanted to return to Israel to discuss his meetings with regional Arab leaders, many of whom have strongly and publicly condemned Israel’s aerial campaign on Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Israel will “always have the support of the United States," while speaking alongside Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Blinken said the US had a "deep commitment to Israel's right, indeed, its obligation to defend itself and to defend its people."

Gallant, in turn, warned, "This will be a long war."

An American serving in the Israeli military turned 22 on Friday after his parents say he was kidnapped by Hamas last weekend, according to family and his synagogue. 

Omer Neutra, from Long Island, New York, is among the IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hamas, his parents told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week. 

Friday, October 14, marked his 22nd birthday, according to his parents and his synagogue.

At least six British citizens have been killed while 10 others remain missing following Hamas' attacks on Israel, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed Monday. 

The United Kingdom is “working with Israel to establish the facts as quickly as possible," the prime minister said.

“We are supporting the families who are suffering unimaginable pain," he added.

US Embassy Cairo is tracking 253 US citizens, with 153 “associated family members,” requesting help to depart Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, according to an internal government memo obtained by CNN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Sunday that "Rafah will be open" after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and announced President Joe Biden's appointment of former Ambassador David Satterfield to help coordinate the US aid efforts. 

But hurdles remain. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Monday, placing the blame for the continued closure of the crossing on Israel. 

In the memo, officials conveyed earlier warnings from the embassy, saying that the situation at the Rafah crossing “will remain fluid and unpredictable, and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing.”  

CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

A CNN staffer in Gaza saw UN fuel trucks moving near but not through the Rafah border crossing on Monday. The fuel was being moved from one place in Gaza to other places inside the enclave.

The fuel trucks were transporting fuel from storage sites already in Gaza to health providers, according to the UN.

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that "this is fuel that already existed in Gaza and UNRWA transferred it from very close to the borders and into GAZA City where it’s going to health providers.”

Touma also said that since October 7, Gaza has not received any humanitarian aid.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed. The Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza also remains closed.  

Some more context: Egypt is facing mounting pressure to act as neighboring Gaza gets pummeled by Israeli strikes after last weekend’s brutal assault in Israel by Hamas.

In the wake of the Hamas attacks, Israel closed its two border crossings with Gaza (Kerem Shalom and Erez) and imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of fuel, electricity and water.

It has left the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as the only viable outlet to get people out of the enclave — and supplies into it.

But the crossing has been closed for much of the past week. Neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross. Aid is stuck at the crossing as vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza are piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to this report.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that UN trucks didn't cross through the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, according to UNRWA.