October 16, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

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.

Border authorities have not managed to repair Israeli airstrike damage to the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a Palestinian official told CNN Monday.  

The official told CNN that the damage has played a part in the delay opening the Egypt-Gaza border, saying that fears of further strikes in the vicinity “stopped any efforts to repair the damages sustained by previous airstrikes." 

The official told CNN that over the weekend, Egyptian authorities installed cement slabs on the Egyptian side of the crossing following multiple Israeli airstrikes last week.  

In a video geolocated by CNN, debris can be seen scattered in the area across from the gate leading to the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side. In another image, several cement slabs are seen being placed by a crane, operating on the Egyptian side of the border. 

Some context: The Rafah crossing is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week. Humanitarian supplies have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border, and neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross.

The floor of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, was evacuated briefly on Monday after sirens sounded in Jerusalem warning of incoming rocket fire.

“Sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Two CNN journalists also reported hearing sirens followed by several loud thuds in both cities.

Israeli lawmakers were asked to leave the floor and go to a nearby corridor, where they remained for several minutes until the all-clear was given.

Rockets in the Tel Aviv area on Monday wounded one woman, according to the Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's only national blood and medical emergency service.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Tel Aviv for meetings with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Earlier Monday, he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. 

Blinken “discussed his engagements with partners in the region and received an update on the situation on the ground” in his meeting with Netanyahu, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout Monday.

In his meetings with Netanyahu and Herzog, Blinken reiterated the US’ support for “Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism,” Miller said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “discussed his engagements with partners in the region and received an update on the situation on the ground�� in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said in a readout Monday.

In his meetings with Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Blinken reiterated the US’ support for “Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism,” Miller said.

Blinken discussed with Netanyahu “the United States’ close coordination with the UN and regional partners to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians.” 

With Herzog, he “discussed the coordination underway to focus on the safety and protection of civilians placed in harm’s way by Hamas,” according to a separate readout.

Blinken discussed the swift release of the hostages held by Hamas in both of his meetings, the readouts said.

At least five people were killed and 15 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a multi-story house in Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, the Palestinian interior ministry said Monday.

The ministry said the airstrike happened without prior warning from the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF has not issued any comments about the strike.