March 17, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza has moved here.

The Israel Defense Forces said early on Monday that it is carrying out a military operation in the area of Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital. 

The IDF said in a statement that the operation is based on intelligence that the hospital is being used by “senior Hamas terrorists to conduct and promote terrorist activity.”

CNN cannot independently verify this claim.

The Israeli military has frequently targeted Gaza’s hospitals since October 7, prompting global condemnation and calls to protect healthcare workers, infrastructure, and patients from fighting.

The Israeli military raided Al-Shifa, the largest medical complex in Gaza, in November.

The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday the death of Daniel Perez, who was abducted by Hamas on October 7.

Perez, 22, had served as a platoon commander, according to the IDF.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum said that Perez had immigrated to Israel 10 years ago. 

According to CNN’s count, 33 of the 130 people still held captive in Gaza after being taken hostage on October 7 are now believed to be dead.

The ongoing war in Gaza was top of mind for both US President Joe Biden and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as the two men celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at the White House on Sunday.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has loomed large while the taoiseach, Ireland’s prime minister, visits Washington. Ireland’s leaders face domestic pressure to make a strong case for a ceasefire in meetings with their US counterparts.

A shared history: Support for the Palestinian cause runs deep in Ireland, with many pointing to what they believe is a shared history — one the taoiseach addressed directly Sunday.

He added later: “Mr. President, we also see Israel’s history reflected in our eyes. A diaspora whose heart never left home no matter how many generations passed. A nation state that was reborn. And a language revived. I believe it’s possible be for Israel and for Palestine. And I believe you do, too.”

Biden’s comments: “The Taoiseach and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza, and get this ceasefire deal that brings the hostages home and moves toward a two-state solution — which is the only path, the only path — to lasting peace and security,” Biden told guests on Sunday.

The World Health Organization chief said he is “gravely concerned” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for the country’s offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office said the military is preparing to evacuate the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians stuck there — many after being displaced from other parts of the enclave. Aid agencies warn civilians have nowhere left to go.

The White House said Sunday that it still has not seen a “credible” plan from the Israeli government on how it would protect the civilians. CNN has previously reported on Gazans who heeded evacuation warnings being killed by Israeli strikes in areas deemed safe by the Israel Defense Forces.

Here are the latest headlines:

Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said the latest proposal submitted for a ceasefire by the group to mediators is “logical.”

“Our demands have become clear. We have spent a long time in talks and meetings with our brothers in Qatar and Egypt, and proposed our vision in a detailed and written way, and I think the mediators are convinced that Hamas has proposed a logical proposal that can achieve a reasonable agreement,” Hamad, who is a senior figure in the political bureau of Hamas, told Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday.

He added that the proposal could bring about a “breakthrough” in the negotiations, but blamed Israel for “insisting” on continuing the war. 

“We know (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu would say our demands are unrealistic. The judges on this are the mediators, and we believe the mediators are convinced that Hamas offered a proposal that can make a breakthrough and achieve an agreement,” Hamad said.

Some background: Ceasefire talks have progressed slowly.

Netanyahu told CNN on Sunday that Israel will keep trying to secure a deal that would see the release of 100 hostages in exchange for a six-week pause in fighting, despite what he described as “outlandish” demands by Hamas.

Hamas submitted a new set of demands on Thursday, including calls for a large number of Palestinian prisoners to be released and an eventual agreement on a permanent ceasefire.

Both Israel and Hamas have at turns accused one another of not negotiating in good faith, while US officials have spoken with more cautious optimism about the talks.

At least 25 Palestinians were detained in the occupied West Bank between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.

Those arrested included a woman originally from Gaza, a child, and a wounded person, in addition to former prisoners, the group said Sunday. The majority of arrests were made in the Hebron region, with further arrests throughout the occupied West Bank and in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society accused Israeli security forces of carrying out “widespread acts of abuse, severe beatings, and threats against detainees and their families” and destroying homes.

The group, an NGO promoting prisoners’ rights, said a cancer patient from Gaza was detained while on her way to receive cancer treatment in Jerusalem.

Israel denies claims: The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that it conducted overnight “counterterrorism activity,” in which it says it arrested wanted suspects and confiscated weapons.

CNN reached out to the IDF regarding the accusations that it mistreated detainees and arrested a woman on her way to receive cancer treatment. In response, an IDF spokesperson said only six people were arrested last night in Dehisha, a Bethlehem refugee camp. 

“They did not arrest a woman and certainly not a child, there was no destruction of houses and the other claims are far from reality,” the spokesperson said. 

Some context: Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, more than 7,630 Palestinians have been arrested on the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.

For its part, the IDF says it has arrested more than 3,500 wanted suspects during that time period, including some 1,500 members of Hamas.

Violence against Palestinians by both Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank has sharply increased during the war, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s warning that Israel risks becoming a “pariah” for its war in Gaza, and his call for new elections in the country, sent shockwaves from Washington to Jerusalem.

President Joe Biden called it a “good speech” and said Schumer had expressed a “serious concern” shared by many Americans. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, slammed the address as “totally inappropriate” in an interview with CNN this morning.

Here’s some of the latest reaction to the comments by Washington’s highest-ranking Jewish official:

Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has defended Schumer’s recent comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.

“Senator Schumer’s speech came from his heart — what he believes is necessary for peace,” Cardin said.

The Maryland senator said Schumer was simply calling for Israelis to be able to vote for who they want as leader, and that this will only happen once Israel has gotten “past Hamas.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Schumer’s remarks as an “act of courage” and an “act of love for Israel” in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The prime minister’s presentation proved the necessity of Chuck Schumer’s speech,” Pelosi said.

The California Democrat added that Netanyahu must “be unaware or ill-informed” of the humanitarian situation in Gaza after the prime minister claimed Israel was letting in enough aid to Gaza.

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed Schumer’s comments as “inappropriate” and “embarrassing” Sunday.

“There’s a way to talk about your differences – not to topple a democratic country,” the Texas Republican said on “Fox News Sunday.” McCaul characterized the speech as indicative of a “split in the Democratic party” between what he called a “pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel faction” and those who support Israel.

McCaul said a Rafah offensive would allow Israel to take out “high-value targets” in Hamas.

Meanwhile, on the campaign trail: Former President Donald Trump has criticized Schumer, suggesting Israel is loyal to the Democratic Party “to a fault.” Asked on Fox News today if the majority leader’s words amounted to the US telling a sovereign ally how to run its government, Trump answered, “100%. There’s no question about it and they don’t know where to go. They’re very bad for Israel.”

The former president has repeatedly been criticized for parroting the antisemitic trope that US Jews, a population that historically has voted for Democrats by wide margins, have dual loyalties to the US and Israel.

An Israeli offensive in Rafah could hinder peace deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday.

There are an estimated 1.4 million people in the southernmost Gaza city, many of whom have already been displaced several times from other parts of the enclave.

Speaking in Aqaba, Jordan, Scholz said “a large number of casualties in such an offensive would make any peaceful development in the region very difficult.”

Scholz made the comments while on a whirlwind trip to the region Sunday, first meeting with the King Abdullah II of Jordan in Aqaba, and then meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Scholz also questioned whether there are other ways for Israel to achieve its goal of eradicating Hamas.

“No matter how important the goal, can it justify such terribly high costs? Or are there other ways to achieve your goal?” Scholz asked.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, said “we cannot have a future for Gaza, a future for peace” if Hamas “remains intact.” Israel has repeatedly said it must launch military operations in Rafah to root out the remaining portion of Hamas’ forces.

More background: The German chancellor’s comments come just days after Netanyahu said he approved a plan for a mass evacuation and Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah.

The head of the World Health Organization and other aid agencies have raised alarm about a potential Rafah incursion, saying the Palestinians sheltering there have nowhere safe to move to. CNN has previously reported on Gazans who heeded evacuation warnings being killed by Israeli strikes in areas deemed safe by the IDF.

US Central Command conducted another airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday “to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.”

This is the 12th humanitarian airdrop conducted by the US into Gaza in recent weeks.

According to a CENTCOM statement, the mission dropped “over 28,000 meals and 34,500 .5L bottles of water” into northern Gaza, which it described as “an area of great need.”

More on aid drops: The US has joined several other countries in airdropping aid into Gaza, which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis.

With aid deliveries on land falling far short of the numbers needed to ward off famine in the enclave, it is hoped these airdrops will provide a lifeline to people in Gaza.

But the United Nations and aid agencies have questioned how effective they will be at alleviating the situation, and their risks were shown starkly earlier this month when malfunctioning parachutes caused aid pallets to hurtle from the sky at breakneck speed, killing unsuspecting civilians.

Critics have called on the US to pressure its ally Israel to lift its tight siege on the enclave before more Palestinians starve.

CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.

The White House said on Sunday that it still has not seen a “credible” plan from the Israeli government on how it would protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians in southern Gaza if it moves forward with an extensive military operation in the city of Rafah.  

“We will not support, cannot support, an operation in Rafah that doesn’t have an executable, verifiable, achievable plan to take care of the 1.5 million people that are trying to find refuge in Rafah,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Kirby said the Israeli government has said they have an evacuation plan called “humanitarian islands,” but the US is only open “any credible plan plan to take care of them. But we haven’t seen it yet.”

The comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday the operational plans for Rafah had been approved.  

When asked on ABC’s “This Week” what the US response would be if Israeli moved into Rafah in the same way it has elsewhere in Gaza, Kirby said: “I don’t want to get ahead of where we are.”

International concern: The head of the World Health Organization and other aid agencies have raised alarm about a potential Rafah incursion, saying the Palestinians sheltering there have already been displaced from elsewhere in the enclave and do not have anywhere safe to move to.

CNN has previously reported on Gazans who followed evacuation orders being killed by Israeli strikes, underscoring the reality that evacuation zones and warnings from the Israeli military haven’t guaranteed safety for civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says comments from US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that described him as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, were “totally inappropriate.”

On Thursday, Schumer criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling for new elections in a speech on the Senate floor on the Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash about Schumer’s calls for elections, Netanyahu said whether elections were held or not in Israel was something “the Israeli government does on its own.”

“It’s inappropriate for.. to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership,” he said.

He said the decision to hold elections was ultimately up to the Israeli public.

But, when pressed by CNN’s Dana Bash if he would commit to holding them, Netanyahu replied: “we’ll see when we win the war.”

“If we were to have elections now, before the war is won, resoundingly won, we would have at least six months of national paralysis which means we would lose the war.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will keep trying to secure a deal that would see the release of 100 hostages in exchange for a six week pause in fighting in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

When asked if he was open to the potential deal, Netanyahu replied:

“Time will tell but Hamas’ outlandish demands… makes that deal a lot more difficult. But we’re going to keep on trying because we want those hostages back.”

He said continued military pressure is the “one thing that gets Hamas to give them”, so Israeli is going to “continue military pressure and we are going to continue to try to get those hostages out.”

An Israeli operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, will take “several weeks,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, saying he will push ahead with an offensive that has sparked international alarm.

“I reiterate: We will operate in Rafah. This will take several weeks, and it will happen,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of a government meeting. 

“To our friends in the international community, I say: Are your memories that short? Have you so quickly forgotten October 7, the most horrific massacre of Jews since the Holocaust?”

His comments come ahead of a Sunday interview on CNN’s State of the Union – we’ll bring you that as it happens.

Netanyahu said “the operational plans for action in Rafah, including advancing the steps to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones,” have been approved. “This is an essential stage ahead of the military action.”

Netanyahu went on to say that in the international community, “there are those who are trying to stop the war” by “hurling false accusations at the IDF, the Government of Israel and the Prime Minister of Israel.”

“They are doing so by means of an effort to bring about elections now, at the height of the war. They are doing this because they know that elections now will halt the war and paralyze the country for at least six months,” he said. 

Remember: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling for new elections in a speech on the Senate floor on the Israel-Hamas war.

Separately, the World Health Organization head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “gravely concerned” about an offensive in Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

The first aid ship into Gaza carrying 200 tons of much-needed food has been fully offloaded as part of new efforts to ease a dire humanitarian crisis.

A second boat of 240 tonnes of humanitarian food aid is being prepared, according to nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK).

However, maritime shipments cannot stop what aid agencies warn is a looming famine in Gaza on their own.

Here’s why.

There are no functioning ports left in Gaza, with UN Special Rapporteur for food Michael Fakhr saying last week that Israel decimated the enclave’s main port.

For the ship that arrived Friday, workers had to assemble a jetty to which the vessel could be connected before being offloaded.

While US President Joe Biden has announced plans to establish a separate port in Gaza to receive large aid shipments, that floating pier could take up to two months and some 1,000 US military personnel to complete, according to the Pentagon.

Ships carrying aid are also subject to the same Israeli inspections that have been accused by aid agencies of denying access for arbitrary reasons, or no reason at all.

A 200-ton shipment also does not match up to the daily average of about 94.5 trucks crossing into Gaza via land as of last month, each carry about 20 tons of aid – and even that’s far below the estimated 500 trucks the UN says are needed daily in order to alleviate the suffering of Gazans.

Read more about the challenges aid deliveries in Gaza are encountering here.

Ninety-two people have been killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since October 7 to 31,645 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

A total of 130 people were injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added, bringing the number of injured to 73,676. 

Many of the victims remain trapped under rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them, the ministry said. 

The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its data.

CNN cannot independently verify these numbers due to the challenges of reporting from the war zone.

Eleven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombardment of a house in Deir al Balah in central Gaza early on Sunday, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, who received casualties and treated others who were injured.

Eyewitnesses told hospital staff the bombardment was caused by an Israeli airstrike.

Casualties included women and children, according to the hospital.

The Israeli military says it struck a Hezbollah military compound in the Khiam area in southern Lebanon, saying in a statement the action was in response to launches fired toward the city of Acre.

It said its fighter jets also struck a Hezbollah observation post in the area of Kfarkela and “artillery struck to remove a threat in the area of Maisat.”

An explosion was reported by a merchant ship traversing the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said in a warning note. 

“The master of a merchant vessel has reported an explosion in close proximity to the vessel,” read the note, published on X on Saturday, adding that no damage was reported and the crew are safe. 

UKMTO said the incident took place 85 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen. It did not specify the nationality or flag of the merchant vessel.

Authorities are investigating the incident with the vessel continuing to proceed to its next port of call.

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say comes as retaliation against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

The head of the World Health Organization said he is “gravely concerned” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday he had approved plans for an offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

“Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering, especially with health facilities already overwhelmed,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.  

According to Netanyahu’s office, the Israel Defense Forces “is preparing for the operational side and for the evacuation of the population.” 

The White House says it has not received any plans, including on how to get an estimated 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in the city to safety.

The WHO chief said that Palestinians in Rafah do not have anywhere safe to move to, and there are no fully functional, safe health facilities that they can reach elsewhere in Gaza. Many people are too fragile, hungry and sick to be moved again, he said. 

“In the name of humanity, we appeal to Israel not to proceed and instead to work toward peace. This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen,” he added. 

Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday night, with two separate groups calling for the government to resign and demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza. 

In Tel Aviv: Demonstrators on two main streets of Tel Aviv called on the Israeli government to resign, with some protesters also seen burning fires and scuffling with police in the city.

Protesters blocked Ayalon Highway — a major inter-city freeway in Gush Dan, Israel, in the metro Tel Aviv area — and chanted, “There is nothing more important. Every hostage must come back.” Na’ama Lazimi, a member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, was seen among the protesters on the highway.  

In Jerusalem and Caesarea: Thousands of family members of hostages still held in Gaza demanded the release of their loved ones on Saturday evening. A social media video captured arrests of protesters who were calling for elections near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea. Israeli police said they arrested four in Caesarea and two in Jerusalem.  

What police say: Israel Police said it approved the request to hold the protests, but added that “a number of protesters gathered illegally on Menachem Begin Road and began to violate the order by lighting fires on the road and blocking the movement of vehicles.”

“At the same time, a number of protesters went down to Ayalon and blocked a part off the road while confronting the police,” the statement said, adding that police then “announced that the demonstration was illegal and that they should clear the traffic routes. At this stage, the rioters did not listen to the instructions and the police had to use measures to disperse the rioters in order to stop the offense.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa met Saturday in Bahrain’s capital of Manama, where they discussed a potential ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

The two officials “discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire of at least six weeks in Gaza as part of an agreement to secure the release of hostages,” according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Blinken pledged support for regional efforts to “promote calm” during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb. 

Blinken and Al Khalifa also talked about attacks by the Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea area, Miller said, and the two leaders “reaffirmed their shared commitment to international law and freedom of navigation.” 

Mossad Director David Barnea is expected to travel to Doha for further ceasefire talks with the Qataris and Egyptians — who have been the principal interlocutors with Hamas — according to a diplomat familiar with the talks.

The diplomat believes the talks will be held on Monday. Reuters reported earlier that the Israeli intelligence agency’s head is expected to attend.

CNN reported Friday that an agreement, if it happens, is expected to have multiple phases:

But the toughest sticking points may be the Hamas demands that, after the initial exchange of hostages and prisoners, Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and a withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza.

Israel’s government has repeatedly said those terms are unacceptable, and that they still intend to continue the fight against Hamas until “complete victory.”

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that “Hamas is continuing to hold to unrealistic demands” but announced that an Israeli team would soon be traveling to Doha to further talks.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 37 people, including children and pregnant women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential block in central Gaza on Friday night.

CNN is unable to verify the number of casualties from the incident west of the Nuseirat Camp, but video from the scene showed ambulance crews loading bodies wrapped in blankets, as well as extensive destruction.

CNN also obtained video of the dead and injured being brought to Al Aqsa Martyrs’ hospital, including the bodies of several children.

According to medical staff, 35 of the 37 victims were members of one family.

Nuseirat has seen multiple strikes in recent days.

CNN obtained video of another strike in Nuseirat overnight Friday in which seven people were killed.

The Israel Defense Forces released video Saturday of a strike on Friday, saying “several Hamas terrorists” were living in the area.

Witnesses said there was also an overnight strike in the Deir al Balah area of northern Gaza.

Two people said residents had received telephone warnings from the Israel Defense Forces to evacuate within 15 minutes. 

One young man, Abdallah Maghbara, told CNN that people had fled without anything after being warned to “clear the entire block in 15 minutes” and “clear the 10 houses around the house of Nani Abu Baraka.”

He said after 15 minutes, the Israelis told them “they don’t want to see anyone in the street,” adding: “All of a sudden two missiles fell on the entire block and destroyed completely seven buildings, nothing was spared.”

Subhi Baraka told CNN, “we evacuated the area and returned…and as you can see it is like an earthquake of an entire block.”

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the strikes.

The nonprofit World Central Kitchen said Saturday that the 200 tonnes of food brought to Gaza from Cyprus is being readied for distribution in the strip, after having been successfully offloaded.

WCK said it is preparing a second boat of 240 tonnes of humanitarian food aid for another delivery to Gaza from Cyprus. The food aid includes pallets of canned goods and bulk products – including beans, carrots, canned tuna, chickpeas, canned corn, parboiled rice, flour, oil and salt.

The second boat also has two forklifts and a crane to assist with future maritime deliveries to Gaza.

The NGO has not yet confirmed when this second ship will be ready to set sail toward Gaza.

WCK also said it will be providing food for the daily airdrops planned by the Jordanians for every day of Ramadan.

Aid agencies’ warnings: With Palestinians in Gaza in dire need, any aid is welcome, but aid groups say maritime and airdropped aid should be complementary to land deliveries, not a substitute. Agencies and officials have repeatedly warned that no method of humanitarian relief can be as effective as delivery by land.

In a joint statement, 25 nongovernmental organizations called on states to prioritize a ceasefire and increased land-based aid deliveries, warning that maritime aid may set a dangerous precedent that undermines land routes and allows for prolonged hostilities.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has said that 63 people were killed as a result of Israeli military operations in the latest 24 hour period.

It said 112 people were injured.

The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its data. CNN cannot independently verify the numbers from Gaza.

The Ministry said that the cumulative death toll since October 7 in Gaza had risen to 31,553, with 73,546 people injured.

 On Friday, the ministry said that children and women constitute 72% of the total fatalities.