April 1, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

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

Minister of Foreign Affairs for Japan Yoko Kamikawa during a meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on January 8.

Japan has lifted its funding suspension of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa said Tuesday.

Israel has accused at least 12 staffers from the UN Relief and Works Agency of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks and has alleged that about 12% of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s 13,000 staffers are members of Hamas or other Palestinian militant groups. UNRWA says it has fired 10 of the 12 accused staffers and that the other two are dead. CNN cannot confirm the allegations.

Japan’s move came after a meeting on Saturday between Kamikawa and Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of UNRWA.

In the meeting, Lazzarini laid out the steps the agency was taking to “improve screening and education to ensure neutrality of UNRWA staff,” according to a statement from Japan’s foreign ministry on Saturday.

UNRWA also agreed to establish a new framework with Japan on project management and monitoring to ensure “transparency and traceability of projects,” the ministry added.

Some background: UNRWA is the primary humanitarian aid group in Gaza. Some 2 million Gazans rely on the agency for aid, with 1 million people using UNRWA shelters for food and healthcare amid the fighting in the enclave.

Zomi Frankcom in Deir-al-Balah, Gaza.

An Australian is among members of the aid organization World Central Kitchen who were killed in Gaza, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.

Australia has contacted Israel, Albanese said, adding that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has “requested a call-in from the Israeli ambassador to Australia” to “ask for accountability.”

The prime minister sent his deepest condolences to her family.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian speaks during a press conference at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Beirut, Lebanon February 10.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has blamed Israel for Monday’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, but also said that the United States was responsible for it because it supports Israel.

The top diplomat’s comments underscore the increasing strain between Tehran and Washington, with Iran pointing fingers at the US for its support of Israel.

Conveying the stern message in a post on X, Amir-Abdollahian said the Swiss chargé d’affaires in Tehran was summoned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry early Tuesday to discuss the incident, given Switzerland’s role in representing US interests in Iran.

Some background: The Israel Defense Forces hasn’t commented publicly on the strike that Iran said killed two commanders and several others. But IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari disputed that the building was a consulate. “This is a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus,” he said. Separately, The New York Times reported that four unnamed Israeli officials acknowledged that Israel carried out the attack.

Passports of the officials working at World Central Kitchen who were killed in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on April 1.

At least five people working with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) have been killed in Gaza, WCK founder José Andrés told CNN on Monday, without giving specific details.

Videos obtained by CNN show the bodies of multiple people wearing apparent WCK vests after an airstrike hit Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces said it is “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

Among the deceased were found a British passport, a Polish passport, and an Australian passport.

CNN has reached out to the various foreign ministries – but has not yet received a response.

Iran is accusing Israel of killing two senior commanders in a strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria. Tehran promised a “decisive” response to the strike. The attack may be the most dangerous escalation outside of Gaza since the start of the Hamas-Israel war nearly six months ago.

The New York Times reported that four unnamed Israeli officials acknowledged that Israel carried out the attack. CNN cannot verify the report and has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

The military hasn’t commented publicly on the strike, but IDF spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, disputed that the building was a consulate. “According to our intelligence, this is no consulate and this is no embassy,” he said. “This is a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.”

The Quds Force is a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for foreign operations.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter. The transaction would amount to the largest US foreign military sale to Israel since the country went to war with Hamas on October 7.

Here’s what else to know:

Israel’s treatment of detainees: The Israel Defense Forces told CNN on Monday that those detained in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza during a 14-day operation are being “treated in accordance with international law.” Al-Shifa medical workers have said that staff were forced to strip naked, and that one staff representative was left “half naked for three hours” before being allowed to talk.

Ambulances face hurdles in reaching Al-Shifa: Ambulances trying to reach Al-Shifafollowing the withdrawal of Israeli troops are finding it “almost impossible because of the damaged roads,” Gaza’s Civil Defense tells CNN. “Right now, we are putting out fires, retrieving bodies of martyrs and moving the injured. But unfortunately, the ambulances can’t reach the hospital because of the problems on the road,” Director of Operations Raed al-Dahshan told CNN.

The UN will also try to reach Al-Shifa: The United Nations is planning a mission to Al-Shifa Hospital as soon as it is “allowed to help people receive medical attention and to assess the facility,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday.

Hamas leader’s sister arrested in Israel: Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh, the sister of the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of terror offenses. She is accused of “having contact with Hamas operatives” and “inciting and supporting acts of terrorism in Israel,” according to Israeli police.

US pushed for alternatives to Rafah ground offensive: Senior US and Israeli officials met virtually to discuss potential military operations in Rafah on Monday. The White House said there was no breakthrough, but that conversations will continue over the coming weeks.

In other news:

This post has been updated with the New York Times report about the Damascus attack.

A journalist working for CNN said the scene at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital on Monday “feels like a horror movie” after Israeli forces withdrew, ending their two-week siege of the facility.

Here’s what the hospital complex looked like a few months ago:

Displaced Palestinians gather in the yard of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza on December 10, 2023.

Here’s what it looked like today:

People inspect the damage at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza on April 1.

The Biden administration has yet to see operational plans from the Israeli government detailing what a major military operation into Rafah would look like, including how Israel would try to protect the more than 1 million civilians in that area, US officials tells CNN on the heels of a virtual meeting of senior American and Israeli officials Monday.

Senior US officials have been steadfast in their public warnings in recent weeks that Israel must not expand its military operations into southern Gaza without an executable plan to protect the many civilians who are currently sheltering in Rafah.

The fact that the US has yet to be presented with a detailed blueprint on how Israel would conduct such an operation makes it clear that if Israeli forces were to move forward with a ground incursion into Rafah at this time, Israel would be crossing the so-called “red line” that President Joe Biden warned about recently.

CNN previously reported that in Monday’s meeting, the two delegations discussed the situation in Rafah and that US officials presented to their Israeli counterparts alternatives to a major ground operation into southern Gaza.

The Russian Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus in a statement published on its website Monday.

Iran has blamed Israel for Monday’s attack. When asked if Israel was involved, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that Israel won’t comment on the attack but believes the Iranian building that was struck is a “military building of Quds forces,” with his a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims from either country.

In other reactions:

This post has been updated with Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia’s responses.

A view of the Al Jazeera logo during day two of Web Summit Qatar at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar on February, 28.

Al Jazeera on Monday condemned the Israeli decision to temporarily close down the network in Israel and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to provide any legitimate evidence to support his claims of its involvement in the October 7 attack.

The Qatar-based outlet accused Netanyahu of resorting to “inflammatory slanders” that jeopardized not only the reputation of Al Jazeera but also the safety and rights of its employees worldwide.

Here’s more reaction:

The attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday may be the most dangerous escalation outside of Gaza since the start of the Hamas-Israel war nearly six months ago.

The attack is the latest in a recent string of apparent Israeli strikes in Syria that targeted the IRGC and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. So far, the attacks have not provoked a response outside the scope of months-long skirmishes on Israel’s border with Lebanon — despite repeated threats by Iran and Hezbollah’s leadership to respond to Israeli attacks in kind.

Iran’s regional allies say they entered confrontations with Israel on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, where over 32,000 people have been killed, according to local authorities. This has boosted their regional popularity and shored up their political positions domestically. But they have sought to avoid an all-out conflagration, a relief to Washington, which has thrown its weight into preventing a regional war.

That may be an untenable position after today’s strike, which has again brought the region to the brink of an expanded war.

Biden administration officials had “no expectation” for a breakthrough with Israeli officials on the strategy for a potential ground operation in Rafah, a US official tells CNN. 

Officials from both countries participated in a two-and-a-half-hour virtual meeting on Monday. It was led by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, according to a senior administration official.

The White House sees the meeting as a series of conversations between the allies that will continue over the coming weeks. “It’s not the end-all, be-all,” the official told CNN.

During the meeting, US officials pressed their Israeli counterparts for what they see as a “better alternative” to a major ground invasion into Rafah, US officials told CNN. Still, there is acknowledgment that it will ultimately be up to the Israelis to decide how to proceed with their military operation, the officials said.

Monday’s talks come after working-level conversations between the two countries and a meeting between Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, last week. Following that visit, the Pentagon said Austin had stressed that Israel “should not proceed without a credible and implementable plan that ensures the safety of and humanitarian support for civilians sheltering” in the southern city.

The Biden administration has communicated its strong desire for alternatives to a major military operation — or an operation as targeted as possible — in Rafah, where more than a million Gazans have sought refuge, a US official said.

This post has been updated with new details about the meeting.

An Israeli air force F-15 war plane flies near the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Israel, in June 2023.

The Biden administration is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The transaction, which would amount to the largest US foreign military sale to Israel since the country went to war with Hamas on October 7, comes as the administration is also expected to notify Congress soon of a large new sale of precision-guided munitions to Israel, the people said.

The new sales of some of the US’ most sophisticated weaponry underscore the extent to which the US continues to support Israel militarily, even as Biden administration officials criticize Israel’s operations in Gaza, which have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians since October, according to the Gaza Ministry of health.

The sale is likely to be hotly debated in Congress, particularly by members of the president’s party. US weapons sales to Israel have come under intense scrutiny in recent months and Democratic lawmakers have called for restricting military aid to Israel until it allows more humanitarian aid into Gaza and does more to protect civilians there.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, the United States has made more than 100 foreign military sales to Israel. Most of those have fallen under the specific dollar amount that requires a notification to Congress, an official familiar with the matter previously told CNN.

Iran promised a “decisive” response after a deadly strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, that it blamed on Israel.

Remember: Iranian ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, accused Israel of the attacks, alleging that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.” Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that “an Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon a building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus,” causing “massive destruction.” CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Akbari said Israel’s attack was “against all international laws” and Iran “will be decisive in our response.”

Seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp officials were killed in the attack, including senior Iranian commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to an IRGC statement.

Israel response: The Israeli military would not comment on the Damascus strike, but a military spokesperson added:

The post was updated with a comment from an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson.

Seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) officials were killed in the attack on Damascus, including senior Iranian commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to an official IRGC statement.

Haji Rahimi was named as the second commander killed in the attack on Iran’s consulate building in the Syrian capital, according to the statement shared by state news agency IRNA on Monday night.

Haji Rahimi was reportedly a coordinator for the Quds Force, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News.

The IRGC statement also named five other officials who were killed:

That brings the total death toll to at least seven people. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media following talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on March 16, 2023.

Israel’s parliament approved a law on Monday that would allow the government to temporarily shut down the Al Jazeera news network in Israel.

The law gives the prime minister and the communications minister the authority to order the closure of foreign networks operating temporarily in Israel that are deemed a threat to national security.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends “to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity,” according to a post on X.

CNN reached out to the Qatar-based Al Jazeera for comment.

Separately, the United States said it will “continue to make clear” to Israel that it supports “the work that the free press does,” including Al Jazeera, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“We think the work that the independent free press does is important everywhere in the world, and much of what we know about what has happened in Gaza is because of reporters who are there doing their jobs, including reporters from Al Jazeera,” Miller said Monday.

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes, which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy, in Damascus, Syria, on Monday.

A top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been killed in an airstrike on the country’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, according to Iranian officials and state-affiliated media, which blamed Israel for the attack.

Iranian Quds Force commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was among those killed in the incident on Monday, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.

Speaking to reporters in Damascus, Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari alleged that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.”

Akbari added that Iranian diplomatic staff and military advisers were killed in the attack, and their names will be announced later. In a separate interview later on Monday, he said two Syrian policemen were among the people injured.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims or casualty figures. 

Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that “an Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon a building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus,” causing “massive destruction.”

Asked for comment on the incident by CNN, the Israel Defense Forces said it does not comment on foreign reports. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, published by Iranian state media Press TV, showed damage to the building, fire and smoke at the scene.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria also accused Israel of authoring the attack, with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian calling it a “violation of all international obligations and conventions” and demanding a “serious response by the international community. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad described the alleged attack a “gross violation of international regulations, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” according to a readout of his call with Amir-Abdollahian.

Zahedi, the slain commander, was previously the commander of IRGC’s ground forces, the commander of IRGC’s air force, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operations.

This post was updated with more details on the casualties in Damascus.

The United Nations is planning a mission to Al-Shifa Hospital as soon as it is “allowed to help people receive medical attention and to assess the facility,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday.

The announcement comes after Israel ended its 14-day siege on Gaza’s largest hospital on Monday.

At least 300 bodies have been uncovered there so far, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, and one witness described the destructive aftermath as like a scene from a “horror movie.” 

The United Nations also said a WHO team visited the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza on Sunday when a tent camp inside the compound was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

On Sunday, Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs, called for attempts to sideline the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) — to stop.

He called UNRWA “the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza” and added in his post on X that “any effort to distribute aid without them is simply doomed to fail.” He added, “No other agency has the same reach, experience or community trust needed to do the job.”

People inspect the damage at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza on April 1.

Media reports of the aftermath of Israel’s operation inside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza demonstrate “the need for Israel to have a sustainable long-term strategy” for the aftermath of the war, the United States State Department said Monday.

Miller elaborated that the US still has not seen such a plan from Israel.

Witnesses and Palestinian officials say the Israeli operation left buildings largely destroyed and bodies strewn across the hospital complex. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed its withdrawal Monday, saying its troops had killed Hamas militants, and seized weaponry and intelligence documents.

Miller also said that while the US “generally” does not want to see Israel operating in hospitals inside Gaza, “it is concerning that after Israel had conducted an operation earlier in this campaign to clear Al-Shifa that Al-Shifa again was apparently infiltrated by Hamas fighters.”

“It would be great if Hamas would stop hiding behind civilians and stop hiding inside civilian infrastructure,” he added.

The White House confirmed that senior US and Israeli officials are meeting virtually today as the Biden administration works to dissuade the Israeli government from a large military incursion into Gaza’s densely populated city of Rafah. 

The officials are also going to discuss “alternative ways of going after Hamas,” she said. “I think it’s important that it happen as quickly as it did even though it’s virtual. And we’ll certainly have more to share.”

It is taking place after a previously scheduled meeting was called off by the Israeli government after the US declined to block a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Meanwhile tomorrow: President Joe Biden is expected to host a significantly scaled down iftar dinner at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate Ramadan, three sources familiar with the plans tell CNN. Several people who were invited to the dinner have declined, sources said, citing frustration with the administration’s support of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, senior White House aides, and less than dozen invited guests are expected to attend the small gathering, a senior administration official said. Officials are hoping that the dinner will provide an opportunity for the guests to directly speak with the president and share their concerns about the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to a senior administration official. 

CNN’s Khalil Abdallah, Camila DeChalus, and Betsy Klein contributed reporting to this post.