April 16, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

The US Navy has spent nearly $1 billion on munitions to thwart “over 130 direct attacks” on US military and merchant ships in the Middle East over the past six months, the US Navy Secretary said Tuesday.

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro urged lawmakers on Tuesday to pass the supplemental national security package to replenish munitions.

“The munitions that are critical to these counterstrikes are extremely important to the Department of the Navy," Del Toro said.

"We currently have approaching $1 billion in munitions that we need to replenish at some point in time. So therefore, the over $2 billion that’s provided for in the supplemental is direly critical to our Navy and Marine Corps to be able to replenish those munitions and continue to provide the types of defensive measures that we have this past six and a half months now.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi about regional tensions in the Middle East, after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes from its soil directly on Israel for the first time.

The Kremlin described an “aggravated situation," after Israel and its allies intercepted missiles released by Iran over the weekend. Tehran said the attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

Putin “expressed the hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation, fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region.”

“In turn, Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature. At the same time, he emphasized Tehran’s disinterest in further escalation of tensions,” the Kremlin added.

A meeting between Israeli war cabinet officials over their response to Iran's retaliatory strikes has concluded, an Israeli official told CNN. The source did not give any additional details about the talks.

The discussion, which began 12:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET), was the fifth set of talks held by the war cabinet since the weekend, when Tehran launched a barrage of missiles in retaliation to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, in Syria.

Regional leaders and allies of Israel have called for restraint as Israel plans its response, in high-stakes efforts to minimize a wider escalation over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.

It added that "Ismail served as a senior and veteran official in several positions of Hezbollah's military wing. His current rank is equivalent to a brigade commander."

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that Ismail had been killed in southern Lebanon. 

A young Palestinian girl hungrily bites into a meat-filled wrap at a displacement shelter in southern Gaza, her eyes wide with gratitude.

In another scene from the Instagram video, posted by Hamada Shaqoura in March, the girl feeds a little boy the same sandwich. Their shadows dance in the golden glow of the Gazan sun.

Shaqoura, a Palestinian food blogger displaced in the Gaza Strip, says he cooks on a gas stove and distributes meals using tinned food from aid parcels and other fresh ingredients, to bring joy to displaced children.

“I wanted to make new things for a change and to present new flavors. When I made my first attempt and saw the children's happiness... I was pleased and felt that as a food blogger, I could provide something of value under these difficult circumstances,” the 32-year-old told CNN on April 6.

Shaqoura, who is displaced with his 25-year-old pregnant wife, Lamis, started posting viral clips of his creations on social media. He cooks a variety of dishes ranging from tuna stew, beef tacos and pasta. Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza have drained essential supplies, exposing the entire population of more than 2.2 million people to the risk of famine.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts upholding "tranquility and peace," as world leaders seek to contain the risk of a wider regional war.

Shoukry told CNN’s Becky Anderson that the tit-for-tat reciprocal targeting between Israel and Iran is “in no way conducive to dealing with the long-standing issues and conflicts in the region.”

Regional tensions flare: It came after Iran launched a salvo of strikes on Israel over the weekend, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus, in Syria. As Israeli officials discuss their response, regional officials and Israel's allies have warned against an escalation in tensions over Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Talks on securing a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza are ongoing, according to Shoukry. 

Israeli offensive in Rafah: Israel has delayed plans for an expected ground invasion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where most Palestinians were forced to flee Israel's bombardment. When asked if Egypt could temporarily allow the entrance of Gazan refugees in the wake of military action in Rafah, Shoukry said Egypt will continue to act in the best interests of the Palestinian people. The mass displacement of Palestinians caused by Israeli military action in Rafah would amount to "a war crime," he added.

At least 46 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health there reported on Tuesday, raising the total death toll to 33,843 people.

The ministry said that 76,575 Palestinians have been wounded. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.

As of April 13, according to the ministry:

Human rights warnings: The UN warned that "huge swathes of Gaza have been bombed into oblivion," as Israel's military offensive in the enclave surpassed six months.

"The violations of international law committed since 7 October in Israel and Gaza, including gross violations of international human rights law... by all parties to the conflict, as well as the destruction and suffering of civilians in Gaza over the last six months, are unprecedented," the UN added, in a statement in April.

More than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since Israel's war with Hamas began in October, according to estimates by UN Women in a report published Tuesday. 

The report said more than 1 million Palestinian women and girls in the Strip are facing "catastrophic hunger," with almost no access to food, safe drinking water, functioning toilets or running water, creating life-threatening risks.

"One child is injured or dies every 10 minutes," it added.

The IDF has said that it tries to reduce harm to civilians in Gaza.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to Israel Tuesday in an attempt to de-escalate the Israel-Iran conflict, following Iran's unprecedented strikes on Israel Sunday.

“It is incredibly important for us as the German government in these fragile times that we all work together to contribute to de-escalation for the entire region," Baerbock said during a joint news conference with her Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, in Berlin.

She accused Iran of not being interested in regional peace and said it wanted to add fuel to the fire.

Baerbock's visit to Israel will be her eighth trip the region since October 7. She also said she hoped recent talks between Israel and Hamas could bring about "the long-awaited sustainable ceasefire."