Our live coverage of Israel's war against Hamas has moved here.
January 16, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
By Chris Lau, Sana Noor Haq, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury and Amir Vera, CNN
French leader explains decision not to join US-led strikes on Houthis
From CNN’s Dalal Mawad
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said his country did not join US-led airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen to avoid escalation in the region.
But French forces would continue work to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, he said.
"We interrupted missiles and drones which were going to strike Norwegian ships. And so we act to protect our own equipment and the equipment of our allies,” Macron said at a news conference in Paris.
France joined a multinational naval task force in December to protect ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
On Tuesday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a Greek-owned vessel it said was headed toward Israel. Hours earlier, the US military launched new strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
People flee largest hospital in Khan Younis as Israeli forces approach, doctors and journalists say
From CNN's Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman, Alex Marquardt and Hamdi Alkhshali
Israeli forces are moving toward the largest hospital in Khan Younis, prompting patients and people taking shelter there to flee, according to international doctors working there and local journalists capturing events on camera.
Multiple videos show dozens of people carrying blankets, mattresses and other personal belongings leaving the Al Nasser Hospital compound in the southern Gaza Strip.
Women can be seen carrying children in their arms, while one man carries a boy on his shoulders. The sounds of bombardment and small arms fire can be heard in the background.
Several videos show nearly explosions from likely air strikes.
An American doctor, Thaer Ahmad, one of a team of US and British doctors from the medical humanitarian non-governmental organization MedGlobal working at the hospital, told CNN the Israeli military was getting closer.
"The hospital is shaking and there is panic," said Ahmad, an emergency medicine physician based in Chicago, in a voice note sent to CNN on which the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.
"So many of the (internally displaced people) around the hospital have begun walking on foot away from the hospital," he added.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said Hamas had recently carried out a launch toward Israel from within the Al Nasser Hospital compound.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of exploiting civilians as human shields by using hospitals and nearby areas as military sites.
Kibbutz announces deaths of 2 Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 7
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Lauren Iszo
Two Israeli men held hostage in Gaza since October 7, and featured in recent videos released by Hamas, have died, according to short statements from their home village released on Tuesday.
Kibbutz Be’eri announced the deaths of Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky in separate statements released with the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum headquarters.
Sharabi, 53, was "a loving and devoted father and husband, a real family man with a big heart," the kibbutz statement said. "A kind soul, he was caring and known for his dedication to all those around him."
Originally from Tel Aviv, Sharabi moved to Kibbutz Be'eri 30 years ago, "following in the footsteps of his brother Eli, as he wanted to embrace the communal lifestyle there," the kibbutz said.
He leaves behind a wife and three daughters. Sharabi's brother Eli was also kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Be'eri and is still held captive by Hamas.
Eli's wife and daughters were murdered in the October 7 massacre, according to the kibbutz.
Sharabi's body is still being held by Hamas, the kibbutz said. It called on the Israeli government to do “everything possible to bring the Sharabi family back home, as well as the other hostages."
In a separate statement, Kibbutz Be’eri also announced the death of Itai Svirsky.
"Our hearts go out to the family in their immense pain," the kibbutz said. "May his memory be a blessing."
Svirsky's body is also still held by Hamas, the kibbutz said, adding "we will demand its return with the rest of our abductees."
The announcement of the two men’s deaths came a day after the Israeli military expressed grave concerns about their fate following the release of a video by Hamas claiming to show their dead bodies.
Israel’s defense minister said Hamas was practicing “psychological torment” by releasing videos of hostages.
CNN's Andrew Carey, Amir Tal and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
Biden administration expected to re-classify Yemeni militant group Houthis as a global terrorist entity
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The Biden administration is expected to re-classify the Yemeni militant group, Houthis, as a global terrorist entity amid continued attacks in the Red Sea, a source familiar told CNN on Tuesday.
The administration removed the Houthis' Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDTG) designation and de-listed it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in February 2021, after it was designated by the Trump administration in its final weeks.
At the time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the decision to remove the group’s designations was driven by concerns that it could imperil the ability to deliver crucial assistance to the people of Yemen.
He said it was "a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen."
Both the SDGT and FTO designations trigger an asset freeze, but only an FTO designation imposes immigration restrictions on members, according to the State Department.
The SDGT designation also does not impose sanctions on those who provide "material support" to the group.
As of Tuesday, the administration was not reimposing the FTO designation.
Pressure has grown on the administration to reimpose the designations as the Iranian-backed militia carries out attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
Last week, the United States and the United Kingdom launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
More than 10,500 children killed in Gaza since October, Hamas-run health ministry says. Read more on the war
From CNN staff
At least 10,600 children have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Tuesday.
“The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression has exceeded 24,285, of which 75% are children, women, and elderly people. (+10,600 children, 7,200 women, and 1,049 elderly people),” the ministry said.
At least 158 people were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, and 320 others were wounded, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health added Tuesday.
CNN cannot independently verify the ministry's number due to restrictions on reporting from a war zone.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that more than 9,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters. CNN also cannot confirm this figure.
Here are the latest developments:
- Hamas fires rockets into Israel: Around 25 rockets were fired into southern Israel from Gaza on Tuesday, the IDF told CNN. The rockets were fired toward the southern town of Netivot and most were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. No injuries were reported. One of the largest in weeks, the barrage showed that Hamas is still capable of firing rockets into Israel. This also comes as the IDF announced one of its army divisions exited the enclave Monday.
- Deal brokered for Israeli hostages to receive medicine: Qatar announced it brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas for the delivery of medicine to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine and humanitarian aid to civilians in the most affected areas of the enclave, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted to its X account on Tuesday.
- Gaza experiences near-total internet blackout for nearly 4 days: A near-total internet blackout in the Gaza Strip has now passed 96 hours, according to the internet monitoring site Netblocks. It is the longest sustained telecoms internet disruption on record in Gaza since the onset of the conflict, Netblocks reports, with most residents unable to contact the outside world since January 12.
- Houthis claim responsibility for targeting Greek-owned vessel: The Yemeni militant group, the Houthis, claimed responsibility for an attack on a Greek-owned vessel they said was headed toward Israel on Tuesday. Hours earlier, the US military launched new strikes against alleged Houthi targets in Yemen. Meanwhile, the US Transportation Department issued an alert to American merchant ships on Monday, advising them to steer clear of the southern part of the Red Sea until further notice.
- Blinken acknowledges internal complaints: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has, for the first time, publicly acknowledged that he has received complaints through the State Department's dissent channel about the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza.
Iraqi minister denies Israel's Mossad operating in Kurdistan region. His remarks follow Iran missile attack
From CNN’s Becky Anderson, Brooke Jenner and Celine Alkhaldi
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Tuesday that no Mossad-affiliated centers are operating in Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Mossad is Israel's intelligence agency.
This comes a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles to strike several locations in Erbil, targeting what it claims was a “spy headquarters and the gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups."
Hussein told CNN’s Becky Anderson the IRGC attacked “civilian areas” in Erbil, including a house, and that all those killed and injured in the attack were Iraqi Kurds.
Hussein, who is also Iraq’s deputy prime minister for international relations, condemned the attacks and said he considers it “an aggression, and violation of international law.”
Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has submitted a complaint in the form of two identical letters to the UN Security Council and the UN secretary-general in regards to "the Iranian missile aggression that targeted the city of Erbil and led to innocent civilian casualties, injury to others, and damage to public and private property."
"This aggression is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of the Iraqi people," the statement read.
Hussein said the tension between Iran and Israel is playing out on Iraqi soil.
“The Iranians don’t want to or cannot attack Israel. They search for victims around them, and so they attack Erbil,” Hussein said.
Hussein said Iraqis “are paying the price” for Iran’s tension with Israel, as well as with the United States.
At least four civilians were killed and six others injured in the IRGC’s attacks on locations in Erbil Monday, the Security Council of the Kurdistan Region said Tuesday.
Deal brokered for Israeli hostages in Gaza to receive medicine, Qatar's foreign ministry says
From CNN’s Eyad Kourdi
Qatar announced it brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas for the delivery of medicine to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine and humanitarian aid to civilians in the most affected areas of the enclave, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted to its X account on Tuesday.
"Medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza," the statement from the Qatari ministry said.
The agreement was reached in cooperation with France, according to the statement, adding that the medications and aid will depart from "Doha tomorrow for the city of Al-Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, on board two Qatari Armed Forces aircraft, in preparation for their transport into the Gaza Strip,” the ministry added.
It is unclear when the medicine is expected to reach Gaza.
Gaza experiences near-total internet blackout for more than 96 hours, monitoring site reports
From CNN's Eyad Kourdi, Kareem Khaddar and Celine Alkhaldi
A near-total internet blackout in the Gaza Strip has now passed 96 hours, according to the internet monitoring site Netblocks.
It is the longest sustained telecoms internet disruption on record in Gaza since the onset of the conflict, Netblocks reports, with most residents unable to contact the outside world since January 12.
The Hamas-run government office in Gaza said the communications disruption makes it harder for the emergency services still functioning to reach people wounded in airstrikes.
At least 80% of the communications sector has been destroyed already and technical crews who carry out reparation work are constantly targeted “despite prior coordination through international institutions,” the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Monday.
On Friday, mobile network Ooredoo Palestine said its main telecommunication and internet lines had sustained damage in Israeli attacks, leading to the complete shutdown of services in the southern and central areas of Gaza. Another large Palestinian telecommunications company, Paltel, also announced Friday that all telecom services in Gaza Strip were cut off due to the “ongoing aggression.”
Israel did not respond to CNN’s multiple requests for comment on the communications blackout.