January 26, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A new video released by Hamas' militant wing, Al Qassam Brigades, shows three female Israeli hostages in an apparent attempt to ramp up pressure on Israeli leaders amid reports of a hostage deal being on the table. 

The video, released on Telegram, opens with an animation of an hourglass with the three women's pictures on it, and text reading, "Time is running out, more than 107 days have passed, before it is too late." Then, there are heavily edited clips of each of the three hostages speaking.

Nineteen-year-old soldiers Karina Ariev and Daniel Gilboa, and 30-year-old Doron Steinbrecher call on the Israeli government for their release and are likely speaking under duress. 

This latest video, like previous hostage videos from the militant group, is highly produced and edited with jump cuts connecting soundbites from the hostages together. The videos also include dramatized sound effects, transitions and graphics — an example of Hamas' tactics involving using hostages as leverage and taunting the captives' families, in what the Israeli military has previously referred to as "psychological torment."

CNN is not airing the video, and it is not immediately possible to verify when and where it was filmed.

There are no "imminent developments" on an agreement to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, the White House says, even amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to reach a deal.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described ongoing talks as productive but not yet reaching the point of success.

He said on Friday, Biden had spoken to Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as well as Qatar's emir to discuss ongoing hostage talks and that the US is doing "everything we can to facilitate another hostage deal just like we did back in November."

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, was returning to Washington on Friday from meetings in the region, Kirby said. He described those talks as a "good set of discussions."

The 17-judge panel of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued emergency measures ordering Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent acts that could fall foul of the Genocide Convention.

It comes as at least 26,083 people have been killed and 64,000 injured by Israeli attacks in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Here's more about the preliminary ruling and other latest news from the war in Gaza:

What UN's top court ordered: The ICJ made a preliminary ruling with six emergency measures in the genocide case South Africa filed against Israel. It said Israel must “ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts” that could go against the Genocide Convention. The court’s decisions are binding and cannot be appealed, but it has no way of enforcing them.

The reaction from involved parties: Israel, South Africa and Palestinians welcomed the ruling, even though no one got what they asked for. It rejected Israel’s request for the case to be thrown out, but it also stopped short of ordering Israel to halt the war as South Africa has asked. A number of countries in the Middle East — including Qatar, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — also said they approved of the ruling.

US pauses funding to main UN relief agency in Gaza: The US State Department "has temporarily paused additional funding" to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East amid allegations that some of the UN agency’s employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, spokesperson Matt Miller announced Friday. The commissioner general of the agency terminated the contracts of the individuals in question and said they will be investigated.

Meanwhile, in Gaza: Israel's siege on hospitals in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis continued for the fifth day, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, aid workers and doctors, as the Israel Defense Forces said that Hamas militants were operating in them. The IDF had issued an evacuation call, but eyewitnesses say that civilians were shot at whenever they tried moving locations. In a video obtained by CNN, Mohammaed El Helo, a journalist in Khan Younis, is seen running while carrying a bleeding man on his shoulders. Israeli forces “don’t distinguish between one and another. They target everybody,” he said.

And in Israel, Netanyahu faces domestic opposition: More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, celebrated scientists and prominent business leaders have sent a letter to Israel’s president and speaker of parliament demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office for posing what they say is an “existential” threat to the country. They say Netanyahu is responsible for “creating the circumstances” that led to the massacre in Israel on October 7. “The victim’s blood is on Netanyahu’s hands,” the letter reads. It comes as other political figures have also called for fresh elections, saying the public has no trust in its government.

Efforts to release hostages: US President Joe Biden has deployed his point person on hostage talks to Europe for multiparty talks on the contours of a possible agreement — the latest in a spate of recent diplomatic efforts to free the more than 100 hostages held in Gaza while brokering a prolonged pause in fighting. CIA Director Bill Burns’ meetings over the coming days with the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister are a sign of ongoing progress as the White House presses for a deal. However, officials voiced caution that discussions so far have been volatile, and that hurdles remain in coming to a deal that all sides can agree on.

The US State Department said Friday’s International Court of Justice ruling is consistent with the Biden administration’s position that Israel must do more to protect civilians. 

The ruling is also in line with the US view that Israel has a right to defend itself and "to take action to ensure the terrorist attacks of October 7 cannot be repeated, in accordance with international law,” according to the spokesperson.

The official added that the US maintains “that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a ceasefire in its ruling and that it called for the unconditional, immediate release of all hostages being held by Hamas."

The Palestinian militant group Hamas welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its ruling on South Africa's request to impose emergency measures against Israel over its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Friday, Hamas urged the international community to enforce the court's decisions, demanding a cessation of the "crime of genocide" against the Palestinian people.

Friday's decision by the ICJ is not a ruling on whether Israel’s actions constitute genocide. 

The ICJ also said on Friday it is necessary to reaffirm that all parties to the conflict in Gaza are bound by international humanitarian law and has called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. 

A historic ruling by the United Nations’ top court in a genocide case against Israel on Friday was welcomed by the three main parties it involved: Israel, South Africa and the Palestinians. But at the same time, no one got what they asked for.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, ordered Israel to “take all measures” to prevent genocide in Gaza after South Africa accused Israel of violating international laws on genocide in its war in the territory.

ICJ ruling: It rejected Israel’s request for the case to be thrown out, but it also stopped short of ordering Israel to halt the war as South Africa has asked.

Many Israelis hailed the ruling on Friday as a win for the Jewish state. Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, said the court “dismissed (South Africa’s) ridiculous demand to tell Israel to stop defending its people and fighting for the hostages.” Avi Mayer, the former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post called it “a devastating blow to those accusing the Jewish state of ‘genocide.’”

Shelly Aviv Yeini, head of the international law department at Israel’s Haifa University, called the ruling an "expected outcome, and something that Israel will be able to comply with." She said Israel would have “struggled to live” with a ceasefire order that doesn’t guarantee the return of the captives.

Efforts to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza and broker a prolonged pause in fighting are at an important juncture as US President Joe Biden deploys his point person on hostage talks to Europe for multiparty talks on the contours of a possible agreement.

CIA Director Bill Burns’ meetings over the coming days with the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister are a sign of ongoing progress as the White House presses for a deal.

Whether they prove decisive in striking an agreement remains to be seen, and officials voiced caution that discussions so far have been volatile, and that hurdles remain in coming to a deal that all sides can agree on.

The talks are the latest in a spate of recent diplomatic efforts to free the more than 100 remaining hostages while moving toward a more prolonged cessation of hostilities. The flurry of activity amounts to the most intensive effort in months to strike an agreement that could significantly alter the trajectory of the war in Gaza.

US officials are now hopeful for a much longer cessation in the fighting, believing it could provide space for more humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza as well as continued discussions about the future of Israel’s campaign against Hamas and the future of Gaza.

The CIA declined to comment on Burns' travel.

Read more about the efforts and obstacles.

CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis contributed reporting.

An Israeli military siege on hospitals in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is now in its fifth day, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said Friday their intelligence indicated that "Hamas terrorists" were operating from inside the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals.

Here's the situation on the ground:

Al-Amal Hospital: “Fragments of shrapnel” are going through the walls of the Al-Amal Hospital building, which is surrounded by Israeli tanks, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, the aid agency that is also headquartered at the hospital. A house just outside the eastern gate of the Al-Amal hospital was targeted by the Israeli military, PRCS said, causing “extensive material damage” to the hospital building. 

Nasser Hospital: Most doctors have left the facility — only 12 surgeons and some other medical staff remain, Dr. Ahmad Moghrabi said in a video statement from the hospital. “What is going on at the hospital is a real horror. There is shelling all around, gunshot sounds,” he said. It has completely run out of food, anesthetics and painkillers, the health ministry spokesperson Qudra said. There are 150 health workers, 350 patients and hundreds of displaced people there now, he added.

What footage shows: In a video obtained and geolocated by CNN, several people — some injured — are carrying their belongings and appear to be scrambling to leave the premises of Nasser Hospital, fearing an imminent attack after the evacuation order, which was issued by the Israeli army on Friday. The calls for evacuation included residents of several neighborhoods west of the city of Khan Younis. They were asked to go to the nearby coastal area of Al-Mawasi.

What eyewitnesses say: Eyewitnesses in Khan Younis said they were shot at whenever they tried moving locations. Mohammaed El Helo, a journalist in Khan Younis, said Friday in a video obtained by CNN that the Israeli military is “hitting civilians directly and in a systemic way as they cross the safe corridor.” El Helo is seen running in the video, carrying a bleeding man on his shoulders. Around him are hundreds of people also running and searching for safety. El Helo said Israeli forces “don’t distinguish between one and another. They target everybody.”

What the IDF says: The IDF has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the claims made by health officials and eyewitnesses in Khan Younis, including allegations they have shot at civilians. In a statement Friday, the IDF said it is carrying out “precise operations” against Hamas in Khan Younis, and that it is liaising with hospital directors in Khan Younis to ensure the hospitals remain operational.  

The US State Department "has temporarily paused additional funding" to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East amid allegations that some of the UN agency’s employees were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel, spokesperson Matt Miller announced Friday.

“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on January 25 to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter,” Miller said in a statement. 

Miller said the US has contacted the Israeli government for more information about the allegations and has briefed members of Congress. The department also welcomed “the UN’s announcement of a ‘comprehensive and independent’ review of UNRWA,” Miller said.

“UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support,” he said. “Their work has saved lives, and it is important that UNRWA address these allegations and take any appropriate corrective measures, including reviewing its existing policies and procedures.”

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked the US for holding the UN agency "accountable," and said "major changes" need to take place now to ensure that "international efforts, funds, and humanitarian initiatives" do not bolster Hamas. 

This post has been updated with additional information from Gallant.

CNN's Lauren Iszo and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.