January 27, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

More than two dozen men are sitting and kneeling on the wet, cold ground near the Israel-Gaza border – blindfolded and barefoot, their hands bound behind their backs. Israeli soldiers, their faces obscured by balaclavas, are standing guard. 

This was the scene CNN found in southern Israel near the Gaza border on Saturday morning, filming rare footage of Palestinian men detained by Israeli forces in Gaza and brought across the border to Israel.

Some of the men appear to be physically exhausted, with their heads falling and swaying as they attempt to remain kneeling. One detainee is laying on the ground before an Israeli soldier arrives to rouse him, propping him back up. The men are barefoot and appear to be wearing nothing more than disposable white coveralls, despite the 10-degree Celsius temperature (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Israeli military said the men are “suspected of terrorist activity and were arrested in Gaza and transferred to Israel for further interrogation.”

The IDF said the men filmed on Saturday had been brought into Israel from Gaza and were about to be transferred to a “heated bus” when CNN filmed the scene, and maintained that detainees are treated in accordance with international law.

A bus was waiting nearby, but CNN could not confirm when the men were put onto the bus, as an Israeli soldier at the scene ordered CNN to leave the premises within minutes.

Detained Palestinians: The Israeli military has detained hundreds – if not thousands – of Palestinian boys and men (and in some cases, women) in Gaza as its ground forces swept through the enclave, often transferring them to detention sites in Israel and holding them for days without charge. Many of those detained have been identified as civilians by friends and relatives after images of their detention surfaced online.

Many detainees have alleged abuse at the hands of Israeli forces, including several Palestinian boys and men who told CNN in December they were detained for five days before being ultimately released without charge, emerging with bruised and swollen wrists. At the time, the Israeli military said: "The individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law" and that "the IDF strives to treat any detainee with dignity. Any incident in which the guidelines were not followed will be looked into.”

Watch Jeremy Diamond's report below:

More countries joined a growing list Saturday of governments temporarily pausing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after allegations that 12 staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel.

The countries include:

In a statement shared with CNN, the UK foreign office said it was "appalled" by the allegations and awaiting results of the UN's internal investigation.

The Finnish foreign ministry said Saturday it had suspended its funding of 5 million euros (around $5.4 million US) per year due to the "serious allegations."

Germany's Foreign Ministry said it will "temporarily not approve" of any new funds for the organization, but other humanitarian aid will continue, with a recent 7 million euro (about $7.6 million US) increase in funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN International Children's Emergency Fund.

Hamas condemns Israeli "threats": Hamas said in an official statement released Saturday that it condemns Israel's "threats and blackmail" against the UNRWA. The group criticized the relief agency's decision to fire the accused employees in Gaza and called for an "impartial investigation" into Israel's allegations.

Hamas also slammed a claim made by Israel's UN ambassador that the World Health Organization is in “collusion” with the Hamas movement, calling that a "hollow accusation," and stressing the importance of these agencies in providing aid in the besieged enclave.

This post has been updated to add countries that are halting funding.

CNN's Ibrahim Hazboun and Lauren Kent contributed reporting to this post.

The father of a Palestinian American teenager criticized US President Joe Biden's administration Saturday for its handling of his 17-year-old son's killing in the West Bank last week.

Speaking on CNN, Hafiz Abdel Jabbar addressed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking what he should tell his young daughter about the death of her brother, Tawfic.  

What we know about the shooting: It is not yet clear who fired the shots that killed Tawfic on Friday, January 19.

Last week, Israeli authorities told CNN they received a report that an off-duty police officer and an Israeli civilian fired toward a "Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks" in the West Bank neighborhood where Tawfic, a former Louisiana resident, lived.

Abdel Jabbar says there is no way his son could have thrown rocks at them from where he was located at the time of the shooting.

An IDF soldier was also in the area at the time of the shooting, and has been accused of firing at the person killed, the IDF said in a statement. Israel has said that claim, as well as the entire incident, will be investigated.

Abdel Jabbar said he has video evidence of the killing, which he has sent to the US Consulate and some senators.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed facilities of the main United Nations relief agency in Gaza were used for "terrorist purposes" in a statement to CNN on Saturday.

During a probe into the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, investigators found evidence "incriminating several UNRWA employees for their alleged involvement in the massacre, along with evidence pointing to the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorist purposes," the IDF said.

Remember: On Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said it was immediately terminating the contracts of employees Israel had accused of being involved in the Hamas attacks.

The UN says it is conducting an investigation into the matter, while the US and a growing list of other nations have suspending their funding for the agency.

UNRWA responds: When asked about the Israeli military's claim on the use of its facilities, the UNRWA told CNN in a statement, "We don’t have more information on this at this stage," and that the internal oversight body of the UN was looking into all the allegations as part of its investigation.

Pictures released by the Indian Navy show the aftermath of a missile attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden by Houthi rebels Friday — the latest incident linked to the Iran-backed group in the key shipping route off the coast of Yemen.

The images show the British-linked vessel, Marlin Luanda, ablaze. No injuries have been reported.

Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza is running out of its supply of blood, anesthesia and other stress medications, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said Saturday.

The shortage of blood is “severe and dangerous,” ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra warned in a statement.

Nasser is the main medical center in the city of Khan Younis, which has been a flashpoint area in recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. The southern city's hospital facilities have been "under siege" as the Israeli military intensifies operations there over the past week, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The Israeli military says Hamas was operating in the area from inside the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals. CNN cannot independently verify those claims.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday that it is carrying out “precise operations” against Hamas and is liaising with hospital directors in Khan Younis to ensure the hospitals remain operational. But the PRCS claimed Saturday that the IDF has not made efforts to communicate with hospital administration.

Fewer than half of the 36 hospitals in Gaza are still partially functioning, the United Nations said Thursday.

The leader of a Palestinian political party has condemned countries that are pausing aid to the main United Nations agency in Gaza, in response to claims some of its workers participated in the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, specifically called out the US, Canada, Italy and Australia in a post on social media for what he called the "shameful" decision to suspend support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Barghouti criticized the governments taking this action despite taking "no punitive acts against Israel which killed 102 of UNRWA aid and health workers in Gaza." 

Some context: The UN said last November that at least 102 UNRWA workers had been killed in Gaza since October 7, but CNN cannot independently verify Barghouti's claim they were all killed by Israeli forces.

As of January 19, UNRWA said the death toll had increased to 151 of its workers.

The UN agency has fired staff members allegedly involved in the Hamas attacks, and said it is launching an investigation into the matter.

Israel and UNRWA have not specified the nature of the alleged involvement of the organization's employees.

Many Arab Americans and Muslim voters who have spoken to CNN say they will not vote for US President Joe Biden’s reelection efforts due to his unwavering support of Israel and failure to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

In the last presidential election cycle, Biden received the backing of several prominent Muslim American elected officials and community leaders. But this time around, many are skeptical – and angry.

The Abandon Biden campaign was created in Minnesota after a group of Muslim Americans demanded the president call for a ceasefire by October 31. And when Biden didn’t respond to these calls to support a permanent halt in fighting, the group vowed to campaign against him.

At least 146,620 of the 200,000 Muslim American voters in Michigan cast a ballot in the 2020 election cycle, according to an analysis by Emgage. In 2020, Biden won Michigan by three percentage points over Trump. Four years prior, Trump won the state over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 0.2 percentage points.

Read more about the views of Muslim and Arab Americans toward the Biden campaign as the war in Gaza continues.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says its medical workers are living in a "state of terror and panic," and has once again accused Israel of besieging its headquarters and a southern Gaza hospital.

The PRCS condemned the “siege and targeting” of Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis “for the sixth consecutive day” in a statement released Saturday, calling on the international community to shield its aid workers.

The aid group called the situation part of a "series of systematic attacks" on the organization and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. The PRCS has previously said its headquarters and the hospital are "under siege" by Israel. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for a response to the latest claims. It has previously claimed Hamas was operating in the area from inside the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals.

PRCS disputed those claims Saturday as "false," and said the IDF has not made efforts to communicate with hospital administration.

CNN cannot independently verify either side's claims about the situation at the hospital due to the difficulties of reporting from the war zone.