January 30, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The most powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq announced on Tuesday the suspension of its military operations against US forces, two days after a drone attack killed three US service members and wounded dozens of others in Jordan. 

The group is considered the most powerful armed faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of a number of Iran-backed militias in the country. The US holds Iran broadly responsible for arming and supporting these groups and has specifically singled out Kataib Hezbollah as likely to have carried out the deadly attack on Sunday.

Asked about the statement, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a briefing Tuesday:

The US has carried out a series of strikes in Iraq and Syria since the start of the war in Gaza targeting Kataib Hezbollah and other groups in response to attacks on US interests in the region. Even so, the attacks have persisted. US troops in the Middle East have come under attack approximately 166 times since October, US officials said. 

The chief of staff of Israel's military said it will not allow hospitals to become a “cover for terrorism” after special undercover forces infiltrated the Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and killed three Palestinian men, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi claimed that the men were involved in a terrorist cell planning to carry out a “serious attack” on Israeli civilians.

The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as shelters to plan operations and as “human shields.” Hamas has previously denied such allegations.

In his address to IDF reservists, Halevi said that the Israeli military will “enter even the most complex places to eliminate terrorism, to harm terrorism, to strike terrorists.”

The United Kingdom will consider recognizing a Palestinian state to help end the war with Israel, the country's foreign secretary said Monday.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron told a Westminster reception for Arab ambassadors in London that the move would help to make a two-state solution an “irreversible” process to end the war, according to the UK’s Press Association news agency (PA).

It follows Cameron's written remarks earlier this week, in which he said:

Amid a fresh US push for a two-state solution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian sovereignty suggesting Israel’s security needs would be incompatible with Palestinian statehood.

The fate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is going to be one of many hurdles for Dutch diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who has been charged by the UN Security Council with getting life-saving aid into the devastated enclave on a faster timetable. 

Dozens of countries have announced temporary suspensions of aid to the beleaguered UN humanitarian agency in Gaza and the region after 12 UNRWA staff members were accused of joining the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Kaag, who once worked for UNRWA, held her first briefing for the Security Council behind closed doors Tuesday morning in New York.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters after the meeting that “the Council once again just endorsed her efforts and I’m here to say that I’m certain she is really the right person for the job. Now, she needs continued backing of the Council and the entire international community. She needs the support of the United Nations.” 

“Her success is the UN’s success. It is the council’s success. And her work is essential,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

Kaag will visit Washington, DC, on Wednesday before returning to the Middle East.

The first steps to moving forward with a United Nations assessment mission to northern Gaza are expected to take place in the next few days, according to the US State Department.

Spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday that security and road conditions need to first be checked to ensure that the full assessment mission can be carried out safely. 

The planned assessment mission was delayed “because of a renewed outbreak in fighting in the north,” Miller said at a briefing. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced earlier this month that Israel had agreed to allow such a mission to move forward to “determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely to homes in the north.”

The United States has put about $300,000 in funding to the United Nations' main aid agency in Gaza on hold as the UN investigates allegations that staff of the agency were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday.

That funding to UNRWA was due to be delivered in the coming weeks. The US announced last week it was temporarily suspending funding after the allegations came to light. There could theoretically be more funding that is impacted by the pause, depending on how much money is authorized by Congress for the fiscal year, Miller explained.

The US has provided about $121 million to UNRWA this fiscal year, Miller said at a State Department briefing.

Miller stressed the need for a thorough investigation into the allegations. He also emphasized the important role that UNRWA plays in Gaza.

The US and 34 other donor nations are set to meet with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday afternoon for a briefing on actions taken since the revelation that some of UNRWA’s staff joined in the attacks on Israel. Guterres will also stress the organization’s critical humanitarian work, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

The US has been a top donor for UNRWA:

This post has been updated with additional information about donor countries meeting the UN Secretary-General.

CNN's Richard Roth contributed reporting to the post.

The Israeli military provided official confirmation Tuesday that it has been pumping "large volumes of water" into suspected Hamas tunnels in Gaza, following weeks of speculation.

Back in December, a US official told CNN that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were "carefully testing" out the method of pumping seawater into tunnels "on a limited basis." The IDF failed to respond to CNN's request for comment at the time.

However, in a statement released Tuesday, the IDF said it has been implementing "new capabilities" to target Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip by "channeling large volumes of water into the tunnels." The IDF said tools like pumps and pipes were being used.

The Israeli military maintained that the water pumping was "only carried out in tunnel routes and locations that were suitable, matching the method of operation to each case."

Some background: When rumblings of the IDF's plans to flood tunnels emerged in December, concerns were raised about the safety of hostages, many of whom are believed to be held underground in Gaza. Experts also highlighted concerns about the potential to contaminate freshwater supply and damage infrastructure at the surface level.

Hamas also downplayed the prospect of Israel's success, stressing that its network of tunnels had been built to withstand water being pumped into them.

President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday he has made a decision about the US response to the drone strike that killed three US service members and injured dozens in Jordan.

Asked by CNN’s Arlette Saenz whether he has decided how to respond, Biden said, “Yes,” but declined to provide further details.

Biden had warned in a statement Sunday that the US will respond in a “time and manner of our choosing” as he weighs how to deter future attacks without escalating the conflict. US officials said on Monday that the American response was likely to be more powerful than previous US strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iranian interests, but they have suggested it is unlikely the US will strike within Iran. 

The White House offered few details on the response but suggested that any action would be aimed at both degrading the group’s capabilities and sending a strong message of deterrence. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also suggested it could take place in a “tiered approach” that could include “potentially multiple actions.”

Biden said Tuesday as he prepared to depart for a fundraising swing in south Florida that he holds Iran responsible for the attack, which CNN has reported was carried out by suspected Iranian proxy forces.  

He reiterated that he is hoping to deter a broader conflict in the region, saying, “I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I'm looking for.”

The president spoke with the families of the killed troops on Tuesday and will attend a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on Friday, the White House said.

This post has been updated with additional information from the White House.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

The UK said it was “alarmed” by a conference held in Jerusalem on Sunday calling for the resettlement of Gaza by Jewish Israelis, which was attended by several Israeli cabinet ministers.

Several Israeli cabinet ministers attended the conference, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, along with Members of Knesset from the Likud, Jewish Power, and Religious Zionism parties. The conference was titled: “Rally for Victory: Liberating and resettling the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country does not intend to maintain a permanent presence in Gaza again, but that it would maintain security control over the territory for an indefinite period of time.