February 16, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

Five patients at Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s largest functioning medical facility, died on Friday after power was lost at the hospital, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The death comes as Israeli special forces raided the hospital on Thursday after laying siege to the facility for days. Israel’s military claimed it apprehended more than 20 suspects from the October 7 attack by Hamas and found weapons amid their continued raid of the hospital in Khan Younis. António Guterres, the United Nation’s secretary-general, condemned the raid.

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided on Friday that the “perilous situation” in the Gaza strip does not demand further provisional measures beyond those already in place.

On January 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and ensure access to humanitarian aid. This was in response to South Africa previously accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel has denied.

The ICJ’s Friday decision is in response to an urgent request from South Africa asking the court to consider whether the escalating situation in Rafah — where millions of Palestinians have sought shelter from nonstop bombardment across the territory — calls for additional provisional measures.

Subsequently, Israel’s lawyers filed a series of statements in which they argued that “the provisional measures already indicated by the Court cover the situation of hostilities in Gaza as a whole.”

The ICJ decided the measures were sufficient, noting their decision accounted for the recent developments in Rafah.

“This perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of 26 January 2024, which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures,” the court’s decision reads.
“The Court emphasizes that the State of Israel remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said Order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the ICJ said.

Reacting to the latest urgent request at the ICJ, Israel accused South Africa of trying to deny Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens.

“South Africa’s legally and factually unfounded submission proves once again that it is the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization,” Lior Haiat, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson, said Wednesday.

Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 22, 2020.

A doctor trapped inside Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza said the wards and corridors “are still flooded with beds” as Israeli forces continued to raid what was the largest remaining functioning hospital in the enclave.

“The situation is still the same. All of the medical staff and patients are still trapped in the medical department,” he said in a voice note late Thursday. His testimony was shared with CNN by his colleague.
“Most of the patients do not have the chance to get the medicine and their health care … We cannot make rounds on patients. We cannot move between beds,” added the surgeon, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “No one can reach the ICU … the army is inside it,” he wrote in a message. “All the ICU patients will die.”

On Friday, details emerged of the grim conditions faced by those left inside the facility. At least five patients died after Israel’s attack caused the complex to lose power, the ministry said, adding that Nasser Hospital was “without electricity, water, food, and heating.”

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they did not target the hospital’s power supply, but a generator malfunction had caused the power outage. Despite the outage, the IDF said that “all vital systems” remained functional due to a backup power system. The IDF said troops with the Israeli military also supplied alternative generators, food for infants, water and diesel fuel to the hospital.

On Thursday, Israeli special forces entered Nasser. The Israeli military has since said they’ve found weapons inside the facility and that they have detained over 20 suspects from the October 7 attack amid the raid.

CNN’s Abeer Salman contributed reporting.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 16.

US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House Friday that he’s had “extensive conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the last several days, where he relayed his position “that there has to be a temporary ceasefire” to secure the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas.

“I’m still hopeful that can be done, and in the meantime … I’m hoping that Israelis will not make any massive land invasion in the meantime,” Biden said. “So, it’s my expectation that’s not going to happen. There has to be a ceasefire to get those hostages out.”

Biden also said his “hope and expectation” is that a hostage and ceasefire deal will be reached. “The deal is being negotiated now, and we’re gonna see where it takes us,” he said.

US conversations with Israel: CNN reported earlier this week that US officials have been direct in their talks with Israeli counterparts that the estimated 1.3 million people currently in the southernmost city of Rafah simply “have nowhere to go” ahead of an expected ground offensive, according to a senior administration official.

The Biden administration is highly skeptical about whether Netanyahu’s direction to Israel’s military for an “evacuation of the population” out of Rafah before Israel forces enter is even remotely feasible.

Israel released more details on Friday about the 12 employees of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees that it has accused of participating in the October 7 terrorist attacks and kidnappings, including their names, photos, and alleged roles with Hamas.

The additional details included screengrabs of what Israel said were two United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees — a social worker and math teacher — in Israel on October 7. The defense ministry also provided identification photos of 10 other alleged Hamas members, their positions and alleged involvement in the attack, but did not provide any supporting evidence to back up its claims.

CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel’s allegations about their involvement with Hamas.

An UNRWA spokesperson said the United Nations’ highest investigative authority is investigating the matter, but declined to comment on the additional details provided by Israel on Friday due to the investigation.

Some background: Israel presented the United Nations, the United States and other allies with a dossier last month that included allegations about these 12 UNRWA employees — out of 13,000 in Gaza — leading more than a dozen countries to suspend funding to the agency, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the strip.

UNRWA quickly fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. The United Nations said two of the 12 had died.

Read more details about Israel’s allegations.

A displaced Palestinian woman walks near the border fence between Gaza and Egypt on February 16, in Rafah, Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has “no intention” of sending Palestinians into Egypt as part of an evacuation of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel has said it will concentrate its next military offensive.

“We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner,” Gallant told reporters during a briefing Friday.

Gallant’s comments come amid reports that Egypt is building a miles-wide buffer zone along its border with Gaza as part of a contingency plan in case large numbers of Palestinian refugees flood into Egypt.

Israeli officials have said the military is working on a detailed plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned offensive there, but they have yet to share any details of the plan.

Gallant provided no details about a potential evacuation on Friday, but said, “we are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold.”

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz attends a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel in October 2023.

Israeli war cabinet minister and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel “won’t stop” until all hostages in Gaza are returned, even if that means continuing hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“I would like to convey a message to all citizens of Israel and to the families of the hostages: We don’t stop — until they are returned,” Gantz said in a video on Friday. “There will not be a ceasefire even for one day until our hostages are returned.”

Gantz said the fighting would continue, regardless of the time of the year.

“⁠Even in the approaching month of Ramadan, the fire can continue,” he said. “Either our hostages will be returned, or we will expand the fighting to Rafah.”

Gantz added Israel is preparing for a ground offensive into Rafah and will act “in dialogue” with its partners, including Egypt, and “direct the population to protected areas.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the operation in Rafah must be completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10, an Israeli official told CNN on Saturday.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday issued a stern warning in a televised speech condemning recent Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which left number of civilians killed or wounded, as “unacceptable.”

Nasrallah said that the killing of civilians would not go unanswered and vowed that Hezbollah’s retaliation would be swift and decisive.

“The enemy (Israel) must know that it went too far by its targeting of civilians. The price for the blood of our civilians, particularly the women and children, is blood,” Nasrallah said.

Israeli airstrike: The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Thursday that it eliminated a senior commander and two operatives belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces in a precise airstrike on a Hezbollah military structure in Nabatieh that was conducted late Wednesday in Lebanese territory.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency described the structure hit in Nabatieh by the IDF as a residential building, adding that at least seven people from the same family, including a child, were killed.

Some background: Prior to October 7, Nasrallah had not spoken publicly in person since 2006, when a month-long war erupted between Lebanon and Israel. In November 2023, Nasrallah called for a ceasefire and praised Hamas’ attacks on Israel, adding that they were fully planned and executed by the militant group.

The World Health Organization says it is working through the United Nations and in coordination with Israel to gain access to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

“The military raid at Nasser Medical Complex and reports emerging from the hospitals are deeply alarming,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said in Geneva on Friday.

“Patients, health workers, and civilians seeking refuge deserve safety, not peril in places of healing. Reports of forcing transfer of many patients into a different building are gravely concerning,” Jasarevic said.

“(The) UN is coordinating with Israeli authorities to urgently access the hospital,” Jarasevic added.

The WHO spokesperson also said hospitals must neither be militarized or attacked, adding that the health of patients must be “prioritized and uninterrupted,” calling for a “safe environment” for care to be ensured. 

According to the WHO, Nasser is already “barely functional,” with limited ability to provide urgent care. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed “international dictates” on the creation of a Palestinian state in a social media post.

“⁠Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions,” he said in the post on X, formerly Twitter, in the early hours of Friday morning local time (around 6 p.m. ET Thursday).

Netanyahu said that his government would oppose any “unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” adding that any such move would constitute a “huge reward to unprecedented terrorism” in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and prevent a future peace agreement.

The prime minister’s statement was posted after a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon.

Last month, Netanyahu also publicly rejected calls for Palestinian sovereignty following talks with Biden about Gaza’s future, suggesting Israel’s security needs would be incompatible with Palestinian statehood.

According to a report by the Washington Post on Wednesday, the Biden administration and Middle East partners are working to formulate a “comprehensive plan” for peace, which would include a “firm timeline” for the establishment of a Palestinian state. But many Israeli politicians, including far-right ministers in the government, have publicly rejected that idea.

An anti-ship ballistic missile was fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Thursday afternoon toward a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command announced Friday.

The missile was launched toward the MV Lycavitos, a Barbados-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier, CENTCOM said. The vessel reported minor damage and no injuries from the attack.

Also on Thursday, the US conducted two self-defense strikes on three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that were preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea.

The missiles were determined to present “an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” the CENTCOM release said.

Remember: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching attacks that they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

After dozens of strikes over the last month against Houthi targets both over the Red Sea and inside Yemen, CNN was told that the US military still does not know exactly how much of the Houthis’ capabilities have been destroyed—or how long it will take to deter them for good.

A scene from inside Nasser Hospital on Thursday, February 15.

Five patients have died at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis because of failure in the power generators and the oxygen supply system amid an Israeli military raid on the facility, the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Friday.

The ministry accused Israeli forces of forcing male patients to relocate without their belongings to the maternity building, “which has been converted into a military barracks.”

The ministry had also said two pregnant women delivered children in the hospital “under extremely challenging and inhumane conditions.”

In an earlier statement, the ministry said that six intensive care patients and three in nursery incubators could die “at any moment as a result of the cessation of their oxygen” after electrical generators had stopped.

 “We hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff, considering that the complex is now under its full control,” the ministry said.

Hospital raid: Israeli special forces raided Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s largest functioning medical facility, on Thursday after laying siege to the facility for days.

The Israel Defense Forces took control of the complex after saying it had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital, and that the bodies of dead hostages may be on the property. The military did not publicly release evidence to support this.

Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had not found any hostages at Nasser Hospital so far, but were continuing to scan the facility.

The IDF said earlier it was continuing its operation inside the hospital, but claimed it would continue to operate in accordance with international law against Hamas.

This post has been updated with the latest death toll.

Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 22, 2020.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they’ve detained over 20 suspects from the October 7 attack, as they continue their raid of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. 

“IDF special forces are continuing to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Nasser Hospital; the troops located weapons inside the hospital and apprehended dozens of terror suspects,” the Israeli military alleged in a statement on Friday. 

The IDF did not provide any additional details on the people detained and the nature of their involvement in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

More on the hospital raid: The Israeli military also said it had found weapons inside the facility, including mortar shells and grenades, releasing a low-resolution photograph of the alleged weapons stash. CNN could not independently verify where and when the photograph had been taken. 

“The use of hospitals for terrorist activities, firing mortar shells from civilian areas, and for holding hostages are against the international law,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said of the findings, according to the statement. 

The IDF went on to say their operation inside the hospital was still ongoing. CNN has reached out to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza for comment on the IDF’s allegations.

Ahead of its operation on the Nasser Hospital, the IDF ordered hundreds of civilians to leave the facility, which they had been using as a shelter. Medical staff have shared videos in the last few days, seen by CNN, which show widespread destruction and damage to the hospital infrastructure.  

Relatives and supporters hold placards during a rally calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 15.

Talks on a hostage and ceasefire deal for Gaza appear to be at an impasse. Israel’s top-level delegation has returned from Cairo, and there has been no word from Hamas on its position in recent days.

Hamas made a detailed proposal this month for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed it as “delusional” at the time, but indirect talks in Cairo continued as Israel faced pressure from its allies to negotiate, and Hamas faced the prospect of a major Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are sheltering.

CIA Director Bill Burns met with Netanyahu and Mossad Director David Barnea in Israel on Thursday to discuss the state of hostage negotiations, an Israeli official confirmed.

Israeli negotiators presented feedback on Hamas’ proposed deal earlier this week, a source familiar with the negotiations told CNN, and Qatar – a mediator in the talks – is now waiting for a response from Hamas.

What are the sticking points? Sticking points in the talks include the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that would be released, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the status of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Why is Netanyahu holding out? Netanyahu leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, including some that are strongly opposed to any compromise that involves releasing Palestinian prisoners or withdrawing from Gaza.

If those ministers resign, Netanyahu’s coalition could fall apart, leading to new elections and possibly spelling the end of his political career.

There are others in the War Cabinet, like former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, who have criticized Netanyahu’s failure to prioritize the hostages.

Read more about the impasse in talks over a hostage and ceasefire deal.

Palestinians inspect Al Shifa Hospital, which was raided by Israeli forces during its ground operation in Gaza City, on November 25.

Eighty-four percent of health facilities in Gaza have been affected by attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on Friday. 

UNRWA is the primary humanitarian aid organization in Gaza, providing aid to about 2 million Gazans. Israel has accused 13 members of UNRWA’s 13,000-strong Gaza staff of participating in the October 7 Hamas attacks — charges that have led major international donors to pause funding while the agency carries out an investigation.

In a post on X, the agency released footage showing the destruction of civilian infrastructure in the territory, including one of its health centers.

UNRWA said that in addition to the damage to health facilities, over 70% of civilian infrastructure had been “destroyed or severely damaged,” adding

On Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs detailed the impact of the war on schools and water infrastructure in the strip.

“Some 392 schools (79 per cent of the total school buildings in Gaza) have sustained damage, including 141 schools that sustained major damage or were destroyed,” according to the update.

The agency said that 92% of all school buildings in Gaza were being used as shelters for displaced Palestinians.

The update also noted that only 17% of Gaza’s 284 groundwater wells were operational, with 39 wells destroyed and 93 moderately to severely damaged.

The Israel Defense Forces has said it takes great care when selecting targets and does not intentionally strike civilian infrastructure.

A view of the heavily damaged Al-Huda Mosque after Israeli attacks on Rafah on February 14.

Displaced Palestinian woman Daiana Al-Bukhari told CNN’s Michael Holmes on Friday that people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah were living in dire conditions and she feared they were “all going to be wiped out.”

Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza that is not controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The city is now the enclave’s most populated, with more than a million people sheltering in tents and UN facilities facing severe shortages of essentials.

“The first thing I do, I think [whether] I’ll get water today or not … Then I think about food. Will we eat food today or not,” Al-Bukhari said, adding she typically has to queue “for hours” to get bread, a shower, or even to use the toilet.

Al-Bukhari told Holmes she feared for the future of Palestinians in Rafah.

“I think we’re all going to be wiped out. Can you imagine 1.5 million refugees in such a small area like Rafah? … I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I hope [this] does not happen,” 22-year-old Al-Bukhari said.

Looming ground offensive: Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu directed the country’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah after saying the IDF would “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.”

His plan has drawn international criticism.

Al-Bukhari’s regular updates on life in Gaza have attracted a large following on social media, including over 70,000 followers on Instagram.

When asked what she would like to tell people across the world, she said to “trust the stories and evidence of Palestinians in Gaza.”

An Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has killed at least 12 people, according to a spokesperson for Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

An Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has killed at least 12 people, according to a spokesperson for Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Ten of those killed were women and children, the spokesperson and a doctor at the hospital said. The other two casualties were elderly men.

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on February 13, in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the “ongoing hostage negotiations” and the “situation in Rafah,” according to a White House readout released Thursday.

“The President also raised the situation in Rafah, and reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah,” the readout said.

CNN previously reported that all eyes are on Rafah, where well over a million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter in a massive tent city.

Despite international pressure, Netanyahu has continued to convey that the Israel Defense Forces will move into the Rafah area at some point. Many fear that military action in the refugee tent city could spark the exodus, but also result in the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Biden also raised the “ongoing hostage negotiations” in his call with Netanyahu as well.

“The President and the Prime Minister discussed ongoing hostage negotiations,” the White House said. “The President reaffirmed his commitment to working tirelessly to support the release of all hostages as soon as possible, recognizing their appalling situation after 132 days in Hamas captivity.”

The two leaders spoke last on Sunday and, in that call, discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length, according to a senior administration official.

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a meeting in London on February 14.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and said his country is “deeply concerned” about the loss of civilian life in Gaza, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

Sunak also expressed the UK’s concern on the “potentially devastating humanitarian impact” of an Israeli military operation in Rafah, the spokesperson said.

Sunak “reiterated that the immediate priority must be negotiating a humanitarian pause to allow the safe release of hostages and to facilitate considerably more aid going to Gaza, leading to a longer-term sustainable ceasefire,” the Downing Street spokesperson added.

The prime minister urged Israel to open “the Kerem Shalom crossing and allow the maritime delivery of international aid through Ashdod port,” the spokesperson said.

Sunak stressed the need for Israel to abide by International Humanitarian Law and protect civilian infrastructure like hospitals and shelters.

This satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows Egypt building a miles-wide buffer zone, and border wall, along its border with Gaza.

Egypt is building a miles-wide buffer zone and wall along its border with Gaza, new satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows. 

The images, taken in the last five days, show a significant section of Egyptian territory between a roadway and the Gaza border has been bulldozed. 

When the buffer zone — which stretches from the end of the Gaza border to the Mediterranean Sea — is completed, it will engulf the Egyptian-Rafah border crossing complex.

At the actual border, multiple cranes were seen laying sections of wall.

Additional satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows that bulldozers arrived on site on February 3, and that the initial excavation of the buffer zone began on February 6. 

There has been a significant uptick in excavation in the last five days. 

Videos released by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights show construction of the border wall, which they said would be 5 meters (16 feet) high. 

The organization, which describes itself as a non-governmental human rights group, said two local contractors told them the border wall was commissioned by the Egyptian armed forces. CNN has reached out to the Egyptian government for comment.

The construction comes as fears that the already horrific humanitarian situation in Gaza will worsen, causing thousands of deaths and a mass exodus of Palestinians over Egypt’s border. 

All eyes are on Rafah, situated along the new buffer zone, where over a million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter in a massive tent city. 

Despite international pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that the Israeli forces will enter Rafah. Many fear that military action in the refugee tent city could spark an exodus, but also result in the deaths of thousands of civilians. 

Netanyahu continues to rail against Egypt for not closing the Philadelphi Corridor — the strip of land between Egypt and Gaza and the strip’s only non-Israeli controlled border. Netanyahu has said that Israel would not consider the war over until it was closed.

A spokesperson in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has rejected any discussion, for the moment, about a Palestinian state.

“Now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the Palestinian people,” Avi Hyman, spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the prime minister’s office, told CNN Thursday at a press briefing.

CNN had asked Hyman about reporting by The Washington Post that the Biden administration and “a small group of Middle East partners” are working to formulate a comprehensive peace plan, which “could be announced as early as the next several weeks.”

“Here is Israel, we’re still in the aftermath of the October 7th massacre,” Hyman said.

“Now is the time for victory – total victory against Hamas. And we will continue on the path to victory. All discussions about the day after Hamas will be had the day after Hamas.”

President Joe Biden has made clear that he hopes that a ceasefire deal, which would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, could lead to a more lasting peace “on the basis of the two-state solution.”