March 7, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A ceasefire deal in Gaza that would see Israeli hostages freed and the first break in the fighting in more than three months is unlikely to happen by the start of Ramadan which the Biden administration had been aiming for, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Negotiators had hoped to have a draft agreement this week after days of meetings in Cairo, “but it won’t happen,” said one diplomat familiar with the discussions who described the last few days of talks as “very hectic.”

Two American officials agreed that the prospects are not promising of Israel and Hamas agreeing to the temporary truce by the start of the Muslim holy month early next week.

A failure to achieve a deal in the next few days would come after weeks of President Joe Biden and administration officials saying an agreement needs to be in place by Ramadan to avoid escalation of the five-month war. He warned Tuesday that without a ceasefire by then the region could become "very, very dangerous."

Israel has also warned that if the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza aren’t home by Ramadan they will launch a military offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza where around 1.5 million Palestinians are trying to seek safety from the fighting. 

CNN's Mostafa Salem contributed to this report.

An Israeli official told CNN they think Hamas is playing "a game," after the militant group claimed not to know which hostages are alive.

The official spoke to CNN shortly before news broke that a Hamas delegation had left Cairo, where talks were taking place. Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo. 

The official, who asked not to be named discussing high-stakes ceasefire and hostage negotiations, was responding to comments from a high-ranking Hamas official earlier in the week.

The fate of the hostages is a key sticking point in negotiations. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded Hamas provide a list of hostages and their status; Naim’s response appears to deadlock the talks. 

What we know: Israel believes there are still 130 hostages from the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel being held in Gaza, of whom at least 31 are dead. There are also four Israeli hostages from before October 7, of whom Israel believes two are alive and two are dead. 

Israeli officials are holding top-level meetings Thursday, including a security cabinet meeting at an earlier time than usual, but the Israeli official did not believe a breakthrough was imminent. 

A Hamas delegation left Cairo on Thursday after days of talks with no obvious breakthrough in negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in exchange for hostage releases. 

Egypt state-run Al Qahera news, citing a senior source, said that the delegation had left to consult on the proposals and that negotiations would resume next week.

Sticking points: Without Israel agreeing to a permanent ceasefire, Hamas will not agree to a deal over hostages, a highly placed source in the militant group told CNN on Sunday.

At least three sticking points remain before Hamas will agree upon a deal, the source said. These are:

On Wednesday, Hamas reiterated its demand for a permanent ceasefire, the return of displaced people, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the provision of aid to Gazans.

Israel has branded as “false claims” assertions by the UN’s World Food Programme that an aid convoy trying to reach people in northern Gaza was turned away by authorities.

“As for the false claims regarding the WFP, we regret that some international aid organizations misjudge the enormous efforts of the State of Israel.”

On Tuesday, the WFP said their 14-truck convoy was turned away by Israeli authorities after a three-hour wait at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.

The UN agency said it was their first attempt to resume aid deliveries to the northern strip since February 20.

The Israeli government agency overseeing humanitarian aid to the enclave confirmed Thursday that some supplies intended for northern Gaza were not delivered, but did not provide further details.

Sweden has initiated talks with Israel's foreign ministry, as well as several European Union member states, to push for more humanitarian access to Gaza. 

CNN has reached out to Israel's foreign ministry for comment. 

Mounting calls for aid: Israel has faced calls from global leaders and international organizations to allow more aid into Gaza, where at least 20 people, including children, have died due to malnutrition and dehydration since the war began.

The United Nations said that almost 40% of aid missions it coordinated in Gaza last month were denied or impeded by Israel. 

Israel slowing supplies: A recent CNN investigation uncovered a list of items being denied entry into Gaza by the overseeing Israeli agency, COGAT. Anesthetics, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, water filtration systems, sleeping bags, and cancer medicines are among the most frequently rejected.

Two Filipino seafarers were among the three crew members killed in a Houthi attack on a commercial ship near Yemen, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Thursday.

The fatalities were the first time that the Iran-backed militant group had killed anyone in their ongoing attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.

DMW said two other Filipinos were severely wounded and that it is in touch with the concerned authorities to “ascertain the conditions of the rest of the ship’s crew, particularly the remaining Filipino crew members, as we have been informed that they have been taken to a safe port.”

On, US Central Command said Wednesday that three crew members were killed and at least four more wounded in a Houthi attack on the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, near Yemen.

International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez made renewed calls to protect seafarers following the tragedy, saying "innocent seafarers should never become collateral victims."

The Philippines is a major supplier of seafarers, providing one-fifth of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers, according to the International Labour Organization.

The United States conducted strikes on two drones in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen late on Wednesday, according to a statement from US Central Command.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group, began attacking ships in October that have been transiting the Red Sea. Their attacks were in response to Israel's war on Hamas. The US strike came just hours after a Houthi missile attack on a commercial ship near Yemen killed three crew members and injured at least four, according to CENTCOM.

The attack, which CENTCOM said was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthis in the last two days, marked a significant escalation of the Houthi attacks on Red Sea vessels.

Here's the latest on the conflict in the region:

South Africa submitted an urgent request to the International Court of Justice on Wednesday to ask for additional emergency measures against Israel, according to a document released by the ICJ. 

The statement also requests the ICJ to “indicate provisional measures and/or to modify the provisional measures” that were issued in January. 

More background: South Africa brought proceedings against Israel to the ICJ in early January on claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ then announced later in the month that it would impose some provisional measures against Israel over its military operation in Gaza. 

The United States conducted strikes on two drones in Yemen on Wednesday, according to a statement from US Central Command.

Some background: Earlier on Wednesday, US Central Command said three crew members were killed and at least four more were injured in a Houthi attack on a commercial ship near Yemen. It marked a significant escalation of the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which began in October in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.