March 11, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

By Kathleen Magramo, Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury and Aditi Sangal, CNN

Updated 12:17 a.m. ET, March 12, 2024

What we covered here

Famine is imminent in northern Gaza if the amount of aid for the enclave does not increase rapidly, the head of the UN World Food Program said Monday.
Ramadan began this week as ceasefire talks continue to stall. US President Joe Biden, in remarks marking the start of the Islamic holy month, said the Gaza humanitarian crisis is "front of mind."
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would push ahead with a military offensive in Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in southern Gaza. However, multiple Israeli officials said the offensive is not imminent. Israel is also working to determine if a Hamas senior official was killed in an airstrike in central Gaza.
Meanwhile, the US intelligence community assesses Netanyahu’s "viability as a leader" to be in jeopardy, according to an annual unclassified threat assessment .
Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Israel.

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11:28 p.m. ET, March 10, 2024

"No dates yet" to resume ceasefire negotiations, Hamas member tells CNN

From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman in Cairo

A photo taken from southern Israel shows smoke billowing in Gaza amid Israeli bombardment on March 6. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

There are “no dates yet” for Hamas negotiators to return to Cairo to resume talks over reaching a ceasefire in exchange for hostage releases, a member of the Hamas political bureau told CNN on Sunday.

“There is nothing new,” Hossam Badran told CNN, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to respond to fair Palestinian demands regarding Gaza’s basic needs.

He listed “stopping the killing, withdrawal, providing relief and the return of the displaced people without conditions” as factors to be considered.

A Hamas delegation left Cairo on March 7 following days of talks without an obvious breakthrough.

Negotiators had hoped to have a draft agreement this week after the 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.”

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

Israel has 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.

4:33 a.m. ET, March 11, 2024

Israeli road splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast

From CNN's Celine Alkhaldi, Allegra Goodwin and Richard Allen Greene

A road being built by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows.

It’s part of a security plan to control the territory for months and possibly years to come, Israeli officials have said.

A satellite image from March 6 reveals that the east-west road, which has been under construction for weeks, now stretches from the Gaza-Israeli border area across the entire roughly 6.5-kilometer-wide (about 4-mile-wide) strip, dividing northern Gaza, including Gaza City, from the south of the enclave. About 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) includes an existing road, while the rest is new, according to CNN’s analysis.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN they were using the route to “establish (an) operational foothold in the area” and allow “the passage of forces as well as logistical equipment.”

When asked about the route’s completion, the IDF said the road existed before the war and was being “renovated,” due to armored vehicles “damaging it.” It added that there was: “No beginning and ending.”

Read the full story.

6:20 a.m. ET, March 11, 2024

Biden says Netanyahu is "hurting more than helping" Israel by failing to minimize casualties

From CNN's Sophie Tanno

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a campaign event in Atlanta on Saturday. Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

US President Joe Biden has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "hurting more than helping" Israel in failing to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.

"What's happening is he has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas," Biden told MSNBC on Saturday, in remarks that point to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.
"But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken," Biden said.
"He's hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world — it's contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it's a big mistake."

Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, where the death toll has passed 31,000.

And he said a potential Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line.”

“It cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead,” Biden said.

However, he said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors that protect Israel from rocket attacks in the region.