March 14, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Dr. Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister to form a new government, according to the official WAFA news agency Thursday.

Mustafa has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization since 2022 and has held the positions of deputy prime minister and minister of economy in previous governments, according to WAFA.

UK Secretary of State David Cameron welcomed Mustafa's appointment.

Mustafa will replace former Prime Minister Mohammed Shttayah, who resigned in February along with his government.

Shtayyeh opened the door to a national unity government, including Hamas in his resignation statement back in February, without explicitly naming the militant group.

Israel's far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said that the US Treasury Department's decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank is "further proof that the US government does not understand who is the enemy and who is a friend."

He claimed Tuesday that the settlers "build, settle and bring security to the country" and "deserve a salute not a knife in the back."

Remember: The US announced new sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two farms in the West Bank on Thursday, as the administration targets threats to peace and security in the area.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is "expected to respect Israel's elected government and not undermine it," Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party said Thursday after the US senator criticized the Israeli prime minister and his government, calling for new elections. 

Remember: In its annual report released Monday, the US intelligence community assessed that the distrust in Netanyahu’s leadership has “deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war, and we expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections.”

Meanwhile, Israeli war cabinet minister and the head of the National Unity party Benny Gantz also criticized the remarks. 

Schumer "is a friend of Israel, who helps it a lot, also in these days, but he was wrong in his statement," Gantz said. "Israel is a strong democracy, and only its citizens will determine its leadership and future. Any external intervention in the matter is not right and unacceptable."

Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, said Thursday, “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7."

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said he does not believe that the remarks will make it more difficult for the US to deal with Netanyahu, pointing out that the Israelis know that the comments did not come from the executive branch.

The post was updated with information from the US intelligence report released Monday.

A large collection of activist groups in the greater Chicago area sent a harshly critical letter to the White House ahead of a meeting between officials in US President Joe Biden's administration and Arab and Muslim leaders.

The signees demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said a meeting "would only act to whitewash months of White House inaction followed by meek handouts."

"We are interested in serious action," the activists said.

A few dozen coalitions and community leaders signed the letter. Tarek Khalil, an attorney and board member with American Muslims for Palestine-Chicago, was among those who spearheaded the letter. Khalil was not personally invited to the White House meeting, but suggested “a good portion” of the signatories were. 

It was not immediately clear who would be represented at the meeting, and the White House declined to provide a list of attendees. 

A White House official did not directly address the letter when asked for comment. The White House has declined to provide a list of attendees at the meeting.

Remember: The US has strongly supported Israel through its war in Gaza. The rising death toll, widespread destruction and unfolding humanitarian crisis have cast a shadow on Biden’s 2024 reelection bid, as seen in Michigan, where Democratic primary voters cast protest ballots.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and called for new elections in a speech about the war on the Senate floor.

In the speech, Schumer said Israelis needed to consider whether they should change course on how Israel is waging its war on Hamas and suggested new elections were the way to do so.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said it was "grotesque and hypocritical" for Americans to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader, while the White House did not weigh in on Schumer's remarks.

The comments come as Israel says it intends to move 1.4 million displaced Palestinians from the southern city of Gaza to "humanitarian enclaves" before a planned military assault there. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the Rafah offensive was "something we need to do" but the timing will depend on "the conditions to allow it."

A potential offensive in the city has drawn international criticism — including from US President Joe Biden.

If you're just joining our coverage, here are the latest headlines:

Correction: This post has been updated to clarify the occupied Palestinian territories where the health ministry says Palestinians were killed.

At least seven Palestinians were killed, and 86 others injured, when Israeli troops opened fire while civilians waited for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Wednesday, according to an eyewitness and a doctor at a nearby hospital.

Many of the people transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital from the aid site suffered bullet wounds, according to Fathi Obaid, a doctor in the medical center's emergency department. Obaid said the hospital struggled to treat all the patients because of medicine and equipment shortages.

Nimr Abu Atta, a patient at the hospital who was shot in the stomach, said he had been hit with "gunfire from an Israeli tank."

Abu Atta said he went to an area in Gaza City known as the Kuwait roundabout — where aid trucks commonly distribute food, attracting crowds of people desperate for supplies — to pick up flour for his children when he was hit.

"My wife was killed two months ago in the war, and I am caring for my seven children," he said. 

The Israel Defense Forces has not yet responded to a CNN query about the alleged shooting.

Violence at aid sites: Gazans have reported several deadly attacks by Israeli soldiers on crowds of civilians lining up for aid in recent weeks.

The Gaza-based Government Media Office claimed Tuesday that at least 400 people have been killed in such incidents since the beginning of the war.

CNN cannot independently confirm the Gaza government's numbers due to the lack of international media access to the strip. The IDF did not immediately provide a comment on the figures.

Journalist Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed to this report.

The White House did not weigh in on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his calls for new elections in the country. 

Kirby said the Biden administration was going to "stay focused on making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself while doing everything that they can to avoid civilian casualties."

Kirby added that the administration is also "still focused laser focused on trying to get a temporary ceasefire in place so that we can get the hostages out and get more aid."

Fresh satellite images have shown the site of the jetty where the first aid ship, the Open Arms, is likely to dock in Gaza on Thursday.   

Images taken by satellite image company, Maxar have shown evidence of a jetty at a site in central Gaza —which was not visible in early March. 

According to Maxar, construction on the jetty which extends approximately 50 meters from the shoreline began on or after March 10. 

The jetty lies roughly less than half a mile from the Wadi Gaza checkpoint which is the Israeli checkpoint separating southern and northern Gaza. 

It's also less than one mile from one of the main locations of the deadly aid incident, now known as the "Flour Massacre," which took place last month. 

More than 100 people were killed on February 29 after Israeli troops opened fire near civilians who had gathered around an aid truck. 

The non-governmental organization, World Central Kitchen, which organized the aid ship, told CNN that the jetty was constructed using rubble from Gaza. 

Clarification: This post has been updated to clarify a comment from World Central Kitchen about the construction of the jetty.

US Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell responded critically to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech where he called for a new election in Israel on Thursday.

McConnell went on to accuse the Democratic Party of having an "anti-Israel problem" saying, "Israel is not a colony of America whose leaders serve at the pleasure of the party in power in Washington. Only Israel’s citizens should have a say in who runs their government."

What Schumer said: The majority leader, who is the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, said he believes Netanyahu has "lost his way" and that Israel needs to consider whether it should change course in how it is waging war against Hamas in Gaza.

He said an election would give Israelis the opportunity for a "healthy and open decision-making process about the future" of their country.