March 21, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The Israeli government will not send about two dozen Palestinian patients in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv hospitals back to Gaza until Israel's Supreme Court rules on the merits of the case, according to a letter filed with the Supreme Court by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office.

The state attorney’s office has asked the court for 30 days to submit its response to a complaint filed by a group of Israeli human rights groups on behalf of some of the patients seeking to bar the Israeli government from deporting the patients during that time. The Israeli Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction to prevent that transfer until the government responded. 

The government said it has agreed not to send any of the patients back to Gaza “except for any of them who request in writing through their attorney to allow him to return to the Gaza Strip.”

The human rights groups petitioned Israel’s highest court following a CNN report about some of the patients, including mothers and their 6-month-old babies.

The US United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza will be brought to a vote on Friday morning, US Mission to the UN spokesperson Nate Evans told CNN on Thursday.

Some background: The US resolution comes after the US vetoed multiple prior UNSC resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after vetoing an Algerian resolution in late February that it “would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the "gaps are narrowing" between Israel and Hamas to get a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but conceded that "there’s still real challenges."

"We’ve been working, as you know, with Egypt, with Qatar and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. Hamas responded to that," Blinken said during news conference in Cairo, Egypt, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Blinken said he still believes a deal is possible, despite "difficult work to get there."

As Israel prepares for a possible operation in the Rafah region of Gaza, Blinken said the US believes Hamas "can be effectively dealt with without a major ground operation in Rafah.” He said a ground operation would “be a mistake," and officials will outline alternative plans when an Israeli delegation goes to Washington, DC, next week.

Meanwhile, Shoukry said he and Blinken agreed to plan "concrete steps" to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The minister stated that the US and Egypt are aligned in their "total rejection of military operations in Rafah."

The minister added that Egypt would do "whatever is possible, whatever is required to facilitate a cessation of hostilities and an end to the military activity." 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) announced on Thursday that their troops have arrested more than 600 people so far in the operation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

More than 140 have been killed in the operation, the agencies said in a joint statement.

Israeli forces recovered several weapons and intelligence documents and arrested people that include senior officials with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, the Israeli agencies claimed. CNN cannot verify the claims of the IDF and ISA.

The Israeli military launched the operation in Al-Shifa on Monday when it alleged that “senior Hamas terrorists” were using the facility to “conduct and promote terrorist activity.”

Hamas has repeatedly denied using hospitals as bases for its activity, including Al-Shifa. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that thousands of Palestinians had been seeking refuge in Al-Shifa before the operation began.

In a statement, Hamas decried the operation at the hospital and accused Israel of “destroying many of the hospital’s capabilities, blowing up and burning the surrounding residential buildings, detaining and abusing the displaced, medical staff and patients.”

Israel's raid on Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital is in its fourth day, and civilians in the hospital are running out of basic necessities, according to a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson.

A woman living near the medical complex posted videos describing the current situation as dire, saying that explosions and gunfire in the area are hitting residential buildings.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East to discuss the ongoing negotiations to reach a deal that would include a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza. He said Wednesday that an agreement is "getting closer."

Here's what to know:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a stern message to Qatar earlier this month: Tell Hamas that they must deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal that would halt the war in Gaza or risk getting kicked out of the Qatari capital of Doha where senior members of the terror group are based, two US officials told CNN.

The pressure from the US came at a time when negotiations between Hamas and Israel had stalled, before Hamas came back to the table with a new set of demands which were discussed this week in Doha. The indirect talks, held between Israel and Hamas under Qatari and Egyptian mediation, were the first to be held in Doha at that level in weeks and are set to resume on Friday.

The message was delivered by Blinken to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in a meeting in Washington on March 5, sources familiar with the matter said. US officials said that Qatar, which has been a critical partner to the US in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, understood the message and received it without major pushback.

Qatari officials did not comment on the specific meeting but said that they are exerting immense pressure on Hamas. It is unclear if Qatar delivered the warning to Hamas leaders.

More background: Hamas established a political office in Doha in 2012, with senior members of the group based there permanently. As a result, Qatar plays a crucial role in the region between Hamas and other nations.

While Blinken’s message this month was tough, the Biden administration has been actively discussing with Qatar its relationship with Hamas since the terror group carried out its brutal attack on Israel on October 7. 

Keep reading here about Blinken's comments in Qatar.

A new poll of Palestinians in Gaza presents a complex picture of views on Hamas, showing increasing support for the military group's performance during the war against Israel but declining support for the party as a political entity.

In Gaza, 62% of those polled face-to-face in early March by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said that they were satisfied with Hamas’ "performance in the current war," up from 52% in December.

Yet, when asked which of several political parties they supported, fewer people in Gaza said that they supported Hamas. Of the respondents to the March poll, 34% said that they support Hamas, down from 42% in December.

Key context: When asked by CNN to clarify that, the political scientist who conducted the poll tried to draw a distinction between Hamas as a military force and Hamas as an ideology.

"The reason it’s still higher," Khalil Shikaki said, "is because Hamas is now fighting and defending Palestinians, and because people still think that Israel is committing monstrous violence against Palestinians in Gaza, and that Hamas is defending against that."

Shikaki also noted that "the number of Palestinians who share Hamas’ values is not as high as it was last time."

Methodology: Conducting an accurate poll during a brutal military conflict is difficult. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said that its pollsters interviewed 750 people in 75 locations across Gaza.

“Given the uncertainty about the population distribution in the Gaza Strip, we almost doubled the size of the sample in that area in order to lower the margin of error, which stands at +/- 3%,” the organization said.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will join hostage talks in Qatar on Friday as negotiators work toward a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza alongside a temporary ceasefire, sources familiar with the plans said.

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar Friday for the talks, Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Barnea will meet with Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, according to the statement.

“The meeting of senior officials will be held in the framework of the negotiations in Doha, the goal of which is to advance the efforts to return the hostages,” it added.

CNN has reached out to CIA for comment. 

Burns has been instrumental in trying to secure a deal on hostages, traveling several times to the Middle East and Europe for talks. So far, the efforts haven’t yielded an agreement.

There were signs, however, that progress was being made, and American officials voiced cautious optimism this week that a deal could be reached. In an interview on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the negotiations to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal are "getting closer.”

“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al Hadath in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Israeli officials.

The top US commander for the Middle East said he is “not aware” of Israel’s plans to mitigate civilian harm if the Israel Defense Forces launch an operation in Rafah, Gaza.

Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, US Central Command commander, said he does not believe Israel has finalized those plans yet.

Kurilla said the US is trying to alleviate human suffering in Gaza through the airdrops Central Command forces have been conducting with regional partners including Jordan. 

"We've approached now almost a million meals in the north, with eight other countries," Kurilla said, adding that there "has been some progress in the last two weeks" with regard to getting aid in via land. 

“I talked to Ambassador (David) Satterfield, who is the Special Representative for humanitarian efforts, and he has seen some progress on the challenges of internal security distribution inside of Gaza,” Kurilla said.