March 22, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Finland will restart donations to the UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), according to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, after the suspension of funding by several Western countries raised concerns about the fate of the 5.9 million refugees it serves.

The announcement to resume funding was made by Finland’s Foreign Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio at a news conference on Friday, Yle reported. Tavio said the UN agency is improving and strengthening its internal operations.

Israeli allegations: It came after Israel leveled explosive allegations against the agency, claiming that several staffers participated in the October 7 attacks. The UN fired several employees in the wake of the allegations and launched an investigation.

UNRWA allegations: Earlier this month, UNRWA accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staffers, coercing them into making false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas.

CNN cannot independently verify the allegations by Israel or UNRWA.

Independent review: An independent review group found the UN agency “has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality.” The review group’s final report will be published on April 20 and will be made public.

Blow to humanitarian efforts: A number of Western countries largely suspended funding to the main UN agency in Gaza — including the US — amid a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel's military offensive in Gaza has crushed the medical system, triggered mass displacement, and condemned the entire population of more than 2.2 million Palestinians to the risk of famine, according to a UN-backed report.

CNN's Hira Humayun and Jeremy Diamond contributed reporting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11:20 a.m. local time (5:20 a.m. ET) in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, as part of an intensive diplomatic push to reach a “sustained and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

Secretary Blinken's meeting with the Israeli war cabinet started soon after, the State Department told reporters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel at 9:54 a.m. local time on Friday.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet as a part of a diplomatic push for a ceasefire in Gaza, and to deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

The stop in Tel Aviv will cap Blinken’s sixth round of shuttle diplomacy in the region since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

His trip coincides with the resumption of talks in Doha aimed at securing a deal for a ceasefire tied to the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

A vote at the UN on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza conflict is also expected to take place Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel on Friday as part of an intensive diplomatic push to reach a “sustained and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet.

His trip coincides with the resumption of talks in Doha aimed at securing a deal for a ceasefire tied to the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

It also coincides with a vote at the UN on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza conflict.

Blinken’s meetings are expected to be tense, with Netanyahu vowing to carry out an Israeli military incursion into Rafah, where more than a million people have been forced to flee.

The top US diplomat is again expected to press Israel on the urgent need for more humanitarian assistance to reach people in Gaza.

Here's what to expect from the talks.

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

The resolution, which the US has been working on for weeks, calls for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire… in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

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.”

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

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 babies.

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

"After many rounds of consultations with the Security Council, we will be bringing this Resolution for a vote on Friday morning," he said. 

The US has 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 agree on a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but conceded that "there’s still real challenges."

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

As Israel prepares for an offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, 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.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters 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."

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

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.

Some 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.

The Biden administration has been actively discussing with Qatar its relationship with Hamas since the group carried out its attack on Israel on October 7. 

Read more about Blinken's comments in Qatar.