March 30, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

A United Nations vehicle was hit in southern Lebanon by a drone strike on Saturday morning, according to Lebanese state media.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) quickly denied reports in Lebanese media that it was behind the attack.

“Contrary to the reports, the IDF did not strike a UNIFIL vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning,” the IDF said in a statement.

The National News Agency of Lebanon (NNA) reported that a drone had struck a military vehicle belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) near the town of Rmeish. NNA reported that “a number” of UNIFIL soldiers and a Lebanese national were wounded.

CNN has reached out to UNIFIL for comment. 

Israeli authorities denied 30% of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza and 10% of missions into southern Gaza in March, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday. 

Israel Defense Forces soldiers "too often delay or deny convoys from crossing checkpoints, with rejected requests for safe passage, searches, detentions and sometimes violence against aid convoys and awaiting crowds,” OCHA said.

The aid missions included food distributions, fuel deliveries, emergency medical teams movement, delivery of supplies to hospitals, and support for water, sanitation and hygiene activities, according to the UN agency.

Since March 1, 29 out of 60 aid missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, with 18 denied, and 13 postponed or withdrawn, OCHA said.  

CNN is reaching out to the relevant Israeli authorities for comment.

Some context: The UN and other agencies have consistently said not enough aid is reaching Gaza, prompting warnings of a looming famine.

Israel has said there is "no limit" to the amount of aid that can be brought into Gaza, but land entry points are limited and inspections are strict. CNN has documented the ways in which Israel throttles aid to the enclave.

Some international powers have sought other means of bringing in vital aid to Gaza, opening maritime routes or carrying out air drops. But both are seen as not enough to meet the needs of those living in Gaza.

Israel's military is continuing operations across Gaza, saying one soldier was killed and several others were seriously injured during a battle in the south of the territory.

The soldier killed has been named as 21-year-old Alon Kudriashov, 21. His death brought the number of troops killed in Israel’s ground offensive against Hamas to 254. 

The Israel Defense Forces added that six fighters from the unit were "seriously injured," while 10 fighters were hurt "various way."

Hamas published a video Friday purporting to show the incident, in which a rocket was fired at an apartment building. CNN was able to identify that the video was shot near the Nasser Hospital, where there has been persistent fighting.

The IDF said operations continue in two areas of Khan Younis, Al Amal and Al Qarara, “where the troops are continuing to eliminate terrorists and conduct targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure."

The Ministry of Health in Gaza says at least 32,623 people have been killed in the territory since the October 7 attacks and more than 75,000 wounded.

Al-Shifa raid: Israeli forces last week launched another military operation on Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, bringing the sprawling medical facility in the north of the enclave back into the spotlight.

The IDF said Saturday that operations are ongoing around the complex, where it says its forces "continued to eliminate terrorists."

Israel has for years claimed that Hamas fighters are sheltering in mosques, hospitals and other civilian places to avoid Israeli attacks. Hamas has repeatedly denied the claims.

Patients are trapped inside Al-Shifa during the raid. A doctor who cared for some of the people there told CNN about two severely malnourished siblings who he fears will not survive.

A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during a military raid near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Palestinian official news agency WAFA said.

The boy, Moatasem Abu Abed, was one of three Palestinians shot by Israeli forces in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, WAFA said. One young man was seriously injured.

Israeli forces deployed military vehicles around neighborhoods in the town and stationed snipers on the rooftops of several buildings and shops, WAFA said. 

A video obtained by CNN show Abu Abed’s bleeding body being dragged in the street.

WAFA also reported that Israeli forces prevented ambulances from transferring the wounded to hospital.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

High-level talks between US and Israeli officials over potential military operations in Rafah could take place in Washington, DC, as soon as Monday, US officials tell CNN. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly called off talks scheduled for this week after the United States refused to block a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of captives held by Hamas. 

The Israeli delegation proposed to reschedule the talks for Monday, officials said, acknowledging the timing is complicated by a March 31 deadline facing the Israeli government to design a new law governing conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews, long exempted from mandatory military service. 

Netanyahu has requested that Israeli’s top court defer the deadline to draft a new plan, and it remains unclear whether the delegation would be authorized to travel to the United States if those plans are in flux. 

US officials have said no date is finalized. 

The White House has said it supports the rescheduling of the talks and is working with its counterparts to do so in a timely manner.