April 6, 2024 Israel-Gaza news

Speaking from a funeral procession Saturday for a slain military officer, Iran's highest-ranking commander vowed that an Israeli strike on its embassy complex in Damascus will not go unanswered.

The remarks come as the US braces for a significant Iranian attack on US or Israeli assets in the Middle East, according to a senior administration official.

The situation once again underlines fears that the war in Gaza could spread into a broader regional conflict.

Here's what to know:

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid will meet with top US government officials in the White House and State Department, as well as senior Democratic and Republican senators, during his visit to Washington.

Lapid will leave for the US tonight, according to a Telegram post from his office on Saturday.

According to the post, Lapid will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as well as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

On Wednesday, Lapid called for Israel's current government to resign, after Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz — also a main political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — urged for parliamentary elections in September.

The US House of Representatives will vote next week on a pro-Israel resolution opposing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Republicans step up their attacks on President Joe Biden over his posture toward Israel — and as Democrats grow increasingly critical of Israel’s military strategy. 

The symbolic resolution expresses support for Israel’s “right to self-defense” in its bloody war against Hamas and opposes efforts to “place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza, including calls for an immediate cease-fire, such as the recent statement by President Biden and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, which was adopted due to the Biden administration’s decision not to exercise the United States veto.“

The vote on the resolution — which could jam some Democrats — will come the week after World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed by Israeli airstrikes, prompting outcry and ratcheting up Democratic criticism of the Israeli government. 

In a letter to Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and dozens of other congressional Democrats expressed their "shared concern and outrage" over the strike. They urged the leaders to withhold arms packages to Israel until a full investigation is finished.

The United Nations humanitarian aid chief called the war in Gaza a “betrayal of humanity” as the conflict between Israel and Hamas is reaching its six-month mark.

UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths marked the “terrible milestone” in a statement on X Saturday.

The aid chief said a moment of remembrance and mourning is “not enough,” and instead urged for a “reckoning” as the people of Gaza face “death, devastation and now the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine.”

The aid chief also reiterated grave concerns for the “already fragile” aid operation in Gaza, which is continually undermined by bombardments, insecurity and lack of access.

The statement comes after a week that saw the death toll in Gaza surpass 33,000 and an Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian aid workers, an incident the IDF said was a "grave mistake."

“On this day, my heart goes out to the families of those killed, injured or taken hostage, and to those who face the particular suffering of not knowing the plight of their loved ones,” Griffiths said.

A Hamas delegation said it will reiterate its previous demands when it travels to Cairo on Sunday for further negotiations on the release of hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The delegation, headed by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya, will "stick to the stance presented on March 14," the group said in a statement published Saturday. 

These demands include, according to the statement:

Hamas turned down Israel’s latest counterproposal from earlier this week, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said Friday.

Israel’s top political and military officials have previously called Hamas’ demands “delusional” and stated that the elimination of the group remains the permanent goal of the Gaza offensive.

It comes as two sources told CNN Friday that the CIA director and the heads of Israel's intelligence agencies will also head to Egypt this weekend for talks. CIA Director Bill Burns, Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar all attended the previous round of talks with mediators in Doha, Qatar, which failed to yield a significant breakthrough. 

CNN’s Michael Callahan, Eugenia Ugrinovich, Mostafa Salem and Becky Anderson contributed previous reporting to this post.

The top Iranian general attended the funeral procession of military officer Mohammed Reza Zahedi on Saturday, vowing Iran will respond to the strike on its embassy consulate in Damascus that killed killed top figures from its Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran has pinned the blame for the attack on Israel, and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said Saturday that it "won’t remain unanswered” by Iran, according to Iran's semi-official news outlet Tasnim.

Bagheri, who is the country's highest ranking military commander, said it will be up to Iran to decide how and when to respond to attack, according to the Tasnim report. 

He also issued a warning to the US, saying the "main responsibility" for the Damascus attack lies with the US, according to Tasnim.

Bagheri's remarks on Saturday were heard by a huge crowd gathered in the western city of Isfahan for Zahedi's funeral procession. Video from news agencies and state media shows mourners thronging the streets to catch a glimpse of the officer's coffin, which travelled in a highly-decorated open cortege. 

Many mourners could be seen waving Iranian and Palestinian flags.

Some context: Israel has intensified its military campaign against both Iran and its proxy groups in the region since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which is backed by Tehran, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” attack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in retaliation for the Damascus strike, a senior administration official told CNN on Friday.

The sound of fighting can be heard near the Erez land crossing on Saturday, according to a CNN team on the ground, as Israel prepares to reopen the crossing for the first time since Hamas' October 7 attacks.

CNN's Nic Robertson reported near the border between Israel and northern Gaza, saying Israel Defense Forces troops had moved the team from another location, where they said CNN could not broadcast.

Israel's decision to allow aid deliveries through the Erez crossing came shortly after US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

But Robertson said it remains difficult to imagine aid trucks rolling safely through Erez while the sounds of fighting remain so close by.

Watch Robertson's report below:

The body of an Israeli hostage, who was killed while held captive by the terrorist group Islamic Jihad, has been returned to the family, the Israeli military said Saturday. 

The body of Elad Katzir was rescued overnight from the city of Khan Younis in Gaza and returned to his family in Israel following identification procedures, according to a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency. 

Katzir was abducted by Islamic Jihad from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the attacks on October 7, according to the statement. His mother, Hanna, was also abducted by the terrorist group and released on November 24 as part of the agreement for the release of hostages. His father, Avraham, was killed in the kibbutz, the statement said. 

She also lashed out at the Israeli leadershi, saying they did not do enough to bring the hostages home. 

Following Katzir's return, a total of 133 hostages remain held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Of that number, 129 hostages are from the October 7 attack, and 99 of them are believed to be alive.

A doctor at a field hospital for detained Palestinians at Israel's Sde Teiman army base has described "deplorable" conditions, with amputations being carried out on prisoners with handcuff injuries on a "routine" basis, according to an exclusive report from the newspaper Haaretz. 

In a letter to Israel's attorney general and defense and health ministers obtained by Haaretz, the doctor said the conditions at Sde Teiman field hospital compromise inmates' health and violate medical ethics. 

Haaretz reported that the doctor said "inmates are fed through straws, defecate in diapers and are held (in) constant restraints, which violate medical ethics and the law."

CNN spoke to a source who has a medical background and previously visited the Sde Teiman field hospital. They confirmed seeing detainees held in constant restraints.

In a written statement to CNN responding to the claims, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said: "The IDF operates according to the law and within the framework of the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees. Every procedure is documented and supervised, and is done with extreme care for the human dignity of the detainees, in accordance with the principles of Israeli and international law."