April 8, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

US forces destroyed an “air defense system with two missiles ready to launch, a ground control station in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen” and a drone launched over the Red Sea on Monday, the US Central Command said.

No injuries or damage were reported, according to CENTCOM.

In a separate incident, CENTCOM said, “an anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden where a coalition ship was escorting M/V Hope Island, a Marshall Islands flagged, U.K. owned, Italian operated cargo ship.”

There were no injuries or damage reported, CENTCOM said, adding that this was the fifth observed missile launch against the coalition ship and M/V Hope Island.

Some background: The Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea since shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas began, with the group tying the attacks to its effort to pressure Israel and its allies to stop the war in Gaza. They are among several Iranian proxy groups at the center of global concerns the war could spill further through the Mideast.

A coalition of nations has committed naval assets and personnel to bolstering security in the Red Sea.

A specialized United Nations committee will review whether Palestine will be granted full state member status in the UN this month, according to Vanessa Frazier, the UN Ambassador of Malta and Security Council’s president for April.

“The council has decided that this deliberation has to take place during the month of April. That is the timeline — April 2024,” Frazier said at a news conference Monday.

After a closed-door session Monday, the UN Security Council referred this request for Palestinian statehood to the Committee on the Admission of New Members, she said.

The committee held their first meeting on Monday to begin discussions regarding Palestine’s renewed application, she said. 

The Palestinian Mission to the UN first put in a request to be recognized as a full member state in 2011. It was granted “non-member observer state” status in November 2012.

The US is historically keen on letting the Israelis and Palestinians decide the issue between themselves. 

A disinformation war is unfolding alongside the physical conflict raging in Gaza, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres warned in a post on X Monday, calling for international journalists be allowed entry into the enclave.

Foreign media have been allowed very limited access to Gaza, either embedded with the Israeli military on condition of viewing and approving the unedited raw footage or in rare instances with humanitarian aid convoys going into the enclave.

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet on Tuesday with American families whose loved ones were taken hostage by Hamas amid ongoing negotiations for the release of remaining hostages and a ceasefire in the war.

Harris will meet with them in the afternoon, the second such meeting since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year, according to an advisory from her office. The meeting is closed to the press. 

Her meeting comes after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the families on Monday evening.  

CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to Cairo over the weekend where he presented a new proposal to try and help broker a deal between the Israel and Hamas and bridge the gap between the two sides.

The leaders of Egypt, France and Jordan have issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, highlighting the grave humanitarian crisis and the catastrophic impact of the ongoing war.

In an op-ed published Monday in Jordan and Egypt’s state newspapers, as well as France’s Le Monde and The Washington Post, they stressed the need for a peaceful resolution through a two-state solution, declaring that violence and warfare “have no place” in achieving peace in the Middle East.

“In light of the intolerable human toll, we, the leaders of Egypt, France, and Jordan, call for the immediate and unconditional implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2728. We underline the urgent need to bring about a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” the joint op-ed read.

Highlighting the critical situation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have sought refuge, the leaders warned about the “dire consequences of further military actions,” advocating for the protection of civilians as a legal and moral obligation under international law.

The three countries’ leaders condemned violence, terrorism and indiscriminate targeting of civilians, reiterating the need for all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

“We condemn the killing of humanitarian aid workers, most recently the attack against World Central Kitchen’s aid convoy,” the op-ed read.

Egypt and France have played a major role as mediators between Hamas and Israel, while Jordan has been a key actor in aid delivery, contributing dozens of airdrops over Gaza.

Democratic Senators are split on whether to apply new conditions on aid to Israel.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who supports conditions, warned the Biden administration’s policy needs to change in order to boost Democratic support for President Joe Biden in November. “I think the president simply needs to do what is the right policy, and that will send a message to people around the country that he is taking the right course. So in my view, this is a case where the right policies will produce the right politics.”

“He needs to use all the levers of US policy available to him. That includes many options, but one of them is withholding, at least for now, offensive military systems – not to prevent offensive military assistance from being sent at some point, but, again, to make sure the president can enforce his own words,” he said. 

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, who does not support conditions, said he believes the conditions will not help them accomplish their most immediate goal: getting humanitarian aid into Gaza. “We need to get the humanitarian assistance in, and I hope we can see some progress on it,” he said. “I don’t think conditionalities are the way to go.”

Sen. Mark Kelly, who has not committed to conditions but left the door open, said, “I think it’s fair, at some point, if we don’t see positive change, to make decisions on what kind of aid we’re providing, and what they could use it for it.”

He criticized Israel after World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed by Israeli strikes last week. “This is reckless action by the IDF. And the IDF’s gotta do a better job at this,” Kelly said. “I want to see how they’re going to make changes to this. They’ve got to make changes.”

Forty-six bodies of Palestinians have been brought to the European Hospital in Gaza since Monday morning, the European Hospital said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Monday.

“Most of the bodies came from the east of the Khan Younis area, and the bodies are decomposed, and found dead under rubble of demolished buildings,” the statement read.

Thirty-eight of those 46 bodies have been identified, the hospital said.

This comes after a search and recovery operation in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Younis announced Sunday.

Dozens of Khan Younis residents who were forcibly displaced to Rafah traveled back to their homes on Monday.

Video filmed by a CNN stringer shows people jumping over debris in search of their homes. Most of them said they were unrecognizable.

Here’s what some children said:

Aseel, 12: She pointed to a pile of rubble in front of her. “There it was, it’s destroyed,” she said of her house. “We were only able to retrieve small things from our house. I wish I could’ve gotten my clothes.” 

Tamar: He was spotted carrying blocks of wood. “I’ll go sell them to make 10-20 shekels, so that I never have to extend my hand out and beg for money from people,” he said, adding he didn’t recognize his house when he first saw it. “If it wasn’t for my neighbors, I wouldn’t have known it my house. Devastation everywhere,” he said. 

Abdelkarim: “Where are we supposed to grab our stuff from? From what homes? Who will we complain to about our concerns? Who will we complain to about the Israelis? We have no life here. Where will we live?” he said, adding he spent his time in Rafah reading and writing since his school is destroyed.

Alia: She was walking with her younger brother carrying only a bag of clothes and a small toy. “Our house was bombed and bulldozed … this toy means a lot to me. It’s a memory from home.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday in a video posted on Telegram that a date has been set for an invasion into Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza where about 1.5 million Palestinians are estimated to be sheltering.

Netanyahu didn’t say what the date was. This comes after Israel said it had withdrawn from Khan Younis in southern Gaza 

Here’s what else to know:

A new proposal for ceasefire and hostage release: The US made a new proposal in Cairo over the weekend that includes pushing Israel to release a higher number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the expected 40 Israeli hostages who would be freed during the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal. The US would also like Palestinian residents of northern Gaza who have fled south to be allowed to return home to the north without restrictions, a source said. So far, Israel has rejected Hamas’ demands for an unrestricted return of Gazans to the north. After a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said it is a “deal we might not like, but it’s doable, and therefore it needs to be made.”

More aid trucks enter Gaza: Higher numbers of trucks carrying aid entered Gaza yesterday and today.

Before the conflict, an average of 450-500 trucks would enter Gaza daily with supplies.

Longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody dies: Walid Daqqa died at Shamir Medical Center on Sunday after being incarcerated for 38 years in an Israeli prison, according to a statement from the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Amnesty International called on Israeli authorities to return Daqqa’s body to his family so they could give him a “peaceful and dignified burial and allow them to mourn his death without intimidation.” Daqqa was a famed author who wrote novels and articles about his prison conditions and the challenges detainees face.

An Iranian attack on Israel would likely be carried out by Iranian proxy forces in the region, rather than by Iran directly, two people familiar with US intelligence on the matter told CNN. 

Tehran is wary of a dramatic escalation in the fighting, the sources said, and does not want to give the United States or its allies an excuse to attack Iran directly. 

Iran and its proxy militia groups also do not appear poised to attack US troops or other assets in the region for similar reasons, the sources said. The sources noted, however, that Iran does not have perfect command and control over all of its proxy forces, so the possibility of an attack on US assets cannot be completely ruled out. 

The US and its allies have been bracing for a possible attack against Israeli and US assets in the region in retaliation for an Israeli strike last week on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, which killed a dozen Iranian military officials. 

The sources told CNN that US intelligence assesses that Iran has urged several of its proxy militia groups to simultaneously launch a large-scale attack against Israel, using drones and missiles, and that they could attack as soon as this week. There is some debate, however, about whether they will wait until after Ramadan ends to strike, said one of the sources.

 The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. 

Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa died at Shamir Medical Center on Sunday after being incarcerated for 38 years in an Israeli prison, according to a statement from the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

Daqqa was the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails, Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International said in a statement Monday, adding that the organization has called on Israeli authorities to return Daqqa’s body to his family so they could give him a “peaceful and dignified burial and allow them to mourn his death without intimidation.”

Daqqa was a famed author who wrote novels and articles about his prison conditions and the challenges detainees face, according to a statement from Addameer, a Palestinian prisoner rights advocacy organization. His writings “were an act of resistance against the dehumanization of Palestinian prisoners,” Amnesty said.

CNN video shows Israeli police storming a tent set up as a gathering space for mourning on Monday by Daqqa’s family in Israel in the city of Baqa al-Gharbiyye. Israeli police told CNN in a statement that they responded to the gathering after it proceeded to take place “despite the denial.” Five people were arrested for alleged assault against law enforcement personnel, the statement added.

Some background: Daqqa was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in March 1986 after he was convicted by an Israeli court of commanding an armed group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which abducted and killed Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984, according to Amnesty International. Daqqa was not convicted of carrying out the murder but of commanding the group, something he has denied, Amnesty states. 

Human rights organizations over the years called on Israeli authorities to release Daqqa due to his deteriorating health conditions. He was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare form of bone marrow cancer, and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease in 2022, according to a statement on Monday from Addameer and Amnesty. 

Monday witnessed the passage of 419 humanitarian aid trucks through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana border crossings into Gaza, marking the largest single-day delivery since the conflict began on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Monday.

In addition to the truck deliveries, approximately 258 food packages were airdropped across various locations in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said last week that 88% of Gaza’s population faces “emergency or worse” food insecurity, and famine in northern Gaza is “imminent.”

Before the conflict, an average of 450-500 trucks would enter Gaza daily with supplies.

The US State Department announced that 304 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, which was the “highest number of trucks in any single day since the conflict began.”

“That number represents a significant improvement, but it is important not just that we see the daily number continue to grow, but that it be sustained over time,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller at a news briefing Monday.

Miller said that the US hopes that 350 trucks will be entering Gaza each day “by later this week.” The official also reiterated that the US would be judging Israel by their results, and would be “observing closely” the new Israeli deconfliction unit “to verify that it operates as intended to ensure humanitarian workers can do their jobs as safely as possible.”

This update comes as CNN reported that initial plans for humanitarian goods to begin flowing into Gaza on Sunday via the Erez crossing have been delayed, and officials are still making logistical preparations to ensure the checkpoint can accommodate truckloads of aid.

Israel approved the reopening of the Erez crossing last week for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks, a decision that came soon after US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to allow in aid.

CIA Director Bill Burns presented a new proposal to try to bridge the gaps in ongoing negotiations to reach a deal that would bring about a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages held by the group, according to a source familiar with the discussions.  

The latest US proposal was made in Cairo over the weekend and includes pushing Israel to release a higher number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the expected 40 Israeli hostages who would be freed during the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal. Prior to this round of talks CNN had reported that negotiators had discussed the release of around 700 Palestinian prisoners, including many with life sentences.

Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials – along with Burns — were in Cairo over the weekend for the negotiations. Hamas also met officials from Egypt’s Intelligence Service in Cairo, Egyptian state media said.

The US would also like to Palestinian residents of northern Gaza who have fled south to be allowed to return home to the north without restrictions, the source said. So far, Israel has rejected Hamas’ demands for an unrestricted return of Gazans to the north and the redeployment of troops from the Israel Defense Forces away from central Gaza. Israel has insisted on inspections of Palestinians moving north, a diplomat familiar with the talks told CNN. 

Possible next steps: Everyone agreed to study the new US proposal from Cairo, the first source said, and it will be communicated to Hamas leadership in Gaza which ultimately makes the decisions for the group. Given the difficulties of communicating with Hamas leaders who are believed to be hiding in Gaza’s vast underground tunnel system, getting a response can take several days.  

A senior Hamas official speaking to CNN said the group will return to Cairo “as soon as the opportunity presents itself,” but could not place a firm timeframe on when that would happen. 

Read more about the CIA director’s proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date for an invasion into Rafah has been set, according to a video posted on his official Telegram account.

Netanyahu didn’t say what the date was.

He also said that “entry into Rafah” was necessary for a “complete victory over Hamas.”

Netanyahu’s comments come after Israel said it had withdrawn from Khan Younis in southern Gaza after months of fierce fighting that left much of the city in ruins.

Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are estimated to be sheltering, is located in the southernmost part of the besieged enclave.

This post has been updated with more details on Netanyahu’s remarks.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “long, fruitful and thorough” on “future events and the need to work on a solution in Gaza.” He said that “a hostage deal is doable.” 

He described the deal as “difficult,” adding that it is a “deal we might not like, but it’s doable, and therefore it needs to be made,” he said to reporters outside the State Department in Washington, DC, after meeting Blinken.

Lapid also expressed his thanks to the US for its support in Israel’s war against Hamas during “maybe the most difficult moment of our history.” The opposition leader said that Israel needs to do their best “in order to avoid hurting the people of Gaza” as calls grow for the Biden administration to impose conditions on aid to Israel. 

“I think the president is obviously worried about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. I think Israel is worried as well,” said Lapid. Asked about how he would be executing the war differently if he was prime minister of Israel, Lapid said he was “uncomfortable… to discuss Israeli politics standing opposite the State Department. 

More on the hostage talks: Lapid’s comments come as negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal achieved “significant progress” and consensus on many controversial points, according to Egyptian state outlet Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official. The official confirmed the “continuation of efforts to reach a truce agreement” in Gaza, according to the state outlet.

The White House said Monday the uptick of aid trucks into Gaza represents progress, but that it must be increased and sustained over time to meet the humanitarian needs in the besieged enclave.

The US has pressed Israel to expand truck crossings into Gaza to between 300 and 350 a day, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. Israel announced more than 300 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday, the highest volume since the current conflict began.

“That’s a good start but still not up to the upper range of” what the US is pressing for, he said. “What matters is how it can be sustained over time.”

He said the Biden administration would continue pressing Israel on making changes to its deconfliction mechanism to allow aid workers to access areas of Gaza following a strike that killed several World Central Kitchen workers earlier this month. Kirby said the US continues to work its way through Israel’s investigation of the strike that killed aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, but hasn’t concluded its review of the document.

He said the date for an in-person meeting between top US and Israeli officials to discuss plans for a ground invasion of Rafah had yet to be reached, but said the US still does not see indications that a major ground invasion of the southern Gaza city is imminent.

Hostage talks: As optimism appears to grow for a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting, Kirby confirmed that CIA Director Bill Burns had been in Cairo over the weekend to continue a “serious round” of talks. He said a proposal had been presented to Hamas and that officials were still awaiting a response.

He said it has typically taken several days to get a response from Hamas in previous back-and-forths over a hostage agreement. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to meet with families of American hostages on Monday evening, Kirby said.

A lawyer representing Nicaragua has stressed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the “urgent” need for Germany to suspend arms sales to Israel, arguing this weapons supply could make the country “complicit” in alleged genocide in Gaza. 

The Central American country has asked the ICJ to grant a series of provisional measures including an order for Germany to “immediately suspend” its military aid to Israel. 

Alain Pellet, who is a French lawyer and professor of International Law at Paris Nanterre University, told the UN’s top court that Nicaragua is “not accusing Germany of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza” but rather “failing in its obligation to prevent and suppress the crime of genocide.” 

Germany, he said, “has a full understanding of the risks” that the weapons “it is furnishing Israel” may be used to commit genocide towards Palestinians in Gaza. 

Pellet highlighted Article 3 of the Genocide Convention which classifies complicity in genocide as a punishable offense, arguing that Germany’s military aid to Israel is “straight from the definition of ‘complicity’ set out in Article 3.”

Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, who is Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, accused German military companies of “directly profiting from the situation,” telling the court that their share prices had risen in the six months of war in Gaza. Gomez maintained that the European country “can not but be aware” that the weapons it has been “supplying” Israel are being used in attacks in Gaza. 

The ambassador and lawyer described the guaranteed supply of armaments from Germany as being “crucial to Israel’s pursuit of the attacks on Gaza.” 

What happens next: With Monday’s hearing now wrapped for the day, Germany’s legal team is now preparing to make its case before the court on Tuesday. 

CNN’s Inke Kappeler in Berlin contributed reporting to this post.

Some of Khan Younis’ former residents are returning home after the Israeli military announced it would withdraw its ground troops from the southern Gazan city.

Before October 7, Khan Younis was home to more than 400,000 people. Thousands of civilians fled to the city in the early days of the war, when Israel was focusing its operations on the north of the Gaza strip.

Israeli forces began operations in Khan Younis about four months ago, putting together its largest-ever division to fight what it called a Hamas stronghold. They leave behind a city that appears mostly in ruins.

Meanwhile, negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal achieved “significant progress” and consensus on many controversial points, according to Egyptian state outlet Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official.

Catch up on top headlines in the war:

Correction: An earlier version of this post had an incorrect population figure for Khan Younis before October 7.

Palestinians who were forced out of their homes in Khan Younis by Israel’s military offensive began returning cautiously in small numbers after Israel withdrew its ground forces on Sunday. Many found their former neighborhoods looking like a wasteland. 

Video filmed by a CNN stringer showed rubble and debris strewn along the roads. Much of the city was bulldozed after months of heavy fighting and Israeli bombardment. 

Most were seen examining the ruins on foot, although some were using bicycles, trucks or donkeys for transportation. They collected kitchen items, leftover food bags and other items salvaged from the wreckage, CNN video showed. Others were seen standing atop destroyed buildings, sifting through heaps of rubble that had once been homes. “This is what has become of Gaza,” said one man, driving through the rubble on his motorbike.  

The footage showed significant damage to the vast majority of buildings, including homes and mosques, with many entirely flattened. The buildings still standing were covered in soot and riddled with bullet holes and artillery damage, with facades torn down.

The buzzing of Israeli drones above could be heard throughout, as well as occasional gunshots. In what appeared to be the office of a telecoms company, graffiti could be seen on the walls, including drawings of Stars of David as well as anti-Arab profanity in English.  

“Gaza belongs to the Jews,” read an Arabic marking on the wall next to the logo of the Basil Tel company in eastern Khan Younis.

Hear from residents returning to Khan Younis.

This post has been updated.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun hearing a case accusing Germany of “facilitating genocide” in Gaza.

The two-day proceedings began at The Hague on Monday morning after Nicaragua accused Germany of violating its obligations as a signatory of the Genocide Convention through its sustained support of Israel and its war in Gaza.

Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the UN’s top court that his government had taken the case “on behalf of the Palestinian people” who are “being subjected to one of the most destructive military actions in modern history.”

Nicaragua has been a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause, seeing the issue as a modern-day version of the type of colonialism it suffered under Spanish rule.

Germany has strongly refuted Nicaragua’s accusations that Berlin violated international humanitarian law. The German delegation will present its arguments to the court on Tuesday, the foreign office added in its post on X.

Israel is not a party to the case and will not appear the ICJ over the course of the next two days.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that an overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed Ali Ahmad Hussein, a commander in Hezbollah’s special operations unit, the Al Radwan, in addition to two of the group’s fighters.

The Iran-backed Islamist movement confirmed in a statement that Hussein was killed by an IDF strike.

The IDF alleged that Hussein was responsible for organizing numerous rocket launches and terror attacks against Israel and its civilians since the October 7 attack by Hamas and other militant groups based in Gaza.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire across the border since the war in Gaza broke out, prompting fears of a wider regional conflagration.

According to Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA), the strike caused extensive damage to buildings adjacent to the targeted property. The agency added that more than 10 families had lost their homes.  

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that Israel’s conclusions on the airstrike that killed seven aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, were unsatisfactory.

“We don’t find the explanations to be satisfactory to this point. This is a tragedy,” he said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “We need proper accountability, we need full transparency about the circumstances and I think that is what the Australian public would expect.”

Frankcom and six of her colleagues working for the World Central Kitchen charity died last week while attempting to deliver food to people starving in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strike was a tragic case of misidentification. In its preliminary findings released on Friday, the IDF admitted to a series of botched assessments and decision-making failures that led to the targeted strikes on three cars carrying the innocent aid workers. The IDF has since fired two senior officers and reprimanded a top commander. 

Albanese’s comments came on the same day his government announced the appointment of a special advisor to monitor Israel’s response to the killings, which have prompted global outrage.

Albanese added that he expected retired Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin, who was appointed the role, to “be given every cooperation from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Government.”

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Monday that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abandons plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, he may lose the support of the coalition that has kept him in power.

“If the prime minister decides to end the war without launching an extensive attack on Rafah to defeat Hamas, he will not have a mandate to continue serving as prime minister,” Ben Gvir said.

Ben Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power party, is one of the most far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet. He has been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism and earlier this year advocated for the mass relocation of Palestinians outside of Gaza, effectively making way for Israeli settlers.

Ben Gvir’s comments came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew troops from the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. It’s unclear what the withdrawal means for Israel’s plans to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, which has become a shelter for an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel has said an incursion into Rafah is essential to achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas from Gaza.

Israeli officials said the IDF is “far from stopping” its military operations in the Gaza Strip when the troop withdrawal was announced.

CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Benjamin Brown contributed to this post.

Australia has appointed an advisor to monitor Israel’s investigation of its strikes that killed Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues last week.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Monday that retired Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin, who previously served as chief of the Defence Force, will serve in the role. 

Binskin “will engage with Israel and the Israel Defense Forces on the response to the attack,” Wong said in a statement. 

“The Special Adviser will provide advice to the Australian Government regarding any further representations or actions that could be taken to ensure a full and transparent investigation and to hold those responsible to account,” the statement said.

Wong reiterated that Australia has made clear it expects “full accountability” for the deaths of the aid workers.

“The appointment of ACM Binskin will ensure the family of Zomi Frankcom, and the Australian people can have confidence in this process,” the statement said.

The strike on April 1 killed the Australian woman described by her family as “kind, selfless and outstanding” alongside a dual US-Canada national, a Palestinian, three Brits, and a Pole.  

The Israeli military dismissed two senior officers and reprimanded a top commander as it admitted the strike was “a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification.” Those who approved the strike thought they were targeting armed Hamas operatives, according to its preliminary investigation.

Nonprofit World Central Kitchen has called for “an independent, third-party investigation” of the strikes.

“Significant progress” has been made and consensus reached on controversial points during talks in Cairo between Israel and Hamas, Egyptian state media reported, citing a senior Egyptian official.

The official confirmed the “continuation of efforts to reach a truce agreement” in Gaza, according to state outlet state outlet Al Qahera News.

The weekend talks came as the Israeli military said it had withdrawn its ground forces from Khan Younis in southern Gaza after months of fierce fighting.

But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff said the military was “far from stopping” its operations in the enclave.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said troops were leaving Gaza to prepare for follow-up missions, including in the southern Rafah region, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.

“We will not leave any Hamas brigades active — in any part of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said.

Here’s the latest:

Negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal achieved “significant progress” and consensus on many controversial points, according to Egyptian state outlet Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official.

The official confirmed the “continuation of efforts to reach a truce agreement” in Gaza, according to the state outlet.

“The round of negotiations in Cairo is witnessing great progress in bringing points of view closer together,” Al Qahera cited the source as saying, adding that there had been an agreement on “basic axes between all parties.”

The source said the Qatari and Hamas delegations would leave Cairo and return within two days to agree to the final terms of the agreement. The US and Israeli delegations would leave within hours, though consultations would continue over the next 48 hours, the source told Al Qahera.

Hamas’ demands: Hamas said Sunday it would like to see a “complete cessation of aggression.” The group also reiterated its demands, including a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, reconstruction of the damage in Gaza from Israel’s military, and a “completion of a prisoner exchange deal” involving a mutual release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Israel has repeatedly called Hamas’ demands “delusional.”

Some Palestinians who returned to the streets of Khan Younis after Israeli troops withdrew from the city found themselves surrounded by rubble and heavily damaged buildings, footage taken by a Gaza resident shows. 

In one of the video clips, drones can be heard buzzing overhead. 

The man filming says that there was a high concentration of military equipment in this area during the military’s incursion. 

The southern Gaza city of Khan Younis was designated a safe zone by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the early days of the war. 

But as the Israeli army pushed south, the city came under sustained attack, with the IDF labeling it a Hamas stronghold. 

Some of the Israeli military’s offensives took place at medical facilities sheltering displaced civilians and health workers. The IDF said they located Hamas militants in hospitals. 

The military is “far from stopping” its operations in Gaza, its chief of staff said on Sunday, after the IDF said it had withdrawn its ground forces from Khan Younis after months of fierce fighting. 

The Israeli military said Sunday it is “preparing to move from defence to attack” regarding operations on the northern border with Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been exchanging increased fire since the day after Hamas launched the October 7 attacks in Israel, with casualties reported on both sides. It is one of multiple ongoing conflicts between Israel and Iranian proxy groups.

“During the last days, another phase of the Northern Command’s preparations for the war was completed, which revolved around raising the capabilities of emergency operational depots for the purpose of large-scale recruitment of IDF forces when necessary … and their arrival to the front line within a short period with all the necessary equipment for combat,” the IDF said in a statement.

The IDF said commanders of regular and reserve units are now ready to be deployed “within just a few hours.”

The statement was released in both English and Arabic, with the statement in Arabic using slightly different language. The English-language version does not carry the phrase “preparing to move from defence to attack” and instead highlights the Israeli military’s “readiness for the transition from defense to offense.”

A group of American doctors who spent over a week working in hospitals in northern Gaza describe “miserable,” “catastrophic” and “dire” conditions to CNN, as more people die of starvation in the enclave. 

The doctors volunteered through a World Heath Organization-coordinated mission to the north of Gaza — where little to no aid is reaching hospitals, and spent most of their time at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. 

“The situation here is dire… they’re running on solar power, there’s no fuel to run the electricity in the hospital… patients are lying on the floors in their blood because there’s no beds available,” Dr. Farhan Abdelaziz, an emergency medicine physician said. “The humanitarian crisis here is beyond what words can really convey.”

Video filmed by a CNN stringer in Kamal Adwan Hospital shows the doctors operating on screaming patients on the floor, most of whom are children.

Abdelaziz is seen trying to calm down a nine-year-old girl crying out in pain, caressing her hand, telling her to pray to God.

Another doctor said the hospital received “mass casualties” every day — ranging from 10 to 20 people showing up all at once.

“This morning we woke up and found out that four patients died in the ICU. One of them was about 10 years old, and the mom refused to leave the child’s bedside, refused to believe that the child was dead, refused to let the staff cover her up … She just couldn’t believe her child was dead,” Dr. Samer Attar, an orthopedic surgeon, told CNN. The child died of malnutrition and dehydration, he said.

At least 30 Palestinians have died of malnutrition in Gaza, including over 20 children, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health. 

“These people, they just need help. They just want this to stop… Nobody discusses politics here. They just talk about food and water and shelter, and they just want the war the end,” Attar said.

The Israel Defense Forces is “far from stopping” military operations in Gaza, its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said at a news conference Sunday.

“We will not leave any Hamas brigades active, in any part of the Gaza Strip. We have plans and will act when we decide,” he said, adding that the military’s goals in Gaza have not been fully achieved, including the return of all hostages, the return of displaced residents to the north, and the dismantling of Hamas throughout the enclave.

In response to a question about the military’s withdrawal of ground forces from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Halevi claimed Hamas’ military wing had been diminished to operating as “small terrorist cells.”

He reiterated that the IDF has not left the Gaza Strip and that there are “many troops at this very hour” in the strip.

The country’s defense minister made similar remarks earlier Sunday, saying the withdrawing troops will regroup and then prepare for new missions, including in Rafah.

Some Israeli troops are leaving Gaza to prepare for follow-up missions, including in the southernmost Rafah region, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday.

“We are reaching a situation where Hamas does not control the Gaza Strip and that it does not function as a military framework that poses a risk to the citizens of the State of Israel,” Gallant added, in remarks during a visit to assess the Israel Defense Forces’ Southern Command.

Earlier Sunday, the IDF said its 98th division had “concluded its mission” in the southern city of Khan Younis and was leaving the Gaza Strip to “recuperate and prepare for future operations.”

The defense minister said Israeli forces had destroyed “enemy targets, warehouses, weapons, underground (infrastructure), headquarters (and) communication rooms” in Khan Younis.

Remember: An Israeli invasion of Rafah has been anticipated with grave concern from the United Nations and international aid organizations, as more than 1 million civilians are packed into the Gazan city with nowhere left to run.

The Israeli strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers in Gaza are “unforgivable,” the organization’s founder, Jose Andres, said as he criticized the Israel Defense Forces inquiry into the killings.

Andres called for an independent investigation and better evidence from the IDF in an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz that aired Sunday, adding that Israel cannot properly investigate itself.

What Israel has said: In a report published Friday, the IDF said the strike was a “grave mistake” and that troops thought they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drone strikes targeted three vehicles of the WCK late Monday night.

More from Andrés: The aid group founder doubts Israel’s claim that it failed to identify the vehicles because it was dark out. Andres said WCK vehicles are white with a colorful logo painted above, and that Israel’s high-tech drones should have no issue identifying them.

The IDF had said that because the strikes happened at night, the surveillance drones could not see the WCK logo on the vehicles, and that it is considering distributing thermal stickers for aid vehicles to prevent this happening again.

“This doesn’t seem (like) a war against terror. This doesn’t seem anymore a war about defending Israel. This, really at this point, seems (like) a war against humanity itself,” Andrés said.

He also urged the US to put out concrete measures to ensure Israel avoids killing civilians and aid workers — instead of just giving warnings. “There should already be consequences,” he said, commenting on the latest White House warning for Israel to do better at protecting civilians.

The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Cindy McCain has told CNN the UN agency has amassed food for 1.1 million people for three months outside Gaza.

“We just need to get it in,” McCain told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “That’s why these crossings are so important, and more crossings are needed.”

McCain emphasized the importance of Israel’s decision to temporarily open the Erez crossing, saying it was vital for aid operations.

“We as humanitarians must be able to get in with our humanitarian principles and deliver aid in such a way,” the WFP chief added.

On Friday, the Israeli government revealed plans to temporarily open the Erez crossing and Ashdod port to enable the supply of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. But plans for humanitarian goods to begin flowing into Gaza on Sunday via the Erez crossing were delayed.

“It’s much more than just getting food in,” McCain said.

“It’s about the kind of foods that we get and making sure that we can get certainly foods for adults, but most importantly, those for younger children who really are in desperate need of nutrients right now.”

After the Israel Defense Forces announced their soldiers would withdraw from the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli public broadcaster and CNN affiliate Channel 11 reported that the remaining forces would be located along the so-called Netzarim Corridor.

The Netzarim Corridor splits the Gaza Strip in two. It stretches from the Gaza-Israeli border area across the entire roughly 6.5-kilometer-wide (roughly 4-mile-wide) enclave.

The corridor intersects one of Gaza’s two main north-south roads, Salaheddin Street, to create a strategic, central junction.

It was built at the start of 2024 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and divides the north of the enclave from the south. The corridor reaches the Mediterranean coast, satellite imagery shows.

The road will be used for the movement of troops and logistical equipment as well as providing an “operational foothold” in the area, according to the IDF.

Read more about the corridor.

A doctor at a field hospital for detained Palestinians at an Israeli army base has described “deplorable conditions” and “routine” amputations due to handcuff injuries, 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.

He reported violations such as feeding inmates through straws, keeping them in constant restraints, blindfolding them, and making them defecate in diapers.

In its response to these allegations, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it “operates according to the law and within the framework of the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees.”

The IDF stated that the handcuffing of detainees is done “in accordance with the procedures, their health condition and the level of danger posed by them” to ensure staff safety, adding that “any allegation of violence or humiliation for which concrete details will be provided will be examined and dealt with individually.”

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.