April 8, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

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.”

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.” 

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.

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.