April 10, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

The Israeli agency that coordinates the inspection and delivery of humanitarian assistance for Gaza has again blamed the United Nations for failing to distribute the aid.

The agency, known as COGAT, posted on X Wednesday: “Israel is surging aid into Gaza, with over 1200 trucks entering in 3 days (avg 400/day). Right now, 500 trucks worth lying on the Gaza side of KS [Kerem Shalom] waiting to be picked up by UN agencies.”

It added: “@UN, Do your job, focus on distribution, and stop blaming Israel for your colossal failures.” The post is accompanied by a photograph of a large volume of aid waiting to be collected at Kerem Shalom, which along with Rafah is the main crossing point for aid.

There have been frequent disputes between Israel and UN agencies over who is to blame for delays and disruptions in getting aid into Gaza. COGAT has said that 419 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza on Monday and 468 trucks on Tuesday — the highest number of aid trucks that entered Gaza in one day since the start of the war.

UN's response: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said earlier this week that in March “an array of access restrictions and denials imposed by Israeli authorities continue to obstruct and limit humanitarian operations throughout Gaza.”

The United Nations main aid agency in Gaza has also said 176 of its staff have been killed since October 7.

The head of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, says "there is no military solution to the current confrontation and violence," instead suggesting "a political and diplomatic solution is the only way forward.”

He again warned of potential escalation as tensions continue to grow between Israel and Iran, and an almost daily barrage of rockets from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group across the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel has been preparing for war with Hezbollah for months, having evacuated more than 40 communities in its north. The two sides have been engaging in skirmishes that have been confined to a few kilometers on each side of the border, although Israel last month struck as deep as 100 kilometers into Lebanon. Four UN peacekeepers were injured on March 30 when they were hit by a blast while on patrol in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, according to the UN mission.

Some context: UN Security Council resolution 1701, passed in 2006, calls for the full cessation of hostilities, the deployment of Lebanese forces to Southern Lebanon, parallel withdrawal of Israeli forces behind what is known as the Blue Line, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that Israel "must be punished and it will be," for a deadly bombing of its consulate in Syria.

The airstrike, which Iran blamed on Israel, destroyed the consulate and killed seven Iranian officials, as well as at least six Syrians, according to Iranian state television. Iran subsequently vowed revenge.

Iran has vowed retaliation — an escalation of regional tensions over the war in Gaza that appeared to raise the risk of a wider Middle Eastern conflict.

Some context: Israel has intensified its longstanding military campaign against Iran and its regional proxies following the October 7 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas.

The strike in Damascus is a significant escalation because the consulate is considered sovereign Iranian territory, raising the risk of a wider Middle Eastern conflict.

What Israel says: After the strike, the Israeli military said it would not comment on foreign reports. But a military spokesperson said Israel believed the target was a “military building of Quds forces” — a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations.

In response to Iran's warnings on Wednesday, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz said: “Once Iran directly attacks Israel — that’ll be a turning point."

He said Israel would respond "inside Iran" in the case of an attack.

President Joe Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict as a “mistake” and calling for a halt to the fighting.

Biden's comments add to mounting US criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.

Hours before the president's interview aired, the Biden administration dismissed Netanyahu’s pronouncement that a Rafah offensive date was set as bluster fueled by the prime minister’s tenuous political standing at home, senior administration officials told CNN.

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed 14 people on Tuesday, according to Dr. Khalil Al-Dikran, the spokesperson of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

He told CNN most of those killed were women and children, and 30 others were seriously injured. The information was also confirmed by the Civil Defense in Gaza.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

The attack happened on the last night before Eid al-Fitr, one of the most important holidays of the Islamic calendar, marking the end of Ramadan.

In a video posted on social media, several children are seen being rushed into the hospital, where doctors inspect them on the floor — their bodies dusty and covered in blood. Another video shows the uncovered bodies of three dead children next to other bodies wrapped in blankets. 

US President Joe Biden described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the war in Gaza as "a mistake” in one of his sharpest critiques of how the Israeli government is prosecuting the conflict against Hamas. 

Biden made the comments in an interview with Univision that was taped just days after Israeli military strikes killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, which sparked anger and frustration throughout the White House. 

The president added that he’s calling for Israel to agree to a ceasefire and that there is “no excuse” for not sending in humanitarian aid. 

The Biden administration is dismissing Benjamin Netanyahu’s pronouncement that a date has been set for a ground offensive into Rafah as bluster fueled by the Israeli prime minister’s tenuous political standing at home, senior administration officials told CNN.

The prime minister has been struggling to balance his stated goal of eliminating Hamas with the tremendous pressure of reaching a ceasefire that would see Israeli hostages freed. Israeli officials argue that four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah that must be taken out.

The administration's private view: Privately, multiple senior administration officials chalked up Netanyahu’s pronouncement to bravado.

The administration's public statements: Top officials have publicly questioned Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel has decided on a time to mount an offensive into Rafah. American officials have reiterated that the US has not seen anything resembling a comprehensive plan from the Israelis on how they would carry out such an operation, including first moving the majority of the estimated 1.5 million civilians out of Rafah. 

Here's what top US officials have been saying:

Read the full story.

Egyptian leaders have reaffirmed to the Palestinian Authority their commitment and efforts to resolving the conflict in Gaza.

The leaders discussed the need to speed up the introduction of a ceasefire and more humanitarian and medical aid. The leaders also talked about how to prevent further military escalation and displacement of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Abbas thanked his Egyptian counterpart for his support in "mobilizing international consensus" toward an end to hostilities and the recognition of the Palestinian state. 

The call comes amid negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas. The United States, Egypt and Qatar are mediating the talks aimed at accomplishing a prisoner exchange deal and a pause in fighting. 

The families of American hostages who are being held by Hamas in Gaza said they had a productive meeting Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh is one of the eight Americans held in captivity, said that the families are thinking about all the hostages as she said they are demanding results – not progress.  

“We want results," she said. "And we are so grateful and thankful to the American administration and Congress to all of the support, but we need results. We need our people home.”

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, said they are encouraging all parties involved to reach a deal as negotiations continue in Egypt.

The vice president’s office said Harris “expressed her continued support for these families” as she provided an update on US efforts.