April 11, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

The families of the three British World Central Kitchen workers who were killed in an Israeli military strike last week released statements about their loved ones, following the repatriation of their bodies to the United Kingdom. 

The family of James Kirby, 47 — a military veteran who had previously served in the British armed forces in Afghanistan and Bosnia — said that they were “shocked and saddened by the sudden death of our beautiful James,” who “was loved and will be missed by so many.”

The family of James “Jim” Henderson, 33, said that they are “deeply shocked, saddened and upset at the untimely tragic death of Jim,” adding that he was a “kind, compassionate, loyal and considerate man, our shining light.”

And John Chapman, 57, said he was “an incredible husband, father, brother, son and friend who will be missed deeply and he was an inspiration to many.” 

All three families asked for privacy to grieve their losses.

Israel and Indonesia have been holding discussions over the last three months to normalize relations, two Israeli officials familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday. 

The establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel is a precondition for Indonesia’s entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which Jakarta is seeking to join. New entrants to the club of many of the world’s top economic powers must have diplomatic relations with all existing members, and existing members can veto applications from countries that want to join.

Israel is a member of the OECD.

Some key context: The establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Indonesia – which has the world’s largest Muslim population – could take years.

CNN has reached out to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry for comment.

The talks between Israel and Indonesia were first reported on Thursday by Israel’s Ynet news. The Jakarta Post last month cited Ari Dwipayana, a senior aide to President Joko Widodo, as denying an earlier press report that Indonesia was planning to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

Earlier this week, Israel allowed an Indonesian Air Force jet to fly through Israeli air space to participate in the largest international air drop of aid to Gaza in a single day, involving nine countries and 14 aircraft. 

The top US humanitarian official said Wednesday it is “credible” to assess that famine is already happening in parts of Gaza.

Although US officials have been sounding the alarm about the imminent risk of famine in the war-torn strip, United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power is the first official to publicly agree with an assessment that famine is already taking place.

Power, speaking at a congressional hearing, was asked about an assessment from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and whether it “is plausible or likely that parts of Gaza, and particularly northern Gaza, are already experiencing famine.”

“The methodology that the IPC used is one that we had our experts scrub,” Power said. “It's one that's relied upon in other settings and that is their assessment and we believe that assessment is credible.”

Power noted that the rate of malnutrition in northern Gaza prior to October 7 "was almost zero. And it is now one in three ... kids."

Some background: An IPC analysis from March stated that all 2.2 million people in Gaza do not have enough food to eat, with half of the population on the brink of starvation and famine projected to arrive in the north “anytime between mid-March and May 2024.” It is unclear if this is the analysis cited in the hearing. CNN has reached out to USAID.

Why this matters: The assessment is likely to fuel further calls for the Biden administration to put restrictions on its military aid to Israel. Top officials, including the US president himself, have told Israeli officials they must do more immediately to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk changes in US policy.

Israel is preparing for "scenarios" in locations other than Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned during a visit to an Israeli airbase on Thursday. 

Tensions have been mounting throughout the Middle East following warnings from US officials that Iran could carry out an imminent attack on US or Israeli assets in the region. Iran has blamed Israel for a recent attack on its consulate in Syria which killed commanders from its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

Speaking to Israeli air force personnel at the Tel Nof Air Base, south of Tel Aviv, the prime minister said Israel had developed a strategy in the face of potential attacks. "We have determined a simple rule: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively," Netanyahu explained. 

While at the base, the Israeli leader also received an update on Israel's activity during the war in Gaza from the deputy base commander and squadron commander, according to his office. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are constructing a new land crossing from Israel to northern Gaza, according to a statement released Thursday.

The Israeli military said the new northern crossing will “enable more aid to flow directly to civilians in the areas that have been challenging for trucks to access.״ 

The United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have reported a catastrophic humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is imminent due to a lack of aid deliveries.

The report of a new crossing comes as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said late Wednesday that Israel was planning to “flood Gaza with aid,” amid intensifying pressure from the United States to urgently increase humanitarian assistance to the Gaza strip. 

COGAT, the Israeli agency that coordinates the inspection and delivery of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, said the daily number of trucks entering Gaza has doubled from last week’s numbers, but UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian affairs which tracks the flow of aid into Gaza, has not reported a similar increase.

A UNICEF worker whose aid convoy came under fire on Wednesday while waiting to enter northern Gaza told CNN the attack shows "how dangerous" it is for aid agencies to operate in the enclave right now. 

Tess Ingram who is a spokesperson for UNICEF said the convoy was waiting in a holding area before the checkpoint into northern Gaza when gunfire "broke out in the vicinity." 

Ingram said shots were then fired from the direction of the crossing "towards civilians who then ran in the other direction." The car Ingram was traveling in was caught in the line of fire and hit by three bullets, she recounted to CNN's Max Foster. 

CNN has reached out to the IDF about the incident but has not yet received a reply. 

The convoy was a joint mission between UNICEF and fellow UN agency, UNRWA tasked with delivering fuel, nutrition and medical supplies to northern Gaza, according to Ingram. 

"This incident is just another example of how dangerous it is for us and for the people that we're trying to serve in Gaza," she added. 

Four grandchildren of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by Hamas.

Initial reports suggested three of his grandchildren were killed along with three of his sons on Wednesday. Hamas confirmed the names of Haniyeh’s grandchildren as Mona, Amal, Khalid and Razan.

Haniyeh’s relatives were killed near Al Shati (“Beach Camp”) north-west of Gaza City.

“They stood united with their people in one trench, joining the procession of about sixty martyrs from the honorable and heroic Haniyeh family, and the convoys of martyrs of our righteous and steadfast people in the battle of the Al-Aqsa flood,” the Hamas statement added.

The Israel Defense Forces told CNN it is aware of claims that other relatives of Haniyeh were harmed, among them a minor. The IDF added they had not verified this information.

Israel plans to “flood Gaza with aid,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, describing what he called a new phase of humanitarian assistance to the enclave. 

US pressure on Israel played a role in Israel’s decision to begin ramping up the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, he told reporters, saying Israel’s defense establishment “takes the United States very seriously.”

COGAT, the Israeli agency coordinating aid into Gaza, said the daily number of trucks entering the enclave this week had doubled from last week.

But the UN's main aid agency in Gaza, which tracks the flow of aid, has not reported a similar increase.

A CNN investigation last month found evidence of goods being subject to arbitrary and contradictory controls as authorities strive to prevent the entry of “dual use goods” which they say could also be used to “serve military needs for the strengthening of Hamas.”

UNICEF says one of its vehicles was hit by "live ammunition" while waiting to enter northern Gaza from the south of the territory on Wednesday.

In a statement released on X Thursday, UNICEF says the "incident has been raised with relevant Israeli authorities."

CNN has reached out to the IDF about the incident but has not yet received a reply. 

Some context: The incident comes just a day after the Israeli agency that coordinates the inspection and delivery of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, COGAT, blamed the UN for failing to deliver aid across Gaza.