A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that the military is advancing in Gaza and destroying Hamas infrastructure.
“IDF forces encircle Gaza from the air, land and sea, surrounding the city of Gaza and its surroundings,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference on Friday.
“The fighters are advancing in battles during which they are destroying above ground and underground terrorist infrastructures, and eliminating terrorists.”
Hagari said that IDF forces had located explosives caches.
8:19 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
Blinken will push Israel for pause in fighting to allow for mediation, diplomatic sources say
From CNN's Becky Anderson in Doha
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 3. Amos Ben-Gershom/Anadolu/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push Israel for a "pause" in airstrikes on Gaza to "allow for mediation," a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations told CNN.
The timeline for the pause is unclear at this stage.
A Jordanian diplomatic source also told CNN that in talks with the US Secretary of State, “Jordan will forcefully be demanding an immediate ceasefire."
7:18 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
Israeli military on "very high level of alertness" at Lebanese border
From CNN's Mick Krever
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are on a “very high level of alertness” at the Lebanese border, a spokesperson said Friday.
“We are at a very high level of readiness in the north – on a very, very high level of alertness to respond to any event that occurred today and in the days to come,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing.
He said that the IDF was “in the middle of a wide-scale operation on the northern border.”
“Yesterday we launched a very broad attack and hit a number of terrorist cells of Hezbollah in response to the shooting carried out by the Hezbollah organization at Kiryat Shmona and Safed,” he said. “We will continue to respond firmly against any harm to the citizens of the State of Israel.”
Some background: A CNN team in northern Israel on Thursday saw an increase in the pace of rocket fire from Lebanon, with Israel's Iron Dome engaging with two of them. Israel and Hezbollah — an Iran-backed armed group that dominates southern Lebanon — have been engaged in daily cross-border exchanges of fire since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on October 7, raising fears that the fighting could escalate into a regional war.
7:07 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
Al-Shifa hospital shuts down major services as it’s plunged into darkness, doctor says
From CNN's Muhammad Darwish
Ambulances outside the entrance to the emergency ward of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 15. Dawood Nemer/AFP/Getty Images
A doctor at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital said that low fuel stocks have plunged wards into darkness and cut off major, basic functions like oxygen generation.
Only one operating theatre, the emergency department, and the intensive care unit (ICU)continue to function, Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, director of the hospitals in Gaza, said in a video obtained by CNN.
In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack, Israel has prevented any fuel from entering Gaza. The Israeli government accuses Hamas of stockpiling fuel, to the detriment of civilian services.
Filming an almost pitch-black building, Abu Al-Rish points out the services that are affected.
“This is the maternity hospital, there, which is containing the neonatal ICU. And this is the rest of the hospital. And this is the surgical department building,” he says.
“We are just trying to keep the hospital working... Even the admin part now, as you see, it’s in complete darkness.”
He said that they were “trying our best” to extend the fuel as long as they can.
“All the other services directly related to the electricity will stop. For example, the oxygen generator, as there is no fuel, it stopped.”
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, also at Al-Shifa hospital, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the hospital is currently running on just one generator after the fuel shortage led to another generator being switched off.
“Unless there's electricity, this hospital will turn into a mass grave,” Abu-Sittah said. “It's as simple as that. If we cannot keep the ventilators running, if we can't take our critically wounded patients back to the operating room, then there's nothing for this place other than to come and die.”
Abu Al-Rish, in his video, said that pleas for help had gone unanswered.
“No one responds,” he said. “No one can imagine even how the nurses will complete their job to give the medication, to have follow up, without an electromechanical system. Without the light even. It’s very catastrophic.”
Nearly 50 UN buildings and assets impacted by war in Gaza, UNRWA says
From CNN’s Martin Goillandeau
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday that nearly 50 of its buildings and assets across Gaza have been impacted, with some being “directly hit.”
“This includes UN schools and buildings being used as shelters, where UNRWA is currently hosting around 700,000 people,” UNRWA said in a post on social media.
Earlier on Friday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that Israeli airstrikes on Thursday have killed at least 23 people sheltering in four UNRWA facilities that are hosting nearly 20,000 displaced people in Gaza. Since October 7, 72 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza.
Previous reporting from CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury.
6:17 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
Gazans return through Kerem Shalom crossing Friday following Israeli Security Cabinet decision
From CNN's Abeer Salman in Jerusalem
Palestinian workers return to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing on November 3. Mohammed Talatene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Residents of Gaza who worked in Israel, and were in Israel on October 7, returned to the enclave on Friday through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, following an Israeli Security Cabinet decision to expel them.
Dozens of Gazan men of all ages can be seen entering Gaza in CNN footage filmed on the Gazan side. Some pray or kiss the ground, some greet friends and family, some tell of alleged mistreatment in Israel.
“What happened to us never happened to any human being before,” one of the men told CNN. “They suspended our permissions. We tried to go to the West Bank. They detained us and put us in places we never knew where we were."
CNN is reaching out to the Israeli government for a response to his allegations.
On Thursday, Israel announced it would be "severing all contact with Gaza” and that there would be "no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," according to the Israeli government press office.
“Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza,” the press office said.
Previous reporting from CNN's Mariya Knight and Tamar Michaelis.
Increased police presence as Friday prayers get underway
From CNN's Ivana Kottasova and Adi Koplewitz in East Jerusalem
Israeli border police watch as Muslim worshippers arrive at the Lion's Gate to make their way to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the Friday noon prayer in East Jerusalem on November 3. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Friday prayers have started in Jerusalem, often a moment of tension between Palestinian residents of the ancient city and the Israeli police.
As in the previous weeks, the authorities areseverely restricting access to the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place in Islam.
People praying outside the gates of the old city after not being allowed to enter. Adi Koplewitz/CNN
There’s a heavy police presence in Wadi Juz neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where many of those turned away from the al-Aqsa compound congregate to pray in the streets.
Moments ago, the police fired a number of tear gas canisters deep into the neighborhood, in an apparent attempt to prevent any gathering from taking place.
The midday prayers on Friday are congregational worship, the most important moment of the Muslim week.
7:14 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
20 ambulances pass through Rafah crossing into Gaza to pick up wounded Palestinians
From Asmaa Khalil in Rafah and CNN’s Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
Twenty ambulances from the Egyptian Red Crescent passed through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza to pick up wounded Palestinians on Friday morning, an Egyptian border official told CNN on the ground.
The official said the ambulances are expected to bring back 29 people, including nine children suffering from cancer.
Three wounded Palestinians crossed through the Rafah border to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals on Thursday, bringing the total number who have been transferred to Egypt for treatment to 48.
5:45 a.m. ET, November 3, 2023
Blinken meets with Netanyahu and Israel war cabinet
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Israel's war cabinet in Tel Aviv, following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the State Department.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday for meetings with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. He is accompanied by newly confirmed US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew.
This is Blinken's third visit to Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack.
In remarks to the media before departing Washington on Thursday, Blinken said he planned to talk to the Israeli government about “the ongoing campaign against the Hamas terrorist organization” and “steps that need to be taken to protect civilians.”
