December 15, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

By Tara Subramaniam, Sophie Tanno, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Matt Meyer and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 4:57 p.m. ET, December 16, 2023

What we covered here

The Israel Defense Forces says it mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an "unbearable tragedy" but vowed to continue the effort to return all hostages.
The White House called the hostage deaths "heartbreaking," while several dozen people protested outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding action to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during a meeting Friday with the Palestinian Authority president.
Al Jazeera journalists mourned the death of their colleague and cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed in an airstrike Friday. The Gaza bureau chief was also injured in the attack. The network accused Israel of "systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families." CNN cannot independently verify the allegations.
Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza.

11 Posts

Sort by

4:40 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

Israel believes 132 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 bodies

From CNN’s Richard Greene

Israel believes 132 hostages are in Gaza – 112 of whom are thought to be alive and 20 are thought to be dead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN Friday.

Israel considers those declared dead to still be hostages, the prime minister’s office said.

Out of the 132 kidnapped, 113 are men and 19 women, among them:

⁠2 children under the age of 18
⁠10 are over 75 years old
121 Israelis and 11 foreigners (8 Thailand, 1 Nepal, 1 Tanzania, 1 France/Mexico).

The prime minister’s office also provided an update on the 118 hostages released or recovered.

According to the statement, 110 were released alive, of which 86 were Israelis and 24 foreigners. Eight of the abductees were killed and had been located by IDF soldiers, according to the prime minister’s office.

9:15 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

Israeli military recovers bodies of soldiers held hostage in Gaza

From CNN’s Amir Tal in Jerusalem

Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two soldiers who were abducted to Gaza during Hamas' attack on October 7, the military said in a statement Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement named the soldiers as Cpl. Nik Beizer and Sgt. Ron Sherman.

“The IDF sends the families its heartfelt condolences and will continue to support them,” it said.

Around 240 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ attack on Israel. Dozens have been freed, but Israeli authorities believe more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza.

9:22 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

Israeli soldier killed in Gaza combat, military says

From CNN’s Amir Tal in Jerusalem

A 19-year-old Israeli soldier was killed in combat in southern Gaza on Thursday, the Israeli military said Friday.

Sgt. Oz Shmuel Arady, 19, from Kibbutz Hatzor was a member of the 603rd Engineering Battalion, it said in a statement.

It brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza ground offensive to 117, according to a CNN count.

More than 18,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the enclave.

1:45 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

Israeli military recovers hostage's body in Gaza

From CNN’s Sophie Jeong and Manveena Suri

Israeli special forces have recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza, the military said Friday.

Elia Toledano had been taken hostage by Hamas during its October 7 attacks on Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. He was 28.

“Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home. We are working together with security agencies, and with all intelligence and operational means in order to return all of the hostages home,” the IDF said.

Around 240 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ attack on Israel. Dozens have been freed, but Israeli authorities believe more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza.

12:10 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

Sullivan travels to the West Bank as White House pressures Israel to reduce civilian casualties

From CNN's Michael Williams and Kevin Liptak

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will travel to the occupied West Bank on Friday in his push to demonstrate continued US support for Israel in its fight against Hamas, while also urging the Israeli government to take meaningful steps to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.

A US official told CNN that Sullivan would meet with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on the second day of his trip to the region. Sullivan previously met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top government officials on Thursday.

Sullivan, the official said, “will discuss ongoing efforts to promote stability in the West Bank, including through efforts to confront terrorism, support for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces through the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, ongoing efforts to revamp and revitalize the Palestinian Authority, and initiatives to hold extremist settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, previously met with Abbas and other Palestinian leaders last week.

The Palestinian Authority is the Palestinian governing body in the West Bank. Hamas controls Gaza and presents itself as an alternative to the PA.

Sullivan’s meeting with Abbas comes amid a public rift between Biden and Netanyahu, who differ on whether the Palestinian Authority should have governing power in Gaza once Israel’s war with Hamas ends. The US has said the Palestinian Authority should assume governance responsibilities in Gaza after the end of Israeli military operations, but Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected that idea.

Sullivan’s visit to Israel, his second since the deadly Hamas attack against the country on October 7, comes as Biden has become increasingly vocal about his desire to see the Israeli government take more concrete steps to eliminate civilian casualties in Gaza and called for Netanyahu to change his hardline positions.

Biden's national security adviser travels to West Bank as White House pressures Israel to reduce civilian causalties | CNN Politics

12:03 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

US wants lower-intensity phase of war — but Israel says fighting won't end soon. Here's what to know

From CNN staff

The Biden administration has signaled it wants Israel to do more to protect civilian lives and enter a lower-intensity phase of its war on Hamas, according to a senior US official. With more than 18,000 people killed in the Gaza Strip in less than three months, there is a growing international outcry about the rising toll.

But Israeli officials are warning the war likely won't be over any time soon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will keep fighting until Hamas is eliminated. And Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the war would last "more than several months."

Meantime, CNN got a rare look at what it was like inside a field hospital in southern Gaza where doctors warned of severe consequences of the health system collapsing.

Here's what to know:

Military operations: Israeli forces said they are battling Hamas militants in close-quarters combat in locations across Gaza, including in Shejaiya and Jabalya in the north, and further south in Khan Younis. The Israel Defense Forces called on people to move from parts of Khan Younis to displacement shelters in the same area to “ensure safety,” the latest in a series of social media messages telling Palestinians to flee from one place to another.
US-Israel relationship: US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Netanyahu on Thursday. It comes at a time when tensions between the US and Israel are ramping up over Israel's prosecution of the war. President Joe Biden's administration has signaled that it wants Israel to transition to a more targeted phase in the war. Biden himself on Thursday said he wants Israel to focus more on "how to save civilian lives." On Capitol Hill, while approval of emergency aid for Israel is still stalled, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is introducing a new resolution condemning Hamas’ use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war, according to a copy of the resolution.
Gaza death toll: More than 18,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the strip. CNN cannot independently verify that number, but the IDF said it has struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza since the beginning of the war. Nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions Israel has used in Gaza have been unguided, according to a US intelligence assessment.
Inside Gaza: CNN was able to make a brief visit to Gaza this week — the first Western media outlet to report independently from the southern part of the enclave. The horror of modern warfare was visible in the streets strewn with trash and rubble from destroyed buildings. Despite the heavy bombardment, people wandered around outside like zombies — perhaps trying to fathom their lives, perhaps with nothing else to do. In the field hospital, 8-year-old Jinan Sahar Mughari was immobilized in a full-body cast. In another room, 20-month-old Amir Taha was too young to understand he was now an orphan.

In the West Bank: Sullivan will continue his trip with a visit to the occupied West Bank on Friday. A US official said he will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Meantime, extremist Israeli settlers will now be banned from entering the United Kingdom, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said, joining a host of politicians who have called on Israel to take action against those carrying out attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. It comes as Israeli forces have completed their latest military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, the IDF said. It said seven Israeli soldiers and 10 “terrorists" were killed.
Terrorism arrests: Four alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting terror attacks on European soil have been arrested by German and Dutch authorities, Germany’s federal prosecutor said. The incident comes after the European Commissioner for Home Affairs warned the war between Israel and Hamas has increased polarization within European society.

9:34 p.m. ET, December 14, 2023

Hamas says Gaza tunnels built to resist flooding

From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali

Hamas built its tunnels to withstand possible attempts to pump water into them, a spokesperson for the militant group said.

The comments from Osama Hamdan at a news conference in Beirut on Thursday were in response to reports of potential flooding of tunnels by Israeli forces inside Gaza.

"The tunnels were built by well-trained and educated engineers who considered all possible attacks from the occupation, including pumping water. (The tunnels) are an integral part of the resistance, and all consequences and expected attacks have been taken into account," Hamdan said.

Israel has told the United States it has begun “carefully testing out” flooding some of Hamas’ tunnels with seawater “on a limited basis” to assess whether the operation could be scaled up to degrade the group’s tunnel network on a larger scale.

Israeli officials have assured their American counterparts that they’re only doing this in tunnels where they do not believe hostages are being held.

Separately, Hamdan addressed the issue of possible fresh talks aimed at releasing more hostages held inside Gaza, appearing to lower any expectations of progress.

"There will be no negotiations and no return of the prisoners until after the complete cessation of the aggression against Gaza and responding to the demands of the resistance," Hamdan said.

There are still more than 130 hostages held inside the enclave.

12:06 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

US national security adviser briefed on details of Israel's military campaign, White House says

From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg

Benjamin Netenyahu meets with Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 14. GPO/Anadolu/Getty Images

A top United States national security official was briefed on the details of Israel's military campaign in Gaza on Thursday, according to a White House readout.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.

The briefing on Israel's military operations included details on its "objectives, phasing, and setting conditions for shifts over time from high-intensity clearing operations to lower intensity surgical operations against Hamas remnants,” the readout said.

Some more background: During his meetings with the Israeli prime minister, the White House previously said Sullivan asked “hard questions” about the Israeli offensive, including efforts to be more surgical and precise in the Israel Defense Forces' targeting.

He also raised the imperative of moving to a new phase of the conflict, which has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza, US officials said.

The Biden administration has been signaling to Israel that it wants it to transition to a lower intensity phase of its war on Hamas within weeks, a senior US official said.

Next, Sullivan will go to the West Bank on Friday to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to an administration official.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

2:38 a.m. ET, December 15, 2023

US official says Hamas leader's "days are numbered"

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s “days are numbered,” a senior US official said, as Israel looks to eliminate the highest-ranking leader in Gaza.

“I think it's safe to say his days are numbered. I also think it's safe to say it doesn't matter how long that takes,” the official said on Thursday, following meetings in Israel between United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israeli officials.

Noting that several Americans were killed in the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the official said Sinwar had US “blood on his hands.”

Israel has publicly accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind Hamas’ terror attack against Israel – though experts say he is likely one of several – making him one of the key targets of its war in Gaza.

“Doesn't matter how long it takes but justice will be served on Sinwar,” the official said.

While in Israel, Sullivan held extensive meetings with Israeli leadership, including the war cabinet and the Mossad intelligence chief that lasted two hours.

The talks included “heavy discussion” on protecting civilians, and the Israelis briefed Sullivan on efforts to separate civilians from Hamas.

The talks also included detailed discussions of efforts to free hostages held in Gaza.

“There are a number of initiatives now being pursued” to secure the release of additional hostages, the official said, though could not “state with any confidence which initiative might gain traction.”