February 13, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

Palestinians move to the middle parts of Gaza after attacks on Rafah intensify on Tuesday, February 13.

More than 100 people were killed as “extremely intense” Israeli airstrikes and shelling pounded multiple locations in Rafah overnight Monday, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, as international alarm and opposition mounts over Israel’s planned ground offensive in the southern Gazan city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week directed the country’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah after saying that the Israel Defense Forces would “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.”

Additionally, Egypt is increasing its security presence at its border with the Gaza Strip, wary of a spillover of Israel’s war on Hamas onto its territory.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Samaher Esmail is seen in an undated photo.

Samaher Esmail, a Palestinian American detained in the West Bank by the Israel Defense Forces, still has not been given US consular access more than a week later and was beaten and denied medication in Israeli custody, her family said in a statement Tuesday.

The family said that Esmail, 46, was “dragged” from her home by IDF members and “beaten badly in Israeli custody.” They also said her home was destroyed in the process.

The IDF confirmed Esmail’s detention, saying she was “arrested for incitement on social media,” but did not respond to the allegations of mistreatment raised by the family.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said he could not speak to the specific claims made by the family, citing privacy laws.

According to the family, Esmail was detained because of “10-year-old Facebook posts and political cartoons she shared.”

“Ms. Esmail’s opinions may be disfavored in Israel proper, but the inescapable reality is they were protected speech which no rational person could consider an incitement to violence,” the statement said.

The family said she has not been formally charged with a crime.

According to the statement, Esmail was presented to a military commission on Monday and was granted bail, but the IDF appealed the ruling.

Esmail’s family called on the US to do more to obtain consular access to her.

“The United States is not without tools to obtain consular access to Ms. Esmail and to end her ordeal. It just has to find the moral courage to do so, which has been, thus far, a tall order,” the statement said.

Read more on Samaher Esmail’s detainment.

Military operations in Rafah could lead to “a slaughter” and leave humanitarian efforts in Gaza “at death’s door,” United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths warned Tuesday.

His comments add to growing international opposition to Israel’s potential ground offensive into Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are estimated to be crammed into makeshift shelters. 

He urged Israel to listen to the international community’s warnings against “the dangerous consequences” of a ground invasion.

“History will not be kind” if those calls are ignored, he said.

The Israeli military has not yet presented its plan to the government for the evacuation of Rafah, according to a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.

The military aims to create a plan that evacuates civilians “out of harm’s way” and differentiates civilians from Hamas militants, the IDF spokesperson said.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Taoiseach (or prime minister), strongly criticized Israel Tuesday, accusing the country of becoming “blinded by rage” as it doubles down on plans to launch a ground offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli forces previously told hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to seek shelter.

Speaking to lawmakers in the Irish parliament, Varadkar said it was “very clear” to him that Israel is “is not listening to any country in the world,” even the United States. 

“They [Israel] have become blinded by rage. And they are going to, I believe, make the situation much worse for their own security in the long term by going down the path they are going,” the Irish leader said. 

Varadkar said an Israeli ground offensive on the border city of Rafah “should not happen,” drawing attention to the 1.3 million Palestinians who are “taking refuge there.” 

Other members of the Irish government joined Varadkar in condemning Israel this week including Trade Minister Simon Coveney, who accused the country of acting like a rogue state and behaving “like a monster to defeat a monster.”

Hostage talks held Tuesday in Cairo were productive and serious, but did not yet arrive at a breakthrough that would result in a final deal, a US official said. The negotiations will continue, the official added.

A second US official said the outstanding area of disagreement among the parties in the hostage talks is the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that would be released as part of the deal.

CNN previously reported that Hamas’ counterproposal included a call to release “all prisoners in Israeli prisons, including women, children, the elderly (over 50 years old), and the sick, who were arrested up until the date of signing this agreement.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at the demand, which would be greater than the 3-to-1 ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that was included in the deal in November 2023.

An Israeli official has told CNN that the Israeli delegation is on its way back from Cairo. Meanwhile, two senior Hamas members told CNN that so far there are no plans for a delegation from Hamas to travel to Egypt this week.

CNN’s Lauren Izso and Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting.

A frame from the video released by the Israel Defense Forces purportedly showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar inside a tunnel below Khan Younis. CNN can neither independently verify that Sinwar is the man seen in the video, nor when it was recorded. The IDF did not provide additional evidence to support their claims. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video recording Tuesday purportedly showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar inside a tunnel below the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. 

Unveiling the video at his daily news conference, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the footage was recorded October 10 and shows Sinwar with his wife, children and his brother walking through a dark tunnel. Hagari said the IDF obtained the material in recent days and said the clip was captured on a Hamas CCTV camera.

CNN can neither independently verify that Sinwar is the man seen in the video, nor when it was recorded. The IDF did not provide additional evidence to support their claims.

Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har, two Israeli hostages who, according to the Israeli military, were freed in a special forces operation in Rafah, Gaza, reunite with loved ones at Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Tuesday, February 12.

Two former hostages have thanked Israeli security forces for rescuing them from Gaza on Monday.

Fernando Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, both dual Israeli-Argentine citizens, were taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

They appeared in a video Tuesday published by the Israeli government press office along with two other former hostages, Clara Marman and Gabriela Leimberg, who were released November 28 as part of a hostages-prisoners swap during a four-day Gaza truce.

Fernando is the brother of both Clara and Gabriela, and Luis is Clara’s partner.

Fernando also thanked “all those who participated in this complex operation, to the IDF, to the security forces, to all the soldiers who made us really feel that we were being brought home.”

Egypt is increasing its security presence at its border with the Gaza Strip, wary of a spillover of Israel’s war on Hamas onto its territory should the Israeli military begin its ground assault on the enclave’s southernmost city, Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering.

The fortification by the border is a “precautionary” measure ahead of an expected Israeli ground operation in Rafah, Egyptian security officials told CNN. As part of its security buildup, the officials said, Egypt has deployed more troops and machinery in North Sinai, bordering Gaza.

Decades-old ties at risk?: Egypt was the first Arab nation to recognize Israel in 1979. The two signed a landmark pact that saw Israel return the Sinai Peninsula it captured from Egypt in the 1967 war in exchange for peace. The treaty also limited the number of troops stationed on the border between Egypt and Gaza, which at the time was controlled by Israel. The treaty turned Egypt into a pariah in the Arab world, but decades later helped pave the way for other Arab nations to sign similar agreements with Israel.

Western media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, have reported that Egypt has threatened to void the peace treaty if Israeli troops invaded Rafah. Egypt’s foreign minister dismissed those reports, but said in a news conference Monday that Cairo would adhere to the treaty “as long as it remains reciprocal,” the state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

An Israeli official acknowledged that the Egyptians have been concerned with Israel’s operation, but said they are not aware of a specific threat about the treaty.

Keep reading about Egypt and Israel’s relationship.

A US-funded shipment of flour destined for Gaza has been stuck at the port of Ashdod in Israel for weeks because the main United Nations agency in Gaza is listed as the recipient, according to an Israeli official.

The shipment was blocked by Israeli customs under operational orders of controversial Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, despite Israel’s war cabinet having approved shipments of flour to Gaza via the Ashdod port following a request from US officials.  

Last month, US President Joe Biden publicly thanked Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing the flour shipment to go through the port, according to a readout of a call between the two leaders.

The Israeli official said the Israeli government is committed to releasing the flour as soon as possible following discussions Tuesday involving top Israeli officials, including national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. It is not clear exactly when that would be, according to the official. 

The United States is engaging with the Israeli government to ensure flour gets to Gaza, “not just as a one-off shipment, but over for a sustained period over months,” US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

Axios first reported that the flour shipment was being held up by Smotrich because it was destined for UNRWA.

More about the UN agency: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) assists Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In January, Israel alleged that 13 UNRWA employees in Gaza were associated with Hamas’ October 7 attacks. Following Israel’s allegations, UNRWA’s main donor — the United States — and several other countries paused funding to the organization.

This post was updated with comments from the US State Department spokesperson.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

Yahya Sinwar is seen in Gaza City in this 2022 photograph.

The Israel Defense Forces has obtained video from a security camera showing Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, inside a tunnel below the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, with his wife, children and another unidentified man, an Israeli security official told CNN on Tuesday. 

It was unclear when the video was recorded and obtained, and what condition Sinwar was in. 

CNN has not seen the video but asked the IDF for comment.

Israel has accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind the group’s October 7 attack — though experts say he is likely one of several involved.  

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi speaks in Cairo in October.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. 

In his meeting with Sisi, Burns conveyed “his appreciation for Egypt’s tireless efforts to advance the path of calm in the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire, and the exchange of detainees and captives” the spokesperson said. 

Burns and Sisi agreed that “intensive consultation and coordination would continue to achieve the goals of the ceasefire, protection of civilians, and activating the two-state solution, in a way that enhances efforts to establish security and stability in the region” the statement said. 

Sisi and Al-Thani also met with Major General Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s intelligence agency, and Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaif, the head of the Qatari State Security Service, the statement said. 

During the meeting, Sisi emphasized “the keenness to continue consultation and coordination between the two countries” the statement read. 

A spokesperson with the presidency said there was a “review of efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and protecting civilians from the deteriorating conditions in the Strip.” The Egyptian and Qatari leaders also addressed the “extreme danger” of escalating military operations in Rafah. 

Burns is visiting Cairo to negotiate a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal with Mossad director David Barnea along with Egyptian and Qatari officials.

International concern is mounting over the fate of civilians in southern Gaza’s Rafah, as the Israeli military draws up plans for an offensive in the southern city that borders Egypt.

More than half of Gaza’s population is believed to be in Rafah, with the majority of people displaced from other parts of the besieged enclave crammed into a makeshift tent city. United Nations chief António Guterres warned an assault would have “devastating consequences.”

The mounting concern comes as hostage and ceasefire talks between CIA Director Bill Burns, Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo enter a critical 24-hour stretch.

Hamas told CNN it would be willing to attend the meeting in Cairo if current talks progress further.

Here are the latest headlines:

Hamas considers the next 24 hours of the ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks — underway in Cairo on Tuesday — as critical, a Hamas source has told CNN.

CIA Director Bill Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea are in Cairo on Tuesday to meet with Qatari and Egyptian officials to discuss a possible weeks-long ceasefire that would free the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. 

A senior official familiar with the negotiations tells CNN that the talks are “nudging forward,” but emphasized that the parties are not yet quite “close” to a final agreement.

The talks remain “difficult,” the official put it bluntly. While there has been some progress in recent days, the official said a deal is not yet imminent. 

What we know: A diplomat familiar with the talks said the current efforts centered around a six-week pause that includes guarantees that the negotiations will continue toward an eventual, permanent ceasefire. The diplomat said there was more work to be done and described the Cairo talks as critical in bridging remaining gaps between the parties. 

An official with Hamas told CNN that representatives for the group are ready to return to Cairo if current talks progress further.

Relatives of hostages and supporters hold placards during a protest calling for their release in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 12.

The families of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas have called on the Israeli negotiators traveling to Cairo to remain in the Egyptian capital until a deal that guarantees the captives’ safe release is struck. 

“Do not return until everyone comes home — the living and the dead,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters said Tuesday in a statement directed at Mossad spy agency chief, David Barnea, and Shin Bet security agency chief, Ronen Bar. 

“Your mission is a historic and moral one, and will be etched in Jewish and Israeli history as having led to their rescue,” the statement added.

A meeting to discuss an agreement over Gaza is taking place between Mossad director Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian officials. A Hamas official told CNN that the militant group is ready to return to Cairo if current talks progress further.

Some background on Ron Arad: He was an Israeli Air Force navigator, who crashed his warplane in Lebanon in 1986. Arad was captured by the local Shiite Amal militia and later handed over to Hezbollah, which announced his death in June 2008. 

The Israeli military has ordered the administration of the Nasser medical complex in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to evacuate all displaced people sheltering inside its walls, according to a statement from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.

According to health ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the Israeli military said only patients and medical personnel should remain within hospital grounds. 

Schools around the facility have also been told to evacuate. Some have been impacted by the ongoing hostilities and a few caught fire, allegedly because of smoke grenades used by the Israeli military, according to the statement and eyewitnesses. 

Video recorded on Tuesday and seen by CNN shows smoke billowing above at least one school in the vicinity of the Nasser hospital. Heavy gunfire is also heard. 

Al-Qidra also said Israeli military pressure on the hospital has been increasing, with fires affecting parts of the hospital, sewage water flooding part of the facility and Israeli forces demolishing the facility’s northern wall. 

Another video from nearby shows Israeli tanks driving outside the hospital. Two journalists at the scene told CNN the hospital was surrounded by Israeli forces on all sides. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on these reports but has yet to hear back.

At least 12 members of the same family, including two toddlers and five women, were killed in an attack on a residential building in central Gaza early Monday, according to Al-Aqsa Hospital. Another 40 people were injured. 

CNN video from the aftermath of the strike in Deir Al Balah shows young children with tears in their eyes as relatives cry over the dead bodies. Rows of men and boys stand by them, performing the Janazah, Islamic funeral prayers.  

He said he had left the house to buy some bread and returned home to find all his relatives had been killed in an airstrike moments earlier.

The Israel Defense Forces have not commented on the strike but have repeatedly said they’re trying to prevent civilian casualties.

A man ties up a rope securing items onto a vehicle as members of a Palestinian family flee from Rafah, Gaza, on February 13.

Two displaced Palestinians told Reuters they are fleeing Rafah ahead of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive and heading to the cities of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Al-Maghazi in the central strip.

Over 1.3 million people — more than half of Gaza’s population — are believed to be in Rafah, with most displaced from other parts of the besieged enclave crammed into the city close to the Egyptian border.

Displaced Palestinian Nahla Jarwan told Reuters on Tuesday that she had originally fled Al-Maghazi to Rafah, but now she is returning to Al-Maghazi.

“Last night in Rafah was very tough. We’re going back to Al-Maghazi out of fear; we’re displaced from one area to another,” she said, adding that “wherever we go, there is no safety.”

Another displaced Palestinian, Mo’men Shbair, told Reuters Tuesday that he prays the world pressures Israel to end the war.

“We’re lost. We don’t know where to go. … We’re tired. We’ve been walking around without knowing where to go,” he said.

Shbair said he was in Khan Younis until he was told to head to Rafah for safety. Now, he is returning to Khan Younis.

Israel is facing growing international pressure over its anticipated ground assault of Rafah and the impacts it would have on the civilian population in the southern Gaza city.

Officials from the United Nations and International Criminal Court — as well as the US, UK, European Union, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and others — say they are wary about the impacts of a Rafah offensive.

Here’s what other countries have said today:

Germany: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says she is “especially concerned” about the Israeli government preparing a large military offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people are believed to be sheltering. She also added that it was clear that Hamas operatives were living in Rafah and said Israel has a right to defend itself.

China: China has asked Israel to stop its military operations and do “everything possible” to avoid civilian casualties. China has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, urging Israel to stop what it has called “collective punishment” on the enclave’s residents. 

Italy: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Israel’s response to Hamas was “disproportionate” and that “there are too many dead Palestinian civilians who are not Hamas militiamen.” In an interview with RAI Radio 1, Tajani strongly condemned the October 7 attacks by Hamas and defended Israel’s right to defend itself, but he also stressed that “not all Palestinians are Hamas.”

An aerial view of makeshift tents as Palestinian families seek refuge in the El-Mavasi district in Rafah, Gaza, on February 9.

The South African government has made an “urgent request” to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to decide if Israel’s military actions in Rafah require the court to “use its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.” 

In a statement issued by the country’s presidency on Tuesday, the South African government called the southern Gaza city of Rafah “the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza.” 

In its request to the ICJ, which was submitted on Monday, the government said it was “gravely concerned” that Israeli military action in Rafah “has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction.” 

South Africa suggested that Israel’s offensive in Rafah “would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention” and the ICJ’s January court order that Israel must take “all measures” to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Some context: On Monday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel carried out a “wave of strikes” on Rafah to rescue two hostages held captive since the October 7 attack, “and to hit Hamas terrorists in the area”.

More than 100 people were killed in the strikes, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Monday.

CNN’s Abeer Salman, Mike Schwarz and Alex Stambaugh contributed to this report.