December 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas has moved here.

Lynn Hastings attends a news conference in Gaza on January 31.

A top United Nations humanitarian official on Sunday offered a grim assessment of Israel’s war against Hamas as the world marked International Human Rights Day.

In a statement, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Lynn Hastings condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel but said Israel’s ongoing response in Gaza was disproportionate.

Non-state armed actors like Hamas had obligations under international law, Hastings said, adding that the perpetrators of the October 7 attacks in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage must be held accountable.

“The killings, sexual violence and kidnappings … traumatized an entire nation. Elderly, disabled, and children have not been spared,” she said.

Since October 7, Israeli forces have turned much of Gaza into a wasteland. Airstrikes have reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and nearly 2 million people — the vast majority of Gaza’s population — have been forced to flee their homes, according to the UN.

At least 17,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, citing sources from the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Israel’s response “cannot be justified” Hastings said.

“The air strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and UN facilities and the repeated displacement of the civilian population cannot be justified. Nor can the siege, depriving the entire Gaza population of food, water, health care and hygiene,” Hastings said.

Some context: Israel’s foreign minister said last week he had revoked Hastings’ visa due to the “bias of the UN.” The move came as multiple UN officials warned of an “apocalyptic” situation in Gaza for displaced civilians, who face overcrowding and the spread of disease.

Khan Younis resident Ahmad Naseem on Sunday told CNN he saw a shell hit his neighbors’ home, killing five and injuring multiple others.

As his city in southern Gaza has become a major focus of Israel’s ground operations, the 38-year-old said he has moved his wife and 18-month-old son to a neighbor’s ground floor flat to feel a little bit safer.

But finding essential food and drinkable water remains a major challenge, he told CNN on a phone call.

The price of basic items like flour has gone up eight-fold since the start of the conflict, and cooking gas, in particular, is in very short supply, he said.

The couple started using plastic and cardboard to make fire to cook food.

As evening set in, the intensity of artillery fire reduced slightly, Naseem added, but the sounds of ground clashes and military vehicles became closer.

About Khan Younis: The city is located in the southern part of the Gaza strip. It was where thousands of Palestinians fled to earlier in the war when Israel called for an evacuation of northern Gaza and directed residents southwards. Now, on Saturday, Israel issued another “urgent appeal” for evacuation — this time asking civilians of Khan Younis to move to an area on the coast, which has few facilities. It is unclear how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza. 

In a statement on Friday, the Israeli military said it continues to fight in Khan Younis, which it said is a “main stronghold” of Hamas.

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Sunday, December 10.

Dark clouds of smoke billowed over the skyline of Khan Younis in Gaza on Sunday as Israel expanded its operations in the south of the strip, according to a video livestreamed by Reuters.

The video, which was shot from the rooftop of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, shows heavy smoke on the horizon — with some explosions heard in the distance. CNN has also geolocated a video from social media that shows the sounds of heavy gunfire in Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, said the southern city has come under “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling on a number of areas” Sunday and hospitals in the area are facing increased pressure.

In an update Sunday, Israel’s military said it struck more than 250 Hamas targets in the past 24 hours, including what it called Hamas military communication sites and tunnels in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military also said it continued to engage in intense battles with Hamas fighters in the southern city of Khan Younis this week.

On Saturday, the IDF issued “an urgent appeal” for civilians to evacuate from much of Khan Younis amid fierce fighting in the area. It is unclear how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza. 

Catch up on some of the other latest developments in the war:

Trucks with humanitarian aid and fuel wait to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in Egypt on Sunday, December 10.

A convoy of 100 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing Sunday, according to a statement published by the Palestinian crossing authority.

Three of the trucks had 129,000 liters of fuel and two trucks contained cooking gas, the statement from Sunday added.

A total of 513 people exited the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including 468 foreigners and 25 injured Palestinians, accompanied by 20 individuals. 

The current count of trucks is consistent with the daily average permitted over the past week.

Prior to the conflict, the United Nations reported that an average of 455 trucks delivered aid supplies each day.

The logo of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is seen in Mérignac, France, in 2018.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), accused the Israeli military of attacking a marked evacuation convoy in Gaza on November 18.  

Two family members of MSF staff were killed; one was a volunteer nurse at Shifa Hospital, a news release from MSF from December 1 said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN it recognizes the special protections given to medical teams under international humanitarian law, and “takes action to prevent harm to them.” The IDF also added that when it strikes military targets, it takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian casualties.

MSF said its convoy that was “clearly identified as MSF vehicles” was attacked while returning to their offices in Gaza City after the Israeli military did not allow it to cross the last checkpoint near Wadi Gaza in order to get to the south of Gaza, as the IDF urged people there to do.

MSF said it initially informed both parties to the conflict that it was heading south and followed the itinerary indicated by the Israeli army to go along Salah Eddine street in five marked vehicles.

“We stayed there around three hours. It was getting dark. Hundreds of people were waiting and some of them decided to head back north because the checkpoint would not let them through,” an MSF staff member who was part of the convoy said in the statement.

After hearing shots fired, the convoy decided to return to its offices in Gaza City, according to the statement. 

“We contacted Paul [an MSF colleague in Jerusalem] to inform him that we would head back because we were not allowed to pass the checkpoint. He said he would ask for authorization for us to go back,” the MSF staff member said.

The convoy was allegedly attacked close to MSF’s office on its way back in the late afternoon, the statement said.

Alaa died as a result of the attack, the staff member said. 

Separately on November 20, while sheltering at the MSF offices, staff said they saw five MSF vehicles and their clinic in Gaza City allegedly damaged by an Israeli bulldozer and a heavy military vehicle, which were all identifiable by the MSF logo, the release said. 

“Before they were destroyed, these MSF vehicles were potential evidence for any independent investigation into the November 18 attack on the MSF convoy,” the statement said.    

After the five MSF vehicles were destroyed, MSF teams in the south of Gaza sent more vehicles to Gaza City to attempt an evacuation again, the release stated.

“However, they were also hit by bullets while approaching the MSF clinic, and the evacuation was canceled. On November 24, those vehicles were also destroyed by Israeli forces,” the release said.

“Eventually, our colleagues and their families were able to reach the south once the truce came into effect on the morning of November 24, thanks to the vehicles of other civilians evacuating,” the release said.

MSF has called for an independent investigation and a formal explanation for the attack from Israeli authorities, the release says.

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed, with others wounded, after a series of Israel air raids across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA. 

WAFA reported that 45 civilians were killed in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday after Israel launched “violent air raids” that targeted a house. The news agency says several people are still missing, buried under the rubble. 

Nine more civilians were killed in a residential square in Jabalya al-Balad, according to WAFA. 

Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, the city of Khan Younis has come under “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling on a number of areas,” on Sunday, according to WAFA. 

WAFA reported that in the northern and eastern parts of Khan Younis, Israel “targeted homes in which residents were sheltering, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.”

Hospitals have also faced increased pressure in Khan Younis, with medical sources telling WAFA that wounded people arriving at the Nasser Medical Complex are having to lay on the ground because there are “no beds, medicines, and medical supplies available for them.”

WAFA said the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis has been bombed, with Israeli attacks occurring through Saturday night and during the day on Sunday.  

More context: According to the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli military has stuck 22,000 targets in Gaza since October 7.

In a statement on Friday, the Israeli military said it continues to fight in Khan Younis, which it said is a “main stronghold” of Hamas. On Saturday, the IDF issued “an urgent appeal” for civilians to evacuate from much of Khan Younis amid fierce fighting in the area. It is unclear how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza.

In response to a CNN inquiry about where residents of Khan Younis should evacuate to, the Israel Defense Forces said that “the general instruction for residents is to move to the Al-Muwasi area, as well as blocks updated in the IDF interactive map published last week.”

Al-Muwasi is a strip of land of some 20 square kilometers on the coast. A statement last month by UN agencies and humanitarian groups such as Care International, Mercy Corps, and the World Health Organization, said the area could not function as a safe zone until all sides pledged not to fight there. Al-Muwasi has few facilities and is largely open land but has already seen an influx of people trying to escape from the fighting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with CNN on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday forcefully condemned sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas during the October 7 attack and blasted those who have not forcefully condemned it or were slow to do so.

“I don’t know why countries, leaders, international organizations were so slow to focus on this, to bring it to people’s attention. I’m glad it is finally happening,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

The United Nations heard testimony about allegations of sexual and gender-based violence by Hamas at a panel hosted by Israel at the UN headquarters in New York last week. Several speakers reiterated that some human rights groups such as UN Women were too slow to condemn the alleged rape and sexual violence.

Asked by Tapper why the United Nations and the international community have been so slow to respond to the allegations, Blinken said, “I think it is a question that these organizations, these countries need to ask themselves.”

House Democrats are planning to introduce a resolution condemning Hamas’ use of sexual violence and rape against Israeli women after they were dismayed by the response to the allegations from some lawmakers on the left, including Progressive Caucus chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

Israeli police are interrogating suspects and compiling evidence, including video, forensics and witness testimony, to investigate accusations of rape during the attacks. Witnesses to the aftermath of the attacks say women and girls were sexually assaulted, tortured and killed.

CNN cannot independently verify individual allegations and claims.

However, several first responders who attended the scenes of the October 7 attack told CNN the attacks were overwhelmingly gruesome and that some female victims were found undressed.

Hamas denied that its militants committed rape during the attacks in a statement last week on Telegram and decried what it called “the coordination of some Western media outlets with the Zionist misleading campaigns that promote unfounded lies and allegations aimed at demonizing the Palestinian resistance… .”

Organizers of the UN meeting refuted that denial by showing mounting evidence that rape occurred during the attacks on October 7, including graphic video footage of bodies, videos of Hamas fighters admitting under interrogation that rape occurred and testimony from Israeli police officers and witnesses to the attack and its aftermath.

Speakers who prepared bodies for burial described evidence that militants gang raped some victims and purposely shot or mutilated victims in genital regions

CNN’s Sam Fossum, Catherine Thorbecke, Ivana Kottasová and Annie Grayer contributed reporting to this post.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, speaks during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on December 10.

Cyprus security services, in partnership with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, disrupted an Iranian group which Israel says was planning to attack Israeli and Jewish targets on the island, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday. 

“Thanks to the anti-terrorist activity and the arrest of the cell by the security services in Cyprus, a lot of information was received that led to the exposure of the threats, the methods of operation, the targets of the attack and the Iranian planning to kill innocent people in Cyprus and in other arenas,” the statement said. 

The statement accused Iran of expanding its “efforts to promote terrorist activities around the world” since October 7.

Netanyahu’s office said Iran has used its presence in the north of Cyprus, which is under de facto Turkish control, to plan activities against Jewish targets. 

It added that many Israelis have moved to Cyprus since the outbreak of the war.

CNN has reached out to Cypriot authorities for comments. 

Smoke rises over Khan Younis, Gaza after Israeli strikes on Sunday, December 10.

Dark clouds of smoke billowed over the skyline of Khan Younis in Gaza Sunday as Israel expanded its operations in the south of the strip. 

The video, livestreamed by Reuters, was shot from the rooftop of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and shows heavy smoke on the horizon — with some explosions heard in the distance.  

In the video, car horns are also heard in the distance, with some movement of people seen near the hospital. 

It is one of the few visual indications regarding the latest situation on the ground in Gaza.  

Accurate information about the strikes and clashes in Gaza, as well as about casualties and the state of hospitals, is challenging to obtain due to limited communications.

CNN has also geolocated a video from social media that shows the sounds of heavy gunfire in Khan Younis.

The video shows an empty street, with smoke on the horizon and the sound of gunfire in the near distance.

A woman and child are then seen riding donkey pulling a cart with two unconscious bodies lying on it. CNN cannot verify when this video was shot. 

Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said on Sunday that his fighters had killed and wounded 15 Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis after detonating a “large barrel anti-personnel device.”

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

In a statement on Friday, the Israeli military said it continues to fight in Khan Younis, which it said is a “main stronghold” of Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces issued what it calls “an urgent appeal” for civilians to leave much of the area.

Meanwhile, in north Gaza, the Qassam Brigades updated in a short statement on Sunday that their fighters were “waging fierce battles” with Israeli forces to the west of the Jabalya refugee camp. 

Israeli forces have been closing in on the Jabalya refugee camp.

On Friday, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, director-general of the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, told CNN that Israeli forces had taken over half of the Jabalya camp while also surrounding the walls of the hospital. 

The number of people Israel considers to be held hostage in Gaza remains at 137 – of whom 117 are thought to be alive, while 20 are believed to be dead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN Sunday.

Israel still considers those declared dead, such as Sahar Baruch, whose death was announced Saturday, to be hostages, the Prime Minister’s office said.

It is unclear how the 25-year-old died, but Hamas alleges that Baruch was killed Friday morning during a failed Israeli rescue operation. The IDF has not commented on that allegation.

As Israel continues its operations in southern Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that more needs to be done to protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid to people in the enclave.

“The intent is there, but the results are not always manifesting themselves,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.

He added that there needs to be more deconfliction times, pauses and designated routes: “plural, not just one.” The secretary of state also emphasized the need for “clarity of communication, so that people know when it is safe and where it is safe to move to get out of harm’s way before they go back home. These are the kinds of things we’re working on every single day again to make sure that that gap between intent and result is as narrow as possible.” 

Pressed by Tapper on the timeline going forward and whether Israel has told the US how long they think this current phase in operations will last, Blinken said that there has been discussions with Israel but wouldn’t provide any further details. 

“Israel has to make these decisions,” Blinken said. “Of course everyone wants to see this campaign come to a close as quickly as possible.”

Blinken then noted that whenever the military operation concludes, that it will be just one step in terms of reaching a sustainable peace. 

On US aid to Israel: Asked about the emergency aid package for Ukraine and Israel that remains mired in Congress over disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on adding immigration provisions, Blinken urged congressional leaders to pass the aid and said that he’s “very concerned.”  

“I think the only people who would be happy if the supplemental budget request is not voted on and approved by Congress are sitting in Moscow, sitting in Tehran, sitting in Beijing. For Ukraine, this is absolutely vital,” Blinken said. 

Several Israeli soldiers were wounded in northern Israel by fire from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

“Following the sirens that sounded in the western Galilee area in northern Israel, suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified and two targets were successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array,” IDF said.

Early on Sunday, Hezbollah claimed on social media to target an Israeli “command headquarters” in the western Galilee from south Lebanon with drones, saying the attack was “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from communities close to the Lebanese border last month, with crossfire and clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters intensifying across the border.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on December 10.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his displeasure” with Russia’s position on the war in Gaza at the United Nations while speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, according to a statement by Netanyahu’s office.

Thirteen countries, including Russia, voted on Friday in favor of a UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, which included a demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The statement also outlined that Netanyahu conveyed to Putin that “any country that would suffer a criminal terrorist attack such as Israel experienced would act with no less force than the one in which Israel operates.”

Netanyahu also “expressed appreciation” for the Russian effort to release an Israeli citizen with Russian citizenship, adding that Israel will continue to “use all means, both political and military, to release all of our hostages.

A Kremlin statement made no reference to Netanyahu expressing “displeasure” but said “the Russian side is ready to provide all possible assistance in order to alleviate the suffering of civilians and de-escalate the conflict.”

Some context Multiple Israeli-Russian hostages were released last month as part of a separate deal that Putin struck with Hamas, outside of the week-long truce agreed between Israel, the US and Hamas.

Following the UN vote, Russia hit out at the US for vetoing the resolution, with its diplomat accusing Washington of being “complicit in Israel’s brutal massacre” in a statement to the council following the vote.Russia also has veto power and has used it to block resolutions on its invasion of Ukraine.

About 600 Israel Defence Force (IDF) members have been wounded since the ground invasion began on October 27, the IDF said Sunday, adding that they were rescued from the strip in approximately 300 helicopter evacuations.

In total, almost 1,600 soldiers in total have been wounded since Israel began its war in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the latest figures.

Death toll rising: On Saturday, the Israeli military announced that the total number of IDF soldiers that have died since the conflict began is now 96, after four more were killed.

About 17,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters.

CNN cannot independently confirm either side’s figures.

Smoke rises over Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 10.

Israel is battling Hamas in several parts of Gaza, including the main city in the south, Khan Younis, where residents have been urged to evacuate.

With fighting intensifying, the chances of another truce like the one that saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released appears slim despite widespread calls for a ceasefire.  

Qatar, which plays a mediating role, said neither Israel nor Hamas is showing the “same willingness” to negotiate now as before last month’s truce. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue his country’s “just war to dismantle Hamas.”

Here are the other key updates…

The WHO chief outlined on Sunday what he described as the “catastrophic” impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on the healthcare system in Gaza, expressing his regret that a UN Security Council motion calling for a ceasefire failed to pass on Friday. 

According to Tedros, only 14 out of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially functional. As an example on the conditions, he also pointed out how two major hospitals in southern Gaza are operating at three times their bed capacity. 

Overcrowding is creating the “ideal conditions” for the spread of the diseases, the top health official said, adding there are “worrying signs” of epidemic diseases, including jaundice and bloody diarrhoea. 

Tedros said the WHO had convened on Sunday to discuss a resolution which, if adopted, would require him to carry out several tasks, including reporting on the public health implications of the crisis.

He said he “deeply” regretted that the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire failed to be adopted after the United States vetoed it during a Friday vote. 

While acknowledging that negotiations on the Security Council resolution were “difficult,” the WHO Director-General reiterated his belief that a ceasefire is the “only way to truly protect and promote the health of the people of Gaza.” 

Israel believes Hamas had about 30,000 fighters in Gaza before the war began on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN Sunday. 

The fighters were divided into five brigades, 24 battalions and approximately 140 companies, the IDF told CNN’s Alex Marquardt, each with capabilities including anti-tank missiles, snipers and engineers, and rocket and mortar arrays.

Israel’s national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the people killed in Gaza since October 7 were “Hamas terrorists.”

Hangebi added he did not think that the Hamas leadership had expected the scope of Israel’s response to the assault against southern Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed. 

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said Saturday that 17,700 people had been killed in the territory since October 7.

Israeli troops are seen near the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, December 10.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it struck more than 250 targets in the past 24 hours, including what it called Hamas military communication sites and tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said one of its fighter jets struck a Hamas military communications site adjacent to a mosque in southern Gaza. Ground troops who helped direct the strike then carried out a raid on the site, according to the statement.

In response to a CNN question about the mosque, the IDF told CNN it was unable to provide further details.

The Israeli military said it continued to engage in intense battles with Hamas fighters in the southern city of Khan Younis this week.

About 17,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s assault on the strip in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters.

CNN cannot independently confirm either side’s figures.

Some context: On Saturday, the IDF issued “an urgent appeal” for civilians to evacuate from much of Khan Younis amid fierce fighting in the area. It is unclear how many people were aware of the instruction given the lack of communications networks and internet availability in much of Gaza. 

According to Hamas, 104 mosques and three historical churches have so far been destroyed. It accused Israel for the destruction of the oldest mosque, the Great Omari, calling it a “heinous and barbaric crime.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh speaks to Reuters at his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on November 15, 2023.

Speaking at the Doha Forum, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh suggested it is unrealistic that Israel will be able to eradicate Hamas, telling CNN’s Becky Anderson: “It’s not going to happen.”

Israeli officials have vowed to eradicate Hamas from Gaza in response to the Palestinian militant movement’s October 7 attack on Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and more than 240 others held hostage.

Shtayyeh said the main concern of Palestinians today is that they “want a stop of the atrocities and genocide that is happening.”

Hamas death toll: In a video statement Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US for vetoing a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and vowed to continue in “our just war to dismantle Hamas.”

Israel has so far killed more than 7,000 Hamas militants, according to the country’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi.

He told Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday “this is the minimal estimate, it could be higher since we don’t know everything.”

At least 17,700 people have been killed in Gaza and 48,780 others have been injured since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.