Watch Clarissa Ward report from inside Gaza for the first time since war began
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What we covered here
Amid a growing international outcry over the death toll in Gaza, US President Joe Biden said Thursday he wants Israel to focus on saving civilian lives when asked if he wants Israel to scale back its assault.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told US national security adviser Jake Sullivan that Israel will continue its fight against Hamas “until absolute victory.” And defense chief Yoav Gallant told Sullivan the war would last “more than several months.”
Nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza since October 7 have been unguided, otherwise known as “dumb bombs,” according to a new US intelligence assessment.
CNN was given rare access to a hospital in southern Gaza taking care of young victims — some with missing limbs, burns and broken bones — caught in the middle of Israel’s war with Hamas. Watch the report.
Israeli military claims video, disputed by doctor, shows militants handing over weapons outside a hospital
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman, Andrew Carey, Pauline Lockwood, Elizabeth Joseph and Tim Lister
The Israeli military released a video it says shows militants handing in weapons after their surrender from a hospital in northern Gaza.
A hospital doctor told CNN the men, some of whom are stripped to the waist in the video, are civilians who were carrying out weapons belonging to hospital security and police on the orders of Israeli soldiers.
Israeli forces have had a heavy presence around the Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza City for well over a week, maintaining Israel’s operational focus on the strip’s medical facilities, which Israel insists are being used by Hamas to provide civilian cover for its military activities.
In a statement accompanying the release of the video on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said: “During IDF activity in the area, over 70 terrorist operatives came out of the hospital with weapons in hand.” The statement said the men had been handed over to Israeli intelligence units inside Gaza for interrogation.
The video, along with two stills also released Thursday by the IDF, show several men carrying weapons over their heads or in their arms and laying them on the ground.
Another clip on the same video shows a long line of men in civilian clothes, with their hands in the air — many holding their green identity papers — walking single file down a smashed-up street under Israeli guard.
CNN was able to speak briefly by phone to Dr. Hossam Abu-Safia, head of the pediatric department at Kamal Adwan hospital, as the incident was taking place.
He said they had been given 10 minutes to evacuate the wounded from the hospital, along with medical staff.
“We don’t know where we are going,” he said.
When asked by CNN to respond to Safia’s comments, the IDF re-sent its original statement containing the same links to the video and the stills, but added nothing more.
Some context: Doctors at Kamal Adwan hospital have described frequent intense fighting around the facility for well over a week, with events escalating at the start of this week.
On Monday, a tank shell killed two women in the maternity ward and severely wounded two others, the hospital director told CNN.
A day later, on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry told CNN that Israeli forces had entered the hospital.
Later that day, dozens of medical staff, including the hospital director, were taken from the premises by Israeli troops to a nearby military screening center, a hospital doctor told CNN, withholding his name out of fear for his own safety.
Throughout the week, in response to enquiries about its actions in and around the hospital, the IDF has insisted it “takes all feasible precautions to mitigate harm to non-combatants, and is fighting against the Hamas terrorist organization, and not the civilians in Gaza or the medical teams operating there.”
Images from Gaza of men often stripped to their underwear surrendering to Israeli forces have been emerging over the last two weeks.
The images – usually uploaded unofficially on to social media – have been criticized as demonstrating degrading behavior by Israeli forces, but Israel insists it needs to be certain the people it has captured are not concealing hidden weapons or explosives.
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Hamas says Gaza tunnels built to resist possible flooding attempts
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, speaking at a news conference in Beirut on Thursday, were in response to reports of potential flooding of tunnels by Israeli forces inside Gaza.
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 Israeli hostages held inside the enclave.
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Yemen’s Houthis claim drone strike on container ship en route to Israel
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
The Iran-backed, Houthi-run Yemeni Armed Forces claimed in a statement Thursday that its naval forces attacked a container ship as it was “heading to the Israeli entity.”
The Houthis said the attack was executed by a drone strike, resulting in a direct hit, and that it came after the ship’s crew allegedly refused to respond to calls from the Yemeni naval forces.
The Danish shipping company Maersk said Thursday that it is “deeply concerned” about the incident involving its vessel, the Maersk Gibraltar, and that the ship had been traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Maersk said the crew and vessel were reported safe, but that it is “still working to establish the facts of the incident.”
Maersk Gibraltar operates between Europe and the Middle East and sails under the Hong Kong flag, the company said in its statement.
Maersk condemned the rising trend of attacks on commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
US Central Command said in a statement that it was monitoring the situation but it did not involve US forces. A ballistic missile was fired toward the international shipping lane from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen on Thursday before Houthis contacted the container ship, threatening further strikes, according to US Central Command.
Other recent activity: Over the past 48 hours, Houthi armed forces have successfully prevented the passage of several ships bound for Israel, according to a Houthi statement.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” the statement read.
Houthi forces also attempted to board a commercial tanker on Wednesday in the Red Sea, US Central Command said in a statement earlier Thursday.
In November, Houthis seized a commercial ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen.
Some context: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are a Shia political and military organization that have been fighting a civil war against a Saudi Arabia-backed coalition since 2014.
There has been an uptick in their maritime activities since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, and the group has said any ship heading to Israel was a “legitimate target.”
In the next couple days, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will address enhancing the international response to the Houthi threat to shipping in the Red Sea, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview Thursday with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 News.
CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey and Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.
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The US is not trying to dictate terms to Israel over fighting in Gaza, war cabinet member says
From CNN's Sugam Pokharel in London and Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv
A key member of Israel’s war cabinet — and the man opinion polls suggest could be the country’s next prime minister — has struck an emollient tone toward the Biden administration and its position on the war in Gaza.
Amid a sense of growing disagreement between Israel’s leader and the White House over how to prosecute the war, Benny Gantz sounded a more measured tone, in comments made a few hours after a meeting with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv.
In addition, the US has been warning against Israel occupying Gaza after the war and has stressed a future role there for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected.
“Yes, there is disagreement (with the US) about ‘the day after Hamas’ and I hope that we will reach agreement here as well,” Netanyahu said Tuesday.
Apparently taking direct aim at those comments by Netanyahu, Gantz dismissed the idea of a rift between the US and Israel, saying “some are busy generating false disputes in the minds of the [Israeli] public, and damaging our ties with the US.”
“We’re at the beginning of a process which will last years. The principles, framework and direction of action are clear. It is time to work with our partners, behind closed doors, with full trust,” Gantz said.
Gantz also made clear that Israel’s fight against Hamas in Gaza will continue.
Gantz was in opposition in Israel’s parliament before October 7, but joined a hastily-constructed war cabinet, along with several other leading lawmakers from outside Netanyahu’s government.
Opinion polls suggest Gantz would win a general election if one was to be held soon.
He is also known to be significantly more supportive of the Palestinian Authority than Netanyahu.
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Hamas leader "might have been" in Turkey during October 7 attack, Turkish official says
From CNN's Scott McLean and Isil Sariyuce
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief foreign policy and security adviser has defended his country’s decision to host senior Hamas figures, saying Turkey is engaging with Hamas “to bring about peace.”
Hamas members can freely come and go from Turkey and have a permanent presence in the country.
Its senior figures have met with Erdogan periodically throughout the years. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh met Erdogan in July and there are unconfirmed reports Haniyeh was in Turkey – and not his regular domicile of Qatar – during the October 7 attacks.
In his first English-language interview since the war in Gaza began, Akif Cagatay Kilic said he didn’t know if Haniyeh was in Turkey on October 7, but conceded “he might have been.”
Kilic defended Turkey’s longstanding ties with Hamas, which many countries consider to be a terror group. Turkey does not.
Kilic also warned Israel against following through on its domestic security service’s vow to assassinate Hamas leaders abroad.
Kilic said that any Israeli assassination attempt on Turkish soil would be “unacceptable on any terms.” Unnamed Turkish officials had previously warned Israel that there would be “serious consequences.”
Erdogan has been among the world’s most outspoken leaders since the war began. He has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza” and said he will be tried in international court as a war criminal.
US national security advisor briefed on details of Israel's military campaign, White House says
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
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.
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.
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US official says Hamas leader's “days are numbered”
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Yahya Sinwar attends a rally in support of Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque in Gaza City on October 1, 2022.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
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.”
Israelhas 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.
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.”
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US wants lower-intensity phase of war — but Israel says fighting won't end soon. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
Civil defense teams and Palestinians conduct search and rescue operations in destroyed buidings in Rafah, Gaza on Thursday, December 14.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
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 rising 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.”
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 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 occupied 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.
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Biden discussed strengthening NATO and Gaza war in conversation with Turkey's president
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
President Joe Biden discussed “strengthening the NATO alliance” with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, according to a readout released by the White House.
Biden also “reiterated his support of Israel’s right to defend itself” during the conversation.
The two presidents also talked about the war in Gaza and “efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza and protect civilians and the need for a political horizon for the Palestinian people,” according to the White House.
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Biden wants Israel focus more on "how to save civilian lives" in Gaza
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
Biden speaks made the remarks while speaking at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on Thursday, December 14.
Andrew Harnik/AP
US President Joe Biden said Thursday that he wants Israel to focus on saving civilian lives when asked if he wants Israel to scale back its assault on Gaza.
The comments come in the wake of the White House struggling to clarify comments from the president this week criticizing how Israel has handled the war.
Biden did not answer an additional shouted question on whether he thinks Israel is violating international humanitarian law. The president spoke for approximately 14 minutes.
Some background: On Wednesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked multiple times by reportersabout the president’s blunt claim that Israel was beginning to lose global support in its war against Hamas because of the “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
Kirby repeatedly emphasized that the Biden administration sees Israel’s “intent” to minimize civilian deaths, despite Biden himself saying Israel was not being deliberate and careful.
Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee why the White House insists on saying Israel has the “intent” to minimize civilian casualties, Kirby responded that “sometimes in war… the best-laid plans don’t get executed exactly the way you want.”
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Israel demands Red Cross immediately visit hostages held in Gaza
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Jonny Hallam
Israel has repeated its call for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Israeli hostages detained in Gaza, insisting that the humanitarian organization “work through all channels” to gain access to those held.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen made the demand again Thursday during a meeting with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, following her recent trip to Gaza.
Cohen told Spoljaric that visiting the hostages should be “the number one mission of the Red Cross,” during a meeting held with Israel’s health minister and representatives of families of hostages, according to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said a small delegation of relatives of the hostages facing immediate mortal danger were meeting with Spoljaric in Tel Aviv Thursday evening.
The hostages families said they were demanding the immediate transfer of medicines to the hostages and said the Red Cross must ensure the medicines reach them.
The Red Cross — which played a pivotal role in the release of hostages last month during a truce Israel and Hamas — has previously said it has been asking Hamas to allow its teams to check on hostages and deliver medication. But it cannot force its way to where the hostages are held and does not always know their locations, it said.
In a statement posted on X Thursday, Spoljaric said “the ICRC must be granted permission, with practical details agreed between the parties, for visits with the hostages to take place.”
“I reiterate: hostages must be released - immediately,” she said.
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4 suspected members of Hamas arrested in Europe, German prosecutor says
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt, Jessie Gretener, Benjamin Brown and Sophie Tanno
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 in a statement on Thursday.
Three people were arrested in Germany and one in the Netherlands on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, the prosecutor said.
Hamas is classified by the United States, the European Union and other nations as a terrorist organization.
Reacting to news of the arrests, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser thanked the German and Dutch police authorities, stating that it “shows that our security authorities are extremely vigilant and act consistently.”
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann also thanked authorities for the “successful investigation,” which has “contributed to ensuring that Jews in Europe can continue to live in safety and peace.”
The incident comes after the European Commissioner for Home Affairs warned the war between Israel and Hamas has increased polarization within European society.
Meanwhile, the news came as Denmark and the Netherlands arrested four other people suspected of terrorism offenses.
However, Denmark’s Intelligence Agency told CNN those cases had “no direct connection” to the arrests of suspected Hamas members made by German and Dutch authorities.
A spokesperson for the Danish Intelligence Agency told CNN that there is “no direction connection between the terrorism arrests that have been made in Denmark and the case referred to concerning Hamas-affiliated persons arrested in Germany.”
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US defense secretary and top general to meet with Israeli officials next week, Pentagon says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr. will join US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Israel during his trip next week, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.
Brown and Austin will be in Israel for meetings with senior Israeli officials, Ryder said.
It is Brown’s first trip to the Middle East since becoming chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.
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Israel determined to keep fighting until Hamas is eliminated, Netanyahu tells US official
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Sugam Pokharel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday, December 14.
Omer Merion/GPO
Israel will continue its fight against Hamas “until absolute victory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he told US national security adviser Jake Sullivan Thursday.
Sullivan is meeting with top Israeli officials over the next two days as the White House pushes the Israelis to be more precise in their operations against Hamas in Gaza — while struggling to square President Joe Biden’s comments about “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza with its insistence that Israel is “intent” on limiting Palestinian civilian casualties.
He also said returning Israeli hostages is “a key objective. We do not let go of that goal, not even for a moment, also at this very moment.”
During the meeting, Netanyahu thanked Sullivan for Washington’s support in the fight against Hamas, an Israeli readout of the meeting said.
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US wants Israel to transition to a more targeted phase in war within weeks, senior official says
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
US President Joe Biden’s administration has signaled to Israel that it wants it to transition to a lower intensity phase of its war on Hamas within weeks — potentially by the end of the year, according to a senior US official.
The US hopes a new phase will minimize civilian deaths, which have mounted in Gaza and caused an international outcry.
US officials say they know Israel will continue to go after Hamas leadership — and the US believes it’s critical take them out. But they have continually pressed Israel to take steps to protect civilians as it goes after the group responsible for the October 7 terror attacks.
On Thursday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet. He asked what the White House called “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.
Entering the talks, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told Sullivan the war in Gaza would last “more than several months.”
Kirby said the US wasn’t dictating the terms of the conflict and said it did not appear likely the war would end entirely anytime soon.
“It has to take as long as they feel they need to take to be able to eliminate this threat, but obviously we all want it to be over as soon as possible,” he said.
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White House says it is still working "by the hour" to get hostages in Gaza released
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
The White House is still working “by the hour” to get the remaining hostages held by Hamas released, officials said Thursday.
“We’re still working by the hour to try to get a pause back in place so that hostages can get released,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a briefing.
Asked by CNN if the US agrees with the Israeli war cabinet’s assessment that “conditions are not right,” Kirby responded that he would “let the Israelis speak to their negotiators.”
“If you need proof that we still want to see a pause, just look at where the national security adviser is today. I mean, we are engaging at all levels to try to get that back in place — and we still believe it’s possible,” Kirby said.
Eight Americans are still missing and believed to be held hostage by Hamas.
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Israel says its latest West Bank military incursion is complete
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv and Sugam Pokharel in London
Israeli forces have completed their latest military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday.
The IDF said seven Israeli soldiers and 10 “terrorists” were killed in the “wide scale” operation, which lasted about 60 hours. Eight Israeli soldiers were mildly hurt, the IDF added.
“Troops searched hundreds of buildings, detained suspects, questioned them, and eventually arrested about 60,” the Israeli statement said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said earlier Thursday that at least 12 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces during the latest incursion in Jenin.
The Israeli forces also said it has confiscated ammunition, weapons, and military equipment.
Some context: Israel’s war with Hamas has increasingly spilled over into the West Bank, with settler attacks, clashes and incursions by Israeli troops leaving hundreds of Palestinians dead.
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Israeli soldiers removed from service for singing Jewish prayer into loudspeaker of mosque in Jenin
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv, Kareem Khadder in Jerusalem and Jake Tacchi in London
Israeli soldiers have been removed from operational activity after videos emerged online of them reciting and singing Jewish prayers into the loudspeakers of a mosque in in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
“During IDF operational activity in close proximity to a mosque in Jenin, soldiers acted against IDF codes of conduct within a religious establishment,” an Israeli Defense Forces statement on Thursday said.
The statement did not say how many Israeli soldiers were removed.
CNN has verified several videos which show Israeli soldiers reciting “Shema Yisrael” — one of the most well-known Jewish prayers — into the loudspeaker of the mosque in Jenin.
A total of 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the latest Israeli incursion in the city that began on Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said earlier on Thursday.
Israeli forces have now completed their latest military operation in Jenin, the IDF said in a statement Thursday evening.
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Palestinian medical group says it has completely lost contact with its emergency operations room in Gaza
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Sugam Pokharel
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Thursday that it has completely lost contact with its central emergency operations room in Gaza amid a communications blackout in the strip.
It comes after the internet monitoring agency Netblocks reported that live metrics showed a new collapse in connectivity in the Gaza Strip.
“The incident will be experienced as the sixth near-total telecommunications blackout since the start of the conflict,” it said.
After the war started on October 7, the PRCS activated its central emergency operations room at the main headquarters in Gaza, which continues to operate around the clock, according to the Red Cross.
