December 18, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

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

Palestinian families who lost their homes take shelter at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Near East (UNRWA) school, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on December 17.

As of Saturday, at least 297 displaced people in Gaza have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to a statement from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The number comes from those who were sheltering in facilities run by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East  (UNRWA),

Another 1,032 displaced Palestinians taking refuge in those shelters were also injured, the OCHA statement read, adding that UNRWA schools in the strip were also damaged.

Overall, about 1.9 million Palestinians, constituting over 85% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced across the strip since October 7, according to UNRWA. A majority of them, roughly 1.4 million people, are sheltering in UNRWA facilities.

In Rafah: Gaza’s southernmost area has now become the most densely populated area in the enclave, with a density of 12,000 people per square kilometer, following the arrival of tens of thousands of displaced people there in search for safety since December 3, OCHA said. 

The guided-missile destroyer USS Carney in Souda Bay, Greece. 

The commercial ship Swan Atlantic, which was targeted in the Red Sea on Monday, “was attacked by a one-way attack drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen,” according to US Central Command.

The chemical/oil tanker, a Cayman Islands-flagged ship, called for assistance after the attack and the USS Carney, the closest US warship, responded to assess damage, CENTCOM said Monday night.

A second commercial ship in the Red Sea was targeted by Houthi militants around the same time as the attack on the Swan Atlantic, CENTCOM said.

CNN reported earlier that the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Swan Atlantic and on a second ship. The group claimed that both were linked to Israel and that the crews refused to respond to calls from the Houthis. The Norwegian owner of Swan Atlantic denied the vessel had any connection to Israel.

The attacks follow a string of others in recent days by Houthi forces on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Houthi forces are funded and trained by Iran.

The latest attacks came as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in the region for meetings with senior Israeli officials in Tel Aviv amid ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Austin on Monday said he would convene a meeting with other Middle East defense ministers to discuss the attacks on ships in the Red Sea and he announced a multinational security initiative focusing on “security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.” Led by the US, the multinational initiative includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant give a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, December 18.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with senior Israeli officials Monday and discussed pathways “toward a future for Gaza after Hamas,” the protection of civilians in Gaza and the need “to take urgent action to stabilize the West Bank.”

“Attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop,” Austin said at a joint news conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “And those committing the violence must be held accountable.”

Austin also announced a US-led operation focusing on the “security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden” following recent attacks by Houthi forces on commercial marine traffic in the region. The multinational operation includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Catch up on the latest developments:

Austin speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, December 18.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday announced a new US-led operation focusing on the “security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden” following recent attacks by Houthi forces on commercial marine traffic in the region.

Austin, who was in the region for meetings with senior Israeli officials to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, said countries “must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters.” The multinational operation includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

“The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law,” Austin said. “The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade.”

The announcement came after the USS Carney responded Monday to a distress call from a commercial vessel after it was attacked by “multiple projectiles” in the southern Red Sea, a US military official said.

The Houthis later claimed responsibility for the attack on the vessel. The group claimed it attacked another ship as well and that both ships were linked to Israel. The Houthis also said that “no harm will be dealt” to ships heading to ports around the world, “except for Israeli ports.”

Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as revenge against Israel. Oil giant BP announced Monday that it would pause all shipments through the Red Sea due to the “deteriorating security situation,” marking the latest shipping firm to pause routes through the channel.

Read more about the security challenges in the region.

 Family members of two of the hostages who appeared in a video released by Hamas on Monday have been giving their reactions to Israeli media.

Rani Metzger, Yoram Metzger’s son, told Channel 11: “It’s hard to see him now, it’s about time to bring them back home.”

Rani Metzger said his father looked very old and unkempt and that he and the other kibbutz members who appeared in the video, Chaim Peri and Amiram Cooper, “do not look in good shape.”

“I think it should be understood that we don’t have a lot of time left. Everything should be done in order to return them,” Metzger said.

Mai Albini, Peri’s grandson, told N12 that he had not watched the video but was aware that his grandfather was “in a very bad shape and seems to be withering in captivity.”

Hastings speaks at a press conference in Gaza on January 3.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator has left the occupied Palestinian territory after Israel did not renew her visa, a UN spokesperson said Monday.

Lynn Hastings worked as the deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and the UN resident coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said in a press briefing on Monday that she left on Saturday.

Israel did not renew her visa due to the “bias of the UN,” Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen said earlier this month.

Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, will act as the interim resident and humanitarian coordinator for the UN, Dujarric said.

Dujarric said the UN will provide updates on the appointment and deployment of a permanent replacement for Hastings.

“The secretary-general thanks Ms. Hastings for her dedication and professionalism and the independence and impartiality she consistently demonstrated in her role,” Dujarric said.

Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world for journalists and their families, according to the United Nations.

Since the October 7 attacks, at least 57 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In total, at least 64 journalists have been killed since October 7, which include four Israeli and three Lebanese journalists, the organization said.

Journalists “have kept the world informed in real-time of the horrors that civilians in Gaza are enduring. Their dedication deserves tribute. But one by one, these eyes on the ground are going dark,” the UN said in a statement from the UN Human Rights Office in Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

The UN organization said it is also concerned about widely reported claims that journalists and media workers received threatening and intimidating phone calls from Israeli security personnel, according to the statement.

The killing and forced displacement of journalists have hindered their ability to report on the ground in Gaza, it said.

Israel’s government said more than 80,000 Israeli citizens living in areas near the country’s northern border with Lebanon have been displaced since October 7 amid cross-border fire exchanges with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah — an Iran-backed armed group that dominates southern Lebanon — have been engaged in daily cross-border exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border after Hamas’ on October 7 attack — raising fears that the fighting could escalate into a regional war. 

Since October 7, Hezbollah has carried out “hundreds” of attacks on Israel, including rocket, anti-tank missile and drone attacks on communities and military positions in northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Monday.  

Five Israeli civilians have so far been killed in such attacks, according to the IDF.  

The US has been working with Lebanon to try to quell the violence between Israel and Hezbollah and quiet the northern border.

Israel wants Hezbollah to retreat north of the Litani River, which is about 18 miles away from the border, Gallant has previously said. 

Israeli leaders have given a stark warning to Hezbollah in recent days.  

Hezbollah’s leadership has expressed support for Palestinians and condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza but has yet to directly intervene on Hamas’ behalf. 

From left to right: Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper

Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a video on Monday showing three Israeli male hostages in captivity in Gaza.  

One of them is 79-year-old Chaim Peri. The other two men in the video were identified as Yoram Metzger, 80, and Amiram Cooper, 84.

In a brief message, Peri urged their unconditional release. He spoke of their tremendous suffering and their fear of the air strikes in Gaza.

The video displays a caption that reads, “Do not discard me in my old age.” 

It is not clear when or where the video was filmed.  

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reacted to the footage, calling it a “criminal terror video.” 

Hagari said the release of the video “reflects Hamas’s cruelty against elderly and innocent civilians, in need for medical treatment.” 

“The world must act to transfer medical equipment and ensure the condition of hostages,” he added. 

Kibbutz Nir Oz, where the three men lived before being kidnapped, said it appreciates “any sign of life from the hostages, but time is running out.”

The release of the video comes at a highly sensitive moment. United States, Qatari and Israeli officials have been meeting in Europe to discuss the possibility of a new truce in Gaza in exchange for the release of more hostages.

The video also follows the accidental shooting of three hostages by the Israeli military last Friday, which prompted fresh demonstrations by the families of hostages demanding their immediate release.

Hamas has said no more hostages will be released until there is a ceasefire.

Israel’s military on Monday appeared to deny responsibility for the deaths of two women killed at the Holy Family Parish complex in Gaza on Saturday.

As CNN previously reported, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Catholic churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, reported an Israeli sniper shot and killed a mother and daughter who were sheltering inside the church. 

In a carefully worded statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) appeared to suggest that while there had been a conversation between itself and the church on Saturday morning about blasts in the area, the church had not reported fatalities.

CNN has been unable to reach the Latin Patriarchate for clarity over this apparent discrepancy. 

When pressed for more information, the IDF on Monday evening told CNN it had nothing more to add beyond its original statement.

The IDF’s original statement also said it was conducting a review of a separate incident that took place Saturday afternoon near a second church in northern Gaza.

“When reviewing incidents that may have taken place in the vicinity of churches in Gaza, it was found that an incident took place during yesterday afternoon (Saturday) in another area in Gaza, near the Latin Church in the Shejayia area,” it said.

“An initial review suggests that IDF troops, who were operating against Hamas terrorists in the area, operated against a threat that they identified in the area of the church. The IDF is conducting a thorough review of the incident,” the statement said.

srael Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, December 18

Israel will gradually transition to the next phase of the war and expects displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza to return to their homes before those from the south, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday.   

His comments come as the United States continues to put pressure on Israel to transition to a more targeted campaign in Gaza to reduce civilian casualties. 

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from northern Gaza to the south during the war.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported earlier this month that almost 1.9 million people, more than 80% of the enclave’s total population, have been displaced since the beginning of the war. 

While much of northern Gaza has already been decimated from the fighting and airstrikes, Israel has made clear it is determined to finish its military operations there. 

At a joint news conference with his US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv, Gallant also said that post-war Gaza governance plans were discussed.  

Austin said he discussed with Israeli officials pathways “toward a future for Gaza after Hamas,” the protection of civilians in Gaza and the need “to take urgent action to stabilize the West Bank.” 

He did not mention the Palestinian Authority (PA) by name. 

Israel has continued to state that the PA will not assume power in Gaza, with Benjamin Netanyahu saying it would not happen as long as he is prime minister.  

The PA was effectively driven out of Gaza by Hamas in 2007 but US President Joe Biden’s administration has made increasingly clear it believes the PA should resume governance of the enclave when the war is over. 

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this report.

A 2018 file photo showing the exterior of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

The US raised concerns with Israel after an Israeli military sniper shot and killed two women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza on Saturday, according to the White House.

He said the US raised its concerns about the specific incident with the Israeli government, and about the broader need for injured and wounded civilians to be able to be evacuated and receive appropriate medical care. 

Over the weekend, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said a mother and daughter were walking to the Sister’s Convent when gunfire erupted. 

Most of Gaza’s Christian families have taken refuge in the complex since the start of the war, according to the patriarchate, which oversees Catholic Churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

Kirby said President Joe Biden and other senior US officials have raised the need for deconfliction channels with Israel as it conducts its military operations against Hamas.

He said such channels were important for reducing miscalculation and misunderstanding during conflicts.

“We’re going to continue to urge them to do more in that vein, in the deconfliction vein,” he said.

Pope Francis on Sunday addressed the deaths at the Holy Family Parish, lamenting that “unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire” in Gaza and invoking scripture on war.

“I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire. And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters,” he said during a weekly prayer.

As the incident of Israeli forces killing three hostages is being investigated, the White House said it could potentially necessitate adjustments to the Israeli Defense Force’s rules of engagement. 

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) admitted that they made a mistake very, very soon after. They made a mistake and I have no doubt that they will do the forensics on this to learn what happened and how to avoid it happening again,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, calling it a “traumatic event.”

The IDF, he said broadly, will need to assess how the situation was handled and whether it will require adjustments to rules of engagement.

Forensics on this specific incident will determine whether this is the result of a systemic issue, an individual issue or a “misunderstanding, miscalculation, fog of war,” he said.

He cautioned the United States should “be careful at this early stage … to point the fingers at the exact rules of engagement.”

More humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip on Monday through a crossing from Israeli territory, Israel said.

Sixty-four trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Israeli office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on X, formerly Twitter.

A further 127 trucks were inspected at the Nitzana crossing but their cargoes were transferred to Gaza via the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza.  

The amount of aid entering Gaza is less than half of pre-war levels, according to the United Nations.

The number of aid trucks “is well below the daily average of 500 truckloads (including fuel and private sector goods) that entered every working day prior to 7 October,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement Sunday.

Austin speaks during a joint press conference on December 18.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a virtual meeting with other defense ministers in the Middle East to discuss the ongoing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, he said Monday.

“Regarding the Houthis, these attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law. So we’re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat,” Austin said. “And I’d remind you this is not just a US issue, this is an international problem, and it deserves an international response.”

Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming its attacks are in revenge for Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis and Hamas are both Islamist groups that receive backing from Iran.

CNN has reported that the US is considering beefing up protections for commercial ships around the vital shipping route, according to military officials, with members of the Combined Maritime Forces – a multi-national naval task force charged with protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The discussions about bolstering the task force reflect growing concern in the region over the Houthis’ interference in the Red Sea through which millions of barrels of oil pass daily. US officials have said publicly that discussions have centered on the possibility of escorting ships operating in the Red Sea and through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait into the Gulf of Aden — the narrow channel that separates Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

A Palestinian child reacts while people gather to get their share of charity food offered by volunteers amid food shortages in Rafah, Gaza, on December 2.

Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, calling it a “war crime” in a report released Monday — a charge that an Israeli government spokesperson dismissed as “a lie.”

Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, told CNN that Israeli authorities “have for months been deliberately depriving Gaza’s population of food and water, willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, intentionally destroying objects indispensable to survival, including bakeries, grain mills and water and sanitation facilities, and apparently razing agricultural areas.” 

The report is based on interviews with 11 displaced Palestinians in Gaza, public statements by members of the Israeli government and statements by organizations including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Food Programme, Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council. 

“Statements from high-level Israeli officials show that this is a deliberate policy to starve civilians as a weapon of war,” Shakir said.

The Human Rights Watch report notes that “high-ranking Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and Energy Minister Israel Katz have made public statements expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water and fuel” and that this “policy” is “being carried out by Israeli forces.” 

Other Israeli officials have publicly stated that humanitarian aid to Gaza “would be conditioned either on the release of hostages unlawfully held by Hamas or Hamas’ destruction,” Human Rights Watch added. 

“That is an abhorrent war crime, compounding its collective punishment of Palestinian civilians and blocking of humanitarian aid, which are also war crimes,” Shakir told CNN. “World leaders should speak out and take urgent action to prevent further atrocities—the lives of hundreds of thousands hang in the balance.”

What Israel is saying: Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy forcefully dismissed the watchdog’s claims on Monday, saying Hamas was to blame for any shortages in Gaza. 

“This is a lie,” he said in response to a social media post from Shakir on X. “Israel has excess capacity to inspect more than twice as many aid trucks as are entering Gaza. We’re still pumping water into Gaza through two pipelines and have placed no restrictions on entry of food and water,” Levy said. “Direct your anger to Hamas, which hijacks aid.” 

Human Rights Watch also referenced a United Nations World Food Programme Gaza food security assessment published on December 6, which found that 9 out of 10 households in northern Gaza and 2 out of 3 households in southern Gaza had spent at least one full day and night without food.

CNN is not able to independently verify those numbers. 

According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally starving civilians by “depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies” is a war crime, Human Rights Watch said in its report.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hold a joint press conference at Israel's Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 18.

In his meeting with Israeli officials, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he discussed pathways “toward a future for Gaza after Hamas,” the protection of civilians in Gaza and the need “to take urgent action to stabilize the West Bank.”

“[I]t would compound this tragedy if all that was waiting for the Israeli people and your Palestinian neighbors at the end of this awful war was more insecurity, fury, and despair,” he added. “As I have said, Israelis and Palestinians have both paid too bitter a price to just go back to October 6.”

Austin traveled to Israel on Monday for meetings with senior Israeli officials alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. The stop in Tel Aviv — Austin’s second since Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7 — is part of a trip to the region that also includes stops in Bahrain and Qatar.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) transits the Mediterranean Sea on October 23, 2018.

The USS Carney responded Monday to a distress call from a commercial vessel after it was attacked by “multiple projectiles” in the southern Red Sea, a US military official said.

The merchant vessel Swan Atlantic was attacked at roughly 9 a.m. local time, the official said. More information regarding what kind of projectiles were launched and from where was not immediately available, though the attack follows a string of others in recent days by Houthi forces, who are funded and trained by Iran, on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Swan Atlantic later Monday. The group claimed it attacked another ship as well and that both ships were linked to Israel, and that the ships’ crews refused to respond to calls from the Houthis. The Houthis also said that “no harm will be dealt” to ships heading to ports around the world, “except for Israeli ports.”

The ship’s owner, Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a release there is “no Israeli link in the ownership (Norwegian), technical management (Singapore) of the vessel, nor in any parts of the logistical chain for the cargo transported.”

“We note that information provider Marine Traffic has wrongfully claimed that the vessel is managed by an ‘Israel affiliated company’ on their web site. This is believed to be the reason for her having been targeted now on her southward passage through the Red Sea. This is incorrect,” ICT said.

The attack came as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in the region for meetings with senior Israeli officials in Tel Aviv amid ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as revenge against Israel. Oil giant BP announced Monday that it would pause all shipments through the Red Sea due to the “deteriorating security situation,” marking the latest shipping firm to pause routes through the channel.

CNN has reported that the US is considering beefing up protections for commercial ships around the vital shipping route, according to military officials, with members of the Combined Maritime Forces – a multi-national naval task force charged with protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Read more about a US warship responding to a distress call from a commercial vessel in the Red Sea.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on the vessel MT Swan Atlantic, which, according to its Norwegian owner Inventor Chemical Tankers (ICT), was hit by an “unidentified object” Monday morning.

The vessel was carrying a cargo of biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island, ICT said in its press release Monday, adding there were no injuries to any members of the crew and there was limited damage to the vessel. 

In a statement, Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, and added that they had targeted another ship. The group claimed that both ships were linked to Israel, and that the ships’ crews refused to respond to calls from the Houthis.

The Houthis also said that “no harm will be dealt” to ships heading to ports around the world, “except for Israeli ports.”

The Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as a means of pressuring Israel to send aid to Gaza.

ICT went on to say in Monday’s press release there is “no Israeli link in the ownership (Norwegian), technical management (Singapore) of the vessel, nor in any parts of the logistical chain for the cargo transported.”

Benjamin Brown contributed to the reporting of this post.