December 19, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

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

A total of 127 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

A total of 67 trucks were inspected at the Nitzana crossing before entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing. 

Another 60 trucks were inspected and entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, COGAT said in a statement. 

Israel has introduced a proposal to Hamas that includes a weeklong pause in fighting in exchange for the release of about 40 hostages, according to Barak Ravid, CNN political and foreign policy analyst, citing two Israeli officials and another source with knowledge of the matter.

Firest reported by Axios, the proposal looks to release hostages that include women, the elderly and those in need of urgent care.

The deal is being presented to Hamas through Qatari mediators, Ravid said.

Michael Herzog, Israeli Ambassador to the US, confirmed Israel is willing to put a pause to the fighting if it means releasing as many hostages as possible, but would not confirm if a deal had been reached.

With international opinion apparently hardening against Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza, the country’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has released a video of an interrogation of the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital.

In the video, Ahmed Al-Kahlot said the Hamas political leadership used the hospital in the early days of the war, because they felt they would not be targeted there. He also said that he, along with some other medical staff, were members of Al Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing.

The interrogation is filmed in what appears to be a small room, painted white with an Israeli flag draped on one wall. It is not clear whether Al-Kahlot was speaking freely, or whether he has had access to a lawyer at any time since his arrest on December 12.

CNN has not had any access to Al-Kahlot since his arrest, which took place during a heavy Israeli military presence around the hospital lasting almost two weeks.

Unlike most hospitals in the enclave that are under the administration of the Ministry of Health, the Kamal Adwan hospital falls under the General Directorate of Military Medical Services, which is a part of the Interior Ministry in Gaza, as the hospital’s Facebook page makes clear.

Speaking to CNN before the release of the interrogation video, the hospital’s head of pediatric services, Dr. Hossam Abu-Safia, and the head of nursing, Eid Sabbah, said the hospital only provided medical services and that the dozens of people arrested at the hospital over the last week were civilians and medical workers. The two medics further allege that Israeli troops’ conduct at the hospital was both dangerous and cruel, even after nearly every male Palestinian in the building had been arrested and taken away.

Israel has focused a huge amount of attention on Gaza’s hospitals since it began its ground offensive at the end of October. It has sought to present what it said is proof of Hamas’ use of medical facilities as military centers and has invited news media to film tunnels with underground rooms located beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa. It has also shown journalists weapons it said were found at other hospitals.

A key argument from Israel’s political and military leaders has been that any such misuse of Gaza’s hospitals by Hamas provides justification under international humanitarian law for Israeli military attacks.

The UN Security Council is expected to now vote on a resolution to spur more humanitarian aid into Gaza on Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The vote was originally scheduled for Monday before it was then delayed until Tuesday evening to allow more time for negotiations.

According to diplomats, intensive negotiations were underway for the draft resolution, which was said to have originally included a call for a “cessation of hostilities” to allow much-needed aid to enter Gaza. One diplomatic source told CNN the US was still reviewing the text on Tuesday.

Here are other headlines you should know:

The US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, on October 18, 2023.

US warships in the Red Sea have been battling a growing number of weapons fired by Houthi forces in Yemen over the past several weeks, including an incident on Saturday when a US destroyer shot down more than a dozen drones.

And US faceoffs with the Houthis, who say they are targeting commercial ships headed for Israel after its invasion of Gaza, could grow after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Monday a new US-led operation focusing on protecting merchant ships operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The US Navy has not said what weapon systems its ships are using against the Houthi attacks, but the experts said a US destroyer has a range of weapons systems at its disposal.

These include surface-to-air missiles, explosive shells from the destroyer’s 5-inch main gun and close-in weapons systems, the experts said. They also said US ships have electronic warfare capabilities that could sever the links between drones and their on-shore controllers.

But in its effort to protect merchant ships, the US is facing drones that can be produced and deployed in large numbers for unit prices under $100,000. This means a prolonged campaign could eventually tax US resources, the experts say.

“These are advanced air intercept capabilities with an average cost of around $2 million — making the intercept of drones not … cost-effective,” said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College in London.

Houthi forces are funded and trained by Iran, so they have resources for an extended fight, the experts point out. It’s also a question of to what lengths the US wants to go to protect merchant shipping, the experts said.

Why this matters: Iran-backed Houthi forces have launched numerous attacks against US interests in the region, and Israel, since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, as fears continue to ripple across the region that the Israel-Hamas war could widen.

The group has said any ship heading to Israel was a “legitimate target” as it puts pressure on Israel to stop its Gaza offensive. They have staged several drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping and even tried landing commandos by helicopter on one vessel to hijack it.

The world’s biggest container shipping companies have paused transit through one of the world’s trade arteries, which experts say could snarl supply chains and drive up freight costs.

Read more about how US warships are shooting down Houthi drones in the Red Sea.

Israel’s military denied responsibility for the deaths of two women at the Holy Family Parish complex in Gaza on Saturday.

In an updated statement Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it fired in the direction of three individuals they identified as “spotters for Hamas” in the same area “where the two women were reportedly killed,” but said reports of the women’s deaths “do not match the conclusion of our initial review which found that the IDF troops were targeting spotters in enemy lookouts.”

The IDF said will continue to review the incident.

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 military sniper shot and killed a mother and daughter who were sheltering inside the church. 

Gadi Moses, 79, and Gadi Katzir, 47, are seen in images taken prior to their kidnapping and released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum

The Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, released a video on Tuesday showing two male hostages in captivity.  

The footage shows Gadi Moses, 79, and Gadi Katzir, 47, speaking in front of a camera, asking the Israeli government to arrange their release. 

It is not clear when or where the clips were filmed.   

In the video, Moses asks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet member Benny Gantz and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to make every effort to return them to their families. 

Katzir makes similar remarks, asking the government to make an exchange deal with Islamic Jihad. 

Both men speak about the dangers they are facing.

Moses was taken alongside his ex-wife Margalit Moses, who was released during the truce on November 24. 

Katzir’s father, Rami, was killed on October 7, and his mother, Hanna, was abducted and then released as part of the truce.

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

A view of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after a deadly explosion in October.

Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, also known as Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Hospital — one of the few partially functioning medical facilities in Gaza — has ceased operations, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesperson, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Only 11 out of 36 hospitals are partially functioning inside the Gaza Strip, Dr. Al-Qidra said earlier this week.

Various representatives interact Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York.

The UN Security Council is now expected to vote on Wednesday on a resolution to spur more humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The vote was originally scheduled for Monday but was then delayed until Tuesday evening to allow more time for negotiations.

Diplomats had been working intensely behind closed doors to finalize a resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates on a call for a suspension of hostilities in Gaza to allow for the delivery of critically needed humanitarian aid.

Delaying the vote to Wednesday suggests agreement hasn’t yet been reached on language that could gain a “yes” vote from the United States, or at least an abstention, which would allow the measure to pass.

The US has vetoed previous measures at the UN Security Council and voted against a call for a ceasefire in the larger UN General Assembly.

If the US eventually allows the resolution to pass, it would amount to an important signal to Israel — including from its top ally — of the growing international outcry over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads a weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on December 10.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with families of hostages on Tuesday in Tel Aviv, during which he “reiterated his commitment to bring about the release of all the hostages to their homes,” his office said in a news release.

Netanyahu told the families that he and the government are committed “to the release of all the hostages,” according to the news release.

Israeli Brigadier General (res.) Gal Hirsch, National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi and the prime minister’s military secretary also participated. 

The meeting comes as frustrated families of hostages demand answers from the government about the fate of their loved ones and a deal for their release.

Meanwhile, several dozen people demonstrated outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, right, attends a news conference with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday. Gallant hinted at the possibility of allowing displaced civilians to return to northern Gaza once Israel achieves its military objectives there.

Israeli officials are exploring the potential construction of a “humanitarian compound” in northern Gaza to house displaced Palestinian civilians, two Israeli officials and an international humanitarian official familiar with the plans told CNN.

The establishment of such a compound would allow some Palestinian civilians to move to northern Gaza once the Israeli military completes its current phase of military operations in that part of the enclave, the sources said. The planning for the compound is in its early stages and it was not yet clear how many people it could accommodate.  

Israel has informed the United States it is exploring the project and a senior Israeli official said Israel would seek assistance from other countries as well. The international humanitarian official also confirmed discussions about the project and said other countries and private entities could be involved. 

Israeli military officials have said they believe they are close to defeating Hamas militants in Jabalya and Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood, Hamas’ last remaining strongholds in northern Gaza.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday hinted at the possibility of allowing displaced civilians to return to northern Gaza once Israel achieves its military objectives there. 

Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, but many of those displaced from northern Gaza will have no homes to return to — hence the need for the construction of shelters.

About 80% of buildings in northern Gaza had been damaged or destroyed by the end of November, according to an analysis by the United Nations Satellite Centre published last week. 

The Israeli government is exploring the project amid pressure from the United States to ramp down its military campaign in Gaza and establish more safe zones for Palestinian civilians. Israel has also begun to explore the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip with the United States and Gulf countries, the officials said.

Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this post.

Members of the UN Security Council hold sideline meetings as they take a break at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

The United States is still reviewing the text of a draft resolution on Gaza that the United Nations Security Council is set to vote on, a diplomatic source familiar with the matter told CNN. 

The council’s vote on draft resolution 2334 is expected at around 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates calls for a suspension of hostilities in Gaza to allow for the delivery of critically needed humanitarian aid, UAE Ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh said.

The US has vetoed previous measures at the Security Council and voted against a call for a ceasefire in the larger General Assembly. 

That lends significance to Tuesday’s vote. If the US allows the resolution to pass, it would amount to an important signal to Israel — including from its top ally — of the growing international outcry over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank from October 7 to December 18 has risen to 301, up from 297 on December 17, according to a report published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Tuesday. 

The ministry added that attacks by Israeli forces, whose targets have included hospitals, health centers, and ambulances, have “restricted” the availability of essential healthcare services. 

The Israel Defense Forces says that it does not target hospitals, only “Hamas strongholds.” 

It accuses Hamas of “deliberately and systematically” placing military targets within the civilian population, which the militant group denies.

Smoke billows over Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday.

The Israeli military is advancing in southern Gaza, notably in the Khan Younis area, army spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday.

Khan Younis has seen intense combat on the ground and heavy airstrikes, with dozens of people reported killed. Last week, the IDF called on residents to move from parts of Khan Younis, the second largest city in Gaza, to displacement shelters to “ensure safety.” But with communications disrupted by the fighting, it is not clear how widely the messages were received.

Hagari also said that the Israel Defense Forces is focusing on locating underground infrastructures used by Hamas.

“Deconstruction of Hamas’s underground center of gravity in the northern, central and southern (Gaza Strip) is a key step to dismantle Hamas. This is taking time, and our forces are operating to do so,” he said

The army spokesman also stressed that troops on the ground in Gaza were briefed on how to search for living hostages.

“The IDF is using special forces and intelligence to locate living hostages. This is a supreme mission,” Hagari said. It comes as pressure mounts on Israel after the IDF said Friday it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat.

Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has been under the control of Israeli forces since Sunday, following a 12-day siege, an international aid agency said Tuesday.

Males over 16 years old were “forcibly removed from the hospital, stripped, bound, and subjected to interrogation,” with six staff members among them, according to Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Following the interrogations, MSF said most were “sent back into the hospital and told not to move,” the agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter

Additionally, MSF said the facility is still housing dozens of patients, including 14 children, and is now facing a severe shortage of essential supplies like general anesthetic and oxygen. 

According to MSF, the hospital has experienced a siege, sustained damage from strikes and suffered the loss of medical staff in explosions in the last 10 weeks. 

CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier for comment regarding the alleged detentions at the hospital but has yet to hear back. 

When previously asked about military operations around that hospital, the IDF told CNN: “The IDF is fighting against Hamas terror organization, which uses civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, kindergartens, and ambulances for the benefit of terrorism. The IDF recognizes the special status of medical teams and ambulances, according to international law. IDF forces do not operate inside the hospital, but do operate against military targets in its area.”

Israeli soldiers are seen in a tunnel Friday near the now-shut Erez Crossing on the northern Israeli-Gaza border.

The Israeli military claimed Tuesday that it has located around 1,500 tunnel shafts and underground passages in Gaza since its military operation started following the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. 

The tunnel shafts belonged to Hamas and many of them were located in civilian areas and inside civilian structures, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.  

The tunnels under Gaza are used to smuggle goods from Egypt, launch attacks into Israel, store rockets and ammunition caches and house Hamas command and control centers.  

The IDF on Sunday said it had uncovered “the biggest Hamas tunnel” in Gaza, spanning a length of four kilometers (2.5 miles).  

The Israeli military said the tunnel, secured “a few weeks ago” but revealed to the public Sunday, was wide enough to drive a large vehicle through, reached up to 50 meters underground and was equipped with electricity, ventilation and communication systems.  

The tunnel does not cross into Israel but ends 400 meters before the now-shut Erez Crossing on the northern Israeli-Gazan border, according to the IDF.  

In 2021, Hamas claimed to have built 500 kilometers (311 miles) worth of tunnels under Gaza, though it is unclear if that figure was accurate or posturing. 

Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, arrives at UN headquarters in New York before a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

The US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said humanitarian aid must reach the individuals who desperately need it and that civilians must be protected, during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting Tuesday.

Wood also condemned the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7.

He did not imply how the United States will vote on an upcoming resolution, which calls for a suspension of hostilities in Gaza to allow for the delivery of critically needed humanitarian aid. 

The resolution was drafted by the United Arab Emirates. 

The UNSC meeting is currently in recess and a vote has been delayed until 5 p.m. ET, the UAE mission to the UN said in a statement Tuesday.  

Wood expressed his concern about the alarming increase in Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.

Wood said the US condemns the violence by settlers and urges the Israeli government to investigate the violence and hold the settlers accountable. 

Wood also called for the protection of journalists, saying that far too many journalists have been killed since the October 7 attacks. “There are few callings more noble than telling the truth. Journalists’ words change hearts and minds,” he said. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting Sunday at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening local time will meet some family members of the hostages held captive in Gaza, an Israeli official confirmed with CNN.

The meeting will take place at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli defense ministry, and Netanyahu will be joined by Gal Hirsch, the country’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, the official said. 

Around 15 family members of hostages are expected to attend the meeting, which was facilitated by the governmental coordination office, according to the official. 

Tensions are boiling over in Israel as frustrated families of hostages demand answers from the government about the fate of their loved ones and a deal for their release. 

Several dozen people protested outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza. 

The protest was called by families of the hostages after news that three Israeli captives in Gaza were accidentally shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces in northern Gaza. 

A major thoroughfare in the area was briefly blocked by the protesters, who were chanting “Everyone now.” 

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog suggested Israel would be willing to agree to a new truce with Hamas to secure the release of more hostages and increase the amount of aid into Gaza, but said the militant group was standing in the way.

The Israeli president’s remarks come as the United Nations Security Council looks set to vote on a resolution calling for a halt to hostilities, and suggestions the United States could abstain, which would allow the resolution to pass.

The role of the Israeli president is largely ceremonial, and the key decisions are taken by Netanyahu and his war cabinet. 

So far, Netanyahu has been ambivalent towards the idea of a new truce, saying among other things that he does not want to discuss how any possible negotiations could proceed.

People inspect the damage caused by an artillery shell that hit the maternity hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex, on December 17, in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Children and families “are not safe in hospitals” in Gaza, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said as UN officials express deep concern about the situation in hospitals in Gaza as the enclave’s wider healthcare system teeters on the edge of collapse. 

This comes after a 13-year-old girl, Dina Abu Mohsen, was killed by a shell that landed in part of the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Tuesday that an “initial review” of damage to the complex did not find it possible at this stage to “determine with certainty what was the source of the damage to the hospital.”

Meanwhile, “without water and sanitation, nor shelter, these so-called safe zones have become zones of disease,” Elder said, warning that if this scenario continues, “child deaths due to disease could surpass those killed in bombardments.” 

The IDF has previously stated it does not target hospitals, only “Hamas strongholds.” Hamas denies allegations that it uses hospitals in Gaza for its operations.

CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Elizabeth Joseph contributed reporting to this post.