April 6, 2024 Israel-Gaza news

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

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron speaks at a press conference in Pristina, Kosovo, on January 4.

The UK has deployed a Navy ship to boost aid through Gaza as it joins international efforts to set up a new maritime corridor from Cyprus, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement on Saturday.

Joining efforts with the US, Cyprus and other partners, the UK is setting up a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to get aid in, according to Cameron.

The corridor is expected to be operational in early May. It will allow for the delivery of “tonnes of aid pre-screened in Cyprus”, the British Foreign Office said.

The Royal Navy ship is already en route and will work on “military and civilian” operations, such as life-saving missions in the eastern Mediterranean and the delivery of aid from Cyprus to Gaza.

The Foreign Office is also committed to providing logistical expertise and equipment, including forklift trucks and storage units, and up to £9.7 million in aid deliveries, the statement said.

Marking six months of war, Cameron called for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire,” and also welcomed the recent opening of the Erez crossing and the Port of Ashdod.

Thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv and other major cities Saturday night, demanding the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for early elections to be held.

For weeks, Israelis have expressed growing frustration with Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his failure to bring home hostages being held in Gaza.

A protester was arrested for punching and injuring a police officer during an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli police said in a statement. Authorities also urged demonstrators not to spark bonfires, as crowds swell to massive sizes.

Here are other headlines you should know:

A protester was arrested for punching and injuring a police officer during an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli police said in a statement.

The Israel Police also warned protesters not to light bonfires as demonstrators march through the streets, saying it can be “life-threatening” around the crowd.

“We will act with zero tolerance towards those who disrupt the order and behave violently towards police officers,” authorities said in a statement.

Remember: Thousands of protesters are marching in Tel Aviv and other major cities tonight, demanding the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for early elections to be held. For weeks, Israelis have expressed growing frustration with Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his failure to bring home hostages being held in Gaza.

A person holds a sign with a photo of Elad Katzir near the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 6, during a demonstration for relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The family of Israeli hostage Elad Katzir, who the Israeli military says was likely killed in January, said he might be alive today if a ceasefire-hostages deal had been struck.

Katzir’s body was rescued overnight from Khan Younis and returned to his family in Israel following identification procedures, according to an earlier joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA).

He “could have been saved if a deal had happened in time,” Carmit Katzir, his sister, said at a small rally held in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Katzir’s body was rescued overnight from Khan Younis and returned to his family in Israel following identification procedures, according to an earlier joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency. He was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants on October 7. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Katzir was likely killed in January, according to Israeli intelligence.

She made similar comments earlier Saturday on Facebook as well.

Katzir’s body was recovered overnight from Khan Younis and returned to his family in Israel following identification procedures, according to an earlier joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency. He was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants on October 7.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday that Katzir was likely killed in January, citing Israeli intelligence.

CNN is not able to independently confirm the information provided by Hagari. 

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and call for the release of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 6.

Protesters once again took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Caesarea and Haifa on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and early elections.

Demonstrators also called for the release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza ahead of the six-month mark of hostilities. 

Many people waved Israeli flags and held up signs with images of hostages, calling on the government to bring them home alive.

In Tel Aviv, protesters were heard chanting:

Other protesters were seen by a CNN team on the ground holding flags and banners, with one reading, “The government that destroyed the country and tore the nation apart.”

Another banner called for the “division of religion and state,” and one stated that “Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel.”

Protesters in Haifa called the government a failure, saying Netanyahu is “guilty, guilty, guilty.”

“Elections now!” read one banner held by a protester.

A man looks at destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, on October 11, 2023. 

The war in Gaza has been raging for six months and the patience of Israel’s allies is running out. As the death toll in the enclave continues to climb, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Israel has no viable plan for how to end the war or what comes next.

The determination to continue pursuing Hamas in Gaza despite the horrific humanitarian consequences is leaving Israel increasingly isolated on the global stage, with its government facing pressure from all sides.

Multiple international organizations have warned Israel may be committing genocide, and even the country’s closest allies are now openly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Calls to halt arms shipments to Israel are growing in the United States and the United Kingdom.

At the same time, Netanyahu and his government are under mounting pressure at home, with protesters back on the streets in large numbers calling for his resignation.

Israel launched the war immediately after the deadly October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. At that time, the Israeli government said the operation had two goals: eliminating Hamas and bringing back the hostages taken by the militants to Gaza.

Six months into the conflict, neither goal has been reached.

Read more.

Speaking from a funeral procession Saturday for a slain military officer, Iran’s highest-ranking commander vowed that an Israeli strike on its embassy complex in Damascus will not go unanswered.

The remarks come as the US braces for a significant Iranian attack on US or Israeli assets in the Middle East, according to a senior administration official.

The situation once again underlines fears that the war in Gaza could spread into a broader regional conflict.

Here’s what to know:

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid meets with United States officials, not pictured, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 8, 2024.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid will meet with top US government officials in the White House and State Department, as well as senior Democratic and Republican senators, during his visit to Washington.

Lapid will leave for the US tonight, according to a Telegram post from his office on Saturday.

According to the post, Lapid will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as well as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

On Wednesday, Lapid called for Israel’s current government to resign, after Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz — also a main political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — urged for parliamentary elections in September.

The US House of Representatives will vote next week on a pro-Israel resolution opposing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Republicans step up their attacks on President Joe Biden over his posture toward Israel — and as Democrats grow increasingly critical of Israel’s military strategy. 

The symbolic resolution expresses support for Israel’s “right to self-defense” in its bloody war against Hamas and opposes efforts to “place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza, including calls for an immediate cease-fire, such as the recent statement by President Biden and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, which was adopted due to the Biden administration’s decision not to exercise the United States veto.“

The vote on the resolution — which could jam some Democrats — will come the week after World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed by Israeli airstrikes, prompting outcry and ratcheting up Democratic criticism of the Israeli government. 

In a letter to Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and dozens of other congressional Democrats expressed their “shared concern and outrage” over the strike. They urged the leaders to withhold arms packages to Israel until a full investigation is finished.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths speaks during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2023.

The United Nations humanitarian aid chief called the war in Gaza a “betrayal of humanity” as the conflict between Israel and Hamas is reaching its six-month mark.

UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths marked the “terrible milestone” in a statement on X Saturday.

The aid chief said a moment of remembrance and mourning is “not enough,” and instead urged for a “reckoning” as the people of Gaza face “death, devastation and now the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine.”

The aid chief also reiterated grave concerns for the “already fragile” aid operation in Gaza, which is continually undermined by bombardments, insecurity and lack of access.

The statement comes after a week that saw the death toll in Gaza surpass 33,000 and an Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian aid workers, an incident the IDF said was a “grave mistake.”

“On this day, my heart goes out to the families of those killed, injured or taken hostage, and to those who face the particular suffering of not knowing the plight of their loved ones,” Griffiths said.

A Hamas delegation said it will reiterate its previous demands when it travels to Cairo on Sunday for further negotiations on the release of hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The delegation, headed by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya, will “stick to the stance presented on March 14,” the group said in a statement published Saturday. 

These demands include, according to the statement:

Hamas turned down Israel’s latest counterproposal from earlier this week, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said Friday.

Israel’s top political and military officials have previously called Hamas’ demands “delusional” and stated that the elimination of the group remains the permanent goal of the Gaza offensive.

It comes as two sources told CNN Friday that the CIA director and the heads of Israel’s intelligence agencies will also head to Egypt this weekend for talks. CIA Director Bill Burns, Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar all attended the previous round of talks with mediators in Doha, Qatar, which failed to yield a significant breakthrough. 

CNN’s Michael Callahan, Eugenia Ugrinovich, Mostafa Salem and Becky Anderson contributed previous reporting to this post.

Emergency services work at a building hit by an air strike in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.

The top Iranian general attended the funeral procession of military officer Mohammed Reza Zahedi on Saturday, vowing Iran will respond to the strike on its embassy consulate in Damascus that killed killed top figures from its Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran has pinned the blame for the attack on Israel, and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said Saturday that it “won’t remain unanswered” by Iran, according to Iran’s semi-official news outlet Tasnim.

Bagheri, who is the country’s highest ranking military commander, said it will be up to Iran to decide how and when to respond to attack, according to the Tasnim report. 

He also issued a warning to the US, saying the “main responsibility” for the Damascus attack lies with the US, according to Tasnim.

Bagheri’s remarks on Saturday were heard by a huge crowd gathered in the western city of Isfahan for Zahedi’s funeral procession. Video from news agencies and state media shows mourners thronging the streets to catch a glimpse of the officer’s coffin, which travelled in a highly-decorated open cortege. 

Many mourners could be seen waving Iranian and Palestinian flags.

Some context: Israel has intensified its military campaign against both Iran and its proxy groups in the region since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which is backed by Tehran, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” attack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in retaliation for the Damascus strike, a senior administration official told CNN on Friday.

The Erez crossing at the border between Israel and northern Gaza, on April 6.

The sound of fighting can be heard near the Erez land crossing on Saturday, according to a CNN team on the ground, as Israel prepares to reopen the crossing for the first time since Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

CNN’s Nic Robertson reported near the border between Israel and northern Gaza, saying Israel Defense Forces troops had moved the team from another location, where they said CNN could not broadcast.

Israel’s decision to allow aid deliveries through the Erez crossing came shortly after US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

But Robertson said it remains difficult to imagine aid trucks rolling safely through Erez while the sounds of fighting remain so close by.

Watch Robertson’s report below:

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The body of an Israeli hostage, who was killed while held captive by the terrorist group Islamic Jihad, has been returned to the family, the Israeli military said Saturday. 

The body of Elad Katzir was rescued overnight from the city of Khan Younis in Gaza and returned to his family in Israel following identification procedures, according to a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency. 

Katzir was abducted by Islamic Jihad from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the attacks on October 7, according to the statement. His mother, Hanna, was also abducted by the terrorist group and released on November 24 as part of the agreement for the release of hostages. His father, Avraham, was killed in the kibbutz, the statement said. 

She also lashed out at the Israeli leadershi, saying they did not do enough to bring the hostages home. 

Following Katzir’s return, a total of 133 hostages remain held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Of that number, 129 hostages are from the October 7 attack, and 99 of them are believed to be alive.

A doctor at a field hospital for detained Palestinians at Israel’s Sde Teiman army base has described “deplorable” conditions, with amputations being carried out on prisoners with handcuff injuries on a “routine” basis, according to an exclusive report from the newspaper Haaretz. 

In a letter to Israel’s attorney general and defense and health ministers obtained by Haaretz, the doctor said the conditions at Sde Teiman field hospital compromise inmates’ health and violate medical ethics. 

Haaretz reported that the doctor said “inmates are fed through straws, defecate in diapers and are held (in) constant restraints, which violate medical ethics and the law.”

CNN spoke to a source who has a medical background and previously visited the Sde Teiman field hospital. They confirmed seeing detainees held in constant restraints.

In a written statement to CNN responding to the claims, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to the law and within the framework of the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees. Every procedure is documented and supervised, and is done with extreme care for the human dignity of the detainees, in accordance with the principles of Israeli and international law.”

Nancy Pelosi speaks during an event on February 13, 2024.

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has joined House Democrat calls to halt US arms sales to Israel, citing the recent strike against aid workers and the spiraling humanitarian situation.

In a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Pelosi and dozens of other congressional Democrats expressed their “shared concern and outrage” over the Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.

The letter acknowledges the Biden administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but warns they are not sufficient to meet the needs of civilians on the ground.

US Sen. Bernie Sanders has also been calling for a halt in military aid.

“The bottom line is, we are looking at one of the worst humanitarian disasters we’ve seen in a very long time,” he told CNN’s The Lead. “To my mind, Israel should not be getting another nickel in military aid until these policies are fundamentally changed.”

Laizawmi “Zomi” Frankcom.

Australia has “not yet received sufficient information” about the death of citizen Laizawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, its foreign ministry said, after she was killed along with six other aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) non-profit in an Israeli military strike.

Speaking during a press briefing in Adelaide, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she had conveyed the message during a verbal briefing with Israel, in which she told them: “We have not yet received sufficient information to satisfy our expectations.”

Frankcom and the other workers were killed in an Israeli military strike in Gaza on Monday. She had worked with WCK since 2019, most recently as a senior manager of its operations in Asia.

Wong said she had written to Israeli counterparts following the deaths this week to reiterate expectations about consequences for those who carried out the strikes.

More background: Israel said it made a “grave mistake” in its preliminary findings over the incident, and fired two senior officers.

But the WCK and some Western leaders have called for an independent, third-party investigation into the strike, and the Palestinian ambassador to the UN has accused Israel of deliberately targeting the workers.

The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” attack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to Monday’s Israeli strike in Damascus that killed top Iranian commanders, a senior administration official tells CNN.

The two governments are working to get in position ahead of what is to come, as they anticipate that Iran’s attack could unfold in a number of different ways – and that both US and Israeli assets and personnel are at risk of being targeted.

A forthcoming Iranian attack was a major topic of discussion on President Joe Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. As of Friday, the two governments did not know when or how Iran planned to strike back, the official said.

A direct strike on Israel by Iran is one of the worst-case scenarios that the Biden administration is bracing for, as it would guarantee rapid escalation of an already tumultuous situation in the Middle East. Such a strike could lead to the Israel-Hamas war broadening into a wider, regional conflict – something Biden has long sought to avoid.

Seven aid workers were killed in the Monday attack.

The US received Israel’s report on the deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy in Gaza and is “reviewing it very carefully,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.

There are “no plans” for the US to conduct an independent or separate investigation, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

The Israel Defense Forces fired two of its officers and reprimanded others for their involvement in the strikes, but the WCK charity said Israel could not be trusted to investigate its own errors in Gaza.

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