January 1, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

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

At least 163 trucks carrying food, water, medical and shelter supplies entered Gaza from the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings on Monday, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The number of trucks aligns with the daily average observed over the previous weeks.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned last week that the volume of aid entering the ravaged Palestinian enclave “remains woefully inadequate.” 

Before October 7, the UN reported an average daily delivery of 455 trucks carrying commercial goods into Gaza.

Palestinians displaced inside the strip have described cramped living conditions, sky-high prices for food, children going hungry and poor sanitation. CNN spoke by phone with several people trying to survive in Rafah, in the south, which tens of thousands have fled to despite it already being the most densely populated part of Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces anticipates warfare in Gaza to last throughout this year as it begins to reduce the number of soldiers in the territory and prepares for a new phase of the conflict, a military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court has struck down a controversial change to the judiciary, a move that could reignite fierce tensions within the country. 

Here’s what else to know:

Israel says some communities displaced after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks will soon be able to return home.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said Israeli citizens from houses within a range of 4 to 7 kilometers (about 2.5 to about 4 miles) north of the Gaza Strip will be able to start a gradual return in the near future.

In a video statement following a tour of kibbutz Dorot near the Gaza border in southern Israel, Gallant said the return will begin with communities farthest out and then later move on to all the remaining ones.

Gallant said Israeli forces “know their mission … so that here, in our southern communities, life will return to its course.”

Israeli soldiers organize tank shells after returning from Gaza, on the southern border in Israel, on January 1.

Israel’s announcement that it starting to draw down its number of troops in Gaza shows signs of the country’s gradual shift to a lower-intensity phase of its war, a senior United States official said Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier Monday it was beginning to reduce the number of soldiers on the ground in Gaza as it prepares for prolonged fighting throughout 2024.

The US has been pressing Israeli officials to begin the more surgical phase of fighting as the Israeli military continues to target Hamas. 

The official said the move reflected the success IDF forces have had in northern Gaza in dismantling Hamas military capabilities. 

Still, the official cautioned there was still fighting ongoing in the north and that it did not appear to reflect any changes in the south of Gaza. 

US officials are viewing the next few weeks as a critical period that will demonstrate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s willingness to move to a lower-intensity phase of going after Hamas in Gaza.  

To look out for: Later this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to the Middle East to continue discussions with Israeli officials about the next phase of the war in Gaza, which American officials have made clear they expect to begin soon.

Blinken’s trip is a continuation of a Biden administration initiative of sending its senior-most officials to Israel on a near-weekly basis for direct, in-person meetings with Israel’s war cabinet.

The topic of the war’s trajectory as been at the center of conversations between American and Israeli officials, including a lengthy phone call between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu last week that officials described as very direct and at times strained.

President of the Israeli Supreme Court Esther Hayut and all fifteen judges assemble to hear petitions against the "reasonableness clause" at the court premises in Jerusalem, on September 12, 2023.

In an unprecedented ruling, Israel’s Supreme Court has struck down a controversial change to the judiciary, a move that could reignite fierce tensions in the country. 

The court ruled, by eight votes to seven, that a government amendment to the so-called “reasonableness law” should not stand “because of the severe and unprecedented blow to the core characteristics of the State of Israel as a democratic state,” the ruling says.

Twelve out of 15 judges agreed the court has the authority to nullify a basic law in “extreme cases.” Only eight of the 12 thought this was an extreme case. 

The bill stripped the Supreme Court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable and was the first major piece of a multi-pronged plan to weaken the judiciary to be passed by the Knesset earlier this year. 

For context: The verdict could reopen an emotional and heated debate that had raged in Israel throughout 2023 but was sidelined following Hamas’ attacks on October 7. And it could cause splits within Israel’s war cabinet, made up of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two prominent critics of his efforts to overhaul the courts.

Remember: In summer 2023, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israel for weeks, demonstrating against the proposed overhaul to the judicial system. Protesters stopped highways and caused chaos at airports.

Critics of the change said Netanyahu was pushing it forward because of his own ongoing corruption trial, where he faces charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing.

Ilan Weiss, a 56-year-old man who has been considered missing since Hamas infiltrated his kibbutz on October 7, was likely killed in the attack, kibbutz Be’eri announced in a statement Monday.

“Ilan was the deputy head of the community emergency unit - a residential emergency team and provided logistical support to the members of the kibbutz’s emergency squad,” the statement said.

His daughter Noga, 18, and wife Shiri, 53, were kidnapped and taken as hostages by Hamas. They were released November 25 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Their cousin told CNN’s Dana Bash the pair were “traumatized” after their release from Hamas captivity.

Israeli soldiers take up positions in southern Israel near the border with Gaza on Friday, December 29.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expects warfare in Gaza to last “throughout” this year as it begins to reduce the number of soldiers in the territory and prepares for a new phase of the conflict, a military spokesman has said.

The 551st and 14th brigades – comprised of reservists – will return to their families and civilian lives this week, the IDF said in a statement Monday. 

The 828th brigade, which trains squad commanders, the 261st brigade, which trains army officers, and the 460th brigade, which trains the armored corps, will return to their scheduled training, the IDF said.   

In a briefing on Sunday, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the objectives of the war “require prolonged fighting.”  

The return of reservists, he added, is aimed at ensuring “planning and preparation for the continuation of 2024… understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year.”  

Monday’s statement said the move is expected to “significantly alleviate economic burdens” and the troops “to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist, and their services will still be needed.” 

Background: Senior US officials told CNN in early December that they expected the current phase of Israel’s ground operation targeting the southern end of the Strip to last several weeks before it transitions, possibly by January, to a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy that narrowly targets specific Hamas militants and leaders. 

The Biden administration has warned Israel that it cannot replicate the kind of devastating tactics it used in the north and must do more to limit civilian casualties.

The shipping company Maersk confirmed in a statement on Monday that its merchant vessel Maersk Hangzhou had been attacked on Saturday, leading to US helicopters responding to its distress calls and sinking three Houthi boats, killing those aboard.

US helicopters sank the three Houthi boats in the Red Sea after coming under fire, the US military said.

The sinkings marked the first time since tensions broke out earlier in 2023 that the US has killed members of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group, which has been targeting commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea.

The incident took place as the Maersk Hangzhou passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, en route from Singapore to Port Suez, the company said in a statement.

The ship was first “hit by an unknown object,” but was able to continue moving as there was no fire on board, the company said. Then, four boats approached the ship and “engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel,” said Maersk.

It added that the crew of the Maersk Hangzhou is safe, and that the company is working to assess the area’s security with Operation Prosperity Guardian – a multinational maritime coalition set up to increase security in the critical global shipping lane.

What the US has said: The US Central Command said helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and destroyer USS Gravely had responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call, the second in less than 24 hours, and were fired on by the Houthi boats.

The US has avoided directly striking the group inside Yemen as it seeks to avoid escalating the crisis further. But a National Security Council spokesman said Sunday that the US would continue acting in self-defense.

Israel intercepted at least 12 rockets fired from Gaza just minutes into the start of 2024, according to a CNN team in Tel Aviv that witnessed the attack.

Sirens were heard across the southern and central Israel regions.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published a statement claiming they had bombarded Tel Aviv with a barrage of “M90” rockets at midnight local time.

The Israel Defense Forces early on Monday acknowledged the rocket fire in a post on social media.

“New year, same Hamas terrorism. While 129 Israelis are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza, Hamas also decided to start 2024 by launching a barrage of rockets at Israel. There is no ‘happy’ New Year until they are all home,” the IDF said.  

Israeli soldiers load shells onto a tank at a staging area in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, on December 31.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up their attacks in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

There are fears that the attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

On Sunday, the US sank three Houthi boats and killed those aboard after coming under fire, marking the first occasion since tensions broke out earlier in 2023 that the US has killed members of the rebel group.

The US said Sunday that it has no desire to enter a wider war, but that it will act in its own self-defense. The helicopters had been responding to a distress call from a merchant ship — which the Houthis had fired on and attempted to board — when the rebels turned their guns on the US aircraft, according to US Central Command.

If you’re just joining us, here are other headlines from today:

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

There are fears that the attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

The US said Sunday that it has no desire to enter a wider war, but that it will act in its own self-defense, after US Navy helicopters sank three Houthi boats that the US says fired on the aircraft in the Red Sea. The helicopters had been responding to a distress call from the latest commercial vessel to come under Houthi fire.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

Here’s what we know about the Houthis:

Who are the Houthis? The Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah (Supporters of God), is one side of the Yemeni civil war that has raged for nearly a decade. It emerged in the 1990s, when its leader, Hussein al-Houthi, launched “Believing Youth,” a religious revival movement for a centuries-old subsect of Shia Islam called Zaidism.

His closest followers became known as Houthis.

How did they gain power? Ali Abdullah Saleh, the first president of Yemen after the 1990 unification of North and South Yemen, initially supported the Believing Youth. But as the movement’s popularity grew and anti-government rhetoric sharpened, it became a threat to Saleh. Things came to a head in 2003, when Saleh supported the United States invasion of Iraq, which many Yemenis opposed.

For al-Houthi, the rift was an opportunity. Seizing on the public outrage, he organized mass demonstrations. After months of disorder, Saleh issued a warrant for his arrest.

Al-Houthi was killed in September 2004 by Yemeni forces, but his movement lived on. The Houthi military wing grew as more fighters joined the cause. Emboldened by the early Arab Spring protests in 2011, they took control of the northern province of Saada and called for the end of the Saleh regime.

How powerful are the Houthis? American officials have been tracking iterative improvements in the range, accuracy and lethality of the Houthis’ domestically produced missiles. Initially, homegrown Houthi weapons were largely assembled with Iranian components smuggled into Yemen in pieces, an official familiar with US intelligence told CNN previously.

But they have made modifications that have added up to big overall improvements, the official said. In a novel development, the Houthis have used medium-range ballistic missiles against Israel, firing a salvo of projectiles at Israel’s southern region of Eilat in early December. Israel said it intercepted the missiles.

While the Houthis may not be able to pose a serious threat to Israel, their technology can wreak havoc in the Red Sea. They have used drones and anti-ship missiles to target commercial ships — some of which aren’t believed to be linked to Israel — prompting US Navy and other warships in the Red Sea to respond to distress calls.

Read more about the Houthis.