March 13, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

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

US forces destroyed four drones and one surface-to-air missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Wednesday, according to US Central Command, the latest in a series of repeated attempts fend off attacks launched by the Iran-backed militant group against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The strike on the Houthi weapons came after the group fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen into the Gulf of Aden, CENTCOM said. The missile did not hit any ships and there were no injuries reported.

Grand Omar Mosque destroyed in Israel's bombardments is seen on March 12 in Gaza City.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has wiped out entire neighborhoods, crushed the medical system and razed hundreds of mosques – turning religious sanctuaries into relics of war. At least 1,000 of 1,200 mosques, including ancient sites, have been partially or completely destroyed as of February, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza told CNN.

Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 have killed more than 100 preachers, including religious scholars, imams, muezzins (those who perform the call to prayer) and hafiz (Muslims who have memorized the Quran), according to the ministry.

Residents told CNN they cannot find enough space to attend nightly taraweeh prayers because places of worship have been destroyed. Taraweeh prayers are performed every night of Ramadan in a congregation. Limited access to water means others cannot make the obligatory ablution before prayer. Many are unable to share communal meals with relatives because forced displacement has separated families across the enclave.

Mohammed Hamouda, a displaced health worker in Rafah, told CNN he is struggling to explain to his young children why they will not be able to feast on traditional Palestinian dishes or receive gifts this Ramadan.

Read more about how Ramadan is anything but normal for Gazans this year.

Palestinians told CNN the war in Gaza has crushed hopes of observing a peaceful month of fasting, festivities and worship during Ramadan this year. Some are grappling with the reality that they will not find enough sustenance to break their fast as Israel’s siege diminishes critical supplies, inflicting deadly hunger on Palestinians.

These days, Jihad Abu Watfa, 27, finds himself riding his bicycle along the dusty streets of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. He watches as hungry children scavenge for food – but he cannot help them.

Children often search for food in the garbage, he said. “There are many people who (already) fast like it’s Ramadan,” he told CNN in late February, as the holy month approached.

Levels of critical hunger are compounded in the north of the enclave, where Israel concentrated its military offensive in the early days of the war. Palestinians told CNN they resort to eating water-based soup mixed with herbs, custard or finger-sized biscuits because they have no access to nutrient-rich foods.

Read more about how Palestinians are struggling during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Senior White House officials are planning to meet with Arab, Muslim and Palestinian-American community leaders in Chicago on Thursday, multiple sources familiar with the meeting tell CNN, as President Joe Biden continues to grapple with anger and concern across the country about the Israel-Hamas war. 

Thursday’s meeting is part of the Biden White House’s ongoing efforts to hear concerns about the Gaza situation directly from these communities, though that is hardly expected to be the only issue discussed. Officials are also expected to more broadly discuss concerns about Islamophobia in the US in the aftermath of October 7. 

Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden and other top US officials have escalated calls for a ceasefire and for more humanitarian aid in recent weeks, urging Israel to do more to protect civilians. 

But negotiations remain stalled, even as the humanitarian toll of Israel’s war in Gaza rises. Biden is confronting mounting discontent within his own party over his handling of the conflict, including young and progressive voters and voters in battleground states like Michigan that will be critical to his 2024 coalition.

The White House declined to comment.

Read more.

Hassan Nasrallah speaks via a video link during an event in Lebanon, Beirut on February 13.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to continue the fight against Israel, claiming the Israeli military has been secretive about its losses in the north.

The fighting has continued since October 7 on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel between the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and the Israeli military. As a result, Israel has ordered the evacuation of communities along the Lebanese border.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it has killed numerous Hezbollah militants and commanders since October 7. On Monday, it said it struck two Hezbollah compounds in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, the farthest north Israel has struck in Lebanon since the latest Israel-Hamas conflict began. 

In his speech, Nasrallah claimed the Israeli prime minister has “lost the war” in Gaza, and that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would not change that.

“After five months of fighting, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] was unable of presenting any spectacle of victory,” he said, adding that Hamas has not been defeated and is still able to impose its conditions on the negotiations.

The Hezbollah leader also decried the US stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict, labeling it as “hypocritical.”

CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey, Charbel Mallo and Donald Judd contributed reporting.

A Palestinian woman holds a glucose solution for her relative, who was injured in an Israeli air strike near a warehouse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, at Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Gaza.

An Israeli strike killed five Palestinians and injured 22 others after it hit a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) building in Rafah, the agency’s director said in a statement Wednesday.

At least one UNRWA staff member was among those killed, a UNRWA statement said.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called for an investigation into attacks against UN facilities, emphasizing “the need for accountability” following the strike.

Here are other headlines you should know:

The United Kingdom said it is “doing everything we can” to get more aid into Gaza, including pressing Israel to lift restrictions and open more border crossings. 

The UK is providing planning support to the Jordanian Armed Forces for their humanitarian aid efforts and has provided around 500 parachutes to enable more airdrops. The UK is also working with Qatar to get more aid into Gaza. 

The UK has halted its own airdrops in Gaza but may review that decision as the situation on the ground changes, according to CNN reporting.

So far, the UK’s Royal Air Force has delivered 74 tonnes of aid for people in Gaza through Egypt, including tents, blankets and wound care packs. In January, the country also delivered 87 tonnes of British and Cypriot aid.

The US military conducted the ninth airdrop of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza on Wednesday.

The forces airdropped “over 35,712 US meal equivalents and 28,800 bottles of water into Northern Gaza, an area of great need, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid,” CENTCOM said in a release. 

What the United Nations has said about airdrops: Aid delivered as airdrops will never match the volume necessary to meet the requirements of northern Gaza, according to the UN World Food Programme.

“Road access and the use of existing ports and crossings is the only way to get aid into Gaza at the scale that is now required,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, adding that 300 trucks of food are needed to enter every single day.

A UNRWA distribution center is seen in Rafah, Gaza, which was partially hit by an strike on March 13.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called for an investigation into attacks against UN facilities, emphasizing “the need for accountability.”

His call comes following an Israeli strike that killed five Palestinians and injured another 22 people at a UNRWA food distribution center in Rafah, according to a statement from the UNRWA.

At least one UNRWA staff was among those killed, the statement said.

He said the coordinates of all UNRWA facilities across the Gaza Strip are shared “with parties to the conflict.”

“The Israeli Army received the coordinates including of this facility yesterday,” Lazzarini said.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks a news conference following a virtual meeting with other foreign ministers about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza on March 13, in Washington, DC.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Tuesday with the parents of Itay Chen — an Israeli-American hostage killed on October 7.

Blinken reiterated that there is a “very strong proposal on the table right now,” but said the ball is in Hamas’ court to accept it.

 “The question – will Hamas take it? Does Hamas want to end the suffering that it’s provoked?” he asked. “The question is there but I can tell you that we’re intensely engaged every single day, almost every single hour with Qatar, with Egypt, to see if we can get a ceasefire agreement that will get the hostages out, get more aid in and create a pathway perhaps for a more lasting, secure solution.”

The top US diplomat also reiterated that ensuring Israel can “effectively defend itself” is “an enduring commitment that’s not going to go away.” Blinken said the US remains focused on trying “to make sure that October 7 never happens again.”

He also reiterated that Israel must take steps to protect civilians and get humanitarian aid to those who need it.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Blinken.

Relatives of the dead Palestinians mourn as the bodies are brought to the An-Najjar Hospital after Israeli army attacked the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) building in Rafah, Gaza on March 13.

Five Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike hit a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) building in Rafah, the director of Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital told CNN on Wednesday.

“Since morning, 38 injuries have arrived at Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital, including injuries from the bombing inside the UNRWA building in Rafah,” according to Dr. Marwan Al-Hams.

At least one UNRWA staff member was among the deaths, according to a statement sent to CNN by the agency on Wednesday.

The building serves as a food aid distribution center situated in the central part of Rafah, according to Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA’s media adviser in Gaza.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

A Palestinian girl carries a child through the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on March 3.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the “very survival” of the population in Gaza is at stake now, as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department. 

“We need to act. The very survival of the population in Gaza is at the stake today,” Borrell said.

Borrell thanked Blinken for his “personal efforts” to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza, but also pressed that routes into Gaza by land must be opened. 

For context: While airdrops evade the often rigorous and lengthy examinations carried out at land checkpoints, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. They are more expensive, have limited delivery capacity and may culminate in chaos.

The US is moving forward with a plan to establish a temporary pier off Gaza’s coast for aid delivery, but the Pentagon said it will take about 60 days for it to be completed and operational.  

Hamas operative Hadi Ali Mustafa was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to a statement published by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday.

According to the IDF, Mustafa was responsible for “Hamas’ international terrorist activities, directing terrorist cells and activities in the field, and advancing terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in various countries around the world.”

Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed Mustafa’s death, saying he was killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday without disclosing further details.

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday a “hostile drone” strike in Sur Al-Hosh in southern Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of a Palestinian and a Syrian who happened to be riding a motorcycle nearby.

Two Palestinian men were killed and four others were injured in an Israeli military raid on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, health officials said.

The men were killed after Israeli soldiers shot at a group of civilians standing in front of the Jenin Government Hospital’s emergency department, the hospital director said. Rabih Al-Noursi and Mahmoud Abu-Haija died after sustaining severe gunshot wounds, he said.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the shooting.

Seen in Jenin: Videos obtained by CNN show Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers storming Jenin in the early hours of Wednesday. Bulldozers can be seen destroying streets and sewage lines and downing electricity poles.

In a statement on the Jenin incursion, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its “fighters uncovered and destroyed charges planted under routes with the aim of harming the troops,” adding that the military “arrested a wanted man.”

Multiple dead in east Jerusalem and West Bank: A total of six Palestinians were killed in separate incidents, hours apart, around occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank on Wednesday, health officials said.

The number includes a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by a border police officer in Shuafat refugee camp, who the IDF said “endangered the forces while firing aerial fireworks in their direction.”

Additionally, a 23-year-old and 16-year-old were shot in the town of Al Jib, north of Jerusalem. The IDF said the Palestinians “threw Molotov cocktails over a security barrier fence,” which runs along an Israeli settlement Givat Ze’ev.

The toll also includes a 15-year-old Palestinian boy who Israeli police say was suspected of a stabbing attack at a military checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem.

A woman and a child look out from the window of a damaged building following Israeli bombing on Rafah, Gaza, on November 2023.

More children were killed during four months of war in Gaza than in four years of conflict worldwide, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the number “staggering” in a post Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Lazzarini shared a graph comparing the number of children killed in conflicts around the world between the years of 2019 and 2022 to the number of those killed between October 2023 and February 2024 in Gaza, citing the UN and the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

According to the figures, a total of 12,193 children were killed between 2019 and 2022 globally, and a total of 12,300 children were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and February 2024. 

Death toll: According to numbers published by Palestinian health officials, the amount of children killed in Gaza since October 7 is greater than that shared by Lazzarini. The Ministry of Health in Ramallah in a report Wednesday said the number of children killed has reached 13,450. And the health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that 72% of a total of 31,272 deaths are women and children.

CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.

Israeli forces work at the scene of a suspected attack at a checkpoint outside of Jerusalem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 13.

A 15-year-old suspected of stabbing security personnel at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank on Wednesday has been confirmed dead, Israeli police told CNN.

In a statement released after the incident, the Israel Defense Forces says an Israeli soldier and security guard “neutralized the terrorist” following the stabbing incident. 

The two individuals wounded in the incident were security personnel, according to an update from police. 

The IDF said a “soldier at the scene was lightly injured” and taken to the hospital.

Police earlier said a 15-year-old arrived on his bicycle at the tunnel checkpoint around 8:15 a.m. local time and pulled out a knife while security forces at the crossing tried to check him. He began stabbing the forces operating there, police said. 

Six-year-old Fadi Al-Zanat is pictured on March 10 at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza, where he is suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to the health ministry in the strip.

Ayman Al-Zanat, 28, worries that his young nephew, Fadi, will not make it through the night. 

The Palestinian boy, age 6, clutches his chest while lying on a blue hospital bed in Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He is suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to the health ministry in Gaza. 

Israel’s severe restrictions of aid entering Gaza have condemned Palestinians to deadly hunger. At least 27 Palestinians in Gaza have died of malnutrition and dehydration, the ministry said on Tuesday. 

Fadi, who has cystic fibrosis, has been in the hospital for 10 days, according to Al-Zanat.

The boy’s relatives say they are helpless. “The weakness and lack of energy in his body are increasing. … We don’t know what to do. Fadi does not sleep at night,” added Al-Zanat.

According to Fadi's uncle, Ayman Al-Zanat, the doctors have told the family there is no treatment for Fadi's condition.

Israel’s siege: Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, but its inspection regime on aid trucks means relief is barely trickling in. Humanitarian workers and government officials overseeing aid distribution in Gaza previously told CNN a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction. They say the Israeli agency that controls access to Gaza has imposed arbitrary and contradictory criteria. 

Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius speaks to media on March 11, in Berlin, Germany.

Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has approved the country’s air force carrying out humanitarian airdrops over the Gaza Strip.

“The people in Gaza lack the most basic necessities,” Pistorius said in a statement Wednesday.

A statement published by the German defense ministry said Pistorius had signed a corresponding order to authorize the mission. It said aid drops could begin as early as the end of the week.

For context: While airdrops evade the often rigorous and lengthy examinations carried out at land checkpoints, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. They are more expensive, have limited delivery capacity and may culminate in chaos.

“Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” according to Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s United Nations director.

Majed Al Ansari attends an event in Doha, Qatar, on December 11, 2023.

Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Wednesday that he hopes a truce agreement will be reached between Israel and Hamas before the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on April 9.

Qatar, a mediator in the negotiations, “seeks to push the two parties to reach an agreement,” he said in a post on X.

His statement comes a day after he told CNN’s Becky Anderson that “we are nowhere near a deal at the moment.”