March 21, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

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

Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the “gaps are narrowing” between Israel and Hamas to get a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but conceded that “there’s still real challenges.”

Blinken said he still believes a deal is possible, despite “difficult work to get there.”

Here are other headlines you should know:

Coalition forces destroyed one unmanned surface vessel and two anti-ship ballistic missiles launched by Houthis from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

There were no reported injuries or damage to US or coalition vessels, it said.

Who are coalition forces: Following attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, several countries, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, came together under Operation Prosperity Guardian, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in December.

The goal was to ensure freedom of navigation for all countries and to bolster regional security and prosperity, he said.

The US military conducted another airdrop of humanitarian assistance into northern Gaza on Thursday, US Central Command said in a statement.

Air Force aircraft – two C-17’s – and Army soldiers “dropped over 50,600 U.S. meal equivalents into Northern Gaza, an area of great need, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid,” CENTCOM said. 

CENTCOM said parachutes on five of the 80 bundles of food delivered failed to deploy out.

Remember: The US and other countries have been air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza amid warnings from the United Nations that hundreds of thousands in the besieged enclave are on the brink of famine.

Aid agencies have criticized the deployment of aid airdrops as ineffective given the scale of the need in Gaza. Earlier this month airdropped aid packages killed at least five people and injured 10 others when the packages fell on them in the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to a journalist on the scene.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel attend a press conference, on the day of a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, March 21.

EU leaders fell short of calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza when they met for the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday. 

As the summit wrapped for its first day, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told journalists that leaders had reached a consensus regarding the need for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza but fell short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, in a move that is sure to dismay leaders of member states such as Ireland and Spain who have advocated for an immediate ceasefire in advance of the summit. 

Despite the bloc now endeavoring to get aid supplies into Gaza via its newly approved maritime corridor from Cyprus, von der Leyen said that “full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access into Gaza” from all routes including land crossings remains “essential.” 

Israel has significantly tightened controls on aid entering Gaza via land crossings in recent months but has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has been preventing aid from entering the enclave, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling CNN last week that its policy “is to not have famine, but to be the entry of humanitarian support as needed, and as much as is needed.” 

Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel called on the Israeli government not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, with Michel saying the bloc can easily “imagine the consequences if such an operation would be launched.” 

The Israeli government will not send about two dozen Palestinian patients in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv hospitals back to Gaza until Israel’s Supreme Court rules on the merits of the case, according to a letter filed with the Supreme Court by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office.

The state attorney’s office has asked the court for 30 days to submit its response to a complaint filed by a group of Israeli human rights groups on behalf of some of the patients seeking to bar the Israeli government from deporting the patients during that time. The Israeli Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction to prevent that transfer until the government responded. 

The government said it has agreed not to send any of the patients back to Gaza “except for any of them who request in writing through their attorney to allow him to return to the Gaza Strip.”

The human rights groups petitioned Israel’s highest court following a CNN report about some of the patients, including mothers and their 6-month-old babies.

The US United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza will be brought to a vote on Friday morning, US Mission to the UN spokesperson Nate Evans told CNN on Thursday.

Some background: The US resolution comes after the US vetoed multiple prior UNSC resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after vetoing an Algerian resolution in late February that it “would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday, March 21.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the “gaps are narrowing” between Israel and Hamas to get a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but conceded that “there’s still real challenges.”

“We’ve been working, as you know, with Egypt, with Qatar and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. Hamas responded to that,” Blinken said during news conference in Cairo, Egypt, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Blinken said he still believes a deal is possible, despite “difficult work to get there.”

As Israel prepares for a possible operation in the Rafah region of Gaza, Blinken said the US believes Hamas “can be effectively dealt with without a major ground operation in Rafah.” He said a ground operation would “be a mistake,” and officials will outline alternative plans when an Israeli delegation goes to Washington, DC, next week.

Meanwhile, Shoukry said he and Blinken agreed to plan “concrete steps” to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The minister stated that the US and Egypt are aligned in their “total rejection of military operations in Rafah.”

The minister added that Egypt would do “whatever is possible, whatever is required to facilitate a cessation of hostilities and an end to the military activity.” 

Smoke rises near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in the western part of Gaza City on Thursday, March 21.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) announced on Thursday that their troops have arrested more than 600 people so far in the operation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

More than 140 have been killed in the operation, the agencies said in a joint statement.

Israeli forces recovered several weapons and intelligence documents and arrested people that include senior officials with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, the Israeli agencies claimed. CNN cannot verify the claims of the IDF and ISA.

The Israeli military launched the operation in Al-Shifa on Monday when it alleged that “senior Hamas terrorists” were using the facility to “conduct and promote terrorist activity.”

Hamas has repeatedly denied using hospitals as bases for its activity, including Al-Shifa. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that thousands of Palestinians had been seeking refuge in Al-Shifa before the operation began.

In a statement, Hamas decried the operation at the hospital and accused Israel of “destroying many of the hospital’s capabilities, blowing up and burning the surrounding residential buildings, detaining and abusing the displaced, medical staff and patients.”

Israel’s raid on Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital is in its fourth day, and civilians in the hospital are running out of basic necessities, according to a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson.

A woman living near the medical complex posted videos describing the current situation as dire, saying that explosions and gunfire in the area are hitting residential buildings.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East to discuss the ongoing negotiations to reach a deal that would include a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza. He said Wednesday that an agreement is “getting closer.”

Here’s what to know:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani arrive to speak to the press in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 5.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a stern message to Qatar earlier this month: Tell Hamas that they must deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal that would halt the war in Gaza or risk getting kicked out of the Qatari capital of Doha where senior members of the terror group are based, two US officials told CNN.

The pressure from the US came at a time when negotiations between Hamas and Israel had stalled, before Hamas came back to the table with a new set of demands which were discussed this week in Doha. The indirect talks, held between Israel and Hamas under Qatari and Egyptian mediation, were the first to be held in Doha at that level in weeks and are set to resume on Friday.

The message was delivered by Blinken to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in a meeting in Washington on March 5, sources familiar with the matter said. US officials said that Qatar, which has been a critical partner to the US in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, understood the message and received it without major pushback.

Qatari officials did not comment on the specific meeting but said that they are exerting immense pressure on Hamas. It is unclear if Qatar delivered the warning to Hamas leaders.

More background: Hamas established a political office in Doha in 2012, with senior members of the group based there permanently. As a result, Qatar plays a crucial role in the region between Hamas and other nations.

While Blinken’s message this month was tough, the Biden administration has been actively discussing with Qatar its relationship with Hamas since the terror group carried out its brutal attack on Israel on October 7. 

Keep reading here about Blinken’s comments in Qatar.

A new poll of Palestinians in Gaza presents a complex picture of views on Hamas, showing increasing support for the military group’s performance during the war against Israel but declining support for the party as a political entity.

In Gaza, 62% of those polled face-to-face in early March by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said that they were satisfied with Hamas’ “performance in the current war,” up from 52% in December.

Yet, when asked which of several political parties they supported, fewer people in Gaza said that they supported Hamas. Of the respondents to the March poll, 34% said that they support Hamas, down from 42% in December.

Key context: When asked by CNN to clarify that, the political scientist who conducted the poll tried to draw a distinction between Hamas as a military force and Hamas as an ideology.

“The reason it’s still higher,” Khalil Shikaki said, “is because Hamas is now fighting and defending Palestinians, and because people still think that Israel is committing monstrous violence against Palestinians in Gaza, and that Hamas is defending against that.”

Shikaki also noted that “the number of Palestinians who share Hamas’ values is not as high as it was last time.”

Methodology: Conducting an accurate poll during a brutal military conflict is difficult. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said that its pollsters interviewed 750 people in 75 locations across Gaza.

“Given the uncertainty about the population distribution in the Gaza Strip, we almost doubled the size of the sample in that area in order to lower the margin of error, which stands at +/- 3%,” the organization said.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will join hostage talks in Qatar on Friday as negotiators work toward a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza alongside a temporary ceasefire, sources familiar with the plans said.

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar Friday for the talks, Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Barnea will meet with Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, according to the statement.

“The meeting of senior officials will be held in the framework of the negotiations in Doha, the goal of which is to advance the efforts to return the hostages,” it added.

CNN has reached out to CIA for comment. 

Burns has been instrumental in trying to secure a deal on hostages, traveling several times to the Middle East and Europe for talks. So far, the efforts haven’t yielded an agreement.

There were signs, however, that progress was being made, and American officials voiced cautious optimism this week that a deal could be reached. In an interview on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the negotiations to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal are “getting closer.”

“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al Hadath in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Israeli officials.

Lieutenant Gen. Michael E. Kurilla testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee February 8, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The top US commander for the Middle East said he is “not aware” of Israel’s plans to mitigate civilian harm if the Israel Defense Forces launch an operation in Rafah, Gaza.

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, US Central Command commander, said he does not believe Israel has finalized those plans yet.

Kurilla said the US is trying to alleviate human suffering in Gaza through the airdrops Central Command forces have been conducting with regional partners including Jordan. 

“We’ve approached now almost a million meals in the north, with eight other countries,” Kurilla said, adding that there “has been some progress in the last two weeks” with regard to getting aid in via land. 

“I talked to Ambassador (David) Satterfield, who is the Special Representative for humanitarian efforts, and he has seen some progress on the challenges of internal security distribution inside of Gaza,” Kurilla said.

Director-General of the World Health Organisation Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks as he attends a session of the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on February 12.

The head of the World Health Organization said that famine in Gaza can only be prevented by opening up more land crossings into the strip.  

“Recent efforts to deliver food by air and sea are welcome. But only the expansion of land crossings will enable large-scale deliveries to prevent famine,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

The WHO chief also said that up to 16% of children under age 5 in northern Gaza are now malnourished and that children were dying “from the combined effects of malnutrition and disease and lack of adequate water and sanitation.” 

“Once again, we ask Israel to open more crossings and accelerate the entry and delivery of water, food, medical supplies, and other humanitarian aid into and within Gaza,” he said, also calling for the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire.

What an Israeli official says: Last week, Col. Elad Goren of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that “the problem isn’t opening more crossings, the problem is distributing the aid to the people in Gaza.”

Goren said that international aid organizations “do not have the capacity and have yet to take real steps to improve on distribution of aid across Gaza.”

Muhammad Hassan Abu Watfa, 30, breathes a sigh of relief. For the first time since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza, he has hope that his young family will be safe.  

Watfa had expressed fears that the health of his eldest child, 3-year-old Hassan, was “declining for the worse,” because Israel’s siege on aid entering the strip meant he could not access medication to treat his immunodeficiency disease.  

But on Thursday, Watfa told CNN that his son was granted a medical evacuation to Cairo.

Hassan Watfa in August 2023

Hassan will travel through the Rafah crossing with dozens of other vulnerable patients who require lifesaving treatment — alongside his 1-year-old sister Rana Watfa and his mother, Noura Abu Watfa.  

The Watfa family, who were displaced from northern Gaza to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, have survived Israeli strikes, perilous displacement and life-altering injuries.

Now, they are wondering if they will ever be reunited.   

“I hope that things will be easier for my son and that his condition improves,” the father told CNN. “Here I am alone in the European Hospital; I have been in the hospital for months, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to travel and complete my treatment.”

Wafta was severely wounded by a strike while trying to buy bread in northern Gaza on October 16. His right foot was amputated twice. 

The US United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza could come to a vote as soon as this week, a diplomat familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday.

The resolution, which the US has been working on for weeks, calls for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire … in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

The diplomat said that work is underway to try to ensure the resolution passes, but Russia has in the past threatened to veto. 

The US resolution comes after the US vetoed multiple prior UNSC resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after vetoing an Algerian resolution in late February that it “would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview Wednesday that he hopes “very much that countries will support” the US resolution. 

“I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal,” he told Saudi news channel Al Hadath, according to a transcript from the State Department.

EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks to the press as he arrives to attend a European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on March 21.

Ahead of a European Council meeting in Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Thursday that the situation in Gaza is “not (just) a humanitarian crisis,” but “the failure of humanity.”

He added that he hopes the council “will send a strong message to Israel: Stop blocking, stop preventing the food to come into Gaza and take care of the civilians.”

Also prior to the meeting, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said it’s imperative that the principles of humanitarian law be upheld in Gaza.

“We must stick to principles in Ukraine as in Gaza without double standards,” he said.  

Guterres reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza. “As we condemn the terror attacks of October 7 and as we condemn other violations of international humanitarian law by Hamas, we also condemn the fact that we are witnessing a number of civilian casualties in Gaza that is unprecedented in my time as secretary-general,” he said.

Borrell said that the council today will approve conclusions that will go “much further” than the ones agreed to in October, when the ministers called on humanitarian pauses in Gaza. 

Smoke rises during an Israeli raid at Al Shifa hospital and the area around it in Gaza City, on March 21.

A woman living near the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza posted a series of videos describing the current situation as dire as Israeli forces continue operations at the medical complex.

Standing inside her family home, Emmy Shaheen said in one Instagram post, uploaded on Thursday, that “the situation here is catastrophic. Catastrophic. Do you hear? Where can we go? Shelling, shelling, there is shooting.” Shaheen added: “They are shooting at a building immediately opposite us…I can see the bullets penetrating the block of flats.”

CNN has geolocated Shaheen’s home from her previous videos on Instagram as immediately to the north-west of Al-Shifa hospital, where Israeli forces are on the fourth day of an operation against Hamas fighters said to be in the area.

As another explosion reverberated, Shaheen said: “I don’t think we won’t be saved from here … Oh God. I have already told you that we won’t be saved from here.”

She also said that members of her family were injured when their apartment was struck. In another post, she shared video of a man with what appeared to be a shrapnel injury to his back, saying that it was her brother.

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment on whether it has refused to allow the Red Cross to organize the evacuation of the area. 

Talks aimed at releasing hostages for a ceasefire in Gaza are “progressing positively” — however, “a lot of differences” remain — a diplomat briefed on the matter told CNN.

The diplomat did not highlight what the differences were but was skeptical that the sides were close to an agreement. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sides are getting closer to a deal and that the “gaps are narrowing.” 

The slow progress of the talks was reflected further after Mossad Director David Barnea left Doha after just one day of indirect talks on Monday. Israeli technical teams are now in Qatar trying to iron out details of a deal, Qatari officials said this week. 

“I don’t think we are at the moment now where we can say we are close to a deal … It is still too early to announce any successes,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday. 

Biggest sticking points: It’s unclear what differences still remain but one of the toughest obstacles may be the Hamas demand that after the initial exchange of hostages and prisoners, Israel would agree to a permanent ceasefire and a withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza. Israel’s government has repeatedly said those terms are unacceptable and that they still intend to continue the fight against Hamas until “complete victory.”

“We worked very hard with Qatar, with Egypt, and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. We did that; Hamas wouldn’t accept it. They came back with other requests, other demands. The negotiators are working on that right now,” Blinken said on Wednesday.