April 15, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

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

Israel was set to take its first steps toward a ground offensive in Rafah this week, but has delayed those plans as it mulls a response to Iran’s attack, two Israeli sources have told CNN.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long stressed the importance of invading Rafah to dismantle Hamas’s remaining battalions, despite significant international pressure to call off an all-out ground offensive. But, a military response that risks escalating the conflict with Iran further would pull the military’s attention and resources away from Gaza.

Here’s what to know if you’re just joining our coverage:

The post has been updated with details on the war cabinet meeting and the hostage talks.

Two Palestinians were killed Monday south of the West Bank city of Nablus, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA, citing a local official, said the two were killed by Israeli settlers in Khirbet at-Tawil, which is near the settlement of Gitit. 

According to WAFA, Israeli settlers attacked and killed two farmers who were tending their farmland. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah identified the deceased as Abdul Rahman Maher Bani Fadel, 30, and Muhammad Ashraf Bani Jame, 21.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement it received a report Monday “about a Palestinian suspect who attacked a Jewish shepherd” in the Gitit area in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley. “A violent confrontation developed there between Palestinians and Israeli citizens,” the statement said. 

When IDF forces arrived, they “worked to disperse the confrontation,” and “during the incident, two Palestinians were killed,” the statement said. 

A preliminary investigation into the shooting appears that IDF forces did not do it, the statement concluded. 

The IDF and the Israel police are investigating the incident, the IDF spokesperson added.

Wang Yi speaks during a press conference at Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, China on April 1.

China said it noted Iran’s statement that the actions against Israel were an “exercise of the right of self-defense” during a phone call between the foreign ministers of the two nations on Monday, and did not condemn the weekend strikes.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian that China condemned the attack on a consulate building in the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, according to a statement issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Chinese foreign minister added the incident “seriously violates international law and is unacceptable.”

Separately, China’s Special Envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met with Irit Ben-Abba Vitale, Israel’s Ambassador to China, on Monday, in which the latter expressed Israel’s position and concerns on the conflict in Gaza.

Zhai said China was “deeply concerned about the current escalation of regional tensions, and conflicts and bloodshed serve the interests of no one.”

A United Nations team inspects the grounds of Al-Shifa hospital after an Israeli raid on April 8.

Fifteen bodies were recovered Monday from around Al-Shifa Hospital following the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the area two weeks ago, Gaza residents and medical crews told CNN.

Health workers and residents in northern Gaza have been searching for what they believe are mass graves and looking for their loved ones after they said Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians and left their bodies to decompose during their two-week siege of the complex.

Hundreds of bodies have been recovered from areas around the hospital complex since the siege ended April 1, a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson told CNN last week.

Video filmed by CNN Monday shows medical workers, some wearing UN-marked vests walking around the site over mounds of sand, digging up bodies. White body bags can be seen on the side of the excavation site, some marked with text that read “unidentified body” and some with names of people on them.

 Al-Khateeb’s mother, Khawala Al-Khateeb, was 75 years old when she was brought to the hospital three days before the Israeli military siege on the complex and surrounding neighborhood of Al-Rimal, and was killed three days after, he said.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on these allegations but has not received a response.

Waleed Abu-Laila told CNN he had been searching for his mother since the Israeli siege on the hospital ended on April 1. On Monday, he said he found her body and was only able to identify her “from the specific markings on her feet and hands” from when she had a toe and finger amputated back in November.

Video shows Abu-Laila opening a white body bag, revealing his mother’s decomposed body.

Khadr Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed to this report.

Hamas has slashed the number of hostages it is willing to release during the first phase of a ceasefire deal by more than half, an Israeli source close to the negotiations said.

In its latest counterproposal, Hamas offered to release fewer than 20 hostages in exchange for a six-week ceasefire, more than halving the number of 40 hostages that has been the basis of negotiations for months now, representing a significant step backward in the talks.

A senior Biden administration official confirmed that Hamas is focused on those 20 for the first phase of a potential ceasefire deal. The official also confirmed Hamas is telling mediators that it only has around 20 remaining hostages who are women or sick, wounded and elderly men.

Hamas also called for the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for fewer hostages, the source said, as well as a higher number of prisoners serving life sentences.

The Israeli source said the latest Hamas counterproposal signals that Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, does not want a deal, seeking to exploit fissures between the US and Israel over Israeli military operations in Gaza and domestic pressure on the Israeli government.

Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesperson, said Hamas had proposed “releasing (three) captured Israelis each week,” but said “no one is talking about final numbers.”

Beyond the ratio of Palestinian prisoners, Hamas is continuing to demand assurances about a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and unrestricted access for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

This post has been updated with remarks from a Biden official.

It’s imperative the international community “stand united in resisting this Iranian aggression, which threatens world peace,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Monday statement from his office on X.

Netanyahu added:

Netanyahu’s comments follow an Iranian strike against Israel over the weekend in which more than 300 missiles and drones were launched.

Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for a deadly Israeli attack against a consulate building in the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.

Protesters are monitored by California Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 880 southbound near the 7th Avenue on ramp in West Oakland, California, on April 15.

The Golden Gate Bridge has reopened after demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza shut down the busy roadway Monday morning, California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay told CNN. 

Traffic is beginning to flow again as both sides of the bridge reopened, Barclay added. 

Earlier in the day, protestors also blocked Interstate 880 in Oakland and the roadway remains impacted, Barclay said. The northbound side of the interstate is almost completely clear, while the southbound side remains closed, the officer detailed. Protests continue on the interstate, aerial and ground video from CNN affiliate KGO showed.

“Arrests have been made, and are continuing to be made,” Barclay said in an email early Monday. 

Before the law enforcement response, protesters held signs, including one that read “Stop the world for Gaza.”

I-880 reopened traffic later Monday, California Highway Patrol Officer Art Montiel told CNN. Protesters are still demonstrating on city streets near the interstate, the officer added. 

Montiel was not able to say how many people were arrested in the incident.

Additional US military assets that had been moved into the Middle East before Iran’s attack on Israel remain in place, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday.

Ryder’s comments come as Israel debates possible retaliation to Iran’s attack. 

Iraj Masjedi speaks at the Rafidain Forum in Baghdad, Iraq, in August 2021.

Iran will not show restraint when its red lines are crossed, the top advisor to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander, Iraj Masjedi, said on Monday, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. 

Masjedi said while the United States urged Iran to exercise restraint, “at the same time, it supported the Israeli regime’s actions.” 

Iran will not hesitate to give a “stormy and unified response” to any acts of aggression, Iranian Army Chief Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said during a Monday message commemorating National Army Day in Iran.  

Iran’s retaliatory attacks against Israel this past weekend, dubbed Operation True Promise, were conducted in cooperation with the IRGC’s Aerospace Division, the Army, and the Defense Ministry, Mousavi said. Iran has recently conducted many joint military drills to enhance its national security, he said. 

“The recent strike showed that (Israel’s) air defense systems and the Iron Dome are by no means a deterrent against Iranian missiles,” Masjedi said.

Some context: Almost all the ballistic missiles and drones Iran launched at Israel in an unprecedented attack late Saturday were intercepted and failed to meet their mark, according to Israeli and American officials, highlighting the formidable, and multi-layered missile defense deployed by the two allied partners.

Most of the more than 300 Iranian munitions, the majority of which are believed to have been launched from inside of Iran’s territory during a five-hour attack, were intercepted before they got to Israel, more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) from their launch points.

Joe Biden listens in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 15.

The White House reiterated on Monday that President Joe Biden “will not accept a standalone” funding bill for aid to Israel.

Some House Republicans have suggested that lawmakers seek to pass additional funding in the wake of Iran’s attacks.

The House has so far declined to take a vote on the Senate-passed legislation — which includes funding for Israel as well as Ukraine and Taiwan — with many House conservatives opposed to sending additional aid to Ukraine and wanting stricter US southern border policies included in any aid package. 

IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi attends a ceremony in Tel Aviv, in January 2023.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Monday that Iran’s attack on Israel “will be met with a response.”

Halevi said that Israel had intelligence of Iran’s strike since last Monday, adding that Israel is “very strong and knows how to deal with it on its own.” 

IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari doubled down on the chief of staff’s message during a media briefing. 

Responding to a question regarding a possible Israeli response, Hagari stressed that the Israeli military will have to do “all that is necessary” to defend Israel. 

“And we will do that at the time we choose,” he added.

Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend has ratcheted up tensions in the oil-rich Middle East yet again, threatening to send fuel prices skyward if the conflict escalates and disrupts global supplies.

Tehran launched scores of missiles toward Israel late Saturday in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria on April 1. Israel’s military said that “99%” of the more than 300 projectiles were intercepted.

Oil prices spiked Friday to levels not seen since October in anticipation of just such an escalation but on Monday were subdued. Brent, the global benchmark, was trading down 0.9%; West Texas Intermediate futures, the US benchmark, were down 0.8% by 9.25 am ET as markets wait to see how Israel will respond.

Members of Israel’s war cabinet were locked in heated debate over the nature of its response, with military and diplomatic options both being considered, two Israeli officials familiar with the deliberations told CNN.

Read more about the risk to international oil prices

A boy stands by rubble around a heavily damaged building at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza, on April 15.

An entire block of residential buildings in central Gaza’s Al-Maghazi refugee camp was destroyed following a strike around 2:00 a.m. local time on Monday, according to eyewitnesses and footage filmed for CNN. 

Residents said some of them received a call from the Israeli military — warning them to evacuate only a few minutes before the airstrike hit.

Video of the aftermath shot by a CNN stringer shows the entire block destroyed with debris and rubble strewn along the ground. Pieces of furniture and people’s belongings can be seen underneath the buildings. Dozens of people, including men, women and children are seen sitting on sofas covered in dust, and others walking on top of the rubble, trying to retrieve whatever is left of their belongings.  

One resident named Khalil Shishniyeh told CNN his neighbor banged on his door at 1:30 a.m. local time on Monday to tell him to evacuate because an Israeli airstrike was going to target his house. Eight displaced families were living in that building, he said.

Another young man said he evacuated his house in five minutes and didn’t get very far before the house was struck.

An elderly woman said she was sleeping with her children when her neighbor came “knocking on the door like a madman.”

“He told us the Israeli forces said they were going to strike our house. We ran out like mad people, and we took nothing with us … if it had just been 10 minutes later, I swear our house would’ve fallen on top of us, and you’d have to remove us in body parts,” she said.

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

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks at the White House in Washington DC on April 15.

A top US national security official on Monday wouldn’t say if President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint in Israel’s response to Iran’s attack over the weekend.

CNN reported over the weekend that Biden urged Netanyahu in a call to consider Saturday a win because the US assessed Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, while also making clear that the United States will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran in response, according to a senior administration official.

Kirby wouldn’t say if the president has plans to speak again with Netanyahu soon, saying they have spoken frequently over the past six months and would likely speak again.

Israel has yet to agree on how to respond to the Iranian attack over the weekend that saw more than 300 projectiles fired at its territory in the first direct military confrontation between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state.

Israel must balance international pressure to show restraint on the one hand while searching for an appropriate response to an unprecedented attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has to weigh his right-wing coalition’s call for a strong reaction against the risk of further international isolation for Israel by widening the war without international support.

Israel’s war cabinet on Monday remained determined to respond to Iran’s attack for what Iran says was retaliation to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus on April 1. Despite pressure from allies not to escalate, the cabinet is now debating the timing and scope of the response, two Israeli officials familiar with the deliberations told CNN.

Analysts say that Israel has few options, and each of those options comes with a price, especially as it is already embroiled in a brutal six-month war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and is confronting various Iran-backed militants in the region.

A direct attack on Iran would set yet another precedent. While Israel is believed to have conducted covert operations in Iran over the years, often targeting individuals or facilities seen as a threat to its security, it has never launched a direct military assault on Iranian territory.

Read more about the dilemma facing Israel

Group of Seven leaders are weighing new sanctions on Iran’s missile program, the White House said, following a virtual meeting Sunday to consult on a diplomatic response to the weekend attack on Israel. 

“Much of the world today is standing with Israel,” national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The G7 is comprised of the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy. The European Union also takes part in its consultations.

The United States “did not get notice from Iran” on the specifics of its strikes against Israel, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday.

Miller said that Iran said “publicly and privately a number of times … to anyone that they talk to, not just the United States but others, that they were going to do something,” but they did not provide details on the scope and timing of the response.

President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the Oval Office on Monday.

US President Joe Biden addressed Iran’s attack against Israel over the weekend for the first time publicly, saying he remains focused on Israel’s security and reaching a ceasefire and hostage deal as he works to stem the conflict from spilling into a wider regional war. 

The president made the comments while welcoming Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to the Oval Office amid the ongoing tension in the region and concerns for US forces. 

“We’re also committed to the security of our personnel and partners in the region, including Iraq,” Biden said. “The partnership between Iraq and the United States is critical.”

An Israeli military official told CNN on Monday that the soldiers who were wounded during an operation in Lebanese territory were on an operation that took place “dozens of meters deep” in western Lebanon.

The military official said the incident is still under investigation and the explosion’s origins are still unknown. 

Earlier, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the operation, which severely wounded one solider and left two moderately injured and another lightly injured, resulted during operations on Lebanon’s northern border. 

This post was updated with more information on the incident