April 17, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

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

Relatives of the Palestinians who were killed in Israeli attacks at Al-Maghazi Refugee camp mourn in central Gaza on April 16.

The death toll from an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp has risen to 14, including 8 children, according to Al-Aqsa hospital officials.

The airstrike hit the refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, with initial reports saying 13 people — including seven children — were among those killed.

The Israeli military said the incident is under review.

Footage of the strike: Graphic video, obtained exclusively by CNN from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah, showed several casualties scattered on the floor, including children, with blood streaming around the area.

In the video, dozens of people appear to be running around in panic, screaming and trying to count and carry the dead bodies. A foosball table covered in dust is seen among the dead bodies.

Footage shot for CNN from inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital showed a continuous flow of casualties and injured people being ushered in, as the emergency room is crowded with patients, including several wounded children, crying out on the floor. Family members were seen crowding over their loved one’s dead bodies, kissing them, holding onto them and sobbing.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani listens to a question during a press briefing in Tehran, Iran, on January 29, 2023.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed concerns Wednesday over the current state of international mediation efforts led by Qatar to help reach an agreement on the release of hostages and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, criticized the misuse of Qatar’s efforts for “narrow political” gains by some involved, undermining the broader goal of peace and humanitarian relief, “which required the State of Qatar to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.”

He emphasized the sensitivity of the ongoing talks and highlighted the challenges faced in bridging gaps between conflicting parties. He also pointed out the inconsistency between private assurances and public statements by involved parties, describing such actions as counterproductive. 

While the Qatari leaders did not point anyone out by name, the comments followed a statement by US Rep. Steny Hoyer on Monday that said if Qatar fails to apply pressure on Hamas to reach an agreement on a deal to release hostages and establish a temporary ceasefire, “the United States must reevaluate its relationship with Qatar.”

On Tuesday Qatar’s Embassy to the US in Washington issued a statement saying it was surprised by Hoyer’s remarks, adding that while the country shares the congressman’s frustrations, it does not control Israel or Hamas.

More than 13,800 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Additionally, “one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes” in Gaza, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The statement added that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, 6,000 of whom left 19,000 orphaned children behind.

CNN cannot independently verify death numbers due to lack of access to the strip.

Here are other headlines you should know:

The first shipment of aid to the Gaza Strip to be delivered into Ashdod Port was transferred to Gaza Wednesday, according to the Israeli military. 

The Israel Defense Forces said eight World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour entered via the Kerem Shalom Crossing after being inspected at Ashdod.

Israel earlier this month announced its decision to facilitate aid deliveries via the port.

At the time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the development but said the “real test” would be to see whether aid was “effectively reaching people who it needed throughout Gaza.”

CNN has reached out to the WFP for comment.

The Israeli military claims to have killed and arrested several militants during an operation in the civilian area of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had raided a building complex that included two schools after receiving “intelligence that terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists organizations were located in the building and using civilians present there as human shields.”

CNN is not able to independently confirm the claims made by the IDF.

The IDF said it told civilians to leave the building before entering during its joint operation with the Israel Security Agency, Israel’s domestic security agency, also known as Shin Bet or Shabak.

What Gazans told CNN: People living in the area said Israeli military vehicles began an operation there on Monday afternoon, firing shots and rounds of artillery shelling. Local residents said that Israeli forces had surrounded three schools early Tuesday morning, including one where hundreds of people had been sheltering. They ordered people to leave the schools and detained dozens of men, including some elderly people and teenagers over the age of 15, according to residents. An elderly woman who had been sheltering in one of the schools said Israeli soldiers came in the middle of the night and arrested several men and women.

Mourners carry the bodies of children, who were killed in a strike in Rafah, during their funeral on February 9.

More than 13,800 children have been killed in Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“Thousands have been injured and thousands more are on the brink of famine,” she said during a news conference in New York, according to a statement from her organization.

In a separate statement, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said that “one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes” in Gaza. The statement added that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, and 6,000 of them left 19,000 orphaned children behind.

UNICEF communication specialist Tess Ingram, who recently visited Gaza, said during a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that what struck her was the number of wounded children she saw.

CNN cannot independently verify death numbers due to lack of access to the strip.

Germany’s Lufthansa airline has announced it will extend its suspension of flights to the capitals of Iran and Lebanon due to the security situation in the region.

Flights to Tehran and Beirut will remain canceled up to and including April 30, Lufthansa said in a statement Wednesday. The airline also said it would continue not to use Iranian airspace until the end of the month.

Lufthansa first suspended flights to the Iranian capital of Tehran last week and had already once extended its suspension.

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks to press at EU headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for widening sanctions against Iran that can also target industries supporting missiles and drones production.

His comments comes after more than 300 projectiles – including around 170 drones and over 120 ballistic missiles – were fired toward Israel in a retaliatory aerial attack by Iran on Saturday.

Iranian drones have been widely used in other conflicts, including by Russia against Ukrainian infrastructure targets.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks to the press on February 5, 2024 in Jerusalem.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that Israel’s response to Iran’s attack should inflict a “disproportionate toll” and “rock Tehran” to deter Iran from future strikes.

Smotrich said Israel’s response to Iran’s missile and drone attack should make Tehran “regret the moment they even thought about firing” and be “fierce, severe and inflict a disproportionate toll.”

Smotrich, who is technically also a minister in Israel’s defense ministry due to a deal struck in coalition agreements, told Israel’s Army Radio (GLZ) that the nature of Israel’s response would “shape [Israel’s] position in the Middle East.

The response, he said, “should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn’t mess with us,” he said, adding that “this is the language spoken in the Middle East.” The minister, who is head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, also said that Israel should maintain its strategic ties with the United States and other partners but must prevent itself from finding itself in a “bear-hug, which will limit and make us incapable.”

Key context: Smotrich is not a member of Israel’s war cabinet, which the security cabinet has authorized to decide on how to respond to the Iranian attack.

As tensions in the region intensify, many world leaders have urged restraint as Israel weighs the size and scope of its response to Iran.

Israeli fighter jets have struck alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after 18 Israelis were injured when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group attacked a village in northern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck Hezbollah military compounds and terror infrastructure in the areas of Naqoura and Yarine in southern Lebanon in response hours after Wednesday’s attack.

The IDF said that three civilians were among the 18 people injured in the attack, the rest being soldiers.

Israel is weighing up how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented strikes on the country during the weekend, as the British and German foreign ministers visited the country to urge restraint.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog both met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.

Their meeting happened as 18 people were injured by a Hezbollah strike in northern Lebanon, according to a hospital in the region. Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday that its missiles and drones hit the military headquarters in northern Israel in response to deaths of its fighters on Tuesday.

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

Israel has accused members of a United Nations fact-finding commission into war crimes in the region of having “a track record of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements” after a UN commissioner accused Israel of actively obstructing efforts to collect evidence from victims and firsthand witnesses of Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

“The 1200 people murdered (in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7), the women and girls raped, the hostages taken into Gaza, know too well that they will never get any justice or the dignified treatment they deserve from the Commission of Inquiry and its members, who have a track record of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements,” Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva told CNN.

The Israeli mission to the UN did not provide any evidence or further information to support its claims.

Accusations of obstruction: The UN Commission of Inquiry has been collecting evidence of war crimes committed by all sides since October 7.

Its commissioner, Chris Sidoti, said Tuesday that the Israeli government was actively obstructing “efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims to the events that occurred in southern Israel.”

Israel’s UN mission told CNN that Israel had been conducting “thorough internal investigations” into the crimes committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel and that it was “meticulously collecting evidence and testimonies in order to render justice to the victims.”

“Moreover, independent mechanisms and institutions, including United Nations Representatives, have been to Israel and met with survivors and victims of the terrorist attack,” Israel’s UN mission added.

An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel on Wednesday.

At least 18 people were injured, including one critically, after a Hezbollah drone hit a village in northern Israel on Wednesday, according to a hospital in the region.

Among the 18 injured was one person in critical condition, two in serious condition and four moderately injured. The other eleven people injured sustained minor injuries, a spokesperson for the Galilee Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya said. Most were injured by shrapnel, the spokesperson added.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday that its missiles and drones hit the military headquarters in northern Israel in response to Tuesday’s assassination of its fighters.

A US Navy ship en route to the eastern Mediterranean to help the US military set up a pier for aid to Gaza had to turn back last week after experiencing a fire, a Navy spokesperson told CNN.

The ship, the USNS 2nd LT John P. Bobo, reported last Thursday that it had experienced a fire in the engine room while in transit to the eastern Mediterranean to deliver equipment and personnel, the spokesperson said. 

It is not clear how the delay will affect the construction of the floating pier and causeway, which the Pentagon has said is expected to be operational by late April or early May. 

“The ship returned under its own power using one engine to Jacksonville, Fla., for further assessment. The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

The ship is one of several US Navy ships and Army watercraft that are en route to the waters off of Gaza to help build the pier, and is a support vessel rather than a key component of the construction of the system, called Joint Logistics over the Shore, or JLOTS.

The Pentagon said on March 8 that the pier would be built and operational within 60 days, and Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder says that timeline is still on track.

The war of words between Israeli agencies approving humanitarian aid for Gaza and the UN agencies receiving and delivering it continues unabated.

On Wednesday Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted video of aid sitting at Kerem Shalom crossing on X, adding: “This is what the content of 700 aid trucks looks like. It is waiting on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom to be picked up by @UN agencies.” 

COGAT added: “We scaled up our capabilities. All the UN did was make up excuses. Aid needs to be collected and delivered. The UN needs to do its job.”

On Tuesday, the UN official in charge of coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza said there had been some progress in dealing with Israeli authorities but added that “for every new opportunity that we’re being given, we will find yet another challenge to deal with.”

Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said aid deliveries within Gaza were facing significant checkpoint delays and that last week 41% of UN requests to deliver aid to northern Gaza were denied. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock briefs the press at Ben Gurion International Airport on April 17.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed “prudence and restraint” before flying out of Israel to a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Italy.

“I felt here exactly what I felt last weekend in Berlin, where none of us could sleep on Saturday night. It has become clear that this region desires peace.”

Baerbock’s visit came in a surprise announcement Tuesday. It was her seventh trip to Israel since October 7 and her eighth visit to the region.

“At a time like this, when Iran is not only attacking Israel without precedent, but has brought the entire region to the brink of a regional conflict, everyone is standing together,” she said.

Baerbock said possible new sanctions against Iran would be a key discussion point during the G7 foreign affairs ministers’ meeting in Capri, Italy, which begins later Wednesday. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen during a meeting in Jerusalem on April 17.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting Wednesday that Israel would decide on its own how to respond to Iran’s weekend attacks.

Netanyahu spoke after meeting with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and Germany today and speaking to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday.

On Gaza: Netanyahu also said that the government will approve a plan for the rehabilitation of settlements surrounding Gaza at a cost of some $5 billion.

“We will invest in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, medicine and more. The Hamas terrorists wanted to uproot us — we will uproot them and take root,” Netanyahu said.

People walk a long a beach in Tel Aviv on April 14, following Iran's drone and missile attack.

A survey by Hebrew University in Jerusalem has found that 74% of those polled would oppose a retaliatory strike against Iran “if it undermines Israel’s security alliance with its allies.”

26% were in favor of an attack even if it were to damage ties with allies.

The Hebrew University survey also found that over half the public believes Israel “respond[s] positively” to the military and political demands of allies.

The survey was conducted April 14-15 by internet and telephone, and sampled 1,466 men and women representing adult Israelis, both Jews and Arabs, the university said in a statement. The margin of error was given as 4.2 percentage points.

56% of respondents believe Israel “should respond positively to political and military demands from its allies” in order to “ensure a sustainable defense system over time,” the statement said. Of the remainder, 32% were undecided, and 12% disagreed.

Also, 59% believe that the US assistance to Israel against the Iranian attack obliges the Israeli government to coordinate future security actions with Washington, while 26% were undecided on the matter and 15% disagreed.

Emergency response forces work near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel on April 17.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it hit military headquarters in northern Israel in response to Tuesday’s assassination of its fighters.

In a statement Wednesday, the group said it targeted the headquarters with “guided missiles and offensive drones.”

The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed that Hezbollah hit northern Israel with drones Wednesday. 

At least 13 people were injured, including four who were severely wounded, according to the Israeli emergency services.

Later Wednesday, the IDF said it hit back at a Hezbollah military base near Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon.

“A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon where terrorists were operating, ” the statement said.

This post has been updated with the latest number of injuries.