Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Our live coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas has moved here.
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Iran's presidential chief of staff reveals new details of moments after helicopter crash
From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian, Mohammed Tawfeeq and AnneClaire Stapleton
The chief of staff for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has revealed new details about the hours after the presidential helicopter went missing.
Gholam Hossein Esmaili was in one of three helicopters returning from a dam inauguration ceremony on Iran’s border with the Azerbaijan, he said in an interview with IRINN state TV, and reported by Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr News on Tuesday.
The helicopter carrying nine people ran into inclement weather on the way back and went missing, prompting an hours-long overnight search in the mountainous region.
On the return flight on Sunday, three helicopters took off at around 1 p.m. local time Sunday “while weather conditions in the area were normal,” Esmaili said, as cited by Mehr News.
He said the weather conditions in the mountainous region in Varzeghan — were the crash happened — were perfect at the start of the flight.
Roughly 30 seconds into flying above the clouds, Esmaili said his pilot noticed the helicopter in the middle had disappeared. The pilot circled around to search for the president’s helicopter, he said.
Esmaili said several attempts were made to contact the president’s helicopter through radio devices before their helicopter continued its flight and landed at a nearby copper mine. Esmail said the pilot of the helicopter he was flying in was unable to decrease altitude because of the clouds.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the head of the president’s protection unit, who were in the same chopper as Raisi, did not respond to repeated calls after the helicopter went missing, Esmaili said.
One person alive for three hours: Tabriz’s Friday prayer Imam, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Alehashem, was able to answer the deceased pilot’s phone and said the helicopter had crashed into a valley and he was in critical condition, Esmaili added.
Esmaili said after they found the location of the crashed helicopter, it was clear from the condition of the bodies of Raisi, Abdollahian and others that they “had died instantly.”
Alehashem was alive for at least three hours after the crash and was able to speak to officials multiple times before he died, Esmaili said.
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Israeli officials agree to specific requests to facilitate humanitarian aid, senior White House official says
From CNN's Sam Fossum, Kayla Tausche and MJ Lee
Israeli officials presented their latest thinking about a potential Rafah incursion during a meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in which the US side asked a lot of “hard questions,” according to a senior administration official.
The official noted that the two sides will continue those discussions, but that Israelis have been incorporating US feedback and concerns as they continue to work through those plans and that both sides share the joint goal of destroying Hamas.
As part of the US discussions with the Israelis, US officials also made a series of “specific requests” with regard to humanitarian aid that they have agreed to implement, according to the official.
One of these requests included helping facilitate aid distribution by getting the Israelis to agree to allow aid scanned in Cyprus to be sent directly to the Israeli port of Ashdod, bypassing Egypt.
Just today, over 370 pallets of aid were distributed in Gaza, according to the official.
Following the discussion, it’s also clear the process is “still very much underway” to reconcile what exactly the post-conflict, two-state phase looks like once the fighting is over as the US discusses these ideas with other Arab capitals and Israel, the official said.
In reference to the US-Saudi deal, the official said that they’re getting to the point where the “full package is very clear” but that the ongoing conflict in Gaza needs to recede to “open up space for this.”
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Netanyahu denies he is starving civilians in Gaza as method of war in interview with Jake Tapper
From CNN's Tara John
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied allegations that he was starving Palestinians in Gaza as a method of war in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday, saying an arrest warrant application currently under review in the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based on a “pack of lies.”
The ICC’s application for warrants over the war in Gaza marked the first time the international court has targeted the top leader of a close ally of the United States.
The prime minister also reaffirmed his commitment to eradicating Hamas, which governs Gaza, before considering demilitarizing the Strip.
With more than 100 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza, pressure has been growing for a deal that would see hostages released in exchange for a ceasefire.
But when asked about public polling showing that a majority of Israelis believe freeing hostages is a higher priority than military action, Netanyahu said you could not have one without the other.
Netanyahu is deeply unpopular in Israel, where he is also facing an ongoing corruption trial. Critics have accused the prime minister of being beholden to members of his far-right coalition and prolonging the war to maintain his grip on power.
Speaking to Tapper, Netanyahu likened himself to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, claiming the arrest warrants were like putting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on the docks alongside the American wartime president who oversaw the US’s mobilization during World War II.
Israel says it will return equipment to the AP following condemnation. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
In these images taken from video, Israeli officials seize AP video equipment from an apartment block in Sderot, Southern Israel, on Tuesday, May 2.
Josphat Kasire/AP
The Associated Press on Tuesday said Israeli authorities had shut down its live camera feed showing Gaza and seized its equipment, in what the agency called an “abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcasters law.”
The White House urged Israel to reverse its decision, telling CNN that it had “concerns” over it. Press groups and Israel’s opposition leader also denounced the decision.
Israel later said it will return the camera equipment to the AP. The move to return the broadcasting equipment came after the White House expressed concerns, a White House official told CNN.
Here are other headlines you should know:
President Raisi funeral:
Funeral ceremonies began Tuesday for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash, as authorities investigate what caused the crash on a remote mountainside during foggy weather on Sunday morning. Raisi’s body arrived in Tehran as part of the funeral ceremonies, according to state-run news agency IRNA. Officials from Russia, India and Turkey plan to attend.
Developments on the ground
Seven Palestinians were killed and nine others were wounded during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank Tuesday, according to the Palestinian HealthMinistry. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Jenin operation was aimed at countering terrorism in the area, and involved the demolition of a house belonging to a man who carried out a gun attack.
Also, the Kuwait hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza says it received the bodies of five people killed by aerial strikes Tuesday. Elsewhere, a shell landed at the reception and emergency area of the main functioning hospital in northern Gaza, a CNN stringer reported, amid ongoing Israeli military operations there.
Ceasefire proposal
Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Humanitarian aid
There is growing alarm among United Nations officials about the difficulty of transferring aid safely within Gaza as Israeli military operations bombard areas in the north, center and south of the enclave — and the Rafah crossing remains closed.
As of Tuesday, more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered through the US military’s temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. However, the Pentagon said on Tuesday that none of the aid that has been unloaded has been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, as the US works with the UN and Israel to identify safe delivery routes inside the enclave.
Arrest warrants
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the charges brought by the International Criminal Court against himself and his defense minister as “beyond outrageous” in an interview Tuesday with CNN’s Jake Tapper. He said he is “not concerned” about traveling abroad after the arrest warrant.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the ICC prosecutor’s efforts will not succeed, describing them as “despicable.”
Also, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would be open to work with the Senate Foreign Committee’s top Republican on legislation against the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its application for arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
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Here are some of the foreign dignitaries expected to attend the Iranian president's funeral
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi, Anna Chernova, Hamdi Alkhshali and Isil Sariyuce
Officials from Russia, India and Turkey plan to attend the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday.
Here’s a current list of dignitaries attending the funeral:
Russia
Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma
Turkey
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan
India
Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar
Afghanistan
Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar Akhund
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi
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Resettling Gaza was "never in the cards," Netanyahu says
CNN's Jake Tapper interviews Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, May 21.
CNN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has a “very clear plan” for the future in Gaza following the war there.
He told CNN’s Jake Tapper Tuesday that Israel’s first goal is to eliminate Hamas, before implementing “sustained demilitarization of Gaza” and finally reconstructing Gaza.
Resettling Gaza, however, was “never in the cards,” Netanyahu said.
Pentagon says none of the aid unloaded from US pier has reached broader Palestinian population
From CNN's Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann
Palestinians grab aid from a truck that is being delivered into Gaza through a US-built pier, seen from central Gaza, on May 18.
Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
None of the aid that has been unloaded from the temporary floating pier the US constructed off the coast of Gaza has been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, as the US works with the United Nations and Israel to identify safe delivery routes inside the enclave, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Several desperate Gazans intercepted trucks delivering aid from the pier over the weekend, leading the UN to suspend the delivery operations until the logistical challenges are resolved. CNN reported the group did not trust that the aid was actually meant for the Palestinian people.
The US is working with Israel and the United Nations to establish “alternative routes” for the safe delivery of the 569 tons of aid transported to Gaza since last week, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.
Asked if any of the more than 569 tons of aid has been delivered to the people of Gaza, Ryder said “as of today, I do not believe so.” He added that aid had been held in an assembly area on shore, but as of Tuesday had begun getting moved to warehouses for distribution throughout Gaza as alternative routes have been established.
A US official told CNN that the Defense Department and UN are still working to determine the capacity of the staging area inside Gaza, and how much aid can be held there at any given time.
The amount of aid getting to the Gaza shoreline from its initial staging area in Cyprus has also fallen short of initial Pentagon estimates.
The last humanitarian air drop announced by US Central Command was conducted on May 9.
Israel's Netanyahu tells CNN that ICC charges are "beyond outrageous"
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interviewed by CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday, May 21.
CNN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted the charges brought by the International Criminal Court against himself and his defense minister as “beyond outrageous” in an interview Tuesday with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The Israeli leader’s comments come after the chief prosecutor of the ICC on Monday announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday said the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”
Netanyahu described Khan as a ” rogue prosecutor that has put false charges, that are both dangerous and false.”
By applying for the arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders in the same action, Khan received a ferocious reaction from Israel and sharp criticism from the US, a close ally. Rights groups have hailed the decision, however.
A panel of ICC judges will now consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants. Neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC.
Correction: This post has been edited to reflect that Khan’s request was filed in the International Criminal Court
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Sources say they were duped by Egypt changing ceasefire terms for Hamas
From CNN's Alex Marquardt and Jeremy Diamond
Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
The ceasefire agreement that Hamas ended up announcing on May 6 was not what the Qataris or the Americans believed had been submitted to Hamas for a potential final review, the sources said.
The changes made by Egyptian intelligence, the details of which have not been previously reported, led to a wave of anger and recrimination among officials from the US, Qatar and Israel, and left ceasefire talks at an impasse.
CIA Director Bill Burns, who has spearheaded the American efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement, was in the region when word reached him that the Egyptians had changed the terms of the deal. He was angry and embarrassed, the same person said, believing it made him look like he wasn’t in the loop or hadn’t informed the Israelis of the changes.
The soft-spoken and mild-mannered Burns “almost blew a gasket,” said the source.
A CIA spokesperson declined to comment.
The three sources familiar with the matter told CNN that a senior Egyptian intelligence official named Ahmed Abdel Khalek was responsible for making the changes. Khalek is a senior deputy to the Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, who has been Burns’ counterpart in leading Egypt’s mediation in the ceasefire talks.
One source familiar with the negotiations said Abdel Khalek told the Israelis one thing and Hamas another. More of Hamas’ demands were inserted into the original framework that Israel had tacitly agreed to in order to secure Hamas’ approval, the source said.
But the other mediators were not informed; nor, critically, were the Israelis.
The Egyptian government did not respond to a request for comment.
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Israel’s reversal on the AP's live feed followed US request, White House says
From CNN's Oliver Darcy and Hadas Gold
The Israeli government’s decision to return broadcasting equipment to the Associated Press on Tuesday came after the White House expressed concerns to the Netanyahu-led government, a White House official told CNN.
The Associated Press applauded the Israeli Ministry of Communications’ decision to return its equipment but said it remained concerned about the law at the center of the action.
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Netanyahu to be interviewed on CNN at 4 p.m. ET
CNN’s Jake Tapper is interviewing Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 4 p.m. ET.
Please check back for more details.
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Israel cancels order to cut AP live feed, will return camera equipment it seized
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Jonny Hallam
Israel has said it will return to the AP news agency camera equipment that it confiscated in Sderot earlier on Tuesday that showed live pictures of Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.
In a statement late Tuesday, Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said that he has “now ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment” to the AP news agency, because “Israel’s Ministry of Defense wishes to examine the matter of the broadcasts from these locations in Sderot regarding the risk to our forces.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Karhi had accused the AP of violating its new law by providing the camera feed to its thousands of news clients, including Al Jazeera.
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More than 569 tons of aid delivered via temporary pier to Gaza so far, Pentagon says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
Palestinians gather aid packages that were delivered into Gaza through a US-built pier, seen from central Gaza on May 18.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters
As of Tuesday, more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered through the US military’s temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
Ryder later clarified that the aid had so far been delivered to the shore for movement into Gaza. It still needs to be distributed by humanitarian partners.
He also said that the US, Israel, and UN had discussed “alternative routes” to ensure the safe transportation of the aid coming off the pier.
Ryder’s comments come just days after Gazans intercepted aid trucks from the floating pier, with some men expressing skepticism to CNN over whether the aid was actually going to the Palestinian people.
A truck carries humanitarian aid across Trident Pier, a temporary pier to deliver aid, off of Gaza on May 19.
U.S. Army Central/Handou/Reuters
“[A]s we move forward on this, the safety and security of all the humanitarian assistance organizations is going to continue to be critical, and we’ll continue to work closely with the international community on that front,” Ryder said.
“Ultimately, the goal of course is to get this humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people who need it most.”
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Pro-Palestinian encampments in several Italian universities turn violent
From CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome and Antonia Mortensen in Milan
University students are staging pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses across Italy. Brawls between students protesting their universities’ relations with Israeli universities and counter-protesters have broken out in several cities, according to Italian media reports and social media video.
At the State University of Milan, a group the university named as the Lotta Communista or Communist Struggles group sparred with pro-Palestinian protesters who had set up an encampment in front of the main university hall on May 10. It is the second time this week the protesters came under attack, according to the Young Palestinians group.
The university rector Elio Franzini called for calm in a statement to students, in which he condemned “the acts of vandalism and verbal aggression and the occupation of internal spaces of the university which is undermining the ordinary programming of institutional activities to the detriment of the entire university community.”
In Rome, pro-Palestinian groups set up encampments at both La Sapienza and Roma Tre campuses this week, according to both universities’ public affairs offices. So far no violence or counter attacks have been reported in Rome.
In Turin, encampments at three universities are now in their second week. All three university encampments have come under attack. At the University of Tornio, the Young Palestinian Italia group published a list of demands, saying they will stay until the university administrators hear them out.
“We have drawn up a document, together with the academic body, which consists in the termination of any agreement [of] the Israeli university with our university,” the group said.
University of Tornio has several research projects with Israeli universities, the students said. “The agreements of the University of Turin are an integral part of the Palestinian genocide. The academic boycott is the only one tool to avoid being complicit in the war crimes of the state of Israel.”
At the Polytechnic of Turin, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a career fair on Tuesday, which included many companies the protesters said had Israeli ties.
The Turin universities have all responded by moving most of the academic programs online.
In Trento, protesters have interrupted classes. University of Trento rector Flavio Deflorian condemned the protests. “It is not a way to promote a serious debate. The occupation, although it is an understandable manifestation of dissent, also involves costs borne by the university and is not acceptable,” he said in a statement.
Protests and encampments are being held at universities in Genova, Florence and Naples.
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White House urges Israel to reverse decision shutting down Gaza feed from Associated Press
“We’ve been engaging directly with the government of Israel to express our concerns over this action and to ask them to reverse it,” a White House spokesperson told CNN.
In a statement Tuesday, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi accused the AP of violating its new law by providing the camera feed to its thousands of news clients, including Al Jazeera.
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World Health Organization chief calls on Israel to lift blockade on medical aid entering Gaza
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite in London
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, in April.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
The head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday called on Israel to ease all restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the primary route for vital medical aid to enter Gaza from Egypt had been cut off during an ongoing Israeli army operation on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Tedros said although WHO and its partners had managed to deliver small amounts of fuel to hospitals in recent days, the amount of fuel brought in fell far short of the 60,000 liters (15,850 US gallons) that medical staff need each day for health operations in Gaza.
“What is needed now more than ever is a ceasefire and to get aid flowing into Gaza,” he added.
Some context: Israel has insisted there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, but its inspection regime on aid trucks has meant that only a tiny fraction of the amount of food and other supplies that used to enter Gaza daily before the war is getting into the enclave. Land crossings have also been closed or limited to supplies.
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Israel's seizure of Associated Press live feed of Gaza sparks swift condemnation
From CNN's Jon Passantino
Press groups and Israel’s opposition leader are denouncing authorities’ decision to seize a live camera and broadcast equipment belonging to the Associated Press showing the northern Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Press Association in a statement Tuesday said it is “alarmed” by Israel’s actions, calling it “the latest in a series of chilling steps by the Israeli government to stifle the media.”
“Today’s outrageous move also blocks AP from providing crucial images of northern Gaza to all other media outlets around the world,” the nonprofit group representing journalists said.
The group added: “Israel’s record on press freedom already has been dismal throughout the war. For the entire conflict, it has prevented independent access to Gaza for foreign journalists. Now it has taken another step backward away from the democratic ideals it claims to uphold.”
The Associated Press' video equipment is seen on the floor of an apartment block in Sderot, Israel, shortly before it was seized by Israeli officials on Tuesday.
Josphat Kasire/AP
Reporters Without Borders also condemned Israel’s decision to seize the AP’s equipment.
“After having banned Al Jazeera, Israel is lashing out at the AP,” it said in a statement. “RSF denounces the seizure of the news outlet’s camera and the interruption of the continuous feed that films Gaza under the pretext that these images are supplying, among others, Al Jazeera.”
Israel opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the seizure as “an act of madness.”
“This is not Al Jazeera, this is an American media outlet that has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes,” he said in a statement. “This government behaves as if it has decided to make sure at any cost that Israel will be outcast all over the world. They went mad.”
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Israel will have to decide whether it wants normalization with Saudi Arabia, Blinken says
From CNN's Kylie Atwood and Michael Conte
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said it will soon be up to Israel to decide whether it will agree to end the war in Gaza and take part in a “credible pathway to a Palestinian state” in order to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
His comments come as the United States and the Saudis move towards finalizing the framework for a historic deal that would include multiple different elements.
“Israel will have to decide whether it wants to proceed and take advantage of the opportunity to achieve something that it has sought from its founding, which is normal relations with the countries and its region,” said Blinken at a Senate Foreign Relations hearing.
Blinken said that the US-Saudi bilateral part of the agreement would be worked out “relatively quickly given all the work that’s been done.”
However, Blinken said, “the Saudis have been very clear, that would require calm in Gaza, and it would require a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”
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US top diplomat Blinken says he's open to legislative action against the ICC
From CNN's Michael Conte
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he would be open to work with the Senate Foreign Committee’s top Republican on legislation against the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its application for arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
“Given the events of yesterday, I think we have to look at the appropriate steps to take to deal with again, what is a profoundly wrongheaded decision,” said Blinken at a hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Republican Senator James Risch of Idaho said he is working on legislation that “includes the question of the ICC sticking its nose in the business of countries that have an independent legitimate, democratic judicial system.”
“The devil’s in the details, so let’s see what you got, and we can take from there,” said Blinken in response to a question from Risch on whether Blinken would support such legislative action, adding that he wants to work with the committee “on a bipartisan basis.”
