December 1, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.

Pope Francis looks on as he attends the weekly general audience at the Vatican on November 29.

Pope Francis spoke on the phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about the Israel-Hamas war in late October.

The conversation between the pair was described as a “fraught phone call,” according to a Washinton Post report Thursday, citing a senior Israeli official familiar with the call, which has not been previously reported. 

Herzog was telling Francis of the unprecedented level of shock felt in Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7 when the pope said bluntly that it is “forbidden to respond to terror with terror,” according to the Post, citing the Israeli official. 

A Vatican source on Friday confirmed to CNN that a phone call between the Israeli president and the pope took place at the end of October, but CNN has been unable to verify that Francis used the “terror” remarks.

In a statement to the Washington Post about the call, the Vatican said, “The phone call, like others in the same days, takes place in the context of the Holy Father’s efforts aimed at containing the gravity and scope of the conflict situation in the Holy Land.”

A few days after his phone call with Herzog, the pope spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on November 2. On October 22, Francis called United States President Joe Biden about the war. 

Some background: The pope has publicly described the war between Israel and Hamas as terrorism.

The pope has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and is in regular contact with the Catholic community in Gaza. 

Montaser Al-Sawaf was a freelance cameraman in the Gaza Strip, working for the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

At least 61 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday. 

The deaths were overwhelmingly Palestinian journalists. CPJ said that 54 Palestinian, four Israeli, and three Lebanese journalists had been killed, according to the group’s statement.

The journalism advocacy group says the latest Israel-Gaza conflict has “led to the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.”

The latest death of a media member was Friday when Montaser Al-Sawaf, a freelance journalist working for the Turkish news agency Anadolu, was killed in an Israeli strike, the organization told CNN. 

The United Nations relief chief has urged for a renewed humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as Israel resumed combat operations against Hamas on Friday.

Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, warned that people in Gaza are terrified and have no safe places to go.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it expanded its operations into the southern part of the enclave, where it previously told civilians to take shelter.

He said people also have very little food and water. The pause in fighting allowed for more humanitarian aid to cross into Gaza.

Griffiths said the seven-day pause in fighting was “a glimpse of what can happen when the guns fall silent.”

Khan Younis is the largest city in southern Gaza where the IDF dropped leaflets on Friday, calling it a “fighting zone” and telling residents to “evacuate immediately.” The Israeli military also named Khan Younis as one of the places its “ground, air and naval forces struck terror targets” on Friday.

Griffiths also called for “progress in aid delivery” and for the protection of civilians and “life-sustaining infrastructure.”

“We need the remaining hostages to be released immediately and unconditionally. We need a humanitarian ceasefire. We need the fighting to stop,” he said.

The deaths of three Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the brutal October 7 attacks, were confirmed by their families on Friday.

Ofra Keidar

The family of 70-year-old Ofra Keidar said they were informed that she had been killed while in Gaza, according to a written statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.

Keidar was kidnapped when she went out for her morning walk in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, the statement said.

Guy Illouz

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also announced it was mourning the death of Israeli hostage, Guy Illouz.

Illouz, 26, was “kidnapped from the nature party in Re’im,” during the deadly attacks, the statement says.

Eliyahu Margalit

And the Kibbutz Nir Oz announced with “great sorrow” the death of one of its members, Eliyahu (Churchill) Margalit, 76.

Margalit was married to Daphna, a father to Noa, Danny, and Nili, and a grandfather to three grandchildren, the statement says.

Margalit’s 41-year-old daughter, Nilli Margalit, was also abducted and taken to Gaza during the Hamas attacks but was released on Thursday.

Earlier on Friday, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced Eliyahu Margalit’s death.

Israeli flares light the sky above Khan Younis in southern Gaza on December 1.

Israel resumed its military campaign Friday aimed at wiping out Hamas after it said the militant group broke the outline of the seven-day truce by firing rockets toward Israeli territory. The Israel Defense Forces also expanded its operations into the southern part of the enclave, prompting calls from global leaders to protect civilians.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Israel maintains Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and children’s playgrounds, that it uses for military purposes, making them legitimate targets.

As of Friday night, negotiators are still trying to revive the truce. Hamas has said it doesn’t have any more women and children to release but Israel doesn’t believe that, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Here’s what to know:

US President Joe Biden’s administration and Israeli officials believe that Hamas continues to hold several women in their 20s and 30s as hostages in Gaza — many of them kidnapped from the Nova music festival, one US official and another source familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The women are of particular concern to Israel. 

In hostage negotiations on Thursday and in the hours after fighting resumed, Hamas insisted it did not have any more non-military female hostages to release, claiming that some of the remaining women were considered a part of the Israel Defense Forces, the sources said. 

Negotiations continue over the potential release of female hostages, as CNN has previously reported. An acceptable list of hostages, sources said, would lead to another pause in the fighting.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Friday night that there are 17 women and children among the 136 hostages.

The post was updated with the latest IDF estimate on hostages held in Gaza.

Montaser Al-Sawaf was a freelance cameraman based in the Gaza Strip.

A freelance journalist working for Turkish news agency Anadolu was killed in Gaza on Friday, as Israeli airstrikes resumed after a one-week pause, the Anadolu News Agency told CNN.

Montaser Al-Sawaf was a freelance cameraman based in the Gaza Strip and had recently recovered from injuries sustained from another Israeli airstrike in November before the start of the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

Enes Canli, Anadolu’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, told CNN that Al-Sawaf had lost both his parents and other family members in a previous airstrike.

The journalist sustained more serious injuries Friday and had to wait for an ambulance for about half an hour before he was transported to the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital, where he later died, the bureau chief said.

Canli remembered Al-Sawaf as a quiet and brave man, calling him “a really gentle soul. He was a calm person and hardworking, always over-delivering and over-delivering, even if you don’t ask him.” 

He leaves behind two young children, he added.

According to Canli, Al-Sawaf wanted to stay in the city center, considering it a “personal case” to tell the world about the conditions in Gaza and “not just journalism.”  

In one of his most recent posts on Instagram, Al-Sawaf posted a picture of his bloodied and injured face, with one eye completely shut.

Some context: Israel’s war with Hamas, which controls Gaza, has been the deadliest for journalists in decades, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. At least 57 journalists have been killed since October, the journalist advocacy organization said on November 25, including 50 Palestinian, four Israeli, and three Lebanese journalists.

In November, Palestine TV correspondent Mohammad Abu Hattab was killed along with 11 members of his family. Palestine TV said he was killed by an Israeli airstrike, while Israeli authorities said their forces were not operating in the area.

At least 136 hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to the Israel Defence Forces.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the number includes 17 women and children. 

The Israeli military said the body of one hostage, Ofir Tzarfati, was brought back to Israel.

He was confirmed dead Thursday, with the IDF not specifying when and where Tzarfati was killed. 

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby declined to say if the US has seen more deliberate targeting from Israel since following the expiration of the truce early Friday.

“I’m just not going to armchair quarterback,” he told CNN’s MJ Lee. 

Kirby also declined to weigh in on reports from Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health that Israeli strikes have killed more than 100 Palestinians since the truce expired.

Thousands of people have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, many of them civilians, including women and children. Since the end of the truce and the resumption of fighting, Israel is facing increased pressure to employ more calculated techniques to minimize civilian casualties in the next stage of the war.

Hamas battle plans: Kirby also said that the White House was “not in a position” to confirm details reported by The New York Times about Hamas’s battle plans. 

On Friday, the Times reported that Israeli officials had obtained a document describing Hamas’ battle plan for its October 7 terror attack more than a year before the militant group carried out the surprise assault. Officials reportedly dismissed the plan, assessing it as too difficult for Hamas to execute, according to the Times.

Humanitarian aid: Kirby called reports that trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza have resumed “a good sign going forward.”

He acknowledged that less aid is being allowed in than during the truce, and said the US is urging Israel to get aid deliveries back at the levels “we reached during the pause.”

Still, Kirby laid blame for the pause in aid ultimately at Hamas’ feet, reiterating that Hamas is responsible for the truce ending.

Itay Regev is reunited with his sister Maya Regev shortly after his arrival in Israel at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, on November 30.

New pictures show sister and brother – Maya and Itay Regev – reuniting Thursday after they had been taken hostage by Hamas at the Nova music festival on October 7.

Maya can be seen touching her brother’s face during their reunion and smiling while leaning into Itay, as he buries his face in his hand and his mother hugs him, in photos shared by the Soroka Medical Center.

Maya had been released on Sunday while Itay was released on Wednesday.  It is unclear whether the siblings had been held together for any period during their captivity.

In an interview with CNN, their father Ilan replayed a terrifying call Maya had placed the day of the attack.

After Maya’s release, Soroka Hospital and Israel’s Ministry of Health said in a statement that she was in stable condition and her injury was not life-threatening. 

In a video posted earlier this week, before Itay’s release, their mother, Mirit Regev, ran to hug Maya after she arrived at the hospital. Maya can be heard sobbing while she embraces her family after being held in captivity for 51 days.

More than 260 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank during the period of the now-expired truce, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.

The group has revised the number of arrests several times this week. The IDF has publicly acknowledged at least 100 arrests during the truce through press releases.

In a subsequent update, the society and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs said 12 more were arrested on Friday.

“Accordingly, 3,400 arrest cases have been recorded since October 7, including those who were arrested from their homes, checkpoints and others who surrendered themselves under threat and held as hostages,” the joint statement said.

The IDF said Friday that since the beginning of the war, 2,100 Palestinians in the West Bank had been arrested – 1,100 of whom it says had ties to Hamas.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Israel, on November 14.

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to back out of the hostage negotiations and cut all contact with Hamas and mediators.

The Israeli government should only look at the enemy through a military lens until Hamas is completely destroyed and the remaining hostages are returned, Smotrich said in a Hebrew-language post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“We are very glad to have hostages returning, but now the pause frameworks has been exhausted,” Smotrich wrote in his post.

More on Smotrich: Smotrich is head of the far-right Religious Zionism party and has been a controversial figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Earlier this year, the US State Department harshly condemned controversial comments by Smotrich calling for a Palestinian town “to be erased” after it was attacked by Israeli settlers. He has also denied the existence of a Palestinian people and the right of Palestinians to statehood.

Smotrich also holds a supervisory role responsible for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal by much of the international community. He voted in support of the original truce agreement after initially speaking out against it.

Qatar, which has played a key role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, expressed its deep regret at the renewed “Israeli aggression” on Gaza following the expiration of the humanitarian truce.

Qatar vowed to take all necessary measures to restore calm.

The ministry said negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides are continuing with the aim of returning to a state of truce.

Qatar condemns all forms of targeting civilians, collective punishment and attempts to forcibly displace Gaza residents, the ministry said.

An Israeli singer has released a music video highlighting what she describes as “silence” from the United Nations over violence against women by Hamas militants during their October 7 attack on Israel.

Gal De Paz’s song “Bring Them Home” calls for the return of hostages still held by Hamas and focuses on violence against women and girls during the attacks and in the weeks since.

“It is unperceivable, unbelievable, what is happening here; the world won’t see it but we can feel it. We hear it and see it everywhere,” De Paz sings.

And she criticizes the UN Women organization for apparent inaction.

Last week the body’s Executive Director Sima Bahous told the UN Security Council that “every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, and must be fully investigated.”

“Each day that passes marks another 24 hours of unspeakable fear and uncertainty for the hostages, including the women and girls held by Hamas,” Bahous said.

De Paz’s video depicts pictures of kidnapped women and children, and also features female singers handcuffed and gagged to symbolize the hostages’ situation.

Some context: Hamas has released dozens of hostages in recent days under a deal with Israel, most of them women and children, but more than 100 remain in captivity.

Palestinians inspect damage from Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 1.

The “nightmare” for civilians caught in the Israel-Hamas war has returned as fighting has picked up again, Robert Mardini, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told CNN Friday.

Mardini emphasized the importance of holding out hope for another truce. 

“We need to keep the hope alive. Let’s not forget that there has been seven full days of truce,” he said. “That was a glimmer of hope. That was humanity prevailing in the midst of chaos and conflict. It is also international humanitarian law in action when these operations can take place following a negotiation between the parties.”

The director-general also said both sides in the conflict “must work harder to protect civilians, because it is their obligation, period.”

On hostages: The ICRC has played a crucial role in the delicate process of handing over hostages held by Hamas to Israeli authorities. Mardini described the process as “a very simple operation because it is facilitating the transfer, but at the same time it is very complex, because at every step of the way it can derail, because every single detail is part and parcel of negotiations between the parties.”

“And our teams have to implement those negotiations in a very disciplined way,” he added.

He also commended the work of his team on the ground in Gaza. “A lot of credit should go to them today,” he said.The ICRC staff and volunteers are “caught between a rock and a hard place,” as they face the same challenges as civilians and are in the line of fire, he said.

As fighting resumes in the Israel-Hamas war, both sides continue to negotiate through mediators over the potential release of hostages from Gaza, which would prompt another pause in hostilities, three sources familiar with the discussions said.

The negotiating parties — Israel and Hamas, in consultation with Qatar, the US and Egypt — are still discussing the release of the rest of the women hostages, one of the sources said. 

There is an understanding that a Hamas list of captives deemed acceptable by Israel would bring back the truce, according to those sources. There are 17 women and children among the 136 Hamas hostages remaining in Gaza, according to the latest tally from the Israel Defense Forces, which varies based on the most recent intelligence.

If and when what is presumed to be the last group of remaining civilian women were to be successfully released, the parameters of the negotiations would quickly turn to another categories of hostages: civilian men, as well as military reservists — both male and female, two sources said. 

Some background: Over the course of the negotiations that stretched into early Friday and past the truce expiration deadline, Hamas failed to produce a list of hostages that Israeli officials could accept, sources said. In particular, one source said, there has been a fraught back-and-forth over Hamas’ claims that some of the women they are holding captive are soldiers – which Israel rejects. 

Hamas has previously argued that women under 45 should be considered reservists and not civilians, according to a person familiar with the talks. Most of the women still being held hostage are under the age of 45, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. 

Hamas has claimed they do not have more women and children in their custody to release, suggesting those remaining may be in the hands of other groups. Under the previous agreement, Hamas had to release 10 women and children hostages for each day of the truce, with three Palestinians released from Israeli prisons for each hostage.

This post has been updated with the latest statistics on hostages provided by the IDF.

A fighter for Hezbollah and his mother have been killed in Israeli shelling of a Lebanese area near the border with Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said two civilians were killed, while Hezbollah later said on Telegram that one of its fighters was among those killed. The name from NNA matches up with Hezbollah’s quote. 

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck back at sources of launches coming from Lebanon toward IDF posts in northern Israel, and it intercepted two launches from Lebanon toward the Israeli border area of Kiryat Shmona. 

“An additional IDF aircraft struck a terrorist cell in the area of Malkia that attempted to fire toward Israel,” the IDF said in a separate statement. 

Hezbollah-backed Al-Manar TV said a woman and her son were killed in Houla in southern Lebanon after their house was hit by an artillery shell. That town faces the Israeli community of Margaliot. 

More background: On Thursday, Israel’s Iron Dome successfully intercepted an “aerial target” launched from Lebanon, the IDF said.

On Wednesday, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Washington continues to be concerned about a spillover of the Gaza conflict into Lebanon.

“Escalation would have grave implications for regional peace and security, and for the well-being of the Lebanese people. Restoring calm along the Israel-Lebanon border is of utmost importance,” Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during her address to the UN security briefing.

This post has been updated. An earlier version of this post said two civilians were killed during shelling near the border, according to the National News Agency in Lebanon. Hezbollah has since announced that one of its fighters was among the two killed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media prior to departure from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, on December 1.

Hours after Israel announced it was restarting its offensive against Hamas early Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters it was “important to understand” that the seven-day pause in fighting in Gaza came to an end “because of Hamas.” 

The Israel Defense Forces has accused Hamas of violating the truce first by firing rockets toward Israeli territory.

On Gaza civilians: Blinken, who boarded his plane to leave Israel moments after the IDF announced it would resume fighting, also said Friday that he has already seen Israel “take steps immediately today” to protect civilians from its renewed operations.

Those steps included the IDF’s efforts to “get information to people about where safe areas are, how they can get out of harm’s way,” Blinken told reporters in Dubai before boarding a flight back to the US.

The IDF dropped leaflets in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis Friday, calling it a “fighting zone” and telling residents to “evacuate immediately.” The leaflets included a QR code that connects to a map; however, extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Gaza has left many residents without access to the internet.

More context: In the hours before the latest fighting erupted, the United States ramped up its pressure on Israel to shield Palestinian civilians.

Blinken laid out American requirements in private talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, while also making the US position clear in public statements.

The IDF said Friday that new combat operations will include southern parts of the strip, where it previously told civilians to take shelter.

CNN’s Stephen Collinson contributed reporting to this post.

An Israeli tank moves near the Israel-Gaza border in Beeri, Israel, on December 1.

Some of the areas where Israel is conducting offensive operations in Gaza, after a truce with Hamas expired, include southern parts of the strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday. 

“Over the last few hours, ground, air and naval forces struck terror targets in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, including in Khan Yunis and Rafah,” the IDF said. 

Over 200 targets have been struck since 7 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET), the IDF said. The targets included “areas booby-trapped with explosives, terror tunnel shafts, launch posts, and operational command centres designated by Hamas for use in the renewed fighting,” according to the military. 

“Widening the framework”: In a video statement on Friday, Israel war cabinet member and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel had “prepared for widening the framework” in order to bring the remaining hostages home.  

“Especially this week, I thought of those that haven’t yet returned. I met and spoke to several of the families of the abductees that haven’t yet returned, and today when we again attack, I want to stress that we are also fighting for them,” he said. 

Gantz reiterated that “this victory also foremost includes the effort to return the hostages, as well as eliminating the threat from Hamas.”

IDF drops evacuation leaflets: The military released a new interactive map showing Gaza divided up into hundreds of numbered districts showing “evacuation zones” to be used in the “next stage of the war.”

The IDF said the new map was meant to reduce casualties when it carries out strikes in civilian areas where it says Hamas has placed military infrastructure.

Earlier Friday, the IDF dropped leaflets in the southern city of Khan Younis, calling it a “fighting zone” and telling residents to evacuate. The leaflets included a QR code that connects to a map when scanned; however, extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Gaza has left many residents without access to the internet.