80,000 people have fled northern Gaza through an evacuation corridor Thursday, an Israeli official said, compared with 50,000 people Wednesday. CNN cannot independently verify the evacuation totals.
Israel claimed its forces captured a Hamas stronghold in northern Gaza after a 10-hour battle, during which they captured weapons and uncovered tunnel shafts, according to a statement.
Israel’s war could set the Palestinian economy in Gaza and the West Bank back decades, according to a new analysis by a United Nations agency.
Doctors Without Borders expresses concerns about "dramatic increase in violence" from Israeli forces
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said in a statement Thursday that it was “witnessing a dramatic increase in violence from Israeli forces in Jenin, in the West Bank.”
MSF said that it had witnessed Israeli military vehicles blocking ambulances from reaching healthcare facilities and entering hospitals. Teams were forced to refer patients to hospitals further away, the statement read.
“Hospitals are not targets and must remain safe spaces,” MSF stressed. It also called on the Israeli military to stop firing on hospitals. “Medical care must not be impeded.”
The death toll in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since October 7 has now risen to 176, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Thursday. In addition to those killed, over 2,450 Palestinians in the West Bank have been wounded since October 7, the ministry’s report said.
The Palestinians were either killed by Israeli forces or Jewish settlers, the report said.
The United Nation’s emergency relief chief highlighted the dire situation in the West Bank on Wednesday, saying “Again, enough is enough.”
“The situation is getting increasingly dire in the West Bank,” read a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Thursday “there has been a significant increase in terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria with over 550 attempted attacks occurring since the beginning of the war.”
Judea and Samaria are the Jewish biblical names for the West Bank.
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89 Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Gaza Strip, Zelensky says
From CNN's Mariya Knight in Atlanta
A total of 89 Ukrainian citizens have now been evacuated from the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily address Thursday.
The evacuation process began Wednesday, when the first 43 Ukrainians were extracted from the enclave, Zelensky said. This was followed by an additional 46 Ukrainians who were also evacuated on Thursday.
The evacuated Ukrainians are now in Egypt, Zelensky said, adding that efforts to evacuate any remaining Ukrainian nationals from the strip were ongoing.
Some context: As global attention shifts to the Middle East, Ukraine’s leader has been trying to rally Western support as Russia continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“These days, our attention is focused on the Middle East,” Zelensky previously told a NATO Parliamentary Assembly in October, also suggesting that Moscow saw an advantage in the Israel-Gaza war.
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American diplomats privately warned the Biden administration of growing fury against US in Arab world
The cable underscores profound concern among American officials about the growing anger against the United States that erupted soon after Israel launched its operations against Hamas, following the militant group’s attacks in Israel on October 7 that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.
The robust US support for Israel’s actions is being seen, the cable warns, “as material and moral culpability in what they consider to be possible war crimes.”
The cable from the US Embassy in Oman was written by the second-highest US official in Muscat and sent to, among others, the White House’s National Security Council, the CIA and the FBI. While it’s just one cable from a regional embassy, it provides a private snapshot of the alarm over the growing anti-US wave sweeping the Middle East.
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Some context: President Joe Biden has been under growing pressure domestically and abroad over US support of Israel amid images of destruction in Gaza and the dire humanitarian crisis in the region. While the administration has resisted calls for a ceasefire, officials have worked to ramp up aid going into Gaza and pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow more assistance to flow into the enclave and to allow civilians to flee away from the fighting.
Inrecent days, US allies in the Arab world have made clear their deep anger at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
UAE and Qatar leaders stress need for an "immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip"
From CNN’s Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi and Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
The United Arab Emirates president emphasized the need for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza to allow for humanitarian access on Thursday, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter).
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said he has met with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to “reinforce our nations’ calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, unimpeded humanitarian access, and the protection of all civilians.”
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Palestine Red Crescent in Gaza receives 65 humanitarian aid trucks from Egyptian Red Crescent
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) teams in Gaza have received 65 trucks of humanitarian aid from the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Rafah crossing on Thursday, the agency said.
The trucks contain food, water, medicines and medical supplies, it added.
The number of aid trucks to cross into Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 has now reached 821, which is approximately 41 per day, according to the aid agency. The UN says that number was 455 trucks per day before the war.
Fuel has yet to be allowed to enter Gaza due to Israeli restrictions as officials say they’re concerned Hamas would steal the fuel and use it for military purposes.
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Israeli incursion kills 14 people in West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health ministry says
From CNN's Zeena Saifi
At least 14 Palestinians were killed in the refugee camp Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, following an Israeli military raid, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The incursion resulted in clashes with Palestinians early Thursday morning, the ministry said. It is not yet clear whether the deceased were civilians or militants.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it conducted the Jenin raid to “thwart terrorist infrastructure” and to demolish the home of a man who allegedly killed an off-duty Israeli soldier in an August 31 ramming attack.
Israeli forces also launched at least one drone strike following clashes, according to Israeli Army Radio, the IDF and eyewitnesses speaking to CNN.
Videos obtained by CNN and eyewitness account to CNN depict a heavy military presence in the city. Militants and Israeli forces can be heard exchanging gunfire. At least a dozen armored vehicles can be seen on the city’s roads, and armored bulldozers ripping up streets and destroying a house.
A video obtained by CNN shows leaflets being dropped on the camp following the operation.
A resident shared an image of the leaflet with CNN.
One eyewitness told CNN that ambulances were unable to assist the injured, because Israeli forces surrounded the Ibn Sina hospital and blocked some ambulances from leaving. One video obtained by CNN shows multiple bodies lying motionless on the ground, covered in sheets with ambulance sirens blaring in the background.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim missile attack on southern Israeli city of Eilat
From CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Tamar Michaelis, and Mitchell McCluskey
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile attack on the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Thursday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hit a civilian building in Eilat on Wednesday.
In a video statement, Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yehya Saree claimed Houthi forces had fired “a number of ballistic missiles on a number of various targets” around Eilat.
In separate news conferences Thursday evening, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they were still looking into the incident.
Earlier this week, the Houthis claimed several missile and drone attacks against Israel and warned that further strikes would come.
On Wednesday, Israel claimed it intercepted a missile launched toward Israel from the Red Sea region by using the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system, according to a joint statement from the Israel Ministry of Defense and the IDF.
The statement claimed the Arrow 3 is “one of the most advanced air and missile defense systems of its kind in the world.”
Last week, the IDF said it used the Arrow 2 system to successfully intercept a missile fired from the Red Sea area.
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Israeli defense minister says 4-hour pauses won’t affect war effort
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant makes a statement to the media in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 16.
Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
The four-hour periodic pauses by the Israeli military announced Thursday do not amount to a ceasefire and will not affect the fight in Gaza, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday during a news conference.
He stressed that there would be no ceasefire until the release of the hostages.
Gallant said the daily four-hour pauses by the Israeli military are limited measures to allow civilians to flee.
The defense minister said Israel Defense Forces soldiers are operating “in the heart of Gaza City” and are “very close to the Gaza port.”
Israeli forces have started using “new methods” to destroy underground tunnels used by Hamas, Gallant said without providing more information.
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Israel's war could set economy in Gaza and West Bank back decades, UN report says
From CNN's David Shortell
A Palestinian man and his son sit holding a bag of bread outside a destroyed bakery at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza on November 4.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Israel’s war on Hamas could set the Palestinian economy in Gaza and the West Bank back decades, according to a new analysis by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
A report released Thursday by the organization paints a dire picture of the economic conditions in the Palestinian enclave, where more than 10,700 people have been killed in the response to the October 7 terror attack in Israel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws from sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Since the start of the latest conflict, the number of Palestinians living in poverty has risen by 300,000, according to Abdallah Al Dardari, director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States.
Almost 1.5 million people in Gaza have been displaced since the fighting began last month, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency, while Israel’s blockade on fuel combined with severe restrictions on food, water and medical deliveries has sparked a humanitarian crisis.
Key economic measurements, including employment rates and GDP, have all plunged across Gaza and the West Bank, according to the UNDP analysis.
The past month of conflict has erased 61% of employment in Gaza and 24% of employment in the West Bank, the report warns. Palestinian GDP is expected to have fallen 4.2% after one month of war compared with pre-war estimates, a loss of about $857 million. If the war lasts through a second month, that figure would rise to $1.7 billion, about an 8.4% loss of GDP, it adds.
British doctor who left through Rafah crossing has been forced to return to Gaza, parliament member says
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls in London
A British doctor who briefly left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing has been sent back to Gaza, his local member of parliament told CNN.
Dr. Ahmed Sabra’s name was not on an approved list of foreign nationals allowed to leave Gaza and was subsequently turned away on the Egyptian side of the border and separated from his wife and children, according to UK Parliament member Geraint Davies.
Davies, who represents Swansea West in Wales, where the doctor and his family reside, provided CNN with a video and voice recordings he says Sabra recorded and sent him during his journey back to Gaza on Wednesday.
In the video, the UK citizen and National Health Service consultant said that he was allowed to leave the Palestinian side of the border alongside his family and crossed into an Egyptian reception center at the Rafah border crossing “three days ago.”
But he was not allowed to stay in Egypt because he was not on a list of those approved to cross from Gaza.
In a video and text messages, Sabra said that he left Gaza alongside his wife and children, but while his family was able to cross into Egypt and onward to Cairo, he was kept behind at the reception center.
Davies told CNN that neither he nor Sabra know why he was not included on the list.
More than 150 British nationals have left Gaza via the Rafah crossing and have made it through to Egypt, according to British Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell.
Sabra said in the video and messages that he and three other British nationals waited for two and a half days at the border for the British embassy to intervene. There, Davies said, Sabra was provided with food, drink, and a sofa to sleep on, but he was eventually sent back to Gaza by bus.
Davies says Sabra told him that Egyptian authorities reached out to British authorities and delayed the bus back to Gaza, but no intervention from British authorities came and he was sent back across the border.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told CNN on Thursday: “We’re working round the clock to ensure all British nationals in Gaza who want to leave are able to. This involves submitting all details of British nationals and eligible dependents to the Israeli and Egyptian authorities. The authorities then review all cases and give permissions to cross.”
“We remain in regular contact with British Nationals in Gaza to provide them with the latest information, and UK teams are forward deployed to the border to receive anyone leaving,” the foreign office added.
CNN also reached out to the British Embassy in Egypt for comment.
Davies told CNN on Wednesday that Sabra was back in Gaza with little battery on his phone, no shelter and nowhere to go. The member of parliament said he has reached out directly to the UK’s foreign office for assistance on behalf of his constituent. Davies added that Sabra told him he was in “daily contact” with the foreign office and the British embassy in Egypt before he was sent back to Gaza.
“He’s now been dumped on the street by the UK without shelter, 10% [phone] charge, and little data in a bomb zone. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Davies said. “He needs the help of the FCDO to get him home from danger with his family and wants the UK to do everything in its power to secure his safety.”
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News outlets deny prior knowledge of Hamas attack following a report from a pro-Israel media watchdog
From CNN's Oliver Darcy
Four news organizations strongly denied on Thursday having had prior knowledge of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack after a pro-Israel watchdog outlet published a report claiming that freelance photographers from the outlets were present during the initial attack.
The pushback comes after the Israeli government demanded answers from the press and stoked questions about their credibility following the thinly sourced report from an agenda-driven media monitoring group that insinuated news organizations knew about the looming assault.
The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, and CNN all swiftly issued statements strongly pushing back against the report published late Wednesday from the staunchly pro-Israel media watchdog, HonestReporting, that claimed photographers for the news outlets were present during the initial attack, citing screenshots posted on social media.
Two of the outlets, the Associated Press and CNN, however, said they had severed ties with the freelance photographer Hassan Eslaiah after he was identified in the report as having been present with Hamas militants during the heinous attack on the Jewish state.
In a statement, CNN said Eslaiahwas not working for the network on the day of the attack.
Reuters also pushed back on the insinuation that it was somehow aware of the Hamas’ planned assault on Israel.
The New York Times also issued a statement about accusations made against another freelance photographer, Yousef Massoud, who was mentioned in HonestReporting’s report.
“Though Yousef was not working for The Times on the day of the attack, he has since done important work for us,” the company said. “There is no evidence for Honest Reporting’s insinuations. Our review of his work shows that he was doing what photojournalists always do during major news events, documenting the tragedy as it unfolded.”
HonestReporting has a history of making serious — and often misleading – accusations against the news media.
Biden outlines plan for humanitarian pauses in Gaza
From CNN's Donald Judd
US President Joe Biden visits an Amtrak maintenance facility in Bear, Delaware, on November 6.
Leah Millis/Reuters
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, President Joe Biden outlined the daily pause agreement with Israel. The agreement allows for the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and safe passage for civilians seeking to flee the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The president wrote that the administration is “doing everything in our power to increase humanitarian supplies and assistance,” pointing to trucks of aid already successfully delivered to the war-torn region.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said the Israelis “have fully committed” to the pauses and will notify civilians living in northern Gaza where to seek safe passage using evacuation corridors.
Read Biden’s threaded posts below:
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Israel agrees to 4-hour breaks of military operations in northern Gaza. Here's what you should know
A senior Israeli official is calling the four-hour breaks “tactical localized pauses” that will go into effect in specific areas. A neighborhood or area will be given several hours’ notice that they will have a pause, to give people in the north the ability to travel south for aid and relief.
Meanwhile, Gaza residents are looking for family members within the rubble of destroyed buildings in the central city of Deir al-Balah after what witnesses said was an airstrike on the area, agency videos on AFP showed. Injured people, including children, were taken to hospitals after a residential building collapsed, video showed.
Here are other headlines you should know:
Humanitarian aid: Jordan has sent 230 tons of wheat to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, making it the first in a new tranche of food aid, Jordan’s Minister of Industry and Trade said Thursday. The 230 tons are part of a total of 30,000 tons of wheat Jordan plans to send over the coming weeks, including 15 tons of grain, Youssef Al-Shamali said in a news conference at the King Hussein Bridge, which separates Jordan and the West Bank.
Rising death toll: At least 10,790 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to figures released Thursday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah drawn from sources in the Hamas-controlled territory. The death toll includes 4,412 children and 2,918 women, according to the ministry. More than 26,000 individuals have sustained injuries due to the attacks. Additionally, the ministry noted that 195 healthcare workers have been killed and 120 injured. Attacks on ambulances have rendered 51 inoperable. And in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 176 people have died since October 7, the ministry reported. The Palestinians were either killed by Israeli forces or Jewish settlers, the report said. In addition to those killed, over 2,450 Palestinians in the West Bank have been wounded since October 7, it added.
Evacuations: An Egyptian border official told a journalist working for CNN that 312 foreign nationals have been evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing and have arrived in Egypt on Thursday. In addition, 12 wounded Palestinians arrived in Egypt for treatment through the Rafah border crossing, with 10 other Palestinians accompanying them, the official added. According to a CNN tally, this brings the total number of wounded Palestinians with severe injuries sustained from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza who have been transferred to Egypt to 115, and more than 2,000 foreign nationals evacuated. Also, 80,000 people fled northern Gaza through an evacuation corridor Thursday, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement on social media.
Hostage releases: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Thursday that there would be “no ceasefire” without the release of hostages held by Hamas. A trilateral meeting with Qatari officials and the intelligence chiefs of Israel and the US was held in Doha on Thursday to discuss hostage releases in exchange for a humanitarian pause and aid entry to Gaza, a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told CNN. The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group in Gaza said Thursday it is prepared to release two Israeli hostages on humanitarian grounds.
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Iran envoy reiterates Tehran had no direct role in Hamas' October 7 attack in Israel
From CNN's Jennifer Deaton
Iran is reiterating that despite its financial backing and support of Hamas and other proxy groups in the region, it does not direct any of their actions.
Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani was asked in an interview with CNN if Iranian support was the “connective thread” in attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon on Israel, by Houthis in Yemen — including the shooting down of a US Reaper drone on Wednesday — and by Shiite militias in Syria against Israel and US forces.
He said there was cooperation and collaboration, but that Iran was not directing any operation. He likened Iran’s role to that of the US in providing assistance to Israel.
Iravani’s comments came a day after the Pentagon announced two US fighter jets conducted an airstrike on a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin added that the “precision self-defense strike” was a response to a “series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates.”
In light of mounting fears of a wider regional war, Iravani said he has not had any “direct conversation” about containing the conflict in Israel with his US counterpart in the UN.
Iravani said Iran has “insisted that we are not going to expand this war front,” and has worked to calm allies in the region, but said others need to do their part. He indicated the conflict could still expand if the fighting in Gaza continued.
Some background: Iran has repeatedly been accused of attempting to arm Hamas and other groups in its effort to attack by proxy.
Several days after the October 7 attack, the US collected specific intelligence that suggests senior Iranian government officials were caught by surpriseby Hamas’ actions, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.
The sources stressed that the US intelligence community is not ready to reach a full conclusion about whether Tehran was directly involved in the run-up to the attack. They continue to look for evidence of Iranian involvement.
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80,000 people used evacuation corridor to flee northern Gaza Thursday, Israeli officials say
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem and Duarte Mendonca in London
Palestinians flee from the northern part of Gaza to the south on November 9.
Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu/Getty Images
Eighty-thousand people fled northern Gaza through an evacuation corridor Thursday, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement on social media.
The numbers announced by COGAT would mark a rise in evacuations compared to the previous day, when 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza, according to Israel Defense Forces figures. CNN cannot independently verify the evacuation totals.
The IDF has opened evacuation corridors several times this week for periods of several hours — a pattern it seemed to formalize Thursday, when the White House announced Israel had agreed to continue with daily four-hour pauses of military operations in parts of northern Gaza.
An IDF spokesperson reiterated Thursday that there is no ceasefire in the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that could only come with the release of all Hamas hostages.
The IDF spokesperson said he visited Gaza in a military convoy and that the evacuation corridor “is working.”
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Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it is prepared to release 2 hostages on humanitarian grounds
From CNN's Andrew Carey
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group in Gaza said Thursday it is prepared to release two Israeli hostages on humanitarian grounds.
One is a 77-year-old woman, the other is a 13-year-old boy — both were shown in a video released by PIJ, a rival Islamist militant group to Hamas in Gaza.
CNN is not naming the two hostages at this point, nor is it showing the video, following a request by the families of the two hostages for their privacy to be respected at this time.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari referenced the video in his daily evening news conference, saying, “We have not missed, and we will not miss, any chance to return hostages.”
In a text statement, Abu Hamza, a leader of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that his group is prepared to release one hostage “for medical reasons” and a second “for humanitarian reasons and for his young age.”
Hamza did not elaborate on the timing or circumstances under which the hostages might be released.
It is the first time PIJ has released video confirmation that it — and not just Hamas — is holding hostages.
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Former UN official who quit over Gaza policy says "root causes of the problem" are yet to be addressed
From CNN’s Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
A former United Nations human rights official who quit over its policy towards Israel and its military operations in Gaza told CNN that the “root causes of the problem” have not been addressed.
The former official also alleged that Israel was carrying out a “genocide.”
Mokhiber said there’s “certainly nothing left for a sustainable Palestinian state” and that there is no hope of an Israeli government reverting to the 1967 borders.
“What we’ve seen is this promise of a two-state solution as a smokescreen behind which we’ve seen continued dispossession, persecution, gross violations, and now as I have alleged, genocide happening as well,” he said.
Mokhiber, who said he lived in Gaza working on human rights for the UN in the 1990s, noted in a letter to the UN’s human rights chief that Gaza is a textbook case of genocide.
He accused the United States, the United Kingdom, and European countries of giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s atrocities, and he echoed that sentiment in his interview with CNN.
He said up until this point, there had been a “roar” demanding accountability for alleged war crimes perpetrated by Hamas in their attack on October 7 — which he said was the correct response.
He added, what we’ve heard “at best is a whisper” demanding accountability for “Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide” before October 7 and “too much of a whisper” demanding accountability from Israel since.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Wednesday that both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since the war broke out last month.
“The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, brutal and shocking, they were war crimes — as is the continued holding of hostages,” Türk said, adding, “The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians.”
Mokhiber said that international law is “very clear” — it applies to all actors and the duty of the UN and its member states is to “work for accountability for perpetrators and redress for victims” regardless of who each one is.
While Mokhiber received praise for his decision to leave the UN, he was also criticized and called an antisemite.
In response to that criticism, he told CNN charging people with antisemitism if they “dare call out Israeli violations against Palestinians is a tactic” that has been deployed for a long time.
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Israeli pauses will be for specific areas and neighborhoods in Gaza, senior official says
From CNN's Alex Marquardt
A senior Israeli official is calling the four-hour breaks in military operations “tactical localized pauses” that will go into effect in specific areas. A neighborhood or area will be given several hours’ notice that they will have a pause, to give people in the north the ability to travel south for aid and relief.
Israeli strikes continue in southern Gaza and southern neighborhoods may also get notices of pauses so residents can go out and get relief as well, the official said.
The official argued that seeing people leaving northern Gaza in the last few days to head south is an indication that Hamas is losing its grip.
Asked when these pauses would start, the official said, “Really soon.”
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Netanyahu reiterates there will be no ceasefire without release of hostages
From Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 28.
Abir Sultan/Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Thursday that there would be “no ceasefire” without the release of hostages held by Hamas.
“The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Israel is allowing safe passage corridors from the northern strip to its south, as 50,000 Gazans did just yesterday.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday that Hamas has not put forward viable proposals on any hostage release.
The statements coincided with US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby saying Israel will begin to implement daily four-hour pauses of military operations in areas of northern Gaza.
Israel has already been opening hours-long evacuation corridors since Saturday. Israel on Thursday opened an evacuation corridor for six hours, allowing civilians to flee from northern Gaza south of Wadi Gaza.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.
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Israel will begin 4-hour pauses of military operations in northern Gaza each day, US says
The move appears to formalize a pattern of halting the violence to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave and to allow civilians to flee away from the fighting.
Israel will announce the timing of the pauses three hours beforehand, according to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
“We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause, and that this process is starting today,” Kirby said.
The US welcomed the development, calling the pauses “steps in the right direction.”
The pauses would also provide “brief windows of opportunity” for the potential safe passage of hostages being held by Hamas, Kirby said.
Biden pushing for longer pauses: US President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he’s been advocating for a humanitarian pause longer than three days.
“We’re hopeful. Things are moving along,” Biden said of the process to free the more than 200 hostages, including some Americans, still held in Gaza.
Asked whether he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a pause of three days to help facilitate this process, he said, “I’ve been asking for a pause for a lot more than three days. Yes,” later adding, “I’ve asked for even a longer pause, for some of them.”
Biden downplayed concerns over whether Netanyahu is listening to the US, but acknowledged the process has “taken a little longer than I hoped.”
Exodus from northern Gaza: For the past several days, Israel has paused violence in Gaza for hours-long windows during which civilians can evacuate south.
Since Wednesday, “many thousands” of people have been able to flee the northern part of the enclave through an evacuation corridor, Deputy US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said. Many of them traveled miles on foot through the battered enclave in a growing exodus as Israel intensified its ground and air campaign.
The Israel Defense Forces extended Thursday’s evacuation window to six hours to allow people to flee south.
Evacuees told CNN they feared that nowhere was safe within the enclave.
The US State Department said there is a second route along the coast that “will enable many more thousands to reach safer areas in the south.” Patel said the US is “continuing to work closely with our Israeli partners to address and remain vigilant about efforts from Hamas to discourage and prevent civilians from fleeing this area.”
Patel also said that on Wednesday, 106 trucks of humanitarian aid were able to flow into Gaza through the Rafah crossing. He said that while the Rafah crossing had been closed due to security issues, “our understanding at this point is that it is open for the influx of aid and also for foreign nationals to depart.”
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Arlette Saenz, Abeer Salman and Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.
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Residents look for family members in rubble of destroyed buildings in central Gaza
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
Efforts continue to rescue Palestinians trapped under the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli attack in Deir Al Balah, Gaza, on November 9.
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu/Getty Images
Gaza residents are looking for family members within the rubble of destroyed buildings in the central city of Deir al-Balah after what witnesses said was an airstrike on the area, agency videos on AFP showed.
Injured people, including children, were taken to hospitals after a residential building collapsed, video showed.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza said people were killed in a strike on Deir al-Balah. It’s unclear if the ministry was citing the AFP incident and CNN could not verify the claim.
On Wednesday, the ministry said Israel struck the Jabalya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the Jabalya strike.
In previous statements, the Israeli military has maintained that it targets Hamas infrastructure in the strip.
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Israeli and US intelligence heads meet Qatari officials in Doha for hostage negotiations, source says
From CNN's Becky Anderson
An installation consisting of balloons and pictures of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas militants attached to auditorium seats at the Jerusalem Convention Centre on November 2.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
A trilateral meeting with Qatari officials and the intelligence chiefs of Israel and the US was held in Doha on Thursday to discuss hostage releases in exchange for a humanitarian pause and aid entry to Gaza, a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told CNN.
The meeting — which included CIA Director William Burns, Mossad head David Barnea and Qatari officials — discussed a proposed plan to release between 10 to 20 civilian hostages in return for a three-day pause in fighting and the entry of further aid, plus enabling Hamas to compile and hand over a list of hostages being held in Gaza, the source said.
A US official confirmed that Burns took part in the meeting with Barnea and the Qatari prime minister concerning hostage issues. The official declined to comment on the terms of what was discussed.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that there was no prospect of Israel agreeing to a sustained pause in fighting without a substantial number of hostages being released, according to one senior US official. The multi-party talks – in which Qatar is playing a key mediating role — have been ongoing for weeks.
CNN previously reported that one Israeli official said that the country was “ready for a pause” if there could be certainty that Hamas was “serious about releasing hostages.” What is not clear is how long of a pause Israel would be willing to agree to and what would amount to an acceptable number of hostages released.
Negotiations have also centered around exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, CNN has previously reported.
CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Katie Bo Lillis contributed reporting to this post.
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An "unprecedented" amount of reports of anti-Arab and Islamophobic bias in the last month, new data shows
From CNN's Chelsea Bailey
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hasdocumented an “appalling” rise in reported anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias incidents in the month since violence escalated between Israel and Hamas, the organization announced Thursday.
The nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group said it has received 1,283 requests for help and reports of bias in the month since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The organization said in 2022 it received an average of 406 complaints in a 29-day period.
The new data, CAIR said, reflects a 216% increase in requests for help and reported bias incidents compared to the previous year.
Corey Saylor, director of research and advocacy at CAIR, said in a statement shared with CNN that the data represents the largest wave of Islamophobic and anti-Arab bias the organization has recorded since then-candidate Donald Trump called for a Muslim Ban in 2015.
Throughout the year, CAIR records and monitors incidents of reported anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias from local chapters across the country.
The new data reflects a sharp pivot from CAIR’s cautiously optimistic outlook earlier this year, when the organization published a report noting 2022 was the first time the US charted a decrease in anti-Muslim bias incidents since they began tracking such reports in the 1990s.
Most Gaza hospitals have stopped working, Palestinian officials say. Here's the latest on the Israel-Hamas war
From CNN Staff
The majority of Gazan hospitals – 18 out of 35 in the Gaza Strip – have now stopped functioning, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws figures from the Hamas-controlled territory.
As the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave spirals, the ministry said Thursday that 71% of all primary-care facilities in Gaza have closed due to damage amid Israel’s bombardment or a lack of fuel, saying that hospitals that remain open are limited in what they can provide and are gradually shutting down their wards.
An American nurse who, before leaving Gaza, worked in the besieged enclave with Doctors Without Borders, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that some 35,000 internally displaced people were living alongside her and her team in the southern city of Khan Younis.
In one camp, Emily Callahan said, there were 50,000 people sharing just four toilets, with only two hours of access to water every 12 hours.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has inaugurated an international humanitarian conference for Gaza, where he pledged an additional $85 million in humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave.
Here’s what else to know:
Israel ground operation: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its soldiers had taken control of a Hamas military stronghold in northern Gaza. Hamas’ military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, said on Telegram it was targeting Israeli forces in the northern Gaza areas of Al Tawam, Sheikh Radwan, al-Shati camp and Juhr Al-Deek. In another statement, the IDF said an Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas commander and the Israeli navy struck Hamas anti-tank missile launching posts in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been ramping up its military operation in Gaza, following the October 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,400 in Israel.
Paris conference for Gaza: President Macron hosted a conference in the French capital on Thursday aimed at ramping up humanitarian aid for Gaza, which was attended by UN agencies and European Union leaders, but not Israel. During the conference, Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that Palestinian suffering “is 75 years old” and “did not start on October 7.” Macron asked for the immediate liberation of the hostages held in Gaza, “without conditions.”
Civilians flee south: The IDF said an evacuation corridor in Gaza for people fleeing the north of the territory will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time on Thursday. Thousands of people fled northern Gaza on Wednesday, traveling miles on foot as Israel intensifies its ground and air campaign. IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza on Wednesday. Humanitarian groups warned in October that the Israeli military’s evacuation order of Palestinians in northern Gaza violates international law.
Aid trucks at Rafah crossing: A total of 106 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies arrived at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Wednesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said, amid growing calls from international aid agencies for a ceasefire to allow more aid into the besieged enclave. The delivery from the Egyptian Red Crescent did not include desperately needed fuel, which Israel has banned from entering Gaza, claiming Hamas would commandeer supplies for military purposes. It brings the total number of aid trucks that have reached Gaza since October 7 to 756, according to the Palestine Red Crescent — a trickle compared to the roughly 455 trucks the UN says entered daily before the war.
Hostage deal remains elusive: There is no prospect of Israel agreeing to a sustained pause in fighting without a substantial number of hostages being released, one senior US official told CNN. The multi-party talks – in which Qatar is playing a key mediating role – have been ongoing for weeks and have so far produced many ideas, including the release of around 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a one- or two-day ceasefire, diplomatic sources close to the talks said. But as of Wednesday, such a proposal was not on the table, the US official said.
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UN aid chief warns that Gaza conflict is "a wildfire that could consume the region"
From CNN's Dalal Mawad in Paris
UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Martin Griffiths speaks during an international conference for civilians in Gaza, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, on November 9.
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
The United Nations emergency relief chief warned on Thursday that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread to the wider region.
“It could spread, and that we will think these would be the good days when we see what may happen tomorrow,” he said in his remarks at the International Humanitarian Conference for Gaza hosted by France in Paris.
Griffiths added that “the UN cannot be part of a unilateral decision to expulse thousands of people in Gaza into so-called safe zones.”
“Civilians must be protected. Their needs must be met anywhere they are,” he said.
Griffiths reiterated the UN’s call for ceasefire. “There’s been a lot of discussion about the value of pauses, and I’m not one to deny the value of pauses. But that is not the same as a ceasefire,” he said.
On Wednesday, G7 foreign ministers voiced support for humanitarian pauses in Gaza to support aid deliveries, civilian movement and the release of hostages — but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
More background: The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel raised concerns that the conflict could spread across the region, with the potential entry of Hezbollah from Lebanon, as well as Iran. The US has warned regional players against getting pulled into the war, calling on Iran and its proxies not to escalate.
Iran, which backs Hamas, has denied involvement in the October 7 attack but has said that it morally supports the “anti-Israel resistance” – which includes Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militias. On Israel’s northern border, Hezbollah has engaged in an exchange of fire since the Gaza war began. Those altercations have however been confined to the border areas.
There have also been skirmishes in Syria and Iraq, from which Iran-backed militias have launched multiple drone attacks on US forces. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have attempted an aerial attack on Israel, which Israel’s military said it thwarted.
CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to this post.
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France announces additional $85 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza
From Dalal Mawad and Maya Szaniecki in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during an international humanitarian conference for civilians in Gaza, at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on November 9.
Ludovic Marin/Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country will be increasing its aid to Gaza by 80 million euros ($85.5 million).
“Since October 7, France has announced 20 million euros (almost $21.4 million) in additional humanitarian aid, and we will be increasing this effort to 100 million euros (almost $107 million) for 2023,” said the French president at the International Humanitarian Conference for Gaza, which is taking place Thursday in Paris.
Macron also called on all countries present at the conference “to increase their financial contributions towards the Palestinian civilian population via the United Nations,” echoing the UN’s call that at least $1.2 billion are required to meet the needs of the nearly 2.7 million residents living in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
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Palestinian suffering did not start in October, "but is 75 years old," Palestinian Authority PM says
From CNN's Dalal Mawad in Paris and Eve Brennan in London
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh speaks during an international humanitarian conference for civilians in Gaza, at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on Thursday.
Ludovic Marin/Reuters
Palestinian suffering “is 75 years old” and “did not start on October 7,” Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Thursday at an international humanitarian conference for Gaza in Paris.
“We are a victim here… defending oneself doesn’t mean occupying someone’s land,” Shtayyeh said, adding that “what Israel is doing is not a war against Hamas” but a war against “all Palestinian people.”
Israel has been ramping up its offensive inside Gaza, following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, when militants killed 1,400 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 200.
Shtayyeh also accused Israel of being “in clear breach of international humanitarian law,” saying that “crimes are being perpetrated against the Palestinian people, people who are innocent.”
The Palestinian official added that “a blockage” – Israel’s complete siege of Gaza – has created problems, including food shortages and attempts at deportation against Gazans working in Israel.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Wednesday that both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since the war broke out last month.
Israel’s military pushed back against those accusations, saying it has struck Hamas targets, followed international law and sought to minimize civilian casualties.
During the Paris conference, Shtayyeh also called for an end to the conflict in order for “humanitarian relief to make sense.”
“What use is offering a meal to someone who will die the next day?” he said.
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IDF says it took control of Hamas military stronghold in northern Gaza
From CNN’s Amir Tal and Mostafa Salem
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza, on November 9.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its soldiers took control of a Hamas military stronghold in northern Gaza.
Hamas’ military wing Al Qassam Brigades said on Telegram it was targeting Israeli forces in the northern Gaza areas of Al Tawam, Sheikh Radwan, al-Shati camp and Juhr Al-Deek.
In another statement, the IDF said an Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas commander and the Israeli navy struck Hamas anti-tank missile launching posts in the Gaza Strip.
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The majority of Gaza hospitals have now stopped functioning, Palestinian health ministry says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Lucas Lilieholm and Nadeen Ebrahim
The majority of hospitals in Gaza, 18 out of 35, have stopped functioning, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws figures from the Hamas-controlled territory.
The health ministry added that 71% of all primary-care facilities have closed due to damage or lack of fuel, adding that hospitals that remain open are limited in what they can provide and are gradually shutting down their wards.
Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Gaza’s largest medical facility, closed six operating rooms “due to inadequacy of supplies, including fuel,” the statement said.
An American nurse with Doctors Without Borders, Emily Callahan, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday that in Khan Younis – the city she had been working amid the war before leaving Gaza – there were some 35,000 internally displaced people living alongside her and her team.
Callahan said that in one camp, there are 50,000 people and four toilets. The camp residents are given two hours of water every 12 hours, she added.
“Parents are bringing their children to us, saying, ‘please can you help, please can you help,’ and we have no supplies,” she said.
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IDF extends hours of Gaza evacuation corridor, as thousands of Palestinians flee south
From CNN’s Mick Krever and Abeer Salman
Palestinian people flee from north Gaza towards the south on November 9.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an evacuation corridor in Gaza for people fleeing the north of the territory will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Thousands of people fled northern Gaza on Wednesday, traveling miles on foot as Israel intensifies its ground and air campaign in the battered enclave.
An IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza on Wednesday.
Streams of people – women, children, the elderly and disabled – made their way down Salah Eddin Street, one of the two north-south highways in Gaza, along the IDF evacuation corridor.
It was the fifth day in a row that the IDF opened an evacuation window, and numbers of people fleeing south have increased each day.
The UN said 2,000 had fled south on Sunday, rising to 15,000 on Tuesday. The Israeli government said 50,000 Gazans travelled via the evacuation corridor Wednesday. That number could not be independently verified, but a CNN journalist at the scene said the numbers leaving were larger than on Tuesday.
Israel has been ramping up its offensive inside Gaza, following the October 7 attacks that left 1,400 people in Israel dead.
The IDF has been bombarding Gaza for weeks, saying it hit 14,000 terrorist targets in the densely packed territory.
Thursday’s six-hour window equates to 3 a.m. ET to 9 a.m. ET. The evacuation corridors have been open several times this week within a four-hour window.
“The northern Gaza Strip area is considered a fierce combat zone and time is running out to evacuate it. Join hundreds of thousands who have responded to calls and moved south in recent days,” Adraee said.
Humanitarian groups warned in October that the Israeli military’s evacuation order of Palestinians in northern Gaza violates international law.
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Protection of civilians "not negotiable," Macron says at Paris humanitarian conference on Gaza
From CNN's Dalal Mawad and Stephanie Halasz
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks during an international humanitarian conference for civilians in Gaza, at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, on November 9.
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday the protection of civilians in Gaza is “not negotiable,” as he inaugurated an international humanitarian conference for Gaza in Paris.
“The civilians must be protected, that is absolutely indispensable. It is not negotiable,” Macron said, adding that work needed to be done to bring about a ceasefire.
The conference was attended by United Nations agencies and European Union leaders. Israel did not attend.
The French president also asked for the immediate liberation of the hostages held in Gaza, “without conditions.”
The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, in his opening remarks alleged that international humanitarian rights were “not being applied” in Gaza, as quoted by CNN’s affiliate BFMTV.
German Foreign Office Minister of State Tobias Lindner ahead of the conference reaffirmed his country’s “unwavering solidarity with Israel,” adding that the “fight is against Hamas, not the civilian population in Gaza.”
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Hostage deal between Israel and Hamas appears elusive as negotiations continue
From CNN's MJ Lee, Becky Anderson and Alex Marquardt
Photographs of some of those taken hostage by Hamas are seen on October 18, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
A deal to secure the release of a large number of hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza appears elusive for now, despite active negotiations involving the United States, Israel, Qatar and Hamas.
There is no prospect of Israel agreeing to a sustained pause in fighting without a substantial number of hostages being released, one senior US official told CNN. The multi-party talks – in which Qatar is playing a key mediating role – have been ongoing for weeks and have so far produced many ideas, including the release of around 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a one- or two-day ceasefire, diplomatic sources close to the talks said.
But as of Wednesday, such a proposal was not on the table, the US official said.
One Israeli official said Israel was “ready for a pause” if there could be certainty that Hamas was “serious about releasing hostages.” What is not clear is how long of a pause Israel would be willing to agree to, and what would amount to an acceptable number of hostages released.
Negotiations have also centered around exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, CNN has previously reported.
Only a handful of hostages – including two American citizens – have been released since the start of the war. After their successful exit, US President Joe Biden revealed that Israel had agreed to a brief ceasefire to secure their release.
The Biden administration has continued to call on Israel to put in place additional “humanitarian pauses” to facilitate the release of more hostages. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will not agree to a ceasefire without the release of hostages, a message he reiterated in a social media post Wednesday.
The weeks-long efforts to try to get a big group of hostages out have brought to light a myriad of complexities. The hostages, who are of various nationalities, are not believed to be in one location and it is not clear exactly how many of them are in Gaza; communication with Hamas is slow; and there are concerns about how to safely move any big group of civilians through Gaza when the strip is under constant bombardment.
Officials have also stressed that Hamas is far from a typical – and by any means a trustworthy – negotiating partner. “Frankly, we’re dealing with Hamas,” a senior administration official said. “This is not something that anyone is expecting [to be conducted in] good faith.”
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Palestine Red Crescent receives more than 100 aid trucks at Rafah crossing
From CNN’s Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
A satellite image of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt shows trucks waiting to pass through on November 7.
Maxar Technologies/Reuters
A total of 106 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies arrived at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Wednesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said, amid growing calls from international aid agencies for a ceasefire to allow more aid into the besieged enclave.
The delivery from the Egyptian Red Crescent did not include desperately needed fuel, which Israel has banned from entering Gaza, claiming Hamas would commandeer supplies for military purposes.
It brings the total number of aid trucks into Gaza since October 7 to 756, according to the Palestine Red Crescent — a trickle compared to the roughly 455 trucks the UN says entered daily before the war.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross’ chief surgeon warned that doctors in Gaza are running out of medical supplies with the health care system “under severe strain.”
Meanwhile, the head of the International Rescue Committee called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for “a period of at least five days,” saying that was the “absolute minimum” timeframe needed to allow aid agencies to ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced residents.
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Malaysia leader vows to maintain ties with Hamas, calls for solidarity with Palestinians
From CNN's Heather Chen
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a news conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia on November 5.
Fazry Ismail/AFP/Getty Images
Malaysia will maintain ties with Hamas and will not “punish the group as a terrorist organization,” Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday.
The comments were in reply to a lawmaker’s question about whether Malaysia risks economic repercussions given calls in the United States — including a proposed bill — to clamp down on foreign supporters of the Palestinian Islamist militant group following its October 7 attack on Israel.
“I will not accept any threats,” Anwar said, referring to the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act, which passed the House of Representatives last week but still needs approval in the Senate.
Muslim-majority Malaysia, and neighboring Indonesia, like many Middle Eastern nations, has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause for decades.
It has long maintained it will not diplomatically recognize Israel until a genuine two-state solution has been achieved giving Palestinians their own state.
Anwar, who has personally championed the Palestinian cause since his days as a student protest leader in the late 1960s, has pushed back against pressure to distance his nation from Hamas and portrayed his government’s stance as part of a wider campaign to support the Palestinian people.
Malaysia rallies: On October 22, thousands of Malaysians waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners calling for peace gathered in the capital Kuala Lumpur to express solidarity with Palestinians. Two days later, during a separate pro-Palestinian rally at Malaysia’s national stadium, Anwar said he rejected pressure from Western countries to condemn Hamas.
“Malaysia is a fiercely independent country. We decide what is right,” he said on stage at the rally. “We want the Arabs, Palestinians and people of Gaza to be treated as human beings. Nothing more, nothing less.”
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UN rights chief accuses Hamas and Israel of war crimes as civilians flee south. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Hamas and Israel have both committed war crimes during the past month, the UN human rights chief said Wednesday.
Volker Türk also urged both sides to agree to a ceasefire to allow aid deliveries to Gaza, the release of hostages by Hamas, and to work toward an “end to the occupation.”
Israel’s military pushed back against war crimes accusations, saying its strikes on Hamas targets followed international law and sought to minimize civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, the United States and its G7 allies have repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire, putting them at odds with mounting calls from their Arab partners and international aid agencies.
Here’s what else to know:
Civilians flee south: Thousands of Palestinians are evacuating northern Gaza as Israel intensifies its ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza City. Some of them described an unbearable reality in the enclave’s main urban center, with constant airstrikes and no water. A man who did not provide his name told CNN in southern Gaza that the war “left nothing safe — not churches, not mosques or anything.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Tuesday that IDF troops were operating in Gaza City, targeting Hamas infrastructure and commanders there.
Dire humanitarian situation: Doctors in Gaza are running out of medical supplies, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross’s chief surgeon, while all bakeries have been forced to close in northern Gaza due to a lack of fuel, water and wheat flour. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it was able to deliver medical supplies to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Wednesday despite “relentless bombardments.”
Louder calls for a ceasefire: The president of the International Rescue Committee called for a humanitarian ceasefire for at least five days, emphasizing it was the “absolute minimum” needed to allow aid agencies to relieve some of the suffering. Other world leaders have also called for a ceasefire or a “humanitarian pause” in recent days. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US opposition however, saying, “Those calling for an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how to address the unacceptable result that would likely bring.”
Hostage negotiations: A deal to secure the release of a large number of hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza appears elusive, despite negotiations involving the US, Israel, Qatar and Hamas. The multi-party talks have been ongoing for weeks and have so far produced many ideas, but any proposal involving hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting is not on the table, a US official and other diplomatic sources said. IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military’s current count of hostages being held by Hamas is 239.
Rafah border latest: The crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed Wednesday due to a “security circumstance,” the US State Department said. A total of 637 foreign nationals were evacuated to Egypt Tuesday, an Egyptian official said.
Gaza’s future: The US believes the Palestinian Authority “is the appropriate place to look for governance eventually” of Gaza, a State Department official said Wednesday. That’s in line with Blinken’s comments that “Israel cannot occupy Gaza,” but “there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict.” Israeli Prime Minister benjamin Netanyahu claimed this week that Israel will have the “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an “indefinite period.”
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UN rights chief says war crimes have been committed by both Israel and Hamas
From CNN's Michael Rios
Volker Türk speaks during an interview for Europa Press at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, Spain, on October 4.
Eduardo Parra/Europa Press/AP
Both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since the conflict erupted last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday.
Türk delivered the remarks after visiting the Rafah border crossing, which he called a symbolic lifeline for the 2.3 million people in Gaza.
“The lifeline has been unjustly, outrageously thin,” he said as he called for more humanitarian aid to be delivered to the enclave.
Türk also urged both sides to agree to a ceasefire on the basis of three human rights imperatives: the delivery of aid to Gaza, the release of hostages by Hamas as well as the implementation of “a durable end to the occupation, based on the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis to self-determination and their legitimate security interests.”
“Even in the context of a 56-year-old occupation, the current situation is the most dangerous in decades, faced by people in Gaza, in Israel, in the West Bank but also regionally,” he said.
The Israeli military commented on accusations of war crimes saying:
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Videos released by Hamas show clashes with IDF in Gaza City
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Even though IDF forces have encircled Gaza City and spent more than a month targeting Hamas positions and tunnels, footage of attacks recently released by Hamas and analyzed by CNN help illustrate how difficult it will be to stop the Islamist militants.
CNN has geolocated a number of the clashes seen in the Hamas videos to three main locations: the Al-Shati refugee camp, Atatra and Beit Hanoun. The videos were released after the Israeli ground invasion began.
The remaining fights CNN was unable to geolocate were either in incredibly dense city streets or rural areas — mainly olive groves.
The overall success of the Hamas attacks depicted — whether the bulk of their fighters survive and whether they are causing IDF personnel casualties or disabling equipment — is unclear from the videos, which are heavily edited and redacted propaganda. Hamas only touts its successful missions in its videos.
However, Hamas publishing body camera footage of its fighters carrying out an ambush does indicate that at least one of their fighters survived and brought back footage.
CNN military analyst and retired US Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling reviewed the videos and said that Hamas was likely utilizing shape-charge rocket-propelled grenades, which have the potential to be specifically devastating to some military vehicles, like armored personnel carriers.
An IDF spokesperson declined to comment on the number of military vehicles that have been disabled or destroyed during the ground invasion, citing “operational security considerations.”
“Whack-a-mole”: Clearing Hamas’ tunnels with weapons stockpiles and fighters inside will likely take months. Additionally, Hamas fighters can now also use the aftermath of the Israeli military strikes — the ruins of buildings — as cover to carry out their ambushes.
Hertling said that trying to stop these ambushes would be like “whack-a-mole” unless the IDF was able to knock out every single tunnel complex, tunnel opening or shaft.
“It’s going to take months to do that,” he said, noting that clearing operations can’t be done by vehicles.
IDF soldiers will have to clear each building individually, which will expose them to rifle and sniper fire from Hamas and, in turn, risk a skyrocketing casualty rate.
Hamas says the videos were taken on November 2, 3, 5, and 6. A CNN analysis could not independently confirm that time period, but the length and direction of the shadows in the videos also indicate many of the ambushes either occurred on different days or took place many hours apart.
At most of the sites, Hamas fighters are seen carrying out multiple ambushes, at different times throughout the day.
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IDF claims it destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts in Gaza
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday claimed it has destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts since the start of the war, as Israel continues the “expansion” of its ground operation in Gaza.
“As part of the ground forces’ activity in the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers are currently working to expose and destroy Hamas’ tunnels,” the statement said. “Since the beginning of the fighting, 130 tunnel shafts have been destroyed.”
The IDF added that Hamas’ “preparation for a prolonged stay in the tunnels can be seen based on water and oxygen means found in the tunnels.”
School claim: One destroyed tunnel was near a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) sponsored school in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza, the IDF claimed.
The IDF also shared a video allegedly showing the destruction “near the school” through a drone camera.
CNN cannot verify the IDF’s claims. CNN has reached out to UNRWA for comment.
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"Nothing is left": Palestinians fleeing south in Gaza describe unbearable situation in Gaza City
From CNN stringer in Gaza and CNN’s Abeer Salman in Jerusalem
Palestinians walk down a road as they flee Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza towards the south, on November 8.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of Palestinians fled northern Gaza on Wednesday, traveling miles on foot through the battered enclave in a growing exodus prompted by Israel’s intensified ground and air campaign.
Streams of people — women, children, the elderly and disabled — made their way down Salah Eddin Street, one of the two north-south highways in Gaza, along an evacuation corridor announced by the Israel Defense Forces.
One teenage girl compared the mass movement to the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, the Arabic term for the expulsion of Palestinians from their towns during the founding of Israel.
A man who did not provide his name told a CNN stringer in southern Gaza that he and his neighbors had lived through “horrifying days.” He said they had left their home in northern Gaza and moved several times, but that it was impossible to escape the airstrikes.
“This war left nothing safe — not churches, not mosques or anything. Today, they dropped the leaflet ordering us to leave to the alleged safe area. Now we are beyond this area of Wadi Gaza, and we are still hearing bombardments. There is no safe place in Gaza,” he said.
UN chief says something is "clearly wrong" with Israel's Gaza operation, pointing to civilian deaths
From CNN's Michael Rios
Antonio Guterres speaks at the ReutersNEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, on November 8.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The number of civilian deaths in Gaza during the past month of war between Israel and Hamas means something is “clearly wrong” with Israel’s military operation, the United Nations secretary general said Wednesday.
“Nothing should reduce our total rejection for the horrible things that Hamas did” in its October 7 attacks that killed about 1,400 people, Secretary-General António Guterres said in an interview with Reuters. “But we need to distinguish: Hamas is one thing, the Palestinian people (are) another.”
Israel’s operations must be conducted with full respect to the laws of war, Guterres said, while allowing for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
“To a certain extent, the sympathy that is generated in the world is being put into question by the images that every day we have in which we see people in a dramatic humanitarian situation,” he said, also calling for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas.
Deaths in Gaza: About three-quarters of the 10,515 people killed in Gaza since the conflict began are children, women and the elderly, according to a report Wednesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws on sources from the Hamas-controlled enclave. It’s unclear how many combatants are included in that total.
