The IDF chief of staff took responsibility for the deaths, saying on Saturday the hostages did “everything possible” to signal they were civilians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war “until the victory.” He also appeared to suggest on Saturday that new negotiations were underway to rescue hostages, emphasizing that the Israeli military’s continued use of force in Gaza was necessary.
Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.
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Al Jazeera cameraman death: IDF says it attempted to help get ambulance on site
From CNN's Abeer Salman
The Israel Defense Forces says an ambulance was dispatched to help Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa after he was badly injured during an Israeli attack in southern Gaza Friday, but it “encountered road damage” and couldn’t get to the scene before the cameraman died.
“Once we became aware of an injured individual and received a request to grant permission for an ambulance, COGAT granted permission for the ambulance to use a safe passage,” they said in a statement to CNN in response our reporting.
COGAT is Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
He died of wounds sustained in the Israeli attack and was forced to wait five hours for medical attention, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN Friday.
The IDF said it was unable to provide additional detail when asked by CNN how long it took for the ambulance to be granted permission to travel to the site where Abu Daqqa required emergency medical assistance.
Hundreds gathered in southern Gaza to mourn Abu Daqqa on Saturday as his body was laid to rest.
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Al Jazeera to refer killing of cameraman in Gaza to International Criminal Court
From CNN's Michael Rios
Relatives and friends bid farewell to the body of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Saturday, December 16.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Al Jazeera has instructed its legal team to begin the process of referring the killing of its cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, the Qatar-based network said in a statement.
Abu Daqqa died on Friday after being wounded in an Israeli attack.
The network has condemned Israel for his death, calling it an “assassination.”
Al Jazeera also said that its legal file to the ICC would encompass what it called “recurrent attacks on the network’s crews working and operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and instances of incitement against them.”
The ICC has previously been asked to probe Israel’s actions in the region.
Last month, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said his office received a referral from five countries to investigate if crimes have been committed in the Palestinian territories as part of Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and rejects the court’s jurisdiction.
Responding to a request for comment from CNN on Al Jazeera’s claim, the press office for the IDF said: “The IDF takes all operationally feasible measures to protect both civilians and journalists.
“The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists. Given the ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks. The IDF will continue to counter threats while persisting to mitigate harm to civilians.”
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IDF did not have intelligence on hostages mistakenly killed
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Michael Rios
Israel’s military did not have intelligence about the three hostages mistakenly killed by its soldiers Friday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari told a news conference Saturday.
Hagari reiterated the Israel Defense Forces assumed the three hostages had either escaped or been abandoned by their captors due to the fighting in Shejaiya.
He added that soldiers in general thought they would find hostages either in a building, in a tunnel, or handcuffed, and didn’t anticipate that they would be approached.
Hagari said the military has published details of its preliminary review of the incident. Those findings have been relayed to combat troops in Gaza as well as the families of the three hostages killed.
CNN is working to obtain a copy of the initial review.
“We will continue to investigate this incident thoroughly,” he said. “We are in the midst of a war that presents us with very difficult and complex situations with unprecedented characteristics that we have not faced until now.”
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Netanyahu vows to continue the war in Gaza as thousands call for immediate return of hostages. Catch up here
From CNN staff
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday told his nation that “we are in a war for our existence.” Speaking for the first time since the Israeli military mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza, he said the war would go on.
“The war must continue until victory, despite the international pressure and despite the unbearable cost that the war is exacting from us in our fallen sons and daughters,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister also on Saturday appeared to suggest that new negotiations were underway to rescue Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. He said the Israeli military’s continued use of force in Gaza was necessary to both bring the hostages back and win the war.
Here are other headlines you should know:
Killed hostages: The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat. The hostages were shirtless and waving a white flag when they were shot, according to an IDF official. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has taken responsibility for the deaths. He said the IDF has completed a preliminary investigation of the incident and has updated the families of the killed hostages on their findings. Also, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Saturday said he held “painful conversations” with the families hostages.
Another hostage dead: 27-year-old Inbar Haimanhas died while in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. She was from the city of Haifa, the forum said in a statement Saturday.
Developments on the ground: An IDF sniper shot and killed two women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza on Saturday, according to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Catholic churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Elsewhere, an Israeli soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a drone attack that hit Israeli troops in the Margaliot area near the Lebanese border on Saturday, the Israeli army said.
Official meetings: Commander of the US Central Command Gen. Michael Kurilla on Friday visited Israel to meet with Halevi, according to an Israeli military statement Saturday. In his third such trip since the start of Israel-Hamas war, Kurilla and Halevi discussed security and strategic matters, plus humanitarian assistance, the IDF said. Gallant also held a meeting Saturday with military and intelligence chiefs “focused on efforts to return the hostages held in a Gaza,” according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
Red Sea developments: The CMA CGM Group, the third-largest shipping company in the world, has instructed all of its container ships in the Red Sea region to pause their journeys following a string of attacks from Iran-backed Houthis on commercial ships in the sea.
US government staffers call for ceasefire: More than 130 US Department of Homeland Security staff members urged President Joe Biden’s administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month and now obtained by CNN.
This post has been updated to include a verified translation of Netanyahu’s speech.
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IDF sniper kills 2 women inside Gaza church, according to Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Maija Ehlinger
The exterior of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City on January 21, 2018.
Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/File
An Israeli Defense Forces sniper shot and killed two women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza on Saturday, according to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Catholic churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
The majority of Christian families inside Gaza have taken refuge inside the parish since the start of the war, the statement added.
The two women, described as a mother and daughter, were walking to the convent, and “one was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” it said. Seven others were shot and wounded in the attack.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that Israel Defense Forces tanks also targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa, which is housing 54 disabled persons and is part of the church’s compound. The building’s generator — which is the only current source of electricity — and its fuel resources, solar panels, and water tanks have been destroyed, it said, and IDF rockets have made the convent “uninhabitable.”
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.
On Friday, UK lawmaker Layla Moran said her family members sheltering in in the church are “beyond desperate and terrified” as conditions continue to worsen.
“(My family is) reporting white phosphorous and gunfire into their compound,” she said. “The bin collector and the janitor have been shot and their bodies are laying outside and remain uncollected.”
CNN cannot independently verify the conditions in and around the church, nor the allegation of the use of incendiary munitions, which can be illegal in some circumstances.
Citing her family members, the Oxford West and Abingdon member of parliament added that electricity generators have stopped working at the church.
On November 15, Moran told the UK House of Commons that one of her family members sheltering in the church had died.
CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury contributed to this report.
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Israel's defense minister held "painful conversations" with families of 3 hostages mistakenly shot dead
From Tamar Michaelis
Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Saturday said he held painful conversations with the families of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.
Gallant said as defense minister he bears responsibility for everything that happens during this war.
“This was also the case during yesterday’s event – an incident that IDF troops did not intend to conduct, yet one that took place as a result of significant errors,” he said.
Gallant called the incident “one of the most tragic and difficult events I can remember.”
The defense minister asked Israelis to maintain their support of the IDF soldiers operating in Gaza.
“They have taken impressive actions and made great achievements, while risking their lives. We must stand by them,” he said.
Gallant also met Saturday with military and intelligence chiefs about ongoing efforts to return the hostages still held in Gaza, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office.
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Netanyahu implies negotiations continuing to release more hostages
From Tamar Michaelis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on December 10.
(Ronen Zvulun/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to suggest on Saturday that new negotiations were underway to rescue Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu said the Israeli military’s continued use of force in Gaza was necessary to both bring the hostages back and win the war.
David Barnea, the director of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad, was expected to meet at the end of the week with Qatar’s prime minister in Europe to continue discussions about getting hostages released by Hamas, a source familiar with the plans told CNN Saturday.
It was not immediately clear whether the meeting had happened yet.
Netanyahu did not confirm any details about the expected meeting during the televised press conference.
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Israeli soldier killed in attack from southern Lebanon, IDF says
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
An Israeli soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a drone attack that hit Israeli troops in the Margaliot area near the Lebanese border on Saturday, the Israeli army said.
Two unmanned aerial vehicles were launched from Lebanese territory: one was intercepted, while the other hit Israel Defense Forces soldiers, army spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an evening briefing.
In response, Hagari said Israeli warplanes struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
Early Saturday, Hezbollah claimed on social media they targeted an Israeli military post at the same location using a drone, saying the attack was “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to a CNN tally, at least six Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hezbollah started their scaled up attacks from south Lebanon on October 8.
Remember: This fighting is centered on northern Israel and southern Lebanon — separate from Israel’s battles with Hamas in Gaza. But an uptick in clashes with Hezbollah during the ongoing war has raised fears that the powerful Lebanese paramilitary group could actively participate in the conflict.
"The hourglass is running out": Thousands demand immediate return of remaining hostages
From CNN's Lauren Izso
People rally for the release of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, December 16.
(Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters)
It’s a cool evening in Tel Aviv, as thousands gather at a square in the city to demand that the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza be brought home immediately — “now!” as they keep chanting.
Many people in the crowd are holding Israeli flags and signs with photos of hostages.
Some attendees tell CNN they are demanding a ceasefire immediately in order to free more hostages – saying that they figure without a ceasefire, the more than 100 captives still in Gaza will not be brought back alive.
The evening’s mood is somber, with the crowd holding a moment of silence after yesterday’s news that three hostages were killed accidentally by Israeli soldiers.
“We can’t make any more mistakes,” said a former hostage at the gathering, Agam Goldstein, who is from the kibbutz Kfar Aza. She said she knew two of the hostages killed yesterday.
People gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, December 16.
(Amir Goldstein/Reuters)
There are dozens of speeches from family members of hostages, a recorded message from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and recorded statements from hostages who were freed in the previous truce. At one point, everyone in attendance holds their cellphone flashlight in the air as they sing the national anthem.
Former hostage Daniel Aloni also spoke at the rally, urging the Israeli government to agree on a hostage exchange deal with Hamas:
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IDF chief of staff takes responsibility for deaths of 3 Israeli hostages
From CNN’s Jessie Gretener
The three hostages killed are identified as, from left to right, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka.
(Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has taken responsibility for the deaths of three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers Friday.
He said the IDF has completed a preliminary investigation of the incident.
“The IDF, and I as its commander, are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent such incidents from recurring in future combat,” Halevi said in a video statement, referring to it as “a difficult and painful event.”
“There is nothing that the IDF soldiers and their commanders in the Gaza Strip want more than to rescue the hostages alive. In this case, we were not successful. We feel the deep sorrow of the families for the death of the hostages,” the IDF chief said.
Halevi said the IDF has completed a preliminary investigation of the incident and has updated the families of the killed hostages on their findings.
“We notified the families of the difficult findings and transparently published them to the public. There may be additional cases in which hostages escape or are abandoned during combat, and we have the duty and responsibility to rescue them alive,” he said.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for more details.
Stanley Beecham and Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.
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Netanyahu vows to continue war "until the victory" in first speech since IDF accidentally killed hostages
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday told his nation that “we are in a war for our lives.”
Speaking for the first time since the Israeli military mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu said, “This war has to continue until the victory … despite the international pressure and despite the price this has taken from us.”
More on the hostages: The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat. The hostages were shirtless and waving a white flag when they were shot, according to an IDF official.
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Over 130 US Homeland Security staffers sign letter calling on Biden administration to support Gaza ceasefire
From CNN’s Camila DeChalus and Samantha Waldenberg
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, on Saturday, December 16.
(Ariel Schalit/AP)
More than 130 US Department of Homeland Security staff members urged President Joe Biden’s administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month and now obtained by CNN.
“We join our colleagues and peers on Capitol Hill, USAID, Department of State, and across the Executive Branch who have expressed similar concerns in urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities,” the letter said.
The staffers were unnamed in the letter, which is dated November 22, 2023, but say they work for several federal agencies within the department including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The DHS workforce consists of more than 260,000 total employees, according to the department.
The staffers said they signed the letter anonymously “out of concern for personal safety and risk of professional repercussions.”
Those who signed the letter say they are “deeply troubled” by the department’s “messaging, recognition, support, and mourning” of Palestinians killed in Gaza. The letter also criticizes DHS for turning a “blind eye” to bombings in Gaza.
More context: There have been growing frustrations among staff members that work in the Biden administration over how the president has responded to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Earlier this week, a few dozen political appointees and Biden administration staffers held a vigil in front of the White House calling on Biden to support a ceasefire in Gaza.
In November, more than 700 staffers and political appointees signed a letter calling on the president to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. That letter was signed by staffers who work in more than 30 departments and agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, FBI and NASA.
Mayorkas has not responded to it, but DHS officials did meet with the authors of that letter recently to discuss their concerns.
DHS has not responded to CNN’s inquiries to comment on this letter.
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Third-largest shipping company in the world pauses container ship journeys in the Red Sea
From CNN's Benjamin Brown in London
The CMA CGM Group, the third-largest shipping company in the world, has instructed all of its container ships in the Red Sea region to pause their journeys following a string of attacks on commercial ships in the sea.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces have been targeting commercial ships in the sea, claiming the attacks as a means of pressuring Israel to send aid to Gaza. The group has said any ship heading to Israel was a “legitimate target.”
As a result, Danish shipping and logistics firm Maersk paused all its shipping through the Red Sea on Friday, with German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd also announcing on Friday that it had implemented a three-day pause in routes through the Red Sea.
In a statement on Saturday, CMA CGM said it is “deeply concerned” about the recent attacks.
“As such we have decided to instruct all CMA CGM containerships in the area that are scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to reach safe areas and pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice. CMA CGM is taking all necessary steps to preserve its transportation services for its customers,” the statement said.
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"We keep getting coffins": Families of hostages plead for Israeli government to bring back loved ones
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Catherine Nicholls
Family members of hostages being held in Gaza speak during a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, December 16.
(Leo Correa/AP)
Family members of the hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas are “all in pain” after three hostages were accidentally killed by Israeli troops, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum spokesperson Haim Rubinstein said Saturday.
“Like the entire people of Israel, we are all in pain facing yesterday’s tragedy,” Rubinstein said.
Several hostages’ family members spoke from “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, calling on the government to present a plan to get those held captive returned to Israel safely.
Raz Ben-Ami, a hostage who was released from Hamas custody in late November, said she warned Israeli cabinet members that fighting in Gaza could harm those being held by Hamas. Her husband was also taken hostage and has not yet been released.
Ben-Ami said she is “begging” the Israeli government to “present a hostage release framework and encourage the world to promote it.”
Danny Elgarat, brother of hostage Itzhak Elgarat, said he “does not get what (the Israeli government) is waiting for.”
“We see what’s going on. We keep getting coffins, one body after another,” Elgarat said, adding that the family members will move their activity to the Israel Defense Forces headquarters if they do not hear back from the government.
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27-year-old Israeli hostage in Gaza has died, according to prime minister's office and hostages forum
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Jessie Gretener
Inbar Haiman.
(Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
A 27-year-old female Israeli hostage in Gaza has died, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
Inbar Haiman was from the city of Haifa in Israel, the forum said in a statement Saturday. Her family expressed their grief and said that she was “a gifted and creative girl, full of love, selflessness, and joy for life” in the statement.
Haiman was at the Re’im nature festival on October 7, the forum said, outlining that she “ran away from the party with two male friends until she was caught by terrorists riding motorcycles.”
Israel’s prime minister’s office says it now believes there are 129 hostages, 21 of whom have died.
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Head of Israeli intelligence service expected to meet with Qatari prime minister about hostages, source says
From CNN’s Alex Marquardt in Tel Aviv
The director of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence service, David Barnea, speaks during a summit on September 10, in Herzliya, Israel.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
The director of Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence service, David Barnea, is expected to meet at the end of the week with Qatar’s prime minister in Europe to continue discussions about getting hostages released by Hamas, a source familiar with the plans told CNN Saturday.
It was not immediately clear whether the meeting has happened yet.
The reported meeting comes after Israel canceled a trip Barnea was meant to make to Doha earlier this week.
This latest meeting was planned before the Israel Defense Forces accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Friday, but that incident has added urgency to the conversations, the source said. The source requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations.
On Thursday, an Israeli official told CNN that the country’s war cabinet felt “conditions are not right” to try to restart the talks. Qatar and the US have been working to try to resurrect the negotiations, with new proposals made to free more of the over 100 hostages in Gaza.
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It's late afternoon in Gaza. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Smoke billows over northern Gaza on December 16.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
The three Israeli hostages that the Israel Defense Forces said it misidentified and accidentally killed in Gaza were shirtless and waving a white flag when they were shot, according to an IDF official.
More than one IDF soldier fired at the hostages, the official told CNN after briefing journalists on Saturday, adding: “This was against our rules of engagement.”
The official said an investigation into the killings is underway, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces increasing pressure to do more to get the remaining hostages out.
Israeli soldiers are being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes, according to a military spokesperson.
Here are other key developments:
A journalist’s funeral: Hundreds gathered in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Saturday to mourn Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed in an airstrike on Friday.
The body of Abu Daqqa — wrapped in a white cloth, with his chest adorned by the press vest and helmet he was wearing when he was wounded — was carried on the shoulders of the assembled crowd from Al-Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis to a nearby cemetery.
Abu Daqqa’s employer on Friday accused the IDF of “systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families.” The Israeli military said in response it has “never” deliberately targeted journalists and takes “all operationally feasible measures to protect both civilians and journalists.”
A deadly airstrike: The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza said an airstrike early Saturday killed 14 people in a northern area of the territory. Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the general director of the ministry, told CNN the casualties were mainly women and children.
A pair of raids on schools: Also in northern Gaza, the IDF said it conducted raids on two schools where Hamas fighters were allegedly hiding. Israel Army Radio reported 25 Hamas fighters were killed and 50 surrendered during the operation, though the IDF has not confirmed those figures to CNN.
A pause in Rafah: The IDF conducted a “tactical pause” for humanitarian purposes in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET) on Saturday, according Israeli authorities. The pause was meant to allow civilians to replenish stocks of basic items such as food and water, but it is unclear how many people were aware of the opportunity, due to collapsed connectivity in the area.
A deadly year in the West Bank: 2023 has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, when the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began keeping records, according to a report from the organization. A total of 477 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem from January 1 through December 15, the OCHA said.
A shipping lane under attack: Commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea continues to come under threat. The US military said Iran-backed Houthi militants targeted three commercial ships on Friday, striking two, while a British warship shot down a suspected attack drone targeting merchant ships. A US Navy vessel also shot down 14 drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, preventing any damage to ships in the area, according to US Central command. The Houthis have declared any ship bound for Israel a “legitimate target” in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israeli offensive in Gaza.
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UK shoots down suspected attack drone targeting merchant ships in Red Sea
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Nick Paton Wash
British warship HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone that was targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement Saturday.
“Overnight, HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone which was targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea. One Sea Viper missile was fired and successfully destroyed the target,” Shapps stated.
According to British Naval chief Ben Key, the HMS Diamond was deployed at short notice from Portsmouth on England’s south coast two weeks ago.
Key outlined that roughly one sixth of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea.
Some background: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as revenge against Israel. Houthi forces struck two commercial ships on Friday and threatened to attack a third, according to the US Central Command.
As a result of the “escalated security situation,” Danish shipping and logistics firm Maersk paused all its shipping through the Red Sea on Friday. German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd also announced Friday that it is pausing routes through the Red Sea for three days.
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21 bodies brought into Khan Younis hospital, Gaza journalists report
From CNN's Kareem Khadder
Journalists at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza say that according to hospital authorities 21 bodies were brought in Saturday.
The journalists said that the casualty numbers had been provided by the hospital’s head of Pathology. CNN has tried to contact the hospital, but communications are intermittent.
Among those killed, they said, was a colleague: A’ssem Kamal Mousa, who worked for the Gaza-based Palestine Online and other news outlets.
Earlier, video from the area of Khan Younis showed clouds of smoke rising from the scene of explosions.
Khan Younis has seen intense combat on the ground as well as a continuation of airstrikes over the past week.
At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others were injured early Friday morning after artillery fire struck a school and a residential home in the city.
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IDF denies targeting journalists following death of Al Jazeera cameraman
From CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph and Lucas Lilieholm
A still from a video of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa.
From Al Jazeera
The Israeli military said it has “never” deliberately targeted journalists, following accusations from the Al Jazeera network, whose cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa died after being wounded in an Israeli attack.
Responding to a CNN request for comment, the Israel Defense Forces said it took “all operationally feasible measures to protect both civilians and journalists.”
Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement on Friday condemning the airstrike that resulted in the death of cameraman Abu Daqqa and the injury of the network’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh.
Journalists dying: At Abu Daqqa’s funeral on Saturday, Dahdouh — who lost his wife, daughter, son, and grandson in an Israeli airstrike on the Al Nusiarat refugee camp in late October — accused Israel of targeting his former colleague and vowed to continue his work.
He said “more than 80 of our colleagues and their families were killed.”
As of Friday, at least 64 journalists have been killed, and 13 injured, while covering Israel’s war with Hamas, making it the most dangerous period for the profession in 31 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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Hostages killed by Israeli troops were waving white flag, military says
From CNN’s Richard Allen Greene in Jerusalem
The three hostages killed are identified as, from left to right, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer Talalka.
Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The three Israeli hostages who were killed Friday by Israel Defense Forces soldiers in Gaza were shirtless and waving a white flag when they were shot, an IDF official said Saturday, calling the killings a “tragic, tragic event” and a violation of IDF rules of engagement.
The third hostage died later. It is not clear if the second burst of fire killed him.
More than one IDF soldier fired at the hostages, the official told CNN after briefing journalists.
The official said there is “intense combat” in the area where the hostages were killed, and “terrorists there are moving around in civilian attire. They are wearing sneakers and jeans. They are trying to pull us into traps.”
The hostages were named Friday as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shimriz.
It’s possible they had escaped or been abandoned by their captors, the official said.
“Hundreds of meters from that location, there was a building with markings of ‘SOS’ on it, and we are still looking to see if there is a connection between that building and the hostages,” the official said.
The hostages’ killing remains under IDF investigation, the official said.
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Hundreds gather to mourn slain Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa in Gaza
From CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Lucas Lilieholm
Relatives and friends mourn Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed while working in an air strike in Khan Younis on Saturday.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Hundreds of people gathered to mourn Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa in Gaza on Saturday after he succumbed to wounds suffered during an airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis the day before.
The body of Abu Daqqa, wrapped in a white cloth, was carried on the shoulders of the assembled crowd from Al-Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis to a nearby cemetery. On his chest were the press vest and helmet he had been wearing when he was wounded.
Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, who lost his wife, daughter, son, and grandson in an Israeli airstrike in the Al Nusiarat refugee camp in late October, accused Israel of targeting his former colleague and vowed to continue his work.
The funeral was attended by friends, family and colleagues, many of them wearing their press vests. Abu Daqqa’s wife and children live in Belgium.
Prayers were read in the cemetery and his mother, Umm Maher, sobbed as she knelt down to pray over her son’s grave before he was laid to rest.
Mourners react in Khan Younis on Saturday.
Bassam Masoud/Reuters
The Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement on Friday condemning the airstrike that resulted in the death of Samer Abu Daqqa and the injury of Wael Dahdouh.
CNN cannot independently verify the allegations. CNN has contacted the Israeli military for comment but has not heard back.
Some context: As of Friday, 64 journalists have been killed, and 13 injured, while covering the Israel’s war with Hamas, making it the most dangerous period for the profession in 31 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Correction: This post has been updated to correct the location where Wael Dahdouh’s family were killed.
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Israeli military says it killed and captured Hamas fighters at schools in northern Gaza
From CNN's Tim Lister
The Israel Defense Forces raided two schools in northern Gaza where Hamas fighters were allegedly hiding, killing some and detaining others, the military said.
IDF forces raided the Alma’atsam in Allah and Alfarabi schools in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, according to a post on the social media platform X Saturday.
“The forces eliminated terrorists in battles that took place in the area. In addition, terrorists hiding inside schools surrendered and were arrested by the forces,” the IDF said.
Israel Army Radio reported that 25 Hamas fighters were killed and 50 surrendered during the operation. The IDF has not confirmed those figures to CNN.
Some context: Fierce fighting has been taking place across Gaza since the collapse of a brief truce between Israel and Hamas.
Israel aims to destroy the militant group following its surprise October 7 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead. The IDF has said it has struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 18,412 people had been killed in Gaza as of Tuesday. Of those killed, around 5,000 are Hamas fighters, according to an IDF spokesperson. CNN cannot independently verify those figures.
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IDF will conduct "tactical pause" for humanitarian purposes in Rafah neighborhood, Israel says
From CNN’s Richard Allen Greene and Lucas Lilieholm
The Israel Defense Forces will conduct a “tactical pause” for humanitarian purposes in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to a statement from the Israeli office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.
The pause will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET) and is meant to allow civilians to replenish stocks of basic items such as food and water, according to the statement.
It’s unclear how many people in the area are aware of the announcement. The internet monitoring agency Netblocks reported Friday that live metrics showed connectivity had collapsed in the Gaza Strip for over 24 hours.
Israel has been battling Hamas militants in southern Gaza after expanding its ground offensive following the collapse of a truce brokered last month.
Amid a dire humanitarian situation, a convoy of 106 trucks carrying aid, including five trucks carrying fuel, crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday, an Egyptian official confirmed to CNN.
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UN says 2023 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005, when its records began
From CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in a Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis on Friday.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, when the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began keeping records, according to a report from the organization.
The organization added that two-thirds of the Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank since October 7 had occurred during “search-and-arrest” and other operations carried out by Israeli forces.
Of the 278 Palestinians, including 70 children, killed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem since October 7, 268 have been killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and another two either by forces or settlers, according to the report.
OCHA also noted an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank following the October 7 Hamas attacks, with the weekly average of incidents since 7 October at 35, compared with 21 incidents per week between 1 January and 6 October 2023.
Increasing violence: A CNN team this week witnessed how settlers and the Israeli military are working together and creating a culture of fear amongst Palestinian families in the West Bank, despite calls from President Biden for Israel to sanction “settler extremists.”
As well as escalating tensions, security measures have also been stepped up in the West Bank since October 7, after which Israel began severely restricting the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents there.
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At least 14 dead in reported airstrike in northern Gaza, Hamas-controlled health ministry says
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Tim Lister
An airstrike killed at least 14 people in northern Gaza early Saturday, according to a senior official in the territory’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The strike hit the city of Jabalya in northern Gaza, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, general director of the Ministry of Health, told CNN. He was speaking from a medical field point in the area, where most hospitals are out of action.
“The houses have been hosting many displaced residents from the area. The airstrike happened at around 7 a.m. (midnight ET) and all the injuries and bodies arrived to our medical point in northern Jabalya. There are many more under the rubble, and residents and civil defense crews are working to try to pull out more people.”
Video of the Gaza skyline early Saturday showed several plumes of thick smoke rising from parts of northern Gaza.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on any targets struck in the Jabalya area Saturday morning.
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Palestinian boys and men detained without charge by Israeli military describe 5 days of alleged abuse
By CNN's Jeremy Diamond, Mohammad Al Sawalhi and Abeer Salman
Nimer Abu Ras’ wrists are bruised and lacerated. His hands are swollen.
He is one of hundreds of Palestinian men and boys who have been detained, many of them stripped and blindfolded, in recent weeks by Israeli forces conducting clearing operations in northern Gaza. Many of those detained have already been identified as civilians by relatives and employers after images of the mass detentions circulated on social media.
Abu Ras was among a group of six boys and four men interviewed by CNN at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, where they were being treated for injuries and dehydration after being detained for five days.
Like Abu Ras, many of them emerged from Israeli custody with swollen hands and bruised wrists from being handcuffed throughout that time. All of their hands were numbered with red marker by Israeli soldiers. They all told CNN they had been given little food or water during their detention and described instances of alleged abuse and humiliation.
“They would tie your hands behind your back and drag you like a dog – plastic handcuff scars on your arms. Depending on the mood of one of them, they would come kick you with their boots,” said 14-year-old Mahmoud Zendah, a recent wound marking the bridge of his nose.
A doctor at the hospital said all of the group had arrived “physically and psychologically exhausted.”
“There were signs of torture on their arms and signs of beating all over their bodies,” Dr. Khalil Al Daqran, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital spokesman said.
A spokesman for the IDF declined to address specific allegations of abuse or provide an explanation for the detention of the 10 boys and men interviewed by CNN, despite being provided with a list of their names and the neighborhood where they were detained.
The Israeli military said it was detaining and questioning individuals “suspected of terrorist activity” as part of its military operations in combat areas in northern Gaza and that “individuals who are found not to be taking part in terrorist activities are released.”
“The individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement in response to CNN.
“The IDF strives to treat any detainee with dignity. Any incident in which the guidelines were not followed will be looked into.”
Rights body calls on US to pressure Israel and Palestinian armed groups to protect civilians
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
America should use its seat on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution pressuring Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged in a statement on Friday.
“It [the US] says it has urged Israel to protect civilians, so it should support UN efforts to do the same,” the statement read.
HRW criticized what it called a “double standard” in Washington’s commitment to the laws of war and said that no permanent Security Council member should veto resolutions “aimed at stopping mass atrocities.”
On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, in a rebuke to the United States which voted “no” and blocked a similar resolution in the Security Council the previous week.
While a general assembly vote is politically significant and is seen as wielding moral weight, it is not binding, unlike a Security Council resolution.
Context: The UN resolution last week at the Security Council called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” as well as “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and “ensuring humanitarian access.” Thirteen countries were in favor of the resolution while the United States vetoed and the UK abstained.
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Gaza is worse than a graveyard for children, UNICEF spokesperson says
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
A mother hugs her 1-year-old son who was killed during Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Children in Gaza have been suffering from hellish conditions, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a statement on Friday, warning that the situation could get worse.
“At the start of this war, UNICEF said Gaza was a ‘graveyard for children and a living hell for everyone else.’ It has only gotten worse as the bombing and fighting have continued,” the statement read.
Elder, who just returned from a weeks-long mission in Gaza, warned of the severe repercussions of food, water and medicine shortages on children.
Elder told CNN’s Isa Soares Thursday that parents he’s been talking to in Gaza have realized hospitals are no longer an option for their children due to the continuous attacks that have made hospitals harder to reach.
“Most crises they impact children terribly because children are the most vulnerable, but most have about a casualty rate of children around 20%, this [Gaza conflict] is 40 [%],” he said. “This is twice as lethal to children as many conflicts we’ve seen in the last 15 or 20 years.”
CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.
Context: According to the latest statement on Friday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws its numbers from sources in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks have killed at least 18,700 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 70% of whom were children and women.
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Family of hostages accidentally killed by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli media
From CNN's Andrew Carey and Tamar Michaelis
Family members of the three hostages killed inside Gaza by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli TV and news websites since October, sharing their feelings and appealing for their relatives’ safe release.
The Shimriz family lived on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Alon Shimriz was captured on October 7. Many of the people living in the kibbutzim close to the Gaza perimeter had been advocates of co-existence with Palestinians, a sentiment Avi Shimriz had articulated.
Pressure has been growing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to do more to get the remaining hostages out of Gaza ever since the first agreement with Hamas – which saw more than 100 people released – collapsed at the start of the month.
As more and more testimonies of life in captivity have emerged, some family members — and Israeli society at large — have had the growing sense of time running out.
That sentiment has only grown in recent days. Even before news that three hostages had been accidentally killed by Israeli troops, Israeli officials had already announced this week the deaths of five other Israelis held inside Gaza, after their bodies were recovered by soldiers.
Many hostage family members have taken part in rallies to make sure the government gets the message, but Alon Shimriz’s brother, Yonatan, had expressed his skepticism on social media that the popular demonstrations were having an impact.
“Here in Israel, it’s like speaking to a wall. You can set up demonstrations, hold hands, light candles, make placards, but [the government] just wants to give you the impression it is out of their hands,” he wrote.
Yotam Haim was also taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7. His mother, Iris, had told Israel’s Channel 11 earlier this week that she had faith her son would return even without raising her voice at the government.
“Some people think that if they don’t shout, no one will bring their children back. I tell them: We can do it peacefully and through a respectful dialogue. The children will come back, I have no doubt.”
She had told Channel 11 she felt the government and the army were doing their best.
The third of the kidnapped men killed, Samer Talalka, was a member of Israel’s Bedouin community. His father, Fouad, was among those who visited the United States earlier in the month to raise awareness of his son’s plight.
Speaking to Israeli news website Ynet during his US trip, he described his frustrations and despair at knowing nothing.
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It's morning in Gaza. Here are headlines you should know
From CNN staff
The Israel Defense Forces said it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called their deaths an “unbearable tragedy” and US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the incident “heartbreaking.”
Israeli soldiers are being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Friday.
Several dozen people protested outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Here are other headlines you should know:
Al Jazeera death: Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa has died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the TV network said Friday. Three civil defense workers in Gaza whose rescue efforts were being covered by the Al Jazeera team were also killed Friday, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior. The airstrike also wounded Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN. The network accused Israel of “systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families.” CNN cannot independently verify the allegations.
Humanitarian crisis: Almost 1.9 million people — more than 85% of the enclave’s total population — have been displaced since Israel launched its war on Hamas, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Many live in makeshift shelters as temperatures drop and rain conditions are expected for the next few months. Others struggle to find drinking water and adequate food. And yet others are also battling the spread of disease. The biggest concern of the World Health Organization in Gaza is the “major degradation” of the local health system “at a time when the health needs are soaring,” regional emergency director Richard Brennan told CNN.
Humanitarian aid: For the first time since October 7, humanitarian aid will be allowed to cross directly into Gaza from Israel, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. Meanwhile, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during his meeting Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, according to the White House. A convoy of 106 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday, an Egyptian official confirmed to CNN. This included five trucks carrying fuel. Also, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, traveled to the West Bank Friday following visits to Gaza and Israel earlier in the month.
Developments on the ground: At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others were injured early Friday morning after artillery fire struck a school and a residential home in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. Elsewhere, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for attacks on two more cargo vessels sailing near the coast of Yemen en route to Israel on Friday. Also, the IDF says several rockets have been fired toward the Jerusalem area Friday evening local time. And, Israel’s military has repeatedly attacked the US-backed Lebanese army to the north over the past two months, prompting alarm in President Joe Biden’s administration and sharp rebukes from top US officials to Israeli leadership.
International input: The president of the European Commission reiterated the European Union’s support for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, saying “there can be no peace” unless that arrangement is on the table.
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Al Jazeera accuses Israel of “systematically targeting” its journalists and their families
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury and Nourhan Elkallawy
The stretcher carrying the body of Al Jazeera TV cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed while working in an airstrike, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
The Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement on Friday condemning the airstrike that resulted in the death of its camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa and the injury of its Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh in Khan Younis.
CNN cannot independently verify the allegations. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment but has not immediately heard back.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) data, Daqqa is the first Al Jazeera journalist to have been killed in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7.
Four other Al Jazeera journalists were injured, CPJ says, including three in southern Lebanon and Dahdouh, who had also lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an Israeli attack on Khan Younis late October.
Al Jazeera extended its condolences to Daqqa’s family in Gaza and Belgium in its statement, which called for accountability.
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Al Jazeera injured correspondent recounts how he survived airstrike that killed his colleague
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Kareem El Damanhoury
Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh recounted the moments when an airstrike hit Khan Younis on Friday, injuring him and resulting in the death of his co-worker cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa who died from his wounds.
The correspondent said the incident took place when they were heading back to an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Civil Defense after they were done filming in an area of Khan Younis that was hard to reach.
Dahdouh, who had earlier in the conflict lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in late October, said he pushed himself to walk and eventually managed to reach Civil Defense staff hundreds of meters away.
But he said they were not able to head to where Daqqa was to rescue him at the time.
Al Jazeera said on air that Daqqa was bleeding for five hours and no-one could reach to him due to the situation around him.
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Family of hostages accidentally killed by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli media
From CNN's Andrew Carey and Tamer Michaelis
Family members of the three hostages killed inside Gaza by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli TV and news websites since October, sharing their feelings and appealing for their relatives’ safe release.
The Shimriz family lived on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Alon Shimriz was captured on October 7. Many of the people living in the kibbutzim close to the Gaza perimeter had been advocates of co-existence with Palestinians, a sentiment Avi Shimriz had articulated.
Pressure has been growing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to do more to get the remaining hostages out of Gaza ever since the first agreement with Hamas – which saw more than 100 people released – collapsed at the start of the month.
As more and more testimonies of life in captivity have emerged, some family members — and Israeli society at large — have had the growing sense of time running out.
That sentiment has only grown in recent days. Even before news that three hostages had been accidentally killed by Israeli troops, Israeli officials had already announced this week the deaths of five other Israelis held inside Gaza, after their bodies were recovered by soldiers.
Many hostage family members have taken part in rallies to make sure the government gets the message, but Alon Shimriz’s brother, Yonatan, had expressed his skepticism on social media that the popular demonstrations were having an impact.
“Here in Israel, it’s like speaking to a wall. You can set up demonstrations, hold hands, light candles, make placards, but [the government] just wants to give you the impression it is out of their hands,” he wrote.
Yotam Haim was also taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7. His mother, Iris, had told Israel’s Channel 11 earlier this week that she had faith her son would return even without raising her voice at the government.
“Some people think that if they don’t shout, no one will bring their children back. I tell them: We can do it peacefully and through a respectful dialogue. The children will come back, I have no doubt.”
She had told Channel 11 she felt the government and the army were doing their best.
The third of the kidnapped men killed, Samer Talalka, was a member of Israel’s Bedouin community. His father, Fouad, was among those who visited the United States earlier in the month to raise awareness of his son’s plight.
Speaking to Israeli news website Ynet during his US trip, he described his frustrations and despair at knowing nothing.
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Al Jazeera's cameraman killed by airstrike in Gaza "a joyful person who loved life," his co-worker says
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Kareem El Damanhoury
Samer Abu Daqqa was a cameraman for Al Jazeera.
From Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera correspondent Hiba Akila paid tribute to her colleague Samer Abu Daqqa, a cameraman for the same network who died of wounds after an airstrike on a southern Gaza city on Friday.
Daqqa had been trapped in a Haifa school, where he was working on assignment, when it came under fire, the network said earlier Friday.
Akila said she’d been working closely with Daqqa on the ground in Gaza since the war began in October.
“Samer was working nonstop,” she said. “He was always the beautiful spirit that accompanies us and supplies us with laughter.”
According to Al Jazeera, Daqqa’s wife and four children are in Belgium. Akila said Daqqa remained positive that one day the family would be reunited in Gaza.
“When we were supporting and comforting Samer that soon he will meet his family, he would say, ‘I will not go to them, they will come here, and we will be together in Gaza,’” Akila said.
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it is alarmed by the drone strike that killed Daqqa and wounded his colleague, Wael Al-Dahdouh, and called on “international authorities to independently investigate the attack and hold those responsible to account.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg reiterated a call for the protection of journalists and emphasized the importance of their work in Gaza, which she called an “unprecedented” challenge.
What we know so far about Israel's efforts to flood Hamas tunnels in Gaza
From CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim
Seven weeks into Israel’s ground operation in Gaza, one of the key challenges facing the Israeli military is the labyrinth of Hamas tunnels that it says spans the entirety of the strip.
In an effort to destroy the underground network, Israel has begun flooding some of Gaza’s tunnels with seawater, a US official told CNN on Tuesday, adding that Israel’s military is “carefully testing out” the method “on a limited basis.”
If successful, flooding could be ramped up to degrade the tunnel network on a larger scale.
The method, however, is difficult and controversial. Even if implemented with sufficient amounts of water at high enough pressure, it may prove only partially successful. It also risks contaminating freshwater supplies and damaging whatever infrastructure remains on the surface.
For the Israeli government, it also risks killing hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, many of whom are believed to be underground.
Israel is unsure whether the method will work, the American official said, but they assured the US that they are being careful to only test it in tunnels where they do not believe hostages are being held.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.
A spokesperson for Hamas on Thursday said the group had built its tunnels to withstand possible attempts to pump water into them.
“The tunnels were built by well-trained and educated engineers who considered all possible attacks from the occupation, including pumping water,” Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said at a news conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
While the tunnels have been a tool for warfare, they have also acted as an economic lifeline for Gaza’s residents, transporting people, goods and sometimes even American fast food amid a 17-year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.
Several dozen people protest in Tel Aviv after news that IDF accidentally killed hostages in Gaza
From Tamar Michaelis
Several dozen people protest in Tel Aviv on Friday, December 15.
CNN
Several dozen people protested outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The protest was called by families of the hostages after news that three Israelis captives in Gaza were accidentally shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces in northern Gaza.
A major thoroughfare in the area was briefly blocked by the protesters, who were chanting “Everyone now.”
Some background: Leaked audio recordings of a meeting between freed Israeli hostages and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released earlier in December had revealed considerable anger at the government’s conduct, as well as the enduring terror of captivity by Hamas in Gaza.
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US national security adviser discussed increasing aid flow in meeting with Palestinian Authority president
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during his meeting Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, according to the White House.
The top security official also “stressed the importance of enhancing the protection of civilians” during his meeting, according to a readout provided by the White House.
Sullivan talked to Abbas about the Biden administration’s desire for a peaceful Middle East region and a “path to a two-state solution.”
Sullivan also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday. Netanyahu previously publicly rejected American plans for post-war Gaza.
In a news conference Friday morning in Tel Aviv, Sullivan said that Israel will move to a new “phase of this war,” focused on precisely targeting Hamas leadership.
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Red Cross president visits the West Bank to support aid groups on the ground
From CNN's Maija Ehlinger
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, traveled to the West Bank Friday following visits to Gaza and Israel earlier in the month.
She met with the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s President Dr. Younis Al-Khatib and his team, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter. The goal of the meeting was “to discuss efforts to assist communities suffering from the effects of conflict,” according to an ICRC press statement on Friday.
She also met with a committee for detainee affairs to “listen and share with them the ICRC’s persistent efforts to regain humanitarian access to places of detention.”
Her visit to the West Bank comes a day after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the relatives of missing hostages in Israel on Thursday.
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Israeli troops in Gaza told to "exercise additional caution" following hostage killings
From CNN's Michael Conte
Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Lt. Col Jonathan Conricus is interviewed by CNN on Friday, December 15.
CNN
Israeli soldiers are being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Friday, after the Israel Defense Forces said it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Conricus’ remarks come after IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said “lessons and relevant instructions concerning the identification of hostages in battle zones have been immediately communicated to all IDF forces across the whole Gaza Strip.”
Conricus claimed “almost all of the RPG crews” and others attacking IDF forces in Gaza “have been dressed in civilian clothes.”
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Israeli military accidentally shoots and kills 3 Israelis held hostage in Gaza
From Tamar Michaelis
The three hostages killed are identified as, from left to right, Yotam Haim, Alon Shimriz and Samer Talalka.
Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The Israel Defense Forces says that three Israeli hostages in Gaza were mistakenly identified as a threat and shot dead.
“During combat in Shejaiya (in northern Gaza), the IDF mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a briefing Friday.
The hostages have been identified as:
Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza
Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Am
Alon Shimriz, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza
The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately, Hagari said.
Responding to a reporter’s question, Hagari said IDF officials “assume that the three Israelis killed either escaped or were abandoned by the terrorists” during ongoing fighting in Shejaiya.
He said he was unable to answer immediately whether the three men had put their hands up or shouted to the soldiers in Hebrew.
“The IDF emphasizes that this is an active combat zone in which ongoing fighting over the last few days has occurred. Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field,” Hagari said.
“The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home,” he added.
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Al Jazeera cameraman killed by Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza, network says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Eve Brennan and Kareem Khadder in Jerusalem
The stretcher carrying the body of Al Jazeera TV cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed while working in an airstrike, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa has died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the TV network said Friday.
Daqqa had been trapped in a Haifa school, where he was working on assignment when it came under fire, the network said earlier Friday. Ambulances were unable to reach the wounded cameraman, according to journalists in Gaza, and the network said he had been stuck there bleeding for five hours.
Al Jazeera aired video showing friends and family of Daqqa, including his mother, crying over his body at the Al Nasser medical complex near Khan Younis.
His mother was seen being carried by two people saying, “He hasn’t seen his children, he hasn’t seen his children.”
According to Al Jazeera, he was born in 1978 and his wife and children — three boys and a girl — are in Belgium.
An investigative reporter for the outlet, Tamer Almisshal, described Abu Daqqa “as a great cameraman and editor, doesn’t fear anything, and professional.”
Daqqa had told him, “I won’t leave Gaza,” Almisshal said, adding that he had worked for more than 20 years for Al Jazeera.
At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded early Friday after artillery fire struck the Haifa school and a residential home in Khan Younis.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its military operations in the area.
Khan Younis has been heavily bombarded by the Israeli military since a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel broke down on December 1.
Workers killed: Three civil defense workers in Gaza whose rescue efforts were being covered by the Al Jazeera team were also killed Friday, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior.
“Three members of our crews were martyred as a result of being bombed by Israeli occupation aircraft during their humanitarian work while rescuing citizens in Farhana School in central Khan Yunis Governorate,” the ministry said on Telegram.
Fellow journalist wounded: The airstrike also wounded Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN. Al Jazeera broadcast video of Dahdouh receiving treatment at a hospital for wounds in his right arm and abdomen while he cried out in pain.
In October, an Israeli airstrike killed Dahdouh’s wife, son and grandson, the network said. He received the news while he was on air covering the Israel-Hamas war.
Dozens of journalists have been killed covering the Israel-Hamas war, making it the most dangerous period for the profession in 31 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
