Medical staff accused Israeli troops of desecrating bodies and shooting civilians at a Gaza hospital, which Israel claims was a Hamas command center. Israel’s military has acknowledged an operation at the health facility but did not directly address the claims of atrocities there.
Newly declassified US intelligence suggests Iran has been “deeply involved” in planning the recent spate of attacks by Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping lanes.
Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.
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Pentagon says chemical tanker struck by Iranian drone
From CNN's Ross Levitt, Phillip Wang , Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand
A chemical tanker operating in the Indian Ocean Saturday was struck by an Iranian attack drone, a US defense official says.
“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran,” the official said in a statement.
A one-way drone is designed to impact its target rather than return to its origin.
“No US Navy vessels were in the vicinity,” the official said, adding that Naval Forces Central Command is communicating with the struck vessel which is making its way toward India.
The Indian Coast Guard posted on social media that there are 21 crew members on board and that “the vessel has started making (its) way toward Mumbai.”
Context: The strike comes after a series of attacks on shipping interests in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels operating in Yemen, which have occurred since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
On Saturday, US Central Command reported more such incidents in a statement on social media. A crude oil tanker was hit by “a one-way attack drone” Saturday. There were no injuries, Central Command said. A separate chemical tanker operating in the southern Red Sea reported a “near miss” Saturday from a one-way drone, the command said.
Two “anti-ship ballistic missiles” were also fired into the southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen but did not hit any vessels, according to the statement.
It also said the USS Laboon, a Navy destroyer, shot down four aerial drones that were heading toward it.
While the incidents originating from Yemen have been regular, Saturday’s strike in the Indian Ocean may mark a new escalation in tensions.
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IDF says it's expanded its ground operation in Gaza's north and south. Here are more headlines to know
From CNN staff
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Saturday, as Israel’s military says it has expanded its ground operation against Hamas in the southern and northern Gaza Strip.
In the enclave, at least 18 people were killed in fresh Israeli strikes in central Gaza on Saturday, hospital officials said.
Catch up here:
Expanding ground operation: Israel’s troops have expanded their ground operation in the southern and northern Gaza Strip and engaged in fierce battles over the weekend, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a news conference Saturday. Hagari said ground forces have destroyed and seized weapons and underground infrastructure from Hamas. The director of affairs for the main United Nations agency in Gaza has criticized the IDF’s call for further evacuations in the enclave, saying tens of thousands of residents in central and southern Gaza — many of whom have already been displaced — have “nowhere to go.”
US and Israeli leaders discuss “phasing” of war: Biden and Netanyahu discussed “objectives and phasing” of the Israel-Hamas war during their call, according to the White House. Biden told reporters on Saturday that he had a long conversation with Netanyahu, and he did not press for a ceasefire. Netanyahu said he expressed his appreciation for the US position at the United Nations Security Council.
Israel claims to kill Hamas official: The Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, claim they killed Hamas official Hassan Atrash on Friday in southern Gaza. Atrash was in charge of trade, manufacturing and supply of weapons for Hamas, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the IDF.
Aid into Gaza: On the heels of a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses between Israel and Hamas and increased aid to Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said 93 aid trucks entered the besieged enclave on Saturday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday that measuring the success of the aid operation to Gaza through the number of trucks entering the enclave is a mistake because of the “massive obstacles” presented by Israel’s ground offensive to distributing the aid once it reaches Gaza.
Criticism of UN resolution: The Security Council’s call for pauses will be “nearly meaningless” to the lives of civilians in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement slamming the compromise resolution. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister criticized Guterres for calling for a ceasefire, saying in an interview with CNN Saturday that Guterres was “offering a lifeline to Hamas.”
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Music festival survivor returns to Israel to meet the man who saved her
Natalie Sanandaji speaks with CNN's Will Ripley.
CNN
Natalie Sanandaji collapsed under a tree on October 7, too exhausted to keep running 4 hours after fleeing Hamas militants at the Nova music festival.
A pickup truck approached her, and Sanandaji said she was ready to accept her fate.
But the man in the truck was from a nearby village, and he drove her to safety — making a total of 10 trips to the site to rescue over 100 others.
Sanandaji never got his name, but the native New Yorker tracked him down and returned to thank him.
Moshe Sati, a father of four, and Sanandaji had a long embrace when they finally met, and he fought back tears.
Watch the report from CNN’s Will Ripley:
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"Every day is more dangerous for them": Thousands rally in Tel Aviv calling for release of hostages
From Tamar Michaelis
People call for the immediate release of all hostages at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 23.
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty Images
Thousands of people gathered at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, organized by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Orin Gantz, the mother of Eden Zecharya, whose body was recovered in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces, said:
Former Israeli Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Eli Marom also addressed the crowd, urging the immediate release of all hostages.
There are 129 hostages still in Gaza, according to the prime minister’s office. Of those, 22 are known to be dead, and their bodies remain in Gaza along with the 107 living hostages.
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Israel says it has expanded ground operation across northern and southern areas of Gaza Strip
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv and Hande Atay Alam
Israeli army vehicles and soldiers are seen near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on December 23.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israel’s troops have expanded their ground operation in the southern and northern Gaza Strip and engaged in fierce battles over the weekend, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a news conference Saturday.
Hagari said ground forces have destroyed and seized weapons and underground infrastructure from Hamas, including thousands of explosive devices, anti-tank missiles and rockets.
The IDF is basing its operations in part on information gained by detaining and interrogating many Hamas “terrorists,” Hagari said.
He said returning the remaining hostages held in Gaza remains a key objective of the ground offensive.
“We are doing everything we can with great determination to bring back the hostages,” Hagari told reporters.
The director of affairs for the main United Nations agency in Gaza has criticized the IDF’s call, saying tens of thousands of residents in central and southern Gaza — many of whom have already been displaced — have “nowhere to go.”
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Biden and Netanyahu discussed "objectives and phasing" of war in call, White House says
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
US President Joe Biden, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Getty Images
US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Saturday to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, according to the White House.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed “objectives and phasing” of the Israel-Hamas war during their call, according to a White House readout.
The two world leaders also discussed the hostages that remain in Hamas captivity and the “importance” of securing their release.
Biden told reporters that he did not push for a ceasefire during the phone call.
“I did not ask for a ceasefire,” Biden said while leaving the White House Saturday afternoon. “I had a long talk with Netanyahu today, and it’s a private conversation.”
Biden, who was walking toward Marine One for a flight to Camp David, did not provide more details.
Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the US position at the United Nations Security Council, according to a statement from the Israeli leader on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This was the 17th conversation between the two leaders since October 7.
Some background: The United Nations Security Council on Friday approved a resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses between Israel and Hamas, increased aid to Gaza and the creation of conditions that will allow for a sustainable end to fighting, ending days of closed-door negotiations.
The US abstained from the vote. US Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced late Thursday that the US would support the measure after previously voting four times to delay a vote on the resolution.
Diplomats had been working behind closed doors to finalize the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates. A US official familiar with the discussions said the draft had started with calling for an “urgent cessation” of hostilities. Neither the United States nor Israel currently supports a ceasefire, so the US countered with “a more passive formulation,” the official said, describing the language that ended up in the resolution.
The US has vetoed previous measures at the UN Security Council and voted against a call for a ceasefire in the larger UN General Assembly.
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93 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday, Palestine Red Crescent Society says
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Sahar Akbarzai
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said 93 aid trucks have entered Gaza on Saturday.
The Egyptian Red Crescent Society sent 70 aid trucks into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, according to a statement from PCRS. The trucks were filled with water, food, relief supplies and medical supplies, according to PRCS.
An additional 23 commercial trucks also entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, PRCS said.
Before the war began on October 7, an average of 500 trucks used to enter Gaza every working day – those included commercial trucks along with aid trucks.
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Israel claims it has killed a Hamas official involved in smuggling weapons
From Tamar Michaelis
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, claim they killed Hamas official Hassan Atrash on Friday in southern Gaza.
Atrash was in charge of trade, manufacturing and supply of weapons for Hamas, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the IDF.
“He was involved in smuggling weapons from various countries into the Gaza Strip, and recently also took part in smuggling weapons into the West Bank,” the military said.
Atrash was killed by a strike from a fighter jet near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, according to the post.
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Cyprus investigates reports of local company with link to Hamas financing
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Chris Liakos
Officials in Cyprus are investigating reports that a Sudanese citizen with a stake in a Cypriot-based company has ties to financing Hamas, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Friday.
“We are in contact about this, we are aware of the reports and we are investigating,” Letymbiotis told reporters at a news conference, responding to a question on the report.
CNN reported on Thursday that Hamas-linked financier Abdelbasit Hamza maintains a network of business interests in Europe despite being under US sanctions. One of those businesses is in Cyprus.
More context: Cyprus emerged as an overseas arena for struggles between Israel, Hamas and Iran since the current Israel-Hamas conflict broke out. Earlier this month, on December 12, the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that the Cyprus security service, with the help of Mossad, disrupted an Iranian plot to attack Jewish targets on the island.
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95-year-old mom of last US woman believed to be held hostage by Hamas says wait has "been unbearable"
From CNN's Arlette Saenz and MJ Lee
Gad Haggai, left, and Judi Haggai.
Provided by Haggai Family
The family of Judi Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai spent the past 11 weeks praying and pleading for the return of their loved ones, two American citizens believed to be held hostage by Hamas.
On Friday, the news broke that Gad, a 73-year-old Israeli American, died while in Hamas captivity. His wife Judi is still believed to be among the hostages, and her family is clinging to the idea she will one day be freed.
Judi – a 70-year-old with Israeli, American and Canadian citizenship – is the last remaining American woman believed to be among the hostages held in Gaza. Six other Americans, all men, also remain in captivity.
It was initially believed Judi could be part of the hostage deal for Hamas to free at least 50 women and children that was struck last month. While two Americans were released under the agreement, Judi was not. Israel proposed a one-week pause in the war for the return of 35 hostage, but Hamas is refusing any discussions about prisoner swaps until Israel ends its military operation, CNN reported Friday.
While US officials believe there is a pathway to get more hostages released, it appears Judi’s family can only wait.
“Our hearts are breaking. To think of anyone harming my sister and her husband who are such peaceful, loving, giving people is just unconscionable,” said Weinstein, who lives in New Haven, Connecticut. “It’s really very difficult to imagine what’s been going on and how they’ve been harmed.”
New calls to evacuate and a UN resolution under fire: What to know about the war in Gaza today
From CNN staff
Residents and civil defense teams conduct search and rescue operation around the rubble of the building following an Israeli attack on house belonging to Khalifa family at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on December 23.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
Thomas White, the director of affairs in Gaza for the main United Nations agency in the enclave, has criticized a call from Israel’s military to evacuate new parts of central Gaza, which he says will impact more than 150,000 people — many already displaced.
“The Israeli Army just orders people to move into areas where there are ongoing airstrikes. No place is safe, nowhere to go,” White wrote on the social media platform X.
Fresh Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people near the new evacuation areas in central Gaza on Saturday, according to hospital officials.
At least 20,258 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, with another 53,688 people wounded, according to a statement from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza on Saturday. The ministry also said 201 people had died and 368 people were wounded in the past 24 hours.
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
Here are other key updates for Saturday:
Compromise resolution passes: After days of negotiations, the United Nations Security Council on Friday finally approved a resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses and increased aid into Gaza. In watered-down language, it stopped short of calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. While choosing not to use their veto power, the United States and Russia abstained from the vote, which passed 13-0.
“Nearly meaningless”: The Security Council’s call will be “nearly meaningless” to the lives of civilians in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement slamming the compromise resolution. The resolution “falls painfully short of what is required to address the crisis in Gaza: an immediate and sustained ceasefire,” the organization’s US executive director said in a statement.
“Lifeline” for Hamas: Meanwhile, a senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres for calling for a ceasefire, saying in an interview with CNN Saturday that Guterres was “offering a lifeline to Hamas.” He also thanked the United States for its “diplomatic support at the United Nations,” after it blocked attempts to pass versions of the resolution that included the ceasefire language.
IDF accused of atrocities: Israeli soldiers raiding a hospital in northern Gaza desecrated the bodies of dead patients with bulldozers, let a military dog maul a man in a wheelchair, and shot multiple doctors even after vetting them for terror links, according to allegations by staff and patients. The IDF did not address the allegations directly when approached for comment by CNN, but acknowledged that it had carried out an operation at the hospital.
Red Sea attacks: Newly declassified US intelligence suggests that Iran has been “deeply involved” in planning strikes on ships in the Red Sea. Houthi rebels have launched over 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships over the past four weeks.
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UN Secretary-General’s calls for ceasefire "offering a lifeline to Hamas," Israeli senior adviser says
From CNN's Lucas Lilieholm
The UN Security Council adopts a resolution calling for speeding up aid deliveries to civilians in Gaza, at the UN headquarters in New York on December 22.
Kyodo/Reuters
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is “offering a lifeline to Hamas” by calling for a humanitarian ceasefire, Mark Regev, a senior adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for urgent steps to allow “safe” and “unhindered” humanitarian access throughout Gaza on Friday but stopping short of calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
“We thank the United States for its diplomatic support at the United Nations, for preventing that sort of resolution from passing the Security Council,” Regev said.
The US abstained on Friday’s resolution after vetoing previous efforts on the Israel-Hamas war at the UN Security Council.
When asked about a claim by the senior Israeli defense ministry official with responsibilities for Gaza, Moshe Tetro, that “there is no food shortage in Gaza,” Regev said there were trucks of food that Israel had authorized during the past few days. He added that the trucks were still waiting at the crossing to enter, and “not because of Israel.”
“One has to ask the following question, which is, ‘Is it possible that Hamas knows that its only chance to survive is by sacrificing the people of Gaza and by saying we will not allow humanitarian aid to be distributed?’” Regev said.
He also defended Israel’s calls for people to move from certain areas of Gaza, saying that “all the troubles in relocating is nothing compared to the possibility of getting killed by being caught up in the crossfire.
Regev said the Israeli Defense Forces’ earlier calls for people to move South out of the North was “common sense” and “the right thing to do” given the circumstances.
“Now that fighting has started in the South, we’ve had to be more specific, and we’ve asked people to go to specific areas where we don’t intend to see serious, intensive fighting,” Regev said.
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At least 18 killed in Israeli strikes in central Gaza, hospital officials say
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Duarte Mendonca
At least 18 people have been killed in fresh Israeli strikes in central Gaza on Saturday, hospital officials said.
The bodies were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, according to a spokesperson for the facility, Dr. Khalil Al Daqran.
Daqran told CNN that the victims had been killed by Israeli shelling in the areas of Deir al-Balah and Al Nusairat refugee camp.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that Israeli warplanes had bombed a house on Al-Eshrin street, east of the camp, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens of others.
Key context: A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces has urged residents of central Gaza — including Al-Bureij camp and the areas south of Wadi Gaza, which are near Al Nusairat — to move further south, warning in a statement Friday that the IDF was working “forcefully” against Hamas.
The head of the main United Nations agency working in Gaza has criticized the move, saying that for more than 150,000 people in the affected areas, ‘No place is safe, nowhere to go.’”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel’s goals in northern Gaza are being “gradually” completed and that the focus of military operations will shift south in the future.
CNN has reached out to IDF for further information on Saturday’s strikes.
Approximately 20,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health says.
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Top official at UN agency says "no place is safe" in Gaza as Israel calls for new areas to evacuate
From CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm
Thomas White speaks to press as he visits a UNRWA school in Gaza City, on August 27.
Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Thomas White, the director of affairs in Gaza for the main United Nations agency in the enclave, criticized a call from Israel’s military to evacuate new parts of central Gaza, which he says will impact more than 150,000 people — many already displaced.
Some background: A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces has urged residents of central Gaza — including Al-Bureij camp and the areas south of Wadi Gaza, which are near Al Nusairat — to move further south, warning in a statement Friday that the IDF was working “forcefully” against Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel’s goals in northern Gaza are being “gradually” completed and that the focus of military operations will shift south in the future — a warning repeated by Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Friday.
Since renewing its offensive in Gaza after the collapse of a brief truce, Israel has been urging residents to evacuate. Given ongoing communications difficulties in the enclave, it is unclear how widely the messages have been received.
A CNN analysis published Friday found that Israel has struck at least three locations in Gaza where it had ordered civilians to evacuate to since the beginning of the war in October.
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Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships in the Red Sea?
From CNN's Christian Edwards
This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023, in the Red Sea, Yemen.
Houthi Movement/Getty Images
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
Now, newly declassified United States intelligence suggests that Iran has been “deeply involved” in the operations, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told CNN.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched over 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships transiting the Red Sea over the past four weeks, CNN previously reported.
The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.
The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.
Doctors accuse Israeli troops of atrocities at hospital Israel says was Hamas "command center"
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Kareem Khadder
Israeli soldiers raiding a hospital in northern Gaza desecrated the bodies of dead patients with bulldozers, let a military dog maul a man in a wheelchair, and shot multiple doctors even after vetting them for terror links, according to allegations by staff and patients.
The claims relate to an eight-day operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the Kamal Adwan Hospital last week, which the military alleges was being used as a command and control center by Hamas.
CNN spoke to two senior medical staff, another doctor and a patient at the hospital, who provided corroborating testimonies of what happened. CNN also reviewed video evidence for some of the claims.
They paint a disturbing picture of how the IDF carried out the operation, as doctors were interrogated for their connections to Hamas and staff struggled to treat patients trapped inside.
"Nearly meaningless": Aid agencies criticize UN Security Council resolution on Israel-Hamas war
From CNN’s Mariya Knight in Atlanta
People wait inside a vehicle belonging to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) outside the gate of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in southern Gaza on November 1, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
A resolution approved by the UN Security Council will be “nearly meaningless” to the lives of civilians in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.
Friday’s resolution calls for humanitarian pauses between Israel and Hamas, increased aid to Gaza and the creation of conditions that will allow for a sustainable end to fighting, ending days of closed-door negotiations.
The US and Russia abstained from the vote, deciding against using their veto powers.
But Doctors Without Borders joined other aid agencies in criticizing the resolution as ineffective.
Benoit said that the way Israel is conducting war is “causing massive death and suffering among Palestinian civilians and is inconsistent with international norms and laws.
According to Benoit, “ensuring the rapid flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and safe, unhindered delivery of assistance within Gaza” is something that should have been established from the start of the crisis and shouldn’t have taken such a long time.
Benoit called on the UNSC and the US government to “focus their attention on establishing a ceasefire and ensure that international humanitarian law does not become a mere afterthought in this conflict.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Friday responded to the resolution on Gaza by welcoming the calls for immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza. However, it also noted in a statement that “from a humanitarian point of view, the failure of the UNSC to demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire is unjustifiable.”
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UN Secretary General pays tribute to 136 colleagues killed in Gaza
From CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi and Michael Rios
United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres paid tribute Saturday to 136 UN workers killed in Gaza over the past 75 days, calling it “something we have never seen in UN history.”
In a statement on X, formally Twitter, Guterres said that most UN workers in Gaza had been “forced from their homes.”
The Secretary General’s statement came a day after United Nations Development Program (UNDP) administrator Achim Steiner announced in a statement the death of agency worker Issam Al Mughrabi along with his wife and five children. They were caught up in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city on Friday.
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It's morning in Gaza. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
The United Nations Security Council has approved a resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses between Israel and Hamas, increased humanitarian aid to Gaza and the creation of conditions that will allow for a sustainable end to the fighting.
The vote ended days of closed-door negotiations.
The United States and Russia abstained, deciding against using their vetoes as permanent members of the body that would have shot down the resolution.
Throughout what a senior US diplomat called “marathon negotiations,” the US was eager to not vote against the resolution after it suffered global blowback for vetoing the last Security Council motion, which called for an immediate ceasefire.
Instead, Friday’s resolution called for “urgent steps” to lay the groundwork “for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Its passage comes as the Biden administration has grown more vocal in expressing concerns over the brutality of the war in Gaza.
Here’s what else you should know about the resolution:
Israel dismisses the decision: Israel called the resolution “unnecessary” and claimed it “proves the inability for the UN to play a positive role in the conflict,” though it thanked the US for its efforts to “address the most problematic elements.” Israel’s ambassador to the UN said the global body was too focused on aid to Gaza, instead of the crisis of hostages captured by Hamas.
Hamas also largely rejects the move: Hamas said the resolution was “an insufficient step,” given that it did not include an international resolution to stop the war. Hamas also slammed the US, saying it “worked hard to empty this resolution of its essence, and to issue it in this weak formula.”
Humanitarian organization says more help is needed: The International Rescue Committee welcomed calls for immediate humanitarian access but criticized the resolution for not including a call for a ceasefire. “With more than 20,000 Palestinians killed and latest food insecurity numbers showing unprecedented threat of starvation in Gaza, much more is clearly needed,” the IRC said in a statement.
And here are some of the other key developments in the war today:
Israel prepares to expand offensive: The Israel Defense Forces is preparing “to expand the operation into new areas” in the Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on southern Gaza, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Friday in a media briefing. His remarks follow comments from the Israeli defense minister that highlighted operations in southern Gaza and vowed to expand to other parts of Gaza “in the future.” And the IDF also ordered residents in several areas of central Gaza to move to shelters for safety, signaling a new focus of the ground offensive and a potentially widening military operation in the enclave.
Deepening hunger crisis: Children in the Gaza Strip under the age of 5 — about 335,000 kids — are all at high risk of severe malnutrition and preventable death, according to a UNICEF statement Friday. That follows a warning from a UN-backed food security agency Thursday that the risk of famine is increasing every day that hostilities persist or worsen.
Aid enters Gaza under challenging conditions: The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received 70 humanitarian aid trucks on Friday through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. But the head of the UN said Israel’s military activity in Gaza is creating “massive obstacles” for aid distribution in the enclave. UN Secretary-General António Guterres says measuring the success of aid operations by the number of trucks entering Gaza is a mistake because distributing the goods amid “intense Israeli bombardment” and ground operations is highly dangerous.
Important stories from enclave: Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour referenced CNN’s recent visit to a field hospital in Rafah where Clarissa Ward met an 8-year-old girl named Jinan who survived a strike on her family home that crushed her femur. In his remarks to the UN Security Council, Mansour said the “important report” highlights the “unbearable tragedy” of children killed and wounded by Israel’s assault.
Hostage dies in Gaza: Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old Israeli-American dual national who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, has died while being held captive in Gaza, the Missing Persons Families Forum said in a statement. His body is still being held in Gaza, according to the organization.
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Israeli military says it demolished a tunnel network in southern Gaza City
From CNN's Abel Alvarado
The Israel Defense Forces has demolished a tunnel network in the Issa area of southern Gaza City, it claimed in a statement Friday.
The network served as an “underground post,” the IDF said, and “numerous buildings used as Hamas headquarters were destroyed” as part of its operations in recent days.
The statement claimed that “many Hamas terrorists were eliminated, along with many buildings used for terrorist activities and weapons that were destroyed.”
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the tunnel network was targeted using “13 tons of explosives, which simultaneously detonated 30 tunnel shafts in a secured manner.”
The network, according to the IDF, was also “used for storage, hideouts, command and control, and movement of operatives between different areas.”
The IDF said video footage captured by a canine unit revealed that the tunnel network was “hundreds of meters long.”
Some background: Colloquially referred to as the “Gaza metro,” a vast labyrinth of tunnels beneath Gaza is used to transport people and goods, to store rockets and ammunition caches, and house Hamas command and control centers — all away from the prying eyes of the IDF’s aircraft and surveillance drones.
During its offensive in the territory, the IDF claims it has exposed “hundreds of terror tunnel shafts throughout the Gaza Strip,” and says it is operating “to locate and destroy dozens of attack tunnel routes.”
CNN’s Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting to this post.
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Biden says he is heartbroken by death of Israeli-American hostage in Gaza
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
Gadi Haggai, right, and Judi Haggai.
The Hostages and Missing Persons
US President Joe Biden says he is heartbroken by reports of the death of Israeli-American Gadi Haggai, who is said to have been killed by Hamas on October 7. The 73-year-old’s death was confirmed in a statement from the Missing Persons Families Forum on Friday.
Biden added that he is also praying for the Haggai family and reaffirmed that his administration will keep working to release other hostages in Gaza.
The Haggai family told CNN today that they are “filled with great sorrow” after learning of the death of Gadi Haggai. The family added that they hope his body will be returned.
“We mourn the loss of our father and grandfather, and we continue to hope and pray that his body will be returned to us and that Judi is still alive and we will be reunited soon,” the family said in a statement. Judi is Gadi Haggai’s wife.
Their daughter Iris Haggai Liniado, told CNN previously that her parents were on their morning walk about a mile and a half from their home in the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7 when they heard rockets flying overhead. She said her parents “hit the dirt” and tried to call for help and that was the last Iris heard from them.
US pleased with UN resolution's approval after "marathon negotiation," US diplomat says
From CNN's Alex Marquardt
The Biden administration has praised the passage of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza, saying it was the result of a “marathon negotiation,” a senior US diplomat said.
The resolution included compromise language “deploring” acts of terrorism. It also stopped short of calling for a ceasefire which was included in a resolution earlier this month in the Security Council that the United States vetoed. Israel has repeatedly rejected international pleas for a ceasefire, saying it needs to remove Hamas from power and recover the hostages, and the US has supported its position at the UN.
Instead, Friday’s resolution “calls for urgent steps” that would “create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Another significant sticking point was Egypt and the United Arab Emirates pushing for a new UN mechanism to monitor the aid going into Gaza. The US believed it would be too cumbersome and slow down an already strained process. Instead, the resolution creates a position for a senior UN coordinator for aid.
The resolution also called for all the hostages held in Gaza to be released immediately. That, in addition to the softer language on the cessation of the fighting and the compromise on the aid monitoring mechanism, got the US to a place where it could support the resolution and see it passed, while still not voting “yes.”
“We’re never looking to use our veto and, in fact, we have very strict principles on use of the veto. that should be very rare, very unusual circumstances,” the senior US diplomat said.
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US intelligence suggests Iran is involved in planning attacks in Red Sea
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand
Newly declassified United States intelligence suggests that Iran has been “deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told CNN.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched over 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships transiting the Red Sea over the past four weeks, CNN previously reported.
The newly declassified intelligence suggests that “Iranian support throughout the Gaza crisis has enabled the Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis,” Watson said.
On Tuesday, a senior US military official said that the Iranians are operating in the Red Sea when asked whether Iran is helping the Houthis select targets, CNN reported. But that official said the Houthi attacks have been broadly indiscriminate.
“Iran has the choice to provide or withhold this support, without which the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels navigating shipping lanes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Watson said.
The Houthis have said they will only relent when Israel allows the entry of food and medicine into Gaza. Its strikes could be intended to inflict economic pain on Israel’s allies in the hope they will pressure it to cease its bombardment of the enclave.
The intelligence also suggests that the Iranians have provided monitoring systems to the Houthis that allow them to operate in the maritime space, Watson said.
The US this week launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a maritime coalition aimed at beefing up security in the southern Red Sea. More than 20 nations have signed on to the initiative so far, the Pentagon said Thursday.
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All children under age 5 in Gaza at high risk of preventable death due to food insecurity, UNICEF says
From CNN's Hande Atay Alam and Kareem Khadder
Palestinian children hold pots as they queue to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid shortages in food supplies, in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 14, 2023.
Saleh Salem/Reuters
Children in the Gaza Strip under the age of 5 — about 335,000 kids — are at high risk of severe malnutrition and preventable death, as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase, according to a UNICEF statement on Friday.
The UNICEF statement comes after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported Thursday that approximately all of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents are now facing acute hunger. The entire population of the Gaza Strip is classified in a state of crisis, according to IPC.
That’s the highest share of people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country, the report stated.
“Many adults go hungry so children can eat,” according to IPC, calling for humanitarian access to be restored throughout the region to enable the rapid delivery of life-saving aid.
UNICEF also said it is particularly concerned about the nutrition of more than 155,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as more than 135,000 children under the age of 2, given their specific nutrition needs.
CNN’s Eyad Kourdi and CNN’s Michael Rios contributed reporting to this post.
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Hamas calls UN resolution on Gaza an "insufficient step" to address catastrophic situation
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Lauren Kent
Hamas said the United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza is “an insufficient step,” given that it did not include an international resolution to stop the war.
In a statement released on its official website, Hamas said the UN resolution “does not meet the requirements of the catastrophic situation” created by Israel, “especially since it did not include an international resolution to stop the genocidal war waged by the terrorist occupation entity against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas has repeatedly called for Israel to end its military operation in Gaza.
Hamas also slammed the position of the United States, which abstained from the UNSC vote.
“During the past five days, the American administration has worked hard to empty this resolution of its essence, and to issue it in this weak formula,” the statement said.
Friday’s adopted UNSC resolution comes after reports from the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry, indicating that over 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since October 7.
Simultaneously, a new report from the World Food Programme and other UN agencies reveals that more than one in four households in Gaza currently face extreme hunger. The report warns of an impending famine if the conflict persists.
CNN’s Maija Ehlinger, Michael Bodenhurst and journalist Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.
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Israeli military says it plans to expand into new areas of Gaza — with an emphasis on the south
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv
Rescuers and civilians look for survivors amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli bombardment in Rafah, southern Gaza, on December 14, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces is preparing “to expand the operation into new areas” in the Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on southern Gaza, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Friday in a media briefing.
Other signs of expansion Friday: Earlier today, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pointed toward Israeli military operations in Khan Younis and other parts of southern Gaza, outlining the military’s plans to operate in other places in Gaza “in the future.”
The IDF also ordered the residents of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in Deir al-Balah and several other areas in central Gaza to move to shelters for safety, signaling a new focus of the ground offensive and a potentially widening military operation in the enclave.
On targeting top Hamas officials: The Israeli defense minister also reiterated Israel’s promise to eliminate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in his remarks Friday.
In response to a question about targeted killings of Hamas senior officials, the spokesperson Hagari said, “Our job is to kill all of them. This takes intelligence.”
Hagari said the IDF is working with Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, adding that “they have teams working on this all the time. Once there’s an opportunity, we perform.”
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UN Security Council resolution is a "step in the right direction," Palestinian envoy says
From CNN's Maija Ehlinger
The United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza adopted Friday is a “step in the right direction” for Palestinians, according to the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour.
“We welcome the decision to establish a UN mechanism to accelerate the provisions of humanitarian relief,” he said.
The ambassador, however, said Friday’s resolution and another one previously passed by the council were not as ambitious as “more advanced” resolutions that have been adopted by the larger UN General Assembly.
Mansour told reporters this is “simply because there are those who have a veto power and they can do with it whatever they want,” referring to the United States, which has previously blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council, while the larger General Assembly has adopted such calls.
The Security Council resolution passed Friday did not demand an immediate ceasefire. Instead, it called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.”
Mansour said the Palestinian mission to the UN would continue to pursue a ceasefire in the ravaged enclave.
This post has been updated with further comments from the Palestinian ambassador to the UN.
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Israel calls UN resolution "unnecessary" and thanks US for its efforts
From CNN's Alex Marquardt
Israel is “grateful” to the United States for its efforts to “address the most problematic elements” in the United Nations Security Council resolution that was adopted Friday, an Israeli official told CNN.
“They really worked hard, and we really appreciate their efforts,” the official added.
The resolution that was passed calls for the “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.”
The US abstained from voting, allowing it to pass. Russia also abstained.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said the organization was too focused on aid to Gaza, instead of giving their attention to the crisis of hostages captured by Hamas.
“The UN’s focus only on the aid mechanisms for Gaza is unnecessary and disconnected from reality — Israel, in any case, allows the entry of aid on any necessary scale. The UN should have focused on the humanitarian crisis of the hostages held in Gaza,” Erdan said in a social media post following the adoption of the resolution.
The ambassador also called it “a disgrace” that “the Security Council as a body has not yet condemned the October 7 massacre” and blamed the UN policies for “allowing Hamas to dig terror tunnels and manufacture missiles and rockets.”
“It is clear that the UN cannot be trusted to monitor the incoming aid to the Gaza Strip,” he claimed.
Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen also reiterated that Israel will “continue the war until the release of all the hostages and the eradication of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
“Israel will continue operating according to international law and will inspect — due to security concerns — all the humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The UNSC resolution is right calling to ensure that the UN becomes more efficient in transferring humanitarian aid, and make sure it’s reaching its destination and not Hamas,” the foreign affairs minister said.
More context: It comes as Israel’s relations with the UN have sunk to a historic low. Israel has long felt the UN is biased against it. Multiple Israeli officials have publicly called for the resignation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has repeatedly condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack, including in the letter in which he invoked Article 99 to raise the Security Council’s attention to the situation in Gaza.
This post has been updated with comments from Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
Tamar Michaelis and CNN’s Mariya Knight contributed reporting to this post.
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UN Security Council passed a Gaza resolution Friday after days of negotiations
From CNN's Maija Ehlinger and Michael Bodenhorst
Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to Gaza via land, sea and air routes, and set up UN monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered, during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on December 22, 2023.
David Dee Delgado/Reuters
The United Nations passed a resolution Friday calling for the “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.”
The vote passed 13-0. It comes after being delayed over the last several days as the council reworked the language of the text.
Following the vote, US Amb. to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the council’s decision a “strong humanitarian resolution,” adding that the vote made it clear that “all parties must respect international humanitarian law.”
The representative from the Russian Federation, Vasily Nebenzy, had put an amendment before the Security Council just prior to the vote that focused on “immediate cessation of hostilities,” saying that the new language was “neutered” by the United States and that with “each new drafting, the text lost more and more important provisions.”
“By signing off on this, the council would essential be giving Israeli armed forces complete freedom of movement for further clearing of the Gaza Strip,” he added when speaking about the need for an amendment.
