June 12, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza has moved here.

Palestinians inspect destroyed tents after an Israeli air strike in the Al-Mawasi area in Rafah, Gaza, on May 27.

Israel’s military denied striking a designated “safe zone” in Gaza on Thursday after the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said a region filled with refugees was hit by “land, sea and air strikes.”

Al-Mawasi, a coastal region west of Rafah previously designated by Israel as a safe zone for Palestinians was bombarded early on Thursday, including by navy boats firing heavy machine guns, WAFA said.

WAFA’s report did not give any details about whether there were any casualties.

The Israeli military denied carrying out any strikes on the safe zone or surrounding areas. “Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” the Israel Defense Forces told CNN.

The latest report of a strike come as a ceasefire plan for the devastating eight-month war between Israel and Hamas stutters, with neither side yet publicly committing to the deal despite intense lobbying from American officials, including US President Joe Biden.

Hamas said in a statement Wednesday it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

This post has been updated.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a news conference in Doha on Wednesday, June 12.

A US-backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal appears to be in limbo, with neither side yet publicly committing to the plan.

Hamas said in a statement it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” in order to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

The statement comes after Blinken questioned whether Hamas is “proceeding in good faith” amid the ceasefire negotiations, saying Hamas had proposed a number of changes in their response to the latest deal, which “go beyond positions they had previously taken.”

Here are other headlines you should know:

Hostage developments:

Developments on the ground:

War crimes committed in Gaza:

A Houthi surface sea drone struck a Greek-owned and operated merchant ship in the Red Sea Tuesday, causing flooding and damage, US Central Command said. 

Also, in the last 24 hours, US forces destroyed three Houthi anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Yemen and one Houthi drone launched from Yemen into the Red Sea, CENTCOM said.

In a new statement, Hamas said it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” in order to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

Hamas said those demands include a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, the “return of the displaced, reconstruction, and the conclusion of a serious deal for the exchange of prisoners.”

Hamas said while it has “expressed its positive position” to what was included in US President Joe Biden’s speech on May 31, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has “continued to confirm their commitment to the genocide war, attacking the proposal put forth by President Biden” that is in contradiction to the claim that Israel has agreed to what was in the Biden speech.

Hamas said while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “continues to talk about Israel’s agreement to the latest proposal, we have not heard any Israeli official speak about this agreement.”

Hamas called on Blinken and the Biden administration to put pressure on the Israeli government that Hamas said “is determined to complete its mission,” and which Hamas says is “in flagrant violation of all international laws and treaties.”

In the statement, Hamas also said it rejects statements by Blinken that attempt to absolve Israel “of its crimes against innocent children, women, and elderly.” Hamas said this is in line with American policy that is complicit in the brutal war “against our Palestinian people, allowing the occupation to continue its crimes under full American political and military cover.”

Earlier Wednesday, Blinken questioned whether Hamas is “proceeding in good faith” amid the ceasefire negotiations, saying Hamas had proposed a number of changes in their response to the latest deal, which “go beyond positions they had previously taken.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah has received information from the Israeli authorities that fighting will continue in western Rafah, the ICRC said on Wednesday.

“The ICRC does not have precise information about the operation. It has not been issued an evacuation order, and its operations – including at the field hospital – will continue,” the ICRC spokesperson in Jerusalem, Sarah Davies, told CNN on Wednesday.

“The ICRC is choosing to implement additional internal security and safety measures,” Davies said, adding that ICRC will not leave its current location in the Shams safe house and is adding extra security measures. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

CNN video shows many Palestinians packing up their belongings from the Al-Alam area in West Rafah after a warning spread of a pending military operation. Footage shows people taking down the tents and shelters they have set up from previous displacements.

Another Gazan resident, Layla Aiwada, decided to leave her house with her children after she said she heard there would be a military operation. “We have been here for two weeks, and before that, we were at Bader Camp in Rafah.”

People take part in a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 10, demanding the immediate release of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged mediators taking part in the new ceasefire proposal “to intensively continue negotiations to bridge the gaps that still remain” to bring hostages held in Gaza home safely.

“The family headquarters demands that Israel’s negotiation teams be sent in order to exhaust every possibility for progress. Any postponement or stalling of the negotiations could damage the possibility of reaching a deal and greatly endangers our obligation to return all the female and male hostages who are in the hands of Hamas,” the forum said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We cannot start the recovery process without them, and we cannot celebrate another holiday without them!” it added.

Earlier Wednesday in Doha, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that while he believes the current gaps are “bridgeable,” it doesn’t mean they will be closed, saying it “ultimately depends on people saying yes.”

In an image supplied by the Israeli Army, Andrey Kozlov, a rescued hostage, reacts as he uses his phone, after the military said that Israeli forces have rescued four hostages alive from the central Gaza Strip, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8.

The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend said he experienced psychological abuse at the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months that he was held in Gaza. 

Andrey Kozlov, 27, was rescued alongside Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan and Shlomi Ziv during a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. The operation was the third Israeli rescue of hostages held in Gaza and has been celebrated in Israel. But it left a trail of devastation, with authorities in Gaza saying at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the raid and the ensuing firefight with Hamas militants. 

In an interview with CNN, Kozlov’s family revealed some details of their son’s ordeal, including that he initially believed the Israeli forces who saved him had been sent to kill him. Kozlov’s father, Mikhail Kozlov, said his son was “very scared” because Hamas militants had for months falsely said that “Israel wanted to kill them all,” claiming “they were a problem for Israel.” 

Mikhail said his son would not reveal all the ways he’d been mistreated, saying “he wasn’t seen as a human by them,” and Hamas would “punish him for any behavior that they considered was wrong.”

His brother, Dmitry, said “they were trying not to leave (physical) marks … But they would still punish him this way or the other. Very often for trivial things.” 

Read more from the interview with Kozlov’s family.

A Palestinian woman watches as smoke billows following an Israeli strike south of Gaza City, in the town of al-Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip, on June 11.

A US-backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal appears to be in flux, with neither side yet publicly committing to the plan as talks continue.

“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table” for a permanent ceasefire and release of hostages still held in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

“Some of the changes are workable. Some are not,” Blinken said at a news conference in Doha. He did not immediately provide details on Hamas’ proposed changes.

A US official echoed similar sentiments, saying that Hamas is pushing for more specifics and “the goalposts are moving.”

Meanwhile, Qatari officials say Hamas’ and Israel’s “fundamental differences” need to be bridged to bring an end to the war in Gaza. 

While much of Blinken’s trip — his eighth to the region since October 7 — had been centered on ratcheting up pressure on Hamas to take the proposal, it was also focused on developing plans for when a ceasefire is put into place.

“In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the ‘day after’ plan, including concrete ideas for how to manage governance, security, reconstruction,” the top US diplomat said Wednesday, without providing further details.

Blinken now travels to Italy to attend the G7 summit alongside US President Joe Biden.

Here some other headlines from today:

Hamas is pushing for more specifics and “the goalposts are moving,” in ceasefire negotiations, a senior Biden administration official said.

CNN has previously reported that on May 6 when Hamas claimed to “agree” to the ceasefire deal, they were pushing for what would in effect be a 12-week initial pause in the fighting before a permanent ceasefire. It would effectively prevent Israel from being able to recommence military operations. 

“It will be difficult to get Israel to agree to automaticity that the ceasefire will become permanent,” the senior administration official said on Wednesday. 

The official had previously told CNN that what was on the table was “pretty thin once you get past that first phase.” 

There’s a very detailed phase one, the official said, then the phases after that get progressively more ambiguous.

A separate diplomatic source told CNN on Tuesday that: “The (Hamas) response contained amendments to the Israeli proposal, including a timeline for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.”

Palestinians are queuing for meal rations at a communal food distribution point in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 10.

More than a million Palestinians could face starvation by next month due to the war in Gaza, the United Nations’ relief chief warned.

The conflicts in Gaza and Sudan are “pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation,” according to the UN.

“Only technicalities prevent famines from being declared, as people are already dying of hunger,” the UN said ahead of the G7 summit in Italy this week.

Griffiths said more than one million people in Gaza are “expected to face death and starvation by the middle of July.”

He said humanitarian aid is not the solution to the conflicts and that countries in the G7 “must immediately bring their substantial political leverage and financial resources to bear so that aid organizations can reach all people in need.”

“The world must stop feeding the war machines that are starving the civilians of Gaza and Sudan. It is time instead to prioritize the diplomacy that will give people back their futures — and tomorrow, the G7 is at the helm,” Griffiths said in the statement.

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani speaks at a joint press conference with the U.S. secretary of state in Doha, Qatar, on June 12.

Qatari officials say Hamas and Israel’s fundamental differences need to be bridged to bring an end to the war in Gaza. 

“We have seen the behavior from both parties (Israel and Hamas) on different occasions being counterproductive to the efforts; while we are respecting our role as mediator, we are trying our best not to consider ourselves as, you know, the party of that conflict,” Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said on Wednesday. 

Al-Thani said the Qatari’s had been struggling “for a very long time” trying to work out how to bridge the “two fundamental differences between what Hamas wants as a permanent ceasefire, and what Israel wants as a hostage release and maybe a plan to continue the war,” Al-Thani added. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart in Doha on June 12.

The United States continues “to do the work to make our own assessments” on whether there have been violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the war in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

The top US diplomat said he had not seen the new United Nations findings that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law in the first months of the war, “but of course we’ll look at that.”

“We have a number of our own processes within US administration, including within my own department, to assess whether Israel or any other combatant … is adhering to those,” he said, referencing a report drafted by the State Department in May.

That report found it was “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law but stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned whether Hamas is “proceeding in good faith” amid ceasefire negotiations.

Blinken, who is in the region to push for the US-backed ceasefire proposal, said Hamas has proposed a number of changes “which go beyond positions they had previously taken.”

Blinken said while he believes the current gaps are “bridgeable,” it doesn’t mean they will be closed, saying it “ultimately depends on people saying yes.”

It is “crucial” to move from an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza “to an enduring end” to the war, he added.

“Day-after plan”: The top US diplomat also said the US would put forward proposals in the coming weeks with ideas for managing governance, security and reconstruction once the war ends.

“That plan is key to turning a ceasefire into an enduring end to the conflict — but also turning an end of war into a just and durable peace,” he said.

Blinken made the comments alongside Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani in Doha. Al-Thani stated that Qatar, Egypt and the US have discussed Hamas’ response to the proposal and said they are committed to “find a way to end the war as soon as possible.”

CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed reporting to this post.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a joint press conference with the Qatari prime minister in Doha, Qatar, on June 12.

“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table” for a permanent ceasefire and release of the hostages, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

“We discussed those changes last night with Egyptian colleagues and today with the Prime Minister,” Blinken said after meeting with the Qatari prime minister.

The top US diplomat reiterated that the proposed deal “was virtually identical” to a proposal that Hamas previously accepted.

Israel says one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders in southern Lebanon was killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the commander, Talib Sami Abdulla was responsible for multiple attacks against Israeli civilians over several years. 

Hezbollah confirmed Talib’s death on Tuesday, as well as the deaths of three other fighters.

On Wednesday, the militant group launched over 200 rockets toward Israel, which it says is “in response to the assassination” carried out by Israel in the village of Jouya, referring to the death of Talib.

This post has been updated with additional figures from the Israeli military.

The United Nations first in-depth investigation into the October 7 attacks and ensuing conflict in Gaza has found both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law. The reports, released Wednesday, cover events up to the end of 2023.

What war crimes did the inquiry find?

The commission found that Hamas committed war crimes on October 7, the day it and other Palestinian armed groups launched a murder and kidnapping spree in southern Israel which killed more than 1,200 people and saw some 250 people taken hostage. Those crimes included intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or wilful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.

The commission found that Israel also committed war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity in the first 2.5 months of the conflict. A crime against humanity is defined as a widespread, systemic attack directed at a civilian population. Israel’s alleged war crimes include starvation, arbitrary detention, and killing and maiming “tens of thousands of children.”

Both Israel and Hamas committed sexual violence and torture, and intentionally attacked civilians, according to the reports, which span more than 200 pages.

How did the inquiry reach this conclusion?

The commission said its findings were based on interviews with victims and witnesses, thousands of open-source items verified through forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery, forensic medical reports and media coverage, including several key CNN investigations.

How have both parties responded?

CNN has reached out to Hamas for comment.

Israel has accused the fact-finding mission of “attempting to justify” Hamas’ actions, of showing “systematic anti-Israeli discrimination,” and contextualizing the attacks “through the lens of the Palestinian narrative.” The Israeli mission to the UN said the report failed to mention continuous rocket fire on the country and claimed that it “outrageously and repugnantly attempts to draw a false equivalence between IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and Hamas terrorists with regards to acts of sexual violence,” adding that the Israeli military conducts itself in accordance to international law, including international humanitarian law.

A US-backed ceasefire plan has been approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), but whether it will be implemented remains unclear. Let us break it down for you.

What is the deal? 

The plan was first set out by US President Joe Biden, who said it was an Israeli proposal. It has three phases:

What are Israel and Hamas saying?

Both sides have signaled a willingness to accept the plan but neither has yet fully endorsed it. Hamas and Israel both said that what Biden said in his speech is not representative of what’s in the actual proposal. 

On Tuesday, Israel gave its strongest signal yet it was ready to accept the plan, saying the proposal would enable it to achieve its war goals including “destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that the possibility of a permanent ceasefire without the destruction of Hamas was a “non-starter”. Far-right members of his governing coalition have threatened to withdraw and collapse his administration if he accepts the proposal.

Hamas on Tuesday submitted its response to the deal, proposing amendments including a timeline for a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. An Israeli official characterized Hamas’s proposed amendments as a rejection of the proposal but Hamas said Wednesday it has neither accepted nor rejected the deal.

What next?

Talks will continue via the Qatari and Egyptian mediators in coordination with the United States to see if an agreement can be reached, a source with knowledge of the talks told CNN.

Yahya Sinwar and Benjamin Netanyahu

Yahya Sinwar has so far survived eight months of Israel’s brutal military campaign to kill him. His longevity is a personal victory for the Hamas leader – and increasingly appears to be a grim vindication of his decision to seize the initiative in the generational Palestinian struggle with Israel by launching a bloody attack on October 7 that would plunge Gaza’s two million residents into a predictable hell.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his military responded as expected to Sinwar’s onslaught of terror that killed more than 1,200 people and saw over 220 taken hostage, declaring war and vowing to destroy Hamas.

Predictably too, according to many regional diplomats, Israel’s military campaign is failing to deliver on the dismantling of Hamas, even as the number of Palestinians killed soars past 36,000. While Hamas is people and structures, they argue, it is also an ideology.

Now Sinwar – who speaks fluent Hebrew and has a nuanced knowledge of Israeli politics – believes he still has the war’s initiative, amid high-stakes bargaining with Israel for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” he is said to have told other Hamas leaders, in leaked messages reported by The Wall Street Journal. He appeared to justify the deaths of Palestinian civilians as a “necessary sacrifice” according to the messages.

If this were a conventional war, it would be easy to write Sinwar off as deluded; Israel has the upper hand by far in conventional weapons. But the weapons’ devastating effectiveness is becoming a liability in this asymmetric conflict, and against the backdrop of a tortured history that Sinwar is adroitly weaponizing against Israel.

Read the full analysis here.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Doha, Qatar, on June 12.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Qatar, the latest stop on his tour of the region as he seeks to push all sides to agree to the latest ceasefire deal.

Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, outlining that Netanyahu “reaffirmed his commitment” to the current proposal.  

His diplomatic tour this week has also included stops in Egypt and Jordan. However, Blinken made it clear on Tuesday that the US believes the fate of the latest proposal rests with Hamas leadership in Gaza.

This trip marks Blinken’s 8th tour of the region since October 7th. Alongside his push for a ceasefire, Blinken announced more than $400 million in new humanitarian aid on Tuesday which he described as the most effective way to address Gaza’s humanitarian devastation.