The Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff told commanders Saturday that the military will “enter the Gaza Strip” and initiate an operation to take out Hamas, but he did not provide a specific timeframe. An IDF spokesperson also said the military is beginning to increase its airstrikes in Gaza.
The Rafah crossing briefly opened Saturday morning to allow the first convoy of aid trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip from Egypt. Rights groups welcomed the short reopening, but stressed that more aid is desperately needed in the Palestinian enclave, where conditions continue to deteriorate.
The US and its allies are urging Israel to set clear goals for a potential ground assault on Gaza, placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, US and Western officials told CNN.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the release of two American hostages Friday, saying “urgent work” continues to free others taken by Hamas during its October 7 attacks on Israel.
Our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.
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Canadian intelligence has "high degree of confidence" Israel was not behind strike on Al-Ahli Hospital
Independent analysis by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with “a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital” in Gaza City on October 17, according to a statement released by Canada’s Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces Saturday.
“This assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition,” the statement added.
The blast that ripped through the packed Al-Ahli Hospital killed hundreds of people. Palestinian militants and the Israeli government have dueling accounts over who is culpable.
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IDF flyers warn Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate south or possibly be considered “a partner for the terrorist organization”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has dropped flyers in the Sabrah neighborhood of Gaza City that urgently warn residents to evacuate to the south or face the possibility of being considered “a partner for the terrorist organization,” according to a CNN translation.
The flyer reads in Arabic:
The IDF confirmed it had dropped the flyers in a statement, adding there was “no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group.”
The IDF “treats civilians as such, and does not target them,” the statement said.
The IDF told CNN that the translation of the flyer from Arabic that “has spread online” was imprecise, but it did not elaborate.
The United Nations has said that the Israeli order to evacuate the entire population of northern Gaza, which is approximately 1.1 million people, is “impossible” without causing major humanitarian consequences.
There are currently 2.2 million people in Gaza.
The IDF said they continue to urge residents in northern Gaza to evacuate “for their own safety.”
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US sends additional missile defenses to Middle East and orders more troops to prepare to deploy
The US military is sending more missile defense systems to the Middle East and placing additional US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders in response to escalations throughout the region in recent days.
The order for troops to prepare for deployment is meant “to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required,” he said.
Both the THAAD and Patriots systems are air defense systems designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles.
“These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” he added.
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Israeli airstrike on West Bank mosque meant to thwart "imminent terror attack," IDF says
People inspect the damage after an Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in Jenin, West Bank, on Sunday.
Mohammad Ateeq/Reuters
The Israeli military said it launched an airstrike early Sunday local time against a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin to thwart what it called “an imminent terror attack.”
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN the IDF had new intelligence that “suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad” making preparations from an underground command center in the Al-Ansar mosque.
A few months ago, there was significant fighting in Jenin for about two days, and Conricus said during an IDF operation there, they discovered the “terrorist” tunnel system inside the mosque.
The IDF and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) also put out a statement Saturday confirming the strike on the tunnel.
The statement said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives had been responsible for several “terror attacks” over the past few months and were plotting a new, “imminent” attack.
“Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, that were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack. The mosque was used by the terrorists as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution,” the statement said.
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Family of Israeli man abducted by Hamas live in hope that he will be released
From CNN's Rhea Mogul
A family member of an Israeli man who remains missing after being kidnapped by Hamas from an Israeli kibbutz two weeks ago said they live with hope that he will be released soon and reunited with his two young daughters.
Omri Miran was taken by Hamas militants in front of his wife and daughters, who survived the brutal attack, his brother-in-law, Moshe Lavi, told CNN.
It has been a “dreadful” two weeks, Lavi said, adding he worries for his sister and her two children, a two-year-old and six-month-old.
He said that his two-year-old niece has been asking about her father and when he is coming home.
During the October 7 attack, Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers, according to Israeli authorities, and abducted around 200 more. It was the most deadly attack by militants in Israel’s 75-year history and has been described as the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Lavi, who served in a special unit for the Ministry of Defense, said the trauma his two-year-old niece has experienced will likely stay with her for a long time.
Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan, on Friday, giving Lavi’s family hope that Miran will soon return home.
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At least 13 killed in airstrikes in West Bank refugee camp, UN agency says
From CNN's Nic Robertson
At least 13 Palestinians, including five children, were reported killed in an Israeli security forces’ operation that lasted 28 hours in a West Bank refugee camp, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The operation took place in Nur Shams, the UNRWA director in the West Bank, Adam Bouloukos, said.
The statement added that the UNRWA has suspended schools, health services, and solid waste collections in the camp.
Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 84 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
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Israel says it will step up its airstrikes on Gaza. Here's what else you should know
From CNN staff
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, told IDF commanders Saturday that the military is readying an operation to enter Gaza and take out Hamas.
“We’ll enter the Gaza Strip. We’ll embark on an operational and professional task to destroy Hamas operatives and infrastructures,” the chief said in comments to the Golani Brigade of the IDF. He did not provide a specific timeframe.
Meanwhile, the IDF will increase airstrikes on Gaza, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday. “We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today,” Hagari told reporters during a briefing in Tel Aviv.
Airstrikes have killed at least 4,385 people in Gaza since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Here are other headlines you should know:
Gates briefly open for aid to Gaza: A convoy of Egyptian trucks unloaded humanitarian aid after crossing into southern Gaza using the Rafah crossing, which was briefly opened Saturday, according to a CNN stringer on the ground. The crossing is now shut again. A satellite photo taken Saturday morning captured the aid trucks returning from Gaza while a long line of others still waited on the Egyptian side of the crossing. Palestinian officials warned that the volume of aid that reached Gaza is “not enough” to relieve the deteriorating humanitarian situation. A group of United Nations aid organizations called the convoy “a small beginning and far from enough” in a joint statement.
Rising death tolls: The death toll in Gaza since October 7 has risen to 4,385, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.That figure includes 248 people who have been killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including 56 people in the southern Gaza Strip, which civilians have been asked to relocate to, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza. Meanwhile, at least 84 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by “Israeli occupation forces,” according to a statement from the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
Peace summit: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he gathered world leaders in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Saturday to find a “roadmap” to end the “humanitarian tragedy” unfolding in Gaza. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was defiant in remarks to world leaders at the summit, telling them, “We will not leave, we will remain on our land.” King Abdullah II of Jordan specifically addressed European and Western leaders in English to say that “our region came with a message of peace.” A final joint statement won’t be issued following the summit due to “differences” between the delegations on the wording, an official and a diplomat with knowledge of the matter confirmed to CNN on Saturday. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “unfortunate” that some of those attending the summit “had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger.”
Developments on the ground: One member of the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency services agency was killed and another four were wounded in shelling on Saturday morning, officials from the Palestinian Authority said in a statement. And a “large fire” broke out in the Bani Suhaila area in Khan Younis following an Israeli airstrike on a house, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Interior in Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
Protests: Up to 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, according to estimates by the city’s Metropolitan Police. Protests have erupted globally this week, particularly around the Arab world, with thousands of demonstrators taking the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank after Islamic Friday prayers yesterday to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
Back-and-forth on hostages: Israel says it will not respond to the Hamas claim that the militant group was “prepared” to release two more hostages, characterizing it as “lying propaganda.” The military wing of Hamas had said in a statement Saturday that it was prepared to release two “detained individuals” on Sunday, who were identified by name, using the “same procedures” that saw the release of two Americans Friday. But Israel has dismissed the claim as “false Hamas propaganda.” CNN has reached out to Qatar to inquire about the status of mediation efforts underway to release additional civilians taken hostage by Hamas but has not yet heard back.
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Analysis of images and videos suggests rocket caused Gaza hospital blast, not Israeli airstrike
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy, Katie Polglase, Benjamin Brown, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Eliza Mackintosh
Palestinians assess the aftermath of the blast at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on October 18.
Abed Khaled/AP
In the days since a blast ripped through the packed Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, killing hundreds of Palestinians and setting off dueling claims between Palestinian militants and the Israeli government over culpability are still raging. But forensic analysis of publicly available imagery and footage has begun to offer some clues as to what caused the explosion.
CNN has reviewed dozens of videos posted on social media, aired on live broadcasts and filmed by a freelance journalist working for CNN in Gaza, as well as satellite imagery, to piece together what happened in as much detail as possible.
Without the ability to access the site and gather evidence from the ground, no conclusion can be definitive. But CNN’s analysis suggests that a rocket launched from within Gaza broke up midair, and that the blast at the hospital was the result of part of the rocket landing at the hospital complex.
Weapons and explosive experts with decades of experience assessing bomb damage, who reviewed the visual evidence, told CNN they believe this to be the most likely scenario – although they caution the absence of munition remnants or shrapnel from the scene made it difficult to be sure. All agreed that the available evidence of the damage at the site was not consistent with an Israeli airstrike.
Israel says that a “misfired” rocket by militant group Islamic Jihad caused the blast, a claim that US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday is backed up by US intelligence. A spokesperson for the National Security Council later said that analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open-source information suggested that Israel is “not responsible.”
Palestinian officials and several Arab leaders nevertheless accuse Israel of hitting the hospital amid its ongoing airstrikes in Gaza. Islamic Jihad (or PIJ) – a rival group to Hamas – has denied responsibility.
The Israel-Hamas war has triggered a wave of misleading content and false claims online. That misinformation, coupled with the polarizing nature of the conflict, has made it difficult to sort fact from fiction.
In the past few days, a number of outlets have published investigations into the hospital blast. Some have reached diametrically different conclusions, reflecting the challenges of doing such analysis remotely.
But as more information surfaces, CNN’s investigation – which includes a review of nighttime video of the explosion, and horrifying images of those injured and killed inside the hospital complex – is an effort to shed light on details of the blast beyond what Israel and the US have produced publicly.
Israel's foreign ministry: "Unfortunate" some at Cairo summit "had difficulty condemning terrorism"
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Radina Gigova
World leaders attend the Cairo peace summit on October 21.
Royal Hashemite Court/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is “unfortunate” that some of those attending the Cairo peace summit Saturday “had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger.”
“It is unfortunate that even when faced with those horrific atrocities, there were some who had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger,” the ministry said in a statement posted by its spokesperson on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Israel will do what it has to do and expects the international community to recognize the righteous battle.”
A final joint statement was not issued after the summit ended, due to “differences” between the delegations on the wording, an official and a diplomat with knowledge on the matter confirmed to CNN on Saturday.
The Hamas attacks on October 7 were “a wakeup call to the world to fight terrorism together,” the Israeli foreign ministry said. “The Islamist terror threat does not only endanger Israel, it endangers the states of the region and the whole world.”
CNN’s Caroline Faraj contributed reporting to this post.
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Biden briefed on latest developments in Gaza, White House says
From CNN's Aileen Graef
US President Joe Biden was briefed Saturday afternoon by phone on the latest situation in Gaza.
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Over 200 foreign nationals have died and 74 are still missing following Hamas attack, Israeli government says
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
At least 235 foreign nationals have died and 74 remain missing following Hamas’ attack on Israel, the Israeli government said Saturday.
The affected foreign nationals come from 41 different countries, according to the government’s updated count.
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Israeli military will increase Gaza airstrikes, spokesperson says
From Tamar Michaelis and Radina Gigova
Smoke billows over northern Gaza following an Israeli strike, seen from the Israel-Gaza border, on October 21.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces will increase airstrikes on Gaza “from today,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday.
When asked whether Israel has halted a ground operation in Gaza due to US pressure, Hagari said the Israeli military would launch such an operation when the conditions for the military are optimal.
The IDF has continued to conduct airstrikes over the last day, Hagari said.
“We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage,” he added.
Remember: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Gaza is gripped by a deepening humanitarian crisis, with an Israeli siege cutting off access to critical resources and airstrikes killing at least 4,385 people since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Israel has told over 1 million people to leave the northern Gaza Strip as it prepares for the next stages of the war with Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will “enter the Gaza Strip.”
Threats elsewhere: The IDF is focusing “on the goals we have in Gaza, as they were set by the government and they will have to be fulfilled,” Hagari said. “At the same time, we look at all the threats in the Middle East.”
“If there are any developments, we will adapt. However, our focus is Gaza,” he added, when asked about the potential of an additional front fighting Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the Israel-Lebanon border.
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At least 248 people have been killed over the past 24 hours in Gaza, Hamas-run government says
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman in Gaza and Eyad Kourdi
Relatives mourn for a family killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 21.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
At least 248 people have been killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours — including 56 people in the southern Gaza Strip, which civilians have been asked to relocate to — amid Israel’s airstrike campaign, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza.
The office said in statements Saturday that the death toll in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel has risen to 4,385, including 1,756 children and 967 women. Another 13,561 people have been injured, the statement added.
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Aid organizations call for unrestricted access to Gaza after convoy of trucks pass through Rafah crossing
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
A group of United Nations aid organizations called the convoy of trucks allowed to pass through Rafah crossing Saturday “a small beginning and far from enough” in a joint statement.
They warned that “time is running out before mortality rates could skyrocket due to disease outbreaks and lack of health-care capacity.”
The supplies carried by the convoy of trucks on Saturday “will provide an urgently needed lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians,” the organizations said.
The statement was released by the UN Development Programme, the UN Population Fund, the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that the aid is a “glimpse of hope” but still a “drop in the ocean” of what is needed in Gaza.
What was in today’s supply of aid: The 20 trucks that crossed from Egyptto deliver aid to Gaza on Saturday were carrying food, water and medical supplies, but no fuel.
According to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah crossing, 13 trucks were carrying medicine and medical supplies, five were carrying food and two trucks had water.
Herzi Halevi, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, is pictured before a meeting between the US and Israeli defense ministers in Lod, Israel, on March 9.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will initiate an operation to take out Hamas.
Halevi said that when the IDF enters Gaza, they will “keep in mind” the images that occurred on October 7 during a Hamas attack that killed at least 1,400 people in Israel.
He said that Gaza is complicated and crowded but that the IDF is preparing.
“All of the IDF’s capabilities will be with you in that maneuvering. Be brave, with that mindset, be very determined, and give your soldiers confidence,” Halevi said.
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Biden credits days of high-level diplomacy for delivery of aid to Gaza
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
An aerial view shows humanitarian aid trucks crossing into the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on October 21.
Belal Al Sabbagh/AFP/Getty Images
US President Joe Biden ascribed the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza to “days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels,” adding that the United States will continue to work with partners to keep the Rafah crossing in operation.
“I made it clear from the outset of this crisis — in both my public statements and private conversations — that humanitarian assistance was a critical and urgent need that had to get moving, and I express my deep personal appreciation for the leadership of President (Abdel Fattah) Al-Sisi of Egypt, Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu of Israel, and the United Nations to allow the resumption of this assistance,” Biden said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Biden said the Egyptian president agreed to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid after Biden spoke with the leader for more than an hour on Air Force One.
CNN previously reported that the 20 aid trucks that passed through the Rafah crossing on Saturday morning were from the Egyptian Red Crescent. UN aid trucks are expected to move through the border crossing into Gaza on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations secretary general.
The trucks were carrying food, water and medical supplies, but no fuel. According to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah crossing, 13 trucks were carrying medicine and medical supplies, five were carrying food and two trucks had water.
Biden also said Saturday the US is working around the clock in partnership with Egypt and Israel “to facilitate the ability of U.S. citizens and their immediate family members to exit Gaza safely and travel via Egypt to their final destinations.”
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Georgia woman says 14 family members have been killed in Gaza
From CNN’s Jillian Sykes
Through a series of airstrikes in Gaza, Hadeel Masseoud says she has lost at least 14 family members, including a 2-month-old child.
Masseoud, who is a Georgia resident, told CNN on Saturday that she has “lost track” as the death toll continues to increase.
One airstrike killed six Masseoud family members at their home earlier this month, she said. Another relative wasn’t home at the time of the attack and returned to find his loved ones dead. Masseoud said the man then suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.
“They don’t have clean water. The hospitals don’t have anesthesia. I’m going to assume that he’s not doing well,” she told CNN.
Since then, at least eight additional family members have been killed in other airstrikes, Masseoud said.
Masseoud was born in the United States and hasn’t met her extended family in Gaza, but said her father has remained very close to them.
“We were thinking about going together to Gaza for Christmas so I could meet them for the first time,” she said.
Masseoud’s father has roots in Gaza but grew up in Lebanon. He moved to the United States to provide better opportunities for his children but has helped financially support his extended family for many years, she said.
“He is 82 years old. This is going to break him,” Masseoud told CNN.
Masseoud expressed her frustration with some of the rhetoric surrounding the situation in Gaza, saying it has made her family feel extremely unsafe.
Masseoud said those spreading hateful remarks “have blood on their hands.”
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Satellite photos show trucks leaving Gaza after dropping off aid, with more lined up at border crossing
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Aid trucks queue on the Egypt side of the Rafah border crossing on October 21.
A satellite photo taken Saturday morning captured aid trucks returning from Gaza and others still lined up at the Rafah crossing, which was briefly opened earlier.
The image was taken at 11:22 a.m. local time (4:22 a.m. ET), more than an hour after the crossing opened for aid. In it, empty trucks are seen crossing back into Egypt.
The border crossing was opened for a short window to let 20 aid trucks cross into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. While many have welcomed the development, rights groups stress that more aid is desperately needed for over 2 million people within the besieged enclave.
World Health Organization Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was one of those who warned Saturday that “needs are far higher.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called for the crossing to remain open “to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza” in a statement Saturday.
Trucks cross back into Egypt from the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing.
Egypt says Israel-Hamas war revealed "shortcoming" in international approach to crises
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Caroline Faraj
After a peace summit in Cairo aimed at de-escalating the war between Israel and Hamas, Egypt criticized the international community for not doing enough to address the root causes of the conflict.
“The ongoing war has also disclosed a shortcoming in the values of the international community in addressing crises,” it said. “While we see one place rushing and competing to promptly condemn the killing of innocent people, we find incomprehensible hesitation in denouncing the same act in another place. We even see attempts to justify this killing, as if the life of the Palestinian human being is less important than that of other people.”
Egypt hopes that in light of the current crisis “a new political spirit and will” will emerge that “pave the way for unlocking a real and serious peace process,” reads the statement.
“This shall lead, in a short period of time, to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, along the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” it said.
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Blinken reaffirms US support for Lebanon as tensions in Middle East remain high
From CNN’s Lauren Koenig
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 17.
Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
As Israeli and Hezbollah forces have recently traded artillery fire on the Israel-Lebanon border, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces in a phone call Friday.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Saturday that in the call, Blinken acknowledged “growing concern” over escalating tensions in the Middle East and the potential consequences of Lebanon being drawn into the conflict. The secretary also offered condolences to the Lebanese people who have lost loved ones.
Final joint statement won't be issued following Cairo peace summit due to "differences," officials say
From CNN's Caroline Faraj
World leaders attend the Cairo peace summit on October 21.
Ryan Carter/UAE Presidential Court/Reuters
A final joint statement won’t be issued following Saturday’s Cairo peace summit due to “differences” between the delegations on the wording, an official and a diplomat with knowledge of the matter confirmed to CNN on Saturday.
One of them also said this was expected even before the start of the summit.
About the summit: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he gathered world leaders in the Egyptian capital to find a “roadmap” to end the “humanitarian tragedy” unfolding in Gaza.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas joined representatives from 34 countries, the United Nations and international bodies for the summit. Israel was absent from the gathering.
Abbas was defiant in remarks at the meeting, telling the assembled leaders “we will remain on our land.”
King Abdullah II of Jordan called for an “immediate end to the war on Gaza,” urgent humanitarian aid, the rejection of displacement of Palestinian people and a lasting resolution “on the basis of the two-state solution.”
The foreign ministers of France and Germany said Saturday that although Israel has the right to self-defense, it also has a responsibility to protect the civilian population of Gaza.
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Analysis: If Israeli troops move into Gaza, what comes next?
Analysis from CNN's Ivana Kottasová
An Israeli tank travels near the border with Gaza on October 20.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images
Tal and Zak have no idea how long they’ll be deployed in what the Israelis call “the Gaza envelope,” the area in southern Israel that was attacked by Hamas terrorists two weeks ago.
It could be weeks, it could be months, they said. “It’s the same for everyone. No one knows,” Zak told CNN at a military camp not far from the Gaza border. The two young soldiers, whose surnames CNN isn’t revealing for security reasons, serve in an artillery unit of the Israel Defense Forces that was moved into the area after Hamas militants killed 1,400 people and kidnapped about 200 on October 7.
Their unit is part of a massive buildup of Israeli troops and military material on the Gaza border. On top of its regular force, the IDF has also called up 300,000 reservists who reported to their bases within hours. Across Israel, highways in the vicinity of major bases are lined with thousands and thousands of cars, abandoned by reservists rushing to take up arms.
A ground incursion by Israel into Gaza now seems inevitable. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered near the border that they would “soon see” the enclave “from the inside,” saying Gaza will “never be the same.”
But what that operation might look like remains unknown. The IDF could launch a full-scale invasion or conduct more precise incursions aimed at recovering hostages and targeting Hamas operatives.
What will happen after that is an even bigger question. While the Israeli leadership speaks about the need to get rid of Hamas, the plan for the future of Gaza and its more than 2 million people people remains unknown.
But Hasan Alhasan, a research fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the plan to annihilate Hamas could be dangerous and complicated – and may have unforeseen consequences.
“Because Hamas is deeply rooted and embedded within Gaza, its society and geography, in order to defeat them, Israel would have to carry out permanent topographic and demographic change of the Gaza Strip – and that has already been happening,” he told CNN.
“The concern, within Egypt especially, is that Israel’s strategy of making the humanitarian situation very difficult in Gaza is ultimately meant to force a mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza into the Egyptian Sinai,” Alhasan said, adding that Egypt has the backing of all of the Arab states in that it would not allow this.
"Large fire" breaks out in southern Gaza Strip after airstrike, Palestinian Ministry of Interior says
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman in Gaza
A “large fire” has broken out in the Bani Suhaila area in Khan Younis following an Israeli airstrike on a house, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Interior in Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
CNN obtained footage from Khan Younis that shows a large plume of smoke rising above the skyline in the southern Gaza Strip city.
The Israel Defense Forces did not have any immediate information on the circumstances of the apparent strike.
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France and Germany stress that although Israel has a right to self-defense, it must also protect civilians
From Lina El Wardani and CNN's Niamh Kennedy
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks at the Cairo peace summit on October 21.
Kira Hofmann/dpa/AP
The foreign ministers of France and Germany said Saturday that although Israel has the right to self-defense, it also has a responsibility to protect the civilian population of Gaza.
In an address to leaders at the Cairo peace summit, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized that Hamas bears ultimate responsibility for the “suffering of these past weeks.”
Baerbock warned that that this “fight against Hamas must be carried out with the greatest possible consideration for the humanitarian situation for the innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.”
France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna speaks to the press after attending the Cairo peace summit on October 21.
Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also reiterated that “Nothing justifies terrorism. Facing terrorism, Israel has the right to defend itself.”
France “condemns the actions of Hamas” but continues to “support the rights of the Palestinian people like we have always done,” Colonna remarked, adding that France will soon send an additional 10 million euros ($10.6 million) in aid to Palestinians.
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US citizen still stranded in Gaza despite several dangerous attempts to reach Egypt
From CNN’s Raja Razek
Abood Okal, a US citizen stranded in Gaza with his family and 1-year-old son, says after several attempts to cross from the besieged enclave into Egypt, there is still no sign his family can evacuate Saturday.
Okal and his family, who had traveled from Massachusetts to Gaza, followed instructions from the US State Department and went to the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza Saturday morning, he told CNN’s Amara Walker.
The family has been there since 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), Okal said, noting that a message from the State Department indicated the crossing would open at 10 a.m. local time.
What we know: Gaza is blockaded by land, air and sea by Israel, which has declared war on its Hamas rulers for a brazen attack on October 7 that killed 1,400 people. The Rafah crossing to Egypt is the only viable option for Palestinians and foreign nationals trying to leave Gaza.
While the crossing opened briefly Saturday to allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid through, it has remained closed to evacuees. The US has been pressuring Egypt to establish a humanitarian corridor for civilians in Gaza, as well as for Americans and other foreigners. But the process of opening passage has been complicated by the multiple parties involved.
Perilous trips end in frustration: Saturday marks the latest of several attempts by Okal’s family to try to cross the border after taking “risky drives” and burning fuel reserves.
He told CNN that he and his family “bake in the sun all day, and then no communication thereafter — only to have the sun set on us, and basically force us to leave back to wherever (we are) sheltering for fear of our lives. This is an extremely dangerous area.”
When discussing where the family shelters at night, he said they have “had to run for their lives.” The family is now staying close to the border at a “friend of a friend’s house” with someone they had never met before, according to Okal.
Food is also scarce, according to Okal, and the family cannot easily find milk for their son. He said he has to go to multiple different markets “at times under shelling and during airstrike” to find milk.
The family is trying to keep their son safe “as much as we can.” The child “may not be able to comprehend everything that is happening, but he does pick up on fear” when there is an airstrike, the father said.
Okal said his family thought the US government “had our back,” and that they would be able to exit, but “that is not how things are translating on the ground.”
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Up to 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London, police estimate
From CNN’s Eve Brennan
People gather for a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on October 21.
Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu/Getty Images
Up to 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, according to estimates by the city’s Metropolitan Police.
A picture posted by the Metropolitan police on social media shows demonstrators gathered at the Whitehall area, where a number of government buildings are located.
Protests have erupted globally this week, particularly around the Arab world, with thousands of demonstrators taking the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank after Islamic Friday prayers yesterday to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
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Biden posts video of his conversation with 2 released American hostages
From CNN’s Aileen Graef
US President Joe Biden posted a video on social media of him speaking with the two American hostages recently released by Hamas, saying, “I’m glad you’re out.”
Natalie thanked Biden for his “services to Israel.”
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West Bank death toll rises to 84, Palestinian Ministry of Health says
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Abeer Salman
At least 84 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by “Israeli occupation forces,” according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.
At least 1,400 people have been injured, the ministry added.
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Shelling near Rafah kills member of Palestinian Civil Defense and injures 4 others
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Eve Brennan, and journalist Asmaa Khalil
One member of the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency services agency was killed and another four were wounded in shelling on Saturday morning, officials from the Palestinian Authority said in a statement.
“An Israeli shelling … targeted them while they were carrying out their duties in the area of Khirbet al-Adas, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
This comes after humanitarian aid trucks entered the nearby Rafah border crossing on Saturday morning to transfer aid to authorities in Gaza.
Palestinian prime minister tells CNN why he won't condemn deadly October 7 Hamas attack
From CNN's Becky Anderson and Zeena Saifi in Ramallah
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh speaks with CNN.
CNN
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told CNN that he won’t condemn the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,000 people on October 7, saying, “support of Israel blindly is a license for killing.”
“I hope that (the) United States does not go into that direction,” he added.
In a sit-down interview in Ramallah in the West Bank, Shytayyeh told CNN’s Becky Anderson why he was unwilling to condemn the attacks:
He went on to say that “condemnation should be (for the) killing of every civilian, every human being that does not deserve to die. We should condemn that.”
Shtayyeh claimed that the sentiment of the Israeli people is one of revenge.
Visits by world leaders to Tel Aviv in support of Israel — a reference in part to Biden’s visit Thursday and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visits in the last week, among others — have “given the greenest of the green light for Israel to continue its attack on Gaza,” Shtayyeh said.
International support should be for peace, not aggression, he said.
The prime minister called on a collective international effort led by the United Nations Security Council to end the war.
UN manages to drive enough water for 22,000 people for one day through Rafah crossing into Gaza
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London
An aid truck arrives at a UN storage facility in Gaza on October 21.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
The UN children’s agency UNICEF says it managed to drive enough water supplies for 22,000 people for one day through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Saturday.
According to UNICEF’s Executive Director Catherine Russell, the delivery of water is a “matter of life and death” for the 1 million children in Gaza “facing a critical protection and humanitarian crisis.”
“This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense – not just for water, but for food, fuel, medicine, and essential goods and services. Unless we can provide humanitarian supplies consistently, we face the real threat of life-threatening disease outbreaks,” Russell added.
The nearly two-week-long conflict has wrought severe damage on Gaza’s water and sanitation systems with water production capacity currently at 5% of normal levels, UNICEF said.
The agency issued an urgent call for all access crossings into Gaza to be opened to allow the wider delivery of humanitarian aid alongside the movement of aid workers and urgent medical cases in Gaza who require critical medical care.
Children in particular must be “unconditionally” protected from harm, Russell said, highlighting once again the need for humanitarian agencies such as UNICEF to be able to “safely and predictably deliver assistance to children and families in Gaza who are in desperate need.”
Some context: The Rafah crossing was briefly opened on Saturday morning to allow the first convoy of aid trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian aid had been stuck in Egypt for days with Gaza plunged into a worsening crisis.
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World Food Programme says situation in Gaza is "catastrophic" and calls for more aid to be let through
From CNN’s Eve Brennan in London
The World Food Programme (WFP) says aid deliveries to Gaza must not stop, after the first delivery of aid was allowed into the besieged strip on Saturday morning.
A convoy of 20 trucks passed through the Rafah crossing to deliver humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave where a crisis is escalating rapidly.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain told CNN’s Isa Soares that starvation is “rampant” in Gaza, adding that the organization needs to continue sending more trucks into the impoverished territory to “get to the millions of people who are literally going to starve to death.”
The situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” due to the lack of food, water, electricity, and fuel. “It’s like a perfect storm of the humanitarian disaster,” she continued.
“This cannot be the last convoy,” said McCain, “there are too many lives at stake.”
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Blinken calls for the Rafah crossing to remain open
From CNN's Aileen Graef
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 17.
Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the Rafah crossing to remain open “to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza” in a statement Saturday.
Blinken thanked Egypt, Israel and the United Nations for help facilitating the 20-truck convoy transporting humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which has been running out of food, water and medical supplies.
He said the crossing should remain open and the US will “stress the importance of adhering to the law of war.”
Blinken also said the US would continue to work to get American citizens safely out of Gaza.
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Caritas mourns worker and her family killed in Gaza church compound strike
From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Kareem El Damanhoury and Radina Gigova
An employee at Caritas, a network of Catholic charitable organizations, who was killed along with her family in the Greek Orthodox church compound that officials in Gaza say was hit in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday night, was committed “to making a difference in the world,” the group said Saturday.
Viola Al ‘AMash (Al Souri), her husband Abdel Nour Al Souri, their daughter Alya, Viola’s sister, her sister’s husband, and her sister’s two children were all killed when the church was struck, according to Caritas.
“Viola’s journey was marked by dedication and perseverance, as she successfully completed her graduate degree in medical analysis at Al-Azhar University in Gaza,” said Anton Asfar, Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem.
Asfar said the 26-year-old employee had worked with Caritas since 2021, “where she served as a lab technician with the mobile medical teams, tending to the needs of the most vulnerable people in Gaza.”
“This heart-wrenching event has left a void in the lives of their friends and family, and the community as a whole. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this profound loss, and we remember Viola and her family with deep empathy and sorrow,” he said.
In an earlier statement by the organization on Friday, Caritas condemned what it described as “arbitrary and deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure” and called for a ceasefire to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid into the strip.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 17 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the church compound.
CNN cannot independently confirm the number of casualties. The Israel Defense Forces on Friday acknowledged that “a wall of a church in the area was damaged” as a result of a strike.
This post has been updated.
Previous CNN reporting from Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi.
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Aid trucks back in Egypt after delivering aid to Gaza
From Asmaa Khalil in Rafah
Workers celebrate as an aid truck returns to Egypt from Gaza on October 21.
Kerolos Salah/AFP/Getty Images
Egyptian trucks have unloaded humanitarian aid and returned to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, according to a CNN stringer on the ground.
The Rafah crossing was briefly opened on Saturday morning to allow the first convoy of aid trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian aid had been stuck in Egypt for days with Gaza plunged into a worsening crisis. The enclave is fast running out of food, water, fuel and medical supplies – all while being pounded by relentless airstrikes.
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Jordan's King Abdullah calls for "immediate end to the war on Gaza" and peace "on the basis of the two-state solution"
From CNN's Caroline Faraj and Lauren Kent
King Abdullah II of Jordan attends The Cairo Peace Summit on October 21.
Royal Hashemite Court/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images
King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke at the Cairo Summit for Peace, specifically addressing European and Western leaders in English to say that “our region came with a message of peace.”
He called for an “immediate end to the war on Gaza,” urgent humanitarian aid, the rejection of displacement of Palestinian people and a lasting resolution “on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“I am outraged and grieved by those acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, in the West Bank, and Israel,” King Abdullah said. “All civilian lives matter.
“The relentless bombing campaign underway in Gaza as we speak is cruel and unconscionable—on every level. It is collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people,” he told the summit. “It is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime.”
King Abdullah also criticized leaders for their “global silence” and for not holding Israel accountable in previous conflicts.
“It’s been two weeks since Israel put in place the complete siege of the Gaza Strip. And still, for the most part, global silence,” he said. “Yet the message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear: Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives.
“Israel is literally starving civilians in Gaza, but for decades, Palestinians have been starved of hope, of freedom, and a future,” King Abdullah added, highlighting what he called “the injustices of occupation.”
“Israeli leadership must realize that there is no military solution to its security concerns, that it cannot continue to sideline the five million Palestinians living under its occupation, denied of their legitimate rights, and that Palestinians lives are no less valuable than Israeli lives.”
He argued that “hardline Israeli leadership” has focused solely on security over peace, which “has empowered extremists on both sides.”
“Our collective and unified message to the Israeli people should be: We want a future of peace and security for you and for the Palestinians, where your children and Palestinian children should no longer live in fear,” King Abdullah added. “It is our duty as the international community to do whatever it takes to restart a meaningful political process that can take us to a just and sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.
“The only path to a safe and secure future for the people of the Middle East and the entire world - for the Jewish people, for Christians, for Muslims alike - starts with the belief that every human life is of equal value and it ends with two states, Palestine and Israel, sharing land and peace from the river to the sea. The time to act is now,” he concluded.
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Gaza death toll rises amid worsening humanitarian crisis
From CNN's Abeer Salman
The death toll in Gaza since October 7 has risen to 4,385, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, as the enclave continues to come under bombardment from Israeli airstrikes and aid agencies warn hospitals are nearly out of fuel and supplies.
A spokesperson for the Hamas-controlled ministry warned on Friday that seven hospitals and 21 primary care health centers had been rendered “out of service,” and 64 medical staff have been killed.
“It is absolutely life or death at this point,” Avril Benoit, executive director for Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), told CNN.
Meanwhile, Israeli leaders have rallied troops ahead of a potential ground incursion. The IDF has mobilized more than 300,000 reservists as it seeks to “destroy” Hamas and prevent it from launching further attacks on Israeli soil.
In a speech from the Oval Office Thursday, US President Joe Biden reiterated his government’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas, casting it as vital to America’s national security.
But he cautioned the Israeli government not to be “blinded by rage” and drew a clear distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people, calling for civilians in Gaza to be protected.
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"We will not leave, we will remain on our land," Palestinian Authority president tells Cairo peace summit
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Magdy Samaan
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was defiant in remarks to world leaders gathered at the Cairo Summit for Peace on Saturday, telling them “We will not leave, we will remain on our land.”
Abbas is the leader of the Palestinian Authority, a government body with limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank. It was established in the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state.
During his speech, Abbas also outlined his condemnation of civilian killings on both sides and called for the release of all hostages.
He reiterated the stance of the Palestinian Authority that “security and peace can be achieved by implementing the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy” and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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Palestinian officials say "not enough" aid delivered to Gaza Saturday
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder, Akanksha Sharma and Chris Liakos
A truck with humanitarian aid arrives in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday, October 21.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinian officials warned on Saturday that the volume of aid that reached Gaza is “not enough” to relieve the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The head of the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office, Salama Marouf, said the aid convoy “will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe that the Gaza Strip is experiencing,” pressing the importance “to establish a secure corridor that operates around the clock to provide the humanitarian and service needs that are currently completely lacking.”
Marouf also stressed “the necessity of permanently opening the Rafah crossing,” in order to facilitate the evacuation of the injured from Gaza.
Separately, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement on Saturday that the aid delivered Saturday “constitutes only 3% of the daily health and humanitarian needs that used to enter the Gaza Strip before the aggression.”
The health ministry added that “excluding the entry of fuel as part of humanitarian aid will continue to pose a threat to the lives of patients and the wounded,” with resources at hospitals in Gaza “completely dried up.”
The ministry appealed to the international community “to take immediate action to enter fuel and urgent health supplies before more lives are lost inside hospitals,” adding that “seven hospitals and 25 health facilities have gone out of service due to targeting and fuel depletion.”
Head of the Palestinian National Initiative and former legislator Mustafa Barghouti echoed the sentiment from Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
“20 trucks of aid to Gaza will not change much. Gaza needs at least 500 trucks of fuel, food, medicines and water daily,” Barghouti said.
“Immediate need now is 7,000 trucks of immediate aid. That’s why 20 trucks will not really change much,” he continued.
Barghouti also said that “what we need is opening of the Rafah crossing that could continue to provide support to Gaza.”
“We need immediate support to reduce this act of collective punishment against the Palestinian people,” he added.
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Opening of Rafah border crossing could present a "real problem" for Egyptian officials, CNN military analyst says
Speaking on the issue of the hundreds of people who have gathered at the Palestinian side of the border crossing, Leighton said holding them there while the gates open for humanitarian aid will be a “real problem.”
“It’s a potential nightmare for the Egyptian officials on the other side of the border, but more importantly for the people themselves.
“There really has to be some kind of force that goes in there in terms of a peacekeeping force… It’s really important for there to be some kind of humanitarian corridor that on the one side allows logistical goods for the civilian population in on the one side and then allows for the foreigners to leave on the other.”
He continued, “But the Egyptians are not willing to do that, and that is going to be the real problem.
“We are going to potentially see the need for some kind of non-combatant evacuation if this continues.”
The Rafah crossing was briefly opened on Saturday morning to allow the first convoy of aid trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian aid had been stuck in Egypt for days with Gaza plunged into a worsening crisis. The enclave is fast running out of food, water, fuel and medical supplies – all while being pounded by relentless airstrikes.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been gathering outside the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the hope of getting permission to leave Gaza, amid Israel’s heavy bombardment of the enclave.
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Egyptian president outlines goals for Cairo peace summit
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy, Magdy Samaan and Lina El Wardani
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks in Cairo on October 15.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he gathered world leaders in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Saturday to find a “roadmap” to end the “humanitarian tragedy” unfolding in Gaza.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas joined representatives from 34 countries and three United Nations and international bodies for the summit. Israel was absent from the gathering.
After aid is delivered to Gaza, efforts should be focused on brokering a truce and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Sisi said.
The final step in the process would be the resumption of negotiations to “revive the peace process leading to the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel on the basis of international legitimacy,” he added.
Sisi also reiterated his “complete rejection” of the displacement of Palestinians and stressed that their displacement into other areas, such as into Sinai, is not a just solution.
In his opening remarks, he also said that Egypt condemns the targeting and killing of peaceful civilians and called upon leaders to protect civilians “without discrimination.”
He condemned what he described as “the collective punishment, blockade and starvation” of “Palestinians,” stressing that Egypt has been working “around the clock” to facilitate the delivery of aid to Gaza.
It's afternoon in Gaza and Israel. Here's everything you need to know
From CNN staff
The Rafah crossing was briefly opened on Saturday morning, allowing the first convoy of aid trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid had been stuck in Egypt for days with Gaza plunged into a worsening humanitarian crisis. The enclave is fast running out of food, water, fuel and medical supplies – all while being pounded by relentless airstrikes.
Elsewhere, world leaders have been arriving in Egypt for a peace summit on the Gaza crisis Saturday, although regional experts were pessimistic that the meeting would achieve much to de-escalate the situation and protect civilians.
Below are the latest developments…
Rafah’s brief reopening: On Saturday morning, the Rafah border crossing was opened for a short window to let 20 aid trucks cross into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. While many have welcomed the brief reopening, rights groups stress that more aid is desperately needed within the besieged enclave. World Health Organization Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was one of those who warned Saturday that “needs are far higher.”
Celebrations erupt: People on the Egyptian side of the border were jubilant as the Rafah crossing briefly opened, celebrating with ululations and chants.The 20 aid trucks were from the Egyptian Red Crescent, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General.
210 Israeli hostages: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in an update that it now believes 210 people are being held hostage in Gaza, the military’s spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told journalists at a briefing on Saturday. The news comes a day after two American hostages - Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan - were released by Hamas, nearly two weeks after its deadly attack on Israel.
Hospitals “on brink of collapse”: Hospitals in Gaza are “on the brink of collapse,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned, saying that the number of patients treated or waiting to be treated is at 150% of the hospitals’ capacity, and people are lying on the floors and in corridors. It said 60% of primary healthcare facilities have shut down in Gaza, while hospitals are struggling to operate amid shortages of power, medicine, equipment and specialized personnel.
Egypt peace summit: Egypt was on Saturday holding a peace summit on the Gaza crisis. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was in the Egyptian capital for the Cairo Peace Summit, with representatives from 34 countries and three United Nations and international bodies in attendance. Israel was absent from the summit.
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Palestinian aid worker describes "really dire" conditions for those in northern Gaza
From CNN's Chris Lau, Erin Burnett and Jomana Karadsheh
Lit by the ghostly glow of a rapidly depleting mobile phone light, Mahmoud Shalabi says conditions in northern Gaza have become “really dire” without adequate access to medicine, clean water, electricity or safe passage after nearly two weeks of Israeli bombardment.
For Shalabi, a local aid worker, a working phone is one of his most vital possessions.
But the drain on the battery was worth it, he said, if he could show people around the world what is happening in northern Gaza, the half of the enclave that Israel’s military has told civilians to evacuate but where many nonetheless remain.
A father of three, Shalabi has been peppered with tough questions from his 9-year-old son about what their fate might hold.
“He asked me the other day and was crying, ‘Dad, if I die, will I go to heaven or hell?’,” Shalabi recalled. “I really couldn’t answer. I choked for a few seconds and I said we will all go to heaven, my son.”
Northern Gaza, which contains the heavily populated Gaza City, has been hit especially hard by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas gunmen streamed out of the enclave on October 7 for an unprecedented murder and kidnapping rampage.
Israel’s military has told civilians to evacuate south ahead of an expected ground offensive aimed at destroying Hamas and the many tunnels it controls under the enclave.
Aid trucks that entered Gaza Saturday were not carrying fuel supplies
From journalist Asmaa Khalil in Rafah, Lina El Wardani, Chris Liakos and Niamh Kennedy
A convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza from Egypt on October 21.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The trucks which crossed the Rafah border earlier Saturday to deliver aid to Gaza, were carrying food, water and medical supplies, but no fuel.
According to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah crossing, 13 trucks were carrying medicine and medical supplies, five were carrying food and two trucks were transporting water.
A Palestinian spokesperson for the border crossing claimed on Saturday that the aid trucks do not have “enough” supplies for even one school in Gaza. CNN cannot verify this claim.
Head of Communications for the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing Wael Abu Mohsen also told Saudi state media Al Hadath TV in an interview Saturday that fuel was not delivered, “despite fuel supplies running dangerously low at hospitals and schools in Gaza.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters on Saturday that no fuel entered Gaza in the aid convoy on Saturday.
A top relief agency official told CNN the day before that the shortage of fuel, water and electricity was leaving hospitals in Gaza “unfunctional” and in some cases “out of service.”
The fuel scarcity is causing Gaza residents to resort to using contaminated water; most of the water is not drinkable because it needs treatment units for processing, which requires fuel, CARE West Bank and Gaza Country Director Hiba Tibi said in an interview on Friday.
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"Needs are far higher" after supplies move across Rafah border, WHO says
From CNN’s Eve Brennan and Caroline Faraj
On Saturday morning, the Rafah border crossing was opened for a short window to let 20 aid trucks cross into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. While many have welcomed the brief reopening, rights groups stress that more aid is desperately needed within the besieged enclave.
World Health Organization Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was one of those who warned Saturday that “needs are far higher.”
Tedros in a post on social media said that in order “to meet the urgent health needs of all people in Gaza,” the WHO was calling for safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave, protection of all humanitarian workers and a sustained access for health aid.
According to the WHO, the supplies include “trauma medicines and supplies for 1200 people and portable trauma bags for on-the-spot stabilization of up to 235 injured people.”
“They also include chronic diseases medicines and treatments for 1500 people and basic essential medicines and health supplies for 300,000 people for three months,” said the WHO.
The organization said it was working with the Egyptian and Palestine Red Crescent societies to ensure the safe passage of the supplies and their delivery to hospitals and health facilities, adding that hospitals inside Gaza have already reached “breaking point” due to shortages.
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Israel's military says 210 people are being held hostage in Gaza
From CNN's Chris Liakos, Mariya Knight and Tamar Michaelis
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in an update that it now believes 210 people are being held hostage in Gaza, the military’s spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told journalists at a briefing on Saturday.
The news comes a day after two American hostages - Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan - were released by Hamas, nearly two weeks after its deadly attack on Israel.
Following their release, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would continue working to return all hostages.
“Two of our hostages are home. We will not ease the effort to bring back all abductees and those missing. Simultaneously, we keep fighting until a victory is reached,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted to social media on Friday.
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World leaders arrive in Egypt for peace summit
From CNN's Caroline Faraj, Lauren Kent and Niamh Kennedy
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the International Peace Summit in Cairo on Saturday.
Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Egypt was holding a peace summit on the Gaza crisis on Saturday, but regional experts were pessimistic that the meeting would achieve much to de-escalate the situation and protect civilians.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was in the Egyptian capital for the Cairo Peace Summit, with representatives from 34 countries and three United Nations and international bodies in attendance. The United States Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, to Egypt, Ambassador Beth Jones, is also present at the summit. Israel was absent from the gathering.
Several other leaders from the region have arrived in Cairo, including King Abdullah of Jordan, President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Crown Prince of Kuwait Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The summit arrivals were broadcast live on Egyptian television.
Other world leaders also flew in, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who delivered remarks to open the summit, initiated the gathering on the situation in Gaza, inviting regional and international leaders to Cairo to participate in a bid to resolve the crisis.
One senior political scientist played down hopes of a breakthrough. Dalia Dassa Kaye, a senior fellow from the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, told CNN: “I doubt we are going to see very immediate concrete results,” but added, “It is clear the Egyptians and others in the region feel a need to show some kind of diplomatic horizon.”
This post has been updated.
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UN welcomes Rafah crossing opening to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza
From CNN's Clarissa Ward in Cairo and Niamh Kennedy in London
The United Nations welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing, allowing humanitarian aid to reach Gaza for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began.
According to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, the “20-truck convoy includes life-saving supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the United Nations which are approved to cross and be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with the support of the United Nations.”
Griffiths said the aid delivery followed “days of deep and intense negotiations,” adding that the humanitarian situation in Gaza “has reached catastrophic levels.”
“I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies – including food, water, medicine and fuel – to the people of Gaza, in a safe, dependable, unconditional and unimpeded manner,” the UN relief chief said.
“The people of Gaza have endured decades of suffering. The international community cannot continue to fail them,” he added.
Separately, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the opening of the border crossing as an “important first step” in alleviating “the suffering of innocent people.”
“My thanks go to all those involved who made this possible,” the EU chief wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
The opening was also welcomed by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly who stressed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the aid transported will provide “a lifeline for those suffering” in Gaza.
“It cannot be a one off. The UK continues to push for humanitarian access to Gaza,” added Cleverly, who is currently in Egypt to attend the Cairo Summit for Peace Summit.
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Civilian casualties are inevitable in warfare in urban areas, says IDF spokesperson
From CNN’s Akanksha Sharma
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Saturday that while they try to avoid civilian casualties, they are inevitable in urban warfare.
“We will continue to minimize civilian casualties, but there will be civilian casualties, which is the nature of warfare in urban areas,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN’s Lynda Kinkade.
He added that with “the prospect of ground operation,” the IDF and its 300,000 recruits remain focused on defeating Hamas.
Responding to a question on the evacuation warnings issued to Gaza’s Al-Quds Hospital – which he confirmed had been given by the IDF, Lerner said that “coincidental debris” is one of the reasons they have been asking civilians to move south.
“There can be collateral damage caused, not by the strike but in the after-effects of the strike, and that is precisely why we’re telling people, move south,” Lerner said, adding the “south is safer.”
Lerner also said that Hamas is indulging in “psychological terrorism” with hundreds of hostages still held captive and that the IDF will do all they can to bring them back safely to Israel while keeping “civilians and noncombatants out of harm’s way.”
Two American hostages, a mother and daughter, taken by Hamas during the initial October 7 attack were released on Friday, according to the IDF. They are currently on their way to an Israeli military base to be reunited with family, according to the office for Israel’s prime minister.
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Israel urges citizens to leave Jordan and Egypt; advises against non-essential travel to Morocco
From CNN's Richard Greene in Jerusalem
Israel on Saturday advised against all travel to Jordan and Egypt and urged citizens who are in the two countries to “leave immediately,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Israel also further raised its travel warning to Morocco to level 3, advising against “any non-essential travel to the country.”
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Hamas says the aid convoy is loaded with medical supplies
From CNN’s Abeer Salman
The aid convoy of 20 trucks that finally entered the besieged Gaza on Saturday was supposed to be filled with “medicines, medical supplies and a limited quantity of canned food,” the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office said in a statement before the Rafah crossing was briefly opened.
This post has been updated.
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Celebrations erupt on Egypt side of Rafah border crossing during brief opening
From journalist Asmaa Khalil in Rafah and Clarissa Ward in Cairo
Aid workers celebrate after the brief opening of the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
CNN
People on the Egyptian side of the border were jubilant as the Rafah crossing briefly opened on Saturday morning, celebrating with ululations and chants.
The crossing closed quickly after 20 trucks crossed into Gaza, according to a CNN stringer on the Egyptian side of the border.
The 20 aid trucks were from the Egyptian Red Crescent, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General.
UN aid trucks are expected to move through the border crossing into Gaza on Monday, the UN spokesperson told CNN.
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Crossing closes after 20 aid trucks pass through
The Rafah crossing closed soon after 20 trucks went through, according to a CNN stringer on the Egyptian side of the border.
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First humanitarian aid trucks enter Gaza
From CNN’s Abeer Salman
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrive on the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
The first convoy of aid trucks have entered besieged Gaza on Saturday, as seen by CNN’s team on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
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Trucks crossing on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, Egyptian TV shows
From CNN's Lina El Wardani
Live footage on Egyptian state TV shows trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
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US embassy in Israel says it has received information that Rafah crossing will open at 10 a.m. local time
From CNN’s Richard Allen Greene, Sophie Jeong and Yahya Abou-Ghazala
A satellite image shows the Gaza side of Rafah crossing on Friday.
Maxar Technologies/Reuters
The US embassy in Israel says it has received information that the Rafah crossing will open at 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) on Saturday.
The embassy added that the situation remains “dynamic and fluid,” and the security environment is “unpredictable,” advising people to “assess your personal safety and security before choosing to move toward the border or trying to cross.”
Remember: Humanitarian aid has been stuck in Egypt for days as Gaza plunges into a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Gaza is fast running out of food, water, fuel and medical supplies – all while being pounded by relentless airstrikes.
The electricity blackout and ban on fuel imports have had “devastating consequences” on the healthcare system and access to clean water, warned the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday.
It added that about 1.4 million people had been displaced in Gaza – more than 60% of the entire strip’s population of 2 million.
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The war has forced Israel’s Arab citizens to explain that no, they are not Hamas
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová and Adi Kopelwitz
When 20-year-old Aya Najame, an Arab Muslim, was a little girl growing up in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, she would go on cultural exchange trips to Jewish schools to learn about the Jewish way of life. Jewish children would do the same, visiting Najame’s school to learn about her life.
Arab citizens and permanent residents in Israel make up just over 20% of the country’s population. The roughly 2 million people are distinct from Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza – but they are far from a uniform group.
Most are Muslims, but there is also a large Christian Arab minority. And while around 1.5 million hold Israeli citizenship, many of those living in Jerusalem have only permanent residency status and are not full citizens. Some identify as Arabs, some as Palestinians, some as Druze, a religious sect spread throughout Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
Some speak fluent Hebrew and live in mixed communities such as Haifa, while others reside in segregated towns and say they feel like second-class citizens due to discrimination from Israeli authorities. Several hundred choose to serve in the Israeli military each year, even though they are exempt from compulsory service. Many have family in the West Bank and Gaza.
Haifa is not like the rest of Israel, Najame says.
The Hamas terror attacks, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, and the subsequent heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which Palestinian officials say has killed more than 4,100 in the enclave so far, have ramped up tensions at a time when relationships between some groups were already fraught.
Since December, Israel has been governed by the most right-wing government in its history. Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some opposition leaders joined an emergency war cabinet to manage the war. The government’s national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir is an extremist who has been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism. The finance minister is Bezalel Smotrich, who supports abolishing the Palestinian Authority and annexing the West Bank – neither are part of the war cabinet, although they are maintaining their ministerial roles.
Hospitals in Gaza "on the brink of collapse," UN says
From CNN’s Jennifer Hauser in Hong Kong
A man carries a dead body to an ice cream refrigerator due to the insufficiency of hospital morgues in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on October 14.
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Hospitals in Gaza are “on the brink of collapse,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned, saying that the number of patients treated or waiting to be treated is at 150% of the hospitals’ capacity, and people are lying on the floors and corridors.
It said 60% of primary healthcare facilities have shut down in Gaza, while hospitals are struggling to operate amid shortages of power, medicine, equipment and specialized personnel.
The water situation in Gaza also remains dire. The last functioning desalination plant shut down last Sunday due to lack of fuel, as did the last functioning wastewater treatment plant, the UN reported.
“Bottled water is largely unavailable, and its price has made it unaffordable for most families. Private vendors, who operate small water desalination and purification plants, which are mostly run by solar energy, became the main suppliers of clean drinking water,” the OCHA statement added.
Sanitation is deteriorating. All five wastewater treatments in Gaza have been shut down due to a lack of power, so a lot of sewage is being dumped in the sea, and “most of the 65 sewage pumping stations are not operational,” according to OCHA. Trash is also piling up.
Food security is unstable. Three out of the five World Food Programme (WFP) bakeries in Gaza closed on Friday due to fuel shortages and lack of ingredients, OCHA said. Wheat flour across Gaza could run out in “about five days,” and only one of the five mills in Gaza is currently running.
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Rabbi for freed US hostages celebrates their release
From CNN's Eric Bradner
At the home of Rabbi Meir Hecht in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, the release of two American hostages from Hamas came as a miracle to the congregation.
Rabbi Hecht’s wife, Yehudis Hecht, lit two candles to usher in Shabbat just before 6 p.m. Central time Friday after they received news of the release of Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan.
They did so to “thank God for miracles and pray for continued miracles for all of Israel.”
Rabbi Hecht told reporters that the hearts of the members of his synagogue – which Judith attends – “are filled with overflowing gratitude to the almighty God for his kindness and for this miracle that we have seen before our eyes.”
Judith and Natalie were two out of the 200 people abducted by Hamas and Rabbi Hecht said they will continue to pray for the release of “every single one of those hostages” in the “hands of vile, vicious, savage murderers and terrorists, Hamas.”
About a dozen members of Hecht’s synagogue had also gathered at his home Friday night.
Sarah Neikrug, a 47-year-old HR worker in Evanston, said she did not know the Raanans personally, but was “surprised, happy, in shock, elated” by the release of Judith and Natalie.
The Raanans, who are from Chicago, had been visiting relatives in Nahal Oz, a farming community in southern Israel, when they were taken hostage on October 7, according to their family.
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Biden leaving war planning to Israelis but asked "hard questions" about strategy, US official says
From CNN's Betsy Klein, Kayla Tausche and Kaanita Iyer
Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Friday.
Julia Nikhinson/Reuters
The US is allowing Israel to make its own calls on timing and strategy in its war with Hamas, but US President Joe Biden did weigh in on the matter during his visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet in Tel Aviv earlier this week, according to a senior administration official.
The White House late Friday sought to clarify a brief comment made by Biden after he was asked by a reporter whether Israel should delay a ground invasion in Gaza until more hostages could get out. As he climbed the stairs to Air Force One, the president responded, “Yes.”
The White House immediately moved to explain the president’s comments.
Earlier Friday, Hamas released two American hostages in a deal brokered by the Qatari government. A number of foreign nationals were among those kidnapped by Hamas, but information about the status, location and identity of all the hostages remains scarce.
As CNN has reported, the US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, according to US and Western officials.
Death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight climbs to 29, Hamas-run Ministry of Interior says
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury
Israeli airstrikes on north and central Gaza killed at least 29 people overnight, the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in Gaza said in a statement early Saturday.
The ministry said at least 14 people were killed in airstrikes on Jabalia in northern Gaza.
In an earlier statement the ministry claimed that the airstrikes were “targeting” residential homes.
CNN cannot independently verify those claims. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, 4,127 people have died in the violence in Gaza, including 1,661 children.
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A somber moment for families at an empty Shabbat dinner table set for 200
From CNN's Jerome Taylor
The release of two American hostages is a bittersweet moment for the families of some 200 captives still being held by Hamas.
Earlier on Friday, before the two hostages were freed, many of those families were at a ceremony in Tel Aviv where a Shabbat dinner table had been laid with 200 empty place settings, each one representing a hostage.
Among those attending were the parents of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 while he was at the Nova music festival.
Omer’s parents spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, describing the frantic and terrified moments they last heard from their son over the phone when the Hamas attack began.
Omer’s father Malki Shem Tov remembered how each call became more and more panicked as Omer and his friends tried to escape the Hamas gunmen.
He recalled Omer saying “I love you, I love you” over the phone.
Shelley, Omer’s mother, said her son managed to jump in a car and turn on live location so they could track where he was going.
Soon their worst fears were realized as the marker began heading in the wrong direction.
For nearly two weeks now they have waited for news. And two Shabbat meals have now passed without their son at the family dinner table.
Shabbat (Hebrew for the Sabbath) begins each Friday at sunset and ends at sundown the following day.
It celebrates the seventh day of creation in the Book of Genesis, a holy day of rest and reflection after the labors of the week and is often a time when Jewish families gather for meals and prayer.
Asked what her message would be for Omer, Shelley gave a heartbroken mother’s reply, saying “That I love him, that I miss him.”
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Over half a million sheltering in Gaza UN shelters are in "increasingly dire conditions," organization says
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
Displaced people are seen at a United Nations school in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Friday.
Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
About 1.4 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and more than 544,000 are sheltering in 147 UN-designated emergency shelters that are in “increasingly dire conditions,” according to a statement Saturday by the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The number of the displaced constitutes more than 60% of Gaza’s population of about 2 million people.
“Increasing water consumption from unsafe sources elevates the threat of infectious disease outbreaks,” OCHA said.
In a statement earlier on Friday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also warned of the dire conditions in the strip and said that 16 of UNRWA’s staff have lost their lives over the last 12 days.
US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House Friday that trucks carrying much-needed humanitarian aid should enter Gaza “within the next 24-48 hours.”
CNN’s Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.
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Hamas has released 2 American hostages but many remain unaccounted for. Here's what you should know
From CNN Staff
Judith and Natalie Raanan are seen escorted by Israeli soldiers on Friday.
Government of Israel/AP
Hamas has released two American hostages – Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan – nearly two weeks after it launched a deadly attack in Israel and abducted around 200 people.
The US citizens were handed over at the border with Gaza and are now in the care of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Friday.
The US welcomes the release and “shares in the relief that their families, friends and loved ones are feeling,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a briefing.
US President Joe Biden, who spoke with the released hostages by phone Friday, said he is “overjoyed” the mother and daughter will “soon be reunited with their family.”
Israel previously told the US government that some Americans held hostage by Hamas are known to be alive, a US official told CNN.
Here’s more details you should know:
Home by next week:Ben Raanan, the brother of Natalie Raanan, says his sister is likely to return to the US within the next few days. He told CNN their freedom came suddenly and that his joy at the release is tempered by the continued suffering of so many others in the conflict. “There are families all over in Gaza and in Israel that are experiencing a lot that I can’t even imagine,” he said.
Freed hostages “in a good state”:Uri Raanan, the father of Natalie Raanan, said Friday he had spoken with his daughter that day and she was in a good state. He said his daughter’s mother had a “little scratch on her hand,” but hadn’t reported any other injuries.
Captives still unaccounted for: Blinken said there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for out of the 200 captives being held in Gaza, including men, women, elderly people and children. Blinken said “the urgent work to free every single American, to free all other hostages, continues.”
The US was “very much involved” in securing the release of the hostages, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. He also offered to credit Israel and Qatar, which played “key roles” in the process. But Kirby declined to discuss the motivations and details behind Hamas’ willingness to release them.
Israel working to return all hostages: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will continue working to return all hostages. “We will not ease the effort to bring back all abductees and those missing,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas claims they are working with mediators: Shortly after the release of the two American hostages on Friday, Hamas issued a statement saying they are working with mediators in Egypt, Qatar and other “friendly countries.”
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US expects Rafah border crossing to open for humanitarian aid soon
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid wait in front of the Rafah border crossing on Friday.
Sayed Hassan/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he expected to see the Rafah border crossing open for humanitarian aid to Gaza soon.
During a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said the US has been working relentlessly with former Ambassador David Satterfield, who was tapped by US President Joe Biden as the special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues on the ground, as well as the United Nations, Egypt and Israel to put Biden’s proposed plan into motion.
The Rafah crossing has not opened for desperately-needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and President Joe Biden told reporters it could still be 24-48 hours until it enters.
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What is the two-state solution?
From CNN's Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Aditi Sangal
The idea of the two-state solution sounds simple enough – an Israeli state next to a Palestinian state, existing side by side in peace.
It has been the goal of the international community for decades, dating back to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, and many nations say it is the only way out of the conflict.
But progress on the goal has been far from easy, and has stalled in recent years. The two sides have failed to come to an agreement over several issues central to the solution.
Both claim parts, if not all, of the holy city of Jerusalem as their capital. They dispute where to draw borders and they continue to clash over Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
Additionally, what happens to the Palestinian refugees who fled what is now Israel after the 1948 war is a point of contention. The United Nations estimates that there are 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the world.
It would recognize a 1967 demarcation line known as the Green Line to partition Palestinian and Israeli land, subject to land swaps based on negotiations, and it would divide Jerusalem between the two states.
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Blinken will not say outright whether he believes Israel has respected the laws of war
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday would not say outright whether he believes Israel has respected the laws of war in its actions toward Gaza.
As outrage has grown from Arab partners of the US over the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the death toll of civilians resulting from Israeli strikes, the top US diplomat continued to try to walk a delicate line of voicing support for Israel’s “right” and “obligation to defend itself,” while stressing that it should seek to minimize the toll on civilians.
“I can just say for the part of the United States that this continues to be important to us. And again, it’s what distinguishes us, distinguishes Israel, from terrorist groups like Hamas, which not only have absolutely no concern for innocent human life, they intentionally use innocent human lives to hide behind, to use as quite literally as human shields, knowing that civilians invariably are going to suffer in conflict,” Blinken said.
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Protests erupt across Middle East as US' Arab allies warn against pushing Palestinians out
From CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim
An aerial view of people holding banners and flags during a pro-Palestinian protest on Friday.
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Protests erupted around the Arab world on Friday as the Gaza war raged and an Israeli ground operation with the potential to displace millions of Palestinians loomed.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank after Islamic Friday prayers to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
The war has so far killed 4,127 people in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. It was launched by Israel in retaliation for an October 7 attack on the country by Gaza’s Hamas rulers — Israeli authorities say 1,400 people were killed and around 200 were taken hostage.
In a sign of the growing anger over the Israeli operation in Gaza, Egypt sanctioned its first major nationwide protest in a decade. Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday near downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square in support of Palestinians, and demonstrations occurred in other Egyptian cities.
Some of the Cairo protesters chanted, “Where is the Arab army?” and, “Here they are, the Zionists,” referring to Egypt’s riot police, who pushed demonstrators into nearby Bab el-Louk Square and closed access to Tahrir.
In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, several hundred people took to the streets to denounce the Israeli offensive. Many waved the Palestinian and Lebanese flags, along with the flags of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its political ally in Lebanon, Amal. Young protesters burned the American flag, decrying Washington’s support for Israel.
Hundreds of Iraqis, mostly supporters of Iran-backed militias, staged a sit-in Friday at Iraq’s main border crossing with Jordan. Others protested in Baghdad, not far from the fortified Green Zone that houses the United States embassy.
In Jordan’s capital, Amman, some 6,000 protesters marched in support of Gazans. Some chanted slogans urging Hamas to intensify its strikes on Israel, Reuters reported.
The protests signal growing anger on the Arab street and frustration among regional leaders with the war as the Palestinian death toll climbs, and with the US’ perceived unwillingness to put restraints on Israel’s actions.
Rhetoric against Israel has been particularly heated from the governments of Jordan and Egypt, two US-allied countries that border the Jewish state and were the first Arab nations to sign peace treaties with it. Amman and Cairo have sounded alarms over what they perceive as a plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank to Egypt and Jordan. While Israel has not announced any such plans, both countries have warned such a move could pull them into war.
US and its allies call for Israel to set out clear goals if and when a ground invasion of Gaza is launched
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Oren Liebermann
The US and its allies have been urging Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals if and when it launches a ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, US and Western officials told CNN.
In private discussions with their Israeli counterparts, Western defense officials have not tried to dissuade Israel from moving into Gaza with ground forces, the sources said.
But they have emphasized that Israel should have clear objectives when it comes to degrading Hamas and seeking to avoid a long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip.
While he said that “taking out the extremists is a necessary requirement” for Israel, “Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”
And on Wednesday, while in Tel Aviv, Biden warned in public remarks that wartime leadership “requires clarity about the objectives and an honest assessment about whether the path you’re on will achieve those objectives.”
An Israeli official confirmed that these discussions with the US and other allies are taking place.
A separate senior Israeli official said Friday that “Israel is well aware of the humanitarian issues and is taking steps to address it in cooperation with the US government. It’s Hamas who has turned the 2 million people of Gaza into a human shield.”
In a news conference at the Rafah crossing Friday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the critical importance of delivering aid to Gaza, saying the vehicles carrying supplies “are not just trucks — they are a lifeline.”
The entire population of Gaza has been cut off from supplies of electricity, food, fuel and water for over a week under a “complete siege” ordered by Israel in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening by the hour as vital aid struggles to get through. Conditions in Gaza are deteriorating as Israeli strikes pound the Palestinian enclave and aid agencies warn hospitals are nearly out of fuel.
