October 31, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

Mohammad Al Aswad was only 100 meters (320 feet) away from Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza when he said he heard huge missiles.

“I ran like crazy to the area. I found my family all safe, but the scene was horrific,” Al Aswad told CNN on the phone from Gaza Strip. “Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognized. Some were bleeding and others were burnt.”

He said most of his relatives live in this area, along with many displaced people who have come to the area. The impacted area was so hot that he burnt his feet, he said.

Al Aswad said he previously took civil defense and paramedics training so he is able to help rescue people.

“Injured people were trying to carry their loved ones and take them to the ambulances, whether they were killed or severely injured. Others were using their donkey carts to take injuries to the hospitals,” Al Aswad said.

Jabalya is the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight refugee camps, according to the main United Nations agency supporting Palestinians in the territory.

The Rafah border crossing is set to open Wednesday morning to allow 81 wounded Palestinians from Gaza treatment in Egypt hospitals, according to an Egyptian border official.

The official spoke to a CNN journalist at the border crossing on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The official confirmed that the 81 Palestinians were “seriously injured” patients from Gaza who will get treatment in Egypt.

The 81 Palestinians are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals across Gaza, Al Shifa hospital director Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiyeh told CNN. Most of the patients require surgical intervention in operating rooms, a procedure not currently available in Gaza, Abu Silmiyeh said. They will be discharged from the hospitals in Gaza and then complete their treatments in a field hospital in Egypt’s Sheikh Zuweid city, Abu Silmiyeh said. 

Khaled Zayed, director of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, also confirmed the location of the field hospital in an interview with CNN’s Melissa Bell at the Rafah border crossing earlier on Tuesday, saying Egypt is “ready to receive them.” 

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of a strike in Jabalya Refugee Camp in Gaza on Tuesday.

An Israeli strike in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed a large number of people and has left catastrophic damage, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike was targeting a Hamas commander. The Israeli military said later Tuesday that it had taken out Ibrahim Biari — who was one of the leaders of the October 7th terror attack in Israel, according to spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.

Hamas however has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in camp, according to Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem. He accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a “heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp.”

Here’s what you need to know about the strike and other news from Israel and Gaza today:

Impacts of the strike: The Ministry of Interior in Gaza reported that 20 homes “were completely destroyed” in the residential Jabalya Refugee Camp. “Hundreds” of dead and injured people arrived at Gaza’s Indonesian hospital, its director, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, told CNN, adding that many people are still under the rubble. Another doctor, Dr. Mohammad alRann, described a “scene no one can imagine” at the hospital — there are “charred bodies in the hundreds” and “patients and injured are on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area” of one of Gaza’s largest hospital, he said.

Death toll in Gaza rises again: At least 8,485 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to an update earlier Tuesday from the Palestinian Ministry of Health based in Ramallah, West Bank, quoting data sourced from within Hamas-controlled Gaza. In addition, more than 21,000 people have been injured, it added. About 73% of the deaths are women, children and the elderly, the ministry reported. And amid Israel’s ground operation, the country’s military claimed it killed “approximately 50 Hamas terrorists” in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Aid trucks trickle into Gaza: At least 66 trucks crossed the border into Gaza in the last 24 hours — the highest single-day delivery of aid to the enclave so far, according to the White House. The US is trying to get 100 trucks a day to enter Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. Prior to October 7, there were 450 trucks going into Gaza daily, said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, in a press briefing last week. But US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday that he had no announcements to make about the opening of the Rafah crossing for civilians. He did note that “we have made good progress, even in the past few hours.”

About 400 Americans and their family members are stuck in Gaza: About 1,000 people are seeking to leave the enclave, Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday, adding he and the State Department are “focused on this intensively.”

Protests at US Senate hearing: Blinken’s opening remarks at the Senate committee hearing Tuesday were quickly and repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Within minutes of speaking, Blinken was interrupted by a man shouting “ceasefire now” and “save the children of Gaza.” There were other protesters in the audience with their hands, painted red, in the air. A dozen protesters were arrested during the congressional hearing, according to Capitol Police.

US emphasizes on protecting Palestinian civilians: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he has “repeatedly made clear” to Israeli leaders that they must ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians. “Now, we fully understand that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. And we mourn the loss of Palestinian civilians,” Austin said in opening remarks to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Several United States officials are saying Israel is not targeting civilians and is working to minimize harm to people in Gaza, despite a strike Tuesday at the Jabalya refugee camp that has resulted in many casualties.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN that the airstrike was targeting a Hamas commander, whom he accused of “hiding, as they do, behind civilians.” Civilian deaths, Hecht also said, are “the tragedy of war.”

Hamas however has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in camp, Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday that the Israeli military is not “deliberately targeting civilians, unlike Hamas.”

Ryder said he could not “speak to individual Israeli strikes” but said the Pentagon does “care about civilian casualties, and we’ve made it both clear publicly and privately about our concern for the protection of innocent life and the respect for the law of war.”

The White House said it has seen “indications” that Israel is trying to protect civilians. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the deaths as a result of the strike on the Jabalya refugee camp “all tragedies” and said the US would “continue to work with the Israelis about the need to respect human life, and to try to limit civilian casualties.”

Asked if he would go as far as to say that Israel is not successfully minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza, Kirby replied: “It’s obvious to us that they are trying to minimize [civilian casualties].”

Meanwhile, the State Department would not comment on the Israeli strike on the Jabalya refugee camp except to say generally that the US has said to Israel that they must minimize civilian harm.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller would not comment on whether or not the US has laid down any “red lines” for Israel or whether the US would accept the killing of a Hamas commander in a civilian area as justification for the deaths of scores of civilian casualties.

The Senate confirmed former US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, 53-43, as the new US ambassador to Israel, despite stiff opposition from Senate Republicans over his involvement in the Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration.

Earlier Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the importance of filling the vacancy in Israel amid the current conflict.

“With everything happening in Israel right now, confirming Jack Lew at this moment will be one of the most important and consequential nomination votes the Senate has taken in a long time,” he said. 

Schumer added, “Lew has a strong, long, proven record as a public servant and ferocious ally of Israel, and it will help send a powerful message of support to Israel to have this appointment filled ASAP.”

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul were the only two Republicans to vote to confirm Lew. After the vote, Graham released a statement defending his vote. 

He added, “The leaders I spoke with in the Israeli government both knew and were comfortable with Mr. Lew serving in this position. A vote for his confirmation was not something I took lightly, but given the circumstances, I believe it is the right call.”

Following the Israeli strike on Jabalya refugee camp several countries in the Middle East have spoken out against the attack.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s deadly strike in a statement.

“Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression that targeted the Jabalya camp in the Gaza Strip this evening, holding Israel, the occupying power responsible for this dangerous development,” the statement, released on X, previously known as Twitter, said.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry “affirmed the Kingdom’s strong rejection and condemnation of this act, which contradicts all human and moral values and the rules of international humanitarian law.”

Saudi Arabia also condemned the airstrike in northern Gaza. 

Saudi Arabia “affirmed that the dangerous humanitarian conditions resulting from the continuous escalation cannot be justified at all,” according to a statement released by the country’s foreign ministry.

“Sparing blood, protecting civilians, and stopping military operations are urgent priorities for which any procrastination or disruption cannot be accepted, and failure to immediately adhere to them will inevitably lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for which the Israeli occupation and the international community bear responsibility,” the statement added.

Iran “condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric attack” on the Jabalya camp in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

Kanaani said “This action added another stain to the long list of war crimes committed,” by Israel.

Kanaani urged “the international community, especially the United Nations and the Security Council, to immediately fulfill its international responsibility,” in stopping the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike, warning that “indiscriminate attacks will result in irreparable ramifications in the region.”

In a statement, the UAE foreign ministry urged, “an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, stressing the importance of protecting civilians, according to international humanitarian law, international treaties, and the need to ensure that they are not targeted during conflict.”

The statement also warned that “the continued lack of a political horizon risks catastrophic repercussions, and disregarding the potential consequences would lead to devastating outcomes for the prospects of peace and stability in the region.”

Palestinians mourn after an Israeli airstrike on Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, on Tuesday.

Israeli human rights organization B’tselem condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza on Tuesday following the deadly strike on the Jabalya refugee camp.

B’tselem went on to criticize Israel’s operations and the civilians that have been killed.

The statement added, “More than half of them women and children. Entire buildings have collapsed with occupants still inside. Whole families have been wiped out in an instant. This criminal harm to civilians is intolerable and the obvious needs to be stated again and again – not everything is allowed in war, including war on Hamas. Targeting civilians is always prohibited and Israel must stop these attacks now.”

The statement was released shortly after an Israeli strike on the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza caused many casualties, officials in the enclave said Tuesday.

A United Nations human rights official is leaving his job over what he calls a “genocide” in Gaza that the UN has failed to stop.

Craig Mokhiber, the director of the UN’s New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a letter that Gaza is a textbook case of genocide. Mokhiber said he lived in Gaza working on human rights for the UN in the 90s.

He accused the United States, the United Kingdom and European countries of giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s atrocities. 

In the letter, which began with a statement acknowledging it would be his last official communication in his position, Mokhiber wrote that after witnessing what happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, and to Rohingya civilians in Myanmar, the UN has repeatedly failed to stop genocide.

“High Commissioner, we are failing again,” he added. The letter was sent to the UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk in Geneva. 

The UN Secretary-General press secretary said Mokhiber is retiring as of Tuesday. 

CNN has reached out to Mokhiber for comment

CNN’s Tara John contributed reporting to this post.

US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday that he had no announcements to make about the opening of the Rafah crossing for civilians but noted that “we have made good progress, even in the past few hours.”

Miller said the department was working intensively on the issue, with Ambassador David Satterfield working the matter on the ground.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Qatari counterpart Monday about pressing Hamas to allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave, Miller said.

The official said that once an agreement is reached, his understanding is it is not a process that would occur instantly. He encouraged all Americans in Gaza who wish to leave to register with the State Department.

Blinken told lawmakers earlier Tuesday, that approximately 400 American citizens and their family members – about 1,000 people total – are stuck in Gaza and are seeking to leave. There are about 5,000 other third-country nationals in Gaza who also want to get out, Blinken said.

Some more context: Rafah crossing, a border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, has been touted as the last hope for Gazans to escape as Israel’s bombs rain down, and many Palestinians have begun moving in its direction in anticipation. The crossing at Rafah however, has been closed except for a few occasions when it opened to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza.

Read more about the Rafah crossing here.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Rafah, Egypt, on Tuesday.

At least 66 trucks crossed the border into Gaza in the last 24 hours — the highest single-day delivery of aid to the enclave so far, according to the White House.

While it is an improvement in the amount of aid entering Gaza since the conflict began earlier this month, it’s still just a “fraction of the need,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Tuesday.

He said President Joe Biden’s administration was “obviously watching this as closely as we can.” The United States is also pushing for the resumption of essential services in Gaza, including water and the delivery of fuel, Kirby said.  

“Fuel is going to be critical here, certainly in the coming hours and days, as the existing stocks are running low to near empty,” he said. He added that the US is also “supporting efforts for safe passage,” but wants to make it clear to civilians that “we will not support any forced relocation of Palestinians outside of Gaza.” 

To that end, Kirby said, Biden would speak to Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday afternoon to discuss “further cooperation with their partners to address this worsening humanitarian situation.” 

Palestinians search for survivors following an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalya refugee camp on Tuesday.

An eyewitness to the Israel Defense Forces strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza told CNN he saw an F-16 aircraft fire several missiles at the camp.

“I was waiting in line to buy bread when suddenly and without any prior warning, seven to eight missiles fell from an F-16 on al-Yafawiya neighbourhood in the refugee camp,” Mohammad Ibrahim told CNN.

Photos from the site of the strike showed multiple deep craters, surrounded by destroyed or damaged buildings. Video also showed people searching through the rubble for survivors. 

Dr. Atef al-Kalhout, the head of the nearby Indonesian hospital, where large numbers of the dead and wounded have flooded in, estimated that scores had been killed in the strike. The hospital is the nearest major medical facility to Jabalya and is one of the most damaged in Gaza due to multiple strikes in the vicinity.

Videos from the hospital showed a long line of bodies lying on the floor of the hospital as well as large numbers of wounded people, including children, as doctors rushed to treat their injuries. Many of the injured are seen treated on the floor because of the hospital’s overcrowded conditions.

This post has been updated with new information about the strike.

The Israeli military claimed Tuesday that it had taken out a top Hamas commander — who was one of the leaders of the October 7 attack on Israel — in a strike on the Jabalya refugee camp.

Spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said earlier that the IDF was targeting “a very senior Hamas commander” in the area around the camp.

The IDF said Biari oversaw all military operations in the northern Gaza Strip since it began its ground operation and was also involved in multiple attacks on Israel going back decades.

The IDF said it had carried out a wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabalya Battalion, which it said had taken control of civilian buildings. As part of the strike, Hamas’ command and control and its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers in Gaza were damaged.

The IDF also said “a large number of terrorists” were killed in the strike, which also led to the collapse of the underground infrastructure they were using. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it “condemns in the strongest terms the new massacre committed by the occupation against our people in the Jabalya camp,” referencing “chilling documented scenes” of children and women. 

What Hamas is saying: Hamas, however, denied Israeli assertions regarding the presence of one of its leaders in the camp, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

Qassem accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a “heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp.”

Jabalya is the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight refugee camps, according to the main United Nations agency supporting Palestinians in the territory. Photos of the site showed multiple large craters in the ground, surrounded by the rubble of destroyed and damaged buildings.

The US is sending 300 more troops to the US Central Command region, which covers the Middle East and parts of Africa, in the wake of the current Israel-Hamas conflict, according to a Defense Department spokesperson. 

Ryder said that the Defense Department would not disclose where specifically the additional forces will be sent, except to “confirm they’re not going to Israel.”

“They are intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force protection capabilities,” said Ryder.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday the Hamas commander who was the target of an airstrike at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza was “hiding, as they do, behind civilians.”

The strike caused many casualties at Jabalya, the largest refugee camp in Gaza, according to authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

When Blitzer asked the spokesperson about innocent civilians in the refugee camp, Hecht responded, “This is the tragedy of war, Wolf.”

He reiterated the IDF call to evacuate: “Civilians (who) are not involved with Hamas, please move south.”

Hecht said the Hamas commander who was the target of the strike “killed many Israelis.”

Family members of Wadea Al Fayoume, a six year-old who was stabbed to death, bring out his casket from Mosque Foundation to the hearse in Bridgeview, Illinois, on October 16.

The United States’ largest Muslim civil rights organization said reports of assault, intimidation and harassment against Muslims in the country are on the rise since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. 

In a report published last week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it received 774 complaints from October 7 through October 25, compared to an average 16-day period of about 225 complaints last year.

The nonprofit said this is the largest wave of reports logged since late 2015 — but cautioned the true number of incidents was likely much higher.   

In October, CAIR documented anti-Muslim incidents that range from the killing of a six-year old Palestinian-American Muslim boy to people driving vehicles into pro-Palestinian demonstrators. 

Saylor said his team has also documented incidents of doxxing and bosses threatening to fire employees over pro-Palestinian statements. 

“What I’m hearing is that a lot of Muslims are very conscientious of their surroundings and increasingly more concerned about what they say being used against them,” Saylor said.

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of a strike at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza on Tuesday.

An Israeli strike targeting a Hamas commander in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza has left catastrophic damage and killed a large number of people, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.

According to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the airstrike targeted and killed Ibrahim Biari, whom it described as one of the Hamas commanders responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel, which left than 1,400 people dead and hundreds taken hostage.

The IDF also said “numerous other Hamas terrorists” were hit in the strike, and claimed the Central Jabalya Battalion had taken control of civilian buildings.

Hamas however has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in camp. Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for the militant group, accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a “heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp.”

The Ministry of Interior in Gaza reported that “20 homes were completely destroyed in the Israeli bombing that targeted a residential neighbourhood” in the Jabalya camp.

The director of Gaza’s Indonesian hospital, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, told CNN that “hundreds” of dead and injured people arrived at the hospital. “Many are still under the rubble,” he added. 

“What you see is a scene no one can imagine: injured martyrs, charred bodies in the hundreds,” said Dr. Mohammad alRann of the Indonesian hospital, one of the largest in Gaza, which received many of the casualties from the strike. “The patients and injured are on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area.”

Photos of the site showed multiple large craters in the ground, surrounded by the rubble of destroyed and damaged buildings.

What to know about the camp: The Jabalya refugee camp is the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight refugee camps, according to the main UN agency supporting Palestinians in the territory, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).    

Located north of Gaza City, Jabalya is the nearest camp to the Erez border crossing that – in more peaceful times – linked Gaza to Israel.

Many Palestinian refugees settled in the camp in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, after fleeing villages in what became the state of Israel, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). At last count in 2023, there were 116,011 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in the camp.

The camp is spread out across 1.4 square kilometers and has long grappled with overcrowding. According to UNRWA, many of the camp’s shelters are “built in close proximity” with many residents forced to add “extra floors to their shelters to accommodate their families.”

Clean water supply has also been a challenge in the camp with “with 90 percent of the water being unfit for human consumption,” according to UNRWA. In a UNRWA situation update dated October 27, the UN agency said that water wells were functional in the camp.

This post has been updated with new details about the airstrike on Jabalya.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that it would “make the most sense” for an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza.”

The PA, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has recognized Israel and engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it. But its credibility among Palestinians has suffered over the years.

The top US diplomat has repeatedly said that there cannot be a return to the “status quo” with Hamas, and Israeli officials have said it is their aim to eliminate the group from Gaza.

“We also can’t have, and the Israeli start with this proposition themselves, Israel, running or controlling Gaza. That’s not their intent. It’s what they want to do. And it’s not something that would be supported,” Blinken said.

Two Israeli troops were killed in Gaza on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, in the first announcement of IDF troop deaths in the territory since the military ground operation ramped up on Friday night.

The IDF named them as Staff Sgt. Roei Wolf and Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz, both 20. They were both killed in battle in the north of the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the House’s Israel aid package to go to the floor on Thursday, he told Fox News in an interview that was taped Monday. 

“I’m hoping Thursday,” he told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany in a clip that aired Tuesday afternoon.

Johnson also met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Blinken was on Capitol Hill testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee about the need for an emergency supplemental that would include Ukraine as well as Israel. 

Johnson has opposed linking Israel and Ukraine aid, a contrast with Democrats as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Blinken said very little as he left the nearly half-hour meeting with Johnson. 

“It was a very good meeting. I really appreciate the opportunity. I’ll leave our conversation at that,” he said. 

He would not answer questions about packaging Ukraine funding into the Israel supplemental funding bill.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in Washington on Tuesday.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers Thursday that the United States is in a “heightened threat environment” following Hamas’ October 7 attacks in Israel.

Mayorkas listed a series of actions that President Joe Biden’s administration is taking to assist communities and law enforcement, including providing information and intelligence, issuing a joint intelligence bulletin in the immediate aftermath of the attack, distributing funding to help secure places of worship and communicating with faith communities.

“We are engaging extensively with faith communities, speaking with them about the steps that they can take to ensure that the individuals who practice, continue to practice, their faith, which is so foundational are able to do so with a sense of security,” Mayorkas said.

Possible threats at “historic levels”: FBI Director Christopher Wray echoed those actions during the Senate hearing, saying that his agency is also involved in outreach and tackling hate crimes.

“This is a threat that is reaching, in some way, sort of historic levels,” Wray said.

Wray said that propaganda may encourage violent extremists or other lone-wolf actors within the United States.

He continued, “To have this many foreign terrorist organizations this explicitly calling for attacks significantly … takes the threat level, the threat environment, the risk to a whole other level here.”

Approximately 400 American citizens and their family members – about 1,000 people total – are stuck in Gaza and are seeking to leave, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.

The top US diplomat said he and the State Department are “focused on this intensively.”

There are about 5,000 other third-country nationals in Gaza who also want to get out, Blinken said.

Blinken echoed other US officials in blaming Hamas for Americans being unable to leave Gaza. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said last week that Cairo is ready to process Americans and other foreign nationals if they are able to reach the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.

“We’ve not yet found a way to get them out by whatever, through whatever, place and by whatever means that Hamas is not blocking,” he said, adding the US is “working that with intermediaries.”

On Sunday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Hamas has been “making a series of demands” to allow departure, but he would not go into details.

The Israel military said Tuesday it thwarted an aerial threat in the area of the Red Sea — an attack that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed credit for.

In a statement aired on the Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for Houthi forces, announced the launch of ballistic missiles and drones by Yemeni Armed Forces against targets in Israel.

“Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and winged missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy,” the spokesperson said, referring to all of Israel as “occupied territories.”

Saree said it is the third operation in support of the Palestinian people, with plans for more strikes until the “Israeli aggression” ceases.

The Houthis are an Iran-backed Shia political and military organization in Yemen that have been fighting a civil war in the country against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement earlier Tuesday that it had used its Arrow aerial defense system for the first time to successfully intercept a surface-to-surface missile that was fired from the area of the Red Sea. The use of the Arrow defense system, which is designed to intercept high altitude missiles, indicates the Houthis used a more advanced, long-range missile in its attempted attack. 

Israeli jets also intercepted what the IDF described as “aerial threats” that flew in the area. The IDF said all threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory. 

The attempted strikes on Israel mark an escalation by the Iran-backed Houthis, as fears intensify that the Israel-Hamas war will lead to a wider conflict in the region. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tuesday an “expansion of conflicts in the region” was happening and that resistance group members would “not remain silent against America’s full support” of Israel and “will not wait for anyone’s advice.” 

“We need to use the last political opportunities to stop the war and if the situation gets out of control, no side will be safe from its consequences,” he said, according to a readout from the Iranian foreign affairs ministry.

US warship incident earlier in the month: On October 19, a US warship near the coast of Yemen shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of 9 hours as they were heading north along the Red Sea, according to a US official familiar with the situation. Their trajectory left little doubt that the projectiles were headed for Israel, the official said.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the missiles were fired by Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen and were launched “potentially towards targets in Israel.” US interceptions of Houthi launches are exceedingly rare.

A CNN team on the ground in Israel near the Gaza perimeter is seeing and hearing evidence of a significant number of Israeli tanks moving through the northeastern part of the Gaza Strip.

What sounds like tank fire can be heard too.

The number of Israeli military vehicles inside the perimeter appears to be considerably higher than just a few hours ago, as the IDF appears to have expanded the ground operation once again.

Sporadic machine gun fire is also heard from the area, indicating close-range combat within the strip. At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to fire artillery rounds from outside the perimeter.

In back-to-back speeches, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated the need to pass a national security supplemental that funds both Israel and Ukraine. 

Schumer derided the House of Representatives bill that funds Israel as a standalone supplemental while also including a matching amount in rescissions to the Internal Revenue Service enforcement funding in the Inflation Reduction Act, calling it “insulting.”

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson has led the effort, opposing the bipartisan effort in the Senate, to decouple Israel and Ukraine funding.

McConnell said the threats around the world are intertwined, and to ignore one is detrimental to US security.

Democratic Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray and Republican Vice Chair Susan Collins have also emphasized the importance of passing aid for Israel and Ukraine in one package.

“Make no mistake, we need to address all of these priorities as part of one package because the reality is these issues are all connected and they are all urgent,” said Murray in opening remarks at a hearing with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the Biden administration’s supplemental budget request for Israel and Ukraine.

Collins echoed Murray, saying, “If we fail to thwart these efforts, there will be dire consequences that will jeopardize our national security.”

Murray pointed to both China and Russia as watching how the US would respond to both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The United States is trying to get 100 trucks a day with humanitarian aid to be able to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

“That is the bare minimum of what’s needed, but we’ve got to do it,” Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, where he was making the case for billions in supplemental funding, some of which will be used for humanitarian aid.

Prior to the war, 500 to 800 trucks a day with assistance were entering the strip, Blinken said. Now it’s “almost 60.”

Blinken spoke about the system set up at Rafah, where the trucks are “verified by Israel as well as by the Egyptian authorities.”

“Can I promise you in this committee that there’ll be 100% delivery to the designated recipients? No. There will inevitably be some spillage. We haven’t seen it to date, but I think we have to anticipate that,” he continued.

“But the overwhelming, overwhelming majority of the assistance thus far is getting to people who need it, and we need more,” Blinken said.

More on Rafah crossing: Located in Egypt’s north Sinai, the Rafah crossing is the sole border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. It falls along an 8-mile (12.8-kilometer) fence that separates Gaza from the Sinai desert.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he has “repeatedly made clear” to Israeli leaders that they must ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.

“Now, we fully understand that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. And we mourn the loss of Palestinian civilians,” Austin said in opening remarks to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Speaking to the committee, Austin also outlined the Pentagon’s “four key lines of effort” in the Middle East:

“Two Carrier Strike Groups are now in the region,” Austin said. “Last week, an additional F-16 squadron arrived in the region, complementing other fighter squadrons already in theater. All this underscores the President’s clear warning: no government or group that wishes Israel harm should try to widen this crisis.”

Still, Austin reiterated that the US must “remain focused on Ukraine” in addition to supporting Israel.

“In both Israel and Ukraine, democracies are fighting ruthless foes who are out to annihilate them,” he said. “We will not let Hamas or Putin win. Today’s battles against aggression and terrorism will define global security for years to come. And only firm American leadership can ensure that tyrants, thugs, and terrorists worldwide are not emboldened to commit more aggression and more atrocities.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed said there are “clear links” between the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in opening remarks to a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.

In making the case for billions of dollars in supplemental funding to support Israel and Ukraine, Blinken argued that “allowing Russia to prevail with Iran’s support will embolden both Moscow and Tehran.” 

Blinken emphasized the importance of passing aid for both Israel and Ukraine in one package so that Russia and China would not see the US as “playing whack-a-mole” in response to global crises.

Humanitarian issues: The top US diplomat said that “the president and I both stressed in our conversations with the Israeli government the need for Israel to operate by the law of war and in accordance with international humanitarian law and to take all possible measures to avoid civilian casualties.”

He said the supplemental funding “will enable us to tackle grave humanitarian needs created by autocrats and terrorists, as well as by conflict and natural disasters in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Sudan, in Armenia, in other places around the world.”

“Humanitarian assistance is also vital to Israel’s security. Providing immediate aid and protection for Palestinian civilians in the conflict is a necessary foundation for finding partners in Gaza who have a different vision for the future than Hamas – and who are willing to help make it real,” Blinken argued.

Blinken and other US and European leaders have stopped short of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, instead appealing for humanitarian “pauses” to get in desperately needed aid.

Blinken also argued that “we now stand at a moment where many are again making the bet that the United States is too divided or distracted at home to stay the course. That is what is at stake with President (Joe) Biden’s national security supplemental funding request.”

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas arrives to testify during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Tuesday of the spike in domestic threats following the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war, particularly the increased threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab-American communities. 

In their opening remarks at a US Senate panel hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Mayorkas and Wray outlined the threat landscape that the United States faces and emphasized how the ongoing war poses challenges to American security.

“As the last few weeks have shown, the threat environment our Department is charged with confronting has evolved and expanded constantly in the 20 years since our founding after 9/11,” Mayorkas said in his opening remarks.

Mayorkas said that since “Hamas terrorists horrifically attacked thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Israel on October 7, brutally murdering, wounding, and taking hostages of all ages,” DHS has “responded to an increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab-American communities and institutions across our country. Hate directed at Jewish students, communities, and institutions add to a preexisting increase in the level of antisemitism in the United States and around the world.”

Wray too said that the FBI has been confronted with a heightened threat landscape from individuals or small groups of violent extremists within the US who may “draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives.”

The conflict has also inspired foreign actors, including from hostile nation-states like Iran, Wray said. He noted that “in just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”

“The cyber targeting of American interests and critical infrastructure that we already see – conducted by Iran and non-state actors alike – will likely get worse if the conflict expands,” he said.

Protesters raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testify during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s opening remarks at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday were quickly and repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Within minutes of speaking, Blinken was interrupted by a man shouting “ceasefire now” and “save the children of Gaza.”

Subsequently, four other solo protesters and another group of protesters interrupted Blinken, shouting, “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!” and “Let Gaza Live!”

There were other protesters in the audience with their hands, painted red, in the air.

A dozen protesters were arrested during the congressional hearing Tuesday, according to Capitol Police. They were arrested on the charge of crowding, obstructing or incommoding.

A protester is removed while others show painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testify during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31.

An aid truck full of shrouds from Egypt arrives at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on October 31.

Thirteen aid trucks have passed inspection and made their way into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, according to a CNN ​journalist at the Rafah border crossing.

Eighty-one trucks are currently undergoing security checks by Israeli authorities, according to an Egyptian border official at the crossing who spoke to CNN.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the humanitarian assistance provides Israel with “important leeway in which to act to realize the goals of war.”

The total number of trucks that have crossed into Gaza so far has reached 157.

Some context: The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated with limited access to food, water, electricity and fuel. A total of 26 aid trucks went through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

Israel has vowed to “intensify” its ground offensive in Gaza, dismissing a growing chorus of calls for a ceasefire as concern grows around the world about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

Despite an overwhelming majority of nations voting on Friday for a United Nations resolution calling for a “sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear on Monday he would not heed such calls, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responds with unrelenting force to Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks, which killed 1,400 people and saw more than 200 people taken hostage.

Drawing parallels to the United States’ position after Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the September 11 attacks in 2001, Netanyahu said that while the Bible says there is a time for peace, “this is a time for war.”

Here are the latest developments:

The Hamas commander who directed the October 7 attack in the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the village of Netiv HaAsara was killed Monday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) — also known as Shin Bet — said in a joint statement Tuesday.

IDF jets struck Nasim Abu Ajina, the commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion of Hamas’ Northern Brigade, according to joint intelligence by the IDF and ISA.

He had also commanded Hamas’ Aerial Array and helped develop unmanned aerial vehicles and paragliders.

His death will impede Hamas’ efforts to “disrupt the IDF’s ground activities,” the statement read.

Hamas has not confirmed his death.

Israeli army tracked vehicles move along a road near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 31.

The Israeli military attacked “hundreds” of Hamas targets overnight, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a briefing Tuesday morning.

The IDF announced Friday it was “expanding ground operations” into Gaza, as it seeks to “destroy” Hamas and prevent it from being able to carry out further attacks on Israeli soil. CNN analysis on Monday suggested troops had advanced more than 2 miles (about 3 kilometers) into the enclave.

Attacks in Lebanon: Hagari also said that “in the north during the night, the warplanes attacked in Lebanon and destroyed the infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”

There has been continual crossfire since October 7 between the IDF and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that dominates southern Lebanon, along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Palestinians look on as an excavator clears the rubble of the house of the deputy chief of Hamas' politcal bureau Saleh al-Aruri after it was demolished by Israeli forces in Arura village in the occupied West Bank on October 31.

The Israeli army demolished the house of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in the occupied West Bank Tuesday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces and eyewitnesses.

Videos of the scene obtained by CNN show several Israeli military vehicles entering the village north of Ramallah. Another video shows the house being struck by an explosion and the aftermath with destruction in the area.

The IDF said in a statement to CNN that forces “operated in the town” overnight to “demolish the residence of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas terrorist organization’s political bureau and in charge of the Hamas’ activities in Judea and Samaria.”

“During the counterterrorism activity, a violent riot was instigated, including rock and stone hurling at the forces, who responded with riot dispersal means. In addition, the forces responded with live fire toward the air and the rock hurlers. Hits were identified,” the statement added.

Saleh al-Arouri is a senior leader of Hamas. He is considered one of the founding members of the group’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and is now based in Beirut.

Israeli United Nations Ambassador Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas war at U.N. headquarters, New York, on October 30.

The chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center based in Jerusalem, has criticized the Israeli ambassador to the UN for the decision to wear a yellow star during a UN Security Council meeting, saying the move “disgraces both Holocaust victims and Israel.”

The Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, wore a yellow star — a symbol that those of the Jewish faith were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe during the Holocaust — on Monday in protest at the UN Security Council’s continued decision not to condemn Hamas for its terror attack on October 7.

Erdan and other members of the Israeli delegation wore yellow Star of David stickers with “Never Again” written in the middle as an affront to the Security Council’s silence.

“From this day on, each time you look at me, you will remember what staying silent in the face of evil means. Just like my parents, and the grandparents of millions of Jews, my team and I will wear yellow stars,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Dani Dayan’s first name.

Daniel Aloni, Yelena Trupanob, Rimon Kirsht - three women who appeared in a video released by Hamas on Monday, October 30, and who are believed to be captives being held by the Palestinian militant group since its terror attack on Israel on October 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday it was “doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home.”

Netanyahu’s office issued a brief statement after Hamas released a short video Monday, showing three women believed to be hostages in Haza.

The hostage video is only the second released since it captured up to 240 people, according to figures released Tuesday by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The video appears intended to undermine Netanyahu with pointed criticism over his leadership by the detained women.

In the video, the three women are seated in plastic chairs facing the camera, while the woman in the middle addresses Netanyahu directly with increasing fury.

She refers to a news conference by families of the hostages “yesterday,” suggesting it was filmed on Monday.

The video comes just days after progress in hostage negotiations fell through, a fact referenced by the speaker who mentions a supposed “ceasefire.” Israeli leaders Friday dismissed talks of a breakthrough in talks as a rumor as they announced an expansion of the IDF’s ground campaign in Gaza.

The woman speaks fluently and does not appear to be reading from a script, but because the women are hostages, the statement could have been made under duress.

She finishes with a demand to “free us all,” screaming: “Now! Now! Now!”

Relatives of the hostages have named the women as Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht; Aloni is the speaker.

The women do not show visible signs of physical mistreatment, but CNN is unable to verify anything about their circumstances or well-being.

“Our heart is broken by the cry of Daniel and from the faces of Yelena and Rimon who sit beside her,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Danile Hagari said in a press briefing Monday.

A woman looks at posters showing the pictures of Israeli hostages near Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 18.

The number of hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza is up to 240, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference Tuesday.

Hagari also said 315 IDF soldiers have died since Hamas’ attack in Israel on October 7.

The IDF completed its first successful hostage extrication since October 7 on Monday, rescuing an Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas.

Pvt. Ori Megidish was “actively rescued” with “boots on the ground” in a joint operation between the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), also known as Shin Bet, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.

Flames and smoke rise over Gaza City after Israeli airstrikes on October 30.

At least 13 people have been killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike in central Gaza, according to a staff member at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The strike hit a home in al-Zawaida in Deir al Balah killing all 13 people inside, including children, Dr Khalil Al Dikran, head of nursing at the hospital, told a journalist working for CNN.

The journalist, who was at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on Tuesday morning, counted a total of 44 bodies in the morgue tent being prepared for burial, including the 13 killed overnight.

The other casualties were killed in strikes on Monday afternoon that hit two homes and a wedding hall being used to shelter displaced residents who had fled northern Gaza, according to Al Dikran.

He added that the Monday airstrikes occurred in central Gaza, killing 31 people.

Workers clean graffiti from the sidewalk in front of Congregation Beth Elohim synagogue on 8th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City on October 27.

History is flashing warnings to the world.

Outbursts of antisemitism have often been harbingers of societies in deep trouble and omens that extremism and violence are imminent.

So the wave of global hatred directed against Jews — intensified by Israel’s indiscriminate response in Gaza to horrific Hamas terrorist murders of Israeli civilians on October 7 — should not just be seen as a reaction to the Middle East yet again slumping into war.

It is also a reflection of destructive forces tearing at American and western European societies, where stability and democracy are already under pressure.

The Hamas attacks — a pogrom against Jews that killed 1,400, mostly civilians — have initiated a sequence of events that have left Jewish people around the world feeling threatened. And now that the Israeli government has sought retribution through airstrikes and operations in Gaza targeting Hamas, the scenes of carnage in Palestinian communities threaten to further drain public sympathy for Israel abroad and, in some cases, contribute to an atmosphere that risks worsening harassment of Jewish people.

In the United States there is a climate of growing fear.

Jewish day schools have canceled classes. Synagogues have been locked. Social media has pulsated with hatred against Jews, leaving a community that can never escape its historic trauma yet again wondering where and when it can ever be safe.

Read Collinson’s full analysis.

Smoke billows across the skyline of Gaza on October 31.

Fighter jets and helicopters have been heard flying around the areas surrounding Gaza early on Tuesday, following yet another night of intense fighting.

Overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded the enclave with artillery rounds, mortars and airstrikes. CNN teams saw numerous large explosions in northern Gaza, as the IDF appeared to be fire flares illuminating the ground, followed by artillery rounds and airstrikes.

Videos released by the IDF on Tuesday morning show Israeli soldiers on the ground in Gaza, progressing on foot and in tanks through rural areas as well as in what appears to be a significantly war-damaged urban district.

Despite the intensified IDF ground operation, Hamas has continued to fire rockets from Gaza. CNN reporters heard alarms indicating incoming fire in a number of areas around the Gaza perimeter overnight and early Tuesday.

The IDF said Tuesday its forces have struck “approximately 300 targets,” including military compounds inside underground tunnels belonging to Hamas over the past day.

Israel’s expanded ground operations in recent days have killed “numerous Hamas terrorists,” and hundreds of military targets have been struck, the IDF said.

Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on October 30.

Russian President Vladimir Putin prides himself as the leader of what he calls a “multinational, multiconfessional” Russia. And the republic of Dagestan is in many ways a microcosm of Russia’s diversity: The mountainous region is home to over 30 ethnic groups with distinct languages.

But the images of antisemitic rioters overrunning Dagestan’s Makhachkala Uytash Airport have shaken Russia’s Jewish community, stoked international outrage and raised serious questions about the blowback from Putin’s war on Ukraine — now in the Russian leader’s view directly linked to events in Gaza.

On Monday, the Kremlin leader held an extensive meeting to address the situation in Dagestan, where rioters — fired up by rumors that Jews and Israelis were aboard a Red Wings Airlines flight that landed Sunday from Tel Aviv — surged into the airport terminal and stormed the runway.

But the Kremlin leader also directed the finger of blame away from Russia in remarks that  require serious unpacking.

Read the full analysis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear on Monday that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire as the country’s ground operations in Gaza intensify. He said while the Bible says there is a time for peace, ”this is a time for war.”

Meanwhile, a Hamas spokesperson said Israel was not successful in entering Gaza “except in some limited areas,” and described the humanitarian situation in the enclave as “disastrous.”

The Israel Defense Forces has not released details about how far it has advanced, but it is clear that Israeli troops have established positions well within the strip, with CNN crews reporting armored personnel carriers moving inside the border fence on Monday.

Here’s what else to know:

Pvt. Ori Megidish was rescued by Israeli forces in northern Gaza.

An Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas on October 7 was “actively rescued” in a special operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Tuesday.

Pvt. Ori Megidish was rescued by Israeli forces in northern Gaza in an intelligence-led operation and is “well mentally and physically,” after being reunited with her family, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

An initial IDF announcement that the soldier had been “released” was a translation error, Conricus said. “It indeed was a special operation that was targeted in specifically getting her out,” he said. 

Megidish has shared information about her captivity with Israeli intelligence officers, which “can be used for the future,” he added.

Conricus did not rule out more potential rescue missions but did not share whether Israel is planning any other operations based on intelligence about hostages’ whereabouts.

Hamas is indulging in psychological warfare by using hostages as leverage, Conricus claimed, and he pushed back on criticism that Israel’s ground operations in Gaza would potentially have a negative impact on hostage negotiations.

Based on the rescue of Megidish, “I would argue that the reality on the ground dictates differently,” he said.

Israeli soldiers are seen mustering near Gaza on October 29.

US officials are intently focused on trying to secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza — among them American citizens — a task that sources say is now further complicated by Israel’s expansion of its ground operations into Gaza.

The US remains a part of the ongoing talks that include Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Hamas to get a large group of hostages out of Gaza, and officials are now contending with Israel pressing forward with ground operations into the strip.

Officials with US President Joe Biden’s administration have been calling on Israel to consider so-called “humanitarian pauses” that can allow for civilians in Gaza, including hostages, to exit and for aid to get in.  

Offering a glimpse into how unpredictable and fluid the situation remains, a senior US official told CNN on Monday they believed the prospects of getting hostages out could be described as “50/50.”

“The parameters are all there,” this official said about a potential deal. But efforts to negotiate with Hamas — mediated significantly by the Qataris — has been slow-going, in no small part because it simply takes a long time for messages to be transmitted from Doha to Hamas. 

Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and adviser to the Qatari prime minister, told CNN on Saturday that Israel’s escalation on the ground is making the situation “considerably more difficult.”

Israel has said the intensifying ground offensive puts additional pressure on Hamas, and therefore may ultimately be helpful in the ongoing efforts to free hostages.  

A US official said there could in fact be some benefit to this approach.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said on Sunday that Hamas has “not been forthcoming about allowing these hostages to go,” but the administration believes there is still a “pathway” for securing their release.

One source familiar with the discussions said the talks have centered on freeing hostages in exchange for prisoners being held by Israel.

Al-Ansari, the Qatari spokesperson, also said there have been active discussions about a “prisoner exchange” for the hostages.   

The source added the negotiations also include getting Hamas to open the Rafah gates for dual nationals to leave Gaza.

“We are optimistic that the talks are headed more towards all civilian hostages,” al-Ansari said. “But obviously, it is a fluid situation … And we still don’t know will happen.”  

As the talks continue, there remains real skepticism about how serious Hamas is about the negotiations, the senior US official said. “It’s Hamas after all.” 

Dozens of UN aid workers have been killed this month during Israel’s sustained offensive on Gaza in the highest toll of any conflict worldwide in such a short period of time, a UN commissioner said Monday.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said, “I lost 64 colleagues in just over three weeks.”

“The last tragic passing was two hours ago. Samir, head of security and safety in the middle region died with his wife and eight children,” he said.

Lazzarini highlighted the devastated state of Gazans, saying they “feel that they are not treated as other civilians” and “they feel the world is equating all of them to Hamas.”

The communication blackout in Gaza this weekend intensified the breakdown of civil order in the region, Lazzarini said.

“Panic pushed thousands of desperate people to head to the UNRWA warehouse and distribution centers where we store the food and other supplies,” he said. 

Spreading conflict: The commissioner noted that while the focus should remain on Gaza, it is important to acknowledge the increasing violence taking place in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

He said Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank “are the highest since the UN started to keep records in 2005,” while escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon have resulted in “regular exchanges of fire and civilian casualties.”

Lazzarini expressed deep concern about the potential spillover of the conflict beyond Gaza’s borders, emphasizing that “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions.”

The official also said UNRWA needs a safe and unimpeded path to provide continuous humanitarian aid, including fuel, to Gaza residents.

Shani Louk in a post from her Instagram. 

A 23-year-old German-Israeli woman who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival by Hamas militants on October 7 has been declared dead, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

A source involved with her identification told CNN Louk’s death was announced after forensic examiners found a bone fragment from her skull.

The bone fragment was from the petrous part of the temporal bone, which is at the base of the skull, normally near the carotid artery, a major blood vessel that provides blood to the brain. A DNA test concluded the fragment belonged to Louk.

Louk was attending the festival in southern Israel earlier this month when Hamas breached the border between Gaza and Israel.

Louk was kidnapped at the festival and “tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists,” the foreign ministry statement said, adding that she “experienced unfathomable horrors.”

“May her memory be a blessing,” the statement said.

Read more about Shani Louk.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear on Monday that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, drawing parallels to the United States’ position after Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the September 11 attacks in 2001. 

“Calls for a ceasefire or calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorists, surrender to barbarism, that will not happen,” he added. 

When asked if he has considered stepping down, Netanyahu said the only thing he would resign is Hamas. 

“We’re going to resign them to the dustbin of history. That’s my goal. That’s my responsibility,” he said. 

Meanwhile, a Hamas spokesperson said Monday that Israel was not successful in entering Gaza “except in some limited areas” and described the humanitarian situation in the enclave as “disastrous.”