October 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news

The UK government is discussing “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid into Gaza but rejects a “wholesale ceasefire,” claiming it would only benefit Hamas, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Wednesday.

Sunak told parliament that a Royal Air Force plane carrying 21 tons of aid for Gaza left the UK to travel to Egypt Wednesday morning. The prime minister did not say how and when the aid would be delivered from Egypt to Gaza.

The prime minister’s spokesperson also said that Sunak disagreed with comments made by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and said that there could be “no justification for Hamas’ attack.”

On Tuesday Guterres said the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 “did not happen in a vacuum” during his remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East. 

On Wednesday, Guterres said he was “shocked by the misinterpretations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council,” adding that he “condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.”

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Cairo on October 25.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that “a just and lasting peace is possible in the Middle East.”

Following a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Macron posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “France is working to combat terrorism, protect civilians and ensure that the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians are taken into account,” calling Jordan “an essential partner on this path.”

According to a post on X by the Jordanian Royal Hashemite Court, during the meeting King Abdullah II “affirmed that stopping the war on #Gaza is an absolute necessity that the world must immediately move to address.”

The French leader visited the capital city of Amman Wednesday, after he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday. He then traveled to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Macron also on Tuesday proposed an international coalition to combat terror groups with a similar model to the fight against ISIS, without providing further details. 

According to an Elysee Palace source, the proposal could look into whether aspects of that coalition could be replicated to fight Hamas, such as intelligence sharing and combatting terrorism finance.

A senior European Union diplomat told CNN on Wednesday that the EU may lean toward a “short humanitarian pause” in Gaza at this week’s extraordinary European Council meeting.

Leaders will meet Thursday to try and reach consensus on how to best deal with the current conflict and to avoid a further humanitarian crisis. The diplomat said they will have to “find a formula” that would satisfy both camps — those who are calling for an “outright” ceasefire and those who believe that it is too early to speak about one.

What other EU leaders are saying:

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell: Support for “a humanitarian pause” is growing in the bloc, he said on Wednesday. “All civilian lives are of equal value and all must be protected,” Borrell posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte: The Netherlands would continue to advocate for a “humanitarian pause,” he said Monday.

France: French President Emmanuel Macron said he would discuss some sort of pause for humanitarian reasons during his trip to Israel, according to the Élysée Palace.

Foreign ministers of Ireland and Slovenia also spoke of a “required” and “urgent” pause on humanitarian grounds in order for more aid to make it into Gaza.

According to the senior EU diplomat, however, some may feel that there is “little” difference between a ceasefire and a pause, adding that it is not clear what the wording of the final communique would be. “There must be an occasion for the delivery of humanitarian aid in safe circumstances,” the diplomat stressed.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres addresses the UN General Assembly in New York City on September 19. 

The UN Secretary-General says he is “shocked” at the “misinterpretations” of his statement at the Security Council, calling the interpretation “false.”

António Guterres sought to “set the record straight” by re-reading his statements from the day prior at an impromptu appearance at the UN Security Council stakeout in New York Wednesday.

Here’s what he said on Tuesday:

Guterres reiterated Wednesday that he had condemned unequivocally “the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.”

The UN chief acknowledged that he “spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people,” while also emphasizing he said it “cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.”

This comes as a diplomatic spat between Israel and the United Nations has broken out, with Israeli officials calling for the resignation of the Secretary-General and halting visas for UN officials.

Workers for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees talk together at a school that has been converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 25.

The wind-down of services by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza would mark the end of a “lifeline” for struggling civilians in the enclave, the agency told CNN Wednesday.

UNRWA has long played a pivotal role in the provision of essential services to Palestinian refugees residing in Gaza. On its official website, the agency says it has “supported multiple generations of Palestine refugees with health, education and social assistance.” 

But on Tuesday, UNRWA issued a stark warning that it will be forced to halt its operations in Gaza by Wednesday night if no fuel is delivered to Gaza. Without fuel supplies, the agency said it will no longer be able to operate desalination stations, hospital services or deliver food supplies, essentially severing its humanitarian services in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it would not let fuel to reach Gaza because it says Hamas is stockpiling existing supplies. This contradicts earlier comments from the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, who said efforts would be made to provide access to fuel in Gaza, but that the IDF would “not allow” the fuel to reach Hamas.

Shelters at breaking point: During the recent fighting, the agency has turned its education centers into shelters for the thousands of Gazans who have fled their homes. Even before Israel told all civilians in north Gaza to evacuate to southern areas, close to 160,000 internally displaced people had sought shelter in 56 UNRWA schools in northern Gaza and Gaza City areas as of October 12, according to an agency situation report. 

But now UNRWA is “struggling to to provide basic shelter in these locations. Essentially, we have people now sleeping in the open, we are struggling to keep the sanitation systems going, and now as aid supplies run out, we can’t provide the basics of food and water,” said Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs.

UNRWA clinics have not been spared from recent airstrikes, White said, recounting to CNN Tuesday details of a strike that took place roughly 200 meters (656 feet) from its facility in Rafah on Monday.

“It sent shockwaves through the building. (These are) people who were seeking medical care in a UN facility very close to an airstrike,” he said.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller speaks with CNN on October 25.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told CNN that the sporadic presence of Hamas at the Rafah border crossing has made the situation “extremely difficult,” but Egyptians are ready to take in US citizens and foreign nationals who make it to their side of the border.

“So there is a problem getting people through the Gaza side into the no man’s land, where they can ultimately get across to the Egyptian side to be processed to enter into Egypt,” he said.

Miller declined to discuss the status of hostage negotiations, adding that “talking about our work publicly, in such a sensitive, delicate area, isn’t actually helpful to our goal of getting these Americans released.”

The United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Hamas are engaged in the ongoing deliberations, sources say. Four hostages – two American and two Israeli – have been freed so far. But the hope now is to reach a deal for a bigger group of hostages released at once.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York, on October 24.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday said Hamas’ deadly October 7 rampage in southern Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” but came as Palestinian civilians suffer “years of suffocating occupation” at the hands of Israeli forces.

His comments, less than three weeks after the brutal killing of 1,400 people by Hamas on Israeli soil, have infuriated Israeli officials.

Here’s what he said: Guterres noted that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas,” adding, “And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. … Even war has rules.”

Palestinians “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence,” he said.

He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” and urged a two-state solution to establish an independent Palestine alongside Israel.

Israel’s reaction: His comments angered Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was in the chamber as Guterres spoke. “In what world do you live?” said Cohen. “Definitely, this is not our world.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called on Guterres to resign, saying he had “expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”

Here’s how we got here:

There is a palpable fear and tension in communities across the United States already scarred by the violent incidents stemming from the early days of the Israel and Hamas war, with some equating the bigotry and hatred being experienced by Jews, Palestinians, Muslims and other groups across the country to that of a post-9/11 world.

“Every one of us feels unsafe,” said Zein Rimawi, founder and member of the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge in south Brooklyn, New York, where three young men were attacked by a small pro-Israel cadre only days after the war started. “It’s worse than after 9/11.”

What’s happening in the Middle East has had a ripple effect on major cities like New York: Advocates and community leaders say there have been a slew of hate-inspired incidents targeting Jews, Palestinians, Muslims and other groups in the wake of the initial attacks. In one case, a victim was allegedly targeted just because they were perceived to be a member of one of these groups.

New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel and has one of the country’s largest Muslim populations. In 2001, following the 9/11 terror attacks, anti-Muslim motivated crimes became the second highest reported among religious-bias incidents, according to FBI data. Anti-Jewish religion incidents were the highest.

A recent joint bulletin from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center noted “the FBI has seen an increase in reports of threats against faith communities, particularly Jewish and Muslim communities.”

Read more here.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Amman, Jordan, on October 24.

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Cairo on Wednesday following his visit to Jordan, the Élysée Palace told CNN.

Macron is expected to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Some context: US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have flocked to the region in recent days as Israel’s war on Hamas threatens to weaken relations between Western and Arab leaders.

On Tuesday, the French president traveled to Tel Aviv to express solidarity following Hamas’ killing of 1,400 civilians during its large-scale attack on Israel, and to discuss a two-state solution, an Élysée Palace source said on Monday. 

But Arab leaders have expressed frustration at Western leaders for failing to condemn the deaths of more than 5,000 civilians, including at least 2,055 children, under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, doubled down on Washington’s support for Israel and has rebutted calls for a ceasefire. “We’re not talking about a ceasefire right now,” he told CNN on Monday.

CNN’s Sana Noor Haq and Claire Calzonetti contributed reporting.

Turkey's President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Turkey, on October 25.

“Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a group for liberation and of mujahideen fighting to protect their land and citizens,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech Wednesday said,

He also announced that his trip to Israel had been canceled.

“The West got together and sees Hamas as a terror organization. Israel, you may act like an organization, because the West owes you a lot. But Turkey doesn’t owe you,” Erdogan said at the Turkish parliament.

Remember: Hamas is an Islamist organization with a military wing. The word “Hamas” is itself an acronym for “Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiyya” – Arabic for the Islamic Resistance Movement. The group, like most Palestinian factions and political parties, insists that Israel is an occupying power and that it is trying to liberate the Palestinian territories. The group has over the years claimed many attacks on Israel and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and Israel.

The brutal attacks on October 7 were unprecedented, causing the death of more than 1,400 people in southern Israel. Hamas also seized more than 200 people as hostages and brought them to Gaza.

Erdogan said Turkey has “no problem with the state of Israel,” but added that the country has “never approved of the atrocities committed by Israel.”

Since October 7, the Israeli military has launched relentless strikes and a complete blockade on the Palestinian enclave, killing at least 5,087 people, including 2,055 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The West is censoring and silencing academics, university students, and others, but Turkey’s doors are fully open to “any university student or others due to their honorable position [of standing up for Palestinians],” he said.

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva attends the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), in Marrakesh, Morocco, on October 12.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the war between Israel and Hamas is already impacting Middle East economies, and could lead to long-term economic damage. 

Speaking to CNN’s Richard Quest in front of an audience at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Saudi Arabia, Kristalina Georgieva said:

Georgieva told the conference the Fund is concerned firstly with “the tragic loss of life,” adding it is also worried about the “destruction and reduction of economic activity,” such as children not going to school and the impact on neighboring countries who are dependent on tourism.

Georgieva also warned investors to expect interest rates to stay elevated, telling Quest: “We have spent the last 20 years, living frankly in terms of interest rates, in fantasy land. How can you have interest rates at zero or even in negative territory, and still create the savings and the capacity to function? It is actually going to [be] normal to have interest rates that are in positive territory – the problem is, it has happened too fast and the jump is too high.”

When challenged that this is what the Fund wanted, Georgieva answered “We’re not thrilled with going from 0 to 5 [percent] so quickly – but we’re there. So now we’re there, our call to everybody is – buckle up. Make sure that you understand interest rates are here to stay for longer.”

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani holds a press conference with in Doha, Qatar, on October 25.

Qatar is hopeful for a breakthrough soon on negotiations to release hostages held by Hamas, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday. 

Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Israel, the US and Hamas to release hostages held by the militant group since October 7. 

Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, commended Qatar on X, formerly Twitter, saying it has become “an essential party and stakeholder in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions.” 

“Qatar’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time,” Hanegbi said. 

Remember: Four hostages – two American and two Israeli – have been freed so far. Talks to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, two sources familiar with the matter and one Western diplomat familiar with the discussions told CNN.

Israeli army soldiers stand near stationed Namer armoured personnel carriers at a position near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11.

American military officials are trying to steer Israel away from the type of brutal, urban combat the US engaged in against insurgents during the Iraq War in an effort to keep the Israelis from getting bogged down in bloody, house-by-house fighting as they prepare for an assault on Gaza, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

In helping the Israel Defense Forces game out a number of different strategies to defeat Hamas, US military advisers on the ground in Israel are invoking lessons learned specifically from Fallujah in 2004, one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq War.

Instead of launching a full-scale ground assault on Gaza, which could endanger hostages, civilians, and further inflame tensions in the region, US military advisers are urging Israelis to use a combination of precision airstrikes and targeted special operations raids.

They are also drawing on strategies developed during the battle by US-led coalition forces to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS, which relied more heavily on special operations forces. Like Hamas, ISIS built tunnels throughout Mosul and used civilians as human shields, and the fight to retake the city was harder and more drawn-out than anticipated.

To help deliver this message, the Biden administration has sent a three-star Marine Corps general to counsel the IDF on planning its tactical assault. Gen. James Glynn, the former commander of Marine Forces Special Operations Command, has significant experience with urban warfare in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah, where he commanded troops during some of the bloodiest fighting there between US forces and insurgents, officials said.

Since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, the US has grown increasingly concerned that Israel’s strategy to move into Gaza with a large number of ground troops is only half-baked and could lead to a bloody and indefinite occupation by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

Read more about what US military advisers are saying

Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, speaks to members of the media regarding Hamas attacks on Israel at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on October 8.

Israel will halt visas for UN officials following comments made by Secretary-General António Guterres about the crisis in the Middle East, Israel’s ambassador to the UN said on Wednesday.

Among his remarks Tuesday to the Security Council, Guterres said Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum.”

Israel has already rejected a visa application by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, he said.

“It’s time we teach them a lesson,” Erdan added.

Guterres said Hamas’ attack on southern Israel came amid years of “suffocating occupation” suffered by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces. They “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence,” he added.

Hamas raided parts of southern Israel earlier this month, killing at least 1,400 people and abducting more than 200 others, according to Israeli authorities. It represented the most deadly attack by militants in Israel’s 75-year history and represented a staggering intelligence failure by Israeli authorities.

Israeli strikes have since killed more than 5,000 people in Gaza, including 2,055 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israel’s fierce bombardment and complete blockage on the Palestinian enclave have flattened entire neighborhoods, depleted the health care system and endangered the lives of civilians who face severe dehydration and starvation. Israel’s “collective punishment” of Gaza civilians amounts to a war crime, Amnesty International said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s criticism of Guterres was “unjustified” and represented a “lack of respect and compliance practiced by the occupying state against the United Nations.”

Griffiths, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, has been unequivocal in his call to help Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“I reiterate the Secretary General’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ease the epic human suffering in #Gaza,” he said on Tuesday.

“If we are to prevent any further descent into this humanitarian catastrophe, dialogue must continue,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

CNN has reached out to the UN for comment.

CNN’s Mariya Knight and Richard Roth contributed reporting.

Relief operations in Gaza may be forced to halt by Wednesday night if no fuel is delivered to the territory, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said.

Vital fuel supplies needed to run hospitals, pump and desalinate water and power bakeries are on the verge of running out, with the main aid agency in Gaza warning the deep humanitarian crisis is getting worse by the hour.

Here’s what to know:

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, right, meets Jihad Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah and deputy leader of Hamas, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri at an unidentified location in this handout image released on October 25.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, met top officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Wednesday, a statement by the Iran-backed Islamist movement said.

Nasrallah met a deputy head of Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, and the secretary general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhla, the statement said, but it did not say where the meeting took place.

The Hezbollah press office also released on Wednesday morning a handwritten letter by Nasrallah commending those who have died fighting Israel — his first statement since the start of the war.

Some context:  Hezbollah, which has its main base on the Israel-Lebanon border, could become a wildcard player in the Hamas-Israel war. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in low-rumbling tit-for-tat skirmishes since the war began, sparking concerns a wider regional conflict would spill over.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially considered a “resistance” group tasked with confronting Israel, which Beirut classifies as an enemy state. Yet much of the Western world has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Eight Syrian soldiers were killed and seven others were injured after an Israeli attack on the country’s southwestern region, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a military source.

SANA said Israel struck Syrian military targets in the “aerial” attack at 1:45 a.m. local time [06:45 p.m. ET] in the countryside of Dara’a.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier Wednesday that Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure and mortar launchers.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong speaks at a joint press conference during a visit to the Blackrock Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Camp in Fiji's Nadi on February 23.

Australia called for “humanitarian pauses on hostilities” in Gaza to allow supplies to get in and for civilians to get to safety, a statement from the country’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Wednesday.

Acknowledging that there’s been limited access to aid for Gaza residents in recent days, Wong said it was “nowhere near enough.”

Her comments come as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned Tuesday that only eight of the 20 aid trucks that were originally scheduled to arrive that day had entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

Wong added that “innocent Palestinian civilians should not suffer because of the outrages perpetrated by Hamas,” while also saying that the way “the way Israel exercises its right to defend itself matters… to civilians throughout the region

Wong also said that “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people,” and she added it “undermines the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.”

Wong called for protecting civilian lives, saying the “humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and human suffering is widespread.”

Her statement comes as Canberra moved to deploy more personnel and send an Australian air force aircraft to the region.

Richard Marles (L) attends a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo on October 19.

The Australian government is deploying more personnel and aircraft to the Middle East region as part of “Operation Beech,” the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said.

Marles told CNN Affiliate Nine News Australia on Wednesday that the government sent an additional two military aircraft to the region, making a total of three.

The military aircraft will be accompanied by “a significant number of personnel” to support their delivery and a “small command detachment,” Nine News reported. He added that the Australian forces are not there for operational reasons but as a “contingency” to support Australians in the region.

He also described that the situation in the region is “challenging and rapidly evolving,” adding that Australians who wish to leave are encouraged to take the first commercial option available to them.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, the international community has struggled to find consensus.

Emotions ran high at the UN Security Council on Tuesday after Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” saying that “clear violations of international humanitarian law” are being witnessed in Gaza.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, writing on social media, called on Guterres “to resign immediately” after his remarks and said he was “not fit to lead the UN.” And Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the United Nations on Tuesday, said he would not meet with Guterres and that “there is no place for a balanced approach.”

Speaking with CNN, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan said there is a “glaring double standard” as the Western world condemns the Hamas attack on October 7 but is not condemning Israel’s bombing of Gaza or calling for a ceasefire.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Queen Rania of Jordan speaks during an interview with CNN.

Queen Rania of Jordan has accused Western leaders of a “glaring double standard” for failing to condemn the deaths of civilians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, as Israel’s war on Hamas threatens to destabilize relations between US and Arab leaders.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview, Rania said, “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world.”

Israel declared a “complete siege” on Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave, that killed more than 1,400 people and saw over 200 taken hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The siege has resulted in relentless airstrikes on densely-inhabited Gaza, and a blockade on vital supplies – including food and water – to the isolated strip’s entire population.

“Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s OK to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here,” she said. “It is just shocking to the Arab world.”

Read the full story here.

Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the United Nations headquarters on September 13, in New York City.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” during his remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East Tuesday.

At the same time, Guterres noted that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.” He added that Palestinian people should not be collectively punished for Hamas’ attacks, either. 

Therefore, according to Guterres, all parties of the conflict should “take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare civilians” as well as “respect and protect hospitals and respect the inviolability of UN facilities which today are sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians.”

Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming” as “the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount.”

At least 35 of Guterres’ UN colleagues working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the last two weeks, according to the secretary-general.

He said “the clear violations of international humanitarian law” are witnessed in Gaza, offering Israel’s order for more than one million people to evacuate earlier this month as an example.

Guterres emphasized that the aid delivered to Gaza does not correspond to its enormous needs, including the fuel supplies that are about to run out “in a matter of days.”

He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”

Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the most detailed comments she’s made on the subject since war broke out earlier this month.

The vice president pointed to what she said has been “countless hours with our president, be it in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room, in classified briefings he has with everyone in our intelligence community and military leaders to civil society leaders.”

“The one thing I can report back to all of you is that we are working, and our president is working tirelessly and around the clock,” she said.

Harris also went on to detail the administration’s priorities in the conflict.

Harris also pledged that she and the president “hold on to the responsibility that I think we uniquely have — to represent the values that are about stability in the interest of peace, and we have not abandoned, and are still profoundly committed to a two-state solution.”

Hundreds of Americans who are stuck on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing are not able to leave because “Hamas won’t let them out,” Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN.

Regev emphasized that the Rafah crossing is the only way out for Americans stuck in Gaza since the crossings on the Israel side “have been destroyed” and are “a war zone.”

Blinken previously confirmed that there are an estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza.

The United States is stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The US Treasury Department is working with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations to target the Hamas investment portfolio, a US official said Tuesday. The other four members of the GCC are Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. 

In the wake of Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel, US and Saudi officials on Tuesday in Riyadh convened an emergency meeting of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which includes the United States and the GCC nations. 

There has been a redoubling of efforts to use the TFTC, which was created in 2017, to go after Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned militant groups, including by sharing relevant, timely and actionable information, the US official said. 

Last week, the US Treasury leveled sanctions on people that officials say are managing assets in a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio. 

That Hamas investment portfolio is likely valued at between $400 million and $1 billion, according to a US official. The portfolio is generating significant amounts of revenue for Hamas, the official said. 

The US Treasury has said the global portfolio of investments includes companies operating “under the guise of legitimate businesses” in Sudan, Algeria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other nations. 

Nelson urged the Gulf nations to share more information on the parts of the Hamas financial ecosystem “vulnerable to disruption” and called on member countries to take action. 

“From our perspective, not acting against Hamas and its terrorism is a disservice to the Palestinian people,” Nelson said. “From a financial standpoint, we can clearly see that Hamas has exacerbated economic hardships for decades in the Gaza Strip by diverting humanitarian assistance to support its campaign of terror, and we must publicly condemn these actions.”

Israel’s military will not allow any fuel to enter Gaza because Hamas needs that fuel for its operational infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces said.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed fuel from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was “stolen by Hamas.” Hagari was responding to a question about if Israel would consider allowing fuel into the strip if it were in exchange for hostages.

The comments appear to be at odds with earlier comments from the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, who said efforts will be made to provide access to fuel in Gaza where needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis but that the IDF would “not allow” the fuel to reach Hamas.

“We will make sure there will be fuel in places where they need fuel to treat civilians. We will not allow the fuel for Hamas so they can continue fighting against the citizens of Israel,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a live TV address Tuesday afternoon.

Halevi did not provide any more details as to how the IDF could provide access to fuel to those most in need.

Intelligence shared with the United States suggests a small cell of Hamas operatives planning the deadly surprise attack on Israel communicated via a network of hardwired phones built into the network of tunnels underneath Gaza over a period of two years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

The phone lines in the tunnels allowed the operatives to communicate with one another in secret and meant they could not be tracked by Israeli intelligence officials, the sources told CNN.

During the two years of planning, the small cell operating in the tunnels used the hardwired phone lines to communicate and plan the operation but stayed dark until it was time to activate and call on hundreds of Hamas fighters to launch the October 7 attack, the sources said. 

They avoided using computers or cell phones during the two-year period to evade detection by Israeli or US intelligence, the sources said.

“There wasn’t a lot of discussion and back and forth and coordination outside of the immediate area,” one of the sources said. 

How they went undetected: The intelligence shared with US officials by Israel reveals how Hamas hid the planning of the operation through old-fashioned counterintelligence measures such as conducting planning meetings in person and staying off digital communications whose signals the Israelis can track in favor of the hardwired phones in the tunnels.

It offers new insight into why Israel and the US were caught so flat-footed by the Hamas attack, which saw at least 1,500 fighters pouring across the border into Israel in an operation that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.

CNN has not seen the specific intelligence but spoke to sources familiar with it. The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment and the Israeli embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

CNN previously reported that a series of strategic warnings from US and Israeli intelligence agencies did not lead officials from either country to anticipate the events of October 7.

The Israel Defense Forces colloquially refers to the tunnels built by Hamas over the last 15 years or so as the “Gaza metro.” The tunnels make up a vast labyrinth that is used to store rockets and ammunition caches, as well as provide a way for militants to move about unnoticed. The IDF also says it contains vital Hamas command and control centers.

Read more about how Hamas planned the attack.

Finding clean water is becoming an all-consuming – and increasingly difficult – challenge for many Gazans.

Hamas’ brutal attacks in Israel on October 7 killed at least 1,400 people and the group took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. In the wake of the assault, Israel launched an aerial bombardment of Gaza that Palestinian health officials say has killed more than 5,000 people. Israel also announced a “complete siege” on the enclave, withholding vital supplies of water, food and fuel.

Israel has since allowed some water to flow through one of the three pipelines that run into Gaza, but experts say it covers only a tiny percentage of the enclave’s needs. Most of Gaza’s water comes from local sources – but the fuel required to pump and clean it is fast running out.

As the water system collapses, some Gazans have been forced to drink dirty, salty water, sparking concerns of a health crisis and fears that people could start dying from dehydration.

Access to clean water has long been one of the hardest challenges for those living in the Gaza Strip. The 140-square-mile territory is one of most densely populated places on Earth.

Gaza has three main sources of water: desalination plants, pipelines that carry in water purchased from Israel and groundwater wells.

Most of Gaza’s water comes from a coastal aquifer, a body of underground water that stretches along the coastline of the eastern Mediterranean from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula up to Israel.

Around 97% is undrinkable; it’s salty, brackish, and contaminated by untreated wastewater and pollution.

The aquifer has been over-extracted to serve Gaza’s growing population. More than twice the amount of water is removed than is naturally replenished each year, and as the levels of freshwater drop, salty water from the Mediterranean has seeped in.

Read more on the crisis unfolding in Gaza.