Our live coverage of Israel's war in Gaza has moved here.
March 19, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
By Chris Lau, Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN
Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, March 20, 2024
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UK says its largest aid package to Gaza has arrived
From CNN's Mia Alberti
The UK's largest aid delivery to Gaza has entered the enclave, the British Foreign Office said Wednesday.
More than 2,000 tonnes of food aid that entered Gaza via the Jordanian land corridor were being distributed by the World Food Programme and will feed "more than 275,000 people," the office said.
The delivery includes fortified wheat flour for use in bakeries, hot meals and Ready To Eat (RTE) food parcels.
"The food parcels will be used to feed more than 275,000 people in Gaza. Each food parcel is designed for family of five and consists of canned vegetables, meat and fish, and date bars. The parcel can meet half of the daily calorie needs of the family for 15 days," the Foreign Office said.
The delivery adds to a previous batch of 150 tonnes of UK-funded relief items, including blankets and tents, which arrived last Wednesday and will be distributed by UNICEF, the Foreign Office said.
"A full UK field hospital run by UK-Med has also arrived in Gaza and is now operational and providing life-saving care", the office said.
Imminent famine: The aid comes amid warnings of imminent famine among Palestinians. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the UK continues "to push Israel to allow more crossings to be open and for longer, and for healthcare, water, and sanitation to be restored."
Cameron also urged Israel to open a "land crossing in the north" and allow the entry of more UN staff to facilitate the delivery of aid in Gaza to tackle "the devastating and growing humanitarian crisis."
Israel's operation at Al-Shifa Hospital continues as thousands shelter in complex. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Israeli troops continue "precise operations" at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza "to thwart terrorism," according to the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (ISA), known as Shin Bet.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told CNN on Tuesday that the hospital is "besieged" by Israeli forces, while Israel has said the site was being used by "senior Hamas terrorists."
Thousands of people are currently sheltering in the hospital complex and are in dire conditions.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its ongoing operations at the hospital and in the surrounding neighborhood.
Here are the latest headlines:
- Warnings about hunger: Famine is set to break out in northern Gaza between now and May, a United Nations-backed report warns. UN human rights chief Volker Turk also said that Israel's sustained restrictions on aid into Gaza may amount to the war crime of starvation. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization issued another stark warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the strip, with a spokesperson saying that a growing number of infants are on the “brink of death” from acute hunger.
- Rafah operation: US and Israeli officials will likely meet in Washington next week to discuss alternatives to a planned military ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million displaced people are sheltering.
- Ceasefire talks: An Israeli delegation left Qatar after one day of indirect talks with no breakthrough in a ceasefire-hostages deal, but mediators are "cautiously optimistic" by the restart of discussions. The indirect talks, held between Israel and Hamas under Qatari and Egyptian mediation, were the first to be held in Doha at that level in months. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week for talks as well.
- Hostages: The IDF sent text messages to Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday offering cash in exchange for any information about Israeli hostages. A CNN journalist in Gaza received the message in Arabic on their phone.
- In the occupied West Bank: The Israeli Security Agency said that a Palestinian man was shot dead at the Gush Etzion intersection south of Jerusalem on Tuesday after opening fire on two of its personnel. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said that a Palestinian man was seriously wounded after being shot by Israeli forces near the Gush Etzion junction, but that Palestinian medical sources had not yet confirmed his death.
- Officials meet: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address Senate Republicans during their closed-door conference lunch on Wednesday via video, according to a person familiar with the matter. Elsewhere, defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon next week, according to a defense official.
Netanyahu will address US Senate Republicans via video on Wednesday
From CNN's Manu Raju
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address Senate Republicans during their closed-door conference lunch tomorrow via video, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Netanyahu’s appearance tomorrow comes as Senate Republicans have rallied around him after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace last week.
Netanyahu was invited by Sen. John Barrasso last week to address Senate Republicans during their annual retreat but he couldn’t make it.
US defense secretary will host Israeli defense minister at the Pentagon next week
From CNN's Haley Britzky
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon next week, according to a defense official.
“The two leaders will discuss a range of topics, including efforts to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas, the need for more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians, and plans to ensure the safety of the more than 1 million people sheltering in Rafah while ensuring Hamas can no longer pose a threat to Israel,” the official said.
The official added the meeting comes after Austin extended an invitation for an official visit, and “is separate from the meeting announced yesterday following a call with President Biden and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, in which the prime minister agreed to send a senior interagency team composed of military, intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington.”
CNN previously reported that Netanyahu agreed to send the delegation to discuss Israel’s impending operation in Rafah, and concerns for the more than a million Palestinian civilians in the city.
Al Jazeera journalist describes detention by Israelis at Al-Shifa Hospital
From CNN's Abeer Salman
An Al Jazeera journalist and two men he was working with described their experience after Israeli troops raided the Al-Shifa Hospital complex in northern Gaza in the early hours of Monday.
Journalist Ismail Al Ghoul told CNN he and his team had been detained for 12 hours and were stripped to underwear and blindfolded throughout, despite the rain and cold.
One member of the team, Ahmad al-Harazin, said “while we were sitting [there], the [Israeli] army suddenly raided and arrested us. God Almighty kept us safe. And we were released.”
In a statement Monday, Al Jazeera alleged Al Ghoul and his team were detained and “severely beaten” before being taken to an undisclosed location.
Samer Tarazi, another member of the team, said they were surprised by the arrival of Israeli troops at around 2 a.m.
“We were in a room used for resting. After they stormed [the hospital], they entered the room, and detained us and kept us for more than 12 hours," Tarazi said.
CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces about the arrest of Al Ghoul and his colleagues, but on Tuesday the IDF responded that they had no record of his detention.
The IDF said later Tuesday that its units were continuing operations at the hospital and had “apprehended dozens of prominent terrorists in Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, said the Israeli operation around Al-Shifa “reflects the occupation leaders’ attempt to sabotage the negotiations taking place in Doha.”
Haniyeh alleged that the Israelis’ “targeting of police officers and members of the government administrative agencies in the Gaza Strip demonstrates his attempt to spread chaos and perpetuate bloodshed” in Gaza.
Artillery launches from Lebanon landed in Israel on Tuesday, IDF says
From CNN’s Amir Tal and Charbel Mallo
Artillery launches from Lebanon landed in several areas in Israel throughout the day on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF fighter jets struck "Hezbollah military compounds" in the areas of Ayta ash Shab, Meiss El Jabal, and Al-Adisa and "additional Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure was struck in the areas of Naqoura and Kfarkela," the statement said.
Hezbollah confirmed they launched eight attacks in Israel on Tuesday — seven against Israeli military targets and one on the Zaraite settlement. The attacks were "in response to the Israeli attacks on villages and civilians," Hezbollah said.
The IDF statement said "artillery struck the sources of the fire."
"A suspicious aerial target crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory" in the area of Yiftach, a kibbutz in northern Israel, and was "successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array," the statement said.
Two IDF soldiers sustained moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital to receive medical treatment, the IDF said.
Israel and Lebanon have engaged in crossfire on their borders the last few months.
Netanyahu confidant and Israeli national security adviser will visit DC to discuss Rafah operation
From CNN's Alex Marquardt and Sahar Akbarzai
One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants, Ron Dermer, and Israel's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will be heading to Washington, DC, to meet with US officials, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office obtained by CNN.
The statement did not say which US officials the Israeli delegation will meet with or when the visit will happen. The White House said earlier Tuesday that it expects the visit to happen early next week.
Dermer is currently a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a former ambassador to the United States.
The US has been calling on Israel to explain how it intends to keep safe over 1 million Palestinians who are seeking refuge in southern Gaza, as Israel warns that it will soon launch a military offensive into Rafah. So far, US President Joe Biden's administration says a plan has not been presented.
On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a team to Washington “to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
But the Israeli statement Tuesday said that Netanyahu “is determined to act in Rafah in order to finally eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, while providing humanitarian solutions to the civilian population.”
The Israeli delegation will be accompanied by a representative — who was not named — for Israel’s Coordination of Government Actions in the Territories, the statement said.
WHO warns growing number of infants in Gaza are on the "brink of death" due to lack of food
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman
The World Health Organization issued another stark warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and a spokesperson on Tuesday said a growing number of infants there are on the “brink of death” from acute hunger.
"What doctors and medical staff are telling us is, more and more, they are seeing the effects of starvation; they’re seeing newborn babies simply dying because they (have) too low birth weight," WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said.
While young children and infants are among the least able to cope with chronic hunger, the WHO says there is a rising number of dangerously underweight pregnant women, as well.
"This is entirely man-made, everything we're seeing medically; this was a territory where the health system functioned well," Harris said.
The WHO was aiming to build emergency malnutrition stabilization centers in Gaza, but progress had been hampered by a lack of security. One center had been established in southern Gaza, and the WHO is attempting to establish one in northern Gaza, “but we can’t bring them in at the scale and to the people without the access and the safety. So there is no answer until there’s a ceasefire,” Harris said.