October 26, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news

Our live coverage of the conflict in Israel and Gaza has moved here.

The Israel Defense Forces will continue ground raids into Gaza in the coming days to prepare for the next stages of the war against Hamas, spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announced Thursday.

He said the IDF continues its strikes against Gaza from air and sea, and is focusing on killing senior Hamas commanders and destroying Hamas infrastructure.

“There will be more,” vowed Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a news briefing Thursday.

Gallant’s comments echoed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address on Wednesday, during which he said Israel is “raining down hellfire on Hamas” and “preparing for a ground incursion.”

Here are other headlines you should know:

The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza has responded to US President Joseph Biden’s public questioning of the reliability of Palestinian casualty figures in the conflict with Israel, in a statement published by the ministry Thursday.  

The ministry published a 212-page report listing the names of thousands of what it described as “documented deaths since October 7th” in Gaza which it blamed on Israeli military “aggression.”

The ministry also declared its “commitment to accuracy and accountability” in tabulating the numbers. 

“Our people are not anonymous entities that can be ignored,” the ministry asserted, pushing back against what they called the “dehumanization of the Palestinian victims.” 

The list does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. 

On Wednesday, Biden said he had “no confidence” in the figures of civilian casualties reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Biden told reporters “I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging war.” 

He added Israel must be “incredibly careful to be sure that they’re focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war against Israel” rather than civilians.

On Thursday, White House spokesperson John Kirby echoed Biden’s remarks calling the Gaza-based ministry “a front for Hamas,” though when asked, he did not dispute that thousands of Palestinians and many innocent civilians had been killed.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh of the US-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, criticized Biden’s remarks, and said the PA’s own health authority saw the numbers as accurate.

“There are certain leaders who don’t want to see reality. They only want to see what is happening on the Israeli side. They don’t want to see what is happening on the Palestinian side,” he said in an interview Thursday with Al Jazeera.

“The numbers are correct,” he added. “They are our numbers. These numbers are fed to us from the hospitals of Gaza every single day that are received by our Ministry of Health.”  

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority is run by a rival faction to Hamas, and operates its own Ministry of Health which maintains a relationship with the ministry in Gaza.  

Death toll numbers for Gaza are released both in Gaza and Ramallah daily. 

CNN is not able to independently verify the death toll tabulated in Gaza. 

The Israeli military has expressed doubts about the casualty numbers being reported out of Gaza, but it has not provided evidence that they are exaggerated. 

“I don’t have the numbers of people killed in Gaza Strip,” Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN. “When the Hamas agency comes out with the numbers, take them with a pinch of salt.” 

US President Joe Biden met Thursday with a small group of Muslim American leaders at the White House, two sources familiar with the meeting said, as the president comes under criticism from the community for not doing more to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The meeting was expected to focus in part on efforts to combat Islamophobia, one of the sources said. Biden has denounced Islamophobia, including during a primetime address last week.

The White House did not comment on the meeting. 

Some background: Biden and the administration have faced harsh criticism from Muslim Americans for his handling of the crisis in the Middle East, including on efforts to get US citizens out of Gaza and on preventing civilian deaths.

During a news conference Wednesday, Biden said he had “no confidence” in death figures provided by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.

“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” he said. “I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s a price of waging war,” Biden added. 

A day later, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, telling reporters, “We absolutely know that the death toll continues to rise in Gaza, of course we know that — but what we’re saying is that we shouldn’t rely on numbers put forth by Hamas and the Ministry of Health.”

He also pushed back against charges, including from the Council on American–Islamic Relations, that Biden’s comments on civilian deaths in Gaza were insensitive and harsh.

“What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields, what’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are. What’s harsh is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon — I could go on and on, that’s what’s harsh,” Kirby said. “And being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties, and that there likely will be more, is being honest, because that’s what war is, it’s brutal, it’s ugly, it’s messy.”

CNN’s DJ Judd contributed reporting to this post.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Tekuma Authority, which is responsible for rebuilding Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip that were damaged or destroyed in Hamas’ October 7 attack, according to a release from the Israeli Government Press Office on Thursday.

The agency was established in Yavne, Israel, last week, according to the release.

Director Moshe Edri, who briefed Netanyahu, said the authority has provided cash advances to “severely damaged” communities and that additional funds would be transferred in the coming days.

The prime minister was also shown areas undergoing reconstruction.

Netanyahu said the government would pass a law to provide additional funding and speed up the rebuilding process.

“Hope is built on one important principle and that is security. We need to smash Hamas so that it will be safe for people to return,” Netanyahu said. “I would like to thank you for what you are doing; it is very important. Some of you also come from these communities,” he added.

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday expressed their concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and called for “aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures.”

Those measures include “humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs,” the leaders said.

In their communique on the Middle East, which sets out the position of the EU, leaders also called for “continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to Gaza.

The call for humanitarian “pauses” stops short of calling for a ceasefire, which several European leaders have previously ruled out.

The 27 heads of state and government agreed that the EU “will work closely with partners in the region to protect civilians, provide assistance and facilitate access to food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter.”

The European leaders also said the EU will ensure “that such assistance is not abused by terrorist organizations.”

EU leaders reiterated their call “on Hamas to immediately release all hostages without any precondition” and their condemnation in the “strongest possible terms of Hamas for its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel.”

Leaders also reiterated “the importance of ensuring the protection of all civilians at all times in line with international humanitarian law,” adding that the EU “deplores all loss of civilian life.”

The EU also said the body is “ready to contribute to reviving a political process on the basis of the two-state solution, including through the Peace Day Effort,” referring to an ongoing diplomatic effort by the EU, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Arab League.

The Israel Defense Forces will continue ground raids into Gaza in the coming days to prepare for the next stages in Israel’s war against Hamas, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday in a televised news conference.

The purpose of Israel’s ground operations is to kill Hamas militants, lay the foundations for an all-out invasion and neutralize explosive devices and reconnaissance posts, according to Hagari.

Hagari’s comments come after the IDF said it carried out a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza using tanks.

Hagari also said the IDF continues its strikes against Gaza from air and sea, and is focusing on killing senior Hamas commanders and destroying Hamas infrastructure.

When asked about US involvement in the Israeli forces’ decision-making related to ground operations, Hagari said, “We’re constantly in touch with the US. The IDF chief of the General Staff speaks almost on a daily basis with the commander of the US Centcom.”

“It is true that US advisers arrived. … They have a lot of experience. We’re listening, it’s good to learn and to listen. But our war is right in our borders, not thousands of miles away,” Hagari added. “We also know Gaza very well. Eventually, this is Israel’s decision. And Israel understands that it needs to fulfill the aims of the war.”

On Gaza’s dwindling fuel supplies: Hagari also reiterated that Israel would not allow fuel into Gaza for now, saying that Hamas’ arrays are “struggling to function” without fuel and blaming Hamas for stealing fuel from a facility belonging to the main United Nations agency aiding Palestinians, UNRWA.

Israel has also disputed that there are fuel shortages in Gaza. Responding to a post from the UNRWA about low supplies, the IDF on Tuesday posted an aerial photo of what it said were fuel tanks in Gaza, claiming they held more than 500,000 liters of fuel. CNN is unable to verify the IDF claim.

“The facility that was posted (on Tuesday) is located in Rafah and belongs to UNRWA. … We supervise it aerially and together with UNRWA. Again, we’re not striking UNRWA. On the contrary, we’re making an effort along with the international community to ensure that south of Wadi Gaza, there will be conditions that allow the civilian population to access water, food and drugs,” he said.

UNRWA said Thursday that its operations are being “paralyzed” in Gaza due to the lack of fuel.

CNN cannot independently verify the amount of fuel in Gaza.

At an emergency United Nations General Assembly session, Iran’s foreign minister warned the US that if Israel’s retaliation against Gaza doesn’t end, the United States will “not be spared from this fire.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke following a deadlock in the Security Council about agreeing to a Mideast resolution.

The minister claimed Hamas is ready to release its civilian hostages, saying the world should urge for the release of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

“We do not welcome expansion of the war in the region. But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire,” Amir-Abdollahian said, addressing US leaders.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan spoke before Amir-Abdollahian at the emergency session, saying the foreign minister was in New York Thursday “to fill your ears with poison.”

“This man, the mass murderer, or any other representative of the terror regime in Iran has no place at the UN, let alone in the family of nations. It is a moral stain on the UN and the values it was founded upon,” Erdan said.

France is chartering a special flight to transport 54 tons of emergency humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, according to a statement released Thursday by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This shipment is a new contribution from France to the response to the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, for the benefit of civilian populations. France reiterates its call for a humanitarian truce, so that aid can respond sustainably to the needs of civilian populations in Gaza,” the statement reads.

The emergency humanitarian cargo will be flown from Paris to Egypt, where it will be handed over to the Egyptian Red Crescent for delivery to Gaza.

The ministry says the 54-ton cargo includes:

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a news briefing on Thursday that Israel is preparing for the “next stages” in its war against Hamas, adding that “there will be more.”

“The maneuvering will begin when the conditions are right. These conditions are complex because so is the campaign. The troops are ready,” Gallant said in the briefing in Tel Aviv. 

Gallant’s comments echoed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address on Wednesday, during which he said Israel is “raining down hellfire on Hamas” and “preparing for a ground incursion.”

Gallant reiterated the effectiveness of “lethal” Israeli strikes on Gaza and said that within 24 hours of the deadly Hamas attacks, Israeli forces shifted to the offensive with airstrikes.   

“Whatever happens in Israel’s next 75 years, will highly depend on the achievement that we’ll gain in that fight. That’s why I tell you — we have no other choice, and we’ll win because there’s no other option,” he said.

Gallant said Israeli forces and security authorities will “do everything needed” to bring back hostages taken by Hamas attackers. 

“As a father, grandfather and son to Holocaust survivors, I understand that very high price that the fallen paid. I’m willing, along with all security establishment, to do everything needed to bring hostages back to their families,” Gallant said. 

In response to a question about whether Qatar is a legitimate mediator in the conflict, Gallant said, “The way I see it, every channel is a possible channel. The goal is the important thing.” His comment comes after Israel’s foreign minister accused Qatar of financing Hamas. 

The families of hostages being held by Hamas have warned the Israeli government that their “patience has run out,” calling on the government to act immediately, according to a statement released Thursday.

Parents and other family members of some of the hostages and missing persons voiced their anger at the ongoing crisis, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of being “silent” about the fate of their loved ones, who were taken hostage by Hamas attackers on October 7 or are missing.

“They have been there for 20 days, 20 days that we have no idea of their condition, if they are being cared for, if they are breathing, 20 days that we are asked to be patient,” said Meirav Leshem Gonen, whose daughter Romi Gonen was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, in the statement.

“We have been extremely patient, but enough. Our patience has run out,” Gonen said. “All of us families of the hostages and the entire State of Israel that stands behind us say: Enough! Our patience has ended.”

Eyal Eshel, whose son Roni Eshel is missing, also accused the government of being “silent” for 20 days.

“From the investigations we, the citizens of Israel, have carried out, we have done everything ourselves,” Eshel said. “I demand one thing – get up from your seats, put yourselves in my place, and take responsibility. I have dedicated my whole life to the state. I also dedicated my firstborn Roni to the State of Israel – do not turn your back on me, all of our patience has run out.”

Ditza Or, the mother of Avinatan Or, who was also kidnapped from the Nova music festival, said, “If the hostages do not return, we have an existential problem. I call on all the rulers in this country – I do not call them leaders because they do not lead us. This is not right or left-wing.”

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israeli forces and security authorities will “do everything needed” to bring back hostages taken by Hamas attackers. 

Netanyahu acknowledged Wednesday that he will “have to give answers” for the intelligence failures that allowed the worst terror attack in Israeli history, marking the first time he has talked about his role in the security breakdown since October 7.

Roughly 900 US troops have deployed or are deploying to the Middle East to bolster US force protection in the region, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.

“These include forces that have been on prepare to deploy orders, and which are deploying from the continental United States,” Ryder said. “Deployed and deploying units include a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery from Fort Bliss Texas, Patriot batteries from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Patriot and Avenger batteries from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and associated air defense headquarters elements from Fort Bliss and Fort Cavazos, Texas.”

Ryder added that the deploying units would not be going to Israel and are “intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force protection capabilities.” The Pentagon previously announced the deployment of the THAAD and Patriot batteries.

As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, the US is seeking to send a strong message to adversaries to prevent the conflict spreading more widely in the region.

CNN has reported that US has intelligence that Iranian-backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to American support for Israel.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society says 12 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt Thursday, carrying water, food, medicine and medical supplies — but no fuel.

The organization said it has received 74 trucks since humanitarian aid transfers into the Gaza Strip resumed several days ago.

United Nations officials emphasized that hundreds of aid trucks entered Gaza daily before the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks, meaning basic supplies are trickling into the enclave at a much slower pace than needed.

Israel continues to block deliveries of fuel altogether, saying that Hamas would only divert it for military use. 

A Hamas delegation has held talks in Moscow with a senior Russian foreign ministry official, according to Russian state media TASS and a Hamas statement. TASS said discussions focused on the release of hostages held by Hamas, as well as the evacuation of Russian citizens from Gaza.

Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau, and Basem Naim, another senior Gaza-based Hamas leader, were among the visiting delegation, which met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov, according to the Hamas statement. 

TASS quoted the foreign ministry saying talks had taken place as part of Russia’s position calling for “the immediate release of foreign hostages located in the Gaza Strip.”

“Issues related to ensuring the evacuation of Russian and other foreign citizens from the territory of the Palestinian enclave were also discussed,” the foreign ministry added.

The Hamas delegation praised the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin and stressed the need for the international community to “uphold its responsibilities against the crime of genocide committed by the Zionist government,” according to the Hamas statement.

“Mr. Bogdanov expressed his country’s position in support of the rights of the Palestinian people and showed his country’s efforts with the relevant parties aimed at a ceasefire, opening the crossings and bringing in humanitarian aid (to Gaza),” the Hamas statement added.

Israel’s reaction: Israel condemned Russian officials’ meeting with senior Hamas officials, according to an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. 

“Israel condemns the invitation of senior Hamas officials to Moscow, which is an act of support of terrorism and legitimizes the atrocities of Hamas terrorists,” the foreign ministry said. “We call on the Russian government to expel the Hamas terrorists immediately.”

Evacuation requests: On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also that about 1,000 citizens of Russia and member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have requested to be evacuated from Gaza.

The CIS member countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

CNN’s Lauren Kent and Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.

Israeli forces have killed the deputy head of the Hamas’ intelligence directorate, one of the Hamas officials they say is partially responsible for planning the October 7 attacks, according to a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), or Shin Bet. 

“Based on precise IDF and ISA intelligence, IDF fighter jets struck the Deputy Head of the Hamas’ Intelligence Directorate, Shadi Barud,” according to the joint statement released Thursday. 

The IDF and ISA also released footage they claim is of the strikes that killed Barud, showing at least two buildings in Gaza hit with strikes and appearing to collapse. 

The Israeli statement said Barud and Yahya Sinwar planned the October 7 attacks that killed more than 1,400 people and saw more than 200 taken hostage.

“Barud had previously served as Hamas’ battalion commander in Khan Yunis and was responsible for planning numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Barud went on to hold several positions in Hamas’ military intelligence and was in charge of Hamas’ intelligence relations.

Sinwar was a former head of the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ militant wing; he’s now the head of Hamas in Gaza. He focused efforts on building relationships with foreign powers — notably Egypt and Iran.

Hamas has not commented on the statement. 

Hamas rocket commander reportedly killed: The Israeli military also said Thursday that intelligence reports suggest airstrikes have killed a Hamas rocket commander, Hassan Al-Abdullah, who the army says commanded rocket units in the Khan Younis area of Gaza.

Shin Bet, the Israeli Security Agency, told CNN it believes it has killed “scores” of senior figures in Hamas’s military structure since it began strikes on Gaza more than two and a half weeks ago. 

CNN’s Sam Kiley and Amir Tal contributed reporting to this post.

Two cargo planes recently orchestrated by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to carry supplies into Israel also contained drones, body armor and helmets for the country, CNN has learned.

The Israeli government procured the equipment and asked the state of Florida for help transporting it overseas, a source with knowledge of the arrangement told CNN. The supplies were included on two cargo planes that left Florida for Israel on October 17.

DeSantis’ office previously said the cargo flights carried “medical supplies, clothing items, hygiene products and children’s toys” that had been donated to help Israel in the aftermath of the attack by Hamas earlier this month, but it did not mention that the state was also carrying equipment for Israel that could be used in response to the war effort.

The governor’s office confirmed to CNN on Thursday the inclusion of the additional equipment.

“At the request of the Israeli Consul General in Miami, cargo planes contracted by Florida were used to transport healthcare and hospital supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets that first responders can use,” Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said in a statement.

Redfern said that the governor’s office also worked with the Israeli consul general to “help get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties.” However, the source said Florida did not transport those supplies, and it’s unclear how the state aided Israel in the movement of munitions.

DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, has regularly touted his push to arrange flights to help Israel in the aftermath of the attack by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 people, including planes used to evacuate Americans out of the region.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, for comment.

Civilian flights: Florida emergency officials are spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a single contractor to bring US citizens stranded in Israel to Florida, CNN has also learned. 

The Division of Emergency Management confirmed officials have authorized up to $19 million for ARS Global Emergency Management to continue to charter flights from the Middle East to Florida. 

In media appearances and on the campaign trail, DeSantis has highlighted these efforts as evidence of his leadership and has accused President Joe Biden of not doing enough to assist Americans looking to leave the war-torn region.

The Biden administration has also chartered flights from Israel to destinations in Europe amid a scramble to get Americans back to the US.

Read more details here.

CNN’s Carlos Suarez and Denise Royal contributed reporting to this post.

Federal law enforcement officials are increasingly concerned that violent extremists and “lone offenders” will target Jewish, Arab American and Muslim communities with hate crimes in response to the war between Israel and Hamas, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said in a public advisory Wednesday. 

The “volume and frequency of threats” to people in those communities has increased in the last two weeks, the federal agencies said. They noted hoax bomb threats targeting places of worship and the October 14 stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian American child in an incident that is being investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime. 

There is no specific information suggesting foreign terrorists are plotting attacks against the US homeland, the advisory said. But terror groups al Qaeda and ISIS have called for attacks on American military bases abroad and Jewish communities in the US, respectively, FBI and DHS said. 

US officials are also concerned that the widespread sharing of graphic footage from the war online could further inflame extremists, the bulletin said. Images of Hamas-held hostages and civilian deaths in Gaza have proliferated on social media.

TOPSHOT - People pray during a rally in support of Palestinians in Brooklyn, New York on October 21, 2023, amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Jews, Palestinians and Muslims in the US say they're experiencing growing fear about rising bigotry and hatred | CNN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Israel’s military operation on Gaza in response to the brutal October 7 terror attack by Hamas has become an “atrocity.”

“The attacks on Gaza have long passed the point of being self-defense. It is now oppression, atrocity, massacre and barbaric,” he said in Ankara.

Erdogan’s latest remarks come a day after saying that Hamas was not a terrorist organization but a “group for liberation and of fighters fighting to protect their land and citizens.”

The Turkish president also criticized the European Commission and the United Nations for advocating for a “humanitarian pause” and not a ceasefire.

Leaders of the European Union member states are meeting in Brussels Thursday to discuss the unfolding crisis. Ahead of the summit, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell indicated that the bloc would push for a pause.

While EU member states are broadly in agreement that aid needs to be allowed into Gaza as soon as possible, there is hesitation from some to endorse a ceasefire over fears it limits Israel’s ability to defend itself against terror attacks.

Nine French nationals are still missing following the Hamas attacks in Israel, the French Foreign Ministry said in a news release Thursday.

The ministry added that “it has now been confirmed that some of them are hostages of Hamas.” The ministry statement also said it is “doing everything we can” to secure the release of the French hostages.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with the families of hostages on his recent trip to Israel, as did French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on October 15 in Tel Aviv, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the latest figure of French citizens confirmed dead following the attacks is 35.

The Israeli currency sunk to its lowest level against the US dollar in 11 years on Thursday amid growing speculation that a ground operation by the Israel Defense Forces into Gaza might be imminent.

The shekel fell 0.44% to trade at 4.08 to the dollar by mid-afternoon local time. The last time the shekel traded that low was in July 2012, according to Refinitiv data.

The value of the shekel has fallen by more than 6% since Hamas launched its brutal assault on Israel on October 7 and Israel responded by launching airstrikes on Gaza.

But the shekel slid further on Thursday following news that the IDF had conducted a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza, and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that his forces were preparing for a ground offensive.

Ratings agencies have warned that they could downgrade Israel’s credit rating as a consequence of the impact of the war on the economy, institutions and public finances.

“Israel’s credit profile has proven resilient to terrorist attacks and military conflict in the past,” Moody’s said last week. “However, the severity of the current military conflict raises the possibility of longer lasting and material credit impact.”

The main United Nations agency aiding Palestinians said Thursday that its operations are being “paralyzed” in Gaza due to the lack of fuel, as Israel continues to insist supplies exist but are controlled by Hamas. 

Juliette Touma, the communications director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the agency will be forced to halt operations altogether if fuel – crucial for generating power for hospitals among other things – is not delivered by Thursday.

“UNRWA continues to struggle with very limited and dwindling fuel supplies. Rationing of deliveries continues, including to medical facilities and bakeries. UNRWA is being paralyzed due to the lack of fuel deliveries into the Gaza Strip,” Touma said in a statement to CNN.

The agency warned a day earlier that it would run out of fuel by the end of Wednesday.

Israel says supplies remain: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the problem is not a lack of fuel in Gaza, but that it is in the hands of Hamas.

IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN Thursday that there is “between 800,000 and perhaps more than one million liters of fuel of different types stored inside Gaza” under Hamas control, according to Israeli military intelligence estimates. 

“Some of it was stockpiled before, some of it stolen from the UN, some of its stolen by Hamas from private vendors,” he said.

CNN cannot independently verify the amount of fuel in Gaza. 

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, another UNRWA spokesperson, Tamara Alrifai, said: “Whether or not other sources of fuel exist in Gaza is of no direct relevance to us, we are human agency and we should not be begging for fuel to nourish our own operations.” 

With fuel rapidly running out, UNWRA is being forced to make difficult decisions over diverting power between bakeries and hospital wards with more than 600,000 people now displaced and relying on a single piece bread each day, Alrafai added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is readying a ground incursion into Gaza, as Israel’s military conducted an overnight “targeted raid” using tanks. An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson told CNN that the raid was a “intended to create better terms for ground operations.”

A ground offensive is widely anticipated following the surprise Hamas attacks, but when it happens and what form it will take remain open questions.

Below are the latest developments…

China will provide approximately $2.05 million (RMB 15 million) in humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip, it announced Thursday.

According to a statement from the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), the country’s foreign aid and development organization, the aid will be comprised of food, medicine and other emergency humanitarian aid supplies.

It added that it comes on top of $1 million in aid China has previously provided.  

In a previous statement on October 16, the CIDCA said that China would provide aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Palestine Authority to alleviate urgent needs for food, medical care and accommodation. The statement did not specify the amount of aid at the time.

Some context: The announcement comes after Zhai Jun, Beijing’s special envoy to the Middle East, embarked on a whirlwind tour of the region aimed at promoting peace talks between Israel and Hamas.

Beijing has refused to condemn or even name the Palestinian militant group in any of its statements.

Observers viewed the trip as a chance for China to tilt the global balance of power further in its favor as the strategic competition with the US heats up.

The leaders of the 27 European Union member states will meet later in Brussels to discuss the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.

Ahead of the summit, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, indicated that the bloc would push for a pause in fighting to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

However, not all of the EU27 are on the same page.

While all member states are broadly in agreement that aid needs to be allowed into Gaza as soon as possible, there is hesitation from some to endorse a pause in fighting for fears it limits Israel’s ability to defend itself against terror attacks.

The Israel-Gaza conflict is uniquely difficult for the EU. Among the 27, there are member states like Ireland and Luxembourg, who are historically supportive of Palestinian rights and are seen as doves.

Then there are countries like France and Poland who are historically hawkish and tend to see foreign affairs from a security perspective.

Finally, there are countries like Austria and Germany, for whom anything to do with Israel is diplomatically difficult because of their roles in the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Beyond the immediate issue of the unfolding war, Europe has its own concerns about the fallout of this crisis.

“There might be displacement similar to Syria and Iraq,” a senior EU diplomat told CNN. “That led to huge divisions in European society — rises in antisemitism and Islamophobia. We ideally want the war to end before that spills over to our own borders.”

In an updated figure, the Israeli army now says 224 people are believed to be held hostage in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks. The previous estimate given was 222.

Those taken were captured when Hamas mounted their surprise cross border raids earlier this month: some taken from their homes, others from a music festival. Their families have been pleading for their release.

Here’s what we know about those being held:

Four freed: Hamas has released a total of four hostages since its October 7 attacks. Last Friday two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan, were released following negotiations between Qatar and Hamas. On Monday, Yocheved Lifshitz, a frail 85-year-old grandmother, was released alongside her neighbor and friend Nurit Cooper, 79. Lifshitz said she “went through hell” and described being taken to a network of tunnels.

Scores remain captive: The remaining 224 hostages are from countries including Mexico, Brazil, the United States, Germany and Thailand as well as Israeli civilians and soldiers. Among them is Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman, who last week appeared in a video clip released by Hamas. Speaking into the camera, Schem, who looks pale, but is sitting up straight with her head held high, says she was injured and taken to Gaza, then pleads to be returned to her family.

Efforts underway: Talks to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, sources told CNN, but the negotiations - which involve the United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Hamas - are complex. US President Joe Biden has denied asking Israel to hold off a ground invasion while hostages remains in captivity.

Despite the rising civilian death toll and the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, Israel has vowed to intensify its aerial bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, and expand it to a multi-pronged operation, as it says it seeks to wipe out Hamas, which has been designated by Israel, the European Union and the US as a terrorist organization.

And with Israel’s thousands of punishing strikes, the fear of history repeating itself – of another Nakba, the name Arabs use for the mass expulsions that followed the 1948 Arab-Israeli war – is being felt across the region.

While Israel has not said it aims to evict Gazans to Egypt or elsewhere, fears of such prospects arose after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asked Gazans to evacuate the strip’s north and move southwards, as their military operation continued, as well as after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was in talks with Egypt and Israel to establish a humanitarian corridor in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for Americans and other civilians fleeing Gaza.

On Sunday, Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Israel has “absolutely no intent” to run Gaza.

But the prospect of hundreds of thousands more Palestinians being forcibly displaced to neighboring countries, or even further afield, is being condemned across the Arab world.

Read the full story here.

British government ministers will convene for an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss London’s approach toward Israel’s war with Hamas, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said. 

Dowden told Sky News that ministers would consider the situation of hostages held by Hamas and the broader situation in the Middle East amid fears of a wider regional conflict.

Also on the agenda will be securing a “humanitarian pause” to enable more aid to enter Gaza, though the United Kingdom would not call for a ceasefire, he said. 

As the humanitarian crisis reaches a critical point in Gaza, with daily airstrikes, life-saving fuel on the verge of running out and health services crippled, pressure is building on the international community to get Israel to allow desperately needed aid into the enclave.

When asked, however, Dowden stopped short of calling the situation a humanitarian crisis.

“There is a very serious situation in Gaza,” he told Sky News.

Israeli troops carried out a “targeted raid” with tanks in northern Gaza on Thursday before withdrawing from the enclave, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Video published by the IDF showed tanks and armored vehicles, including a bulldozer, moving on a road near a fence. The tanks fired artillery, and some destruction could be seen nearby. 

The IDF said the raid was “part of preparations for the next stages of combat.”

“The soldiers exited the area at the end of the activity,” the statement said.

IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner described the raid as large but limited in scope, saying it was “a clear and sweep operation intended to create better terms for ground operations if and when that comes in.”

IDF preparations: Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, in response to its October 7 deadly terror attacks and kidnap rampage in which 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

In a televised address Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli is “preparing for a ground incursion,” into Gaza following nearly three weeks of airstrikes on the coastal strip.

The Israeli strikes have killed more than 6,400 people, and injured a further 17,000, according to information from Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza and published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.

Limited skirmishes between Israel and Hamas militants have already taken place on the ground in Gaza. An Israeli soldier killed in a clash with Hamas on Sunday is the first publicly announced Israeli military death inside the enclave since October 7, the IDF said Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed it carried out an airstrike targeting “Hamas terrorist infrastructure” in an area of Gaza where 12 members of an Al Jazeera journalist’s family were killed on Wednesday.

The strike hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where relatives of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh were taking shelter after being displaced, according to the Qatar-based news network.

Al-Dahdouh’s wife, son, daughter and grandson were among those killed.

“Strikes on military targets are subject to relevant provisions of international law, including the taking of feasible precautions to mitigate civilian casualties,” the IDF said in a statement to CNN on Thursday. “Regarding this specific case, the IDF targeted Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced an additional $15 million in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, bringing the total assistance promised by the country to $25 million.

“This adds to the $10 million Australia has already committed and will help deliver life-saving assistance such as emergency water and medical services,” Albanese said during a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden in Washington.

Albanese also condemned “the terrorism of Hamas” and said “we grieve for the loss of every innocent life, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian.”

On Wednesday, Australia called for “humanitarian pauses on hostilities” in Gaza to allow supplies to get in and safe passage for civilians, according to a statement from Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

As they watch airstrikes and hot-barreled howitzers pound targets in Gaza, check and recheck their personal weapons, communications and webbing, there can be very few among the thousands of Israeli soldiers poised for combat who don’t quietly wonder: “Is this a trap?”

Hamas, and its backers in Tehran, would have certainly planned to meet a fierce Israeli ground offensive after the terrorizing infiltration of Israel.

It’s possible — even probable — that the singular horrors inflicted on so many civilians were intended by Hamas to guarantee a massive Israeli response, no matter the cost to civilians in Gaza.

Israel’s next moves will determine the shape of things to come — perhaps for decades. It all comes down to Gaza.

Hamas has riddled the Strip with networks of tunnels. It will have laced the landscape above ground with booby traps, and will have plans to meet the IDF with anything from swarms of suicide bombers to snatch teams to take soldiers hostage.

US generals and other officials have been sharing their experiences of urban warfare on a large scale with Israel.

It took Iraq’s military — backed by American, British and other special forces along with relentless airstrikes — nine months to drive ISIS out of Mosul in 2017.

The northern Iraqi city was largely emptied of civilians but fighting was house to house. ISIS used tunnel systems it had built to ambush government troops who painfully took Mosul brick by bloody brick.

The bomb-making skills of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and close ally of Hamas, have metastasized across the Middle East. In Gaza, Israeli troops will know they face improvised explosive devices built with charges that can cripple a tank. They’ll know that Hezbollah’s abilities to destroy armor will have been further refined since Israel last did serious battle in Lebanon in 2006 and was shocked by the sophistication of the militia.

Read Kiley’s full analysis.

A United Nations commission says it has identified the Israeli commander and military unit it believes is likely responsible for the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank last year.

Abu Akleh, an experienced and highly respected Al Jazeera journalist, was shot while covering an early morning raid by Israeli forces targeting militants in the city of Jenin in May 2022.

Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said Tuesday that an investigation had concluded Israeli security forces “used lethal force without justification under international human rights law, and intentionally or recklessly violated Shireen Abu Akleh’s right to life.”

Following forensic analysis and expert testimony, the commission believed the fatal shot was likely fired by a solider belonging to the Israel Defense Forces’ Duvdevan unit, she said.

In May, the IDF apologized for Abu Akleh’s death, after conceding last year there was a “high possibility” she was shot by an Israeli soldier.

West Bank findings: Pillay said the commission’s investigation had observed an increase in operations by Israeli forces targeting armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank, with some operations “appearing to involve the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force.” 

She also said Israel treated large raids as military rather than law enforcement operations, “resulting in the application of far more permissible rules of engagement in violation of international law.”

Israel insists it is targeting terrorist groups in the West Bank that have carried out, or are planning to carry out, attacks on Israelis, and says it always acts within international law.

A United Nations humanitarian agency is warning it may have to halt its services in Gaza if no fuel is delivered — saying time is running out. Israel is continuing its fierce bombardment and complete blockage of the Palestinian enclave.

Several countries have now called for “humanitarian pauses” to allow for more aid to come into Gaza.

Talks are underway with world leaders in an effort to free more hostages, sources say. More than 100 hostages have foreign passports, the Israeli government estimated.

Here are the key things to know:

New satellite images released by Maxar show significant damage to sites across Gaza following Israeli airstrikes in response Hamas’ surprise attacks on October 7.

These before and after images of Atatra, northwest Gaza, show nearly an entire neighborhood reduced to rubble following Israel’s bombardment.

Before:

After:

See more satellite photos.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound and an observation post in southern Lebanon Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, the IDF reported that militants fired an anti-tank missile at IDF soldiers operating in the area of Avivim in northern Israel.

The IDF said their forces returned fire.

Hezbollah-owned media outlet Al Manar TV reported that Hamas had struck an IDF tank in Avivim.

Al Manar also reported that the IDF struck the outskirts of the villages of Maroun al-Ras and Blida in southern Lebanon.

The United States and Russia both failed to pass resolutions on the Gaza conflict at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday. 

Russia and China vetoed the US draft resolution on the Middle East, while Russia’s draft resolution did not get enough votes to be adopted. It failed to require the nine votes needed for consideration.

The result for the US resolution was announced as “10 votes in favor, 3 against veto, and 2 abstentions.”

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was “deeply disappointed” by the veto.

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:

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said. “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished.
“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Excellencies, even war has rules.”

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 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.