February 2, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

After completing its mission in the city of Khan Younis, the Israeli military will next target Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, according to Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The population of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, has multiplied rapidly as Gazans fled there following the Israeli bombardment of northern cities, according to the United Nations.

Israeli forces have so far eliminated an estimated 10,000 Hamas fighters, and another 10,000 had been wounded, Gallant claimed. CNN is not able to independently confirm those numbers. 

Two weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces estimated it had killed about 9,000 Hamas fighters since the start of its war on Hamas following the group's October 7 attacks on Israel.

The UN said Thursday that more than 1.4 million Gazans are "already crammed" into the Rafah governorate.

Israeli Defense Minister Yaov Gallant offered his condolences in a call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the loss of three American soldiers killed in an Iran-proxy drone attack in Jordan, according to a news release from the defense department on Thursday.

Austin and Gallant also discussed "regional threats to US forces, "Israel's shift to low-intensity operations" in Gaza, support for a solution along the Israel-Lebanon border and "stability in the West Bank," the statement said. 

The US has announced the first round of sanctions under President Joe Biden's new executive order targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Approximately 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, encroaching into land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state. While the areas around these settlements have always been prone to violence, the situation has worsened in recent months.

The sanctions target four individuals accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank. This includes people accused of initiating and leading a riot; setting buildings, fields and vehicles on fire; assaulting civilians; and damaging property.

While the order is not expected to address the situation in Gaza, it will mark one of the more significant actions Biden has taken to critique Israel since the war began.

Here are our other top stories on the war and tensions in the Middle East:

A US warship’s destruction of an incoming Houthi missile in the Red Sea this week marks the first use in this conflict of an advanced weapons system dubbed the Navy’s “last line of defense.”

The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CWIS) was deployed by Navy destroyer the USS Gravely Tuesday night against what US officials said was a cruise missile that got as near as 1 mile to the ship – and therefore seconds from impact.

The automated Phalanx system features Gatling guns that can fire up to 4,500 20-millimeter rounds a minute, engaging projectiles or other targets at extremely close range.

“The Phalanx weapon system is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled, radar-guided gun that can defeat anti-ship missiles and other close-in threats on land and at sea,” manufacturer Raytheon says on its website page titled, “Last line of defense.”

US warships have foiled dozens of previous Houthi missile attacks using longer-range defenses, likely the Standard SM-2, Standard SM-6 and Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, analysts say. Those defensive missiles engage their targets at ranges of 8 miles (about 12 kilometers) or more.

But on Tuesday night that didn’t happen for reasons that have not been revealed.

Read the full story here.

The Gaza offices of Belgium's development agency, Enabel, were destroyed in what Belgian officials described as a bombing.

Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib shared photos of the leveled office building in a post on X on Thursday.

"Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable," Lahbib said, adding that she and Belgium's Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez would summon the Israeli ambassador to "clarify everything."

The agency's primary mission is "to implement the policy priorities of Belgian governmental cooperation and to promote sustainable international development," according to Enabel's website.

Israel did not immediately comment on the minister's statement.

There are currently no plans to target any Israeli officials with economic sanctions, the White House said Thursday after the administration announced a new executive order targeting four individuals accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank. 

Axios reported Thursday that the administration had considered sanctioning some ultra-conservative Israeli government ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have vocally advocated for the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to make way for Israeli settlers. 

Ben Gvir has taken steps to arm Israeli civilians in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack and, according to The New York Times, has pledged 10,000 guns to towns and cities across Israel, including Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory. 

The US State Department announced the first round of sanctions under a new executive order targeting those perpetrating violence in the West Bank on Thursday.

The new sanctions — which block their financial assets and bar them from coming to the US — target four Israeli nationals. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that “Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it.”

Here are some more specifics:

Who the order targets: The order focuses on four individuals accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank, the State Department said. This includes people accused of initiating and leading a riot; setting buildings, fields and vehicles on fire; assaulting civilians; and damaging property. The four individuals named are David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman and Yinon Levi.

What the order will do: The order will block the individuals' property and financial transactions in the United States and prohibit Americans from funding or contributing money to them. The order is directed toward foreign nationals and not American citizens, an official said, though some dual nationals have been accused of being involved in the violence.

Why this matters: President Joe Biden has faced backlash from key parts of his political coalition for his backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. While the order is not expected to address the situation in Gaza, it will mark one of the more significant actions he has taken to critique Israel since the war began, and it could be a signal from Biden toward Muslim and Arab-American voters who are upset with his refusal to call for a ceasefire.

Remember: Approximately 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, encroaching into land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state. While the areas around these settlements have always been prone to violence, the situation has worsened in recent months.

Watch a CNN investigation on settler violence in West Bank here.

The top US State Department official for the Middle East said Thursday that she is not aware of “any definitive response” from Hamas to a proposal crafted over the weekend that would see the release of hostages held by the group and a sustained pause in the fighting in Gaza. 

Hamas said that Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, received the proposal at a meeting in Paris this weekend that involved officials from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States. 

Leaf said the potential hostage deal is “a critical starting point” toward an end to the conflict.

Hamas said that Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, received the proposal at a meeting in Paris this weekend that involved officials from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States. 

Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that the head of its political bureau “is in the process of studying (the proposal) and submitting its response to it on the basis that the priority is to stop the aggression, the brutal attack on Gaza and the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Strip.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head back to the region in the coming days as moving forward on the deal remains a top priority for President Joe Biden's administration.