February 15, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his “deepest condolences” Thursday on two American teenagers “who reportedly were killed” in the West Bank and said that there must be an investigation into their deaths.

CNN previously reported that two 17-year-old Palestinian Americans had been reportedly killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces in less than a month.

In addition, an American woman was taken from her home in the West Bank and detained more than a week ago by Israeli forces. Her family alleges that she was beaten and denied medication in custody. A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service told CNN that she was “being held in accordance with the law” and had been “given medical treatment for medical problems that arose even before her arrest.” 

Two other Americans were detained by Israeli forces during a raid of a home in Gaza last week, according to a family member in the US.

“With regard to detainees, there is a limit to what I can say because of the privacy laws and the requirements that flow from that,” Blinken said.  

“I can just say in general, without reference to specific cases, we insist that people be treated fairly, that they be treated with due process, and that they be treated humanely,” he said. “That's something that, regardless of where an American citizen might be detained, we insist on. And we'll continue to insist on.”

Some background: The US State Department said Tuesday that an American died in the West Bank on Saturday, but did not provide a name or the circumstances of their death. The group “Defense for Children – Palestine” said the American was 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour. The organization said he was shot in the head by Israeli forces on Saturday while traveling by car in the town of Biddu in the West Bank.

Last month, another American, 17-year-old Tawfic Abdel Jabbar was fatally shot in the head and the chest, his father told CNN. The IDF and Israeli police told CNN at the time it received a report that an off-duty police officer and an Israeli civilian fired toward a “Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya.”

His father, Hafiz Abdel Jabbar, pushed back on Israeli claims in an interview with CNN, saying there was no way his son could have thrown rocks at them from where he was. Abdel Jabbar added that he had video evidence of the incident, which he has sent to the United States Consulate and some senators, saying that finding answers about his son’s death has not been easy so far. 

Israeli special forces have raided Nasser Hospital, the largest functioning hospital in Gaza, after laying siege to the facility for days.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had "apprehended a number of suspects," with spokesperson Daniel Hagari saying there was “credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages,” that Hamas had previously held hostages at the hospital. The military did not publicly release that evidence.

Hamas rejected those claims, denying to CNN that it was operating at the hospital. Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said Israeli bulldozers were digging up mass graves within the complex walls.

If you're just joining us, here's what to know:

Lebanon strikes: Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander and a number of operatives in an airstrike in Lebanon late on Wednesday. Hezbollah said Thursday that a number of its fighters had been killed, but did not specify how, where and when they were killed. Israel has continued its strikes in Lebanon throughout Thursday on what it called "Hezbollah terror targets."

Panic in Rafah: Rajaa Musleh, the Gaza representative for the non-profit organization MedGlobal, currently based in Rafah, says that health workers who are still alive “may still be breathing, but we are dying inside.” The city is the last remaining refuge in Gaza for displaced Palestinians, and panic is soaring as many decide whether to stay or leave ahead of a planned Israeli offensive.

Yemen strikes: The United States conducted four “self-defense strikes” on several targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including on missiles prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, according to a statement from US Central Command. An explosion was reported on a ship off the Yemen coast on Thursday afternoon, though it is not clear what nationality the ship is.

Politicians reject Palestinian state: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, as well as other Israeli politicians have publicly rejected a purported plan to provide a pathway for a Palestinian state, taking to social media to argue against a two-state solution.

Charity request: Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has called for Israeli forces to "immediately" stop the attack on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, after MSF staff reported "an undetermined number of people" were killed and injured. It said the hospital was shelled "despite Israeli forces having told medical staff and patients they could remain in the facility."

Hamas response: Israel earlier this week gave feedback on a proposed Gaza ceasefire deal, which would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and Qatar is waiting for a response from Hamas, a source familiar with the negotiations tells CNN. Israel’s negotiating team on Tuesday left Cairo, where indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

Israel soldiers: The number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war has risen to 233, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday.

The number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war has risen to 233, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday.

It comes weeks after the military experienced the deadliest day for its troops in the war so far when 24 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Israeli special forces raided Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, the largest functioning hospital in the enclave, after laying siege to the facility for days.

The IDF said they "apprehended a number of suspects" in the hospital, adding that the operation was ongoing.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said they had “credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages,” that Hamas had previously held hostages at the hospital, and that the bodies of deceased hostages may be at the hospital. The military did not publicly release that evidence.

He claimed that "Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital right now," and said the operation would be "precise and limited."

Hamas has denied to CNN that it is operating at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

“Hamas has no business in the hospital,” Muhammad Nazzal, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, told CNN on Thursday.

Israeli military bulldozers are digging up the mass graves that had been dug inside the complex walls, Dr. Al-Qidra said.

He said Israeli forces had forced nearly 200 patients to be housed under “harsh and terrifying conditions, without food, without infant formula, and with severe water shortages."

IDF forces also destroyed two ambulances, the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-controlled enclave alleged on Thursday. They claimed the forces “stormed the maternity building and conducted a search operation inside.” 

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for its response to those allegations. The IDF has not so far responded to any allegations by the ministry.

It comes a day after hundreds of civilians were forced by Israeli forces to leave the hospital, which they had been using as a shelter. 

Israel has lashed out at the Vatican over comments made by a senior official, in which he referred to Israel's war in Gaza as “carnage” and “disproportionate.”

Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin made the remarks Tuesday at a reception celebrating the anniversary of the recognition of Vatican City as a sovereign city state. He condemned the October 7 attacks and “all forms of antisemitism” but then questioned whether Israel’s reaction was appropriate. 

The Israel embassy to the Holy See called Parolin’s comments “regrettable“ in a statement issued on Thursday in English. In an earlier Italian version, the embassy used the term “deplorable,” but softened the language in the English version to “regrettable.”

“Judging the legitimacy of a war without taking into account ALL relevant circumstances and data inevitably leads to wrong conclusions,” the unsigned statement reads.

It then lists what it refers to as “relevant data,” saying that “Gaza was transformed by Hamas into the biggest terrorist base ever." 

"There was hardly any civilian infrastructure that was not used by Hamas for its criminal plans. This includes hospitals, schools, places of worship and many others,” it says. 

The statement goes on to say that the Israeli response has been “in full compliance with international law” and that “three civilians lost their lives for every Hamas militant killed.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed a senior commander and two operatives belonging to Hezbollah's Radwan Forces in an airstrike conducted late Wednesday in Lebanese territory.

The airstrike, carried out on a Hezbollah military structure in Nabatieh, resulted in the deaths of all three individuals, according to the IDF. Ali Muhammad al-Debs, whom they describe as a senior Hezbollah commander, his deputy, Ibrahim Issa and a third unnamed “terror operative” were killed in the airstrike, it said.

“Al-Debs was amongst those who directed the terrorist attack at the Megiddo Junction in Israel in March 2023. He led, planned, and carried out terrorist activity toward the State of Israel, especially during this war,” the IDF said.

Hezbollah said Thursday that a number of its fighters were killed without specifying how, where and when they were killed. One of those killed is Ali Muhammad al-Debs, Hezbollah said. They did not identify him as a "commander."

“With greater pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance mourns the martyr, the Mujahid Ali Muhammad al-Debs, born in 1976 from the town of Balat and resident of the town of Zabdin in southern Lebanon, who rose as a martyr on the road to Al-Quds,” a Hezbollah statement read.

Hezbollah also claimed that it carried out additional strikes on Israeli army positions on Thursday.

Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli military along the Lebanon-Israel border since October, which it says is to support its Palestinian ally Hamas amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

An explosion near a ship 85 nautical miles east of Yemen's port city of Aden was reported on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said in its latest advisory note.

"The Master reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel. The crew and the vessel are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the UKMTO said.

It is unclear what nationality the ship is.

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are retaliation against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

On Monday, Houthi rebels fired on a Greek-owned commercial vessel headed for Iran, according to US Central Command and the US State Department.

Earlier on Thursday, the US said it had struck targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that "presented an imminent threat," iincluding on missiles prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.

Israel earlier this week gave feedback on a proposed Gaza ceasefire deal, which would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and Qatar is waiting for a response from Hamas, a source familiar with the negotiations tells CNN.

“Qatar are talking to Hamas in Doha and waiting for their response to the Israeli feedback from the Cairo meeting,” the source said, adding that “the major sticking point remains the Israeli withdrawal of troops from Gaza.”

Israel’s negotiating team on Tuesday left Cairo, where indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Hamas must change its negotiating position before talks can continue in Cairo.

A diplomat familiar with the discussions told CNN Wednesday that Israel had told mediators they will continue to engage in talks but have so far rejected a counterproposal made by Hamas that demanded a large release of Palestinian prisoners.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has rejected Israeli military accusations against it and objected to arrests of staff at a hospital in the south Gazan city of Khan Younis earlier this month.

The IDF said that during an operation at al-Amal hospital last week, its forces “detained approximately 20 terrorists, including members of the Hamas terrorist organization who were hiding in the hospital.”

It was, the IDF alleged, “further evidence of Hamas’ cynical exploitation of the Gazan civilian population, with Hamas’ use of hospitals and civilian infrastructure as shields for its terrorist operatives and activities.”

The PRCS said nine of its medical and administrative staff were arrested, along with several patients and their companions.

But, the organization said its employees “do not carry out any work outside the scope of their humanitarian mission.”

“The occupation forces’ methods of defaming medical teams and accusing them of performing actions that fall outside the scope of their humanitarian mission are nothing but a poor attempt to justify their commission of war crimes by killing medical personnel in addition to bombing and destroying hospitals,” the PRCS said in a statement Thursday.

“The PRCS believes that these accusations are only part of a series of excuses fabricated by the occupation forces to justify the siege, bombing, storming of hospitals, and killing of PRCS medical staff and others in the Gaza Strip.”