Israeli forces have breached Hamas “defense lines” in the southern city of Khan Younis, a spokesperson for the military claimed Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked a rarely used rule to refer the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council, urging members to “avert a humanitarian catastrophe.” Israel’s envoy called the move “a new moral low” and, along with the country’s foreign minister, called on Guterres to resign.
The United Arab Emirates also submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council urging a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli Security Cabinet approved a “minimal” increase in the amount of fuel for entering Gaza to prevent a “humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics” in the southern part of the enclave.
EU foreign policy chief urges support for Gaza ceasefire at UN security council
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser
Josep Borrell is seen during a press conference in Brussels on November 29.
Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Wednesday urged EU members of the United Nations Security Council to support UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Guterres on Wednesday invoked a rarely used rule to refer the situation in Gaza to the Security Council, urging members to “avert a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Multiple United Nations agencies are warning of the dire situation for residents of war-torn Gaza. In separate statements Wednesday, the World Health Organization chief said Gaza’s health system is “on its knees” and nearing total collapse, while the head of the World Food Programme said the humanitarian system in the strip is collapsing and, “Everyone in #Gaza is hungry.”
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Belgium announces travel ban on "extremist Israeli settlers"
From CNN's Irene Nasser
Belgium on Wednesday announced a ban on “extremist Israeli settlers” in the occupied West Bank from entering the country, following a similar move by the United States.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.
It comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new policy Tuesday to prevent extremist settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank from coming to the United States.
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Amnesty claims Israel used US-made weapon in airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians in Gaza
From CNN staff
An investigation by Amnesty International alleges that a US-made weapons guidance system was used in two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in October in which 43 civilians are said to have been killed.
Israel uses a wide variety of American weapons and munitions, but Amnesty’s report is one of the first attempts to tie an American-made weapon to a specific attack that left a significant number of civilians dead.
The JDAM is a “guidance tail kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurate, adverse weather ‘smart’ munitions,” according to the US Air Force.
Amnesty said its weapons experts and a “remote sensing analyst” examined satellite imagery and photos of the homes that show the “fragments of ordnance recovered from the rubble” and the destruction, the report explains. Amnesty’s fieldworkers took the photos.
As a result of these two attacks, 19 children, 14 women, and 10 men were killed, the report claims.
The human rights organization said it “did not find any indication there were any military objectives at the sites” of the airstrikes or that the individuals living in the homes were legitimate military targets.
In a statement to CNN, the Israel Defense Forces called the report “flawed, biased and premature, based on baseless assumptions regarding the IDF’s operations.”
Israel continues operations in Gaza as UN hopes to avert "humanitarian catastrophe." Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Smoke rises over Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, on December 6.
Athit Perawongmetha
Israeli forces breached Hamas “defense lines” in the southern city of Khan Younis, a spokesperson for the military claimed Wednesday.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has referred the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council, urging members to “avert a humanitarian catastrophe,” invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter. This gives the secretary-general the remit to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
In his letter, Guterres said the conflict has created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Israel’s envoy called the move “a new moral low” and, along with the country’s foreign minister, called on Guterres to resign.
Here’s the latest on the conflict:
The future of Gaza and its people: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) assuming power in Gaza will not happen as long as he is prime minister, underscoring the difference between the Israeli and US governments about governance of the enclave after the Israel-Hamas war. On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris’ national security adviser underscored the US “commitment to the future establishment of a Palestinian state and made clear that the Palestinian people must have a hopeful political horizon. To that end, (Dr. Phil Gordon) discussed the revitalization of the Palestinian Authority.”
Civilian casualties in Gaza: US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday that “too many Palestinian civilians continue to be killed” in Gaza. Speaking several days into the renewed offensive by Israeli forces in southern Gaza, Miller said the US wants “to see the civilian death toll lower than it has been.” The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that as of Tuesday, more than 16,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7.
Aid slowly enters Gaza: The World Food Programme (WFP) Chief Cindy McCain is warning of the limited access to food and water in the Gaza strip. The humanitarian system is collapsing,” McCain said in a statement on Wednesday. “Everyone in #Gaza is hungry.” Meanwhile, The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 80 aid trucks in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday. “The trucks contain food, water, relief assistance, medical supplies, and medicines,” PRCS noted in a statement. Additionally, the Israeli Security Cabinet has approved the recommendation made by the War Cabinet to allow a “minimal” increase in the amount of fuel entering daily to prevent a “humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics” in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israel prime minister’s office said in a statement Wednesday. France also announced it is sending 600 tons of food aid to Gaza.
US Senate Republicans block Israel-Ukraine aid package: Senate Republicans blocked aid for Israel and Ukraine from advancing in a key vote on Wednesday in protest over a dispute about border security policy, a clash that threatens to derail passage of the foreign aid.
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Gaza's health system "on its knees" and nearing total collapse, WHO says
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury, Lina El Wardani and Ibrahim Dahman;
Palestinians fleeing the north walk along the Salaheddine road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza City on November 26.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Gaza’s health system is “on its knees” and nearing total collapse, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah accused the Israeli military of placing Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza under siege and bombarding it.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for a response. In previous statements, Israel had maintained it targets Hamas infrastructure in the strip.
The WHO has reported at least 212 attacks on Gaza’s health sector since October 7. As a result, only 14 hospitals are partially functioning and three are minimally functioning in the strip, while 19 have gone out of service, the WHO chief added.
The Palestinian Minister of Health Mai Al-Kaila said on Tuesday that none of the hospitals in northern Gaza can accommodate surgical operations, while the capacity has surpassed 216% in hospitals in the south.
CNN’s Kareem Khadder contributed reporting to this post.
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"Everyone in Gaza is hungry," World Food Programme chief says amid severe food and water shortages in enclave
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
Palestinian children collect food at a donation point provided by a charity group in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, on December 6.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The World Food Programme (WFP) Chief Cindy McCain is warning of the limited access to food and water in the Gaza strip.
WFP said 97% of Palestinian households in the northern areas of the strip and 83% in the south reported inadequate food consumption — with many having spent at least one day without eating.
“Around 88 percent of the households in the Northern governorates and around 54 percent in the Southern governorates reported spending at least one full day and night without eating in the past four weeks, because there was not enough food,” WFP said in its latest report, adding that 20% in the north and 14% in the south had to do this more than 10 times.
The lack of cooking gas in Gaza has also led many to rely on waste burning, firewood and wood rubbish, which can have negative health repercussions, including high risks of respiratory diseases, according to WFP’s data.
Additionally, the average daily clean water consumption levels range between 1.5-1.8 liters per person across the strip, which is way below the 15 liters minimum average volume of water for drinking and hygiene per person daily.
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Israel approves minimal increase in amount of fuel entering Gaza, prime minister’s office says
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv
The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved the recommendation made by the War Cabinet to allow a “minimal” increase in the amount of fuel entering daily to prevent a “humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics” in the southern Gaza Strip, the prime minister’s office said in a statement Wednesday.
The decision comes after US pressure to allow more fuel into Gaza, which led the cabinet to meet on Wednesday night.
“The minimal amount will be determined from time to time” by the War Cabinet, the statement added.
The amount of additional fuel that will now be allowed to enter Gaza is not clear — and will be subjected to the cabinet’s decision.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that the current limit is two fuel tankers — about 60,000 liters — per day.
Netanyahu said Israel’s war efforts in Gaza are supported by its humanitarian effort, noting that Israel is allowing in the “bare minimum” of fuel trucks, and also aims to prevent disease outbreaks in Gaza that could halt the ground operation.
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US vice president's national security adviser met with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah
From CNN's Donald Judd
The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, met with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian leaders on Wednesday.
The White House said along with Abbas, Gordon met with Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); Head of Palestinian General Intelligence Services Majed Faraj and Palestinian business leaders while in Ramallah.
Per the White House, Gordon discussed “the situation in Gaza,” with local officials, with the official underscoring “the imperative of increased efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need and to protect civilians” while providing updates on his meetings earlier this week with Israeli officials.
Gordon emphasized that “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, that Hamas poses an unacceptable terrorist threat to the Israeli people, and that Hamas cannot control Gaza when the fighting ends,” the readout said.
Gordon also discussed the situation in the West Bank, including visa restrictions for Israeli and Palestinian individuals “believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank.”
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Israeli envoy says UN secretary general “reached a new moral low” after rarely used clause invoked
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Sugam Pokharel
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had reached “a new moral low” after Guterres invoked a rarely used clause on Wednesday.
Guterres used the UN charter to formally refer the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council for discussion, urging its 15 member nations to “avert a humanitarian catastrophe” in the besieged enclave.
Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to say the secretary-general decided to activate “this rare clause only when it allows him to put pressure on Israel.”
The envoy reiterated his call for the secretary-general to resign immediately.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also called on Guterres to resign, saying that the UN chief’s “tenure is a danger to world peace.”
Guterres’ decision to invoke the clause is “an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women,” Cohen wrote on X.
A furious diplomatic spat between Israel and the UN broke out in October, with Israeli officials calling for the resignation of Guterres after he said Hamas’ October 7 attacks on the country “did not happen in a vacuum.”
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy and Richard Roth contributed to this report.
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UAE submits draft resolution to UN Security Council — urging for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
From CNN's Clarissa Ward and Kareem El Damanhoury
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday urging for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The move comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres formally referred the situation in Gaza to the Security Council on Wednesday.
The UAE says its draft resolution is supported by Arab countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is comprised of 57 member states.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.
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80 aid trucks went into Gaza Wednesday, Palestine Red Crescent Society says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Kareem El Damanhoury
An aid truck on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, waits to cross into southern Gaza on December 6.
AFP/Getty Images
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 80 aid trucks in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of the lacking access to humanitarian aid in the strip after the end of the seven-day truce between Hamas and Israel.
The number of aid trucks “is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November,” OCHA added.
An Egyptian official said 50 aid trucks entered the strip through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, and OCHA said 100 trucks went in on Monday.
Asma Khalil and Eyad Kourdi contributing reporting to this post.
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"Too many Palestinian civilians continue to be killed" in Gaza, US State Department spokesperson says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler and Michael Conte
A man carries a child injured in an Israeli strike on Rafah, in southern Gaza, on November 20, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
The civilian casualties in Gaza is too high, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday.
Speaking several days into the renewed offensive by Israeli forces in southern Gaza, Miller said the US wants “to see the civilian death toll lower than it has been.”
“A good component of this is the problem presented by Hamas embedding in civilian sites in Khan Younis just as it did in Gaza City, but that doesn’t lessen the burden that’s on Israel to do everything it can to reduce civilian harm,” he said during a news briefing.
Miller noted the conflict in southern Gaza was “still at an early stage,” and would not say whether the US believes Israeli forces are carrying out this part of their offensive differently than in the north.
Miller said that the State Department had “some very frank conversations with the government of Israel about that when we were there last week,” when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Israel.
“We continue to have very frank discussions with them about this question, and I think I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
Last week, Blinken said Israel must prosecute the war differently in the south than it did in the north.
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Palestine Red Crescent stopping ambulance operations in northern Gaza
From CNN’s Abeer Salman
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is stopping its ambulance operations in northern Gaza after the lack of fuel and the closure of hospitals in the area made it impossible to evacuate civilians, the organization said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Yesterday evening, operations at the PRCS ambulance center in the northern governorate of Gaza came to a halt,” the PRCS said.
In the northern area of Jabalya, the PCRS’ operations are still ongoing to handle minor and moderate cases, where it receives at least 250 injured patients daily, the organization said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 80,000 residents in northern Gaza are now without health coverage.
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Israeli forces have breached Hamas "defense lines" in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, IDF spokesperson says
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Mick Krever in Tel Aviv and Sugam Pokharel in London
Israeli forces have breached Hamas “defense lines” in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the military has been involved in a fierce battle with Hamas militants since Tuesday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“Over the last 48 hours, these three divisions (98, 36, 162) along with another division in the east, are fighting with high intensity against terrorists. We have breached the defense lines of Jabalya, Shuja’iyya and the Khan Younis area,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said during his daily press conference.
It comes after the IDF said the Israeli military has begun carrying out raids against “Hamas strongholds” in the center of Khan Younis, the territory’s second-largest city.
Within a few hours after the IDF forces surrounded the city, “the soldiers pierced through the defensive lines of the Khan Younis Brigade, encircling it and for the first time began to operate in the heart of the area,” the military said.
The Khan Younis Brigade is one of the two most significant brigades of Hamas, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Wednesday said that the IDF forces have encircled the house of Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The IDF would not say where it believes Sinwar is, but that he was “underground.” Sinwar is originally from Khan Younis but it is unclear if he is currently there.
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UN chief refers situation in Gaza to UN Security Council, invoking Article 99 for first time in his tenure
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London
Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones following Israeli bombardment in southern Gaza on December 5.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has formally referred the situation in Gaza to the UN Security Council, urging its members to “avert a humanitarian catastrophe” in the besieged enclave.
Guterres delivered a letter to the president of the Security Council, José De La Gasca, on Wednesday, invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
Article 99 gives the secretary general the remit to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
In his letter, Guterres said the conflict has created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The UN chief highlighted the plight of Gazan civilians, who he said are facing “grave danger” on a daily basis.
“Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defence Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to break down soon due to the desperate situation, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible,” he said, warning the situation could worsen if the spread of disease reaches epidemic proportions and mass displacement creates “pressure” on neighboring countries.
In the closing paragraph of his letter, Guterres urged Security Council members to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” and support his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
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Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is "underground," Israeli military says
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is “underground” in Gaza, the Israeli military on Wednesday asserted, but did not say where they believe he is.
The statement from Israel Defense Forces spokesperson came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the IDF had surrounded Sinwar’s house in southern Gaza.
“Sinwar’s house is the area of Khan Younis,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said during a press briefing. “There is terror infrastructure and headquarters there. Sinwar is not above ground. He’s underground. I do not want to mention where, and what intelligence we acquired.”
“Our role is to reach Sinwar and kill him. We need to do that as soon as possible,” he added.
A senior adviser to Netanyahu on Wednesday told CNN that the encirclement of Sinwar’s house is a “symbolic victory.”
“It will be a real victory very soon,” Mark Regev said. “It’s only a matter of time before we get the man.”
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"Transition period" with Israeli forces in Gaza needed post-combat, US State Dept. spokesperson says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
An Israeli military tank rolls near the border with Gaza on December 5.
Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
The United States understands that there will be a “transition period” in which Israeli forces remain in Gaza after the end of combat operations against Hamas, but that cannot be permanent, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday.
It would not be “in anyone’s interest … for Israel to just leave — and leave a security vacuum in place where there could be rampant lawlessness inside Gaza, innocent civilians exploited,” Miller said at a press briefing.
“We understand there will need to be some transition period at the end of combat operations,” he added.
The US would not accept a reoccupation of Gaza by Israel, nor would it accept a buffer zone established within Gaza because it would violate the principle of no reduction of territory, Miller said.
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Israel intercepts ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthis, IDF says
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Wednesday that a surface-to-surface missile was detected heading toward Israel, specifically the city of Eilat. The IDF added that it successfully intercepted the missile in the Red Sea area using the Arrow aerial defense system.
The Houthi-run Yemeni Armed Forces said it launched a “batch of ballistic missiles” aimed at military targets in the Eilat area.
According to the IDF, the “target did not cross into Israeli territory, did not pose a threat to civilians and the sirens that sounded were according to protocol.”
The Yemeni Armed Forces added in its statement that it will continue to carry out military operations against the “Israeli enemy, as well as implementing the decision to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Arab and Red Seas in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and until the aggression against our brothers in Gaza stops.”
There was no damage to the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, or injuries to any personnel in the incident, the official said. The drone was flying in the direction of the ship; as with other recent instances of drones being shot down, the official said it came close enough to the Mason that the commander of the ship felt it was a threat and needed to be shot down.
At least three Houthi drones were shot down by the USS Carney on Sunday, during a series of attacks on three commercial vessels.
Some context: Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, the Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have launched numerous cruise missiles and attack drones toward Israel and US assets in the region, heightening concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could expand further.
CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.
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Israeli military drops leaflets with Quranic verse over Khan Younis in southern Gaza
From Celine Alkhaldi in Jerusalem, Hamdi Alkhshali and Nadeen Ebrahim
The Israeli military on Wednesday dropped leaflets over Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, with a Quranic verse about the great flood during the time of Noah.
“The flood overtook them, while they persisted in wrongdoing,” the leaflet reads in Arabic.
The verse comes from a surah in the Quran in which Noah is sent as a prophet to preach for 950 years and warn the people before the deluge. Those who are wrongdoers are swept away in the flood.
The paper bears the logo of the Israel Defense Forces. Video shot by AFP shows the leaflets falling from the sky over Khan Younis.
The leaflet also uses the word “tufan,” or flood — the same word Hamas used to describe its October 7 attack on Israel, the “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
The IDF has said it is now operating in “the heart” of Gaza’s second-largest city and warned residents earlier this week that “the fighting and military advance of the IDF in the Khan Yunis area do not allow the movement of civilians through the Salah al-Din axis in the sections north and east of the city of Khan Yunis.”
This post has been updated with comments from the IDF.
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Netanyahu says Israeli military has surrounded Hamas leader’s house in Gaza
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Mick Krever in Tel Aviv
The Israeli military has encircled the house of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Sinwar is the highest-ranking leader of Hamas based in Gaza.
Netanyahu did not explicitly say where in Gaza the house is located. Sinwar is originally from Khan Younis.
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement on Tuesday said that troops were operating “in the heart” of Khan Younis, the territory’s second-largest city.
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Netanyahu says Palestinian Authority will not govern Gaza as long as he’s Israel's prime minister
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv and Sugam Pokharel in London
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as the US Secretary of State gives statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defense Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 12, 2023.
Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) assuming power in Gaza will not happen as long as he is prime minister, underscoring the difference between the Israeli and US governments about governance of the enclave after the Israel-Hamas war.
“As long as I am Prime Minister — this will not happen. Whoever educates their children for terror, funds terror and supports families of terrorists, could not control Gaza after we eradicate Hamas,” Netanyahu wrote on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter.
His comment came after Sky News Arabia reported on Wednesday that Mahmoud Abbas, president of the PA, has expressed the body’s readiness to assume power in Gaza and the West Bank.
US President Joe Biden said last month that the PA should govern the Gaza Strip and the West Bank following the war. “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” Biden said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post.
However, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of a PA-led government in Gaza after the war. “I think that the Palestinian Authority in its current forms is not competent to take responsibility over Gaza,” Netanyahu said at a news conference on November 18.
Some background: The Palestinian Authority is a government body with limited self-rule in the West Bank. It was established in the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state. It has recognized Israel and engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it. Hamas controls Gaza and presents itself as an alternative to the PA.
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There is a "heightened risk of atrocity crimes" in Gaza, UN official says
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls in London
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 6.
Denis Balibouse/Reuters
There is a “heightened risk of atrocity crimes” in Gaza, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The “catastrophic situation” in Gaza was both “entirely foreseeable and preventable,” Türk said in Geneva. “My humanitarian colleagues have described the situation as apocalyptic. In these circumstances, there is a heightened risk of atrocity crimes.”
All parties involved and “those with influence” should take measures to prevent such crimes, he added.
Türk also said he was gravely concerned about the “dehumanizing” statements made by political figures in both Israel and in the Hamas ranks.
“History has shown us where this kind of language can lead. This is not just unacceptable, but a competent court may view such statements, in the circumstances in which they are made, an incitement to atrocity crimes,” he said.
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Audio of meeting between freed Israeli hostages and Netanyahu shows considerable anger at government role
From CNN's Irene Nasser, Tim Lister and Richard Greene
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pictured during a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel, on October 28
It comes amid building pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of the remaining captives, and scrutiny of Israel’s intensifying military campaign in Gaza.
A female abductee freed with her children — but without her husband, who remains in captivity — said she was in a “hiding place that was shelled and we had to be smuggled out and we were wounded. That’s besides the helicopter that shot at us on the way to Gaza.”
“You have no information. You have no information,” she added. “The fact that we were shelled, the fact that no one knew anything about where we were. … You claim that there is intelligence. But the fact is that we are being shelled. My husband was separated from us three days before we returned to Israel and taken to the (Hamas) tunnels” under Gaza.
“You want to topple the Hamas government, to show that you have bigger balls? There is no life here that is more important than others. None of us there deserve any less treatment than any resident of Israel. Return them all and not in a month, two months or a year,” she said.
According to the ynet account of the meeting, one man related what his family members had told him after being freed.
Another woman who had been a hostage said those remaining in captivity were living “on borrowed time. All day, they lie on a mattresses, most of them need glasses and hearing aids that were taken from them when they were kidnapped, they have difficulty seeing and hearing, which affects their functioning even more,” the woman said, according to the audio released.
She issued an appeal to Israel’s war cabinet to release all Palestinian prisoners and bring back the hostages. “Release them all and bring them back. They live on borrowed time. Their lives are in your hands,” she said.
At one point, some of the people present in the meeting heckled at Netanyahu and others from the war cabinet by saying “shame.”
What Netanyahu said, according to the report: Comments at the meeting by Netanyahu have not been released but were reported by ynet. CNN cannot verify they are accurate.
According to ynet, Netanyahu said it was only when Israel launched its ground operations when the pressure was built on Hamas to release hostages. When Netanyahu said Hamas was to blame for the end of the truce, an individual identified by ynet as a family member of a released hostage replied, “Nonsense.”
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the leaked recordings.
Read more about the tense meeting between Israeli officials and hostages.
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Analysis: Calls for "balance" blunt the horrific human toll of rape and destruction in Israel-Hamas war
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
It should not be hard to categorically condemn Hamas terrorists’ depraved use of rape as a weapon of war against Israeli women and girls.
And the idea that Israel could think that a ratio of two civilians killed for every Hamas fighter in Gaza would be a “tremendously positive” result is callous.
But raging disputes on both these issues underscore the extreme politicization of the conflict and, more importantly, threaten to downplay the inhumanity of a war exerting a horrific toll on defenseless civilians.
The first episode concerns Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who was forced on Tuesday to issue a long statement walking back her comments to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that “horrific” rapes need to be “balanced” against civilian deaths in Gaza.
The second drama stems from comments by Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus, also on CNN, about Palestinian civilian deaths that the lieutenant colonel was also forced to clarify.
The controversy over Jayapal’s remarks follows a period, predating the most recent Hamas attacks, in which some on the left have been criticized for seeming to be less inclined to condemn crimes against humanity carried out against Jews than other ethnic groups. And progressives across the Western world, many of whom are supportive of Palestinians, have sometimes been less strident than they might have been in trying to eradicate antisemitism.
Days of footage of the murderous Hamas rampage through kibbutz communities and grieving Palestinians pulling dead children from the rubble of their homes is hard to watch. But if the world tunes out, the reality of the carnage risks being overshadowed by arguments about the relative weight of horror suffered by either side or related diplomatic and political point-scoring typical of Middle East conflicts.
Read Collinson’s full analysis:
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UN calls Gaza one of world's "most dangerous" places as refugee camp hit by alleged IDF strikes. Catch up here
From CNN staff
A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with Gaza shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment of Gaza on December 6.
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
There are reports of a high number of casualties overnight after the Israeli military launched strikes on targets in and around the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The reports cannot be substantiated because access to the area is challenging and communications are poor. The alleged strikes come as the UN’s main agency operating in Gaza said the enclave has now become “one of the most dangerous places in the world.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said the situation was “getting worse each minute” with a new wave of refugees in the south displaced by Israeli bombardment on Wednesday.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its operations in the Jabalya area.
Here are today’s main headlines:
Refugee camp struck: The Palestinian official news agency WAFA quoted witnesses as saying that the Israeli military “targeted an entire residential square in ‘Block 2’ in Jabalya camp, killing and wounding dozens, including children and women.” CNN cannot independently verify the reports because of challenges with access and lack of communications in the area.
Death toll in Gaza surpasses 16,000: The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that as of Tuesday, more than 16,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7. In its latest update on the health situation of Gazans, the ministry said about 41,000 people had been wounded, with thousands more thought to be missing or buried under rubble. The ministry, based in Ramallah in the West Bank, compiles its reports with data from hospitals in Hamas-run Gaza.
Targets hit: Israel’s air force struck about 250 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours as troops continued to locate the militant group’s weapons, underground shafts, explosives and military infrastructure, the Israeli military has said.
Weapons found: The IDF claimed it found a large weapons stockpile near a clinic and school in northern Gaza. It said the weapons cache “contained hundreds of missiles and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launchers of various types, dozens of anti-tank missiles, dozens of explosive charges, long-range missiles aimed at the center of the State of Israel, dozens of grenades and unmanned aerial vehicles.” CNN cannot independently verify its claims or whether the weapons stockpile exists.
Humanitarian organizations call for an end to attacks: In addition to UNRWA noting the danger to life in the Gaza Strip, humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) called for an immediate end to “indiscriminate and relentless attacks,” on Gaza. They also said medical supplies were critically low at central Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
76-year-old hostage in critical condition: The daughter of an elderly Israeli woman who was released after being held hostage in Gaza says her mother’s condition is “serious” and that she has been hospitalized again. Carmit Palty Katzir, daughter of 76-year-old Hana Katzir, told Israel Army Radio (GLZ) that “my mother is hospitalized in serious condition.”
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German state will require applicants for citizenship to declare support for Israel
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
Applicants for citizenship in the eastern German state of Saxony Anhalt are now required to declare their support for Israel’s right to exist.
The new legislation comes in the aftermath of Hamas’ cross-border terror attack on October 7 and amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The decree states that Israel’s right to exist is Germany’s “Staatsräson” or “reason of state,” according to German news agency DPA, who has seen the document.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Interior Minister, Tamara Zieschang, said in the letter to the state’s cities and districts that, during the naturalization process, attention should be paid to “whether there are indications that anti-Semitic attitudes exist,” German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported.
Citizenship must be denied if applicants have made efforts that go against the free, democratic order, including anti-Semitic crimes and the denial of Israel’s right to exist, the letter says.
Since October 7, German officials have repeatedly stated that Israel’s security is Germany’s “reason of state.”
In an address to the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, in the aftermath of the attacks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “At this moment, there is only one place for Germany. That is the side of Israel.
“That’s what we mean when we say the security of Israel is Germany’s raison d’etre [reason of state].”
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Daughter of 76-year-old freed hostage says her mother is in hospital in a "serious" condition
From CNN’s Amir Tal in Jerusalem
An undated photo of Hana Katzir is projected onto a building in Tel Aviv, Israel, following her release by Hamas on November 24.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
The daughter of an elderly Israeli woman who was released after being held hostage in Gaza says her mother’s condition is “serious” and that she has been rehospitalized.
Carmit Palty Katzir, daughter of 76-year old Hana Katzir, told Israel Army radio (GLZ): “My mother is hospitalized in serious condition. There was a deterioration in her condition, which is directly related to captivity. The time she was there, when she did not receive medication, [but] she did receive drugs or other things she obviously should not have received, [as well as] conditions of starvation, conditions of nutritional deficiencies.”
Hana Katzir became one of the most recognized hostages during her captivity because she appeared in a hostage video and then later Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced that she had died. There was surprise and joy in Israel when she appeared in the first group of hostages to be freed.
Her daughter now says her health has deteriorated.
“A woman who left without any heart problems came back with serious heart problems and her medical condition is serious,” Katzir said. “The deterioration is the last two days, but already when she arrived at Wolfson medical center from Gaza, they saw her poor physical condition, they recognized the heart problems, which again I say, she had no heart problems before.”
Wolfson said Katzir had been discharged and is now hospitalized elsewhere.
Her daughter also spoke of abuse of the hostages.
“I want to say that everything is abuse: Abducting people from their homes is abuse, not providing them with food, this is abuse, committing psychological terror to them, pulling them out for filming at 2 a.m., making them wait four and five hours until they can, or can’t go to the toilet.”
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Gaza Strip is now "one of the most dangerous places in the world," UN agency says
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by air strikes on homes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 4.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
The situation in Gaza is “getting worse each minute” with a new wave of refugees in the south displaced by Israeli bombardment, the main United Nations agency operating in the strip said Wednesday.
Humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) also called for an immediate end to “indiscriminate and relentless attacks” on Gaza.
“Forcible displacement must stop now. Assaults on hospitals and medical staff must stop now. Restrictions on aid and the siege must stop now,” it posted.
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IDF says it found weapons stockpile near clinic and school in northern Gaza
From CNN’s Benjamin Brown in London
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed on Wednesday to have found a large weapons stockpile near a clinic and school in northern Gaza.
The IDF said the weapons cache “contained hundreds of missiles and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launchers of various types, dozens of anti-tank missiles, dozens of explosive charges, long-range missiles aimed at the center of the State of Israel, dozens of grenades and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
It said some of the weapons were taken away for further investigation, while others were destroyed in a nearby field.
Footage shared by the IDF showed the weapons and ammunition and soldiers loading rockets onto a truck.
CNN is unable to verify the size of the stockpile of weapons seized by the IDF, or where they were found.
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Reports of high casualties after Israel strikes refugee camp in northern Gaza
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Tim Lister
There are reports of high casualties overnight after the Israeli military launched strikes on targets in and around the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The reports cannot be substantiated because access to the area is exceptionally difficult and communications are poor.
The Palestinian official news agency WAFA quoted witnesses as saying that the Israeli military “targeted an entire residential square in ‘Block 2’ in Jabalya camp, killing and wounding dozens, including children and women.”
It said there had been a “series of intense raids” on the camp, including aerial bombardment of a school west of Jabalya, which houses displaced people, killing and injuring dozens.
The refugee camp in Jabalya is still thought to include tens of thousands of people, despite the instruction by the Israel Defense Forces in October that people in the area should head south.
WAFA also reported that early on Wednesday, six people were killed and dozens were injured in an air strike on two houses in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, and three people were killed and a number of others were injured in a raid that targeted a house in the western camp in Khan Yunis.
CNN is reaching out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its operations in the Jabalya area.
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250 airstrikes hit Hamas targets, Israeli military says
From CNN's Amir Tal in Jerusalem
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Gaza as seen from southern Israel, on December 6.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Israel’s air force struck about 250 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours as troops continued to locate the militant group’s weapons, underground shafts, explosives and military infrastructure, the Israeli military said Wednesday.
It’s a slightly higher number of airstrikes than in the previous day, but lower than the 400-plus strikes the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported in the first 24 hours following the breakdown of a temporary truce with Hamas last week.
“IDF ground troops directed an IDF fighter jet to strike two rocket launchers from which terrorists fired a barrage of rockets toward central Israel yesterday,” the IDF said Wednesday.
The IDF said its troops had also struck “an armed terrorist cell” operating next to a school in northern Gaza.
They also directed an aircraft to strike in the central area of Deir al-Balah, it said.
Multiple videos reviewed by CNN Tuesday showed extensive destruction in Deir al-Balah, with many casualties taken to nearby Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.
Nearly 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to a report Tuesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank, drawing on data from hospitals in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
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Supplies are "critically low" at central Gaza hospital, Doctors Without Borders says
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Ibrahim Dahman
An injured person is stretchered into the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on December 3.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
Fuel and medical supplies at central Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital have reached “critically low levels” due to road closures, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a social media post Wednesday.
MSF also reiterated its call for a ceasefire and for aid to enter the “Gaza Strip in its entirety.”
Video and witness accounts indicated multiple strikes in the area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Tuesday, with many casualties being taken to the Al-Aqsa hospital.
Hospital spokesperson Dr. Khalil Al Daqran told CNN that more than 90 bodies arrived at the facility on Tuesday, in addition to 130 people who were injured.
“Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is the only hospital in the central area and cannot accommodate such a large number of people, especially considering that massacres against our people are still ongoing,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said 73 bodies and 123 injured people were brought to the Al-Aqsa hospital over the past 24 hours.
This post has been updated with additional information.
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Netanyahu repeats call for Israeli control of disarming Gaza as military advances in south. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli troops should retain control for the disarmament of Gaza after the war with Hamas, again rejecting the idea that an international force could be responsible for security in the strip.
“On the day after: Gaza must be disarmed. And in order for Gaza to be disarmed, there’s only one force that can ensure that — and this force is the IDF,” Netanyahu told a news conference Tuesday.
It comes after Netanyahu told CNN last month that Israel’s security role in a post-war Gaza would be an “over-riding, over-reaching military envelope,” without explaining what that meant.
On the ground Tuesday, Israel’s military reported intense fighting in southern Gaza as it surrounded the strip’s second-largest city of Khan Younis. The IDF also said it had encircled the northern Jabalya refugee camp, which it claims is a Hamas stronghold.
Here’s what else you need to know:
UN visa: Israel’s foreign minister said he revoked the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator’s visa due to the “bias of the UN.” It comes as multiple UN officials warn of an “apocalyptic” situation in Gaza for displaced civilians, who face overcrowding and the spread of disease. Nearly 1.9 million people, more than 80% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced, a UN agency said. Meanwhile, nearly 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 60% of homes destroyed since October 7, according to the strip’s Hamas-run government.
“Tasteless” comment:Remarks by an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson to evaluate civilian deaths in Gaza in “ratios” were “tasteless,” a UN spokesperson said Tuesday. IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN Monday that two Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza for every Hamas militant is a “tremendously positive ratio” given the challenges of urban combat. “Every loss of life is sad, I should have chosen my words more carefully,” Conricus said Tuesday.
US moves: President Joe Biden’s administration has begun to stress publicly that US efforts to shape Israel’s military operations to be more surgical and deliberate to limit civilian casualties in Gaza have been fruitful. The US expects the current phase of Israel’s ground operation in the south to last several weeks before Israel transitions to a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy that targets specific Hamas personnel, multiple senior administration officials told CNN. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new policy to prevent extremist Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank from coming to the US.
Biden decries Hamas:Biden on Tuesday decried sexual assaults committed by Hamas during its October 7 terror attack on Israel and called on “all of us” to condemn the acts. His comments come as Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal has faced fierce criticism for not more forcefully condemning the acts by Hamas — underscoring a divide in the party over the Israel-Hamas war.
Gaza aid: Fifty trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing Tuesday, including two fuel trucks, an Egyptian official said. The US military airlifted another 36,000 pounds of critical supplies to Gazans on Tuesday, the Pentagon said, as the US also announced an additional $21 million in aid. Meanwhile, power has been returning gradually to Gaza following Monday’s blackout, the only remaining major telecoms operator in the strip said.
Wider conflict: The IDF said Tuesday that it struck Lebanese soldiers while acting in “self defense” against Hezbollah militants. A Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the Israeli attack, the Lebanese army said. It comes asLebanon’s caretaker prime minister said he wants to spare his country “from any major war that might occur” as the Israel-Hamas conflict stokes regional tensions.
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Biden decries Hamas sexual assaults and says they must be forcefully condemned
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Joe Biden speaks during an event in Pueblo, Colorado, on November 29.
The president’s comments come as Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal has faced fierce criticism for not more forcefully condemning the acts by Hamas — underscoring a divide in the party over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a new statement Tuesday that she “unequivocally condemns Hamas’ use of rape and sexual violence as an act of war,” following comments she made to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that set off a firestorm among her Democratic House colleagues.
UN rejects idea of acceptable ratios for Gaza's civilian deaths after Israeli military's comments
From CNN’s Caitlin Hu
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus speaks to CNN on Monday, December 4.
CNN via Cisco WebEx
Remarks by an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson to evaluate civilian deaths in Gaza in “ratios” were “tasteless,” a United Nations spokesperson said Tuesday.
On Monday, IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN that two Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza for every Hamas militant is a “tremendously positive ratio” given the challenges of urban combat.
The UN’s focus is on avoiding any civilian deaths, Dujarric said at his daily press briefing on Tuesday — though he acknowledged this had not been successful in Gaza.
Almost 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to figures compiled by the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.
People gather to mourn as they collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in an airstrike on December 5, in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
IDF clarification: On Tuesday, Conricus clarified that the IDF had not confirmed the reported death ratio was accurate, adding he had only meant to say he had seen a news report attributing those numbers to an unnamed Israeli official.
He repeated Israel’s regular assertion that the IDF was aiming to kill “as low as possible a number of civilians” and blamed Hamas for using people as human shields.
Conricus also insisted that a ratio of two civilians killed per combatant was better than seen in urban combat in places like Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in Syria, but added: “Every loss of life is sad, I should have chosen my words more carefully.”
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Israel revokes top UN official's visa over alleged bias
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
Israel has revoked the visa of the United Nations humanitarian coordinator due to the “bias of the UN,” according to the Israeli minister of foreign affairs.
“We will no longer be silent in the face of the bias of the UN,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Cohen said Lynn Hastings, who is the deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and the UN resident coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, failed to speak out against Hamas for the acts committed during its October 7 attack.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said Hastings had her visa revoked last week. Still, Dujarric said the UN secretary general has “full confidence” in Hastings.
“I can only reiterate the Secretary-General’s full confidence in Ms. Hastings, the way she’s conducted herself, and the way she’s done her work,” Dujarric said.
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Current phase of Israel's ground operation of Gaza could end by January, US officials say
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt and Oren Liebermann
An Israeli artillery unit operates at the border with Gaza on Tuesday, December 5.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
US officials expect the current phase of Israel’s ground operation of Gaza targeting the southern end of the strip to last several weeks before Israel transitions, possibly by January, to a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy that narrowly targets specific Hamas militants and leaders, multiple senior administration officials tell CNN.
But as the war enters this new ground, the White House is deeply concerned about how Israel’s operations will unfold over the next several weeks, a senior US administration official said.
The US has warned Israel firmly in “hard” and “direct” conversations, they said, that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) cannot replicate the kind of devastating tactics it used in the north and must do more to limit civilian casualties.
The US has conveyed to Israel that as global opinion has increasingly turned against its ground operation, which has killed thousands of civilians, the amount of time Israel has to continue the operation in its current form and maintain meaningful international support is quickly waning.
In perhaps the most direct public warning to date, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admonished Israel that it can “only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.”
Israeli military should retain control for disarmament of Gaza after war, Netanyahu says
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv and Lauren Kent in London
Israel’s military should retain control for the disarmament of Gaza after the war with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday, rejecting the idea that an international force could be responsible for security in the strip.
In November, Netanyahu told CNN that Israel’s security role in a post-war Gaza would be an “over-riding, over-reaching military envelope,” but did not explain what that meant.
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Israeli military spokesperson seeks to clarify comments on civilian casualties in Gaza
From CNN’s Richard Allen Greene in Tel Aviv
The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson who on Monday told CNN that killing two Palestinian civilians for every Hamas militant in Gaza would be a “tremendously positive ratio” on Tuesday said the IDF had not confirmed those numbers were accurate.
Jonathan Conricus, the spokesperson, said he had only meant to say he had seen a news report attributing those numbers to an unnamed Israeli official. “I confirmed that I saw the report. I didn’t confirm the numbers yet,” he told CNN.
The AFP news agency, citing a briefing for foreign media by senior Israeli military officials, reported Monday that the Israeli military believes about two civilians have been killed in Gaza for each Hamas militant.
AFP reported that the Israeli military official, when asked to confirm reports that around 5,000 Hamas militants had been killed, replied: “The numbers are more or less right.”
Nearly 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.
Conricus said the IDF wants to get accurate numbers of civilians and combatants killed, adding that he thought the number would be known before the end of the war.
And he said the Israeli military was talking about active combatants when it counted how many Hamas fighters it killed: “Our definition is combatants, people who are fighting,” he said.
He repeated Israel’s regular assertion that the IDF was aiming to kill “as low as possible a number of civilians” and blamed Hamas for using people as human shields.
