Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office accuses Israel of lying about evidence at Al-Shifa hospital
From CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Celine Alkhaldi and Mostafa Salem
The Hamas-run government media office has accused Israel of lying on evidence found inside Al-Shifa hospital.
Ismail Al Thawabta, the director of the Gaza Government Media office, rejected Israel’s allegations that Hamas equipment was found in Al-Shifa hospital.
Israel says its soldiers have uncovered what the army is calling “military equipment used by Hamas”during a raid at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The IDF presented some of the evidence in a video.
Al Thawabta saidIsrael failed to present significant evidence despite the “whole world” predicting “that this [Israeli] military was going to show maps of the Hamas command and control centers.”
A member of Hamas’ political office, Izzat al-Risheq, accused Israel of “staging a shameful play” with the raid, in a statement on Telegram.
Both Risheq and Thawabta accused Israel of fabricating the evidence presented.
Some context: On Wednesday, a senior Israeli defense official said troops had uncovered“concrete evidence that Hamas terrorists used the Shifa hospital as a terror headquarters,” promising to present the evidence later.
Israel is under significant international pressure to prove its claims about Hamas's infiltration of the hospital, in order to justify some of its military decisions — which could otherwise constitute a possible serious violation of international humanitarian law.
There is certainly no indication yet that troops have uncovered a multi-level tunnel structure with underground chambers — of the kind illustrated in an animation presented by the army spokesperson at a briefing almost three weeks ago.
IDF says it has gained control of Gaza harbor
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that they had taken "operationalcontrol"oftheharborinGazaCity, which is the centerofthe strip’s fleetoffishing vessels.
In a statement, the IDF said theharborhad also been used as a training facility for Hamas fighters.
The IDF said their forces had destroyed ten tunnel shafts as partofthe operation.
CNN cannot independently verify the IDF claims or the exact locationoftheir forces.
Six Israeli security personnel injured in shooting near Jerusalem, Israeli police say
From CNN's Alex Stambaugh
Six Israeli security personnel have been injured, including one who is in critical condition, in a shooting attack at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem, according to Israeli police.
Police said three people arrived in a car at the checkpoint and opened fired on officers stationed there. The three attackers were shot dead, police said.
Two other civilians suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene, according to a police statement.
Police released a photo of two handguns and an M-16 rifle they say were used in the attack.
Israeli military says it hit Hamas leader's Gaza residence
From CNN's Amir Tal and Alex Stambaugh
The Israeli military has said its warplanes struck the Gaza home of Hamas leaderIsmail Haniyeh.
The army released aerial video showing a large explosion, which it said showed the house being destroyed.
Haniyeh has not been based in Gaza for several years.
Elsewhere, in the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, the Israeli military said they located and destroyed Hamas naval forces’ weapons, including diving gear and explosive devices.The army said it had taken control of the refugee camp on Tuesday.
CNN cannot independently confirm the army’s claims.
More than 100 Russians evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday, ministry says
From CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said a total of 107 Russian nationals and their families crossed over from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday.
The ministry said Rafah crossing point continued to operate beyond the established Tuesday deadline, allowing its workers to bring an additional group of people to the Egyptian side. The Russian evacuees are travelling in a bus convoy to Cairo for onward travel to Moscow, the ministry said.
It also said it would deliver 21 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza, including emergency lighting installations, generators, medicines and foodstuffs.
The humanitarian cargo flew from Moscow to Egypt and will be handed over to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, the ministry added.
It's morning in Israel and Gaza. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
US President Joe Biden accused Hamas of committing a “war crime” for operating what the US and Israel have claimed is a command node under theAl-Shifa hospitalin Gaza.
His comments follow an Israeli raid Wednesday onAl-Shifa. Israeli forces accused Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast complex – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials.
CNN cannot verify either side's claims.
Conditions at Al-Shifa, which has run outof fueland is no longer considered operational, havedeteriorated rapidlyin recent days amid intense fighting, with doctors warning of a “catastrophic” situation for patients, staff and displaced people still inside.
The operation comes amid Israel's escalating ground offensive in Gaza, aimed at destroying Hamas.
Here's what else to know:
- Hospital raid:Intense fightingoutside Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, occurred Wednesday amidIsrael's raid, according to a reporter inside. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area" of the hospital. The director general of Gaza hospitals said the Israeli militaryentered the ground floor and basem*ntof the surgery building during the raid. According to Hamas, the hospital isnow under Israeli control.
- Israel claims it has evidence: Israeli troops found "military equipment used by Hamas," during the Al-Shifa raid, the militarysaid in a statementbut offered no evidence yet of a vast tunnel network it claimed was used by the militant group. Israel says it will present more evidence to support its claims of a Hamas command center, an adviser to the prime minister told CNN Wednesday, as international pressure mounts.
- Humanitarian pauses: The United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolutioncalling for a series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza. Three countries — the US, Russia, and the UK — abstained from the vote, while 12 members voted in favor.
- International responses:Qatar condemned the Israeli military forraiding the hospital, an action it described as “a war crime and a blatant violation of international laws.” The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs alsocondemned Israel’s raid, which it described as a "storming." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel aterrorist state.
- Humanitarian crisis:"Grave violations" against children are occurring in Gaza, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said Wednesday, one day after her visit to the territory. The main United Nations relief agency operating in Gaza warned Wednesday that its "entire operation is nowon the verge of collapse." And the UN's humanitarian agency chief said"carnage in Gazareaches new levels of horror every day" and called for a ceasefire.
- Rafah crossing:Around23,000 liters (6,078 gallons) of fuel from Egypt weredeliveredto theUN Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA) to be used only for transporting aid from Rafah, the organization’s director in Gaza, Thomas White, said onX. That's just 9% of what is needed daily to sustain lifesaving activities, he emphasized.
- Hostage situation:The families of US citizens believed to be held hostage by Hamasmet withRoger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, at the US State Department, according to a source familiar with their plans.
- Death toll in Gaza: Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 11,255 Palestinians since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws its figures from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza. A fuel blockade has resulted in a deepening humanitarian crisis as hospitals, water systems, bakeries and other services reliant on electricity shut down.
Biden accuses Hamas of committing a “war crime” for operating what US and Israel claim is command node at Gaza hospital
From CNN's Betsy Klein and DJ Judd
US President Joe Biden accused Hamas of committing a “war crime” for operating what the US and Israel have claimed is a command node under theAl-Shifa hospitalin Gaza.
Biden said he discussed the dangerous situation at the hospital, Gaza’s largest, during his meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“You have a circ*mstance where the first war crime is being committed by Hamas by having their headquarters, their military hidden under a hospital. And that's a fact. That's what's happened,” Biden told reporters during a press conference Wednesday.
Some context:Israeli forces launched a raid early Wednesday morning onAl-Shifa,after accusing Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast complex – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials.
CNN cannot verify either side's claims.
Israel said its troops found "military equipment used by Hamas," the militarysaid in a statementbut offered no evidence yet of a vast tunnel network it claimed was used by the militant group.
Israel said it will present more evidence to support their claims ofa Hamas command center, an adviser to the prime minister told CNN Wednesday.
Conditions at Al-Shifa, which has run outof fueland is no longer considered operational, havedeteriorated rapidlyin recent days amid intense fighting, with doctors warning of a “catastrophic” situation for patients, staff and displaced people still inside.
Wednesday’s raid has also sparked widespread international criticism.
Biden noted that the US has called on Israel to be “incredibly careful” as it targets Hamas in the area, but suggested that action was justified.
“We discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful. You have a circ*mstance where you know there is a fair number of Hamas terrorists. Hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking Israel again, like they did before."
The president also noted the savagery of Hamas' October 7 attacks in Israel. "And so, the idea that they're going to just stop and not do anything is not realistic," he added.
Israeli forces, he suggested, are “bringing in incubators” and “other means to help the people in the hospital,” adding that there have been efforts to get doctors, nurses, and other personnel out of harm’s way.
Evidence:In a follow up exchange with CNN, Biden told MJ Lee, “Yes,” he was absolutely confident based on intelligence he’d seen that Hamas was operating a command center under the Al-Shifa hospital, but declined to share details on the evidence.
“No, I can’t tell you—I won’t tell you,” he told CNN.
"Carnage in Gaza cannot be allowed to continue," UN humanitarian chief says
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite and Holly Yan
The horror suffered by civilians in Gaza has intensified each day and the "carnage" must stop, the United Nations' humanitarian chief said afterIsraeli forces raided Al-Shifa hospital.
"As the carnage in Gaza reaches new levels of horror every day, the world continues to watch in shock as hospitals come under fire, premature babies die, and an entire population is deprived of the basic means of survival,"said Martin Griffiths, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. "This cannot be allowed to continue."
Griffiths also released a"comprehensive" planto rein in the carnage and urged the international community to support it. "The world must act before it is too late," he said.
Israel has claimed thatunderground bunkers beneath Al-Shifa hospital— the largest hospital in Gaza — have been used by Hamas as a command center. But hospital officials and Hamas have denied those allegations. CNN cannot verify either side's claims.
UN Security Council adopts resolution calling for series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza
From CNN's Mariya Knight, Caitlin Hu and Richard Roth
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolutioncalling for a series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza.
Twelve states voted in favor of adopting the resolution during Wednesday's session. Three countries — the US, Russia, and the UK — abstained from the vote.
The resolution calls “for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners.”
The nongovernmental organizationHuman Rights Watch praised the resolution's adoption.
“The UN Security Council just sent a rare and powerful message to Israel, Hamas and other armed groups that compliance with international humanitarian law is non-negotiable. So far, there has been widespread disregard for civilians by all parties. That the US finally stopped paralyzing the council on Israel and Palestine so this resolution on the plight of children in Gaza could move forward should be a wake-up call to Israeli authorities that global concern, even among its allies, is strong,"Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
