April 17, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war | CNN (2024)

The death toll from an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp has risen to 14, including 8 children, according to Al-Aqsa hospital officials.

The airstrike hit the refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, with initial reports saying 13 people — including seven children — were among those killed.

The Israeli military said the incident is under review.

Footage of the strike: Graphic video, obtained exclusively by CNN from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah,showed several casualties scattered on the floor, including children, with blood streaming around the area.

In the video, dozens of people appear to be running around in panic, screaming and trying to count and carry the dead bodies. A foosball table covered in dust is seen among the dead bodies.

Footage shot for CNN from inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital showed a continuous flow of casualties and injured people being ushered in, as the emergency room is crowded with patients, including several wounded children, crying out on the floor. Family members were seen crowding over their loved one’s dead bodies, kissing them, holding onto them and sobbing.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed concerns Wednesday over the current state of international mediation efforts led by Qatar to help reach an agreement on the release of hostages and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, criticized the misuse of Qatar’s efforts for “narrow political” gains by some involved, undermining the broader goal of peace and humanitarian relief, “which required the State of Qatar to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.”

He emphasized the sensitivity of the ongoing talks and highlighted the challenges faced in bridging gaps between conflicting parties. He also pointed out the inconsistency between private assurances and public statements by involved parties, describing such actions as counterproductive.

While the Qatari leaders did not point anyone out by name, the comments followed a statement by US Rep. Steny Hoyer on Monday that said if Qatar fails to apply pressure on Hamas to reach an agreement on a deal to release hostages and establish a temporary ceasefire, “the United States must reevaluate its relationship with Qatar.”

On Tuesday Qatar’s Embassy to the US in Washington issued a statement saying it was surprised by Hoyer’s remarks, adding that while the country shares the congressman’s frustrations, it does not control Israel or Hamas.

More than 13,800 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Additionally, “one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes” in Gaza, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The statement added that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, 6,000 of whom left 19,000 orphaned children behind.

CNN cannot independently verify death numbers due to lack of access to the strip.

Here are other headlines you should know:

The first shipment of aid to the Gaza Strip to be delivered into Ashdod Port was transferred to Gaza Wednesday, according to the Israeli military.

The Israel Defense Forces said eight World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour entered via the Kerem Shalom Crossing after being inspected at Ashdod.

Israel earlier this month announced its decision to facilitate aid deliveries via the port.

At the time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the development but said the “real test” would be to see whether aid was “effectively reaching people who it needed throughout Gaza.”

CNN has reached out to the WFP for comment.

The Israeli military claims to have killed and arrested several militants during an operation in the civilian area of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had raided a building complex that included two schools after receiving “intelligence that terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists organizations were located in the building and using civilians present there as human shields.”

CNN is not able to independently confirm the claims made by the IDF.

The IDF said it told civilians to leave the building before entering during its joint operation with the Israel Security Agency, Israel’s domestic security agency, also known as Shin Bet or Shabak.

What Gazans told CNN: People living in the area said Israeli military vehicles began an operation there on Monday afternoon, firing shots and rounds of artillery shelling. Local residents said that Israeli forces had surrounded three schools early Tuesday morning, including one where hundreds of people had been sheltering. They ordered people to leave the schools and detained dozens of men, including some elderly people and teenagers over the age of 15, according to residents. An elderly woman who had been sheltering in one of the schools said Israeli soldiers came in the middle of the night and arrested several men and women.

More than 13,800 children have been killed in Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“Thousands have been injured and thousands more are on the brink of famine,” she said during a news conference in New York, according to a statement from her organization.

In a separate statement, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Womensaid that “one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes” in Gaza. The statement added that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, and 6,000 of them left 19,000 orphaned children behind.

UNICEF communication specialist Tess Ingram, who recently visited Gaza, said during a news conference in Genevaon Tuesday that what struck her was the number of wounded children she saw.

“Not just in the hospitals, but on the streets, in their makeshift shelters, going about their now permanently altered lives,” she said.

CNN cannot independently verify death numbers due to lack of access to the strip.

Germany’s Lufthansa airline has announced it will extend its suspension of flights to the capitals of Iran and Lebanon due to the security situation in the region.

Flights to Tehran and Beirut will remain canceled up to and including April 30, Lufthansa said in a statement Wednesday. The airline also said it would continue not to use Iranian airspace until the end of the month.

“The Lufthansa Group is continuously monitoring and assessing the security situation in the Middle East and is in close contact with the authorities,” the airline said.

Lufthansa first suspended flights to the Iranian capital of Tehran last week and had already once extended its suspension.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for widening sanctions against Iran that can also target industries supporting missiles and drones production.

“Our duty is to broaden these sanctions,” he said Wednesday while in Brussels for a meeting between European leaders.

His comments comes after more than 300 projectiles – including around 170 drones and over 120 ballistic missiles – were fired toward Israel in a retaliatory aerial attack by Iran on Saturday.

Iranian drones have been widely used in other conflicts, including by Russia against Ukrainian infrastructure targets.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that Israel’s response to Iran’s attack should inflict a “disproportionate toll” and “rock Tehran” to deter Iran from future strikes.

Smotrich said Israel’s response to Iran’s missile and drone attack should make Tehran “regret the moment they even thought about firing” and be “fierce, severe and inflict a disproportionate toll.”

Smotrich, who is technically also a minister in Israel’s defense ministry due to a deal struck in coalition agreements, told Israel’s Army Radio(GLZ)that the nature of Israel’s response would “shape [Israel’s] position in the Middle East.

The response, he said, “should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn’t mess with us,” he said, adding that “this is the language spoken in the Middle East.” The minister, who is head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, also said that Israel should maintain its strategic ties with the United States and other partners but must prevent itself from finding itself in a “bear-hug, which will limit and make us incapable.”

Key context: Smotrich is not a member of Israel’s war cabinet, which the security cabinet has authorized to decide on how to respond to the Iranian attack.

As tensions in the region intensify, many world leaders have urged restraint as Israel weighs the size and scope of its response to Iran.

Israeli fighter jets have struck alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after 18 Israelis were injured when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group attacked a village in northern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck Hezbollah military compounds and terror infrastructure in the areas of Naqoura and Yarine in southern Lebanon in response hours after Wednesday’s attack.

The IDF said that three civilians were among the 18 people injured in the attack, the rest being soldiers.

Israel is weighing up how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented strikes on the country during the weekend, as the British and German foreign ministers visited the country to urge restraint.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog both met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.

Their meeting happened as 18 people were injured by a Hezbollah strike in northern Lebanon, according to a hospital in the region. Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday that its missiles and drones hit the military headquarters in northern Israel in response to deaths of its fighters on Tuesday.

Here’s what to know if you’re just joining us:

• International pressure: The UK’s Cameron reinforced international pressure on Israelto not escalate tensions with Iran. He also urged the G7 — the world’s largest economies — to coordinate sanctions against Iran to show a “united front.”
• Iran warning: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned Wednesday that the “slightest” attack by Israel on Iran will be “dealt with fiercely and severely.”
• Gaza death toll: The health ministry in Gaza said in a statement onWednesday that 56 people were killed and 89 were injured in the strip over the past 24 hours as a result of Israeli operations.The ministry said that 33,899 people have been killed and 76,664 injured since October 7. CNN cannot verifythefigures,andtheministrydoes not provide a breakdown of civiliansandfighters amongthecasualties.
• Escalation warnings: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also urged his government not to respond militarily to Iran’s weekend attacks, saying that Israel had already punished Iran “in a humiliating and powerful way.”
• Aid guarantees: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged governments to do everything they can “to halt the increasingly horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” by guaranteeing international aid. He also urged international action for what he calls the “rising violence and targeted attacks in the West Bank.”
• Beit Hanoun operation: People living in the area of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza said Israeli military vehicles began an operation there on Monday afternoon, firing shots and rounds of artillery shelling. Residents told CNN that Israeli forces surrounded three schools, including one early Tuesday morning where hundreds of people have been sheltering.
• UN aid: The UN and Israel continue to disagree on the delivery of aid across Gaza. Israel is blaming the UN for failing to distribute the aid, while the UN says Israel is being obstructive and denying 41% of requests.
• US boat fire: A US Navy ship en route to the eastern Mediterranean to help the US military set up a pier for aid to Gaza had to turn back last week after experiencing a fire, a Navy spokesperson told CNN.

Israel has accused members of a United Nations fact-finding commission into war crimes in the region of having “a track record of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements” after a UN commissioner accused Israel of actively obstructing efforts to collect evidence from victims and firsthand witnesses of Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

“The 1200 people murdered (in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7), the women and girls raped, the hostages taken into Gaza, know too well that they will never get any justice or the dignified treatment they deserve from the Commission of Inquiry and its members, who have a track record of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements,” Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva told CNN.

The Israeli mission to the UN did not provide any evidence or further information to support its claims.

Accusations of obstruction: The UN Commission of Inquiry has been collecting evidence of war crimes committed by all sides since October 7.

Its commissioner, Chris Sidoti, said Tuesday that the Israeli government was actively obstructing “efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims to the events that occurred in southern Israel.”

Israel’s UN mission told CNN that Israel had been conducting “thorough internal investigations” into the crimes committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel and that it was “meticulously collecting evidence and testimonies in order to render justice to the victims.”

“Moreover, independent mechanisms and institutions, including United Nations Representatives, have been to Israel and met with survivors and victims of the terrorist attack,” Israel’s UN mission added.

An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel on Wednesday.

At least 18 people were injured, including one critically, afteraHezbollahdronehit a village in northern Israel on Wednesday, according to a hospital in the region.

Among the 18 injured was one person in critical condition, two in serious condition and four moderately injured. The other eleven people injured sustained minor injuries, a spokesperson for the Galilee Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya said. Most were injured by shrapnel, the spokesperson added.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday that its missiles and drones hit the military headquarters in northern Israel in response to Tuesday’s assassination of its fighters.

A US Navy ship en route to the eastern Mediterranean to help the US military set up a pier for aid to Gaza had to turn back last week after experiencing a fire, a Navy spokesperson told CNN.

The ship, the USNS 2nd LT John P. Bobo, reported last Thursday that it had experienced a fire in the engine room while in transit to the eastern Mediterranean to deliver equipment and personnel, the spokesperson said.

It is not clear how the delay will affect the construction of the floating pier and causeway, which the Pentagon has said is expected to be operational by late April or early May.

“The crew evacuated the area and used portable extinguishers to put out the fire. All ship’s crew and military personnel are accounted for, and no injuries were reported,” the spokesperson said.

“The ship returned under its own power using one engine to Jacksonville, Fla., for further assessment.The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

The ship is one of several US Navy ships and Army watercraft that are en route to the waters off of Gaza to help build the pier, and is a support vessel rather than a key component of the construction of the system, called Joint Logistics over the Shore, or JLOTS.

The Pentagon said on March 8 that the pier would be built and operational within 60 days, and Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder says that timeline is still on track.

The war of words between Israeli agencies approving humanitarian aid for Gaza and the UN agencies receiving and delivering it continues unabated.

On Wednesday Israel’sCoordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted video of aid sitting at Kerem Shalom crossing on X, adding: “This is what the content of 700 aid trucks looks like. It is waiting on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom to be picked up by@UNagencies.”

COGAT added: “We scaled up our capabilities. All the UN did was make up excuses. Aid needs to be collected and delivered. The UN needs to do its job.”

On Tuesday, the UN official in charge of coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza said there had been some progress in dealing with Israeli authorities but added that “for every new opportunity that we’re being given, we will find yet another challenge to deal with.”

Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said aid deliveries within Gaza were facing significant checkpoint delays and that last week 41% of UN requests to deliver aid to northern Gaza were denied.

Speaking from Jerusalem, De Domenico said: “We cannot accept and we are dealing with this dance where we do one step forward, two steps backward, or two steps forward, one step backward, which leave us basically always at the same point. So it’s really, really difficult for us to scale up where we would like to be at humanitarian operations.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed “prudence and restraint” before flying out of Israel to a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Italy.

“Not only do we need this hope, but we need all players to show prudence and prudent restraint right now,” she said at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv Wednesday.

“I felt here exactly what I felt last weekend in Berlin, where none of us could sleep on Saturday night. It has become clear that this region desires peace.”

Baerbock’s visit came in a surprise announcement Tuesday. It was her seventh trip to Israel since October 7and her eighth visit to the region.

“At a time like this, when Iran is not only attacking Israel without precedent, but has brought the entire region to the brink of a regional conflict, everyone is standing together,” she said.

Baerbock said possible new sanctions against Iran would be a key discussion point during the G7 foreign affairs ministers’ meeting in Capri, Italy, which begins later Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen during a meeting in Jerusalem on April 17.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting Wednesday that Israel would decide on its own how to respond to Iran’s weekend attacks.

Netanyahu spoke after meeting with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and Germany today and speaking to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday.

“I thank our friends for their support for the defense of Israel… They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice, I appreciate it, but I want to make it clear: We will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself,” Netanyahu said.

On Gaza: Netanyahu also said that the government will approve a plan for the rehabilitation of settlements surrounding Gaza at a cost of some $5 billion.

“We will invest in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, medicine and more. The Hamas terrorists wanted to uproot us — we will uproot them and take root,” Netanyahu said.

A survey by Hebrew University in Jerusalem has found that 74% of those polled would oppose a retaliatory strike against Iran “if it undermines Israel’s security alliance with its allies.”

26% were in favor of an attack even if it were to damage ties with allies.

The Hebrew University survey also found that over half the public believes Israel “respond[s] positively” to the military and political demands of allies.

The survey was conducted April 14-15 by internet and telephone, and sampled 1,466 men and women representing adult Israelis, both Jews and Arabs, the university said in a statement. The margin of error was given as 4.2 percentage points.

56% of respondents believe Israel “should respond positively to political and military demands from its allies” in order to “ensure a sustainable defense system over time,” the statement said. Of the remainder,32% were undecided, and 12% disagreed.

Also, 59% believe that the US assistance to Israel against the Iranian attack obliges the Israeli government to coordinate future security actions with Washington, while 26% were undecided on the matter and 15% disagreed.

Emergency response forces work near Arab al-Aramashe in northernIsrael onApril 17.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it hit military headquarters in northern Israel in response to Tuesday’s assassination of its fighters.

In a statement Wednesday, the group said it targeted the headquarters with “guided missiles and offensive drones.”

The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed that Hezbollah hit northern Israel with drones Wednesday.

At least 13 people were injured, including four who were severely wounded, according to the Israeli emergency services.

Later Wednesday, the IDF said it hit back at a Hezbollah military base near Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon.

“A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon where terrorists were operating, ” the statement said.

This post has been updated with the latest number of injuries.

People living in the area of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza said Israeli military vehicles began an operation there on Monday afternoon, firing shots and rounds of artillery shelling.

Residents told CNN that Israeli forces surrounded three schools, including one — Mahdiyya Al-Shawwa — early Tuesday morning where hundreds of people have been sheltering. Using loudspeakers, they ordered people to leave the schools and detained dozens of men, including some elderly and teenagers over the age of 15.

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the purpose and results of the operation, which, according to local residents, ended late on Tuesday.

One man, Abu Malek Shibat, said he and his family had returned to Beit Hanoun after being displaced to other areas of Gaza.Shibat insisted he would stay in Beit Hanoun even if it meant putting a tent over the ruins of his house.

A woman, Amani Naseer, told CNN that she and her children were taking shelter at a school in Beit Hanoun, but Israeli forces “have destroyed the entire area,” adding, “What can we do? Where are we supposed to go?” Her house had already been destroyed, she said, but she recovered some belongings and clothes from under the rubble.

An elderly woman who was sheltering in one of the schools spoke to CNN as she was fleeing the area. She said Israeli soldiers came in the middle of the night and arrested several men and women.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with British Foreign Minister David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister thanked them both for their governments’“unequivocal support and for the countries’ standing in an unprecedented defense against Iran’s attack on the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu also addressed the scope of humanitarian aid going into Gaza and the continuation of the fighting there.

“The Prime Minister rejected the claims of international organizations of starvation in Gaza and said that Israel goes above and beyond on the humanitarian issue,” Netanyahu’s office added.

Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom (MDA) are on the scene at the village of Arab al Aramshe in northern Israel, where they are treating six people who were wounded by a projectile strike.

Images from the area show a column of smoke rising from the village, and damage to a building.

The MDA says those injured are being evacuated to a hospital in nearby Nahariya. They are all men in their 30’s. One was severely injured, one moderately injured, and the rest were mildly injured, the MDA said.

The Israel Defense Forces says that sirens went off in the area after the strike, but the origin and type of the projectile are unknown.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi attends a military parade in Tehran, Iran, on April 17.

The “slightest” attack by Israel on Iran will be “dealt with fiercely and severely,” Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned on Wednesday.

The president was speaking during an annual army parade in Tehran where the location was changed from where it’s typically held, near the RuhollahKhomeini’s mausoleum, to a military training center in northeast Tehran. State media did not say why the location was changed this year, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, the main event was also moved.

Raisi said that the weekend attack on Israel was “limited and punitive,” and warned that if Iran had “carried out a stronger operation, nothing would then have been left out of Israel.”

“Our armed forces are ensuring security and peace and establishing sovereignty across the region, and are completely reliable,”Raisi added.

Israel weighs response: His attempted assurances and warnings come as Israel continues weighing how it will respond to the weekend barrage.Israel’s war cabinet met for the fifth time on Tuesday to discuss a response to Iran’s attack but did not reach a conclusion. It’s unclear if the cabinet will meet again on Wednesday.

The United States expects that Israel’smilitaryresponseto Iran’s strikes will be limited in scope,a senior administration official and a source familiar with the intelligence told CNN.Israel has not given the USan officialwarning about what their plans may beand when they could occur,the senior administration official said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has urged governments to do everything they can “to halt the increasingly horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” as well as what he calls the “rising violence and targeted attacks in the West Bank.”

Turk said in a statement released Tuesday that “resolving the catastrophic situation of civilians in Gaza must remain a priority. Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance, and to carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

Israel has consistently blamed UN agencies, and especially UNRWA, for failing to distribute aid that is approved for Gaza. But at least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza since October, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick,said in a statement.

Turk said that nearly 1.7 million people remain forcibly displaced in Gaza, “living in appalling conditions and under constant threat.” He said that in the past week alone some 10,000 people had been displaced from Nuseirat camp and near Wadi Gaza.

Turk added that “in the West Bank, escalating violence over the past few days is also a matter of grave concern. Palestinians have been subjected to waves of attacks by hundreds of Israeli settlers, often accompanied or supported by Israeli Security Forces (ISF),” following the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli boy from a settler family.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for a response to that accusation.

Flags blow in the wind ahead of theG7Foreign Ministers summit in Capri, Italy, on April 17.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has urged the world’s largest economies to coordinate sanctions against Iran to show a “united front.”

Iran’s large-scale attack on Israel over the weekend has raised global concerns that it would escalate conflict in the region.

“We want to see coordinated sanctions against Iran,” Cameron said ahead of a G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Capri, Italy on Wednesday.

“I think there is more we can do to show a united front that Iran is behind so much of the malign activity in this region,” he told reporters in Israel, where he and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attended talks with top Israeli officials in the wake of Iran’s aerial attack.

“They need to be given a clear, unequivocal message by the G7, and I hope that will happen at the meeting.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the United States would impose new sanctions onIran.

“We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” he said.

A relative of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike mourns as he collects the bodies of his family members from a hospital morgue in Rafah, on April 17.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 16 people in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the Civil Defense Directorate in the besieged enclave.

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told CNN that at around 2:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, a resident had received a telephone warning from Israeli forces to evacuate the building in which they were living in Gaza City’s Al Tuffah neighborhood. Basal said that the residents evacuated the building, but 15 minutes later, a six-story building nearby was struck. Nine people were killed, among them two children, a woman and a man, Basal said.

CNN is seeking comment from the Israel Defense Forces about the strike in Al Tuffah and other airstrikes carried out over the last 24 hours.

On Tuesday night, an Israeli airstrike that hit the Yabna refugee camp in Rafah killed seven Palestinians, according to the Civil Defense Directorate. The Civil Defense said the casualties included four children and two women. It said that Israeli planes targeted the home of the Abu El-Honoud family, where several displaced people were sheltering.

Earlier on Tuesday, a strike that targeted Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least 13 people, including seven children, according to hospital officials.

The IDF said Wednesday that its troops were continuing activities in central Gaza, and that Israeli planes “eliminated a number of terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure.” They said “one of the strikes was on a terrorist cell operating an armed drone toward IDF troops in the area.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is pictured at the German Embassy in Tel Aviv on February 15.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has urged his government not to respond militarily to Iran’s weekend attacks, saying that the Jewish state had already punished the Islamic Republic “in a humiliating and powerful way.”

“We have an incentive to limit or prevent the possibility of this war’s expansion, and right now to mainly [focus on] returning the hostages home — which is the ultimate goal,” Olmert told Army Radio (GLZ) on Wednesday.

While Iran’s attack was “despicable,” Olmert said, “the state of Israel proved its power, strength and capability when it’s prepared, and not indifferent or arrogant.”

“We have hit Iran on Saturday, with assistance — which is very significant to remember — from countries like the US, UK, France and a few Arab countries in a remarkable manner. I think this was one of Israel’s most astonishing military achievements yet.”
“Therefore, I think we have achieved what we needed to achieve — not through offensive or punitive measures… We have very much punished them in a humiliating and powerful way, which will echo across the world,” Olmert said.

He said that launching a “painful” response against Iran would result in “another round of their strikes and our counter-strikes — which is exactly what we want to prevent.”

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron (R) arrive for a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog (C) at a hotel in Jerusalem on April 17.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attended talks with top officials in Israel on Wednesday morning, in the wake of Iran’s aerial attack over the weekend.

The UK was among the nations that helped the Israeli military intercept a barrage of Iranian strikes on Israel. In the meetings, Cameron reinforced international pressure on Israelto not escalate tensions with Iran.

“It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” he told reporters in Israel.

“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible, and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.”

Cameron said he would discuss these points with both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he held a “warm discussion” with Cameron and Baerbock.

Terror listing: During the meetings, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, asked the visiting British and German foreign ministers to designate the Iranian government as a terror organization and impose sanctions on Iran’s missile project.

“Now is our opportunity to change the region: call the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) by their real name - a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on Iran’s missile project,” he said according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Earlier this week, Cameron told the BBC that“We’ve sanctioned the IRGC … in its entirety, and we’ll continue to look at what further steps we can do.” But the UK government has not declared the IRGC a terror group.

The United States will impose new sanctions targetingTehran after Iran’s large-scale attack on Israel over the weekend, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Most of the 300 projectiles, the majority of which are believed to have been launched from inside of Iran’s territory, were intercepted by Israel and its allies. Iran said it attacked Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its diplomatic compound in Syria.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid the Biden administration would use sanctions “to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity.”

Here are the latest developments in the region:

• Israel weighs response: Israel’s war cabinet ended their fifth meeting to discuss a response to Iran’s attack without a conclusion. They are reviewing military and diplomatic options. The US expects Israel’sreaction will be limited in scope, sources told CNN. Regional leadersand alliesof Israel have calledfor restraint.
• Iraq denies involvement: Israel said some of Iran’s weekend strikes were launched from Iraq, but Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has denied it to CNN.
• UN restricts Iran FM: The US will restrict the movements of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his delegation while they are in New York this week, a source told CNN.

• Refugee camp killings: In Gaza, a strike targeting the Al-Maghazi refugee camp killed at least 13 people, including seven children, according to hospital officials.
• Cost of war: The US Navy said it had spent nearly $1 billiononmunitions to thwart “over 130 direct attacks” on US military and merchant ships in the Middle East over the past six months.
• Crossborder fire: The Israeli military said it had killed three Hezbollah fighters, including two commanders, in airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
• Child’s death in focus: The US will be going to Israel with new information from aWashington Post reportthat contradicts the results of an Israeli investigation into the death of 5-year-old Palestinian girlHind Rajab in Gaza.
• Probe problems: A UN Commission of Inquiry has accused Israel of actively obstructing its efforts to collect evidence from victims and first-hand witnesses of Hamas’ attacks in Israel on October 7.
• Airdrops continue: The US military airdropped more aid into Gaza, this time of about 25,300 meal equivalents. Humanitarian organizations have warnedthat airdrops are “good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid.”

Israel said some of Iran’s missiles on Saturday were launched from Iraq, but Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani denied it to CNN Tuesday.

“It was not proven to us through the military reports we’ve received that any missiles or any drones were launched from Iraq,” al-Sudani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview on Tuesday.
“Certainly, our position is clear; we do not allow any non-governmental body to use Iraq to bring it back into the battle. We have been taking the legal procedures to keep Iraq safe and to distance Iraq away from the conflict arena,” al Sudani added.

Al-Sudani spoke with Amanpour from Washington, D.C., after he met with US President Joe Biden on Monday. Bothleaders discussed the importance of de-escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The United States will impose new sanctions targeting Tehran after Iran’sattack on Israelover the weekend.

“Following Iran’s unprecedented air attack against Israel, President Biden is coordinating with allies and partners, including the G7, and with bipartisan leaders in Congress, on a comprehensive response,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wrote in a statement.

“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry.We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions.”

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid earlier Tuesday that the Biden administration would use sanctions “to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity.”

“From this weekend’s attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers,” she said at a news conference.

In addition to new sanctions, Sullivan said, the administration will “continue to work through the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities.”

Ireland’s newly appointed prime minister told CNN that Israel’s sense of reason has been “replaced by revenge” as he addressed recent tensions between the Israeli and Irish governments.

In his first television interview since being appointed last week, Taoiseach Simon Harris hit back at recent criticisms from the Israeli foreign ministry and the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich, accusing the country of being “on the wrong side of history” when it comes to the war in Gaza.

“Excuse me for finding it a little bit hard to see where the representative of the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government is talking about being on the wrong side because I think the actions of the Netanyahu government right now, in terms of allowing this humanitarian catastrophe to unfold in Gaza, and the impact on women, children, civilians and civilian infrastructure is profound,” Harris told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Harris went on to say that “Ireland is extraordinarily clear in its condemnation of Hamas … and of the right of Israel to be able to live in safety and security. But we also believe that reason has now been replaced by revenge.”

The prime minister doubled down on his call for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” in Gaza and his plan to convince fellow European Union leaders to formally recognize the state of Palestine. Harris stated that a peaceful solution to the war in Gaza “involves a number of countries that are like-minded coming together to recognize the state of Palestine.”

The Israeli foreign ministry has condemned Ireland’s intention to recognize Palestinian statehood, maintaining in a news release last week that doing so would be awarding Hamas a “prize for terrorism.”

The Israel Defense Forces said its airstrikes killed three Hezbollah fighters, including two commanders, in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Muhammad Hussein Shahouri, “the Commander of the Rockets and Missiles Unit of Radwan Forces’ Western Region,” was killed in an airstrike in Kfar Dounine in south Lebanon, an IDF statement said.

“As part of his role, Muhammad planned and promoted rocket and missile launches toward Israeli territory from the areas of Lebanon’s central and western regions.”

Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlallah, “an operative of Hezbollah’s Rockets and Missiles Unit,” was also killed in the same airstrike, the IDF added.

Earlier, the IDF said in a separate statement that its airstrike killedIsmail Youssef Bazz, “the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector, in the area of Ain Ebel in Lebanon,” in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of its three fighterswithout providing details on the circ*mstances of their deaths or ranks.

At least 13 people were killed, including seven children, after a strike targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital officials.

Graphic video obtained exclusively by CNN from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah shows several casualties scattered on the floor, including children, with blood streaming around the area.

Dozens of people appear to be running around in panic, screaming and trying to count and carry the dead bodies. A foosball table covered in dust is seen among the dead bodies.

Owdetallah, who lives in the camp, told CNN he heard an explosion at around 3:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

“I immediately walked to see what happened and found dead bodies thrown on the ground. People screaming, kids screaming. Kids dead on the ground. They were just playing foosball, and they were martyred,” he said.

Footage shot for CNN from inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shows a continuous flow of causalities and injured people being ushered in, as the emergency room is crowded with patients, including several wounded children, crying out on the floor.

Video from inside a morgue at the hospital shows families trying to identify their loved ones among the deceased. Fatmeh Issa points to a white body bag with a young boy’s bloodied face exposed, telling CNN, “This is my son.”

Another man cries out, “They have nothing to do with anyone! They are civilians. Have mercy on us. You are killing children. You are not killing an army or fighters; you are killing children who were peacefully playing in the street.”

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Israel, aided by its allies, dodged a bullet Sunday.

To be more precise, 60 tons of explosives aboard more than 350 Iranian projectiles, some bigger than a family car, failed to dodge Israel’s defenses.

Yet Israel, in defiance of US President Joe Biden’s warnings to “take the win” and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s threat of a “severe, extensive and painful” response to any retaliation, is contemplating just that.

Deterrence, shorthand for “meanest S.O.B. in the room,” Israel believes, is the cornerstone of its survival. Iran is stealing that brick.

When faced with existential threats in the past, Israel has executed the most audacious raids the region has ever witnessed. The point is that Israel won’t telegraph its attack plans as Iran did at the weekend.

Aside from the core members of Israel’s war cabinet, more than a dozen other people have sat at the table deep inside the Kirya, Israel’s maximum security defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, thrashing out their next move.

Netanyahu’s next move will likely try to lock in sanctions and strike before negative Gaza headlines dump the international goodwill filling his sails.

The clock is ticking. He needs two things: time to prepare a significant surprise strike and time to coalesce international diplomacy. As both march to different beats, his legendary political acumen faces one of its stiffest tests yet.

Netanyahu is famed as a political survivor. But now he faces the biggest gamble of his career. He is betting the blood of his nation over Iran’s read of his rift with America.

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