March 18, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials “soon” in Washington to “discuss alternative approaches that would target key elements of Hamas and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground operation in Rafah,” the White House said on Monday.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday — their first known phone conversation in over a month as a rift deepens between the leaders.

Biden “reiterated his deep concerns about the prospect of Israel conducting a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than one million displaced civilians are currently seeking shelter after fleeing fighting in the north,” a White House statement said.

The leaders also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and hostage negotiations in Qatar.

"The President affirmed the need to defeat Hamas in Gaza while also protecting the civilian population and facilitating the safe and unhindered delivery of assistance throughout Gaza," the White House said.

Emphasis on northern Gaza: The leaders discussed “the urgent need” to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, especially in the north of the enclave.

“The President stressed the urgent need to significantly increase the flow of lifesaving aid reaching those in need throughout Gaza, with special emphasis on the north,” the White House said.

US forces destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Monday, according to US Central Command.

The strike took place between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Sanaa time), CENTCOM said in a statement, calling it an act of "self-defense."

"It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said.

US forces have been conducting similar strikes in the area where tensions have heightened amid the Iran-backed militant groups' attack on commercial vessels passing through the key waterway.

Earlier this month, a ballistic missile by the Houthis struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members in its first fatal attack since October.

The top US humanitarian aid official called a report warning that famine is set to break out in northern Gaza sometime between now and May “a horrific milestone” and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid into the enclave.

“We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes,” US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement.

The report, published by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), said that the sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza and "projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024." 

Power said the "catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition" detailed in the report "should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality."

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday — their first known phone conversation in over a month as the rift deepens between the two leaders. 

It came as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, where the Ministry of Health in Gaza said about 3,000 people are sheltering. Israel has been waiting for the "right time to act" at the Gaza City hospital, according to IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Here's what to know:

• US and Israel leaders talk: During the phone call, Biden voiced "deep concerns" over Israel's plans for a major operation in Rafah, according to a top national security official, explaining that it could be catastrophic for Palestinian civilians and slow the flow of aid. Netanyahu reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving its goals in the war, including eliminating Hamas and releasing hostages, a readout from the prime minister's office said. Both leaders called for more aid to enter the enclave.
• More concern about Rafah: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his concern about Israel’s plans in Rafah while speaking to Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, according to a readout from Trudeau’s office. The Canadian leader also stressed the need for humanitarian aid to reach civilians “without delay.”
• Fighting around Gaza's largest hospital: Hamas' military wing said its fighters engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces around the Al-Shifa Medical Complex. The IDF said it launched an operation there based on intelligence that the hospital was being used by “senior Hamas terrorists." The Palestinian health ministry said there were multiple casualties. CNN cannot independently verify either claim. 
• Journalist arrest: Hagari also said that the IDF arrested over 200 "terror suspects" at Al-Shifa Hospital. One was Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, the network said. The United Nations said it stands "against any harassment of journalists anywhere in the world," a spokesperson said. The US is aware of the arrest and has asked Israel for more information, a State Department official said.

• Hamas commander killed: Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, according to the White House. Marwan Issa was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel, an IDF spokesperson said last week. Hagari did not confirm the information today but said that Israeli forces attacked an underground compound used by senior Hamas officials on March 9. The IDF was not able to verify if Issa was killed, he said.
• Humanitarian crisis: A report published by the World Food Programme's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that the sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza sometime between now and May. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials, and doctors say malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries.

Correction: An earlier version of this post quoted a Gaza Health Ministry estimate that 30,000 people were sheltering at Al-Shifa. The ministry says it made a typographical error in its estimate and meant to say 3,000.

Doctors Without Borders recounted reports from its staff of heavy fighting around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza as Israeli forces announced a military operation inside and around the facility on Monday.

A staff member of the organization, also called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), reported hearing “drones, tanks, and shelling” near the hospital in the early hours of Monday, witnessing a fire rising from Al-Shifa's main building. 

Clashes were also reported around the organization's clinic and office in Gaza City where some staff and their families are sheltering.

According to MSF staff, Israeli forces conducted “mass arrests in the area surrounding Al-Shifa,” and one of the organization’s staff members is currently unreachable.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israel has been waiting for the “right time to act” at Al-Shifa Hospital, in comments addressing Israel’s military operation there. Hagari said that the IDF arrested over 200 “terror suspects” who are “now under investigation.”

Malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries in war-torn Gaza’s collapsing health care system, doctors say.

A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. Acute malnutrition doubled within one month among children in northern Gaza, according to UNICEF.

Project Hope is a US-based health and humanitarian aid organization that operates in regions facing health crises. Its emergency teams report that 5%-15% of the children arriving at its two clinics in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah are malnourished.

“Malnutrition amplifies the fragility of the situation,” Rondi Anderson of Project Hope said. “If you’re malnourished, you’re weak. A child’s immune system is weak, it gets infected, then the healing can’t happen, and it gets prolonged.”

CNN spoke to multiple doctors who have been to Gaza since the war began. They reported seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries like limb injuries as well as burns, which present multiple layers of treatment.

In these situations, a patient needs good pain management, nutrition, antibiotic care and fluid management. In Gaza, “all those four pillars are gone,” said Dr. Amber Alayyan from Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Adding a malnourished state to that means the healing is complicated, she added.

“People who have really huge injuries are dying on the spot,” she said. “At the beginning, we were seeing people with really big abdominal injuries and thoracic injuries and things like that. And now, I think that I truly think that they’re dying on the spot, because we’re seeing fewer and fewer. You do see them, but they don’t necessarily make it to the ICU very quickly.”

Israel has been waiting for the "right time to act" at Al-Shifa Hospital in central Gaza, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Monday. 

Speaking at his daily news conference, Hagari alleged that Hamas individuals had "fled to the area of the hospital, hid in it, and turned it into a headquarters." He said the IDF has been "following this compound for some time and have been waiting for the right time to act."

Israeli forces surrounded the Al-Shifa Medical Complex early Monday, where the Ministry of Health in Gaza said about 3,000 people are sheltering.

Hagari said an "exchange of fire ensued" after alleging that "surprised terrorists barricaded themselves in a number of buildings in the hospital and opened fire at our forces." Israeli forces returned fire and killed more than 20 people described as "terrorists" inside the hospital.

He said that an IDF soldier was killed in the operation. 

Hagari also said that the IDF also arrested over 200 "terror suspects."

Israel also released an edited video of the operation at Al-Shifa Hospital. In the footage, soldiers can be seen moving through what appears to be the hospital building and firing their weapons. 

Some of the IDF's handout footage was blurred. One of the images appears to be a dead body, which the IDF labeled as an "eliminated terrorist." 

CNN cannot independently verify the claims in the video. It is unclear if the video was filmed in one location as it appears to show multiple places. In parts of the edited IDF video, the audio has been removed. 

CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this post quoted a Gaza Health Ministry estimate that 30,000 people were sheltering at Al-Shifa. The ministry says it made a typographical error in its estimate and meant to say 3,000.

Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, the White House said Monday.

“Israel has made significant progress against Hamas. They have broken a significant number of Hamas battalions. Killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including senior commanders. Hamas’ number three, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week,” said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Asked to confirm the White House's statement, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN it would not comment.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said on March 9 that Israeli forces had attacked an underground compound used by Issa and other senior Hamas officials in the Nazirat area of central Gaza. Because the compound was underground, the IDF was not able to verify whether Issa was killed, Hagari said. 

An Israeli military spokesperson said last week that Issa is the deputy of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military division, and was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel.

Sullivan was describing President Joe Biden’s call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Monday when he said the senior commander was killed. He said Biden stressed the importance of a “coherent and sustainable strategy” to defeat Hamas. 

This post has been updated with comments from the Israel Defense Forces.