June 12, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza has moved here.

Israel’s military denied striking a designated “safe zone” in Gaza on Thursday after the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said a region filled with refugees was hit by “land, sea and air strikes.”

Al-Mawasi, a coastal region west of Rafah previously designated by Israel as a safe zone for Palestinians was bombarded early on Thursday, including by navy boats firing heavy machine guns, WAFA said.

WAFA’s report did not give any details about whether there were any casualties.

The Israeli military denied carrying out any strikes on the safe zone or surrounding areas. “Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” the Israel Defense Forces told CNN.

The latest report of a strike come as a ceasefire plan for the devastating eight-month war between Israel and Hamas stutters, with neither side yet publicly committing to the deal despite intense lobbying from American officials, including US President Joe Biden.

Hamas said in a statement Wednesday it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

This post has been updated.

A US-backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal appears to be in limbo, with neither side yet publicly committing to the plan.

Hamas said in a statement it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” in order to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

The statement comes after Blinken questioned whether Hamas is "proceeding in good faith" amid the ceasefire negotiations, saying Hamas had proposed a number of changes in their response to the latest deal, which "go beyond positions they had previously taken."

Here are other headlines you should know:

Hostage developments:

• The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged mediators taking part in the new ceasefire proposal “to intensively continue negotiations to bridge the gaps that still remain” to bring hostages held in Gaza home safely.
• The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend said he experienced psychological abuse at the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months that he was held in Gaza. 

Developments on the ground:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah has received information from the Israeli authorities that fighting will continue in western Rafah, the ICRC said on Wednesday.
• A Houthi surface sea drone struck a Greek-owned and operated merchant ship in the Red Sea Tuesday, causing flooding and damage, US Central Command said. 

War crimes committed in Gaza:

• A United Nations inquiry into the first few months of the war in Gaza found both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law, in the UN's first in-depth investigation into the October 7 attacks and the ensuing conflict. The damning reports released Wednesday, which cover events up to the end of 2023, paint an alarming picture of both sides routinely disregarding international law in a devastating conflict that has now raged for more than eight months.

A Houthi surface sea drone struck a Greek-owned and operated merchant ship in the Red Sea Tuesday, causing flooding and damage, US Central Command said. 

The sea drone “struck M/V Tutor, a Liberian flagged, Greek owned and operated vessel, in the Red Sea. M/V Tutor most recently docked in Russia. The impact of the USV caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

Also, in the last 24 hours, US forces destroyed three Houthi anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Yemen and one Houthi drone launched from Yemen into the Red Sea, CENTCOM said.

In a new statement, Hamas said it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” in order to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.”

Hamas said those demands include a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, the “return of the displaced, reconstruction, and the conclusion of a serious deal for the exchange of prisoners.”

Hamas said while it has “expressed its positive position” to what was included in US President Joe Biden's speech on May 31, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has “continued to confirm their commitment to the genocide war, attacking the proposal put forth by President Biden” that is in contradiction to the claim that Israel has agreed to what was in the Biden speech.

Hamas said while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “continues to talk about Israel's agreement to the latest proposal, we have not heard any Israeli official speak about this agreement.”

Hamas called on Blinken and the Biden administration to put pressure on the Israeli government that Hamas said “is determined to complete its mission,” and which Hamas says is “in flagrant violation of all international laws and treaties.”

In the statement, Hamas also said it rejects statements by Blinken that attempt to absolve Israel “of its crimes against innocent children, women, and elderly.” Hamas said this is in line with American policy that is complicit in the brutal war “against our Palestinian people, allowing the occupation to continue its crimes under full American political and military cover.”

Earlier Wednesday, Blinken questioned whether Hamas is "proceeding in good faith" amid the ceasefire negotiations, saying Hamas had proposed a number of changes in their response to the latest deal, which "go beyond positions they had previously taken."

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Rafah has received information from the Israeli authorities that fighting will continue in western Rafah, the ICRC said on Wednesday.

"The ICRC does not have precise information about the operation. It has not been issued an evacuation order, and its operations – including at the field hospital – will continue," the ICRC spokesperson in Jerusalem, Sarah Davies, told CNN on Wednesday.

"The ICRC is choosing to implement additional internal security and safety measures," Davies said, adding that ICRC will not leave its current location in the Shams safe house and is adding extra security measures. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

CNN video shows many Palestinians packing up their belongings from the Al-Alam area in West Rafah after a warning spread of a pending military operation. Footage shows people taking down the tents and shelters they have set up from previous displacements.

“They told us there will be a military operation, and now we are leaving; we have been here one month and been in Rafah for eight months; we are heading to Deir Al-Balah to my grandfather's house," displaced Gazan resident Muhanad said.

Another Gazan resident, Layla Aiwada, decided to leave her house with her children after she said she heard there would be a military operation. "We have been here for two weeks, and before that, we were at Bader Camp in Rafah."

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged mediators taking part in the new ceasefire proposal "to intensively continue negotiations to bridge the gaps that still remain" to bring hostages held in Gaza home safely.

"The family headquarters demands that Israel's negotiation teams be sent in order to exhaust every possibility for progress. Any postponement or stalling of the negotiations could damage the possibility of reaching a deal and greatly endangers our obligation to return all the female and male hostages who are in the hands of Hamas," the forum said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We cannot start the recovery process without them, and we cannot celebrate another holiday without them!" it added.

Earlier Wednesday in Doha, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that while he believes the current gaps are "bridgeable," it doesn't mean they will be closed, saying it "ultimately depends on people saying yes.”

The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend said he experienced psychological abuse at the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months that he was held in Gaza. 

Andrey Kozlov, 27, was rescued alongside Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan and Shlomi Ziv during a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. The operation was the third Israeli rescue of hostages held in Gaza and has been celebrated in Israel. But it left a trail of devastation, with authorities in Gaza saying at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the raid and the ensuing firefight with Hamas militants. 

In an interview with CNN, Kozlov’s family revealed some details of their son’s ordeal, including that he initially believed the Israeli forces who saved him had been sent to kill him. Kozlov’s father, Mikhail Kozlov, said his son was “very scared” because Hamas militants had for months falsely said that “Israel wanted to kill them all,” claiming “they were a problem for Israel." 

Mikhail said his son would not reveal all the ways he’d been mistreated, saying “he wasn't seen as a human by them," and Hamas would "punish him for any behavior that they considered was wrong."

“One of the examples that Andrey gave us … is that at the hottest time of the day, they would cover him with blankets,” he said. “It is a very difficult ordeal, to be dehydrated during heat.”

His brother, Dmitry, said “they were trying not to leave (physical) marks … But they would still punish him this way or the other. Very often for trivial things.” 

Read more from the interview with Kozlov's family.

A US-backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal appears to be in flux, with neither side yet publicly committing to the plan as talks continue.

“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table” for a permanent ceasefire and release of hostages still held in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

“Some of the changes are workable. Some are not,” Blinken said at a news conference in Doha. He did not immediately provide details on Hamas’ proposed changes.

A US official echoed similar sentiments, saying that Hamas is pushing for more specifics and "the goalposts are moving."

Meanwhile, Qatari officials say Hamas' and Israel's "fundamental differences" need to be bridged to bring an end to the war in Gaza. 

While much of Blinken’s trip — his eighth to the region since October 7 — had been centered on ratcheting up pressure on Hamas to take the proposal, it was also focused on developing plans for when a ceasefire is put into place.

“In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the ‘day after’ plan, including concrete ideas for how to manage governance, security, reconstruction,” the top US diplomat said Wednesday, without providing further details.

Blinken now travels to Italy to attend the G7 summit alongside US President Joe Biden.

Here some other headlines from today:

• War crimes committed in Gaza, UN finds: A United Nations inquiry into the first few months of the war in Gaza has found both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law, in the body’s first in-depth investigation into the October 7 attacks and the ensuing conflict. The damning reports released Wednesday, which cover events up to the end of 2023, paint an alarming picture of both sides routinely disregarding international law in the over-eight-month-long conflict.
• Israeli strikes kill senior Hezbollah commander: Israel says one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders in southern Lebanon, Talib Sami Abdulla, was killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. In a statement on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said Abdulla was responsible for multiple attacks against Israeli civilians over several years. 
• UN warns over 1 million Gazans could face starvation in July: The conflicts in Gaza and Sudan are "pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation," according to the United Nations. The UN's relief chief, Martin Griffiths, said more than one million people in Gaza are "expected to face death and starvation by the middle of July." He said humanitarian aid is not the solution to the conflicts and that countries in the G7 "must immediately bring their substantial political leverage and financial resources to bear so that aid organizations can reach all people in need."