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May 12, 2024 - Israel-Gaza updates
By Amarachi Orie and Maureen Chowdhury
Updated 12:04 a.m. ET, May 13, 2024
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Israeli military battles Hamas across Gaza as death toll passes 35,000 in the enclave. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
The Israeli military has said that it began operating in northern Gaza overnight, and "precise operations" are continuing in eastern Rafah and near the Rafah crossing, as well as in the area of Zeitoun in central Gaza. The military action in Rafah comes ahead of a planned full-scale invasion.
The death toll in the Strip since October 7 has surpassed 35,000, the Ministry of Health said.
In northern Gaza, following calls Saturday to evacuate several areas, including Jabalya, the Israel Defense Forces said its troops began an operation "based on intelligence information regarding attempts by Hamas to reassemble its terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the area."
Video captured heavy gunfire, Israeli tanks and the sound of drones in the area of Jabalya early Sunday.
Here are the latest headlines:
- US continues to warn against invasion of Rafah: Going “headlong into Rafah” could have dire consequences, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Sunday. “Israel's on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or, if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said on NBC.
- UK also opposes on Rafah offensive: UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said he does not support Israel's plan for a full-scale offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, but also opposes the idea of ending arms sales to Israel.
- IDF chief says he carries "weight" of October 7 Hamas attack: IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said he bears "the responsibility for the failure of the IDF to defend our civilians on October 7." Halevi added, "I carry its weight on my shoulders daily, and in my heart, I fully understand its significance."
- UN aid agencies running low on food: The head of the United Nations Humanitarian Agency in Gaza, warned that the UN's World Food Programme and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are likely to have run out of food aid in southern Gaza.
- Thousands of bodies trapped under rubble: The Civil Defense in Gaza estimates about 10,000 bodies are trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza. Forty days after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the vicinity of the Al-Shifa medical complex, “Civil Defense and medical staff are still retrieving bodies buried by the Israeli occupation forces in mass graves,” spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said.
- Israeli military says it has opened new aid crossing: The IDF announced the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza Strip in coordination with the US. "In accordance with the directive of the government of Israel and in coordination with the U.S. government, the 'Western Erez' Crossing was opened in the area of the northern Gaza Strip for the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in the statement.
IDF chief of staff says he bears responsibility for failing to protect civilians on October 7
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said he bears "the responsibility for the failure of the IDF to defend our civilians on October 7."
Halevi's remarks came during a speech he delivered at Israel's Memorial Day ceremony held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday evening.
"I carry its weight on my shoulders daily, and in my heart, I fully understand its significance," Halevi added.
Hamas' surprise attack on October 7 left Israel flat-footed, sparking a backlash that is still rippling through the country. The operation saw at least 1,500 Hamas fighters pour across the border into Israel in an assault that killed at least 1,200 Israelis, while others are still held hostage by the militant group.
Top US and Israeli national security advisers spoke about potential Rafah operation, White House says
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak
US President Joe Biden's top national security aide spoke Sunday with his Israeli counterpart about the concerns about a potential offensive in Rafah.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan "reiterated President Biden’s longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah," the White House said.
Sullivan discussed alternatives to an invasion of the city "to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza" with Tzachi Hanegbi.
"Mr. Hanegbi confirmed that Israel is taking U.S. concerns into account," a White House readout of the phone call said. The men agreed to arrange an in-person meeting of US and Israeli officials soon to discuss Rafah and other issues.
The call came on Israel's Memorial Day. Sullivan emphasized that it's the first Memorial Day since the October 7 terror attacks and discussed efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Israeli military says it has opened a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Mohammed Tawfeeq
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza Strip in coordination with the United States.
"In accordance with the directive of the government of Israel and in coordination with the U.S. government, the 'Western Erez' Crossing was opened in the area of the northern Gaza Strip for the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in the statement on Sunday.
The IDF said it's part of the effort "to increase aid routes to the Gaza Strip, and to the northern Gaza Strip in particular."
This came as Israel's military on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of several more neighborhoods in Rafah, where it has been stepping up operations ahead of an anticipated ground offensive. About 300,000 people have already fled the southern Gazan city.
The southern crossings to the Gaza Strip have not seen aid in three days, according to the UN’s World Food Programme on Friday. Egypt said Saturday it will not coordinate on the entry of aid from the Rafah crossing, citing security concerns.
US officials continue to warn against invasion of Rafah — even as Israel presses ahead
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak
Top American officials offered stark warnings Sunday against an Israeli invasion of Rafah, predicting that a major ground offensive in the southern Gaza city would lead to widespread civilian casualties.
The alarm bells from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan came after President Joe Biden delivered an ultimatum last week on CNN that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would cause him to pause certain weapons transfers.
Blinken and Sullivan both said Biden made the determination because he didn’t want American weapons used in what he estimates would be a bloody, ill-advised operation. At the same time, they sought to rebut claims from Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats that Biden was leaving Israel to fend for itself.
Speaking on CBS, Blinken said the US believes Israel has killed more civilians than Hamas terrorists as part of its war in Gaza. And he said the country needed to do more to mitigate civilian deaths.
“While Israel has processes, procedures, rules, regulations to try to minimize civilian harm, given the impact that this operation, this war in Gaza has had on the civilian population, those have not been applied consistently and effectively,” he said.
Despite American warnings dating back months about the wisdom of a ground invasion into Rafah, Israel appears poised to continue advancing on the city and has issued evacuation orders for some of the 1.4 million civilians estimated to be sheltering there.
Going "headlong into Rafah" could have dire consequences, Blinken warned Sunday. “Israel's on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or, if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” Blinken said on NBC.
Sullivan warned an Israel operation would cause “really significant civilian casualties” while still being unlikely to eliminate Hamas. “While Israel would also be able to kill some Hamas folks, many Hamas folks would melt away because they're terrorists,” he said on ABC.
Last week, the State Department released a report finding it is “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law. But the report stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law.
Exodus from Rafah continues, but some say they are too exhausted and sick to move
From Tareq El Helou in Gaza and Sarah El Sirgany and Abeer Salman in Jerusalem
More people are streaming out of Rafah for other parts of Gaza following Israeli orders to civilians to leave much of eastern and central Rafah — but some are staying, too exhausted or sick to move on yet again.
An elderly man, Hassan Aboul Einien, told CNN he had not wanted to leave his home in the Shaboura refugee camp. “But now I want to because there is no one left in the camp. I want to see my wife and daughter," he said. "I’m going on foot. I don’t have money for a car. I sent my wife and daughter on foot as well."
Maher Soliman, also living at the Shaboura refugee camp, said he didn’t know where to go: "No-one is supporting us. It’s just destruction. I left home with a T-shirt." Soliman said there was no safe zone. "My 15-year-old daughter had burns over her body. There was a strike on the building next door while she was making food."
Ayman Abu Negira, who was driving a car with a broken windshield, said he was heading for Al Mawasi, an area to the north-west of Rafah to which the Israelis have instructed people to go. He said he hopes it is a safe zone, but has his doubts. "They will probably strike around it,” Negira told CNN.
Some, however, were planning to stay. An unidentified woman said: “We are not afraid. We are exhausted but we are steadfast.” Her tent stands alone in an area she says was filled with tents just few days ago.
She said she was from Khan Younis. “I wish I could go home and I hope it is still standing. I’m crying because I want to go home.”
The woman said it was tense last night. “Even the water distribution guy is afraid to come by. People are afraid to leave the tents at night to relieve themselves because they are afraid of the quadcaptors (armed Israeli drones) … All of us have hepatitis. There are lot of infections among people.”
The woman pointed to a scar under her ear and said it had been causes by a sniper’s bullet which had broken her jaw when she was trying to retrieve belongings from near Nasser hospital. “There was a window covered by a blanket and the sniper got me here.”
“Why would they target me? I was at a school. It was empty.”
Her son, 18-year old Raed Abu Salem, has a face injury which he said was caused by shrapnel from a drone attack in Khan Younis when he was trying to get water. He also lost several teeth.
“I would say how good-looking I was,” he said, when asked what he feels when he looks at his photos before the war. Now his injuries are painful and he has to eat through a syringe.
His mother said she was struggling to feed the children. “These kids haven’t eaten. We don’t have fresh water.”
Israeli forces continue operations in north and central Gaza, as well as Rafah
From CNN's Michael Schwartz
The Israeli military has said that it began operating in northern Gaza overnight, and "precise operations" are continuing in eastern Rafah and near the Rafah crossing, as well as in the area of Zeitoun in central Gaza.
The death toll in the Strip since October 7 surpassed 35,000 Sunday, with 63 people being killed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said. The figure is somewhat higher than the recent average due to the expanding military operations.
The IDF said that in Rafah, troops had “located and dismantled a number of tunnel shafts and rocket launchers ready to fire toward Israeli territory.”
It added that they also identified and eliminated ten armed Hamas terrorists.
The military action in Rafah comes ahead of a planned full-scale invasion.
The IDF also said its troops “eliminated a number of terrorists in close-quarters combat,” and an Israeli aircraft had also carried out strikes, in the Zeitoun area. It reported earlier that five Israeli soldiers had been killed in the area on Friday.
In northern Gaza, following calls Saturday to evacuate several areas, including Jabalya, the IDF said its troops began an operation "based on intelligence information regarding attempts by Hamas to reassemble its terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the area."
Video captured heavy gunfire, Israeli tanks and the sound of drones in the area of Jabalya early Sunday.
Israeli military says senior officer injured in Gaza
From CNN's Michael Schwartz and Tim Lister
The Israel Defense Forces says that a senior officer was injured in Gaza Friday.
It named the officer as Rear Admiral Yogev Bar-Sheshet, the Deputy Head of the Defense Establishment Comptroller Unit, and said he was “moderately injured on Friday in the Gaza Strip. He was evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment.”
Bar-Sheshet was injured on the same day that five Israeli soldiers were killed in the Zeitoun area of Gaza. Four of the five were 19-year old sergeants who were killed by an explosive device.
272 Israeli soldiers have been killed inside Gaza since ground operations began there.