December 16, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

The three Israeli hostages who were killed Friday by Israel Defense Forces soldiers in Gaza were shirtless and waving a white flag when they were shot, an IDF official said Saturday, calling the killings a “tragic, tragic event” and a violation of IDF rules of engagement.

The third hostage died later. It is not clear if the second burst of fire killed him.

More than one IDF soldier fired at the hostages, the official told CNN after briefing journalists.

The official said there is “intense combat” in the area where the hostages were killed, and “terrorists there are moving around in civilian attire. They are wearing sneakers and jeans. They are trying to pull us into traps.”

The hostages were named Friday as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shimriz.

It's possible they had escaped or been abandoned by their captors, the official said.

“Hundreds of meters from that location, there was a building with markings of 'SOS' on it, and we are still looking to see if there is a connection between that building and the hostages,” the official said.

The hostages' killing remains under IDF investigation, the official said.

Hundreds of people gathered to mourn Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abu Daqqa in Gaza on Saturday after he succumbed to wounds suffered during an airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis the day before.

The body of Abu Daqqa, wrapped in a white cloth, was carried on the shoulders of the assembled crowd from Al-Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis to a nearby cemetery. On his chest were the press vest and helmet he had been wearing when he was wounded.

Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, who lost his wife, daughter, son, and grandson in an Israeli airstrike  in the Al Nusiarat refugee camp in late October, accused Israel of targeting his former colleague and vowed to continue his work.

The funeral was attended by friends, family and colleagues, many of them wearing their press vests. Abu Daqqa’s wife and children live in Belgium.

Prayers were read in the cemetery and his mother, Umm Maher, sobbed as she knelt down to pray over her son’s grave before he was laid to rest.

The Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement on Friday condemning the airstrike that resulted in the death of Samer Abu Daqqa and the injury of Wael Dahdouh.

CNN cannot independently verify the allegations. CNN has contacted the Israeli military for comment but has not heard back.

Some context: As of Friday, 64 journalists have been killed, and 13 injured, while covering the Israel's war with Hamas, making it the most dangerous period for the profession in 31 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Correction: This post has been updated to correct the location where Wael Dahdouh's family were killed.

The Israel Defense Forces raided two schools in northern Gaza where Hamas fighters were allegedly hiding, killing some and detaining others, the military said.

IDF forces raided the Alma'atsam in Allah and Alfarabi schools in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, according to a post on the social media platform X Saturday.

“The forces eliminated terrorists in battles that took place in the area. In addition, terrorists hiding inside schools surrendered and were arrested by the forces,” the IDF said.

Israel Army Radio reported that 25 Hamas fighters were killed and 50 surrendered during the operation. The IDF has not confirmed those figures to CNN.

Some context: Fierce fighting has been taking place across Gaza since the collapse of a brief truce between Israel and Hamas.

Israel aims to destroy the militant group following its surprise October 7 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead. The IDF has said it has struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza since the beginning of the war.

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 18,412 people had been killed in Gaza as of Tuesday. Of those killed, around 5,000 are Hamas fighters, according to an IDF spokesperson. CNN cannot independently verify those figures.

The Israel Defense Forces will conduct a “tactical pause” for humanitarian purposes in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to a statement from the Israeli office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.

The pause will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET) and is meant to allow civilians to replenish stocks of basic items such as food and water, according to the statement.

It’s unclear how many people in the area are aware of the announcement. The internet monitoring agency Netblocks reported Friday that live metrics showed connectivity had collapsed in the Gaza Strip for over 24 hours.

Israel has been battling Hamas militants in southern Gaza after expanding its ground offensive following the collapse of a truce brokered last month.

Amid a dire humanitarian situation, a convoy of 106 trucks carrying aid, including five trucks carrying fuel, crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday, an Egyptian official confirmed to CNN.

2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, when the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began keeping records, according to a report from the organization.

The organization added that two-thirds of the Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank since October 7 had occurred during “search-and-arrest” and other operations carried out by Israeli forces.

Of the 278 Palestinians, including 70 children, killed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem since October 7, 268 have been killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and another two either by forces or settlers, according to the report.

OCHA also noted an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank following the October 7 Hamas attacks, with the weekly average of incidents since 7 October at 35, compared with 21 incidents per week between 1 January and 6 October 2023.

Increasing violence: A CNN team this week witnessed how settlers and the Israeli military are working together and creating a culture of fear amongst Palestinian families in the West Bank, despite calls from President Biden for Israel to sanction "settler extremists."

As well as escalating tensions, security measures have also been stepped up in the West Bank since October 7, after which Israel began severely restricting the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents there.

An airstrike killed at least 14 people in northern Gaza early Saturday, according to a senior official in the territory's Hamas-controlled health ministry.

The strike hit the city of Jabalya in northern Gaza, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, general director of the Ministry of Health, told CNN. He was speaking from a medical field point in the area, where most hospitals are out of action.

“The houses have been hosting many displaced residents from the area. The airstrike happened at around 7 a.m. (midnight ET) and all the injuries and bodies arrived to our medical point in northern Jabalya. There are many more under the rubble, and residents and civil defense crews are working to try to pull out more people.”

Video of the Gaza skyline early Saturday showed several plumes of thick smoke rising from parts of northern Gaza.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on any targets struck in the Jabalya area Saturday morning.

Nimer Abu Ras’ wrists are bruised and lacerated. His hands are swollen.

He is one of hundreds of Palestinian men and boys who have been detained, many of them stripped and blindfolded, in recent weeks by Israeli forces conducting clearing operations in northern Gaza. Many of those detained have already been identified as civilians by relatives and employers after images of the mass detentions circulated on social media.

Abu Ras was among a group of six boys and four men interviewed by CNN at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, where they were being treated for injuries and dehydration after being detained for five days.

Like Abu Ras, many of them emerged from Israeli custody with swollen hands and bruised wrists from being handcuffed throughout that time. All of their hands were numbered with red marker by Israeli soldiers. They all told CNN they had been given little food or water during their detention and described instances of alleged abuse and humiliation.

“They would tie your hands behind your back and drag you like a dog – plastic handcuff scars on your arms. Depending on the mood of one of them, they would come kick you with their boots,” said 14-year-old Mahmoud Zendah, a recent wound marking the bridge of his nose.

A doctor at the hospital said all of the group had arrived “physically and psychologically exhausted.”

“There were signs of torture on their arms and signs of beating all over their bodies,” Dr. Khalil Al Daqran, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital spokesman said.

A spokesman for the IDF declined to address specific allegations of abuse or provide an explanation for the detention of the 10 boys and men interviewed by CNN, despite being provided with a list of their names and the neighborhood where they were detained.

The Israeli military said it was detaining and questioning individuals “suspected of terrorist activity” as part of its military operations in combat areas in northern Gaza and that “individuals who are found not to be taking part in terrorist activities are released.”

“The individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement in response to CNN.

“The IDF strives to treat any detainee with dignity. Any incident in which the guidelines were not followed will be looked into.”

Read the full story here.

America should use its seat on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution pressuring Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged in a statement on Friday.

“It [the US] says it has urged Israel to protect civilians, so it should support UN efforts to do the same," the statement read.

HRW criticized what it called a “double standard” in Washington’s commitment to the laws of war and said that no permanent Security Council member should veto resolutions “aimed at stopping mass atrocities.”

On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, in a rebuke to the United States which voted “no” and blocked a similar resolution in the Security Council the previous week.

While a general assembly vote is politically significant and is seen as wielding moral weight, it is not binding, unlike a Security Council resolution.

Context: The UN resolution last week at the Security Council called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” as well as “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and “ensuring humanitarian access." Thirteen countries were in favor of the resolution while the United States vetoed and the UK abstained.

Children in Gaza have been suffering from hellish conditions, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a statement on Friday, warning that the situation could get worse.

 “At the start of this war, UNICEF said Gaza was a ‘graveyard for children and a living hell for everyone else.’ It has only gotten worse as the bombing and fighting have continued,” the statement read. 

Elder, who just returned from a weeks-long mission in Gaza, warned of the severe repercussions of food, water and medicine shortages on children. 

Elder told CNN’s Isa Soares Thursday that parents he’s been talking to in Gaza have realized hospitals are no longer an option for their children due to the continuous attacks that have made hospitals harder to reach. 

“Most crises they impact children terribly because children are the most vulnerable, but most have about a casualty rate of children around 20%, this [Gaza conflict] is 40 [%],” he said. “This is twice as lethal to children as many conflicts we’ve seen in the last 15 or 20 years.” 

CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. 

Context: According to the latest statement on Friday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws its numbers from sources in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks have killed at least 18,700 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 70% of whom were children and women.