Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.
November 15, 2023 Israel-Hamas war
By Tara Subramaniam, Andrew Raine, Sophie Tanno, Thom Poole, Holly Yan, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN
Updated 12:09 a.m. ET, November 16, 2023
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Top House Democrats evacuated as police clash with protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire
From CNN's Sam Fossum and Morgan Rimmer
Law enforcement clashed with protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war outside of the Washington headquarters of the Democratic National Committee Wednesday night after authorities said the demonstration turned violent and lawmakers were evacuated from the building.
“Tonight 6 officers were treated for injuries – ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched. One person has been arrested for assault on an officer. We appreciate our officers who kept these illegal & violent protesters back & protected everyone in the area,” US Capitol Police, who responded with DC Metropolitan Police, said in a statement on X.
Officers, according to Capitol Police, had worked “to keep back approximately 150 people who are illegally and violently protesting” in the area and escorted members of Congress from the area. Top House Democrats were among those evacuated.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the Democratic leaders — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, the No. 3 Democrat — were inside as the clash between protesters and police erupted.
About 10 members were there, according to the source, including Suzan DelBene, the chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. The members had been meeting with House candidates who were in town for training sessions and to connect with fellow Democrats.
Biden accuses Hamas of “war crime” for operating what US and Israel claim is command node at Gaza hospital
From CNN's Betsy Klein and DJ Judd
US President Joe Biden accused Hamas of committing a “war crime” for operating what the US and Israel have claimed is a command node under the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
Biden said he discussed the dangerous situation at the hospital, Gaza’s largest, during his meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“You have a circumstance where the first war crime is being committed by Hamas by having their headquarters, their military hidden under a hospital. And that's a fact. That's what's happened,” Biden told reporters during a press conference Wednesday.
Some context: Israeli forces launched a raid early Wednesday morning on Al-Shifa, after accusing Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast complex – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials.
CNN cannot verify either side's claims.
Israel said its troops found "military equipment used by Hamas," the military said in a statement but offered no evidence yet of a vast tunnel network it claimed was used by the militant group.
Israel said it will present more evidence to support their claims of a Hamas command center, an adviser to the prime minister told CNN Wednesday.
Conditions at Al-Shifa, which has run out of fuel and is no longer considered operational, have deteriorated rapidly in recent days amid intense fighting, with doctors warning of a “catastrophic” situation for patients, staff and displaced people still inside.
Wednesday’s raid has also sparked widespread international criticism.
Biden noted that the US has called on Israel to be “incredibly careful” as it targets Hamas in the area, but suggested that action was justified.
“We discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful. You have a circumstance where you know there is a fair number of Hamas terrorists. Hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking Israel again, like they did before."
The president also noted the savagery of Hamas' October 7 attacks in Israel. "And so, the idea that they're going to just stop and not do anything is not realistic," he added.
Israeli forces, he suggested, are “bringing in incubators” and “other means to help the people in the hospital,” adding that there have been efforts to get doctors, nurses, and other personnel out of harm’s way.
Evidence: In a follow up exchange with CNN, Biden told MJ Lee, “Yes,” he was absolutely confident based on intelligence he’d seen that Hamas was operating a command center under the Al-Shifa hospital, but declined to share details on the evidence.
“No, I can’t tell you—I won’t tell you,” he told CNN.
Israel will present more evidence of Hamas operations under Al-Shifa Hospital, senior adviser says
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
Israel said it will present more evidence to support their claims of a Hamas command center underneath Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, an adviser to the prime minister said.
“It's not just Israel that says Hamas has built its fortifications, its terror network, its command and control under the Shifa hospital. That's being corroborated independently by the US government, both from the White House and the Pentagon,” Mark Regev, a senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, told CNN.
Earlier Wednesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the United States had intelligence that Hamas was operating in Al-Shifa Hospital.
"I would say we are comfortable with our own intelligence assessment about the degree to which Hamas was and is using Al-Shifa Hospital as a command and control node and as a storage facility underneath. We're very comfortable with our own intelligence assessment for that," Kirby said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly asserted that Hamas had built an underground terror network beneath the hospital, using the medical facility above to provide cover for their operations.
The IDF claimed the facility was used as a command and control headquarters, even putting out imagery in late October labeling specific buildings as having Hamas complexes underneath and publishing a 3D illustration of tunnels it said existed below the facility. But the first pictures and videos published by the IDF on X (formerly known as Twitter) Thursday did not show the underground complex the Israeli government said is under the hospital.
Still, Regev insisted the hospital was a base for Hamas, saying it is "common knowledge that Hamas has built a subterranean military network of terror tunnels connecting them to rocket launchers, to arms depots and so forth" under the medical facility.
Israel confirmed on Wednesday that it launched a "targeted" operation inside the hospital and said its soldiers uncovered “military equipment used by Hamas” in the raid.
The senior adviser said additional information that justifies the IDF’s operation will be presented in the coming days.
“I think you'll see more information in the coming hours and days. This was the first day of our operation inside the hospital building. More will come. I have no doubt about it,” Regev said, adding that journalists would be permitted access to Al-Shifa Hospital “when it’s safe.”
Qatar condemns Israeli raid at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
Qatar condemned the Israeli military for raiding Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital — an action it described as “a war crime and a blatant violation of international laws.”
A statement released by the Qatari Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called for an international investigation into Israeli raids on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip.
The statement also reiterated the Qatari government’s support for what it said was the “just Palestinian cause” and calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Some background: Israel accused Hamas of using Al-Shifa Hospital, which is the largest in Gaza, as a command base – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials.
Israel confirmed that it launched a "targeted" operation inside the medical facility Wednesday and said its soldiers uncovered “military equipment used by Hamas” during the raid. According to Hamas, the hospital is now under Israeli control.
Hospitals are protected in times of war under international humanitarian law, but Israel said in a statement that Hamas’ “continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status.”
Why Qatar matters: Qatar has been playing a major role in global diplomacy during the Israel-Hamas conflict because of its ties to both parties. The gas-rich monarchy has maintained a relationship with Hamas while being one of the US’ closest allies in the region. Meanwhile, it has also kept back-channel contacts with Israel.
Most recently, Qatar has been working to mediate deals — in coordination with Egypt and the United States — to free hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7 attacks in Israel, as well as evacuate foreign nationals from Gaza.
CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting to this post.
7 staff members at Gaza’s Jordanian field hospital injured in shelling, Jordan foreign ministry says
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
Seven staff members at the Jordanian field hospital in northern Gaza have been injured in what Jordan’s foreign ministry has alleged was an Israeli airstrike.
The staff were hit while providing aid to wounded Palestinians who had arrived at the entrance of the hospital’s emergency department, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in an interview with CNN's Isa Soares Wednesday.
“Our field hospital staff rushed to the emergency section as they saw a number of Palestinians carrying wounded persons, and as our staff got to the emergency room, they got hit again and about seven of our medical staff there were wounded,” he said. “Many other Palestinians were unfortunately killed and injured.”
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for a response to the allegation but has not received a reply.
Safadi said Jordan would demand an investigation into what happened.
“It is incomprehensible that people trying to offer the medical help to wounded people get hit as well,” he said.
A statement from the Jordanian foreign ministry said Amman “holds the Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for endangering the lives of Jordanian medical teams.”
In the interview, Safadi said “Israel has a legal obligation to makes sure that hospitals are safe, that the vicinity of hospitals are safe and that no military operations that could jeopardize hospitals are conducted.”
Intense fighting continues in northern Gaza. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
Intense fighting is still ongoing in northern Gaza, according to a CNN team at Israel's border with the enclave.
It comes after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proclaimed Tuesday that Hamas had "lost control" of the northern Gaza Strip, including in Gaza City.
Here are headlines you should know:
- Hospital raid: Intense fighting outside Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, occurred Wednesday as Israel launched a raid, according to a reporter inside. Israel accused Hamas of using the medical center as a command base – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials. Israel confirmed that it launched a "targeted" operation inside the medical facility Wednesday and said its soldiers uncovered “military equipment used by Hamas” in the raid. The director general of Gaza hospitals said the Israeli military entered the ground floor and basement of the surgery building during the raid. According to Hamas, the hospital is now under Israeli control. Neonatal babies in Al-Shifa are in "severe danger" as conditions in the medical facility further deteriorate, the director general of Gaza hospitals told Al Jazeera. And people inside the hospital have lost contact with other buildings in the complex, the supervisor of the ER department Omar Zaqout told Al Jazeera in a phone interview Wednesday.
- International responses: The US continues to believe Israel should not target hospitals in Gaza from the air and that civilians should be protected from the crossfire, said John Kirby, National Security Council spokesperson. Mexico's government expressed deep concern following the hospital attacks, according to a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday. The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned Israel’s raid of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which he described as a "storming" and "a violation of international humanitarian law." Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a terrorist state during a speech to his ruling party Wednesday, the Republic of Turkey Directorate of Communications wrote on X. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media Wednesday to rebuke his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, after he urged Israel to show "maximum restraint" in its military operations in Gaza.
- Humanitarian crisis: "Grave violations" against children are occurring in Gaza, the UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Wednesday, one day after her visit to the territory. And the main United Nations relief agency operating in Gaza warned Wednesday that its "entire operation is now on the verge of collapse." The World Health Organization (WHO) has again “lost touch” with health personnel at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Also on Wednesday, the Red Cross described reports from Al-Shifa hospital as "very worrying."
- UN resolution: The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for a series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza. Twelve states voted in favor of adopting the resolution during Wednesday's session. Three countries — the US, Russia and the UK — abstained from the vote.
- Rafah Crossing: Around 23,000 liters (6,078 gallons) of fuel from Egypt were delivered to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to be used only for transporting aid from Rafah, the organization’s director in Gaza, Thomas White, said on X. Also, the first group of Irish nationals have arrived in Egypt after successfully leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing Wednesday, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said. Eighty-eight Russian citizens also evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing into Egypt Wednesday, according to Russian state media TASS, who cited the press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
- Hostage situation: The families of US citizens believed to be held hostage by Hamas met with Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, at the US State Department, according to a source familiar with their plans. Also, Israel's first lady Sara Netanyahu wrote a letter to her American counterpart Jill Biden urging her to call for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
Israeli opposition leader calls on Netanyahu to resign
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis, Andrew Carey and Sugam Pokharel
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign, saying the Israeli leader has “lost the public’s trust.”
This is the first time Lapid has urged Netanyahu to quit since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
“Netanyahu cannot remain Israel's prime minister. We need a national recovery government … he needs to go now. We cannot allow ourselves to have a Prime Minister who has lost the public’s trust, whether from a social or a security point of view,” Lapid said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12.
“The people who are running things right are the defense establishments. This government is dysfunctional," he said. "We need to change the government.”
However, the former prime minister added that he doesn’t think now is the right time to hold elections.
Instead, he said the best course of action was for Netanyahu’s Likud party to oust the veteran leader and replace him with a party colleague.
UN Security Council adopts resolution calling for series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza
From CNN's Mariya Knight, Caitlin Hu, and Richard Roth
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for a series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza.
Twelve states voted in favor of adopting the resolution during Wednesday's session. Three countries — the US, Russia, and the UK — abstained from the vote.
The resolution calls “for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners.”
The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch praised the resolution's adoption.
“The UN Security Council just sent a rare and powerful message to Israel, Hamas and other armed groups that compliance with international humanitarian law is non-negotiable. So far, there has been widespread disregard for civilians by all parties. That the US finally stopped paralyzing the council on Israel and Palestine so this resolution on the plight of children in Gaza could move forward should be a wake-up call to Israeli authorities that global concern, even among its allies, is strong," Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.