Our live coverage of Israel's war in Gaza has moved here.
December 15, 2023 Israel-Hamas war
By Tara Subramaniam, Sophie Tanno, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Matt Meyer and Elise Hammond, CNN
Updated 4:57 p.m. ET, December 16, 2023
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Gaza is worse than a graveyard for children, UNICEF spokesperson says
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury
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.
“[C]hildren in Gaza are now in danger from the sky, disease on the ground, and death from hunger and thirst,” Elder said, adding that had never seen that level of devastation and despair anywhere else.
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.
Al Jazeera accuses Israel of “systematically targeting” its journalists and their families
From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury and Nourhan Elkallawy
The Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement on Friday condemning the airstrike that resulted in the death of its camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa and the injury of its Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh in Khan Younis.
“The Network holds Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families,” the statement said.
CNN cannot independently verify the allegations. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment but has not immediately heard back.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) data, Daqqa is the first Al Jazeera journalist to have been killed in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7.
Four other Al Jazeera journalists were injured, CPJ says, including three in southern Lebanon and Dahdouh, who had also lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza in late October.
Al Jazeera extended its condolences to Daqqa’s family in Gaza and Belgium in its statement, which called for accountability.
“Al Jazeera urges the international community, media freedom organisations, and the International Criminal Court to take immediate action to hold the Israeli government and military accountable for these acts of carnage and crimes against humanity,” the statement added.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location where Wael Dahdouh’s family was killed. It was Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Al Jazeera injured correspondent recounts how he survived airstrike that killed his colleague
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Kareem El Damanhoury
Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh recounted the moments when an airstrike hit Khan Younis on Friday, injuring him and resulting in the death of his co-worker cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa who died from his wounds.
The correspondent said the incident took place when they were heading back to an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Civil Defense after they were done filming in an area of Khan Younis that was hard to reach.
"Suddenly, something happened, a big thing, I couldn’t tell what it was, I only felt something big happened and pushed me to the ground, the helmet fell and the microphone," Dahdouh told Al Jazeera while on a hospital bed before knowing about the death of his colleague.
"I saw there was an intense bleeding from my shoulder and arm, and I realized if I stayed, I will be bleeding there in that location, and no one will reach me."
Dahdouh, who had earlier in the conflict lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza in late October, said he pushed himself to walk and eventually managed to reach Civil Defense staff hundreds of meters away.
But he said they were not able to head to where Daqqa was to rescue him at the time.
"I asked them to go back to get Samer Abu Daqqa our fellow cameraman whose voice I was hearing, and he was screaming," Dahdouh said. "But the ambulance personnel said we should leave immediately and send another vehicle to the location so that we don’t get targeted."
Al Jazeera said on air that Daqqa was bleeding for five hours and no-one could reach to him due to the situation around him.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location where Wael Dahdouh’s family was killed. It was Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Family of hostages accidentally killed by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli media
From CNN's Andrew Carey and Tamar Michaelis
Family members of the three hostages killed inside Gaza by Israeli troops had spoken regularly to Israeli TV and news websites since October, sharing their feelings and appealing for their relatives’ safe release.
“During the day I’m busy with communications and PR. At night, in my bed, I let out my grief,” Avi Shimriz told Israel’s Channel 12 earlier this week. He is the father of Alon Shimriz, one of the hostages killed.
“My wife, for most of the day, is sitting and crying,” Avi Shimriz said.
The Shimriz family lived on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Alon Shimriz was captured on October 7. Many of the people living in the kibbutzim close to the Gaza perimeter had been advocates of co-existence with Palestinians, a sentiment Avi Shimriz had articulated.
“We are a peace-wishing kibbutz. I have no doubt [that there’s someone to speak to on the other side]. Not everyone’s Yahya Sinwar,” he said, referring to the man seen as masterminding Hamas’ murderous assault two months ago.
Pressure has been growing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to do more to get the remaining hostages out of Gaza ever since the first agreement with Hamas – which saw more than 100 people released – collapsed at the start of the month.
As more and more testimonies of life in captivity have emerged, some family members — and Israeli society at large — have had the growing sense of time running out.
That sentiment has only grown in recent days. Even before news that three hostages had been accidentally killed by Israeli troops, Israeli officials had already announced this week the deaths of five other Israelis held inside Gaza, after their bodies were recovered by soldiers.
“On the one hand I’m happy for every hostage who came back [alive]. On the other hand, I’m very mad at the decision makers in our government. They should have already released everyone,” Avi Shimriz told Channel 12.
“Within our government I don’t trust anyone. Is it their son who is sitting in a tunnel? My son is sitting in a tunnel. My son has no oxygen. My son is having half a pita a day. I want my son here as soon as tomorrow.”
Many hostage family members have taken part in rallies to make sure the government gets the message, but Alon Shimriz’s brother, Yonatan, had expressed his skepticism on social media that the popular demonstrations were having an impact.
“Here in Israel, it’s like speaking to a wall. You can set up demonstrations, hold hands, light candles, make placards, but [the government] just wants to give you the impression it is out of their hands,” he wrote.
Yotam Haim was also taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7. His mother, Iris, had told Israel’s Channel 11 earlier this week that she had faith her son would return even without raising her voice at the government.
“Some people think that if they don’t shout, no one will bring their children back. I tell them: We can do it peacefully and through a respectful dialogue. The children will come back, I have no doubt.”
She had told Channel 11 she felt the government and the army were doing their best.
The third of the kidnapped men killed, Samer Talalka, was a member of Israel’s Bedouin community. His father, Fouad, was among those who visited the United States earlier in the month to raise awareness of his son’s plight.
Speaking to Israeli news website Ynet during his US trip, he described his frustrations and despair at knowing nothing.
“Bring back our kids! How long can we take this for? It’s been two months. We families are just hanging. We don’t know anything,” he said.
It's past midnight in Gaza. Here are headlines you should know
From CNN staff
The Israel Defense Forces said it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after misidentifying them as a threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called their deaths an “unbearable tragedy” and US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the incident “heartbreaking.”
Israeli soldiers are being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Friday.
Several dozen people protested outside the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday night, demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Here are other headlines you should know:
- Humanitarian crisis: Almost 1.9 million people — more than 85% of the enclave’s total population — have been displaced since Israel launched its war on Hamas, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Many live in makeshift shelters as temperatures drop and rain conditions are expected for the next few months. Others struggle to find drinking water and adequate food. And yet others are also battling the spread of disease. The biggest concern of the World Health Organization in Gaza is the "major degradation" of the local health system "at a time when the health needs are soaring," regional emergency director Richard Brennan told CNN.
- Humanitarian aid: For the first time since October 7, humanitarian aid will be allowed to cross directly into Gaza from Israel, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. Meanwhile, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during his meeting Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, according to the White House. A convoy of 106 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday, an Egyptian official confirmed to CNN. This included five trucks carrying fuel. Also, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, traveled to the West Bank Friday following visits to Gaza and Israel earlier in the month.
- Developments on the ground: At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others were injured early Friday morning after artillery fire struck a school and a residential home in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis. Elsewhere, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for attacks on two more cargo vessels sailing near the coast of Yemen en route to Israel on Friday. Also, the IDF says several rockets have been fired toward the Jerusalem area Friday evening local time. And, Israel’s military has repeatedly attacked the US-backed Lebanese army to the north over the past two months, prompting alarm in President Joe Biden's administration and sharp rebukes from top US officials to Israeli leadership.
- Fatalities in the war: Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa has died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the TV network said Friday. Three civil defense workers in Gaza whose rescue efforts were being covered by the Al Jazeera team were also killed Friday, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior. The airstrike also wounded Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN.
- International input: The president of the European Commission reiterated the European Union's support for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, saying "there can be no peace" unless that arrangement is on the table.
UK lawmaker says her family sheltering in a Gaza Catholic church are “beyond desperate and terrified”
From CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh and Kareem El Damanhoury
UK lawmaker Layla Moran said in a statement on Friday that her family members sheltering in Gaza City’s Catholic Church are “beyond desperate and terrified” as conditions continue to worsen.
“[My family] are reporting white phosphorous and gunfire into their compound,” Moran said. “The bin collector and the janitor have been shot and their bodies are laying outside and remain uncollected.”
CNN cannot independently verify the conditions in and around the church, nor the allegation of the use of incendiary munitions, which can be illegal in some circumstances.
CNN has reached out to the church and the Israeli military for comment, but has not immediately heard back.
Citing her family members, the Oxford West and Abingdon member of parliament added that electricity generators have stopped working at the church.
On November 15, Moran told the UK House of Commons that one of her family members sheltering in the church in Gaza had died.
“Their health deteriorated in the last week, and they couldn’t get to the hospital they needed,” she said.
Houthis target 3 commercial ships on Friday, strike 2 in attacks, US Central Command says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
Iran-backed militant forces Houthi struck two commercial ships on Friday and threatened to attack a third, US Central Command(CENTCOM) said in a post on X.
The incident took place at roughly 7 a.m. (local time) on Friday morning when Houthi forces “contacted the Motor Vessel MSC ALANYA, a Liberian-flagged vessel that was traveling north in the southern part of the Red Sea and threatened to attack it,” the CENTCOM post said.
The Houthis told the vessel to turn around and proceed south. There were no US ships in the area, CENTCOM said, but US forces “maintained direct communications with the vessel, and the ALANYA continued north.”
“It is believed to be traveling safely at this time,” the CENTCOM post said.
Approximately two hours later, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen hit the Motor Vessel AL JASRAH, another Liberian-flagged vessel traveling south in the Red Sea.
The ship “broadcast a mayday signal that said the crew was fighting a fire caused by the attack,” though the fire has since been extinguished, CENTCOM said.
Several hours later, Houthi forces launched two ballistic missiles toward the international shipping lanes in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, CENTCOM said, hitting another Liberian flagged vessel, the M/V PALATIUM 3.
The PALATIUM 3 also broadcast a mayday call and said the vessel was on fire, to which the USS Mason responded.
“No injuries have been reported by any of the three ships attacked, but this latest round of attacks is yet another demonstration of the great risk to international shipping caused by these Houthi actions,” the CENTCOM post said.
Some context: The Houthis forces already hit another vessel, Maersk Gibraltar, on Thursday that the militant group said was "heading to the Israeli entity."
The Iran-backed rebel group, a Shia political and military organization that have been fighting a civil war against a Saudi Arabia-backed coalition since 2014, released a statement on Thursday, saying that it had successfully prevented the passage of several ships bound for Israel for at least 48 hours at the time. It said it would continue to do so until Israel "bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need."
Al Jazeera's cameraman killed by airstrike in Gaza "a joyful person who loved life," his co-worker says
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Kareem El Damanhoury
Al Jazeera correspondent Hiba Akila paid tribute to her colleague Samer Abu Daqqa, a cameraman for the same network who died of wounds after an airstrike on a southern Gaza city on Friday.
Daqqa had been trapped in a Haifa school, where he was working on assignment, when it came under fire, the network said earlier Friday.
“Samer was not only an optimistic, joyful person who loved life, but he was also a journalist who upholds his journalistic mission, always giving us a boost whenever we felt pain and desperation,” Akila said in a broken voice as she reported live from Rafah on Friday night.
Akila said she'd been working closely with Daqqa on the ground in Gaza since the war began in October.
"Samer was working nonstop," she said. “He was always the beautiful spirit that accompanies us and supplies us with laughter.”
According to Al Jazeera, Daqqa's wife and four children are in Belgium. Akila said Daqqa remained positive that one day the family would be reunited in Gaza.
"When we were supporting and comforting Samer that soon he will meet his family, he would say, 'I will not go to them, they will come here, and we will be together in Gaza,'" Akila said.
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it is alarmed by the drone strike that killed Daqqa and wounded his colleague, Wael Al-Dahdouh, and called on “international authorities to independently investigate the attack and hold those responsible to account.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg reiterated a call for the protection of journalists and emphasized the importance of their work in Gaza, which she called an "unprecedented" challenge.
“We’re really only left with Gaza journalists doing this really important documentation work," Ginsberg said
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 CPJ.