Our live coverage of Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has moved here.
January 6, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
By Heather Chen, Andrew Raine, Sophie Tanno, Tori B. Powell and Adrienne Vogt, CNN
Updated 12:06 AM ET, Sun January 7, 2024
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IDF claims it has completed dismantling Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza
From CNN staff
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed Saturday that it had completed dismantling Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the IDF was now focused on dismantling Hamas in central and southern Gaza.
Hagari told a press conference that around 8,000 Hamas militants had been killed in northern Gaza.
CNN cannot independently verify the IDF claim that it has dismantled the Hamas command structure in northern Gaza or that 8,000 Hamas militants have been killed.
At least 22,438 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations that began following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Almost 70% of those individuals killed in Gaza are women and children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report released in December.
Hagari said the IDF would continue its effort to dismantle Hamas, but this would take time.
“We will do so in a different method, thoroughly and on the basis of the lessons we have learned from the fighting so far,” Hagari said.
Israel issues more evacuation warnings after another night of bombardment in Gaza. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
The Israel Defense Forces dropped new flyers in neighborhoods in central Gaza on Saturday, urging Palestinians to evacuate to the nearby city of Deir al-Balah.
The IDF said people in the neighborhoods of Al-Amal, Al-Sdera, Al-Basateen, Al-Farouq and Ain Jalout are in a dangerous war zone.
United Nations officials have previously said there is nowhere safe for civilians to go in Gaza. Many displaced residents have already fled to Deir al-Balah. Gazans told CNN this week that living conditions there are dismal, despite instructions from the Israeli military that it would be safer there.
Here are some of today's other key updates:
- Bombardment continues: At least 122 people were killed and 265 wounded by Israeli airstrikes over 24 hours spanning Friday and Saturday, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry said. Videos from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the center of the strip showed staff members urgently trying to treat severely wounded victims. CNN cannot independently verify the casualty figures due to limited access in the area.
- Khan Younis strike: Seven Palestinians were killed, including five children, in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials and the Hamas-controlled health ministry. All seven were part of the same family, health officials told CNN. In addition, 45 people were injured, health officials said. The wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Gaza, and officials at the hospital confirmed the deaths and injuries to CNN.
- Iranian commander's stark words: Iran is facing an "all-out battle" with an "enemy" actor, a top Iranian commander said, as Western nations vow to tackle the recent slew of attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
- Post-war plans for Gaza: The Palestine Liberation Organization has rejected plans proposed by Israel on the future of Gaza, as rifts also emerge within the Israeli government over its post-war vision. The PLO — which gave up armed resistance against Israel in a 1993 peace pact that saw the establishment of the Palestinian Authority — said, “The future of the Gaza Strip is determined by the Palestinian people, not Israel."
- Netanyahu says war will continue: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday that the war against Hamas “must not be stopped” until Israel achieves three main objectives: “eliminate Hamas, return our hostages and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”
- Hezbollah strikes: Fears of a wider war are growing, as Hezbollah announced Saturday it had fired a total of 62 rockets at an Israeli observation post on the Israel-Lebanon border, as an "initial response" to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut. Red alerts warning of potential incoming rocket fire and shrapnel were issued for over 100 locations in northern Israel. The powerful Lebanese paramilitary group is among several Iranian proxy groups involved in inflamed tensions across the Middle East.
- Blinken tour: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul to discuss the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He then headed to Greece on Saturday for the next leg of his multi-country trip through the region. Finding a way to deter a broader conflict in the Middle East — especially the issues involving Hezbollah and the Houthis — is a key focus of Blinken's tour.
Almost 90% of Gaza population displaced due to war on Hamas, UN agency says
From CNN's Abeer Salman
Almost 90% of Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced due to Israel’s war on Hamas, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
“Families search for safety where there is none, as famine looms. Critical for humanitarian #ceasefire to provide urgent aid & end this forced, continuous displacement,” UNWRA posted Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
About two million people live in Gaza. The civilians there “lack everything," the UNRWA said.
Iran faces "all-out battle" with an "enemy" as the West vows to tackle Houthi rebel attacks, commander says
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Sugam Pokharel
Iran is facing an "all-out battle" with an "enemy" actor, a top Iranian commander said, as Western nations vow to tackle the recent slew of attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
"We need to defend our national interests to wherever they extend," Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Saturday at a ceremony unveiling a new navy ship in the coastal Gulf city of Bandar Abbas, according to Reuters. "They should stay away from this area," he added.
Salami did not name the enemy during the televised speech, Reuters reported.
On January 2, the Iranian Navy dispatched a military destroyer to the Red Sea as tensions in the waterway soared. Although Iran did not officially provide a reason for the deployment, state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said the destroyer was dispatched as part of a series of vessels taking part “in regular missions in international waters.”
Key context: The Houthi rebels, considered to be one of Iran's proxies, have launched several attacks against commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea in what the group has called a revenge campaign against Israel's war in Gaza.
A coalition of 11 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, condemned the "illegal" and "profoundly destabilizing" attacks in a joint statement Wednesday. The coalition outlined their serious intention to "hold malign actors accountable" for "unlawful seizures and attacks."
The UK's finance minister underlined the severity of the situation during an interview with BBC Radio 4 Saturday, acknowledging that attacks "may have an impact" on the global economy.
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said the UK and its partners have made it "very clear to the Houthis" that the rebel group's actions in the Red Sea will bear "consequences."
"We will not just sit back and accept that, because it’s so vital for global trade," Hunt warned.
Netanyahu says war must not stop until 3 objectives are achieved
From CNN’s Amir Tal and Larry Register
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday that the war against Hamas “must not be stopped” until Israel achieves three main objectives: “eliminate Hamas, return our hostages and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”
In a statement released Saturday by his office, the prime minister said Israel will “not give Hamas immunity anywhere, and we are fighting to restore security in both the south and the north.”
“Until then and for that purpose, you have to put everything aside and continue with joint forces until the complete victory is achieved,” he concluded.
Israel's plans for new phase of war: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday unveiled plans for the next phase of the war in Gaza. In the third phase, Israel Defense Forces soldiers in northern Gaza will adopt a “new combat approach” encompassing “raids, the destruction of terror tunnels, aerial and ground activities, and special operations,” according to Gallant.
In southern Gaza, the Israeli military will continue its pursuit of Hamas leaders in the region “for as long as necessary,” Gallant said. Israeli forces stationed in the south will also focus on “enabling the return of the hostages” still in captivity, he added.
Gallant also provided details of the fourth and supposed final phase of the war, entitled the "Day After." The post-war phase announced by Gallant envisages a Gaza Strip no longer controlled by Hamas, which would no longer “pose a security threat to the citizens of Israel.”
Once the "goals of the war have achieved" there would be "no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip," according to his plan. Israel would, however, maintain its “operational freedom of action in the Gaza strip” and continue to "carry out the inspection of goods entering the Gaza strip," the plan stated.
French foreign minister urges Iran to stop "destabilizing actions" in Middle East
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says she gave Iran a "very clear message" that it must stop its "destabilizing actions" in the Middle East during a call with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday.
“I called Iranian Minister A. Abdollahian and gave him a very clear message: the risk of regional conflagration has never been so significant,” Colonna said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Iran and its affiliates must immediately cease their destabilizing actions. No one would gain from an escalation,” she wrote.
France’s conversation with Iran comes amid concerns about a broader conflict breaking out in the Middle East following recent attacks across the region. Houthi rebels, based in Yemen and backed by Iran, have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea over recent months in what the group has called a revenge campaign against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Tensions have also flared between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week, following the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut on Tuesday.
Israel has not taken responsibility for Tuesday's attack, with Mark Regev, a senior adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling MSNBC that whoever masterminded the attack "has a gripe with Hamas" itself.
The European Union has also stressed that regional escalation in the Middle East must be avoided.
Hamas political leader says Blinken should be "more focused" on ending Israeli "aggression" in Gaza
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
The head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, says he hopes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be "more focused" on ending Israeli "aggression" in Gaza during the top diplomat's multi-country visit to the region.
Blinken is undertaking another shuttle diplomacy tour amid heightened fears that the Israel-Hamas war may spill over into a wider regional conflict. Attacks in Lebanon, Iran and Iraq this week have spiked tensions in the region as Iranian proxy groups Hezbollah and the Houthis increase their threats against Israel.
In a video message shared by Hamas on Saturday, the Doha-based Hamas political leader said he hopes the US has "realized the extent" of its "mistakes" in supporting Israel.
Haniyeh said Hamas hopes Blinken — in his fourth trip to the region since Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 — will be "more focused this time to end the aggression" being carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier this week, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant unveiled the third phase of the war campaign in Gaza, which includes a new combat approach in the north and a commitment to keep pursuing Hamas leaders in southern Gaza for "for as long as necessary."
Haniyeh also said that leaders of Arab nations who meet Blinken should "stress to the US administration that the future and stability" of the region is linked to the "Palestinian cause."
He reiterated Hamas' view that the Palestinian people should have a "completely independent state" with "complete sovereignty."
More on Blinken's trip: Indirect back-channeling to Iran will also be a key focus of Blinken's trip, a senior State Department official said Friday.nThe top US diplomat will make clear to the leaders with whom he meets that the US does not want to see the conflict escalate nor do they intend to escalate it. The US expects that message to then be conveyed to Iran and Iranian proxies through the countries that have a relationship with them, the official said.
The secretary of state met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After going to Greece, he will travel to Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt.
EU's top diplomat says it's "absolutely necessary" Lebanon isn’t "dragged" into regional conflict
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stressed that it is “absolutely necessary” to avoid Lebanon “being dragged into a regional conflict” as the paramilitary group Hezbollah engages in intensifying clashes with Israeli forces across the Lebanese border.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah were further inflamed this week by the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut.
“I am here when we are seeing a worrying intensification of exchange of fire across the blue line in the border between Lebanon and Israel,” Borrell said at a news conference in Beirut on Saturday, speaking alongside Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. “It is imperative to avoid regional escalation in the Middle East.”
Borrell also said the entire international community needs to work toward “change in the Middle East,” adding that “we cannot continue with the deplorable, awful track record of the last year or the last decade” in the region.
Bou Habib also spoke at the news conference, telling reporters that he “strongly reaffirm(s) that peace for Lebanon is essential and that all Lebanese (people) are attached to peace.”
"The Lebanese government is actively seeking to de-escalate" the situation at the border, he said.
Borrell will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, he said at Saturday’s news conference, where he will be discussing “concrete steps that could galvanize a serious international peace effort.”
“Nobody will win from a regional conflict,” he said, referencing growing fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spill into a wider conflict involving Iranian proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.