Hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops are being mobilized near Gaza. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
A humanitarian crisis is rapidly unfolding in Gaza as it faces a relentless Israeli bombardment. Hospitals are overwhelmed and experiencing shortages of drugs, medical supplies and electricity, Médecins Sans Frontières warned.
Israel has formed an emergency government and war management cabinet in the wake of Hamas' surprise attacks on border communities, and hundreds of thousands of Israeli ground troops have gathered near the Gaza Strip.
Former defense minister Benny Gantz will join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a wartime cabinet. “There is time for war and time for peace. This, now, is the time for war,” Gantz said Wednesday during a televised address.
Meantime, talks are underway to allow US and Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza through Egypt as a land invasion looms, a senior Israeli official said. Several other countries are sending flights to evacuate their citizens.
Here's what to know:
The latest death toll: At least 1,100 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began airstrikes in response to Hamas' attacks, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said. Israel has reported at least 1,200 people have been killed since Saturday. Israel amassed more than 300,000 reservists along its southern border, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.
Horrifying details: More gruesome details are emerging from the scenes of Hamas' assault on border communities. Houses in Israeli kibbutz Kfar Aza were ransacked and set ablaze. Overturned mattresses, destroyed furniture, broken trinkets and unexploded grenades lay strewn across the grounds, along with bodies. Babies and toddlers were found with their “heads decapitated," a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said — a claim Hamas has denied. US President Joe Biden also weighed in on the atrocities. "I never really thought that I would see it and have confirmed pictures of terrorist beheading children,” he said.
Hamas preparations: Hamas militants had been preparing for the attack for two years, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon said. Ali Baraka, head of Hamas National Relations Abroad, said the group manufactured rockets, various ammunition and firearms, according to an edited interview with Russia Today’s Arabic news channel RTArabic.
Involvement of Iran?: Intelligence collected by the United States casts doubt on the idea that Tehran was directly involved in the planning, sourcing and approving of Hamas' attack on Israel, sources said. Though the intelligence community is not ready to reach a full conclusion, government officials have pointed to Iran's support for Hamas, including weapons and financing, that would have helped them even if not in a direct way.
Saudi diplomacy: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia "is making unremitting efforts" to stop the escalation in fighting in Israel, according to Saudi state-run SPA news. The crown prince held a phone call with Iran’s President Ebrahim Rais — the first call since both countries renewed diplomatic ties, an Iranian presidential aide said. The leaders discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the aide said.
Warnings from the US: The State Department is asking Americans to reconsider traveling to Israel in the wake of the weekend’s deadly Hamas attacks by raising its travel advisory to "Level 3: Reconsider Travel." Federal agencies are also warning of the potential of attacks in the US, citing the pervasiveness of antisemitism in violent extremist groups.
Working to rescue hostages: The US is working closely with Israel to get American hostages home safely. FBI and Pentagon personnel are on the ground in Israel providing support to Israeli special operators. An interagency team from the State Department, National Security Council, and FBI is also receiving input about people missing or deceased, a US official said.
American who hid under bodies as Hamas attacked music festival describes the gruesome horror
From CNN's Sharif Paget
Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Lee Sasi, 25, hid under bodies in a bomb shelter for seven hours after Hamas attacked a music festival near the Israeli border with Gaza on Saturday.
Sasi, who told CNN's Jake Tapper she's a US citizen from California, went to the Nova Festival with some family members to support her cousin who was DJ'ing.
The attack began at 6:30 a.m. and "hell broke loose," Sasi said.
"We had to run for our lives. We saw rockets shooting in the air so we ran to the car and we went to the nearest bomb shelter that was down the street outside of the festival," she said.
There were about 35 to 40 people in the bomb shelter huddling for safety, she said, and Hamas terrorists fired weapons and threw grenades into the shelter.
Hours later, when they were rescued, only nine to 10 people came out alive, she said.
"My soul was shattered ... I can't even cry because it's like my tears are frozen from what I saw," Sasi said.
Sasi said she witnessed her uncle and a woman in the shelter get hit by grenades.
"I saw so many things that I can't even explain. I saw guts, I had flesh all over my body. We had to bury ourselves under these dead corpses to protect ourselves from these grenades that were hitting, and from the rifles and the RPG," she said.
"I was in shock. I couldn't even cry. I was in survival mode," she added.
In a video Sasi recorded in the shelter, people can be seen crammed together and what appear to be bullet piercings are seen in one of the shelter's walls. Half the people near that wall were dying, she said.
Survivors are heartbroken.
"The people that survived with us can't even speak," she said. "They're not eating. They're not sleeping."
Sasi's cousin, who hid in a different shelter, was killed when he attempted to flee, she said.
Father of American killed at Israeli festival was able to see how Hamas killed his daughter
From CNN’s Erin Burnett and Sara Smart, Yon Pomrenze and Ben Finley
Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.
The father of a 24-year-old American who was killed during the Hamas attack on a music festival in Israel held out hope that his daughter was only taken hostage and not killed during the attacks.
Danielle Waldman, who was born in Palo Alto, California, was attending the music festival with her boyfriend of six years when they both were killed during the Hamas attack, Eyal Waldman told CNN.
Eyal had found out just hours before speaking to CNN's Erin Burnett that his daughter was among those killed.
"Each and everyone that met her have loved her,” Eyal said. “She’s done nothing wrong and nothing bad to anyone.”
By using the tracking feature on her phone and Apple watch, her family was able to find the location where Eyal's youngest daughter was killed. He explained the scene as a car that looked like it was surrounded and attacked by Hamas.
“I have seen exactly how she was murdered from two directions by at least three to five people that had attacked it,” he said. "From the shells that we have found, there were at least three guns that were shooting at the car."
Eyal explained the last time he spoke with Danielle she mentioned how she and her boyfriend had decided they would get married soon. Now they will be buried together.
The two had just moved into a new apartment about a month ago with a dog they share.
“They had only been there for a few weeks, now we will need to see what to do with all their belongings,” Eyal said.
“Israel will stay strong and be strong for the long term,” He added.
Canadian citizen “brutally taken” and murdered by Hamas, Jewish Federation of Ottawa says
From CNN’s Jared Formanek
A Canadian citizen was “brutally taken” and murdered by Hamas while she was living in a small Israeli community near the Gaza border, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa (JFO) told CNN affiliate CTV.
Adi Vital-Kaploun, a 33-year-old dual Canadian-Israeli citizen, was killed by Hamas in Israel, CTV reported.
JFO CEO Andrea Freedman read a statement from Vital-Kaploun’s family on Wednesday in a news conference.
"Adi loved her country of Israel... Adi also loved Canada and was a proud Canadian citizen from a local Ottawa family with deep community ties," the statement said. "Our family lost a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, a cousin," Freedman continued. "Her children are miraculously home and safe, but she is not. She was murdered by terrorists in her home just for being Jewish."
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Wednesday that he was devastated to learn that Vital-Kaploun was killed. Sutcliffe said he had been in contact with her family members to offer his deepest condolences on behalf of Ottawa residents.
JFO said it would not disclose details on the circumstances of her death because it wanted to world to know Vital-Kaploun for "who she was, not for how she was brutally taken from her family, from her friends,” Freedman said.
Iran and Saudi leaders hold first phone conversation since renewing diplomatic ties, Iranian official says
From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan and Tamara Qiblawi
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman held their first phone call since both countries renewed diplomatic ties, an Iranian presidential aide said Wednesday.
During the call, both leaders discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “the need to end war crimes,” as well as Islamic unity, Raisi’s deputy for political affairs, Mohammad Jamshidi, said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
Here's what the US is doing to try to rescue Americans taken hostage by Hamas
From CNN's MJ Lee, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez and Jennifer Hansler,
The Biden administration is still searching for concrete details about the condition of the handful of Americans believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas, including exactly how many the group may be holding captive in Gaza, or if they are currently being held in one place, a US official told CNN.
As the Biden administration continues its work to support Israel and move military assets into the region, US officials across the government are furiously working behind the scenes to piece together an accurate picture on the ground.
In remarks to a roundtable with members of the Jewish community at the White House Wednesday, President Joe Biden pledged the full force of his administration's commitment to rescuing hostages, saying that while "we're working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel," if he relayed in detail what steps the administration was taking, "I wouldn't be able to get them home."
Further complicating the situation, US officials say, is that Hamas consists of numerous and often competing subgroups and militias that all operate in Gaza. Before the US can put together a plan to recover hostages, officials first have to figure out which of those Hamas sub-groups may be holding them, and for what reason.
Here's what is happening: The US is working closely with Israel, with FBI and Pentagon personnel on the ground in Israel providing support to Israeli special operators.
An interagency team of US officials from the State Department, National Security Council, and FBI is also receiving input about the Americans who are missing or deceased in Israel, a US official said.
FBI hostage negotiators and agents are talking to family members, getting proof of life information that can be used in the investigation and for possible questions to be asked if hostage takers reach out. These include members of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, which has extensive experience in helping to resolve hostage incidents, including in war zones from Afghanistan to Iraq and across the Middle East.
The agents are "prepping family members in case that phone call comes in or text message from the hostage-takers or from their family member who is being held," one official said. "That's hugely important, they have to know what to say if they get that call."
Read more about the efforts to bring home American hostages here.
Biden calls UAE president to discuss situation in Gaza and Israel
From CNN's DJ Judd
US President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan “to discuss the terrorist attacks on Israel,” according to the White House.
“The President stressed his condemnation of Hamas’s terror and his warning against anyone who might seek to exploit the current situation,” the White House said in a readout of the call. “The two leaders also discussed the importance of ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches those in need.”
Al Nahyan and Biden also discussed the importance of coordination among international parties in calling for "restraint and immediate de-escalation" as rising violence gravely threatens regional security and stability, the UAE state-run WAM news agency reported.
Earlier Wednesday, Biden told Jewish community members during a roundtable at the White House that he’d been in touch with a number of his foreign counterparts following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Saturday. “There are countries in the region that are trying to be of some help, including Arab nations trying to do so,” he told participants.
US State Department warns Americans to reconsider travel to Israel
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The US State Department is warning Americans to reconsider travel to Israel in the wake of the weekend’s deadly Hamas attacks.
The agency raised its travel advisory level on Wednesday to "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" due to civil unrest and terrorism, advising that “the situation in Israel remains dynamic; mortar and rocket fire may take place without warning.”
“Individuals should follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials,” an updated travel advisory said.
“While Ben Gurion International Airport remains open, we are aware that several major airlines have announced that they have suspended flights,” the advisory states. “Please check with the airlines on the availability of flights and flight status. U.S. citizens in Gaza who wish to leave and can do so safely are advised to check the status of the Rafah Crossing into Egypt.”
The travel advisory for the West Bank has also been raised to level 3, while the advisory for Gaza remains at the most severe – "Level 4: Do Not Travel."
Biden offers warning to Iran to "be careful" following Hamas' attack on Israel
From CNN's Donald Judd
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued a stark warning to Iran to “be careful” around its actions in the region following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
During a roundtable roundtable with Jewish community leaders on the administration’s efforts to provide support for Israel, Biden stressed the assistance that the US is providing, adding that he's been frequently speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US is "surging additional military assistance to the Israeli Defense Force including ammunition, interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome, we moved the US carrier fleet to the eastern Mediterranean and are sending more fighter jets there, to that region, and made it clear, made it clear to the Iranians – be careful," Biden said.
In his remarks, Biden also addressed reports of the atrocities committed by Hamas.
“It matters that Americans see what's happening – I mean, I have been doing this a long time, I never really thought that I would see it and have confirmed pictures of terrorist beheading children," Biden said.
Biden pledged the full force of his administration’s commitment to rescuing hostages in Hamas custody, telling the group that while “we're working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel,” if he relayed in detail what steps the administration was taking, “I wouldn’t be able to get them home.”
“Folks, there's a lot we're doing -- a lot we're doing, I have not given up hope of bringing these folks home,” he said. “But the idea that I'm going to stand here before you and tell you what I'm doing is bizarre, so I hope you understand how bizarre I think it would be to try to answer that question.”
Some context on Iran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by phone on Sunday and later congratulated the Palestinian people for their “victory” over Israel.
On Monday, however, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that the Islamic Republic was “not involved in Palestine’s response,” referring to the Hamas attack. “It is taken solely by Palestine itself,” it said.
Israel says Iran supports Hamas to the tune of some $100 million a year. The US State Department in 2021 said that the group receives funding, weapons, and training from Iran, as well as some funds that are raised in Gulf Arab countries.
The United States has collected specific intelligence that suggests senior Iranian government officials were caught by surprise by Saturday’s attack, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.
The existence of the intelligence has cast doubt on the idea that Iran was directly involved in the planning, resourcing or approving of the operation, the sources said.