From CNN's Akanksha Sharma
An Israeli drone targeted and killed “a number of terrorists” who tried to infiltrate Israeli territory from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.
The IDF did not say exactly when the operation took place, but in an update released at 1:55 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday it said it happened “a short while ago.”
No other details about the casualties or the operation were shared.
On Friday, the IDF confirmed it was conducting drone attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Some context: The northern border between Israel and Lebanon remains one of the most important, and dangerous, fault lines in this volatile region.
Following the surprise Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, this frontier – largely calm since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war – is even more charged with consequence.
Any conflict erupting here could pour fuel on the fire of the current Hamas-Israel war by drawing in the most powerful paramilitary group in the Middle East: Iran-backed Hezbollah.
IDF says it has killed a Hamas commander involved in last week's attack
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Tim Lister and Sophie Jeong
Israeli fighter jets killed a Hamas commander involved in last week's attacks during a strike on an operational headquarters used by the militants over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.
“During the strike IDF fighter jets killed Merad Abu Merad, who was the head of the Hamas Aerial System in Gaza City and was largely responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre on Saturday,” the IDF said.
The IDF said its fighter jets also conducted wide-scale strikes throughout the Gaza Strip on Friday against dozens of Hamas targets and “Nukhba” operatives, who were one of the leading forces that breached the border perimeter and led the infiltration into Israel last Saturday.
The Hamas-run Ministry of Interior Affairs confirmed airstrikes hit several regions of Gaza on Friday and early Saturday.
Among the areas hit were the Al Nuseirat refugee camp, regions in Northern Gaza and Al Shanti in Western Gaza, the ministry said in a statement Saturday.
Naval bombardments along the western coast and west of Khan Younis were also reported.
Number of Thai nationals killed in Hamas attack rises to 24
From CNN’s Kocha Olarn in Bangkok
The number of Thai nationals killed in the Hamas attack on Israel has risen to 24, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
The ministry added that the number of Thais injured has risen to 16 and a further 16 Thai nationals are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.
Among the many foreign nationals killed and captured by Hamas were migrant workers from Asia employed in Israel's agricultural, construction and healthcare sectors.
Most of these workers hail from poor, rural families and have no familial links to either Israel or the Palestinian Territories.
Hamas using civilians as "human shields" by trying to stop evacuations, IDF says
From CNN’s Akanksha Sharma and Sophie Jeong
Haas is trying to stop Palestinian civilians from evacuating northern parts of Gaza, turning them into "human shields," Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Saturday.
The IDF on Friday instructed civilians in and around Gaza City – more than 1 million people – to move to southern areas of Gaza.
Conricus said it was “worrying” that Hamas "has stopped" and "tried to stop Palestinian civilians from evacuating" northern Gaza using messages, checkpoints and stops on the ground, according to international media reports.
Asked on CNN whether the evacuation suggested Israel was clearing the way for a ground incursion — and how long the IDF would wait for that — Conricus replied that the IDF would "assess the situation on the ground."
“(We need to) see how many civilians are left in the area. And understand how many of them have been blocked by Hamas from actually evacuating," he said.
"And we've seen active efforts by Hamas to block these people from leaving, which I think is appalling at a whole new level. And once we see that the situation will be permissible for significant combat operations, then they will commence."
He said civilians should leave the area for their own security “and return only when we tell them that it is safe to do so.”
The IDF had seen “significant movement of Palestinian civilians toward the south,” Conricus added, saying Gaza residents were “doing the clever thing, moving out of a dangerous area."
UN says order to evacuate 1.1 million people is "outrageous" and defies "rules of war and basic humanity"
From CNN’s Larry Register
The “order to evacuate 1.1 million people from northern Gaza defies the rules of war and basic humanity," United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has said.
“Gaza is under intense bombardment. Roads and homes have been reduced to rubble. There is nowhere safe to go," Griffiths said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Forcing scared and traumatized civilians, including women and children, to move from one densely populated area to another, without even a pause in the fighting and without humanitarian support, is dangerous and outrageous."
He reiterated that "without safe passage and access to basic services, such mass displacement of civilians will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences and long-term implications.
Remember: Israel has ordered a “complete siege” of crowded Gaza — including halting supplies of electricity, food, water, and fuel — while also bombarding the densely populated territory in retaliation for Hamas' devastating October 7 terror attacks.
At least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed by near-constant shelling in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, including journalists, medics and other civilians.
Prior to the evacuation warning, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced, the UN said in a statement.
A week has passed since Hamas' attacks on Israel. Here's what you need to know
From CNN Staff
A week has passed since Hamas' attacks on Israel, and it is still unclear whether Israel has plans to launch a ground assault into Gaza.
Israel has carried out heavy airstrikes on Gaza and signaled there is more to come. It is also tightening a chokehold on the territory even as a humanitarian crisis unfolds.
Israel has told more than a million people in Gaza to evacuate southward ahead of a potential Israeli ground operation, according to the United Nations. Many in the enclave left their homes on Friday, but people are running out of places to take cover as Gaza turns to a wasteland from Israeli bombardment.
Here's where things stand:
- Offensive action from Israel: In addition to continued airstrikes, Israeli troops have carried out local raids over the past day in the Gaza Strip, searching for hostagesand collecting evidence to find people taken by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces said. Meanwhile, Israel has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along the Gaza border for a potential full ground operation. Israel has also been accused by the Palestinian Ministry of Health of the "targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression."
- Humanitarian concerns: The UN said the calls for the evacuation of 1.1 million people in Gaza are “impossible” and has urged the Israeli military to withdraw, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general. Dujarric said such a mass evacuation would have "devastating humanitarian consequences."
- What Hamas is saying: A senior Hamas official said Friday that the current situation in Gaza represents "an extraordinarily audacious and brutal endeavor to forcibly remove the Palestinian indigenous people from their land." The official called Israel's actions in Gaza "inhumane" and "barbaric," adding that Hamas "will not surrender our legitimate fight for freedom and self-determination."
- International input: The White House says national security officials held calls with United Nations officials on Thursday and Friday about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but declined to offer details about progress on getting foreign nationals out of the area. Vassily Nebenzia, the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, is circulating a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a ceasefire in the "Israel-Gaza" war. Hamas said in a statement Saturday morning that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.
- Attacks in Lebanon: Israel is conducting drone attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. It comes after the Israeli military shelled southern Lebanon in response to an explosion at a security fence near the Lebanese-Israeli border earlier Friday, the IDF said. There are rising fears of the Lebanon-based Shia militant faction Hezbollah entering the conflict.
- Concerns about a wider regional conflict: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country is “extremely concerned” about the conflict in Israel spreading and that it is working to de-escalate the situation. Of Israel's immediate neighbors, it is only at peace with Jordan and Egypt, and is officially in a state of war with Lebanon and Syria. Israel has said it is ready in case there are attacks from those two countries.
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Hamas welcomes Russia's offer for mediation, praises Putin's position
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury
Hamas, the militant Islamic group that governs Gaza, said in a statement Saturday morning (local time) that it welcomes "Russia's tireless efforts" aimed at stopping Israel's aggression against the territory.
"[We] appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin's position regarding the ongoing Zionist aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, the cutting of relief supplies, and the targeting of safe civilians there," the statement read.
What Putin has said: On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged both sides in the fighting between Israel and Hamas to "minimize or reduce to zero" civilian casualties, and the Foreign Ministry in Moscow made similar calls for calm on Friday.
His comments come as Russia continues a ruthless war campaign against Ukraine and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. That case includes, among other things, allegations of targeting civilians.
In addition to Putin's comments, the Russian envoy to the UN circulated a resolution calling for a ceasefire Friday.
Remember: Israel has ordered a “complete siege” on the crowded Gaza Strip — including halting supplies of electricity, food, water, and fuel — while also bombarding the densely populated territory in retaliation for Hamas' devastating October 7 terror attacks. At least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed by near-constant shelling in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, including journalists, medics and other civilians. The dead include 614 children and 370 women, says the ministry.
White House says it discussed humanitarian situation in Gaza with UN, but offers few details
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal and Kayla Tausche
The White House says national security officials held calls with United Nations officials on Thursday and Friday about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but declined to offer details about progress on getting foreign nationals out of the area.
On Thursday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres “discussed Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack against Israel and the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the White House said in a readout of the calls.
On Friday, principal deputy national security advisor Jon Finer and USAID Administrator Samantha Power spoke with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland about the crisis, and ongoing efforts with Egypt, Israel, and other regional players to help civilians move around Gaza safely and facilitate humanitarian assistance — including water, food and medical care, the statement said.
Separately, the National Security Council declined to comment to CNN about whether the calls secured the ability for foreign nationals to cross from Gaza into Egypt.
Remember: Israel has ordered a “complete siege” on the Hamas-run enclave — including halting supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel — while also bombarding the densely populated territory in retaliation for Hamas' devastating October 7 terror attacks.
Americans in Gaza: US officials have said they are working on "potential options for departure" for American citizens living in Gaza but have not provided further details. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said the US was in talks with Egypt and Israel about establishing a humanitarian corridor at the Egypt-controlled Rafah border crossing for Americans and other civilians in Gaza to leave amid Israel's day-after-day airstrikes.
Palestinian-Americans previously told CNN that they feel trapped in Gaza and have received little help from the US Embassy.
Biden: "We're working like hell" to get missing Americans back
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
President Joe Biden says the US is “working like hell” to get Americans missing from Israel back to the United States.
“I say we're going to do everything in our power to find them,” Biden said in a CBS News interview clip that aired Friday.
While Biden said he can't disclose details of the efforts, the president said his message to those holding Americans hostage is that the US is doing "everything in our power."
When asked why he felt so strongly about speaking personally to the families of the missing Americans, Biden said it's because "they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about what's happening."
"We have to communicate to the rest of the world, this is critical," Biden added. "This is not even human behavior. It's pure barbarism.”