May 19, 2024 - Israel-Gaza news

US President Joe Biden said he has called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza while delivering a commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

"What's happening in Gaza and Israel is heartbreaking," he said.

"It's a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," the president said. "That's why I've called for an immediate ceasefire — an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting and bring the hostages home."

Some context: Biden is speaking at the graduation ceremony for one of the nation's preeminent historically Black colleges. His speech comes after pro-Palestinian protests have roiled college campuses elsewhere across the country for weeks.

Read more about Biden's speech here.

The Israeli military says its forces are fighting and carrying out strikes across Gaza

From Michael Schwartz in Jerusalem 

The Israel Defense Forces has given further details of its ground operations around the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, now into their second week.

The IDF said it has made dozens of strikes in the area to assist the forces who are fighting "armed terrorist cells" on the ground.

The military said "the soldiers have located large quantities of weapons, including explosives, anti-tank missiles, AK-47s, drones and grenades."

The Israeli military has re-entered parts of northern and central Gaza, it says, to combat efforts by Hamas to re-establish itself in these areas.

Reports from the ground: Displaced Palestinians in Jabalya tell CNN that heavy Israeli bombardment has wrought "death and horror" at the camp. Some 300 houses were completely destroyed over the course of seven days, according to Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense emergency services in Gaza.

Bassal's teams had recovered at least 150 bodies and rescued hundreds of wounded people at the refugee camp as of Saturday, he told CNN.

In southern Gaza: The IDF said the Israeli Air Force killed a senior Hamas operative in Rafah. The IDF claims he was actively involved in the smuggling of weapons and funds in the Gaza Strip.

Overall, the IDF said the Air Force had struck dozens of targets, including what it claimed were "two tactical-level Hamas commanders who were preparing to attack IDF troops in the Rafah area."

What to know Sunday as Israeli bombardment leaves dozens dead, and the nation's war cabinet faces an ultimatum

From CNN staff

At least 35 people, including seven children and nine women were killed in an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza in the early hours of Sunday, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said.

The hospital said the death toll from the strike in Nuseirat camp steadily rose as more bodies were brought in. It appears many of the casualties resulted from the destruction of a block of houses in the area.

Video showed civil defense teams pulling bodies from the rubble, but without heavy equipment to move the larger parts of the wreckage.

The strike on the camp comes as areas in northern Gaza have also come under constant Israeli bombardment.

If you're just joining our coverage, here's what to know this Sunday:

• Strikes in the north: A journalist working for CNN in Gaza reported that several strikes have hit the north of the enclave since Saturday night, as a hospital director there warns of "difficult and harsh" conditions. The journalist said at least six people were killed in Israeli shelling on a house in the Daraj neighborhood, which lies east of Gaza City. Three others were killed, and a number of people injured, in the shelling of a school in the same area.
• "Dire" food access in Gaza: A United Nations humanitarian agency said in a report released Friday that Gaza is facing a "dire" food situation as barely 300 aid trucks have entered the strip since Israel began invading Rafah. Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7, causing aid deliveries to be halted there. The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 3,000 "metric tons of food in main warehouses have become inaccessible by food security partners due to ongoing hostilities."

Meanwhile, in Israel:

• Benny Gantz threatens to quit: Former Israeli defense minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz is demanding that the cabinet lays out a plan for the war against Hamas by June 8. In the remarks, made on Saturday night, Gantz warned if his demands are not met, he will withdraw from the government.
• Body of Shani Louk returned: The parents of Shani Louk, the German-Israeli woman who was killed while trying to escape the Nova music festival on October 7, have expressed gratitude at being able to lay her body to rest after it was recovered from the Gaza Strip in an Israel Defense Forces operation. Louk, 23, attended the Nova music festival just inside Israel before it was attacked by gunmen from Palestinian militant group Hamas. Her lifeless body was seen in video on the back of a Hamas truck after the attack.

Israeli strikes pound northern Gaza, journalist says, as hospital director warns of dwindling supplies

From Abdul Qader Sabbah in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, Mohammad Al Sawalhi in central Gaza, Abeer Salman, and CNN's Sarah Sirgany and Tim Lister

A journalist working for CNN in northern Gaza has reported several strikes on the region since Saturday night, while a hospital director in the enclave's north has warned of "difficult and harsh" conditions.

The journalist said six people had been killed as a result of Israeli forces shelling a house in the Daraj neighborhood east of Gaza City and three more had been killed — and a number wounded — in the shelling of a school in the same area. 

Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told CNN Sunday that with Al-Awda Hospital under siege, his was the only facility in the north providing all health services. Abu Safiya said that since Saturday, the hospital had received around 60 bodies and more than 200 injured people as he warned that "medical supplies are dwindling," and people have died from injuries due to the scarcity of supplies.

He also said the hospital was short of staff and fuel stocks were low. He said the hospital had received a number of bodies from Jabalya refugee camp — and alleged that Israeli forces had targeted ambulances, meaning that injured people had died because they could not be brought to the hospital. 

"These are difficult and harsh circumstances," Abu Safiya said. "Shelling in the vicinity of the hospital is around the clock (and) has scared and unsettled the hospital staff."

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for an update on operations in the north. The IDF has previously rejected allegations that it targets ambulances.

Israeli airstrike on refugee camp in central Gaza kills at least 35 people, hospital says

From Abdul Qader Sabbah in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, Mohammad Al Sawalhi in central Gaza, Abeer Salman, and CNN's Sarah Sirgany and Tim Lister

An airstrike in central Gaza in the early hours of Sunday killed 35 people, including seven children and nine women, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

The hospital said the death toll from the strike in Nuseirat camp had steadily risen as more bodies were brought in. It appears many of the casualties resulted from the destruction of a block of houses in the area. Video showed civil defense teams pulling bodies from the rubble, but without heavy equipment to move the larger parts of the wreckage.

One woman, Um Mohammad Taha, told CNN Sunday that five houses had collapsed, including her sister's, and that many were buried under the rubble, including children.

"The same happened to my family seven months ago," she added, when a strike had killed her 65 year-old mother and other family members. "I am injured, my house is gone. We are not alive, we are dying slowly. Where is justice?"

Mahomoud Abu Bilal told CNN that the strike occurred around 3 a.m., and that some 25 bodies from four or five families had been pulled from the rubble.

CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for a response on the airstrike in Nuseirat.

Protesters use giant ballot box to block Jerusalem traffic

From CNN's Michael Schwartz

Protesters calling for immediate elections have used a large copy of a ballot box to block the main highway leading into Jerusalem.

A small number of protesters placed the obstruction on the road Sunday morning, according to social media video. They held a sign saying "The Government of Neglect."

Israeli police said they were called to the site of the incident near the Chords Bridge, "following a disturbance that began there, while blocking part of the road and placing a huge display on a main road in violation of the law - an act that poses a danger to road users." Police said some of the protesters had chained themselves to the ballot box.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership has become increasingly embattled since October 7, with thousands taking to the streets in recent months to protest his government.

Many are angry that Netanyahu has not secured the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas. Demonstrators have been calling for his resignation and for Israel to hold new elections.

The latest protest came the day after former Israeli defense minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz threatened to resign from the government unless the cabinet lays out a plan for the war against Hamas by June 8.

"She can rest": Shani Louk's parents grateful after their daughter's body is returned from Gaza

From CNN's Sophie Tanno

The parents of Shani Louk, the German-Israeli woman who was killed while trying to escape the Nova music festival on October 7, have expressed their gratitude at being able to lay her body to rest after it was recovered from the Gaza Strip in an Israel Defense Forces operation.

"I was relieved, because we didn't know where she was," Shani's father, Nissim Louk, said during an interview with i24 News. "Maybe they threw her into a well or maybe she's buried somewhere."

He continued: "Yesterday we got all the answers and we closed this loop. We are happy that now she will have her own place next to us, and we can go there whenever we want, and she can rest."

Nissim had previously told Israeli media that his daughter's body was very well-preserved because it had been kept in a "deep and very cold tunnel."

Louk's remains were retrieved alongside the bodies of two others who were taken hostage on October 7 and killed while escaping the music festival: Amit Bouskila and Itshak Gelernter.

CNN analyst and Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an IDF spokesperson, reporte  the bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza.

Louk, 23, attended the Nova music festival just inside Israel before it was attacked by gunmen from Palestinian militant group Hamas. Her lifeless body was seen in video on the back of a Hamas truck after the attack.

She was declared dead by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late October. A source involved with her identification told CNN Louk's death was announced after forensic examiners found a bone fragment from her skull.

Two soldiers killed in southern Gaza, Israel Defense Forces says

From Michael Schwartz in Jerusalem

The Israel Defense Forces says that two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Gaza on Saturday.

The two soldiers were killed by a blast in the Rafah area, while an officer and two other troops were severely wounded, according to the IDF.

The soldiers killed were named as Nachman Meir Haim Vaknin and Noam Batan, who were both 20-year old Master Sergeants belonging to the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit.

The latest deaths bring the toll among Israeli soldiers since the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and operations on the border began to 282.

Saudi crown prince meets with US national security advisor

From CNN's Lucas Lilieholm

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday in the eastern city of Dhahran, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

During the meeting they discussed regional developments, including the situation in Gaza, "the need to stop the war," and how to find a "credible track towards the two-state solution," SPA reported.

The press agency also reported that Sullivan and bin Salman discussed the "semi-final version" of draft strategic agreements between Saudi Arabia and the US, which it describes as "almost being finalised."