Israeli military dog captured hostages' voices on camera days before they were killed by friendly fire
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis, Sugam Pokharel and Andrew Carey
The voices of three Israeli hostages who were accidentally killed by Israeli troops in Gaza were captured on a GoPro camera mounted on a military dog five days before they were shot, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday.
The video, located by the IDF on Tuesday, shows the recording took place during a military exchange between Israeli forces and Hamas militants at a site where the hostages were being held, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a daily news briefing. The dog was killed in the exchange.
“You can hear voices, and when we analyzed the clip, we understood that in the audio we can hear the three hostages, fully vocally identified,” Hagari said.
He did not provide details about what the three hostages — Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka — could be heard saying.
The militants who held the three men were killed during the fighting, which appears to have allowed the captives to flee, Hagari said, citing an initial IDF analysis of the GoPro video.
Israel is reeling from the IDF’s admission that it killed the hostages on Friday. The three men had been taken captured by Hamas during the group’s October 7 terror attack.
Asked when Israel should move to a less intensive phase of its war with Hamas, Biden pointed to the negotiations at the UN as a reason not to give a firm answer.
"We’re negotiating right now at the UN the contours of a resolution...a resolution that we may be able to agree to," he told reporters Wednesday. "That's still going on. I'll be happy to talk to you after that."
Multiple UN agencies are backing calls for a stop in fighting as they warn of the dire humanitarian situation in the strip. It comes after the wider UN General Assembly voted last week to demand an immediate ceasefire, in a rebuke to the US, which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council.
Biden's comments Wednesday suggest US support remains an unresolved matter inside the White House.
Here are the latest headlines:
More UN warnings: The head of the United Nations' health agency on Thursday warned of the “toxic mix of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene and sanitation” faced by people in Gaza as he called for an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said intense fighting is impeding efforts to provide life-saving aid to people and called for "conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations" to be "reestablished immediately."
US push: The conflict between Israel and Hamas “needs to move to a lower intensity phase,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. Blinken’s comments echo what Biden administration officials have told Israel privately, CNN previously reported, which is that the US wants Israel to shift to a lower-intensity phase of the war in the next several weeks. Meanwhile, Blinken also called out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender.
Hostages latest: Hamas' political chief is in Egypt for talks on the war. The visit comes after Israel proposed a pause in fighting in exchange for the release of about 40 hostages, although an Israeli official said they were not near a deal yet.
On the ground: Videos published Wednesday show heavy airstrikes in the Jabalya area of northern Gaza, where the Hamas-controlled health ministry said at least 46 people were killed. Also, several videos from the Rafah area of southern Gaza show a series of powerful explosions. Journalists on the ground said the blasts were caused by Israeli airstrikes and that several people were killed. The videos, which have been geolocated by CNN, show extensive damage to what appears to be a residential building.
Tunnel videos: The Israeli military on Wednesday released videos it says show a network of tunnels in Gaza City. The army said it uncovered the network after securing operational control over a plaza in the city center. The videos purport to show a series of tunnel shafts and access points leading underground.
Border exchanges: One man was killed by Israeli fire, Lebanon’s National News Agency said, following fresh exchanges between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants across the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military helicopters with surface-to-air missiles and launched attacks on several other locations along the border. The Israeli military said artillery and tanks struck several locations in Lebanon in response to incoming fire.
1 hr 30 min ago
Gaza residents face "toxic" combination of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene, WHO chief warns
From CNN’s Akanksha Sharma
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a press briefing at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva on December 15. Lian Yi/Xinhua/Getty Images
The head of the United Nations' health agency on Thursday warned of the “toxic mix of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene and sanitation” faced by people in Gaza as he called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas.
"Hunger weakens the body’s defenses and opens the door to disease," World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Gaza is already experiencing soaring rates of infectious disease outbreaks. Diarrhoea cases among children aged under 5 are 25 times what they were before the conflict," he said. "Such illnesses can be lethal for malnourished children, more so in the absence of functioning health services. We need a ceasefire now."
Tedros' comments come amid multiple calls from UN agencies for a pause in fighting to help relief efforts in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that intense fighting is impeding efforts to assist people in Gaza. He called for “conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations” to be "reestablished immediately.”
On Wednesday, the World Food Programme said half of Gaza's population is starving and residents are often going entire days without eating. Meanwhile, UNICEF warned Tuesday that children and families “are not safe in hospitals” in Gaza as the enclave’s wider health care system teeters on the edge of collapse.
Last week, the wider UN General Assembly voted to demand an immediate ceasefire, in a rebuke to the US, which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council.
1 hr 29 min ago
Blinken calls out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender and "stop hiding behind civilians"
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Blinken speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, December 20, at the State Department in Washington, DC. Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender.
“What is striking to me is that even as, again, we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see, I hear virtually no one saying – demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that,” Blinken said during a press briefing at the State Department Wednesday.
“How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victim,” Blinken went on to say.
Thestrongcomments from Blinken come as the United Nations Security Council continues to negotiate a resolution calling for a suspension in fighting and encouraging more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered Gaza Strip, and as the United States’ support for the resolution remains unresolved.
UN secretary-general warns "intense fighting" is impeding life-saving aid to Gaza
From CNN's Akanksha Sharma
Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City on December 8. Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images/File
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that intense fighting is impeding efforts to assist people in Gaza.
“Intense fighting, lack of electricity, limited fuel & disrupted telecommunications severely restrict the @UN 's concerted efforts to provide life-saving aid to people in Gaza,” Guterres wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Guterres called for “conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations” to be "reestablished immediately.”
2 hr 54 min ago
Israel says it uncovered "substantial, elaborate" network of tunnels used by Hamas in Gaza City
From CNN staff
The Israeli military on Wednesday released videos it says show a network of tunnels in the center of Gaza City.
The army said it uncovered the network after securing operational control over Palestine Square, a plaza in the city center. The videos purport to show a series of tunnel shafts and access points leading underground.
In one video, a camera descends a long ladder before proceeding along a narrow, arched hallway to reach a blast door.
In a different video, a camera descends a long spiral staircase into another tunnel. In one clip, a passageway to the tunnel network, hidden behind an electricity box, is identified.
Several of the tunnel shafts appear to have been demolished, which the Israeli military said had been done by Hamas fighters.
In a briefing with journalists, Israeli army spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the tunnels were a “substantial, elaborate network of interconnected command control positions.”
“What we're doing today is revealing layer by layer the extent of Hamas’ terror tunnel network. It is the most expensive, expansive construction project ever to exist in the Gaza Strip,” Lerner said.
Within the tunnels, Israeli forces found food, water, electric infrastructure, and communications capabilities, Lerner said.
It is not possible for CNN to immediately verify all the Israeli military’s claims.
4 hr 45 min ago
Israel and Cyprus close to deal on maritime corridor for aid to Gaza, Israeli foreign ministry says
From CNN's Caitlin Danaher and Tamar Michaelis
Israel and Cyprus have come a step closer to agreeing on the creation of a maritime corridor that would allow goods to bypass Israel on the way to Gaza, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The maritime corridor would allow “the direct transfer of humanitarian aid and goods to the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
If the corridor goes ahead as planned, it would be the first time Israel has eased its sea blockade on Gaza since it was imposed in 2007 when Hamas took control.
On a diplomatic trip to Cyprus, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen along with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos visited the port of Larnaca, which is situated around 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Gaza. It is expected to be the starting point of the corridor, according to the statement.
Cohen said the goods will be subject to a security inspection at Larnaca that will be carried out “in coordination with Israel.”
The corridor could be used as an axis for the transfer of humanitarian aid in the coming weeks, Cohen added.
The minister stressed that the creation of the maritime corridor to Gaza will “help Israel's economic disengagement from the strip.”
4 hr 48 min ago
Israel and Hezbollah report fresh exchange of fire along border
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Charbel Mallo and Maija Ehlinger
There were fresh exchanges between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants across the Lebanon-Israel border on Wednesday.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military helicopters with surface-to-air missiles and also launched attacks on several other locations along the border, including Margaliot, near the town of Kiryat Shmona.
The Israeli military said artillery and tanks struck several locations in Lebanon in response to incoming fire. One man was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on the Lebanese border town of Kafr Kila, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.
"We are not returning to how things were beforehand," Israel’s Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said during a visit to the border area.
The remark is an indication that Israel remains focused on its perceived need to rebuild deterrence in the north of the country as well as in the south.
59 min ago
Voices of hostages killed in Gaza by Israeli troops captured on IDF dog camera, spokesperson says
From Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv and CNN's Sugam Pokharel
The three hostages killed are identified as, from left to right, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer Talalka. Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The voices of the three hostages who were accidentally killed by Israeli troops were captured on a GoPro camera mounted on an Israeli military dog five days before they were shot, a military spokesperson said.
The video, located by Israeli forces on Tuesday, shows the recording took place during an exchange between Israeli forces and Hamas militants at a site where the three hostages were being held, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at his daily press briefing. The dog was killed in the exchange.
“You can hear voices, and when we analyzed the clip, we understood that in the audio we can hear the three hostages, fully vocally identified,” Hagari said.
He did not provide details about what the hostages were saying.
The militants who held the three hostages were killed during the fighting, which appears to have allowed the hostages to flee, Hagari said, citing an initial Israel Defense Forces analysis of the video.
Israel is reeling from the IDF’s admission that it shot and killed three hostages in Gaza on Friday. They had been taken hostage by Hamas during the group’s October 7 terror attack.
On Saturday, an IDF official said they emerged from a building tens of meters away from a group of Israeli troops. They were shirtless and were waving a white flag, according to the official, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about an ongoing investigation.
At least one soldier felt threatened and opened fire, killing two of the men immediately. The third was wounded and ran back inside the building. The Israeli unit overheard a cry for help in Hebrew, at which time the brigade commander ordered his troops to stop shooting. However, there was another burst of gunfire. The third hostage died later.
CNN's Richard Allen Greene and Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting to this post.
Multiple UN agencies are backing calls for a ceasefire. The WHO chief warned of the "toxic mix of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene and sanitation," in Gaza, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres said intense fighting is impeding efforts to provide life-saving aid.
Israel said it is close to defeating Hamas in its final strongholds in northern Gaza. Israeli strikes on the Jabalya refugee camp in the north killed dozens of people, a Hamas-run ministry said.
Israel's military released videos it says show a "substantial, elaborate" network of tunnels in Gaza City. The army said it uncovered the network after securing control over a plaza in the city center.
The voices of three Israeli hostages who were accidentally killed by Israeli troops in Gaza were captured on a GoPro camera mounted on a military dog five days before they were shot, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday.
The video, located by the IDF on Tuesday, shows the recording took place during a military exchange between Israeli forces and Hamas militants at a site where the hostages were being held, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a daily news briefing. The dog was killed in the exchange.
“You can hear voices, and when we analyzed the clip, we understood that in the audio we can hear the three hostages, fully vocally identified,” Hagari said.
He did not provide details about what the three hostages — Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka — could be heard saying.
The militants who held the three men were killed during the fighting, which appears to have allowed the captives to flee, Hagari said, citing an initial IDF analysis of the GoPro video.
Israel is reeling from the IDF’s admission that it killed the hostages on Friday. The three men had been taken captured by Hamas during the group’s October 7 terror attack.
Asked when Israel should move to a less intensive phase of its war with Hamas, Biden pointed to the negotiations at the UN as a reason not to give a firm answer.
"We’re negotiating right now at the UN the contours of a resolution...a resolution that we may be able to agree to," he told reporters Wednesday. "That's still going on. I'll be happy to talk to you after that."
Multiple UN agencies are backing calls for a stop in fighting as they warn of the dire humanitarian situation in the strip. It comes after the wider UN General Assembly voted last week to demand an immediate ceasefire, in a rebuke to the US, which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council.
Biden's comments Wednesday suggest US support remains an unresolved matter inside the White House.
Here are the latest headlines:
More UN warnings: The head of the United Nations' health agency on Thursday warned of the “toxic mix of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene and sanitation” faced by people in Gaza as he called for an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said intense fighting is impeding efforts to provide life-saving aid to people and called for "conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations" to be "reestablished immediately."
US push: The conflict between Israel and Hamas “needs to move to a lower intensity phase,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. Blinken’s comments echo what Biden administration officials have told Israel privately, CNN previously reported, which is that the US wants Israel to shift to a lower-intensity phase of the war in the next several weeks. Meanwhile, Blinken also called out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender.
Hostages latest: Hamas' political chief is in Egypt for talks on the war. The visit comes after Israel proposed a pause in fighting in exchange for the release of about 40 hostages, although an Israeli official said they were not near a deal yet.
On the ground: Videos published Wednesday show heavy airstrikes in the Jabalya area of northern Gaza, where the Hamas-controlled health ministry said at least 46 people were killed. Also, several videos from the Rafah area of southern Gaza show a series of powerful explosions. Journalists on the ground said the blasts were caused by Israeli airstrikes and that several people were killed. The videos, which have been geolocated by CNN, show extensive damage to what appears to be a residential building.
Tunnel videos: The Israeli military on Wednesday released videos it says show a network of tunnels in Gaza City. The army said it uncovered the network after securing operational control over a plaza in the city center. The videos purport to show a series of tunnel shafts and access points leading underground.
Border exchanges: One man was killed by Israeli fire, Lebanon’s National News Agency said, following fresh exchanges between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants across the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military helicopters with surface-to-air missiles and launched attacks on several other locations along the border. The Israeli military said artillery and tanks struck several locations in Lebanon in response to incoming fire.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a press briefing at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva on December 15. Lian Yi/Xinhua/Getty Images
The head of the United Nations' health agency on Thursday warned of the “toxic mix of disease, hunger and lack of hygiene and sanitation” faced by people in Gaza as he called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas.
"Hunger weakens the body’s defenses and opens the door to disease," World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Gaza is already experiencing soaring rates of infectious disease outbreaks. Diarrhoea cases among children aged under 5 are 25 times what they were before the conflict," he said. "Such illnesses can be lethal for malnourished children, more so in the absence of functioning health services. We need a ceasefire now."
Tedros' comments come amid multiple calls from UN agencies for a pause in fighting to help relief efforts in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that intense fighting is impeding efforts to assist people in Gaza. He called for “conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations” to be "reestablished immediately.”
On Wednesday, the World Food Programme said half of Gaza's population is starving and residents are often going entire days without eating. Meanwhile, UNICEF warned Tuesday that children and families “are not safe in hospitals” in Gaza as the enclave’s wider health care system teeters on the edge of collapse.
Last week, the wider UN General Assembly voted to demand an immediate ceasefire, in a rebuke to the US, which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council.
Blinken speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, December 20, at the State Department in Washington, DC. Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender.
“What is striking to me is that even as, again, we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see, I hear virtually no one saying – demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that,” Blinken said during a press briefing at the State Department Wednesday.
“How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victim,” Blinken went on to say.
Thestrongcomments from Blinken come as the United Nations Security Council continues to negotiate a resolution calling for a suspension in fighting and encouraging more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered Gaza Strip, and as the United States’ support for the resolution remains unresolved.
Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City on December 8. Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images/File
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that intense fighting is impeding efforts to assist people in Gaza.
“Intense fighting, lack of electricity, limited fuel & disrupted telecommunications severely restrict the @UN 's concerted efforts to provide life-saving aid to people in Gaza,” Guterres wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Guterres called for “conditions to allow for large-scale humanitarian operations” to be "reestablished immediately.”
The Israeli military on Wednesday released videos it says show a network of tunnels in the center of Gaza City.
The army said it uncovered the network after securing operational control over Palestine Square, a plaza in the city center. The videos purport to show a series of tunnel shafts and access points leading underground.
In one video, a camera descends a long ladder before proceeding along a narrow, arched hallway to reach a blast door.
In a different video, a camera descends a long spiral staircase into another tunnel. In one clip, a passageway to the tunnel network, hidden behind an electricity box, is identified.
Several of the tunnel shafts appear to have been demolished, which the Israeli military said had been done by Hamas fighters.
In a briefing with journalists, Israeli army spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the tunnels were a “substantial, elaborate network of interconnected command control positions.”
“What we're doing today is revealing layer by layer the extent of Hamas’ terror tunnel network. It is the most expensive, expansive construction project ever to exist in the Gaza Strip,” Lerner said.
Within the tunnels, Israeli forces found food, water, electric infrastructure, and communications capabilities, Lerner said.
It is not possible for CNN to immediately verify all the Israeli military’s claims.
Israel and Cyprus have come a step closer to agreeing on the creation of a maritime corridor that would allow goods to bypass Israel on the way to Gaza, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The maritime corridor would allow “the direct transfer of humanitarian aid and goods to the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
If the corridor goes ahead as planned, it would be the first time Israel has eased its sea blockade on Gaza since it was imposed in 2007 when Hamas took control.
On a diplomatic trip to Cyprus, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen along with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos visited the port of Larnaca, which is situated around 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Gaza. It is expected to be the starting point of the corridor, according to the statement.
Cohen said the goods will be subject to a security inspection at Larnaca that will be carried out “in coordination with Israel.”
The corridor could be used as an axis for the transfer of humanitarian aid in the coming weeks, Cohen added.
The minister stressed that the creation of the maritime corridor to Gaza will “help Israel's economic disengagement from the strip.”
There were fresh exchanges between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants across the Lebanon-Israel border on Wednesday.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military helicopters with surface-to-air missiles and also launched attacks on several other locations along the border, including Margaliot, near the town of Kiryat Shmona.
The Israeli military said artillery and tanks struck several locations in Lebanon in response to incoming fire. One man was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on the Lebanese border town of Kafr Kila, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.
"We are not returning to how things were beforehand," Israel’s Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said during a visit to the border area.
The remark is an indication that Israel remains focused on its perceived need to rebuild deterrence in the north of the country as well as in the south.
The three hostages killed are identified as, from left to right, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer Talalka. Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The voices of the three hostages who were accidentally killed by Israeli troops were captured on a GoPro camera mounted on an Israeli military dog five days before they were shot, a military spokesperson said.
The video, located by Israeli forces on Tuesday, shows the recording took place during an exchange between Israeli forces and Hamas militants at a site where the three hostages were being held, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at his daily press briefing. The dog was killed in the exchange.
“You can hear voices, and when we analyzed the clip, we understood that in the audio we can hear the three hostages, fully vocally identified,” Hagari said.
He did not provide details about what the hostages were saying.
The militants who held the three hostages were killed during the fighting, which appears to have allowed the hostages to flee, Hagari said, citing an initial Israel Defense Forces analysis of the video.
Israel is reeling from the IDF’s admission that it shot and killed three hostages in Gaza on Friday. They had been taken hostage by Hamas during the group’s October 7 terror attack.
On Saturday, an IDF official said they emerged from a building tens of meters away from a group of Israeli troops. They were shirtless and were waving a white flag, according to the official, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about an ongoing investigation.
At least one soldier felt threatened and opened fire, killing two of the men immediately. The third was wounded and ran back inside the building. The Israeli unit overheard a cry for help in Hebrew, at which time the brigade commander ordered his troops to stop shooting. However, there was another burst of gunfire. The third hostage died later.
CNN's Richard Allen Greene and Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting to this post.
