Neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross, and Egypt’s foreign minister is placing the blame on Israel, saying there has been no progress in efforts to open the crossing — the only viable outlet to get people out and vital supplies in.
A family of five Palestinian-Americans said they waited for several hours to cross the border, but remain stuck in Gaza with limited supplies and electricity.
The UN says its agencies have supplies at the ready to move into southern Gaza, while the EU is launching a humanitarian air bridge operation to Egypt that will bring supplies to the enclave, the European Commission president said.
Early Tuesday, Egyptian state-affiliated media outlet Al-Qahera News reported that humanitarian aid convoys were moving toward the Rafah crossing.
Here's what else to know:
Biden trip:US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in the early hours of Tuesday from Tel Aviv. Biden had been deliberating whether to make a wartime visit to Israel, a trip fraught with risk that could stand as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation.
Aid plan: The US and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Blinken announced Tuesday. But it is unclear if any progress was made on the opening of the Rafah crossing.
Dwindling water supply: The director of Gaza’s water authority said Monday that water supply has not yet been restored to the enclave. The WHO warned that people in Gaza face an “imminent” public health crisis, saying the limited amount of water is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals are at immediate risk.
Israeli strikes: At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah, the Palestinian interior ministry said. The ministry said the strike on the southern city happened without prior warning. The Israel Defense Forces issued guidance Friday, telling all civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate southward. Some Palestinians who followed the warnings and fled their homes in search of safety were killed by Israeli airstrikes outside of the evacuation zone.
Hostages latest: Hamas is holding up to 250 hostages captured during its October 7 attack, according to a spokesperson for the group's armed wing. He added they cannot determine the exact number of hostages due to constant Israeli airstrikes, which he claimed had killed 22 captives. CNN cannot verify the claims. The Israeli military said Monday at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza.
Regional conflict fears: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the conflict in Israel risks spilling over regionally. Meanwhile, Israel ordered the evacuation of 28 villages within 2 kilometers of the border with Lebanon amid an exchange of fire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said they are working to prevent an escalation.
US support: The Pentagon has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials. A US Marine rapid response force is also headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official. While the US is bolstering its presence in the Middle East, US officials have made clear there are no plans for US troops to become directly involved in any Israeli military operations against Hamas.
Sign up for CNN's Meanwhile in the Middle East, a three-times-a-week newsletter that explores the region's biggest stories.
2 hr 59 min ago
Aid convoys in Egypt are moving toward Gaza border crossing, state media says
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury and Sarah Sirgany
Humanitarian aid convoys in El-Arish are moving toward the Rafah border crossing in Gaza, Egyptian state-affiliated media outlet Al-Qahera News reported early Tuesday local time.
El-Arish is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Rafah border crossing.
Earlier Monday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza, while the Israeli prime minister’s office denied there were any arrangements for its opening.
Airplanes carrying aid from Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the World Health Organization and the Red Cross have arrived at El-Arish since Thursday.
1 hr 15 min ago
US and Israel agree to develop aid plan for civilians in Gaza, Blinken says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee and Kayla Tausche
The United States and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during his visit to Israel Tuesday.
However, it is unclear if any progress was made on the opening of the Rafah crossing — the only viable route to access Gaza.
Blinken said the agreement to work on the plan was done at the US’ request, and they “welcome the government of Israel’s commitment to work on this plan.”
“It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken said, noting that the US shares “Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or otherwise preventing it from reaching the people who need it.” “If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” he said.
US President Joe Biden “very much looks forward to discussing it further” during his visit to Israel, Blinken said.
1 hr 12 min ago
President Biden to visit Israel in high-stakes trip
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee and Kayla Tausche
The White House is confronting a new war that has required an immediate reorienting of President Joe Biden’s priorities and schedule, including a trip this week to Israel and Jordan as the situation in the Middle East grows ever more urgent.
Biden's upcoming trip, announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken from Tel Aviv in the early hours of Tuesday, follows an extensive day of meetings in Israel by the top US diplomat that included a seven-and-a-half hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.
Biden’s visit will build on Blinken’s seven nation, multi-day tour of the Middle East, which comes as the US tries to strike a delicate balance of providing unwavering support for Israel’s military operations while mitigating the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and stopping the war from spreading to further fronts.
Biden had been deliberating whether to make the wartime visit to Israel, a trip fraught with risk that could stand as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation. Aides said the president has expressed a strong interest in making the journey after being invited over the weekend by Netanyahu, whom Biden has known for four decades.
The US president will also travel to Jordan, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, where he will meet with King Abdullah II, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The top US diplomat in recent days met separately with the three leaders — all of whom have condemned the situation in Gaza.
Biden will “make it clear that we want to continue to work with all our partners in the region, including Israel, to get humanitarian assistance and again to provide some sort of safe passage for civilians to get out,” Kirby said.
Israel won't stop until it "destroys the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas," Netanyahu says
From CNN’s Hadas Gold
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Israel won’t stop until it destroys Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, according to a statement from the office of the prime minister.
“The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel was attacked by vile and cruel murderers, went to war determined and united, and will not stop until it destroys the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas,” the statement read.
Earlier Monday, Putin spoke with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Egypt where he addressed the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.
Putin told Netanyahu that Russia is ready to help end the conflict peacefully, by diplomatic means, according to a Kremlin readout of the call.
3 hr 8 min ago
US Marine rapid response force headed to waters near Israel
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann
A US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel and the Pentagon is preparing American troops for a potential deployment to the country, escalating the US’ show of force in the region as it works to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from widening any further.
A defense official familiar with the planning said the rapid response force, consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, is being sent. It will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
On Sunday evening, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, multiple defense officials said.
Taken together, the moves are aimed at forestalling a wider regional war, officials said. But they also risk deepening the US’ involvement in a conflict in which the Biden administration is trying to avoid direct military action.
Officials have stressed that the US has no plans to put American boots on the ground to fight in the war between Israel and Hamas, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult.
But the planning and movements offer a window into the kind of assistance the US might provide, including managing logistics away from the front lines and offering medical support. That could be particularly valuable if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza, which could be complicated and bloody, experts have warned.
The decisions also come as the US military has been steadily bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to join the USS Ford strike carrier group there, and sending Air Force fighter jets to the region.
Gaza is facing an "imminent" public health crisis as it runs out of water, WHO warns
From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan
The World Health Organization warned Monday that Gaza faces an “imminent” public health crisis as the enclave is running out of water.
The limited amount of water available is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals located in the Palestinian enclave are at immediate risk, the WHO said via the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The organization also called for “unobstructed access for humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
3 hr 24 min ago
Government memo says US is tracking hundreds of citizens trying to leave Gaza
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
The US Embassy in Cairo is tracking 253 US citizens, with 153 “associated family members,” requesting help to depart Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, according to an internal government memo obtained by CNN.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Sunday that "Rafah will be open" after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and announced President Joe Biden's appointment of former Ambassador David Satterfield to help coordinate the US aid efforts.
"Rafah will be open," he said. "We're putting in place with the UN, with Egypt, Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it."
But hurdles remain. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Monday, placing the blame for the continued closure of the crossing on Israel.
In the memo, officials conveyed earlier warnings from the embassy, saying the situation at the Rafah crossing “will remain fluid and unpredictable, and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing.”
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.
1 min ago
Hamas releases video of 21-year-old French-Israeli woman it claims is being held hostage
From CNN's Kevin Flower and Jeremy Diamond
Hamas released a video Monday night of a young French-Israeli woman being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In the video, Mia Schem, 21, says she suffered an arm injury and was brought to Gaza.
A representative for Schem's family told CNN they had approved the publication and broadcast of the video.
This is the first video Hamas has released of any of the hostages held in Gaza. Israeli authorities have said that they believe 199 people are being held in Gaza, while a representative of Hamas said Monday that at least between 200-250 captives are being held across the strip.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had informed Schem's family about her kidnapping last week and are keeping in touch with them at this time.
They said further that they are using “all intelligence and operational means to return the abductees” and that “Hamas is trying to present itself as a humanitarian organization while acting as a hideous terrorist organization responsible for killing and kidnapping infants, women, children and the elderly.”
A representative of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' militant branch, earlier said the group was "committed" to protecting hostages and that it would release hostages with foreign citizenship when "the opportunity arises on the ground."
Schem's mother, Keren Schem, said she had hoped her daughter was alive before seeing the video.
"My princess, my baby, is alive,” she said to Israel's Channel 12. “I did not know anything, and I had hoped that she is alive." “I could see that she went through something like a surgery, that she is in pain, scared, but thank God she is stable," Keren Schem said, referring to her daughter's arm injury and treatment shown in the Hamas-released video. "Wow, a sigh of relief."
Keren Schem said she began to believe her daughter was abducted on October 7 after word of the Hamas attacks began to spread, remarking that her family has been doing “everything alone” to work for the return of her daughter, including opening up a “communication center."
Gaza is being "strangled" by Israel's weeklong siege and aerial bombardment, UN experts warned, as concerns grow that further escalationand a lack of safety for fleeing civilians risks drawing regional foes into the long-running conflict.
US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during his own visit to the country. The visits come as diplomatic efforts to address the crisis — including pressure to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza via Egypt — are intensifying.
The Pentagon has ordered roughly 2,000 US troops to prepare for a potential deployment to Israel for medical and logistical support, according to defense officials. Additionally, a US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official familiar with the planning.
Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people. More than 2,700 people have died in Israeli airstrikes, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross, and Egypt’s foreign minister is placing the blame on Israel, saying there has been no progress in efforts to open the crossing — the only viable outlet to get people out and vital supplies in.
A family of five Palestinian-Americans said they waited for several hours to cross the border, but remain stuck in Gaza with limited supplies and electricity.
The UN says its agencies have supplies at the ready to move into southern Gaza, while the EU is launching a humanitarian air bridge operation to Egypt that will bring supplies to the enclave, the European Commission president said.
Early Tuesday, Egyptian state-affiliated media outlet Al-Qahera News reported that humanitarian aid convoys were moving toward the Rafah crossing.
Here's what else to know:
Biden trip:US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in the early hours of Tuesday from Tel Aviv. Biden had been deliberating whether to make a wartime visit to Israel, a trip fraught with risk that could stand as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation.
Aid plan: The US and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Blinken announced Tuesday. But it is unclear if any progress was made on the opening of the Rafah crossing.
Dwindling water supply: The director of Gaza’s water authority said Monday that water supply has not yet been restored to the enclave. The WHO warned that people in Gaza face an “imminent” public health crisis, saying the limited amount of water is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals are at immediate risk.
Israeli strikes: At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah, the Palestinian interior ministry said. The ministry said the strike on the southern city happened without prior warning. The Israel Defense Forces issued guidance Friday, telling all civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate southward. Some Palestinians who followed the warnings and fled their homes in search of safety were killed by Israeli airstrikes outside of the evacuation zone.
Hostages latest: Hamas is holding up to 250 hostages captured during its October 7 attack, according to a spokesperson for the group's armed wing. He added they cannot determine the exact number of hostages due to constant Israeli airstrikes, which he claimed had killed 22 captives. CNN cannot verify the claims. The Israeli military said Monday at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza.
Regional conflict fears: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the conflict in Israel risks spilling over regionally. Meanwhile, Israel ordered the evacuation of 28 villages within 2 kilometers of the border with Lebanon amid an exchange of fire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said they are working to prevent an escalation.
US support: The Pentagon has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials. A US Marine rapid response force is also headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official. While the US is bolstering its presence in the Middle East, US officials have made clear there are no plans for US troops to become directly involved in any Israeli military operations against Hamas.
Sign up for CNN's Meanwhile in the Middle East, a three-times-a-week newsletter that explores the region's biggest stories.
Humanitarian aid convoys in El-Arish are moving toward the Rafah border crossing in Gaza, Egyptian state-affiliated media outlet Al-Qahera News reported early Tuesday local time.
El-Arish is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Rafah border crossing.
Earlier Monday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza, while the Israeli prime minister’s office denied there were any arrangements for its opening.
Airplanes carrying aid from Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the World Health Organization and the Red Cross have arrived at El-Arish since Thursday.
The United States and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during his visit to Israel Tuesday.
However, it is unclear if any progress was made on the opening of the Rafah crossing — the only viable route to access Gaza.
Blinken said the agreement to work on the plan was done at the US’ request, and they “welcome the government of Israel’s commitment to work on this plan.”
“It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken said, noting that the US shares “Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or otherwise preventing it from reaching the people who need it.” “If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” he said.
US President Joe Biden “very much looks forward to discussing it further” during his visit to Israel, Blinken said.
The White House is confronting a new war that has required an immediate reorienting of President Joe Biden’s priorities and schedule, including a trip this week to Israel and Jordan as the situation in the Middle East grows ever more urgent.
Biden's upcoming trip, announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken from Tel Aviv in the early hours of Tuesday, follows an extensive day of meetings in Israel by the top US diplomat that included a seven-and-a-half hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.
Biden’s visit will build on Blinken’s seven nation, multi-day tour of the Middle East, which comes as the US tries to strike a delicate balance of providing unwavering support for Israel’s military operations while mitigating the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and stopping the war from spreading to further fronts.
Biden had been deliberating whether to make the wartime visit to Israel, a trip fraught with risk that could stand as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation. Aides said the president has expressed a strong interest in making the journey after being invited over the weekend by Netanyahu, whom Biden has known for four decades.
The US president will also travel to Jordan, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, where he will meet with King Abdullah II, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The top US diplomat in recent days met separately with the three leaders — all of whom have condemned the situation in Gaza.
Biden will “make it clear that we want to continue to work with all our partners in the region, including Israel, to get humanitarian assistance and again to provide some sort of safe passage for civilians to get out,” Kirby said.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Israel won’t stop until it destroys Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, according to a statement from the office of the prime minister.
“The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel was attacked by vile and cruel murderers, went to war determined and united, and will not stop until it destroys the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas,” the statement read.
Earlier Monday, Putin spoke with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Egypt where he addressed the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.
Putin told Netanyahu that Russia is ready to help end the conflict peacefully, by diplomatic means, according to a Kremlin readout of the call.
A US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel and the Pentagon is preparing American troops for a potential deployment to the country, escalating the US’ show of force in the region as it works to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from widening any further.
A defense official familiar with the planning said the rapid response force, consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, is being sent. It will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
On Sunday evening, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, multiple defense officials said.
Taken together, the moves are aimed at forestalling a wider regional war, officials said. But they also risk deepening the US’ involvement in a conflict in which the Biden administration is trying to avoid direct military action.
Officials have stressed that the US has no plans to put American boots on the ground to fight in the war between Israel and Hamas, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult.
But the planning and movements offer a window into the kind of assistance the US might provide, including managing logistics away from the front lines and offering medical support. That could be particularly valuable if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza, which could be complicated and bloody, experts have warned.
The decisions also come as the US military has been steadily bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to join the USS Ford strike carrier group there, and sending Air Force fighter jets to the region.
The World Health Organization warned Monday that Gaza faces an “imminent” public health crisis as the enclave is running out of water.
The limited amount of water available is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals located in the Palestinian enclave are at immediate risk, the WHO said via the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The organization also called for “unobstructed access for humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
The US Embassy in Cairo is tracking 253 US citizens, with 153 “associated family members,” requesting help to depart Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, according to an internal government memo obtained by CNN.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Sunday that "Rafah will be open" after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and announced President Joe Biden's appointment of former Ambassador David Satterfield to help coordinate the US aid efforts.
"Rafah will be open," he said. "We're putting in place with the UN, with Egypt, Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it."
But hurdles remain. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Monday, placing the blame for the continued closure of the crossing on Israel.
In the memo, officials conveyed earlier warnings from the embassy, saying the situation at the Rafah crossing “will remain fluid and unpredictable, and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing.”
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Hamas released a video Monday night of a young French-Israeli woman being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In the video, Mia Schem, 21, says she suffered an arm injury and was brought to Gaza.
A representative for Schem's family told CNN they had approved the publication and broadcast of the video.
This is the first video Hamas has released of any of the hostages held in Gaza. Israeli authorities have said that they believe 199 people are being held in Gaza, while a representative of Hamas said Monday that at least between 200-250 captives are being held across the strip.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had informed Schem's family about her kidnapping last week and are keeping in touch with them at this time.
They said further that they are using “all intelligence and operational means to return the abductees” and that “Hamas is trying to present itself as a humanitarian organization while acting as a hideous terrorist organization responsible for killing and kidnapping infants, women, children and the elderly.”
A representative of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' militant branch, earlier said the group was "committed" to protecting hostages and that it would release hostages with foreign citizenship when "the opportunity arises on the ground."
Schem's mother, Keren Schem, said she had hoped her daughter was alive before seeing the video.
"My princess, my baby, is alive,” she said to Israel's Channel 12. “I did not know anything, and I had hoped that she is alive." “I could see that she went through something like a surgery, that she is in pain, scared, but thank God she is stable," Keren Schem said, referring to her daughter's arm injury and treatment shown in the Hamas-released video. "Wow, a sigh of relief."
Keren Schem said she began to believe her daughter was abducted on October 7 after word of the Hamas attacks began to spread, remarking that her family has been doing “everything alone” to work for the return of her daughter, including opening up a “communication center."
