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3 min ago

Greek Orthodox archbishop in Jerusalem condemns Israeli airstrike on Gaza church

 From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi

The head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem condemned the overnight attack on Gaza's oldest church, which falls under the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The airstrike, which damaged part of the St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, was "a new massacre" and "an attack on Christian heritage," according to Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia in Jerusalem.

“We urgently appeal to His Holiness the Pope and the heads of churches worldwide to raise their voices and not be satisfied with prayers alone,” Hanna added in a written statement. 

It’s unclear how many people may have been killed or injured in the strike. Video from the scene overnight Thursday showed extensive damage.

The Israel Defense Forces on Friday acknowledged that "a wall of a church in the area was damaged," as a result of the IDF strike.

"Earlier today, IDF fighter jets struck the command and control center belonging to a Hamas terrorist involved in the launching of rockets and mortars toward Israel," IDF told CNN in a statement.

14 min ago

Israeli authorities confirm arrest of Hamas spokesman in the West Bank

From CNN’s Richard Greene and Eyad Kourdi 

Hamas spokesman Hassan Yousef was arrested Thursday during raids Israel conducted across the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities.

Yousef was arrested “on suspicion of acting on behalf of Hamas,” the Israel Security Agency Shin Bet told CNN on Friday.  

Yousef is a leading Palestinian political figure, serving as the official Hamas spokesperson in the West Bank and holding a seat on the Palestinian Legislative Council.   

CNN previously reported that Yousef was believed to be among more than 60 members of Hamas detained by Israel in raids across the West Bank, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory that is increasingly feeling the impact of the fighting in Gaza.

Some context: Yousef has been arrested by Israeli forces on several occasions and has spent a total of 24 years in Israeli jails on various charges of incitement, entering Jerusalem without permission and for being a Hamas member.

He has made regular appearances on international media, this week telling Canadian outlet The Globe and Mail he thought Hamas would be prepared to free the estimated 200 hostages it is holding if Israel agrees to a 24-hour ceasefire to allow aid into Gaza.

43 min ago

German foreign minister to attend Cairo summit

From CNN's Stephanie Halasz

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is extending her Middle East trip to attend a summit in Egypt on Saturday, her office announced Friday.

Following talks in Tel Aviv and Beirut scheduled for Friday, Baerbock will go to Cairo for Saturday's summit for peace, the ministry said.

1 hr 9 min ago

13 people killed during Israeli operation in West Bank refugee camp, Palestinian authorities say

From CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Eyad Kourdi 

Thirteen people, including five children, were killed during an Israeli operation in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

“The Israeli occupation army committed a massacre in Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem during its aggression on the camp yesterday, where the total martyrs have reached to 13 martyrs including 5 children,” the ministry said in statement on Friday. 

As of Friday morning, Israeli forces had withdrawn from the camp, the official TV channel Palestine TV reported.

1 hr 54 min ago

China is ready to work with Russia to facilitate Israel-Hamas peace talks, Beijing's Mideast envoy says

From CNN’s Beijing Bureau and Akanksha Sharma

China and Russia "share the same position on the question of Palestine," China's Special Envoy on the Middle East issue, Zhai Jun, said Friday after meeting with his Russian counterpart in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.

“China and Russia share the same position on the question of Palestine, and China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with the Russian Federation in order to cool down the situation as soon as possible,” Zhai said, according to Chinese state media CCTV.

China has blamed the conflict on the “fact that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed,” CCTV reported, quoting Zhai.

He also said China is ready to work with Russia “to play a positive role” in the resumption of the peace talks between the two sides, adding Beijing is “heartbroken by the large number of civilian casualties” in the conflict.

“The Russian Federation is ready to work with China to promote an early ceasefire and halt the fighting between the Palestinians and Israelis and to create conditions for an early return to the right track on the Palestinian issue,” his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov said, according to CCTV.

Zhai also met with Qatar’s Minister of State Mohammed Al-Khulaifi on Thursday in Doha and discussed the “critical” Israel-Hamas conflict, CCTV reported.

Beijing is “heartbroken” by the “sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict," Zhai said, calling on “all parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint,” according to CCTV.

“Qatar has an important influence on the Palestinian issue,” Zhai said, adding that China is “willing to maintain communication and coordination with Qatar to play a constructive role in easing the current tense situation.”

China is “in the process of intensively communicating with the relevant parties in the international community in order to promote a ceasefire and an end to the fighting,” Zhai said, without specifying the relevant parties.

2 hr 4 min ago

Israel struck more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, IDF says

From CNN’s Richard Greene and Manveena Suri

The Israel Defense Forces struck more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, according to a joint statement issued by the IDF and the Israel Securities Authority on Friday. 

“Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck over a hundred terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, including an underground tunnel, weapon warehouses, and dozens of operational command centers,” read the statement. 

The attacks "neutralized" a Hamas terror squad and killed a Hamas naval operative, Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu 'Odeh, who is believed to have been involved in the October 7 attack in southern Israel, the IDF said.

Terror assets and weapons located in a mosque in Gaza’s Jabaliya neighborhood were also destroyed. According to the statement, the mosque was used as “observation posts and staging ground by Hamas terrorists.”

2 hr 14 min ago

Israel’s defense ministry orders mandatory evacuation of town near Lebanese border

From CNN’s Richard Greene, Nurit Ben and Manveena Suri

Residents of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel have been ordered to evacuate, according to a statement released by Israel's Ministry of Defense on Friday.

Located near the Lebanese border, Kiryat Shmona is home to 23,000 residents, ministry spokesperson Mayan Lazarovich told CNN, adding this was a “mandatory evacuation.”

The residents will be relocated to state-subsidized guesthouses, according to the ministry. 

The evacuation was approved by Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and will be led by the local municipality alongside the ministries of tourism and defense.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces and other agencies announced a plan to evacuate 28 communities living within 2 kilometers of the Lebanese border. Kiryat Shmona was not on the list at the time but falls within the radius.

3 hr 20 min ago

Rocket attack near Baghdad airport is one of many against US and coalition forces in Middle East

From CNN's Oren Liebermann

A rocket attack near Baghdad International Airport adds to a growing number of attacks targeting US and coalition forces in the Middle East, as the US tries to stave off a wider conflict stemming from the war in Gaza.

Two rockets targeted the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center near the airport, which houses US military, diplomatic, and civilian personnel, early Friday morning local time, according to a US defense official.

One rocket was intercepted by a counter-rocket system, while the second hit an empty storage facility, the official said. No one was injured, the official said. The attack happened Friday at approximately 2:50 a.m. Baghdad time. 

The rocket attack is the latest in a series of strikes targeting US and coalition forces in Iraq in recent days, as the Biden administration warns Iran and other adversaries not to try to fan the flames of the war in Gaza to other parts of the Middle East at such a volatile time.

The US has not assigned attribution for the attacks. Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria have carried out similar drone and rocket attacks against US forces in the past.

Here's what we know about the other attacks on US or coalition forces this week:

• On Wednesday, two drones targeted the al-Tanf garrison in Syria, where US and anti-ISIS coalition forces are based, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing Thursday. One drone was engaged and destroyed, and another impacted the base causing minor injuries to coalition forces, Ryder said.
• Also on Wednesday morning, early warning systems indicated a possible threat approaching the al-Asad airbase in Iraq where US personnel are stationed. No attack occurred, but personnel sheltered in place, and an American civilian contractor suffered a cardiac episode and died shortly thereafter, Ryder said. 
• On Tuesday, US forces defended against three drones near US and coalition forces in Iraq, Ryder said. Two of the drones targeted the al-Asad airbase, which resulted in minor injuries to coalition forces. And in northern Iraq near Bashur airbase, US forces engaged and destroyed a drone, resulting in no injuries or damage, Ryder said. 
• On Thursday, the destroyer USS Carney intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones that may have been targeting Israel, Ryder said. The rockets were fired by Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, Ryder said.

Ryder said the US will take "all necessary actions" to defend itself and coalition forces.

"While I'm not going to forecast any potential response to these attacks, I will say that we will take all necessary actions to defend US and coalition forces against any threat," he said. "Any response, should one occur, will come at a time and a manner of our choosing."

2 hr 5 min ago

Siege of Gaza "resulting in crimes against humanity," UN independent experts claim

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite

The lack of access to aid in Gaza is resulting in "crimes against humanity," according to a group of UN independent experts.

The experts also raised "serious humanitarian and legal concerns over Israel tightening its 16-year siege of the enclave and its population and long-standing occupation, depriving 2.2 million people of essential food, fuel, water, electricity and medicine," the UN Human Rights Office said Thursday in a press release.

“The complete siege of Gaza coupled with unfeasible evacuation orders and forcible population transfers, is a violation of international humanitarian and criminal law. It is also unspeakably cruel,” the experts said in a statement.

The experts stressed the need to immediately ceasefire and ensure urgent access to humanitarian aid, and to guarantee the physical safety of the civilian population.

The group also condemned the deadly Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital blast and said they were "sounding the alarm."

Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the hospital explosion on Tuesday. However, Israel rejected the accusation, saying evidence showed it was caused by a missile launch misfire by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A US government assessment concluded Israel “was not responsible,” according to the National Security Council. The assessment was based on available reporting, including “intelligence, missile activity, and open source video and images of the incident,” spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

The UN experts said the Israel campaign in Gaza was resulting in crimes against humanity.

"Considering statements made by Israeli political leaders and their allies, accompanied by military action in Gaza and escalation of arrests and killing in the West Bank, there is also a risk of genocide against the Palestine people,” the experts said.
“There are no justifications or exceptions for such crimes. We are appalled by the inaction of the international community in the face of belligerent war-mongering,” the experts said.
“The occupation needs to end and there must be reparation, restitution and reconstruction, towards full justice for Palestinians,” they concluded.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan rejected the accusations by the UN experts.

“They are defending terrorists who are committed to the genocide of the Jewish people, and just committed one in our southern communities. These statements from senior officials show how distorted the UN is,” Erdan said.

“The top humanitarian situation they should be focused on is the condition of over 200 innocent civilians held hostage in Gaza, instead of aiding the terrorists and their supporters,” he said.

The head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem condemned the overnight attack on Gaza's oldest church, which falls under the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The airstrike, which damaged part of the St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, was "a new massacre" and "an attack on Christian heritage," according to Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia in Jerusalem.

It’s unclear how many people may have been killed or injured in the strike. Video from the scene overnight Thursday showed extensive damage.

The Israel Defense Forces on Friday acknowledged that "a wall of a church in the area was damaged," as a result of the IDF strike.

"Earlier today, IDF fighter jets struck the command and control center belonging to a Hamas terrorist involved in the launching of rockets and mortars toward Israel," IDF told CNN in a statement.

Hamas spokesman Hassan Yousef was arrested Thursday during raids Israel conducted across the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities.

Yousef was arrested “on suspicion of acting on behalf of Hamas,” the Israel Security Agency Shin Bet told CNN on Friday.  

Yousef is a leading Palestinian political figure, serving as the official Hamas spokesperson in the West Bank and holding a seat on the Palestinian Legislative Council.   

CNN previously reported that Yousef was believed to be among more than 60 members of Hamas detained by Israel in raids across the West Bank, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory that is increasingly feeling the impact of the fighting in Gaza.

Some context: Yousef has been arrested by Israeli forces on several occasions and has spent a total of 24 years in Israeli jails on various charges of incitement, entering Jerusalem without permission and for being a Hamas member.

He has made regular appearances on international media, this week telling Canadian outlet The Globe and Mail he thought Hamas would be prepared to free the estimated 200 hostages it is holding if Israel agrees to a 24-hour ceasefire to allow aid into Gaza.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is extending her Middle East trip to attend a summit in Egypt on Saturday, her office announced Friday.

Following talks in Tel Aviv and Beirut scheduled for Friday, Baerbock will go to Cairo for Saturday's summit for peace, the ministry said.

Thirteen people, including five children, were killed during an Israeli operation in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

As of Friday morning, Israeli forces had withdrawn from the camp, the official TV channel Palestine TV reported.

China and Russia "share the same position on the question of Palestine," China's Special Envoy on the Middle East issue, Zhai Jun, said Friday after meeting with his Russian counterpart in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.

“China and Russia share the same position on the question of Palestine, and China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with the Russian Federation in order to cool down the situation as soon as possible,” Zhai said, according to Chinese state media CCTV.

China has blamed the conflict on the “fact that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed,” CCTV reported, quoting Zhai.

He also said China is ready to work with Russia “to play a positive role” in the resumption of the peace talks between the two sides, adding Beijing is “heartbroken by the large number of civilian casualties” in the conflict.

Zhai also met with Qatar’s Minister of State Mohammed Al-Khulaifi on Thursday in Doha and discussed the “critical” Israel-Hamas conflict, CCTV reported.

Beijing is “heartbroken” by the “sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict," Zhai said, calling on “all parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint,” according to CCTV.

“Qatar has an important influence on the Palestinian issue,” Zhai said, adding that China is “willing to maintain communication and coordination with Qatar to play a constructive role in easing the current tense situation.”

China is “in the process of intensively communicating with the relevant parties in the international community in order to promote a ceasefire and an end to the fighting,” Zhai said, without specifying the relevant parties.

The Israel Defense Forces struck more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, according to a joint statement issued by the IDF and the Israel Securities Authority on Friday. 

The attacks "neutralized" a Hamas terror squad and killed a Hamas naval operative, Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu 'Odeh, who is believed to have been involved in the October 7 attack in southern Israel, the IDF said.

Terror assets and weapons located in a mosque in Gaza’s Jabaliya neighborhood were also destroyed. According to the statement, the mosque was used as “observation posts and staging ground by Hamas terrorists.”

Residents of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel have been ordered to evacuate, according to a statement released by Israel's Ministry of Defense on Friday.

Located near the Lebanese border, Kiryat Shmona is home to 23,000 residents, ministry spokesperson Mayan Lazarovich told CNN, adding this was a “mandatory evacuation.”

The residents will be relocated to state-subsidized guesthouses, according to the ministry. 

The evacuation was approved by Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and will be led by the local municipality alongside the ministries of tourism and defense.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces and other agencies announced a plan to evacuate 28 communities living within 2 kilometers of the Lebanese border. Kiryat Shmona was not on the list at the time but falls within the radius.

A rocket attack near Baghdad International Airport adds to a growing number of attacks targeting US and coalition forces in the Middle East, as the US tries to stave off a wider conflict stemming from the war in Gaza.

Two rockets targeted the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center near the airport, which houses US military, diplomatic, and civilian personnel, early Friday morning local time, according to a US defense official.

One rocket was intercepted by a counter-rocket system, while the second hit an empty storage facility, the official said. No one was injured, the official said. The attack happened Friday at approximately 2:50 a.m. Baghdad time. 

The rocket attack is the latest in a series of strikes targeting US and coalition forces in Iraq in recent days, as the Biden administration warns Iran and other adversaries not to try to fan the flames of the war in Gaza to other parts of the Middle East at such a volatile time.

The US has not assigned attribution for the attacks. Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria have carried out similar drone and rocket attacks against US forces in the past.

Here's what we know about the other attacks on US or coalition forces this week:

Ryder said the US will take "all necessary actions" to defend itself and coalition forces.

"While I'm not going to forecast any potential response to these attacks, I will say that we will take all necessary actions to defend US and coalition forces against any threat," he said. "Any response, should one occur, will come at a time and a manner of our choosing."

The lack of access to aid in Gaza is resulting in "crimes against humanity," according to a group of UN independent experts.

The experts also raised "serious humanitarian and legal concerns over Israel tightening its 16-year siege of the enclave and its population and long-standing occupation, depriving 2.2 million people of essential food, fuel, water, electricity and medicine," the UN Human Rights Office said Thursday in a press release.

The experts stressed the need to immediately ceasefire and ensure urgent access to humanitarian aid, and to guarantee the physical safety of the civilian population.

The group also condemned the deadly Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital blast and said they were "sounding the alarm."

Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the hospital explosion on Tuesday. However, Israel rejected the accusation, saying evidence showed it was caused by a missile launch misfire by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A US government assessment concluded Israel “was not responsible,” according to the National Security Council. The assessment was based on available reporting, including “intelligence, missile activity, and open source video and images of the incident,” spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

The UN experts said the Israel campaign in Gaza was resulting in crimes against humanity.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan rejected the accusations by the UN experts.

“They are defending terrorists who are committed to the genocide of the Jewish people, and just committed one in our southern communities. These statements from senior officials show how distorted the UN is,” Erdan said.

“The top humanitarian situation they should be focused on is the condition of over 200 innocent civilians held hostage in Gaza, instead of aiding the terrorists and their supporters,” he said.