A deal must be signed NOW!” The Israeli military will use evidence found inside a Gaza tunnel to investigate the murder of six hostages held there, spokesman Daniel Hagari said Tuesday.
The Israeli military’s chief spokesperson has shown the interior of the Gaza tunnel where six hostages were murdered before their bodies were retrieved by Israeli forces on Sept. 1.
Survivors of an Israeli strike in Al-Mawasi on Tuesday described the horror of looking for their loved ones in the middle of the night.
The Israeli military struck the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in what it said was an operation targeting Hamas fighters.
Blinken added that the United States had “long seen” reports of Israeli forces ignoring extremist settler violence against Palestinians and reports of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
An Israeli strike on the sandy tent camp of Al-Mawasi has killed at least 19 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military said it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area” in Khan Younis.
In July, Israeli officials said Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif was among at least 90 Palestinians killed in a strike in Al-Mawasi.
“Enough is enough,” said Adi Alexander, whose 20-year-old son Edan was serving in the Israeli military when he was abducted by Hamas on October 7.
The Israeli military detained a convoy of United Nations vehicles for several hours in northern Gaza on Monday.
A relative of Carmel Gat, whose body was found earlier this month among the six dead hostages in a Hamas tunnel, has demanded that her “memory be a deal” in the wake of fresh footage exposing the appalling conditions of her detention.
Almost a year after the October 7 attacks, Gat’s cousin Gil Dickmann encouraged Israel’s government to negotiate a hostage release agreement with Hamas on Tuesday, sharing a heartfelt post on Facebook in response to his cousin’s passing.
Dickmann accused Israel of wasting time while captives in Gaza languished in an underground “torture chamber” in response to video that the Israel military released on Tuesday. The video showed low ceilings and filthy conditions in the tunnel where the hostages are believed to have been kept.
“They were not killed by this torture. Dickmann stated, “What killed them was that the military pressure got to them before the deal did.”.
“I couldn’t help but picture Carmel in that horrifying tunnel video that you will all be able to see starting tonight. She’s almost as tall as me. Approximately 1:74 meters. She is incapable of standing upright in that situation. Dickmann wrote, “I thought about the heat and darkness that would drive one insane, about the filth and suffocation.”.
“Killing or taking retribution is not the solution to this murder and video. Carmel and retaliation are unrelated. There should be no more deaths as the solution to death. She is all that exists. A deal that will bring the remaining hostages home alive and allow the dead to be buried must be the solution. I apologize, Carmeli. May you have a great memory,” Dickmann continued.
In Jewish tradition, it is customary to say, “May their memory be a blessing” following a death.
The Hostages and Families Forum demanded the release of the last hostages in Gaza in a statement issued on Tuesday, calling the IDF video “shocking.”.
They are hungry, tired, and tormented, but they have one hope left: that we will keep fighting for their freedom. They have faith in us to return them home. There is not much time left. That hope and light will never fade. A contract needs to be signed right away.
According to spokesman Daniel Hagari on Tuesday, the Israeli military will use information discovered inside a Gaza tunnel to look into the killing of six hostages detained there.
Hagari informed the press conference that “all the findings you saw inside the tunnel were taken for investigation and testing” following the playback of a pre-recorded video of him exploring the tunnel where the hostages’ bodies were found earlier this month. In an effort to find the terrorists who carried out the heinous murder, we are examining the materials and following up on every lead. “.
Background information: On Sunday, September 1, the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas were extracted from an underground tunnel in Gaza. They were “brutally” murdered “a short while” before Israeli troops could reach them, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the time. Their bodies were discovered in a tunnel beneath the city of Rafah.
The revelation sparked a massive uprising in Israel against the Israeli government for not achieving a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas, the group in control of Gaza.
The Gaza tunnel’s interior, which was seen by the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, is where six hostages were killed before their bodies were found on September 16. 1.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the tunnel was 20 meters below the surface and not high enough to stand in during a press conference on Tuesday. He played a pre-recorded video of himself exploring the tunnel.
Holding a flashlight, Hagari also displayed some of the things that the Israeli soldiers had discovered inside the tunnel: baby wipes, a hairbrush, and both full and empty bottles were among the things that were clearly strewn throughout the passageway.
He called the hostages “heroes” and said it would have been “very hard” for them to survive in the “difficult” conditions of the tunnel. “.
“In this tunnel, where there is no air to breathe and you cannot stand, they were in horrifying conditions,” he remarked.
He stated, “They were killed by terrorists, but they survived.”.
There have been two significant developments in the Middle East today: first, Israel admitted responsibility for the death of an American activist, and second, scores of people were killed and injured in an Israeli strike that targeted “senior Hamas terrorists” in a southern humanitarian zone.
Here’s what to know if you’re new to our coverage:.
Al-Mawasi attack:.
An Israeli strike on an approved humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi during the night claimed the lives of at least 19 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
“A number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center” in the area were the targets of an airstrike, the Israeli military said on Tuesday. But Hamas has dismissed assertions that its fighters were present as “a blatant lie, through which it (Israel) seeks to justify these heinous crimes.”. “.
Numerous people were filmed by CNN digging through the sand in an attempt to recover what little remained of their belongings, while local emergency responders are having difficulty recovering people who are buried under the sand.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American activist, was killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated after an Israeli review that it was very likely that American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed in the occupied West Bank on Friday, was “hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire.”. “.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for “fundamental changes” in the way Israeli security forces conduct their operations in the West Bank, denouncing the killing as “both unprovoked and unjustified.”.
The family of Eygi blasted Israel’s killing investigation as “wholly inadequate,” stating that there was no way to misinterpret Eygi’s death other than as a military attack that was targeted, deliberate, and precise against an unarmed victim. “.
The family of American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot and killed on Friday while participating in a protest in the West Bank, expressed their outrage at the notion that her death at the hands of a skilled marksman was accidental. “.
According to two eyewitnesses who spoke with CNN, Israeli forces opened fire on Eygi, a Turkish-American woman, in the head during a weekly protest against an Israeli settlement close to the Palestinian village of Beita.
Saying on Tuesday that she was “hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire,” Israel launched an investigation into her murder. “.
Defending the investigation as “wholly inadequate,” her family rejected the findings. “.
“Ayşenur was a volunteer and activist who was peacefully standing for justice as an international observer and witness to Palestinian suffering. She was taking shelter in an olive grove when she was shot in the head and killed by an Israeli soldier’s bullet,” her family said in a statement that the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) posted on X.
The family demanded that representatives of the US government launch an independent inquiry into what they claimed to be the intentional targeting and murder of a US citizen.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Eygi’s death “both unprovoked and unjustified” earlier on Tuesday. He also stated that Israeli security forces in the West Bank needed to alter their methods “fundamentally.”.
Those who survived Tuesday’s Israeli strike in Al-Mawasi spoke of the terror of having to search for their loved ones in the middle of the night.
As sunlight streams into the medical facility’s courtyard, men and boys are seen performing Islamic funeral prayers for those killed in the strike in CNN footage from the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
In the video, women sob on the hospital steps as Palestinians carry the bodies of the victims—including children—wrapped in white shrouds.
“People believed they were soundly asleep. We heard blasts of explosions when we awoke, and there were fires all around us. We were unaware of the location of the strike, the remains, or the blood. One eyewitness, Mahmoud Al Nims, told CNN, “Everything was scattered.”.
According to their statement, the Israeli military launched an attack on Hamas fighters within the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone. According to Hamas, there are no fighters in the region.
According to the UN, Israeli authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost 86% of the Gaza Strip. The UN reports that at least 11.9 million people, or nearly all of Gaza’s population, have been displaced. Numerous people had to escape more than once.
Another Palestinian, Taghreed Abu Assi, stated, “Children are orphans; parents lost their children.”. “We followed their instructions and went to Mawasi, whereupon they attacked us. A hundred times, we have been uprooted. “.
CNN was able to obtain footage showing dozens of displaced Gazans searching for their belongings by digging through the sand after Israeli strikes on Al-Mawasi.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that during the course of the night, at least 19 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli-designated humanitarian safe zones.
Everything is buried, but there were poles sticking out of the sand that used to support tents. Around a second, larger crater on the opposite side of the camp were mattresses, blankets, and clothing. Numerous individuals were gazing intently into the enormous opening.
A few survivors dug through the sand to retrieve canned goods. As those around her tried to reassemble their tents, a girl with an injured hand observed.
Mohammad Jarrour, an eyewitness, told CNN that the camp was awakened by one strike, followed by two, three, four, and five. “.
Palestinians had been informed that the area was secure, according to Salem Abu Jara, another witness, who spoke with CNN.
“There is no safety, so where is it? “There is no safety offered by the Israelis,” he declared.
The death of American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi on Friday in the occupied West Bank has been deemed unacceptable by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken stated that “no one” should be “shot and killed for attending a protest” during a joint news conference with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Tuesday in London. “.
In response to a query concerning whether the US agreed with Israel’s explanation for Eygi’s death, he made these remarks. According to Blinken, the Israeli security forces’ operations in the West Bank require “fundamental changes.”.
After looking into her death, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Tuesday that they were very likely to have “hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire” for the American activist Eygi. The military claimed that the shot was intended for “the key instigator” of a “violent riot” at the Beita Junction, where Palestinians were allegedly hurling rocks and burning tires at Israeli security forces, rather than the activist. The supposed provocateur was not identified.
Blinken continued, saying that reports of Israeli forces using excessive force against Palestinians and of them ignoring violent settler acts against them had been “long seen” by the US.
Just hours before kids all across the Strip were supposed to be heading back to school on Monday, there was an overnight attack on a humanitarian safe zone in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of at least 19 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
Although the number of children killed in the strike is still unknown, Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, claimed that “entire families have disappeared in the sand.”. Children make up nearly half of the population of Gaza.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the facility was hit in order to destroy Hamas terrorists who were operating from inside the humanitarian zone.
“Hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza are missing yet another year of education,” Save The Children wrote on Instagram on September 9, following almost a year of fighting. “.
The group stated that “every day spent outside of the classroom means lost learning, missed opportunities, and an increasingly uncertain future.”.
In the humanitarian zone it attacked overnight in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, the Israeli military said on Tuesday that its air force was pursuing “a number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center.”.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 19 bodies have been transported to hospitals from the struck area of southern Gaza, known as the humanitarian safe zone in Al-Mawasi.
Targets included Osama Tabesh, “the head of the observation and targets department in Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters,” Ayman Mabhouh, “another senior Hamas terrorist,” and Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, “the head of Hamas’ aerial unit in Gaza,” according to the Israeli military. “.
Regarding the alleged Hamas militants, Israel withheld further details. CNN is gathering more information and trying to independently confirm the claims.
The targets have been preparing to “carry out terror activities” against the military and the nation, it claimed, and were “directly involved in the execution” of the attack on Israel on October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 19 Palestinians have died as a result of an Israeli strike on the Al-Mawasi sandy tent camp.
According to a previous statement from Gaza’s Civil Defense, over 60 Palestinians were injured and at least 40 Palestinians died.
It was not immediately evident why the two figures differed.
Tens of thousands of people had fled to this coastal area in southern Gaza after Israel bombarded other parts of the enclave, when the attack occurred. Numerous people had limited access to relief and were housed in flimsy tents with minimal infrastructure.
At least five missiles were reported to have struck the area by eyewitnesses.
How does Israel respond? It claims that in Khan Younis, it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area.”.
At least ninety-nine Palestinians were killed in an attack in Al-Mawasi in July, according to Israeli officials, including Mohammed Deif, the military chief of Hamas.
The militant group Hamas called Israel’s claim that its fighters were in the area “a blatant lie, through which it (Israel) seeks to justify these heinous crimes.” That is what Hamas said. “Dozens of unarmed civilians, most of whom were children and women,” were slain in the strike, according to Hamas.
The Israeli offensive has depleted Gaza’s humanitarian resources, according to local rescue teams, who are finding it difficult to recover people buried under sand and debris in the limited light.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, between 20 and 40 tents were destroyed, and “entire families have disappeared in the sand.”.
Bassal stated that three sizable craters were left by the explosion.
Families of American hostages in Gaza are urging US presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to present fresh proposals to secure their loved ones’ immediate release.
Omer, his 22-year-old son, is an Israeli soldier who is currently serving and was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
Relatives of three American citizens detained in Gaza who spoke with CNN expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of attempts to free their loved ones.
Adi Alexander, whose son Edan, 20, was being held captive by Hamas on October 7, declared, “Enough is enough.” Edan was serving in the Israeli military.
In interviews with CNN, every family member stated that they were counting on the Biden administration, along with Trump and Harris, to come up with innovative ideas to put more pressure on Israel and Hamas to strike a new agreement.
“Our goal is to hear novel ideas from both candidates and have them pledge to take a new tack with all the stakeholders,” stated Ruby Chen, a fellow US-Israeli national whose son Itay, 19, was killed in the attacks of the previous year. Gaza-based Hamas continues to hold his body.
According to the family members, other countries that could have an impact include Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, the Gulf state that has hosted Hamas officials and assisted in facilitating negotiations. The US should also look to create new pressure points on Iran, the organization that sponsors Hamas, as well as other countries.
Go through the entire narrative.
On Monday, the Israeli military held a convoy of UN vehicles in northern Gaza for a few hours.
Delaying the convoy to interrogate the Palestinian suspects, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed they were acting “following intelligence that a number of Palestinian suspects were present in the convoy.”.
The convoy was being used to swap out UN personnel, according to the IDF, and was not carrying polio vaccines.
Later, a military official told CNN that the suspects and the convoy had been freed.
The convoy was stopped at gunpoint after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint and detained for more than eight hours despite “prior detailed coordination,” according to Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the UNWRA, the organization’s primary humanitarian relief agency for Palestine. “.
Bulldozers severely damaged the UN armored vehicles during that period, he claimed.
Officials from both domestic and foreign organizations were in the convoy, according to Lazzarini, with the intention of implementing the UN’s program of polio vaccinations for children in Gaza City and the northern part of Gaza. The organization was unable to verify if they could carry on working today, he continued.
