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Israeli troops kill 14 during two-day raid in the occupied West Bank, health ministry says. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Israeli troops have concluded a two-day operation in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN on Sunday.
Images fromthe raid — one of the IDF's largest in the West Bank since October 7 — show concrete slabs and rubble strewn across the area. At least 14 people, includinga child and a teen, were killed in the raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and official news agency Wafa said Saturday. Israel says it killed 10 "terrorists" and arrested wanted suspects.
Violence by Israeli settlers and IDF troops in the West Bank has surged during Israel's campaign in Gaza. Settlers killed an ambulance driver trying to transport injured Palestinians on Saturday, the Palestine Red Crescent said.
According to the health ministry, 483 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7.
Here's what else to know if you're just joining us:
- Gaza death toll: At least 34,097 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian health ministry reported Sunday. At least 76,980 people have also been injured. More than 70% of those killed have been women and children, according to the ministry. CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.
- West Bank labor strike: A West Bank-wide labor strike took place on Sunday, a working day, over the Palestinian deaths in the occupied territory and in Gaza, Palestinian political faction Fatah said on Saturday, according to Wafa.
- Hamas condemns US aid: Hamas has condemned the United States House of Representatives' approval of a more than$26 billion foreign aid packagefor Israel, calling it a violation ofhumanitarian norms and a "green light" for further decimation of Palestinians and their communities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the package showed bipartisan support for Israel in the US and "defends Western civilization."
- Turkish and Hamas leaders meet: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and the “urgent need” for a ceasefire during a meeting with Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in the capital Istanbul on Saturday, his office said. It's their first meeting since October 7.
- War cabinet meeting: Israel's war cabinet met late on Sunday local time to discuss efforts to free the remaining hostages in Gaza, an Israeli official confirmed. Talks on a ceasefire and hostage dealhave been facilitated by international mediators for weeks, but have yielded no apparent breakthroughs of late.
- Iran tensions: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called on the country’s armed forces to continue their fight against Israel by pursuing military innovation and learning "the enemy's tactics." In a statement on Khamenei’s official website Sunday, he thanked Iran's military for its operation against Israel on April 13. Strikes between Israel and Iran this monthspiked fears of a widening regional conflictin the Middle East, but the two sidesappear to be stepping back for now.
Israeli war cabinet met Sunday to discuss hostage situation in Gaza, official says
From CNN’s Eugenia Yosef and Larry Register
The Israeli war cabinet met late Sunday local time to discuss efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
The war cabinet is made up of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, who is chairman of the National Unity Party.
In a video statement, released by the Government Press Office to mark Passover on Sunday, Netanyahu said, "This night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters do not sit at the Seder table and are still imprisoned in the hell of Hamas."
Netanyahu accused Hamas of rejecting proposals for a hostage deal "outright," and said Israel will soon land "additional and painful blows" and will increase "military and political pressure" on Hamas to free the hostages.
State of the negotiations: Talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal have been facilitated by international mediators for weeks, but have yielded no apparent breakthroughs of late.
The framework laid out by negotiators, according to sources familiar with the talks, would see a six-week pause in fighting, during which Hamas would release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women, as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.
Hamas has told the mediators — which include Qatar and Egypt — it does not have 40 living hostages who match the criteria for release. CNN’s record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.
This post has been updated to reflect the meeting took place.
Israeli military concludes deadly raid on refugee camp in the occupied West Bank
From CNN's Benjamin Brown
Israeli troops have concluded a two-day operation in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN on Sunday.
Images from the offensive on the camp, which appears to be one of the largest in the West Bank since October 7, show concrete slabs and rubble strewn across the area.
At least 14 people, including one child, were killed in the raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and official news agency Wafa said Saturday.
The IDF claimed security forces killed 10 "terrorists" and arrested “eight wanted suspects” during its “extensive counterterrorism” operation, which started on Thursday.
Attacks on Palestinians: Violence in the occupied West Bank has only increased during Israel's offensive in Gaza.
An ambulance driver from the Palestine Red Crescent Society was killed while transporting Palestinians injured in an attack by settlers in the West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory increased in 2023 to theirhighest levelsince the UN began recording data in 2006, the Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday.
At least 483 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or IDF soldiers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, according to the health ministry.
The spike in violence by extremist settlers has led to more sanctions by the US and EU.
This post has been updated with additional data on violence in the West Bank.
Hamas condemns new US military aid to Israel as a "green light" for Gaza "aggression"
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Eve Brennan
Hamas has condemned the United States House of Representatives' approval of a more than $26 billion foreign aid package for Israel, calling it a violation of"all international laws and humanitarian norms."
The Palestinian militant group views the funding as confirming US complicity in an Israeli campaign that has "claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocent martyrs, in addition to the systematic destruction of cities and residential neighborhoods and all civil facilities and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement Sunday.
The US administration and President Joe Biden, Hamas said,bear personal "political, legal, and moral" responsibility for what it described as war crimes in Gaza. The bill provides a “green light” for Israel to continue its "brutal aggression" in the strip, Hamas said.
The US House passed the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act on Saturday with a vote of 366-58.
Erdogan discusses need for ceasefire in meeting with Hamas leader in Turkey
From CNN’s Zahid Mahmood in London
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and the “urgent need” for a ceasefire during a meeting with Hamas' top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the capital Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.
It was the first meeting between Erdogan and Haniyeh since October 7, when Israel began its military invasion into Gaza following Hamas' attack. Earlier this week, the Hamas leader held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Doha.
"During the meeting, President Erdoğan said that Turkey continued its diplomatic efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the persecution of the Palestinians and emphasized at every opportunity the need for an end to the atrocities and the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire,” a statement from the Turkish presidency said.
Erdogan said Turkey had provided Gaza with more than 45,000 tons of humanitarian aid in order to “alleviate some of the suffering” and would continue to do so.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 34,097 Palestinians, health officials say
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman
Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip have killed 48 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Sunday, raising the total death toll to 34,097 people killed.
At least 76,980 people have been injured since October 7, the ministry said. A number of Palestinians are trapped under the rubble and destroyed roads, the ministry added, but ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them.
The vast majority of those killed in Gaza are women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. As of April 20, the ministry reported:
- At least 72% of those killed are women and children
- More than 9,100 women have been killed
- More than 14,000 children have been killed
CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.
Israeli military strikes four locations in Lebanon overnight, Lebanese state-run news agency reports
From CNN’s Charbel Mallo, Benjamin Brown, and Irene Nasser
Israeli strikes hit four sites in southern Lebanon overnight, Lebanese state-owned National News Agency reported, as regional tensions intensify over Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The strikes hit the villages of Khiam, Tayr Harfa, Kfarkella near Odaisseh, and in an area between Ramieh and Beit Leif.
The Israeli military confirmed bombardment on three of the four locations, hitting what it said were Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed, Lebanese militant group with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East.
In Tayr Harfa, Israeli forces said "a terrorist was identified operating inside a Hezbollah military structure" which fighter jets struck. Elsewhere, Israeli troops hit "an observation post" in Odaisseh and "two military structures" in Khiam.
Israel-Lebanon relations: Israeli and Hezbollah forces have engaged in cross-border fire and tit-for-tat exchanges since October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.
Hezbollah’s political stance has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants. It has roundly condemned Israel’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza, which have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and injured more than 76,900, according to the Ministry of Health there.
CNN's Tamara Qiblawi and Abeer Salman contributed reporting.
West Bank prepares for labor strike in protest of Palestinian deaths: official media
From CNN's Irene Nasser and Mia Alberti
A West Bank-wide labor strike has been called for Sunday, a working day, over Palestinian deaths in Tulkarem in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian political faction Fatah said on Saturday, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The strike calls on people "to unite in support of our people," Fatah said, according to WAFA.
The Palestinian Teachers Union said that a general strike will be adhered to at all schools, educational facilities, and the ministry, WAFA reported, adding that the General Union of Transport Workers also said it is committed to adhering to the strike.
Some context: The call for a general strike was announced after 14 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem, in the West Bank,according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
