January 20, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
Chris Lau, Andrew Raine, Amarachi Orie, Sophie Tanno and Tori B. Powell, CNN
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Catch Up
12:35 p.m. ET, January 20, 2024
Israel created and "funded" Hamas, says EU's top diplomat
From CNN's Akanksha Sharma, Gerardo Lemos, Niamh Kennedy and Sophie Tanno
European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks during a
news conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on January 6. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Friday that Israel created and financed Hamas in
order to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by the Fatah party.
“Hamas was funded by the Israeli government to try to weaken the Palestinian Authority, Fatah,” the EU’s
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a speech at the University of Valladolid in
Spain.
"We believe that a two-state solution [Israeli and Palestinian] must be imposed from the outside to bring
peace back, even if, and I insist, Israel reaffirms its refusal [of this solution], and to prevent it they have gone
so far as to create Hamas itself," Borrell said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under criticism over Qatar's funding of Gaza, a deal
that was approved in 2018 by Israel and which Netanyahu defended at the time, as CNN has reported.
Netanyahu has recently denied accusations that he bolstered Hamas through greenlighting the Qatari
funding. In a November interview with German news outlet, BILD, Netanyahu called it a “big lie” that he
wanted to “build Hamas up.”
“We have already fought three times against Hamas. We don't want to carry out such military operations so
that they become bigger," Netanyahu told BILD.
In his Friday speech, Borrell stressed the need to intervene in the war in Gaza, saying: “If we do not intervene
firmly, the spiral of hatred and violence will continue from generation to generation, from funeral to funeral.”
1:30 p.m. ET, January 20, 2024
US says its forces destroyed Houthi anti-ship missile
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
US forces on Saturday struck and destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Gulf of Aden, south of
Yemen, US Central Command said, as efforts continue to degrade the Iran-backed group’s capabilities.
The anti-ship missile “was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and was prepared to launch,” the US military said in a
statement Saturday.
“U.S. forces determined the missile presented a threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region,
and subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense,” the statement read. “This action will make
international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.”
Some context: The US and its partners have sought to deter Houthi attacks on shipping and merchant
vessels in the Red Sea, including intercepting missiles and drones aimed toward commercial ships.
On Friday, the White House said the US had launched three strikes against "Houthi missile launchers that
were ready to launch attacks" -- its sixth round in 10 days.
The US has said the pattern of strikes is likely to continue as it works to degrade the Houthis' military
capabilities.
So far, however, the strikes have failed to deter the Houthi attacks on ships passing through the Gulf of Aden
and the Red Sea on the critical shipping route toward the Suez Canal.
12:47 p.m. ET, January 20, 2024
Netanyahu's office says he reiterated to Biden his policy that Israel must retain
security control over Gaza
From CNN's Lauren Izso in Tel Aviv
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 7. Ronen
Zvulun/Pool/Reuters
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office on Saturday responded to CNN reporting from Friday that Benjamin
Netanyahu, in a private phone call with US President Joe Biden, said he was not foreclosing the possibility of
a future Palestinian state in any form. Netanyahu's office said the prime minister told Biden that Israel must
retain security control over Gaza following the war against Hamas.
"In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is
destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to
Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty,” a statement from the Prime
Minister’s Office said.
CNN previously reported that Netanyahu told Biden in a phone call Friday that public comments he made a
day earlier — in which he appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state — were not meant to
foreclose that outcome in any form, a person familiar with the conversation told CNN.
Hours after getting off the phone with Netanyahu, Biden told reporters at the White House that he believed
Netanyahu could ultimately be convinced of a two-state solution.
“There are a number of types of two-state solutions,” he said.
“There’s a number of countries that are members of the UN that are still -- don’t have their own military; a
number of states that have limitations, and so I think there’s ways in which this can work,” Biden added.
Biden and Netanyahu remain publicly at odds over the fundamental question of what will happen to Gaza
once the war against Hamas concludes, despite intense American efforts over the past several months to
engage officials in Israel and the wider region on a plan they hope can finally resolve the decades-long
conflict.
Kevin Liptak and MJ Lee contributed reporting.
9:37 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
Jordan claims its field hospital in Gaza was deliberately targeted by Israeli
forces
From CNN's Caroline Faraj and Abeer Salman
The Jordanian military has accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting its field hospital in Gaza on
Wednesday, saying Israeli tanks fired on the hospital where personnel were sheltering.
The Israel Defense Forces have denied the claim, saying they did not strike the Jordanian field hospital and
that the hospital remains "unharmed, fully functioning and continues to provide medical care to those in
need."
The Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement Friday: "This action was not a result of a clash with
resistance factions, asserting that the deliberate targeting of the Jordanian Field Hospital is consistent with
Israel's approach to targeting hospitals in Gaza."
The armed forces said the attack involved heavy firepower, including direct fire from tanks and vehicles, and
that one tank blocked the entrance to the hospital
It said one Jordanian officer and one person from Gaza who was receiving treatment were injured in the
attack, which also caused "substantial material damage" to the facility. The injured Jordanian officer will be
evacuated to Jordan, the statement said.
The Jordanian Army provided video they say shows damage to the hospital following attacks in the area
Wednesday. The video shows what appear to be shell or bullet holes in the walls of the hospital, as well as
damage to the roof.
The IDF acknowledged a member of the medical staff was injured, but said the source of the gunfire "has not
been determined."
10:00 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
Two killed in Israeli strike on vehicle in Lebanon - report
From CNN's Sarah El Sirgany and Amir Tal
People stand near to a car destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in al-Bazouriya, Lebanon, on Saturday, January 20.
Mohammad Zaatari/Reuters
Two people were killed after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a vehicle in Lebanon in the town of al-
Bazouriya near the border, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
A separate drone strike hit a house in Marwahin, Lebanon, that had previously been targeted by Israel,
according to NNA. The agency also said two Israeli airstrikes hit different locations in and around al-Adisa
while Israeli artillery hit towns on the eastern and western sectors of the border.
Hezbollah said it launched three attacks on Israeli military sites on Saturday, targeting soldiers' gatherings
near the Zareit barracks, al-Dhuhaira and Honein.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented on the two reported deaths in Lebanon, but released a
statement regarding strikes in other areas.
The IDF said Israeli Air Force fighter jets "struck terrorist infrastructure, an observation post, and a launch
post belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the area of Al-Adisa in southern Lebanon."
The IDF statement added that overnight, Israeli tanks fired to "remove a threat" in the Har Dov area, also
known as the Shebaa Farms -- a common flashpoint along the border.
The IDF also said it identified two launches from Lebanese territory on Saturday and responded with fire.
Some context: Israel has exchanged cross-border fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since the
outbreak of the conflict.
Fear is growing that what were once tit-for-tat strikes between the two forces in a four-kilometer range of the
northern border region could spiral further.
6:44 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
"Biden is right:" UK shadow foreign secretary appeals for two-state solution
From CNN's Rob Iddiols
The United Kingdom's shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Saturday that a future Labour
government would support a Palestinian state and a two-state solution with Israel.
“We are committed to recognition for a Palestinian state,” Lammy said in an interview on BBC radio ahead of
a scheduled speech on Labour’s foreign policy. “We want to work with international partners to achieve that.”
The Labour party is currently polling far ahead of the ruling Conservative party -- which has also reiterated its
appeal for a two-state solution -- and analysts predict it will defeat the sitting government in a general election
expected later this year. Lammy would become the UK’s foreign secretary should he remain in his assumed
role.
When pressed on how he would deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lammy said: “(US
President Joe) Biden is right, and I have to say, I think that Netanyahu’s words were unacceptable.”
On Thursday, Netanyahu appeared to reject the idea of a Palestinian state after saying that "Israel needs
security control over all territory west of Jordan" after the war. However, he told Biden on Friday that his
comments were not meant to foreclose the outcome of one, a person familiar with the conversation told CNN.
“Of course, the Palestinian people deserve a state," Lammy added. "And if they don’t, the consequences of that
are either one state in which Benjamin Netanyahu would have to explain how Palestinians and Israelis live
side-by-side with equal rights, or no state, in which what he’s really saying is: occupation and siege
continues.”
5:55 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
At least 16 cemeteries in Gaza have been desecrated by Israeli forces, satellite
imagery and videos reveal
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond, Muhammad Darwish, Abeer Salman, Benjamin Brown and Gianluca
Mezzofiore
Palestinians check damaged graves at a cemetery following an Israeli raid in Khan Younis, Gaza, on January
17. Ahmed Zakot/Reuters
The Israeli military has desecrated at least 16 cemeteries in its ground offensive in Gaza, a CNN investigation
has found, leaving gravestones ruined, soil upturned, and, in some cases, bodies unearthed.
In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, where fighting escalated earlier this week, Israeli forces destroyed a
cemetery, removing bodies in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN was part of a search for the
remains of hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks.
CNN has reviewed satellite imagery and social media footage showing the destruction of cemeteries and
witnessed it firsthand while traveling with the IDF in a convoy. Together the evidence reveals a systemic
practice where Israeli ground forces have advanced across the Gaza Strip.
The intentional destruction of religious sites, such as cemeteries, violates international law, except under
narrow circumstances relating to that site becoming a military objective, and legal experts told CNN that
Israel’s acts could amount to war crimes.
A spokesman for the IDF could not account for the destruction of the 16 cemeteries CNN provided
coordinates for, but said the military sometimes has “no other choice” but to target cemeteries it claimed
Hamas uses for military purposes.
The IDF said rescuing the hostages and finding and returning their bodies is one of its key missions in Gaza,
which is why bodies were removed from some gravesites.
Read more.
12:01 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
It's morning in Gaza. Here's what you need to know
Intense Israeli bombardment and heavy fighting in the area around a large hospital in southern Gaza killed at
least 29 people Friday, according to Palestinian state news agency WAFA.
Nasser Hospital, the largest remaining health facility in the city of Khan Younis, and several residential
buildings came under "violent bombardment" by Israeli artillery and military vehicles, according to WAFA.
Khan Younis has been the epicenter of Israel's ground operation in recent weeks. The fighting has forced
thousands of Gazans to flee the area, many of them already displaced from northern neighborhoods where
Israel first launched its offensive.
Displaced Palestinians continue to arrive in overcrowded Rafah, near the border with Egypt, by "the
thousands," a United Nations human rights official said Friday. There, they shelter in makeshift tents with
little food or clean water.
US citizen death: The State Department officially confirmed the death of a US citizen in the West Bank on
Friday and has asked the Israeli government for more information. Earlier, citing local sources, Palestinian
news agency WAFA had said a 17-year-old Palestinian American was fatally shot in the occupied West Bank
town of Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya.
Harrowing claims from Gaza detainees: A UN Human Rights official says he has met Palestinian men
in Gaza who described being beaten, blindfolded and held for weeks in Israeli detention. The official, Ajith
Sunghay, shared their accounts and called on Israel to observe international human rights laws. In a
statement of response, Israel's military said it detains Gazans suspected of terror activities for security reasons
and observes international law. It did not directly address most of the claims relayed by Sunghay.
Communications coming back on line: Service is slowly being restored after a near-total
telecommunications blackout in the Gaza Strip that lasted more than a full week — the longest of the Israel-
Hamas war, according to the internet monitoring site NetBlocks.
Diplomatic divide: US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, one
day after the Israeli leader appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state — a comment that would
put him at odds with Biden’s position. The US president reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the
conflict (one in which an independent Palestinian state exists peacefully alongside Israel).
More US strikes in Yemen: The US struck additional anti-ship missiles belonging to the Houthi rebels in
Yemen today, according to a US official, marking the sixth time in the past 10 days the US has targeted the
Iranian proxy group. The US says it is trying to deter more attacks by the Houthis on commercial shipping in
the Red Sea, but Biden conceded Thursday that so far the attacks have not abated. Concerns remain,
meanwhile, about widening conflict in the Middle East during the Israel-Hamas war.
Damage to Gaza institutions: Fighting south of Gaza City damaged buildings at Al-Israa University on
Wednesday, according to WAFA. Palestinian officials say all universities in the enclave have now been
destroyed or at least damaged. CNN has geolocated images of the damage Wednesday that match the
university's location. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
12:00 a.m. ET, January 20, 2024
State Department confirms US citizen death in West Bank and asks Israel for
more details
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The State Department officially confirmed the death of a US citizen in the West Bank on Friday and has asked
the Israeli government for more information, a spokesperson told CNN.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the family," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not provide the individual's name due to privacy considerations.
"Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment," the spokesperson said.
CNN reported earlier Friday, citing Palestinian news agency WAFA, that Tawfiq Hafiz Ajjaq, 17, was fatally
shot.
The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) and Israeli police told CNN it received a report that an off-duty police officer
and an Israeli civilian fired toward a “Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area of Al-
Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya.”
IDF says it is reviewing claims that a soldier has fired at him, while the Israeli police have also launched an
investigation.
