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20 more bodies recovered from Khan Younis hospital mass grave, Gaza officials say, bringing total to 344
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Eyad Kourdi
A Palestinian excavation operation has uncovered approximately 20 additional remains at a mass grave discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex, the director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis told CNN Wednesday.
The 20 recovered remains are in addition to the 324 already recovered by the Palestinian civil defense, as previously reported by CNN. The total number of recovered remains now stands approximately at 344.
"We sort and assemble the bodies because most of the bodies are dismembered," said Colonel Yamen Abu Suleiman, who oversees the excavation.
The mass grave was discovered at the hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis by the Civil Defense workers after Israeli troops withdrew from the area.
In response to a CNN inquiry about the mass graves at Nasser Medical Complex, the Israeli military said the "claim that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded."
The United Nations in a statement on Tuesday called for an "independent, effective, and transparent investigation" into the discovery of mass graves in two Gaza hospitals after they were besieged and raided by Israeli troops earlier this year.
Crowds gather in Tel Aviv, marking 200 days of hostages being held in Gaza
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London and Lauren Izso in Tel Aviv
Huge crowds gathered inTel Aviv on Tuesday evening to mark 200 days of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Videos shared with CNN showed demonstrators covering their mouths with masking tape inscribed with the number "200."
Demonstrators marched through central Tel Aviv along Dizengoff Street, and visited the United States embassy along the coastline.
Family members of hostages addressed a large crowd gathered in Hostages Square, where successive protests have been held since the October 7 attacks.
Yamit Ashkenazi, whose sister Doron Steinbrecher is still being held in Gaza, shared her sense of guilt, saying: "I fear that when my little sister returns, right before she hugs me and breaks down, she will ask me, 'Where were you?'"
Talks between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of further hostages have so far yielded no result. During a call on Tuesday with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog, US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated the US' commitment to secure the "releaseof allhostages."
Palestinian woman shot dead in Hebron after she allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Kareem Khadder in Jerusalem
A Palestinian woman has been shot dead by Israeli troops at a checkpoint in Hebron in the occupied West Bank after she allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier.
The 20-year-old woman, named Maimunah Abdel Al-Hamid Harahsha, was killed by "occupation gunfire north of Hebron," the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs said Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said "an attempted stabbing attack was thwarted against IDF soldiers at an IDF post in the area of the Okfim Junction."
"The terrorist was armed with a knife and ran toward the soldiers, who responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist. No injuries were reported," the IDF statement added.
UN calls for investigation into mass graves at two Gaza hospitals raided by Israel
From CNN's Irene Nasser and Duarte Mendonca
The UN has called for an “independent, effective and transparent investigation” into the discovery of mass graves at two Gaza hospital complexes after they were besieged and raided by Israeli troops earlier this year.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “horrified” by the scenes reported at the Nasser and Al-Shifa complexes.
“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” Turk said Tuesday.
“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.”
A mass grave with 324 bodies was uncovered this week at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis by Gaza Civil Defense workers following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.
Earlier in April, health workers exhumed corpses from mass graves at Al-Shifa after they said Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians and left their bodies to decompose during their two-week siege of the complex in northern Gaza.
At least 381 bodies were recovered from Al-Shifa after Israeli forces withdrew on April 1, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
The US State Department on Tuesday expressed concern over the “troubling” discovery of mass graves.
The "reports are incredibly troubling. And we’re inquiring on this with the Government of Israel,” US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
Read the full story here.
Germany to resume cooperation with UNRWA following independent review
From CNN staff
Germany will resume cooperation with the UN's relief agency for Palestinians in Gaza (UNRWA) after the organization accepted the recommendations of an independent review of its neutrality.
The German foreign office said it was pleased that UNRWA said it would heed the recommendations of the review headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and implement them "swiftly and in full."
"In support of these reforms, the German government will soon continue its cooperation with UNRWA in Gaza, as Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan, among others, have already done," the foreign office said.
Some context: The review was launched after Israelalleged that a dozen of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza staffers were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
It was not tasked with addressing the allegations but had a broader mandate to "assess whether UNRWA is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality." Israel's allegations are still under investigation by the UN.
UNRWA fired several employeesafter the allegations and launched an investigation, promising that anyone involved in the October 7 attacks would be held accountable.
The allegations led the US and at least 13 of its allies to pull funding for the UN agency, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees. Several countries have since resumed funding.
Israeli politicians thank US for aid package
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Irene Nasser
Israeli politicians have thanked the US for passing a$95 billion funding packagethat includes $26 billion in aid for Israel.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz joined President Isaac Herzog in expressing their gratitude on Wednesday.
Lapid thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell "for leading a huge bipartisan majority in support of security assistance for Israel."
"With the threats we face from across the region, Israel’s strategic relationship with the US is a pillar of our national security," Lapid said.
Katz said "Israel and the United States stand together in the fight against terrorism, defending democracy and our shared values."
"It is a clear testament to the strength of our alliance and sends a strong message to all our enemies," he wrote on X.
Thepackage will also send funding toUkraineand Taiwan.
51 more bodies recovered from mass grave at hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza officials say
From CNN's Kareem Khadder
Dozens more bodies have been recovered from a mass grave at a hospital in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza General Directorate of Civil Defense.
The Civil Defense said 324 bodies had now been recovered at the Nasser Medical Complex following thewithdrawal of Israeli forcesfrom the area earlier this month.
In the latest recovery efforts, the bodies of 51 people of "various categories and ages" had been recovered. Of them, 30 bodies were identified.
Col. Yamen Abu Suleiman, Director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis, previously told CNN that some of the bodies had been found with hands and feet tied, and there were signs of field executions.
"We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed,” he said.
The Civil Defense said Wednesday that crews would continue search and recovery operations in the coming days.
Israeli president thanks US Senate for passing aid bill
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis
Israel's President Isaac Herzog has thanked the US Senate for passing a funding package that includes $26 billion in aid to Israel.
"Thank you to the members of the US Senate, on both sides of the aisle, for your wide and firm support for the Israel aid package," Herzog said. "Together we stand united in the face of those who threaten our shared values."
The package will provide $26.4 billion to aid Israel, including $4 billion for the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems and $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam defense system, which counters short-range rockets and mortar threats.
The long-delayed $95 billion packagewill also send funding toUkraine and Taiwan.
It's morning in the Middle East. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
The US Senate haspassed a $95 billion packagethat includes moneyfor Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
The new legislation includes sanctions on Iran, the seizure of frozen Russian sovereign assets and a measure that could lead to a nationwide ban of TikTok.
The bill next goes to PresidentJoe Biden, who said he would sign it into law on Wednesday.
“This critical legislation will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin,” Biden said.
Here are the latest developments in the region:
- Death toll keeps rising: After 200 days of war, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Its counterpart in Ramallah said that 72% of those killed in Gaza were children, women and the elderly. CNNcannot independently confirm these numbers due to the lack of international mediaaccess.
- Hamas vows to keep fighting: Hamas' military wing has vowed continued attacks on Israel. "We will keep attacking the enemy with different techniques as long as the aggressioncontinuesonour land," said Abu Obaida, spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades. He also said Israel is "trying to renounce all his promises" in ceasefire negotiations and wants to "gain more time."
- More bodies found in mass grave: Emergency workers recovered at least 35 more bodies from a mass grave in theNasser medical complex in southern Gaza after Israeli forces withdrew from the neighborhood earlier this month. The total number of bodies found is now 310, according to a local official.
- Humanitarian crisis: More than 270,000 tons of solid waste across Gaza remain uncollected, according to the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), as Israel's military campaign has disrupted essential services. The agency also reported that more than 75% of the population has been displaced, that relief operations there have been “severely restricted” by Israel, and that the health system in the enclave has been crushed.
- US urges Israel to avoid famine in Gaza: A top State Department official said that the risk offamineinGazais currently “very high, especially in the north.” Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues David Satterfield said "Israel must do everything possible to facilitate efforts to avertfamineinGaza."
- US campus protests: Pro-Palestinian protests are rocking major American universities, prompting school officials across the country to take extraordinary steps to confront the growing crisis.
- Iranian threats: Iran's president said there would "be nothing left" of Israel if it attacked Iran again. The warning came after Israel on Friday carried out a military strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN, although Israel has not officially claimed the attack.
- Latest out of Lebanon: The Israeli military says it killed two members of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. In the southern village of Hanine in Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike targeted a house that killed at least two people and wounded six others, according to state-run media NNA.
- Qatar's Hamas office: Qatar has ruled out shutting Hamas' office in its capital "as long as mediation channels continue." Qataris yet to decide whether it will shut the office,as it questions the Palestinian militant group and Israel’s commitment to reach a hostage-ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Qatar, which is leading negotiations on the deal, is under pressure from Israeli and US politicians over its links with Hamas.
