Latest news on Gaza conflict

The Israel Defense Forces said it has killed several senior Hamas commanders in the past several days, including agents involved in the terror attacks of Oct. 7.

In a Telegram update, the Israeli military said among those killed were Hamas company commander Ahmed Musa and platoon commander Omar Al-Hindi, both located in western Jabalia.

The Israeli forces also said the head of the sniper array of Hamas’ northern brigade, Mohammed Kahlout, was killed.

CNBC could not verify the information.

The IDF has reported killing multiple senior Hamas commanders since the start of the conflict, and names this, along with the release of hostages and the complete demilitarization of the Palestinian militant group, as the objectives of its war campaign in the Gaza Strip.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk again called for a cease-fire in the Israeli-Hamas war and for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group, while urging Israel to protect civilians in the West Bank.

“What is needed, urgently … is for the parties to agree to a ceasefire on the basis of critical human rights imperatives – to deliver food, water and other essential goods to people who desperately need them and where they need them, throughout Gaza; for all hostages to be released; and to open a path to a sustainable way out of this nightmarish situation in Gaza,” he said, in a speech delivered in Jordan.

“I also appeal, as a matter of urgency, for Israeli authorities to take immediate measures to take steps to ensure protection of Palestinians in the West Bank – who are being on a daily basis subjected to violence from Israeli forces and settlers, ill treatment, arrests, evictions, intimidation and humiliation.”

Türk condemned the “atrocious attacks” of Hamas on Oct. 7, which should “outrage each and every one of us,” as well as the “indiscriminate effects” of Israeli attacks in densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip.

He said the U.N. human rights agency continues to monitor strikes against hospitals in the Gaza enclave, adding, “Considering the predictable high level of civilian casualty and the wide scale of destruction of civilian objects we have very serious concerns that these amount to disproportionate attacks in breach of international humanitarian law.”

Israel has repeatedly said it does not target civilians and sets out to demilitarize Hamas positions.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Turkey has broached the possibility of increasing humanitarian aid flows to the Gaza Strip with the United States, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, according to Google-translated comments reported by state-run news agency Anadolu.

During U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting in Turkey with his counterpart Hakan Fidan earlier this week, Ankara proposed increasing the number of trucks bearing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to at least 500 per day — close to the number of truck deliveries that the U.N. assesses took place before the conflict.

“In addition to all these, the ambulance shortage must also be eliminated,” Erdogan said. “We will also take steps by cooperating with some countries on medicine, food, etc.”

Ankara has been critical of Israel’s retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of a disproportionate response to the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7.

Erdogan stressed that Turkey’s primary goal in the conflict remains a cease-fire. Referring to Western countries, he added, “We need concrete steps, not heroic rhetoric and empty humanitarian shows. They say, ‘We are striving for a better road map.'”

He went on, “If you are sincere about the ceasefire, put pressure on Israel to implement the U.N. resolutions. Because people are dying, mothers are losing their babies, children are losing their parents. We are trying to do something to stop this bleeding wound.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Hospitals in Gaza City have been subject to attack by Israeli forces since early Friday morning, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which falls under the Hamas administration, said.

Spokesman Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra said “simultaneous raids on a number of hospitals” had been conducted, according to a NBC News translation. “The Israeli occupation’s continued targeting of hospitals in Gaza causes a major disaster.”

Al-Qudra added that the Israeli military had targeted the grounds of the al-Shifa Medical Complex, where injured people were sheltering.

CNBC is unable to independently verify the information.

Earlier, NBC News reported that health officials and residents of Gaza City had observed blasts and battles near a number of hospitals.

Humanitarian groups say medical facilities throughout the Gaza enclave are at breaking point, overcrowded and desperately lacking food, water, energy and medical supplies. Earlier this week, the U.N. and World Health Organization described conditions at al-Shifa — Gaza’s largest hospital — as “disastrous.”

— Katrina Bishop

Iran coordinates and cooperates with so-called resistance groups — which it has previously said includes Palestinian militant group Hamas — but does not order their operations, Tehran’s envoy to the U.N. said Thursday, according to a Google-translated report from the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, stressed “we have clearly said that Iran is not involved in any of the attacks against the American forces in the region,” positioning Tehran at some distance from recent attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.

Touching on the Israel-Hamas war, Iravani said Tehran has also “emphasized that we do not intend to expand this war front,” but noted that, if the conflict continues, it could spread to the broader Middle East region.

Iran supports Palestinian militant group Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian administration of Bashar al-Assad — all of which Israel has accused of attacks since Oct. 7.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israel Defense Forces said they struck an organization in Syria that on Thursday launched a drone attack toward southern Israeli port city of Eilat, allegedly hitting a school.

CNBC could not independently confirm developments on the ground.

The Israeli military did not identify the organization or explicitly name it as the Iran-backed government of Bashar al-Assad, but said on Telegram that it “holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for every terror activity emanating from its territory. The IDF will respond severely to every aggression against Israeli territory.”

The latest hostilities add to a spate of shelling and drone attacks between Israel and nearby countries in the Middle East that have taken place since Oct. 7. Israel has also been trading fire— it says, from a defensive position — with Yemeni Houthi and Lebanese Hezbollah, which, like Hamas, are also sponsored by Iran.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israeli military has criticized Hamas’ use of civilian garments and facilities while fighting, which blurs the lines between civilian and military positions.

“The point here being no distinction between military and civilian, abuse of civilian facilities, and the fact that they are not fighting in uniform,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus in an overnight update.

The Israeli military previously reported finding weapon stocks and entryways to the underground network of Hamas near civilian Palestinian sites.

Conricus also asked whether the Gaza Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled territories — whose published death tolls Israel has questioned — would add the killing of a Hamas operative in civilian clothing to its count of civilian casualties.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees on Thursday launched a $481 million humanitarian appeal for the occupied Palestinian territories.

The funding seeks to address the humanitarian needs of the people stranded in the besieged and resource-deprived Gaza Strip and in the West Bank until the end of this year.

“One month into a tight siege and a brutal war, the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip are colossal. They grow by the hour. Last week in Gaza, children asked me if I had a piece of bread or a sip of water. It was one of the saddest moments,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Paris humanitarian conference on Thursday.

UNRWA has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and for higher flows of humanitarian aid, which is currently largely being supplied by slowly progressing trucks traversing the Rafah crossing — the only exit route out of the Gaza enclosure not controlled by Israel.

“Our abilities are stretched to the limits, as our staff themselves are displaced, enduring huge losses and mourning 99 UNRWA colleagues killed,” Lazzarini added.  

— Ruxandra Iordache

Israel’s military said a drone exploded Thursday in the yard of a house in the Red Sea city of Eilat, causing no injuries, and a long-range surface-to-surface missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace.

Later, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they fired a batch of ballistic missiles at Israeli targets, some of which were heading for Eilat, acording to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sare’e.

Thursday’s round of missile fire is one of at least five ariel attacks the Houthis have launched against southern Israel since Oct. 7. The Iran-backed force, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, are staunch enemies of Israel and have vowed to continue their military operations in support of Palestinians.

— Associated Press

The U.S. humanitarian envoy for the war described improving aid delivery for central and southern Gaza, but described no such effort in the northern battle zone other than to help civilians flee the intensifying Israeli assault there.

Envoy David Satterfield said Thursday that the international community had been able to get fuel to turn back on water desalination plants in the south, and that aid into the south was averaging 100 trucks a day. Two pipelines supplying clean drinking water to the south from Israel had been turned back on.

“We do see the ability in the coming days we hope to meet the minimum requirements of the population in the south,” he said.

Satterfield also said in the online briefing that agreements being worked out would include a way to move wounded from the north.

The U.N. estimated on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of people were still in northern Gaza, but could not immediately provide an updated figure.

— Associated Press

The Israeli military emphasized that there is no cease-fire in Gaza as the White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza.

“There are tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians,” the Israel Defense Forces said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “These tactical pauses are limited in time and area. We are also providing humanitarian corridors for civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south to safer areas where they can receive humanitarian aid.”

In a separate statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, “The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages.”

— Michele Luhn

The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in norther Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting.

President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily pauses during a Monday call.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.

Biden also told reporters that he had asked the Israelis for a “pause longer than three days” during negotiations over the release of some hostages held by Hamas, though he ruled out the chances of a general cease-fire.

— The Associated Press

At least 10,812 Palestinians — 4,412 of them children — have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday in its latest update.

At least 1,400 have been killed and more 7,198 have been wounded in Israel, the Israeli government said on Nov. 7.

CNBC could not independently verify the figures.

— Karen Gilchrist