At least 13 people killed, including 7 children, after strike on central Gaza's Al-Maghazi refugee camp
From CNN's Mohammad Al-Sawalhi in Gaza, CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman and Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem
At least 13 people were killed, including seven children, and more than 25 people were wounded after a strike targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital officials.
Graphic video obtained exclusively by CNN from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah shows several casualties scattered on the floor, including children, with blood streaming around the area. Dozens of people appear to be running around in panic, screaming and trying to count and carry the dead bodies. A foosball table covered in dust is seen among the dead bodies.
Owdetallah, who lives in the camp, told CNN he heard an explosion at around 3:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
"I immediately walked to see what happened and found dead bodies thrown on the ground. People screaming, kids screaming. Kids dead on the ground. They were just playing foosball, and they were martyred," he said.
Footage shot for CNN from inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shows a continuous flow of causalities and injured people being ushered in, as the emergency room is crowded with patients, including several wounded children, crying out on the floor.
Video from inside a morgue at the hospital shows families trying to identify their loved ones among the deceased. Fatmeh Issa points to a white body bag with a young boy’s bloodied face exposed, telling CNN, "This is my son."
Another man cries out, “They have nothing to do with anyone! They are civilians. Have mercy on us. You are killing children. You are not killing an army or fighters; you are killing children who were peacefully playing in the street."
Video shows him handing a young girl’s dead body to another man, both men crying out Quranic verses and sobbing. The man who receives her body is seen placing her on the ground, and covers her body with a jacket, telling CNN she is his daughter.
"This is my oldest daughter … her name is Lujain, she is 9-years-old. A strike hit them while they were playing out in the street. They are all just children,” he said.CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment buthas not yet received a response.
UN commission accuses Israel of obstructing its probe into October 7 attacks
From CNN’s BenjaminBrown, Caitlin Danaher and Eugenia Yosef
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry accused Israel of actively obstructing its efforts to collect evidence from victims and first-hand witnesses of Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel on October 7.
"So far as the government of Israel is concerned, we have faced not merely a lack of cooperation, but active obstruction of our efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims to the events that occurred in southern Israel," commissioner Chris Sidoti saidon Tuesdayat a UN briefing for diplomats in Geneva, organized by Egypt.
The UN Commission of Inquiry has been collecting evidence of war crimes committed by all sides in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories since October 7, 2023.
The commissioner appealed to the Israeli government to cooperate and urged victims and witnesses to the events in southern Israel to contact the commission. “We have contact with many, but we would like to have contact with more,” Sidoti said.
CNN has reached out to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
US will go back to Israel with evidence from report on Palestinian child's death, State Department says
From CNN's Michael Conte
The United States will be going to Israel with new information from aWashington Post reportthat contradicts the results of an Israeli investigation into the death of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was found dead in Gaza in February.
"What we're going to do is take the information that is contained in that Washington Post story, we're going to go back to the government of Israel and ask them for further information,” Matthew Miller, State Department spokesperson, said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Miller said the report contradicts what Israel told the US, that “there were no IDF units in the area at the time of her death.”
"The death of Hind Rajab is really an unspeakable tragedy, something that never should have occurred and never should occur," Miller said.
The US called on Israel to investigate Rajab’s death in February, and Miller now says the US “would still welcome a full investigation into this matter, and how it occurred in the first place.”
More: Rajab was found dead after being trapped in a car with members of her family who were reportedly shot to death by Israeli forces weeks prior. Rescue workers dispatched to find her were also reportedly shot and killed.
US continuing to review findings of Israeli probe into World Central Kitchen strike, State Department says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The United States is continuing to review the findings of the Israeli investigation into the deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
"There hasn't been a final assessment," Miller said. The US was briefed on the findings on April 4.Miller said the US is engaging "with humanitarian organizations to see what questions they have, and that process is ongoing."
The United States is “not at this time” calling for an independent investigation, Miller said. He said he did not have a timetable for when its assessment will be completed.
US will restrict Iranian foreign minister's movements while in New York, source says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The US will restrict the movements of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his delegation while they are in New York this week, a source familiar told CNN.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller had earlier indicated that the US would place additional travel restrictions on the minister, who will be in New York for a meeting at the United Nations.
According to the source familiar, Amir-Abdollahian and the Iranian delegation’s travel is restricted to the seven blocks north-south and one block west surrounding the UN headquarters in Manhattan, the Iranian Mission to the UN, the residence of their permanent representative to the UN, the six blocks surrounding Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, and access to John F. Kennedy International Airport using a specific driving route.
Iran's response: Iran has not been notified of any additional restrictions onthe movements of Amir-Abdollahian and the country's delegation while they are in New York, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN told CNN.
The spokesperson explained that the movements of Amir-Abdollahian and the delegation, including diplomats from the Iranian Mission to the UN, have always been restricted to a 25-mile radius surrounding UN headquarters in Manhattan.
The post was updated with a response from the Iranian mission.
Iran "seems to be business as usual" after closing nuclear facilities on Sunday, IAEA chief says
From CNN's Raja Razek
After Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday for "security considerations," Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, toldCNN that its inspectors are back in the facilities and the "situation seems to be business as usual."
He also noted that the situation was "extremely tense" over the weekend.
Israel’s war cabinet met again on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s response to Iran’s drone and missile attack.
Grossi saidthe IAEA believes that in times of conflict, the targeting of nuclear facilities "could be perhaps tempting for a military decision-maker — It will be a terrible mistake with potentially very serious consequences."
He added that he does not have "any information or anyindication that there is planning on the part of Israel or any other state to be targeting nuclear facilities." Grossi said the agency is still on alert and that "there should be extreme restraint on everybody's side."
As for Tehran's current nuclear program, Grossi said Iran "continues to amass important quantities of uranium enriched at levels that are very, very close, technically identical I would say, with those which are required for nuclear weapons," but cautionedthat "that does not mean that this equivalent to a nuclear weapon."
Iran has long held that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes, despite skepticism from the international community.
US treasury secretary warns US will strengthen Iran sanctions
From CNN’s Maisie Linford
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury would use its sanctions authority and work with allies to "continue disrupting the Iranian regime's malign and destabilizing activity."
Speaking in a news conference in Washington, DC, Yellen said:
“From this weekend’s attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers.”
Her comments Tuesday come as global finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Washington for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
US urges restraint as Israel plans response to Iranian missile attack. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Sources in Washington told CNN they expect Israel's response to Iran's retaliatory strikes on Sunday to be limited in scope, as US officials seek to minimize the threat of a wider regional war.
In Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed at least 46 Palestinians over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health there reported on Tuesday, raising the total death toll to 33,843 people.
Here are the latest developments:
- US officials warn against increased tensions: The Israeli military has not given the US an official warning about when or how it will respond to Iran's barrage of missiles, a senior administration official said, adding that "any additional move now opens up a series of other possibilities, some of which are quite frightening." A second source told CNN that US intelligence suggests Israel is considering a narrow and limited strike inside Iranian territory.
- Leaders urge calm: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to Israel Tuesday in an attempt to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Iran.At the same time, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN he discussed with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts upholding "tranquility and peace" in the region.
- Gaza death toll: The health ministry in Gaza reported that as of April 13, 14,560 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. Another 9,582 women and 485 medical staff have been killed, the ministry said. Of those killed, at least 72% were women and children.
- Children orphaned by war: As Israel's offensive in Gaza surpassed six months, the UN reported that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned. One child is wounded or dies every 10 minutes, the UN said, adding that more than 1 million women and girls in the enclave are facing "catastrophic hunger."
- Israeli artist calls for ceasefire: Artist Ruth Patir,Israel’s representative at the Venice Biennalein Italy, has said she won’t open her exhibit until a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza has been reached. A petition signed by more than 23,000 people had recently called for Israel to be excluded from the international cultural exhibition, as calls for a truce and an independent Palestinian statehave grown.
US Navy has spent $1 billion on munitions to thwart attacks in Middle East, US Navy Secretary says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
The US Navy has spent nearly $1 billiononmunitions to thwart “over 130 direct attacks” on US military and merchant ships in the Middle East over the past six months,the US Navy Secretary said Tuesday.
US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro urged lawmakers on Tuesday to pass the supplemental national security package to replenish munitions.
“Over the course of the last six months …. we have actually countered over 130 direct attacks on US Navy ships and merchant ships,” Del Toro told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“The munitions that are critical to these counterstrikes are extremely important to the Department of the Navy," Del Toro said.
"We currently have approaching $1 billion in munitions that we need to replenish at some point in time. So therefore, the over $2 billion that’s provided for in the supplemental is direly critical to our Navy and Marine Corps to be able to replenish those munitions and continue to provide the types of defensive measures that we have this past six and a half months now.”
