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Israeli military's intelligence chief resigns over October 7 Hamas attacks
From CNN’s Eugenia Yosef and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong
The head of the Israeli military's intelligence branchhasresigned over his unit's failures during the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“It was decided that MG Aharon Haliva will end his position and retire from the IDF, once his successor is appointed in an orderly and professional process,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Monday.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who has served in the IDF for 38 years, is the first senior military figure to resign over the October 7 attacks, when Hamas fighters stormed the border into Israel.
The attack was widely seen as a major Israeli intelligence failure, with several top defense andsecurity officials coming forwardin October to take responsibility to some extent for missteps that led to the attacks.
Following the attack that caught Israel off-guard, Haliva admitted to an “intelligence failure” by his unit in notdetecting Hamas' plans.
“We didn’t fulfil our most important task, and as the head of the Intelligence Directorate, I take full responsibility for this failure,” he said at the time.
Jerusalem car-ramming attack wounds three people, Israeli police say
From CNN's Irene Nasser and Eugenia Yosef
Three people were mildly wounded in Jerusalem on Monday morning after a vehicle rammed into them on a street, Israeli police say.
Police said that three pedestrians were hit by a moving vehicle in a "ramming terror attack" onMordechai Tekhelet Streetat 8 a.m. local time.
After the incident, two people emerged from the car holding weapons and then discarded them as they fled the scene on foot. The police said that they had failed to open fire before running away.
The Shaarey Zedek Medical Center said it admitted a 21-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy for mild injuries following the attack.
It's morning in the Middle East. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
The Israeli military has ended one of its largest offensives in the occupied West Bank since October 7, saying it killed 10 "terrorists" in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp.
At least 14 people,including a child, were killed in the raid, the Palestinian Health Ministry and Wafa news agency said.
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.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians near Hebron on Sunday, in what the military says was an attempted attack on soldiers.
Meanwhile, anambulance driverwas killed in the West Bank on Saturday when his vehicle was hit by gunfire while transporting Palestinians wounded in an attack by Israeli settlers.
Violence by Israeli settlers and troops in the West Bank has surged during Israel's war in Gaza. The spike has prompted more sanctions by the US and EU.
Here are the latest developments in the region:
- US funding for Israel: The US House of Representatives has approved $26.4 billion in aid to Israel as part of a wider foreign aid package that still needs to pass the Senate. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority president strongly condemned the move.
- Netanyahu vows to press on: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel would soon land "additional and painful blows" and would increase "military and political pressure" on Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to a video statement. His vow comes despite pressure from the US and others to limit civilian casualties and increase aid to the Palestinian enclave.
- War cabinet meeting: Israel's war cabinet met late on Sunday to discuss efforts to free the hostages, 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. In his video message, Netanyahu said Hamas had rejected proposals for a hostage deal "outright."
- Blinken speaks with Gallant: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday. They discussed efforts to protect Israel’s security, enable hostage negotiations, and increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, a White House readout said.
- Aid drops: The US military conducted another round of aid airdrops in northern Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total amount of aid delivered by air in Gaza to nearly 1,001 tons since March 2. The UN and aid agencies havequestioned the effectivenessof airdrops from several countries.
- Israel strikes Lebanon: Israeli strikes hit four sites in southern Lebanon over the weekend, Lebanese state-owned National News Agency reported. The Israeli military confirmed three of the four attacks, hitting what it said were Hezbollah targets. Israeli and Hezbollah forces have engaged in cross-border fire andtit-for-tat exchangessince October 7.
- Iran tensions: Iran’s supreme leader has called on the country’s armed forces to continue their fight against Israel by pursuing military innovation and learning "the enemy's tactics." 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.
Nearly 1,001 tons of aid airdropped in Gaza since March 2, US military says
From CNN's Philip Wang
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted another round of aid airdrops in northern Gaza on Sunday,
CENTCOM said the operation brings the total amount of aid delivered by air in Gaza to nearly 1,001 tons since March 2.
The latest operation, which included four US Air Force C-13 aircraft, airdropped 50,688 meals.
One bundle landed in the sea during the operation.
Some context: The United Nations and aid agencies havequestioned the effectivenessof airdrops from several countries, saying that land crossings are the best means of aid delivery to the enclave.
Soldiers killed two Palestinians in West Bank, Israeli military says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Irene Nasser
Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians at Beit Einun Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, in what the military says was an attempted attack on soldiers.
The Israel Defense Forces said that two men arrived at the junction, and one of them “attempted to stab IDF soldiers that were in the area, who responded with live fire and neutralized him.”
Another man then “opened fire at the soldiers, who responded with live fire and neutralized him too,” the military said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank named the two men as 19-year-old Muhammad Jabarin and 18-year-old Musa Jabarin.
A video believed to be of the incident, which CNN cannot independently verify, shows one man ducking behind a large concrete block — often placed by the Israeli military at checkpoints and junctions to create barriers and block roads.
The man does not appear to move from his location and it is not immediately clear in the video if he is holding anything in his hands. After about 30 seconds, gunfire is heard and the man falls to the ground.
There was only one man in the video.
Violence by Israeli settlersand troops in the occupied West Bank has surged during Israel's war in Gaza.
Blinken spoke with Israeli defense minister about security and hostage negotiations
From CNN's Philip Wang
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, according to State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Blinken and Gallant discussed efforts to protect Israel’s security, enable hostage negotiations, and increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the readout said.
Blinken also “underscored the importance of measures to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
Israeli military concludes deadly raid on refugee camp in occupied West Bank
From CNN's Benjamin Brown
Israeli troops have ended a two-day operation in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, the military told CNN on Sunday.
Images fromthe offensiveon 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, includingone child, were killed in the raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and official news agency Wafa said Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces said 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 spiked during Israel's war in Gaza.
On Saturday, anambulance driverfrom the Palestine Red Crescent Society was killed when his vehicle was hit by gunfire while transporting Palestinians wounded in an attack by settlers in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Israelisettler attacks on Palestiniansin the occupied territory increased in 2023 to theirhighest levelsince the UN began recording data in 2006,Human Rights Watchreported Wednesday.
At least 483 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, according to the health ministry.
The spike inviolence by extremist settlershas led tomore sanctionsby the US and EU.
Israeli military strikes four locations in Lebanon, state news agency reports
From CNN’s Charbel Mallo, Benjamin Brown, and Irene Nasser
Israeli strikes hit four sites in southern Lebanon over the weekend, 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 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 Lebanesemilitant groupwith 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" that 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 andtit-for-tat exchangessince October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel.
Hezbollah’s political stance has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants. It has roundly condemned Israel’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza.
CNN's Tamara Qiblawi and Abeer Salman contributed reporting.
Netanyahu says Israel will soon land "additional and painful blows" on Hamas
From CNN staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel would soon land "additional and painful blows" and increase "military and political pressure" on Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to a video statement released by the government.
His vow comes despite pressure from the United States and other countries to limit civilian casualties and increase aid to Gaza.
"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 said in a message to mark Passover.
Talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal facilitated by international mediators for weeks have yielded no apparent breakthroughs of late. Hamas had rejected proposals for a hostage deal "outright," Netanyahu said.
War cabinet meets: Also on Sunday, the Israeli war cabinet met to discuss efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, according to an Israeli official. The war cabinet is made up of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity Party.
