March 21, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi "discussed negotiations to secure an immediate ceasefire for at least six weeks and the release of all hostages," according to a readout of their Thursday Cairo meeting.

El-Sisi stressed “the necessity of an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza during his talks with Blinken, a statement from the Egyptian Presidency said.

According to the statement, Sisi told the US delegation that the Gaza Strip and its people “are being exposed to a humanitarian catastrophe and famine that threaten the lives of innocent civilians."

Both Egypt and the US agreed on the need to ensure humanitarian access is provided into Gaza, and the "rejection of the displacement of Palestinians outside their lands in any way or form," the statement said.

Blinken arrived in Egypt Thursday from Saudi Arabia on his latest visit to the region. He is slated to meet with the Egyptian foreign minister as well as the nation's intel chief, who has been involved in hostage negotiations.

He will also sit down with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, as well as the Palestinian Authority, while in Cairo Thursday. He then travels to Israel on Friday. 

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

As Israel's operation at Al-Shifa hospital continues into its fourth day, video has emerged from the complex showing women hiding in stairwells as loudspeakers warn them that if they leave, they will be shot.

The video, filmed through a hole in an exterior wall, shows at least twenty women and children on a staircase. In it, a voice on a loudspeaker can be heard telling people:

A woman then says over the video: “We are in Al-Shifa Medical Complex. They took our men and went away. Now, the women are left behind and we don’t know to where you want to take us.”

In the video, a man adds: “At this moment plumes of smoke are bellowing from inside the complex.”

The loudspeaker is heard a second time: “Don’t worry and don’t fear us. We have come here in order to get the Israeli hostages, then we will let you go. We evacuated all the hospitals, one by one without any injuries. Let’s do it once more. Please be aware, do not leave the hospital premises until further instructions from the IDF.”

CNN is reaching out to the IDF for comment on messages being broadcast into Al-Shifa.

The spokesperson for Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, said that on Wednesday, a fire had broken out in a building close to the hospital. He described the area as “a battlefield. There are burning and bombing of houses,” with dead and wounded on the roads.

Civil Defense workers were still unable to reach the hospital area because of the danger. 

The Israeli military says its operation in the vicinity of Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza is continuing into a fourth day.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that along with the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) troops, it is "continuing to conduct precise operational activity in the Shifa hospital."

The IDF claimed to have "eliminated" more than 50 people it described as "terrorists" in the past day, and more than 140 since the operation began on Monday, it also claimed to have found weapons storage facilities at the hospital.

CNN asked the IDF for details about the people it said it killed or detained during its operation at Al-Shifa on Wednesday, and has not yet received a reply.

Little information is emerging from the hospital complex, where hundreds of people are still thought to be trapped. Many others have fled the immediate area.

Eyewitnesses from the hospital have told CNN that Israeli forces detained Palestinian journalists and health workers, blindfolded them and stripped them down to their underwear in the complex.

Palestinian reporters and hospital staff described scenes of humiliating interrogations where colleagues had been undressed and left outside in the cold, after the IDF laid siege to the largest hospital in the enclave in the early hours of Monday. One man who was detained told CNN that Israeli forces released him without his ID or mobile phone.

Elsewhere, the IDF says its operations are continuing in central Gaza and northern Khan Younis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Egypt to meet with government leaders.

After landing in the capital Cairo, he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Blinken's visit comes ahead of a planned trip to Israel on Friday, where he will discuss ongoing negotiations to secure the release of all hostages, the Israeli military's planned Rafah offensive, and the need to "dramatically increase and sustain the delivery of humanitarian aid" into Gaza, according to the State Department.

His trip comes at a critical time: US and Israeli officials are expected next week to discuss alternatives to a ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.

Negotiations to secure a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages held by Hamas are "getting closer" to a deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

Israel's response to Hamas' latest counterproposal "was negative in general" and did not meet the demands of Hamas, according to Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan.

The counterproposal delivered last week included the release of Israeli hostages for 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the Hamas proposal “unrealistic.”

Blinken, who is on a trip in the Middle East, will travel to Egypt to meet with Arab leaders today and head to Israel on Friday.

Here are some other key developments:

US and coalition forces destroyed one drone and one unmanned surface vessel launched by the Houthis in Yemen on Wednesday, according to US Central Command.

A coalition aircraft destroyed the drone and US forces destroyed the unmanned surface vessel, CENTCOM said in a statement.

There were no injuries or damage to US or coalition ships, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since shortly after Israel's war with Hamas began, with the group trying to pressure Israel and its allies to stop its offensive in Gaza.

Negotiations to secure a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages held by Hamas are “getting closer” to a deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

Blinken reiterated that the onus is on Hamas to accept the proposal.

Blinken, who will travel to Egypt to meet with Arab leaders today, said that it is important to be ready “for what happens with the governance of Gaza” after the war ends.

MBS meeting: Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Jeddah on Wednesday and discussed the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza.

According to Saudi state-run SPA news, MBS and Blinken discussed "developments in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings in addition to efforts to stop military operations." 

Blinken will head to Israel on Friday.

Israel’s Supreme Court has temporarily halted a government plan to send a group of Palestinian patients being treated in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv hospitals back to Gaza.

The decision follows a petition by the Israeli non-profit organization Physicians for Human Rights Israel, which decided to take action following a CNN report on the Palestinian hospital patients.

Following the group’s appeal, the court issued a temporary injunction to prevent the Israeli government from sending around two dozen Palestinian patients and their companions back to Gaza.

The Palestinians were set to be bussed to Gaza early Thursday morning. However, after the temporary court injunction, the Israeli government delayed that until at least Monday, hospital officials told CNN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud emphasized the importance of continuing regional partnerships in getting humanitarian aid to Gaza and eventually resolving the conflict.

The two “discussed the urgent need to protect all civilians in Gaza" and immediately increase the flow of aid, according to a readout from their Jeddah meeting by State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.

US officials have been working to lay the groundwork for such a “sustained peace” for months, with the idea that this facilitates a Saudi-Israel normalization agreement. 

On his recent trips to the region, Blinken has stressed that the Israeli government must make “difficult” decisions and move toward a two-state solution if it wants to achieve that normalization with Saudi Arabia and if it wants the support of its Arab neighbors for security and reconstruction in Gaza. 

The top US diplomat will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on Wednesday.