blogs and extras. you can subscribe to our magazine on this thing called flip board. i'll turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, this is "the situation room" special report. brink of war. israeli cities sending people running for shelter as rockets rain down from gauzea. israeli aircraft pound militant targets in gaza as the death toll there rises, especially among civilians. is it ground war next? tax deployed near standby for a possible excursion. and nuclear nightmare, terrorists seize 90 pounds of radioactive material. how big of a danger does this pose in iraq and to the united states? we want to welcome our viewers

in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in jerusalem. you're in "the situation room." [ sirens ] we begin with breaking news. sirens wail in jerusalem as rockets reach far from gaza to attack the very heart of israel. four rockets reached this far today. two were intercepted. the other two fell in open areas. israel is hitting back hard at hamas with dozens more air strikes. gaza civilians are paying a very heavy price. mourners buried a young girl killed in one of the israeli air strikes. our correspondents are standing by with the kind of coverage only cnn can deliver. i'll speak with a spokesman as well as the united states ambassador to israel. we'll also get the palestinian

point of view. let's begin with cnn's diana magne right near the border with gaza. what's the latest there, diana? >> reporter: hi, wolf. we noticed a partner really of operation protective edge that shortly after nightfall, hamas and islamic jihad tend to send out a volley of rockets which went over our heads tonight. people have an pp that alerts them of incoming rockets and they'll go over your head and then people will make their telephone calls because they know where they've landed. check that their friends are all right. and then life goes back to normal. but beng man netanyahu has warned the people of israel this could be a tough, complex and complicated campaign. let's take a look. hamas rockets, israeli air

strikes and air raid sirens, sending israelis running for shelter. one rocket hitting the israeli town causing damage, spraying shrapnel, damaging buildings and two israeli soldiers injured by rocket. where this rocket fell today, the mayor says he and his people will endure whatever they need to, even if it takes an israeli ground attack to destroy hamas' arsenal, believed to be about 10,000 missiles. >> translator: we will have the city in the shelters as long as it takes for the idf to win, even if it takes a year. >> reporter: air strikes in gaza were clearly visible from our vantage point. we could see rockets going up and mid air interceptions by israeli defenses, each side's air capabilities playing out in the skies. iz r

israeli officials say they are targeting rocket launches like this one and hamas control centers, normally their homes. this funeral was for a 9-year-old girl named yasmin who died this morning after an air strike in gaza wednesday. her father carries her tiny body down the street. her uncle calls the israelis cowards for targeting a little girl. >> translator: what wrong did this innocent child commit for you to deliberately target her? >> reporter: hamas says israel started it with its crackdown in the west bank after the kidnappings of three iz rsraeli teens. so far neither side is talking about the kind of cease fire that has ended past conflicts. israeli tanks poised near the border in case israel orders a ground invasion. >> that's when either/or both parties will reach out and help in achieving that cease fire. i wouldn't expect it in the next

24 hours. i think the goals of both sides right now are to inflict as much harm as possible on the other. >> amongst the international community by the muted nature of their reaction, this sense that they've seen these two warring parties argue. and fight so many times before, wolf. >> such a sad, sad story. very close to the border with gaza, we'll get back to you. palestinians meanwhile are clearly paying a very heavy price. amid all the death and destruction in gaza, there is also defindefiance. ben wedeman, you got to ride around. tell us what you saw. >> reporter: in many of the towns and villages of gaza, we saw a lot of destroyed houses,

people really hunkering down and the expectation that things are going to be worse. we were very close to the israeli border to the north. there, residents told us they had been informed by israeli authorities they should leave the area, about 100,000 people living in that area. some had padlocked up their houses and left. for the most part, it looked like the residents were still there. but they're very, very worried. we went up on the roof of one man's house and take a panoramic picture of the area. there were drones overhead. he said please leave. get out of here. i'm scared with your presence on the roof. we went down on the street. moments later we saw four missiles flying over our head. i believe those are the ones that landed in the jerusalem

area. now, normally when rockets are fired out of gaza like that and other volleys we saw this evening near here, there's a quick response. tonight, it's very eerily quiet. we also have radios where we monitor the radio traffic of the hamas security and police and that's gone very quiet as well. so the worry here, the expectation here, the expectation is that a ground assault is very close at hand. >> that could be the quiet just before the storm because you get a sense that the israelis are getting ready to move. i assume that's what the palestinians in gaza suspect. >> that is what they expect. and they've seen this before. i was here in 2009 when israel made an incursion as part of

that flare-up. it was scary, very bloody. there was a lot of destruction, a lot of civilian casualties and people are afraid that that will be repeated again. so, those who can leave will leave. but you cannot get out of gaza. there's nowhere to go. we were at the egyptian border this afternoon. there were a few people trying to get out but they had egyptian passports. one man i spoke to had a canadian passport. the egyptians are not letting gazans out. they're stuck and they've got nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. wolf? >> very quickly, ben, the rockets from gauze i do not into israel, there's no indication that's about to stop. right? >> reporter: none whatsoever. normally about the time of sunset, you have volleys going out. we haven't seen anything in this particular area since but there's been no indication from any official or spokesman from hamas or islamic jihad or any of

the other groups here that they intend to stop. they've said they will not stop. they said they have their condition conditions and will not meet with quiet in the word of one official from islamic jihad. wolf? >> ben wedeman reporting from gaza. be careful over there. benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem. thank you very much for coming in. all ind kags are israeli troops are getting ready to move on the ground into gaza. is that accurate? >> they're ready to move when we decide it's the right time for them to move. we're ready for any contingency and our overriding goal is ultimately defensive. we want to stop our rockets and protect our civilian population. >> activation up to 40,000 israeli reservists. how many have already been called up? >> i can't go into that sort of operational detail. i can say we've called up the

reservists, made the deployments. we're ready to go if we need to go. our goal here is to protect the people of israel who have been on the incoming side of these hamas rockets from gaza for too long. ultimately, we don't underestimate hamas. they're a formidable military terrorist machine, building that machine over the last few years. that's why they can target tel aviv and jerusalem, the very heart of our country, with these rockets. we now have to dismantle this machine. that's what we've started to do. that's what we will continue to do. >> if they were to stop firing rocks and missiles into israel, you would still want to dismantle that arsenal? >> let them first stop firing and we'll see what will happen. >> you're leaving open the possibility that would lead to a cease fire. >> we don't want a situation where hamas takes a time-out. we've been hitting hamas hard, hitting their missiles, we've been hitting their launching sites. we've been hitting their command of control. they've been taking severe blows from israel.

we don't want a situation where they go time-out, like in basketball, we need time to rest, regroup, lick our wounds and attack israel tomorrow or the day after. that's unacceptable. >> it suggests to me you are going to go in and try to destroy as many of those rockets and missiles as you possibly can. >> wolf, all options are on the table. and we're doing what any country in our situation would do. which member of the community of the nations would stand by quietly and see its civilian population targeted by terrorists on the other side of the frontier with rockets day after day, week after week? it has to stop. >> your u.n. ambassador -- today there was a meeting of the u.n. security council. your u.n. ambassador at the meeting did something unusual. he played the air raid sirens that have been going off in israel. let me play a little bit of that for you and for our viewers. [ sirens ]

>> 15 seconds, that's how much time you have to run for your life. >> is there anything going on around this region at the u.n. security council, elsewhere, egypt, cutter, anyone actively seeking a cease fire? >> extremists groups like isis in iraq, like hezbollah in lebanon. unfortunately, very extreme, very dangerous groups of fanatics that have no quams whatsoever about targeting innocent people, about kidnapping and murder. it's clear that the whole region, the moderates have to unite against these extremists. >> you know a lot of civilians, including young kids, are getting killed in gaza by these

israeli air strikes, some human rights groups are criticizing israel for engaging in what they call war crimes. you say? >> we are making a maximum effort in a very difficult combat situation to avoid all possible loss of life amongst innocent civilians. the civilian population of gaza is not our enemy. i saw a report yesterday of your own cnn's ben wedeman. he was talking about how the civilian population of gaza is angry with hamas for escalating the crisis and causing this conflict we're in now. people of gaza are not our enemies and we've invested billions in precision am ewe nati -- ammunitions. >> what would be the end game if they were to move tanks, ground forces into gaza? what would be the point? >> two things. first of all, to dismantle that terrorist military machine.

two, we want to come up out of this conflict with hamas understanding that it cannot target israeli civilians with these rockets, that it cannot continue to do that with impunity. >> you would not want to -- israel withdrew from gaza in 2005. are you planning on reoccupying gaza once again? >> i cannot go into what we might or might not do. our strategic goal is defensive. it is to protect our people from these deadly rockets. >> thank you so much for coming on. >> my pleasure. >> spokesman for the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. already firing hundreds of rockets into israel. they may have 10,000 rockets or missiles. we're taking a closer look at the arsenal they have. with the peace process in tatters, is there anything the united states can do about this deadly crisis? i'll ask the u.s. ambassador to israel, dan shapiro here with me

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hamas militants have fired hundreds of rockets from gaza into israel. some of those are reaching deep, deep into israel. how strong is hamas? our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been looking into this part of the story for us. what are you finding out, barbara? >> wolf, make no mistake about it. both sides in this conflict are eye balling each other's military capabilities. >> israelis running for shelter

in tel aviv and jerusalem. seeking safety from hamas rockets launched from gaza now a daily occurrence across israel. >> no country on earth would remain passive in the face of hundreds of rockets fired on its cities and israel is no exception. >> israel calculates there are 10,000 rockets in gaza in the hands of various terrorist groups. >> the amount of rockets we're seeing come out of hamas and the gaza strip is really kind of alarming. they're launching 40 at a time over 100 a day. >> a huge worry? the hamas rocket called the m 302. with a range of about 100 miles it allows hamas to reach deeper into israel than ever before. israel says hamas is getting outside help. in march, israeli forces stopped a ship containing m 302s that the israelis said came from iran and were headed to gaza.

several rockets are also locally produced in gaza. israeli air strikes now aiming at rocket launch sites, production factories and other militant targets. israel's main defense, this system called the iron dome. strategically placed units around israel launched missiles against incoming rockets that appear headed for population centers. so far, israel says it's worked well much of the time, but hamas is looking for vulnerability. >> i think what they're trying to do is fire as many as they can in a short period of time because that overwhelms the iron dome sensors. >> the u.s. has spent nearly $9 million on the iron dome, just part of the $3 billion in u.s. funding for israel's defenses. the pentagon is keeping a close eye on whether israel will launch a ground incursion into

gaza, u.s. officials say it's not career to them what will happen next. >> very little known, wolf. the u.s. keeps about $1 billion worth of weapons stockpiled inside israel. in the event of an emergency, israelis can ask to use that gear. right now the israelis are saying they have everything they need. wolf? >> all right. barbara, thank you. barbara starr at the pentagon. let's go in depth now with the former adviser to the palestinian authority leadership on negotiations with israel. now with the brookings institution in washington. thank you very much for joining us. how strong is hamas right now? >> it's actually quite weak. hamas is in one of the weakest positions it's been in many, many years. the changes that have happened in the region and especially in egypt closure of the tunnels and access to weapons have been severely diminished in the last year in particular. they're in a much weaker

position. part of the motivation for sort of taking the israeli bait, if you will, in this latest round of violence has been the fact that they're in a state of disarray and, you know, in a way i think it's an act of desperation by a very weak hamas. >> where are they getting their support? some of these missiles are pretty sophisticated. >> yeah. i mean, they have been stockpiling these weapons for a long time. so, even the disruption of the flow of weapons. i think it doesn't take away from their exist ing existing c. they have quite a substantive stockpile. right now i think they're clearly drawing on that.

i would say they basically have reached their capacity as far as being able to arm themselves. at the end of the day, whatever hamas has in terms of arms is minut minuscule in comparison to the israeli force that israel brings to bear. >> walk us through what would happen in gaza, in the broader palestinian community, in the arab and muslim world, if israel were, as i suspect they will, move armored tanks, personnel carriers into gaza in the next day or two? >> you're likely to see public opinion be sort of -- you'll see a lot of outrage in the arab street. perhaps not as much as in the past given the many other crises happening in the region. major powers in the region are distracted with their own internal problems as well as

citizens in those countries. i think in a ground incursion, certainly would inflict more casualties, would -- is likely to inflame public opinion, especially if it's a prolonged conflict. it's also more likely to inflict israeli casualties rather than simply bombing from the air. >> that's another excellent point. as you point out, the israel was able, u.s. in the background, but egypt is staying out of it this time, right? >> yeah. they're staying out of it, i think, for a number of reasons. they're distracted with their own internal problems and, secondly, the new regime in egypt is not particularly friendly towards hamas, which it sees as an ally of brotherhood. hamas is not in the good graces, unlike two years ago where then

president morsi had a direct line of communication with hamas. there isn't that counterpart now in eswript to serve as a go between. and on one hand, egyptians are distracted. on the other hand there isn't really the will to intervene. >> do you believe this sort of new relationship that has emerged between the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, the president and the authority of hamas, has that gone away? >> from abbas' standpoint it will be hard for him to disavow the reconciliation agreement with hamas. it was seen as a major accomplishment in an environment where there are very few accomplishments. certainly the peace process has been a failure. everything else that president abbas has tried to do hasn't

worked. the one area he can claim relative success is in at least attempting to fix the palestinian house. i don't think it will be that easy to completely sever what is essentially a very minimal reconciliation agreement to begin with. but it does seem clear that i think that was at least one of the goals of israel in embarking on this path from the beginning, from the best bank incursions and the campaign that was carried out over the previous three weeks as well as the air campaign against gaza. i think one of the major goals was to disrupture if not completely destroy the palestinian reconciliation agreement. >> speaking shortly with the u.s. ambassador to israel. what do the palestinians want the obama administration to do right now? >> i think the most urgent priority for palestinians,

particularly those in gaza, but also in the west bank, is to see an end to the killing. to see a cease fire. and at that point, then a political process maybe can be under way. i think one of the problems with the approaches to gaza, both by israel and the united states, has been there's a tendency to treat gaza as though it were a separate and distinct conflict from the overall israeli/palestinian conflict. hamas/israel conflict and then there's the conflict with the palestinian authority in which they engage in negotiations. the reality is that gaza is part of the same conflict. and trying to deal with it separately is one of the reasons why we're in this mess on a recurring basis. we've seen this before over and over. it's the seventh major military operation by israel in nine years. and it clearly suggests that to

gaza is simply not working. and i think the underlying mistake is to try and somehow teal with gaza as though it were separate from the rest of the palestinian/israeli equation. part of the problem is there hasn't been a unified palestinian leadership and we ought to be supporting that. >> thank you very much for joining us. good, important insight from you. we'll certainly have you back. appreciate it very much. >> thank you. coming up, we're live here in jerusalem. improved missiles, rocketing deeper into israel. a closer look at the size and strength of the hamas arsenal. that's coming up. is a ground invasion by the israeli military imminent? i'll ask the u.s. ambassador to israel. my interview with him is coming up live as we continue to follow the breaking news.

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i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. breaking news. we have just learned that president obama has spoken with israely prime minister benjamin netanyahu on this current crisis between israel and hamas. they haven't spoken that much lately. this is an important development. can you give us a readout, what these two leaders may have discussed? >> sure. they speak quite regularly on all sorts of matters. this is their first conversation in the last few days. although secretary kerry spoke

with prime minister netanyahu in the last tw day or two. president obama made very clear that we condemn strongly the terrorist rocket fire of hamas and other organizations in gaza against the israeli civilian population. no country should have to endure that kind of attack from a terrorist organization and he also made clear that we support israel's right of self-defense and that they have every right to conduct that. we're obviously proud that part of that includes the iron dome missile defense system which president obama and the u.s. administration has supported strongly the last five years. >> a big part of that funded. >> $9 million. >> we heard from spokesmen, women and officials urging restraint. i assume that the president asked prime minister netanyahu to exercise restraint. >> he would have said we support the right of self-defense and obviously we would hope that all

sides would try to minimize any civilian casualties and that hamas does not do that. they intentionally target civilian populations and shoot from within civilian populations. obviously, civilian casualties have happened, will happen on both sides and that's of grave concern and we regret them and mourn them and extend sympathies to all families who endure that. what we've said to israel and others is that our goal is to end the rocket fire by hamas and other terrorist organizations so that will allow us to deescalate and return to the state of calm that prevailed after the november 2012 cease fire. >> did the president ask prime minister netanyahu not to send ground forces into gaza? >> casualties on all sides would increase if that occurred. the way this needs to end, hamas needs to end its rocket fire against civilian populations in israel, allowing a de-escalation. to that end, president obama,

secretary kerry and our whole administration are reaching out to various parties around the region, egypt and other leaders who might be able to bring influence to bear that would allow hamas to end those rockets. >> israel is not ready to give them just an opportunity to regroup and have a time-out, if you will, even if they were to stop launching rockets and missiles into israel. if that were just that opportunity for them to regroup that's not good enough for israel. >> what i think our discussion with israel, with egypt, with the palestinian authority and other leaders in this region is about right now is convincing hamas through the various means of influence that can be brought to bear, certainly israel's own self-defense measures against hamas are included in that. so are the relationships that some of these other governments have with hamas, to convince them that ending this rocket fire is the right way to

de-escalate, return to the state of calm that prevailed since 2012 and that would benefit the state population in gaza as well as israel. >> the u.s. government considers hamas a terrorist organization and does not have any contact. >> that is correct. >> are you doing any indirect communications with hamas? >> we don't have any contact with hamas under our law and policy. it is a designated foreign terrorist organization. between israel and hamas -- >> they're not doing that now? >> eswript has its contacts. whether it will play the same role as it has in previous rounds remains to be seen. >> who could broker a real cease fire between the israelis and the palestinians in gaza? >> what we have said to israel, the palestinian authority, to egypt is that secretary kerry and our team is available to work with all those parties. it may include others. >> does cutter have a good relationship with hamas? >> they have relations and

secretary kerry is hoping and there are other countries, turkey perhaps, that has relationships. to get hamas to end the terrorist rocket fire against civilian population. >> secretary of state john kerry is in the region, in afghanistan as we speak right now. some are saying he should come here to talk to the israelis, the palestinian authority. president mahmoud abbas and get back involved in this process. you say? >> we are talking to them. >> but come over here directly. >> if the moment calls for that, and we believe that would be useful to getting to our goal of ending the rocket fire and de-escalating and returning to the cease fire, i'm sure secretary kerry would be willing to do that. already those conversations are taking place. as you mentioned, president obama's conversation with president netanyahu and secretary kerry's active diplomacy with the prime

minister. >> is the president going to call him as well? >> i don't know precisely when that call might take place. no doubt that in the course of events they will continue to be in touch. we have many other channels to communicate with president abbas. we want to make sure that he and other parties are using whatever means they have to get this crisis to de-escalate rather than escalate. >> i'm getting all the signals here from various, various sources that the israelis are going to move in on the ground. i assume you're getting those same signals. >> we've seen ind kags that they've made preparations for that. they've been open about it. nobody wants to see a ground invasion. they've been clear that's not their preference either. their preference is to see the rocket fire end. that's the correct way to begin the de-esculatory process.

>> does the united states want the palestinian authority to sever its connection with hamas? >> the reconciliation agreement signed back in april was one that we thought was unwise, unhelpful and criticized it at the time. interim government was informed that does not include hamas membership or hamas individuals and it follows the president obama of president abbas, which is to support a two-state solution, nonviolence. we don't see reconciliation moving forward under the circumstances, certainly after the kidnap and murder of three israeli teenagers in west bank. certainly after the rocket fire by hamas and so our focus is on working with the palestinian authority to engage in responsible behavior while isolating and changing the behavior of hamas. >> one final question. the 15-year-old american kid who was brutally beaten by these israeli police patrol whatever.

we've seen the aftermath of what happened to this young boy. you're trying to get him out of house arrest so he can go back home to florida. is that right is this. >> first of all, we are always concerned any time an american citizen is subjected to any kind of treatment like that. indeed the israeli government has taken it seriously, conducting an investigation by their ministry of justice to deal with the issue of police brutality that appears to have taken place. we are working closely with israel to resolve this case and allow tar khdeir to return home to florida. >> we'll stay in close touch with you as this crisis continues. sirens sound continuously as rockets reach deeper and deeper into israel. four made it to jerusalem, where i am right now. let's look at those weapons and

their growing range. tom forman has the latest. tom? >> this is about the size of new jersey, 290 miles tip to tip. you can see the relative width there. the mortars they fire out go about this far. look where they were a couple of years ago. their range, at best, went somewhere out to here. this time, there has been, according to israeli military analysts an emphasis on developing better quality rocks that go all the way out here. i say developing. it means in the sense that hamas says they can manufacture some of these but more importantly you're talking about things like this. the m 302 rocket, which was designed by china originally, possibly made in syria. and they have some undetermined number of these.

these are much more robust than anything we've seen before. rockets that have a range of 6 or more miles, 100, as barbara said earlier. limited accuracy. they've increased a sense of vulnerable all over israel, wolf, that was not there before. and that's helped to spur the military and political response. >> tom foreman excellent explanation. thanks very much. we'll have a lot more live coverage, coming from jerusalem, on this crisis heating up. at the top of the hour of "situation room," a special report. up next, the spy scandal explodes. action against the united states. terrorists with nuclear material. the frightening reality now in iraq. do they have enough to make some sort of crude but deadly dirty bomb? are you ready grandma? just a second, sweetie.

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check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. we're live here in jerusalem and will get back to the escalating tension in the middle east. first, this just in, house republicans have decided to sue the president of the united states, using a legal argument he violated the united states constitution by changing the health care laws, employer mandate. house speaker john boehner said in a statement just released, and i'm quoting now, in 2013 president obama changed the health care law without a vote by congress by literally waving the mandate and penalties for failing to comply with it. the house is sxhekted to vote on

a resolution, authorizing the legal action at the end of the month. republicans have a decisive majority, as you know, in the house of representatives. an extraordinary move almost unheard of among koes allies. germany is now fed up with american surveillance and now expeling an american who is reportedly the cia station chief at the embassy in berlin. jim acosta has details. >> reporter: wolf, obama administration officials are staying tight lipped about these new allegations of u.s. spying in swrermny. that's not the case back in berlin, where the swrermens are sounding off. sick and tired of being sipied on, they kicked out who they describe as the top intelligence operative at the u.s. embassy in berlin, usually deserved for unfriendly nations >> translator: the german government has reacted and asked

the u.s. intelligence service official responsible for swrermny to leave the country. we thus made clear we do not tolerate this approach. >> reporter: just in the last week the german government has announced two separate cases of officials, including an intelligence operative, accused of passing secrets to washington. the subject of nsa surveillance on her own cell phone last year, chancellor angela merkel has said enough is enough >> translator: we have so many problems, and we should focus on the important things. >> reporter: jen psaki was less outspoken. >> we don't have any specific comment on that. >> those reports are true? >> i'm not going to have anything more to add on that front. >> reporter: only saying overturs from washington to berlin are under way to ease tensions. >> those will happen through diplomatic channels and those are often better served, our relationship is better served by having those take place through those channels. >> reporter: defenders of u.s.

spying say the nsa is collecting information that would save lives. >> the 9/11 hijackers started in swrerm germany. we should be spying on them. if i were chief in germany, i would say, yeah, what's the terrorist threat there? the germans clearly don't have this completely covered. >> reporter: now that the operative described in reports as the cia station chief in berlin has gotten the boot, members of congress are worried about the damage done to a crucial national security partnership on issues from al qaeda to ukraine. >> i am concerned that we are sending the wrong message to a key ally, germany. >> reporter: the u.s. already had a big diplomatic agenda on its hands before the german spying controversy. now secretary of state john kerry will have to add berlin to his to-do list, expected to

speak with the german foreign minister in the coming days. wolf? >> jim acosta, is an israeli ground invasion of gaza imminent? up next, terrorists seize nuclear materials, raising new concern about a possible dirty bomb attack. to fuel economy... to quality... today's chevrolet has it all. and great news - the chevy 72 hour sale has just been extended. you'll get 0% apr for 72 months. plus no monthly payments for the rest of the summer. 0% apr for 72 months plus no monthly payments for the rest of the summer. the chevy 72 hour sale ends monday.

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we're live here in jerusalem. we'll have much more on the escalating tension between the israelis and hamas. this is major breaking news that's unfolding right now, but there's other important news we are watching, especially a potential nightmare scenario that so many of us have worried about for so long.

terrorists in iraq have gotten their hands on nuclear materials, raising new fear they may eventually be able to attack with a so-called dirty bomb. our justice correspondent pamela brown is working this story for us. what are you learning? >> iraq's government sending an urgent letter to the united nations saying sunni militants seized nearly 90 pounds of iranium. it raises concerns that the dangerous terrorists could use the radioactive material to carry out terrorist atacks and highlights how quickly security has deteriorated in iraq's major city. nuclear material not in the hands of terrorist in i.s.i.s.-controlled mosul. iraq's government sounding an international alarm. saying terrorist groups seized control of almost 9 on pounds of uranium from mosul university, asking for help from the united nations and this letter obtained by cnn, saying it needs support

to stave off the threat of a that are yew by terrorists in iraq or abroad. >> it's a terror factor that you're never going to be able to eliminate. not many people will die from this. >> nuclear experts say the small amount seized by insurgents is not enriched, and cannot be used to make a nuclear bomb. >> it requires a huge industrial facilities to enrich uranium. it takes tons of uranium of this kind to make enough for one bomb. these guys aren't even close. >> nuclear experts say the uranium seized isn't enough to combine with conventional explosives to build an effective dirty ball. still, u.s. military officials are telling congress the threat from terrorists in iraq, namely i.s.i.s. is grows an an alarming rate as they're sending conventional weapons into neighboring syria.

>> the equipment that i.s.i.s. was able to get ahold of, and due to their lightning-like success a now flowing into syria. do you have any information. >> at a classified level, i have seen some of that reporting that would indicate it is moving across what were the former borders between iraq and syria back into syria. >> and sources we've been speaking with saying nuclear material like this is supposed to be a highly guarded, very secure area and the seizure shows how lacks security is, in some places despite the hundreds of millions spent in helping countries get security systems up to par. wolf? >> pamela brown, what a nightmare scenario that potential is. thanks very much. coming up, a "the situation room" special report, on the brink. the crisis unfolding between

israel and hamas. we'll have detailed report, includes interviews with the spokesman for the israeli military and the palestinian representative to the united states. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪

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this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. happening now, a "the situation room" special report, brink of war. breaking news from here in the middle east. rockets from gaza do new damage in israel as hamas militants bombard the country and strain its air defense system. israeli tanks and troops are now poised for action a top palestinian official believes that a ground invasion to gaza could happen in the coming

hours. the death toll in gaza is rising, along with the tension and the anger, as this conflict keeps escalating and children are caught in the line of fire. we want to welcome or viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer live in jerusalem, you're in "the situation room." gaza, guys, get out of the sky, we need to go under cover. cover, here, here, get under, get under, quick. >> israelis are on alert for some rocket fire from gaza at any moment. it's 1:00 a.m. friday here in jerusalem. it's been a day of damaging new attacks, including this one in ash democratic tud. israel is responding with stepped-up air assaults on gaza. there are growing fierce that an

israeli ground invasion could happen soon. i personally saw a column of israeli tanks currently heading for gaza earlier today. our correspondents are standing by. they're here in the region. they're back in washington covering the breaking story. first, more of the latest developments and what i've seen since landing here. this is daily life here in israel right now. the sirens and the fear. civilians running for cover from incoming rocket fire. several rockets get through israel's iron dome defense system, landing and exploding near better sheva, one of the largest cities, not far from gaza. these are some of the first images i saw, a sign pointing to a bomb shelter, and troy defense missiles at the ready. this was the view from right here. a smoke trail over the city after four rockets streaked

through the sky. israel is responding by intensifies its air strikes on gaza, pounding more than 700 tarts since the offensive began on monday. israeli navy boats are offshore to protect against another brazen assault from the sea by armed mill tans. tanks and troops on the border, ready to roll into gaza at any time when and if they get the order. palestinians in the line of fire. they're burying more of their dead. officials in gaza say dozens have been killed in the israeli air strikes, including children. this funeral was for a little girl. this phase of the conflict began with the deaths of young people. three israeli teens, kidnapped and murdered. the apparent revenge killing of a palestinian teenager. and the brutal beating of his american cousin by police, cause ultimate on video, now an

undercover israeli police officer seen on that video has been suspended for 15 days. israel i authorities say they're considering criminal charges against him. let's go to gaza city right now. or senior international correspondent ben wedeman is on the scene. you rode around gaza today. tell our viewers what you saw. >> reporter: what we saw really is an area of this part of the world which has really been battered and terrified by what's happening. we've seen many people killed. now our latest statistics are 90 people dead since this blowup began, and i think there was just a blowup right behind me. more than 500 wounded. people sort of fatalistically trying to deal with what's happening, keeping in mind that unlike israel there is no antimissile defense, there are no bomb shelters, saferooms, air raid sirens.

so they are trying to deal with it as best they can, but we went to the far south, the far north, what we saw is very few people in the street, and those who are out are going about their business as quickly as possible. now, up in the northern part of gaza, we were in bet-hanoon, where apparently authorities have informed local inhabitants they could leave the area. that's a area where they have seen repeated incursions. the problem is they have nowhere to go. there's no room in gaza city, and you cannot leave gaza. we were in the far south at the egyptian border, where they're only letting out though who have been injured in the recent air strikes, and those with egyptian or foreign passports. if you're from gaza, you're stuck here. wolf? the rockets, they are clearly continuing from gaza into as a rule, israeli air strikes are continuing, and they

could be followed by a direct israeli ground invasion. we're bracing for that. we'll see what happens. ben, stand by. i'm reporting live from jerusalem right now, but let's go to cnn's diana mag nay, reporting live from escalone. diana, what are you seeing on the area over there, rockets and missiles being launched. i take it folks are pretty frightened. s. >> reporter: folks are pretty frightened, but the streets are less busy than they normally would be, but according to my producer, who spent time here during the last separation, the end of 2012, you know, it's still bustling. maybe that's because it's still early days in this operation. we were down overlook open countryside towards the border pretty much all day, wolf, and there you have this surreal display of these two opposing sides airpower, the rockets

streaming out of gaza, then there would be an intercept from the iron dome missile system, like a ball of cotton wool in the sky, and then they huge blasts of black smoke as the air force -- israeli air force struck targets in gaza. people would come from the neighboring town of sterat and would watch with us on the hilltops overseeing this surreal image. rather ma saab to be watching, especially as the terrible situation on the ground in gaza you can't feel as you're watching this. we were talking to a hairdresser earlier. he said, you know, i cut all the soldiers who work for iron dome's hair for free, because i feel that they keep us safe. i think that people here are very much feel confident that iron dome has been their back. that has certainly proven to be the says so far, wolf.

there's been no casualties despite the hundreds of rockets that have rained down over israel. only 80 of them have been intercepted. the rest have rained down pretty infectually. though people are scared, they feel fairly confident that they would have to be extremely sun lucky if they were to be hit. wolf? >> yeah, iron dome, that antimissile defense system that israel created with a lot of u.s. funding in the process. diana, thanks very much. still ahead, our live report from jerusalem. could an israeli ground invasion of gaza be only hours away? i'll ask the top spokesman for the israeli military about the timing. he's standing by to join us live here in jerusalem. the damage and the fears in gaza. how will palestinians respond if israeli troops move in? the palestinian representative to the united states is standing by live.

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more reporting live from jerusalem. tonight we've just learned new details of president obama's phone call with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. the white house now says the president expressed concerned about the risk of further escalation and emphasized the need for all sides to do everything they can to protect the lives of civilians and restore calm. the united states, he says, remains to prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, including the return to the november 2012 cease-fire agreement. joining us here in jerusalem, the spokesman for the israel defense force, peter lerner. it sounds like the president ask

the prime minister to accept a cease-fire. is that what you are hearing in. >> the military is preparing itself for further escalation. our job at this time is to continue combatting hamas and taking the seriousness that is required to stop the rockets from fall on places like here in jerusalem. we will carry out the mission that the government puts on our shoulders, and we will do that to our best capability. >> as of right now, the military and you're a spokesman for the idf, it's not preparing for a cease-fire, but preparing to continue an operation, whether through the air and maybe through the ground. >> rockets are still coming through. as we speak there are different parts of the country unfire, an unbearable situation, a situation where we have to continue this operation until some sort of arrangement is met and our military goals are met

as well. >> there's a report that the israeli newspaper suggesting that a lot of -- the city of allat has evacuated. >> there was no incursion. there seems there was some sort of helium balloon on the egyptian side offed bodder, the tensions, escalation of preparedness and people were just alert. i think this is -- >> so that was a false alarm basically. >> a false alarm, and people could go back to their hotels. >> some poor kid is extremely is aed he's lost his helium balloon. out of the reservists who have potential called up. who have been told to report to your units? >> in the last hours, we have reached around 30,000. >> 30,000 have left their jobs, left their families, reported to their bases. is that what you're saying? >> that's right. they left their families and

they are now taking up their positions. we are utilizing that force to enable us to create a substantial force around gaza, that if required, we'll be able to mobilize as soon as possible. >> the last time into gaza, i was here, this is in november of 2012, you remember that incursion well. at that point you activated about 30,000 reservists as well? >> in 2012 we didn't have people on the ground. that would probably be in 2009. >> how many did you activate in 2009? and how many in 2012? >> about the same type of figures. in 2012 we had around 70,000 people called up, so it was quite a substantial number then, and we have managed -- it's manageable. i think what's important about our presence on the ground is hamas, they have two main components of terrorism which are concerning for us. obviously the rockets which we have seen and everybody, you

know, having to keep close to shelters throughout the country of 3 million people, but there's another concern that we have there, tunnels that they want to use to infiltrate the state of israel. these tunnels they said to carry out mass murders -- >> from gaza. >> from gaza into the south of as a rule. they want to perhaps even abduct more people. the forces there now is their job is to prevent that from happening itches a lot of innocent palestinians are, women, children, elderly are being killed? >> the situation is grave indeed, i would say primarily the idf uses weapons to safeguard its civilians. hamas uses its civilians to safeguard their weapons. it's a grave situation. we are operating in a professional way. the idf is the only military that calls up its enemies and

tells them, please evacuate the premises of your command and controls office, leave the room, we are intending to attack. we then send a nonexplosive projectile, knock the roof and make sure they leave. only after we have visual confirmation they have left, only then do we carry out the strike. we go to great extent to try to minimize the civilian side. what does the other sigh do? they encourage people to go on the roofs and start shooting the rockets from the alleyways of the cities, of the towns. last night they -- this is, you know, internationally recognize the safe symbols, and they launched them at our civilians. >> colonel, thank you for coming in. we'll check back with you

tomorrow. thanks very much. >> thank you. >> a spokesman for the idf. let's get the other point of view, the representative for the united states joining us on the phone i'm hearing that an israeli ground invasion appears to be imminent, the palestinian authority present, mahmoud abbas seems to be convinced of that. what are you hearing? >> well, i think that would be a major mistake for the israelis to undertake. you know this is a deja vu. we have seen it before, seen it in 2008, 2009. we've seen it in 2012. we are seeing it now. we will see it again in two years unless israel, the government and the people are also -- the people are also 13w50i9ed to ask their government for how long is this going to go on. the root cause for everything is israel's military occupation we

need to resolve the conflict once and for all. if we use the limits that bring you back to this stage one against in the next two years, three years. you know what? i cannot believe that a spokesperson of the israeli military says we send projectiles to destroy the roof of the house before we actually bomb the house. these are roofs built of cement, not of wood like in the united states. if they destroy them and fall over the heads of the residents, they can kill them. recently they have stopped calling these homes to notify them. so you listen to them and look at the rising death toll, 89 people so far, 601 dead, and then we continue to call it self-defense? palestinians are being killed by the dozens, and israel still calls this self-defense. i cannot understand that.

>> why is hamas continuing to launch rockets and missiles into israel? >> well, there has to be a solution in which both sides will stop attacking each other. everybody thinks this only started three days ago. the kidnapping of the orb june 4th, which israel accused hamas of perpetrating are still yet have to -- as far as the launch campaign, i was in ramallah during that period. i've seen soldier entering cities, shot and killed a resident one evening there, and they arrested 650 activisting and destroyed organizations. they launched an attack on hamas before they even put through the

perpetrators to kidnap -- it all started after the 12th of june. it does not start in the last four days. hamas did not fire any missiles on israel last week. there were some smaller factions who used for what israel was doing in the west bank. they have been good about the cease-fire for the last two years and now israel is bombarding the gaza strip and prepare for a land invasion, making the same mistake all over again. i don't think it is a military solution to this problem. >> let's hope there can be a cease-fire and the deaths can be ended. ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. we'll of course continue to stay in touch with you. maen arekat, ambassador to the united states. thank you very much. coming up we're going to continue to watching breaking

news. i'm live in jerusalem. we'll continue or special report, have more on the explosive situation between israel and hamas, gaza, inside israel, the bloodshed that ignited old tensions and hatred. we'll be right back. to fuel economy... to quality... today's chevrolet has it all. and great news - the chevy 72 hour sale has just been extended. you'll get 0% apr for 72 months.

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we're back live here in jerusalem with our special report, bring of war, the israeli military offensive in gaza could turn to an actual ground invasion very, very soon. hamas militants show no sign of pulling back on their rocket and missile attacks into israel. now the united states says it's

prepared to facilitate a cease-fire, but the tensions, the history are deep and very, very dangerous. our foreign affairs reporter elise labott has more. >> reporter: driving palestinian abbas into a unity government with hamas. then the first spark, june 12th. three israeli teens kidnapped in the west bank. israel pointed the finger at hamas. an israeli manhunt left two palestinians dead. on june 30s, the israeli teens

were found dead. >> hamas is responsible, hamas will pay, hamas will continue to pay. >> reporter: though hamas denied in the role in the killings, israelis arrested hundreds of palestinians, and launched air strikes in gaza. days later, a 16-year-old palestinian boy was burned alive, an apparent victim of revenge for the dead israeli teens. >> they called the arabs models, and vice versa, and there was a human empathy and understanding on both sides. >> reporter: then a video showing his american cousin brutally beaten by israeli police. >> translator: the israeli government today is responsible for all that happens. >> reporter: riots and clashes rocked the west bank and jerusalem. hamas rockets flying into israel were met by more israeli air strikes. >> translator: we are in the

middle a battle. >> reporter: how does the battle end? >> when there's lots of destruction and lots of dead people, at some point everyone will lift up their hands and cry uncle. someone will broker a cease-fire. the question right now is who? >> reporter: brokers to end the cycle of violence are in short supply. and former egyptian president mohammed morsi of the muslim brotherhood played a key role in negotiating the 2012 cease-fire, but the current president treats hamas like a terrorist organization and u.s. credibility with the party is also very low this week. a top white house officials speaking in israel slammed the occupation on the west bank as wrong, walling it a recipe for continued incitement and instability, wolf. >> yeah, we know that the new president of egypt general al sissi, he believes the hamas is closely aligned with the muss limb brotherhood in egypt, the

muslim brotherhood that he's put under arrest, basically, so don't expect behind the scenes efforts on the part of egyptians to achieve some sort of cease-fire. i'll be heading down to the border tomorrow to see up close what is going on, as i continue our special coverage. it's been a very, very long day here in jerusalem. not that long ago there were sirens going off right behind us here in jerusalem, and a lot of folks are scared, not only here but in tel aviv, elsewhere and certainly what is going on in gaza as well. much more coming up tomorrow here in "the situation room." follow us on twitter. go ahead and tweet me. you can tweet the show. be sure to join us once again tomorrow. you can always watch us live or dvr the show. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from jerusalem.

for our viewers in the united states, "crossfire" with paul begala and s.e. cupp starts right now. wolf, president obama spent another day in texas, but instead of visiting any of the children who have come across the border, the man who decries political fever held political event in a theater. >> of course the republicans are practices theater of the absurd on their own. the debate starts right now. tonight on "crossfire", the crisis tess border means washington gridlock. >> he's been president for 5 1/2 years. when is he going to take responsibility for something. >> they're matt at me for trying to do things to make the system works better. it doesn't make sense. on the left, paul begala. >> on the right se cupp in the crossfire representative karen bass, a california democrat, and representative bill flores, a texas