analyst and covering gaza for weeks, but he is back. excellent reporting from ian, from gaza. you're hearing that the talk of the cease-fire may not necessarily be over that there is behind the scenes movement right now. tell us what you're hearing? >> movement in cairo, in europe and in israel. and ramallah. in order to devise a new cease-fire, that will hold and that is why, for instance, the israeli cabinet didn't convene last night. but they postponed their meeting -- >> they were supposed to meet a few hours ago but they cancelled the meeting. >> yes. >> because something is going on. who is leading the initiative in the united states, secretary kerry or some other partner? >> i don't know, but i suspect -- yes, the americans are behind it. >> let me ask elise. she has been following this closely. what are you hearing about a new

initiative now to get some sort of cease-fire, elise? what are you hearing? >> secretary kerry and prime minister netanyahu spoke in the last 24 hours. now the israelis want a longer cease-fire than 24 hours. they will never say this pub luckily but it doesn't seem like prime minister netanyahu want it keep going back to his security cabinet for the vote. he want a longer period where he has sustained calm. that's where secretary kerry thinks he can find an opening for the fuller, longer negotiations on a lerng cease-fire and adjusting some of the underlying conflicts, wolf. >> yeah. there may be something going on behind the scenes. ian, you just got out of gaza. you were there more than three weeks. no one want a cease-fire more than the people there. >> it is not at any cost. they don't want a return to the status quo. this is what we are hearing from

hamas as well, especially their military wing, that they will keep fighting until they get something out of this. when you talk to civilians on ground and talk to people on the ground, they say, very have gone too far. we paid a heavy price. but we will still pay a price until we get a change to status quo. that's something they don't want to go back to. >> i'm surprised by the quiet in gaza tonight. compared to last night when the skies were full of israeli activity. tonight is pretty kwie pquiet. why? >> you must remember that the day before, the day that proceeded last night, then israelis soldiers were killed. and the hamas broke three cease fires in one day. so israel sort of retaliated and reminded ma has ma the war is not over.

and they won't fight for cease-fire if hamas doesn't want it. in order to enable, to create this atmosphere in which israel many not be blamed for life. and being so brutal that a cease-fire is crucial. israel, inspite of what -- the military commander, israel shows restraint in order to enable, give away -- >> maybe there is some movement. all right, guys, thanks so much. ian, glad you're out of there safe and sound. ian, great reporting. ron, thanks as well. elise, in washington, always good to have you in "the situation room." just ahead, once again, live from jerusalem. the latest on the crises here in the middle east. also, the fight over ukraine as

the u.s. unveils new sanctions against russia. president obama's deputy national security adviser ben rode is standing by live at the white house. we will get his take on what's going on in ukraine as well as here in the middle east. ben rhodes, standing by live. many of my patients still clean their dentures with toothpaste. but they have to use special care in keeping the denture clean. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident is designed to clean dentures daily. its unique micro-clean formula kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains, cleaning in a better way than brushing with toothpaste. that's why i recommend using polident. [ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. ♪ male announcer ] polident.

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we're live here in

jerusalem. we're also monitoring another breaking news story. the u.s. is hitting russia with heavier sanctions after accusing it of providing more weapons to the separatists in eastern u yan. president obama made the announcement earlier at the white house. >> if rush why continues on its current path, the cost on russia will continue to grow. today is a reminder that the united states means what it says. and we will rally the international community in standing up for the rights and freedom of people around the world. >> our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is standing by. she has more information. what are you learning, barbara? >> wolf, there is quite a turn from where flight 17 was shot down. cnn has learned u.s. spy satellites pick had up troubling escalation in the fighting in ukraine. u.s. intelligence observed ukrainian government source is for the first time using short

range ballistic missiles against pro russian rebel positions. the missiles with a 50 mile range and 1,000-pound warhead are the deadliest weapon used to date. satellites picked up the heat signature of the missiles as they launched and landed near the rebel held town close to the russian border landing just about 15 miles from the wreckage of mh-17. official washington did not want to talk about it. >> i'm not talking about those official report. >> without getting into the cnn about the missile launches and we have said it and yes you're right, ukrainian security forces have had success in recent days of separatists in eastern ukraine. >> it was all denied. >> we are not going to use ballistic missiles. >> the u.s. believes ukraine

used ground missiles because its aircraft had been shot down by separatists. this keeps them out of that kill zone just as they are gaining ground against the rebels. the use of the powerful missiles comes since the u.s. is looking to pressure russia to force a deescalation in the violence. the u.s. still pinning the blame on moscow. >> the russians and their so-called volunteers are continuing to ship arms and funds and personnel across the border. >> so far, no reaction from russia to this latest turn in the war. now, we have seen plenty of satellite imagery of the russian backed attacks. not likely at this point we're going to see imagery of the ukrainian attacks as one administration official told me, after all, these are the good guys. wolf? >> all right, barbara, thank you. barbara starr at the.gone. let's dig deeper right now with a man who is part of the

sanctions discussions inside the oval office. deputy national security adviser ben rhodes is joining us live. ben, so the president wrote to president putin about the violation, first of all, of the nuclear treaty in effect with russia for so long. has the u.s. received a reply from the russian president? >> no, wolf, no formal reply. we just delivered this notification to them. that begins o process of consultation. we can show why we believe they are in violation of the inf treaty. we are going to continue to work on this. it is part of, of course, a broader pattern of disturbing behavior, ratcheting up the pressure, obviously sanctions today were about ukraine, not the inf treaty but we are focussed on both issues. >> the president said it is not a new cold war in response to a question. what is it, those of us that live through the cold war sort of feels like the beginning at least after little bit of that

cold war period. >> there are couple of differences. russia is isolated. there is no struggle like there was between communism and capitalism like the cold war. have you a leader, putin, taking russia in a certain direction, one of aggression towards its neighbors. what we have with these sanctions is ukraine. what they have done in arming and supporting separatists, cree au creating climate and shooting down mh17, that requires a response. it wasn't just the united states moving. the european union moves in a strong way as well. that's what we have been pressing them to dpor days now. >> tough situation. ben rode, stand by. we have a lot more question for you. especially what's going on here in the middle east. more of our conversation with ben rode, president's deputy

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see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. welcome back. we're coming to you live in jerusalem. there is a crisis in the middle east. we will discuss what is going on with the president. the president's deputy national security adviser ben rhodes is still with us from the white house. we heard earlier from the israeli military analyst saying he is hearing there is back channelled, back room developments as far as a cease-fire is concerned. that's one of the reasons why the israeli cabinet tonight postponed their meeting. what's going on, can you share with us the latest on an effort to get a cease-fire, ben? >> well, wolf, i wouldn't be able to discuss what ever back channel discussions israel might be engaged in. what i will say is what the

united states has been working for and supporting is an effort to create a cease-fire in the ground of humanitarian calm that so we can take place into an, u broader issues, make sure that rockets aren't being fired and look at the humanitarian situation under gaza. short term cease-fire, creating space for discussions on longer term issues. >> short term, how short term would that initial phase be? >> well, again, what you have seen in recent day says a focus on getting a 24-hour calm under place. then can you build on that. so you can essentially have a series of short term cease fi-fs to create a space to go forward. egyptians have something on the table. the israelis, palestinian authority can come together with our support to have those discussions but we with like that to happen in the environment when there are not rockets being fired into israel and that there is a calm that is prevailing on the ground.

>> is secretary kerry still involved in this process? because as you know, i don't know what he did exactly, but he seemed to have irritated several members o f the israeli cabinet. >> he's still very much involved, wolf, and again, we believe secretary kerry has been as strong a supporter of israel as there is. he continues to speak on a very regular basis with prime minister netanyahu. and he's also talking with other counterparts in the region, such as the egyptian partner in the middle of the efforts. he's traveling right now for very important meetings, but he's still playing a lead role for the united states and pursuing a cease-fire and the end to the rocket fire in israel. >> what did he do that irritated the israelis? i read a lot of accounts here in israel, and there's a bunch of israelis, as you well know, who are pretty upset. what exactly did he do to cause that kind of heartburn? >> wolf, frankly we don't understand why this criticism was coming from israel from some

quarters of secretary kerry? frankly what he was pursuing is a similar type of cease fire that we saw on the table in 2012, when we brokered a cease-fire in coordination with israel and egypt, very similar to the cease-fire proposal that the egyptians put forward that israel was working with. again, i think right now people in israel, of course, are very focused on the threat from rockets and the threat from the tunnels as well, but of course what we have said is they can continue to deal with that threat of tunnels, and that, of course, will have to be a part of any discussion around a long-term cease-fire. that's what secretary kerry has been focused on, i think. frankly, some of the criticism was unfounded and based on misinformation and misperceptions of what he was putting forward. >> wouldn't be the first time that happened, as someone who has covered u.s.-israeli relationships for a long time, that stuff happens, unfortunately, all too often. ben rodes, thank you. let's see if the fighting can

stop, because too many people are dying on both sides of this. just ahead, we're live in jerusalem with more of our breaking news coverage. standby for the very latest. what super poligrip does for me is it keeps the food out.

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>> reporter: well, wolf, cnn is learning the cdc has sent a team over tonight to track down anyone who has come into contact with the ebola patient in nigeria who died there just a few days ago, and right now the cdc has other teams ready to go out the door. health officials telling cnn the latest ebola outbreak is so concerning because it has reached a heavily populated city with millions of people that's also a hub for international travel. u.s. health officials in west africa scrambling to prevent the deadly ebola virus from reaching the states. >> certainly serious diseases are right away. >> right now u.s. health officials are searching for anyone who may have had contact with this u.s. citizen, patrick sawyer. he recently flew from liberia to the heavily populated city of lagos and died there from ebola on friday, not long before he was supposed to fly home to minnesota, according to his wife. >> with patrick's death, it's hit our front door because he was well known in the community.

like everyone knew him. so everyone feels like they've lost their best friend or their brother. >> reporter: right now two american aide workers in west africa are fighting for their lives, undergoing treatment at an isolation center there. since march it's spread across nation's borders in south africa, with more than 1,000 cases reported in liberia and guinnea. the centers for disease control in atlanta has issued an alert to health care workers in the u.s. to watch out for any patients who may have recently traveled to west africa and could have contracted the virus. the cdc sent guidance to american air carriers on how to identify and deal with american passengers displaying signs of ebola and how to disinfect aircraft after an infected passenger leaves the plane. >> airline carriers, crew members, airports can be a very important partner in the front line.

>> at least one international airline has suspended all flights to monrovia and liberia. liberia is closing some borders and screening all incoming and outgoing passengers for ebola at the airports. the problem is the current tests dete detect ebola after they show symptoms. fevers, chills, muscle aches and nausea. and unlike the flu, it's only spread through contact with bodily fluid, not through the air, and officials here say because of the way it's transmitted, there's very little risk for the u.s. population that said, wolf, the cdc has officials working at 18 different entry points in the u.s. so they'll be on hand to help in case a passenger is exhibiting symptoms of ebola, wolf? >> what a frightening story that is. ramifications clearly, clearly enormous. pamela brown, thanks for

watching. i'm wolf blitzer in jerusalem. stay with us. the israel and hamas situation very dangerous. dangerous right now. we'll be back tomorrow, in the meantime, erin burnett out front starts right now. next breaking news, hamas says no to a cease-fire. israel says it was on board. so what will it take to get people to agree? plus, commercial planes flying over war zones right now and every hour of the day. an out front special report. and the deadliest ebola in world history. is an american outbreak just a plane ride away? let's go out front. good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. we begin with the breaking news. hamas rejecting any cease-fire with israel. the leader of hamas' lead eer says there's n