the house will be in order. >> really members of congress you're booing because you have to stay another day? >> really because i don't know, maybe you haven't seen congress's latest approval rating. 15%. i now turn you over to wolf blitzer. he's live from jerusalem in "the situation room." >> happening now, a situation room special report breaking news. a fresh wave of civilian deaths and a soaring gaza death toll now drawing sharp criticism of israel by the united states. tunl offensive. israel's prime minister says the mission will continue vowing to take out hamas's underground network with or without a cease-fire. shimon peres speaks out, the former israeli president talks candidly about the crisis in my exclusive interview, his first

since leaving office last week. 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." we're following this hour's breaking news. new civilian casualties in gaza including a family of nine killed in what palestinian officials say was an israeli strike on their house inside a refugee camp. that came on the heels of this strike on a marketplace. at least 17 people died in this incident. according to palestinian officials, the death toll is now at least 1,432 people. the majority the palestinian officials say civilians. despite growing criticism from the u.s. and the united nations, israel is vowing to continue its mission to wipe out hamas tunnels with or without a cease-fire. we're covering all angles of the breaking news this hour with our guests, our correspondents here

in the middle east and around the world. let's begin in gaza. cnn's john vauss is there for us. what's the latest? what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, wolf, just a short time ago there was a sound of what seemed to be heavy caliber automatic be weapons fire coming from that direction over there. around this time last night, we were told by hamas that there was in fact close fighting between hamas militants their fighters and israeli troops on the ground here in gaza. for most of the day here though the israeli air strikes did seem to wind down. gds has always been chaotic. but not like this. with the electricity out, traffic lights don't work. water pumps and sewage systems are offline. a few who can be afford it have generators and that includes the hospital here, crucial life-saving equipment now

powered bid two megagenerators running 24/7. it's been like this since gaza's only power plant was hit on tuesday. and fuel storage thanks exploded into flames. palestinians say all of this was caused by israel. by attacking the power plant and cutting electricity, they're killing can the civilian life never gaza, a spokesman from the electric company told me. but israel's military tells me the power play plant wasn't a target. the palestinians who work here say there has been incoming fire onto the power plant for three days before these fuel storage thanks were hit. in fact, they say on sunday, the administration building just over there took a direct hit. >> israel's military says they'll look into those claims, as well, but the u.n. says if it was dribrately hit, that would be a violation of humanitarian law. but right now, for more than a million palestinians like this man, no electricity means long

danz nights inside with nothing to do. no tv, no radio, no lights. too scared to go out because of air strikes. stuck in a small two-room apartment with another family, 17 in all who fled from the north after their homes were hit by artillery. >> all the children feel so scared when they cut the electricity, she says. they just keep holding their mothers. >> before the fighting began is, gaza actually got most of its electricity from israel but transmission lines on both sides of the boarder were damaged either by hamas rockets or israeli missiles. both sides blame the other. is the palestinians say repair work could take up to a week but say there's still no agreement with the israeli electric company on when that working begin. but just last month, an israeli politician called to cut the electricity to gaza for good. an idea not without support in israel. especially since the

palestinians haven't paid the electric bill for years. owing israel tens of millions of dollars. and wolf, we did hear from an israeli defense forces spokeswoman who said that they have reviewed all of the information from naval, ground and air forces who are in the region of the power station at the time that it was believe the to be hit. they say every indication at this point is that the israeli military was not involved. the palestinians though do disagree. we had a few technical problems earlier. i was telling that you there's been the sound of heavy machine gunfire coming from that direction, as well. it was around this time last night when we heard a similar sound of heavy machine gunfire so it could indicate that what they said to us, that there was fighting between hamas militants and israeli soldiers fairly close fighting on the ground here in gaza. wolf in. >> john, be careful over there. let us know what's going on. if you see the flares coming up,

let us know immediately. we'll check out the situation. meanwhile, the u.n. human rights high commissioner is now suggesting israel is deliberately denying international law with attacks on homes, schools and hospitals and u.n. facilities in gaza saying they do not appear in her words to be accidental. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr has more on the growing criticism israel is facing. what are you hearing over there, barbara, at the pentagon? >> wolf, across the administration today, there is growing horror and criticism of the civilian casualties in gaza that the u.s. believes israel is responsible for. another gaza building destroyed. the people struggling amid the wreckage and carnage. israeli military videos showing what it says are hamas rockets firing from civilian areas. a u.n. school hit, a marketplace became an instant killing ground. >> the reality of gaza today is

that no place is safe. >> israel using american ammunition in some these strikes even as the u.s. calls for israeli forces to do more to protect civilians. >> the shelling of a u.n. facility that is housing innocent civilians who are fleeing violence is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible. and it is clear that we need our allies in israel to do more to live up to the high standards that they have set for themselves. >> the pentagon is resupplying is israel with tank mortar grenade and other ammunition stocks. israel even by more illumination rounds like this to light up the gaza sky at night. >> we're worried about civilian casualties. >> the blame israel says lies with hamas using civilians as hume shields. carl ben paul sees the weapons the israelis are using >> they have howitzer field guns, they have thanks, using

mortars. those are not precision weapons. those are what are called area weapons aimed at inflicting mass casualties on an enemy force, but when you look at gaza, of course, the problem there is that this is not only a debsly populated but also a heavily built up area with very few open spaces. >> retired u.s. army lieutenant general mark hert ling says selling ammunition is part of u.s. policy for supporting israel and believes it is doinging what it can. but the weapons use were the never planned for urban areas. >> for artillery and mortars, you can fire several miles away but again, you don't have the resolution of knowing exactly what you're going to hit. >> this school illustrates the awful reality. the israelis say they were fired on. they fired back. and there may have been stray israeli fire. >> we are operating under the understanding that there are civilians in the area. we are doing that with the knowledge of the commanders.

>> an israeli officials tell us they actually have pulled back from dozens of planned attacks when they learn that there are civilians in the area but wolf, still, the u.s. position as of today is that israel can and should do more to protect civilians in gaza. wolf? >> it certainly is. that emerged through several statements coming out of washington today. barbara starr at the pentagon, thanks very much. let's get some reaction from israel. joining us once again is mark regev, the spokesman for the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. thanks very much. yesterday when we spoke, you said you were investigating that attack on that u.n. shelter that killed all those civilians. the white house wasn't sure who was responsible. that changed today. listen to the white house press secretary josh earnest. >> the israelis have said it is possible that there was stray israeli fire. so while we underscore account importance of a full and prompt investigation of this tragic incident, as well as the

shelling of other u.n. facilities and schools that have been hit had, it does not appear there's a lot of doubt about whose artillery was involved in this incident. >> are you blaming israel? you're saying. >> when we said last night already we didn't rule out the possibility that it was errant israeli fire but we said responsibility lies with those who are turning u.n. institutions into a combat zone. and our forces were taking hostile mortar fire and when you're in the dust and when you're in the dirt and you're in a combat zone and time is precious, if someone's shooting at you, you shoot back. i'm not justifying if there was an accident. if we inadvertently did in fact cause those deaths, we will of course, do an investigation. that's an operational failure. we regret every civilian casualty. but let's be clear here. if hamas is turning a u.n.

school where refugees are seeking shelter, if they're turning that into a combat zone, it just shows what hamas is. they don't give a hoot about human lives. >> are you acknowledging now that the weapon that killed those people in that u.n. shelter was in fact, an israeli weapon? >> i'm not because we don't know that for a fact. we said honestly, yesterday after our initial investigation we know there was combat in that area, combat forced upon us by the hamas terrorists who were shooting mortar shells at our forces. we know there was an exchange of fire. we don't rule out the possibility that it could have been an errant israeli shell but don't know that for a fact. i want to say israel does not target civilians, does not target target solutions. if this was misfire, it was an honest accident. no one deliberately targeted civilians. let me be clear. >> the u.n. high commissioner for civil rights navi pilae said she doesn't believe you necessary. she said none of the israeli

strikes on homes, schools or u.n. shelters in her words appears to be accidental. >> i want to be clear here. anyone who understands international humanitarian law and the laws of war knows the most important principle is the separation of knob combatants from combatants. that's the first and primary law of war. and what does hamas do? hamas deliberately blurs the difference between combatants and noncombatants. they shoot at israeli civilians and you know today we passed 2,800 rocks fired at israeli cities from gaza by hamas terrorists. they're indiscriminately shooting at our civilians. at the same time, they're embedding their terrorist military machine in schools, in mocks, in urban areas in, football stadiums. uing gaza civilians as a human shield. also, wolf, hamas is actually guilty of a double war crime. what israel doing? we're being targeted. they're shooting rocket after

rocket at our people day after day, are close to 3,000 rockets on israeli cities in a period of three weeks. what are we supposed to do? i mean, if it's illegal for us to shoot back, you are denying my country its right to self-defense. >> did you, israel, destroy that power plant in gaza with an air strike or artillery fire because all those people, hundreds of thousands of people are without without power in gaza right now? >> we did not targeting that power station and we did a thorough investigation of all the forces, air forces, ground forces, naval forces so if in fact it could have been a mistake someone could have hit the power station. we believe it's not clear who hit the station. a lot of rockets fired by hamas at us malfunction, they fall short. they fall in the grassy strip. we saw two examples of that earlier this week when a hamas rocket landed on a school. all the hamas spokespeople say

israel, israel. we could prove through photographs it was clearly a hamas rocket. that could have happened here, as well. >> a lot of officials u.n. officials and others are saying if you did take out this power plant this time, it wouldn't have been the first time israel did it. in 2006 after the israeli soldier was captured, the forces acknowledged they blep up the power plant for what they said hamas did in capturing that israeli soldier. >> this time i can assure you it was not a target. we have no evidence that anyone shot at it. when we make a mistake, if there is irand the fire, we admit it. the story on the beach two weeks ago, there it was a mistaken identification and we hit four boys and anpresident perez who you interviewed this morning publicly apologized because we don't see the people of gaza as an enemy and make a maximum effort to minimize what the

experts call collateral damage. what is our challenge? you're dealing with a ruthless terrorist organization that has the opposite goal. not only are they trying to kill israeli civilians with those rockets, they are interested in palestinian civilians dying, putting them in danger so as to shield their own terrorist machine. >> one final question. how close are you and hamas to a cease-fire that the u.s., the u.n., others are trying to put together? >> you know, this conflict could have ended two weeks ago when we accepted the egyptian cease-fire proposals. it was hamas that rejected those proposals. how close are we to a cease-fire? i'd say ask hamas. even today, we had more than 100 rockets firing on israeli cities by hamas in gaza. we've done cease-fires in the past. israel has had fire for hours and always hamas continues shooting. a cease-fire means hamas must too stop shooting >> mark regev, thanks very much

for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> we're going to hear from a top palestinian official in ramallah in a few moments for his understanding what's going on. my exclusive interview with shimon peres speaking candidly about the fighting in gaza. where he disagrees with the prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we're live here in jerusalem and this is the situation room special report. you make a great team.

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we're live in jerusalem following the breaking news the united nations human rights

commissioner all but accusing israel of deliberate lit defying international law with strikes killing gaza simpbz that in her words do not appear to be accidental and accusing hamas of violating international law with its random firing of rockets into pop located areas of israel. joining us now is hugh sam zum lot, a member of the palestinian united nations delegation. usam umlatt thanks very much for joining pass. is hamas violating is international law by firing more than 2500 rockets and missiles randomly into populated areas of israel? >> well, the whole situation is really in a striking violation of basic human rights and international law indeed. i believe that so far, the striking images from gaza is what calls for our

intermediatate attention. and perhaps really during a time when you are seeing 1,420 palestinians being murdered more than 8,000 injured, and 240,000 displaced, by the way, wolf, be in a proportion terms, if we compared this today, you asked, this would mean that you have quarter of a million god for bid americans being killed with this operation, almost 1.5 million being injured and more than 44 million americans again god for bid being displaced. start with hamas and ask about hamas is really missing the point as we leave it today. >> but the israelis say the only reason they're doing what they're doing in gaza is because their populated centers are being attacked by hamas with rockets and missiles and also point to the tunnels, as well. do they have a point, the

israeli israelis? >> i don't think so, wolf. they don't have a point. what the israelis have been doing over the years even before hamas has existed has continued. the israelis claim it's about the tunnels and they claim it's about the rockets and here on the west bank, we have no tunnels and no rockets. yet, the israelis still are killing palestinians on a daily basis. there are, as you know, colonizing the land. and in the west bank. let me talk a little bit about these tunnels. of course, the tunnels are not just the creation of this war. the tunnels have been there in gaza for the last seven years and the root causes of the tunnels is israel's imposed siege on the people of gaza. this is an act of dignity by the people of gaza to try and -- underneath so they provide basic goods for their families when not allowed to function and live normally on the ground. however, these tunnels are sometimes used for combat

situations and so far, i have not heard of these tunnels being used to attack israeli civilians. there is no evidence of such a scenario whatsoever. the only evidence is these tunnels are used in the military sense to comfort israeli combatant soldiers. >> so in other words, what you're saying is that hamas uses these tunnels, the israelis say they found about 31 going from gaza into israel. you say it's a legitimate military operation that hamas is doing, they try to get into israel and kill or capture israeli soldiers and not endanger israeli civilians? is that what you're saying? >> no, this is not what i'm saying, wolf. what i'm saying is the tunnel phenomena is not a military phenomena to start with. it was a human phenomena primarily by the people of gaza to get basic goods into gaza when they had a siege for seven years where their land was closed, the air was closed by israel and then this phenomena

turned into a commercial phenomena. war lords benefited from it. then in such situations of comfort, hamas use it to confront israeli soldiers. i have not heard or documented any incident whereby these tunnels have been used to smuggle into israel to attack israeli civilians. and you know what? all this mayhem and destruction, i am from gaza. i lived in gaza most of my life. i know these neighborhoods and these people. i know the families, the faces. i've studied and worked with these people. what israel is doing is obliterating entire neighborhoods and this is as ancient city, one of the most old cities in the history of mankind. and the whole sale murder of these people cannot be justified by nel mean. nothing can justify the targeting of the only, the sole electricity or power generatener gaza except this logic of collective punmeissuement.

only a few weeks ago, we had an international initiative response berred a john kerry to try to to resolve the conflict and look at the root causes by is primarily colonization and subjugation of an entire nation, denial of basic rights. mr. kerry has offered us a glimpse of hope. i don't want to repeat what happened. you know what he said in the congress only few months ago. he said the follow. he said that israeli prime minister, the israeli government has blocked his initiative and boof, used the word boof when the skreels declared another settlement blocks. there was another international initiative to resolve the issue of gaza to bring it back to the equation. he formed a national unity government. the first thing mr. netanyahu did was declare this was blocked by him and therefore, we create -- created this. now we're talking about the symptoms. we're talking about tunnels, we're talking about rockets and we are forgetting that the root

causes is really the occupation. >> hugh sam zumlot joining us from ramallah on the west bank. we'll continue this conversation. but we've got breaking news. i want to show viewers pictures what's going on in gaza right now. looks like flares are going off. that's usually a sign some air strikes or other strikes could be imminent. we'll go to gaza and find out what's going on. also, my exclusive interview with the former israeli president shimon peres speaking out candidly about the fighting in gaza where he agrees, disagrees with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu. plus, gop disarray. house leaders face revolt. the party faces backlash. now they're putting their summer recess on hold scrambling to come together on immigration. we're live here in jerusalem and this is a situation room special report.

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go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed if we can't offer faster speeds - or save you money - we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. i want to go right to our global affairs correspondent elise labatt. breaking news on the potential for a cease-fire. what are you learning >> we just received a statement from the secretary of state john kerry, u.n. secretary the general ban ki-moon and robert sari, the u.n. representative for the mideast announced a 72-hour temporary humanitarian cease-fire to begin 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning jerusalem time. that would be 1:00 a.m. eastern time. in a statement this says the cease-fire is critical, wolf, to

giving innocent civilians a much needed reprieve during this period, civilians will receive urgently needed humanitarian relief. the opportunity to the carry out vital functions including burying the dead, taking care of the injured, restocking food supplies and repairs on essential water and energy. now then, wolf, in this next 72 hours, the secretary said he expects that parties from jerusalem, from the israeli government and from hamas would be traveling to cairo along with palestinian authority representatives to urgently negotiate an agreement on some of these larger issues that we've been talking about, these underlying issues surrounding the conflict on the israeli side, that means the need to take care of these tunnels that the israelis have been going after that they claim that hamas had built and on the hamas side and the palestinian side, that means taking care of the urgent humanitarian situation easing that blockade in gaza. wolf? >> we're going to get immediate

reaction from israel and try to get reaction from hamas and try to get robert sari, u.n.en special envoy for the middle east, try to get him on the phone and follow up on the breaking news. a cease-fire proposal put forward by ban ki-moon of the united nations, the secretary-general and secretary of state john kerry. we'll see what the reaction is from israel and hamas. stand by for that. earlier today, i had a chance to sit down with the former president of israel, shimon peres for an exclusive interview, his first since leaving office about a week or so ago. the 90-year-old nobel peace prize winner certainly has a lot on his mind. we spoke about a wide range of issues. he told me how important it is he believes tore israel to destroy those hamas-built tunnels and he was effusive in his praise for po president obama and secretary of state john kerry and he also praised the palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas, an area he admits where he disagrees with the prime minister of

israel, benjamin netanyahu. >> how israel and hamas achieve a cease-fire? >> i mean, first of all, we have to get rid of the problem of the tunnels. no government, not the israeli government, can stop the fighting before every mother in this country will be sure that at the night, somebody will jump out and kill her and the children. it's impossible. now the second problem is we should answer this one, who is the legitimate governor of gaza? it's not clear. i cannot see a cease-fire. >> destroying that network of tunnels built by hamas is the primary purpose of israel's ground offensive in gaza. but according to palestinian officials, israel's military offensive has killed hundreds of

civilians. the white house and the state department both have said israel can do more tore prevent civilian casualties. >> to the best of my knowledge, israel is trying to do so. i spoke with many pilots, many fighters. they're unbelievably aware of it. but you know, the place is dense. it's a small place. extremely densely populated. and they made every place a part of their front. they planted mines. they put in explosives in houses. if you touch the house, the house exploded. i mean it's unbelievable. >> this week, secretary of state john kerry was widely criticized inside israel for attempts to broker a cease-fire. one israeli columnist said he ruined everything. but the former president disagrees. is the criticism here in israel

of president obama and secretary kerry and their role in this current crisis justified? >> i know president obama quite well. and also i know secretary kerry for many years. the president is a responsible friend of israel. he answers many of the questions particularly in the domain of the defense and security. so if he has a remark, he may have his remark but he shall not forget that basically, israel is a great friend and a good friend and i trust him. i don't mind -- i hope he doesn't mind to hear -- i mean friendship is not just all the time -- but basically trust i think he's an outstanding person. >> all right. we're going to get back to my

interview with shimon peres and back to breaking news first. the u.s. and the united nations announcing a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire. the secretary of state john kerry, the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon making a joint statement saying that they would like a cease-fire to begin tomorrow morning local time 8:00 a.m. here in the middle east. that would be 1:00 a.m. on the east coast of the united states. 72-hour cease-fire. jim sciutto is our chief national security correspondent. jim, i know that this is the announcement from the u.s. and the united nations. do we have any assurances that either israel or hamas have accepted this initiative by the u.s. and the u.n. >> i can't imagine the u.s. and the u.n. would announce it unless they had israel's agreement and some assurances from hamas, but still, it's a remarkable development considering where we were just a few hours ago. you had the israeli prime minister netanyahu as you well know where you are saying that the military operations there

were just the first phase of a broader goal in gaza to demilitary rise, setting a very high bar there for success in the operation. and as the statement makes clear, the focus now discussions in egypt will be on achieving a more durable cease-fire. it's those issues, satisfying israel's demands for real progress on its own security and from the other side inside gaza, their demands for some longer term relief, not just an end to the current offensive but you've heard from hamas leaders there they want broader economic relief. they want the borders open and want to be able to fish more of the sea off of gaza. et cetera. that's going to be the real challenge. finding that durable cease-fire beyond these 72 hours. >> because the secretary of state, the u.n. secretary-general, they've made it abundantly clear and i've spoken to robert siri, the special envoy for the united nations here in the middle east, they believe you start off with

something relatively modest, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours and you see how that goes and then you try to build on that. you go to the first 72 hours. if no hamas rockets and missiles are coming into israels and israel stops its strikes into gaza, hamas targets in gaza, maybe you can build on that. that's certainly the principle behind what the secretary of state and the u.n. secretary-general, jim, are trying to do. >> no question. all about trust building, right? we know at the last attempt at a shorter cease-fire, you had competing suggestions from both sides that neither side was, in fact, ceasing hostilities. rocks still coming into israel from gaza, from hamas militants and hamas saying while the aerial bombardment stopped, the operations on the ground did not stop. it's interesting. it's interesting that this comes now, wolf, you mentioned earlier in the broadcast that very harsh criticism from the u.n. just a couple of hours ago accusing

israel of purposely targeting u.n. facilities in gaza saying in their terms, in the terms of the u.n. human rights chief saying it was her view it was not accidental that israel was hitting these facilities. that's a pretty strong charge and we know, as well, based on statements coming out of the administration officials here in the u.s. that clearly while not as strong as the u.s. statements, clearly their patience was running thin. of course, you have the u.n. and john kerry cooperating on it seems spearheading this agreement, the cease-fire agreement. >> let me bring elise la bot into this conversation. she broke the story for us a little while ago. elyse is our global affairs correspondent. do we know that that israel and hamas have agreed to this u.s., u.n. proposal? >> in this statement, it says secretary kerry and the u.n. representative be robert sari as you've been discussed have received assurances from the israelis from, hamas that they

would respect this cease-fire. as jim said, this is what the u.s. is hoping is to build an opportunity if you can start 72 hours and get longer negotiations going on a more durable cease-fire, maybe you can extend the 72 hours. it's all about that confidence building and making sure that calm is in the area so ta some of the humanitarian situation can be eased as we've been discussing. israel under a lot of international pressure but i think hamas realizes as the body count piles up on the palestinian side that they need to be at least seen as trying to at least halt the fighting to have the palestinian families be able to bury their dead, to be able to get medicine in and get food in. that's what secretary kerry is hoping that this is a momentum that he can use that opening to have longer negotiations on easing the situation for everybody. >> i want everybody to stand by. we're going to take a quick break. we'll watch what's going on. we'll get official reaction from

israeli officials from, palestinian officials, stand by. the breaking news secretary-general of the united nations ban ki-moon, the secretary of state of the united states john kerry saying all parties that would be israel and hamas, have agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire. we'll check that out. we'll be right back. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

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local time here in the middle east. that would be 1:00 a.m. eastern back in the united states. here is the statement that was just read at the united nations. and i'll read it to our viewers. we can dissect it. tom done lon is standing by. we'll go through the statement. this is important information. the whole world right now is watching, whether or not this cease-fire will take place, whether it is realistic. here's the statement, secretary-general ban ki-moon and united states sngt of state john kerry announced that the united nations representative in jerusalem, the special coordinator respondent robert serry has receives assurances all parties have agreed to and you conditional humanitarian cease-fire that will commence 8:00 a.m. local time on friday friday it, august 1st, 2014 and last for a period of 72 hours unless exend it had. during this time, the forces on the grounds will remain in place. we will urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian cease-fire begins

and to fully abide by their commitments by the cease-fire. this cease-fire is critical to giving civilians a much needed reprieve from violence. during this period, civilians in gaza will receive urgently needed humantarian relief and the opportunity to the carry out vital functions including burying the dead, taking care of injured and restocking food supplies. or to do repairs on essential infrastructure could also continue during this period. the statement for negotiations with the government of egypt at the invitation of egypt aimed at reaching a durable cease-fire. the parties will be able to raise all issues of concern in these negotiations. we thank key regional stakeholders for their vital support of this progress and counsel on a continued collaborative project so that they reach a cease-fire as soon as possible. tom donovan, sounds encouraging.

sounds like important news. give us your immediate reaction to this announcement by the u.n. and the secretary of state. >> well, the first thing, i think, wolf, i think it is encouraging. i assume here they would. have gone forward without the support of the israelis and hamas for for it point 1. point 2, i think it's important that it's going to be in egypt. i remember egypt proposed a cease-fire on july 15th, i think it was, which was accepted by israelis and rejected by hamas. egypt is a key player here. egypt controls the key access to gaza from the south. they have a lot of say in the kinds of arrangements that are going to be put in place in order to not have the kind of militarization they've had in place. they're critical to the economic future of gaza. egypt is the host here is the very important piece. next i think it's important that the palestinian authorities are going to be present there. if i were working on this, i would want to have palestinian authorities, a situation

enhanced meaning president abbas's situation, and find a role for the palestinian authority with respect to gaza going forward. so those are some initial reactions i have. think it is good news. i do thing that obviously it would -- let's assume that they have the agreement of the israelis and hamas to participate. there was one sentence here which would be interesting to understand. it says here that during this time the forces on the ground will remain in place. the question presented there is whether o or not that covers the operations by the idea that the is lay defense forces with respect to the tunnels which was, of course, then a threat for the israelis are dealing with here in the context of the gaza operation. it's important to egypt and really important that it has the participation of the palestinian authority, the faca faction headed by president abbas and his team. >> and one of the key issues there because the prime minister of israel said it this morning.

he said israel is going to co continue destroying the tunnels from gaza to israel. cease-fire or no cease-fire, they're going to continue do it. they said yesterday they're almost done destroying the tunnels. that could be significant there. i want tom donilin to stand by. we've got a delegate standing by. we're going to continue to follow the breaking news. we'll see if the cease-fire really takes place. much more right after this. ♪ during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this all new 2014 cts for around $459 a month or purchase with 0% apr and make this the summer of style.

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we've got very significant breaking news right now. john kerry and ban ki-moon saying all parties agree to a cease-fire starting at 8:00 a.m. local time in the middle east.

the statement saying all parties have agreed. we we have not yet seevgd official statement from the government of israel. we have not yet received official statement from hamas. we're waiting for those statements. what we have right now is a statement from ban ki-moon and john kerry says a cease-fire will go into effect in a few hours. let's get the ambassador to join us. what do you know about this? has hamas agreed to this 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire? >> i think, wolf, that announcement by the secretary of state and the secretary-general of the united nations came after careful deliberations with all the parties. i don't think they would have announced this agreement without getting the approval of all the parti parties. so, yes, thing there has been on acceptance by both parties before the announcement was made. >> as you know, ambassador, the

political wing of hamas has accepted humanitarian cease-fires in the past but the military arms of hamas immediately rejected the cease-fires and continued launching rockets and missiles. here's the question, ambassador. are you sure that the military wing of hamas is on board and will stop firing rockets and missiles starting at 8:00 a.m. local time? >> wolf, i disagree with the characterization. i believe over the koufrs the eventses in the last two weeks there has been some kind of c co-age co-agent. they've been involved in very intensive governments with the palestinian factions over the last 48 hours. the last 24 hours also witnessed

contacts with the different countries, with other countries in the region. you know, i believe that there is an acceptance for this for 72 hours to allow, yes. >> all right. ambassador, hold on for a scorescore second. i want you to stay on with us. i want to take a quick break. one minute. we'll be back in 60 seconds.

happening tonight. the united states and the united nations have just announced what they're calling a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. the sec secretary of state john

kerry and the u.n. general secretary ban ki-moon saying in a joint statement all parties have agreed to a truce, that would be israel and hamas. no statement yet from israel. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com john, i understand you've just received a statement from hamas. >> that's right. the spokesman put out a text message saying hamas has accepted the 72-hour cease-fire. they'll honor the cease-fire. so, too, will the other groups who have been firing rockets into israel and launching those attacks as well. doesn't sound like a cease-fire just yet with still seven hours way from that cease-fire coming into effect. there's still the sounds of explosions to our east in the neighborhood and area which has been flattened by the israelis. there was automatic machine gun, heavy machine gunfire in that area a short time ago. so while they accept the cease-fire which comes into

effect six hours from now, this fighting here continues, wolf. >> well, we'll see what happens, but that's an encouraging development, hamas issuing a statement. you just heard it from john vause saying that have accepted it. john, they say all factions. i assume that means not just the political arm of hamas but the military arm as well. is that right? >> that is correct. this is important because there are other factions inside. hamas controls the area but they're not always in control of these mill tanlts factions. they did manage to control the other groups when we had the 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire about a week ago. an indication that hamas can control these other groups. so it's important to know that these other military groups have

fired rockets as well have signed onto this cease-fire. whether it holds, whether it lasts, of course, you know, at this point we just don't know, but it comes into effect in about seven hours from now. as i say, we can still hear the automatic weapons firing in the distance here, wolf. >> yes, we can. we just heard sirens. they've been going off southeast of tel aviv. so clearly there's no cease-fire yet. rockets, missiles coming in from gaza even as we speak right now in tel aviv just southeast, i should say of tel a viv. here's what the spokesman for the united nations secretary-general said just moments ago. >> we urge all parties to act with restrapgt until this cease-fire begins and to fully abide by their commitments during the cease-fire. the cease-fire's critical to giving innocent civilians a much needed reprieve from violence. >> tom donilin is still with us.

he was the national security adviser to president obama until recently. tom, the is lays have made it cleerks including the prime minister, that cease-fire or no cease-fire, they're going to continue to try to destroy those tunnels. is it your understanding based on this statement that the united nations has released israel will allow during the 72-hour cease-fire, a, to keep all of its troops in gaza, and, b, to continue destroying those tunnels during that cease-fire period? >> number one, wolf, with respect to the forces, it indicates that the forces will remain on the ground will remain in place, number one. so i take it that positions taken can be positions maintained. but secondly it's not clear with respect at least in the face of the statement with respect to the tunnel operations. the israeli government has made clear it's going finish that project. again, i don't know to what extenlts -- what percentage of the tunnels have been dealt with at this point but that's a question i think that's not answered on the face of the

statement here. >> the commander of the israeli forces in the south said yesterday they were near completing that operation, destroying those tunnels. so maybe that explains why the cease-fire could go into effect 8:00 a.m. local time. if, in fact, this is a real deal, 72 hours, tom, the hope, of course, is that the 72 hours becomes another 72 hours and that it keeps on going, right? >> i think that's exactly right. with respect to the tunnel issue which is a key security and threat issue to the israelis and one which they have a legitimate right to be very concerned with and deal with, they may be right regarding the point. you may have to talk to the israeli idf forces with regard to whether they can go forward with that. number two, with regard to your question on the 72-hour cease-fire, think that's exactly right. you would hope for 72 hours and get extensions here if talks are productive going forward and i presume that will be the goal of

the united states, the u.n., and the egyptians. as i said earlier, it's very significant in egypt. egypt is a party that can do something about the situation in terms of the economics, in terms of the crossings. in addition, egypt is part of a broader faction in the coalition that's developed in the mid east of being very concerned about hamas. you have egypt and saudi arabia and jordan and the ma more rahdies who are very posed to it. it's very important and significant that these are taking place in egypt hosted by egypt. >> very significant indeed. let me bring maen areikat into the conversation. are you convinced maen areikat -- and i know you quite well -- not just them but all in gaza are on board? >> wolf, this is an outcome that took quite some time to achieve.

you and i know how intense these contacts and efforts have been for the last few days. i have strong reasons to believe that it is coming out as a result of these intense efforts than everybody seems to be on board. i hope that the israelis will understand that since they are the army that is into the gaza strip and occupying parts of the gaza strip right now, they will show commitment and adherence not to take any provocative actions to invite retaliation from the palestinian factions so that they can use it as a pretext to breaking that. but i agree with what mr. donilin said. i think the idea here is to get this truce, allow the parties to go to egypt to meet under the auspices of the egyptians as explained earlier.

it's playing a crucial and pivotal role in sending the delegations that will be going to cairo. it will be a palestinian delegation that will include all palestinian factions including the palestinian authority and they will engage with the egyptians to find the political formula to arrive at the long term solution. we need a long-term solution that will deal with the underlying causes, and, of course, definitely lifting that unjust blockade on the people of gaza. >> stand by for a moment maen areikat and tom donilon. i hear artillery. i want to go to sara sidner. tell us what's going on. >> reporter: we heard sirens going off earlier in the day and now we're hearing very deep booms clearly outgoing fire

toward gaza. artillery fire. we've been hearing that over and over and over again. so certainly we're listening to the sounds of firing here from ashkilon towards gaza. how do we know that? when we hear incoming, we hear the sirens go off. we run to places where we can be safer, into safe rooms, but we're not hearing those sirens. we're still hearing the rattling of windows even on the fifth or sixth floor you can sometimes hear your window rattling from the artillery just as we got down -- just before yu came to us, we heard another deep boom, the sound of artillery firing outgoing. wolf? >> it's just after 1:00 a.m. in israel and gaza. the cease-fire is supposed to go into effect 8:00 a.m. local time just under seven hours or so. it might go into effect then. maybe it won't. there were sirens that just went

off southeast of tel aviv. sayre are sidner telling me they're hearing artillery fire in ashkelon. clearly it's going on. sara, i want you to stand by. john vause as well. tom donilon, part of possible's former national security adviser. significantly, potentially significant, no official statement yet from the israeli government on whether or not they've accepted this proposal. a statement from the u.s. and u.n. saying all parties on board. we shall see. stay with us. the breaking news coverage continues right after this. but most of our employees g, live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone.

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announcing, ban ki-moon and secretary of state john kerry anouns an agreement to a cease-fire. they have received assurances that all parties have agreed to an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. it will last for a period of 72 hours. sab erekat, i know you've been meeting with the leaders. is everybody on board as far as the cease-fire is concerned? >> yes, wolf, think everybody is on board tonight after hundreds of relentless hours of secretary kerry's efforts, ban ki-moon,

the egyptians, arab league, others, we have what was announced by secretary kerry and ban ki-moon a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire that will go into effect as of the morning. it's the beginning. he's speaking to my president abbas inviting him to a palestinian delegation to go to cairo as of tomorrow and i'm sure they will invite the israelis and then there will be parallel talks led by egypt between the palestinians and egypt. it will be a joint delegation composed by president abbas, headed by my colleague, jihad and others.

we hope that these 72 hours will constitute the disconnection process on both sides in order to reach a permanent cease-fire and we will see to it that the humanitarian needs, power station, water, shelter, whatever the 1.8 palestinians living without electricity, without water, medical supplies and we can begin a long, long, long process. that's the beginning of the end. it's a difficult road. it's a bumpy road. i am hoping against hope that we can do every possible effort with the help of everyone out there in order to ensure that we can reach a permanent cease-fire. >> so i understand you've met today with the political leader of hamas where you are. he gave you assurances that hamas is on board, is that right

saeb erekat? >> that's correct. i met with him for almost three hours and then he was meeting with the foreign minister of qatar for many, many hours. nothing could have been announced by secretary kerry or secretary-general ban ki-moon without the full -- without them being on board. yes, he did. >> what about the military? what about the military arm of hamas and islamic jihad? are they on board? >> i think everybody is on board. all factions on board. i think as far as palestinians tonight, everyone is on board of the 72-hour cease-fire that will go into effect as of 8:00 tomorrow morning and i hope that people will exercise self-restraint, people will be parent, look at the bigger picture. what we need to do is make it a sustainable cease-fire and then what we need to do after that is

to heal the human suffering of gaza. gaza is a disaster zone, a total disaster zone. it needs everything humanly possible in terms of medical supplies, food supplies, mwater supplies. we need to sustain the cease-fire. things could go wrong. i don't know. many, many, many things. many factors. but the effort accepted by all the parties as i mentioned to you or more have agreed to this and it's up to us. it's up to all of us. >> is it your understanding, saeb erekat that israeli troops who are in gaza right now during this initial 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire, they will remain in place? i think that's part of the agreement. but the more sensitive issue is will they be allowed to continue to destroy the hamas tunnels going from gaza into israel

during that 72-hour period? >> well, a cease-fire means a cease-fire, wolf. what we need is to sustain a cease-fire. of course, if somebody wants to act, the other party will have a right to self-defense and then we can see the whole thing collapse. i hope that every side, all sides will, you know, just honor the cease-fire. it's 72 hours. it's so essential. i don't think we can solve the problem by military mean. i don't think we can solve the problem by gunfire. you know, we need a major political solution for the whole situation, west bank. and that can only be done through a political process, which we need very badly. and i hope that secretary kerry and president obama and the europeans and russians and others will focus on the real need to end this conflict and to once and for all and to substitute the solution. but for the time being, okay, 72

hours translates into human lives. we need it. we have to sustain it. and we need to begin an immediate disconnection as soon as possible and i urge all sides tonight to really honor the cease-fire, to really fully honor the cease-fire that and i understand that almost immediately, saeb erekat, a palestinian delegation will go to cairo, an israeli delegation will go to cairo and everyone will start talking about the longer term issues according to this plan. when will those talks of cairo begin? >> i hope they begin tomorrow, i really do because i think, as i told you, the foreign minister of egypt is now. he just called me two minutes before you spoke to me and he is speaking now to president abbas to invite a palestinian delegation. we managed to follow them today with all factions and in forming

the delegation i'm sure that the egyptians will call it. so i except them to be in cairo tomorrow, tomorrow, friday. >> that sounds very, very encouraging. and your understanding -- you know what, the israelis have not made an official statement yet, saeb erekat. your understanding and you understand it as well as anyone, israelis are on board? we're waiting for a statement from the israeli government. so far we've got silence. >> well, you know, i don't think that secretary kerry or mr. ban ki-moon or myself when we're announcing, would announce without israel being involved. i know that they are involved. >> because you know there is a split within the israeli cabinet on whether or not israel should accept a cease-fire. i suspect that the prime minister is on board and he does have a majority in his cabinet but i'm sure there will be some in his cabinet -- you know who

i'm referring to, lieberman, bennett, another top minister, they probably won't be on board based on what we've heard them say over the past several days. >> well, i understand the complexities, i don't think the palestinians or israelis see with one eye or speak with one tongue. you know the complexities on both sides. all i can tell you tonight, secretary john kerry and general secretary ban ki-moon would not announce a 72-hour cease-fire of all sides unless they got it. lips make it work. it's in the interest of everyone we make the cease-fire work. there will never be a military solution to our problems. >> will you -- will you, saeb erekat, be going to cairo as well? >> no. i'm in here.

all the sides going there with the one intention of saving lives. >> let hope it succeeds. saeb erekat, i know you've been very involved in this. thank you for that. the palestinian chief negotiator. he's been meeting with khalid mashal and the leaders hchl e said all palestinian factions are on board going along with the u.s. and u.n. on the 72-hour cease-fire. let's take a quick break. much more right after this. een n car insurance. yeah, everybody knows that. well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast? ♪ you got to know when to hold'em. ♪ ♪ know when to fold 'em. ♪ know when to walk away. ♪ know when to run. ♪ you never count your money, ♪ when you're sitting at the ta...♪ what? you get it? i get the gist, yeah. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent

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we're following the breaking news. a significant development. the yaw nighted nations and the united states, a joint statement from secretary of state john kerry, u.n. secretary ban ki-moon saying that all parties have agreed to an unconditional 72-hour cease-fire beginning 8:00 a.m. local time tomorrow morning. during that period the statement says the forces on the ground will remain in place, meaning israeli troops who are now in gaza will remain in place according to the statement. jeffrey feltman is joining us right now. he's the undersecretary-general at the united nations for veteran affairs. an american veteran diplomat. tell us what's going on right now. do you have everyone on board including hamas, all factions of

hamas, as well as the israelis? >> wolf, we've received assurances. in fact, the secretary of jerusalem has received assurances from all parties that everybody is on board for the 72-hour unconditional cease-fire that we hope will lead to something more durable. but, yes, we believe that everyone is on board. >> and the israeli government has told you this because the silence so far is deafening. we've been trying for the last half hour, 45 minutes to get a statement from israeli officials and so far we got nothing, ambassador. why aren't they confirming that they're on board? >> i can't answer for the israelis, wolf. what i can say is we have received assurances from all parties. i'm sure the americans would say the same thing because of the fact that we went forward with this joint statement. secretary-general is pleased and is calling on our parties now to exercise restraint until the

cease-fire goes into effect at 8:00 local time and he looks forward to the parties gathering in cairo to try to turn this into something more durable. >> a palestinian delegation will go to kai crow as early as friday and israel and they'll deal with the crisis in gaza. is that right? >> that's basically right. all parties have issues they want to raise. all issues can be raised in cairo. i want to pay credit it in the region to twhoes have played an important role. egypt, qatar, turkey where they trial to get to help now which is a pause in what's been terrible violence over the past 24 days. >> earlier today the prime minister of israel, ambassador feltman, said israel will

continue destroying the hamas tunnels that go from gaza into israel. he used the phrase cease-fire or no cease-fire. is it your understanding that during the 72-hour period israel will be allowed to destroy the tunnels going from gaza into israel, or will they have to cease all activity? >> it'smy understanding the israel forces will stay where they are and according to what we've heard, we heard the israeli statements about ongoing defensive operations which i interfrom it the same way as you interpret. what we want to see happen, though, wolf, senior if the offensive fighting between the two sides to end. we want to see humanitarian delivers start with the palestinians. we want to see people being able to try to recover the wounded, bury the dead. we want to see israelis who no longer have to worry about rockets being fire and taking shelter with their families. we want to see the violence end and the parties start to talk about the issues they need to

resolve for more durable cease-fire in cairo. >> and you think this is obviously a very, very important step. all of us think it's a very, very significant step, but take us a little bit behind the scenes if you don't mind, ambassador. how did john kerry and ban ki-moon do this? >> this was very active efforts on both their parts. there was a lost diplomacy. the two leaders, of course, were in the region and i think planted the seeds for the type of engagement that they needed to draw on to get to the point that we're in now. but there with a lot of other points as well beyond the very active deployment of john kerry bandky moon. as i mentioned, the egyptians played an important role. the qataries played an essential role. the turks were involved with all sides. this was in recognition of the international community that the parties themselves needed some help, needed some -- needed some work from the outside in order

to get to the point we are now. we're not there yet. a lot could happen between now and then but we see this as a promising development and we want to see restraint tonight in advance of the cease-fire coming into effect tomorrow morning. >> ambassador feltman, i want you do stick around. stay with us for a moment. our global affairs correspondent elise labott. she has more. what are you learning? >> indeed the foreign minister of egypt just spoke with president abbas, he's been speaking with israeli officials and those invitations for the delegates to come out to cairo are being extended as we speak and what the egyptians are going to try to do, they're going to try to facilitate the discussions. if you remember in 2012 when egypt under president morsi broke a cease-fire with then secretary of state hillary

clinton, the egyptians guaranteed a cease-fire. this time they're saying, no, we're not going to guarantee it. they've leaving it up to the parties. they want them to demonstrate their commitment. they want the parties to take the lead in presenting solutions and the egyptians can also bridge the gap. that's very different than what secretary of state john kerry has been doing. he's been shuffling between the two sides. they have not sat down together in a long tierjs wolf. meetings here and there but the egyptians want the palestinians and israelis show a commitment a better future for their people. some of things they're going to be discussing on the israeli side, the tunnels and rockets and eventually the demill tarization of hamas. we've been discussing a lot of things the palestinians have been looking for. an easing of the blockade, getting more humanitarian supplies. looking to have the salaries of the workers of zba paid.

they're looking to maritime rights as jim shoe toe was saying earlier, have fishing in waters surrounding gaza and also the release of palestinian prisoners. a lot were released during the negotiation. they've been rearrested in this recent crackdown and they want some of them to be released. i think, wolf, the main thing to take away here, as it was said, president abbas is really going to be -- while he won't be in cairo, he is in charge of this palestinian delegation, bringing hamas, palestinian, jihad and islamists to the table. what is the goal? to power so that they can ultimately retake control of gaza. that will given more comfort to the israelis and to the egyptians in terms of easing some of those blockades, wolf. >> that would be encouraging if

that would take place. let me go back to jeffrey feltman, the undersecretary of the united nations. lelet me ask him. it's optimistic. is it realistic, ambassador? >> i think we looking at it step by step, wolf. the first is to end the violence, allow the assistance and allow people to work on the daily needs that they have. the second stage is as elise pointed out, for the delegations to show up in cairo and to start talk about these core issues that both sides have. there has been a cycle of fear and cycle of suffering. both sides have felt fear over recent weeks and months. we've seen this fighting erupt between gaza and israel periodically, every couple of years. the goal now is to find ways that you can address the core demands of each side in way that we can break that cycle of fear, break that cycle of suffer iing

and have a durable sustainable cease-fire in which the palestinians in gaza can move on with their lives under a unified palestinian authority. there is already a palestinian national coalition government that was set up a few weeks before this started. president baabbas heads that so think what elise is describing is ambitious. it's not exactly impossible but it's several steps beyond where we are now. first we need to get to the cease-fire, consolidate it. start a cease-fire that both sides feel -- put their confidence in that can send this cycle of fear and cycle of suffering to go in the direction elise was describing. >> all right. ambassador, i want you to stand by. i want to go to john vause in gaza. there's activity right now. john, what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, it's more

what we're hearing right now, wolf. drone activity in the skies and some very loud explosions, especially in the east, an area which is being flattened by israeli forces over the last 24 days or so. but we've also put that question to the hamas spokesperson about the question of whether israel still be allowed to continue to look for and destroy those tunnels which has been a key demand of the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. not a direct answer coming from the hamas spokesperson. only saying that this cease-fire is a mutual agreement. hamas has committed to it providing the other party is committed to it. so that still seems to many kind of like an open question. >> yeah. and what worries me and i hope i'm wrong, there's still silence coming from the israeli government. no official statement yet even though it's been an hour or so since the secretary-general of the united nations, the

secretary of state of the united states issued a joint statement saying all parties have agreed to an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire at gaza starting a little bit more than six hours or so from now, 8:00 a.m. local time here in israel and gaza. john vause, stand by. ambassador feltman if you can stand by. elise, jim sciutto. everybody stand by. we've got a lot more coming up after the quick break. let's take a quick break. we'll resume the coverage right after this. cortana ] next time you talk to caroline, i'll remind you. [ siri ] oh no, i cannot do that. oh, and remind me to get roses when i'm near any flower shop. sure thing. remind you when you get to flower shop. i can't do that either. cortana, it's gonna be a great night. [ beep ] oh wow! thanks for the traffic alert. i better get going. now that is a smart phone. ♪ oh, wait ♪ it's 'cause you make me smile ♪ ♪ oh, wait when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy.

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statement from the israeli government although the u.s. says they have received assurances from israel that they're on board. sayre wra sidner is in southern israel in ashkelon. there may be a cease-fire going into effect about six hours from now, sara, but clearly it's not in effect right now. >> reporter: you geevtd that right, wolf. as i told you, there was some artillery fire and alerts. we got word 20 minuteses ago there's sirens going off near the prison and south of ben gurion international airport. those rockets, two of them according to the idf landed into the med train ran, but one of them had to be taken out by the iron dome. as you know, those are populated areas. that is what the iron dome is for. but you're talking about a cease-fire that's supposed to be in effect seven hours, six and half hours from now.

certainly the pounding is continuing before the cease-fire. every time we see it, usually the heaviest pounding comes before a cease-fire on either side, more rockets coming for, usually more air strikes and artillery going into gaza just before things calm down. however, with the idf being able to stay and take out the tunnels still, we'll have to wait and see. that's been the line in the last cease-fire and the rockets still came over and the activity still went on in gaza itself where the idf is trying to take out those tunnels where hamas said they didn't see that as a cease-fire. i'm very curious to see if this will actually hold and for how long. the longest we've seen a cease-fire hold for is 12 hours. again, there were rockets and motars coming over the border, wolf. >> there's obviously no cease-fire yet. jeffrey feltman, the undersecretary for political afarce. he joins us from new york.

it's a sensitive issue. the statement from ban ki-moon and john kerry. during that time, the 72-hour cease-fire, ambassador, the forces on the ground will remain in place. what that means is israeli troops are now in gaza. they will remain there during those 72 hours, right? >> i think the statement's pretty clear in what it says, wolf. obviously this is why this is a 72-hour cease-fire because this isn't -- this was designed both to allow humanitarian relief and to create some political space by which the parties could accept the egyptian government's invitation, go to cairo, and start looking for a more durable solution because this isn't a durable solution. this is really a 72-hour unconditional humanitarian cease-fire that we also hope provides political space to address the broader issues including the disposition of the israeli troops, the crossing issues, the rockets, the smuggling, everything. >> stand by for a moment. jim sciutto is our chief

national security correspondent. jim, the statement says that the special u.n. middle east envoy receive aid insurances that all parties have agreed to an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. we have a statement from hamas saying they've agreed. you heard saeb erekat and the leader of qatar is on board, the palestinian authorities are on board. i'm worried because we still don't have a statement from the israeli government. who gave the assurances to robe robe robert siri that israel is on board. do you know? >> no, i don't know. i reached out to the ambassador for the u.s. they're not prepared to make a statement yet. on the question of how quiet will the cease-fire be, i know you spoke with jeffrey feltman about this, will it continue?

state didn't officials saying while the parties will freeze in place, israel can act in the words of the state department defensively on the tunnels that are behind its borders. so in other words as far as the troops that have advanced to this point, they can continue the anti-tunnel ops that we're seeing on the right-hand side of the screen. and this jells, wolf, with the statement from the prime minister when he said we're determining to complete this mission, in his words, with or without a cease-fire and therefore, in his words, i will not agree to any proposal that will not allow the idf to complete its work. it's a 72-hour cease-fire for most operations but not all activities. you're going to see activity against the tunnels which you know is a defense goal for them in this operation. >> let me go to elise labott. what are you picking up, elise? >> well, wolf, the egyptians are saying they have received direct

assurances from the israelis and palestinians which prompted them to be putting out their own statement about this shortly extending those invitations to the israelis and palestinians, and think that that's key. that egypt is really kind of putting itself out there as a mediator, but at the same time wants to see that commitment from the israelis and palestinians that they're willing to come to cairo and do the hard work of negotiating a more durable cease-fire for the future of their people, that they don't want to see a halt to fighting on the ground for a few hours and then come back. that's why egypt is not guaranteeing the cease-fire itself. it's saying to the parties, you need to negotiate the cease-fire. what super poligrip does for me is it keeps the food out.

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secretary of state john kerry just made a statement announcing the 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire. listen to this. >> -- get to this point. and everyone knows that it will not be easy to get beyond this point, but it is imperative that people make the best effort to try to find common ground and do so. a lot of folks have been working hard at this effort. i want to thank prime minister netanyahu. i know wants to see the people of israel live in security, free from rockets, free from attacks from tunnels. and i know he's worked hard at this. we have had many phone calls, sometimes in the middle of the night. and i'm pleased that he thought this moment was an appropriate one to embrace this effort, this

cease-fire. i want to thank u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon and special coordinator sir ai for their efforts to try to help create a framework as well as the call for a cease-fire in helping to galvanize the international community. i'm grateful also to president al sissi and shukri who has been oh phone working this. egypt will host these talks. this effort is built on the original egyptian initiative that began the talk of a cease-fire. president abbas has been working behind the scenes, sending emissaries to various places to work effectively. i appreciate his leadership in this effort. now i want to re-emphasize this

is not a time for congratulations and joy or anything except a serious determination, a focus by everybody to try to figure out the road ahead. this is a respite. it's a moment of opportunity, not an end. it's not a solution. it is the opportunity to find the solution and president obama hopes that all the parties will work diligently to do so from the moment the president asked me to travel some 12 day thes or so ago, the president has been consistently on the phone tracking this, talking with the prime minister and others in an effort to help to move us to this place. but we have to understand. both parties have -- all the

people involved in this have strong demands and strong visions about what the future should look like. israel has to be able to live in peace and security without terror attacks, without rockets, without tunnels, without sirens going off in the day. and palestinians need to be able to live with the opportunity to educate their children and move freely, and share in the rest of the world and to lead a life that is different from the one they have long suffered. so we hope that this moment of opportunity will be grabbed by the parties. but no one can force them to do that, obviously. so we come at it with sober reflection about the lives lost and the violence suffered, the soldiers killed, the individuals

killed. the three kids who were kidnapped and murdered in the beginning of this and then a retribution killing. there's been too much for most people's judgment. >> there's the secretary of state making the announcement of the 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire that goes into effect six hours from now. we'll continue to watch all the breaking news. in the meantime i'm wolf blitzer in jerusalem. the news continues next on cnn. next, breaking news. a brief cease-fire announced in gaza. will it hold? and the u.n. has its strongest words yet for israel. plus more breaking news. a u.s. plane flying two americans with ebola back to the united states. one headed to dr. sanjay gupta's hospital. let's go "outfront." ♪ good evening. i'm erin burnett. there is a