and mortars were fired at israel. one of the rockets was intercepted. seven of those rockets they say hit open areas, but israeli officials tell me, kate and chris, that they are now accusing hamas of a grave violation of these cease-fire terms. they say that hamas has broken the commitment that they made to the united nations and the united states, the egyptians and others who worked to arrange this cease-fire including turkey and qatar and the palestinian authority. israelis officials say there have been attacks from hamas on israeli forces inside gaza, that rockets have been fired from gaza into southern israel, mortar shells as well. it does not look good. that's what one israeli official just said to me. now, hamas, on the other hand, they accuse israel of breaking the cease-fire. they say that israeli troops fired on palestinians in rafa, the southern part of gaza and that 40 people were killed, so they are accusing the israelis of breaking the cease-fire.

israel is accusing hamas of breaking the cease-fire. the cease-fire has supposedly been in business for a few hours but it does not look like a cease-fire right now. i assume diplomats and u.s. officials and secretary of state kerry, ban ki-moon and the u.n. secretary-general, they were the ones who announced this cease-fire. i assume they are working feverishly to see what they can do, but as of now, chris and kate, it does not look very good. >> a couple of follow-ups. when you have israel and hamas going back and forth, does that give a little bit of a distorted picture how many different entities are in play here? could it be that you don't know who is firing on the ground if it isn't israel because there are different factions firing and creating violence on the ground, at least in gaza could, that be part of the equation, that you don't know who agreed to the cease-fire and who did not? >> well, the israelis have always said and many middle east analysts have agreed that there could be a split between the

political arm of hamas, the political leader of hamas in doha, qatar, may have agreed saying all the palestinian factions were on board but the military arm of hamas may not have been on board. it's not only hamas but islamic jihad as well. last night when we spoke to representatives of the palestinian authority including the chief palestinian negotiator he spent all day yesterday with the leader of hamas saying all the palestinian factions were on board getting ready to send a joint delegation to cairo today to meet with the egyptian officials. the israelis are sending a delegation to cairo to meet with officials to work out the longer issues if this 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire would be extended they have to start dealing with some of the other issues there. i don't know what the impact of the immediate fighting is going to be but clearly with rockets and mortars coming into israel,

hamas accusing israel of killing 40 palestinians in rafa, the southern border crossing with egypt, does not lead very promising right new. >> leads us to the second point. we know that almost certainly in my lifetime there's always been a need for an intermediary to bridge any kind of peace between israel and palestine, but what does it mean that it was the u.n. and the u.s. that announced this in the middle of the night? from your perspective, does that give confidence to the situation, or is it conspicuous that you didn't have israel and hamas announcing it themselves? >> they didn't announce it themselves. hamas quickly put out a statement saying they accepted the israelis, took them about an hour or so before they put out a statement saying they accepted. there's a lot of controversy as you know here in israel about accepting a cease-fire without israel supposedly finishing what their military objectives were dealing with the tunnel and rocket and missile launchers and the other military equipment that hamas has so there's controversy here in israel, but, you know, look, you've got the

u.s. and u.n., egypt, the palestinian authority and turkey and cat yar, a lot of others involved working with hamas and israel trying to put this 72 hour very modest initial humanitarian pause in place. one of the issues that presumably could be a problem and suspect we'll be hearing more about this in the course of the day, next hour or two, murky nature of what israeli military forces in gaza could do and what they can't do. for example, secretary of state kerry made it clears thatly troops of the u.n. agreed can stay in place, that israeli troops would be able to engage what they called defensive action, action to protect themselves but not offensive action, so the definition of defensive and offensive, as soon as i heard that from secretary kerry in new delhi, india last night, when he made his announcement i immediately said to myself, you know what, they will have a tough time defining what's defensive and offensive

and therein could lie the rupture in this cease-fire because already there's some intense military action going on as we speak. >> right. i think you're even being optimistic about getting to the definitional stage because when they call on the hamas side is no occupation, you know, seems like it doesn't really matter what that define is. let's take a look though on the other side from -- wolf, we'll be back to you in a second. to the other side of the war now in gaza with karl penhaul on the ground there. you're on the phone. can you hear us and what are you picking up? >> i can hear you. we are out on the street in gaza. about two hours into the cease-fire we headed out to the eastern border of gaza with israel. while we were on the ground there we got to a location 700 yards from the border, and from that position we could clearly see israeli tanks maneuvering in the border area, inside gaza. the israeli tanks were

maneuvering and then sporadically they began to fire tank rounds into buildings and to our location. after a few minutes on the ground there, we withdrew back into the suburbs of eastern gaza. we were still about two miles from the border at that stage as we tried again to set up for a live transmission. we heard two warning shots, two warning shots ringing out from a nearby building. that we understand were hamas fighters warning us to pull out from that area. typically they will fire two warning shots. it is clear that hamas militants are also still in place. we saw, however, no signs of them maneuvering. they appeared to be in static positions. then as we made our way back towards gaza city we began to get news that the cease-fire may be falling apart and about four

hours after the cease-fire started we observed three rockets being fired out from what appear to be central gaza off towards israel. earlier in the day anecdotally i heard from a palestinian friend who has a home near the border crossing with egypt. his wife had found him urgently and her words she said the israelis were shelling in that area around rafa. that is what we're also hearing now from the palestinian health authority. they say the shelling in southern gaza this morning after the supposed start of cease-fire. at least four palestinians were killed and 15 others were wounded in that shelling. >> all right. so, carl. let's just reset for a second. you're safe where you are, i assume, so i'll keep you on the

phone. the video we're showing you is footage from palestinian television during a period that there was supposed to be a cease-fire. karl, what you are saying, after the cease-fire was supposed to begin you saw tanks from israel maneuvering and saw them firing, is that accurate? >> reporter: that is absolutely correct. we were in a position approximately 700 yards from the border. we observed israeli tanks static initially. we then observed the israeli tanks starting to move, kicking up dust clouds, and there was sporadic gunfire from the tanks. in a space of about 20 minutes we heard at least four israeli tank rounds going into buildings approximately 300 yards from our position. >> karl, were you able to hear

or observe fire on the tanks that precipitated their movements and their use of artillery? >> reporter: no, we heard absolutely nothing to that effect. >> okay. >> reporter: we were on the ground before the fire started. as i said, we saw the tanks static. we were probably on the ground in that location initially for 20 minutes before the tank shelling started. we heard no fire. when later, because that position for our tv crew was unsafe, we moved back to a position about two miles from the border. that is when we heard from a building two single shots were fired into the air as we tried to approach a location to film. that we understand was warning shots from hamas militants. it was not sustained gunfire, and in that second position,

that was more than two miles from where we had seen the israeli tanks, but at the time that the israeli tanks opened fire we heard no sounds of small arm fire or missile fire being directed at those positions. >> okay. karl, thank you for the report. we're going to stay with you, but, please, be safe, put your guys in the right position and let us know what happens while you are there and what we were showing you is video from palestine television as what has been seen in gaza this morning. obviously people still getting injured. you heard karl penhaul report that there was israeli tank fire and we also heard warning shots that there was about to be violence on the side of hamas or what he believed to be hamas fighters and militants. he heard phone reports from other people anecdotally that there was sidelines going on in rafa near the egypt border so it's still very much an active situation despite what's supposed to be a cease-fire.

let's bring in the managing editor of a website focused on the world economy. qvz.com. when i first asked you this morning how you are, you said i'm depressed. >> it's been an especially depressing week in gaza, one of the things going on. all focus on gaza, but as you know there's been violence, unprecedented levels of violence across the world this week in places as far flung as china and cameroon and, of course, some of the more familiar places, iraq, libya. in my entire career as someone covering conflict i have never -- never -- i can't recall a week in which there's been so much violence, whether it's war or terrorist attacks in so many different places around the world. it's been incredibly depressing. >> it is, and gives us a lot to have to handle in this business. dealing with the immediate in front of us, probably not surprised the cease-fire didn't hold. there are clear objectives on

each side that haven't been met. what do you make of it? >> objectives as they have defined them, as they have stated them, both states cannot win, so that's just impossible. it is distressing that the cease-fire ended so quickly. we were hoping that 12 hours, 24, just enough breathing space for some conversations. just as i came on, i was watching my twitter feed, and there are reports both from israeli as well as lebanese news sources saying egypt has disinvited some of the hamas folks that were supposed to go over and begin negotiations. if the negotiations don't even begin, then, unfortunately, this violence, this cycle is going to continue. >> and part of that is the aspect is hamas real divided and whom did they disinvite and which side are they on which gets into the complicated politicpolic political nature of what's going on, but, wolf, the situation on the ground is also complicated. you heard karl penhaul saying he didn't see anybody fire on the tanks first and he was there in

advance and then he watched tanks fire, but you're hearing something different from israel, yes? >> the israelis are very, very firm right now, chris. they are saying it was hamas that violated the terms of the cease-fire, that israel has been reacting to the violation by hamas. now hamas says exactly the opposite. israel violated the cease-fire and they are in turn reacting, and so observers will be able to go back and take a look and see what's going on, and as i said it's a little murky what the israelis are allowed to do during the course of the 72-hour three-day cease-fire, what they are not allowed to do. they are allowed to continue destroying the tunnels. secretary of state john kerry made that clear, that even during these three days they can take what they call defensive action, including destroying the tunnels. the israeli military commander in the south, he has said the israelis are close to finishing that military mission, but they haven't finished it yet, so as part of -- i'm just speculating.

maybe the israelis were going at destroying more tunnels and hamas saw that and they responded to that. the israelis are not allowed to engage in what the secretary of state and the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon have said is offensive military action, but they can engage in defensive military action. they don't have to withdraw their troops from gaza, but they have to keep their troops in place. all of that was worked out in extensive discussions over the past several days led by the secretary of state and the u.n. secretary-general. it didn't last only a few hours. it was supposed to go into effect 8:00 a.m. local time. that's what, five hours or so ago, and we see what's going on right now. sirens are going off in southern israel. rockets are coming in. the israelis are attacking various targets inside gaza, so if the diplomats want to say this humanitarian cease-fire is technically still in place they can say that, but it certainly doesn't look like it's in place on the ground. >> all right. thank you very much, wolf. we'll stay with you.

i want to bring in osama handan, the spokesman for the group hamas and we want his perspective of what's going on. can you hear us? >> yes, i hear you. >> all right. we have reports from the ground of israeli tank fire going on after the cease-fire. wolf blitzer reports that israel says that those tanks were fired upon and that your group, hamas, started rocket fire during the cease-fire and precipitated this defensive action. what is your response? >> first of all, i have to say that the cease-fire agreement was that all the troops will stay where there are now and there will be no offensive or even defensive attack. in fact, this is the first time i hear that there's a differentiation between offensive and defensive attack because it was clear there will be no firing, there will be no action from both sides, and this is what we have agreed on.

the israelis started by bombing and destroying some houses in rafa. because there was no answer, no clarification why the israelis are bombing the houses, so there was a shoot iing against the tas which move, the agreement was no one will move so there was shooting against the tanks. i want to say when they bombed the houses there was more than 20 palestinians who were killed so they did not attack militants. they attacked civilians and there was a reaction. as we informed the united nations, they violated the cease-fire. we are still committed, but we will defend our people if they continue that. >> just to be clear with what you're saying, one, you're saying that you were not aware that this cease-fire allowed defensive continued actions by

israel, is that correct? >> no, excuse me. i want to clarify that more. we were injured clearly, in clear words, there will be no action on both side, no action. >> including defensive action where israel is allowed to continue taking out tunnels, for example? >> no, no action. the israelis -- we were not informed that they were continue doing this or that. it was clear that they would stop all their offensive action and they will stop all of the moving, and troops will stay where it is, that was clear >> and to be clear again, did hamas fire more rockets at israel after the cease-fire was announced? >> until now we did not fire any rockets from hamas side. we don't know if someone else fired rockets but from hamas up to this moment there was no rockets from 8:00 up till now.

>> that's part of the problem. we don't know if someone else. how many different folks -- >> no, no. i'm saying i don't know if someone else because the israelis are claiming that there were rockets. >> right. >> from our side we are sure that there was no rockets. i can assure you that we are still committed to the cease-fire just in the place where the israelis acted, we were in the defensive position. if they stop, everything will stop. for example, they acted in rafa and there was no reaction from bait -- from beit hanoun and jabalya. to prevent the israelis from action in rafa, that's the

reaction to them bombing and killing 20 civilians, 15 civilians killed while they were checking on their houses in rafa believing there was a cease-fire by israel. >> obviously, that is heartbreaking to hear that there's been more loss of innocent life on the ground there. just to be clear about everything that you're saying to the american audience, one, you didn't know that the cease-fire included allowing israel to take defensive action and continuing maneuvering and taking out tunnels and hamas has not fired rockets but you don't know if other groups in gaza have been firing rockets that made israel respond. is that all accurate? >> yeah, that's correct. >> and what do you want to say in terms of continuing the cease-fire, you say hamas is still committed so that there will be no return fire on the ground there? >> yes, we are still committed to the cease-fire and waiting for some clarifications from the

united nations representative about the israeli position because if the israelis decide as we hear in the media, decide to consider that there is no cease-fire this, will change the whole situation. >> all right. osama hamdan, i just want to be clear again because there's an issue of what hamas controls and what it does not control and what i have been asking you, when you say someone else may have fired rocks, you have islamic jihad on groups and other militant groups. are you in contact with them and do you know how they are conducting themselves in the cease-fire? >> we are talking to everyone on the ground to respect the cease-fire, waiting the clarifications from the united nations, but i want to tell you that until now we don't know if really someone launched rockets. israelis are declaring that, but from our side we are sure 100% that nothing happened from hamas

side. until we receive clarification from other groups i can't be sure. >> okay. >> so it may be 100% no rockets and israelis are claiming that just to make an excuse for what they have done. to be more clear, hamas is still committed. we did not launch any rockets. we reacted against the attacks which killed 15 people when the palestinians believing there was a cease-fire f.any palestinian organization launched rockets we will talk to them to stop that if that is true. >> okay. we're going to give you a break here to be able to go conduct that most important work because obviously maintaining the peace is of utmost importance, especially with the news that egypt is now disinviting parts of your organization from the peace negotiation because of what's happening in violation of the cease-fire.

please, allow us -- >> i have to clarify that, if you don't mind. >> this is not true. we are still on the schedule at the palestinian delegation. >> you have not downdis been di? >> let's wait to know if there was a cease-fire or not before going to cairo. for now the situation, the agenda is working as it is supposed to be. the members of the delegation are moving to cairo tonight or tomorrow. >> that's good to hearings but obviously there's a lot of mixed information in this situation so do what you have to do to find out what's going on on the ground with all the different groups and hopefully continuing process of negotiation during this cease-fire which seems fragile to say the least. i would ask that you allow us to call you back because it's been difficult to get in contact with you and get the perspective of hamas on these ongoing

hostilities so can i check in with you a little bit later on? >> okay. i will talk and give you a new number to contact me. >> don't say it on air. we'll get the phone number from you and we'll be in contact later. >> thank you mr. hamdan. what he's saying is hamas has not violated the cease-fire. karl penhaul on the ground in gaza said he saw israeli tanks maneuvering and firing at positions there. osama hamdan says homes were hit and as many as 15 were killed and wolf blitzer says there were attacks on the the tanks and that's what precipitated the violence. hamdan says it wasn't them and he says hamas was still invited

to peace talks. there were reports that parts of hamas have been disinvited, a look, a window into the complex situation. let's get the latest now from wolf blitzer obviously in jerusalem. wolf, is there more information for us? >> well, were eve got the spokesman for the prime minister of israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu mark regev. we heard from hamas and they explained their actions and let's get the latest from the spokesman for prime minister netanyahu. here's the bottom line question. is there a cease-fire or not a cease-fire? >> a cease-fire, wolf, means both sides cease fire. we've been there where israel holds fire and hamas continues to fire. we've been through this repeatedly. we've accepted last night, the secretary of state of the united states john ker and the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon put on the table a three-day

cease-fire for humanitarian reasons. we accepted it and gave orders to our forces from 8:00 this morning local time to cease all offensive operations against the terrorist targets in gaza, and there were clear guidelines as articulated by secretary kerry what was allowed and what was not allowed. let's be clear, the statement says israeli forces on ground in gaza can stay there within the framework of the cease-fire and as secretary ker said and you reported, we can continue defensive operations against the terror tunnels during the framework of the cease-fire. now this morning our forces on the ground if gaza were attacked and they were attacked brutally with deadly force. at the same time rockets were fired into southern israel, mortar shells were fired on the border area. we've had a whole series of violations of the cease-fire and once again hamas has broken commitments it made both to the united nations and through intermediaries to the united

states government. >> did israeli soldiers die in the course of this supposed cease-fire? >> i'm not going to go into details yet. i can tell you there was an incident, a brutal incident, deadly incident? >> inside the gaza strip in the rafa area. i can say the following. our forces returned fire which is allowed when attacked because they are in a live threatening situation, but up until now the israeli forces have only used their weapons for self-protection, but it's clear this can't go on. a cease-fire means both sides cease fire. as i've said, we've had attacks on our troops inside gaza. we've had mortars on border and rockets into southern israel. this clearly is hamas violating the u.n. sponsor ed cease-fire. >> you heard osama hamdan saying 40, 50 palestinians were killed by israelis in this rafa area in

southern gaza. that's a pretty significant number. >> first of all, we don't know it's true. do i know there was a fire fight, a deadly fire fight. i know that they opened fire on our forces who according to the agreement could be there and shouldn't have been fired upon. now if hamas has violated the cease-fire yet again because this is repeated by hamas. this cease-fire, seeing it on cnn and everywhere and we're aware of it. there's a very difficult humanitarian situation for the people in gaza, it was to give a time-out to allow the people of gaza to get the humanitarian support that they need. hamas has again through its extremism and violence torpedoed the chance for humanitarian cease-fire. >> here's the question that raised some alarm bells when i heard it last night. in the official statement that was put out by the united nations and the secretary of state of the united states, they said israeli troops could remain in place. in the subsequent statement that john kerry made in new delhi, it

was on camera. we have the audio and we have the video. we'll play it for our viewers and then elaborated in describing what israel is allowed to do as far as the tunnels are concerned, as far as defensive action and offensive action. he said no offensive action but israel was allow to continue defensive action, but the question that raised in my mind what is offensive and what is defensive? do you understand the difference? >> i understand the difference totally, and i don't think there's any room for confusion. >> why did had say that and that wasn't in the u.n. statement that was released? >> it was understood that israel can, of course, protect itself if attacked. that's obvious in any cease-fire situation. if you're being shot on, you can protect yourself and shoot back, and, of course, the issue of the tunnels we made perfectly clear. prime minister netanyahu said so publicly tomorrow morning. that we'll continue to work to dismantle the network of tunnels with or without a cease-fire. >> why was that not spelled out in the u.n.-u.s. declaration, left to john kerry in a

statement that he met that israel could continue action from the actions. osama hamdan said he didn't know anything about the defensive versus offense and didn't know israel could still go ahead and destroy tunnels. >> he didn't know a lot things. he didn't know rockets had been fired on israeli cities from gaza. >> he said hamas didn't do it leaving open the possibility that islamic jihad or other palestinian faction could have done it. is that realistic in your mind? >> let's be clear, when i hear him on the show in the past he denies hamas targets innocent citizens and denies hamas is guilty of terrible war crimes. unfortunately, there's a lot of spin there. the facts are israel abided by the cease-fire proposal, and it was violated this morning by hamas on three fronts, on three fronts. they fired at our forces inside gaza. they fired mortar shells on frontier and they fired rockets into israel at our cities. now it's clear that this is

unfortunately repeated behavior. wolf, i was with you, more than two weeks ago, the egyptian proposal. we held our fire for some six hours and hamas just kept shooting those rockets in israel. in the end the cease-fire fell apart because of that. since then there were three or four occasions when we agreed to u.n. and red cross cease-fire. in every case hamas either violated or rejected the cease-fire up front. hamas clear lip wants to conflict to continue and hamas doesn't want to allow a time-out so the people of gaza can get humanitarian assistance, it's clear. >> is an israeli delegation either already in cairo or on their way to cairo to begin what's supposed to be the follow-on negotiations of how to expand the sees fair and go more than three days and more than 72 hours and bring in some other issues as well? are those negotiations still either going to begin or planned? >> how can one talk about expanding a cease-fire when the cease-fire now is destroyed by hamas? i mean, let's be clear.

>> is the cease-fire over? >> you can't have a cease-fire that is one way. once again, israel held its fire this morning from 8:00 in the morning and yet we've been attacked on three months. >> israel no longer sees the need to hear from a cease-fire. >> you cannot have a one-way cease-fire. cease-fire means not only israel holds fire as we've been doing. cease-fire means hamas and the terrorists in gaza cease their fire and, unfortunately, that's the situation. they refuse to do so. they continue to shoot and continue deadly fire on our cities, on the border and in our troops in direct violation of a cease-fire understandings negotiated, and in that case one cannot say that there's a cease-fire? is the israeli delegation already in cairo or on their way? >> i think at the moment with this grave violation by hamas of the cease-fire that question today is irrelevant. >> well, it's not irrelevant. there could be other elements within the palestinian community that israel could be talking to. maybe there's a split between

the military arm of hamas and political arm of hamas. >> the palestinian government on the west bank, we have communications with regularly but they are not shooting rockets at us. who is shooting rockets at our cities? who is attacking our forces on ground? who is shooting mortars at the borders trying to kill our people? they are the people who have to do a cease-fire. we don't need a cease-fire with president abbas on the west bank. we're not fighting with him. >> i guess the bottom line is are israeli military operations now resuming the way they were before the cease-fire was supposed to go into effect? >> i can only say that you cannot have, as i said, a one-way cease-fire. >> is that a yes? >> can you not have a situation where israel holds its fire hour after hour and hamas continues to shoot at us. it's just not doable. >> is the secretary of state, he's in india right now and the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon, are they working behind the scenes to see if they can fix that? >> i don't have that information for you yet.

do i know the following. once again hamas has destroyed the possibility of a humanitarian cease-fire. >> so it's over? >> once again, you can't have a situation where they are shooting at us and we just take a time-out. it can't be done. a cease-fire means both sides hold their fire. >> so it's over? >> both sides hold their fire. otherwise you don't have a cease-fire. >> can it be revived? >> i don't know. >> from israel's perspective it's over? >> once again, you cannot have a situation where they are shooting at you, violating the cease-fire and then claim cease-fire. it doesn't work that way. >> mark regev, we'll stay in close touch with you, spokesman for the prime minister benjamin netanyahu. chris, we heard earlier your interview with osama hamdan, the spokesman for hamas and now we've got the spokesman for the prime minister of israel, obviously two very, very different scenarios on what happened to that cease-fire. i think it's fair to say based on what we heard just now from the spokesman from prime minister netanyahu, that cease-fire looks like it's over. >> see if there's any room in

their wording that allows for it to be revived us a asked mark regev right there. stick to us and we'll get back down to you but first let's go to karl penhaul. want to get reports of what you are seeing on ground because even mark regev says there's a deadly brutal incident in the rafa area. what did you see? >> reporter: absolutely, kate, and i want to try to be precise as well as to what we saw, what we've heard in relation to the hours after these incidents occurred after the start of the cease-fire. at 9:30, that is one and a half hours after the cease-fire started, a palestinian journalist colleague of mine said that his wife had just telephoned him from the rafa area where they live and told him that the area was being shelled. that one and a half hours into the cease-fire. we are now getting reports from

palestinian media that there has been a major incident down at rafa. that is close to the border crossing with egypt in the south of the gaza strip. palestinian media are saying that israeli artillery was aimed and landed on an open-air market in rafa and artillery rounds fell at the gates of the abu yousef hospital in rafa. that's the reports we're getting from the palestinian media. they are reporting deaths and injuries. we're working hard to get an update on numbers there. about two and a half hours after, and can i just bring that you update now. my producer has stood in front of me and says we have official sourcing from the palestinian health ministry now. they say that 35 people were killed in that shelling incident or in multiple shelling incidents down at border crossing. let me see if i can get you a figure for the number of

wounded. do we have that figure for the number of wounded down at rafa? we're still work on getting a figure of number of wounded for rafa. we're getting a figure of 100 people wounded in that rafa shelling incident and 35 dead. our source on that, the palestinian health ministry. after that we were on the ground and got into a position 700 yards from the israeli border, there two and a half hours after the cease-fire start. at that point we answered israeli tanks maneuvering. we heard no instances of fire from the gaza side and about 20 minutes after we first observed the israeli tanks, israeli tanks opened fire and fired at least four rounds into buildings close to our positions, approximately 100 yards away. as we then withdrew about two miles from the border, this is

now about three hours into the cease-fire, we were setting up for a live transmission and heard two warning shots. we understand that those were two warning shots from a militant position in buildings warning us to leave the area. it was clear that militant fighters were still in place there but we saw no sign of them maneuvering. then, about three and a half hours into the cease-fire we heard three rockets soar -- the vapor trail from three rockets being fired out from central israel towards israel. that's what we've seen so far and we're getting more information from the rafa area. >> karl, let me ask you really quickly because it's unclear -- both sides blaming the other for restarting the violence. both seem to maybe be leaving themselves an opening that the cease-fi cease-fire, the talks could be started and could be revived. here's the question. what do the people on the ground know? when you were moving about do

people think that this cease-fire is still in place? >> i think there are a couple of air digital points that i would like to bring up to speed with, kate, that might give a clearer idea. about half an hour ago, now some of our palestinian colleagues received automatic calls, so-called robo calls from an automatic voice recording purporting to be the israeli military. that recording said that this is to all gaza residents. stay inside. this is your last warning, and the robo call signed off saying this is a call from the israeli military. we're also hearing on gaza tv an early report from the al kassam pri guide, military wing of hamas and in their words they are saying they carried out a unique area of the border crossing between gaza and israel. we don't know the nature of that

so-called unique operation, but we are going to bring you that as soon as we can. it's first time during this confrontation that al qassam has used that wording, a unique operation. i think it's fair to say as far as ordinary citizens are concerned, they have no confidence about anything, about any sign of peace. we were briefly outside a mosque that had been destroyed a few days ago, but people went there to worship at friday prayers. the mosque at the prayer session was cut very short. they were there for about ten minutes and broke up that prayer session saying it is not safe for us to gather here in gaza city even and so they also left very quickly. people are right now bunkering down, going home and they are going to wait and see, kate. >> just one really quick and important point. are you hearing any shelling now? >> absolutely. from our position now, and let

me turn around, i can see smoke plumes across in eastern gaza between the areas that we've just come from. there are more rounds, artillery rounds going off right now as we speak and, again, from eastern ga gaza. this fight is certainly on in eastern gaza. at least we can see that. that is the area that we came from. it was consistent with what we saw on the ground. israeli tanks maneuvering at that stage and we can hear some kind of artillery fire now. we don't have in addition right down to the south of the gaza strip, but that, of course, is where palestinian media and now the palestinian health ministry has told us that there was a shelling incident in their words an their balance of casualties so far, according to the ministry, is 35 people dead and more than 100 wounded. they say that the shelling occurred in a public market and

at the gates of the hospital. we're working also to get our observe reporting on that. kate? >> karl penhaul on ground for us in gaza. karl, we're going to get right back to you. we'll take a quick break and come right back and continue this breaking news coverage out of the middle east. a cease-fire in its early, early hours, is it completely over already? we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] there's a gap out there. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe if healthcare changes, if it becomes simpler... if frustration and paperwork decrease... if grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home... the gap begins to close. so let's simplify things. let's close the gap between people and care. ♪

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now, go to xfinity on demand and select the people's hotlist to see this summer's top 100 shows and movies. i voted! welcome back to "new day," we're following breaking news, it may not be surprising but certainly disappointing. it seems the cease-fire is over in the middle east. let's get right to wolf blitzer. he just got official word from the israeli side in jerusalem. wolf, what is the reality? >> the reality is a senior israeli official has just told cnn, chris, the cease-fire is over, from israel's perspective it is now over. forget about the 72-hour humanitarian pause, as the secretary of state john kerry and the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon announced last night. from israel's perspective the cease-fire is over. we are also hearing from a

senior israeli official, there's deep concern in israel that an israeli soldier may have been abducted over the past few hours by hamas in gaza and if in fact if that is true that would explain what is going on right now, massive firepower going on by the israelis and going on by hamas. rockets coming into israel from gaza. israeli troops are on the go in the rafa area, specifically in the southern part. the southern part of gaza right now. if in fact an israeli soldier has been abducted and there's serious concern right now about that. all bets are off. here's the statement that the idf, israeli defense forces just release and i'll read it to the viewers. the idf implemented the government directive and commenced the 72-hour cease-fire, as of august 1st, 8:00 a.m., that would be local time here in israel.

at approximately 4:30 a.m., this is from the idf statement, an attack was executed against idf forces operating to decommission a tunnel. initial indications suggest an idf soldier has been abducted by terrorists during the incident. the occurrences are ongoing. the idf is currently conducting intelligence efforts and extensive searches and in order to locate the missing soldier. the soldier's family has been notified, so this is obviously, chris and kate, a major development. the cease-fire according to the israelis is over and an israeli soldier may have been abduct. if you think it was bad before get ready because whenever these kinds of things happen in gaza the israelis react very, very powerfully. i assume hamas and its fighters will react powerfully as well so as great as hope may have been only a few hours ago from

secretary kerry and secretary general ban ki-moon put together a negotiation leading to the cease-fire, delegations from the palestinian faction going to cairo and israeli delegation going to cairo, as hopeful as that seemed a few hours, now all apparently has gone up in smoke. very worrisome developments. chris and kate. >> wolf, do you have a guest with you, i want to make sure where we're going here? >> yes, we have a special guest who is with you, gershen beskin, he's played a unique role. you were the back channel between israel and hamas in getting another israeli soldier who served as a captive of hamas in five years, you got him out, an enormous prisoner exchange. israel released 1,000 palestinian prisoners in exchange for one israeli soldier. when you hear an idf statement saying there's initial

indication that an idf soldier has been abducted by terrorists during the incident, what's your reaction? >> it's a tragedy, first of all, and i think it's very important that hamas understands that although they got 1,027 palestinian prisoners in exchange, this will not happen again. the israelis will not negotiate another prisoner exchange deal, i would assure the hamas people that israel will not leave gaza dead or alive. israel is not going to back itself into a situation where it's being held hostage, whole country is being held host aagey hamas holding an israeli soldier. it's not going to happen again. >> you remember the last time an israeli soldier was abduct by hamas. hamas infiltrators went through a tunnel, got into israel and grabbed gilad shalid and remind

the viewers what the military reaction was when they learned hamas had one soldier. >> took about an hour before they knew there was a soldier. a massive raid went into gaza. a massive electrical bombing and they have never recovered. >> and the idf publicly said they were going after that electrical power plant because one israeli soldier had been abducted. >> and they went after infrastructure, roads and bridges, wanted to make sure that hamas didn't take him out of gaza. they thought if they were in gaza they would be able to track him. there was a military operation two or three days after shalid was captured and over 100 palestinians were killed over those few days and israel withdrew because they didn't

find shalit as he was held captive for all those years. >> karl penhaul is if gaza city for us. are you getting information on this apparent abduction of one israeli soldier in gaza? >> reporter: well, wolf, first of all, i prefer to use the word captured or taken prisoner. after all, these are two warring side, indicate a kidnapping which would be applied to a civilian. this was an israeli soldier and may be reflected in the wording of a statement we've just heard from the al qassam brigades broadcast on hamas tv. what the qassam brigades have said stand by for a report. we'll update you on a unique operation were the words of the al qassam brigade. that's the first time i've heard the al qassam brigades use that phrasing, unique operation. they are saying that that unique operation took place in the southern border crossing between

israel and gaza, the karim al shalom border crossing normally used for bringing humanitarian aids across, goods and services across, but that is the area that the al qassam brigades say that they carried out a unique operation. we're already hearing rumors. we've been hearing them for the last couple of hours or so, unconfirmed reports, i should describe those as, that the al qassam pri gaze have taken prisoner of an israeli soldier but to get confirmed word about that soldier we're still standing by for that statement from the al qassam brigades on their tv stations. now we don't know exactly the timing of when that may have occurred but certainly the area that's now come under heavy shelling is also in the gaza strip. fairly close by the town of rafa, and from the palestinian health authority and also from the coordination center at the

medical center, gaza's main hospital. we're hearing that 40 people have now been killed and more than 200 wounded in what those same sources has described as shelling on a public market and also close to the hospital. we don't have our own reporting on that, but the sourcing from that is from hospital staff at gaza's main hospital. wolf? >> and very quickly, karl. if in fact an israeli soldier was taken by hamas in that area around rafa in southern gaza, presumably the israelis would react very, very harshly militarily right away. that's probably what's going on right now in that area that you described in that marketplace and elsewhere, is that right? >> we could join the dots on that, and as soon as can i get confirmation on that we'll bring you, that wolf, but we do know from past experience that the israeli military has a very strong tradition of not leaving any soldier behind. now we hear that from other

militaries in the world, but we have seen and know that the israeli military really walks the walk on that point. they will not leave any soldier alive on the battlefield. they will not leave the remains of any soldier dead on battlefield. in the past we know they have launched military actions to ensure that that hasn't happened and in the past they have also been drawn into negotiations with militant groups like hamas for release of its captured soldier. let's remember as well a couple of weeks ago al qassam brigades were saying they had captured another israeli soldier. they gave their name and serial number of what then an israeli military -- they qualified a soldier, dead, where the or burial ground unknown, but on this occasion from what you're

explaining, the israeli military believe that this soldier has in fact been captured and that may fall in line now with why the al qassam brigades are using the word unique operation. we're standing by for more information on that, and as you say you do know the israeli military have a strong tradition of getting their men back alive or dead and possibly, i can certainly say, that our information is that both these incidents are in the same area of gaza, whether they are directly connected or not we'll try to bring you information on that as soon as possible, but, again, hamas would definitely have been aware that if they carried out this operation during cease-fire hours then that would have been certainly a great provocation to the israeli military. i must say though in other hours in a different part of the gaza strip we did see israeli tanks maneuvering inside the gaza strip, close to the area of

eastern gaza and they opened fire with at least four tank rounds on to a building in an eastern gaza neighborhood. we saw nothing that protected that. let me just -- yeah, okay. i was just getting some additional information from our producer here. it was saying earlier on, israeli tanks maneuvering and opening fire. we didn't hear any provocation, but, again, one doesn't have a single vantage point full vision on the battlefield, so, again, we'll try to get some confirmation as to why those tanks may have opened fire at that particular point as well, wolf. just to reiterate, we're standing by for what the al qassam brigades say will be an announcement very shortly on a unique operation that they carried out near the southern border crossing between gaza and israel and that could coincide with the information that you are now getting that an israeli soldier has been taken prisoner. wolf? >> and if in fact the -- the al

qassam brigade, the military arm of hamas issues a statement and shows proof of life of this israeli soldier, i would venture to say all bets are off as far as what will hatch next between the israelis and hamas elements in gaza. stand by because the show and founder with the palestine research an information, you were the back channel. you got the other soldier detained for five years. the israelis released more than 2,000 palestinians. you say that's not going to happen again. >> won't happen again. >> the israelis are determined to bring all of their troops home. >> right. >> and if hamas has an israeli soldier, why wouldn't israel do now what it did then through your good offices? ed. >> main reason is they are in gaza and have the ability to attack hamas from within gaza. i would expect the very next step after they finish the operation that they are shelling in rafa that they will go up after the hamas leadership and

they will capture them or kill them one by one until they get their soldier back, again, dead or alive. israelis are in no mood to negotiate with hamas, not about political issues and certainly not about a soldier. so much anger in israel about the prisoner release with the negotiations, there's no sentiment in israel today that would allow any government of israel to negotiate a prisoner exchange. the sentiment in israel thatty we'll hear more of from tonight to finish the job and finish off hamas. this is a very dangerous sideways. hamas doesn't understand the extent of anger in israel right now if there is in fact a soldier abduct and the wrath of israel will come down on hamas. this will not end the game. israel can defeat hamas militarily but you can't defeat an idea and you can't defeat the will of the palestinian people in gaza to change the essence of their life there from the prison

they have been living in into a life of freedom, a just cause on their side. hamas are the ones standing up for them. i'm sure right now all over palestine, the west bank and gaza, east jerusalem, the arab world, people are out in the streets cheering and giving out candies and sweets because hamas has apparently abducted an israeli soldier. >> and you know though that over the years of israel existence, 66 years, there's often been these lopsided exchanges, not just for a soldier who may be alive but even for the remains of an israeli soldier, 10-3, 50-3 and 100-1, and in the gays of g li la shalit 1,000-3 and some say you're only encouraging the taking of more israeli soldiers by doing this because it makes them seem more valuable and last time prime minister netanyahu made the exchange he was criticized. >> he was criticized but had 26 members of the cabinet supported.

80% of the people supported it then. it was a different situation and we're in the midst of a war right now when no one is going to tolerate, no one is going to call for netanyahu to negotiate a prisoner exchange, certainly not with hamas after the tunnels that we've seen, the rockets it a we've seen, hamas is perceived as the the mat threat to israel's existence. we shouldn't be talking to them at all is what the people and government of israel says so i think it's not a similar situation. i think that we've seen the end of prisoner exchanges like that. >> so you think -- you think the reaction here in israel will be to strengthen the hard-liners in the israeli cabinet like victor lieberman or nestle, go ahead, if you have to go in gaza, reoccupy gaza, don't even think about it. if in fact they have an israeli soldier, and we should hear sooner rather than later, if they have proof of life. >> they won't give proof of life. they will demand payment for

proof of life. that's how hamas works. >> what does that mean? >> won't produce the soldier or his voice. their demands will be for israel to stop war, release prisoners. initially with gilad shalit they wanted to release the prisoner exchange down to 350 prisoners and in the end i convinced to get a letter for free just as a way of opening negotiations. hamas is also in a different situation today. this is what the hamas military fighters have been waiting for. this is their victory and their way to show their people that we can get the israelis and can surprise them. what i want to remind hamas people what i reminded them on al jazeera and cnn when gilad shalit was freed. an exchange for gilad shalit, 1,000 prisoners but they paid with the lives of more than 3,000 people in gaza, a destroyed gaza economy. gaza cut off from the world. there's a price to pay for abducting an israeli soldier as well and they are going to pay a very heavy price >> i suspect, as bad as it's been these first almost --

>> you ain't seening in nothing yet. >> i suspect in the coming hours and days it's going to get a whole lot worse knowing the mood here in israel. >> definitely. >> and knowing what the israelis did after gilad shalit was captured. they announced public, they didn't say it was an errant missile. they said they blew up the power plant and wanted to make life miserable for a lot of palestinians in gaza. >> if netanyahu ant defense minister and the voices in the government calling for restrain and not going in, i would suspect that a cabinet meeting which is probably meeting right now, they are working out the operational plans for the full occupation of gaza and going after hamas leaders. >> i want you to stay with us. thanks very much. he was the intermediary and got that other israeli soldier released, gilad shalit in exchange for more than 2,000 palestinians. chris and kate, you heard it from him, and i've got to tell you based on everything i've heard myself, this is going to be a major game-changer right

now, and as we say as bad as it was, and it's been awful over the first three and a half, almost four weeks, i suspect it's going to get a whole lot worse and it probably will in the coming hours. we'll see what happens and see if cooler heads prevail but knowing the mood here in israel right now i suspect that's not going to happen, despite the diplomatic intervention of the u.n. secretary-general and other world leaders, really worried about the situation right now. >> wolf, thank you very much. obviously wolf is talking about what may happen next. that is pause of what has happened already. we're following break news this morning. the cease-fire between israel and hamas is over. 72-hour sees facease-fire had go effect at 1:00 a.m. eastern. israel claims hamas attacked troops, launched rockets, but hamas denied those claims and maintained the group is committed to keeping the truce.

however, the question became which part of hamas may have done that. doesn't seem that the military side is in contact with the political side. >> i think that's a big part of the story and now israel's military claims that one of their own soldiers has been abducted. as wolf says that could be a major game-changer here. a hamas spokesman says he cannot confirm if the soldier was captured so are the peace talks -- is this cease-fire that all of this, is there any hope of reviving any of it biopoint. let's discuss and figure out where things are now, where things could go from here. our panel is here with us. peter bine the, contributing edit editor as well as the managing ed are of qrtz. one of the questions at the very ding of the show, is the cease-fire over, that's an absolute certainty at this pain, but is this event, that we're talking about right now, capture of an israeli soldier, bobby, is

this a game-changer? >> without question as we heard that from wolf and gershen. this is going to bring the wrath of israel upon gaza and on a sail that we have not yet seen in the last week and one shudders to think what that might be. if we go by what happened last time with gilad shalit we'll see a huge ratcheting up of israeli attacks. so far the israeli tanks have stayed in the outskirts of the heavily populated area. maybe they go in. >> peter, are we seeing a window into the complication right now, that we spoke to hamas spokesman, he said, hey, we haven't fired any rockets. i don't know if anybody else has but we're certainly still committed to this and we didn't know about any defensive action being allowed. at the same time he was talking to us an israeli soldier may have been captured by the military wing s.that t.

is that the disconnect that makes any attempt at possible peace right now? >> it's not clear who in hamas is making the decisions and who is talking to who, especially in a fog of war situation. israel is still work on the tunnels as israel saw as a necessary defensive operation but you can imagine a circumstance in which that could have led to conflict. again, it shows the difficulty in dealing with an organization like hamas especially because there is no direct ability to talk from the u.s. or israel to hamas so you're always involved in the game of telephone and it produces situations where there can be escalation which is very, very frightening. if hamas escalated this during the cease-fire knowingly they made a terrible, terrible mistake which is going to hurt their people a tremendous amount. >> we've all been talking about how this could change the situation drastically on the ground. one of the things we've been hearing the last few days is the u.n. with more pointed language towards israel than they have

ever had before, condemning them almost outright for their action in gaza. if there was this kidnapping, bobby, during this cease-fire, what will that do to the international organization's reaction now? will they perhaps back off and give israel more space to take military action? >> i think that that's possible. a great deal will demand on the immediate aftermath and what happens in the course of the next 2 hours. if hundreds of palestinians are killed and a lot of innocent children are killed as we've seen so often over the past three weeks international pressure will remain but certainly if there's particularly in europe and in the u.s., whatever little pressure there was on israel to -- to back off will now sort of in itself back off a little but i can't imagine, as long as there's an israeli soldier alive in captivity within gaza, that for one thing israel is not really going to be listening very much or whatever the pressure, is and, yes, some

pressure will come out. >> sound like this is a complete game-changer. >> i want to get back to wolf blitzer and has opinion on the ground with us and israel has developing news about the situation. wolf? >> another alarming disturbing statement coming out of the idf, israeli defense sources. peter lerner is speaking to reporters moments ago saying this. he said at 9:30 a.m. local time, that would be an hour and a half after the cease-fire was supposed to go into effect, idf soldiers, while working to decommission tunnels were attacked by terrorists who emerged from a tunnel. lerner goes on and says one terrorist was a suicide bomber who detonated himself after emerging from the tunnel. one idf soldier is missing, and we suspect he has been kidnapped by the terrorists. we have identified and notified the soldier's family, this according to lieutenant colonel peter lerner. we believe he's been taken back down the tunnel by the terrorists. extensive operations are taking place on ground and in the air.

as we speak the abduction took place in southern gaza near rafa, that's that border crossing in southern gaza and then he adds this flat statement. this is the spokesman for the idf. the cease-fire is over. so no more maybe over, could be over, possibly be over. according to the israel military the cease-fire is now over. a very strong statement and clearly the israelis believe hamas has an israeli soldier, and we'll see what hamas does. if they have issued a statement. they have not confirmed it. they have only told reporters and you heard karl penhaul say they have a unique swaying. now we'll see what happens. it does underscore the fragility of what's going on right now, and it underscores that potentially this is going to get a whole lot worse. as bad as it's been potentially this could get a whole lot worse. >> let's also bring in aaron david miller to continue this discussion. he's advised six secretaries of

state and a distinguished scholar at the woodrow wilson institute. i've leaned on you a lot when we've been talking about the peace process. where are we right now? is there any way to revive what we thought was a best chance of a cease-fire and as secretary kerry called it an opportunity to begin working towards a solution? >> you know, kate, the answer is no and here's why. because of the logic of this conflict suggested even with the good news of a 72-hour stand down that the urgency to actually conclude it is not present. this was not a failure to communicate or breakdown in the communications channel between the political wing of hamas and the military wing. the reality is the military wing, the al qassams have been driving this train for the last several weeks, and this was not

some serendipitous haphazard operation. this was carefully planned, and it was created to try to create a victory image for hamas. some single act, some quote, unquote heroic act by the resistance to fundamentally score a victory, and they have done so, and the reality is against the backdrop of a good faith effort on the part of the secretary of state, the u.n. and the israeli government, who by the way i'm not sure feels a whole lot of urgency either in terms of stopping an operation when in fact their objectives have not been complete, what you essentially have is a confluence of factors which almost guaranteed that something like this was going to happen. you simply didn't have the urgency, particularly on the part of hamas to stand this thing down and now if you wanted a transformative event, a trigger to put this into a new

and horrific level, you got it, because over the next several weeks, i don't know about reoccupying gaza. the israelis don't want to participate in an act self-destruction which creates enormous casualties on their side and hundreds if not thousands of more casualties on the part of the palestinians, but you're going to see an extension of what the israelis have been doing over the last several days which is an effort to pound gaza. >> let's go back to karl penhaul right now and actually find out what is going on with this alleged capture because it's going to mean so much in the situation. carl, any more information? >> yeah, i think this is very important, chris, because what wolf was reporting is based on the confirmation from the spokesman of the israeli military, peter lerner. he has confirmed as wolf was saying that there was a tunnel clearance operation in effect. that was going ahead around one

and a half hours into the cease-fire. the israeli military went into that tunnel because despite the cease-fire the israeliment said it retained the right to try to destroy tunnels that. appears to have brought them into confrontation with hamas militants who were in that tunnel or emerged from another tunnel nearby, and according to the israeli military report one hamas fighter blew himself up, detonated himself amid those israeli soldiers which then allowed other militants to capture one of the soldiers. now the timing on this is interesting, and that's what i wanted to bring you. as wolf said, the israeli military statement said that this tunnel clearance operation this, suicide bomber occurred one and a half hours into the cease-fire. it was one and a half hours into the cease-fire that our cnn team first got word from the palestinian colleague that rafa was under fire, the southern town of rafa was under shelling from israeli artillery, and the

israeli military statement confirms the tunnel clearance operation, the suicide bomb er and the israeli soldier took place in rafa. he said is the shelling of rafa linked to the capture of the israeli soldier? i think quite clearly now we can say that yes those two incidents do appear connected. i said to wolf earlier on i'll try to join the dots and i believe the israeli military statement has allowed us to join the dots on our reporting so one and a half hours into the cease-fire israeli soldiers on a tunnel clearance operation then find hamas militants in that tunnel or a nearby tunnel, a fire fight ensures, a suicide bomber blows himself up and an israeli soldier is captured and around the same time shelling starts on the southern town of rafa and according to the

palestinian health authority some of those shells fell on a public market and some fell outside the hospital where the dead and injured are being taken and right now we have a death and casualty toll of 40 minians killed, more than 200 wounded. in that incident, add to that any casualties between the fire fight between hamas fighters and israeli soldiers and as the israeli milt are confirming, one israeli military captured and we're waiting to hear from the al qassam brigade about what they are talking about a unique operation. >> let me cut you off for a second. let us know when you get that statement. thank you for the reporting on the ground but we need to hear to that. i want to put this question to the table. the reporting is helpful and gives it the impression that this was planned. that's not what that sound like

from karl penhaul. if they were clearing a tunnel and came into contact with other people and they blew themselves up. >> if the people were already in that tunnel or tunnel next to it, a guy with a suicide vest in the tunnel, that suggests that some kind of operation was planned. >> so it's not a random meeting. you think that they were planning a confrontation. >> and that gets to the big question of secretary kerry said very clearly when he announced this cease-fire that israel could continue its operations in containing and destroying those tunnels, though when you had the hamas spokesman on he said he had not heard that at all which begins the murky thing. here's the thing. it is going to be murky, fog of war, whatever you want, but is this not so complicated at the end? if an israeli soldier has been captured when a cease-fire is supposed to be in place, game over. israel is not going to listen to anything anyone else says until either the soldier is back or they pay? >> right. first of all, the political climate in israel is already

very strongly supportive of this military operation. netanyahu's political pressure is all coming from his right, not from the left which is virtually non-existent and israel wanted to move to demilitarization, demilitarization by who? ? a way this gives israel the opportunity to do more of that demilitarization itself. it will come at a very high price. >> let's talk about that price. >> let's take a break and then we're going to talk about the price of what this alleged capture of an israeli soldier could mean. it certainly means that the cease-fire is definitively over and nobody is looking for peace on the ground. stay with us. we'll be back. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort.

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very troubling developments in the middle east. let's reset what's been going on. so there was a cease-fire in effect. that supposed to start this morning local time. out there it was announced in the middle of the night but ended almost as quickly as it started. the israeli military now says a soldier has been abducted after a suicide bomber attacked a group of israeli soldiers while they were working to dismantle up tunnels that we hear about that stretches into israel. the bomber supposedly came out of one of the tunnels, detonated himself and created an opportunity for other militants to abduct an israeli soldier this. event obviously changes everything and takes peace off

the table. >> changes everything and it's developing as we speak. israel responded with force. shelling rafa in southern gaza where an attack on the israeli soldiers take place. we believe dozens were killed, more than 100 wounded, we're being told at the moment. for their part a hamas spokesman says he cannot confirm whether a soldier was captured. it's unclear whether peace talks were to be held in cairo are still in the works or worth anything at this point. let's get back to wolf blitzer on the ground with all of the developments. wolf? >> well, the idf is not mincing any words. they say that we suspect that soldier has been kidnapped by terrorists. we have identified and notified the soldier's family. we believe he has been taken down tunnel by the terrorists. we're just getting a statement in from the united nations, the first reaction to what is going on, the end of this cease-fire, the u.n. together with the u.s., we're instrumental in putting together the 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire. the u.n. special envoy here in

the middle east, he was working very, very feverishly behind the scenes to get this three-day cease-fire. now the statement just coming in from the united nations, special coordinator was informed by israeli authorities of a serious incident this morning after the start of the humanitarian cease-fire at 8:00 a.m. local time involving a tunnel behind idf lines in the rafa area of the gaza strip. two soldiers, two israeli soldiers, were reportedly killed as well as a number of palestinians. the statement from the u.n. then says the united nations is not in a position to independently confirm these reports. however, if corroborated, this would constitute a serious violation of the humanitarian cease-fire in place since 8:00 a.m. this morning by gaza militant factions which should be condemn in the strongest terms. the special u.n. envoy urges the palestinian parties to you are jenly reaffirm their commitment to the humanitarian cease-fire.

the statement says they are deeply concerned regarding the serious consequences on the ground that could arise as a result of the incidench. he'll continue his efforts to contain the risk of violence and renewed escalation. first official statement from the united nations which put together this ill-fated cease-fire. the israeli military now says flatly the cease-fire is over, and they say an israeli soldier has been taken by hamas and that soldier's family has been notified. so this is clearly a very, very serious development that's unfolding right now, and as i've said before and i'll repeat it. if in fact it's all true this could be a game changer, as bad as the situation has been for the past several weeks. it potentially right now could get a whole lot worse. let's put the question to the panel. why. let's start our audience with that. why is the capture of one soldier such a huge move in the

mind of israel and does it change the dynamic of violence on ground, rita cosby. >> it's a huge move because we've seen this move before and we know what happens when an israeli soldier is taken. we know the sort of extent that israel will go to to reclaim that soldier and we know the suffering that will descend upon gaza when that happens. we could argue that the capture of soldiers is not uncommon in a war, but we know what happens when an israeli soldier is captured and that's why this is a game-changer. the crucial thing now is the time line, when did this happen. it's clear that hamas was planning something. they had -- they had fighters -- >> why did you think they had to clear something? they had their fighters in a tunnel ready to go for something. maybe the grabbing of a soldier was an opportunity. they got a chance and grabbed a soldier but they were planning for something. they had somebody strapped -- if we believe what the israeli spokesmen are saying, somebody

strapped on a suicide belt, that is very unusual in gas a.g. suicide operations are more common in other parts, iraq, for instance, isis and in syria but very unusual in gaza, very rare that you see this kind of operation, so they were planning something. they were planning something big. now one -- as i noticed just as we were coming on, one radio situation in palestine apparently is saying that that operation, that they grabbed the soldier before the cease-fire technically began. grabbed at 8:00 a.m. >> why would it matter? >> it doesn't matter. it won't matter to israel. >> does it matter when? >> but it shows -- the fact that they think it's important to do the semantics is interesting, but it will matter not at all to israel, you're exactly right. israel will go in hard and go in heavy and try to get the soldier back. >> and it still shows a fundamental disconnect within hamas because it means one wing was doing something when the other arm was promising political peace. >> the hamas spokesman telling

you at the very beginning of the show they were still hoping and leaving it open for a cease-fire to happen and for the talks in cairo to continue. >> right. >> certainly didn't mention any unique operation which is what they were calling this early on. stick with us. let's get back to wolf blitzer on the ground with more from israel. wolf? >> i want to bring in, kate, the founder and ceo of the israel palestine center for research and information. he's here with me in jerusalem and instrumental in getting that gilad shalit soldier, the israeli soldier freed. were you dealing with the israelis and hamas. >> that's right. >> you were a back channel. got that deal done and were talking to hamas and you know hamas. when lieutenant colonel peter lerner says that they believe the -- the terrorists were wearing a -- was a suicide bomber who came through this tunnel, one terrorist, he says, was a suicide bomber who detonated himself after emerging from the tunnel. you say that is not unusual.

>> not at all. >> what do you know about this because you've studied this and dealt with hamas for a long time. >> i spoke yesterday with a palestinian friend who had a conversation, a long conversation with one of the qassam officers. >> qassam is the military wing of hamas. >> he told me that the 3,000 qassam elite unit fighters had been instructed before the israeli ground operation to go back to their families and to say good-bye, that they knew that they were going to this battle and probably not coming home. all the qassam fighters, the elite unit fighters that have come out of their tunnels so far to attack israeli soldiers have been wearing suicide belts. this is something that they do in addition to attacking the israelis with their weapons, their goal is to come out and blow themselves up in front of israeli troops or israeli civilians so this was planned. just 24 hours ago i said on israeli television from my conversation with my friend who spoke to the qassam officer that their plan is to abduct israeli soldiers. they had even put out a number, that their goal was to abduct three israeli soldiers and they

were working on this and that would be the point at which they would seriously be ready to go into a cease-fire and not before. osama hamdan, the hamas spokesman from the political wing of hamas is not a spokesman for the military wing. this war is being run on the military on the ground, in the tunnels, underground and not by political wing of hamas. >> i kept asking palestinian authority representatives here on cnn over the past 1 hours, saed erekat and so many others, the palestinian ambassador, the representative in washington, all of whom work for president of the palestinian authority man yags, they all said that they thought all the factions of hamas, including the military wing, were on board, but you say they were never on board. >> i would say they were never on board. i would say the communication between the military wing and political wing is very slim if

existence at all. they have no communication. they are running operations by messengers and the tunnels underground in gaza. they are not using their telephones or not using any other means of communication because they know that that's how israel could track them. it would be very questionable how they can are sending messages back and forth. the decision making process and a movement like hamas is -- the head of the politburo of hamas and is not the leader of hamas. after israel assassinated the founder of hamas hamas no longer has a leader and after they assassinated the head of the military wing in 2012 this,'s no senior figure within the military wing who is really in command. >> mohammed diaf, the head of the military wing of hamas. what's his relationship with the head of the political wing who is in doha, qatar.

>> i would say he's a legend, in gaza. >> he's in gaza. >> and wounded so many times by israel in attempts to kill him that he's literally a half of human beings. questions of whether or not he's actually functioning and alive, so he's a legend, a spirit of the hamas fighters' movement. i doubt if he is a person giving tactical orders. he's definitely the spirit of the fight, not to give up. the high motivation and sacrifices that they are willing to make for the cause, for god, islam, palestine. he's definitely in that position but i don't think he's the person giving tactical orders. >> thanks very much. don't if away. we'll rely on your expertise, founder and ceo of the israel palestine center for research and information. he's worked closely with israelis, worked closely with hamas and many other palestinians and served as a key intermediary in getting another israeli soldier freed after five years being held by hamas, gilad

shalit, so we'll rely on his expertise. bottom line right now the cease-fire clearly over. the israel military has said so, the israeli government has said so. let's see what happens next but i think it's fair to say it's going to be brutdal. >> absolutely right, wolf and the memory of what happened to gilad shalit and what happened after that, stuck in many israeli mind, a lot of talking about clearing the tunnels, that's the basis of it an that's why you're calling it a game-changer right now. wolf, stick with us. we'll be right back. we'll take another break and continue to follow breaking news. cease-fire over in gaza. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve.. at humana, we believe if healthcare changes, if frustration and paperwork decrease... the gap begins to close.

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breaking news this morning. a cease-fire between israel and hamas over. we are just learning about the time line of how that truce, temporary truce ended. here's what's being reported right now. israel's military says hamas suicide bomber attacked israeli troops an hour after the 72-hour truce started. they say a soldier was captured by militant group which all led to shelling between both side. hamas claims they never fired a rocket though, but israel says they very much did. earlier we heard from hamas' spokesman who says the group was committed to the cease-fire. all of this stemmed after secretary of state john kerry had announced the truce with u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon. take a listen. >> while we are grateful that the violence and the bloodshed

has the opportunity to stop for more than 24 hours. it is up to the parties, all of them, to take advantage of this moment. there are no guarantees. >> there's no guarantees, but surely some hope there, so what now? let's bring in john king for more on this. i mean, john, this has been quite a reversal of fortune is how the "new york times" had put it early this morning for secretary kerry as he had failed to get that seven-day cease-fire in place. it seemed very optimistic this morning, big statements coming out from the secretary as well as the u.n. secretary-general and now this. >> and now this, kate. but if you listen to even a little portion of secretary kerry that you just played, even he gets it, if you will. look at his caution. it's up to the parties. there are no guarantees. this is an opportunity for a cease-fire so he was very cautious, even as he announced what he hoped would be a prooug and we're having this conversation because we now know

that breakthrough was collapsed after really just moments. the question now from the administration perfective, the obama administration is sadly what can you do and at the moment, i think the panelists would agree, almost nothing. nothing to be gained right now if an israeli soldier has been abducted as the israeli defense forces say. there is nothing to be gained from a secretary kerry or president obama calling prime minister benjamin netanyahu and asking him to take it easy and go too strong in response to that. it would be a waste time. what does the administration do now? secretary kerry has been criticized for failing repeatedly to bring about something his team a argue and the white house backs him up on this that he keeps trying and that's all you can do in this situation. not what happens, i think wolf had it just right, and now you just have to watch, wait and hope that you find another opportunity for an opening, but don't expect anything in the short term. >> because no matter how time line kind of works out this

morning, john, obviously it's still being worked out on the ground and all the reporting that we're getting in from our folks on the ground, simple fact if an israeli soldier was abduct, game over, game-changer, the u.s., the united nations cannot condone that to take place. >> they cannot condone that and prime minister netanyahu will say this proves his point. he has his critics. the united states not only trying to negotiate to get the israelis and palestinians to sit down. it's sort of been the middle man between israel and the united nations at united nations has criticized israeli tactics. president has made quite clear that he thinks prime minister netanyahu as of a few days ago was doing too much, he could have ratcheted back the violence, but, again, forget about all of that right now. if an israeli soldier has been abducted, prime minister netanyahu in strong position back home, his public backs him, he's going to make the case that this proves the point that he has nobody to negotiate with, that secretary kerry and the united nations might cut a deal with the political wing of hamas

might think they have an agreement to stop fighting and look what happens within hours. he'll make the case that you can't have peace or even pause if you don't have a partner. that will be the israeli position? and so, i mean, is there any reason to even -- for all of these parties to be heading to cairo or even talking about heading to cairo to try to sit down at a table? >> i believe and wait for official word from the israeli government, common sense tells you what has happened in the last hour or so it's most unlikely that prime minister netanyahu is going to send a delegation to cairo in the middle of this. perhaps that would be the administration pressure, can you at least send some people there to be prepared to talk if we see an opening but i wouldn't expect anything like that over the course of the next several hours. >> we heard from the united nations, and it will be important whenever it comes. we're seeking comment, whenever it comes, to hear from the secretary or the state department on where they view things stand at this moment. john king, thanks so much. chris? >> all right, kate, let's try to figure out what the state department is going to do here,

let's bring back aaron david miller who has advised six secretaries of state on arab-israeli negotiations and a distinguished scholar at woodrow wilson international center. so, you've been in the room. you know what the events are on the ground. what does the state department do? >> first of all, chris, it's not the state department. it's the administration and the president. i mean, john kerry works for barack obama. he, john kerry, put himself in the middle of the mix over the last nine months to negotiate peace, and over the last two weeks to try to stop a war, but the reality is, i think, that this represents to a large degree a fundamental misreading of the situation on the ground. you know, the qataris and turks can deliver all the commitments they want. the egyptians in this case, al sisi who is no friend of hamas certainly or the muslim brotherhood was probably wary about this enterprise from the beginning. the u.n. has its own

organizational imperative to try to save lives and stop the violence, but the reality is we are misreading the fundamental marriage of desperation on one hand on the part of the hamas military wing and its determination and resiliency to continue the fight. they have already killed almost five times the number of idf soldiers than they killed in the two previous operations. they effectively forced the faa to shut down ben gurion airport and suspended for a large period of time. they have a large repository of high trajectory weapons and now i don't think this event was planned months in month. hamas took advantage of they now the tunnel systems, they know them and you put a suicide bomber up front to create havoc,

kill a few more israelis and then grab a soldier seems to me was a well-timed, well-organized operation designed to achieve this victory image or this trophy. i just think -- >> but also, let -- let's follow the conversation though in terms of the logic. it may have been designed for that purpose on the hamas side, but it also wound up being by design the perfect rationale for israel to take peace off the table because the metaphor alone, we're clearing the tunnel which is the threat, and in the tunnel which is the threat we have the worst thing happen that we can imagine is someone blows up, kills our soldiers and then takes one of our own, you basically delivered as hamas the best explanation to israel that you could to continue inflicting violence on your own people, true in. >> i think that's right, but let's be clear. you're dealing with a very risk-averse israeli prime minister. i mean, this is not ehud olmert

2006 in lebanon or ariel sharon responding to the 2002 intifada. this is a guy who wants to avoid, if he can, a massive ground incursion into gaza which is going to cause -- escalate his own casualties and increase international pressure on israel. i don't think he wanted this, but at the same time the israeli military strategy has been clear. you neutralize the high trajectory weapons through iron dome. you clear the tunnels and destroy as many as possible in order to neutralize hamas' offensive threat, and then you pummel gaza in an effort to force terms on hamas that are more favorable to israel. what this provides frankly is not a rationale to what i would argue is a well-timed the and well-scripted military campaign.

it's a key to continued escalation and chaos, and there is no end state to this, and that is the problem that the israeli government and cabinet will have to wrestle with now as they determine an appropriate response in the days ahead so i don't think they want to -- you know, what? they have 15,000, 20,000 guys operating in gaza roughly at a division level. the last thing they want this guy, benjamin netanyahu, knows what happens to israeli prime ministers who get bogged down in ground incursions in asymmetrical wars. he saw what happened to sharon in lebanon in '82 and what happened to ehud olmert in lebanon in 2006 so the israelis have to find a way to mete out proper, and it is going to be punishment, there's no question about it, without tripping into a campaign that forces them to reoccupy gaza which could last for months.

>> so at this point the u.s. is just going to have to stand back and watch gaza burn, maybe even watch the west bank destabilize as things get worse before they get better. i want your take on that and to figure out what can be done, if anything, because obviously the goal is still peace, at least for the international community. right now let's take a break here, and we'll be right back with more breaking coverage. [ man ] cortana, when my wife calls remind me to tell her happy anniversary. [ 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.

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and select the people's hotlist to see this summer's top 100 shows and movies. i voted! the cease-fire is over. those words from the idf, the ids rail defense forces, a firm statement, no more cease-fire. they say it ended about an hour and a half after it was supposed to go into effect. they also say they believe an israeli soldiers that been taken prisoner by the hamas militants in gaza right now. one terrorist, the idf says was a suicide bomber who detonated himself after emerging from a tunnel, a tunnel that the israelis say they were "decommissioning." they say that was allowed under the terms of the humanitarian 72-hour cease-fire, put forward, announced last night by the secretary of state of the united

states john kerry and the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon. the secretary has been in india over the past few days. he made a statement to reporters last night on camera, and he explained what israel was allowed to do during the cease-fire, and was not allowed to do. listen to his precise words. >> starting later this morning at 8:00 august 1st, the parties are expected to cease all offensive military activities, and neither side will advance beyond its current locations. they will stay where they are in place. israel will be able to continue i was defensive operations for those tunnels that are behind its lines and the palestinians will be able to receive food,

medicine and additional humanitarian assistance, as well as to be able to tend to their wounded, bury their dead, be able to, in safe areas, travel to their homes, and take advantage of the absence hopefully, hopefully of violence for these 72 hours. >> didn't exactly work out the way the secretary of state, the u.n. secretary-general had planned. gershon basket is the ceo and founder of the israel palestine center for research and information,' liaison, if you will, an informal liaison between israel and hamas, is still with us. it's interesting that the way the secretary of state explained what israel was allowed to do during the 72-hour cease-fire, not allowed to do, was it contained in that original joint statement that was put out by the secretary of state and ban ki-moon, the secretary-general? you heard osama hamdan tell

chris cuomo on "new day" a little while ago he didn't know about any decommissioning of tunnels that was allowed. you heard the secretary of state specify what israel could do and couldn't do, and we now know what the result of all that has been. >> i think it should be quite clear to everyone that israel has said that they will not stop the decommissioning of tunnels during the cease-fire. >> a fancy word for destroying. >> they were finding, locating and destroying as many tunnels they could. they identified 31 tunnels earlier in the week, there was an american intelligence report that was reported in one of the american newspapers that the americans believe there were more than 60 tunnels but the israelis had said they had identified, found and were in the process of destroying all the remaining tunnels that they knew about, 30-plus in number and that israel was not going to fin irn this war until all the tunnels had been removed. this is a direct threat to the israeli civilian population. the tunnels led across the border into israeli civilian communities all along the gaza

strip and there was no way the government of israel is going to end the operation without doing it. it was not going to take a time off during the 72-hour cease-fire. i would also point out the egyptians closed down about 1,000 tunnels that existed between the egyptian gaza border. the egyptians did it without killing a single palestinian all from their side of the border. this could be done from israel from inside the of border, they could take a 500-yard area, buffer area inside the gaza border and attack the tunnels as well. that's not the way the israelis are doing this operation and i'm quite sure hamas knew israel would continue to work on the tunnels during the cease-fire. >> you are an expert on hamas, you spent time with them, know them, worked with the israelis and hamas. you estimate there are about, what, 3,000 armed hamas militants in gaza and the military wing of hamas who you say -- >> they have a lot more than that. that's the elite fighting force. >> you say these elite fighting forces are all prepared, they all go in with suicide vests

ready to kill themselves in order to kill israelis? >> i was told by someone spoken to al kssam military wing officer said before the ground operation began they were all instructed to go to their families and to say good-bye to their families with the intent that they would not be returning alive from this battle. this is one of the very difficult things about fighting with an organization like hamas, particular lay these very dedicated soldiers, combatants who are not afraid to die. you can't create deterrence against someone who is not afraid of dying. we're going to kill you, that's exactly what they intend on happening, and they believe that they are dying in the name of god, in the name of allah and islam and palestine. it's part of their duty to serve and they're deeply motivated to do this. >> it's a part of the warfare that's going on now in gaza and it is a war. >> that's right. >> that the israeli military t have to deal with it.

it's note just tanks versus tanks, planes versus planes. >> it's difficult for an army like israel to fight this battle because the hamas are fighting underground, there are guerrilla warfare, light on their feet, they move around easily. the israelis have tanks and apcs and move a lot of troops. they have an air force. the fire power of israel is so much more intense than the hamas has at its disposal but hamas can surprise the israelis from coming up underground as we've seen over and over again. >> the tunnels very significant. gershon baskin, thank you very much, helping us better appreciate and understand what is going on. back to new york with kate and chris. >> thanks very much, wolf. we'll have much more of our breaking news coverage right after this break. stay with us. completely unbelievabowl... totally delectabowl. real silky smooth or creamy broths. everything she's been waiting for. carefully crafted with real seafood,

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning and welcome once again to "new day," friday, august 8th -- august 1st, 8:00 in the east. let's bring you up to speed on what's in the middle east. suicide bomb attack according to the israeli military says a bomber targeted a group of israeli soldiers who were dismantling one of the tunnels stretching into southern israel, which was allowed as part of the cease-fire that is according to secretary of state john kerry. the bomber emerged from the tunnel in southern gaza before detonating himself and other militants took the soldier captive. >> israel responded with a

vengeance, shelling southern gaza, dozens were killed, hundreds more wounded in the latest reports. for their part a hamas spokesman says he could not confirm whether a soldier was captured. if corroborated, the suicide attack and capture of an israeli soldier would be condemned in the strongest terms. we don't know what that would mean but this is for sure, peace talks that were supposed to be held in cairo as part of a cease-fire, those still happening look unclear at best. let's get a sense of what's happening on the ground with wolf blitzer in jerusalem. you heard what i'm saying there, wolf. we're trying to keep a little optimism here but the chance that there are peace talks when there is no peace on the ground highly unlikely. >> yes, that does not look likely at all. we're just getting another statement, chris and kate, from the idf, from the israel defense forces. the idf now confirms the name of the officer who is suspected to have been kidnapped by terrorists earlier this morning,

second lieutenant hadar golden, 23-year-old from a suburb of tel aviv, additionally two idf soldiers were killed in the attack, the soldiers' families have been notified. so they have the name of the israeli soldier taken by hamas, second lieutenant hadar golden, 23 years old from kvarsava, outside of tale veef. mark gregman spokesman for the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, joining us once again. you have a time line of what happened, the cease-fire that secretary kerry, ban ki-moon put into place, supposed to go into effect 8:00 a.m. local time, 1:00 a.m. on the east coast of the united states, 8:00 a.m. local time. it starts okay, then what happens? >> our forces are honoring that cease-fire proposal, and as secretary kerry said, and secretary-general of the united nations, they had received assurances that the cease-fire would be honored, not just by israel but by hamas as well.

and our forces were doing what is allowed to do in the framework of the cease-fire. they were not attacking. they were standing there and dealing with the issue of the tunnels, which is allowed under the cease-fire. at 9:30, one and a half hours into the cease-fire, our forces honoring that cease-fire, they were attacked with broughtal fire, deadly fire, two of our servicemen unfortunately were killed, and one apparently has been kidnapped. since then, hamas has rained down mortar shells across the frontier and rockets into southern israel, and what must be clear here is hamas has not only violated assurances that it gave to the international community, to the united states, to the united nations, it violated those commitments, it's also shown something much more damning. it's shown that it doesn't care about the people of gaza, because this 72-hour cease-fire was designed to allow for humanitarian relief to reach the people of gaza and hamas, not only has killed israelis, not ohm apparently has kidnapped an

israeli officer, not only thrown away the chance for a cease-fire but hamas has prevented the people of gaza from receiving their humanitarian relief, that they so badly need, and i want to be clear, all the people in the international community who have been speaking about the humanitarian crisis in gaza, they now have to point their direction at hamas. hamas is accountable for the continuing humanitarian situation in the gaza strip. hamas is accountable for the fact that the fighting continues, that the violence continues, and hamas is accountable that the people of gaza continue to suffer from this conflict. >> what was israeli troops doing in the tunnel at that time? there's question what israel was allowed to do during the cease-fire offensively, defensively, not allowed to do? >> it was clear and i think you've got secretary kerry on tape saying that, that in the framework of the cease-fire, we would halt all offensive

operations against hamas targets, against terrorist targets in gaza. we would stay in place. we would defend ourselves if attacked, and we could deal with a network of aggressive terror tunnels under the border, which ultimately are used for terrorists coming to israel to kill people, murder and cause mayhem. we were totally honoring those commitments given to the united nations, and to the united states. hamas unfortunately did not, and hamas has to be held accountable. >> so the idf troops were in a tunnel or near a tunnel trying to destroy the tunnel, decommission it, as the u.n. calls it, and then what happened? walk us through the process. >> they were attacked. there was a surprise attack by hamas in violation of the cease-fire understandings and a fire fight between our forces and hamas terrorists, we were protecting ourselves. the time is very important here. one and a half hours after the

cease-fire commenced. that means everyone knew, everyone knew that there was supposed to be a cessation of combat operations in the gaza strip and our soldiers were functioning as if a cease-fire was in place with orders only to protect themselves. >> here is the question, did hamas, the military arm of hamas know that israel under what kerry announced, john kerry, the secretary of state was allowed to decommission or destroy tunnels during the cease-fire? in other words could there have been some confusion, they saw israeli military action dealing with the tunnels, they didn't know that that was allowed under the cease-fire terms? >> i don't believe there was any confusion. i believe there was a deliberate breaking of a cease-fire, deliberate violence of a cease-fire. secretary secretary said so publicly he spoke about the tunnels, both the united states and the united nations received assurances from hamas, but it's apparent i think to everyone now that assurances by hamas are not worth anything. it's also important to say, wolf, this is not the first time hamas has violated a cease-fire

and has destroyed the chance of a cease-fire kicking in. we saw that two weeks ago with the cairo proposals, israel held its fire and hamas continued to fire, we've seen that with four or five humanitarian cease-fires since then where israel accepted them and hamas either rejected or violated them. you see a consistent pattern of behavior by hamas, once again these cease-fires are in place to give humanitarian relief to the people of gaza, but apparently hamas doesn't give a hoot for the people of gaza. >> so the negotiation in cairo that was supposed to begin today, palestinian delegation and israeli delegation, all that is off. >> the cease-fire is off, the cease-fire was killed by hamas. >> so that means no more talks going on in cairo, no more efforts to see if everybody just throws up their hands now and say it's over, the fighting is just going to go on? >> our goal is to achieve peace and quiet for the people of israel, and end to the rocket fire and end to the terrorist tunnels. that can be achieved militarily, diplomatic or a combination of

both. so far hamas has closed the door, slammed the door shut on any diplomatic solution. >> on the ground right now is an israeli soldier being held by hamas. you've identified his name, second lieutenant hador goldin, 23 years old from a suburb of tel aviv, being held right now. last time hamas had an israeli soldier, israel immediately reacted and pounded various positions in gaza. they didn't succeed in their operation, because he was held for five years, eventually traded for more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners, but at that time you remember what happened, israel blew up that power station. it really wanted to punish palestinians because one soldier was being held. do you anticipate that happening now as well? >> i expect israel to continue to act energetically against hamas, against those terror targets in gaza, those targets are a threat to our people. they're shooting the rockets into israel and yesterday we had more than 100 rockets. today they violated the cease-fire, we've seen more rockets into israel. we will do what needs to be done

to protect our people. >> is prime minister begin in an emergency session at the defense ministry right now? >> i can tell you of course the prime minister is in special security briefings, up on the situation and in command and we will do what needs to be done to protect our people. >> i call this a game changer, do you agree? >> i think there's no doubt what hamas has done today not only undermined the chances of a humanitarian cease-fire, hamas through a deliberate decision has unfortunately led to a very dangerous escalation. >> mark regev, spokesman for the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu. guys back to you in new york. let's see what happens on the ground. i know we'll check in with karl penhaul, he's in gaza, but i suspect the idf, the israeli military, they're going to go searching for this second lieutenant, see if they can find him, but it's going to be pretty brutal out there in the coming hours. >> in the coming hours, those are going to be very important as the spokesman for the prime minister said, a very dangerous

escalation from the israeli view. wolf, thanks so much. stick with us now. let's get the palestinian perspective on these talks and everything that has happened this morning. ambassador riyad mansour joins me now. good to see you again. thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> you heard from mark regev right there, cease-fire is over from the israeli perspective, from the palestinian authority. what is the view? >> first of all you know that it's the israeli side now that is declaring that the cease-fire is over. we are ready and willing, you know, to commit ourselves to the 72-hour cease-fire and by we, it means all palestinian components under the leadership of president mahmoud abbas. >> how can you -- >> and we are ready to begin the negotiations in cairo through the egyptians with the israeli side to bring the cease-fire to last for a longer period of time to allow for attending to the

who are tisk situation in the gaza strip and i believe that the israeli side was compelled to accept the humanitarian 72-hour cease-fire after yesterday in the security council there were very vivid reports from distinguished personalities, miss amos and the commissioner-general in which they gave details of this situation of the civilian population in the gaza strip and it was not justified by any means in which -- >> we have to figure out what happened this morning. >> that's why they accepted the cease-fire. >> we have to talk about what's happening this morning in terms of an israeli soldier has been captured by hamas militants. you say that the palestinian authority is still open to a cease-fire and ready to start those talks. how is that at all even possible if this has happened in southern

gaza? an israeli soldier captured by hamas militants. there is no cease-fire if that's the case, mr. ambassador. >> i don't know the details. i'm not the military man but let's assume that. >> the united nations came out this morning to condemn in the strongest terms that this has happened. >> it condemned that the cease-fire was broken and you heard the israeli side, they're saying that the idf and the israeli government declared there is no cease-fire. it was not our side. >> do you condemn this happened that an israeli soldier during the hours of this cease-fire has been captured by hamas militants? >> if the israeli soldiers were moving away from their side to the palestinian side and engaging in military operation with guerrillas, then this is, you know, confrontation, and in in confrontation they kill palestinian soldiers do you condemn killing palestinian militants? this is a military operation. >> secretary john kerry, when

this cease-fire was announced, he said very clearly "during this cease-fire israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for tunnels behind its lines." >> yes. >> they were going into the tunnel, according to all of these reports, to continue doing what they have doing. clearing these tunnels. >> do you know for sure that israeli soldiers were not moving through the tunnels in the area that is in the palestinian side, not behind their lines? do you know that? >> all of the reports we have is that there was a hamas militant report with a suicide vest on. >> these are israeli reports. do we know for sure. >> a suicide vest. >> this is israeli reports. >> so you're questioning if this is even happened? >> no, what i'm saying that obviously there was a military confrontation but if a tunnel is in this side and israel is here, and the continuation of the tunnel is in your side, how do we know the israeli soldier did not cross in the palestinian side? how do we know that? >> you do not think this was a

choreographed attempt by hamas to score a victory of some sort? this man, the reports are that there was a hamas militant with a suicide vest on that detonated. >> that is the israeli story. >> that is coming to us from the ground sources. >> your reporter was in the tunnel and he was in that military operation? what i'm trying to say, let's not concentrate on this thing. we need to have a cease-fire. we are ready and willing to honor the 72-hour cease-fire. we are ready and willing to negotiate in cairo. we want to put an end to this tragedy. it is the israeli side that caused this massive humanitarian tragedy against 1.8 million palestinian civilians. it is in our interest to stop the fighting now. it is in our interest to attend to our wounds, to bury our dead, as secretary of state indicated, to get food, to go and visit our homes. it is in our interest. so it is because of these things we are ready and willing to honor the cease-fire and to

begin the negotiations in cairo. >> it's one thing to hear it from the pal spinauthority, ready and willing to honor the cease-fire but it doesn't at least at this moment does not sound like the military wing of hamas is listening to any of those words. >> it is the israeli army that declared that the cease-fire is over. it is not our side that is saying the cease-fire is over. >> you do not think that a soldier captured when a cease-fire has been put into place is a violation of a cease-fire? >> when you have a military confrontation in that zone and we don't know the details who crossed which line, and there is fighting between the two sides, and they killed some of the palestinians, and when there is confrontation, and then through this confrontation there are soldiers killed from both sides and the palestinian side captured one israeli soldier, these things do happen in wars. >> palestinian authority did accept that element of the cease-fire and you agree that it was part of the cease-fire that israel could continue its

operations, its defensive operations in clearing tunnels? >> behind their lines. >> but you agree that was part of the cease-fire? >> i know exactly what was agreed to, and we accepted that, that cease-fire in place, and i know what it means, the cease-fire in place. >> mr. ambassador, what happens now? i know you say that you are ready, that palestinian authority is ready to continue these talks and ready to go to cairo. how is that even possible? are you still sending a delegation to cairo? >> yes, first of all i just want to correct, it is not the palestinian authority. it is the palestinian national consensus government of president mahmoud abbas of the state of palestine. >> do you still believe that all of the factions are still on the same page within the palestinian -- >> yes. >> -- side? >> yes. and we are ready to dispatch, if we did not already dispatch our unified delegation to be in cairo to negotiate the details of an extended cease-fire and also to begin a political

process to address the root causes of this conflict, because we do want to put an end to this tragedy in the gaza strip, and we want to put an end to the tragedy of the palestinian people by ending occupation and allowing for the independence of the state of palestine, where we can have two states living side by side in peace and security. >> what can the palestinian authority do? what can the palestinian side do to get this soldier free so the peace talks can continue? >> well, there are thousands of palestinian prisoners on the israeli side. are they ready and willing to release them, including they are capturing palestinians from the gaza strip and arresting them and taking them to israel >> you're already saying there has to be a swap in order for this prisoner to be released? >> i'm not saying, i'm not involved in details of such kind but what i'm saying if you have -- >> it seems to be the most important issue this morning why the cease-fire came to an end. do you not agree? >> what, the confrontation? >> yes. >> but we don't know the details who started this confrontation

and therefore they should be responsible for the results of this confrontation. >> do you believe that hamas militants went into this in good faith and did want a cease-fire? >> i believe that all palestinian groups including hamas accepted the cease-fire, ready and willing to negotiate in cairo, and i believe we are ready and willing to continue that process and i hope that secretary of state and the sec. tea gener secretary-general of the u.n. would call for the implementation of this 72-hour cease-fire so we can get to the business of negotiations in cairo. >> i think an important point at this moment is as a political wing and the military wing of hamas, are they on the same page. is the political wing of hamas even relevant at this point? >> both are on the same page, and i believe that all of them are, you know -- >> how is it then this morning that the spokesman for the political wing of hamas had no idea, it gave us no suggestion that anything was under way in

terms of capture of an israeli soldier? >> he did not know the details as me, i don't know the details of what happened. i just listen only to the israeli side of this confrontation and the israelis are trying to frame it that hamas broke the cease-fire and israel were doing legitimate things and trying to show there was, the details of what they were saying about this operation and then therefore they want to say that hamas is responsible for breaking the cease-fire, hamas is responsible for the tragedy of our people in gaza. those who are responsible for the tragedy of our people in gaza is the israeli armed forces. they are the ones who are killing us. they are the ones who are injuring the palestinians, displacing them, attacking our schools and so forth. they are attacking the hospitals. so therefore to try to flip the story that hamas is responsible for that is so upsetting. >> a final very important point from you. do you still believe there is

hope that this cease-fire could be revived? >> i believe so. if there is a will, in order to have a cease-fire in place, and to allow our people to attend to their wounds and to their tragedy, there will be a way in order to implement it. we are ready and willing. president mahmoud abbas is ready and willing on behalf of all palestinian components to have this cease-fire in place, to begin the negotiations in cairo, and to move forward. and let me just say one last thing. >> of course. >> the spokesperson of israel said we cannot trust hamas. it was his government that negotiated with hamas a cease-fire in the year 2012, and it was in place for two years, so then he says now that we cannot trust hamas. they trusted hamas for two years, but now we are saying that we have national consensus government under the leadership of president abbas in which all of them are under his command

and if they were trusting hamas alone for two years from 2012 until 2014, why don't they trust the national consensus government to have this cease-fire in place and to begin the political negotiations in cairo. >> the hours to come are definitely probably some of the most important and very uncertain where things go from here. ambassador mansour, thank you for coming in. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> chris, over to you. >> very good look at how two different sides have very different stories of the current situation. let's bring in the third side here, josh earnest, the white house press secretary. thank you for joining us this morning. lot on your plate. >> good morning, chris. >> the obvious question, now what? >> well, chris, as you know, president obama and secretary kerry have been working closely with u.n. officials, have w israeli official, palestinian officials and other interested parties to try to bring about a humanitarian cease-fire that was dogged, diplomatic work that was required. we finally thought we had

reached an agreement just yesterday for a humanitarian cease-fire. the israelis of course are reporting this morning that that cease-fire was broken, and that apparently hamas individuals used the cover of a humanitarian cease-fire to attack israeli soldiers and even to take one hostage. that would be a rather barbaric violation of the cease-fire agreement. we would encourage the international community to respond to this and condemn it in the strongest possible terms and we would encourage those who have influence with hamas to get them back on to the terms of a cease-fire and to get them to abide by the agreements that they struck just yesterday. >> well, the ambassador manhoso, on the show talking to kate, obviously the representative of mahmoud abbas said they are not ready to take ownership of the capture of that soldier, that they don't know what happened, so that then takes us one step

back to why this may have happened. do you feel that the u.s. may have somehow missed on its efforts to get everybody on the same page here, because mansour was saying israel could keep clearing tunnels but only behind lines on their side. then we had the spokesperson for the political wing of hamas say i didn't know anything about israel being allowed to do defensive maneuvers. did the u.s. somehow fail to communicate the terms of this cease-fire properly? >> chris, what you saw is president obama, secretary kerry take a leadership role working closely with the u.n., israelis and palestinians to bring everybody to the table to work out a painstakingly detailed agreement to strike a 72-hour cease-fire for humanitarian reasons, to give those in gaza who have been under siege for a long time the opportunity to emerge from the places where they're hiding to try and care for their families and in some cases bury the dead. this would also provide some relief to israeli citizens who

have faced a ba rodrrage of roc fire. it is not in the interests for the violence to be sustained not in the long-term interests for either side of the conflict for innocent civilians to be in harm's way. this administration has worked in painstaking fashion with the israelis. secretary kerry was on the phone with prime minister netanyahu this morning already to talk about next steps here. we remain very concerned about these reports of a rather barbaric violation of a humanitarian cease-fire agreement. >> and you don't think this was a function of how the terms were communicated from the state department or from the white house to the different parties involved. >> no, chris. we have been over the last several months trying to work through the kinds, over the last several weeks trying to work through cease-fire agreements. the devil is always in the details of these kinds of

agreements. everybody understands that you have to look very carefully at the details to which you are agreeing. so there is no, while complicated, we were transparent and everybody, all sides were transparent about what the agreement was, and certainly hamas, according to these reports, is entirely responsible for upholding their end of the bargain and it's apparent that they did not do that. >> do you think you were able to get all the right people at the table? again, we just had the representative of mahmoud abbas here. he is supposedly the president of the coalition government there. it seems that certainly there are at least independent operatives on the ground, whether it's fatah or the anyhood or islamist jihad organization or the military wing of hamas. do you believe that right now you don't have enough sense of who's in control on that side of the conflict to negotiate anything? >> well, chris, these questions about the command and control structure of hamas had been raised before. the fact of the matter is, we

are dealing with both the palestinian political leadership, but also other regional partners that have influence over the military wing of hamas. so we do have a wide variety of voices at the table to make sure that everybody understands what everybody's agreeing to. and the fact of the matter is, there was a humanitarian cease-fire that was in place, that would have allowed the citizens of gaza, who have been caught in the cross-fire to emerge from their hiding places, to meet the needs of their families, to bury their dead in some cases, and to also provide an opportunity for israeli citizens who have also been living under the constant threat of rocket-fire from hamas to also sort of take a deep breath here, and it is rather unfortunate to say the least that somebody would use the cover of a humanitarian cease-fire to barbarically violate that cease-fire agreement, attack israeli soldiers and even to take one hostage. >> right now you know while it's

more complicated on the gaza side, the hamas side if you want to call it that, the palestinian side of what they want, you have a sole criterion on the israeli side of what it will take to even contemplate a future cease-fire or any type of negotiation, that's the return of their soldier, if one has been abducted, which seems to be the case from reporting on both sides. is the u.s. ready to call for that, to say return this soldier right now or we cannot help you? >> well, there is no question that hamas should return the soldier that they have taken hostage. that is unconditional and something that should happen immediately. >> no trade, no exchange, no barter, because we know where that leads and what happened last time, it leads to a lot of pain especially on the palestinian side. will the u.s. be forceful on this? >> let me say, chris, in no uncertain terms that soldier who has been taken hostage should be returned immediately, and we are going to be in touch, secretary kerry has already been in touch with the israeli prime minister to talk to him about next steps

in this process. we certainly will be working with our partners and the u.n. and other interested parties who have been a part of trying to broker this agreement about what the next steps are, but there should be no mistake that the israeli soldier who has reportedly been taken captive should be returned unharmed and immediately. >> josh, let me bring in wolf blitzer obviously. he's in jerusalem, has intense knowledge of what's going on, on the ground there and see what questions he has for you. wolf, please. good morning, wolf. >> thank you, chris. good morning, josh. did i hear you correctly, did you say that president obama has already been on the phone with prime minister netanyahu this morning? >> i said that secretary kerry from india has been on the phone with prime minister netanyahu already this morning to discuss next steps and you know, obviously we have, this is something that secretary kerry personally has been very involved with over the last several weeks. he's had many, many conversations with prime minister netanyahu. president obama has had a couple of them as well, but this is an open line of communication that

has been used very frequently to try to reach this agreement, and that was used again this morning. >> so what was the message that secretary kerry gave to prime minister netanyahu in moving forward right now? is it over with? is the fighting going to continue? can the human tare cease-fire be resumed? is there any hope right now? >> well, wolf, that telephone call was placed at the earliest reports that this cease-fire had been broken and this was primarily an opportunity for secretary kerry in the midst of fast-moving news reports to confer directly with the israeli prime minister about what exactly had happened. in terms of next steps we do and will continue to be in close touch with the israelis but also with others who are a party to this agreement, the united nations, the palestinian political leadership and the other regional partners to this agreement about what the next steps could possibly be, but again, wolf, this is a blatant,

barbaric violation of a cease-fire agreement and for someone who-to-use a humanitarian cease-fire agreement that is clearly in the humanitarian interests of innocent civilians on both sides in order to carry out an attack is a terrible thing, is worthy of the strongest condemnation from the united states, and it certainly deserves the strong condemnation of the international community. >> yesterday, the day before, too, you were very concerned that israel is not doing enough right now to protect innocent civilians. they could be doing more, and yesterday you also said that u.n. shelter was clearly destroyed by an israeli artillery shell or missile or whatever it was. are you still concerned that israel might not be doing enough to protect innocent palestinian civilians? >> well, wolf, the israeli government and the israeli military has a high standard for themselves, in terms of their commitment to carrying out military operations that show concern and respect and take precautions to avoid civilian

casualties. we encourage, we certainly have steadfastly defended israel's right to defend themselves and we would defend israel's right to respond to this barbaric violation of a cease-fire agreement. but that does not absolve israel and their military of taking, of living up to their own standards of protecting the lives of innocent civilians and that our urging that israel continue to meet those standards and do everything possible to live up to those high standards remains. >> josh, thanks very much. josh earnest is the white house press secretary. chris, i don't know if you have another question for josh, if you do, go ahead. >> josh we'll let you get to the important work the white house has in front of us. let us know if there's any progress at all, if there's any resumption of the cease-fire. thanks for joining us on "new day." >> thank you, gentlemen. >> you got all three sides of it covered there. israel saying we were allowed to be in the tunnels, this is how hamas responded, now we have to continue doing what we're doing,

it they continue the cease-fire if hamas seems to be divided and not coordinated in terms of what they understood about the cease-fire or what happened with the soldier. >> the ambassador is saying it might matter what side of the line that the israeli soldiers were on, which you asked josh about as well, but one thing is clear to all of us, the next few hours are going to be very important in what's going to happen on the ground is very uncertain at this moment though. we could see a huge escalation in the violence. we're going to be following this and right back. we're going to take a quick break. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age? [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin

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hey pal? you ready? can you pick me up at 6:30? ah... (boy) i'm here! i'm here! (cop) too late. i was gone for five minutes! ugh! move it. you're killing me. you know what, dad? i'm good. (dad) it may be quite a while before he's ready, but our subaru legacy will be waiting for him. (vo) the longest-lasting midsize sedan in its class. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. welcome back to "new day." more on our breaking news in the middle east. the possible capture of an israeli soldier apparently put an end to what was supposed to be a weekend of calm in the middle east. the israeli military says a suicide bomber targeted a group of israeli soldiers who were trying to clear one of these tunnels we keep hearing about, the bomber allegedly emerged from the tunnel in southern gaza before detonating and it's believed other militants took the soldier captive at that

point. >> israel responded with a deadly shelling in southern gaza for their part, a hamas spokesman says that he could not earlier this morning he said he could not confirm whether a soldier was captured, various palestinian officials that we've spoken with today say peace talks are still possible, but you have to believe that israel is in no mood, is in no position to even be open to negotiating peace while one of its own soldiers is possibly still missing. let's bring in karl penhaul who has been on the ground in gaza. karl, what did you see on the ground? >> kate, we're getting reports from the ground because right now access to southern gaza is extremely complicated, but around 9:30, that is one and a half hours into the cease-fire the palestinian colleague told me he just received a call from his wife and the israelis were shelling areas of rafa city in southern gaza on the border crossing with egypt. now it seems according to the

statement from the israeli military that this incident involving the capture of an israeli soldier took place around the same time. i'm not sure whether the shelling of areas of rafa was in response to that but that is what looks likely right now from our reporting. the palestinian health authority is telling us the shelling incident in rafa, israeli shells fell on a public market and the shells also fell close to the entrance of the hospital where the first wave of wounded were being taken to. le palestinian health authority tells us there are at least 35 people dead in hospital, and they say there may be more dead and wounded out there in the combat zone, they simply can't get to them. i say gatt zone they believe this shelling took place at a public market and the hospital

entrance. it is not clear and i've not heard from the israeli military if they did target that area deliberately and also if they did target that area, is that where perhaps they believe the militants had retreated to after the earlier fire fight at the kettm shah lom border crossing which is where we understand the fire fight between hamas militants and the israeli military occurred, that is about two locations about one mile apart, kate? >> do civilians understand the cease-fire for all intents and purposes is completely over, that violence is picking back up, because they might have gone to sleep and woken up thinking that the 72-hour cease-fire was put in place. >> no, i don't think that is happening. palestinians here have been waking up very early these last few days. they were aware a cease-fire had begun around 8:00 local time.

we saw several people heading back when we went toward eastern gaza to salvage some possessions from their homes, and then when we were in eastern gaza, we saw israeli tanks opening fire. we heard at least three or four tank shells being fired at buildings in eastern gaza. that was about two and a half hours into the cease-fire, and so already this incident further south in gaza was already under way. it was also interesting to hear one of your earlier guests, ambassador mansour talking about what exactly happened here. of course, we know that the cease-fire was due to be a cease-fire in place. we don't know, though, in fact where the location of the israeli soldiers was relative to the hamas militants in this tunnel. that's something we're trying to get from hamas and from authorities on the ground, kate? >> that would be an important detail, because as you said when i was peeking with the ambassador, that was an important point that he thought should be figured out as things continue to be weeded through.

karl penhaul on the ground in gaza, we'll get back to you. thanks so much. >> let's pick up that point, seems to be the key in understanding what may have just happened. peter buy art in, cnn political commentator and contributing editor for atlantic media and bobby gosch, managing editor of quartz. you heard karl penhaul, things were going on underground while he was aboveground seeing what now we believe was a response by israeli military to what had happened in a tunnel. this is the terms of the cease-fire according to secretary kerry. this is the important clause, israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for tunnels behind its lines. what does that mean to you, peter buy art in? >> well, it's possible, i mean there are two sberpss here. one of them is that this message, there was ambiguity and on the ground this ambiguity led to this conflict between hamas

militants and israeli soldiers. the other interpretation is that hamas was just not abiding by the cease-fire. hamas is acting in a reckless way. i think hamas' behavior throughout the conflict has been somewhat reckless. they have their back against the wall. the palestinian people are not pressuring them it appears to force them to stop this escalation, and they may have felt they were not going to get anything out of the negotiations that were coming up in egypt and so they might as well take this very, very reckless and very, very dangerous action. >> but isn't this something, bobby, that would have been really parsed/negotiated by the parties at the table, what this means, what is a defensive operation, what does this mean behind the lines, or do you think this is something that wasn't understood or left to interpretation? >> i would be surprised if it was not understood. the parties at the table are not the fighters. the parties at the table first of all is not even hamas directly. it's proxies like qatar and

turkey, and that has always given hamas a certain plausible deniability. they've always been in a position to say we didn't agree to that, it was turkey that agreed. that gives them a lot of plausible deniabldeniablity. the moment john kerry said this on television, the tunnel clearance would be allowed whether it's behind or in front of the current israeli lines, everybody in gaza would have heard that sentence, and would have understood what that means, because no one, obviously no one is paying closer attention to every word, no one is parsing every word more closely thanh the people of gaza. they would have known it >> if that's true, let's go on bobby's assumption, that means that hamas fighters or whoever was in the tunnel, if the reports are to be believed did the one thing that they knew would take peace off the table as far as israel is concerned, taking one of their soldiers. they knew this because of what happened with shalib in the

past. fair point. >> whoever decided to do this, people on the ground or people higher up, it was a terrible crime against their own people. their people are suffering catastrophically already and now it's going to get so dramatically worse and there is no way in which you can argue, i think, plausibly that this move is going to have any positive outcome for the palestinian people. that's what makes this so, so awful. >> and we also see clear indications this morning that even looking at mahmoud abbas' representative to the u.n., and the spokesperson for hamas that we had on, they're giving different versions what have they thought was supposed to happen and what they think should happen going forward. how do you negotiate peace when one side of the table doesn't seem to understand itself very well, where does that leave the u.s.? very pressing questions. we'll take them on, bobby, peter, stay with us. we'll take a quick break and be back in a second.

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following breaking news throughout the morning coming out of the middle east, first other breaking news here at home because this is something everyone cares about every month, the july jobs report has just come out, the u.s. economy

added 209,000 jobs in the month of july, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.2%, that's up from 6.1% in the month of june. the monthly job numbers just coming out. wanted to make sure we got that to you. let's head back to our major story of the morning we're following, the breaking news out of the middle east. we bring wolf blitzer right back in for us on the grouped nd in israel. wolf, you've been getting the side from israel throughout the morning, the israeli government and you've seen it as what's happened this morning in gaza as a game changer. remind our viewers why what is going on right now is such a game changer. >> well, the israelis say it was a tough decision to accept the 72-hour cease-fire. there were a lot of members of the prime minister's cabinet who didn't want a cease-fire. they wanted to continue the military operations, not only going after tunnels but hamas rockets and missiles, other weapons. they didn't want to stop. they thought they had a good

opportunity to deal with this issue militarily, and in the end the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, the defense minister agreed, the security cabinet agreed they accepted the cease-fire was supposed to go into effect at 8:00 a.m. this morning and did go into effect for an hour, hour and a half. if you believe the israeli version of what happened after that by 9:30 there was this incident inside one of those tunnels and two israeli soldiers were killed, one israeli soldier was captured, lieutenant was captured and the israelis immediately stepped up their military action in the area around rafa. palestinians say 40 or 50 were killed in a marketplace, rockets came into southern israel, at least eight or nine from hamas launchers in gaza. that cease-fire is gone. if they have an israeli soldier and the israelis believe they have an israeli soldier, they identified the soldier's name,

the israelis are going to do, they're going to go through that whole area and look for that soldier. they're going to try to capture and find that israeli soldier and bring him back to israel. it's going to be a tough military campaign. they tried that once before years ago and hamas had other israeli soldier captured, taken through a tunnel into israel, gilad shalit, who was held by the hamas militants for five years, eventually he was freed as part of the intricate exchange more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners released for gilad shalit now back in israel. it's a sensitive issue for israelis and i'm sure in the next several hours there will be sfwens fighting goi intense fighting going on. >> it was surprising to hear when we had the palestinian ambassador to the u.n., riyad mansour, he said they are ready to work towards another cease-fire for their part they're ready to continue these talks to go to cairo to have these negotiations even though i

made very clear to him it doesn't seem like it's possible at all for a cease-fire to be in place at this point. does that surprise you or does that just show how complex and difficult those situation is developing? >> i'm sure riyad mansour, the palestinian ambassador to the united nations and other palestini palestinians do want a cease-fire. if it were up to them the cease-fire would be honored and probably there are political elements of hamas who really do want a cease-fire as well. the question is, and it's worthy of consideration, the armed wing of hamas, are they ready for a cease-fire? are they ready to live up to the terms that were carefully negotiated by the u.n. secretary-general, the secretary of state, working with egypt, working with turkey, working with qatar, working with other interested parties, is that armed wing ready to honor a cease-fire, the israelis say absolutely not and they're going to continue their military

operations as a result. so whereas the political leadership may be ready for it, maybe the military leadership if you listen to the israelis, they're not. >> wolf, do you think it matters? had we might be parsing into this, but secretarier can are i had said in his statement in announcing this cease-fire and kind of the elements of it, that israel could continue its defensive operations in destroying these tunnels behind its lines. do you think the line matters? do you think that matters at all in how things played out and who instigated this escalation? >> i think it's a sensitive issue. the secretary of state in his public comments while he was in india, he's in new delhi, he spelled out what israel is allowed to do defensively, as opposed to what it's not allowed to do offensively. none of that was included in the public written statement carefully drafted and released by the united nations.

they said israel could keep its troops in place, but they didn't go through the offensive versus defensive and there could have been some miscommunications, some misunderstandings, if you will. i was worried at the time when i heard the secretary elaborate on what wasn't in the official document, and it raised questions in my mind, is this thing really going to work. >> that's an important point especially from your perspective. you covered this so many times before. wolf, thank you so much. wolf blitzer continuing coverage for us on the ground in israel. wolf, we'll get right back to you. we'll take another break and be right back to our breaking news coverage out of the middle east, cease-fire, 72-hour cease-fire between israel and gaza over. [ man ] cortana, when my wife calls remind me to tell her happy anniversary. [ 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.

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while we are grateful that the violence and bloodshed has the opportunity to stop for more than 24 hours, it is up to the parties, all of them, to take advantage of this moment. s there are no guarantees. >> certainly pressing words by secretary kerry, not about the fact that a cease-fire would last 72 hours, but that there were no guarantees. >> and it was just such a short time ago that he made this announcement in the overnight hours here on the east coast that he made this anoungsment much more optimistic though he was very cautious as he should be announcing the 72-hour cease-fire and we well know at this point it is all over. >> as we give you to carol

costello on "newsroom" remember the one line from the provisions of the cease-fire from secretary kerry, "israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for tunnels behind its lines." what was that supposed to mean? how was it interpreted. >> and what does it mean now? let's continue breaking news coverage and get you over to "newsroom" with carol costello. >> thanks a lot. hello, have a great day. "newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, i'm carol costello. i'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we begin this hour in the middle east at a potential game changer unfolding as we speak. cease-fire between israel and hamas lasts only minutes and the violence threatens to surge to a whole new level. gaza says dozens of people are

killed when massive israeli air strike pulverize this residential area and a market. hamas says the attack was unprovoked and israel shatters the truce just 90 minutes into a 72-hour agreement that washington helped broker. israel says it was hamas that broke the cease-fire just minutes earlier, a suicide bomber emerged from a militant tunnel and detonated among israeli troops, and most ominous of all, israel says one of its soldiers was kidnapped during the attack. as you can see from these huge plumes of smoke erupting this morning over gaza, israel is retaliating with ferocious air strikes. >> there's a price to pay for abducting an israeli soldier as well, and they're going to pay a very heavy price. >> as bad as it's been -- >> you ain't seen nothing yet. >> correspondents and guests are covering all the