end in one hour from now. alisyn, these are major, major breaking story. >> indeed, they are, wolf. our coverage of both the crisis in iraq and in israel and gaza continues with rosemary church at the cnn center in atlanta. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> thanks for joining us for this special coverage here on cnn. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm errol barnett. rosemary and i will be here for the next three hours as we wait for developments on two major breaking story, one of them possible new u.s. intervention in iraq. >> one iraqi in the area cried to the world, there is no one coming to help. well, today america is coming to help. >> just a few hours ago u.s. prix barack obama gives the go-ahead to drop humanitarian

aid and tens of thousands of people who are being driven from their homes and starved to death by isis militants. he's aiming to help them and also opened the door for possible air strikes in the hours and days to come. >> and the other breaking news story, israel claims hamas has broken a humanitarian cease-fire just hours before it was slated to end. hamas denies that. cnn's john vause and matthew chance are in the region and we will be joining them live to see if the violence erupts again and what this could mean for any hope of long-term peace. >> yeah, we're using all of cnn's global resources to give you full coverage on these two major stories. we begin with that announcement from u.s. president barack obama which for many came as a surprise late thursday as it took place. the u.s. president saying he has targeted air strikes in iraq. >> late thursday the president

said the air strikes would be launched only if necessary to protect american personnel and help iraqi forces battling isis militants. we have nothing to indicate that any of these air strikes are actually under way at this point. >> yeah, mr. obama's announcement came as the united states conducts an air lift mission to drop humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of refugees like the ones you're seeing here in northern iraq. the air drop is to help minority drops facing possible starvation and slaughter by the sunni muslim extremists, we're speaking of isis, those militants. thousands of families of them are trapped and don't have food, they don't have water. the summer heat, as well, is intense and they have no shelter. >> when we face a situation like we do on that mountain with innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale, when we have a

mandate to help in this case a request from the iraqi government and when we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then i believe the united states of america cannot turn a blind eye. we can act carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide. that's what we're doing on that mountain. and, therefore, i've authorized targeted air strikes as they fight to break the siege of mt. sinjar and help the trapped civilians there. >> isis has made such dramatic gains in such a short amount of time it was just last weekend when extremists stormed sinjar and that forced members of the ancient religion there, they had nothing else to do except flee to the mountain. >> others are fleeing to erbil where the u.s. says 180,000 people have arrived in the past

couple of days. more now from ivan watson. >> reporter: they flee anywhere they can, packed in trucks and cars, some of them moving on foot carrying their babies' cradles over their shoulders. thousands of iraqi families seeking sanctuary in iraq's kurdish north fleeing islamic militants. "we're afraid of the islamic says" says taibi. they say they're muslims but they don't act like must littles. they attack everyone, christians, even our prophet's grave isn't safe. her family has been hurt by the isis militants. my brother was a simple man who had a grocery store selling vegetables. she said. two months ago they killed him with three bullets. the exodus sparked by an offensive by the militants who captured towns from the kurds located only 35 miles away from

irbi. 200,000 civilians are on the run. so where will all these people go? this is where the first wave of fleeing civilians is coming to. unfinished buildings part of the construction boom that iraq's kurdistan region has been enjoying. now serving as a temporary shelter for hundreds, thousands of families that really don't have a plan of where to go. look at this little child here. 6-month-old katham is far too young to know what's happening. his mother said her family fled after fighting and what appeared to be iraqi air strikes damaged houses near her home wednesday night. these families showed up with little more than the clothes on their backs. you guys, no water, no food. >> no water, no food. nothing. >> reporter: nothing. >> nothing, anything. >> reporter: around sunset some kurds arrived distributing some food and water for these desperate people.

this help appreciated but also add hoc. this new wave of homeless people will clearly need much, much more in the days ahead. and the kurds may be far too busy defending their homeland from the islamist militants who are knocking at their gate. ivan watson, erbil, cnn. >> they raise important questions. how vulnerable is this u.s. humanitarian mission to isis ground fighters in iraq who have gained quite dramatic amounts of ground just this year? could the militants shoot down an american military plane involved in the air lift? our jonathan mann spoke to rick francona. >> been a lot of equipment taken from the iraqi army and although we don't believe they have acquired any air defense capability above, say, 17,000

feet, we're really not sure what they may have taken from the syrians and isis has shown themselves to be very effective about moving things between what was syria and iraq and beefing up their forces where they need to be so this is going to be -- have to be a well-planned and well-executed operation if it's going to work. >> all right. well, let's get some answers to these questions. joining me is former cia operative robert baer. bob, thanks for joining us. we know these humanitarian drops have already took place and now we're waiting for what the u.s. president says are possible air strikes only to protect u.s. citizens but what is the risk level here both for the u.s. and for civilians on the ground? >> well, the risk level is enormous because right now any air operations in that part of iraq have got to be a high altitude. isis for one has taken stinger missiles from the iraqi army stored at camp spiker.

they are presumably operational and if you can get in a flight pattern, you can probably hit up to 20,000 feet with one of those, i'm told. they also have possibility that they got sa-11s from syria, as you know, the same aircraft system that brought down the malay airliner over ukraine and don't have forward observers in the area to hit targets so you're shooting in the blind and the united states is not equipped for an air war in iraq right now. it would take months and months to gin one up. >> even if these as the u.s. president claims they will be targeted aerial attacks, there are real concerns for retaliatory attacks by isis in addition to what you've just mentioned and have armored vehicles they were able to take from kurdish forces recently and we don't know where their anti-aircraft weapons are if they do have them so as we look at not just isis capabilities but the terrain and the

possibility that any action now could make things worse? >> well, this is an irrational group and i don't mean to be alarmist on this but the mosul dam is an enormous threat to iraq. if isis would let the water out it's capable of channeling toward baghdad in the shia south and could have hundreds of thousands of casualties by flooding. i have no idea, of course, whether they're planning that but it's a capability and something the u.s. military studied because in 1995 saddam completed a system to close the locks off in the sunni areas and flood the shia south. are these people capable of it? you know, based on what i've seen, yes. >> let's talk more about the dam because that's, this was also a major victory for these isis militants. they were battling kurdish forces back and forth at one point and have used dams before previously to gape a tactical advantage even with negotiations and the u.s. president saying

erbil and baghdad are places where the u.s. would act if its interests are threatened. how many cards, how much leverage does isis have right now. >> it has enormous leverage in the sense it's a capable military organization. it has a lot of former republican guards, saddam's republican guards, you know, controlling the battlefield, doing the training. it has armor. it has night vision goggles which were seized from the iraqi army. it's well equipped, capable fighting force and mind you the intelligence on isis is very bad. this came as a surprise to the united states. it took mosul so quickly. it came as a surprise to the united states, it was able to defeat the kurds of another capable force and it even surprised the kurds. i'm in touch with them. i to that. we'll take this back in a week, they said and, in fact, they didn't. >> i think that's what makes this all so interesting is that, you know, isis has surprised just about everyone.

at one point they were described as ragtag militants but by now they've proven to be much more so. we'll certainly continue to speak with you in the days ahead. bob baer joining us from california california, our national security analyst. >> thanks. >> let's turn to another story, the 72-hour cease-fire between israel and hamas. >> we've been watching this uneasily each day wondering if it would continue and now the cease-fire is meant to end now in less than an hour. israel says hamas broke the truce just a few hours ago but hamas is denying that. let's go ahead and show you live pictures of the israeli/gaza border. no signs of any israel response. their military announced via twitter that two rockets were fired from gaza and said that essentially breaks the cease-fire but we haven't seen retaliation. earlier the military would say it would resume phiing at the end of the truce but not before

if its key demands aren't met. those demands should israel opening border crossings and a seaport among others. >> all right, well our john vause joins us live from gaza city and matthew chance is in jerusalem. thanks to both of you for chatting with us at this point. nour, john, want to start with you in gaza. we don't yet know if this is just isolated rocket fire all hoe it does look that way at this point but we do know that hamas is denying responsibility. this is a vegas of the cease-fire, isn't it? but they haven't responded militarily yet. what could be israel's next move? >> reporter: well, i guess we're waiting to find out exactly who fired those rockets and what we have seen in the past when the cease-fire has come to an end, when it's all unraveled, hamas has often fired more longer-range missiles directly at tel aviv to make a statement that the cease-fire is over. these are fairly short-range

rockets which were launched into southern israel so maybe that makes a difference here. we know that hamas has denied firing it saying this is just media reports coming out of israel to try and confuse the situation. islamic jihad, another militant group in gaza which also fires rockets into israel, no claim of responsibility coming from them but, rosemary, we know that the negotiations in cairo at least as far as hamas were concerned were not going well. they had those demands on the table. they want the economic blockade ended and the borders to be re-opened and want a seaport and they were saying those negotiations were essentially not up for discussion and unless israel was prepared maybe not to agree to them by 8:00 this morning but at least move towards some kind of progress, then this cease-fire, this 72-hour humanitarian lull was going to come to an end and that's about what, 50 minute as way from now. so, yes, there has been a violation of the cease-fire. at the moment we don't know exactly what happened.

but the cease-fire was looking pretty shaky anyway that it wasn't going to be extended, rosemary. >> that's right and, matthew, want to go to you. you, of course, have been covering these talks in cairo between the israeli delegation and palestinians and not face-to-face but mediated by the egyptians and those talks as we've heard from john, they don't appear to have achieved much so far, do they? with both sides calling for such different outcomes, is there any hope of peace in the short term and we can't definitely can't talk in long term at this point? >> no, if there's going to be a permanent cease-fire and end of hostilities in the latest round of fighting there has to come -- has to come with a political settlement and that's been the big problem. that's why these parties have gone to cairo to engage in these indirect negotiations. but they've both come at the negotiations from very different perspectives. from an israeli point of view it's almost like the cease-fire is the end in itself. you know, that's what they want. an end to any rocket fire into

israeli territory and into the tunnel building but for the palestinian side, for hamas anticipate the other militant groups represented in cairo, they see the cease-fire as a means to an end. they're not continued to prepare this hiatus unless they get some kind of concessions from israel. we talked about them, a lifting of the blockade of the gaza strip, the economic blockade to allow goods and services in and, you know, lifting of the borders, an easing of the border restrictions to allow people a free flow in and out into egypt and israel, as well. it doesn't seem at the moment and it hasn't seemed the case all along from when these began that the two sides are able to find a compromised position. john was mentioning the cease-fire ends in 45 minutes. these two rockets fired into gaza obviously prematurely came at about 70 hours into the cease-fire. hamas essentially distancing themselves from that and as he was emphasizing, there's been no

israeli response militarily on the ground to those rocket attacks but i have to say the israeli military are poised on the edge of the gaza strip to go in, if the order is given, they've got a lot of troops and a lot of tanks and armor on the edge of the gaza strip in defensive positions as they call it ready to go back in when the order is given. >> clearly both sides very much on edge. john, going back to you, of course, the palestinians they're not speaking with one voice here, are they? we've heard from chief negotiator saeb erakat and wants to see it extended but hamas wants its demands met first before anything happens. what does that say about the negotiating position of the palestinians and the likely outcome here? >> well, we've seen from the palestinians over the last couple of days talking about unity, that the party that saeb erakat negotiator represent, the party of the palestinian

authority president mahmoud abbas, they essentially are in control of the west bank and seen as being more moderate. you have hamas, islamic jihad, so there are many factions here and they do have competing interests and competing aims. there was some talk though they were united in their demands but clearly that is not the case so there is divisions within the palestinians and hamas has tried to build up this image that they are unified. they want everybody to try and talk essentially or sing from the same song sheet, if you like, interest those negotiations but there are divisions. the one thing i will say if there is an israeli response, just getting back to matthew's point about the troops along the border. it would seem unlikely at this stage that israeli troops will be coming back into gaza. that's always a possibility and they are there and they are in those defensive positions but if there to be an israeli response, the initial response we will see will actually come from the air or it might come from off the coast with those israeli

gunboats still in place so i think the israelis would be reluctant to put troops back on the ground in gaza. they did that because there was a tunnel operation underway. i think if there is a response and the cease-fire all unravels in 40 minutes from now, israel will respond with air power. rosemary. >> many thanks to our john vause joining us live and matthew chance live there from jerusalem. and, of course, errol, this is the situation, we're 40 minutes away from the end of this 72-hour truce. no sign from cairo of any extension of this truce beyond this. it's a very -- they're on a hair trigger is there that's what makes these hours ahead so tense because any small -- even if these rocket fire wasn't from hamas it could trigger a response and anything could happen over the next few hours. stay with us on cnn. we'll take a very short break and next back to the top story, the u.s. already starts dropping

humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing isis militants in iraq and this comes after a desperate plea from iraq at the u.n. we'll look at the u.n.'s role in this deepening crisis next here on cnn. stay with us. i make a lot of purchases for my business.

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♪ ♪ abe! get in! punch it! let quicken loans help you save your money. with a mortgage that's engineered to amaze! thanks, g. welcome back. president obama saying a humanitarian mission is under way in northern iraq. >> mr. obama has also authorized targeted air strikes but only if

necessary to protect american personnel and help iraqi forces battling isis militants. worth pointing out too, there is no indication at this point that any air strikes are actually under way. >> yeah, we're waiting to hear and see if that does take place in these next few hours. the humanitarian mission is to air lift aid to tens of thousands of people in northern iraq who are facing possible starvation and slaughter by sunni muslim extremists. many of them are forced to flee to mountaintops. the yazidis are the latest victims of isis' control over the country. wolf blitzer spoke with b barsim -- >> on august 6th, the isis suddenly showed up because -- we're from the sin jjar region d

they just defend themself until the last minute. to protect the kids to get in the mountains. some made it. some they died on the way and hundreds of the kids got killed because of the hits like about 120 degrees and it was very hot and the severe situation, so in the last couple days we tried to raise awareness in the united states and europe trying to see if there is any way we can send humanitarian aid to the mountains and also thousands of the yazidi females been kidnapped and right now there is like -- being raped by those insurgency group and we'd like to spate our message from the united states and would like to thank the american people and the u.s. government and the obama administration which will conduct several meetings today

in washington, d.c., our start movement was from lincoln, nebraska and other states like texas and ontario, canada, coming to the d.c. and we know that the u.s. is the mother of the nation, that the only path -- >> can't emphasize enough in this situation, you've got people isolated. the top of that mountain, isis down below. they can't come down. there's no food, no water. it's really hot. >> extremely hot. >> 120 degrees fahrenheit. >> then, of course, you have a situation there where the u.s. is dropping humanitarian food and -- >> which is just a solution for now. >> but the problem is on the ground, you have isis, they can move in and take that and so there's been some people who suggested at the same time the air strikes should be taking place now. >> they very well might be in the next few hours. not just the yazidi community suffering but christians there and sunni and shia, anyone who

disagrees with isis' extremist agenda and for these reasons, the u.n., of course, is closely watching developments inside iraq. >> yeah, and the security council delivered a message to isis militants. here's richard roth. >> reporter: it was an angry security council that reacted to further offensive movements by isil in northern iraq as thousands flee, many pinned down on a mountainside. the security council issued a statement to the media expressing sharp criticism about isil and its tactics. >> the members of the security council condemn in the strongest term s the systemic persecution of those from minority populations and those who refuse the ideology of isil and associated armed groups. >> reporter: the security council said all armed groups including isil should obey international humanitarian law however isil is not exactly a u.n. member state and certainly

is disobeying all proclamations from the united nations. the focus getting humanitarian assistance to those badly in need, iraq's ambassador here appreciative of all international support and described the urgency of the situation. >> very grave in terms of humanitarian issues, very quickly in terms of humanitarian issues because these are really what it is. there are a lot of people are really moving into the mountains and need to help them quickly, especially women and children and all people and these are the things that we need at priority one right now. >> reporter: they're in need of equipment and logistics. they're working on a stronger resolution, target isil. richard roth, cnn, the united nations. >> and we will, of course, continue to follow the developments there on the ground in iraq. >> yeah, we did hear richard and some other u.n. officials refer to them as isil. we're saying isis. it's two different translations for the same group. they call themselves the islamic state.

the other breaking story of huge interest, the cease-fire almost over but israel and hamas seen no closer to reaching a long-term peace deal. we'll look at the significance of israel's blockade of gaza to these negotiations. you're watching cnn's global resources at work. stay with us. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ alex ] transamerica helped provide a lifetime of retirement income. so i can focus on what matters most. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. purina dog chow light & healthy everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy.

take a look here. everyone waiting to see if israel will respond to what it says is a violation of the truce. hamas already denied that it broke the cease-fire and as we watch as this camera moves, there doesn't appear to be anything happening at this moment. a little bit of a shaky signal there but we'll continue to watch this and connect with our correspondents all over the region as we watch this developing story. >> only half an hour away but

that needs to be extended and there's no progress at this point with those talks. no face-to-face talks. we've got the mediators, the egyptians in between trying to forge some sort of extension here but we're not seeing it at this point. we've got 30 minutes and hopefully we will have some progress but the lifting of israel's blockade of gaza is, of course, a key demand of the palestinians in order to extend that cease-fire, paula hancocks explains the huge impact the block cade is having on the people of gaza and why israel has been so reluctant to lift it. >> the blockade has been in place with varying levels of enforcement since hamas took complete control of gaza in 2007. both egypt and israel sealed their borders with the territories restricting the movement of goods and people. access to fishing areas and essentially creating an environment of economic and humanitarian hardship for civilians there. here is what that looks like.

very few are allowed into israel. the majority of people are allowed to cross the border are extreme humanitarian or medical cases. food and medicine are allowed into gaza, but most construction supplies are not. israel is concerned that supplies like cement will once again be used by hamas to build tunnels ultimately civilians pay the price. they're unable to rebuild their home, businesses or their schools. and, of course, that does have a ripple effect. without businesses there are fewer jobs, the u.n. says the unemployment rate in gaza was more than 40% this year, more than double the rate of 2000. exports from gaza to the west bank and israel are also banned with occasional exceptions. now, israel prohibit sea and air access to gaza and fishermen can only fish in three of the nautical miles of wears off its coast. fuel shortages, a damaged power plant have rendered sanitation

systems inoperable. a u.n. fact-finding mission concluded in 2011 the blockade was unlawful. well, israel defends its rights to protect its borders. paula hancocks, cnn, atlanta. >> all right. a quick break now but still to come on our special coverage, u.s. president obama outlines his plan in iraq. if you missed it we have got his full statement just ahead.

welcome back, everyone. we have this continuing special coverage on cnn. i'm errol barnett. >> i'm rosemary church. two breaking stories out of the

middle east. >> president obama said he authorized targeted air strikes in iraq but to be launched only if necessary to protect american personnel and help iraqi forces battling isis militants. mr. obama says a u.s. humanitarian mission is now under way to air drop aid to tens of thousands of people fleeing those militants in northern iraq. some of whom are currently stuck on a mountaintop. israel's military says a 72-hour cease-fire with hamas has been broken. a few hours before it was supposed to end. the military says two rockets were fired into southern israel from gaza with no casualties or damage. hamas denies it broke the truce which is due to end in less than 30 minutes. it is quiet, though. we need to say that. the military wing of hamas has said it would resume fighting if its key demappeds are not met. >> all right. back to the iraq -- the breaking news as it relates to iraq.

u.s. president obama made that announcement late thursday from the white house. it came as a surprise to some on capitol hill because congress is now on holiday for five weeks, the u.s. president is set to go on holiday expecting a quiet end to the week, not so. >> of course, it comes too amid an escalating humanitarian crisis as iraqis flee sunni muslim extremists and if you missed the speech here it is in its entirety. >> today i authorized two operations in iraq, targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death. let me explain the actions we're taking and why. first, i said in june as the terrorist group isil began an advance across iraq that the united states would be prepared to take targeted military action in iraq if and when

when we determined the situation required it. in recent days, these terrorists have continued to move across iraq and have neared the city f irbil where american diplomats and civilians serve in the consulate and personnel advice iraqi forces. to stop advance on irbil, i directed the military to take targeted strikes against isil terrorist convoys should they move toward the city. we intend to stay vigilant and take action if these terrorist forces threaten our personnel or facilities anywhere in iraq, including our consulate in irbil and embassy in baghdad. we're providing assistance to iraqi government and kurdish forces so they can wage the fight against isil. second, at the request of the iraqi government, we've begun operations to help save iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain.

as isil has marched across iraq, it has waged a ruthless campaign against innocent iraqis and the terrorists have been barbaric against religio religious factions, yazidis and countless iraqis have been displaced and chilling reports describe isis militants rounding up families, conducting mass executions and slaying yazidi women. in recent days, the women, men, and children from sinjar have fled for their lives and thousands, perhaps tens of thousands are hiding high up on the mountain with little but the clothes on their backs. they are without food, they are without water, people are starving and children are dying of thirst. meanwhile, isil forces below have called for the systemic destruction of the entire yazidi people which would conte statute genocide. so these innocent families are faced with a horrible choice, descend the mountain and be

slaughtered or stay and slowly die of the thirst and hunger. now, i've said before, the united states cannot and should not intervene every time there is a crisis in the world. so let me be clear why we must act and act now. when we face a situation like we do on that mountain with innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale, when we have a mandate to help, in this case a request from the iraqi government, and when we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then i believe the united states of america cannot turn a blind eye. we can act carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide. that's what we're doing on that mountain. i, therefore, authorized targeted air strikes if necessary to help forces in iraq as they fight to break the siege on mt. sinjar and protect the civilians trapped there. already american aircraft have

begun conducting humanitarian air drops of food and water to help these desperate men, women and children survive. earlier this week, one iraqi in the area cried to the world, "there is no one coming to help." well, today america is coming to help. we're also consulting with other countries and the united nations who have called for action to address this humanitarian crisis. i know that many of you are rightly concerned about any american military action in iraq, even limited strikes like these. i understand that. i ran for this office in part to end our war in iraq and welcome our troops home, and that's what we've done. as commander in chief, i will not allow the united states to be dragged into fighting another war in iraq, and so even as we support iraqis as they take the fight to these terrorists, american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq because there is no american military solution to the larger crisis in iraq. the only lasting solution is

reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forces. however, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq, so even as we carry out these two missions, we will continue to pursue a broader strategy that empowers iraqis to confront this crisis. iraqi leaders need to come together and forge a new government that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis and they can fight back against the threats of isil. iraqis have named a new president, a new speaker of parliament and are speaking consensus on a new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorists who prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible

suffering or instability and so we'll continue to work with our friends and allies to help refugees get the shelter and food and water they so desperately need and to help iraqis push back against isil. the several hundred american advisors that i ordered to iraq will continue to assess what more we can do to help train, advise and support iraqi forces going forward. and just as i consulted congress on the decisions i made today, we will continue to do so going forward. my fellow americans, the world is confronted by many challenges, and while america has never been able to right every wrong, america has made the world a more secure and prosperous place. and our leadership is necessary to underright the global security and prosperity or children and grandchildren will depend on. we do so by adhering to a set of core principles. we do whatever is necessary to

protect our people. we support our allies when they are in danger. we lead coalitions of countries to uphold international norms, and we strive to stay true to the fundamental values, the desire to live with basic freedom and dignity that is common to human beings wherever they are. that's why people all over the world look to the united states of america to lead them, and that's why we do. so let me close by assuring you that there is no decision that i take more seriously than the use of military force. over the last several years, we have brought the vast majority of our troops home from iraq and afghanistan, and i have been careful to resist calls to turn time and again to our military because america has other tools in our arsenal than our military. we can also lead with the power of our diplomacy, our economy, and our ideals, but when the lives of american citizens are at risk, we will take action. that's my responsibility as commander in chief, and when

many thousands of innocent civilians are faced with the danger of being wiped out and we have the capacity to do something about it, we will take action. that is our responsibility as americans. that's a hallmark of american leadership. that's who we are. so, tonight we give thanks to our men and women in uniform, especially our brave pilots and crews over iraq for protecting our fellow americans and saving the lives of so many men, women and children that they will never meet. they represent american leadership at their best. as a nation we should be proud of them and our country's commitment to uphold our own security and the dig of our fellow human beings. god bless our armed forces and god bless the united states of america. >> president obama's full speech there from just a few hours ago and for more on the situation in iraq we want to turn to retired

lieutenant general mark heardling, former xhapder of a task force in northern iraq and voyages us via skype from orlando, florida. thanks for talking with us. we're seeing this two-pronged effort now, respect we from the united states, the humanitarian air drops which have been did done and now the threat of targeted air strikes. they haven't as far as we know taken place as of yet and they will only take place, we hear, from president obama if isis threatens american personnel in irbil. how successful do you think it will and should the air strikes have been conducted at the same time as the air drops to make sure isis doesn't get their hands on this aid? >> i think certainly the air drops have been protected by close air support. that was stated by the department of defense this afternoon. they didn't have to strike but there certainly was aircraft

protecting those drops. in terms of simultaneity, he's protecting lives and the consulate in irbil. that's priority number one to assure american lives are protected but at the same time the second part of this equation and very complex situation is to stop a genocide and that's what these -- this two-pronged effort is doing. the strikes wouldn't be necessary if -- thlgs a genocide was taking place or unless it was at places where u.s. forces were. >> all right. well, let's get a better sense now of what the u.s. is actually dealing with. earlier we spoke with a jihadi who works to improve the political process and explains why he believes isis has been so successful. let's just listen.

>> they reason they're so successful up until al qaeda focusing on spectacular terrorist attacks, isis went for territory and recruited to their senior ranks the generals who lost their jobs and their roles and positions once saddam hussein was overthrown and joined isis and decided to put at the disposal all of the military expertise they gained and that's why you see what they've effectively behaving like a regular army and seizing territory at lightning speed but the ideology they're using to do that is al qaeda's ideology. >> so, general, what do you say to that and how does the u.s. respond to recruited bathist generals and it goes beyontz al qaeda, it's more brutal. they've been rejected by al qaeda, haven't they?

>> let me break that down a couple of ways, rosemary. first of all, this is nothing new and what many have been saying since the attack by isis into the various provinces in iraq. we knew this was happening. they -- it was a marriage of convenience with a lot of different groups, not only baathist generals but sunni-related tribes and when we were in northern iraq we counted over 127 tribes that were in the northern territory so all of these have bones to pick with the maliki government as the president said in his speech tonight, that government is gradually changing and it's appealing more to the loyalty of the people. it was not doing that several weeks ago. we're beginning to see a few years of neglect by the government on caring for its people so, of course, the old baathists, saddam supporers are coming along with isis but truthfully i think you'll start

seeing pretty good splits between those organizations because isis is so brutal. they are murdering people. they are taking young children and i think even as bad as some of saddam's generals were, they wouldn't go that far. so i don't think they completely knew what they were buying into. all they knew is this was an opportunity to overthrow the maliki government in baghdad and as the president said that government is starting to change. i think you'll see some of these old generals start to break away after they see the terrorists and the extreme movements of isis as well as the changes in in the central government in baghdad. >> general mark hertling, thanks for joining us. we certainly appreciate it. all right. we will take a short break now but next here on our special coverage with the cease-fire about to expire, hamas denies firing two rockets from gaza into israel. we're looking at live pictures and head live to gaza city and

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and garden veggie flavors. friskies grillers. the truce is supposed to end in just under ten minutes and israel says it was broken early by hamas but hamas denies that. >> let's check in on gaza city to get a view of things at the moment. and as we listen closely, you know, things do appear calm as you can see. these are live pictures coming into cnn. israel's military says two rockets were fired from gaza into israel just a few hours before this truce is scheduled to end. so far there's no specific claim of who fired those rockets. we do have a denial from hamas. once again now we're joined live by john vause in gaza city. matthew chance in! jerusalem. here we go, ticking through the last few minutes as the

cease-fire ends for both of you, any new information just jump in but, matthew, i want to start with you. israel was the first to claim it was broken but with no proof it was hamas what's the real significance there? some claiming on the other side it's kind of a negotiating ploy. >> well, i think the israeli position is that any rockets that are fired from the gaza strip and there were two fired there from there three hours ago are the responsibility of hamas, hamas is the palestinian group that's in control of the gaza government and so as far as the israeli government is concerned no matter what palestinian faction fired the rockets and there are numerous factions to undertake that activity as far as israel is concerned hamas is responsible. interesting that hamas statement though coming out basically not specifically denying it was them that fired the rockets but distancing themselves from the fact that these rockets were fired. israeli reports aimed at

confusing the situation and so they're certainly not taking responsibility for those rocket attacks, errol. >> over to john in gaza city. the militant wing of hamas is not the only group there. if it wasn't hamas who was it, why would they do it? >> reporter: well, that's a good question, it could have been islamic jihad. they certainly had the capability to fire them into israel. it could have been a group within one of those islamic organizations that may have been freelancing, that didn't get the memo, if you like, that decided that they would fire those short-range missiles into israel. one thing we should say, matthew is right. it's not an outright denial by hamas. they didn't come out and say not us, but what we have seen in the past and certainly in the context here of when the cease-fires have unraveled, hamas has not been shy in claiming responsibility for anything which has been fired from gaza towards israel and

usually in those instances what we have seen more long-range missiles fired at a symbolic target like tel aviv, for instance, a define tiff statement if you like by hamas that whatever cease-fire was on the table, whatever lull in the fighting humanitarian window call it whatever you want that it was over, so we haven't had that and we haven't had anything from islamic jihad either so it does so seem that it's probably going to be a moot point anyway because what has been coming out of those negotiations in cairo certainly from hamas is that they are not going well. they are sticking to their demands and israel is not giving in and it seems that hamas is not getting any progress towards lifting the economic blockade, opening the borders which is what they want and in fact there has been a statement the al qassam brigades they want these to proceed if not israel should be prepared for a long war.

they say they have their finger on the trigger if you like even threatening ben gurion airport in tel aviv warning the israelis there would be huge economic costs and that if they sent their ground troops back into gaza, then they would be killed by the thousands and others would be taken prisoner so a lot of defiant talk coming from the military wing of hamas. a lot of talk coming from the political wing of hamas too there has not been a lot of progress as far as they're concerned in those talks in cairo. errol. >> we're ticking down the final minutes of this cease-fire, matthew, in this final minute we have tell us about the idf's military posturing, their ground forces are out of gaza but what do they have ready to go? >> well, of course, you know, militarily really israel holds all the cards, i mean it always has. has a huge force on the edge of the gaza strip that can go authorized to do so. it's got huge air power. it's got drones in the skies. as we've seen over the past four weeks, it can exercise an

enormous military superiority over the militants who fired these rockets this morning and did absolutely no damage. nobody was injured. they landed somewhere in a field in southern israel. israel has that iron dome missile defense system so if there are any rockets fired from gaza, that threatening population area, then this iron dome system comes into play and more often than not they're intercepted. one of the most sophisticated anti-missile systems in the world so israel has a strong military superiority over the situation, the forces in the gaza strip. >> all right, thanks to you both. matthew chance in jerusalem, john vause in gaza city. we will continue to track this, of course here in the next few hours. >> yeah, i mean just four minute as way now from the official end to that 72-hour truce and no word yet on any form of extension but we'll keep a very close eye on this. that does it tore this hour of cnn special coverage. i'm rosemary church.

>> i'm errol barnett. the latest on possible u.s. intervention in iraq. stay with cnn. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people.

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today i authorized two operations in iraq. targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death. >> he says they must act now but no american boots on the ground. welcome back to our viewers ar t