s sanchez live in washington, d.c. you're watching "cnn news central." bone chilling. that's how a u.n. humanitarian envoy described the scale and speed of the violence in israel and gaza. u.s. and israeli officials are characterizing the terror attacks carried out by hamas as isis levels of evil. one of those massacres was at a

rural xhurncommunity, or kibbut southern israel. israeli defense forces say they discovered women, children and elderly people who were, quote, butchered by hamas fighters. elsewhere, hour after hour we're seeing israeli airstrikes pounding gaza and hamas rockets streaking across the sky toward israel. this is the backdrop as we await remarks from president biden at the white house at any moment, remarks that the entire world no doubt will be watching. let's get started with cnn's ben wedeman, who's live for us in jerusalem. ben, what is the scene where you are? >> reporter: jerusalem is relatively quiet, but certainly the area around gaza and the israeli cities just to the north of it have had a very noisy day. at 5:00 in the afternoon local time there was a massive barrage of rockets fired from hamas to the city of ashkelon. now, a few hours before that abu abedda, who's the spokesman for

hamas's military wing, had warned that ashkelon would be targeted if its residents did not leave the city. and sure enough, on the dot at 5:00 p.m. local time we saw this massive volley being fired out of gaza. at the same time israeli forces struck the main port in gaza. in fact, the only port in gaza, which is normally only used by fishermen. and this is just the latest series of strikes and counterstrikes we've seen today. the israelis since last night have conducted hundreds of airstrikes on gaza. in one particular neighborhood, rimel, which is in gaza city, really reduced to rubble. now, the death toll on the palestinian side, the latest numbers we're getting are 830. those numbers from the palestinian health ministry. more than 4,000 wounded. and of course on the israeli side the latest tally they have

of the dead, and it seems to be increasing as they find more and more bodies, is at least 900. now, the israeli embassy in washington was reporting more than 1,000. the israeli military has yet to confirm that number. but certainly the numbers on both sides are rising. and there is growing anticipation of an israeli ground incursion into gaza. there have been many in the past. but this one, many believe, will be certainly greater than ever before. we did hear prime minister benjamin netanyahu yesterday say that what we've seen so far is only the beginning in terms of israel's response to saturday's massive surprise attack by hamas. boris? >> and ben, as you're speaking, we're watching images from moments ago live over gaza. the sky again lighting up with ammunition and artillery.

ben, we've learned that idf has added thousands of troop reinforcements at the border with lebanon. hezbollah's involvement in the attacks over the weekend obviously a concern. tell us what's going on there. >> reporter: yes, the israeli military said they are deploying tens of thousands of troops along its northern border with lebanon. yesterday we saw quite a lot of skirmishes. nothing compared to gaza. along that border the israelis struck and killed three hezbollah fighters. that was acknowledged by hezbollah. there was also palestinian islamic jihad involved in other skirmishes. the israelis struck back, hitting targets within southern lebanon along the border region. and the israelis acknowledged that so far one of their officers was killed in those strikes. it appears that hezbollah wants

to show that it is in a small way participating in this current conflict, but it appears it's hesitant to really unleash its forces, which by all accounts are far better equipped and trained than those of hamas. if hezbollah becomes involved in massive active hostilities with the israelis, this conflict, which has already proved bloody and violent, will become much, much worse. boris? >> yeah, the potential for a more widespread regional conflict looming over all this. ben wedeman live for us in jerusalem. we want to get now to my colleague anderson cooper, who is monitoring the situation for us from tel aviv. anderson? >> yeah, boris, thanks very much. obviously, look, the fate of israeli civilians, potentially americans as well, who have been taken hostage, it is hanging heavy over everybody in this

country. up to as many as 150 israeli children, women, elderly people, men, soldiers have been seized by hamas, islamic jihad since they have as many as 30 being held captive now for a fourth day in gaza. the families of the missing are living in unimaginable agony. my next guest included. i'm joined by gaya calderon. five members of her family are missing right now. her brother, her sister, her father, her grandmother, and her cousin. gaia, thank you for being here. i am so sorry for what you're going through. tell us about your family members, what happened to them. i understand they were taken from nir oz, which is a kibbutz community, and we have talked to a number of people who had loved ones kidnapped by hamas from that location. >> yes. so it's my father, sister, my

brother, and my grandma and cousin. i want to tell you the story. so basically, what happened, it was -- my father, brother and sister was in my father house. my grandma and my cousin was in my grandma house. i wake up, 6:00 in the morning, and just calling my mom and dad to check that it's all good in nir oz. my whole family live in nir oz. i'm the only one who not live there. so my father talk to me and said gaya, it's never been like that, i don't know what is happening. and then i'm like okay, it's all good, like it's always happened, it's going to be okay. after a few minutes my sister write me, gaya, i can hear

shooting guns, i think they are here, i can hear them. and i'm like, what? what is going on? tell me. and try to understand. and then she's writing me they are here. and i'm asking her where are you? are you in the memad, in the safe place? and she's telling me, no, we are outside hiding. after that message no respond. and then nothing. in the meantime i'm writing my grandma and she's telling me, yes, they are here in my house taking everything. and after that she really -- no answer too. >> they were in your grandmother's house already. >> again? >> they were inside your grandmother's house already? >> yes.

yes. yeah. >> how did you find out that your 12-year-old brother was taken? >> okay. so the day after i'm sitting, trying to do everything i can the best i can to just find something about them, to see video maybe, just to know that they're alive. and then i see a video and it's my brother. and i see the hamas taking him, grab him. it was so hard to watch it. i have to protect my brother my whole life. so it was so, so hard. also my sister and my father, not in the video. i don't know where are they. this is my only information. the only information i have. and they have nothing to do about it. i'm trying to do the best i can but i don't really have something to do. i can't go over there and save

them. >> it's one of the terrible things that so many families are going through here, is that because there's so little information about loved ones often you are finding information from these sick videos taken by hamas, taken by islamic jihad where you actually see your family members -- so you saw your 12-year-old brother being taken by -- by gunmen, being taken by hamas. >> yes. it was so hard to watch. it's horrible that i need to find out something like that in a video. stuff like that don't need to happen in this world. >> nir oz, this kibbutz, is a community of about 400 people at most, 300 to 400 people. i understand at this point it's

not clear how many people from that kibbutz are still alive. there are many who are missing. there are many who have been kidnapped. and there are many who have been killed. have you heard anything from officials here about your loved ones or about others from nir oz? >> no. it's just a mess in here. we don't know anything. and we don't really know something. we just try to find out -- i'm trying to find out on my own. but it doesn't really work. and no. no one know anything. i hope i will know soon. i don't even know if they're alive. you know? so hard. >> is there anything you want to say? is there anything you want to tell people about -- about your

loved ones? >> yes. i'm just hoping i will see them soon. i want them back home. i want them here with me. i don't even have a home right now. you know? it's all burned. but it doesn't matter. i just want them with me. i just want them to be alive and back with the family. my mom and my other sister. it's horrible. we don't even know what to do. we just want them back. and we want everyone who can help somehow, just do it. just try. we need you. also, my grandma is american. so it's really important to say it because you know, we're all together in this. we need to try do it together.

that's my wish. >> gaya kalderon, thank you for talking to us. and stay strong. and we'll continue to check in with you. thank you. >> thank you. bye. >> president biden is set to deliver live remarks at any moment. there are many families like gaya kalderon's who will be listening very closely to what he has to stay. stay with us.

this is the state dining room where president biden is set to speak on the situation in israel at any moment. the podium remains empty. we know the president just got off the phone with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. so he is expected to make his way there in just moments. we're going to bring you his address live as soon as it starts. meantime, right now the israeli military is mobilizing a record number of reservists. some 360,000. as observers are anticipating a ground operation in gaza. the idf is also amassing tanks and other military vehicles near the border with the palestinian territory, and prime minister benjamin netanyahu has vowed retaliation on hamas like never before. keep in mind, a ground operation could get complicated. gaza is very tensely populated. it puts civilians in the middle of urban warfare where hamas can utilize narrow city streets and a complex network of tunnels that can be used to move fighters, store weapons and

launch a series of attacks. we want to discuss the situation now with a military expert who knows firsthand the hazards of urban combat. we're joined now by general wesley clark. he was the supreme allied commander of nato during the kosovo war. general, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. we saw this drone video of gaza earlier today. this is the aftermath of aerial strikes on the territory. i'm wondering what an israeli ground operation in this region is going to look like. >> well, first of all, they've got to pick the targets. and the way you would probably do this is to section off gaza, maybe block by block, figure out how to go in, isolate that area and work from the outside in. you've got to work against the tunnel network, and you've got to work against snipers and other people on the high ground. now, you've created a lot of rubble in the city right now. so you've got to stay away from those streets if you're trying to move armored vehicles in there.

so that adds to the obstacles there. it's going to be a very tough, slow, painstaking operation. you've got to do it with maximum protection for your own troops because you have to understand that hamas, this is not going to be a surprise to hamas. they knew that this is what they were going to get. this is what they want. they want to bring that israeli ground force in and attack it from every direction. and put more casualties on it, show that it lacks credibility. so israel has to do this, has to do it well, has to maintain its military credibility. it's an extremely difficult operation coming up. >> general, you described the targeting of tunnels and areas along that border. there are civilians in gaza that were trying -- or rather were told to evacuate a certain crossing and this rafah crossing right here. and it's been complicated partly

because it was targeted. obviously, you mentioned some of the complications regarding a ground operation. what about the fact hamas is holding some 100 to 150 hostages, potentially some american citizens? how does all of that, the difficulty of getting civilians out and the fact that there are hostages in gaza, alter the calculus for the israeli defense forces? >> well, obviously you'll have teams standing by that can do an emergency hostage rescue operation. if you can identify where the hostages are. if you could get entrance into that area with sufficient force to rescue them. but those capabilities will be there. and will be monitoring all the electronic and visual intelligence we got. we'll be looking for other people, talking and communicating. people on the ground. we'll do everything we can to locate them. you know, it's in hamas's interests not to execute those hostages. they need those hostages as bargaining leverage at the end. so you're going to hear a lot of

threats. you may have some out-of-control people who do want to kill the hostages. but my bet would be that the hamas leadership will not want to give up those hostages. >> for the sake of the families of those missing, general, i hope you're right about that. i do want to share with you some new satellite images we have of the erez crossing complex. so essentially, what we're looking at, this right here is gaza. and this is israel. this is part of the border. and on it you can see craters in some areas where israel launched retaliatory strikes. what really stands out to me are breaches in the border wall where hamas broke through. and you can see them in these circles i'm drawing. this is where hamas militants were able to get into israel. it's striking partly because of the scale, general, of the attack. they executed an attack, unprecedented in the history of hamas, without israeli

intelligence having a clue that this was going to happen. how is that possible? >> it's possible by just working with people you trust, keeping the circle of knowledge small, and only talking face to face. no electronic communications. nothing in writing that can go out. if you do that, you can maintain security. but you know, hamas has been there for a long time. we cannot underestimate their sophistication. it's a mistake to think that they're just terrorists out there waving ak-47s. this is a sophisticated military force. it's had training. it's had assistance from the iranians. maybe some russian equipment in there for all we know. they can monitor communications. they have cyber. they have anti-aircraft missiles. they have anti-tank missiles. they've got a lot of stuff buried underground. they've prepared this for a long time. so i think we have to anticipate

this is not like going -- when the united states army raced through baghdad in 2003, shattered the iraqi guards and the people in iraq were like well, some of us liked him, some of us didn't, let's see what happens now. that's not what this is. this is a fortress area that's been prepared. and how many hamas fighters are there? 15,000, 20,000. we saw maybe 2,000 committed in this operation. we've got lots of forces left behind. and ready and no doubt willing to sacrifice their lives to take israelis with them. so this is going to be a tough fight. and at the same time, of course, we've got the northern border to worry about. the president's talking about maybe sending another carrier battle group in. and don't forget, the north koreans are now shipping artillery and ammunition by rail to the russians to put the pressure on ukraine. we can never neglect that because that fight in ukraine is

very much in america's interest. they're fighting our battle there against russian aggression. >> yeah. a lot of conflict to cover. general wesley clark, please stand by because we're watching president biden as he approaches the podium at the white house. >> good afternoon. >> let's listen to his remarks. >> you know, there are moments in this life, and i mean this literally, when the pure unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. the people of israel lived through one such moment this weekend. the bloody hands of the terrorist organization hamas, a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill jews. this is an act of sheer evil. more than 1,000 civilians slaughtered. not just killed. slaughtered. in israel. among them at least 14 american

citizens killed. parents butchered using their bodies to try to protect their children. stomach-turning reports of babies being killed, entire families slain. young people massacred while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace. to celebrate peace. women raped, assaulted, pa rairaild paraded as trophies. families hid nen fear for hours and hours desperately trying to keep their children quiet to avoid drawing attention. and thousands of wounded, alive but carrying with them the bullet holes and the shrapnel wounds and the memory of what they endured. you all know these traumas never go away. there are still so many families desperately waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. not knowing if they're alive or dead or hostages. infants in their mothers' arms, grandparents in wheelchairs, holocaust survivors abducted and

held hostage. hostages whom hamas has now threatened to execute, in violation of every code of human morality. it's abhorrent. the brutality of hamas, these bloodthirstiness brings to mind the worst, the worst rampages of isis. this is terrorism. but sadly for the jewish people it's not new. this attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by millennia of anti-semitism and genocide of the jewish people. so in this moment we must be crystal clear. we stand with israel. we stand with israel. and we will make sure it has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and

respond to this attack. there's no justification for terrorism. there's no excuse. hamas does not stand for the palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination. its stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of israel and the murder of jewish people. they use palestinian civilians as human shields. hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price. the loss of innocent life is heartbreaking. like every nation in the world, israel has the right to respond, indeed has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks. i just got off the phone with my third call with prime minister netanyahu. i told him, the united states

experienced what you're experiencing our response would be swift decisive and overwhelming. we also discussed how democracies like israel and the united states are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. terrorists purposely target civilians, kill them. we uphold the laws of war, the law of war. it matters. there's a difference. today americans across the country are praying for all those families that have been ripped apart. a lot of us know how it feels. it leaves a black hole in your chest when you lose family. feeling like you're being sucked in. the anger, the pain, the sense of hopelessness. this is what they mean by human tragedy. atrocity on an appalling scale.

but we're going to continue to stand united, supporting the people of israel who are suffering unspeakable losses, and opposing the hatred and violence of terrorism. my team has been in near constant communication with our israeli partners, partners all across the region and the world, from the moment this crisis began. we're surging additional military assistance including ammunition and interceptors to replenish iron dome. we're going to make sure that israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens. my administration has consulted closely with congress throughout this crisis. and when congress returns, we're going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners. this is not about party or

politics. this is about the security of our world, the security of the united states of america. we now know that american citizens are among those being held by hamas. i've directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the united states government to consult with and advise israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts. because as president i have no higher priority than the safety of americans being held hostage around the world. the united states has also enhanced our military force posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence. the department of defense has moved the "uss gerald r. ford" carrier strike group to the eastern mediterranean and bolstered our fighter aircraft presence. and we stand ready to move in additional assets as needed. let me say again to any country,

any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation. i have one word. don't. don't. our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear. yesterday i also spoke with the leaders of france, germany, italy and uk to discuss the latest developments with our european allies and coordinate our united response. this comes on top of days of steady engagement with partners across the region. we're also taking steps at home in cities across the united states of america police departments have stepped up, security around centers of jewish life. the department of homeland security and the federal bureau of investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks. this is a moment for the united

states to come together, to grieve with those who are mourning. let's be real clear. there is no place for hate in america. not against jews, not against muslims, not against anybody. we reject, we reject. what we reject is terrorism. we condemn the indiscriminate evil just as we've always done. that's what america stands for. you know, just over 50 years ago i was thinking about it this morning, talking to the secretary of state and the vice president in my office. over 50 years ago as a young senator i visited israel for the first time as a newly elected senator. and i had a long, long trip, meeting with golda meir in her office, just before the yom

kippur war. and i guess she could see the consternation on my face as she described what was being faced, they were facing. we walked outside in that sort of hallway outside her office to have some photos. she looked at me and all of a sudden said, would you like to have a federal? and so i got up and followed her out. we're standing there silent looking at the press. she could tell i guess i was concerned. she leaned over and whispered to me. she said, "don't worry, senator biden. we have a secret rep here in israel." my word is what she said. "we have no place else to go. we have no place else to go." for 75 years israel has stood as the only guarantor of the security of jewish people around

the world. so the atrocities of the past could never happen again. and let there be no doubt. the united states has israel's back. we will make sure the jewish and democratic state of israel can defend itself today, tomorrow as we always have. it's as simple as that. these atrocities are sickening. we're with israel. let's make no mistake. thank you. >> mr. president, what was your reaction -- >> president biden making as strong a statement as possible about america's support for israel, his administration's support for israel. not just emotional support but military support as well. support for the iron dome system. obviously also talking about the carrier group and other moves by

u.s. forces. with me now is cnn's clarissa ward in ashkelon. ben wedeman is in jerusalem. kim dozier is in d.c. clarissa, a lot of israelis no doubt listening to what president biden had to say. how do you think they will feel about what they heard? >> -- say, right? usually historically there has always been the call for restraint in this situation, the call upon israel to exercise restraint in its response. we did not hear that. we heard a very, very staunch and solemn commitment by the u.s. to stand with its israeli partners. we heard specifics about where those efforts may lie going forward. he talked about supplying more ammunition, more interceptors to keep those iron domes running well. he talked about collaborating closely with israeli intelligence to try to do

whatever can possibly be done to bring some of those hostages safely out of gaza. of course, he also said that there are, as we know, americans among those being held hostage in the gaza strip. but i also think, anderson, that this was a speech for americans too. right? and he talked about the importance of coming together, both sides of the aisle in congress. there's no place for hate in america. and really urging the u.s. political apparatus, if you will, to take a united stance and work together on this with the israeli, anderson. >> kim dozier, i'm wondering what you thought monitoring this. >> that is president biden's message to the american people, that essentially we are going to war together with israel, to get americans out and to get others out. there won't be u.s. boots on the ground, but the way he described the brutality of attacks that we're still trying to confirm as

reporters and he discussed it in such stark terms, of the hole that it leaves in your soul, this kind of grief. and there was also a warning to -- a pointed warning to iran without naming iran that anyone thinking of interfering in what's going to happen next, don't. so i think this is a message that we're going to see a tough israeli ground incursion into gaza. there may be civilian casualties, but he is making the argument to the american people that because of the brutality of what was done this has got to happen next. >> and ben wedeman standing by in jerusalem, there was no equivocation in this statement by the president. >> no. i mean, in the past, in previous instances where there were flare-ups between gaza and israel, we would always hear the same thing. condemnation of whether it's hamas or islamic jihad firing

the rockets, and then calls for restraint. there is no restraint, call for restraint that we heard from president biden. this was a very unequivocal declaration that the united states stands behind israel. his references to the carrier group that's headed to the eastern mediterranean certainly, i think, among hamas's ranks is going to raise concern that perhaps the united states isn't just sending its hardware to the eastern mediterranean as a show of force. i think there's a hint that there's more to it than just that. now, i think that certainly in gaza people listening to this speech are going to be concerned. let's keep in mind that hamas is not particularly popular in gaza. i've been in gaza. for instance, in 2014 i arrived in gaza just hours after that war began. and really there was a sense of trepidation of what was to come.

and certainly what we're hearing from gaza is people are saying we're not members of hamas, we're not part of this war, but they're paying the price. and the worry is that now israel -- it's been made clear to israel, no need to use restraint, the united states supports you completely. and this could be a very grim prospect for people in gaza who don't support hamas but are going to pay perhaps a very high price. anderson. >> yeah. president biden did talk about the rules of war and following the rules of war. but obviously a very strong statement of support for the government here in israel. i want to talk about all this with the deputy mayor of jerusalem, flor hassan nahum. mr. mayor, i'm wondering what you thought of what you heard from president biden. >> well, we're very pleased with

this type of support. it's completely unequivocal. i think that president biden has made clear what moral clarity is. and that is when you see a gen genocidal regime that came into this country through a border that we have with them -- because people forget, israel left gaza in 2005. we left gaza, and we pulled out 7,000 jewish settlements from gaza so that the palestinians could start being autonomous, building their country. and this is what we did almost 20 years ago. originally it was ruled by fatah and then a year and a half later hamas came into power, elected into power, and they had a choice. they all had a choice. they could have turned the gaza strip into dubai or they could have turned it into beirut. and they chose to turn it into beirut. everybody knows that hamas is the long arm of iran, as is

hezbollah in the north. and the massacre and the incredibly cruel humanitarian, you know, disaster that's occurred over the last few days, anderson, two hours ago we got a report that the israeli army found 40 decapitated babies. we're talking about isis here. we're talking about scenes that we saw in afghanistan 10, 15 years ago, we saw the same thing. boko haram in africa. this is what we're talking about. we're talking about people who have zero value for life. not ours and not even their own. >> yeah. i do just want to point out i just spoke to the idf spokesman. they have not confirmed what you have said. and in fact, i think -- i don't think anybody has said it was that many. i'm not going to quibble over numbers. but the idf has said that that information not confirmed.

so we're being very cautious. but clearly the troops on the ground who are at kfar aza kibbutz were deeply affected by what they have seen. reporters too who have seen bodies being removed. it was a brutal attack, terror attack. just as we've seen in kibbutzes all across the border, nir oz as well, many people killed, kidnapped there. if you can, talk about what it's like in your city right now. what you are hearing from people. there are so many families waiting for word on their loved ones. and there is not anybody we've met in israel who does not know somebody who is either missing or wounded or dead or kidnapped. >> well, that's the thing. when you live in a small country, we're less than 10 million people. everybody is connected to everybody. some good friends of mine who actually appeared in your press conference this afternoon, rachel goldberg, who's the mother of hirsh polen who's an

american citizen. 23-year-old kid. he celebrated his birthday last week. and he was at that concert. he has now been confirmed to have been taken hostage. he lost an arm in the firefight. and we're very worried for his well-being because if he doesn't get medical attention this is life-threatening for him. like him there's another six, seven americans that are held hostage. and it's of course not just the americans. it's 150 hostages that we have there, and that makes a ground operation or any operation very, very complicated. hamas has been planning this type of scale of attack for 11 years. they've tried in so many ways. they built tunnels into civilian areas, which thankfully the idf found and closed down. they've tried explosive balloons. they've been planning this for a long time. and they have not been planning this on their own. and finally, they got the

success they were looking for, which is absolutely -- to have a situation where old ladies are being killed in their beds, little children are being, you know, murdered in front of their parents and vice versa, disabled people, women -- we have reports of women being raped in gaza by these people. and you know, president biden is right. there's no justification. and even if the retaliation is tough, you know, the retaliation of the armed forces in the second world war also killed a lot of innocent germans. but this was a civilizational war. it's the forces of evil, the forces that want to take us back 500 years, run by iran, and the forces of good, people that want peace and prosperity. thankfully, many in the arab world have now joined israel in those countries that want peace and prosperity. and i don't think it's any coincidence that thanks to the

american administration that brokered the peace -- the peace that was being brokered from saudi arabia, the people who have the most to lose from that are the iranians. so this was the time to do this. and again, this is a civilizational struggle. we're the first stop on that struggle. but the rest of the world is next. >> yeah. certainly the negotiations with saudi arabia for some sort of comprehensive peace agreement was of great concern to the religious forces in iran. deputy mayor fleur hassan-nahoum. i appreciate your time. stay with cnn for breaking news. we'll have more from the region just ahead.

welcome back to "news central." we just want to let you know we are monitoring a white house briefing that is set to begin soon. jake sullivan will be taking questions from reporters at the podium. we will be monitoring that and bring you highlights as they happen. in the meantime, president biden delivered remarks just moments ago on the crisi s

including missing american citizens. as the president just said what we have seen from hamas these past few days was the same evil and barbarity that we've seen from isis. the unspeakable horrors they perpetrated on innocent people, women, children, the elderly,

babies. these were the scenes we saw in iraq and syria as isis rampaged through. as president biden said, this is not some distant tragedy. the bonds between israel and america run long and they run deep, and we stand with israel, not just in these dark days, but at all times. the presiden t