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. hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world here in the united states, canada, and everyone as we continue our breaking news coverage of israel at war. i'm kim brunhuber. it's 4:00 a.m. here in atlanta and 11:00 a.m. in gaza city, where an incursion by israeli ground forces now appears imminent. israel on saturday declared it's ready to open a new phase in its war against hamas, with the focus on significant ground operations. the idf says it struck more than 100 hamas targets in gaza

overnight. earlier, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu met soldiers on the front lines offering words of support and telling them to be prepared. the u.s. is now sending a second carrier strike group to the eastern mediterranean, as well as additional fighter jets. the move is intended to deter iran, hezbollah, and others from entering the conflict. palestinian authorities in gaza say the death toll from israeli air strikes is now more than 2,300 people, including 300 in the past 24 hours. it follows the hamas terrorist attack on israel last saturday, which killed more than 1,300 people. now, we have cnn's sara sidner who's joining us live this hour from southern israel. so, tell us exactly, sara, where you are right now. >> i cannot give you an exact location, because if i were to do so, there is the possibility that hamas would fire ro

this direction and then the communities around us would be in danger. where i am, though, and where i'm standing is a very significant place because of the equipment that is here. it is the iron dome you see behind me. that is a life-saving technology that has taken out about 90% of the rockets or more that have come over israel, being shot by hamas from gaza. it is pretty incredible technology. in 2011, it was the first time that the technology was used to see just how accurate it was. it worked. and since then, it has been used ever since, in any incursion, and anytime there is a rocket fired from gaza. so you look at it, it actually -- when you get here, it doesn't look like much. it looks, you know, sort of -- you see there, it's just sort of a rectangle-shaped piece of equipment, but it saves lives.

and truthfully, yesterday, when we were on the air and there were rockets flying over, more than ten flew over us while we were live on television. we watched right above our heads the intercept happen. literally above our heads. it saved our band-aids, to be fair. and keeps the rockets from damaging things, from killing people, maiming people, and so this technology has been used over and over and over. again, it was developed here and the united states has given its misunderstand so that they can keep building them. and there are quite a few of them. we can only show you one. we don't want to give where we are. these are in many different parts of the country here in israel, but it is such an incredible piece of technology that truly, truly saves lives. also, you may notice, it is raining here and has been for a bit, which does not complicate things at all for the iron dome. it can operate in any kind of

weather. >> sara, listen, there's been so much israeli faith in the iron dome system, but we saw, it's not infallible. we saw it get overwhelmed with the volume of rockets coming from hamas from last weekend's attack. >> reporter: yeah, yeah. and that is the problem, right. you would have to have -- god knows how many to try and knock out that many rockets. we're talking about thousands of rockets coming over in a 48-hour period. there just aren't enough of them. there just aren't enough iron domes to try to intercept all of the rockets. but if you would imagine that when they're intercepted, how many people were saved, how many homes, how many buildings were kept from being demolished or hit or exploded, it's significant. but it can only do so much, right, with so many rockets coming over, you are not going to get every single one, it

isn't 100% foul-proof. it doesn't every single time get every single rocket. which tells you a little something, by the way, about just how many rockets have been fired. you know, in the past, i used to live in jerusalem and live in this region and there were operations, there were incursions that happened quite regularly with rockets coming over and then israel responding, going into gaza or flying over gaza with air strikes. and you know, when you just see a few, it's accurate. it knocks them all out. when you have that many, this just goes to show you what a different place we are in in this particular war. and it's been a declared war. while i was here and while many reporters here over the years, that has not been the case. there are incursions, there are operations, but they have never said, we are at war. israel is now at war with hamas. and so this is a very, very different feeling here.

>> appreciate getting that unique view and the context as well there. cnn's sara sidner in southern israel. thanks so much. >> all right. with us now from televiv is lieutenant colonel pete learner, a spokesperson for the israel defense forces. thank you so much for being here with us this hour. so first, just give us an update on the ongoing raids in gaza. >> yeah, i was just listening to sara there, and you cannot be unimpressed how israel goes around investing in life and saving lives, and this iron dome defense mechanism is just one of those examples of the extent that we go. moving over to what you asked, the idf is continuing its activities in expanding our strikes against hamas from their leaders. i can report that over the night, we killed a special forces commando from the nukba force. he was one of the commanders

that broke -- that penetrated the fence and conducted the massacre in kibbutz. we are very, very determined to take out the terrorist that conducted the attack, take out the organization that orchestrated it, and even take out the leader who's the mastermind of the massacre, who has orchestrated and governed the gaza strip as a staging ground for terrorism and utilized all the forces of hamas' government to do so. >> yeah, sadly, i understand the bodies of some of the people abducted by hamas have been found. what more can you tell us about that? >> so i'm going to be very cautious and careful around the issue of bodies. you know, there are still bodies, and there are still people that are unaccounted for. we have to be very respectful to the families that don't know about what's happened to their loved ones. they are at the top of our

priorities, but i think we'll have to leave it at that at this time. our operations are influenced by the scenario of the bodies and hostages, and we'll do everything in order to try ore tr to retrieve them, but that's all i can add at this time. >> i want to ask you about the gaza evacuation order. we've already seen how dangerous that journey south can be, with dozens including women and children killed on the road south, reportedly been an idf strike. what more can you tell us about what happened there? >> so i think what -- the most important thing to learn from this incident is you can't believe what hamas is telling you. this was not an idf strike. there was no idf strike conducted against that convoy. it appears, from all of the footage that we've seen that the explosion came from underneath, meaning it was probably some sort of explosive device that they put. and it just goes to exemplify exactly what they're saying. don't evacuate the northern gaza

strip. this is what hamas is telling the people. don't evacuate, even though we tell them we're coming and we're going to strike hamas. hamas had no regard for human life. this is what we are facing. they don't care about israelis and they don't care about palestinians. they have no -- there is no problem in placing drones with explosives on their rooftops that we intercepted and destroyed a couple of days ago and placing rockets and rocket launchers in the basements of houses and so, this just goes to show the enemy we are up against. they are merciless, they will butcher babies in their bedrooms, and therefore they will sacrifice their own people in order to try to achieve their goal. we need to be very, very cautious about everything that hamas saying and when videos and images circulate around on social media, i would say, we need to be very, very cautious in coming to conclusions that in this case, you know, throughout the last day, this is news from

this morning that we're able to confirm, it was only this morning that we were able to confirm and announce that this was not an idf strike. i would say, please, in your future reporting, please be cautious and don't automatically attribute explosions in gaza to the idf. >> in the meantime, so many in gaza are struggling without food and water. what would you say to them, to the innocent civilians in gaza who feel that they are being collectively punished for the sins of hamas. >> so hamas has failed the people of gaza miserably. they've held the people of gaza hostage, but ultimately, they are the responsibility of hamas. our responsibility, primarily, especially in the aftermath of the massacre in israel, is to restore security and safety to the state of israel, and make sure that it can never, ever happen again. so to the people, i would say, listen to our announcements. evacuate areas when we tell you to move south.

and i'm very happy to see that people are actually listening to us and not listening to hamas. because they understand that hamas has failed them. they understand that hamas has not been a good representative, a good government for their interests. hamas over the course of the last 15, 16 years, could have made gaza flourish, could have made the people of gaza benefit from being our neighbors. but they chose to take all of their institutions, the whole system of the hamas government was a ciphering off machine in order to build the death machine that has been developed in order to conduct that massacre on friday of the 7th of october. so ultimately, people of gaza need to listen to what we are saying. they are not our enemy. hamas is our enemy. and we are determined to destroy them and their capabilities. >> and finally, i want to turn north. first, what can you tell us about the attack on an israeli village near the lebanese

border? >> yeah, the idf has currently closed off the whole border area because of these repeated attacks. it's not just one. we have had several anti-tank guided missiles fired at forces over the last few days. i'm aware that it is still a developing incident as we speak, and the idf is responding to the fire, to the attack. we will have more to update you on that a bit later on. >> okay. and then, finally, i want to ask you, israel's national security adviser said hezbollah was currently staying under the escalation threshold. what would have to happen for the north to turn into a fully fledged front? well, i certainly hope it won't, but the idf is prepared for any eventuality and any development that can evolve from the tension. and i would highly recommend that hezbollah look very closely, how we are pursuing

hamas in gaza strip, and how we are dismantling their entire system, so that they can never threaten us again. so i would say, hezbollah should stay definitely underneath that threshold. >> okay, thank you so much. appreciate it, lieutenant colonel peter lerner, thanks so much. >> thank you. i want to head to london now for more from eliot gotkin. eliot, you were listening in there, what struck you from what we heard from the idf spokesperson? >> kim, peter kind of alluded to this, but i think it's a little bit more categorical right now, which is in particular that convoy of palestinian citizens heading south in gaza away from gaza city in accordance with the warning to evacuate from the idf. peter lerner there saying that the idf, saying, it wasn't up, it wasn't the idf, that they didn't do it and it appears to be some kind of explosion from the ground up, perhaps some kind of improvised explosive device,

some kind of booby-trap, saying that definitely wasn't the idf and that reports to the contrary are wrong and that responsibility for that and specifically that specific incident lies at the door of hamas. i think that was one of the main things that he said. also, he referred to what's going on in the northern border, big concerns. and this is why the u.s. has deployed not one, but two aircraft carriers with quite sophisticated assets to the eastern mediterranean, concerns about the northern border between israel and lebanon turning into a new front and talking about a number of incidents with precision-guided anti-tank missiles being fired from southern lebanon to israel and israel responding to that. in fact, there's an ongoing incident in the area 4 kilometers south of the border with lebanon has now been declared a closed area. so civilians not allow ed to go into that area, because of the danger that exists there right

now. he also said that, look, this threshold for whatever you want to call it, an escalation, turning it officially into a front with hezbollah backed by iran, of course, in the north, has not yet been met. and clearly neither israel nor the united states wants to see that happen. and as i say, that is one very big reason why the u.s. has deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern mediterranean to act as a deterrence, both to hezbollah and of course its backers back in tehran. kim? >> appreciate it. thanks so much. eliot gotkin in london. well, now, so far in the war, fighting has mostly been done by air, through air strikes and bombs, but many are anticipating the possible ground invasion in the coming days with military buildup happening on the israel/gaza border. we can't forget about the labyrinth of tunnels under gaza, where the idf says hamas is hiding. listen to this. >> hamas terrorists are hiding in gaza city, inside tunnels, underneath houses, and inside

buildings populated with innocent gazan civilians. civilians of gaza city, evacuate south for the safety of your own families and distance yourself from hamas terrorists who are using use as human shields. >> let's go now to televiv, where i'm joined by horel with the center for for televiv university. thanks so much for being here when we think of hamas and tunnels, we often think of the ones used to get into israel, which israel spent a lot of resources right to eliminate. but we're talking now in the context of a ground invasion of the network of tunnels in gaza itself, how extensive is it? >> it is very extensive. we know they actually put anything that they got, at least since 2012, in this infrastructure, in the metro, as we call it.

we're talking about 12 -- sorry, about dozens and dozens of kilometers underground with the command controls and the communication rooms and the supply rooms and it appears for launching the rockets, it appears for launching firefighters that will hit our forces or will try to hit our forces. it's extremely expensive. it's suffocated any budget that was coming into the strip. by the way, it's very easy to estimate it, because since we know we're talking about dozens of kilometers underground, metal, cement, everything, you can understand how much they put into it. >> yeah, i mean, two years ago, israel said it destroyed more than 60 miles of tunnels under gaza, but hamas says it has a network of some 300 miles, 500

kilometers, which is why, as you said, it's known as the gaza metro, but unlike the cross-border tunnels, these, you know, are more complex, they're very deep. the entrances are often in public buildings, which makes finding them so much tougher. so getting at hamas will be a huge challenge. what types of dangers would israeli soldiers face once they're in the tunnels? >> not to mention explosive tunnels, such as the ones that are used against, for example, the americans in vietnam. it's actually a medieval method, which i'm afraid will be implemented here as well. i think hamas might be exaggerating a little bit with those 500 kilometers. because, of course, they want to deter israel from invading. but, however, i think that israel, the idf particularly have learned this system for quite some times, invested in

certain specific warfare within those tunnels. the main challenge, kim, is actually how to deal with the main commands, which are located under centers -- civilian centers such as the shifa hospital in central gaza. and that is really the main challenge, because if you won't take those hubs out of the equation, they will keep on running their warfare. and i think, of course, it's top secret, and i don't know about those -- the way that israel actually, accurately wants to hit those, but i know this is a major challenge, no doubt about it. >> yeah, i mean, you talked about vietnam. we've all heard those stories about tunnel warfare from previous wars like that, that close encounter fighting in the dark. it sounds absolutely terrifying,

and then making it more complex, you have civilians, possibly even hostages down there. can technology be used, robots, drones and so on? >> many things altogether, without getting into details, drones, geographic measures, all kinds of things, highly sophisticated, sizeismological measures, something that israel is working on in the past decades, special units to deal with those tunnels. so i think that israel is in a totally different position in terms of military abilities in comparison, for example, to the protective edge operation in 2014, where the tunnels were a huge, tremendous surprise for the soldiers. and they had to deal with it on ground, unprepared. >> yeah, they have been

preparing for this, but it still promises to be a huge and inevitably deadly challenge, as well. harel chorev, thank you so much for speaking with us. >> thank you for having me. the u.s. president calling for an end to all forms of hate. just ahead, president biden's remarks and what his administration is focusing on as the israel/hamas war rages on. and a top u.s. diplomat wants arab countries to help contain the war between hamas and israel. what antony blinken hopes to achieve with his whirlwind tour of the middle east. that's next. stay with us.

news just coming into cnn. the u.s. says it will help evacuate its citizens from israel by sea. the announcement was made a short time ago by the american embassy in israel. it says a ship will depart from hifa in northern israel on monday and head to cyprus. the embassy says u.s. citizens and its families will then be responsible for their own accommodation and onward travel from cyprus. as israel prepares for the next stage of its war against hamas, the u.s. and other western stations are working to keep the conflict from spreading. as part of that effort, the pentagon is deploying more military resources into the region. oren leadershipman has more.

>> the pentagon has ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern method as a deterrence message to iran and iranian proxies in the region, as we see the u.s. military here bolster up its forces in the middle east, as israel's war prepares to enter what officials there have entered a bigger stage, the next stage here. the u.s. gerald r. ford carrier strike group, which is the carrier, several destroyers and a cruiser is already in the eastern med and arrive there had earlier this week. that will now be joined my the "uss dwight d. eisenhower" strike group. elements of that carrier group left on friday. that will arrive in the region in several weeks. it is a very significant statement for the u.s. to send two carrier strike groups, all the force and power that entails to the eastern med. in doing so, the white house and the pentagon have made clear, it is not the role of the aircraft on this deck or the warships here to get involved in the fighting with israel. israel doesn't want that and the u.s. doesn't want that. but the biden administration, israel, and the region are

watching this very closely and watching the fight play out in gaza and trying to make sure it doesn't spread beyond israel's borders to other areas. and the key message there is to iran. and that's what the point is of sending these forces to the region. a warning to iran not to get involved. a warning to iranian proxies not to get involved. as well as lebanon backed shiite proxies in israel. the u.s. has other forces in region. it has plussed up some fighter squadrons. f-16ss arriving just a few days ago and perhaps more fighters expected. and there's the "uss baton," part of an amphibian group that could be ordered closer to israel as a message to iran in case this escalates. oren liebermann, cnn, in the pentagon. >> in the context of the israel/hamas war, u.s. president joe biden denounced hatred in all its forms. in a speech on saturday, he

stressed that anti-semitism, islamaophobia and transophobia is also connected. his speech came after he spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. cnn's priscilla alvarez has more. >> president biden on saturday spoke with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, marking the fifth time the two leaders have talked since the attacks on israel last saturday. in that discussion, the two talked about u.s. military support as well as protecting innocent civilians as this conflict unfolds. now, in a second call, the president also spoke with palestinian authority president abbas. in that call, they talked about humanitarian supplies reaching gaza, which is facing water shortages and food shortages. the president also spoke at a human rights dinner and he too talked about the terror attacks in israel as well as the humanitarian crisis in gaza.

take a listen. >> a week ago, we saw hate manifested another way in the worst massacre of jewish people since the holocaust. more than 1,300 innocent lives lost in israel, including at least 27 americans. children and grandparents alike, kidnapped, held hostage by hamas. the humanitarian crisis in gaza, innocent palestinian families the vast major who had nothing to do with hamas, they're being used as human shields. >> the focus for officials at the white house continues to be that this conflict not widen in the region, but they are sending a medical of deterrence in the region, as well. and focusing their efforts, too, on bringing those americans who are held hostage by hamas home. priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. >> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is pushing ahead with his middle east diplomatic tour. in the next hour, he'll be

heading to cairo for meetings with egypt's president. lincoln was in the uae and saudi arabia on saturday. since the conflict began, he's met with leaders in five arab countries in israel. he urged the arab nations to use their leverage with hamas to keep the violence from spreading and help free those being held st hostage by the terrorist group. here he is. >> as israel pursues its legitimate right to defending its people and to trying to assure this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians and we're working together to do exactly that. >> security is tightened in europe as the fear of anti-semitism grows. we'll have that story and much more after the break. stay with us.

i want to get back to our breaking news the hour. israel says it conducted more than 100 new air strikes overnight and reportedly killed a commander responsible for some of the hamas atrocities in israel last weekend. earlier, israel said it's preparing for the next phase of the war, including what it called significant ground operations. but israeli strikes and blockades are already causing what one official called a complete catastrophe in gaza. palestinians say about 300 people were killed in israeli strikes over the past 24 hours alone, with 800 others wounded. that brings the death toll since the crisis began to more than 2,300 people. gaza is also running out of water, receiving only about 5%

of its usually water supply. the u.n. says some people are so desperate, that they're drinking from agricultural wells, which could spread waterborne disease. a rise in anti-semitism in parts of europe is worrying the jewish community. french police say they have detained 65 people more dozens of anti-semitic acts since the israeli/hamas conflict began. and the uk is increasing security as officials report an uptick in anti-semitic activity. cnn's melissa bell has more from paris. >> reporter: far from the front lines of israel/hamas war, many european jews say they're not just feeling the pain of what's happening there, but also fearing the potential ramifications much closer to home. in france, at the great synagogue in marseille, a prayer is held for the people of israel. it's a fervent prayer patch reports of anti-semitic incidents in parts of europe, after hamas launched its assault on israel more than a week ago,

and israel's subsequent bombardment of gaza. >> translator: first of all, it's important to be present wherever the jewish people are in danger. unfortunately, we're used to this kind of gathering, this kind of prayer. we're tired of it all. nevertheless, we have to respond in unity. >> reporter: france is home to france's largest jewish population, as well as the largest muslim population in western europe. french president emmanuel macron has urged his citizens to remain united, though french police used water cannon and tear gas to break up a recent rally in support of the palestinian people, which had been banned by french officials, citing concerns about public order. but there are fears of further unrest in france. 10,000 police officers have been deployed to protect synagogues and jewish schools, and on friday, france raised it security alert to the highest

level after a knife attack at a school, the french interior minister says was linked to the conflict between israel and hamas. the uk is also stepping up security after reports of increased anti-semitic incidents. the community security trust, a british nonprofit organization that monitors anti-semitism says the number of incidents reported to them in the past week has increased by more than 300%, compared to the same period last year. tensions at times spilling out on to the streets of london, where flyers of israelis reportedly kidnapped by hamas were torn down. >> they're not mutually exclusive. it's children. it's children. it's innocent people. >> what about the children in palestine? >> reporter: meanwhile, palestine says it has a zero tolerance policy towards

anti-semitic acts, german officials say they can do no le less. >> protecting jewish life in germany is part of the identity of our democracy. the security of jews in germany is our democracy at its core. only if our jewish citizens live in peace and security can our country as a whole do so. >> melissa bell, cnn, paris. still to come, the u.n. warns that 50,000 pregnant women in gaza are struggling to get the health care they need as hospitals and clinics come under attacks. stay with us.

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but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. it's happening. the united nations is urging all parties to an end to the fighting in israel and gaza. the organization says since october 7th, more than 400,000 people have been displaced. the u.n. says many of those displaced are pregnant women who will be unable to move southward to escape the fighting and are

struggling to get the care they need. >> the u.n. women reports that gaza is now home to 50,000 pregnant women who are struggling to access essential health service, as health care workers, hospitals, and clinics come under attack. some 5,500 of these women are due to give birth in the coming months. >> all right. let's go live now to jerusalem, where i'm joined by dominick allen, the u.n. population funds representative for the state of palestine. thank you so much for being here with us. so we just heard there are 50,000 pregnant women in gaza. i mean, many of those will be in the north, who have been told now to evacuate south. what kind of dangers are they facing on that journey, those who can move and what are you hearing? >> thank you, it's been a horrifying week. the unfolding crisis in gaza is catastrophic. and there are over 1 million

women and girls in gaza, and we are extremely concerned for gaza's 50,000 pregnant women, who right now cannot access the basic maternal health services they need, they're facing a double nightmare. and as you referenced the health care system itself in gaza is cri crippled. it's under collapse and on the brink of collapse. and these pregnant women have nowhere to go. they're facing unthinkable challenges. >> let's talk about those challenges. even if you put aside the danger from bombing, which is still huge, i mean, the lack of food, water, electricity, when you're pregnant, what kind of, you know, threat does that pose to their health and their unborn child? >> and of these 50,000 women, we expect that 5,000 of these will give birth in the coming month. imagine having been displaced from your home, fearing for your life in shelters right now, with very little food, very little water, very little fuel.

and with little access to the health care they need. some of these pregnant women may suffer complications. they are anticipated to do so. so whilst eight days ago, they would be thinking of the dream that they would be fulfilling, this life-affirming process of giving birth, but right now in the shelters they're in, they're not able to access the health care that they need, and we're hearing from the hospital staff on the ground, the midwives telling us some very harrowing stories. >> can you share any of those stories for us?ou hearing from ? >> yeah, we spoke to a midwife at the el shifa maternity center, one of the belgs centers for giving birth in gaza, and they life-supported that as a midwife themselves, they've been separated from their families, unable to support the pregnant women that are there, and many are unable to get to the maternity wart, because of the unsafe environment. and imagine going through that

process, in your last trimester before giving birth without possible complications, without clothing, without hygiene support, and not sure about what the next day, next hour, next minute will bring for themselves and for their unborn child. >> yeah, just horrific. i mean, many parents know all too well, when a baby is born, even in the most, you know, prosperous nation with the best medical care around, life is so precarious. it's tragic to think how many newborns won't have a chance at life because of this war. >> absolutely. this is why we echo the secretary general's call that was ruled that these health facilities, these pregnant women must not be a target. we call for their protection. the violence must end, the siege must end, and humanitarian aid, which is unable to get through, has to get through to support all gazaens, and for us primarily, those pregnant women who are in need of mendical car and in need of those health

supplies. >> those supplies, they exist. the resources are there, but i understand that you can't get that help to those who need it. what more can be done here to help those pregnant women and n new mothers. >> the first thing that you said, humanitarian aid and supplies to gaza must be allowed through. there must be a humanitarian corridor opened, and humanitarian law abided by. the pregnant women must therefore get access to those life-saving health services. so we want safe humanitarian access, immediately, and humanitarians and health care workers must be able to reach those pregnant women, and all of those in need of those life-saving supplies and services. >> let's hope that does happen. thank you so much for speaking with us, dominick allen, appreciate it. >> thank you, thank you. and do stay here with cnn, where next hour i'll be speaking with a mother who's nine months pregnant and has fled the fighting in gaza. and if you would like to help

with humanitarian relief efforts in israel and gaza, cnn has compiled a list of vetted organizations that are responding on the ground right now and you can find it at cnn.com/impact. so as israel prepares for an expected incursion into gaza, thousands of people across the world are voicing their support for the palestinian people. we'll have a look at some of those displays of solidarity next here on "cnn newsroom." stay with us.

palestinian sympathizers marched in washington, d.c. saturday, gathering in lafayette park and on pennsylvania avenue in front of the white house. listen here to one demonstrator who was there. >> i wished i could do something. i wish we could all do something. just stop the war, that's all that we need. just stop the war. they're in prison.

they're living in prison. no water, no food, no electricity, no nothing. this is not right. where's europe? where everybody's at? what's going on right now is not right. >> rallies in support of gaza are expanding across the u.s. this weekend, taking place in san francisco and outside the israeli consulate in los angeles. and on friday, thousands took to the streets in new york, gathering in times square to demand palestinian independence. shows of support for the palestinian people are being seen in cities around the world. in frankfort, germany, demonstrators scuffled with police as they tried to hold a rally in support of the palestinians, despite a government ban. hundreds of police officers were deployed in london as a crowd of demonstrators called for a free palestine. it was part of a series of rallies held across the uk.

>> things there stayed calm as hundreds gathered in the swedish capital. and one day after using tear gas and water cannons against protesters, police in paris worked to keep pro-palestinian demonstrations from even happening. while in turkey, thousands gathered in istanbul's freedom square for a rally dubbed the great palestine march, deriding israel's attacks on gaza. well, the effects of the hamas/israel conflict can be feld throughout the world. on saturday, players and fans took a moment of silence to remember the victims at a u.s. versus germany men's soccer match in the u.s. have a look. and music legend madonna kicked off her 40th anniversary tour in london saturday.

the 65-year-old paused her show to send a message of support to civilians suffering in the conflict between hamas and israel. >> so many are suffering watching what's happening in israel and palestine. it breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffer welcome elderly people suffering, all of it is just hard heartb heartbreaking, okay? i'm sure you agree. but even though our hearts -- >> madonna's anniversary tour was delayed for several months as the star battled a serious bacterial infection. now that she's recovered, she's resuming her 78-date tour. a longtime sketch comedy show "saturday night live" started on a serious and personal note last night. guest host pete davidson shared a poignant message about the war. have a listen. >> this week, we saw the horrible images and stories from

israel and gaza and i know what you're thinking. who better to comment on it than pete davidson. well, in a lot of ways, i am a good person to talk about it, because when i was 7 years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. so i know something about what that's like. i saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, israeli children and palestinian children. and it took me back to a horrible, horrible place. and no one in this world deserves to suffer like that, especially not kids. >> the actor and comedian also shared that comedy is sometime the only way forward through a tra tragedy. >> that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. i'll be back with more news in just a moment. please do stay with us.

welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world as we continue our breaking news coverage of israel at war. i'm kim brunhuber. it's 5:00 a.m. here in atlanta, noon in gaza city, where an incursion by israeli ground forces now appears imminent. on saturday, israel declared it's ready to open a new phase in its war against hamas with a focus on significant ground operations. the idf says it struck more than 100 hamas targets in gaza