welcome to our viewers joining us in the group and around the world. i'm bianca nobilo. >> i'm max foster. it is tuesday, october 17, 11:00 in israel and gaza. u.s. president biden will leave later today for an extraordinary wartime visit to israel. it is a strong show of support

for the long time personal lie. t -- personal lie. antony blinken has been on a marathon mission across the middle east. >> he is coming here at a critical moment for the region and for the world. the president will reaffirm the united states solidarity with israel and commitment to security. the president will hear what it needs to defend its people as we continue to work with congress to meet those needs. >> also following major developments from southern gaza, the palestinian interior ministry reports israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 people inkahn hunis. >> and a video shows a 21-year-old talking about an arm injury that was -- that she was

taken to gaza. cnn decided not to show the video. it is unclear wit was taken or f she is still alive. >> katie poll fglase is here. what can we expect from binden' visit? >> well, this is a high risk visit and that is a strong message of how important, how urgent biden thinks that his presence on the ground talking to leaders, negotiating potentially finding compromise, deescalating the situation is. that is why he is there to talk to various leaders of course including netanyahu, but also other arab leaders as well. one of the main concerns for the u.s. is that this conflict will spread, will go beyond the borders of israel into other areas. and we've been seeing in the last day israel evacuating 28 areas in the north because of exchange of fire with hezbollah

the militant group in lebanon. this is the pattern that the u.s. are concerned about escalating. more and more states around israel becoming involved in this conflict. so that is why he is there on the ground, talking to lead, find ways to find common ground if there is any at all and see what can be done. of course the billing question in all of this is what is the u.s.'s involvement going to be if the escalation continues. how much military involvement will there be from the u.s. and very note only, but as the visit is arriving, he is to land in israel tomorrow, we have as well u.s. head of central command also in israel meeting with the head of the israeli army. so clearly a lot of military discussions, a lot of cooperation being discussed here. >> one of the key issues for the americans is also getting aid into gaza. and i that is not easy. >> and extra still seeing footage we have still more trucks sitting at the border really not far at all from people that desperately need it and this aid is coming from all

over. it is not just from neighboring countries, it is also coming from turkey, jordan, also an eu humanitarian corrcorridor. but it all needs to get from egypt into gaza. and that path seems unclear. just this morning a spokesperson from the world health organization talking to cnn and she said that one of the reasons -- they had an agreement with egypt to get aid across this border into gaza. and they said it hasn't happened. the border hasn't opened. because of israeli sfrooik airs the rafah airstrike. so you can't get trucks across. and many others are pointing the blame at other actors as well. is it hamas, is it egypt itself not willing. and in the meantime, aid is not getting through. and that in and of itself is really quite worrying. >> cnn has chosen not to show this hostage video that is released of a 21-year-old.

what is important for us to know about that video? >> in fact we spoke here at cnn to the mother of mia just yesterday. anderson cooper spoke with the mother and her feelings really about the situation are some of the most important of all. have a listen to what she said. >> how does your daughter look to you? >> to see that she's been through -- she's in pain. and she is injured. she looks a bit terrified. but she is alive and stable. >> does it help to see her? >> of course, because until now, i didn't know if she is dead or alive. >> unfortunately the video doesn't necessarily confirm if she is alive. but it obviously has been some

comfort. we know the family were aware of this video before it went out. there is still dispute about the number of hostages being held. israeli military said 199. hamas is saying between 200 and 250. clearly a very urgent pressing issue on the ground and something that surely president biden will be bringing up when he arrives. >> katie polglase, thank you. it is estimated half a million gaza residents are fled the north. now we'll share the harrowing story of one of our own cnn family members. he is a cnn journalist who lives in northern gaza with his wife. and they have two boys and she is pregnant with their third child. but he and his family like so many others were forced to leave on a dangerous journey south.

[ speaking in a non-english language ]

and the deepening crisis in gaza is especially dire for children with supplies of basic necessities like water and medicine dwindling. and many families are seeking shelter at schools and other u.n. buildings. aid organizations are urging officials to take action saying children in gaza need life-saving support and every minute counts. >> secretary of state antony blinken says the u.s. and israel have agreed to develop a plan for humanitarian aid from donor nations and organizations to reach civilians in gaza. he tweeted on monday that it could include the possibility of creating areas to keep civilians out of harm's way. blinken says that he shares israel's concern that hamas may try to prevent aid from reaching those who need it. >> joining us now to talk about the humanitarian situation in gaza is red cross spokesperson steven ryan. thank you very much for being with us this morning and for all of the work the organization is doing. how involved are you as an organization in these

discussions about the opening of the rafah crossing and trying to find humanitarian safe areas for civilians there? >> certainly the situation as we've seen in the reports for people in gaza is critical. it is devastating. needs are staggering and humanitarian organizations have to be able to scale up their organizations. we have a team in gaza that were there before this conflict. but they need more resources. they need more people to be able to support them, we need more goods to be able to get into gaza urgently and we're looking at every avenue that we can do to get these relief items where they are needed most. to be able to do this, we need the authorizations of all involved and we need to be able to provide this relief in a safe way so to the people that need most. >> and what is your understanding of currently what is holding up an agreement on

the humanitarian corridor or safe spaces? >> certainly we need to engage with all authorities and states to ensure that we and other actors can provide humanitarian assistance. all i can say on this is that certainly the international community of the red cross has been advocating for international humanitarian law. it is not an abstract concept. it applies to all actors that are in this conflict, all the people who are there, and its goal is to minimize the suffering. every precaution should be taken and that people, civilians who are not part of this fight, are able to access food, water, shelter. we have people sleeping outside right now. that they can get medical

assistance and hospitals and protected persons are not affected by the conflict. >> what did you make of antony blinken's statement? it doesn't actually say all that much because it is not even a plan for humanitarian aid. it is israel and america have agreed to develop a plan. so it doesn't sound like you'll get immediate support. >> certainly our focus is on meeting the needs of the civilians that are there. the international community of the red cross and many other actors are ramping up their support. we're doing our best to make sure that goods are able to reach these people. our focus is on being ready to provide this 45humanitarian assistance. as soon as that is possible, we'll be there. and our teams present in gaza are doing their absolute best with the few resources that they have to be able to provide this z a dance. and certainly as part of our

appeal to respect international law, this includes facilitating and ensuring that civilians are able to receive the much needed miamian assistance that they need right now and we continue to ask all actors do whatever they can to be a neutral and partial organization to be able to do our jobs and assist all the people affected by the conflict. >> you're not getting aid imminently. that is pretty clear. but even getting it across the rafah crossing is not doable right now because of the state of the crossing. when do you run out of aid? within gaza. >> i think that it is fair to say that as our focus is on civilians and on people affected, the running out is happening now. the need is now. and that means that the icrc and as well as other humanitarian organizations are looking at every possible avenue to get z a dance to where it is needed

most. the running out is not something that i can speak on, but i know our colleagues have already told me that people are becoming desperate. the cumulative effects of this ongoing conflict are not just having physical effects on people but also emotional and psychological. right now our focus is recognizing that there is a desperate need for food, water, shelter, electricity, medical assistance and that every effort must be taken by all parties to make sure that neutral actors such as the icoc are able to meet these needs. we're working in the israel and occupied territories and gaza to provide assistance to all who are affected. this is our responsibility. this is what the icoc was created for, but we need to be ensured to todo our job.

if we're not able to deliver relief, then we won't be able to do the job that we on so desperately want to and so desperately needed. >> stephen ryan, thank you so much for joining. the suspect in the shooting in belgium that caused a scare has been caught. we'll have a live report for you after the break.

the suspected gunman in a terror attack in the belgian capital has been shot and killed by police. >> he had been at large since the shooting that killed two swedish nationals in brussels on monday. scott mclean is joining us with the latest. and it is still developing this story. >> that's right. and the news that you just mentioned that the suspect has been killed by police is brand new from our affiliate in belgium if the last few minutes. they are also reporting that the suspect at the time that he was shot was in fact carrying a weapon. and this happened in a neighborhood in northeast brussels called schaerbeek just about two or three kilometers

from the full site. and if schaerbeek rings any bells, it is because it was in the spotlight back in 2016 because some of the perpetrators of the terror attacks in brussels planned the attacks in that neighborhood. the prime minister also held a press conference in the milgz of the nighmiddle of the night say that he was of tunisian origin living in the country illegally. and there was plenty of concern raised early on when authorities made reference to a video that had been circulating online where someone claiming to be the suspect had said that they were inspired by isis and also specifically mentioning the nationality of those who they had killed. two people killed, swedish nationals, a third person a taxi truck driver shot and injured but expected to recover. the prime minister called it terrorism, extreme brutally, and carried out with a weapon of war. obviously the terror alert level was raised.

why on earth anyone would target someone specifically because they are wearing sweden football colors, you'd have to ask the specific obviously, but you can imagine sweden has been in the news a lot lately as you know for one person, one man in sweden who has carried out koran burnings there which sparked protests across the muz lislim world. and sweden says we have free speech, freedom of expression, only thing that could limit someone's ability do this is safety grounds so i think this added fuel to the fire the fact that he was accompanied by police. >> so we'll wait to hear about the motive. but horrendous situation for people in brussels because suddenly the highest terror alert and this big game was going on. >> so you had a lot of swedish fans in town for the game. the shooting site is about five kilometers or so away from the stadium where the game was actually being played. and what is really interesting is that it actually happened

about an hour and a half before the game even started. and so it took a while for the information to trickle through. you might have watched the first half on tv, it went off as per usual and then only at halftime i think did the players get word, did the officials sort of got word and then it was decided that they wouldn't actually play the second half of the game. and more pressing for officials was the fact that you had all of these people, many of them wearing sweden colors who were inside of the stadium with a shooter inspired by isis looking for swedes on the loose. they were in that stadium for at least an hour according to media before they were able to be evacuated in a way that law enforcement felt was safe enough. >> thank you, scott. the top u.s. diplomat has wrapped up days of high stakes diplomacy across the middle east. the messages antony blinken brought back to israel, when we come back.

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welcome back. i'm bianca nobilo. >> i'm max foster. let me bring you up-to-date with the top stories. >> palestinian interior ministry is reporting dozens of deaths from israeli airstrikes, at least 21 people were killed in c kahn yunis. and a thathamas spokesperson cl that they have between 200 to 250 captive. top u.s. officials are arriving in israel as the situation becomes more urgent.

head of central command is in tel aviv to meet to better understand israel's defense requirements they say and outline american support during the conflict. >> the u.s. president is expected to arrive in israel on wednesday. joe biden's visit comes as the u.s. strikes a delicate balance of providing unwavering support for the military operations and mitigating the humanitarian crisis in gaza. all the while trying to keep the war from spreading to further fronts. president biden will also travel to jordan where he is suspected to meet with the jordanian king and palestinian authority president. >> and there is also a flurry of diplomacy. antony blinken has visited seven countries and taken part in a nearly eight hour meeting with the israeli prime minister and his carwar cabinet. becky anderson picks up that story. >> reporter: a weekend of high

stakes diplomacy. antony blinken hearing from key allies on a whistle stop seven nation tour. many of the regions' top leaders calling for israel to deescalate and allow humanitarian aid into gaza. egypt's president says israel's response has gone beyond self-defense and is now a, quote, collective punishment against gazans. his concerns are echoed by saudi crown prince. mbs stressing to stop the military operations that claim the lives of innocent people, work to calm the situation, stop the current escalation and respect humanitarian law including lifting the siege on gaza and work to create conditions for the return of stability. and qatar working intensively to secure the release of hostages taken by hamas while also

calling for deescalation in the region and an immediate cease fire. blinken brought those sentiments back to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> the way israel does this matters. needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity. taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians. >> reporter: meanwhile iran's foreign minister conducting his own version of shuttle diplomacy. he traveled to iraq, lebanon, syria and met with hamas officials in xqatar. in beirut also with officials from hezbollah. both of those groups considered proxies for iran. tehran increasing warnings that the conflict could spread if israel does not stop its attacks on gaza. also over the weekend, the u.s. sent a second carrier group into the eastern med fer rainian to

send a message of deterrence. but president biden says there is no evidence that iran is behind the hamas attack on israel. >> iran constantly supports hamas and hezbollah. i don't mean that. but this terms of did they have foreknowledge, did they help plan the attack, there is no evidence of that. >> reporter: the u.s. is not the only major power getting involved. china sending its own special middle east envoy to the region next week to, quote, cool down the situation. but despite the high stakes diplomacy, the situation seems far from cooling down. becky anderson, cnn, tel aviv. still to come, we'll take you inside a kibbutz that was violently attacked by hamas and walk through the remnants of a family's home.

let's get you up to at a time on the latest developments

from southern gaza. palestinian interior ministry reports israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 in kahn yunis and another 28 in rafah. that is home to the border crossing where many palestinian civilians have been gathering to try to enter egypt. >> proximity of the kibbutz made it a prime target for hamas fighters during the attacks. more than 120 people were killed in the slaughter with more than taken hostage. erin burnett spoke with israeli forces who are there right now. some of their stories may be difficult to hear. >> reporter: men came at dawn through the main gate to this town of just over 1,000, burnin. now the kibbutz is a mass grave and still an active fighting zone. fist terrorists still found hiding. one soldier we saw on duty there

has served 25 years in the army. >> what we saw here, nothing can prepare you for this kind of brutality of evil, pure evil. so you ask me how do i feel? determined. very determined. >> reporter: determined because here you breathe the crime. through your nose, your mouth, the presence of human death hits us. in family that lived here, haddads. their names on the outside. we saw a bus pass for one of them. and this is their home completely charred, destroyed. this is the front garden. everything is now dead. i'm standing inside someone's home where they were celebrating, exercise bike behind me, everything bruurn an destroyed. and in the kitchen, charred remains of all the pictures that

somebody would have had on the outside of their fridge. the medicine containers that you would label by day to make sure that you took the right pills every day. all of that just part of a normal life left behind. home after home after home, here someone was a bike rider. here someone liked gardening. that life now gone. now bulletproof vests worn by hamas in zip ties lie outside this home. evidence hamas was ready to tie up many more victims. and still it is the children that no human can brcomprehend. >> we saw a baby girl, four months order, entire room was upside down. and the baby lying on the floor. her hands -- she was so beautiful, so beautiful. in her pajamas.

shot in the head. >> reporter: he says they carried her outside like an angel. an infant. and children's toys and drawings are scattered everywhere. in this house, you see children's homework, children's books, a deck of cards just spread out. there was clearly fighting inside this house, outside this house, arabic graffiti, name of a brigade, arabic writings displayed, bullet holes in the glass as we walked in. the words also say allahu akbar and victory, only there is no victory here, only death and hate. >> sense saturday morning, we're dealing with a holy mission. not less. >> a holy mission? >> holy mission, yeah. holy, not less. >> joining us now from tel aviv is major-w wmajor wise.

a spokesperson for the forces. thank you for being with us. according to a statement, israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 people in rafah tuesday morning and 21 in kahn yunis. what is the intention behind the evacuation order for civilians if israel defense forces are going to strike areas that the civilians have been asked to go to? >> first i should say that the forces are the force of hamas. we've seen those stats are coming from them and we very clearly understand that they have been trying to prevent civilians from following those evacuation orders. so i would look at those figures with some skepticism. but our goal, if we didn't want to minimize the impact on the civilian, we wouldn't have told them to evacuate. that is exactly what we've said, the warning has been out for several days.

we keep encouraging them to move south and to do that for their object safety. and, you know, i can't confirm figures that hamas is putting out and i'd be very skeptical of the accuracy of those figures. >> so if we put those exact figures to one side for a moment, there aren't strikes being carried out on areas in southern gaza where the civilian population have been asked to evacuate to? >> i can't comment on specific strikes. but what i can -- >> not specific strike, but are there any strikes in those areas? >> civilians are being asked to move. they are receiving a warning that mighty say none of the 1400 israeli civilians who were slaughtered on saturday morning received. none of them, the people, the children, the elderly -- >> of course, but you are a government and not what you would call a terrorist organization. so of course you would warn the

successfulian population. >> right. and now the civilian population within the gaza strip, that is for hamas to answer to. they are the sovereign rulers within the gaza strip. the safety of civilians within the gaza strip is the responsibility of hamas. we provided a warning. we have opened that warning. we have kept that warning out. we are communicating it for several days now. and it is on the responsibility of hamas to facilitate that movement and to protect civilians. that is their role as the sovereign power within the gaza strip. >> according to lots of reports, the damage around the rafah crossing is so bad it can't be used at the moment if aid were to be allowed through. can you confirm that? >> i can't confirm that. what i can say is that hamas destroyed the two crossings that existed between israel and the gaza strip where aid would go in on a daily basis, where thousands of workers from gaza

would come into israel to work, those were destroyed by hamas. i don't know to speak to the situation on the crossing with egypt. >> how easy would it be to open up that crossing do you think? because a lot of expectation that when president biden arrives your government would be able to announce that there will be some aid going in through rafah. how easy will that be and what effect would that have on your military campaign? >> that is something that is on the diplomatic level being discussed. and we will facilitate whatever decision the government here makes in terms of that. >> how important a priority for you is it to avoid escalation with hezbollah and open up another front in the north? >> we're sending them a very, very clear message and certainly it is a message that is being communicated by our allies as well, which is to not get involved in this conflict and in

the events that we have seen from the border with -- across from the border with lebanon, idf is responding immediately. but again, we send that message very clearly as our allies. >> iwanted to mention the video that we're not showing it but of one of the israeli hostages, incredibly difficult to watch and that is why we're not showing it. mine whargs you are able to say to those people back in israel with hostages in gaza, you know, in terms of the search and your ability to extract them safely, what are you saying to the families who may be watching this and going through a horrible time? >> of course, the video you mentioned was released has night of 21-year-old mia schem. she was at the festival saturday morning and we understand that hamas releasing these videos is very reminiscent of what isis

did with videos of hostages. this is another attempt to engage if psin psychological ca fair. and of course everyone in this country is thinking about the hostages 24/7.and of course eve country is thinking about the hostages 24/7. we anticipate that hamas will continue releasing these painful and heartbreaking videos as another message of waging as i said a psychological war against civilians here. >> major libby weiss, thank you so much for the time. and protests have gathered outside the white house calling for an end to the war on hamas. they urge president biden to work to restrain israeli aggression as they called it. the protests come as israel is preparing for a ground incursion aimed at annihilating hamas. rosemary church spoke with one of the protest leaders and asked

what she hoped to see happen in israel. >> today thousands of american jews were at every entrance to the white house calling on president biden to exercise leadership in this moment in a way that only he can, to call for a ceasefire, a deescalation, immediate release of the israeli hostages against some of our loved ones among them. and to address the root causes of this violence which is again a system of apartheid and occupation. and the assumption by successive israeli governments that they can cage people indefinitely and brutalize them when they try to nonviolently resist and not expect disaster to happen to their own citizens. and a large portion of the israeli public is also clear on this. and we're there in solidarity with the israelis and palestinians that we love. again, many of whom we are grieving this week.

and we are there to call on president biden to exercise leadership in this moment because it is desperately need. it is quite literally life or death. >> so that is your message to u.s. president biden. what is your message to benjamin netanyahu right now as he prepares to send israeli troops in to gaza in an apparent ground incursion? >> what we have heard from this israeli government is that there is no strategy. what happens if they raiseze ga to the ground? what then? >> we continue our coverage of the gaza conflict after the break.

india's supreme court has set up a panel to grant legal rights to the lgbtq community. >> a complex process. let's go to new delhi. >> reporter: max, it is complicated and remains complex because you remember there were four marathon judgment nags were

read out, it took over two hours that the judgment was delivered by five judges. the hearing started in april this year and they had reserved the verdict in the month of may, but today was supposed to be the day when the community was hoping, expecting and they had fingers crossed that they would be recognized legally as a community that can also get license to marry. but that was not the case. i have with me one of the petitioners. they have all expressed disappointment over the judgment that was issued today. the details of which will come out slowly when the order is put up on the website, but for now i want to understand for our viewers out there what he makes of the judgment and if he is disappointed. what do you have to say? >> look, it is a strange feeling because when this whole process started, i think it was almost

unimaginable that we would be here. when i was a 13-year-old kid being told that the lgbtq is still a minority, from that point to now, it has been an incredible journey. so it was amazing that we were here. having said that, the fact we haven't received the relief that we came for, which is the right to marry, of course feels extremely disappointing. so, yes, there is a sense of sadness and disappointment. having said that, i think the court has made clear that it is not able to move in this direction even though many expressed their sympathy for the cause. they expressed in no uncertain terms the fact that they believe a legal framework should exist that should allow us to live with dignity.

they disagreed on how we can get there. so i think now this is a matter for the messy process of democracy and the fight goes on. >> max, that is what essentially happened in court today. the judges did say -- they had their heart in the right place. a lot spoke about the discrimination that the community constantly faces. but that didn't really translate into judgment in their favor. it was a verdict that went 3-2 and the majority vie was that perhaps this is something which is really out of the jurisdiction of the supreme court, this is something that the masses should decide on. now, there still needs to be clarity on whether this goes to parliament or not. if it goes to parliament, remember there is a majority for the indian prime minister narendra modi's government there and they have been very firm in not wanting legal recognition for same-sex marriage. they made it clear in their petitions. and so is there hope if it goes

to parliament would you say? >> i think that to be absolutely accurate, i think the government in its response did not necessarily say that they were against the idea. they very much stated that theb court to decide. so i think the life blood of democracy is hope. people have come before us in this fight and they have faced setbacks bigger than the one that has been faced today. >> but it does seem to be the views part of -- >> no, i mean, to their credit, all the judges agreed with the sentiment that queer identity is not an urban or elite concept, that it is something that exists across the country. many of the judges say there is nothing alien to india about

homosexuality at all. >> which is very progressive in nature. so i would say it is significant because india has come a long way since they decriminalized homosexuality, but still a distance to go in short and the community here is hoping that happens sooner than later. back to you. >> vedika sud, thank you so much. and jim jordan is picking up more support in his quest to become the next speaker of the house of representatives. but it remains to be seen if he can get enough votes for a planned floor vote in the coming hours. the speaker needs a majority of the full house to be elected. and jordan can only afford to lose four republicans if every member votes. >> we'll go to the floor tomorrow. it is not about pressuring anybody, just about we have to have a speaker. you can't open the house and do the work of the american people and help our dearest and closest friend israel if you don't have a speaker. >> jordan's allies believe if they can get the holdouts down to 20 or fewer members of congress, they can grind it out

on the floor. like kevin mccarthy did when he won the speakership after his history making 15 rounds of voting. if jordan ultimately loses, republicans will be back at square one on their 14th day without a speaker. i mean, that story is something else, isn't it? thanks for joining us here. i'm max foster. >> and i'm bianca nobilo. "early start" is up next. from chrome to duckduckgo.

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