president standing up to terror -- >> nobody wants war, but i think people are willing to accept war. >> it's the most sadness that gaza ever had. >> plan that will enable humanitarian aid to reach civilians in gaza and them alone. >> everyday the numbers of the missing, higher and higher and higher. >> so many people suffering, similar loss, similar questions, similar unknowns. >> i'm begging the world to bring my baby back home. >> israel would do all it can in order to release these prisoners. >> we still don't know the condition of those hostages. the president has made very clear that that is a top priority. ♪ good morning, everyone. i'm phil mattingly with poppy harlowneyork. erin burnett slooif in tel aviv israel. it is 7:00 a.m. here on the east coast. 2:00 p.m. in tel aviv where president biden will be heading for a high-stakes trip later

this evening. he'll be going into an active war zone as israel's war with hamas continues. president biden is undergoing pressure to get desperately needed food, water and other aid into zba sa and also supporting israel and trying to save american hostages currently held captive by hamas. >> he's coming here at a critical moment for israel, for the region and for the world. the president will hear from israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizing civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in gaza. it is critical that aid begin flowing into gaza as soon as possible. >> overnight, the israeli military continued to bombard gaza ahead of a possible ground invasion. the idf said biden's visit will not delay its planning for potential future operations in the gaza strip. vital humanitarian aid has been piling up at the border crossing in the south in egypt. that border crossing, rafa

crossing remains closed and the world health organization is now warning that water is running out for hundreds of thousands of displaced palestinians. take a look at these satellite images. what you're looking at are 30 foot bomb craters blocking the roadway near that crossing. let's go to our erin burnett joining us live in tel aviv. erin, good morning to you. the israeli military said moments ago it is concerned about the humanitarian situation, but there is no cease fire yet. and you also just had that very illuminating interview with adviser to the netanyahu mark regev who talked about the fact that we may have to go in on the ground. >> right. poppy, we all picked up on that. we may have to. you know, decision perhaps that is -- that cannot be undone has already been made. but at least the words out there are still we may have to. they've also talked about the fact that they've killed more than 10 hamas commanders in gaza and bombardment continues. we have plumes of smoke, thick plumes this morning.

we have already heard thuds. less so than in prior days. important to always remember here, this war has now been going on for ten days. gaza has been completely bombarded. not as if we're awaiting for some invasion for this to start. it has already started. it's a matter of what it does next and what it escalates to. president biden's trip to israel tomorrow is intended to reaffirm u.s. solidarity with israel but serve as a message to iran, syria and hezbollah as this possible does escalate. cnn's arlette saenz joins us from the white house. coming at a moment like this is incredibly high stakes because walking out with nothing is a very, very tough pill to swallow. so what is president biden hoping to accomplish? >> reporter: well, erin, president biden, as he's set to depart for israel later today, is hoping that he can prevent this conflict in israe spreading into a wider crisis in the region. his trip dramatic show of solidarity for israel, but also

will act as a sign of deterrence to those adversaries in the region who is president has warned against trying to take advantage of this situation. but the president is heading to israel, hoping to accomplish a few things. one of the key challenges is addressing the humanitarian concerns as israel continues its campaign to root out hamas in gaza. now, while the president has stressed that israel has the right to defend itself, you have also heard this steady uptick in warnings about the immediate to protect civilian life. his secretary of state antony blinken spent more than seven hours meeting with netanyahu and his war cabinet to talk about getting humanitarian aid into gaza and also the need to protect those civilians. officials say that that is something the president is hoping to stress during parts of his visit. but, additionally, on top of traveling to israel, the president will also be making a critical trip to jordan will he will meet with arab leaders, the

president of egypt, the king of jordan as well as the leader of the palestinian authority. it is there where the president is also expected to talk about this situation in gaza. each of those leaders has condemned the situation on the ground there. you had earlier today king abdullah of jordan saying it would be a red line for palestinians to be displaced into jordan. he said there would be no refugees in egypt or jordan. you've also heard the egyptian president saying that this campaign that israel has been waging against gaza is collective punishment on civilians. that's something that president biden will have to navigate as these arab leaders will be key as this conflict continues. but there are also huge security concerns with president biden traveling into an active war zone. that was seen just yesterday when secretary of state antony blinken had to shelter as air sirens went off in israel. but the president's steam says they acknowledge this is a tense situation, that they have

assessed the security situation, white house spokesperson john kirby saying they've done their homework in assessing it is safe for the president to travel to israel at that time. of course, this will be the second trip the president has made just this year to a war zone. remember, he made that secret trip back earlier in the spring as he travelled to ukraine, but later today he will be departing here to israel as he is trying to make this show of solidarity with israel, but it also will mark a key test for president biden as his presence there could further tie him to the israeli response in this war. >> all right. that's certainly the case. phil, i know you have so many sources you have been speaking to, but there is that risk and there's also what israel says which is, at least they say, and this is diplomacy, but they say that biden coming hasn't impacted their plans at all. then the widely discussion on the ground, biden is coming, netanyahu isn't going in there

because that would tie biden to this in an incredibly tight way and make him look bad. what risks is biden taking on? age what are your hearing about his goals? >> the risks are very real in terms of they want deliverables. you're sending a president over, president deciding to travel on the front end of a war, into a war zone, key the kyiv, the trip there was a dramatic moment, hostilities in a static phase. this is a very, very different moment and yet one we were talking to kate beddenfield, she made clear which is something i heard from other officials last night, they weren't surprised. face to face diplomacy is critical for this president. he talks so often it's a known truism he wants to meet with people face to face. he feels that's where he's most effective and comes in context what we have seen the last several days. the secretary of state traveling to israel twice in between traveling to several arab states as well to meet with leaders. each time reporting back to the

president, briefing him on where things stood. the president was having his own phone calls as well. the critical piece of what you heard from tony blinken, after that 7.5 hour meeting between he, his team and their counterparts, israeli counterparts, where i'm told they were separating into rooms working through shuffling paper trying to hammer out some type of humanitarian answer here. is an understanding that while the u.s. is certainly completely supportive of israel, while they have made clear they will stand side by side to them, give them whatever they need militarily to succeed in the offensive that's like ahead, they understand the other players in the region, most specifically about egypt, the president will be in amman the second visit for biden, king abdullah of jordan, the red line and their concerns. but also meeting with the palestinian leader the president spoken to. they are critical players here as this moves forward here. what people are saying publicly, officials aren't surprised by

it. it's what they do behind the scenes and whether or not a humanitarian corridor or aid agreement or safe zones can be locked in that's critical not just for the ability for israel to conduct the offensive ahead but also the long game for here for an operation that u.s. officials know is going to be very painful and very lengthy. >> painful and lengthy and the world just hopes -- does not escalate beyond that. but no matter what painful and lengthy and in part because of the hostage situation. sara sidner is with me here. i know, sara, we got this hostage video. there's a lot that it tells. not just about the situation and how they treated her, in the video, but about what they're trying to signal, they are alive. you don't put that out unless you want to do a deal of some sort. it would seem. you actually were with the moesh of this hostage this morning. >> yeah. what hamas is doing is part of

their propaganda war, a part of any war. and what they are doing is basically signaling to the world that if you come in here, if you have a ground offensive or if you decide to try and rescue these hostages, they're still alive. it's a pawn for them, i think, in this. if you look at it from 30,000 feet for the family. it was the very first video out, first time anyone, anyone in the world, has seen one of the hostages since hamas took them. >> it's the first time that anyone even knew -- at least one of them at some point after the festival was alive. >> right. and that's what her mother -- so mia shem is a beautiful young lady who went to this rave party. was there to dance and enjoy hes and she ended up in a horrible situation that surprise attack on friday. her mother had been waiting all this time. she said i knew she was alive. i just knew she was alive. but she didn't have any

confirmation. then yesterday the confirmation came. she got it along with the rest of the world. we all saw at the same time that her daughter was alive. her daughter looks -- she has been injured. she has what is clearly a broken arm. probably from a bullet wound. she is all sewn up, not well. you can see bandages around her arm. her mother is watching this. think about this from the perspective of a mother, a family member, and you imagine what that is like to see your child in pain and also parroting words that hamas has asked her. she was being treated in the video. that was also again a propaganda move on hamas' part to say, look, look at our humanity. we're taking care of her and yet they're the ones that injured her and stole her. >> that's of course why we're not airing it. it was interesting one of the hostage ghonegotiators they tri to make her look better.

>> than she actually is. >> he's an expert at these things but this is his interpretation that he heard ventilator noises in the background consistent with being underground and consistent with what the idf told us they believe these hostages are being held under ground in different locations. >> right. because if they were to hold them in all one location and israel would have intelligence, they would go in. the possibility is they might actually get rescued. they do it all over, it is much more difficult. i do want to let you hear from karen shem, the mother of mia shem taken by hamas on saturday. it was incredibly, as you might imagine, heart wrenching to hear this mother suffering. listen. >> i didn't know she's dead or alive until yesterday. what i knew is that she's -- might be kidnapped. i'm begging the world to bring my baby back home.

she only went to a party, to a festival party, to have some fun. and now she's in gaza. >> hearing that is hard. excruciatingly hard. being in the room you could feel it. you could feel that horror and hope and feel that pain all at the same time. the brothers were also there talking about her. and you see these pictures of this beautiful young woman. they probably picked her for a reason to be the first video that was sent out. but we don't know when the video was taken. that's the only thing. we don't know how many days ago or if it was most recent. the likelihood is it wasn't today. that's the likelihood or yesterday. so, this mother is just begging people in the world to pray for her daughter and to get her daughter home. i can't tell you how impactful

it was to be sitting in that room. >> i can only imagine these families. the pain is -- to the world hostages, people feel sorry for them. people feel upset. when you see that pain, it is a human pain. >> unimaginable. >> incredibly unimaginable human pain. sara, thank you very much. >> just in, idf says shots have been fired along lebanon and israel. an anti-tank missile was fired toward an idf post along the border with lebanon. israel is now responding. there's artillery fire in response to that. let's go to ben wedeman there in southern lebanon. ben, what are you learning and able to observe yourself? >> reporter: erin, what we have been hearing is fairly distant thuds. we understand that most of the action is going on to the southwest of us. and this is really sort of in line with what we've seen over the last four days.

hezbollah will attack israel military positions and the israelis will respond, this sort of level of violence is at a level where perhaps you can say the water is being kept hot but not boiling over because it would appear that at the moment neither hezbollah nor israel want to become involved in a full-scale war at the moment. however, we are hearing statements from iranian leaders, iran, of course, the main backer of hezbollah, which would indicate that this holding of the line in terms of maintaining a certain level of violence but not crossing what the israelis have called the threshold of escalation, the supreme leader of iran, has said if atrocities if gaza persist, muslim and resistance forces could lose patience and no one can prevent their actions. now, that's just one statement

from a variety of iranian officials. which would indicate that they're holding out the possibility that if israel goes into gaza full scale incursion with the bloodshed that would inevitably result, perhaps iran and its allallies, such as hezbollah will not sit on the sidelines, occasionally firing at the israelis but will go one step further. erin? >> ben wedeman, thank you very much there in southern lebanon. poppy? >> erin, thank you very much. we'll get back to you soon. as president biden prepares for this visit to israel and then the broader region, the u.s. house of representatives still doesn't have a speaker. a vote is expected today. we'll be joined next by democratic congressman jim himes in studio.

today president biden is preparing for a high-stakes trip to israel. the president will land in tel aviv tomorrow morning where he is expected to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and biden will travel to jordan and meet with king

abdullah of jordened and egyptian president el-sisi and palestinian authorities later. new this morning, iran supreme leader is weighing in on the humanitarian crisis in gaza and calling it, quote, ethnic cleansing and saying, quote, muslims and resistance forces could lose patience. israel maintained it is making efforts to minimize civilian casualties by warning civilians to move out of the north and move into the south of gaza. the number of deaths reported stands at nearly 2,800. joining us now is jim himes of democrat, the top democrat on the house intelligence committee. good morning. thank you for being here. >> good morning, poppy. >> what do you think president biden needs to achieve on this trip, not only to israel but in the region, to make the risk worth it? weren't i think what president biden is doing same thing that two aircraft carrier strike groups, air wings and secretary

of state is doing, which is telling iran and iran's client hezbollah to stay out. nothing says stay out quite as much as the president's presence on the ground. as long as with supporting the israelis and trying to identify the location of the hostages, that's probably their top priority right now. this is a bad situation to begin with. were hezbollah to start launching missiles in force that would be a massive escalation. >> specifically let's say egypt does not play ball and the rafa crossing, nothing changes there. and we just heard mark regev, senior adviser to bb netanyahu saying we may have to when erin asked about a ground invasion. israel said the president coming is welcome but won't change any of their plans on the ground. what if that happens while the president is there? is it still worth it? >> i have been heartened by the israeli leadership in the last couple days in particular has come off of the understandable

emotional enraged statements that they were making ten days ago. and come to grapple with the reality that ground incursion into gaza would be a brutal thing for israeli soldiers as well as for obviously the gaza and civilian population. they have come off this notion of cutting off the water in the south. they're talking with our people and with others about the humanitarian situation. egypt needs to play ball. egypt, like jordan and like saudi arabia, the leaders there worry about their street. about popular uprisings. these are not necessarily popular leaders particularly in egypt where they have huge economic problems. all of the leaders in those countries will be saying things designed to keep their own domestic politics in a box as it were. >> as part of -- you mentioned the aircraft carriers sent, the strike groups sent as well, the u.s. military assets, the president now deterrence has been a critical piece of this. the president and his team repeated will saying don't to iran, to hezbollah and other

actors in the region. have you seen or have you heard of any intelligence related to spill over effect actually starting to take place? >> well, you know, ayo seen these squirmishes in the north, it's not like the north is quiet. and there is a point, hezbollah has their politics too. iran likes to see itself as the purist, we know this is baloney, staunchest supporters of the palestinians, they have their politics too. apart from the moral reasons for making sure that palestinian civilians are protected which is why it's important that the images that come out of gaza are not such that has hezbollah feels like they have no choice, iran feels like they have no choice. by the way, complicating matters is hamas has every interest in getting hezbollah and others into this. it will be a very dicey couple of days. >> i want your reaction to our clarissa ward who has been doing remarkable reporting on the ground there, spoke with the son of a hostage and she asked if he wants war. here is what he said.

let's play it. >> nobody wants war, but i think people are willing to accept war because you'll hurt anyone to stop the pain. so you see the demon in front of you and you want to vanquish it. i don't think it's realistic. whatever we do to gaza now, it would come back. >> israel has negotiated in the past for hostages. but right now the line out of israel is israel will not hold negotiations with any enemy that we have vowed to wipe from the face of the earth. is that a mistake? >> well, i think the reality is whether israel is doing it directly or indirectly, the civilized world is going to do everything they can to get those hostages out. you've been talking about it on your show this morning.

people, civilians held by terrorists is just about as excruciating a moment as you can imagine. i actually had a constituent part of the individual's released by iran. and you know, i worked with the family. >> i remember. >> for years. the level of pain is incredible. i think the israelis -- again, you can only imagine we felt it on 9/11, the rage out of the leadership ten days ago was understandable. i think they've come to realize two thing. one, they can no longer live with hamas. they will ultimately, the world will hopefully ultimately participate in the elimination of hamas as a political force. but i think the israelis have come to realize it doesn't necessarily need to happen in days or weeks. that this is a lengthy project and that, you know, acting rationally could have bad implications for the hostages or hezbollah and for other players. i sense a sort of sitting back on the part of israelis, we need to do this but let's do this

driven by the best ideas rather than by rage and emotion. >> there's been significant public support in the house, bipartisan, for israel in the wake of the terror attack. with 15 ofcolleagues, progressive members of your caucus, yesterday introduced a resolution calling for the biden administration to seek an immediate cessation of hostilities and a cease fire. what's your view of that? >> the word cease fire -- i understand the instinct, particularly when you're talking about as densely populated an area as gaza. there's no way to conduct war in a place like gaza. we learned this in places like iraq, in a sanitary way. i understand the instinct, but calling for a cease fire is like calling for the united states to stand down and do a cease fire on september 12th, 2001, right? you -- it's an ugly world out there and you can't have you have been brutalized the way the israelis have been brutalized. take a deep breath and don't do

anything about it. it's not realistic and it's not right. >> what's not right, to make the call? >> so say you should not respond militarily to a terrorist attack that killed well in excess of 1,000 of your people. i understand the instinct. look, people who take -- who remind us how horrible war is,ly never say those people are absolutely wrong. we always need that voice. but when you have been brutalized the way we were on 9/11 or the way the israelis were, you go to war. >> congressman jim himes, thank you, for being here. thousands of israeli work permits are granted to palestinians each year. now many of those same workers are trapped in refugee camps in west bank while their loved ones are facing a mounts humanitarian crisis in gaza. our colleague jeremy diamond spoke with some of those men as they made their plea for their loved ones. >> i feel like i can't sleep. i'm super worried about them. if i was there, i would be the one taking them from one place

to another to protect them.

is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network.

more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. ♪ we have some new video just in that shows strikes near the

rafa crossing that is the border between gaza and egypt. it's the same place where hundreds of thousands of pales palestinians, are gathered to hopefully to safely cross out of gaza into egypt and palestinian americans and other dual passport holders all are massed waiting. this comes in the west bank we're learning more about desperate palestinians stranded as a refugee camp for days trying to get home. there have been scores of palestinians who were working in israel, also, you know, were in israel many of them work here when hamas attacked. they can't go back to gaza to return to eir homes and are fearing the worst for their families they left behind just going for a regular day at work. cnn's jeremy diamond joins us live from jerusalem. this is a crucial part of the story. even in the attacks, people

would have coming over working, that's the way it works. palestinians into israel. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: well, erin, before the wash started about 18,000 g gazans has permits to work in israel. they now estimate that more than 4,100 of them were in israel when hamas carried out its attack in israel. now, after having their permits revoked by israel, they are now stranded in the west bank. we met with a group of about 180 of them who are in a refugee camp to hear their heart breaking stories. >> translator: he likes football. and he likes the phones. >> reporter: sitting in a refugee center in the west bank, ismeal can't hold back his tears when speaking of his family. his wife and five children are

in gaza. facing relentless bombing over the last week. >> translator: they're my life, of course, they're all my life. >> reporter: he should be there too. when war broke out he was in israel with roughly 18,000 gazans granted a permit to work there. >> translator: i always wanted this permit because the situation in gaza is very dire. the financial situation, the debt. the economy is zero. >> reporter: now he just wants to go home. >> translator: in an instant, right now i'll go back. this moment, i would go back. >> reporter: when hamas carried out its attack in southern israel, hundreds of those workers suddenly found themselves stranded far away from their families as bombs began falling on the gaza strip. now, several hundred of those

workers are here in the refugee camp waiting to return home. >> well, these numbers are really hard to get a handle on. there might be 15, 20,000 work permits issued on a daily basis. we don't know how many were working on saturday. maybe the number was half. maybe more than 10 thousand. but the israelis gathered them up and brought them to the west bank. >> reporter: at least 180 are living, sleeping and waiting here in the refugee camp's event center, agonizingly powerless to help their families. >> translator: what do i feel? i feel like i can't sleep. i'm super worried about them. and all day i'm in contact with them. and until now, i spoke to my boy. i told him to leaf to go to another area. take your mother and your siblings and go to another area. >> if i was there, i would be the one taking them from one place to another to protect them. >> who is taking care of your

family now? >> translator: nobody. all of us physically. we are here. but our minds are in gaza. >> during our interview, his family tries to call him, twice. the call got disconnected, he says. discouraged. there's no reception. >> reporter: and erin, what was most agonizing in listening to these men's stories is the sense of powerlessness, as the heads of their families, they would normally be the ones driving their family from place to place, trying to avoid the bombing that they are facing in gaza. instead, they are stuck powerless to get back to their families, trying to connect with them on the phone. and as you can hear there, trying to tell them where to go. but, as we know, few places in gaza right now are safe.

erin? >> so much pain and so much fear and so much uncertainty. jeremy, thank you very much. such an important part of this story. phil? >> thanks, erin. with virtually no updates on the condition of the hostages in gaza, more and more families are growing restless. cnn's clarissa ward sat down with some of those families as they demand answers. stay with us.

♪ a new video just in shows air strikes near the rafa crossing. we're told they hit about half mile from that crossing. there were two strikes about 15 minutes apart according to our stringer. and reminder, this is the same place where hundreds of thousands of palestinians are gathered, hoping to safely cross out of gaza into egypt. our clarissa ward is in ashkelon. you just heard booms in your area. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, phil. no sign in sight of any end to the violence, as you mentioned. strikes in gaza, gaga authorities say more than 70

killed in the south of gaza, the area people are being evacuated to for their safety. 600,000 according to the u.n., have moved into that southern part of the enclave. then just a few minutes ago, we heard a barrage of missiles coming in here to ashkelon. take a listen. [ sirens ] >> reporter: and the iron dome, of course, intercepts the vast majority of those, although i will say this time we counted at least two direct impacts, one of them not far behind me. we have seen some fire engines arriving. there's no sense or reporting yet that anyone was injured, but clearly a sign that there is no abating to the constant escalation that has been continuing steadily for the last ten days, phil. >> clarissa, the idf has said there could be more of these hostage videos, right, that they

released this one of a young woman named mia. i know you have been speaking to and just spoke with some of the hostage families. what can you share? >> reporter: so, poppy, this is interesting because, you know, the idf is now saying 199 hostages. hamas is saying between 200 and 250. last night they released a statement saying that they would be willing potentially to release foreign nationals among those hostages when the right circumstances exist on the ground. but for the family members of all the israeli hostages right now, there is real fear that the escalating violence, the relentless come bardment of gaza is putting their family's lives in danger. take a look. >> reporter: for days, they have sat outside the military headquarters in tel aviv, holding vigil for their loved ones. among many, family members of those held in gaza, there is anger at the israeli

government's handling of the crisis and growing cries to make a deal for the hostages release. shy and her family are looking for her sister, a 19-year-old soldier who disappeared at the kibbutz. >> we don't know where she is, if she eat, sleep, where they keep her. we don't know anything. >> so tell me, why are you here? >> because i want someone to look at me. look at all of us. >> reporter: earlier today, the government confirmed they believe another 50 hostages are being held in gaza, bringing the total close to 200. among them is 74-year-old vivian silver, a peace activist and canadian citizen who lived in this kibbutz. this was the site of some of the darkest bloodshed during the october 7th attack. vivian's son was on the phone with her throughout the morning as the horror unfolded. >> i heard a lot of gunshots

outside her window. and we decided to stop talking because she was hiding. but at some point she wrote me that they're inside the house. >> reporter: her house? >> yeah. and that was it. i told her i'm with you. she said i feel you. and that was the last message. >> reporter: for nine agonizing days she has shuttled between optimism and despair, as israel's leaders steel its citizens for an invasion of gaza. when you look at more than 300,000 reservists being called up, huge amounts of weaponry and military personnel massing at the border, a lot of anticipation about a ground offensive, how does that make

you feel? >> it makes me anxious. i didn't want war before. and i don't want war now. i don't think we can kill dead babies with more dead babies. >> do you think in israel that most people agree with you? do you think people here want war? >> nobody wants war, but i think people are willing to accept war because you'll hurt anyone to stop the pain. so you see the demon in front of you and you want to vanquish it. i don't think it's realistic. whatever we do to gaza now, lit come back . >> reporter: a plea to break the endless violence. but in this moment of raw anguish, it's the calls for

invasion that are growing louder. now, we spoke to a former senior security official here in israel, poppy and phil, who basically said that he does not believe this time that the israeli government or the israeli defense forces are interested in negotiating any kind of a deal or a prisoner swap with hamas. he said that's the whole reason that hamas' leadership even exists because most of them have been released in previous prisoner swaps. he said he thinks the best chance of those hostages being released is through ground operations, once an invasion begins. and of course that will be a very frightening prospect for many of these families to hear. poppy, phil? >> no question about that. clarissa ward, great reporting. thank you very much. president biden will leave today for an extraordinary war-time trip to israel and jordan. admiral john kirby joins us to discuss the president's decision. that's coming up next. ♪

. this morning israeli forces continue to pummel gaza with airstrikes as president trump prepares for his high stakes diplomatic visit to israel. defense officials tell cnn that a unit of 2,000 marines has been ordered head to waters towards israel on top of the u.s. carrier strike groups deployed. the israeli military getting ready for the next phase of their campaign. mark hertling is here to walk us through all of it. when you talk about the scale of what the u.s. has put into place assets-wise, what does to tell you about the u.s. posture? >> it is a lot. it is to prevent other nations and potentially terrorist groups from entering into this

conflict. it's not going to contribute to the fight in gaza, but it will try to contain the area so there are no other actors coming in to influence what israel is trying to do. >> wondering if you think this is significant. one of the idf spokespeople we have had on, colonel richard hecht said, we are preparing for the next stages of war. we haven't said what they will be. everything is talking about president ground offensive. it might be something different s that significant? >> very significant because i think what they are concerned about right now, poppy, is intelligence. what kind of intel do they have on the area of operation, that 25-mile by three-mile stretch of ground, we call the gaza. it's like going out in the mid of manhattan with lots of buildings and millions of people. to operate in that area, especially when most of hamas'

actions are occurring underground. i got to have intelligence. you can't willy-nilly go in and start fighting. >> you're saying you think this indicates their intelligence isn't as good as they need it to be to go on the ground? >> i am saying that a parts of it. going in with a mass amount of force is going to get people on the israeli side and palestinian side killed. we are seeing airstrikes now. that's significant. a lot of people are dying under those airstrikes. hopefully, most of the people dying are terrorists. even trstrikes like that, buildings are blowing up. every strike is driven by some type of intelligence. there is something there. it's not an aircraft going in and dropping a bomb. they have some kind of intelligence that says we have a terrorist here or some kind of action going on. >> how long woo want for an operation like has been previewed to some agree, ground incursion bigger than 2014, bigger than 2008? let's compare a little bit.

that's a great question. in 2014, operation protective edge, which i studded, it's a fascinating campaign, they put the majority of the forces in the north and also had some going into the center and some into the south. 70,000 they mobilized back there. 300,000 they are mobilizing today. and israel killed 66 israeli soldiers, 2,100 palestinians. they have already surpassed that. and things have gotten tougher inside of the gaza since then because of balm blowing things up a little bit. >> all right. scale. >> yeah. >> it's different, enormal us to. thank you. you are looking at live pictures of capitol hill ahead of a house floor showdown for the next speaker maybe today. >> and the president's high stakes trip to the middle east. what it means for the war between israel and hamas and potential you u.s. aid in the region next.