seize it, you know there are always the two sort of sides that really go at it with one another. of course, the palestinians see this as their land shrinks, what they had hoped would be a official state one day, and settlers feel like biblically they should be able to live, but because of what happened on october 7th, it has ratcheted up. the fear has ratcheted way up. the fear of an attack by palestinians feel they were also being helped by the israeli military, so it's a very messy situation. in talking to both palestinians and settlers in the west bank, both of them said they don't see how another peace accord, how peace is possible after what has happened over the past 13 days, wolf. >> sarah sidner reporting for us, thank you. to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the

situation room." join me tomorrow and sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern for special live coverage of this it war. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. up front next, breaking news, americans freed. a mother and data just released by hamas after being held for 14 days. the family of the freed hostages speaks out. plus an exclusive dispatch from gaza. i speak to a father who won't leave his home in northern gaza after the repeated warnings. sounds of explosions around him, his children asking, are we going to die? the united states on high alert for more attacks in the region, as we're learning new details about the missiles and drones that a u.s. warship shot down. that happened over nine hours. the battle far more intense than we knew. let's go "outfront."

good evening, welcome to a special edition of "outfront." freed. you're looking at judith and raanan and her daughter natalie raanan. the two are from chicago. the idf says they were being held in hamas's network of tunnels. according to the secretary of state antony blinken says there's a team to meet with them right now. after two weeks of grief, hope and fear, they were visiting relatives. 12 people were reportedly killed during that assault. earlier this week, i spoke to her brother ben, and he told me the horrifying story. >> she communicated with my

father in hebrew that she was okay for the moment. she was locking herself in the guesthouse, i believe, with my stepmother judith. they were hearing guns. they were hearing explosions. they were going to try to remain as quiet as possible. from there, once the israeli army was able to take back the city, there was broken glass on the inside of the guesthouse and both natalie and judith were missing at that point. so, at that time, ben told me he was holding out hope, holding out hope he would again hug his sister. you just have to smile to hear about it. it is two people out out of 203, but two are free. ben will join me live again. president biden spoke with both of the women, judith and

natalie, he's overjoyed with the news, about you we're learning there are still ten americans unaccounted for, that is in addition to the 201 people being held by hamas at that hour. according to the numbers of israeli government has put out. according to the defense forces, 20 of them are children under the age of 18. we'll speak to the father of two of those later. between 10 and 20 of them are over 60, but idf believes the majority are alive in gaza. shortly after the raanans' release, hamas released a statement saying they're working with other, quote, friendly countries to release more foreign hostage. we have one video, and the

picture of judith and natalie. we do know any hostages are being held captive. we have a lot to get to tonight. mj lee is at the white house. clarissa ward is in cairo. oren liebermann is at the pentagon with more new on the battle. i want to start with nic robertson. i know there was a lot of activity where you were, when the two hostages were released. what exactly happened? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely fascinating, erin. throughout the day it hadding exceptionally quite. no missiles, no rockets comes out of gaza, no missiles going in. not even any drones in the air. really quiet. it gave just the impression that something was happening in the background today that was different. we had no idea. just, just as that news was coming out that natalie and her mother judith were being

released, hamas or one of the other groups in gaza launched a massive salvo of rockets. the iron dome intercepted this. they have done it again. they were intercepted again. in the intervikings hour, they fired five salvos into this area, way more than they fired in an hour period that we have seen over the past week on so. so kind of a significant turn in action by hamas or one of the other groups right at that moment of release. was it a signal they were ready to continue to fight? or was it a sign they have used that teem when they one under fire to set up some rockets? it's not clear. that was such a dramatic change of events, right at that moment of release. the israelis returned with some

artillery strikes, missile strikes, but again now, back to that affura of sort of quieter than it has been. erin? >> thank you, nic. now we go to mj. what more russ learned how this happened? and what's next? >> reporter: the white house says that president biden had this message to convey to the two women when he with them earlier, the two women would have the full support of the u.s. government as they recovered from what he said was this terrible ordeal. there's no question in this a moment of triumph for this president, who had said that, as president, there was no higher priority for him than secure the release of these american hostages. there's no question that the work is not over. secretary of state antony blinnen saying tonight there are

at least ten americans unaccounted for, and some of them are being held hostage. he couldn't say anything about their conditions, but it's clear that u.s. official worked closely with the israeli counter complain parts to gather any intelligence they could about these american hostages. we know it was the israelis that told u.s. official that some americans were believed to be alive. we also know there was close coordinate with qatar, both president biden and secretary blinken saying thank you to the qatari counterparts after the release of these two women. erin, it's worth underscoring, given the sensitivities and the ongoing efforts to try to secure the release of more hostages, u.s. officials are very loathe to share any detailed information about how exactly judi and natalie raanan's release was able to be secured.

mj, thank you very much. natalie's brother ben is outfront, talking to us tonight. we talked days ago. you were talking about your sister who loved art. she wants to be a tattoo artist, maybe and you were praying to have a chance to hug her again, and wow, what a night. how did you find out they were freed? >> i found out from the news. this all moved so quickly that i was getting texts from reporters i had met with, saying this happened. i believe it's because, you know, the government didn't want to call us before it had been confirmed. it was just a surreal thing. i was taking the first two hours of the day before i jumped on all of these things i've been doing for natalie, just for my myself. i was playing a video game and

all of a sudden i'm getting the texts that they are coming back. sgloost my goosh, it's incredible to find out that way. just as you said, everything comes together at the last second. when you see the picture, just the one picture, and obviously you know them better than anyone else, what do you see what you look at that? >> to be honest, i'm super annoyed. how does my sister after two weeks as a hostage still look like a supermodel. >> she does, by the way. >> it's exhausting. it's absurd. my father got a chance to talk with natalie, and i know whyi's family got to talk with judith. at least from my father, natalie is doing well, is composed, and as i said to you a couple days ago, we are ready to start this

incredible journey of healing and trauma relief for her. you know, she has a full support of friends and family. you know, what i've realized is strangers, who care about her, who want her to succeed at whatever she wants to do. >> you know, do you have any idea, ben, at this point -- i mean, i'm sure you don't technically know, but do you have any thought or thought to yourself about why it is that natalie and judith were released? first? why them? nonanyone else jet? do you have any sense of why that's the case? >> i don't know. i do know what i told you a couple days ago, that they're not politicians. they're not people with intense feelings about gaza, palestine, israel, you know, they're israelis, and they are lovers,

people lovers. so i truly believe it was something to do with that. it's important for me to also say that there are people hurting, who are hostages that didn't get the same beautiful news that my family got today. there are families all over in gaza and in israel that are experiencing a lot that i can't even imagine. >> i can only imagine there's a sense of guilt, too. i was talking to a father who is still missing his girls, 2 and 4, and i asked him how he felt. he said, i just miss my children so much, but of course, i'm so glad for you, right? it's a deep sense of grief still for so many. do you know when you'll be able to speak with her?

>> we have heard tenttively she might be coming back to chicago sometime early next week, but that's all dependent, obviously, on what the hospitals say and making sure their physical well-being and their mental health well-being is at least okay for them to come here and start this next stage. all right. i would imagine you don't yet at this point know anything about, you know, how they spent their time or anything, though i guess we do understand it was underground. that alone is a deep trauma. ben, i am so happy for you. despite all of this, and i know you said, the journey you beginning, and you spoke so eloquently about it the other night, it will be a long journey, but it's a journey you are on, and i think everybody

shares some joy with you. thank you so much. >> if possible, i want to thank the biden administration for their wonderful work as well as the qatari government. i don't know what involvement they had, but it's clear there was something. i just also want to thank much throughout the country who has been praying for our family. >> ben, thank you. >> thank you. major spillman is with me now. the israeli forces spokesman. you heard the incredible joy for him to have judith and natalie back. are you aware of any information that they have already shared with israeli officials or american officials about their captivity or anything that could be helpful to locating other hostages?

>> i don't very have that information. hearing ben speak on the other side is incredibly hea rmi think you also put the fing on the deep grief we have for all these other families, 201 hostages, amid another 200 people we don't know if they're alive or dead. this is a little ray of good news, but the specifics about their welfare and how they're doing right now, that will unfold in the coming days. >> can he ask you why you think hamas did this now, and why hamas chose them and only them? >> look, i think that this clearly hamas in their notice they put out are trying to frame themselves as a human rights organization, which is the abe senior of all absurd.

just 14 days ago this organization that says they're a champion of human rights slaughtered and man akerr and dismembered babies, women, children and mem. if you ask me, this is an attempt for hamas to gain more world favor, but playing that humanitarian card. i, of course, hope that people won't have such a short memory and they'll know this is one of the largest terror forces in the world. i think it's important not to lose sight of that. >> okay. to this point, they were very specific, that they said they were engaged in ongoing conversations with other friendly countries about the release of other foreign nationals, right? not israelis. we know the vast majority of the

hostages are israeli. so, does the release of these two american hostages mean anything? is there any movement there? >> look, we are from the very beginning we're working on two tracks. one is the hostage track. we have the most responsible people in israel, general, entire staffs working toward the release. we're not differentating between israelis and foreign nationals. we want all 201 hostages released immediately. at the same time we're moving forward with the military objective. as john is a, there's multiple salvos. we have responded, and we have managed to seriously, seriously affect hamas's hold in the gaza strip. that's how we move forward in the near future. we've been anticipating a grown ward for days now. do you have special forces already on the ground in gaza?

>> so, we did today and over the last week with special forces have reconnaissance missions in the area, to recover evidence, both of the hostages, all those hundreds of people we don't know their fate. also reconnaissance about any future operations we may have. as we've seen, our troops are on the southern border, northern border, ready to go with whatever command the army gives. we're clearly in the mode to move forward at this point. >> major, thank you very much. i appreciate your time tonight, clearly in the mode to move forward. our breaking news continue. the pleas for aid growing louder in gaza, yet the transaction packed with supplies, they're still there, they haven't gotten

in. there's no word on whether they ever will be. clarissa ward has made her way her there. and we've hear from the brave cnn journalist documenting his life there right now. we'll tell you how he's living with more than 150 other people in an incredibly small space. outrage boiling across the globe. calls in one country calling for them to shut down the american embassy. we'll be back.

we're back with the breaking news, live from tel aviv. people in gaza desperate for help. more than 200 trucks filled with the crucial supplies are now currently lined up, waiting at the rafah border. president biden tells reporter it could be another 24 to 48 hours before the first trucks can go in. we'll see. clarissa ward is "outfront" live from cairo tonight. you went to the rafah crossing today. you saw that scene yourself. what can you tell us on the delay and the trucks, and just how that setup is right now? >> reporter: i think there's a huge amount of frustration, erin. there's so much aid, it's so close to where it needs to get to, but there are several key

sticking points that appear to be delaying that aid from getting into gaza. talking with the u.n. today, they want one of the major issues is the israelis want a verification process. they want to make sure there's no weaponry or anything else in those trucks, that they would not like tots inside gaza. of course, to come up with a mechanism to allow for that is complex. would it volume israelis coming to egypt? where would it take place? who would do it? that takes time. in addition, the u.n. says they can't accept this idea of a one-time delivery of just 20 trucks of eight. to give you context, before this war broke out, there were about 455 trucks of aid that would go in every single day. now we're relentless bom bombardment, 20 trucks is a drop in the ocean. the fear that the u.n. has, if they just let 20 transaction go

in, and the people know that only 20 trucks are going in, the trucks could be mobbed. it could be dangerous. there's concerns about strikes on the gazan side of the border, that some of the words were impassable. egyptian media saying today that that might have been finally dealt with. finally, the back and forth about fuel. everyone seems to be on board with fuel, water, medicine. fuel is a bit more of a controversial topic. obviously it's essential for aid in fuel form to get into gaza. that's what powering the generators. that's what is keeping the hospitals going. no electricity at the moment inside gaza. a number of issues where there is back and forth, and hoping those will be resolved quickly, but concern they might not. erin? >> when you were there, in addition to all of this, you

came across a massive protest. obviously, u.s. to say, protests are normally illegal in egypt. this is it banned since sissi took power. they allowed them in this case. what did you see? >> reporter: it was interesting. we went to the rafah crossing with the u.n. secretary-general. as you mentioned, protests are no-go, but president sissi today, of all days, called on the people to take the street. there were a few protesters. they were angry. they had a lot of things they wanted to say. some people were looking for family members who they had been able to locate inside. some people were angry about the israeli bombardment, about the bloodshed, a lot of people as well very angry with the west, and particularly with western media coverage. we had one woman who started

shouting at us, and i went up, i'm here to listen to what you have to say, say it on camera. this is a snippet of what she had to say. take a look. >> who is to speak for these children, palestinian children? who? seriously, no, i'm actually asking you, who is to speak for those palestinian children? if all western countries are talking for israel, if the united states is standing for israel, if all these international institutions are siding for israel, who is there for the palestinians? >> reporter: so you can see, erin, this was a longer conversation that we had, but a lot of people feel the narrative has really favored israeli voices over palestinian voices, particularly in the western media. beyond that, i think a lot of people feel helpless, anguish, distress, despair. they feel they have no real way

to make a difference or make an impact and help. of course, i did mention that one of the issues we face is we are simply not ability to get into gaza at the moment, not on the israeli side, not oegyptian sigh, erin. >> thank you, clarissa. clarissa is now in cairo as the united states stays on high alert after barrages of drones, as well as missiles targeted the u.s. and -- the pentagon not ruling out a possible military response. we are learning more a this hour about a war ship near the coast of yemen. last night, we told you it shot down cruise missiles and 15 drones over the period of nine hours. that's what oren liebermann is reporting it lasting for. oren liebermann has new reporting this hour. you broke this news last night,

and now the new details, wow, nine hours, much more intense than it sounded like. what can you tell us? >> reporter: this is a larger and more sustained barrage. the u.s. is currently operating in the red sea, intercepted land missiles, as well as 15 drones. the pentagon on thursday said it was potentially possible that these were headed for israel, but according to a u.s. official familiar with the matter, there is little doubt now because of the trajectory. officials say because of the trajectory, north along the red sea, the western coast of saudi, the target quite clearly israel. little room for doubt where those drones and missiles were headed even as the biden administration and other

countries try to keep this conflict confined to gaza, and the risk of it spreading seems very much to be growing. we've seen a number of rocket and drone attacks in iraq and syria. the pentagon not ruling out a mobile military response, saying if there is one, it will be at the place, time and the manner of the u.s.'s choosing. we have in the past seen the u.s. respond to partnershipages of attacks on u.s. forces in iraq and syria. erin, one last thing. the pentagon hasn't given attribution to this yet, but they're very similar to iranian proxies in the region before. i want to go to the former israeli ambassador to the united states michael lauren. ambassador, this went on for nine hours. the initial thought was four

michelle, they intercept then. nice hours. that's a serious engagement. it's my longtime assessment. if the jihad in gaza, and of course hezbollah in the north, that yemen, under the control of the hewitti rebels, they would get in the frey. they have long-range issues. shiite militias, they also have missiles. not surprising, what is remarkable ofable is the u.s. was able to intercept them. that's no technologically easy to. so hats off to the u.s. navy. >> okay. so what happens whether rockets like that, if that ship weren't there, and they come here, when

you talk about your iron dome, what does it do? those are much more powerful -- >> they're also guided, so what's happened is we have developed a system called iron dome, with the u.s. generous backing, 95% effective, but when they're hiring 100 rockets, 10 will get through. we also have david's sling, another system. that can track and intercept a guided missile. the rockets that hamas is firing go up and down. you can hit it with ire dome, but if you have a rocket guided with a joystick, the interceptor has to find them. the david's sling is a great system, but with you drawback, every interceptor costs a million dollars. >> and it changes the game in that sense. while you were explaining, we did see a new picture of natalie and judiste ith on the phone.

they're talking to president biden. >> that's very good. we're all heartened by it, but we want to see all of the hostages released, unconditionally. >> when you say "expect," is that the way you think it should go, or -- has there been a change? >> no, hamas is going to go drip drip drip. they're trying to earn time. they're trying to divide allies. secretary blinken gave a great press conference. >> okay, they're going to put a couple hostages every couple days so you guys don't go in. >> exactly. they're going to do it with americans -- according to the secretary of state, it won't go -- we can't let hamas hold us

hostage. we go back to the status quo of october 5th. >> you've got forces there -- we have 360,000 troops mobilized. these are the core of our workforce, young women, men in their 20s and 30s. only a limited amount of time you can keep people away from their work, their homes, their families. keep that aside. if we were to somehow reach an agreement with hamas, and it gets away with scot-free from butchering, r5aping, who will live here anymore? it's not a matter of negotiation. it's something we have to end the threat. >> ambassador, i appreciate your time. i know you're awake, we hear about the war cabinet.

>> nobody can sleep. >> to your point. we'll track with ibrahim with his family and wife. he says his young children were finally able to bathe, the first time in a week. plus to lebanon. targets up to six times a day.

you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. 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.

we are back tonight with a special edition, live from tel aviv. tonight one hospital in northern gaza saying the idf has demanded they immediately evacuate. according to the palestinian red crescent group, as the situation continues to deteriorate inside gaza, journalist ibrahim has an important part of our show every day. he fled northern gaza, now in southern gaza in a house of more than 50 people. here's how he describes it.

>> re [ speaking in a non-english language ] as water becomes increasingly scarce in gaza,

ibrahim says it was, quote, a special day, because hi children were finally able to take a shower.

my next guest lives in gaza, a humanitarian worker, used the bit of electricity he saved up on his phone to speak to me. he chose that saying he said it was the best use of his phone to know what was happening inside gaza. despite the danger and destruction all around him and his young family, he says he will not leave northern gaza, because it is his home. here's what he told any. joining me is mahmud, a senior adviser for an organization that provides humanitarian aid. he's lives in gaza for over 25 years. this is home, he doesn't want to leave. mahmud, thank you for taking they brief moments to speak with us, with the pressure power to speak to the world. i know you chose to stay with your young children and family. can you tell me what it is like

where you are in northern gaza right now? >> thank you so much for having me and giving me a voice. >> i lived in the north of gaza. it's one of the air that we have been asked to leave to go for safer locations. however, there have been reporting and we are seeing the local news of the continuous bombardments of houses being demo demolished, so basically there is no place that is safe. with regards to the humanitarian situation right now, it's really dire. as you can see, i am right now, my wife is actually uses her phone to light my face for this interview and using whatever charge is left in my phone, 45%,

to conduct this interview with you. we don't have electricity, we don't have fuel, we don't have water. you can't buy simple things for the kids, like you can't buy crisps or sweets, no fruits, no vegetables for the children. when it comes to bread, for example, i queue for two hours to get ten pieces of bread for my family, including my moment and my dad. and this is what's happening right now. mahmud, what do you tell your children? >> to be honest with you, i have lived through many of the previous -- but my children were younger. now, my younge is 9 years old. his name is zach. zach is a smart kid. zach started knowing what is the

fear of bombardment and death. he asked me the other day and was crying, dad, if i die, will i go to heaven or hell? i really couldn't answer. i choked for a few seconds and i said we will all go to heaven, my son. you know, the fact that children, when they hear bombardment sounds, they say, is this coming on us? is this near us? and you have to always comfort your children and say, no, it's not. just relax. i'm here with you. you try to take them out of the misery that we are living in. and, mahmud, i know you provide aid to others. that's what you do in your home. you have chosen to stay. you said you've got no water, the issues with power.

how are you even dealing with the water? how are you able to help others right now? >> since the first day of this, since like the 7th of october, we have the decision to release almost everything we have in our stock, worth $570,000. we tried to procure all available quantities of medicines and disposables in gaza right now. hygiene kits, mattresses, blank either, and we continue to do so, but for the medicines and such, unfortunately it can't be done, because there's nothing left in the local market. the second thing, as an aid worker, i don't have safe corridors, safe passages to go to the warehouses. i don't have safe passages to the central stores, and have talks with people inside the hospitals and be able to, like, have contact with them.

it's really difficult for us. we barely are working, but we are one of the very few organizations that are still functioning inside of the gaza strip right now. mahmud, you are doing wonderful things for the humanity around you. i know you've made the decision to use your power right now, because you want to talk to the world. this is your home. you are staying because it is your home, can you tell everyone watching why it is important for you to stay in your home, despite what the israelis have said, why you have made this decision? >> thank you so much for this question. i am a palestinian refugee. my parents were born before 1948, and they were actually expelled from our original hometown ashdod, into gaza.

they were under the impression that they would spend three days in the gaza strip and then they would come back to take their belongings. many, many of the people from my original town still have the keys to their homes in ashdod. this has been more than 75 years now. i have seen people leave their homes and never come back to it. this is where i belong. this is where my family belongs. mahmud, thank you for being a voice for so many around you, and for using that precious power to take the time to talk. i'm grateful that the world can hear you. thank you very much. please, we are thinking of you. >> thank you so much. next, our breaking news coverage continues. a mother and a data, both americans, who were kidnapped by hamas, have just been released.

the incredible good news, as they were speaking to president biden here in the embassy here in israel. i'll speak to a man who is still waiting for news about his family. protests in the middle east are spreading. now the chants are "death to america."

we are back with our breaking news tonight. these two american hostages released by hamas just speaking on the phone with president biden. 17-year-old natalie rah unanimous and her mother, judith, are free tonight. i just spoke to natalie's brother, ben. he said she could be back home in chicago early next week. it comes as the families of the other hostages are also trying to find out what this means for their loved ones. you'll remember yoni asher. he's opened his home to talk to us about his wife and two young daughters. his wife said there were terrorists entering the house. the phone gets abruptly cut off

and yoni the in a video online sees them being loaded into the back of a truck. when we visited yoni this week, he showed his daughters' playroom, their favorite toys. he showed us their little pink shoes. that was very important for him, for everyone to see the shoes, because they're girly girls, he said. he tried to show us and opened us to that heart wrenching void in his life right now. yoni is back with me now. so, yoni, when you first heard the news that hamas has released two hostages, how -- what was your feeling? >> hello, erin. first of all, i felt -- i felt that i really, really miss my wife and my two young baby girls. that's the first feeling i had. and i was happy for this family,

who got their relatives back to them. >> the idf, this morning, said that the majority of hostages are still alive. and i know -- we called you obviously, yoni, right away, and you had not yet heard that news. have israeli officials told you anything, yoni, in these past few days, as these announcements have come out about hostages being released and the majority of hostages being alive? have they been able to give you any details or any information about your wife and daughters? >> well, right now there is no specific information delivered to me. they are still talking to me, and specific, my personal needs to them. and i asked them to try to maybe

make the picture a little bit clearer for me about what happened during the kidnap. like i told you, we found out only two days ago that my mother-in-law is not alive anymore. and we are -- we know that it happened somewhere during the kidnapping, which started maybe in this video, which you showed. and that is all we know. so, we have a lot of questions inside around this event, our specific event. and we don't have a specific answer yet, but i would like to believe that things are getting done maybe in some channels that we don't see. >> it seems they are.

i guess, yoni, do you allow yourself to have more hope now? >> well, it's very confusing. things are complicated. i'm going to be hopeful, but this is my family's life. so, i need to be logical and think, why now, why are they, why -- you know, as a father, as a family -- actually, every family of the hostage think to themselves those kind of thoughts. so, you analyze it, but you don't really know. so, it's all just speculation because when you don't have the basis of the knowledge, it's only speculations. and the security systems and all the high level personas, they

are the ones that have this information. so, it's up to them. >> all right. well, yoni, we're thinking of you, rand hoping. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. thank you, erin. thank you. all right. and around the world tonight, we are seeing massive pro-palestinian protests in many countries in the middle east, of course, yemen, jordan, turkey, egypt. egypt, of course, a stunning and important development because protests have been banned there, outlawed for over a decade. and in lebanon, on israel's border, tension is reaching a boiling point. ben wedeman has been there reporting, and he is "out front" tonight. >> reporter: death to america, death to israel, shouts the master of ceremonies at a rally in the southern suburbs. to a crowd of a few hundred

supporters of hezbollah and the shia ally, who don't want to be passive bystanders to the bloodshed in gaza. "we want the resistance to liberate palestine," he tells me. words and slogans like these are not new, but as the death toll in gaza soars, passions are reaching the boiling point. earlier this week, twice protesters north of beirut tried to reach the american embassy, stopped only by riot police firing tear gas and water cannon. in egypt, a rare, unauthorized demonstration demands arab regimes act to stop the war on gaza. in jordan, they call on the government to shut the american and israeli embassies. but in lebanon, it's not only protests on the border with israel. it's just a notch below war.

in south lebanon, every day hezbollah is striking israeli targets four, five, six times a day. here in beirut, they're holding rallies, talking about doing more. but so far, it's just talk. >> reporter: hezbollah's main backer, iran, has threatened to open a new front. notably silent is hezbollah's leader, hassan nasa la, who hasn't muttered a word since the war began. -- the answer to that will come later, he replies. the daily hezbollah attacks on the border are a hint of what that answer could be. ben wedeman, cnn, beirut. and also tonight, another look at the kibbutz where civilian fighters fended off

hamas terrorists. miraculously, nobody died. but now everybody who lived there is displaced. the town is riddled with bullet holes. i went to see where they're staying and how they're trying to maintain some sense of normalcy very far away from home. so, this is going to be, like, the store you would have in the kibbutz. >> this is our community store, as we have in the kibbutz. from here, we supply all the needs of our community, from clothes to toilets. >> clothes are labelled by size. >> children size and girls, women, men, everything. >> tooth brushes. >> everything. >> you have a lot of troooth brushes. >> we have 595 members of the community here. >> so, you need them. >> we need everything. >> yeah. and these are from donations from everywhere. >> everything is from donations.

>> martin is the community manager of na fall seen. as he said, 580 people from the kibbutz are staying in this hotel, several hundred children, two cats, 16 dogs. he said, this is their only home right now. and he brings us here to what he calls the living room. it was full in the evening of people spending time together, on their phones, children. and then there's the library, people picking up books, borrowing books, all of those books, of course, donated as well. and they even have a kindergarten. they said it had been the business center at the hotel. the tables are for displaced children so they can have a sebs sense of school. there's a dining room serving all 580 people every single day. we were seeing them eat dinner. there's even a makeshift nail salon. and this was really interesting. martin told me that's because

there came donations so people could get some sort of a break from the trauma. and the parents refused to leave their children. so, they would never go within 300 feet of them now because they're so afraid. martin says he came up with a way to fill their days from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. there's a schedule posted because they cannot go to work, they cannot go to school, they are not home. they are literally staying in this hotel, and they can't do anything with normal life, anything. because while their volunteer security forces did fight hamas militants off alone and saved every single life in this kibbutz, a true miracle, the town is riddled with bullets and in the middle of an active war zone. they are alive. they are shattered but grateful. and just for a second, i want to show you the tooth brushes again because we keep hearing about tooth brushes here. you may remember amir katz, who is ready to get the call to invade along the gaza border. >> they're cooking foo