hello again, everyone. i'm fredericka witfield in atlanta alongside wolf blitzer in washington. we're continuing with our special coverage of the events unfolding today on the ground in israel and gaza. the rafah border crossing between gaza and egypt was opened briefly this morning. 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were permitted to cross into gauze. water, fuel and food are all running desperately low there. the united nations is warning

gaza's th gaza's hospitals are on the brink of collapse. the death toll there now standing at more than 4300 people according to the palestinian ministry of health. meantime, tens of thousands of israeli troops continue to amass along the gaza border. today the israeli defense forces updating the number of hostages held by hamas in gaza to 210 people. two american hostages, a mother and her teenage daughter are free now following their surprise release yesterday. they were visiting family at a kibbutz close to gaza when they were taken hostage by hamas. >> the u.n. says the aid that just arrived in gaza was so desperately needed. the hope is that more will follow quickly. >> reporter: so it's been two weeks of no aid, relentless bombardment, mass displacement.

20 trucks is a drop in the ocean, but officials are hopeful this is the start of something more sustained, more continuous. the u.n. believes that more of their trucks could go through. today those 20 trucks were egyptian red crescent trucks. they drove through the rafah border crossing, unloaded that aid. palestinian trucks then loaded the aid and drove it through to the gaza side. there's a meeting today of arab leaders here in cairo. it's called a conference of peace. president sisi, the egyptian president spoke in the last hour or so and said this is a welcome sign, but it's not enough. we need to build on this and establish a sustained humanitarian corridor. we need a humanitarian cease fire as well. and beyond that, we need to work on establishing some kind of peace process, a two-state solution. so quite a long list of things

that need to happen. right now there seems to be consensus at least on this first step of trying to establish a more continuous or sustained humanitarian corridor. the hospitals are barely functioning. fuel supplies, according to one u.n. person i was speaking to, will be out or depleted in two or three days. so that is a vital resource that is desperately needed. negotiations are ongoing to try to get at least 100 trucks in every single day in what would be the beginning of a continuous corridor and hopefully the establishment as the israelis have previously mentioned and also president biden and secretary of state antony blinken of some kind of a humanitarian zone, where some of the 900,000 displaced people inside gaza could find some refuge and respite.

we are still a long way from that. the biden administration meanwhile is asking the u.s. congress for $105 billion in security funding for israel and ukraine. some of that money would also be provided for the u.s. southern border and for taiwan. the president faces an uphill battle on capitol hill. house republicans have been unable to agree on a speaker of the house for more than two weeks. congress cannot pass any legislation unless there's a new speaker. a growing number of republicans are also opposed to continued funding for ukraine's war. priscilla alvarez joins us from delaware, where the president is spending the weekend. what is the plan to get this funding through congress? >> reporter: i'm told over the course of this weekend the white house legislative affairs team is going to be making calls to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the need for this

supplemental request and also trying to get those lawmakers in line with the administration's priorities. that's what they see as their role here, is shoring up support while the house decides on their speaker. this is a $105 billionsupplemen. broken down, that includes $61 billion for ukraine, $14 billion for israel, just over $9 billion for humanitarian aid as well as funding for the u.s./mexico border and the indo-pacific region. the white house has indicated they feel confident there is enough bipartisan support for a fund package like this. the reality is there is just no speaker of the house yet. without that, all of this remains in limbo. just this week, house republicans wrapped the week pushing jim jordan out of the race. new speaker hopefuls are expected to emerge, but that

does not indicate a conclusion to this fight. the white house has called it, quote, chaotic infighting. the president making a direct appeal to americans this week in that prime time address to underscore the need while his team talks to lawmakers to get them to understand the need and how critical it is as these conflicts are ongoing abroad. >> priscilla, thank you. we are also hearing the voices of the american mother and daughter released by hamas. president biden spoke with them by phone. listen. >> hey, judith. >> hello, president. >> i'm so glad you're home. not home. i'm glad you're out. >> thank you so very, very much. >> nat, how are you? god love you. i'm just delighted to get you out. we've been working on it a long

time. we're going to get you all out, god willing. >> that call from the oval office came shortly after the two americans were released. both were held hostage for nearly two weeks after being abducted in israel by hamas. whitney, do we know if they've been reunited with their family yet? >> reporter: according to natalie's father and judith's ex-husband, they did reunite with relatives in israel. the wait here, though, continues, because judith and natalie will not likely be back to the united states until early next week. the hope is that natalie is back here by her 18th birthday on tuesday. the day he sees his daughter again will be the best day of his life. we spoke with him about how

excruciating the last two weeks have been. >> i've been waiting for this moment for two weeks. i haven't been sleeping for two weeks. tonight i'm going to sleep good. i spoke with my daughter earlier today. she sounds very good. she looks very good. she was very happy and she's waiting to come home. i'm going to hug her and kiss her. it's going to be the best day of my life. >> reporter: we spoke with several people who know judith and natalie really well. we spoke with their rabbi, their family members. they said what has made this entire experience so unfair is that natalie and judith are so endlessly kind and would never hurt anyone. that has made this so painful. what continues is the fact that people here know how it feels for these hundreds of other

families waiting for their relatives to come home. he has a simple message for those whose relatives are missing and may remain in hamas hands. he says simply, keep praying and do not lose hope. >> thank you very much. still ahead, israel is urging its citizens in egypt and jordan to leave immediately. we'll explain why coming up next. plus, as israel strikes on targets in gaza, so do protests in countries across the middle east. we're live in jordan after the break.

we're seeing pro-palestinian demonstrations around the world, including this protest in london earlier today. in jordan, there have been demonstrations throughout the week. how intense are some of these protests where you are in jordan?

looks like we're trying to get her ready. >> reporter: for more than a week now since the outset of this war, we have seen protesters taking to the streets in a show of solidarity with the palestinian people. we have seen thousands demonstrating friday marching through downtown chanting their solidarity with the people of gaza, but also expressing their anger and outrage at the israeli government, at the government of the united states, which is of course a key ally of the israeli government. in fact, some people were calling for the embassies of both the u.s. and israel in jordan to be closed down by the ju jordanian government. this is also translated into the diplomacy of the country. king abdullah of jordan and the government have been vocal in their condemnation.

l king abdullah said, i am outraged and grieved by the acts of violence waged against citizens of gaza. the relentless bombing campaign under way is cruel and unconscionable on every level. it is a flagrant violation of international law. it is a war crime. this is a statement from a key ally of the united states. jordan will continue to play a key role as world leaders look to mediate some sort of resolution, some sort of peace between israel and the palestinians, some sort of end to the bombardment of the gaza strip. we are seeing protests intensify here in jordan, across the middle east. still to come, israel

continues to prepare for the next stage of war. more on a possible israeli ground incursion. what it could look like. we'll have details after the break.

the israeli defense force has now claimed that the majority of the more than 200 hostages abducted by hamas are still alive in gaza some two weeks after that deadly attack in israel. tensions are running very high right now with israeli troops staging along the gaza border for a possible ground operation. idf officials say troops will soon see gaza, quote, from the inside. what would that actually look like, and how long can that operation last? nic robertson has more on what israel's plans could look like. >> reporter: in israel's war with hamas, more than 60 of the terror groups operatives

arrested early thursday in the west bank. the clock now ticking on a far more dangerous phase of the war for the idf, going into hamas' heartland, gaza. >> the israeli government made a decision, gave a green light to the army to wipe out -- >> reporter: israeli politicians are preparing expectations for a long war, for the first time hinting at what an end of war may look like. >> it will be a fire zone. no matter who are you, you'll never be able to come close to the israeli border. >> reporter: the former head of israeli security says what israel wants is the level of security control they currently have in the west bank, complete access on their terms.

>> today whenever we have a military problem in every single place in the west bank, we are there. >> so that's what you have in gaza going forward. >> in the gaza strip, there is no administration. it has to be built. >> reporter: but as these plans take shape and troops prepare to go into gaza, air strikes are triggering international calls for a humanitarian pause to ease civilian suffering. >> we don't activate against civilians. >> but there are civilian collateral damage. >> in a war we do understand and unfortunately we have suffered. >> reporter: with or without a pause in strikes, 20 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid are expected to enter gaza from egypt soon. against the scale of need, it's

a token. ahead of a possible ground incursion, it plamay be all tha gets through for a while. meanwhile a massachusetts family is among hundreds of americans trapped in gaza now for some two weeks. they planned to go home yesterday from an overseas family reunion and are now stuck in an extremely dangerous situation in gaza. i'm joined by a palestinian american currently stranded in gaza with his wife and 1-year-old son. thank you very much for joining us. i know your family has made several attempts to cross at rafah into egypt. what is your situation right now? >> thanks, wolf, for having us. today we just came back a few hours ago from the rafah crossing after being instructed by the state department to head there today, given instructions that the border crossing would

be open from 10:00 a.m. and after the aid is allowed into gaza, that american citizens and other foreign nationals would be allowed to exit through egypt. so we were pretty hopeful this morning. we stayed there until about 4 or 5:00 p.m. and nothing. >> what did you hear last from the state department? what did they tell you about when you and your family might be able to get out? >> no information is what we hear from the state department. the last that we heard was this morning, actually, about 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning. we were told that basically the rafah crossing would be open at 10:00 a.m. it might be open for a short period of time. so try to make our way there. we're staying close to the border for exactly that reason. but unfortunately, today we

thought would be the third time's a charm, but today was the third failed attempt. it completely fell through. it seems like there's a complete lack of communication of what's actually being arranged by the state department as neither the information from the egyptian authorities or on the palestinian side seem to indicate there's any type of arrangement for american citizens, hundreds of families that were at the crossing today to exit to egypt. so we're not quite sure what's happening at this point. i was talking to a friend earlier. i told them after three times based on instructions from the state department, it feels and seems like it's just that the state department hears that the rafah crossing would be open, just like we do through the press, and they tell us to head there without actual coordination with egyptian authorities.

>> can you explain to our viewers what you've experienced just to get to that southern border with egypt near that rafah border crossing. >> certainly, wolf. since the beginning of the war, we were sheltering actually with my wife -- [indiscernible] -- compared to other places in gaza. it clearly was not as we heard air strikes all around us. it was a few days into the war when the idf actually asked all the residents of northern gaza strip to head south for a safe zone. so we did that.

[ no audio ] -- because there was no -- even knowing where to go. as i mentioned previously to friends and others, it's almost like asking someone to go from where they live in new york or massachusetts and asking them to move to a different state within 24 hours. we started heading south. we're fortunate enough that we're staying at a friend of a friend's house. we say we're fortunate because other people, the 1.1 million that had to leave the northern gaza strip down south don't all have friends that they could stay with. many ended up in schools run by

the united nations and actually even more ended up just on the streets in open air. >> how is your little boy handling all of this? >> mixed feelings. he does not know what's happening. he's under 2, so we try to kind of keep him shields as much as we can. as air strikes and bombings happen near where we're staying, whether we were in the northern gaza or southern gaza, there is no way to hide it from him. i mean, some to of the bombs ar- [ no audio ] the sheer force of an earthquake happens, glass shatters and grown ups would jump out of fear because you're startled when

tons of explosives fall tens of meters away from -- yet we try to pretend it's fireworks when it's in the distance for other american children that are sheltered with us. my sister has three kids. the youngest is 2 months old. she's staying with us as well waiting for the state department arrangement to exit gaza. we try to pretend it's fireworks or thunder. sometimes we get called out by the kids and they say, well, it's a clear night, how could this be thunder? my son had a fever a few days ago. he had an ear infection as well. his main source of nutrition remains to be milk. [ no audio ] >> it looks like we've lost our connection, sadly. if you can hear me, good luck to

you and your family. we hope you get out of there very soon safe and sound. appreciate you very much for joining us. coming up, we'll have much more on the war between israel and hamas. first, on capitol hill republicans are back to the drawing board to find a new speaker of the house and get to work on an aid package. we'll have details when we come back.

welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. this is cnn's special coverage of the israel/hamas war. joining us the retired israeli colonel, the former deputy head of israel's national security council. he's now a senior research fellow at the international institute for counter terrorism. colonel, thank you so much for joining us. israeli officials have said their goal is to eliminate hamas and its infrastructure in gaza. is that even possible given the level of control this terrorist group has in gaza right now?

>> i think that israel has no choice. after the last attack, israel has to remove this existential threat from the southern border of israel. i believe that the idf is well trained, well equipped and ready to carry out this mission. although it's going to be a very complicated one, because it's a kind of combination of urban warfare combined with subterranean warfare. both of them together are a great challenge for any military in the world. >> that's what i keep hearing from all these military analysts. we've seen israeli forces amassing near the border with gaza now since shortly after the

hamas attack, maybe some 300,000 israeli reservists have been activated. why do you believe israel has not yet begun this full-scale ground invasion of gaza to try to destroy hamas? >> i think the idea of different reasons to choose the best time to start the operation. i would like to remind you that all the time we have to watch the other fronts, because unfortunately we are fighting now a war with a main threater n gaza strip, but it's part of a wider conflict arranged by iran, mobilizing its other proxies as well. so every day we are now dealing with challenges from the

hezbollah in the north to a lesser degree from the golan heights. and just a few days ago, first time in history the houthis from yemen launched missiles and drones towards israel. so it's not just the gaza strip that is the main priority of israel, but all the time we have to calculate our steps looking to the whole regional situation and not just to the theater of gaza. >> what i hear you saying, colonel, is that israel could be facing multifront war in the coming days. >> yes. i think that for quite long israel is aware through this situation and prepared for it. of course, israel prefers to

fight now only on the gazan front. but if we were forced to open another front, i believe the idea, as you say before, mobilized in the south and the north. >> as you know, hamas released two american hostages yesterday, a mother and daughter. why do you think that happened? and do you think it's likely that hamas may release more hostages as israel prepares for a possible ground operation in gaza? if so, what impact could that have? >> i think that we have to take into consideration that unfortunately from the moment that they had all the hostages in their hands, it will be a long process of psychological warfare that hamas cynically will use these hostages to

achieve its goals. one of the goals is to try to undermine the israeli offensive. so we are always very happy with each hostage that is released, but we know as well that hamas will try to manipulate in the future and we have to look at it cautiously and to see how to overcome this maneuver and to follow with the main task to destroy hamas in the gaza strip. >> this morning, as you know, the first aid trucks were allowed to pass through the rafah crossing into gaza from egypt. how much pressure is there on israel right now to allow more international aid to enter gaza through that rafah border crossing? >> i think that, first of all,

it's important to say israel is not fighting the people of gaza. israel is fighting hamas, the hamas that is using the people of gaza as human shields and cynically use them along all the years. in june 2007, actually hamas kidnapped 2 million people, not 200 that they did here last week. so we have to take into consideration to prevent humanitarian catastrophe, but on the other hand it will be necessary to guarantee that these supplies are not going to hamas, but to those people who need it. again, israel asked the people

in gaza to move south for humanitarian purpose in order to prevent civilian losses during the ground maneuver. i think those people that are moving to the south will get this humanitarian supply. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> the people of gaza and israel need a lot of aid. if you want to help go to cnn.com/impact or text "relief" to 707070.

welcome back. congress has now gone 18 days with no speaker of the house of representatives. jim jordan is out after losing three straight votes on the floor and then a secret ballot vote by his fellow republicans. candidates have until noon tomorrow to file as a speaker candidate. on monday, house republicans will hold another candidate forum with a secret ballot leadership vote on tuesday morning. >> reporter: republicans are back at square one. for the second time in two weeks, their gop nominee for speaker has failed to win enough support within the party. jim jordan tried to take another vote to the floor on friday. he failed to win enough support. in fact, he bled even more support. after that vote republicane s

voted to dump him as their speaker nominee. there are serious questions about who, if anyone, can get the 217 votes required to win the speakership. a lot of members are upset about the situation. one of those includes dusty johnson. he is a more moderate leaning member. our manu raju caught up with him after that conference meeting. >> america's got real problems. this is a time where we need people who are interested in problem solving, not self-aggrandizement. it is time for big boys and big goe girls to stop with the nonsense and get back to work. >> reporter: they'll have another candidate forum on monday with an internal election on tuesday. that's the earliest we could potentially see a new candidate emerge. already half a dozen republicans have jumped into the race,

including tom emmer, byron donalds and kevin hern who leads the largest conservative caucus in the house. it is shaping up to be a messy race. these candidates have not had a head start, so it's going to be a while before anyone is able to unify around a candidate in the party. as of now, no speaker, no consensus and no ability to govern. the humanitarian crisis in gaza grows more dire. ahead, what's next for the region. and could there ever be a path to peace? that's next as our coverage of the war involving israel and hamas continues.

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for the first time in two weeks, much-needed aid has been delivered to gaza. this morning 20 trucks loaded with medical supplies, food and water passed through the rafah border crossing between egypt and gaza when the border was briefly opened. international groups warned those supplies are not enough. the world food program says the situation in gaza is catastrophic and calls for more aid to be let through. i'm joined now by the ceo of search for common ground, a peace keeping group based in washington, d.c. great to see you again. how concerned are you about the growing humanitarian situation

unfolding in gaza? >> thank you for having me. it's terrifying, both for the current conditions and the people who are suffering, and also for the prospects of us getting out of this and getting to a place where nothing like this will ever happen again. you have to say, and i've learned in discussing, particularly this conflict, you have to start with something that seems obscenely obvious, but, unfortunately, oftentimes isn't. none of the civilians, none of the civilians, none of the israeli civilians who were wounded or murdered or abducted two weeks ago, none of the palestinian civilians who are cowering in terror and weak from hunger from having been cut off from food and water, none of the civilians deserves this or had it coming. again, it seems obscene to have to say that, but you have to start there. honestly, if we're going to get out of this, there has to be, first and foremost, an end to

violence against civilians before we can move on to what's next. >> except until that happens, there are people who need basic sustenance, food, water, medicine. there are about 20 truckloads that made it through the border today. surely not enough for some 2 million people who are in gaza, and we don't really know how many people are in the greatest need right now. so what are your concerns about how what has been delivered will be distributed, and how much longer people can go without more? >> well, we have to recognize it's a positive step, it's a very small step, it's a positive step. all those who are responsible for enabling this to go forward, president biden, president el sisi of egypt, if this goes through to the people who need it, they're enabling it to

happen. it's a positive step. we have to recognize the world health organization has just told us they need 100 trucks a day to prevent catastrophe. not 20 trucks every two weeks. so that is the first issue. and this is part of the larger issue, fred, of preventing violence against civilians. all of the violence against civilians, by far the majority of people who have suffered from this violence are civilians, both in israel and in palestinian. the siege, the cutting off of food, water, medications, the taking of hostages, far too much of the missile damage, both fire from hamas and fire from israel, are landing on sites that are clearly out of bounds by any rules of war, schools and refugee camps and hospitals, houses of worship and residences. so this has to stop and there has been to be -- after this aid is delivered, there has to be relentless pressure from the international community to enable more aid to get in and to

prevent more civilian deaths and casualties. then we can look to what happens next, because if we're going to ever get out of this, what we really need ultimately is a political process, a genuine and inclusive process which we really haven't had for a good two decades or more on this conflict. >> in what ways do you feel you and your organization are able to help, or perhaps what are the frustrations standing in the way of you being able to assist in the ways that you can? >> you know, i appreciate you having me on, because there haven't been enough team people in mainstream people with experience on the ground, and one of the things that infuriates me and my colleagues in the community, is you pump a conflict like this full of hate speech and military assistance and billions of dollars over all these years and put hundreds of thousands of dollars into peace building and no effort into a

political solution. when everything goes to hell, you say i guess peace building doesn't work. enough, that's not the case. this conflict is particularly complex. i get that. i don't know any other conflict that goes back 3,000 years and has the religious symbolism. but it's harder to solve when you ignore the basics. the basics of any conflict is you resolve the conflict by generating a peace process that involves the parties. there hasn't been a genuine effort at a peace process that was inclusive. there have been diplomatic breakthroughs between israels and other states in the arab world, which is wonderful. but not only have those not been a substitute for delivering genuine israeli/palestinian peace agreement that can be durable, but all the time those breakthroughs have happened, the situation on the ground has worsened substantially. this was already the deadliest year in over a decade in this conflict before this war ever broke out, and with more housing demolitions and violence between settlers and palestinians and

confiscations, and so that is -- we have to address that or this will be just the latest chapter, not the end of violence. >> and then i wonder, quickly, do you see the u.s. playing a significant role in helping to broker the peace that continues to remain absent? >> the u.s. has already played a role in helping to open up this humanitarian corridor, but we are in touch with people all over the world in communities in conflict, and the credibility of the u.s. has never been particularly high on this conflict. i can't remember a time when it was this low. it was heartening to hear president biden talk about not being blinded by rage when one wants to strike back after attacks, just as he mentioned the experience of the united states during 9/11. but people need to see more, they need to see a concerted effort to get the humanitarian assistance in and a genuine effort to address the cian