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from anywhere in the world. >> hello, welcome to have you here in the united states and all around the world. cnn's continuing coverage of israel at war. an israeli ground offensive into gaza now appears all but inevitable. its bombardment of hamas targets will become even more frequent, more than 4300 palestinians have been killed in the past two weeks. following the hamas terror attack in israel which killed more than 1400 people with around 200 others missing or captured. hundreds of am mored vehicles with thousands ever israeli troops are now poised to strike

at hamas in a moment's notice. saturday the staff repeated what they heard all week, we will go into gaza. good to have you with us elliot. the israeli force has told residents in the north to head south, warning of significant combat. and at the same time, you've got the u.s. stepping up its so-called deterrence in the region. what can you tell us? >> linda, we've been talking about the likelihood, the eminence of a ground force in israel, after the attack on october cent. the chief of staff telling troops they will will go in and keep in mind the images of october 7th of hamas killing and kidnapping people, men, women, children, babies and to keep those images in mind to kind of inspire them when they go on the ground.

open be top of that israel says it is going to be increasing air strikes. in the past minutes the idf put out a statement talking about how it hit dozens of hamas targets, some located in multistory buildings some that were for example operational war rooms it says that were operating out of mosques, weapon storage facilities and tunnels as well. so it has been ramping up those air strikes to pave the way to a ground invasion and minimize the effect to the troops. there is a large likelihood of casualties for israeli soldiers, the possibility of israeli soldiers being taken prisoner by hamas and on top of that the danger of civilian casualties, telling residents that if they do not evacuate, they might be considered partners to the terrorist organization. israel wants those civilians to

get out of the way to make its operations inside the gaza strip as and when it goes in easier and also to minimize the likelihood of more civilian casualties of course as that civilian casualty figure rises all the time in the gaza strip as well. linda. >> and elliot, the israeli defense force is not just focused on gaza, it's also got its eyes on the west bank. it attacked what it calls a terrorist compound which included a hamas cell. what are you learning? >> that's right. the ids said i targeted in a strike a cell conducted by hamas, a hole in the side being broken open by this air strike, by the idf. it says that it did so to as i say forestall an imminent terrorist attack. i understand from the iddf that

they discovered the location of this cell of this compound underneath the mosque in july when there was that major flare up, major clashes between the idf and militants in jenin, possibly the biggest clashes in 20 years that we saw then, that's when they seem to have discovered the location of this compound beneath the mosque and that is why they struck it because they say they had intelligence that a terrorist attack was due to the launched jointly by hamas and islamic jihad together. linda. >> elliot, thanks so much. as the situation continues to escalate in the middle east the u.s. is taking additional steps to strengthen its posture in the region. the pentagon sending more missile defense systems and placing more u.s. troops on prepare to deploy orders. u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin says the move comes after

discussions with u.s. president joe biden. nick ryan from the australian army can he's sure the conflict doesn't spill over between israel and gaza. >> what is possible is with israel very an sword in gaza, long stead actors in jun syria r iran, don't want to see a spillover of conflict. it is not just u.s. and israel but a range of countries have a deep interest in ensuring this conflict is restricted to israel and gaza at the moment. >> major general ryan, the horrific attack in israel, we have seen backlash for the civilian deaths in gaza, israel

cut off supplies of water, fuel of electricity. israel has claimed that it has restarted the water supply but people in gaza say, without energy you can't pump the water. 2 million plus citizens. >> i think this is at the heart of president biden's words last week when he said, you know, americans after 9/11 were enraged and heartbroken but we also made mistake. that was telegraphed to israel, you are enraged, but don't compromise a long term solution here. others will be counseling them in the background that yes they need to take on hamas, yes they have the right to sovereign self defense but they shouldn't hopefully be doing things that will make the situation worse in the long time. >> major general nick ryan this.

unrestricted access to gaza, saying in a joint statement, time is running out to help the thousands in need of medical assistance. a warning, report includes some disturbing video. >> reporter: hospitals in gaza are crumbling. everything is running out from surgical equipment to medicine. and the tiniest lives are left hanging in the balance. we need power. we need access to clean water this doctor says. without basic services this will be a humanitarian catastrophe. already, seven hospitals and 21 primary health care facilities here are out of service. according to palestinian officials because of shortages. after intense diplomatic efforts, prayers of relief at

the rafah border crossing as a trickle of aid was allowed in from egypt but the twri truck convoy is a trickle of an ocean of need. prior to the conflict. more than 200 additional trucks of assistance remain stalled on the egyptian side according to the u.n. and every hour costs lives. and so far, no civilians can leave the enclave. ten-year-old palestinian american adan is among those. >> all the streets are bombed. they are literally gone. how are we supposed to go out? how, it's all closed. >> reporter: even if people are allowed out it will be a limited number. most likely only those with foreign passports. ceiling some two million others into this house scape. but some refuse to go. even if they could.

fearing israel intends to bomb and besiege them out of their homes never to return. even as mahmoud buries his children he says he will keep fighting just to exist here. we will still be patient, as long as we are alive on this earth we will be patient, he says, we will never leave this land. after the october 7th terror attacks when hamas killed more than 1400 people in israel in a brutal surprise incursion, israel vowed to wipe out hamas. but with hundreds of air strikes pounding the densely populated enclave a day, innocent blood is being spilled. innocent children were struck down while they were sleeping. this woman shouts. what did they do, did they carry weapons? these are innocent children who know nothing. tell us when will this end? there are calls for a cease fire

to allow more aid into gaza but the pleas fall on deaf ears so far. israel is preparing for the next phase of its operations, a potential ground nf curing's that can only increase. >> we have an update on a bombing on a crowded hospital in gaza city. strongly suggests that the blast was not caused by an israel air strike, what appears to be a rocket launched from within gaza. and weapons experts say its behavior is consistent with a malfunction. should warn you, the moment of impact can be disturbing. palestinian authorities say the blast killed hundreds of people.

and quickly blamed israel. the two weapons experts who have reviewed the footage for cnn said the sound was not consistent with a high grade military explosive. but they cautioned doing firm conclusions based on cell phone audio. eight weapons and explosive experts viewed the footage of the crater which measures about one square meter. they say it is much too small to be an aerial bomb which would have destroyed everything around it. also leads them to say it is caused by an errant rocket. you can read the null story on cnn.com. the gaza so say two officials, arab leaders is had gathered to try and fight a glowing escalation of the situation in gaza and to try and protect its civilians.

israel and senior u.s. officials were not at that summit. it is unfortunate that some of those attending had, quote, difficulty condemning claimed it to be a war crime. >> all civilian lives matter. my friends, i am outraged and grieved by those acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in raza in the west bank and in israel. the relentless bombing campaign in reza as we speak is cruelty and unconscionable on every level. it is collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people. it is a playing ranlt violation of international humanitarian law, it is a war crime.

>> still to come. empty place settings representing the hostages kidnapped during the terrorist attack in israel. we'll have the latest ton efforts to reunite families. stay with us.

>> hello, minda kincaid, watching coverage of israel at war. the two american hostages release ed on friday from hamas, were judith tai raanan and her daughter natalie, turned over to israeli forces in gaza. she is coming home to celebrate her 18th birthday on tuesday. the white house posted a video of that emotional call on social media. >> hey judith. >> hello, president biden. >> 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.

that's been long said, i'm just dlieded we could get you out. we were working on you a long time, we're going to get them all out god willing. i just want to say -- >> god willing -- >> i hope we're not not only feeling but in good health as well. >> yes, sir, yes we are. thank you very much, god bless you. >> god bless you guys. >> well, the release of the american mother and her daughter taken hostage by hamas is a birth sweet development of the families of more than 200 others abducted by a terror group. a shabbat place setting was laid with 200 place settings, each one of them representing a hostage. taken from the many nova music effectively, spoke with them about their son and the last

time they spoke to him. >> from a phone call to another phone call, he sounded much more panic much more hysteric, and even in one of the phone call he say they are running away, they have a lot of friends but he started to run. he lost some of his friends and while he is running he say they are shooting all over and he say he see some dying people, and i love you, i love you. >> you must have been so panicked to hear your 21-year-old son telling you it's not just rockets, there is gun fire and people running and being killed. >> yes yes. it was like we could understand from his voice that this is something that we cannot understand even what he's experienced over there. >> he told me was panicked. he was afraid. he said that they got into the car and they are trying to escape from there.

my daughter told him send us a live location. he sent the live location and then the phone was stopped. and then we started to see that the point is moving like not in the right way. >> not coming home. >> not coming home at all. it's moving to the ward and my daughter start to cry and she told us listen, it's not the way. it's not way. and i called him to say omer it's not the way. and he didn't answer. the phone was ringing. and he didn't answer. and then we saw that he's getting into gaza. he was behind the border. >> and then in the evening we got a video that was published

by the hamas that omer is -- he's an hostage over there. we saw omer and craft at the bottom of pickup. >> he was handcuffed in a truck. >> with his friend. they were alive, there was blood or something on his clothes and that was the only -- the only single signal that we got from him. >> and it's been almost two weeks, tomorrow will have been two weeks. i mean what have these two weeks been like for both of you? >> we didn't -- we are not sleeping. we are not eating. we -- all of the things that we are doing now, it's to shout all over the world our pain.

that no mother in all of the world needs to feel like -- mother and father needs to feel like we are feeling now. imagine that your son is going to a party. and the next day, people murder, kidnapped him and you don't know if he's eating, sleeping, if they are beating him. the basic thing of a mother is to -- >> protect. >> to protect. her son. and i cannot protect my son. and it's driving me crazy and it's -- i'm talking not only for myself. i'm talking for a lot of

families. you must understand that people were in the safe place at their home. they were sitting eating breakfast, some of them was sleeping. and then these terrorists came in through their house and murder and took them from their house, from the place that it's the most safe place. and they took him, babies, children, teenage, mothers, fathers, grandmothers. >> and he's 21. but he's your baby. i mean what is he like? what's his personality? what is he -- you say he kissing you three times on the cheek all the time. >> he's an amazing guy.

he's a party guy. he is a dj, he likes all these music festivals. very, very happy guy. that's omer. very very funny guy. >> we call him sunshine because like the sunshine everybody wants to be -- >> next to him. >> next to him. >> the last time omer's family saw him was at shabat dinner, two weeks ago. that night was the night he went to the nova music festival. the next time his parents heard from him was from a series of panicked phone calls that day, when the festival was being attacked by hamas. the huge table you see is for all the families who is loved

ones won't be at shabat dinner tonight. omer's family is hoping that he will be back at their shabat dinner very soon. >> can you show me the video? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> amazing. >> and that was a picture of your family? >> yes. >> how many times have you

watched that video? >> oh my god. >> i saw it, at the beginning when donna foes id, i saw it maybe 100 times and each time i'm crying and i get very emotionally, even now when i see it i get very emotionally. also the song say you are going to get out from this. >> don't be atrade from the fear. >> yes, you're going to get out from it. >> if you could talk to him right now what would you say to him? >> come back. enough, enough, you did enough troubles. come back. >> that i love him. that i miss him. that i want every -- every day whether he is going he is coming to me, he's telling -- he's hugging me telling me mom i love you. he's kissing me three times. and he's going. so i want him back. i want --

>> i want to hug him. i want to hug him, to smell him. that's what i want very much to hug him and smell him. >> it must have been a relief to hear what the idf said today that they do believe most of the hostages are still alive. >> you nor for us, it's give maybe some light. but i any we don't see them. >> i want to say something about that. my son have asthma. he cannot breathe well. and i also, every day when i'm coming -- when i'm waking up and i don't have -- cannot breathe i'm taking my inhaler. and i'm thinking about omer, that he is there and he don't have his whatever you call it.

and it's the minimum thing that the monetary thing that they need to do. first of all. >> it's unbelievable. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> if you want to help we have the humanitarian relief efforts for israel and gaza. you can go to cnn.com/impact. vetted organizations responding on the ground.

cnn.com/impact. we'll take a break and then look at the vast tunnel network under gaza. you're watching cnn.

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>> welcome back to our continuing coverage of israel at war. i'm larned kincaid. israeli forces say they are increasing and intensifying strikes in gaza to minimize the risk of its troops in the next stage of the war. it is clear that israel is paving the way for invasion of gaza. shared their goals which is to eliminate hamas and its network of underground tunnels.

ilia john veer don talks about israel's next steps. >> this is the restricted area right now where the israeli military is massing. we have seen satellite images of tanks lining up literally lining up here, preparing to go. i can show you where that is. this is not privileged, top secret information. the israelis have made quite clear this is happening. there might be tanks preparing elsewhere in this restricted zone so spider what are they doing now and what are they doing ready to do? >> at this particular point john what they are doing is what we call precombat checks. individuals and teams are getting ready to go. there is a lot of silence, this is business nobody's missing around. they're also doing rehearsals. what is going to take place on the ground. they have a scheme of maneuver, sand tables, trying to figure

out what they are going to do, they are going to re99 that but simultaneously they are doing intelligence collection. >> talk to me about the intelligence collection, what types of intelligence they're using. >> i would imagine they are using drones, they want to get the drones up in the air, the very latest because those plans will be altered -- >> on these drones? >> yes, imagery intelligence, the things they can do at their level, the individual operators can get intelligence that is going to affect them in a very tactical way. special ops teams very small teams across into gaza. there is a lot of chaos, smoke, haze, lot of things going on so they can infiltrate folks to put eyes on targets as best they can. i imagine that is taking place as well and they are also tracking the cell phones of all the hamas leaders. >> signals intelligence? >> signals intelligence, exactly correct. that is why there's targeting

taking place right now in southern gaza because that is where a lot of the hamas telephones are located. >> you can see rafah, things taking place, we have videos of the trucks coming over right there. as you are looking at that you think they made those strikes because they were following signals intelligence. >> absolutely. you look at where hamas is located, they are not completely, focused on the north, they are throughout gaza. >> let's talk about the tanks we see preparing to go in. when they make that decision to go in whether it's this weekend or a few days from now what paths do you think they'll take? >> i think what will happen, it is more than just tanks, combat, teams, infantry that is mounted, artillery, et cetera and it's going to be proceeded by good intelligence. i think what they would probably go, that is the wadi gaza, the wetlands.

they would enter in from here, l cop in on multiple axes of advance. israel has a navy, corvettes which are smaller attack boats, they have 10,000 sailors on active duty. i would also anticipate activity that would look like this. because what israel wants to do you want to secure the combat zone, secure the perimeter, then all these units will wake up go to the same place link up then you begin the operation to go after very specific targets. and those targets john are really the political and military leaders of hamas -- >> people. >> the people. they want to go after them and i think they would probably have either a kill or capture mission, in this particular case i would imagine it is a kill mission. second thing they want to go after is the tunnel complex, extensive as you can realize. >> i can show you, this is a map of what the tunnels look like in

2021. that is some time ago. they have probably expand he and redone it. can you see what the tunnel imagery was there. >> that is the most difficult they have to take on. this is urban terrain with a subterranean piece. they have to deny and destroy those tunnels. that is a man -- combat suck. that's going to draw people into it. this is going to be a difficult, difficult fight. >> well i want to take a closer look at those tunnels that spider marks mentioned. this is a video provided by the israeli defense forces back in 2014 showing the entrance of those tunnels and eventually the tight dark space within. i want to welcome my next guest, colin clark joins us from doha. good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> you specialize in

international geopolitics. i want to hone in on the tunnels, also house hamas control and command centers. what do you know about this so-called gaza metro? >> yes, this is going to be a massive challenge for the idf. we're talking about a subterranean network that hamas has constructed over the years. indeed called the gaza metro. stretches for hundreds of miles even though the israelis and at various points the egyptians have tried to destroy parts of these tunnels. they are going to be laced with booby traps and improvised explosive devices. and the fact that hostages are being held down there with hamas militants. >> you mentioned the distance, you mentioned in 2021 hamas claimed it had build 500 kilometers about 300 miles of

tunnels under gaza which would be the length of the new york subway system. is there any indication that this is accurate? that the territory has been under land sea and air blockade, with no major machinery able to get in? >> we just don't know at this point. i don't think the israelis know the extent. but if it's even the fraction of that, the israelis are conducting intelligence at the battlefield, using ground penetrating and other technologies. to get a sense of how vast this is going to be, how sophisticated the hamas attack was on october 7th, you better believe that they have been preparing for an israeli invasion and ready to fight in what's some of the toughest

urban warfare that the world has witnessed in years. >> looking at the map right now we know that israel is planning to have this incursion, they've told everyone to head south but you can see from the map that hamas tunnels are in the south. surely, some of the terrorists would be heading south to some of those underground tunnels right? >> again, an additional layer of clevment, not only -- complexity, they are likely broken up into small groups, two, three, four at a time. which is going to really challenge the idf. it's going to present a number of, you know, complexities in terms of human shields right and going after command and control noticeds which have hostages alongside hamas fighters. >> it's going to be a challenge.

certainly you have written several books on terrorism including one on isis. what are the parallels, you heard of one commander who called hamas isis. do you see them as the same or if you do, what is the difference? >> do i think that hamas learned from watching the islamic state and that is evident in kind of the savagery of the attack of october 7th but not only the savagery and brutality of the attack but hamas's use of imagery and broadcasting that on social media and sending that as a form of prop began today to terrorize. the essence of terrorism is psychological in many ways beyond lethality, it is to scare populations and that is what the imagery coming out of october 7th really shows, hamas learned that from the islamic state, dedicated a lot of the

esthetics to the propaganda and social media and i think it's clear now although there are many differences with isis as well. >> instantly filmed a lot of their preparations for this attack and lot of video since. we'll leave it there, colin clark thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. still to come on cnn we'll have the latest on the war in ukraine and how the special forces are focusing their attention on crimea.

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here's why you should switch from chrome to duckduckgo. duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. >> we all have more on cnn continuing coverage on israel in just a moment. but i want to stay a look at news around the world. a leader of a synagogue in detroit was found stabbed to death outside her home on saturday morning. many unanswered questions they are trying to figure out what happened. they say they still don't know the motive.

detroit's mayor says her death leaves a hole. now to the war in ukraine. officials in kharkiv, russian forces fired two missiles at a building housing a logistics company. search and rescue operations are underway. ukrainian special forces are launching raids on russian forces in hopes of finding mo cow off its guard. >> jet skis to land in russian occupied crimea. the tighter's speaking goes by the call sign musician. he tells me the operation was successful but tough. while we are landing the sea was

stormy he says, the waves were up to two meters high plus russian war ships were paroling the raptors. they also managed to destroy russian military gear, off the black sea, on the long journey back to ukrainian held territory. these munitions are militarily important, the enemy is forced to relocate their personnel and vehicles to the ukrainian seaside. ukraine has started a major offensive against russian targets, damaging a submarine ass and a russian landing ship as well as hitting an air base. the ukrainians use drones and cruise missiles for some of the attacks but rely on groups inside crimea for information

and targeting. one of the groups agreed to answer our questions but only in writing for security reasons. we constantly monitor with the help of our agents and residents of crimea who constantly inform us, the atesh group, one of the occupying crimea to the russian mainland. russian leader vladimir putin vowing revenge. there will definitely be a response from russia, he says, the ministry of defense is preparing proposals. missions like these are also psychologically important one of the leaders tells me. we are fighting a trench war on the front lines and the armed forces excess is not so obvious he says. operations of these kind in the rear or in the sea inspire

energy and keep fighting. their next infiltrations are already in the works, they won't say when where or for how. cnn kyiv. joe biden just asked congress for $100 billion, much for aid for ukraine and israel. let's look at what the united states is giving so far. let's break it down with our colleague. >> helicopters, drones, missile defense systems, troop transports, radar, loads of infantry and equipment and so on, in all, more than $75 billion worth of aid has gone to ukraine from the u.s. and military spending, this part right here, accounts for well over half of that total. that is much, much nor than the u.s. sends to any other country. and it absolutely dwarfs

american typical range of $3 billion to $4 billion. >> wow. saying the numbers, it's really stunning. think about it. that's quite a difference. we have recent cnn polling on what americans actually think about what you've just described. start with israel. what do those polls say? >> if you look at american sympathy for israel, on a real upswing right now. you might expect strong support for that relatively modest amount of u.s. aid to israel. but the numbers paint a murkier picture. 35% of americans say the current level of aid is about right. 15% say it's too much. 14% say it's too little. and 36%, the largest single group, say they're unsure. an interesting side note in this, the numbers show that republicans and those who watch the news closely are more favorable to this current level

of aid. >> so what about ukraine funding? is there polling about that? >> yeah, we have one from back in august. and in that case, it shows a dramatic drop since the early days of the war when a large majority of americans favored help to ukraine. whether it's because of the length of the conflict or the raw amount of money that's sent that way, 55% of americans -- this number right down here, they are currently saying there should be no additional funding for ukraine. and 45% say the money should keep flowing. and here republicans are saying, that's enough spending for ukraine. they strongly oppose more spending. democrats solidly favor more money for the fight against the russians. all of these numbers, put all this together, the turmoil up on capitol hill, that's what president biden is up against when he made that speech tonight and what he'll be up against in coming days. still ahead, from new york to africa demonstrations are taking place over the israel/hamas conflict. the messages people want the

world to hear when we come back.

in spain, thousands of people demonstrated in barcelona and madrid to show their support for the palestinians amid the israel/hamas war. with protesters marching and shouting "gaza is bleeding out and the world is watching." and in tunisia, demonstrators waving palestinian flags. they shouted, wake up, stand up, speak up, and stop the genocide. police in london say more than 100,000 people marched through the city to the prime minister's residence. the premier league honored those impacted by this conflict. a moment of silence is observed at both the chelsea v. arsenal, as well as the manchester city v. brighton matches. players, managers, and officials will wear black armbands for the next round of matches. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm lynda kinkade. i'll be back with more breaking news out of israel after a short break. from chrome to duckduckgo.

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