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us. i'm fredericka witfield in atlanta where it's 1:00 eastern time alongside wolf blitzer in tel aviv, where it is 8:00 p.m. we're continuing to follow breaking news in israel's war with hamas. moments from now israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and other officials will hold a news conference as israel's defense minister says the idf has moved to a new phase in the war. new video shows the siege under way in gaza. massive plumes of black smoke were rising from the enclave just a short time ago. israeli forces are now inside of gaza. overnight the idf's armored vehicles and tanks were on the move, though the full scope of current activities remains unclear. we've also seen israel unleash a heavy sustained barrage of aerial attacks on gaza. our teams on the ground report hearing large explosions and heavy machine gunfire. the idf says the strikes

targeted 150 underground combat spaces and terror tunnels. we're watching new military activity unfold along israel's border with lebanon. the idf and hezbollah continue to exchange fire on that front. let's send it over to wolf in israel. wolf. >> we're waiting to hear directly from prime minister benjamin netanyahu in just a few minutes. we'll bring you that news conference. he's going to take questions as well. once it begins, we'll bring it to you live. sara sidner is here with me in tel aviv. she's been watching all these latest developments unfold. update our viewers on what is going on. it's a very tense situation. >> it is. so we just saw an hour ago rockets coming over, being intercepted by the iron dome. there were at least a half dozen of them.

something that used to be you didn't hear about happening in tel aviv much, but since this war we've seen a large number of rockets. yesterday there was an apartment that was hit, because the iron dome is not 100% perfect, about 90% sure. so three people were injured here yesterday. we also saw some things getting hit in ashkelon as well. when there are so many rockets coming over, the iron dome can only do so much. it has done quite an incredible job when you look at the numbers of rockets coming from gaza. in gaza there have been bombardments that have been more fierce and numerous than we have seen over this three-week period or so since the hamas attack into israel on october 7th. but you are seeing large numbers of aerial strikes there but we have also learned that the israeli military is on the ground in a smaller way than initially expected, but they are

on the ground as well as firing from the sky. that's kind of where we are right now. there is a sense of alertness happening, because people can see the movement of the military from the borders of gaza and see this war is changing every single day. there's a lot of worry about the israeli soldiers and the civilians on the israeli side and the civilians and the humanitarian crisis happening in gaza. >> i was here in tel aviv just a little while agohen those sirens went off, but you were right here. you could see them coming in. the iron dome intercepted those hamas rockets. it's pretty scary stuff. >> you'll see the streaks of light coming up. that's the impact there.

you will see several of them. what is frightening for the population here especially is that -- there they are, you see those eight lights in the air? that's the iron dome. those aren't the rockets. you can't see or hear the rockets coming over. they don't know where they are. they just hope they can see the tracer fire from the iron dome and hope they're able to get every single one. it doesn't get every single one. that's why here there is a lot of fear because they know at any moment rockets can come over. conversely in gaza they don't have the iron dome, so they're getting bombarded from the sky. everyone everywhere really is in this tense moment of fear and trepidation because israel is at war. >> what people don't realize is even after the iron dome works and knocks out those incoming rockets and missiles, there's a lot of debris falling from the sky. i've been in ashkelon with some of the debris fall.

huge pieces would kill people. that's why people are running to shelter. >> you know what happens here when this starts to happen. it's terrifying for the p population. >> huge metal pieces start falling from the sky after the iron dome intercepts those rockets. if you hear the sirens, go to a stairwell, a safe room or a shelter. we have a lot more coming up. sara sidner reporting with me in tel aviv. right now in gaza there is a total communications blackout. some aid groups say they haven't been able to get in touch with their own crews and family members are unable to reach each other, all of this adding to the dire humanitarian situation unfolding for civilians in gaza as israel steps up its ground operation. melissa bell joins us live from cairo. what are you hearing?

>> an extremely difficult situation because many thousands of civilians have made their way here in hopes of being let out, they haven't so far. also for the increasingly urgent calls that something needs to change around that crossing in order that more aid can get in. when you look what's happened since the start of this war, the u.n. reckons about 100 trucks a day need to get in to meet the needs of the civilian population of gaza. it is just 84 trucks that have got in since this war began. what has got in has been medical supplies and food. the fuel desperately needed to run the hospitals, for instance, hasn't got in at all since the start of this conflict. that means the u.n. agencies haven't been able to speak to

their teams since this friday night escalation. they are fearing, including the u.n. agency that looks specifically after palestinian refugees, that they may have to get out within the next few days. an extremely difficult humanitarian situation made worse by that near total blackout. many families are unable to reach each other and emergency services unable to be reached because the wounded can't call ambulances to where they are. what had been hope over the last few days that some humanitarian pause to address these urgent issues, we saw the u.n. vote on the resolution massively in favor of a pause. those hopes have faded as a result of what happens last night and continues to happen today. we just heard from antonio gutierrez, the head of the

united united nations. the dashed hopes with regard to the hopes that aid might finally get in and that some kind of arrangement might get found for at least dual national citizens to get out. tonight those hopes seem pretty far off. >> melissa bell in cairo. thank you very much. i want to get some analysis on all these breaking developments unfolding right now here in the middle east. joining us is the former cia operative bob bayer. w is it about preparing for a full-scale larger ground operation in gaza, or is it something else? >> wolf, i think they're probing hamas defenses. they're seeing if they'll come up on air, push the talk radios. they're trying to get a feel for

the tunnels. they don't quite know hamas tactics. it's been nine years since the last entry into gaza. they're checking this out. they may continue south as they go, but right now they're just testing lines to see what sort of losses the israelis take and how many hamas defenders there are. >> a lot going on. the big concern, of course, for israel going into gaza has to be a protracted fight that takes place in those extensive underground tunnel networks in gaza. doing the idf hknows where thes tunnels and there could be hostages in those tunnels. >> israelis would rather not bomb gaza. they would rather get into the tunnels, take out hamas, destroy and decapitate the movement and

be done with it. the problem is last nine years hamas has been building tunnels. some of them supposedly go 150 feet deep. that seems too much for me, but they're very deep. the only way to get into them is tunnel by tunnel. if the hostages are down there, the chances of their making it out in a protracted war are close to zero. >> negotiations have been ongoing to try to get more hostages released by hamas with qatar apparently being the main mediator right now. how do you think the ground operation which seems to be beginning right now massively will impact those negotiations? >> i think they're pretty much cut off at this point, wolf, because hamas has said give us a cease fire, we'll give you hostages. we know hamas has agreed to release eight of them. i'm not sure that's going to

happen. getting those people out would be extremely difficult. >> israel's main objective right now is to destroy hamas as much as they possible can. we'll see what happens in the coming hours and days. is there a concern in the pentagon that the u.s. could potentially be drawn into this conflict if iranian-backed hezbollah decides from southern lebanon to seriously escalate its attacks on northern israel. right here in tel aviv they have rockets and missiles from southern lebanon provided by the iranians that could reach where we are right now in tel aviv. >> they can hit tel aviv, they can destroy high fa. there's supposedly 150,000 hezbollah rockets, which the israelis would have to invade lebanon to take out. so the united states has warned tehran, you send your proxies

into israel and we will destroy them. i could see us getting in. this war is heating up, not calming down obviously, wolf. >> the u.s. has deployed two aircraft carrier battle groups to the eastern medical train not far from gaza and not far from lebanon either. they're supposedly designed to deter hezbollah from even thinking about launching missiles and rockets toward israel. this note to our viewers. if you would like information on how to help the humanitarian relief efforts in gaza and israel, go to cnn.com/impact. you'll find a list of vetted organizations providing important assistance. we'll have much more just ahead. we're live in tel aviv. coming up, several communities in maine can now begin to heal and mourn those they lost after the suspected gunman in the deadly mass

shootings was found dead last evening.

we're learning new details about the gunman in wednesday's mass shooting that killed 18 people in maine. we know the shooter's body was found inside a box trailer in the town of lisbon. 40-year-old robert card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. residents are relieved the manhunt is over and can now begin grieving their lost loved ones. the rampage there was the deadliest mass shooting in the u.s. this year and the deadliest since the school massacre in uvalde, texas. i'm joined by correspondent shimon prokupecz live in lewiston. what are the next steps in the investigation? >> reporter: they're still clearing the crime scenes. we're outside the bar where one

of the shootings occurred. investigators are still here going over evidence, collecting the remaining pieces of evidence they have to collect for their investigation and then really working towards more about the history of the shooter, the investigators trying to piece together the days leading up to this, what was going on in his life. they revealed there were some mental health issues. they're investigating that. they also say that he bought the weapons, some of them in the last several days. they recovered three weapons, two with him inside the trailer and then the long rifle potentially the one used in this horrific crime in his car. there also is a note. they found this note. they released some more details about that note, saying there's information in there that he left for a loved one. here's the police official discussing that. >> what it is, is it's a note to

a loved one, saying that this is the passcode for my phone, this is the bank account numbers. i wouldn't describe it as an explicit suicide note, but the tone and tenor was that the individual was not going to be around and wanted to make sure this loved one had access to his phone and whatever was in his phone. >> reporter: investigators also say that the shooter's family has been very cooperative in this investigation in helping them figure out a motive. in the moments after this shooting when they released the photo of the shooter, it was the family that first identified him to police. that's sort of how they were able to identify him and track him down. all of this, of course, happening as the families here and the community is starting to

grieve. a vigil is planned for tomorrow night. it gives an opportunity for many of the community members and the families here to get together and remember their loved ones and deal with a very difficult time in the coming days, weeks and months. >> sure. it's not over, not for them. thank you so much. at any moment we're expecting to hear from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu as israeli forces expand to ground operations.

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intense wave of bombing in this conflicting so far. israel says the country has moved to a new phase. cnn's jeremy diamond is joining us from not far from the gaza border. what are you seeing and hearing right now? it seems to be so intense. >> reporter: no doubt about it, wolf. we are more than 24 hours now past israel officially expanding its ground operations inside gaza. there was a question last night as these operations were beginning. when we woke up in the morning with those tanks and troops went into gaza last night. throughout the day we have been hearing the constant thud of artillery heading out of israel and pounding gaza as well as aerial bombardments continuing.

we could hear small arms fire, machine gunfire continuing, a clear indication that the fighting between hamas fighters inside gaza and israeli troops is very much still ongoing. we also learned what the intensity of those aerial bombardments we were hearing last night, which were without a doubt the most intense and loudest booms we have heard inside gaza since this war began three weeks. they were so intense because most of what they were targeting was the underground tunnel system under gaza. 150 targets in northern gaza were targeted last night according to the israel defense forces. today, despite those targeting operations carried out by the idf, rocket fire continuing to come out of gaza targeting israeli cities like right here in ashkelon as well as central israel in tel aviv as well.

this is still a very dynamic operation. earlier today we drove along the border with gaza where hundreds of armored personnel carriers and tanks have been massing for several days now along that border. today what we found were mostly empty fields, trash on those fields where those troops used to be. some of those tanks were coming back from gaza back toward those staging positions. there was movement back and forth between that northern part of the border with gaza and northern gaza itself. so very much an ongoing operation which the israeli military's chief of staff says is a complex and important operation and he says israel's best troops are currently engaged in fighting with hamas over there. >> jeremy diamond in ashkelon just north of gaza, thank you very much. we're waiting for remarks by the

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we'll bring that livive once it agains. stay witith us.

we're following some breaking news here in israel. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu about to speak to reporters. this comes as israel steps up its ground operations inside gaza and continues launching a barrage of air strikes. any moment now prime minister netanyahu will hold a news conference along with the current and former israel defense ministers. we'll bring that to you as soon as it begins. sara sidner is here with me in tel aviv. also aaron david miller is joining us as well. this is going to be important, because these family members of the hostages want answers. >> they have demanded answers. i mean, this is the anniversary, the three-week anniversary of the october 7th attack by hamas. when you imagine they have been

waiting for this long to have some concrete answers about what the plan is, now they're not just asking where are my loved one and what do you know. they're now asking will this ground incursion have a negative effect on the potential of them being able to leave and their well-being. they want direct and clear answers. they want to know what they are dealing with, because a lot of them -- and i've spoken to several -- all the horrible things that sort of rattle around in your head about what can happen to your loved ones. they've been waiting for so long and they've seen four people of the 20-plus people still being held by hamas released, giving them some hope, but hope being dashed when you see these huge bombardments and the ground forces that are in. >> several did meet in tel aviv with the prime minister. earlier several of them put out a joint statement. let me read a couple lines to

you from the statement. we are tired of slogans. our loved ones' time is running out. they have been held in apopallig conditions underground. we expect the prime minister and defense minister to arrive with clear answers on how they plan to bring the hostages home hea healthy. they're clearly worried, understandably, about their loved ones. >> we know there has been some medical attention for some of the hostages, because we heard that from one of the hostages who was released. we saw video of one of the h hostages being released. she was getting some medical attention. at this point when they see there is no movement that they can visibly see of hostages being led out, they've only seen four over the three weeks now, they're just terrified and they

want to know the truth no matter how much it hurts, but they also want israel to take a look at what they're doing and really consider the hostages as a very important part of their plans even though they are in a full-scale war with hamas. >> let me get aaron david miller into this conversation. you've been involved in the middle east for many years. how do you see this hostage crisis unfolding? >> i think the government of israel confronts a cruel dilemma. the families are looking to the prime minister basically to tell them what kind of priority is the redemption of these hostages. i suspect the prime minister and defense minister are only going to have general answers. reality is israel faces a cruel dilemma. on one hand it has a commitment to the 1400 israelis killed in that hamas slaughter on october 7. on the other hand, they have a commitment to the living.

you know as well as i what a national mission israel has for itself in terms of redemption of its soldiers and civilians left on the battlefield. that is the cruellest of dilemmas. the israel prime minister, the longest governing prime minister in the history of the state of israel faces clearly the greatest political and security crisis of his career. i doubt, frankly, that the prime minister is going to have very much to say specifically other than general propositions on where the hostages fit in terms of israel's looming ground campaign. >> where do you think the u.s. fits into this whole dilemma how to free those hostages? >> ten americans unaccounted for. clearly for the biden administration the redemption of american hostages is a top priority. i think the administration has succeeded in buying time and

space from the israelis in order to see whether or not you can actually have a large-scale release of civilians. i suspect both the u.s. and israel are essentially confronted with hamas that is playing the cruellest of psychological games with human beings. they know how valuable the israelis are to the government. they know what kind of pressure the netanyahu government is under, and they're using them in an effort, i think, to buy time and to constrain a likely israeli ground campaign. again, i think it's impossible for us to know exactly what the state of those negotiations are or frankly what the fate of those unfortunate humans imprisoned by hamas really are at the moment. >> it's a sad, sad situation indeed. we're going to sneak in a quick break. we're standing by to hear directly from the prime minister

of israel benjamin netanyahu. we'll take a quick break.

we're standing by for the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to speak any moment now on israel's sudden military expansion of its ground operations in gaza. prime minister netanyahu met with some of the families of the hostages earlier today after they had demanded a meeting with him. i'm joined by haddas calderon. she has five family membered kidnapped on october 7th. it's believed they're being held hostage in gaza.

they include her husband, her 16-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. haddas, thank you so much for joining us. if i have to interrupt our conversation to hear what prime minister netanyahu has to say, i'm sure you'll understand. we'll get your reaction after we hear what he and the defense minister have to say about the hostage situation and this military incursion in gaza right now and how that could potentially impact the fate of more than 200 hostages in gaza. what is your message to the israeli leadership as this military operation in gaza clearly expands and your family members remain hostages in gaza? >> sorry. my message is to the government leaders but also to hamas and all the government in the whole world, to qatar, to egypt, to

france, to united states, to all the governments, please, we are 22 days after all these innocent people have been kidnapped. i'm already very tired, tired to -- >> haddas, i apologize to interrupt you, but we're going to continue this conversation. the prime minister is now speaking. >> translator: citizens of israel, yesterday additional forces entered into gaza into the evil forces. this is the second stage of the war, which our cause is very clear, to destroy the military

and government ability of hamas and return our victims home. we decided to operate on the ground of gaza in the covenant of the war in the general covenant. we're ready to make sure the faith of the country, our soldiers know that the government and the people are standing behind them. i met our soldiers in the bases, in the south and the north where the wonderful army, wonderful soldiers, heros, jews and non-jews, secular and non-secular, left and right, go united. they have the motivation. i haven't seen such a spirit. they're going to fight

powerfully against an evil enemy. they are ready to make sure that the murderers are going to pay the price for the massacre. they're going to abolish this evil in order for all humanity, all the people and the government. we believe in them. remember what i'm elected to. we remember and we fight. our heroic fighters in gaza, around gaza and all around the country are joining the years of israel. it's a chain of 3,000 years from joshua, judah and the rest of

the wars of israel like yom kippur. our heroic fighters have one goal, to destroy this enemy and to make sure the existence in our country never again, never again is now. i met our victims' families today. parents who lost their loved ones. i said to them in any stage until now, any stage from now, we'll exhaust anything as we can to make sure they're coming back to their families. it is a crime against humanity. the people are blaming us for

crime against humanity, our soldiers. they're completely wrong. we call the population to please go to the safe area of the strip. the cynical of their enemy, they use their population as human shield and as providers of their fuel. everybody around the world understanding now what we always said. we are fighting the humanity war. our human war against barbarians, our allies in the western world and our allies in the arab world understand today that if israel is not going to win today they are going to be next in the axis of evil.

from the beginning of the war, we managed to have international support from leaders usa, biden, prime minister of britain, france, germany, greece, cypress and other leaders. they came to us at the time of war and have a clear message, we're not just supporting you, we are waiting for your victory, we are blessing you. we are going to stand alone, and it's good to stand together. we have no other choice. one thing we clarify, that we need to understand, two

possibilities, two o be or not be. this is our test. and we are going to be the one who are going to win it. we are going to win it. in the first few weeks, we destroyed the enemy from air, and the last few days have extended power, a system to get into the ground in the safest way. we destroyed infrastructure and headquarters of the enemy. the war inside gaza is going to be long. this is our second independence war. we're going to save our country, we're going to fight in the air, ground, and sea. we are going to fight and win. it's going to be the victory of

the good over evil. we are standing together united and we are sure this is the right way, this is the mission of our life, the mission of my life, in your name and the name of everybody, i pray for the safety of our soldiers. we're going to give them the crown of victory. together, we are going to win. citizens of israel, soldiers are fighting at the moment, in the air, ground and sea, inside gaza

and outside gaza. the abductees families and the families that lost their loved ones in the fight the last few weeks, and the abductees' families, there's not one moment that i don't think about you. there's not one moment that when i consider the operational strategies, the actions of the forces, there's not a moment i don't take it into account. the powerful fire toward the enemy, it's different what hamas experienced until now. the idf forces are maneuvering

and destroying the infrastructure of hamas over the ground and underground, from the air, ground, and from the sea. hamas has taken fatal hits. i visited today the forces in the air, the intelligence forces. i saw how the intelligence are giving support, giving them support that makes them very powerful, what the forces are doing. i want to say one thing. i have faith in the chief general, in the fighters and

commanders, and all the forces, and the people and the defense system. the fighters on the ground are going to bring us victory. at this time, we have no interest in expanding the war. the air force is using a small air freight into gaza and it's ready for other development. alongside these efforts, the war efforts, we have other efforts. the most important one, the central command, concern for the

citizens, the reservists in the front and the settlements that are in the front and people that were evicted from their houses, and we are working towards helping. a few words about abductees. we are making any effort in order to return the abductees to us, to our country. it's a very complicated effort. it's dealing with reality that we didn't know in the past. we are ready to do anything possible. this is not a secondary mission, this is a national priority. we are committed to it. we know who we are standing against. we are dealing with murderers that murdered kids, raped women,

that murder, crimes. please don't think that they try for humane solutions. the efforts to return your loved ones, it's important efforts for us. as long as the military pressure and fire is going to be increased, as we hit the enemy harder, there's better chance that the enemy will agree to solutions to return the loved ones. towards the end, this is not going to be a short war. it's going to be long. we should have patience and we have to be strong as

individuals, as leadership, and most of all, the defense forces. this is a war on our house, not a choice. it's us or them. i'm committed to lead the defense forces to victory under hamas. >> israeli society experienced the biggest disaster of our times. therefore, we are fighting together. we are managing this war with responsibility and determination in order to change the reality of the south and to fulfill this

contract never again. we are working on all fronts, there are enemies all around our borders. they'll understand the message. along that, we are doing every effort to return the abductees in gaza home. every effort. this is our moral commitment as jews, as country, as leadership. the ground maneuver, alongside other stages, could progress the return of the abductees home. all of us, the prime minister, the defense minister, cabinet of the war management and the big cabinet, and all the rest of the commanders understand the on