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hello. i'm boris sanchez with brianna keilar in washington. just a short time ago, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu unequivocally rejected growing international calls for a cease-fire in israel's war with hamas. israel says its military campaign against hamas has entered its second stage now, not only with more intense air strikes but also an expanding ground operation on the ground in gaza. the idf says that dozens of militants have been killed, but now the palestinian ministry of

health in ramallah, which draws from sources in the hamas enc enclave, says more than 182 people have been killed in strikes since hamas' terror attack began on october 7th. >> just as the united states would not agree to a cease-fire after the bombing of pearl harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with hamas after the horrific attacks of october 7th. calls for a cease-fire are calls for israel to surrender to hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. that will not happen. in the last hour, the israeli defense forces confirmed one of their soldiers who was abducted on october 7th has been released during idf ground operations. private ori megidish, seen here, is said to be doing well, and she has been reunited with her

family. her friend and fellow soldier is still being held, and her parents, roni's parents, spoke to cnn with this message to their daughter. >> roni, you have to stay strong. we are going to get you back. we are going -- >> i promise you. >> we are going to get you back. the idf will get you back. you have to stay strong. everyone is looking for you, and you have to believe that we are coming. we are coming to save you. >> let's go to cnn's jeremy diamond in israel. what more do you know about the release of this idf soldier? >> reporter: well, this is the first captive taken hostage by hamas who was freed as a result of an idf operation. the israel defense forces confirming in a statement that private megidish was freed in a ground operation, what they're characterizing as a ground

operation overnight. they say the private had been kidnapped by hamas on october 7th and was subsequently freed overnight in this operation. they say the private has been medically checked and appears to be doing well. of course we see the pictures of her meeting with her family. it is remark to believe see this unfold, and prime minister netanyahu as well as defense minister gallant are using it as evidence that this ground operation that is being conducted, they say, is one way of trying to get some of these hostages freed. this is the first and only instance thus far we have seen of this ground operation successfully resulting in the freedom of at least one of these captives. but this is also a point that prime minister netanyahu has made, which is that it's not only the specific ground operations to try and free hostages, he has said it is only under pressure, by increasing israeli leverage, by carrying out these operations that hamas at the negotiating table will also agree to free more captives. we know those negotiations are

complex and ongoing. >> talk to us about this video released of the hostages. we're not showing it. this kind of thing is tricky. hamas is using it for its purposes, but it gives us hope that these hostages are alive, and their families are obviously looking at this. >> reporter: yeah. in terms of that proof of life, sometimes it's difficult to tell when exactly these videoed were filmed. but in it, one of the hostages references a speech that the israeli prime minister gave just this weekend, so it is recent from a time-stamp basis. these videos are typically relee leased for propaganda video, so we won't show it, but it shows three female hostages identified by their families. one speaks in the video and addresses the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu directly, urging him to do

everything that he can to free them. she said, "you promised to release us all." toward the end of the video, she actually screams, "now, now, now." it is very emotional. there appears to be some anger in her voice. we don't know the conditions under which she was directed to speak in the way she was, but the israeli prime minister's office acknowledging the video and saying that the prime minister turns to these three hostages who were kidnapped and says, i hug you, our hearts go out to you and the other abductees. >> jeremy, thank you. let's dig deep we are cnn military analyst, retired four-star general wesley clark, who served as nato supreme allied commander and founded the group renew america together. great to have you this afternoon. i'm curious on your perspective on what israel is describing as the second wave of this ground attack against hamas in gaza.

what have you seen so far that has stood out to you? >> so, israel's in on the ground. they're going to stay in on the ground. the question is what's the rate at which their occupation advances. so, what i see is more forces come in, and they're apparently two miles inside gaza. it looks like from the northwest as well as the northeast. my guess is they seal off an area, then work from all directions in it to clear it, search it room by room, get on the rooftops, go into the tunnel network underneath it, and make it secure before they go -- continue to go deep. they may, as they advance, they're going to run into resistance, they're going to stir things up, they're going to get communications intercepts,

go into tunnels, they'll tap phone lines, they'll get information, and they may well conduct raids beyond that perimeter. but they have to meet the prime minister's guidance, essentially go into every room and eliminate hamas and every tunnel. >> that is especially complicated when you're talking about that tunnel system. it's been described as an underground spider's web. significantly complicating that is the fact that there are civilians there, hostages, as well, we believe. what does it look tlike to figh a war inside a tunnel system like that? >> i think, first of all, they know something about the tunnels. not all the tunnels are new. they do have some maps of the tunnels. one of the things they're doing on the ground is making comparisons between the maps and what they know to see what's new. they've probably got some

informants on the inside who have given them current information on the status. they're going to go into the tunnels. they may go in on foot, they may go in with robotic vehicles first, they may fly drones through some of the tunnels if they can control the drones down the tunnels. and they're going to move through the resistance. they're going no know where they are in relation to the rest of the city. they may even bring ordnance in on the tunnel if there's nobody in there. they may back out and blow it with demolitions. everything's going to be decided on a case-by-case basis based on the overall picture of where the hostages are, where the enemy is, what the future operations are, and what it takes to finish the job in gaza. that's why the prime minister said it's going to be a long war. this can't be done overnight. it is step by step, and the israelis have to do it in a way where they don't get bogged down

in the city, where they have freedom to maneuver, where they keep the initiative, and they still have so watch the back door in the north in lebanon and syria. >> to that point about there being a back door, it's not just lebanon and syria, it's the potential for even houthis to get involved in yemen. iran's backing plays a significant role. officials say israel's crossed a red line here. in response, the u.s. is sending additional forces to deter those groups. how likely is it this will escalate into a broader regional conflict? >> i think there's a loft posturing right now. i think certainly vladimir putin would be willing to fight to the last hezbollah soldier to distract the united states united states and israel and the west from what he's doing in ukraine. but the iranians are very

clever, they're very nuanced, they can draw and suggest red line after red line after red line without moving forward. they're watching the situation. right now, israel has the initiative, israel has the ability to protect itself fully, and iran is not going to commit itself, iran is not going to commit itself until israel doesn't have those capabilities and the united states is distracted somewhere else. so, the mood in tehran, they're not about to give up the state and security of iran because of hamas. they're willing to use hamas and the palestinian civilians there to distract, advance their own agenda in the region. i they're willing to have hezbollah take some hits, but they won't commit until they're close to a desisive phase of the battle and they're not there yet. the united states needs to continue to do everything it can

to make sure all those in the region and outside the region understand why our ships are there and what we would do in the event of escalation. >> general wesley clark thanks for the perspective. >> thank you. as we learn of one hostage being released, we're also learning new details about the more than 200 still held captive. prime minister benjamin netanyahu confirmed that 33 of those hostages are children. i'm joined now by daniel o'shea, a retired u.s. navy s.e.a.l. coordinator and commander for the hostage group in iraq. i want to ask you about the children, but first more generally, i want to ask you about what israel is facing here as they are trying to recover hostages, what the challenges are on the ground. >> well, i mean, right there, 33 children, people well into their

80s, women, noncombatants. there has been nothing on this scale in history beyond the school crisis in the moscow theater in terms of the stiz and scope and zale of noncombatants in this. they're not in all one area. they're in a spider network tunneling system underneath the streets of gaza. the challenges of a mos tahj rescue mission are very formidable. nothing like it in my 20 years of jihadi groups that have done this kidnapping in the past. this is the only playing card hamas has. it complicates everything the idf is doing in terms of their, you know, stated mission, to wipe out hamas, because every time they go anywhere, the concern would be that the hostages are also being held as human shields when they're targeting hamas fighters. >> that's a huge challenge for the idf. they're not all in one place, as

you point out. there's this idf soldier, private ori megidish, been abducted, now freed. can you talk about what kind of intel she might be able to provide, what kind of intel the elderly israeli hostages will be able to provide considering they were being held maybe in smaller groups in different places? >>. >> well, there was information revealed. obviously the older women that were released, being fed, administered medicine. again, hamas -- these are important bargaining chips, so they were going to keep those hostages alive until it doesn't serve their purpose. the female soldier is going to be probably more trained in observations. she probably played a role on her rescue. she may have escaped and then was found, you know -- heard soldiers nearby. again, how she got rescued we

may never know the details. but she will play a critical role in the debriefing process. i think she's been with her family, but believe me, she's being debriefed, and everything she can share in terms of whether where the hostages were held, what conditions. every hostage will bring added intelligence to help as they're trying to determine how to pull off this wide-scale hostage rescue mission, which won't be one operation but multiple. >> hamas released another hostage video today. we're not showing it. the families will welcome seeing their loved ones in this video, but clearly these people are being held under duress, they don't have control of what they get to say. what does the release of the video, though, tell you? >> well, this is straight-up, you know, hostage terrorism by propaganda video. these women were pleading. the one woman on screen was

pleading with prime minister netanyahu, demanding that do the hostage exchange for hamas prisoners being held in israel. hamas is basically having these israeli hostages, and it's got to be terrifying for the family. they're thankful to see their sister, mothers, daughters, alive, but it raises the scale. we'll see more proof of hostage videos in the future because every time a hostage video comes out, it complicates everything all the way up to the prime minister level and certainly the senior ranks of the idf. >> daniel, it's so important to talk to you. you were someone in a rare position of having dealt with hostage situations, and hearing you talk about how extraordinarily difficult and unique this situation is really drives it home for us. thank you. so, new york state authorities are increasing security at cornell university following anti-semitic threats against jewish students. the rabbi and the president of

cornell center for jewish living will be joining us live next. then later, tributes pouring in for "friends" star matthew perry, as the los angeles county medical examiner says the cause of death will require additional investigative steps.

we want to take you straight to maine where governor janet mills is giving her response to the mass shooting in lewiston over the weekend. let's listen. >> take a few questions. my glasses. >> i wanted to get your reaction to our reporting that the shooter lived, an investigator had been to his home on several occasions, at one point the deputy was there, they took no

further action despite knowing and receiving information that he was a threat. what is your reaction to that? [ inaudible ] in law enforcement doesn't use the tools that are available to them, how are people supposed to feel safe? >> you're reporting on reports, and i know it -- excuse me. excuse me. you're reporting on something that has not been finally determined, and i think that determining and understanding all the facts surrounding this event is crucial. all of the facts. the maine state police is, as i said, undergoing a thorough investigation of every aspect of the case. facts are important. and it's an important question that you ask. there were many other reported questions that will be determined in the coming weeks and months. the maine people deserve an answer to these questions, all of them, and that will happen in due course. >> but are you concerned -- >> i'm sorry. next question.

excuse me. yes. somebody had their hand up. yes. hi. [ inaudible question ] >> would you please tell us what police did in september after the [ inaudible ] and why he [ inaudible ]? >> again, you're asking a law enforcement investigative question, and i think those questions are important. i can assure you those questions will be answered in due course as the police conduct all appropriate interviews and determine the facts of this case. i trust the maine state police to determine to undergo a thorough investigation of all aspects of the case. >> governor -- >> governor -- >> that is janet mills, the

governor of maine, answering questions from reporters after indications that deputies near lewiston were informed that the shooter that killed 18 people at a bowling a l lee and a bar last week had told people that he was eager to hurt others. someone close to him reported to law enforcement that he might snap and commit a mass shooting. the governor there not giving any direct answers when asked about those reports specifically by cnn's . obviously a lot of questions about that investigation, and given what we've learned recently about the shooter and his mental state in the months leading up to his actions. >> so many red flags. eventually, those questions will have to be answered. that's not going to stand. in the meantime, the fbi is working with cornell university after jewish students were

targeted in a series of anti-semitic threats in an online forum over the weekend. now new york governor kathy hochul is speaking out after meeting with students earlier today, saying we will not tolerate threats or hatred or anti-semitism or any kind of hatred that makes people feel vulnerable. we have rabbi ari weiss, the ceo of cornell, and the co-president of the cornell center for jewish living. molly, if you could talk to us a little bit first how things have been for you and other jewish students on campus. this is an incredibly scary time. tell kwhauus what you're hearin. >> absolutely. thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. jewish students on campus are terrified for that i have lives. it is not okay to have anti-semitic attacks on campus

or in any place. we are scared to go to our home, go to the kosher dining hall, but we are remaining strong as much as we can. >> rabbi, what are you hearing? >> so, i would just add to what molly said, and i'll just say for the last three weeks jewish students at cornell, as they have around the country, are in mourning. this is a really difficult time. everyone knows someone who was taken hostage or who was murdered on october 7th. and then over the last three weeks, as students have returned to campus, there has been one incident after another. and this is happening nationwide, and unfortunately it's happening at cornell, as well, where a professor said some really horrific things. there was anti-zionist and anti-semitic graffiti last week, and on sunday we saw this horrible and vile post around campus. it's shooken us to the core to see that. at the same time, we are just deeply appreciative of cornell

university police department, who are out en masse to support jewish students and jewish life at cornell as they are for all students at cornell. >> i mean, the fact is to that point, where many students, they need that, they need that as a precaution, and, molly, you spoke with the governor of new york, kathy hochul. do you feel that school officials, do you feel that elected officials are doing everything they need to do to protect you and other students? >> yes. governor hochul and the president ensured they are doing everything they can, and we have every type of police outside of our building 24/7 to make sure we are safe. we cannot express our appreciation any more. >> molly, have you been surprised in the wake of the attack on october 7th and what has transpired since then, the war between israel and hamas? have you been surprised by the level of anti-semitism that it

has displayed, that it has revealed? >> unfortunately, we've been in a world where jewish students on campus have been under attack for many, many decades and have been feeling extremely unsafe. but i never would have expected this to happen on my own campus, to happen in my own home. and i'm sending strength to all of my other students who are going through this extremely difficult time and this unprecedented time. and i hope that this can be over soon for everyone. >> rabbi, i wonder, we talk so much about the discourse on campuses. do you think there is room for people to talk about -- you know, do you think there is room for an opinion where people think, yes, what happened on october 7th is atrocious, yes, they are concerned about the hostages, just this extraordinary, horrific situation with hostages in gaza,

that also they don't like what's happening to civilians in gaza, to children in gaza, that they think that's atrocious as well? why isn't that taking up more of the conversation? >> so, first, just to say the loss of any innocent life is tragic. i think that's an important thing to say. the loss of any individual life is tragic, whether they are israeli or palestinian. i think at the same time, it's important to say that israel's war today is a defensive war. israel was attacked on october 7th. a thousand people were murdered. over 200 people were taken hostage. any other country would respond defensively. it is a just war. and we are open to having that conversation and to hearing other opinions as well, but i think it's important to have that moral clarity to say that

what happened -- 245 what israel is doing currently is a just war and is a defensive war. our core work is also just to support students. students are having many different types of feelings. we want to process with them. we have rabbis on our staff, educators on our staff, and we're there to support jewish students right now. over the last three weeks we've come together several time, over a thousand people, to hold a vigil for jewish students and hold a rally to demand that the hostages come home. >> certainly something that we all echo as we look at the situation with hostages in gaza. we're watching, as well, what's happening at cornell. so many ugly things have occurred there in the last few weeks. rabbi and molly, we appreciate you joining us to talk about it. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. we'll be right back.

a trial is under way in colorado at this hour to determine if the 14th amendment's insurrectionist ban disqualifies donald trump from appearing on that state's 2024 presidential ballot. a group of republican and unaffiliated voters in colorado filed a historic and some say long-shot court case last month. now it's going to be up to a judge to figure out trump's ballot fate in a case that could

have major implications for other states where similar challenges have been filed. let's bring in cnn's marshall cohen. both sides making opening arguments today. walk us through them. >> boris, as you mentioned, this is historic. it's never happened before in american history that one of the leading candidates for president has to defend his qualifications like this in court. donald trump, of course, they are trying to take him off the ballot because of january 6th. that's what's on the table here at this case in colorado. so, you're looking at some pictures from that courtroom. there is a camera in there. right now there is some witness testimony. earlier today, opening statements from both sides, i'll play a clip for you from the challengers the group of republican and independent voters that are trying to get trump up a the ballot. their argument was essentially that this in the 14th amendment, this is law of the land, we need to uphold the law and maintain a fair election.

here's what they had to say. >> our constitution prevents people who betrayed their solemn oath, as trump did here, from serving in office again. trump engaged in insurrection and therefore cannot appear on the ballot. no person, not even the former president, is above the law. >> reporter: he's right to a certain extent. this is what the constitution says, ratified after the civil war. anyone engaged in insurrection can't hold office. the big question is, how do you enforce something so old, something that's been barely used in the last hundred year, and also, doesn't that possibly take the voters out of the equation, boris? isn't this supposed to be an election? that's what trump's lawyers were arguing in their opening statement. this is their clip, scott guess ler, the secretary of state in colorado. >> this court should not interfere with that fundamental

value, that rule of democracy. it's the people who get to decide. and this lawsuit seeks to cancel that principle. >> reporter: so, they could not be further apart, boris, those two sides. it will be up to the judge to figure out the path forward. there are so many constitutional questions that she is going to grapple with. there are many, many hurdles between now and actually removing trump from a ballot. and no matter what this judge says, most people think that it will probably be appealed all the way to the supreme court. boris? >> marshall cohen, thank you. more news to come. we'll take you back to maine. the state's governor just wrapped up a press conference moments ago on the investigation into a mass shooting in lewiston there. a lot of questions to be answered.

maine's governor just finished an update on the mass shooting in lewiston over the weekend. shimon is live for us. a lot of frustration in the press conference, shimon. >> reporter: certainly, because there are still so many questions that need to be answered. really what we're dealing now with is the month, the weeks leading up to this and what was going on with the shooter. we know from our new reporting

that law enforcement was aware he was asking some kind of a mental difficulty, that there was potentially threats of a mass shooting, of violence. we've learned in the last few days that actually a sheriff's deputy went to the home of the shooter to do an investigation because someone in the military called them and said we're concerned about this. but what we don't know is what happens after that, what steps are. taken to try and locate the shooter. now we know what happens. these are the questions posed to the governor, what did she know and what were her reactions. take a listen to her response. >> information was received by police they had ant the shooter that they did not share with -- >> governor, you really don't know what we're talking about? is that what you're telling us? everyone wants to know the answer. governor, i'm sorry. >> it's under investigation.

>> it is, but -- no, this is something you should -- we know that there is an alarming concern from the law enforcement community that activity and information here was ignored. and the simple answer is why was that done and are you concerned about that? >> the facts are being determined. you're making assumptions. i'm not willing to make assumptions. >> reporter: so, there you go, right. you have the governor there, she really wasn't willing to answer any of the questions concerning the investigation, her concerns or the fact that maybe law enforcement here missed items of information that could have prevented this from happening. i know from talking to law enforcement officials here in maine and outside of maine that are aware of that that there is so much concern over the fact that there was enough evidence here, they believe, enough information to warrant a further investigation, perhaps more action by the local police

department, and it just wasn't taken. we just want the governor's reaction to it. look, she is the governor of the state. for all purposes, she's in charge of this investigation. she runs the state police. they report to her. so, all we simply want to know is what does she know. this is about getting answers for this community, for people who have been affected by this, but also law enforcement wants to know, folks that are not living here, outside of here, they want to know what steps were missed, where were the mistakes made, and if there were no mistakes, that's fine, but someone needs to talk about it. and this has been something that they have not wanted to answer for days now. you know, the day after this incident, there were questions about this, about law enforcement contact with the shooter. they basically ignored those questions. and now, as we see from the governor, all the way to the top of this state, continuing to ignore the questions and refusing to answer them.

>> this didn't come out of nowhere, and i think that was really what we heard you and a number of reporters, including local reporters there in maine, demanding of the governor. shimon, thank you so much for that. shimon prokupecz live from augusta. we'll be right back.

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we hope you'll call the special number on your screen right now. - you'll need making sure our amazing doctors and nurses can keep helping kids like us who need them now and in the days to come. - with your gift of $19 a month, we'll send you this adorable love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and reminder of the kids you're helping with your monthly support. please, call now, or you can go to lovesshriners.org. in the house of representatives, the new speaker mike johnson, he's beginning his first full week on the job. and he wants a stand alone aid package for israel's war against hamas and that is at odds with democrats, also with some republicans and some key republicans who are requesting that funding is well to krsh

ukraine go through. >> he's trying to pair it to cuts with legislation passed by president biden. so let's take you live to capitol hill with manu raju. speaker johnson's plan would tee up a showdown with the democratic controls senate. what are members of congress saying about this? >> reporter: two huge developments this afternoon in the push to try to get this israel aid package moving. it is a new speaker, mike johnson just revealed texts that the republicans plan to pursue, that includes $14.3 billion in aid to ukraine. but it is aid to israel you but not to ukraine and it is spending cuts to offset to cut spending for the irs, spending those authorized for the democrats inflation reduction act and it would cut $14.3 billion in spending for the irs to pay for the package. that is a no go for democrats. i just talked to senate majority

leader chuck schumer on the way back from the white house and he said a pay for like that makes it much harder to pass. he's referring to that spending cut that the republicans are pushing. also, he said, we believe our democratic caucus, we should be doing it altogether, israel, ukraine, the south pacific. that tees up a huge fight. the white house had asked for $105 billion in aid to ukraine and israel and the south pacific to deal with problems at the border. the new speaker wants to focus only on israel an the spending cuts that are a huge issue for democrats. so where does that leave everything? unclear. could congress pass an aid package at this critical time and for ukraine. and also a lot of doubt about whether that could pass republican house. so even as johnson is making israel his first priority, could it become a law, a major question as he approaches and that won't fly in the united

states senate. >> and speaker johnson, manu, is also preparing for a little housekeeping. this week we're expecting to see a trio of resolutions to expel george santos and censure rashida tlaib and marjorie taylor greene. could you tell us the latest. >> reporter: we expect that vote to happen wednesday or thursday. the significant vote is the expulsion of george santos. only five times have members of the house been expelled. it would occur to be the sixth. it would require two-thirds majority in the house to get there. it is being pushed by a group of freshman new york republicans and we expect democrats to support it but what will republicans do. it is uncertain. the censure, more of a symbolic slap on the wrist to reprimand members of congress being pushed against rashida tlaib and marjorie taylor greene and those measures uncertain they'll face the house as they face opposition from both parties and

a lot to watch out for mike johnson to navigate as he said he wants to focus on policy, not these issues. >> thank you for that reporting. and this is introduced by republicans from new york, his own fellow congressman. >> this is a very good point. thank you so much for being with us today. on this very big news day. "the lead" with jake tapper starts after this short break.