hello. and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm paula newton. you are watching cnn's continuing coverage of israel at war. it is 3:00 a.m. here in atlanta. 9:00 a.m. in gaza. israeli air strikes, again, lit up the skies overnight. israel's military says its forces have reached the outskirts of gaza city, for the second time in as many days. israel hit the refugee camp in northern gaza with the devastating air strike on wednesday. local hospital officials say 80 people were killed. here's what an idf spokesperson told cnn earlier. >> you should have evacuated. you and your family, you shouldn't have been there. that doesn't mean that we wanted to kill anybody. it means that when we warn palestinians two weeks ago to evacuate that specific area,

because there was going to be major combat operations, they should have heeded the warning and should have left. the sad reality that is unfolding now is that the civilians in gaza is paying the price for ainterrotrocities of . >> not in the face of an intensifying strategic competition -- >> meantime, we're waiting to see if more foreign nationals are able to cross the border into egypt today. people have been gathering there, in hopes of getting through. for the first time since the war began, the raffah border crossing opened to several foreign nationals, including aid workers that were stuck at that border for days. >> re for more on the opening of the raffah crossing, here's cnn's elizabeth bell. >> reporter: a tired of one of the lucky few finally allowed to leave gaza since the war began.

these families, just some of the foreign and dual nationals permitted into egypt on wednesday. the result of a deal brokered by qatar between israel, hamas, egypt and the united states, that would allow foreign and dual nationals to leave the besieged enclave. also allowed to leave under the deal, the first palestinians, 81 of the most severely wounded, those desperate enough for urgent surgical intervention taken one-by-one, in a convoy of ambulances, to a field hospital set up a few miles away and to other hospitals in northern egypt. large crowds of foreign nationals had been massing at the border after hearing at the start of the conflict that they would be allowed out. families desperately checking to see if they were some of those lucky enough finally to get through.

>> translator: i'm an american living in gaza. we heard the crossing was open but only open for certain nationalities. we had to turn back and the cellular network was done and we were unaware there was a list. >> reporter: as the only crossing from gaza to anywhere other than israel, all eyes had been on raffah since the siege was announced by israel. it is the only way in and out. and what's gone in has been painfully little. a further 20 trucks arriving on wednesday, a drop in the organization, say aid organizations given the needs inside. for some here, it's been days or even weeks of waiting and praying. with ever-dwindling supplies and under the constant fears of israeli strikes, even here in the south, where civilians had been told by the idf to evacuate. nowhere in gaza is safe.

so, finally, for a small few, a chance to leave and live again. melissa bell, cnn, cairo. cnn's clare sebastian is covering all of this for us from london. great to have you following the latest developments. as we look at the crossing, is there any indication that within moments we could have more of the foreign nationals going into egypt. >> reporter: we're watching the images closely to see any signs of movement there. it doesn't seem that much is happening at the moment. the expectation is that more people will be able to pass through. the u.s. says it expects more american passport holders to pass through in the coming days. a handful, a couple, went through on wednesday, when they weren't expected to. so, that just shows how fluid the situation. we don't know exactly if more injured palestinians will be through. but certainly, the expectation is when it comes to foreign

national passport holders that more will come through. we understand from sources in qatar the deal that was brokered by qatar, that any foreign nationals can get out. and antony blinken said that americans number 1,000 and 5,000 from third countries in the enclave that want to get out. a large number still waiting. this is obviously a major diplomatic breakthrough. it's been 3 1/2 weeks since the conflict started. no one bar less than a handful of hostages, managed to get up at this point. it is worth noting, more than 2 million palestinians are not on the able in the negotiations as of yet. this is the acutely injured and foreign passport holders. and there's a separate track when it comes to hostage negotiations. these negotiations brokered by qatar to get those 240 hostages, still held by hamas out of the

enclave. there are significant concerns, we know, that that process has been complicated by the accelerating ground and air offensive. president biden was interrupted at an event on wednesday, and asked about a cease-fire. and he said he was in favor of a pause to get those prisoners out. there is no sign, at the moment, paula, that pause is happening. if anything, we see that the idf is ramping up its operations, especially in the north of gaza. >> overnight that happened again. i want to ask you again about the fallout from that second strike on the refugee camp. >> yeah. i think what we're seeing, certainly, is the idf saying in both cases and both of the strike, they were targeting significant hamas commanders, significant commanders and operatives. they are justifying. they are seeing a surge in an international alarm. and that is causing actual diplomatic protest.

as diplomatic ties these are actions that are now being taken against israel. and of course, the united nations, humanitarian office, has said that it thinks these actions may be disproportionate and could amount to war crimes. israel is sticking to its guns, sticking to its idea that this was about targeting the hamas operatives. they are going to continue to do that. they say. but they are grappling with a surge in alarm and opposition from what were previously allies. >> clare sebastian for us. thanks so much, as we continue to watch that raffah crossing for any movement. sources familiar to the deal that allows foreign nationals leave gaza, it came together after weeks of diplomatic efforts. it's believed to be a critical first step to get thousands out of gaza. m.j. lee has more from the white

house. >> reporter: president biden confirming that the first group of american citizens had left gaza and are now in egypt. he said that the process of getting americans and other foreign nationals and wounded palestinians out of gaza and into egypt would take place in stages over the course of multiple days. the state department said there are 400 americans in gaza that wanted to leave. that's in addition to some 5,000 nationals believed to be in gaza. the president saiding at an event in minnesota that the administration has been working nonstop to reach the arrangement. this is what he said. >> we're in a situation where safe passage for wounded palestinians and foreign nationals to exit gaza has started. american citizens are able to exit today, as part of the first group of over 1,000. we'll see more of this process going on in the coming days.

working nonstop to get americans out of gaza, as soon and as safely as possible. >> reporter: to give you a sense of some of the diplomatic conversations that have been taking place over the course of weeks, what cnn is told is that hamas had been pushing for wounded palestinians to be able to leave gaza. that notably one thing they had demanded was for some of their own fighters to part of the mix and that was a demand that was denied. egyptian authorities had expressed a lot of concern about the idea of palestinians coming into their country and settling down there permanently. that's something that u.s. officials had been discussing with the egyptian counterparts for days. an egyptian authorities also wanted to make sure that they were able to vet and look into every, single person that was crossing over into their country. the president also, saying in minnesota, he believed that israel continued to have a right

to defend itself. but that it needed to do so in a way that adheres to international laws. the president saying, quote, every innocent life is a tragedy. this is of course, noteworthy, given the air strikes that have struck refugee camp in northern gaza. this has complicated the biden white house's political standing and how it has been talking about the ongoing conflict. of course, we know that biden white house officials are very concerned about the continuing, growing civilian death toll in the region, even as they continue to say that israel has a right to defend itself. m.j. lee, cnn, the white house. israeli president isaac herzog says hamas will do whatever it can to insert division and hatred. he is urging israelis to stay

united against attacks. >> translator: this monstrous enemy is trying to wage a psychological war, with the most nefarious tools. we've seen it again and again. an i expect we will see it in new and different ways. it aims to terrify us with video clips, rumors an lice. it wants to unsettle us psychologically. the enemy wants to ss to kindled between us. we have to fight against this. and we have to reject every urge toward hatred and racism. full scope of the devastation at the refugee camp remains unclear after the israeli air strikes we were talking about. it comes as the israeli military reports advances in ground operations. jeremy diamond has the details. >> reporter: this is all that remains. for the second day in a row, israeli jets striking the

densely-populated refugee camp, threatening apartment buildings. hundreds were wounded and 80 people were killed, according to the director of the nearby indonesian hospital. the idf said it struck a hamas command and control complex killing hamas militants. but civilians also clearly among the casualties. including children rushed out of the rubble. tonight, the united nations human rights office raising serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes. israel blaming hamas as human shields as it continues its offe offensive. a top israeli commander now says his forces are closing in on gaza city. hamas' stronghold in the gaza strip. >> translator: deep in the strip at the gate of gaza city. in the last five days, we dismantled a lot of the abilities of hamas. we attacked strategic decisions.

all of the explosive abilities and underground facilities and other systems. >> reporter: five days after israel launched its ground offensive in gaza, israeli forces are advances towards gaza city from three different directions. from the north, israeli armor and infantry started advancing from both ends of the strip. israeli tanks appeared to be closing in from the south. cnn located this tank at the strategic junction, a main road into gaza city. israel is also moving some of its artillery closer to gaza. until recently, this field was filled with israeli artillery positions. you can see the mounds where howitzer guns or other artillery would dig in. and now, as israeli forces move closer into gaza, those artillery positions are also moving closer to support the troops on the ground. now, all that remains are these, boxing of munitions, artillery

fuses, used by the forces that were here. the question now is, how deep israeli forces will move into gaza. >> the only way to get to what hamas has built, over a decade inside the gaza strip, the only way is through a ground operation. >> reporter: jeremy diamond, cnn, israel. cnn military analysts, retired u.s. army major general, james spyder marx joins us now. it's good to have your insights weigh in here. i'm really interested in your straight, clear-eyed assessment of how you believe israel's military campaign is progressing so far. >> well, paula, thanks for having me. i would say the idf has taken a very deliberate step to go after hamas preceding any ground operations, certainly, with a very thorough and continuous air

campaign going after very select, key targets. clearly, the challenge with that is, the segregation, the attempt to segregate civilian populations. the palestinians away from the hamas targets. hamas makes that absolutely impossible because they wrap themselves in their population and use the palestinians as their, you know, their shields. and they use them as political bargaining chips. and they are really hamas' flaming the -- what i would call the global outrage, in terms of what the idf now in gaza effectively. quite effectively. what the idf is doing, having gone after a significant number of command and control targets, inventories of where hamas keeps their weapons systems, trying to deny them access to safe havens,

understanding completely they have 300 miles of subterranean access. they have tunnels that connect buildings and command centers. and the idf is trying to strike those. they also have to be very, very conscious of the fact that there are over 200 hostages. so, all of these things are wrapped in together. and so, the idf, i think at this point, understands that any effort that they take on the ground in gaza, which is where they are beginning their operations now, will be very deliberate and slow. they will exercise extreme what is called tactical patients. >> it is clear what they're attempting here is unprecedented, given incursions into gaza in the past. they've known for decades about these tunnels. the methods seem quite crude and have a high civilian death toll? is there a better way? in 2023, all of us would envisioned a better way. >> what better way is there than to put a knife in someone's

throat that has just put a knife in your brother or sister's throat? hamas -- the challenge with the israelis -- i'm not going to justify what hamas did in any particular case. i suffer with and along with the palestinians because they have been put in a situation that's untenable for them. the leadership of hamas is bankrupt and they are holding them hostage. the israelis have no other choice, other than, regardless this century or the next century, there's little choice they have, if they want to get rid of hamas. now, the challenge is, hamas dethe challenge with fighting these wars, when you kill a terrorist, you grow three more terrorists. hamas is an idea. you can't eradicate an idea. you can eradicate the bad

behaviors. but there's a resurgence that will take place overtime. israelis know that. that why there has to be a state that gets beyond what existed 7 october. the israelis have to reconcile that. is that a two-state system? remove the gates and have israelis and palestinians living together? i don't know what those good solutions look like. but the bad solutions look like. >> it seems like there are not many good solutions on the table right now. i don't have a lot of time left. president biden seems to have moved his position on this, calling for humanitarian pause. do you think that would be a military liability for israel? >> where the idf is now, there is a legitimate discussion that would have to be founded. there would have to be conditions, to have a pause. israel has gone after a whole host of targets, hamas targets.

they are presently in gaza. approaching gaza city. beginning a mission to go after the leadership. it would be dangerous to pause military operations while you're in gaza. you would have to extract it. if you pause military operations in gaza, you're nothing but a target. but you can also increase humanitarian support, now that rafah is open. you can bring humanitarian support in from the sea, but cannot halt military operations now that israelis have already begun those operations. and they are not likely to withdraw. >> all right. major general james "spider" marks, we will leave it there. we appreciate your insights. >> thank you, paula. we have much more ahead on the situation unfolding at this hour in gaza. but also, donald trump jr., the eldest son of the former u.s. president, will be back in the hot seat again in the hours ahead, testifying in his family

company's fraud trial. and one for the ages for the texas rangers. details on the incredible final game of the 2023 world series.

the eldest son of donald trump will be back on the witness stand in the coming hours for the trump organization fraud trial. donald trump jr. will face more questioning from the new york attorney general's office. he testified for about 90 minutes on wednesday, denying any involvement in the preparation of his father's financial statements. that's including in 2017, after his father became president and he was apointed trustee of a revokable trust. he said he left that, he says, to the accountants. the trump defense team is not expec expected to cross-examine him. he is the first of three children expected to testify. eric trump is expected to testify this afternoon. and donald trump is expected to testify on monday followed by

ivanka trump next wednesday. a measure to expel george santos from the house of representatives has failed. santos faces nearly two dozen charges including wire fraud and identity theft. he's pleaded not gt guilty of all of them and says the vote is a victory for due process. >> people might not be happy with the process. they do not have a right to create a predetermined outcome. there's a process in place. i'm fighting to clear my name. i am fighting for due process. that's all i'm asking for. the fact that we had today, more democrats than republicans vote and believe in that, tells you everything we need to know. this country is divided. this body is divided. it still showed today, the morality that we are able to understand what is right from wrong. >> santos faces an ethics s

investigation. the federal reserve will hold steady for the second time in a row. the fed tempered the pace of economic activity last quarter. that's staying above the target rate of 2%. fed chair jerome powell says the monetary policy committee is not thinking about rate cuts and here's the thing, right now. wall street cheered the fed's decision on wednesday, with the dow rising 221 points. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 closed higher for that day. up next, a closer look at the devastation left behind in gaza's jabalya refefugee camp. spspi entire famamilies haveve been w out inin the blinknk of an eyey.

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'll paula newton. you're watching cnn newsroom. live images here from the crossing into egypt. people have gathered hoping to make site through today. we saw a brief opening of the gate from gaza to the outside world, letting some palestinians leave the enclave for the first time since israel declared war on hamas. egyptian officials say 361 people with foreign passports left gaza. the aid group doctors without borders say all 22 of its remaining staff in gaza left including a specialized medical team. and ambulances from egypt were able to take dozens of wounded palestinians out. 45 injured people are now being treated in hospitals across the

country. israel has confirmed both of the air strikes that struck the jabalaya refugee camp. the idf says it was targeting a hamas command and control complex, hidden among the civilians in the densely populated camp. what is unknown is the full extent of the devastation and how many people were killed in those attacks. donna bashyr has more now from jerusalem. >> reporter: chaos and horror, at gaza's jabalya refugee camp. wounded children rushed to nearby ambulances. the latest fascasualties of israel's bombardment. this densely populated neighborhood, gripped by panic and sheer disbelief. a second israeli air strike in more than 24 hours. i lost my whole flame, says this man. holding a lest of those killed just today.

my sister's house was struck with the children inside. my brother's house, too, with his children. there's no one left except for me and my younger brother. they were innocent. what did they do to deserve this? israel's defense said they were targeting the command and control complex in jabalya. jabalya is home to more than 100,000 civilians, according to the u.n. and while the full extent of the civilian death toll remains unclear at this stage, gaza's civil defense authority has described the latest disaster as a massacre, with more casualties and more fatalities added to the list of hundreds, said to have been killed or wounded in tuesday's air strike. this situation is beyond belief. many have been killed. bodies have been left tburned ad charred by the air strike, this doctor says. there isn't a hospital in the world that can cope with this

situation. having to treat patients on the floor and in corridors. the scale of the destruction at jabalya is difficult to grasp. many are buried beneath the rubble. rescue workers and civilians dig side-by-side, desperate to help survivors. this house had 15 people in it. we still haven't been able to find any of them, he says. we have no equipment. we are digging alone. northern gaza continues to come under heavy bombbombardment. its residents are warned to evacuate southwards. but air strikes continue to rain down across central and southern gaza, too. and for the more than 2 million palestinians living around israeli blockade, the fear is that there's nowhere safe to turn. doctor hasan is a doctor for

doctors without borders. i asked her what she is hearing from her colleagues in gaza. >> we're having children come in with the majority of their body and faces burned. some of the digits melted away. limbs missing. i mean, just catastrophic injuries. just really horrifying injuries. and the doctors are left to treat them with limited pain control, running out of anesa anesthetic drugs. we're not able to get patients in at the speed to get them in. and not enough space to care for them. we don't have enough antibiotics to treat wound infections. we don't have enough dressings. i want to give you a picture of what that means for a child, for example, who is coming in with the majority of their body burned. that is a very extremely exquisitely painful injury.

and if you don't have adequate pain control for it, that child is going to suffer. if you don't have adequate dressings, you cannot appropriate clean for those wounds so they remain clean. and if you don't have appropriate anesthetics every time, you do the dressing changes, the child is going to wail in pain and is going to experience levels of pain that are completely inhumane. i'm using the words of the doctors that are describing what they do, having been stripped of all the tools of modern medicine to take care of the horrific injuries. they are saying it is inhumane, unbearable, intolerable. we feel like the entire world is watching us being massacred live on tv. and they are silent to it. >> if you would like information how to help with relief efforts in gaza and israel, go to

cnn.com/impact. you'll find a list of organizations providing assistance. that's at cnn.com/impact. coming up for us, one of the top universities in the u.s. announced it will cancel friday classes, following the arrest of a student who allegedly threat ened to, quote, shoot up a kosher dining hall.

cornell university in upstate new york is cancelling classes friday. the ivy league school is in recognition of the extraordinary stress of the past two weeks. on wednesday, the court ordered a cornell student to remain in jail for now.

he is arrested for threatening to kill those in the jewish community. the threats include shooting up the university's kosher dining hall. in the weeks since the october 7th hamas attack in israel, threats against jewish, mumslim and arab communities have urged. brian todd brings us the latest. >> reporter: after several days of fear gripping the c cornell university campus in upstate new york, an a arrest. a 21-year-old junior at cornell, patrick dai, charged in connection with threatening to kill jewish students. prosecutors say in online posts, dai threatened to shoot up a kosher dining hall, to stab jewish students and throw them off cliffs. >> i can't imagine what would go through the mind of someone like that. first of all, you're making threats on this random website. why would you do that?

>> we've seen anti-semitic sentiment. not only a direct threat. but a direct threat to a building i personally go to and eat at and see friends at. that was really scarscary. that was bad. >> reporter: patrick dai has not entered a plea. he told "the new york times," their son is innocent. he suffers with depression and never had a history of violence. but in this climate, new york's governor is in no mood for len lenience. >> i want to make an example. i said on monday, if you do this, you will be caught and prosecuted for the fullest extent of the law. >> reporter: since the israel/hamas war began on october 7th, tensions have boiled across the u.s. on college campus, at private homes, businesses, a dramatic spike, officials say, in anti-semitic and islam phobic incidents, including assaults, acts of harassment and vandalism. and one group says, in cases of harassment against muslims in america -- >> many cases do go under

reported for fear of retaliation or backlash. the actual number is likely higher. >> reporter: why has incidents spiked on college campuses? >> college campuses is where students are using their voices for the first time. they're politically active. often, they are ready to vote. so, this comes with the territory of university campuses. what we can say about this zipt, is folks are feeling touched on both sides, due to identities. >> reporter: it's seemingly everywhere. a swastika was spray painted on a high school football heefield virginia. pictures of israelis taken hostage have been damaged or torn down. a top muslim advocacy group in new jersey says the atmosphere for muslims there is reminiscent of the post-9/11 era. >> hijabs have been pulled off. students have been called

terrorists. >> reporter: as officials scramble to combat the spikes of a anti-semitism and islamaphobia, christopher wra says this is not time to panic. but everyone, he says, should stay vigilant. brian todd, cnn. ceremonial hall and jewish cemetery, was defaced with swastikas and set on fire. a police investitigation is now under way y with ausustria's chancellor denouncing the attacks saying anti-semitism has no place in society and will be fought with all political and legal means. the mayor of rome says cobblestones honoring auschwitz survivors has been desecrated. hundreds of people marked all-saints day in madrid, with a candlelight vigil for the palestinians killed in gaza since israel declared war on

hamas. demonstrators held candles and signs, accusing israel of genocide. israel denies that, saying hamas is the only target of its air strikes. just ahead for us, the death of a sports legend. bobby knight known for his talent and his temper, has died. the highlights and low lights of his remarkrkable careeeer when come bacack.

u.s. president joe biden and first lady jill biden are set to visit lewiston, maine, on friday, after 18 people were killed during mass shootings last week. the bidens will pay the respects to the victims and grieve with families and community members.

the youngest victim was just 14 years old. the eldest was 76. at least 13 others were wounded in the shoots at a bowling alley and a restaurant. britain's king charles and queen camilla visited a four-day trip to kenya. the royals learned about wildlife rescue and visited an elephant sanctuary at nairobi national park on wednesday. the queen wore a traditional gown gifted by local woman who dapsed alongside here. she received a painting from children at a donkey club and met with vendors at a farmer's market. from the world of sport, the passing for a lend, known for his success and his temper. bobby knight has died at his indiana home at the age of 83. knight was one of the winningest coaches ever in u.s. college basketball and led indiana to three national championships and

an undefeated season. he told cnn's larry king he grew up loving the game. >> i really like the game. i grew up in ohio, home of smucker's and it was a football/baseball town, basically. but for some reason, i kind of fell in love with basketball as a game. >> knight also was famous for his rage. and that got him fired from indiana in the year 2000. >> an iconic career at indiana. coaching the men's basketball team there. the last team, by the way, the men's team, to go undefeated, 32-0, last d1 men's team in '75 and '76. also, the temper, the flares of emotion were legendary. and a lot ofof the f fans lovev thatat. when h he ththrew a chaiair acae floor agagainst purdueue in 198 they cheheered him on fofor his

iconic temper and the way he handled things. a cult figure in every day at indiana and the big ten, wolf. but then, things got serious. there was a video of him choking a player. and then, he allegedly grabbed a student on campus in the fall of 2000. he was fired. >> one sportscaster called knight college basketball's raging bull. bobby knight was one of the most successful ever to coach the game. now, an incredible pitching performance by the arizona diamondbacks zach gallon was not enough as the texas rangers came across in the final inning to win the world series 2023. the relief pitcher struck out the final batter to seal a victory. arizona's gallon had thrown a no-hitter. think about that? a no-hitter through six innings. but a towering two-run homer by

texas' marcus semien in the ninth. it was more than enough for the rangers. they did go nuts here. the final score, 5-0. it is, in fact, texas' first world series championship in the club's 63-year history. another world series in the books. i'm paula newton. thank you for your company. i will leave you with live image at the rafah crossing in gaza, where people are gathered, hoping, hoping to make site to egypt today.

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