plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. tonight, transportation secretary pete buttigieg responding to a k-file report we first told you about, k-file uncovering new house speaker mike johnson's long record of anti-gay comments. he also worked for the group that promoted gay conversion therapy. our k-file unearthing an op-ed from johnson in 2004 where he claimed same-sex marriage would lead to people marrying their pets. earlier today my colleague john berman spoke to secretary buttigieg and asked for his response. >> i will admit it's a little bit difficult driving the family minivan to drop our kids off at daycare, passing the dome of the capitol, knowing the speaker of the house sitting under that dome doesn't even think our

family ought to exist. >> thank you so much for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. major developments in israel's fight with hamas as international pressure grows to curb civilian casualties. i'm john king in for anderson. we'll have the latest on the ground in just a moment. first, breaking news here in the states. a federal appeals courtsiding with the former president on that limited gag order issued against him in the special counsel's election interference case. let's get straight to our chief legal affairs correspondent, paula reid. exactly what did this appeals court do? >> reporter: they put this gag order on hold, then in a little over two weeks, a three-judge panel will hear arguments about whether this gag order is constitutional. judge tanya chut kin, the federal judge overseeing the election subversion case in washington, imposed a broader set of restrictions on former president trump at the request of prosecutors.

those restrictions bar him from targeting witnesses in the case, members of the court staff, and the special counsel's office. but trump's lawyers have argued that this was unconstitutional, that as a candidate for office there is a very high bar for restricting his speech. judge juddkin said, you yield to the ordinary justice, i have a trial to oversee, i can't have him attacking people who are just trying to do their jobs or comply with their civic duty. in a few weeks this will go before this panel, two judged appointed by former president barack obama and one appointed by president joe biden. >> you say that panel in a few weeks. what are the practical implications that between now and then for the former president? >> reporter: john, this is a test. this is a test of the judicial system. he is not bound by these restrictions, but if he starts to violate them, he's really going to help make the government's case for them. and that's exactly what's

already happened here. judge jutkin already put a pause on her own gag order and he made a series of statements attacking, among others, key witnesses in the case. so it was reinstated. so he has a choice here whether he wants to resume these attacks and help the state make its case. but this larger question, john, of the extent to which you can restrict the speech of someone who is running for the white house, who is also a defendant across multiple jurisdictions. this is never contemplated by the courts before, so this is something that could potentially make its way all the way to the supreme court. whether they want to get involved in this, that's an open question. >> we'll find out soon enough, paula reid, thank you. we'll have much more on the legal issues facing the former president and his family, specifically their testimony in a new york civil fraud case that threatens their business empire. that's just ahead. now the israeli/haups war. we want to warn you, this is a bloody, graphic scene outside the largest hospital in gaza

today after an israeli air strike on a nearby ambulance . the israeli military confirms it struck the ambulance near the al shifa hospital. doctors tell cnn that hospital overcrowded because, they say, civilians view the hospitals as relatively safe. the idf claims the ambulance was, quote, being used by hamas, unquote, and that a number of hamas operatives were killed in that strike. officials at the hamas-run health ministry say 15 were killed and dozens wounded in the ambulance attack. cnn cannot confirm either of those claims. the health ministry also says the ambulance was part of a medical convoy headed toward gaza's southern border. the international committee of the red cross said says it was made aware of the convoy but was not a part of it. the strike comes days after two separate strikes on the largest

refugee camp in gaza. late word israel could soon be changing tactics in the coming days. a senior biden administration official telling cnn they expect israel's air campaign to, quote, decrease in what we've seen. the officials say there will be, quote, more of a tactical focus on the ground campaign. it will be aimed, those officialses say, clearing out tunnels under gaza that hamas operates. the ambulance attack coming the same day the united states secretary of state, antony blinken, visited the region. here he is with the israeli president herzog. blinken spent time with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and israel's war cabinet before he headed to jordan, stressing the need to protect palestinian civilians. however, netanyahu said today he opposes any cease-fire, even a temporary one, unless hamas frees all hostages that it holds. violence also today in israel. a cnn camera crew was near the border with gaza and recorded one of at least two rocket attacks on the israeli city.

that strike hitting the courtyard of a kindergarten. shrapnel hit windows and several nearby cars. no injuries reported, no casualties. nic robertson has been seeing rockets toward central israel and intercepted this evening. he joins us with the latest. nic, you were inner sderot whe those rockets landed? >> reporter: they landed the right at 6:00 p.m. we think probably mortars, not rockets. they seemed to be targeting journalists on the hill where our cnn team was located, a collection of journalists there. hamas has tried to target them before. the type of weapon they're using is hard to detect. sirens went off in the town. however, it's not unusual to see hamas fire rockets or mortars at the top of the hour because they know a lot of journalists are broadcasting. they believe if they can hit them, that will get on international news and that's the sort of image they would

like to do, to have a strike that scores big hits for them and civilian casualties. that appears to have been what they were aiming for tonight. it didn't work out, luckily. no one was hurt there, john. >> nic, what more do you know about that air strike near the al sheba hospital in gaza? >> reporter: as you said, the international committee for the red cross said they were aware that a humanitarian convoy of ambulances was being organized from the hospital. that's where the hospital officials say was happening. they were due to head to the south of gaza where israeli officials have said there's a humanitarian zone set up for them to go to. of course, many palestinians in gaza don't really feel that it's safe to travel the roads right now because there is such a strong presence of ground troops, idf ground troops in the area. but what this was, the idf say, was specifically targeting hamas operatives who were hiding inside ambulances, an ambulance,

with weapons. they say their strike was successful. the total number now of civilian casualties is over 9,000, according to the hamas-led ministry of health in gaza. and more than 52 22,000 civilia injured. perhaps not the sort of strike that the israeli defense forces would have liked to have happened when secretary blinken was delivering a message to the country and the understanding of the white house now that the idf will try to use less air strikes and more ground operations. troops on the ground call in air strikes when they locate hamas targets. it will be significant and perhaps dangerous for troops on the ground changing tactics, minimizing air strikes. it's significant we're still hearing gun battles and fights

behind us at the northern end of gaza, knowing the idf has been in there for a week, yet is still fighting battles on the ground with tanks and machine guns. it hasn't taken control of that area yet. it signifies how big a job they have yet to do in the rest of the gaza strip. >> nic, secretary blinken in the region, white house officials say they expect some change in israeli strategy. what. >> what you're seeing right now, anything of note yielded from this trip? >> reporter: more public pressure on the israeli government to change. look, you know, i think just a few days ago, we heard from prime minister netanyahu saying, absolutely no cease-fire whatsoever, no cease-fire, we're going to continue the mission to the end. now he's saying, no cease-fire without the release of all the hostages. is that movement? we know that's been the trade that's being worked in the background. all the hostages, that's a huge expectation for hamas to hand

over idf soldiers as well as u.s. nationals, civilians they're holding. but that seems to be where we're at. is there some ground to be covered here? the trade's on the table. the humanitarian aid is coming in a bit better. the idf says no fuel will go into gaza. the hospitals are stuttering to a halt without that fuel. we're reaching that kind of impasse where everyone knows what the other side wants. is there a deal to be done? and i think that's an open question. have we seen significant change here? maybe the battle slowed down, but we've heard heavy shelling, heavy impacts in gaza city, gunfights and shelling and missiles behind us here in the north of gaza, this evening as well. it doesn't feel to me that much has changed on the ground yet. of course, it could. i think the window, though, on that pertinent secretary blinken message today, the window for israel to continue operations as they are, that is definitely

closing. >> nic robertson on the ground for us, appreciate it very much. perspective on air strikes by israel in areas with very heavy civilian populations. i'm joined by michael oren, israel's former ambassador to the united states. ambassador oren, thanks for your time. as we see strikes on the refugee camp, the ambulance strike today, do you think israel is going to have to visit adjust its strategy when it comes to civilian casualties? >> i don't think so. i don't think israel can. keep in mind we're dealing with an enemy who is using its own population as human shields. that's what hamas does. it's preventing palestinian civilians from fleeing to the relative safety of the south. it is particularly concentrating them around their headquarters, which are located under hospitals and under schools. so in order to get at those headquarters, israel will have no choice but to destroy those buildings and hope the palestinian civilians will get out. we're still sending tens of thousands of leaflets, text

messages by the hundreds of thousands, sending these nonlethal projectiles to buildings, it's called knock-knock, lets the people in the building know it's about to be hit, and hope the palestinians will get out. hamas doesn't always let them get out. i do not think israel can or will stop, because we have to destroy hamas or we ourselves will die. >> a point taken, but you hear the conversation around the world. help us with just today's diplomatic events. put them in perspective. what do you take away from the fact that prime minister netanyahu appeared to say no to secretary of state blinken after he visited today? >> not surprising because among the israeli population, the notion of a humanitarian pause is very unpopular. kep in mind we have the families of 240 hostages who have been taken by hamas. the humanitarian system, if you will, in gaza is their only

leverage to get back from hamas. some indication of the whereabouts of their loved ones, even whether their loved ones are in captivity. many of these families don't know whether their families are in captivity. they're missing. they had the red cross visit the hostages. israel will have no leverage. if we have internal politics, does america have internal politics? i think there's also fear any aid that gets into gaza will find its way to hamas. why supply our enemy with vital supplies? that will only cost us in terms of our soldiers' lives. >> sometimes words used by diplomats matter. is there a difference in your view between what the united states calls a humanitarian pause and what the prime minister calls a temporary cease-fire? >> it's a very good question. a pause is essentiality a temporary cease-fire. it depends whether it's geographically located. you can have a pause on a certain part of southern gaza for a certain population that is missing a certain degree of food

or medicine. and i think it's very important to point out that i'm not a spokesman for the state of israel. i'm a private citizen today. and i understand where secretary of state blinken is coming from. america has internal politics. i understand the administration is under increasing pressure from its own party, certainly from international partners about the rising civilian casualty rate in gaza. so i understand where he's coming from. i would hope israel would find a way at some point to let these pauses and these limited corridors go through. at the end of the day, i think it's in israel's interests as well because we have to create time and space for our army to do what it has to do, which is basically save this country. and we can't -- won't have that time and space if international pressure is mounting for a cease-fire. a cease-fire means hamas wins, simple as that. cease-fire means hamas gets away with mass murder. >> i accept the point, you're a private citizen, but you're very well plugged in in israeli politics and with the israeli government. we've seen the release of some

hostages. any leeway in the israeli position that all hostages would have to be released before a cease-fire or a much broader pause is possible? >> i think the significance, diplomatic language, i think they were saying a pause would be considered when the hostages released or if the red cross could visit the hostages. i want to be careful here. again, i'm not a spokesman. that's what i understood from his remarks. there has to be some kind of quid pro quo. >> the question is, is there anyone who can help? as you know, from israel, secretary blinken went on to jordan to meet with regional partners about security, trying to make progress in the release of hostages. this is one of the defining questions. do you think there is anybody, any other country, entity that has the type of leverage with hamas to make that happen? >> qatar. qatar, qatar, qatar, three answers. qatar is the godfather of hamas. qatar hold is some of the leading figures in hamas. it is the bankroller of hamas in

many ways. so america has influence over qatar. america has a major naval base in qatar. qatar has major business interests in the united states. i think the pressure should be put on qatar to at least let the red cross visit these hostages. >> ambassador michael oren, grateful for your time, sir, thank you. >> thank you, john. while the united states pushes for diplomatic solution, we are learning the american military is flying drones over gaza to help locate the more than 240 hostages still missing. oren lieberman joins us from the pentagon with that reporting. what have you learned about this mission for the u.s. drones? >> reporter: john, these drones fit into the bigger effort from the biden administration and the military to try to help israel in any way when it comes to the intel aspect and the planning aspect of the hostage rescue effort. we have seen flight tracks on flight tracking websites showing what are unidentified aircraft on the flight tracking websites. what we have since learned from multiple u.s. officials are american drones circling repeatedly over southern gaza.

in an attempt to try to gather any sort of information, anything that could help the u.s. and israel identify where the hostages are or where a hoshost age hostage effort could succeed. we haven't heard they've located the hostages or have a clear sense where they are, but that effort continues since october 7th to try to help in any way possible, to try to move forward the hostage rescue effort. it's important to note these are unarmed surveillance drones. they are not part of targeting so they're not passing targeting info on to the israelis or intel used in targeting. it is solih and narrowly used to try to gather intel, find some progress on the effort to rescue hostages. >> tell us more about mg-9 reaper drone? is that what we're talking about? who in the united states military is responsible for flying them over gaza? >> what could be clear is the drones over gaza, we're not clear if they're mq-9 reaper

drones. it's likely the same type of asset. these are advanced and sophisticated surveillance drones capable of picking up a number of different kinds of signals. so effectively, this is exactly what you want flying over gaza to see if you can get any sort of intel. they also have a long loiter time, so they're able to stay there and gather any sort of signals, any sort of intelligence possible to try to move that effort forward in terms of the hostage recess few effort. >> oren lieberman at the pentagon, thank you so much. the head of hezbollah hasn't made a public speech in about 17 years. today he uttered his first words in public praising the october 7th attacks, and he spoke about whether the war israel is fighting could escalate beyond israel's northern border, where hezbollah is located. also, more tonight on the former first family's legal issues. eric trump testified today, and we'll tell you what he said about his father doing the same thing next week in theheir new york civilil fraud tririal.

israel's military says it is on a, quote, very high level of alertness at its northern border with lebanon. the announcement comes a day after an unusually strong exchange of fire with iran-backed hezbollah. and after the leader of hezbollah today made his first public remarks since 2006, praising the october 7th attack on israel. >> translator: it was an action that was heroic, brave,

innovative, and it was very well executed. it was great. it was a huge earthquake in the region. >> he threatened the possibility -- possibility of an escalation of fighting on israel's northern border, but he did not directly state that hezbollah is planning to launch a larger fight. let's get to cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. you've been in that region, you've seen the skirmishes day to day. what is the current state of play, and how is the nasrallah remarks being interpreted? you could read them any number of ways. >> reporter: john, there was an enormous amount of anticipation in advance of this speech. fear, even, here in northern israel that nasrallah would announce a major escalation in this war. we were in the midst of israeli live fire exercises yesterday, preparing for the possibility of an escalation. we saw israeli military leaders saying they were on a very high

state of alert. we witnessed that high state of alert, on a hillside in a northern city earlier today where they were posting lookouts to look for potential rocket strikes. in the end, nasrallah said that such an escalation is on the table, in his words, but he did not order it yet. said that it would depend on israeli military action, israelis' decisions going forward. that's notable because you may remember the concern had been if and when israel began major ground operations inside gaza, that that might be the trigger. in fact, we've seen the beginning of major ground operations inside gaza. and that has not triggered that major response from hezbollah yet. i will tell you, though, that that does not mean that the alarm here is gone. you still have large swaths of the northern part of this country that have been evacuated. those people are not going home any time soon, and those 70,000 israeli forces that have been stationed on the border in

anticipation of such an esescalation, they're not leaving either. >> jim sciutto, thanks so much. perspective from rama igra, m.i.a. unit of mossad, the israeli intelligence service. idf says the israeli military is on a very high level of alertness at that northern border. where do you see this headed there, especially after the nasrallah speech? >> the nasrallah speech was very interesting in many respects. one thing is nasrallah is telling us that he was not preinformed of the hamas operation in israel. he and the iranians, his backers, did not know anything about what hamas did. he reiterated that this is a palestinian question, and it's not a lebanese question. he really, in many ways,

disconnected himself from what's happening in the gaza strip. but he said, we have been there in the war since the 8th of october. which is true in a way. they have been in light skirmishes, and they have been poked down by the israeli army, as your correspondent said before, which is stationed there. nasrallah looks like he does not want to be connected. nonetheless, nasrallah, like hamas, is not predictable. and israelis should take his words with a pinch of salt and see what happens. >> that's the interesting, fascinating point. because you could read what he said a couple of different ways. what do you see as the threat, the possible threat from hezbollah? we have so many israeli troops on the northern border which obviously could be used in gaza if you thought it was safe to do that, but the idf at least at the moment does not think that's the smart move. what's your assessment? >> i don't think the idf needs

any more troops in the gaza strip. there's enough troops down there. remember, gaza city is not a very big place. there are enough troops there that are working slowly. it's a war of attrition. the hamas is underground, and coming out once in a while and fighting the israeli troops. in the north, you have to remember that even though hezbollah has a huge amount of rockets, hezbollah is a much stronger force than hamas is, israel has been in bigger wars in the past. if you rethink of the 1973 war, the 1973 war was against two major armies. with all due respect to hamas and hezbollah, we can deal with them. we wouldn't like to do it, but we can deal with them. i would like to also add to your conversation before about the cease-fire in the gaza strip.

this major objective of hamas now is to go back to a cease-fire. hamas wants to go back into the old paradigm of rounds of fighting. they will fight us, we will let them regroup, then we'll come back. israel's not going to allow this. and it's not going to allow even the small pause that secretary blinken asked for. and the reason is very simple. hamas right now is underground. hamas doesn't know what's happening above ground. having a pause, even if for several hours, will change hamas' sight of what's happening and its fighting tactics. not only that, hamas will use an early pause for propaganda. they will bring in reporters from all over the world and try to market that fake news, like

today's fake news about the ambulance. >> interesting perspective. appreciate your time, thank you. more on the breaking news in the states on the gag order against the former president, now on hold in the special counsel's january 6th case. and what eric trump said today about his father testifying next week in the new york civil fraud case against the trump family businessss.

breaking news from the top of the hour, a federal appeals court trail froze the gag order against former president trump in the special counsel's election interference case while the appeals court considers his claim that those restrictions violate his first amendment rights. until then, mr. trump allowed to speak freely and criticize

witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff. at a courthouse in new york today, after two days of testimony, eric trump said his fire is fired up to take the stand on monday in that $250 million civil fraud trial against the trump family business. the former president's daughter, ivanka, who is not part of the lawsuit, will also testify next week after she failed in a bid to get that testimony pushed off. the judge in this case has already ruled there was, quote, persistent and repeated fraud. now he must determine six other claims, including falsifying business records and insurance fraud. the trumps and other executives at the company are accused of inflating the value of properties to secure more favorable loans and insurance poles. they all deny wrongdoing. cnn's kara scannell joins us from the courthouse in lower manhattan. eric trump, what can you tell us more about his testimony? >> reporter: yes, this is eric trump's second day on the stand. he testified for a total of four

hours over two days. today he was standing by the accuracy of these financial statements, the ones the judge has already found to be fraudulent. he said he was speaking with attorneys and lawyers and he was comforted by them that these were, quote, perfect financial statements, and he said he was more than happy to sign them. he also said he would not have signed any statements that he believed to be inaccurate. so really doubling down on the accuracy of the statements. and also today the judge extending the gag order in this case, saying it no longer just applies to the former president but also applies to the attorneys in this case. he was saying no one can talk about any of the communications the judge has had with his law clerk. it has been something trump's attorneys have brought up r repeatedly saying there is a perception of bias by the law clerk who was passing notes to the judge. the judge saying that is off limits, he said they received hundreds of threatening emails, letters, and packages to his chambers. he said that far outweighs trump's first amendment rights. >> kara, take us ahead to next week. former president trump will take

the stand, his daughter ivanka, what's the important substance? >> reporter: right. this is going to be donald trump under oath having to answer questions about his financial statements, which has been the focus of his life for more than 50 years before he even ran for president. so the actual accuracy of these statements, his role in the statements is at stake. and it is going to be theater. it is going to be filled with tension. he has criticized the judge who will be sitting feet from the new york attorney general, expected to be in attendance. she's been in court every time the former president has been there. it's expected to be a lot of tension, a lot of theater. also a lot at stake, since the issue here for the judge to decide is what happens to the future of trump's business in new york and him and his family's ability to conduct business in the state? once this testimony wraps, ivanka trump will be on the stand. she's expected to testify wednesday. she will be the state's last wnd witness, then new york will rest its case and it will be donald

trump's turn to put on any defense. >> more perspective from the former federal prosecutor, jessica roth, professor at correspond dose intra law school, as well as maggie haberman who's covered the former president for decades and author of the best-selling book about him, "confidence man: the making of donald trump and the breaking of america." so many conversations about trump and the family, now the court of law and the court of public opinion. that's where we are. the sons. helping him or hurting him? >> it depends how you look at this. i think there was nothing that was a bombshell that you saw. there was a moment with eric trump's testimony, yesterday in particular, where he was confronted with saying he had not been involved in a piece of -- i believe it was a certification. there was some emails suggesting that he did know trump sons have blamed things they didn't recall on memory lapses.

i don't know how much of a difference it makes in a case. you have probably a stronger opinion than i do. i don't know how much difference it makes on a case where the judge has done a partial summary judgment and there are just these outstanding claims. clearly the judge is questioning the credibility of all the trumps. >> the former president on the stand. eric trump says he's fired up to testify. >> i think that's definitely true. >> definitely true. you also know better than most, donald trump and discipline aren't often in the same sentence. what are the risks there? >> there are a number of risks. this is the kind of setting he has not been in in ten years. he last testified -- other than previously briefly in this case, he last testified in may 2013 in a civil case in chicago against him that he won. a lot has happened since then. this is going to be a performance. one-on-one direct interpersonal confrontation, he tends to back off. i don't see that being the case here. he is so angry. he has had time to look at how this courtroom is, how this judge is. he's been sitting in the trial

in the courtroom, which he didn't have to do, over a couple of days. but who knows? he has a history of making extemporaneous remarks that don't always help him. if he gets worked up we could see him get himself in trouble. i think you're seeing, in what he might be attempting to do, he's not good at discipline but he can be good at theatrics. they are clearly trying to try to create a trail to accuse the judge of bias and conceivably ask for a mistrial. >> let's come to legal points. let's start first with the testimony of the sons. did anything -- did you see anything that actually helps the trump family defense? >> i didn't. i mean, they were making the case we expected them to, essentially it was the accountants' responsibility to prepare financial statements. to the extent you see our names on that that's essentially just because our role was to sign. we had no involvement in the valuation, we didn't really review what was substantively in these valuations, we relied on

experts to are that. that was expected. the documents which the judge has relied on in granting partial summary judgment on that really important first cause of action link the brothers to these transactions and suggest they were involved and that they design off on them, which would suggest some intent on their part. what remains for the judge to decide in the remaining causes of action is whether they actually did intend to defraud, as opposed to just have involvement in the creation of statements that were objectively false and fraudulent. the judge is going to be making a credibility determination in evaluating their denial that they acted with intent to defraud. >> to make his point about the former president, he's clearly trying to make the case this is not fair, he's not being treated fairly. this dust-up and back and forth continuing over the judge's clerk and characterizations of whether the clerk is being fair or not. do you see, if you were on the trump legal team, do you see enough seeds to put together a path for appeal? >> i do not on the issue of bias. i do think we're seeing a strategy both to distract what was happening in terms of the

trump sons' testimony and how it wasn't particularly helpful to the trump defendants by focus okay the clerk. i think maybe also an intentional effort to provoke the judge. the judge issued a very strongly worded order this evening extending to the lawyers the gag order he had already imposed on the former president, not to speak about his staff. and of course, he's being protective of his clerk primarily. the lawyers know that judges communicate with their staff and their law clerks throughout proceedings. that's a normal part of the process. so it was really ridiculous that they raised this issue of passing notes. makes me think it was strategic in order to perhaps provoke the judge into reacting or just distract from what was otherwise not a particularly good day for them in court. >> jessica roth, maggie haberman, thank you. coming up for us, for the delivered straight day, those desperate to leave gaza through the rafah crossing into egypt, some have been able to do so. live to cairo nenext. people

gaza can only do so in one place. you see it right there, the rafah crossing into egypt. for the third straight day, a number of foreign nationals and injured palestinians were some of the fortunate to get out. let's bring in cnn's melissa bell joining us with more from cairo. what are the latest numbers of americans and foreign nationals who have been lucky enough to get across that border?

>> reporter: we know, first of all, that there were 350, just over 350 more foreign nationals that made it through rafe to the safety of egypt today. as for americans themselves, the latest white house figures they put out yesterday was just over 100. this is, of course, extremely fluid and the numbers are changing all the time. it is a very complicated system at the rafah crossing. we've been speaking to people coming out. it is difficult for the people inside to make sure that their name's on that list day in, day out, to get themselves to the rafah crossing, to get themselves across, specifically because we've been hearing a lot of the stories about people's whose naar t list and find out their wives or child's or parents are not so they're staying behind until it can be sorted out. chaotic situation. we've been hearing more this evening about the frantic negotiations that took place to allow the opening of the rafah crossing and all of these exits by foreign internationals to take place. with an administration official speaking to the fact that

initially hamas had insisted on some of its wounded soldiers being able to come out at the same time. that was pushed back on very firmly by israel and the united states. a second round of negotiations led to the agreement that in the end led to that breakthrough that we saw on tuesday. and that was that foreign nationals would be allowed out if wounded palestinians could be allowed out as well, as long as hamas soldiers were not amongst them. that is what began happening wednesday morning. is in the third day of these people being able to come out. we understand all 7,000 will, over the course of the coming days and despite logistical difficulties, be able to get out through the rafah crossing. extremely good news but it is a tough call for all those families, not just negotiating their way through the rafah crossing, but making the decision sometimes to leave their loved ones behind as we've been finding out. >> melissa, tell us more about what you're hearing, if you can. you're telling these personal stories, painful stories, not

just about the process but about the gaza they've left behind? >> reporter: that's right. remember that a lot of these people coming out are essentially either aid workers or people who had ties to gaza. so palestinian americans, for instance. many different nationalities visiting with family, found themselves on the 7th of october on the wrong side of the border. these are people who have witnessed very closely what's happened over the course of the now nearly months of this war. and for many of them, we've been finding out that it was extremely hard to decide to leave, however dangerous and desperate the situation inside. we met this morning with a couple who left on wednesday. some of the very first to get out. an italian aid worker and his palestinian wife who were some of the first people on that list. and yet the decision was not an easy one. >> so many people are talking about this coming out as a victory for us, but it's not a victory.

it's a loss for everyone. >> to be honest, since yesterday, i was already regretting going out. because i was -- i was unable to reach my family. so i couldn't even tell them that i made it safely. and i'm okay. and they know that's -- my mom -- she actually begged me to go out. for me, i wouldn't have done it. i still feel i shouldn't have gone out. the survival guilt. >> reporter: we expect, nonetheless that process to continue over the coming days. and of course, given what this young couple told us, which is that every day things seem to be getting worse, you can expect a lot of people will be having an extra sense of urgency getting around to the rafah gate to see whether or not their names appear on that list. >> melissa bell in cairo, thank you so much. it's been nearly one month, as noted, since the hamas attack on israel and the kidnapping of

the estimated 240 people who are now thought to be hostages in gaza. ten are believed to be americans. the hope is those u.s. drones we spoke about earlier in the program will help find and locate them, but who are the americans and what do we know about their abductions? randi kaye has more. >> reporter: israeli american citizen leot banin hid in a safe room when hamas attacks her kibbutz. her father told cnn his daughter and husband are both missing, saying leat is a 49-year-old high school civics and history teacher who works as a tour guide at yeah vashem, the world holocaust remembrance center in jerusalem. >> until they're back home safely, i'm not going to let myself get overly confident or overly hopeful that there will be a sound resolution to this crisis. >> reporter: the parents of omer nutra are waiting for their son's safe return.

>> omer was in a tank. so we know that he was taken out of a tank. >> we saw him walking. >> reporter: omer grew up in new york where his parents still live. he moved to israel for a gap year before college and ended up joining the israeli military. he was taken hostage while in his idf uniform. his parents last spoke with him just hours before the attack. >> immediately tried to contact him and call him. there was no response, of course. >> reporter: omer turned 22 a week after being taken hostage. these images show 23-year-old hersh goldberg-polin being led away by hamas after his left hand and part of his arm had been blown off by a grenade. hersh had been sheltering with dozens of others at the music festival when the gunmen attacked. >> i personally feel like we have to keep running to the end of the earth to save him. and there are also the moments in this universe that we now

live where you say, maybe he died on the truck. maybe he bled out in that truck. maybe he died yesterday. maybe he died five minutes ago. >> reporter: this is what american israeli citizens judith weinstein hagi and her husband gadi hagi saw as their son moved across the border from gaza to israel. judith, who is 70, and gadi, 72, were on their regular morning walk when the attack began. her parents were about a mile and a half from their home in a cub kibbutz. their daughter said their parents tried to call for help. >> my mom is 70 years old. you know? why would they kidnap a 70-year-old? >> reporter: their daughter told cnn a paramedic said her mom told him they'd been shot by terrorists on a motorcycle. the daughter also confirmed her parents' phones last pinged from gaza. >> reporter: who is serving a

good idea is also believed to be a hostage in gaza. he had been deployed to defend israel when he disappeared. his father says he last spoke to his son from a military base that was under attack. >> what we do know is that the, he was active and was seen two hours afterwards. but beyond that point, no one has seen him. >> samuel keith siegel is also missing, his family told cnn he is a u.s. citizen and is being held in gaza along with his wife. his family says there was a siding of his car crossing the border. siegel's brother told cnn that he grew up in chapel hill, north carolina and works in the forms in industry. >> my brother is a very giving human being, my brother is always looking for the next person to help. >> reporter: ziggy deco 10's father says he disappeared as he and other tried to protect

families. >> we are waiting for him to come home. we do not know what fate he met. >> reporter: is 35 years old, he's the father of two daughters and his wife is pregnant. randy k, cnn, new york. >> rate is reporting there, just some of the estimated 240 hostages inside gaza. coming up, president biden first lady honoring the victims of last week's horrific mass shooting in maine. who else in lewistonon to comfm those e impacted. . it is next. .

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>> i melanie in washington, and this is cnn. the president first lady visited lewiston, maine maine in last week's mass shooting. they pay their respects to families and victims of the massacre after meeting with first responders. also in maine to comfort those affected by the treasury, you see whether, this golden retriever named cooper and his handler andy carmody. both volunteers with a national crisis response canines. on the flight there, according to usa today, garmin as he read some notes that passengers gave him for the people of lewiston. listen. >> in a world where there seems to be no love, no that southwest flight 1843 is full of people praying for all of the families who went through this horrific act of hate. love and prayers for all of those in lewiston, maine.

thank you all. >> love and prayers as well from all of us. here at cnn. isis it for us on ac 3 360, ton ththe this c continues, , the s with caitltlin collinsns is nex