in a crisis caused by a terrorist massacre. warning civilians to clear out, while hamas forces them back. allowing in food and water, which hamas steals.

hello and welcome to all our viewers in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm rosemary church with cnn's continuing coverage of the israeli/hamas war. cnn is just now getting israeli reaction to a deadly blast at the refugee camp in gaza. more than 24 hours after we first reported it. in a moment we will speak with a person of the israel defense forces. nada bashyr gives us details of what happened by those that lived through it. a warning, her reporting contains graphic images. >> reporter: at this hospital in central gaza, another day of seemingly unending horror. bodies, some tiny, arriving in

the dozens. no one is spared the devastation of this war. this journalist, seen here at the gaza hospital, not to report on the attack, but to identify the children amongst the dead. >> translator: i saw my son. my daughter and my sons. i saw my three siblings killed. friends at my house, all killed. >> reporter: hospital officials tell cnn this latest disaster was caused by another israeli air strike. among the bodies countless women and children. >> translator: 52 injured, and 70 injured. most of those killed are women, elderly and children. a large number in the rubble. >> reporter: in the refugee camp, once home to tens of thousands of palestinians,

residents search desperately for any sign of survivors. many digging frantically with their bare hands. this residential community is located in one of the zones deemed safe to evacuate to by the israel military. but israel's air strikes have proven unrerelating. >> translator: all of a sudden, i saw the house upside-down. i can't see. i don't know where i am. >> reporter: homes, which are crowded on saturday, with entire families, have now been reduced to blackened rubble. this crater, a reminder of the force with which india continues to bombard the gaza strip. >> translator: i saw my sisters screaming. then, my father. i looked to see who was still alive. i turned on the torch. my siblings were alive. i do not find my father. i found him next to me.

i moved him. moved his hands. i moved his face. he did not respond. >> reporter: gaza's hospitals are overwhelmed. the shortages mean it's virtually impossible to treat those that are wounded. but hospitals are struggling to keep up with the mounting death toll. the bodies of those killed lay outside, awaiting identification. a gut-wrenching image, now, too familiar here in gaza. joining me now, is an idf spokesperson, peter lerner. appreciate you being with us. >> good morning, rosemary. >> colonel, on saturday night, there was an explosion at the refugee camp in central gaza, that local health officials say resulted in the deaths of suzans of civilians, including many women and children. was there a target in or near the camp that the idf struck

that night? >> rosemary, looking at the images. any decent human being cannot be heartbroken by the huge challenge that the people of gaza are facing in these days. it is a war that was forced upon us by hamas, that decided to strategically open up a front in the most devastating attack israel has ever experienced. regarding the strike, we are conducting activities in the south of gaza, that are precision-based, based on intelligence. i can't share at this time the specifics of the incident. but is heartbreaking the images we're seeing. we're going to extreme efforts to limit the civilian casualties of this war. it is a war, nevertheless. these are images of warfare. >> israel was behind this attack, you're saying. but what was achieved? >> no, i never said that.

i said we are conducting strikes in the south against specific targets. i can't confirm that regarding this incident. this is the nature of warfare in modern age, in urban areas. vi terrorist organizations like hamas, and this one, that has become an entity. an entity with an army. a terrorist entity with aerial capabilities. and entity with subterranean capabilities. all of their efforts is to put hospitals in harm's way. all their efforts is to utilize fuel for hospitals for the subterranean tunnels. all of their efforts is to exert maximum casualties, maximum deaths on israelis and also on their own people. this is the challenge they are

facing. we are determine d at limiting civilian tacasualties. >> with all due respect, thousands of people have died as a result of the israeli attacks across the territory. that is an overarching. the explosion took place more than 24 hours ago. why is it taking so long to get detail on what was behind this? >> we are focused on destroying and dismentally hamas. that's what we're doing. this terrorist organization. as we are spokespeople, being worth coming and making ourselves available, we don't have all of the information at hand within the timeframe you would expect it to. it is a huge challenge. we're conducting huge efforts in order to take the war to hamas.

we're going to see, unfortunately, images like this, in the coming days. hamas have distinctly put their activities, the infrastructure. they put them specifically in the civilian arena. while there's no clear prescription less than, perhaps, turning the other cheek and hoping that hamas won't wield that source of death against our heads, there's no alternative. wheel we're looking at how to minimize the civilian impact, there's going to be civilian impact. we're trying to broaden the scope of humanitarian aid in rafa'h. we're going to continue to encourage people to move south from the north. most of the activities are expanding and increasing. we've seen over the last -- you've reported the last 24 hours. we're continuing to conductprece

have to change the paradigm. hamas have to be banished from the realm of existence. that's the only end state acceptable for everyone. and for the safety and the security for all people in the regions, israelis and palestinians alike. >> i want to clarify. are you saying you don't know if israel was behind the refugee camp being hit? that you're investigating that? is that what you're saying? >> i am saying i continue condition firm that at this stage. >> right. >> you're looking into this and will get back with us on de details. i want to play part of an interview. listen to what she told becky anderson. >> every rules have been o obliterated.

we're not talk about a few violations here. we're talking about a litany of violations. it started with what happened on october 7th. o a horrific attack on citizens. and since then, the israeli governments have waged a campaign of violation of international law. >> a litany of violations. amnesty national's agnes calamard there. sayling that israel is waiving violations of international law. >> it looks like amnesty would like us to give hamas a white flag of surrender. amnesty, like other organizations, need to be part of the solution for the well-being and rights of people in this region. the idea of charged with destroying hamas. we are determined to do so. and the humanitarian

organizations need to realize that the source of everything evil is not the israel defense forces protecting and conducting self-defense, buha mass, a terrorist organization, that has no regard for human rights whatsoever. they couldn't care less what amnesty is saying. they might amplify it to get more ability to propagate and advance their message. while i respect amnesty and what they're saying, there needs to be a very, very clear message that it's not only about the impacts of war. this is a war. that is not what they understand. war has a clear outcome. a paradigm change with relations that will benefit the people of the region. that's what needs to happen. amnesty needs to get with the program. >> israel wants to destroy hamas. the world understands that. at the moment, it's killing civilians, women and children.

that's what the world is seeing, these horrendous images of young bodies being pulled out from de debris. that's a problem that israel is dealing with now and will in the future. these actions for the world, are creating the next generation of those who will fight back. this is what's happening. this is the dilemma, isn't it? >> the dilemma is huge. and part of the dilemma specifically, the inaction or limited action, that israel has conducted by letting hamas take the powers of government, and utilize all of the powers to build a terrorist army, to build a terrorist air force, to build a terrorist institution. this huge monster that came into the bedrooms and butchered babies there.

1,400 people, men, women, children, abducted. the baby was 9 months old. the youngest baby, now 10 months old. being held captive by hamas. talking to anybody with any criticism that doesn't start with the sentence, these people need to be let go now, just falls on empty ears in israel. that's what we're charged to do, to make sure the hostages come home. they need to be brought home. and the situation needs to change. there are prices for war. it has been since the dawn of war, the price that civilians pay has always been huge. we have to try to minimize that. we still need to achieve our directive.

we need to achieve tend goal of that hamas no longer exists here. >> some may say that's a goal unachievable. has communications are down in the besieged territory, a local operator says there was an interruption sunday of its telecom and network services. aid agencies say they lost contact with the workers, as gaza faces the third communications blackout. they're asking that defense be restored immediately. will in a happen? >> i don't know what to say. i've seen the reports, as well. i can't comment beyond that. there is an active war zone. a lot is happening on the ground. we'll have to see how it expands in the next few days. a few hundred trucks expect to mring medical supplies, food supplies, water into the south of gaza. this is the type of reality we'r e

that is why -- we're not fighting because of october 7th. we're fighting to make sure october 7th can never happen again. we're also reporting that the soldiers have reached gaza coast to cut off the northern part of the enclave. is the next stage for idf to go into gaza city? once that is done, where to next? >> i won't comment on specifics. we announced that our forces have reached the coast. effectively, there's a -- the north and south have been cut off from one another.

it's under idf control. we're pushing toward gaza city. we are moving forward. gaza city is the fortress of hamas activities. that's where they establish the powers of government and execution of terrorist activities. that is why we are focusing on that. for the last three weeks, we've been telling the civilians of gaza, and the principle of distinction between noncombatants and terrorists to leave the north. that's where hamas is set up. that's where we're moving forward. we're determined that hamas feel like they are hunted. we are determined that our goal at the end -- while there's a fe if it can be achieved, we're determined to achieve that goal. there's no alternative for israel. there's no alternative for

israel, in a reality where this organization launched a brutal war on israel and expects -- what? what were they trying to gain for the people of gaza? what were they trying to gain for their cause? they failed the people of gaza miserably. israel is determined to restore the safety and the security to our people, and to make sure they can never hold that threat against us again. >> lieutenant colonel peter lerner. appreciate it. we want to go to elliott gotkine. you just heard what the idf position is on the key developments as we understand them to be. what does this say to you about where the conflict is heading? what were you reading between the lines? >> what we learn from what peter lerner was just saying, there's

no letup in the onslaught against hamas. he said, among other things, that until such time that hamas is banished from the realm of existence, this fight will continue. there's no ail lteralternative. when we see the scenes of destruction and death inside the gaza strip, the spokesman saying, reiterating that it does its best to limit casualties. at the same time, in his words, we'll see images like these in the coming days. more images like these. in terms of gaza city, that the idf has encircled and bisected the gaza strip, saying there's a northern gaza and southern gaza. he didn't take lk about the idf going into gaza city.

he said the fight is moving forward. the expectation will be that the ground forces will be going in to gaza city at some point, perhaps in the coming days. a couple over things he said. example, more than 100 trucks of humanitarian aid due to go into the gaza strip from the crossing with egypt. i think, one of the things he said that was interesting, it's not about october 7th. it's not revenge. it's about preventing it from happening again. and almost saying a tacit acceptance, that the policy until october 7th, one of containment, one of letting hamas remain in power, was clearly an erroneous one. and something that cannot be allowed to happen in future.

reiterating there's no alternative to this war, that they say was thrust upon it by october 7th, that left 4,500 people killed. the position that hasn't changed, there can be no cease-fire until the hostages are released. the idf spokesman saying that a letup of fighting hands on deaf ears. unless that starts with the command that all of the 240 hostages, men, women, children, b babies, elderly, are released. >> elliott gotkine, with that report. appreciate it. donald trump spent his weekend on the campaign trial in florida. in a matter of hours the former president will be in the a new york courtroom, testifying in a civil fraud trial that could end up costing him many of the businesses. that's ahead. plus, despite a mountain of

legal troubles, including legal troubles, new polling has trump leading joe biden ahead of next yearar's presidedential elecect.

welcome back, everyone. in a matter of hours, former u.s. president donald trump is expected to take the stand in his civil fraud trial in new york. it will be a high stakes day of testimony that could determine the fate of his new york business endeavors. trump could be forced to sell off his properties after a judge ruled that he and his company committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire. despite his array of legal troubles and with a year to go before the election, trump seems to be holding an edge over president biden in swing states. polling has him leading in some state where's biden won the vote in 2020. harry ran through the numbers with jim acosta. >> let's talk about the sun belt swing states first. arizona, georgia, nevada.

joe biden won all of those. look where we are among likely voters. arizona, plus five for trump. georgia, plus five for trump. nevada, plus 11 for donald trump. there wasn't a single poll where joe biden trailed in nevada. look, he trails by 11 points in this poll. when you look at the sun belt states, these are better poll numbers than the entire 2020 campaign. it's so much different, jim. fwh when i saw that number, the same thought flashed in my mind, that maybe that's a bit of an o outlier. places like michigan, wisconsin, what are we seeing in that region? >> when you showed the earlier

numbers, looking at registered numbers. i'm looking at likely voters. donald trump is doing better in michigan and pennsylvania, than he was in 2020. a tie in michigan. plus-five for donald trump in pennsylvania. that's a clear advantage for donald trump. if he is losing in pennsylvania, adios amigos, see you later. president biden cannot win. and these are worse poll numbers for joe biden than he saw throughout the entire 2020 campaign. these numbers stink for the president. the u.s. secretary of state is on a whirlwind diplomatic tour in the middle east. we'll have details on his surprise visit to iraq and what he is hoping to achieve on his current stop in turkey. and vienna's community reels

from an arson attack, as europe struggles with rising anti-semitic incidents since the start of the israel/hamas war.

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u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is meeting with turkish officials to discuss the war with hamas, as he wraps up the middle east leg of a whirlwind tour. he made a visit to iraq, where he met with the country's prime minister and called for the seize fire and reopening of border crossings to keep the

humanitarian crisis from worsening. >> reporter: secretary antony blinken is here for a meeting with his turkish counterpart on their approach to the war in gaza. he is expected to push the foreign minister on the need for humanitarian assistance to get into gaza to respond to the crisis on the ground and ensure that the conflict does not spread to a wider region. this is a line. we saw him on friday, meet with israeli officials, including netanyahu in tel aviv. he pressed him to protect civilians and for what the u.s. is calling humanitarian pauses. hours after that meeting, netanyahu rejected the idea of any sort of cease-fire of a pause, until hamas releases the hostages. on saturday, blinken met with counterparts in amman.

the mforeign ministers have condemned but vowed to use their influence to stop the conflict. he pushed for this in meetings with ramallah, with mahmoud abbas and the prime minister of iraq. it's something that the u.s. is concerned about. they don't want the conflict to grow further. take a listen. >> we're working very hard to make sure that the conflict in gaza does not escalate, does not spread to other places. whether it's here, whether it's elsewhere in the region. this is the very vital and urgent work of american diplomacy. that's what we're engaged in, as well, throughout this trip. >> reporter: blinken will be discussing this with the turkish prime minister. it is unclear if blinken will press them to remove leaders from being allowed to stay here. he has said there cannot be a return to the status quo with

hamas after the october 7th attacks on israel. a lot at stake for this morning's visit. jennifer hansler, cnn, ankara. a guided submarine has arrived in the middle east. sharing this picture, that appears to show the sub in the suez canal, passing under the bridge. since announcements like this are so rare, it seems to send a clear message that the u.s. does not want the war to expand. this joins two groups already in the mediterranean. anti-semitic incidents have soared around the world. in austria, the jewish community has been tar gted in an incident that is a disturbing echo of the past.

freder frederi fred frederick politen has the story. >> reporter: after this attack on the hall of vienna's main cemetery. the last time this hall was set on fire, was almost to the day, 85 years ago, by the nazis. how big is the damage? not just the terms of the room, but for you and spiritually. >> i think it takes to times where books were burned. it is an attack on the spiritual values of the religion. and of humanity. >> reporter: a swastika on the outer wall needs few questions about the anti-semitic nature of the attack. >> it should worry us, all the people in the free world, about

what's going on right now. anti-semitic attacks are the top of what's going on. >> reporter: since hamas' attack on southern israel, murdering more than 1,400 people and kidnapping hundreds, and israel's military response in gaza, that's caused many casualties, anti-semitic incidents have skyrocketed about 300% in austria. >> we are anxious. people are thinking about their life. the first thinking is jewish life possible in austria? the second thinking, is jewish life possible in europe or in the world? >> reporter: with pro-palestinian, anti-israel dem pos across the continent, jewish groups say anti-semitism is not

only getting more prevalent but uglier. from blastering stars of diamond on jewish homes in paris, to a molotov cocktail attack on a synagogue in berlin. and nearly daily assaults and insults in european countries. today, just hours after the cemetery attack, vienna's jewish community, hosted israelis whose relatives were killed or kidnapped on october 7th. this family, four murdered, seven kidnapped. he lives in europe. while he is advocating for the hostages in everyday life, he feels he has to hide his jewish identity. >> not to be associated with anything in hebrew. not to go to places considered jewish, like synagogue or things like that. >> reporter: while european load leaders have come out strongly

anti-semitism, the head of the jewish organization, says it is nt enough. european leaders, we need you to act. never again is now. not tomorrow. not next week. now. as much as there is fear, there is a sense of defiance. the rabbi painting over the nazi slurs on the cemetery wall. massive pro-palestinian protests are being held in the united states, even on the president's doorstep. after the break, we'll examine whether mr. biden's continued support for israel puts him at risk in the 2024 election. cnn talks to a group of jewish high school students to get their take on the war between israel and hamas.

whether they believe it can be resolved. that's after the break.

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pro-palestinian rallies drew thousands of people in cities around the world over the weekend. in washington, d.c., crowds waved signs that said, stop the massacre, and let gaza live. some pushed up against the white house gates and covered them with red hand prints. during the rallies, speakers slammed the biden administration for failing to call for cease-fire in gaza. some marchers said they would not vote for him again. >> my message for president biden is, i voted for you and i regret it. >> there l you vote for him in 2024? >> absolutely not. calls for a cease-fire in gaza are putting pressure on the u.s. president to strange his strategy with israel.

i spoke to political analyst and editor for "the atlantic" ron brownstein. he should hope that the conflict is over before the 2024 election. but the democrats don't have any other options. >> this is an issue that genuinely does divide democrats. we saw in a national pole by quinnipiac university, only about 50% of democrats supported military aid to israel. different than the three-quarters of democrats who support aid to ukraine. this is dividing the democratic coalition. the democratic coalition does not have a lot of trust in netanyahu, identified closely with the republican party in the u.s., for a matter of decades. and i think the president has competing interests in his coalition. what he has to hope for, is however long the fighting goes on, it will be over long before the 2024 election.

and he will put enormous pressure on israel at that point to begin something that looks like a renewed negotiation for a two-state solution. that's probably his only path towards even reducing the tensions inside his own coalition. >> let's talk about that. at what point does president biden's support for israel policy and the pressure he needs to apply on prime minister netanyahu to show restraint and find that political solution, the two-state solution to this complex issue. the longer it drags on, the more damaging it is for president biden and for israel, too. the world is turning against israel. >> i think israel expected that when this began. i think they are fully expecting to go beyond the tolerance of world public opinion, if that's what it takes to fulfill the military mission of degrading

and weakening hamas. i think president biden is giving israel more leeway than, say, president obama might. not as much as president trump would. that's a conundrum for all of the forces inside the democratic coalition saying they would never support biden in '24, as a result of what he is doing. if the choice is with trump, it will be biden or trump that would probably give netanyahu more leeway than biden has done. and trump has declared that he will impose a broad range of severe and overtly discriminatory immigration policies, including a muslim ban. steven milner the white house,

has been posting pictures of pro-palestinian demonstrations and declaring that i.c.e. will be busy in 2025, implying broad scale deportation. the groups think that biden is not listening to their concerns. that will be the choice they face, if they take actions in the summer and fall of 2024, that makes that world more likely. >> ron brownstein talking to me earlier. and college campuses have become flashpoints for demonstrations and protests surrounding the israel/hamas war. it's not just college students. the war is a hot-button issue with younger students, as well. athena jones spoke to five jewish high school students about how it's impacting their lives.

>> reporter: it's a situation that hits close to home. >> we're a tight knit community. this is like our family. >> it's a shock that's consistent and you can't escape it. >> i was reaching out to people to check up. it was hours later. and there were more people to reach out to and people i was worried about. >> what have the last few weeks been like being here in america, observing what's going on in israel and gaza? >> i think it's a balancing act of worrying about when is the other shoe going to drop here in america? caring for and making sure to be a good support system for my friends and family in israel. >> waiting for the shoe to drop? how do you mean? >> i feel like in america, we're in a grace period with israel. israel was attacked. and the general feeling towards israel is still fairly positive. that feel willing shift. and that pity is not going to be

there anymore. and that's when i think bad things will happen in america to jews. >> i disagree that the majority of sentiment is one of pro-israel or pity or sympathy. now that israel has been bombing gaza and there's attempts to get the hostages back, there's a uptick in anti-semitism. >> reporter: the political response to the war has been upsetting, especially what they're seeing on social media. >> it's on inherent jewish value, to sit in your pain and discomfort. that's our way of dealing with grief and processing. to have such raw pain turned into political, is very difficult to deal with. >> an impossible situation, when you've been attacked by this terror group that's governing and hiding behind its own people.

i can't watch innocent palestinians die. but you poke a bear. and hamas poked a bear and hid behind a bunch of little cubs. >> it's hard for me to hear, free gaza, free palestine. hamas is hurting gazan cities just as much as it's hurting israeli citizens. being pro-palestine or pro-gaza, should not mean being pro-hamas. >> how does this end? >> when you're working on the amount of precedent there is with israel, with gaza, with palestinians and hamas, i don't see this ending in a way that will feel final. >> israel has lost. civilians in gaza has lost. job nobody can win a war like this. the end looks like loss. >> where do you find the hope in a situation like that? >> i have no hope that the conflict will be resolved in the next century. not at all.

i think this is an immutable fact of the middle east. >> this is where i turn to religion and pray to god. that's helping me get through this. >> reporter: francis was planning to spend a gap year before going to college. that gap year is uncertain. >> i believe that perseverance is in our dna. we've been around for all this time. they tried to get rid of us. they won't. how can you not believe that's who we are? hopefulness and fighting. >> reporter: athena jones, cnn, new york. we'll be right back.

welcome back, everyone. more from arizona in the west, to new york in the east. it's going to feel a lot like summer for the next couple of days. as cnn meteorologist allison chinchar explains, dozens of record high temperatures are in the works.

>> the calendar may say november but it doesn't feel like it this week. 60 record highs all the way from arizona to new york. monday through wednesday. and some of the cities may break the records multiple days in a row. that heat starts in the southwest and begins to spread off to the east by the middle of this week. but notice very quickly that cold air settles right back in. this isn't going to be a very long lived warming trend for many people. take st. louis, for example, going from 83 on wednesday, dropping to 61 on thursday. denver, similar trend. you're looking at a high of 75 on tuesday, dropping back to the high of 48 on thursday, with snowshowers mixed in the morning. it's not just snow, but rain for several locations, as we see the next setup take place. by wednesday night and thursday morning, you're starting to see the changeover for rain and snow for cities like denver. and rain showers from texas all the way to the east. new york, memphis, dallas on thursday. not just the rain but also see

the temperatures drop, as well, going from 84 on wednesday, dropping back to a high of 68 the very next day. >> allison chinchar there for us. a record-setting finish on sunday at this year's new york city marathon. tamarat tola of ethiopia setting a new course record. tola won the men's race. 2:04.58. beating the previous fastest time in 2011. in the women's race, a sprint to the finish line. you see that there. helen obiri of kenya. it's another big win for obiri who won the boston marathon earlier this year. well done to both of them. damar hamlin has set up a

youth scholarship program named after the cincinnati medical team who saved his life. he had dinner over the weekend, with ten members of the university of cincinnati medical staff. it was ten months ago, when hamlin went into cardiac arrest during an nfl game against the cincinnati bengals. at the dinner, hamlin surprised the medical workers with a scholarship name affidad after them to support local students. thanks for your company. cnn newsroom continues next with max foster.

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