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narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i am caitriona pen washington and this is "bbc world news america." israel intensifies its bombardment of gaza and said it will expand its grand operations. gaza is under a complete

communication blackout as concerns grow for the situation on the ground. in the state of maine, the search continues as the gunman who killed people remains at large. ♪ caitriona: hello and welcome to world news america, i am caitriona perry. israel says it is expanding its operations at the gaza strip as large explosions have been seen coming from israel. the israeli defense forces are warning people to move south for their safety. all communication networks have gone down in geiser -- gaza, meaning no one can be contacted. they say the emergency workers will now default to traditional ways of working to help address the unfolding humanitarian disaster in gaza. the hamas-run health ministry in

gaza says 7000 people have died since israel started retaliatory strikes after hamas killed them -- attacked them, killing 1400 people. the u.n. general assembly adopted a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in gaza but that is not a legally binding resolution. israel estimates hamas is holding 229 hostages in gaza and it is not clear where they are being held. an adviser to the israeli prime minister netanyahu said hamas will feel our wrath tonight and the israeli defense forces had this to say about the operation. >> over the last few hours, we have intensified or airstrikes in gaza. the iaf has extensively carried out raids to underground targets in terror infrastructure in a

some potential manner as a continuation of our strikes, ground forces are expanding operations this evening, acting forcefully to achieve the goals of the war. earlier today we exposed to the world a hospital with the underground expanse, how they have converted the hospital for terror activities. hamas' usage of the hospital, we have revealed this to the world and will continue to do so. we will continue attacking gaza and its surroundings. caitriona: gaza's hamas-controlled health ministry says many people have been killed since hamas attacked israel. more than 40% of them were children. a senior u.n. official is warning many more will die from catastrophic aid shortages. the bbc repts on the dire situation there. >> by any means possible,

precious -- born toward the thirsty and the tired. here seeking shelter in the schools, confined in a place the u.n. said is becoming a hell. >> you can see the pain we live in. my husband suffers from a stroke. i plead to the whole world t look at the palestinian people with a merciful eye. she is from a refugee family. >> refugees rescue what few belongings they can. >> like many palestinians whose children and grandchildren were born in refugee camps, for nearly 75 years the u.n. has been working to meet the welfare needs of palestinian refugees. >> if we look back over our

shoulders, this is a timeline. >> representatives are calling for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid into gaza. >> what is happening now in gaza is a horrific slaughter. 2.2 million people in a tiny patch of land. it is called a stripper a reason, it is 45 kilometers long by 20 at its longest point. it is a strip and there is nowhere for those people to go. >> many have tried to find sanctuary in schools. all teaching has stopped in gaza. generations together. still, the custom -- are observed. they were also displaced in 1948. gaza bakhtin was a refuge. today, it is a trap. >> it is very hard. i live next to the toilets. i am very sick.

more than 13 members of my family have been killed. >> there is not much in life she has not seen, or any choice about what she must endure. caitriona: here in the u.s., the white house is not commenting on the announcement that israel is expanding grand operations into gaza. however, president biden has been briefed. a short time ago i spoke about the escalation with the deputy pentagon press secretary. thank you for joining us. israel has significantly ineased the number of airstrikes on gaza. today it said it is expanding ground operations. it appears it has cut off internet and mobile phone access to gaza. is this what you consider the grand invasion? is this it? >> i would really let israel speak to its own operations.

from here at the pentagon, we will continue to monitor what is happening on the ground but our main focus is to make sure israel has the security systems it needs in its ongoing war against hamas and the terrorist attacks that resulted on october 7. of course our second priority is to ensure this war does not spill over into a regional conflict. we are really focused on making sure it stays contained within gaza. we do not seek a regional conflict and nor would we want one as that would create incredible instability in the middle east. caitriona: was psident biden bried on the escalation in advance? >> the president was briefed by his national security team. secretary austen did participate in that meeting. everyone here is laser focused on making sure that israel not only has what it needs to be successful in its fight against hamas, but ensuring there are humanitarian systems in gaza,

making sure we do everything we can to get the safe release of hostages, including some americans that are still being held hostage by hamas. at the department, we are focused on bolstering our deterrent presence in the region. we do not want to see this conflict expand into a regional war. our biggest priority is making sure our troops are protected in the region. that is why you see the secretary direct two of our strike groups into the area of responsibility to bolster our deterrents and send a clear message to any actors or states that mike much to take advantage of this moment. don't. caitriona: you mentioned the hostages, the humanitarian crisis. did the president asked, or did secretary austin ask anyone from israel to hold off on this ightened bombardment to see how the hostage negotiations

went or try to get civilians to safety? >> i have seen some reports. . the secretary has nearly daily communication with israel. with every conveation he reiterates it is up to israel to decide when it is ready to launch its ground expansion or invasion into gaza. that is not something we can speak to. the secretary has reiterated our support for israel and its fight against this brutal terrorist organizati that continues to inflict harm on citizens within gaza, using innocent people as human shields. our focus is making sure that, again, israel has what it needs from the united states and also making sure that this conflict does not expand or spillover beyond gaza. caitriona: do you have any information as to how the negotiations are going in relation to the hostages? >> i would not be able to speak

to hostage negotiations. that is happening on the diplomatic side. i would not want to jeopardize anything happening on an internal private channel so i will leave it at that. caitriona: ok. you mentioned the u.s. continuing to make sure israel has all that it needs. the u.n. world food program today described conditions inside gaza as unimaginably desperate. people are running out of food and water. the four remaining bakeries are at the point of almost not being able to function. people have no safe place to go. is there a limit to the u.s. standing fully in support of israel when you see what is happening on the humanitarian level? >> the humanitarian crisis is something we are focused on. as our colleagues at the state department and usaid. one thing we have to ensure and you have seen this administration really continue to lobby for is getting that consistent flow of humanitarian

aid into gaza. we were successful, athe beginning of the week you saw some trucks moving in and you some more throughout the week. that is absolutely a priority of this administration. there are innocent people who are seeking shelter, seeking refuge, trng to escape hamas. we have to remember -- hamas is preventing some of these people from leaving. while there is a dire humanitarian crisis happening within gaza, a lot of that lies at the feet of hamas. caitrion should the u.s. be pushing harder for more aid trucks to >> be allowed in? >>we absolutely are. we push for aid to continue to flow into gaza. you saw antony blinken working all across the region with allies and partners and those that have interest in the region to continue to get aid to flow. that is why you saw earlier is week humanitarian trucks be able

to make their way across the border. caitriona: the extra level of bombardment, the rocket fire we are seeing tonight that the idf said it is carrying out just in a press conference a short time ago, what does that mean for the significant u.s. military presence in the region? >> we have a very small footprint at the embassy in israel. we are continuing to monitor the events in the region. again, i know you have heard me say this, but our priority focus is to ensure we are sending a signal of strength and a signal of deterrence. that is what we are focused on, sending two carrier strike groups to the region. we have not seen that happen. that is our main focus when it comes to what our servicemembers are focused on. of course, you have our troops in iraq, syria and other places in the middle east who have seen a bombardment of attacks from

iranian backed groups. that is something we responded to last night with a precision strike in syria. that strike was not meant to escalate tensions in the region but to send a signal of clear deterrence, to stop, to send iran a message to stop attacking our troops. caitriona: do you think it sent that message? >> it is hard to predict the future but we saw iran-backed groups carry out attacks like this in march. we sent a clear signal and that did stop. we are seeing two different dynamics in the middle east. we have what is happening in israel and particularly in gaza and the ongoing attacks on our troops in iraq and syria who are there with the sole mission to defeat isis. two different circumstanc, but we do not want to see an escalation in the region, which is why we took precision strikes

to de-escalate things. caitriona: we will have to leave it there for the moment. deputy printer gun press secretary, thank you for joining us -- deputy pentagon press secretary, thank you for joining us. >> of course. caitriona: speaking to bbc news earlier, we asked the former israeli ambassador to the u.s. whether he believed it was the beginning of the offense of. here is his answer. >> it is likely so. not just becausef the electricity and communications being cut off, you expect that at the beginning of a ground operation, but we are going against a lot of -- we have 360,000 reservistss called . these are young women and men who have left their jobs. that is not sustainable. i would assume this would be the beginning of the ground incursion. caitriona: to discuss this i am

joined by our state upon tenant correspondent. we have seen the escalation and no doubt it will result in further casualties. what does this mean for the u.s. and the unwavering support it has had for israel? barbara: the u.s. support will not waver. the u.s. has been clear security assistance will continue. it said israel has an obligation to deal a forceful blow to hamas. and to not look like hamas won at the end of this. it has been more and more clear about concerns about the humanitarian situation in gaza and the protection of civilians and the concerned this will escalate into a wider regional war. they have been asking what the white house spokesperson called the tough questions -- what are the strategies? how will you conduct this war? what happens the day after? they will continue asking those questions as the operation goes

along but given the situation, there are many risks. for example, we just had the israel defense forces laying out what it said was evidence hamas is using hospitals for military operations, specifically calling out the main hospital in gaza city. that has been a red flag to human rights groups. they are worried this might mean the israelis are signaling they do not believe international law covers these hospitals anymore in terms of protection of civilians given that hamas might be using them as the idf said. human rights watch has put out a statement warning against that. that is just one area that is a risk factor. caitriona: there have been these qatari led negotiations going on. what does that mean for them? >> the white house spokesperson was asked that, if there was a ground invasion, would that mean that was the end of hostage negotiations? he said i hope not.

even today there were active negotiations. we are hearing a deal was close of some kind. the general view is if there is a full-scale ground invasion, it is hard to see how the window for negotiations remains open and perhaps israeli forces would try to rescue hostages. they have been trying to gather intel about them. it is not just the hostages. the administration has been working hard on a deal to get palestinians with u.s. citizenship who are trapped in gaza to leave through the border. that deal is still in the works. some of them have been there for days and it has still not happened but they are still trying to do that, as well. caitriona: thank you for bringing us up to date with all of that. we are also joint now by our correspondent, lucy williamson, who is in southern israel. we are seeing pictures of heavy bombardment of gaza but with internet and phone cut, we have

no communications from within. what are key negations like from where you are at? >> we have been witnessing the intensification of the bombardment of gaza and it does feel like an intensification. there was another explosion a couple minutes ago. we have heard them all through tonight, explosions, aerial bombardments of gaza, some of them letter than usual. we have heard planes go back and forth over the town this weekend -- this evening. they are still passing overhead every minute or two at the moment. there have been sirenjs several times -- sirens several times warning of rockets fired toward the town. most are intercepted by israel's defenses but two managed to get through and hit a residential area. that was confirmed that in fact the city amongst others is being

targeted. it does feel like there is an intensification underway. as you said, information from the ground in gaza is not entirely clear. the israeli army has not been entirely clear about its aims on the ground in gaza, either. it has intensified airstrikes and said it is expanding ground strikes but exactly what that means is not entirely clear. how big of a ground offensive that might mean, whether it is targeted raids or the start of something much wider. caitriona: is there any indication what might happen in the immediate day or two, what the strategy is israel has beyond thafor gaza? lucy: i think that is something that is being asked increasingly. the short answer is, no. they have set out some clear goals for a military operation. they said they want to destroy hamas as a military unit and

also its power to govern. they want to eradicate it. beyond that, it is very difficult to get a clear sense of what the plan is for the day after. even at the moment, there is speculation about if and whe a major ground defense of my start, israel seems to have been preparing for one with hundreds of thousands of troops lined up along the borders, even that at the moment is largely speculation. we do not have any confirmation from israel's army about what it plans to do on the ground tonight. caitriona: with the escalation we have seen of the airstrikes today, what has been the response in the region? lucy: we have got the response from the jordanian foreign minister, who has gone further than israel's army and called this a ground invasion.

he was urging people to support the u.n. general assembly resolution calling for humanitarian cause. the u.s. has said it would support humanitarian pause to get more aid in and get the hostages out. there have been responses from around the region but the national security spokesman was asked if this was the start of the major offensive and he also said it would not help to speculate. caitriona: lucy williamson, thank you for joining us. the search for a u.s. army reservist suspected of killing 18 people in a mass shooting in maine has expanded, becoming a land, air and sea. hunt hundreds of police are searching for robert car the 40-year-old is a prime suspect in two shootings that took place in maine wednesday nigh one at a bowling alley, the other at a bar and grill. investigators recovered a cell phone belonging to the gunman and a note he left behind.

police have been searching the area around lewiston, including the towns of auburn and bowdoin, work hard last resounded. this go to our north american correspondent, who is in lewiston. do you know what is the latest on the search for the individual who is believed to have carried out these shootings? >> they are giving an update. they started off by naming all the 18 people that had died, that were killed, they say, by the suspected gunman, robert card. we got their names, ages and there was a minute of silence before the police went on with their updates. i am following this while i am talking to you. so far, they are continuing the search for robert card. earlier today i was in a

neighboring town, lisbon, where you could see the big operation in place. you could see police searching the area. also, the main river that runs through maine, the androscoggin, is being searched. they have diverse and the train tracks are being looked at for any clues. there have been reports that a note found at a property linked to robert card was a suicide note but we have not gotten any confirmation. i believe people will be asking the police that question. so far, there is no sign of the suspected gunman. caitriona: the people there are heading into potentially their third night of a shelter-in-place order is there any indication from authorities that that situation might change ? >> the shelter-in-place has been rescinded and hunting season has been delayed in four towns.

that was due to happen tomorrow. that is to prevent gunshots from being heard and people calling 911. those are the latest updates we have. those towns include not just where i am in lewiston, but bowdoin and lisbon, as well. that is the latest update. with the shelter-in-place, people have been told to stay indoors. many people have been heating that warning. obviously people are still out and about and there have been some shops that have been open in certain times and that is to keep the public safe. that has now been rescinded and hunting season, which is incredibly popular here in maine , has been delayed. caitriona: you mentioned a few minutes ago that officials at the press conference have been leading -- reading a list of the victims, had they given any information? can you tell us briefly? >> there are a lot of people,

members of the deaf community who were killed in the attack. just to give you one name, a man named bob, a 76-year-old grandfather, he was a big fan of bowling. were hearing stories that are coming out gradually of the people who were killed when they were enjoying a normal evening of bowling and eating at a local restaurant. caitriona: thank you very much for that. thank you for narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.

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