>> israel continues its when marmon o -- bombardment of gaza into the night. hospitals are overwhelmed as the united nations calls for humanitarian corridor into gaza. ♪ hello, i'm emily england. our continuing coverage of the gaza-israel war. coming up, dozens of rockets

fired towards the southern israeli city after residents were urged to evacuate. a number israelis killed rises to more than 900 after saturday's surprise attack in the south. the u.s. president condemns it. >> this is an act of sheer evil. more than 1000 civilians slaughtered. >> and tensions mount in the northern border regions of israel with exchanges of fire from lebanon and syria. ♪ welcome to the program. it is 1:00 a.m. in gaza and israel where the war is now entering its 50 day. -- fifth day. the israeli military is bombarding gaza and the death toll on both sides are rising. air and military strikes have pounded the strip from north to south, targeting the port as

well. at least 900 palestinians have been killed and more than 900 israelis are dead after hamas launched a surprise attack on saturday. hamas has vowed to respond to all attacks with equal force. it fired rockets toward southern israel, targeting a port city after earlier warning people to leave. israel has imposed a total siege on gaza. the eu has opposed the move. the u.s. president has confirmed 14 americans have been killed, and reiterated washington's support for israel. >> we must be crystal clear, we stand with israel. we stand with israel. and we will make sure israel will have what it needs to defend itself and respond to this attack. there is no justification for terrorism.

there is no excuse. hamas does not stand for the palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination. the stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of israel and the murder of jewish people. they use palestinian civilians as human shields. hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price. >> hamas has responded to biden's remarks, saying it vehemently rejects the inflammatory remarks made by joe biden which have coincided with the barbaric israeli occupation aggression against the gaza strip and the rest of the occupied palestinian territories. in gaza, there are growing concerns about the military and situation -- about the humanitarian situation. >> building after building, block after block, all are now

leveled. many people inside, including children and the elderly, did not have time to escape. by midday on tuesday, israel had bombed nearly 2000 locations in the densely populated gaza strip and promised to intensify its assault, leaving the 2.3 million palestinians living there with nowhere to go. >> the israeli army made a phone call to a person who was not here. we came running and they told one of our neighbors that the building has to be evacuated. where should they go? they said they can go to the sea. people started running and then we heard an explosion. my brother's two children were standing in the doorway. they were killed. >> on monday, the israeli defense minister announced a complete siege of the gaza strip, cutting off electricity, fuel, food and water.

the unrelenting bombardment of homes, communication towers, hospitals, roads, and mosques has become a daily occurrence. >> our area is a quiet area. when i came here, i did not recognize it. it is completely destroyed. this is unfair, this is terrorism. there is no humanity. families live in peace and do not have any links to anything. what happened was revenge, a crime. >> people are searching for survivors under the rubble. nowhere is safe and there is nowhere to go, they say. >> we are told to evacuate the eastern part and go to a safe place, but there is no safe place in the gaza strip. >> this hospital in understaffed and the number of people arriving here needing treatment keeps growing. some of these children's parents have died.

many don't know yet how much they have lost. >> now there is a real massacre being committed against innocent civilians in the area. there are dozens of victims and ambulances and civilian vehicles are still evacuating the victims. >> journalists reporting on the front lines of this war have also become targets. they, like many of gaza, are now gone forever. the israeli airstrikes have ordered -- already killed hundreds of people and injured thousands, but people in gaza fear the worst is still to come. al jazeera. >> and our reporter is in gaza and filed this report. >> the israeli attacks on the gaza strip continues until this current moment. and the israeli occupation forces are targeting the gaza

strip, specifically the north areas of the gaza strip, with heavy bombs and artillery's. to this very moment, these areas were heavily bombarded. residential buildings were leveled to the ground. now, the situation in the gaza strip goes from terrible to catastrophic. until this very moment, medical teams are unable to access a neighborhood which was heavily targeted during the last hour. also, civil defense teams are trying to reach the place and even to evacuate victims. now, it has been reported that a number of people are still stuck under the rubble of the destroyed houses inside the gaza strip. until this current moment, nothing was launched from the gaza strip to the israeli settlements, except during the last hour, the israeli

bombardment of the neighborhood was intensified and the situation right now in gaza is relatively calm. >> i am joined by mohammed, who joins us live from southern israel near the border with gaza. explain where you are exactly and how fluid is the situation at the moment? >> we are about 30 or so kilometers north of gaza, north of the border with gaza along the coast. now, let me tell you about how volatile this evening has been here in the city. a few hours ago, this intersection where we are, in a matter of a few minutes, it completely was filled by police and army vehicles. you had troops coming in. they were very concerned that potentially there might be an infiltration of hamas fighters by sea.

we heard gunfire rang out. we were told to go inside a local hotel. we could not emerge for over an hour. there was a lot of confusion and panic about what exactly was going on. we have not gotten any official confirmation from the israeli army as to what transpired, but more and more israeli media outlets are reporting it was an incident of friendly fire, that was the shooting we heard. apparently, soldiers possibly from different units accidentally fired on one another. if that is the case, that would not be surprising. there have been other incidents of friendly fire in the past few days. there's a lot of panic, a lot of confusion in these towns close to the border with gaza. there's a lot of fear because of what's going on. when rumors spread, they spread fast, and there was a concern from soldiers we spoke with that perhaps, as unlikely as it might have seemed, perhaps hamas fighters had made it all the way up the coast and were infiltrating by sea.

it does not seem like that is what transpired. we are awaiting more details. we will report them as we get them, but the situation turned very tense. that is what the situation is like the last few days. it gets very fluid, very volatile very quickly. the tension has lessened. you still have patrol cars patrolling the perimeter. there is a presence of police and soldiers but a lot less than the last few hours. i should mention that we are hearing about incidents, gunfire, shootouts in different villages along that border with gaza in southern israel. three different villages the last couple of hours. what is being reported is these shootouts are happening between hamas fighters and israeli army members. we are told at least six hamas fighters have been killed as a result of these different incidences. >> thank you so much.

what about in terms of the military buildup? can you describe what you've been seeing in the areas that you've been reporting from? and have you witnessed any of the fighting yourself? >> well, we witnessed certainly a very quick mobilization earlier this evening here, as i described to you. also earlier in the night, we were further to the south. we were just a few kilometers from gaza. we were outside of a town, in an area. we didn't see fighting on the ground, but we did see rockets being launched from gaza towards the city and then we saw the iron dome missile system intercepting those rockets. that was a lot that was causing tension because there has been this barrage of rocket fire from gaza towards towns and cities in southern israel. as far as the buildup, yes, there is a massive buildup.

wherever you go, you see soldiers, reservists. when you're traveling the roads and highways, you see a lot of military equipment, a lot of military vehicles being transported. what we've heard in the last few days from the israeli military, that the buildup will be at least 300,000 reservists. we are certainly seeing scenes of how many servicemembers have gotten here already. also, you see these very interesting scenes along the highway. you see essentially points where people are coming to rejoin the reserve units, and essentially just leaving their cars on the side of the road. that is what it's like. you see a lot of areas along the sides of the roads where local residents are dropping off boxes, water, and food to leave for the soldiers who are coming to these areas. it is a massive buildup and that is one of the reasons why everyone we've been speaking with in these areas the past few days, they are convinced there is going to be a ground invasion

into gaza at some point. many of them believe it is imminent. some of them think it is a few days away. but i do believe it will happen and they are concerned about what will be happening in the days to come. >> thanks for that update. let's head to west jerusalem now, where we are standing by. how tense is it on the ground at the moment? >> it is very tense because all the events unfolding. it's tense, i have to say, for both the jewish population and palestinian population. there is a lot of anger, especially among the israelis. and every day that passes, the anger increases because more stories and more bodies are found along the border with gaza, in the small villages that the security forces and the police and the military are just

reaching now. there's also a lot of fear among the palestinians because they fear vengeance. when you go around the streets now, whether it is here in jerusalem, and i am told it is more or less the same all over central israel, people are indoors. people have stocked up on food, on basic necessities, and are not taking any risks. the streets here in jerusalem are eerily empty. you don't find a business open. you'd find a supermarket here and there that is still catering to the public, but apart from that, really life has come to a standstill. then, there's also the fact that you never know when they rocket will arrive or not. yesterday, there were two rockets that were fired from gaza and arrived in settlements around west jerusalem, on the

borders of the city. so certainly, a lot of anxiety. i think everybody has in the back of their head what unfolded in 2021 where there was an 11 day war with gaza. well, it took israel by surprise really, and it was this really intercommunal violence that unfolded in many of the so-called mixed cities. at the moment, it is not happening. there is incitement on social media, but we haven't seen it at the scale of what unfolded in 2021. but as every day goes by and as the bombing in gaza increases that would anger palestinians, and as more stories unfold of what happened angers the israelis, there is that very risk that the cities around israel could also become quite dangerous. >> what about politically? has this united what was a very

divided israeli knesset? >> israelis do have the fact that whenever they are facing a crisis, there is national solidarity that kicks in. they put aside their differences and they stand together. at the moment, the prime minister benjamin netanyahu is trying to form an emergency unity government with the opposition. there was supposed to be a meeting today, this evening, and we were expecting a statement, but as we understand, the prime minister was in a meeting in tel aviv at the defense ministry and that meeting went longer than scheduled and we still don't know whether it is over or what has been decided in that meeting.

from all we are hearing from members of the party of the prime minister, and from members of the opposition, is that progress has been made. there were some preconditions put forward by certain members of the opposition. for example, tone opposition member was against forming a war cabinet in essence with the two far write members of the ruling coalition. there were also preconditions as to, for example, make sure the decision-making process will include the opposition, it is not just a show of solidarity but actually a war cabinet that is working together. it seems there is progress. the announcement has not been made, but i think the prime minister would really want that to happen. he has strong, unequivocal support coming from washington.

we heard earlier in the day, president joe biden's strong words showing complete support for israel, but domestically, he also needs to have that. having a former chief of staff on board, a former defense minister, who was in charge in one of the gaza wars back in 2014 gives the prime minister legitimacy at a time when he's under fire because of this huge lapse in security, lapse in intelligence that has really shocked the country. >> thanks for the update for us in west jerusalem. the israeli army says its soldiers are in full control of all communities along the border with gaza. bodies are being recovered in several settlements close to the border after hamas attacked on saturday. sarah visited a military facility in israel that is being

used as a makeshift morgue. >> this building just behind me here is where the military personnel would normally come, but because they are so overwhelmed with the number of israeli deaths, now this is the only center in the whole of the country for israelis that have died in these attacks to be identified. their bodies are brought here. >> it started with bodies being picked up in private cars on saturday, and then we began the process of identification. soldiers wore nametags but most bodies here are civilians who were in bed sleeping when they were slaughtered with not much to identify them with. we retrieved bodies while under fire. there are families here who still don't know what happened to their loved ones. killed or taken to gaza, or laying out there in the desert. they simply don't know. >> this operation behind me, we are told, is 24 hours. we have seen volunteers giving

food and drinks to some of the security forces, the police, the ambulances. we have seen a lot of activity from those dealing with the bodies inside wearing gas masks and covering their shoes and their clothing with plastic gloves and things you would usually wear, as you would assume, when there are bodies piled up that have probably been lying in the heat because it has been quite warm here. we've also been seeing families lining up along the road all the way this way here. they've also been coming through. you can clearly see how upset, worried, concerned, angry they are at this whole situation, but also frustrated because they have not been able to receive answers. some of them say their family members are missing, so they are not sure if some of those are the ones that were taken as

captives across the border into gaza or if their bodies of those family members are here in the building behind us. there's a lot of confusion still. there's a lot of unanswered questions. >> we have learned the israeli army has fired artillery toward syria. it says it was responding after mortars were launched from within syrian territory. israel has occupied the region since 1967. they've also been explosions on israel's northern border with lebanon. the israeli military launched artillery strikes in response to rocket attacks by hezbollah. we're in southern lebanon with this report. >> there is a significant development with hamas' brigades issuing a statement, claiming responsibility for the missiles, rockets that were launched in south lebanon today. this is very significant because

if we put this beside yesterday's islamic jihad's infiltration at the borders with israel, what we are seeing a new dynamic on the lebanese front. this is an operation area. this operation area is now engaging palestinian factions on lebanese soil. this is the first time since 1982 that palestinian factions are engaging directly in a fight with the israelis on the lebanese borders. this is the development that seems to be kind of different than all that what's happening the past days. yes, hezbollah has attacked in the past few days israeli posts. it retaliated yesterday for israel's airstrike on its positions. today, just a few hours ago,

hezbollah issued a statement claiming responsibility for an attack on israeli military vehicle with guided missiles. so, it is getting more and more complicated. the situation is escalating day after day. however, it is still contained. we cannot say it is out of control. the more, the more things will get out of control. >> president joe biden has been speaking on the unfolding situation in israel and gaza. let's go live now to washington, d.c. where i am joined by our correspondent, heidi. strong words from u.s. president joe biden. he condemned saturday's attack. what more did he say? >> that is right. he spoke to the american public using very visceral and disturbing images, evoking the violence that the israeli military says has been inflicted on civilians there. biden said the u.s. stand

squarely with israel and he denounced the actions of hamas, comparing them to the atrocities committed by isil. he also described a phone call between himself and benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, that happened earlier in the day, saying that he told netanyahu that if the u.s. had been attacked, the u.s. too would respond in a swift, decisive, and overwhelming manner. and he called the attack by hamas an act of sheer people -- evil. >> we will continue to stand united, supporting the people of israel who are suffering unspeakable losses and imposing the hatred and violence of terrorism. my team has been in near constant communication with our israeli partners, partners around the region and the world from the moment this crisis began.

we are surging additional military assistance including ammunition and interceptors to replenish iron dome. we will make sure that israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and citizens. >> heidi, did the u.s. president talk about palestinian civilians who are also under constant bombardment in gaza? >> biden spoke of the palestinians in gaza in passing, saying that hamas did not speak for them. however, he did not take questions about the bombardments that those civilians are enduring, the great loss of life in the gaza strip. nor did he take questions about this complete siege that gaza finds itself under. the state department did address this. they were also asked to respond. a spokesperson said the loss of life in gaza was "unfortunate." but he said the responsibility lies with hamas for having

launched this operation which in the u.s. state department's understanding forced israel, they say, to respond in such an aggressive manner. certainly receiving a lot of pushback on that from reporters. jake sullivan, the national security advisor, said the u.s. is in talks with israeli officials on the potential of opening a safe passage for gaza civilians to get out, but there's no timeline on that. we do know the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken will be heading to israel and meeting with israeli officials on thursday. >> thanks for the update as always in washington, d.c. israel says it has retaken control of the gaza border and mobilize the troops in the area. so far, the military has called up 300,000 reservists. israel says it has retaken control of the southern border after hamas fighters broke through the fence on saturday. israeli opposition leader has

called for the total elimination of hamas. in a post on x, he says that means getting rid of the group's leadership in gaza, lebanon, malaysia, and also qatar, wherever they are hiding. iran's supreme leader has denied any involvement in the hamas attacks on israel, but he told an audience at a military academy that tehran supports and defends palestine and its resistance. >> supporters of the regime and some officials of the occupying regime have said some nonsense comments. they introduced iran as the one behind this operation. they made a mistake. we defend palestinians. we kissed the four heads and arms of the brave fighters. yes, it is true. but those that say that non-palestinians were behind what is done, they don't know palestinians well. they have underestimated the

nation of palestine. that is there mistake. >> we have the latest from the capital tehran. >> the commander-in-chief of iran's armed forces has the final say on all matters when it comes to this country's military capabilities and actions. this is really significant because it shows the supreme leader felt it was time to address the accusations being hurled at his country and to put to rest any suspicion the foreign countries we have about iran's direct involvement. and to deter israel from using it as a pretext to launch any attacks against iran. the supreme leader also took the opportunity to issue a warning to officials in israel, saying they have now changed the narrative from being the oppressors to claiming to be the oppressed. basically, painting themselves as a victim to justify the actions they are taking against the civilian population in gaza.

he said that can have a harsh blow to them as well. this certainly is not over yet and the supreme leader here highlighting the fact that iran

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