i'm joined by wolf blitzer in jerusalem, also here with ben wedeman and arwa damon. arwa, yesterday you were at the scene of what was the most controversial attack, a strike on what israeli forces said was a building owned by a hamas official, commander of an artillery unit. they say initially he had been killed, then stepped back from that. at least nine members of a family were killed. what was the scene like? >> it was very intense. there was a lot of anger, there was a lot of frustration and there was also a certain sense of resignation. people here have been through this before and they fully expect to have to go through it once again. people were frantically digging through the rubble, some of them even using their bare hands, screaming for shovels, for anything they could possibly find. they were hoping to find survivors but of course, we now know that was not the case. >> we have some of your report. let's play that. >> reporter: the large slab of concrete and mangled metal finally gives way. buried beneath it, another lifeless body. it's the second child we'v

joined by arwa damon and ben wedeman. the blasts bring home the difficulties so many civilians face. people don't know where a hamas rocket battery may be or hamas officials may be or who is living inside which building. and even news groups operating some of these office towers don't know who else may have an office elsewhere in the building. >> and the other thing too, is since the israelis did expand their bombing campaign, not just targeting the various sites that hamas was using to launch rockets from, but also targeting government institutions, that has made that situation that civilians find themselves in more difficult. the massive explosion that took place back there was targeting a government installation we believe. but the government installation is in a residential area and no air raid sirens here. there's no way for people to get an advanced warning. on many occasions, they don't know what the house next door is being used for or certain locations may or may not be so there is no way for them to determine ho

ben wedeman, arwa damon joining me here in gaza city.nions are so hardened on both sides of this border. hearts are hardened, opinions have been formed, and the lines are so clear. are you optimistic at all not just for any sort of negotiated cease-fire for this thing, but any kind of long-term solution? >> not really. i think what's interesting is that tomorrow, the arab league secretary general and several arab foreign ministers are coming here. and what we are going to see, whether optimistic or pessimistic, is a different thing altogether, but we're going to see now that the arab countries as opposed to four years ago are much more engaged in this process, and it's a new equation. it's a new equation. we don't know where it's going to lead but israel, the united states has to pay much more attention to what arab leaders are saying, because they are in a sense reflecting what their people feel. >> arwa, you obviously have been covering the region for a long time as well. >> i would have to say that i do agree with ben. i think there a

ben wedeman is there along with cnn's arwa damon reporting. ben, i assume it's quieted down. it's now just a little past 3:00 a.m. there. let's move this story forward. what happens now? >> reporter: well, really, the next sort of 24 hours is critical. we can still hear the drones overhead. the israeli troops are still on the borders of gaza. if the cease-fire holds, if there are not major violations and the israeli military has expressed the realization that there may be some violations, but if nothing major occurs, then they will be able to start actually talking about some of the details that were laid out in the agreement that was worked out between hamas and israel with the help of the egyptians. things like opening the crossings,'s of travel restrictions. certainly hamas is going to welcome the fact that they will no longer be moving targets whenever they step outside their houses here in gaza.

a lot of people here staying well indoors. >> arwa damon for us this morning. thank you, arwa for the update. the air raid sirens keep sounding in southern israel sending citizens scrambling for cover there. hamas fighters launching dozens more rockets across the border overnight. three israelis have been killed since the violence began last week. frederick pleitgen reports from ashkelon, israel this morning. >> hi, there. yes rocket barrages certainly continue in ashkelon, as well. there were several rockets fired in the early morning hours and also the town of behr sheb ba. 13 were intercepted by the iron dome missile defense system which is something we've been talking about a lot in the past couple of days. also one israeli reserve officer was wounded in the nagev desert when a rocket hit there. by and large, however, the israeli defense forces are saying that this morning they are seeing a significant decrease in the amount of rocket attacks from gaza. one of the other interesting things that we've been talking about and that's happening is that in the past

arwa damon, cnn, aleppo providence. >> we'll go live to arwa damon inside syria in a moment. but first, this. >>> time to talk politics here. the united states. no cameras, no reporters. just two men meeting for the first time since fighting a bruising campaign against each other. president obama and mitt romney just wrapped up lunch in the private dining room at the white house. i want you to watch closely because we caught romney's arrival and there's romney. leaving the white house. about 20 minutes ago. the president first mentioned plans to meet with romney in the election night vingt ri speech talking about it again in the first post-election news conference. >> there may be ideas that he has with respect to jobs and growth that can help middle class families that i want to hear so, you know, i'm not either prejudging what he's interested in doing nor am i suggesting i've got some specific assignment but what i want to do is get ideas from him and see if there's some ways that we can potentially work together. >> that sounds all well and good and adult, doesn't it, cand

arwa damon visited the area, and saw for herself, the weapons seized.ins us now, arwa, opposition fighters claim they shot down three syrian military aircraft in the past 24 hours. you went to the scene of one of the crashes today. tell our viewers what you saw. >> reporter: in the past 24 hours, certainly this was pretty dramatic development, wolf, given the complaints that they had was that they didn't have the capability to take on the assad regime air power. we went to the scene where the fighter jet was down earlier. we saw the burnt wreckage standing quite a distance, being picked through by villagers, young and old alike, enjoying the fact that they were finally able to see something that caused them so many nightmares because of the jets pounding, the helicopters pounding the very villages, towns and cities, nonstop, now becoming trophies of war that they were proudly showing off. we saw children on the back of a tractor, taking off on a sizeable lump of metal. we saw one man who said he was an eyewitness to everything. he said the crash happene

i'm joined by arwa damon, ben wedeman here in gaza city. arwa, you have really been looking at what life is like for civilians here, and the blasts that we saw earlier really bring home the difficulty so many civilians face because people don't necessarily know where a hamas rocket battery may be or where hamas officials may be living or who's inside what building. even news groups which are operating in some of these office towers have no idea who else may have an office elsewhere in the building. >> no, they don't. the other thing, too, is that since the israelis did expand their bombing campaign, not just targeting the various sites that they say hamas was using to launch rockets from, but also targeting government institutions, that has made that situation civilians find themselves in even more difficult. that massive explosion that took place back there was targeting a government installation, we do believe. however, that government installation is in a residential area and there are no air raid sirens here. there is no way for people

arwa damon, ben wedeman. i am curious to know your thoughts on this cease-fire. obviously the devil is in the details and you want to see what is going to happen in the next 24 hours. but for now, the troops on the israeli-hamas border, are they staying there? >> they're staying there for the night. and we'll have an assessment. we'll see what to do with the soldiers, maybe some will stay there, some go home, see if the situation stabilizes. >> and can you comment on whether the drones will continue to fly? >> the drones are an entirely different issue. it has something to do with intelligence. we wouldn't attack gaza since we are respecting the cease-fire. however, if a launching squad will attempt to target us, we will have to target the launching squad. >> there have been some rockets fired towards israel, how many since the cease-fire went into effect? >> since 9:00 this evening, israeli time, the rockets were fired, two of them were intercepted, and three of them landed in israel. >> and how do you view that? >> we try to take it into proportion and see that

we begin with cnn's arwa damon live in gaza city. arwa, i had a fascinating conversation with president peres earlier. he's still saying that it could go either way but what is your sense on the ground about the likely prospects of a cease-fire and how long will the israelis give it before committing to a possible ground offensive? >> reporter: the likelihood of a cease-fire seems to be increasingly elusive the longer this does drag on, and all through the night, we have been hearing the sound of air strikes, some of them have actually shook the building that we're standing in. we have also been seeing rockets continuously being fired from gaza city, from the center of the city towards israel. not a lot of optimism on the ground here amongst residents of the city who have been through this on so many occasions in the past, that there will be any sort of cease-fire that is going to take effect in the near future, not to mention one that is going to take effect for the long term prospects of enduring peace between these two populations

arwa damon gathering information on what may have been the building that was targeted. olleagues are telling me that building that seems to have been the target was a complex that houses government complexes, passport offices, but we are seeing on social media right now, the building that seems to be -- seems to have caught fire, although it's quite difficult to see from here, is perhaps a residential building. and that again goes back to the very difficult, difficult situation that the population here finds itself in. because a lot of these targets that the israelis are hitting are, in fact, in residential areas. and they have now, of course, been expanding their campaign as we have seen over the last few days, not just targeting sites that are used by hamas to launch missiles, but targeting government installations, the israelis have been saying they do not necessarily differentiate between the government in gaza which is, of course, the hamas-led government and its various institutions. and the sites that the hamas militant wing is using to launch rockets. and here it

earlier, i spoke to arwa damon, who is one of the only western journalists inside syria. arwa, we're hearing syrian rebels shelled an airport near aleppo today. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: we are able to gather there were clashes along that main vital road leading from the capital to the damascus international airport. there were various reports that the airport had been shut down, that some airlines were canceling their flights. the syrian government put out a statement saying that terrorists as they have long been calling the opposition, attacked a number of vehicles along that route but that it is now secure. this is, however, an indication of just how much territory the rebels have been able to gain. >> it seems, arwa, correct me if i'm wrong, the internet service for the entire country of syria has been shut down and cell phone service also down. where you are, we are speaking by satellite. is the assad regime responsible for this? what's going on? >> reporter: well, the opposition members we're with are saying the government is the entity that shut

arwa damon, ben wedeman, stay with us. i want to bring in abita leibovitz. i'm curious to know your thoughts on this cease fire. obviously the devil's in the details and you want to see what's going to happen over the next 24 hours. for now the israeli troops amassed on the border, are they staying there? >> they're staying there only for the night. tomorrow we'll have an operational assessment. then we'll decide what to do with these soldiers. maybe some will sent home. just to see if the situation stabilizes. >> if it does stabilize for 24 hours do you know and can you comment on whether the drones will continue to fly? >> drones is a totally different issue. it has something to do with intelligence. we won't attack gaza since we are respecting the cease-fire. however, if a launcher with the launching squad will attempt to target us we will have to target the launching squad. >> there have been some rockets fired toward israel. how many since the cease-fire went into effect. >> since 9:00 this evening israeli time, five rockets have been fired. two of them

arwa damon joining us from gaza city this morning. rwa, israel saying that gaza needs to let up its violence first so neither side appears to be giving in. what is the latest from the region? >> well optimism is certainly being maintained by both. neither saying that they do want to back down. you're speaking about the stalemate that was killed there during that funeral for the family. our ben wedeman who is at the funeral itself said that after they heard the third outgoing rocket, mourners were chanting for revenge and all the israeli defense forces are saying that 550 rockets have been fired from gaza into israel and that the israelis have struck approximately 1,360 targets in this area. one of the most densely populated areas in the world. we also saw a strike just a short while ago that seems to have been targeting one of the locations where the rockets were fired from. residents in the area telling cnn that the israeli strikes hit an open field. and to just give you an idea of the lay of the land here, while it is very densely po

arwa damon, cnn, gaza city. >> and the victims of this conflict aren't just in gaza.hreat of rockets as people in israel are on edge. their stories, ahead. ordinary rubs don't always work on my arthritis. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. >>> we have been talking about casualties inside gaza. across the border in israel, officials say the persistent rocket attacks prompted their air offensive against hamas haven't let up. in ashkelon just north of gaza, israeli authorities say at least 120 rockets have been aimed at them today. cnn had to take cover when he was out on assignment earlier. >> reporter: crews working on the ground, that seems to be indeed part of the rocket that has landed here. but people here spend most of their days indoors. there's another attack -- there's another rocket alert going on right now. we've got to get out of here! >> israel's iron dome missile defense system knocked down scores of rockets but life in israel is far from normal. here again, fred pleit

we will get a report from arwa damon, one of the few reporters inside syria, right now. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. of washington about the future of medicare and social security. anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the... table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let's keep medicare... and social security strong for generations to come. >>> in syria there's a sense of growing urgency and anxiety. we will get to why in a moment. first, i would like to show you some images that are, quite frankly, very disturbing and we want to warn you, extremely graphic. but above all, they are a reminder of why we care so muc

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we have arwa damon for us, she's live in gaza city. arwa, set the scene for me. what are you seeing? what are you hearing today? >> reporter: well, just a few moments ago, we heard some explosions in the distance. unclear at this point exactly what they were caused by. the streets behind me, the streets of gaza city, still remain to be as deserted as they have been since this conflict began. there are very few people out and about. the vast majority of the shops are closed. walking through there, one does get the sense that this is a war zone, and one would assume that perhaps the residents had fled seeking safer ground. only the reality for those living here is that they have nowhere to go. the israelis will not let them in, and it is incredibly difficult to get a permit to be able to cross into egypt. so a lot of people cowering, crowded inside their homes, hoping that that cease-fire will somehow be accomplished to at least provide them with a brief respite from the bombing. but they're really at this point in time is not a whole lot of optimism, especially if

so the landscape is really changing by the day here. >> arwa damon in northern syria for us with the atching what's going on. arwa, be careful over there. we're going to stay in close touch with you obviously. >>> we can certainly take it for granted that albert einstein was a whole lot smarter than you or me, but now we're learning why he was such a genius. no surprise the secret lies within his brain. our own dr. sanjay gupta has new information. and trying to nuke the moon might not necessarily sound like a genius idea, but that didn't stop american officials from hatching that plot during the cold war. brian todd's standing by. people really love snapshot from progressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. you're not filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. test-drive snapshot before you s

i want to begin our coverage here of the very fragile truce with arwa damon live with us this morning in gaza city. arwa, i think i hear horns honking. is the celebration there continuing where you are? >> reporter: it is. although the crowds have tapered off a little bit. but it is pretty incredible when you look at the street down below us and compare it to what the situation was like 24 hours ago, when you would hardly see a single person outside and most of the shops were shut. you can see very close to where people were gathering, celebrating what they're calling a victory. just one of the many locations that were bombed during this most recent conflict. that was, in fact, a residential home. the israelis, when they struck it later on, saying that they believe that it was being used by a senior hamas commander as an intelligence operations center. but people, ever since the cease-fire was announced, were taking to the streets. many of them saying that they were celebrating the victory. they are calling this a victory for hamas, for palestine, that they are able to withstand israe

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arwa damon has the story of what it's like on the ground. >> reporter: this is the first family we came across. barreling down the road. all they knew was that they did not dare stay at home. we left without knowing where to go, she tells us, cradling her 4-month-old. they could hear explosions as they fled. what caused the mass exodus was the israeli army dropping leaflets, warning residents in certain areas, they needed to depart immediately for gaza city. and the leaflet even indicates specifically which routes they should take to stay safe. and though few believed the israelis, leaving was a better option than staying behind. she says, their house was hit a few days ago. this is the second school they have actually gone to, looking for a safe place to stay. but it obviously was full, as well. and now we're going with them to try out a third one. it's already packed. people angrily move benches, staking their claim. there is another school, a young man gestures, come with me. amidst the frantic search, fear. four years ago, the last time israel launched an operation in gaza, a school

this is still, very much, as you say, a first step. >> arwa damon for us in gaza. arwa, we'll be coming back to you this morning. thank you. >> all right, well, while the cease-fire talks take hold in gaza, further to the north in syria, more chaos and carnage. a hospital in aleppo targeted by a government air strike overnight. at least 40 people were killed. i want to take you live right now to beirut, lebanon. our nick paton walsh joins us live by phone with the very latest on the attack. nick, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is a key really in aleppo, the commercial hub of syria. i was there about two months ago, and it's really where all the injured are brought from the air strikes, bombardment by the regime of that densely populated city. and it appears that late this afternoon it was hit by an air strike. some of the images show the real devastation that blast brought, bringing down to the ground the four to five story building that stands to the left-hand side, the hospital. now, witnesses describe how the initial rebel commander appears to be a

in one sense it has passed that critical test. >> arwa damon, thank you very much. welcome to you. >> thanks for having me. >> can you outline exactly what you believe the spirit of this agreement to be today? >> reporter: it is an arrangement that has been negotiated with egypt and with the support of the united states. and it promises us what this whole campaign was about. it promises the people of southern israel, peace and iet. it promises them that they no longer have to live in constant fear of an incoming rocket launched from the gaza strip. it promises them for the first time in a very long time the possibility to live a normal life. and from our point of view, if these promises are fulfilled, that is a good thing. >> i understand that also it promises the people of gaza, perhaps a better future. we're hearing via the new york times as i speak to you that the terms also state the underlying grievances, of gaza, the movement that impedes through gaza, will be started 24 hours after the cease-fire is in effect. now, that is clearly a big move by israel. >> rep

i want to go now to cnn's arwa damon in gaza city. arwa, what's the atmosphere like in gaza city, and is there a sense that hamas has strengthened its position through the last eight or nine days? >> reporter: there is to a certain degree if you look at the terms of the cease-fire. at the very least, it does state israel most open its border crossings. we don't know what it will translate to at this stage. but from the people we speak to here, they do feel that this time around, the israelis, yes, it was indirectly, but they were forced to come to an agreement via the mediator, versus four years ago. the mood on the street here earlier was one of celebration. some people celebrating the fact that they do view this as being a victory over israel as having stood up in the face of what they describe to be israeli aggression, but for others, it was celebrating the fact that after days of bombardment, they were able to just go outside. >> yes, you can see the pictures here of people looking jubilant, probably just getting out, as you say. w

the city appears, you know, very deserted although arwa damon points out people have nowhere else to go. they're all still here, they're just rarely outside. people are rarely going outside their apartments except when they have to get to food, get cooking oil or supplies they need, but shops are shut down, stores are shut down. you don't see a lot of people walking on the streets, at night, it's completely deserted. if people are driving, they're driving very, very fast through the stleets. it's a very tricky time of the night to be going anywhere. you know, there's talk obviously as you know of some sort of peace agreement that's being negotiated elsewhere, but you know, i think there's a lot of skepticism on the ground about the likelihood of that occurring anytime soon. you know, israel points out that hamas refuses its right to exist, to recognize its right to exist. hamas wants israel to stop the blockade of gaza, to stop blockades at sea as well as on land and a number of other items. so nobody will argue that there's a military solution to this conflict. there needs to be som

arwa damon is joining us.ts and looked very official but can this new applied group actual succeed? >> ashleigh, this is being viewed as a first step, although a positive one. let's look at the leadership of this new coalition. its head was the former famous mosques in damascus. he's considered a moderate, someone who has continually preached unity. very instrumental in the creation of this coalition, he's a very prominent businessman from damascus skas well. the other person, a woman. all three of these individuals have either during this revolution against the syrian regime or in the past been gelled by the assad government. initially the response that we're hearing from opposition activists inside syria is that they are welcoming this development because it is about time that the opposition provide the international community, provide key global leaders who want to help the syrian rebellion, a unified front that they can, in fact, negotiate with perhaps more importantly, ashleigh, get certain guarantees fro

we have a report from arwa damon.s pictures some viewers may find disturbing. >> like many other boys his age, 11-year-old abdu wanted to be a professional soccer player when he grew up, but like so many others in his homeland of syria, the violence shattered his dream. >> reporter: he doesn't say much beyond that. at times, simply nodding or smiling sweetly in response, or seemingly lost in his memories. tears he can't control fall silently. the thoughts of what his baby brother endured are so much for the 21-year-old. >> mom woke me up, stand up immediately. what's happening? she said, he went out and the airplane is roaming, circulating above, and you need to get him back to the house. >> omar was too late. he found his brother in the hospital. >> once he saw me, he shouted, "omar!" shouted with all his strength. when i got closer, i saw his leg and i just started crying for around five hours. >> reporter: his leg was amputated, in a makeshift field hospital, the basement of a mosque. >> after he woke up, i was cry

cnn's arwa damon once again joining us with more on what the gazans are enduring.tty painful from what you're seeing and what from i'm hearing from you. >> reporter: it most certainly is. so far, more than 100 people have been killed on this side of the conflict. and tragically we have seen a lot of women and children among the casualties as well. and here on this side of the border, there are no sirens. oftentimes, these strikes come with little warning. the large slap of concrete and mangled metal finally gives way. buried beneath it, another lifeless body. it's the second child we've seen. there was also a baby. others in the neighborhood say the blast killed all ten people who lived here. israel says it was targeting the head of a hamas rocket launching unit. people we spoke with said they never heard of him. this was a family home. people here are telling us so far people who have been killed in this strike are women and children. they have not been able to find any survivors. just moments ago from that back corner, they pulled out the body of a tiny child. ov

let's head back to gaza city and arwa damon., despite talk of a cease-fire, it looks like israel is not exactly ready to ease up. >> reporter: neither is hamas at this point. throughout the entire day we have been seeing rockets fired from gaza toward israel and, of course, the israeli intense responses to all of that. now, just in the last hour and a half the tall building behind me, i don't know if you can see it at this point, was hit. there were two missiles that slammed in fro one side. a third one in the front we were seeing dark black smoke billowing from it. a senior member of islamic jihad, he was the information head of their military office. that building also though is where islamic jihad's television station operates out of. they're not the only journalists who were there. that building was used by a number of international organizations until it was actually hit yesterday as well. shortly after the strike on that building, we then saw an explosion just a few blocks behind it. there have been a series of explosions

arwa damon is there.he middle east may be egypt's new president mohamed morsi. with protests raging and a constitutional crisis brewing, he's now speaking out. and we're learning more about the two winning tickets in the half billion-dollar power ball lottery. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> there are signs the united states may be getting ready to recognize the newly united syrian opposition as the official representative of the syrian people. cnn's jill dougherty is standing by. first, let's go to syria. fighting around the capital has forced the closure of the road to the damascus international airport and flights have been halted. cnn's senior international correspondent arwa damon is inside syria right now. says the rebels are making major gains, but the regime may be striking back with a communications shutdown. and arwa damon is joining us from northern syria once again. what are you seeing today, arwa?

arwa damon visited one family with small, frightened children as they desperately searched for a safetake cover. >> which is the first family we came across barreling down the road. all these knee is they dpn dare stay at home. we left without knowing where to go, cradling her 4-month-old. what has caused this max exodus is the israeli army dropping these leaflets, warning residents in certain areas they needed to depart immediately. the leaflet indicates specifically which route they should take to stay safe. >> reporter: though few believed the israelis, leaving was a better option than staying behind. he said the house was hit a few days ago. this is the second school they have gone to looking for a safe place to stay, but it obviously was full as well. now we're going with them to try out a third one. it's already packed. people angrily move benches, staking their claim. there is another school, a young man gestures, come with me. amid a frarntic search -- fear. four years ago, a school was bombed. the israeli said hamas was using the cover of schools to fire rockets. whatever the