to keep you there, and please don't go anywhere, but we have questions to ask you, but we have clarissa ward who is there in ashkelon watching this unfold. what are you experiencing right now, clarissa? >> well, it is quiet right now after a very intense 40 minutes or so. we are see on the hamas telegram channels, videos of fires allegedly in the city, and allegedly because of the rockets, and of course, we do not just put the videos up on air for good reason, because we need to verify and get a better picture of where the rockets may or may not have hit. and i will say from our vantage point after the first volley where we heard more direct impacts, the iron dome does seem to have intercepted vast majority of those, and we also spoke to our driver who is down near the lobby, and he sent us a picture of shrapnel damage to the car. and this is speaking to the fact that when they land, they spray shrapnel everywhere, and a large area, and they create so much damage, and that why you see the burned out vehicles, and things of that nature, but so far, we have not heard anything specifically abou

. >>> cnn chief correspondent clarissa ward is joining us now. clarissa, you were in the thick of it where people were waiting on the gaga side of rafah. walk us through what happened and i would imagine the logistics of getting this limited amount of aid to people who desperately needed it is going to be quite complicated. >> that's right, amara. just to clarify, we were on the egyptian side of the rafah border crossing yesterday. that was when the hope was that those trucks would start to move. they didn't. but at about 10:00 this morning local time, those 20 trucks of aid did manage to go through. basically they go into this sort of no man's land, they unload. the aid is loaded onto a palestinian truck, which then goes inside gaza. i want to be very clear though. before this war, before two weeks ago, approximately 455 trucks of aid would arrive in gaz every single day. you now have two weeks of no aid followed by one day of 20 trucks. this is a drop in the ocean, the world food program saying this aid may meet the needs of some 30,000 people a

cnn's clarissa ward is still with me. clarissa, this obviously is awful, whomever is responsible. does it complicate the humanitarian crisis in gaza beyond the obvious death and destruction of what happened? >> well, i think it remains to be seen what the impact will be, jake, but the assumption is that you will have all parties now retracting from previous agreements to kind of come together, in a sense and work to create a mechanism that would allow aid to go into gaza, that would allow foreign nationalses to leave, potentially also some of the most seriously wounded to leave. the u.n. says that 600,000 people have left their homes in the northern part of gaza, are currently in the south. they don't have water. our own cnn producer has described having to boil water from the toilet to give to his family. they don't have electricity, according to the u.n., they have about six days' worth of food left in the stores and after that people who are already hungry will potentially not have anything to eat at all, and it has been very difficult at the best of times during this conflict

clarissa ward, great reporting. you very much. >>> president biden will leave today for an extraordinary war-time trip to israel and jordan. admiral john kirby joins us to discuss the president's decision. that's coming up next. ♪ . >>> this morning israeli forces continue to pummel gaza with airstrikes as president trump prepares for his high stakes diplomatic visit to israel. defense officials tell cnn that a unit of 2,000 marines has been ordered head to waters towards israel on top of the u.s. carrier strike groups deployed. the israeli military getting ready for the next phase of their campaign. mark hertling is here to walk us through all of it. when you talk about the scale of what the u.s. has put into place assets-wise, what does to tell you about the u.s. posture? >> it is a lot. it is to prevent other nations and potentially terrorist groups from entering into this conflict. it's not going to contribute to the fight in gaza, but it will try to contain the area so there are no other actors coming in to inf

clarissa ward, cnn. >> our thanks to clarissa ward.here is new video of secretary of state antony blinken arriving in bahrain as he continues his tour across the middle east. stay with cnn. more ahead. >>> jim jordan and austin scott are lobbying members in a closed door meeting right now competing for the speaker's gavel. >> and scott has been very critical of his republican colleagues who voted to oust kevin mccarthy and reject their last candidate steve scalise who dropped out of the race last night. we have cnn chief congressional correspondent manu raju who is on capitol hill following every twist and turn and yet somehow kind of ending up back at the same place. i know you spoke to congressman scott before the meeting. what did he tell you? >> reporter: yeah, he's been sharply critical of everything that transpired over the last week. he has a lot of people who align himself with that view. last week he called those members of eight republicans who sided with democrats called them chaos agents and yesterday leaving the closed doo

clarissa ward joins me now from ashkelon. clarissa, explain what happened in that place and also what you have been seeing throughout the day because israeli defense spokesperson said that israel is in control now or has control of their sovereign territory, though there still may be pockets of hamas terrorists waiting to attack on israeli soil and more trying to come across still, but they believe that large-scale attacks have stopped. is that right? >> reporter: that's right. i think they feel that they're largely in control of that part of the puzzle. and that's why they brought us down, actually, or invited us to come and see that area along the border, which was actually the first area that was breached by those hamas militants who came across in a pickup truck and started spraying the entire area, killing a lot of civilians. and while we were down there just taking some footage and doing some live shots there was, as you saw, a large volley of rockets incoming. we took shelter. and i think the important thing to take aw

cnn's clarissa ward has more on all this. she joins us from cairo. clarissa, what have you learn frd that side of the border? >> reporter: so, it was earlier this evening, anderson, that we first heard of ambulances, kind of, pulling up at the rafah crossing, essentially nurit cooper and yocheved lifshitz were released by hamas militants. they also released a propaganda video as well. we're not showing it. it shows the militants offering the women tea and biscuits. they want to milk this as a propaganda opportunity. the women were escorted by members of the red cross into an ambulance, cross to the rafah side of the border. they were taken from there really straight to an airport where they were then flown out to a medical center, where they now are, as you see daniel has just visited with his grandmother, who you just had on the show there. questions still remain, of course, anderson, about the future of all the other hostages who have been taken. there have been discussions of other deals in the works. we know the egyptian government and the qataris

i want to bring in cnn's clarissa ward and jeremy diamond with me here, and go to clarissa who is inskelon, and i know that you are experiencing explosions in your area in the last few hours, and what more can you tell us? >> that is right, sara. it has been pretty quiet for most of the day and then a barrage of rockets that came towards this city, askelon every single day, and this is different though, because it is leading to that weak account that was intercepted and that did not make contact, and this is what it sounded like early on. [ explosion ] >> and you can hear the iron dome making contact, and you can hear them saying this is revenge for the continued strikes on gaza, and i wanted to point out that in gaza there is no iron dome and relentless bombardment for yet another day there including strikes as you heard john berman talking about the southern part of the gaza strip, and this is where the israeli forces that you had heard people move to, and you are hearing of six strikes right next to the rafah crossing, and nearly 3,000 people killed, and we had spoken to a 22 dent

clarissa ward was among the journal ists allowed to enter.ere's what she witnessed yesterday. >> it was 7:11 a.m. on saturday morning when the militants arrived. surveillance footage shows them lying in wait until a car arrives. they shoot the driver and enter the compound. more pour ed in on motorcycles. early at ease and in no apparent hurt ri. thomas heard the gunshots and thought of his 8-year-old daughter emily who was staying with a neighbor. >> she doesn't do it very often, but that particular night, friday night, she went to sleep at her friend's house. >> reporter: for 12 hours, he says he was pinned down ors. >> waiting longer. military g gained control, this is what remained of the once tranquil community. late wednesday afternoon, israeli forces led journalists in for the first time after days it took a lot of time. >> did that weigh on your conscience to know how long it took? >> we have a very difficult question to ask ourselves. now we look forward to defend the people, to take the survivor out of it and to switch from defense

clarissa ward is along the gaza border and nic robertson is in israel, too, places where are used to incoming rockets but have never seen anything like this, the ground incursions that both of those communities have experienced. clarissa, i want to start off with you. we have seen just sickening videos of women, young men, elderly people being taken, kidnapped, taken, dragged across the border brutally into gaza where they will be held hostage and used to suit the purposes of islamic jihad and hamas. there was a music festival that we've heard about that was going on. a lot of people had gathered, a lot of young people, and that is where we've seen some of the hostages were taken from. talk about what you've learned about what happened there. >> reporter: so anderson, we actually went to the site of this music festival today. i think we're only just starting now to get a sense of just how many people were killed and just how bloody and horrific this entire scenario was. the israeli government took an unprecedented step and put up a photograph on twitter that shows dozens and dozens o

. >> clarissa ward, cnn, raine, israel. >> our clarissa ward reporting there. our cnn this morning continues right now. >>> hamas launching a barrage of rockets on israel after the israeli military announced that it had regained control of all of the towns on the gaza border. >> you can hear the desperation. this is the aftermath in the city of ashkalon, not far from the gaza border. this all comes some 48 hours after hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack by land, by sea, and by air, killing civilians and taking hostages overnight. israeli air strikes pummeled hundreds of targets in the gaza strip. israel's defense minister has this morning ordered a, quote, complete siege, saying electricity, food, and fuel will all be cut off. >> the videos show the horror on the ground at a music festival in israel are 260 people have been found dead. this is a drone video of burned out cars at the site. a dash camera video shows a hamas fighter shooting his rifle and taking a hostage. this morning, a spokesman for the israeli military say that hamas have brought

we go right to clarissa ward who is in the israeli city of ashkelon to tell us what she has been seeingclarissa. >> well, john, it has been an intense hour. hamas had warned via the telegram channel that ordinary residents of the city of ashkelon should leave by 5:00 p.m., and literally like clockwork at 5:00 p.m., we heard a massive sustain ed and most o those rockets intercepted by the iron dome, though we are hearing of places inside of the town where they made direct contact. then it was calm for a few minutes and another sustained barrage, and it is basically going on like that as we were discussing on air on/off for 335 minutes, and hamas say ss that d the noise is just so glaring. hardly anybody out on the street, because this is a city that has come under heavy rocket attack, but in the last few days, there is a up tick in the platform. now, what i would say is that what we witnessed in the last hour. i want to go to nic robertson who is in sderot, and nic, you are not far from me, but i understand that you were able to hear the rockets as they were being fired off. tell me what

cnn's clarissa ward is in ashkelon, that's about 25 minutes' drive from sderot. clarissa, give us some sense of what you have been seeing, what you have been experiencing as you have been here from the start really of this war. >> reporter: well, share ration i t sara, i think the focus is very much on gaza, what the u.n. is calling an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe playing out before our eyes in a pretty emotional statement the commissioner general for the u.n. agency for relief and works basically said that the world has lost its humanity. he went on to outline for eight days not a drop of water no electricity, no food, no medicine has been able to be provided into gaza. he also reminded people that more than 60% of gaza's residents because of the blockade on gaza are already dependent on food aid. so in addition to the relentless air strikes that have claimed so many lives, more than 2,700 palestinians have been killed, you now have this incredibly intense humanitarian catastrophe. i spoke to a young student in northern gaza, that is the area that the i

i want to bring in clarissa ward.larissa, explain where you are and what you have been seeing because i know you've witnessed numerous volleys of rockets being fired today. >> that's right, anderson. hamas had put out a message on their telegram channel, on their social media app basically saying that people in the city here of ashkelon should leave by 5:00 p.m., that there was going to be retaliation for what they called the force displacement of ordinary civilians in gaza and then at exactly 5:00 p.m. we heard the first -- i won't even say volley -- barrage of rockets come slamming in. we have subsequently been watching, you know, every 20 minutes or so of the air raid sirens go off, you see the skylight up, the iron dome starts intercepting those various rockets. some of them have made impact, there have been reports of at least one home that we know of that took a direct hit. we actually spoke briefly earlier to the woman who was living there and she is miraculously perhaps alive. she was in her -- in her shelter.

i do want to bring in clarissa ward, she is in ashkelon and ben wedeman is in jerusalem for us tonight. ben wedeman, in particular you lived in egypt and there is a border crossing to egypt. when you hear about jake sullivan talk about the diplomatic discussions about where civilians in gaza can go and as you pointed out, there are many civilians who do not like hamas, do not like to be ruled by hamas or dominated by hamas. what do you -- when you hear about that idea about border crossings, is there a precedent for that? where can they go? >> there are only two borders, israel and egypt. the egyptian border, the main point is hafa. the egyptians were not very open to any sort of flood of palestinian refugees coming out and in pfact, this time it's similar and there is not any willingness by the egyptian authorities to allow this to happen. they don't want hundreds of thousands of palestinians flooding into the sinai peninsula. in january of 2008 i was in gaza when hamas actually blew up a long stretch of the wall that had been constructed between egypt and gaza, and what i saw was hun

we saw at the beginning of this show very tenuous situation still in israel, with clarissa ward and her team having to hit the deck as rockets were being fired over. a very tough day. another tough day. our continuing coverage continues now. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> today in "inside politics," the cost and chaos of war in response to an unprecedented terror attack against israel. first, inside israel -- [ sirens ] -- sirens and screams. fire and rescues. and now the crackle of bombs. you're looking at live images of the gaza skyline, smoky ash as far as the eye can see. and here in the u.s., the worst case scenario for nine american families, a national security council official confirming that nine u.s. citizens were murdered during attacks inside israel and there are also americans still missing. today israel escalates. we should warn you that you are about to watch something quite graphic. it is carnage inside gaza. an air strike near a refugee camp, evidence of what the hamas attack has wrought on many innocent palestinians. soot and mangled concrete strewn everywhere, amid

clarissa ward, cnn. >> it's absolutely heartbreaking to see children suffering. thank you so much for telling their story. >>> ahead, there's much more on the breaking news coverage of the israel/hamas war. we'll be right back. >>> we told you at the top of the show about the fear and concern that is gripping all of us over this war between israel and hamas. even if it may seem like you're powerless to do anything about it, there are ways to help. for more information about how to help, go to cnn.com/impact or text "relief" to 707070 to donate. thank you all for watching. our live coverage continues after a short break.

i want to go to clarissa ward watching this, as well. you and i both have been in gaza several times. can you describe the people who really don't know what it is like on the ground there, just how congested and just how filled that small space is, 139 square miles, just how small it is and how difficult it is, for example, for the civilians on a regular day, not during a time of war. >> well, sara, if you've been to gaza, as you have during times of intense bombardment, it is tr truly terrifying. there is a lot of chaos. there is a lot of confusion and a lot of panic. you see people running around trying to get to safety and not knowing where the safety is and in the case of the al ahli hospital it was clear that hundreds thought that that would be a safe place to go to. it is worth mentioning that al ali is in the northern part of gaza and that is the area that they had asked people to leave and evacuate from on friday and we kept hearing from people we've spoken to, how can we leave our home and go to the south when there were strikes

let's go to clarissa ward. clarissa, tell us about the location of this place, gaza city. the hospital in gaza. >> so it's the baptist hospital. aldani means baptist. this is in the more than part, jake, this is the area that israeli force has urged gazans living there to evacuate. we have seen according to the last few days, according to the u.n., some 600,000 people, in the north of gaza move into the south. today, what happened is there were a number of strikes in the south. in ckhan yunis, and rafah, the border crossing with egypt. what that did for many people, in the north, planning or trying to get to the south, it made them basically south, right? because they were scared that it wasn't safe in the south. they were also concerned with the endire humanitarian situati in the south. a lot of people we've been speaking to today are just too afraid to leave their homes. many are living in shelters it appears in this hospital, you had a lot of families who were basically sheltering. who had been displaced from their homes or who were fearful that their homes were in pote

i want to start with clarissa ward. she's been along the gaza border. we've been talking to her all throughout the night. there was a rocket barrage several hours ago. clarissa, what's the situation there now? >> well, i don't know, you probably can't hear on this small microphone but the skies, anderson, it's just been non-stop jet activity. i've seen at least three big orange flashes coming from that direction. presumably air strikes on the gaza strip. as we arrived here, there was a huge barrage of rockets. the vast majority of them were intercepted by the iron dome. we could see them lighting up the night sky. but at least two did manage to make impact. one reportedly hitting a bus stop. the other hitting a building. not too far from where we are now. and i think just more broadly speaking, honestly, anderson, there's a sense that people here are kind of reeling, trying to get their arms around the magnitude of what the last 40, 42 hours has brought. and trying to deal with the most poignant or i should say pressing threat at the moment, which is the

. >> clarissa ward, thank you. clarissa has more reported and will come up with us again shortly. i want to play the conversation i had with idf spokesman rear admiral who took us to the site of the music festival from the text of a work hundred 60 people were killed. it is clear to you at this point hamas knew the festival was taking place here, it wasn't just an accident that happened upon it to it was architect plan as government plan. this was a major governed event by gaza. this is an event on a scale i don't think the world has seen. it is a scale of brutality and being cruel here, girls were being rape, people handcuffed and slaughtered killed people running because of the security when you have the rockets so they took them inside and throw grenades inside the cube. >> there's video from numerous bomb shelters people were hiding in of grenades being thrown in. >> i don't know how people can explain this, i don't have the words. them running away on motorcycles with girls to gaza. >> this is a parking lot, people try to get out of the parking not. it was too chaotic. >> wha

cnn's clarissa ward was able to gain access to that kibbutz and i want to warn you that the video we are about to show you is violent and hard to watch. >> reporter: it was 7:11 a.m. when the militants arrived. surveillance footage shows them lying in wait until a car arrives. they shoot the driver and enter the compound. more poured in on motorcycles. eerily at ease and in no apparent hurry. thomas hand heard the gunshots and immediately thought of his 8-year-old daughter emily who was staying with a neighbor. >> she doesn't do it very often, but unfortunately that night, that particular night, friday night, she went to sleep at her friend's house. >> reporter: for 12 hours, he says he was pinned down under heavy gunfire, unable to reach his daughter, as hamas went door-to-door executing his neighbors. >> waiting. thinking the army are going to be here soon, know, hold on a bit longer. and longer. and longer. >> reporter: by the time the military gained control, this is what remained of the once tranquil community. late wednesday afternoon israeli forces let journalists in for the f

clarissa ward, cnn. >> a really stunning report there.oining me now is alicia weasel, the chairman of the weasel foundation which is named in honor of the professor who was a survivor of thg antisemitism and making sure that the world would never forget about 6 million who perished in the holocaust. alicia, thank you so much for joining us. it is her first time speaking, and i am not sure how much you have spoken about what has transpired in israel over the last few days. it has been almost a week -- what are you feeling right now as you see these stories of course coming out of israel? >> i'm feeling absolutely sick. what we have seen occur at the hands of hamas, a terrorist organization, is nothing other than pure evil. and i remember, shortly after 9/11, my father and i talking, and him commenting on how can people possibly be celebrated in gaza city and the west bank? how could they be celebrating after these plans went and so many american lives were lost. and now, somehow, i feel like we are at stake here in america. because after w

clarissa ward is in cairo. oren liebermann is at the pentagon with more new on the battle. i want to start with nic robertson. i know there was a lot of activity where you were, when the two hostages were released. what exactly happened? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely fascinating, erin. throughout the day it hadding exceptionally quite. no missiles, no rockets comes out of gaza, no missiles going in. not even any drones in the air. really quiet. it gave just the impression that something was happening in the background today that was different. we had no idea. just, just as that news was coming out that natalie and her mother judith were being released, hamas or one of the other groups in gaza launched a massive salvo of rockets. the iron dome intercepted this. they have done it again. they were intercepted again. in the intervikings hour, they fired five salvos into this area, way more than they fired in an hour period that we have seen over the past week on so. so kind of a significant turn in action by hamas or one of the other groups right at that moment of release. was

cnn's clarissa ward visited the festival site.want to warn our viewers, what you're about to see is graphic and disturbing. >> reporter: what happened just off this quiet border road was a massacre. the bodies of the perpetrators still remain, while the fate of many victims is unknown. organizers of the supernova music festival say that thousands of young revelers had gathered to celebrate the end of the holidays, when just after 6:00 a.m., hamas militants launched a bloody attack. >> so we're jufsst now on the approach to where that dance party was taking place. you can see, there's vehicles all around here that have been shot up. we see the bodies of at least one, two hamas fighters. i think there are more down this way. >> many of the victims spent hours in hiding, waiting to be rescued and calling their loved ones. >> reporter: many of them are still missing. many of them are dead. it's been very difficult to try to get a precise number. >> now a volunteer group that handles human remains says that at least 260 bodies have bee

clarissa ward is in cairo, egypt for us. and officials say that road repairs were needed before the crucial aid to pass through. is that really the only reason for this 13-day long delay so far? >> reporter: no, jake. it is not. we were actually at the rafah border crossing today, the u.n. said there is a number of other issues. firstly, the issue of the israelis wanting to verify everything that is in those trucks to make sure there is no weapons there. they need to come up with some kind of a mechanism to do that. but that takes time. how would they do that, where would they do that? the second issue, they say, is that they don't want this to be a one-off of just 20 trucks going in. they want to have an agreement in place for a sustained continuous humanitarian corridor. they are worried that their trucks and workers could get attacks or mobbed if this is just that one -- one sort of shipment or movement of 20 trucks. all of this, though, jake, is really coming down to the wire now. with fuel stocks about to run out in a m

yeah... ♪ clarissa ward has more on that.e want to warn you some of the images you'll see are graphic. >> every family members bidding farewell to their loved ones. did not survive the night. ritual that tragically has become all too familiar in gaza. women and children, these are the targets this man laments, this is hamas. hours earlier the chaotic moments as the dead and injured were brought into the hospital during the most intense night of bombardment in the last 17 days. and as with every night so many of the victims, children. a doctor says the e.r. has struggled to keep up with a flood of casualties, and the severity of the injuries that they are dealing with, particularly third degree burns. the hospital is not prepared to deal with these types of burns, and i don't suppose the bigger hospitals would be able to, either, he says, we're suffering from a lack of essentials due to the siege, even as we speak now at any moment the electricity could cut off. the world health organization has warned that 12 of gaza's 35 hos

it report next from cnn's clarissa ward. network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. >> night, as hamas release is a video of one of its hostages, dozens of other families are anxiously awaiting word of their loved ones fate. over in israel, anger is starting to build about the government's handling of the situation. more tonight from cnn's clarissa ward. >> four days they have sat outside the military headquarters in tel aviv, holding vigil for their loved ones. among many family members of those held in gaza there is anger that the israelis government handling of the crisis, an

let's bring in cnn's clarissa ward who is live for us in cairo, egypt. this raid comes as the u.n. is warning that the humanitarian crisis in gaza is reaching a real critical point. >> reporter: that's right, jake. we don't really know very much about what this raid entailed beyond what the idf told , whic you already outlined it was a raid in northern gaza. there was some artillery fire, and the goal of it was to try to prepare the ground for a possible ground offensive coming forward. we have heard this continuous drum beat coming from israeli forces and israel's government trying to hammer home the idea that this ground offensive is going to happen, even as we've seen a continued delay in that ground offensive actually taking place. that presumably due to a number of factors, but primarily pressure from the u.s. and other parties who are deeply involved in the efforts to get hostages outside of gaza. and all of this happening, as you mentioned, jake, alongside the deterioration that we are seeing inside gaza of humanitarian conditions. particularly with regards to fuel. you may

clarissa ward was near the rafah border crossing today and heard from some of the protesters. she joins us now. what's the scene like at the border crossing? >> reporter: anderson, there was a lot of frustration today because i think hopes had been reasonably high that we would start to see some of that aid start to trickle through. there were about 455 trucks of aid that went into gaza before the war. for the last two weeks, there have been no trucks. even those 20 trucks, it would really just be a drop in the ocean. and all of this happening as the violence continues, the bombardment continues, and the anger continues to rise. take a look. for days, they have been waiting. more than 200 trucks full of aid, desperately needed in gaza, but stuck on the egyptian side of the rafah border crossing. u.n. secretary general antonio gutierrez hoped to be here for a much-needed diplomatic win. >> as quickly as possible. >> reporter: instead, he found himself in the midst of a protest. his remarks drowned out by the crowd. >> people are chanting over and over again, with our blood, wit

clarissa ward was at the border crossing as pro-palestinian protests erupted. >> reporter: for days, they have been waiting. more than 200 trucks full of aid desperately needed in gaza, but stuck on the egyptian side of the rafa border crossing. u.n. secretary-general antonio gutierrez hoped to be here for a much-needed diplomatic win. instead, he found himself in the midst of a protest, his remarks drowned out by the crowd. people are chanting over and over again, with our blood, with our souls, we will defend palestine. there's a huge amount of anger and emotion, much of it directed at the west. and much also at western media, who people here fear have favored israeli voices over palestinians. a protestor started shouting at me. we invited her to do an interview with us. >> when 1,000 palestinian babies have died, you don't feel the seem as when i tell you one of your own has died. but these are our own. egypt will stand with palestine. all these international institutions are standing for israel. who's there for the palestinians? and don't call it a war. the jargon is more infuria

now i want to try to go to clarissa ward, who is in ashkelon. clarissa, tell us what you're seeing right now. >> reporter: just about five minutes ago, the sirens went off again. there was a little pause. it's hard tost mate the number, because they fire them in these dense volumes, but quite a few rockets certainly fired. they were closer this time. you could actually smell that veries distinctive smell of explosives. the iron dome doing its work and intercepting many of them, but this has been going on for almost three hours. hamas has been updating all along saying that this is going to continue. we are striking the occupied city of ashkelon. this is what they are calli ing retribution. they said it was going to start at 5:00. it started at 5:00 on the dot, and it's been pretty much continuous w a few lulls of 20 or 30 minutes in there, but the city of ashkelon, you can hear a pin drop at this stage. a lot of people, prooum bliss, have left, but those who remain are staying in coffer. the hotel where we're staying is completely full now. and t

. >> i want to go now to cnn's clarissa ward who is in cairo, egypt. clarissa, you've been following a different story, the dire crisis in gaza, the dire need for food, for medicine, for water. today another 20 aid trucks were able to enter the territory for egypt, but that's still not enough. >> reporter: no, jake. it's really a drop in the bucket. you're talking about in the last few days some 60 trucks that have managed to get into gaza. just to give you some perspective, before this war, three weeks ago, 455 trucks a day according to the u.n. in the last 16 days there's been no aid going in. on a normal level there would have been more than 7,000 trucks going in during a 16-day period. meanwhile, this is happening against the backdrop of relentless and punishing bombardment. the scenes in these hospitals is extraordinary, it's disheartening. we spoke to one doctor who said two days left before they go from critical to dire. i want to warn our viewers that some of what you're about to see are distressing. >> reporter: you're entering the al schiff fa

first to our clarissa ward in ashkelon with the latest that we know on the blast at the hospital. clarissa, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, anderson, we have been talking to people inside gaza, talking to doctors who are inside that hospital, one of them said that the ceiling actually collapsed on to the operating room floor where he was carrying out a surgery. palestinian authorities and also the entire really arab world coming forward almost immediately and laying the blame for this at israeli forces feet, saying was an israeli strike. eyewitnesses on the ground also saying that. the idf, as you mentioned, coming out and saying a full-throated denial, saying that this was caused, they believe, by a misfire potentially, rocket from the militant group islamic jihad. i will say just based on seeing these rocket attacks many times over the years that they don't usually have an impact like that in terms of the size of the blast, in terms of the scale of the death toll, and the scope of the damage. it's also not the first time, it's important to add, we have seen the idf categ

cnn clarissa ward reports. >> reporter: they grabbed whatever they can and set off.y on foot, with no set destination. after six straight days of relentless bombardment, palestinians in northern gaza woke up to leaflets from israel's military ordering them to move to the south of the densely populated end clave. the deadline given to the u.n. was 24 hours. but nowhere to go, efforts to open the corridor to egypt so far have been fruitless and shelters are completely overwhelmed. head of u.n. refugee agency called the order horrendous and said the enclave was rapidly becoming a hell hole. the streets of many neighborhoods are already ghost towns, hollowed out by ferocious strikes. those who remain alone with their grief. my sons, my daughters, my neighbors are all gone, this resident says. i only have one message to the arab and islamic world. have mercy on us for god sake, there's nothing left. in several cities across the world, there were protests in support of gaza but the drum beat of an invasion is growing ever louder here. and the price that gaza civilians are

clarissa ward is following all the late-breaking developments from gaza. >> reporter: it's been two weeks of no aid, relentless bombardment, mass displacement. 20 trucks is a drop in the ocean, but officials say they are hopeful this is the start of something more sustained, more counto co continuous. the u.n. hopes more of their trucks can go through. the 20 trucks today were egyptian red crescent trucks. they drove through the rafah crossing. palestinian troops loaded the aid and drove it through to the gaza side. there's a meeting today of arab leaders here in cairo. it's called a conference of peace. the egyptian president spoke in the last hour or so and said this is a welcome side but it's not enough. we need a humanitarian cease cease-fire and beyond that we need to work on establishing some kind of peace process, a two-state solution. quite a long list of things that need to happen. right now there seems to be consensus, at least on that first step of trying to establish a more continuous or sustained humanitarian corridor. the hospitals are barely functioning. fuel supplies, acco

and cnn's clarissa ward has been to kibbutz that was attacked by hamas on saturday, and now it's a staging ground for the israeli military. tell us what we're seeing. >> reporter: jake, this was the kibbutz area, one of the scenes of some of the grossest atrocities that took place on saturday. i think it's symbolic that the israeli military has now taken it over and repurposed it. it is now a staging ground for an artillery brigade. when we arrived there yesterday we could see many soldiers, tanks. we heard outgoing artillery. it's clearly a staging ground as i said but also for support, communications. i would note that the posture of the soldiers was relatively at ease. one didn't have the sense walking around that some kind of a ground offensive was imminent in the sort of coming hours. but clearly the building up the forces along the gaza envelope is fueling the expectation of imminent ground offensive. and i think we're seeing that as well-being borne out in terms of the incessant bombardment, which you and erin had just referenced on gaza. today the u.n. coming out saying that 2,500

our chief international correspondent clarissa ward joins us from cairo, egypt, clarissa, israel isn't letting fuel into gaza, is other aid getting in? >> today, wolf, there were 12 trucks of aid that managed to go through into gaza from here and egypt across the rafah border crossing. yesterday only six trucks came, this is tiny amounts. keep in mind for our viewers that before this war more than 450 trucks would go in every single day. the aid that those drugs do contain water, medical supplies, food, is desperately needed. as you mentioned, it's fuel that is reaching an absolute crisis play now. the primary u.n. agency that works inside of gaza saying that they have already started to ration the fuel, they're stretching it out, they've had to limit supplies of that fuel to hospitals and two bakeries. and they will be forced if they don't get more fuel to completely suspend their operation tomorrow. we also asked them about the idf's allegations that during the last three weeks hamas has stolen fuel from these u.n. warehouses. they said they have no knowledge of that having happened.

that is where we find our chief international correspondent clarissa ward. at this hour, clarissa, you were there when there were explosions happening, rockets coming over and a huge barrage a few days ago. what can you tell us about the situation there now and along the gaza border? >> reporter: it's been quieter this morning, up until just a few hours ago. hamas released rockets again towards ashkelon. they are saying that it's in revenge for the current situation inside gaza. but i want to play you some video that we managed to capture of the moments as those rockets fell into ashkelon. [ explosions ] you can hear some intercepts, but you can also hear at least two, by our count, that made landfall. one just behind me in that direction. it's important to emphasize that israel does have the iron dome. it's incredibly effective. the rockets do have a paralyzing affect on community, but there are few casualties as a result of them, which is a very stark contrast to what we have been seeing in gaza this morning. reports of at least six air strikes in southern

. >> cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward is with us now. so after weeks of waiting, the rafah closing opened just long enough to allow these 20 trucks in. 2 million people plus are in gaza. walk us through what happened. explain what we saw today. >> reporter: so we got word at about 9:30 this morning that the rafah border crossing was going to open at 10:00 a.m., that it was going to open for long enough to let in those 20 trucks. that is the initial amount that was agreed upon by all different sides. these were egyptian red crescent trucks. they drove through the gate. they took off the aid. palestinian trucks then loaded the aid and it went through the gazaen side of the border. this is obviously very heartening for so many people who have been pushing so hard, but mostly, of course, for people in gaza who are in such desperate need of aid, but it's importantlet to be clear it's really a drop in the ocean in terms of what is actually needed, the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe to put it in some context or perspective for you. the u

an absolute blessing. >> clarissa ward, cnn, barry kibbutz, israel. >> joining me from tel aviv, israel, defense forces spokesperson lieutenant colonel peter lerner. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you, rosemary. >> as these new horrors of the hamas attacks are revealed to the world, what is the latest information you have on the large-scale israeli airstrikes, and of course, the apparent preparations for a ground incursion into gaza this? >> i am very, very affected by the story you just broadcasted. it really touches home, and that is, unfortunately, just one story of the many families that have been torn to pieces by hamas's attacks the. since the attack, it was engaged on a widespread attack against hamas, and it was currently focused on two or three different components of my operation, and they conducted the special commander took offices for hamas. this is been our effort over the past night, and we are taking out their capabilities. we are striking them, me and they are making sure that they are able to commit these atrocities ever again. look it is conducting these stri

. >> cnn's clarissa ward reporting from the middle east.df spokesperson lieutenant colonel lerner joins us from tel aviv. so our reporter, clarissa ward, who we just heard from, spoke to the top surgeon at al shiba hospital in gaza who said even without air conditioning and lights they still need 9,000 liters of fuel a day. other idf spokespeople have told us they have 1,000 liters of fuel. that's clearly not enough to run hospital generators. the u.n. is particularly concerned about this. what's your response to that? >> so obviously we cannot be, as human beings, concerned about t -- unconcerned about the suffering of babies in the hospital in shifa, a hospital managed by the hamas ministry of health. hamas has stockpiles of fuel in the south of gaza, not far from rafe crossing. they could choose to distribute to it the hospitals. unfortunately, they choose not to do that. it's a really sad situation. it exemplifies this conflict. hamas has no regard for human life, israeli or palestinian. they're willing to sacrifice, massacre, murder, b

i want to bring in cnn's clarissa ward live in cairo, egypt. let's start with the hostage negotiations. has israel said how long it will delay the ground invasion to try to get more hostages released? >> reporter: so, jake, they haven't said anything in terms of a specific time line. they're obviously coming under a lot of pressure, specially as all of these different parties are trying to negotiate the release of a larger group of hostages. we've seen four released so far. the hope is to get dozens out potentially. but sources are telling cnn that they don't think that the israelis will be willing to hold back for more than a few days, potentially. there are many different issues at play here but one of the big ones is this issue of fuel. hamas is saying if we're going to release these hostages or before we release the hostages, you need to start to allow fuel to come into the gaza strip. the idf is saying, we're not going to allow fuel to come into the -- the gaza strip because we believe it is going to be used by hamas for their military inf

clarissa ward is joining us. tell our viewers what you're seeing there. >> we have been hearing rockets fired off but nothing that really matches the tempo as we were arriving in the city where i think you just showed that video of this extraordinary barrage of rockets. the vast majority being inter intercepted the iron dome. at least two of them managing to breach the iron dome and make land fall here. one hit a bus stop, the other a building. actually not too far from here. there's no reports of casualties but certainly the effect has been very chilling. there are barely any civilians outside on the streets at all. partly of course because it's the middle of the night but also because people are sheltering in place. we did see a few people arriving at various hotels basically looking for shelter because the situation is so dangerous and of course, the fear of the rocket attack is just one of the many threats. the primary one that i would say people in this part of israel are focused on at the moment is continue

chief international correspondent clarissa ward is with us now so let's start at this convoy of trucks coming in. 20 passing into gaza, but officials in gaza and those who are watching from outside of the strip say it's just not enough. what do you know? >> reporter: that's right. essentially, before this latest spasm of violence, is so three weeks ago, more than 450 trucks of aid, according to the u.n., would go into the gaza strip every day. it's been two weeks of no aid, relentless bombardment. 20 trucks is obviously just a drop in the ocean. but officials are saying that they are hopeful that this is the start of something more sustained, more continuous. the u.n. believes and hopes that potentially tomorrow or on monday that more of their trucks could go through. today those trucks were egyptian trucks that drove through the rafah border crossing and ub loaded that aid with food, water, medicine. palestinian trucks drove it through to the gaza side. now there's a meeting today of arab leaders here in cairo. it's called a conference of peace. the egyptian president spoke in the las

cnn's clarissa ward is joining us now. devastating pictures to look at, and it is just rubble. what can you tell us about what happened here? >> so, what we are hearing from the ukrainian officials, sara, this is an escander missile that hit a small village that is about 25 miles from the front region of the kharkiv region, and according to the ukrainian source, the villagers had come to the cafe to have a wake, and now 51 people have been killed, but in the last hour, that number has been steadily climbing. if this is indeed confirmed that 51 people have been killed, this would actually be the deadliest event that we have seen in ukraine for some time. the last would be the missile attack on the kramatorsk train station about a year and a half ago, and at least 50 people were killed in that attack. these sorts of strikes have become all too common, but the timing of this one, sara, it is of course impossible to ignore with the chaos unfolding on capitol hill and the real shock waves that it has sent through the hearts of many people in ukraine who are now fearful that they cou

i want to bring in chief international correspondent clarissa ward.sident zelenskyy is relying on other leaders to step up as the u.s. is threatened by the political people in congress we're seeing this play out. how are european leaders responding to this? >> well, i think there's definitely a very real sense of anxiety, pamela. we saw president zelenskyy in granada, in spain, today, meeting with european leaders. he was trying to put a brave face on it, essentially saying, you know, a lot of work needs to be done. but believing that the support will continue, that bipartisan support will continue. but privately, i think you hear more and more european leaders starting to give voice to the possibility that their populations may be becoming increasingly disenchanted with the very large check that many of these countries are having to write. we heard from the italian prime minister giorgia meloni who said we're in lockstep steadfast with ukraine, but we have to be reminded of support and issues that have risen on the back of ukraine, such as migration

clarissa ward, cnn. >> now amid the hamas attacks in israel, calls for protests in the u.s.n friday, couple of police say there have been no specific threats towards congress weather enhancing security anyway. on thursday, president biden met with law enforcement officials to discuss the security, and homeland security -- to be vigilant. cnn's brian todd has more on the increase security across the u.s.. >> stepped up patrols, the new york police department ramping up main internal department memo obtained by cnn. this comes after former hamas leader -- called on the muslim world to quote, show anger on friday. >> you have police covering over 400 locations in new york city, that is iconic location, symbolic locations jewish religious locations and of course the cities arab communities and muslim communities for their safety. >> cnn's john miller reports there is no specific call for violence beyond general called to express anger. is this law enforcement and intelligence officials brigadier telling him about chat rooms and other online forums. >> they are seeing 1000 percen

clarissa ward, cnn. >> quick break here on the program, when we come back, cnn visits the front line in southern israel, as tens of thousands of troops prepare for the next phase of the campaign against hamas. >> welcome back, the israeli defense forces are urging all civilians in northern gaza, including the heavy populated gaza city to evacuate southwards for their own safety. the idf says they will announce when it is safe for civilians to return. israel's military alleges quote, the hamas terrorists are housing in gaza city. inside tunnels, underneath houses, inside buildings. populated with innocent gaza facility ends. the united nations warns the evacuation of what would be more than 1 million people on a short notice like that could have devastating humanitarian consequences. gaza of course is already gripped by a crisis that is worsening by the hour. relief groups say there is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors, so it can reach civilians. israel's siege of gaza has cut off access to food, water, electricity, and medical supplies. hospitals are overwhelmed. the palestin

let's start with clarissa ward. you're in ashkelon, which is north of gaza in israel. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, jake, today the u.n. is saying that essentially, quote, time is running out for the people of gaza. the situation there getting more and more desperate by the minute. it has been nine days now that there has been fno food, no medicine, no electricity, despite assurances from the idf that the water had been switched on and in the southern part of the enclave, we're hearing from the palestinian water authority that there is still no water. i had been in touch for the past few days with a family in the northern part of gaza. that is the area that was supposed to be evacuated. they were too fearful to leave their homes. they said they had nowhere to go. today i have been unable to get in touch with this family at all. my messages to them are not going through. and all of this happening despite the flurry and intensification of diplomaticive for -- diplomatic efforts across the rafah crossing. you menged they pointed the fink at hamas and they are po