reporter elliott gotkine joins us live from london. welcome back, we do know that troops are amassing by tens of thousands at the border. still no word on the ground incursion that's expected any day now. what do these increased air strikes tell us about what's going on? and what is the work going on behind the scenes to try to free the hostages ahead of the potential incursion? >> kasie, as far as the hostages are concerned we know that the u.s. and qataris in particular who have a direct line to hamas and the leadership there in doha, they are working behind the scenes to try to get more of those now 222 hostages. that figure has been updated from just over 200 just in the last few minutes. 222 hostages that were abducted by hamas in that terrorist attack of october 7th. during which up to 1400 or more than 1400 people were killed sn inside of israel. so, that's what's happening behind the scenes. there is no real public comment from the israelis about negotiations. we know that the u.s. and qataris are working on it. as far as the a

let's go live to london where journalist elliott gotkin is following. we've been hearing from the idf. there is an awful lot of noise about what happened with this blast at this hospital in gaza yesterday. what do we know at this point? >> becky, all we really know at this point is that there were a large number, possibly hundreds of people killed in the blast at this hospital in the gaza strip. now as you said, the palestinians had been pointing the finger at the israelis, saying it was an air strike. right now, the israel defense force's chief spokesman daniel hagari is still speaking at a press briefing to journalists where he is presenting evidence that he says proves undoubtedly that israel was not responsible for this strike. what they're saying is it was an islamic jihad rocket that misfired. and the reason there was such a fireball there is it didn't travel its full distance, so there was a lot of propellant still within this rocket. that set this explosion in motion. now my colleague jeremy diamond is at that press conference, and he asked dani

elliott gotkine live for us. according to posting officials, israeli airstrikes in gaza have intensified and lasted for hours, even in the south or at least 28 people were killed. dozens injured in the city of rough agreement hamas accusing officials. last week israel told millions of people in northern gaza to relocate to the south for their own safety edwards or warning of the chaos and destruction from unrelenting as early as two x is taking a horrendous toll on because children. one palestinian human rights group says so far, more than 2000 children have been killed in just over two weeks. a number of which remains almost impossible to verify. but for hospitals in gaza, each day it seems misery, and in level of desperation. cnn's clarissa ward reports now, and a warning, the story contains graphic and disturbing images. >> you are entering the hospital in gaza city. this is just one minute and one day. but doctors tell us, it could be any minute of the last 16 days. it is a scene from -- many of the patients

journalist elliott gotkine joins us live from london. good morning to you, elliot.wo more hostages greed monday. can we expect to see more hostages released while the ground incursion appears to be on hold for now? >> reporter: before the release of these two elderly israeli women, there were 222 people being held by hamas that they abducted on october the 7th. so we would expect and certainly there's a hope that these releases now, these are the third and fourth people to be released by hamas since it took all of those people hostage on october the 7th, there is a hope and expectation that more will be released. and it's really being helped by both the qataris who host some of the political leadership of hamas in doha, and the egyptians and the red cross. in a statement, prime minister benjamin netanyahu pointedly thanking the egyptians and the red cross, but avoiding thanking the qatarris for their association with muhammad ali, although we do know they are involved in getting some of those hostages released. there's no word about more being released or when or wh

so i want to go live now to london, where journalist elliott gotkine is following developments for us. he joins us now. so, elliott, what is the latest on israeli airstrikes and hamas rockets fired, and of course, the fallout from that exchange? and any news on the hostage situation at all. >> rosemary, israeli airstrikes are continuing. in the last few minutes, we heard in the idf, saying that it is striking in the gaza strip, and also saying it has destroyed one of hamas aerial detection systems which was enabling the militant group to see or to monitor israeli aircraft. so israel says it's destroy that. as you say, you know, every day now we are seeing the death toll in israel rising, now more than 1200 killed inside of israel. we're also seeing the death toll rising in the gaza strip after israeli airstrikes, retaliatory airstrikes, began in the wake of that surprised and unprecedented attack by hamas, which began on saturday morning. so the death toll in the gaza strip now above 950. and of course, everyone now is expecting a ground invasion, ground from israel. hamas is not only

. >> journalist elliott gotkine is with us from you no london. thank you very much for being with us today. let's take a look at this. obviously, the second carrier group head zing into the region kind of underscores the concern over the population here. you can help us understand what could draw iran into this conflict and cause it to escalate? >> i think we're more likely to see israeli boots on the ground than american boots on the ground. by have seen this proxy war going on between iran and israel for quite some time. you mentioned hamas and hezbollah in the south receiving support and islamic jihad. and we've already seen skirmishes with rockets being fired from hezbollah and israel and causing casualties and israel firing back as well. the real concern is we've seen not only the repeat of the war between hezbollah and israel in 2006, but it could be much more deadly. back then, hezbollah fired around 4,000 rockets towards israel. by some estimates, it's got as much as 150 rockets pointed towards israel. these will also be greater quality a

journalist elliott gotkine is with us now from london. good to see you, elliott. so, two more hostages freed monday. can we expect to see more of this while the ground incursion appears to be on hold, at least for now? >> rosemary, the assumption is there will be more hostages released. as you say, more than 200, i think there were 222 before the release of these two elderly israeli women who were released yesterday. negotiations, attempts to try to get more of those hostages that were abducted by hamas on october the 7th are still ongoing and we know that this is being worked on by the qataris who, of course, host some of the political leadership of hamas in doha. it is being worked on by the egyptians, as well. it was interesting to see prime minister benjamin netanyahu putting out a statement thanking the red cross and thanking the egyptians, but pointedly not thanking the qataris, although they are known to be very involved in trying to secure the release of these hostages. and it complicates israel's plans for a ground invasion in a couple of ways. of course,

>> elliott gotkine, in london, with the very latest. a senior hamas official, based in london told us that it took two years to prepare the attack on israel, a complicated attack by air, sea, and land. cnn's sam kiley, with more, on the assault, and a shadowy figure who may be behind it. a warning, this report contains demanded the release of u.s. house to seize on russian tv. >> we're also prisoners in the u.s. we want them of course they're hamas sentences to life and u.s. we want them to free our sons from their prisons. u.s. connects prisoner swaps, only recently did one with iran, why would need to one with us? >> confirmation of part of the hamas assault in israel. they were enabled by a failure in israeli intelligence but blotted by a shadowy hamas officer, the guest. only two photographs exist of him who is nearly 60. he is known as el deif because he lives with it as a guest in a different location every night. is the mastermind, the monster behind the murder of the attack in israel and the kidnapping of 150 hostages. >> we [in

. >> elliott gotkine is live for us this morning in london. elliott, good morning. obviously the president's travel always carries a lot of symbolic weight, but in moment is a very heavy one. how is this trip and the world going to view what he does next? >> reporter: i suppose if the presence of two u.s. aircraft carriers, fighter jets and now 2,000 marines and sailors being dispatched wasn't a loud enough message to the world and in particular israel's foes that the united states has israel's back, then the presence of the president himself ought to do the trick. so that is the message to the world particularly iran and hezbollah proxy in the south of lebanon. an end t an -- he said that he had would not word for israel's enemies or other groups seeking to exploit the current situation, don't. and i think that we'll see president biden repeating that. so that is the message to the world. message to israelis, biden putting his money where his mouth is to show when the u.s.'s support for israel ironclad, he means it. so he will go there and i think that israelis wil

>> elliott gotkine, in london thank you so much. appreciate it. with israel facing growing criticism for an attempted in -- of a half dozen training camps in gaza after locations were reported by cnn. according to reporting, at least six of the sites were within two kilometers of the most heavily pro trolled section of the border with clarissa ward with details. >> propaganda videos put out by hamas, reveal chilling details about the years of preparations that went into saturday's bloody attacks, right under israel's nose. analyzing better data from the videos, a scene an investigation can reveal the presence of at least six training sites inside of gaza, one just 720 meters from the most heavily fortified and patrolled part of israel's border, in that camp how must recreated a israeli compound with elements of the nearby border crossing. including any sigma of the areas battalion. they even show they practice taking prisoners, zip tying their hands at the camp. satellite injury indicates the camp was constructed in the last year and a half. and t

. >> joining us this elliott gotkine live from london with more on this. elliott, people -- it seems like they are reaching some tight of crunch line if you, like if operations in a variety of places, just stop. >> that is, right john. six hospitals have already closed. the united nations relief and works agency for palestinian refugees, they are saying they will have to see operations as of this evening if they do not get fuel into the gaza strip. israel's argument is simply, if they do allow fuel into the gaza strip, it will simply be pinched, it will be, stolen taken by hamas militants, and used for their war machine. israel does not want to do that. so we are at a bit of an impasse right now but pressure is clearly building on israel to allow fuel into the gaza strip, in addition to the other humanitarian supplies that have already begun to trickle in. but as the u.s. secretary general saying, more aid is needed and there are reports of palestinians in the gaza strip having to drink salty and dirty water, needing to further concerns of illness and disea

i want to go live now to london, where journalist elliott gotkine is following developments for us. ns us now. so, elliott, president biden is about to arrive in israel. but of course, the gaza hospital blast has changed everything, with arab leaders now canceling their summit. president biden will now only meet with israel's prime minister. what's expected to come out of this very risky visit? >> i suspect the short answer, rosemary, is not a lot. there are two main objectives, originally, for this visit. one was to show that when president biden says america's support for israel's iron clad, he means it. and the other was to send, or to reiterate, a very clear message to israel's foes, particularly iran and its proxy in southern lebanon, hezbollah, that if they were thinking of exploiting israel's war with hamas as an excuse for opening up a new front in the north, in his words, it is one word warning, and don't. so no doubt president biden will be reiterating that warning to hezbollah and its backers back in tehran. but of course, this blast, this explosion at this hospital in gaz

elliott gotkine is live for us from london. what more do we know about this offensive that looks so imminent but seems to be on hold for a variety of reasons? >> it does seem to be on hold, john, doesn't it? and we have had those words from the defense minister talking about a trilateral attack from land, from the sea, and from the air, of course. the other day we have the chief of general staff telling troops that they will be going into the gaza strip. we know that the troops that have been gathering in the dusty fields around the gaza strip, along with all that military hardware, tanks, armored personnel carrier, and the like, are also carrying out training exercises ahead of unexpected ground invasion. if that was not enough of the negation, we also hear that google maps and ways, and i can tell you that everyone in israel uses ways, has temporarily disabled live traffic features ahead of what was expected to be this ground invasion. so that is something one imagines could give indications of troops buildup's or where traff

journalist elliott gotkine is with us from london. good to have you with us, elliott. i want to start first by the comments by the united nations secretary general calling for an immediate cease-fire, but also urging the world not to forget the decades of occupation. and of course israel's swift response, take us through it. >> that's right, linda. so we heard from the united nations secretary general. while recognizing the barbarity of the hamas terrorist attack on october 7th, at the same time saying that that doesn't mean that israel can impose collective punishment on the palestinians of the gaza strip, saying in his words, protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people evacuate to the south of the gaza strip where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine, no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself. but as you say, this did not go down particularly well among israeli diplomats. its envoy to the united nations gilad erdan calling for antony blinken to resign immediately, saying he is not fit to lead the united nations,

elliott gotkine, thanks very much. and thank you for joining us.cnn this morning" starts right now.

. >> joining, us elliott gotkine is live for us from london, so, elliott the thing about gaza is just when you think things are about as bad, they tend to get worse. that is -- a shortage of fuel. hospitals are closing, the -- agency says it will support incoming, hours and this is the crunch moment for gaza. >> john, just because things have gotten, worse it does not mean they can't get even worse than they are, now especially if and when this expected ground invasion takes place. we understand that at least six hospitals are closed already, the united nations relief agency and palestinian refugee says it will half -- operations by this evening on wednesday evening, it does not get fuel supplies, a fuel is not allowed in from israel's perspective, as we've heard them say repeatedly, if you will not be allowed into the gaza strip because it believes that hamas and other militant groups will simply take it, and used it to continue to fire rockets at israeli communities, and support their own war machine. but of course as he calls for a cease fire as the humanitarian situation gets wort

. >> journalist elliott gotkine joins me to discuss. everyone is talking about the ground offensive. there is shelling north of gaza. bring us up to date on what we know and what might be to come. >> michael, the idf, israel's defense forces still seem to be in a holding pattern outside the gaza strip. now there were clashes inside the gaza strip on the ground for the first time yesterday, for the first time since that terrorist attack on october 7th. now the result of that was an anti-tank missile was fired by militants towards israel. one idf soldier was killed. three were injured. and hamas at the same time claiming to destroy a couple of bulldozers and a tank. so this was the first skirmish, but this doesn't seem to be the starting gun on a ground invasion. now there could be a multitude of reasons why israel hasn't gone in yet. it's still focusing on air strikes to try to target commanders, to target weapon storage facilities, and also the tunnel network that hamas maintains under ground. there could be other reasons such as the we

let's get to elliott gotkine who is standing by in london. because at this point, as i've suggested, we've got these developments in the past hour or so from the idf. clearly extremely important to israel as the u.s. president arrives, as he gets involved in these talks with israeli officials here, so he is coming, you know, with the images in his mind of what happened in gaza yesterday. let's describe for the viewers how the idf is framing this. >> reporter: idf is framing this as you say as an errant rocket fired by islamic jihad. this is the smaller militant group also designated a terrorist organization by the united states. it operates in the gaza strip. the chief spokesman for the idf saying -- outlining what he says is the evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that israel was not responsible, that it was not attacking the moment or the area around it at that point in time, that there is no structural damage or craters that would indicate that it was an id f-bomb that called the explosion. and also saying that they even have i

. >> elliott gotkine with that live report from london, many things. >>> the head of the united nations is calling on hamas to release hostages and cease all attacks so the u.n. can deliver humanitarian aid to gaza. the israeli ambassador to the u.n. estimates up to 150 hostages have been captured by hamas fighters. some were captured at a music festival over the weekend. others are soldiers. some are children. a hamas spokesperson announced monday in a video message they will not negotiate hostage release while under israeli fire. i spoke to major libby weiss, spokesperson for the israel defense forces, and asked what are the latest updates three days after the hamas incursion into israel. >> we are now in the third day of this mass tragedy. the situation is very dynamic changing constantly. we are more than 900 israeli casualties from the attack saturday, thousands injured and dozens of hostages kidnapped into the gaza strip. the situation along the border with gaza in those civilian communities appears to be more controlled than in previous days, but, of course, the idf is working co

. >> i want to go to cnn correspondent elliott gotkine with the latest on israel large-scale strikes on hamas. elliott, we are learning that the idf essick they have now begun, what they're calling, large scale strikes. why can't you tell us about what that means? >> laura, i think it means more of the same. that it has been ever since hamas's attack on the early hours of sudden it morning. it became clear, israel has been striking targets. it says they are infrastructure targets blocking to hamas, weapon storage facilities, or even leadership among the hamas militant group. this is what they've been doing for the past few days. and as you say, they said they were carrying out large scale strikes, which is now in the early hours of the morning in israel. they say there will be more details to follow. as soon as we get those, will bring them to you. what we can say is that an airstrike that happened earlier, and that morning on thursday in israel, that there were 51 people killed in the gaza strip, according to the palestinian ministry of health. so the death toll inside that gaza stri

journalist elliott gotkine joins us from london with more on this. good to have you with us. so the u.n. is warning that fuel in gaza used in generators hospitals will run out within 24 hours. it is calling for an immediate cease fire and it comes after we heard that the u.s. is urging israel to delay a ground invasion. just how dire are things right now in gaza? >> they are dire linda and getting worse weather day and you mention only six hospitals being forced to close the united nations relief works agency bosnian refugees is saying that it will have to cease all operations by the end of today if you will does not get in and world health organization also adding that there are something like 1000 patients on dialysis 130 premature babies and they would be at risk or medical complications or death if your does not get into the gaza strip from israel's perspective though it is saying that it will not allow fuel to go in because some of us will simply take that fuel and use it to fuel its war machine to continue firing rockets at israel and carry out infiltration attacks as w

. >> elliott gotkine, thank, you live for us in london. tel aviv now, and joining us is israel offense forces spokesperson lieutenant colonel jonathan rodriguez. -- to deny responsibility for the explosion of hospital, with we know there is a news conference scheduled for later today. is that where we will see that evidence? how much will we make public? given the anger around the region, releasing that evidence sooner rather than later is in israel's best interests, is it not? >> you're right on one thing, and i want to correct on another thing. we didn't release the information very quickly because it took us a few hours to investigate and to get to the bottom of the situation and understand what exactly had happened. it's a complex environment, and we took our time to go through our own information systems and then verify what the enemy had done, put the pieces together, get it approved by the senior levels in the idf, and then presented to the world. we just released a few moments ago the information, the first package of information,

>> elliott gotkine in london with the very latest there. thank you. the community of kibbutz -- was one of the first places struck. it took the israeli military hours to retake control. on wednesday journalists could see the juror the carnage firsthand. the content is disturbing in this report. >> it was 7:11 a.m. on saturday morning when the militants arrived at the be'eri kibbutz. surveillance footage shows them lying in wait until a driver arrives. issue 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 eight-year-old daughter, emily, who was staying with a neighbor. >> she doesn't do it very often, but unfortunately that night, that particular night, the friday night, she went to sleep at her friends house. >> 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, i'm thinking the army are going to be here soon. you know, just hold

elliott gotkine joins me here.ring we up to date with what's happening. >> the strikes are most intense. israel said it's going to ramp up the air strikes on hamas targets and treated its words. 320 targets hit in the last day waiting for confirmation as to whether this is the most number of targets hit in a one-day period, certainly, our nic robertson down there in ne sder who is there outside of gaza. this is the heaviest strikes he's heard since october 7th, hitting military posts and anti-missile shells. and preparing for the forces who are preparing for a ground invasion, so, it's just more evidence this is what they've been preparing for if we didn't already have enough evidence with all of the tanks amassing and armored personnel carriers on and the likes on the outside of the gaza strip. we still don't know when it's going to happen. we do understand that the idf doesn't want to give us any specifics. we had the chief of the staff telling us we are going into gaza. one of the things we saw over the weekend,

elliott gotkine is with us. the number of israeli deaths going up by a frightening number every day. and you get a sense of it when you see those idf soldiers still discovering bodies in the south. >> right. just yesterday we were talking about 1,000 deaths inside of israel. now we're up to more than 1200. just to put it into context, this is around about half the number of casualties that israel suffered in the yom kippur woor which began almost 50 years ago to the day according to the gregorian calendar. so future historians will be no doubt racketing what is happening right now alongside those wars such as the yom kippur war and the like. and of course every day we're seeing more and more evidence of the brutality and savagery of the hamas attack. we heard from benjamin netanyahu saying hamas is isis and this is like isis. and i suppose as a sceptical journalist your initial reaction is this is a bit of hyperbole. but now we've seen the evidence on the ground. nic robertson there in kfar aza where the troops

. >> to more, let's bring in elliott gotkine. tell us about the overnight attacks and also we're hearing more and more reports about israeli force massing on the border. >> israel said i think it was about 2:00 this morning that it was carrying out an israeli intensive airstrikes on what it described as terrorist infrastructure. saying that they weren't specifically tar getting an elite part of hamas, saying that they were targeting as you say weapons caches and also specific members which were very much involved in this early morning raid, this terror attack in the early hours on saturday morning. and i think what the idf spokesman is saying is that they are interrogating some of the militants that they captured that they took prisoner and as a result of that, they are getting more intelligence as to who specifically was involved and also where they are and also where other targets might be. israel says more than 5,000 rockets have been fired towards israel by militants since this attack began saturday morning. as we've seen, it

. >> for more on the call for civilians to leave gaza, let's bring in elliott gotkine. so tell us about the deadline and what we know about which area of gaza is expected to go. >> so the warning was handed by israel to the united nations at around about 5:00 p.m. eastern time. so that is around about midnight israel and gaza time. so it is due to run out, if you like, the clock will run out at midnight tonight on friday. so we are talking in -- it is 11:00 now in israel, so about 13 hours until that deadline expires. what israel has said, civilians of sgazgaza city, evacuate soutd distance yourself from terrorists who are using you as human shields. we've spoken with a couple of idf spokespeople this morning and the initial warning seemed to be suggesting the whole northern part of gaza, so about 10 kilometres in. and then the spokesman seemed to be saying it just applies to gaza city. but even if it is in the full 1.1 million people that united nations says will be affected, it would still be around about 600,000 people, the population of gaza city, which is almost a

. >> elliott gotkine is here with us now.'s start with the one piece of good news we've had in recent times and that is the release of two hostages. many more still stuck including their will hhusbands. >> yes, these two elderly women were released thanks to the negotiations. netanyahu didn't thank the qataris, perhaps because they host some of the political leadership of hamas which carried out this terrorist attack. and so those two hostages are now free. before this way released, still 222 people that hamas had kidnapped and holding hostage in the gaza strip. obviously there is hope now that four women have been released, and that more will be released in the coming hours in the coming days. but of course we don't know. and i suppose this of course is one reason why we're seeing a delay to the much expected ground envision from israel because of those hostages. even before they were released, if and when they go in on the grounds, that will be a complicating factor in the battle. >> are we seeing a moment of disunity betwe

and joining us here in london is elliott gotkine. what is your response to that interview, has anything shifted in terms of the rhetoric we've been hearing? >> reporter: not really to be honest. they won't give us any tactics as to when or if a ground invasion is going to happen. he said that they are preparing for what may come. and the line up until now has been, you know, all options are on the table. i think that it would probably still be quite surprising if the ground invasion doesn't happen. but of course there are these complications as we discussed at the best of times in terms of hamas knows the streets better than israeli soldiers. they will put booby traps. and there is the danger of not just being killed but taken prisoner as well. and there are already civilian hostages in gaza and probably more than 100 of them which clearly complicates matters. and we heard from the envoy to the u.n. last night saying that this will not prevent israel from doing what it has to do, but i think overall peter there reiterating the kind o

elliott gotkine, thanks very much. and thank you for joining us. "cnn this morning" starts right now. >>> american leadership is what holds the world together. american alliances is what keep us, america, safe. american values are what make us a partner to other nations we want to work with. to put all that at risk, if we walk away from ukraine, we turn our backs on israel, it is just not worth it. >>> well, good morning, everyone. i'm poppy harlow with phil mattingly in new york. erin burnett live on the ground. sara sidner live for us in the west bank. that was the president calling on americans to support war time aid for israel and for ukraine and, today, he'll ask congress to pass an aid package. in his primetime oval office address, biden called it vital for national security. >> hamas and putin represent different threats. but they share this in common. they both want to completely anni annihilate democracy. when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. they keep going. and the c

i want to go right now live to cnn's elliott gotkine who is on the same force and talking about these issues has been really staying aggressive on all of these issues. what do we know about the strikes tonight? >> i think it is just a continuation of israel's retaliatory strikes in the wake of this attack by hamas, which began in the early hours of saturday morning. israel has repeatedly said that it is targeting infrastructure, weapon storage facilities, and also individuals, and members that it holds responsible for carrying out this attack which has left 1200 people inside of israel dead. of course, with 100 to 150 hostages that were taken by hamas from israel back inside of gaza. so that is the situation now. i suppose it is a bit more of the same. we will get specifics. they haven't said specifically which targets it is trying to hit right now, but certainly, i would say it is more of the same. >> part of the same is not knowing where the hostages are. not knowing when a ground entrance will happen and not knowing essentially when the end of this will be. and what we know right n