to the idf.hese strikes have been targeting hamas positions it in particular hamas command centers. of course, this is a densely populated area, and it's higher for civilians to be caught in the crossfire according to the idf. some 500 targets were struck overnight in gaza. but where she been learning more about these situations within israeli territory. in fact, in the last jury moments, we have given you the key updates from that briefing from the international spoke person who says their idea is still fighting along those territories, infiltrated by the hamas fighters over the weekend there about seven to eight sites where they are engaged in fighting with hamas operatives and fighters on the ground. of course, this according to the idf has taken more time than they expected. they had anticipated that they would be in a better place this morning than they are at this current point in time. according to the idf, there may still be areas where hamas fighters are infiltrating into israeli territo

the idf said their ground operation is in their words expanding. you're looking at live images and we're learning from u.s. officials hostage talks are ongoing. nic robertson is close to the gaza border in sderot, israel. what are we seeing right now? looks like we've been watching intercepters during the commercial break. what are you seeing? >> yeah. john is pointing the camera at the sky where we were seeing interceptions of rockets towards central israel i believe. those intercepts are over seconds before that, there was a barrage, a salvo of rockets from gaza fired on this location here, the sirens went off. we ducked for cover and we could see the iron dome firing up over our head and intercepting the missiles coming here and right after that to the south of where we are, again, we could see iron dome intercepting missiles coming out of gaza a little bit to our south. i think the picture that he emerges from here in the last ten minutes are missiles fired into cnn entral israel, at the northern end of gaza and then missiles fired a little fur

the idf has, of course, begun their retaliatory strikes. what we learned from hamas is that they say they have dozens of israeli hostages, prisoners of war. is there some non-military approach, some diplomatic approach at this hour, as naive as that may sound, to free those hostages? >> certainly there will be. and i think hamas has to be careful here because there has been a lot of international as well as domestic outrage against hamas for their attacks on civilians. the fact that they continue to hold families, children, civilians does not play well into the public support that they are attracting. so hamas, i think, is going to look at how do we negotiate a deal out of this. israel, obviously, will very actively be pursuing the return of their citizens. and this may be, victor, a way in which we begin the process of negotiating on a broader set of issues because ultimately i think this is a challenge both for the palestinians, the israelis and, obviously, american leadership to find a way forward here. this is a moment of momentous tran

the idf released this footage.y it is of targeted raids overnight in the central area of the strip. they claim to have killed hama'' head of intelligence in one of these rates. -- raids. the who confirmed the numbers released by hamas in the gaza strip. the number of people killed, more than 7000 now. more than 1400 were killed in israel. aid agencies warning 10 trucks only came in today. crumbs of aid, according to one agency. we heard lucy talk about hostages. there's been updates through the day. dbc has been told talks have accelerated on a hostage exchange deal but no more updates so far. the number updated from the israelis, 229 is their number. more broadly, any talk of a cease-fire has been rejected by israel thus far. qatar acting as mediators. no official updates on the hostages. we will be analyzing what is going on. a source familiar with negotiations between israel and hamas of the exchange of hostages, has told the bbc they are accelerating. the key has been qatar. now, that country's mediating role,

how did the idf fail so spectacularly on - idf fail so spectacularly on saturday?een there for a while. i can only do analysis from the work of _ while. i can only do analysis from the work of others _ while. i can only do analysis from the work of others and _ while. i can only do analysis from the work of others and we - while. i can only do analysis from the work of others and we saw i while. i can only do analysis from - the work of others and we saw unrest on the fence quite a while before that happened in the think it was the effect hamas was aiming for in order to gain more thesis for people from gaza. —— visas. and to gain intelligence and how security guards are operating and procedures and september was full of holidays in israel and it was a saturday and we saw the slow degrading of the capabilities of the systems and cameras of idf that might take some time to fix and in that time it took to fix hard this attack. thank you very much. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. hado is

idf strike on that convoy.om beneath. so it looks like some sort of roadside bomb. and again, hamas have no regard whether they put rockets in the basements of buildings or drones with explosives on the rooftops of houses the palestinians and they have no regard for the people living in those houses, so why would they care about people moving south if this image serves their interest? and this is the second lesson we need to understand, we need to be very, very cautious at determining that this was an israeli strike because it wasn't. . , . was an israeli strike because it wasn't. ., ., ., wasn't. that is a categorical denial israel had anything _ wasn't. that is a categorical denial israel had anything to _ wasn't. that is a categorical denial israel had anything to do - wasn't. that is a categorical denial israel had anything to do with - wasn't. that is a categorical denial israel had anything to do with the | israel had anything to do with the death of those civilians on makoto street on friday?— street on

the idf says it is expanding its ground operation. this as the white house says it is currently in active conversations with israel about a humanitarian pause, that's what they're calling it, to allow hostages to be released by hamas which kidnapped 229 innocent individuals on october 7th. what are u.s. military sources telling you about the israeli air strikes, what are they targeting specifically? >> at this point the pentagon is simply monitoring what the -- what's happening in gaza. the israeli air strikes, the ground incursion and how israel conducts that. but at this point they're not ready to say anything just yet. they've made it clear that how israel operates is effectively up to the idf and the decisions even as we've reported, the u.s. has advised israel to take an a approach of more precision strikes and limited raids as opposed to an all-out incursion into gaza. whether israel heeded that advice we'll find out in the next hours and days it certainly seems. it's worth noting that even if the u.s. views the gaza conflict as

the idf doesn't comment as you know in real time about operations. and they said they would have to get back to me about what it was. we saw fires on the hillside last night caused by flares that had been fired up, come down, hit, set the grass afire. that was not what we experienced tonight. we experienced a huge wall of smoke that literally grew up into the sky. it was just at dusk. it was dark clouds billowing up high, you can see it moving up and up and we realized it was coming towards us. behind me there are buildings and street lights here on the edge of town, and we could literally see that smoke engulf those buildings and blow past the street lights here on to the position we were in and then fill the sky behind where john, our cameraman, is standing right now. it was a dense smoke. it was slightly to the throat. it tingled to the nose. it wasn't smoke that gets fired like tear gas, it wasn't that sort of thing, it was a dense smoke that enveloped the surroundings, the sort of thing that is called in military terms a smoke screen for troops

this was not an idf strike. there was no idf strike conducted against that convoy. it appears, from all of the footage that we've seen that the explosion came from underneath, meaning it was probably some sort of explosive device that they put. and it just goes to exemplify exactly what they're saying. don't evacuate the northern gaza strip. this is what hamas is telling the people. don't evacuate, even though we tell them we're coming and we're going to strike hamas. hamas had no regard for human life. this is what we are facing. they don't care about israelis and they don't care about palestinians. they have no -- there is no problem in placing drones with explosives on their rooftops that we intercepted and destroyed a couple of days ago and placing rockets and rocket launchers in the basements of houses and so, this just goes to show the enemy we are up against. they are merciless, they will butcher babies in their bedrooms, and therefore they will sacrifice their own people in order to try to achieve their goal. we need to be very, very cautious about everythin

that is according to the idf.t a little earlier, we saw some pretty intense explosions over gaza. take a look at these pictures. our teams on the ground in southern israel noticed the intensification before the idf announcement came on, that confirmation came. these are some of the images from just a little earlier. you can see the velocity of those air strikes. let's get the latest from our middle east correspondent tom bateman. there has been intense bombardment by the israelis, the heaviest we've seen at night—time. and we heard from daniel hajari, the israeli military spokesman, in a live televised address to israelis that he said that they were widening their ground operations. he talked about this being what he called a very significant attack against underground networks of hamas, he said, and also terrorist infrastructure, as he described it. now, one of the first signs that something significant was taking place here was that all communications for ordinary palestinians in gaza went dark. there was a comp

the idf insists that it is eradicating hamas. but on the ground, in this densely populated territory, utter devastation is the consequence. there are 2 million people, half of them children, trapped here under bombardment and under siege. this is revenge, a cowardly racist campaign, he said. we in this area, we are one family, we are kind people. instead of waking up to the sound of the call to prayer, we woke up to an air strike. the anguish and horror inside of gaza sparking mass demonstrations from new york city to london, to rome and calls for a cease-fire are growing louder. u.n. members overwhelmingly voted for an immediate and sustained truce last week. but even as palestinian families bury their youngest, more than 3,000 children killed in three weeks. they cite gaza's hamas controlled health authorities amplifying the global outcry, prime minister netanyahu vows, this is only the beginning. selma abdulaziz, cnn, london. >>> and our thanks to selma for that report. as this horror plays out, the u.s. believes 5 00 to 600 a

>> remember what the idf is. the idf is israeli defense force. they're not your typical army. place to defend israel and those that come against it. they know iran is behind this. they have been very outspoken, larry, by saying they will not allow iran to become a nuclear power and i believe this is a good excuse and a good opportunity for them to knock their nuclear capability out. i would 100% support it and hope they do. keep in mind, larry, what this is about is testing america's resolve. there is an alliance between china and who is trying to undercut the united states influence around the world through their belt and road initiative. you have north korea that is supplying weapons to iran that is currently supplying weapons to hezbollah, hamas and effort other terrorist organization and putin with his war in ukraine and our waivering of supporting ukraine, china says i don't think the resolve of the american people is there. let's go after their most important ally which is israel. iran, this is a win-win situation. they don't care about hamas. they understood they were g

an army spokesperson from the idf confirmed to cnn that idf ground forces are in gaza right now.nfantry, artillery and other units moved into gaza from the north overnight. >> as troops march in the north, israel continues to fire missiles across the border. the idf have been launching heavy and continuous air strikes throughout the night into the morning. idf reserve soldiers are calling it the most intense night of bombing of the conflict so far. cnn's jim sciutto is with us now from northern israel. so, israel promised a major ground offensive after the attacks by hamas on october 7th. is it clear yet that this is the beginning of that? that we are seeing that ground incursion in a major way or is this potentially something else? >> reporter: well, victor, it's the beginning of something. that's no question. because israel is now confirming the idf spokesperson confirming that israeli ground forces are inside gaza and operating. those ground forces include infinity, armor, engineering units as well and this, of course, follows what we were witnessing last night, our teams on t

so this seems to indicate that the idf -- i said indicate because the idf is not saying -- that they will likely have had active, timely intelligence about where she was. of course, they may have parted their operations because they are now on the ground in gaza, that they may have stumbled across her, but the fact that she is released, has had medical checks and is with her -- is with her family is quite a stunning turn of development. it's the first time that the idf has been able to release any of the hostages and this is one of their own and this must give some comfort and some hope to all those other families who are waiting for news about their loved ones, wolf. >> very important that's major breaking news. another israeli female soldier has just been released. the israelis say there are in gaza for the long haul, nic, and the fighting is intensifying as we speak especially on and under the ground. what more do we have on that? >> reporter: the idf is saying they're putting in additional forces, they are increasing the tempo with infantry, with armor. they've been dropping leaf

idf says it hit at least 200 targets overnight.olf blitzer spoke with an american speed trpediatrician n tr trapped there. >> whenever you go gaza, you know there is danger and violence while you are there. but, no, i wasn't -- sorry, prepared for this. >> let us know if you need to go into some sort of bomb shelter or whatever because i can hear the explosions going off near you. >> there are no bomb shelters here. >> there are no bomb shelters here. wow. on another front the idf has sent additional troops to the border with lebanon. becky anderson is joining us again live from tel aviv. becky, so there are up to 150 hostages under hamas control right now. this potential ground incursion would be incredibly difficult. where do plans and discussions stand right now? >> reporter: a ground incursion does seem highly likely at this point. the idf has to quote their spokesman saturated the southern border with troops. reports of as many as 300,000. i can't confirm those numbers, but reports that as many as 300,000 troops are now on tha

is the idf using -- has the idf used white phosfphorus, colonel? >> categorically, no. >> the question of the hostages, if, indeed, what hamas is saying is true, elevates the concern about the level of intelligence for the idf to be able to carry out its mission within gaza. can you say, confidently, that your intelligence within gaza is much stronger now than it was one week ago, that makes you more confident that as you carry out what is to come, it sounds like imminently from you, you can do so while protecting those hostage lives? >> we will put the priority of the well-being of the hostages, of course, at the top of our priority list. but we need to also balance out the needs of destroying hamas's capabilities. so, of course, when we are considering mobilizing, and considering air strikes, when we're considering special forces operations, we need to take all of those things into consideration. unfortunately, it is, again, it's hamas that have set the stage for this unfortunate development. they could end that, and release them immediately, as

do you think move the idf in?> look, the best way to do is to work silently and collect intelligence. this somewhat we need. we need information. the moment we have information it doesn't matter, even if they are 20 miles away, there will be a special force going behind the enemy lines. it doesn't matter where they are. we will get to the hostages. most importantly, we need intelligence. it's good that we are on the ground, because this gets us closer to target. and i hope that within the next days or weeks we will have good news and i'm sure israel doing everything they can to bring those hostages back to their families. >> ainsley: you mentioned the top commanders. you you named them.where are th? >> will sinwar is most likely under a hospital some 30 meters deep in the sand, which sand is very resilient to bombing. it's not easy to get to him. and in order to kill him, probably we will have to destroy the entire hospital. but, he's not going to hide forever. you know, we are coming after him. armies, angels of

in fact, just in the last hour, the idf saying idf air force struck a target inside lebanon. and some of those attacks have been deadly. you're seeing artillery fire, rocket fire, ieds carried across the border on small parachutes, again by hezbollah militants. it is known that hezbollah has far greater forces in the south, both in terms of personnel but also rockets and missiles that, given the order, they can unleash. that order has not been given yet. i think you can characterize this fire so far as, sort of, shots across the bow, showing what they can do, not to mention the shots that have been taken at u.s. forces in iraq and syria. the concern has been, anderson, throughout, that when israel launches a significant ground offensive in gaza that that might be the trigger for something much larger. we haven't seen it. but i know that israeli forces in the north, they're taking it very seriously. and another sad fact of this anderson, is that many israeli residents of the north, many tens of thousands have fled their towns either under mandatory evacuations or just making t

, the idf is going to work very hard to mitigate those opportunities. the simple fact of the matter is on this battlefield civilians are going to die despite the very best efforts of the idf and they'll try to minimize that. i know they will. i know these leaders. however it goes in whether it's broad front attack or special operations forces, the israelis will attempt to minimize casualties. at the same time, hamas is going to work relentlessly to maximize civilian casualty and what's different about the comparison to fallujah and mosul is the presence of cameras and social media and the fast, i mean information moves faster than it did it in fight against fallujah and mosul. a multidimensional fight, that's another dimension to this, isn't it? >> it is. personal communications, the internet, the web, the ability to reach out there, but only the technical changes but we have seen -- we've seen a difference in the approach to information. for most of my career, the event was what was important, an event occurred and you talked about the event. in the wo

idf sent dozen of airstrikes into gaza. they say they have hit more than 400 targets, including ten towers used by hamas in a compound that belongs to hamas' chief intelligence officer. a concern is the number of hostages taken into gaza. idf is working to determine the exact, the precise number of how many people have been captured. we are seeing video, though, after -- a video of israeli citizens rounded up, kidnapped. we want to warn you that the one you are about to see is disturbing. these are people at a music festival near the gaza border yesterday. they were kidnapped by hamas militants, including a couple. you see the woman was taken away on the back of a motorcycle. her boyfriend was apprehended by several men. the families of that couple, they wanted to release this video hoping that it will help secure their release. cnn spoke with the woman's roommate just hours after she was taken. >> it's very difficult when you see someone so close to you and you know her so much, being treated like this. it's very difficult

the idf has to rectify the situation conclusively. you want to talk about, you can't kill an idea, whatever, the israelis can't deal with hamas. it's impossible. the united nations could. jordan, saudi arabia, and egypt could. or some other special force, but i think, you know, what will govern gaza in the coming years has to be outside agencies. the egyptians are the laggards. they don't have a thing to do with this. they need to be pressured to step in and provide political guidance and humanitarian support. >> i just want to make note, general, of the fact that we have been showing people, even though it's obviously dark, it's 9:32 in israel, but now these are our first pictures that we're seeing. we do have some photos over gaza. as we look at that, you mentioned those two carrier strike groups, including the eisenhower, but what kinds of communications are going on among americans? not just on those strike groups, but also in land bases throughout the region, general? >> well, you know, modern communication, u.s. military communi

sandra. >> sandra: retired idf colonel, mary, thank you for joining us. a few moments ago heard from netanyahu himself saying firmly the future of our civilization is at stake. further detailing what he could about this ongoing ground invasion. saying it is either us or hamas. we are willing to fight, we have to be. the barbarians are willing to fight us. what happens next? >> well, after the genocidal terror attack of october 7th, we have a tendency to look at it as if it was that day. but this is all part of a bigger hamas terror plan. not only did they plan that attack, they planned into it, the taking of the hostages and the massacring of 1400 people, but they also built what they are going to call their defenses. >> sandra: colonel, i just want to make sure the viewers realize what's happening on the screen, this is live gaza, the flares that continue to go up, activity happening live on the screen right now. colonel, please proceed. >> absolutely. i'll talk a bit more about what you are seeing on the screen. but what hamas built is a defense system

the latest from the idf sa s that elections. the latest from the idf says that our _ elections. idf says that our goals are that all. says that our goals are that all terrorists will be killed and all communities will be rid of terrorists. they confirmed there are hostage situations taking place, we reported that on them before, but they had be confirmed. —— hadn't been confirmed. this is the news thatis been confirmed. this is the news that is not also just israeli army personnel that have been taken hostages. it personnel that have been taken hostaies. . personnel that have been taken hostaies. , ., hostages. it is in those two locations. _ hostages. it is in those two locations, and _ hostages. it is in those two locations, and apparently l hostages. it is in those two l locations, and apparently 22 locations, and apparently 22 locations along the boundary where there _ locations along the boundary where there is— locations along the boundary where there is ongoing fighting. the significance of hostages is that, if you think— significance of hostages is that, if you think bac

i speak on behalf of the idf so we are deeply involved in the combat. we are the warriors, we need to leave the diplomacy for the diplomats. >> reporter: in just eight days the death toll in gaza has already surpassed the number of people killed in the 2014 conflict which lasted 51 days and with an israeli ground invasion looming and supplies running low, there is little hope that things will soon get better for the people of gaza. and on the water situation, sara, as of this morning there was no working water in southern gaza, people were still filling jerry cans from trucks wherever they could find them. the u.n. was warning so people were so desperate they were brink drinking water from wells ments for agriculture raising concerns about water-borne diseases. the israelis have said that the water is back on in southern israel, the gaza water authority said it's not going to work unless we have fuel or electricity and we have neither. the world food program says they can't get anything in or out, they are run out of food and it says plainly that civili

i have just been sent a line from the idf —— islamichhad.he idf, that soldiers and civilians have been abducted. earlier we heard that some senior officials, senior military personnel, were kidnapped. the idf has denied that. hamas claiming it has taken 53 hostages. interference we have been wondering if it wasjust interference we have been wondering if it was just military or if it was civilians as well and now we have this confirmation from the idf it is soldiers and it is civilians who have been abducted. incredibly worrying a difficult time. also, the idf saying, just coming to us now, that they are going to call up as many of their reserve forces, even hundreds of thousands, as needed. you will know that military service is compulsory in israel. 0nce you will know that military service is compulsory in israel. once they leave the military, and they begin their civilian lives, they can stand —— continue to train. the military think they will call up as many as a reserve forces as they can, even hundreds of thousands if it is needed. let'

a big debate we will see what the idf does. larry: please stay safe. and his coanchor sandra smith on "america reports" every weekday 1 - 3:00 p.m. eastern on fox news. we are looking at air, sea and land, how is it going to work joining us cameron hamilton idf trainer in israel in the former navy seal. just attack on what john roberts was reporting, former ambassador michael oren, do you think israel should nail hezbollah first or take care of business in gaza and decimate hamas. >> afternoon thank you for having me. to go after hezbollah will be a categorical mistake, the trying to take measures to deter a fight on the northern border. israel stood up a copy has a command, they also evacuated a lot of their civilians in an event that hezbollah would come in and try similar tactics and techniques to kidnap refugees and civilians. i think ultimately keeping the focus on hezbollah in the north and not addressing the issues of thomas downing gaza would be a mistake. larry: what is the idf waiting for, the air assault is heavy you talked about last week.

today, though, as the idf described it to me, this is earl why i days. and this is just the beginning of what we should expect to see on ground. robin wright, it is good to have you. thank you. >>> well still to come, israel is in the midst of the full-scale response to what was is this surprise attack by hamas. we'll assess what we can expect in the hours and days to come. stay with us. >>> we're just getting this in. the number of dead in israel after the surprise attack by hamas is likely now over 500. that is according to cnn analysis. we're also learning that israel has officially declared a state of war. joining us on this is general and cnn military analyst mark hertling. it is good to see you. first let me start with the hostages that have been taken by hamas. how do the idf forces get to them because as we've learned from the armed wing of hamas, they say that the idf should be careful here, be careful of miscalculation because what happened to gaza, as they have said in a statement, happens to these hostages. >> well, victor, certainly they've

if what the idf says is true, they have a large number of idf forces there now, it would only be natural the air strikes have slowed down a bit, because they wouldn't want to upset israeli forces on the ground. >>> the white house says they're not going to try to dictate to the israeli military. hamas are intensify ing their attacks. there's the active negotiations of hostages held by hamas. >> they would not comment on israel's expanded ground operations and reiterated america's support for israel to defend itself. cnn's kevin liptak joining us now from wilmington, delaware, where the president is this weekend. kevin, what is the latest? >> reporter: the white house is being very careful not to weigh in. they're not saying whether they got a heads-up of this kpangs of is reeling's response to the terror attacks. one thing we can see is it deeply complicated the objective. chief among them, their release of hundreds of hostages being held by hamas including potential americans. there are some unaccounted for, some being held by hamas. recently as yesterday it did seem as if negotiations

there's also a deepening recognition the idf and at political level that the idf has not done anything like this in decades and that rushing in unprepared could be a large mistakes. that's one possibility. >> good morning. once the idf does a ground invasion of gaza, they're committed and not enough forces in the north so that is certainly a concern then the idea that idf has not done a major ground invasion in many, many years it a cause for pause. they want to make sure they're adequately prepared that the reserves called up are ready and that they don't have what i would call a rush to failure. to attack and just to attack and they want to make sure their octoberives are in fact -- obtusers are in fact met. there's concern about israeli hostages and concern about humanitarian issues as far as civilians and the gaza area. there's reason whys there's a pause right now and the last one that you mentioned, tactical surprise. now strategically hamas knows that the israeli defense force is going to attack at some point. but it needs to be at idf's choosing, their time and locations. so th

the idf does. and then, look, 360,000 idf reservists have been mobilized. hamas has about a tenth of that number of fighters. so clearly defense is easier than offense. and hamas is i think obviously confident that it can stymy the idf. but i think the idf has a lot of advantages in achieving the preeminent first goal of destroying hamas' military capability. and what i think is hoped is from that flows a weakening of hamas' political influence and clout if it's deprived of any kind of assets. >> dr. hoffmann, thank you for your expertise. >> you're welcome. >>> so what about the hostages? joining me now is christopher o'leary, who was until recently the u.s. director of hostage rescue and recovery. he has extensive experience with the fbi and counterterrorism and hostage matters throughout the middle east. mr. o'leary, thank you for being here. it seemed like there was hope yesterday of a major hostage release. and then all of a sudden came this uptick in israel's ground activity. do you relate the two? >> i do, but i also would caution that it was not goi

it does, it contains - very much what the idf can do. hostages or to kill innocent civilians and it will act as a bit of a brake on what the idf does and i do not think there was any expectation really that all civilians would go, but the more that leaves, the easier the task for the idf in terms of identifying terrorists and getting rid of the terrorists, but it is a very dangerous situation for civilians. quite a few civilians i think have been killed in the air operation and ground force operations involving tanks, artillery, infantry on the ground are much more of a blunt instrument and i think there is a much higher risk that civilians will be killed in the course of these operations, despite the fact that the idf i think probably art world leaders in measures to try and prevent the loss of innocent civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talkinu civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to _ civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. _ civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. thank _ civilians on

i think what we have seen from the idf and to be very clear, my colleague jeremy diamond asked the idf at the press conference about the lies and changing stories as it relates to the journalist that you referred to. what you're saying are all contextual pieces. what the idf is laying out and what the president was responding to today was specific signals of intelligence, specific tracking of rockets they have documented what they have. i guess my question to you would be, what have you seen that ex-pole po ex-pe explicitly shows that? >> my people told me the type of air strike they've seen on this hospital is exactly the same air strike they've seen in other places. one more fact, in addition to what i said before, one more fact the type of explosion that happened after the israeli air strike is a type that no palestinian rocket could ever have. this wide, huge kind of explosion killing 500 people in one minute, this never happened by palestinian rockets and any -- what we ask for, okay, let's have an international, independent commission investigating that. >> to that point do you t

the idf rigged a leader's thousahouse to blow it.nd a former member of the golani brigade. >> i hope first, gaza will be wiped out, not because we want but because we have to dedefend ourselves, i hope our forces will go in find out ought -- all of the hostages and bring them back without negotiations. reporter: about half of the hostages are foreign nationals, including up to 10 americans. jonathan: a difficult decision for the government of israel, and for the idf . lucas tomlinson in tel aviv thank you so much. >> our live coverage of the war in israel continues after a short break, stay with us. (door bell) yo camping buddy. boom. you guys ready? dude, i thought you were driving. i thought you were driving. oh, i never said i was driving. i-i definitely can't drive. ok. narrator: if you're high just don't drive. it's illegal everywhere. if you feel different, you drive different. jonathan: israeli army said at least 239 people are held hostage by hamas. 3 of those hostages are 11-year-ol-year-old and 16-year-old and their father.

that they should believe the idf.don't claim to be perfect. we definitely make mistakes, but we always aspire to tell the truth and to be transparent, and when there have been mistakes we have owned our mistakes and they come out clear about it. this time, what i'm saying is that this -- according to the information we have was a failed rocket launch by hamas and saying specifically the name of the organization because that indicates the level of intel that has gone into it. this was the islamic jihad that fired a long-range rocket towards -- a long-range target. it failed and exploded and that is what happened at the hospital. >> you're saying they missed their target, essentially. >> yes. listen this has been going on in any conflict and anybody who has been following our fighting with hamas knows that in every time that there's rocket fire towards israel, say they fire a few thousand rockets there are hundreds of misfires. in this conflict alone there's been

the number the idf given was 203. so with natalie and judith release, that leaves 201 people still in the gaza strip tonight. >> erin burnett, reporting from tel aviv. and will be reporting coming up at the top of the hour on erin burnett "outfront" live in israel. >>> just ahead, a diplomatic source tells cnn the release of the two u.s. hostages is hopefully the start of more to come. i'll discuss that and more with an israel defense forces spokesperson. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." >>> we're back with breaking news. two u.s. hostages who were being held by hamas have been released. they're in the care of the israeli defense forces right now. i'm joined now by major dorran spielman, a spokesperson for the idf. thank you so much for joining us. what could you tell us about judith and natalie's condition right now and you could explain how their release unfolded today? >> so, judith and natalie were handed over to the israeli military a short time ago. it was it is ilt tated by the red cross. they've b

and they are waiting for the idf, soldiers to rescue them from the shelter.ew hours after that, we didn't hear from them anymore. but they kept telling us they're okay. and we shouldn't worry and they will be okay. >> what was the last message you got? >> similar experience. we were awoken to rockets, that saturday morning, october 7th. and immediately try to communicate with if they are at home in the south, what they did with their children and grandchildren in the north. they are at home. as elan said, they are in the safe room, and are locked in. and meanwhile, things are all right. too quickly, we lost communication. and it took a number of days before the army was able to announce that yes, indeed, they were taken hostage. >> did you ever think anything like this could happen in your life? >> i never thought about this. not my immediate family. there's no vocabulary to bring the right words that we're feeling. >> your mother, your parents. let's hope the next time you get together, they will be with us, as well. good luck to both of yu. good luck to the

we more can you tell us about what the idf are doing there?— idf are doing there?oing there? we are intensifying our— idf are doing there? we are intensifying our operation i idf are doing there? we are i intensifying our operation and we have to remember how all this started, hamas brought this on the people of gaza. we are now expanding our operation and intensifying it on the ground, in the air and sea. i wanted to ask you about the al-quds hospital, the subject of some discussion, palestinian red crescent said they were told to evacuate which they said it possible with a number of people and they said they raise increasing bombardment in that area, is that something that is being taken into account as the israeli air force continues those air strikes? taste israeli air force continues those air strikes?— air strikes? we are aware of the hositals air strikes? we are aware of the hospitals and — air strikes? we are aware of the hospitals and outraged - air strikes? we are aware of the hospitals and outraged by i air strikes? we are aware of the hospitals and outr

the idf and hezbollah continue to exchange fire on that front.ara sidner picks up our coverage on the ground there in israel. >> thank you, fred. it has been a bombardment like we have not seen. we have seen just a fierce air attack from israel over gaza. we also know, as you mentioned, that there are troops now on the ground in gaza. although it is not the main offensive that everyone thought it might be, the ground offensive that everyone thought may happen, it is a much smaller group of israeli soldiers that are in gaza. we have been seeing the air strikes, feeling the rumble like thunder over our heads here in tel aviv from those air strikes in gaza and seeing rockets come over from gaza, from hamas into israel. you are seeing those shots there of the iron dome intercepting rockets one after the other. about a half dozen rockets have come over tel aviv in the last 30 minutes. we go to jeremy diamond in israel as close as you can get to the gaza border. israel soldiers are on the move. we've been seeing video of the trucks going in. but the id

although we have suffered a lot of losses of the idf in the last ten days. but i'm confident that, in the end, the idf will have the upper hand. >> thank you very much. i appreciate your time for joining me here in tel aviv in these early hours of the morning. of course, the former head of mossad. >>> next we are watching protests across the united states tonight in chicago, thousands are right now taking to the street calling for a ceasefire as the humanitarian crisis in gaza turns dire. >>> plus, i'll speak to the parents of two kids. they were kidnapped by hamas at the music festival that was attacked. and they were actually on the phone with their daughter when the militants attacked, and without them realizing the settings on their phone, it was recorded, and they want you to hear it. >>> and, he's suffering from cancer, but found the strength to fight back against hamas. third and fourth-degree burns, shot in the stomach, but lived to tell me the story. and what did you see when you looked them in the eye? >> what i see? >> nothing? >> in the eyes? cra

i cannot. >> i want to show video from the idf, images from the idf about what they claim is happening at al-shifa hospital in gaza. this is the biggest hospital. it's still functioning, although barely, the hospital says they have a number of patients, people on ventilators, babies in incubators, the idf says hamas is operating underneath the hospital in tunnels. does the idf have the stomach, should the idf, should israel strike that hospital even if there are hamas tunnels, hamas operations underneath it? >> no, they should not. if it was up to me, they should not. we all know what hamas is. it's a combination of isis, and with nazi techniques and messianic ideology, we know how they take advantage of hospitals and schools. we know how they shield behind children. we know who and what they are. that being establish, even though we know for a fact that they have a tunnel system, that your correspondent accurately described, i would still not bomb the hospital. from any cost effective calculation, even if you look at it rationally, coolly, and without, you know, dispassionately, it wo

what is the strategic advantage for the idf to attack at night?> so nighttime gives the idf a lot of advantages, and they have a large capacity at night. they have been used to fighting at night. they use night-vision goggles. they have advantages that hamas generally does not have. for example, hamas does not have as many night-vision goggles in terms of their military or their terrorist capabilities as does the idf. so with the advantages of night, the idf can move forward both on the ground and in the air, both fixed wing and rotary wing aircrafts. and they can use that capability to really sow confusion among the ranks of hamas fighters. that's the idea, to fights at night when you -- to fight at night when you can see and the enemy can't. that is one of the key things for the idf to consider. >> all right. colonel, thank you so much. as israel retaliates against hamas in gaza tonight for the october 7th attacks, next video captured from the gopro of a member of hamas who was killed. it reveals the preparation and the tactics behind the terror

we heard from the idf earlier. they said they largely believe they had cleared the area of hamas militants, that the breaches had been taken care of. and yet, we are hearing repeated reports also from our own colleagues who are along that border, there are the sirens going off again. i'm going to step out of the way slightly, so we can try to get our camera and make sure we have a little bit of cover here. but again, this is just constant now. every 10 to 15 minutes, it seems, you hear the sirens and you don't have a huge amount of lead time, honestly, to get to a shelter before you usually start to hear those rockets. i will say the siren just stopped. we're not actually hearing any rocket fire at this precise second, but i do hear what sounds like potential intercepts in the distance there. obviously, very difficult, now i hear something. it's very difficult to get a good sense in these situations of exactly what's going on, and that is the reason this is such an effective tactic for hamas. why they use this warf

i'm looking for the full idf statement. we only just received this to cnn.irst of all, they don't say when the raids were conducted. i think that's important and we'll work more on our sources to get that. it says and i quote here, idf soldiers thwarted terror cells and infrastructure located in the area and it says including a hamas cell that fired antitank missiles towards israeli territory. but it also says this is all in an effort to eliminate the threat of terrorists and weapons in the area and locate hostages. so, we know what they're describing they did, we don't know whether they have or were able to locate the area or areas where these hostages are being held, but we do know, of course, you and i have been discussing this for some time, it is as many as 150 hostages being held there. these are raids. i don't think we should be suggesting this is the beginning of the ground incursion. it has been dropping pamphlets on gaza today warning residents to get out of northern gaza and get into southern gaza. the u.n. is saying how on earth is that supposed

the idf said it's going to ramp up targets into the gaza strip. 320 targets hit according to the idfn the last 24 hours, that may be the largest number of targets hit since the beginning of this war. certainly, that's what the idf want. they're looking into specifically whether it's the largest number. but we heard from our nic robertson in sderot, to his mind, to his ears, was the heaviest bombardment since the start of the war. israel is targeting everything from militant tunnels to operational command centers including those which actually had militants from islamic jihad inside. and firing anti-tank missiles as well. also saying it's hitting targets in order to reduce the threat, targets that pose a threat to the areas next to gaza. of course, we saw the first clash on ground inside the gaza strip between idf and militants yesterday. that was altered from an anti-tank missile fired, with the death of one idf soldier and three more injured. hamas claiming to have destroyed a couple of military bulldozes are and a tank. so skirmishes have started but this doesn't seem to be the sta

and we just heard from the idf spokesperson hagari who declined to say where idf troops are operating. for security reasons. but what he did make clear, as we're more than 48 hours into the ground operations, that fighting is continuing between hamas militants and idf troops and that these operations aring go to continue to expand. not only on the ground, but also with air strikes continuing to intensify. we know that in the second day of this expanded ground operation, the idf struck 450 targets according to the idf including command centers, observation posts, missile launch sites and of course that underground -- those underground tunnels that hamas fighters use to operate beneath gaza. what woe know from the idf spokesperson, he emphasizes the effort to go after sinwar, the hamas leader and saying we'll trace him until we reach him. they didn't say whether it was to kill or capture him but he did put a renewed focus on going after the top leader in the gaza strip and putting the blame on him for the rising civilian death toll that we are seeing inside of gaza. altogether, nearly 8

intelligence was based much on i sa work and the strike was done by the idf. the issue here was an imminent attack. we had life intelligence about an imminent attack by a known terrorist network that have been using that mosque and the underground facility under it for terror purposes for a long period of time. you will remember this is a hamas and islamic jihad joint operation. you will remember that in july this year, the idf launched a two day operation called home and garden against said networks in janine, and already then, that area was exposed as something that hamas and islamic jihad were using for terror purposes. at that time we decided not to strike or dismantle the tunnel network. we mapped it, and documented it. now, as there was an imminent threat against israelis, we decided -- >> can you say what the imminent threat was? >> to conduct a strike against israeli targets, most likely civilian, although i don't have final details on that yet. this was a cell or network that has already done quite sophisticated attacks against israel, one of them bei

this has been approved by the highest levels of the idf. we will release the information so everybody can see for themselves. i'm happy to be held to those standards, and i only wish the other side -- i'm not necessarily criticizing cnn, but i only wish other media would hold the other side, hamas, a party to a conflict to the same professional standards of scrutiny and not automatically say -- report that this was an israeli strike on a hospital. and it took a lot of time and a lot of hard work to get those headlines changed, and i think that's unfortunate because i think it's misleading. and i think that what we're seeing around in the area now reports of marches and demonstrations and riots and violence, much of that is because of how should we say hasty reporting and jumping to conclusions. >> if islamic jihad -- so just to be clear, you're saying this was an errant rocket. it was a misfire among other rockets fired by islamic jihad. you said it exploded and then landed in the parking area by the hospital. was there an explosion on the

i think what the idf is doing is on point. they're developing the situation, doing intelligence preparation on the battlefield. they have a complex battlefield they are going to fight on. it has rubble andun ittels and high rises and booby traps. remember iranians were number one supplier of explosive devices in iraq and i'm sure that technology is in gaza. so i think what the idf is doing, their strength is intelligence collection and they are building the picture and doing limited strikes to weaken the command control, logistics and armorment of hamas and then to go in and penetrate where it makes sense to tighten up logistics and come in again and move and set piece. if you get too far in, you can envelope yourself by the tunnels. >> jonathan: some point, general, there will be presumably hand to hand combat necessary once they go down into the tunnels and israeli people, you would say as veteran of the military have to prepare for casualtieses that will inevitably come. >> yeah, inevitably. this is tough business and that

all of this as the idf says it is expanding its ground operations inside of gaza. we have been watching over the last several days a buildup to in a moment, a buildup to a potential ground invasion, which as of yet, we do not have confirmation that this expanded -- these expanded ground operations are indeed that invasion that has been expected, that has been telegraphed by israel's political and military leadership, but we have seen over the last several days targeted raids carried out by israeli infantry troops as well as tanks rolling across the border into gaza targeting hamas's infrastructure and those tunnels, which israeli military officials say will be key to eliminating those tunnels in order to make it safer for their troops as they go into gaza. what we have also been watching today is those potential hostage negotiations, which are very much now complicated by this expanded israeli ground operation inside of gaza. there were signs yesterday and this morning, anderson, that those talks were progressing in a very real, a very significant way. but now it a

, from an idf missile. your take on it? >> it's obviously premature for abbas to be cancelling meetings with the president of the united states particularly given we don't know the facts. we don't know if it was a hamas rocket that went off course, whether it was an idf strike that was misaimed. nobody is intending to strike a hospital and killing innocent civilians. that's not what israel does. it may not be what hamas wants to do for its own people. i would note hamas is telling palestinians to stay in northern gaza at the very time that we know israel is about to make a ground incursion. that does suggest some amount of lack of respect for their own palestinian civilians lives on the part of hamas. as they showed for israeli lives when they killed 1,400 civilians in a single day. >> martha: what do you think the president's goal is to going to the region right now? >> the president wants to make clear that we support our allies and demonstrate the concern the united states has for the people of israel an