pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> our thanks to pamela brown. we are going to take a quick break. we will be right back. >> welcome back. i am lynda kinkade. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's telling troops the next stage of the war, the ground offensive, is coming. with just one mission, in his words, smash hamas. his comments come amid concerns over the hostages and humanitarian crisis in gaza, where the death toll is still rising. idf spokesperson lieutenant colonel peter lerner joins me now from tel aviv. good to have you with us. >> good morning. >> so, a groups are saying that people in gaza desperately need fuel or they will run out in the next 48 hours. the idf has released an image on social media claiming that hamas has more than 5000 leaders of fuel. how do you know that there is fuel there in gaza, and if it belongs to hamas, why not strike it? >> so obviously, the people of gaza are not the enemy of israel. our enemy is moss, who is holding 222 hostages, but also holding 2 million palestinians hostage. if the aid organizations are so concerned with helping t

let's get right to cnn anchor and cnn chief correspondent pamela brown. mela, i do understand you're getting new information about this suspect and a current working theory in the investigation. >> it is a working theory among law enforcement officials right now. they try to sort out why the subject robert card targeted these two locations. and a law enforcement official says at working theory that card recently broke up with a longtime girlfriend and these were the two places that the couple frequented. she was apparently supposed to be there for a tournament, there was a corn hole tournament at that bar. and that is one particular reason why he targeted the two locations because this is a place that he frequented with his ex-girlfriend. but we also know, and a family member confirmed that he had an acute mental health episode over the summer. he was hearing voices. and he had thoughts of harming fellow soldiers according to law enforcement sources and after that, he was admitted into a mental health facility. and he was let go after an evaluation, let go

pamela brown has the details. >> reporter: sources are telling cnn that small group of hamas operatives used hardwired phones in the tunnels beneath gaza to communicate over a period of two years according to intelligence shared with u.s. officials. the old fashioned land lines allowed hamas leaders to communicate in secret, they avoided using computers or cellphones in order to keep from being tracked by israeli or u.s. intelligence according to the sources. and instead they held meetings in person among a small group and stayed off all digital communications we're told. now, this partially explains why israel and the u.s. were so caught off guard by the attack and how 1,000 hamas fighters were able to pour across the border without being stopped as we have seen in the propaganda video released by hamas. all of this communication we're told happened in the miles of underground tunnel system that is beneath gaza that the idf nicknamed the gaza metro. another way hamas was able to keep it under the radar, they kept the planning a secret even from other members. only a very small group kn

cnn's pamela brown has more. >> reporter: swarms of federal and local officers converge as the manhunt for robert card intensifies. >> mr. card is considered armed and dangerous. >> reporter: his background giving a few potential clues about the shooting ta left at least 18 dead and more than a dozen injured. his army records show the 40-year-old was a pet troem troel yum supply specialist in the reserves but never served in come ball. he is a skilled marksman, an outdoorsman, who was among the best shooters in his yupt. while he was training in upstate new york over the summer, card reported hearing voices and threatened to shoot up a national guard base, according to law enforcement sources. the national guard saying he was, quote, behaving erratically ands was transported to a hospital at the u.s. military academy for medical evaluation and stayed for two weeks. his family telling cnn he did not have a long history of mental health issues. this is something that was an acute episode. this is not who he is. his sister-in-law said, quote, this is a good family. on his twitter page, ca

authorities are also digging into his -- cnn's pamela brown has.rms are federal and local officers converge as the man hunt for robert card intensifies. >> he's armed and dangerous. >> his back on giving clues about the shooting that left at least 18 dead and more than a dozen injured. his army records show the 40 year old was a petroleum supply specialist in the reserves. but, he never served in combat. a former army reservist who served with card telling cnn he is skilled, an outdoorsman who is one of the best shooters in his unit. while he was training in upstate new york over the summer, card reported hearing voices -- a gwendolen forsman sources. the national guard saying he was, quote, behaving erratically, and he was transported to a hospital of the u.s. military academy for medical evaluation, his family telling cnn that he did not have a long history of mental health issues, quote, a q this is something that was an acute episode. this is not who he is, his sister and law says, quote, this is a good family. on his twitter page, card liked r

still waiting to hear back, jake. >> pamela brown, thank you so much. let's bring in cnn security correspondent josh campbell. josh, you worked at the fbi. what do you make of this reporting from the scene of the suspect's last known address, the loud bangs, someone shouting "fbi" into a megaphone? what might be happening? >> reporter: well, you know, there's obviously a lot, jake, we don't know at this hour. but oftentimes we look at images like we're seeing right now and try to glean information based on the posture of law enforcement. here it doesn't look like an emergent type situation. you have officers that are standing out there. they're not seeking cover. there doesn't appear to be a flurry of activity. so we just don't know at this time. it would not be unusual in a situation like this where you have someone who is very proficient with firearms, who we know he was a firearms instructor, if authorities are going to search his residence as a precautionary measure you can imagine in order to perhaps defeat any booby traps and the like they might l

cnn chief investigative correspondent pamela brown joins us from the u.s. what does the intelligence show? >> reporter: well, jake, sources are telling me and my colleague zack cohen that a small group used hard wires phones in the tunnels to communicate over a period of two years. that is according to intelligence shared with u.s. officials. now those old-fashioned land lines allowed hamas leaders to communicate underground with one another in seek. they avoided using computers or cell phones in order to keep from being tracked by israeli or u.s. intelligence. according to the sources and frankly it worked, jake. instead they held meetings in person among a small group and they stayed off all digital communications. so this partially explains why israel and the u.s. were caught so off guard by the attack and how 1,000 hamas fighters were able to pour across the border without being stopped, showing in this propaganda video released by hamas. this is happened in the miles of underground tunnel system beneath that it nicknamed the gaza metro. you heard the h

reporters are standing by, omar jimenez is upfront live, josh campbell is live working his sources, pamela brownom foreman are with us with every angle of this developing story covered at this hour. i want to begin with you, omar, you've been there covering the latest development and the man hunt as we now understand it. what is the very latest or learning on the ground there tonight? >>, while it was exactly 24 hours ago right now that the suspect whatever making his way to the location just behind me at this checkpoint, continue a shooting spree across multiple locations according to police. 24 hours later, this remains an active management, or following up on as many leads as they can we know there are fbi agents that address associated with the suspect. senator susan collins of maine said there are around 80 fbi average agents assisting with the search, the coast guard is assisting with the surge from the air and from the water, all of them trying to get closer to finding this person. police say they killed at least 18 people and shattered the lives -- >> tonight a multi agency manhunt is un

i want to bring in cnn anchor and chief investigative correspond pamela brown. pamela, you and our investigative team are really digging into this. it's giving us some clues about how we might have gotten here. he is a skilled shooter and has mental health issues. >> that's why it's so hard to track him down because of the military training he had. he enlisted in 2002 into the army reserve. i was a skilled marksman. one of the best shooters in the army reserve unit. i was also an avid outdoorsman. one colleague said he would be very comfortable in the woods. that he was very outdoorsy. we know from the pictures we've seen, he is fishing, he has a boat. all this put together paints a picture of someone who has skills from the military and knows how to operate in the outdoors. then you also have the mental health component here. we spoke to his sister-in-law who told us that he had shown no signs of mental health issues and this was an acute mental health episode he had over the summer with we know now according to our source that's he was hearing voices. he had th

our colleague pamela brown is reporting that card's family has been urging him to surrender.hat does it tell you that he -- he hasn't turned himself in yet? >> well, here's a person who may have regressed to a mental state where he is hearing other things. he may be in a paranoid state. it's probably a good thing that they are working with the family to get their voices into this. it's obviously a less threatening appearance than being hunted by law enforcement. but, again, it's hard to put yourself in the mind of an individual who would kill that many people in the town where he lived. and worked. and knew people. and then try to attach rational thinking to it. >> absolutely. it does strike me, john, that he had this episode, as you described, that he was held for observation for several weeks, and that he still had access to very powerful weapons. how do investigators now go about tracing that angle of this? >> well, maine is a state where if you're 18 years old, you can buy a rifle. if you're 18 years old, you can buy a handgun, but you have to go through a background chec

. >> i'm pamela brown in washington. we are also following breaking news in the united states including former vice president mike pence's stunning campaign suspension and new details about the horrific mass shooting in maine that killed 18 people. >> we start with what prime minister netanyahu called this evening a new long stage in the israel hamas war. israel's military says its troops and tanks are inside gaza now in what promises to be a bloody and complex battle in order to rid the gaza strip of the terrorist group responsible for the horrific october 7th attack that killed at least 1300 is israels. inside gaza, palestinians are trying to shelter and they are mourning in darkness amid a near total communications blackout. as the hamas controlled palestinian ministry of health is estimating hundreds of gazans have been killed by israeli air strikes in just the last two days. meanwhile, the families of israeli hostages held in gaza are growing more terrified be i t by the hour. last night, they pressed netanyahu to m

. >> i'm pamela brown in washington. we are also following breaking news back in the united states. this hour, we bring you the harrowing personal stories of war. a mounting death toll and increasingly unsurvivable conditions in gaza and what we know about does's military plans include -- israel's matter plans including reporting on which hamas leaders israel says have already been eliminated. >>> first we're going to start with the massive ground operation in gaza. cnn's nic robertson is live for us in sderot, israel. you've witnessed an eruption of activity literally where you are near israel and gaza tonight. >> reporter: yeah, jake. look, a cacophony into the night really continues as artillery fire, helicopter gunships, we just heard a couple of tank rounds going out close to here, missile strikes, and other missiles that, frankly, haven't seen fired here before zipping across -- through the skyline and into gaza. intense, it continues. we got a chance earlier on today to get out and try to see exactly what these troops who are on the ground now close to the line of gaza and th

pamela brown broke this story. and she is "outfront." pamela, you have incredible sourcing on this. your reporting shows why israel, maybe part of why israel was caught so unprepared for what became the deadliest terrorist attack in the country's history. what more are you learning tonight? >> reporter: it is important to emphasize that no matter how you look at it, this was a massive intelligence failure by israel. but sources are helping to fill out the picture a little bit more about why how hamas was able to pull this off. sources are telling cnn that a small group of hamas operatives used hard-wired phones in the tunnels beneath gaza to communicate over a period of two years planning this attack. that's according to intelligence shared with u.s. officials speaking to me and my colleague zach cohen. those old-fashioned landlines allowed them to communicate in secret with one another underground. they avoided using computers or cell phones. so instead, erin, they held meetings in person among a very small group and they stayed off all digital communication. they relied on old-sch

and pamela brown saying that they were using land lines, he they were deep underground. and when they were actually doing the preparations above ground, right, like actually the dry runs, that israel saw it and didn't recognize it for what it is. thought it was more of the same. so sort of sometimes that something is staring you in the face and you don't necessarily recognize what it is. but we've seen the battle plans. i've seen them from two of the kibbutz found on the hamas soldiers. they are dated a year before and extremely specific. but the numbers are in the documents. you see sort of an extension almost like a corporate office type of thing, it is truly staggering. and pa la'smela's reporting thay were me meeting deep unde underground. and new reporting today that says that american military officials are trying to use lessons that the united states learned with its own serious failures in the iraq war to help israeli forces game out different strategies to defeat hamas. and so the u.s. is trying to steer israel away from endangering hostages and civilians with t

pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> a u.s. official tells cnn the u.s.g with several middle east nations to shut down a secret hamas investment portfolio worth as much as a billion dollars. u.s. and saudi officials called an emergency meeting in riyadh, when members of the gulf cooperation council to share information on how to disrupt the cash flow. last, week you the u.s. sanctioned intervals managing those assets for moms. the u.s. treasury financial crimes enforcement team also laying out new rules to keep hamas and other terror groups from accessing cryptocurrencies to fund their operations. coming up on cnn, number four, come on down. -- nominate another potential house speaker, but will he as well fall victim to party infighting, or could this be the one? ♪ ♪ ♪ pers! time to win is running out in our prize packed kick off the savings monopoly game! hurry in to play for your chance at over $25 million in prizes and money saving offers like this, and this, or even this. plus, you still have a shot at up to $100,000 in guaranteed prize money. stop in