>>> tel aviv is amazing city.ll my parents live in new york and san francisco, but tel aviv, it's heaven really. there is a lot of good restaurants, a lovely place. i think it's the best place in the world, really. and normal days there are a lot of people here, and going out, you know, there's big sea, beautiful places here, and that's all i can tell you about tel aviv. it's amazing. >> so to hear i describe tel aviv, as this amazing place, the best place on earth, and now to see images that we're showing here live on cnn of shattered windows, people being rolled away on stretchers to hospitals here, disheartening? >> makes me really sad to see that this is the situation. really, really sad. and the hamas, and the jihad, and the al aqsa, they want to say that, and this is really sad, and they i guess for now i don't see a need -- just want to go on and go on and go on. it really makes me sad. because i believe in peace, and i believe that we had a partner on the other side we could get peace. but unfortunately, a

two at tel aviv in the past hour or so. one of them fell into the sea and the other was intercepted. very much a hot issue for us on gmt. that's all for the moment. stay with us on bbc world news. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.

let's go to tel aviv. sara sidner is standing by. tell our viewers what happened just a few hours ago. >> reporter: around noon, tel aviv time, there was an explosion on the number 61 bus. it was very close to the military headquarters here, very close to the courts here, along a street that was eventually block off by police. at least 22 people were injured, some of those people were on the bus, some outside the bus. they suffered everything from panic attacks to a couple teenagers who have the worst of the injuries. we talked to the e.r. doctor who told us one of the teenagers may lose a limb, perhaps an arm because of the soft tissue that's been blasted away. also a lot of shrapnel wounds in the face. both may face a lifetime of disability. those are his words. we talked to the police, more still looking for a suspect, trying to find out who was responsible. we saw the bus before testify driven away. all the windows had been blasted out. we know that here at the hospital they've been quite busy trying to make sure they can do as m

around noontime in, in tel aviv. aviv, of course, is the second largest city in israel, and really known for, for being an economic hub, a home to for example the tel aviv stock exchange, corporate offices, and research and development centers. so clearly this was a, an explosion that has absolutely undermined and terrified some of the people there from some of the reporting we've been hearing that bus explosion happened ten people we're told at least have been injured no deaths reported at this point we continue to monitor the story. trying to get sara sidner up for us live. we're having some issues with her transmission we'll try to fix that and bring her to you live so she can update us on what's happening there. in the meanwhile let's get to brooke baldwin for an update on other stories making news. >>> police in arizona still have no idea why a man drove his pickup truck the wrong way on a highway. the 78-year-old man was killed instantly when his pickup exploded in a head-on collision with a tour bus. the tract

aviv now this is the fourth straight day that tel aviv has been on the receiving end of rockets from gaza it was one that front that was fired this morning it was intercepted and now is that say. in the last few moments another two rockets our office here office in tel aviv was fully manned everyone started running to the stairway there were people gathering from all the floors you could hear from that stay away a loud boom presumably as that i am dome missile defense system intercepted the rockets but i can tell you that people here are a bit shaken it's now a few minutes later the mind has gone back to normal but certainly there is an increasing tension and weariness amongst the residents of tel aviv many saying that this is just happening now too often on saturday the iron dome system was deployed over tel aviv until then it had not happened this was the first time that this has happened then there's this increasing fear that you have long range missiles such as the five year missile that are increasingly aiming towards tel aviv now we have heard from the israeli defense forces th

sara sidner is on the phone from tel aviv. what's the latest, sara? >> reporter: where the victims of this bus attack are. we know that now 22 people have been injured. some of those were inside the bus, some of the people were outside of the bus. there are two very serious injuries, both of them teenagers according to hospital officials here and they are doing surgery as we speak. what we dough do know is that so far doctors are saying that all the victims are expected to survive and the blast basically blew out all the windows in the bus about you dbut did not comp destroy the bus. certainly a terrible, terrible scare to the people here. and a lot of fear this is the beginning of something worse to come. you just talked about, in fact, hamas has praised this particular blast but has not taken responsibility. police basically are saying they have not been able to get a suspect yet. they are sending out all of their equipment and people to try to find out who is responsible for this. and, as we said, they do not for sure think this was somebody who bl

life in tel aviv i'm now joined live by a retired i.d.f. mary on isn't an issue of the international divide that of former israeli prime minister olmert mary thank you very much indeed for your time it's great to have you on the program so we've seen more than a week of israel's bomb bomb into gaza so does the fatah going to they've come as a surprise to you. i think what we're saying today is part of the overall hamas plan israel has been trying as hard as we can to both defend ourselves against the hamas terrorists based in gaza and israel has constantly said that what we want to see is defense for our people and i think you've seen over the last week in addition to the people killed in gaza and in israel is the fact that israel is defending on all fronts the attack here at the heart of tel aviv is something that could be expected but have you put up the pictures of the joy both in the gaza strip in the west bank throughout the arab world over a terrorist attack in the heart of tell them yes and with a terrorist try king right in the midd

she's live from tel aviv paula thank you very much. the israeli offensive in gaza and has its second week with a barrel of missiles from and seized devastating there more than one hundred forty people have been killed many of them civilians according to girls a base journalist fear both who are trying to report because they are also being targeted. gazans don't expect to see a cease fire they remember all too well the operation cast lead and what's happened in the last twenty four hours resembles increasingly. the reports of white phosphorus destroying off the bridge that connects middle north gaza with the south of the isolation of the south of gaza israel has intensified the pounding of gaza particularly the targeting of governmental and police buildings and the biggest police station was totally leveled causing structural damage to nearby buildings some of the biggest governmental structures in gaza city were targeted including the biggest civil service building here in gaza. in the southern area of the gaza strip was targeted heavi

the bus explosion in tel aviv brings big confrontation with gaza to the heart of israel with a board of rivals hamas and fatah reportedly claiming responsibility. while dozens more was ready to strike on the occupied territory if the politics of the one hundred and destroying lifeline tunnels and government building. and the you are declared an unwavering support for israel are sinking a un resolution calling for a cease fire raising questions are the challenges of the increase in a. new song russia and around the world this is see with me hugh nash above all or thanks for joining us the harsh reality of war is being felt in tel aviv today where a bus explosion has left fifteen people injured already labeled a terror target the explosion is said to have taken place near the israeli army's headquarters israeli authorities are now hunting for two people thought to be involved in the bombing and she's point to clear reports now not far from where the blast took place. now the police have told us that what they think happened is that one of these two placed a bag with a bomb on the bus a

abbas explosion in tel aviv brings the confrontation with gaza to the heart of a zero with four rivals hamas and fatah reportedly claiming responsibility. while dozens more israeli strikes on the occupied territory take the body count in gaza over one hundred forty destroyed lifeline tunnels and government buildings. and the you are sick lies and wavering support for israel after sinking a un resolution calling for a cease fire raising questions over the in the over own truce initiative. international news live from moscow this is all she with me thanks for joining us the harsh reality of war is being felt in tel aviv today were a bus explosion has left fifteen people injured already labeled a terror attack the explosion is said to have taken place near the israeli army's headquarters israeli authorities are now hunting for two people thought to be involved in the bombing. reports not far from where the blast took place. now the police have told us that what they think happened is that one of these two placed a bag with a bomb on the bus and then immediately ran off the whole of tel av

forced to scramble is that office is a targeted by israeli bombs several journalists have been wounded tel aviv says it wants to send gaza back to the middle ages and is preparing a ground invasion while militants retaliate with unguarded rockets. as the latest. the reports we're receiving is that hoff of the people who have so far been treated at shifa hospital which is the biggest hospital in gaza city off of the people being rushed there are in fact children the hospital is simply not coping it's running short of space and also medical supplies at the same time there was an israeli air force strike that moved ten members of the same family killed when a three story building in which they were collapsed around him were also witnessing an increase in the target of journalists the store going to a station we see has an office in gaza city and just an hour after they missed their office because of electricity cuts that office was destroyed by an israeli air force strike the israeli air force has targeted two media buildings and the army is not apologetic for this it says that it was in fact

an explosion on a tel aviv bus. we will be out in tel aviv with the latest news as well in the next 15 or 20 minutes. there's a sense that greece is going to get the money. there's a serious discussion going on between various members of the eurozone and the imf as well. how disturbed or not are you by this? >> good morning, ross. i'm not entirely discouraged by it. a little bit disappointed to see angela merkel discuss that, but at the end of the day, i think we'll go back and forth. i suspect you'll see them give them the money and that's what's happened each way so far. >> is your base case very weak, muddled through but no bust-up? >> well, so i think that a bust-up is a real possibility. i think it's one way that you can solve the issue. i think in europe, you have what to me is a sociological issue and we're trying to fight that with monetary fiscal policy, so i think that's a tough battle. so i'm not -- we could see that prevail. we could see the area come together and unify with a national identity, or i thi

three of them reportedly targeting tel aviv. that city's metropolitan area is home to more than a million people, roughly the size of the entire dallas metroplex. the missiles triggered air sirens as panicked citizens ran for cover. tel aviv is only about 40 miles from the gaza. earlier today, fox's leeland vittert was on the ground in a town along the gaza border. >> we've got more missiles coming in. you can see everyone running. this is right now the very safest place. we're going to come in under here and now we wait. those awful seconds that everyone in this part of the world knows what it's like to wait as the missiles coming in, you know it's here. the question is where will it hit? there it was. >> shep: we'll have more of his report later in this hour. lee land's reports a rocket blast struck this apartment building and killed members of a family. a baby now listed in critical condition. the coloring book stained with blood. all part of the heaviest fighting between the israelis and the palestinians in nearly four years

though he stuck to fifty that took place in tel aviv today . to ames one to him bus israel and to kill israelis but at the same time it was one of the goals of those that have done it was to embarrass the palestinian authority that controlled most of the of the west bank and i believe that it will not affect very much the negotiations between the palestinians and us basically because i don't see any difference between an explosion came by a big two a bus in tel aviv oh an explosion that came by. myside a rocket to the area of tel aviv which i don't have colonel it's about thank you for being on the line we appreciate it in your capacity condi as an advisor on national security thank you. you as a recluse and travels across the middle east in an effort to mediate a cease fire the u.s. secretary of state's made it clear that israel as america's backing clinton reiterated his country's unwavering support for television but also called for a deescalation of the conflict in order to protect civilians but it's not he's going to shoot you can reports

the tel aviv area and in south tel aviv but we haven't confirmation of that yet. tel aviv put a lot of people into panic. i can tell you, in our small building here, people running up and down the stares into the bomb shelters. the fact is anytime people have been killed in these situations, it's because they didn't do what they were told, didn't go to the bomb shelter. today, three israeli citizens were killed in a town. the reason they were killed they went to the sirens ounded, they went to the balcony instead of the safe area and they were killed in that way. when there's a siren, you need to run for it. >> tell everybody the last time -- how often or last time do you recall from your reporting, through your life there, the sirens going off? >> reporter: 1991. when the iraq sending scuds into tel aviv. i believe -- i believe that was the last time. so it's significant. israel has been trying to take out the long-range rocket capability of hamas attacking rocket piles but it's a major threat. >> has there been an anticipation for this type of escalation, given

but tel-aviv, you can't say there's a sense of fear here utt a sense of reality striking that now tel-avivould change the sense of ease and center that tel-avivians face. having said that, there is a sense also if israel does launch a ground invasion most people would be behind that because of these rockets. >> martin fletcher, live in tel-aviv. thank you so much. >>> the 113th congress will boast about 100 new members. one of them is the newly elected democratic congresswoman from arizona. she won a hard fought race in a newly created congressional district. she will be the first openly bisexual member of congress and congresswoman elect, thank you for joining us. thank you for being here. >> it's my pleasure. >> you and other new congress members arrived this week and class picture and two full weeks of orientation and briefings. how hard is it to get up to speed as a member of congress? >> your first couple of days are like drinking from a fire hose. if you're someone like me who just came off a very hard fought victory, to turn around and start learning about the most complex governmen

among other targets civilian homes and refugee camps while tel aviv comes under rocket attack yet again. and other stories from this week israel's troops exchange for with syria where the rebels are gaining more support from the west to get rid of the assad regime. and the eurozone since back in recession as millions take to the streets in the first coordinated pan european strike to demand an end to austerity. with a look back at the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly on the israeli airstrikes on gaza a raging with at least two killed in the latest attack foreign reporters in gaza are forced to scramble as their office is a target by israeli bombs with several journalists wounded tel aviv says it wants to send gaza back to the middle ages and is preparing a ground invasion while militants retaliate with unguarded rockets. as the latest. the reports we're receiving is that hoffa of the people who have so far been treated at shifa hospital which is the biggest hospital in gaza city off of the people being rushed there are in fact children the hospi

moscow time tonight a bus explosion in tel aviv brings the confrontation with gaza into the heart of israel with former rivals. both reportedly claiming responsibility got the latest on this development today while dozens more israeli strikes on the occupied territory take a body count of guards or over one hundred forty destroying lifeline tunnels and government buildings. and the u.s. declares a wavering support for israel after sinking a un resolution calling for a cease fire raising questions over the impartiality of its own troops an issue. alone a very good evening if you just joined us is kevin zero in here at r.t. this is the harsh reality of war is being felt in tel aviv today were a bus explosions left fifteen people injured already labeled a terror attack an explosion said to have taken place near the israeli army said quarters israeli authorities are now hunting for two people thought to be involved in the bombing paula slee reports not far from where that blast took place. now the police have told us that what they think happened is that one of these two placed a bag wit

and the first bus bombing in tel aviv in eight years. >> the united states welcomes the agreement today for a cease-fire in gaza, the rocket attacks must end to bring a broader, calm return. >> reporter: the agreement calls for israel to stop air strikes and hamas to stop rocket attacks. if that holds for 24 hours, they will talk about border contrs on gaza, and promise no more targeting of hamas leaders. israeli ground troops are mobilized, if there are attacks >> now, i realize that there are citizens who expect a harder military action, and we may very well need to do that. but at the present, the right thing for the state of israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. >> reporter: aides say president obama left a summit monday night to call on egypt's president morsi. he then took a call from morsi at 2:30 in the morning, calling again while flying home from cambodia monday night. and in separate calls to netanyahu, mr. obama pressured each to accept, while promising more money for iron dome and other missile defense programs clinton sealed the deal, ne

gaza militants come close to hitting israel's largest city tel of eve with rockets as the israel's military says this is only the beginning of its offensive. bad news building just hours after a twenty four hour pan-european strike killed over twenty countries to a standstill new figures suggest the eurozone is back in recession. beijing ushers in the new top officials which will leave the country for the next decade and fifteen minutes we look at how the world might be changed by china's emerging economic might. not from the new center here in moscow this is r.t. with international news and comment twenty four hours a day the israeli military is converging on gaza as it continues to pummel the palestinians from sea and land the operation dubbed the pillars of defense is on the verge of turning into a new invasion as tel aviv says it's prepared to go all the way under the pretext of self defense three israelis and at least fifteen palestinians including children and a pregnant woman have already been killed tom is in tel aviv which has been targeted by return fire from gaza so tom tell us w

central tel aviv when the sirens sounded much to our disbelief we didn't expect to hear sirens this far away from from gaza it's never happened before and then a few seconds after that some loud explosion in central tel aviv the group in gaza islamic jihad has claimed responsibility for firing a higher rainy and built rocket which has reached all the way to central tel aviv and exploded here in the city that is likely to a nerve and anger a lot of of israelis especially those who've already been cheering on their own forces which have been launching these aerial airstrikes over gaza now since since yesterday when they began with the assassination of jaggery the head of hamas is military wing those airstrikes have been continuing the selves through yesterday throughout the night and into today the casualty figures steadily rising from those but as is evidenced by what's just happened in tel aviv how massive and other groups including islamic jihad have also been firing rockets about two hundred fifty now since the beginning of this escalation of fighting back into israeli territory earli

in tel aviv injuring 16. this as secretary of state hillary clinton is zigzagging across the middle east seeking a truce to prevent an israeli ground war. >>> late last night boxing great hector macho camacho is shot while sitting in his car. >>> and on the busiest travel day of the year we'll take you to turkey town u.s.a. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, november 21st, 2012. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. and we are going to begin with the crisis in the middle east. just a short time ago a bomb exploded aboard a bus in tel aviv across the street from israel's military headquarters. 16 people were injured. police say this was not a suicide attack. secretary of state hillary clinton is negotiating right this moment in an attempt to work out a truce to stop the violence in israel and gaza. nbc's chapman bell joins us on the phone now from tel aviv. chapman, good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, lynn. at this point this bus attack is being described as a t

jerusalem, tel aviv. instead of them allocating resources to the welfare of the people they have put money and changed gaza into a launching pad against israel, a terrorist hub where all global terrorism comes over and a immune ix dump to weapons coming from all over the world. no government, no nation can stand with something like that taking place against its citizens. >> what happens next? if this is going to be the -- listen, what we have been told is that the trigger for this ground assault and the breach of the gaza border would be increased missile attacks, and i just reported it. these attacks have now taken a new perspective near jerusalem. is that the trigger, and if that trigger has been pulled, what's happening next? what is this going to look like, and how far is this going to go? >> i tell you, it's very simple. if it's going to be quiet in israel, it's iffing to be quiet in gaza. hamas are the enemies of peace. not just towards israel. they are the enemies of peace also on the palestinian s

on the "newshour" tonight: we have reports from tel aviv, gaza, and cairo. and ray suarez examines the prospects ahead for the peace deal. >> woodruff: then, margaret warner reports from turkey where the syrian civil war is having an impact along the shared 500 mile border and in ankara. >> with fighting in syrian areas, spilling over into turkish towns, turkey finds itself walking a fine line between defending its interests, and being drawn into a regional war. >> brown: after the deluge: we assess the impact of all the money spent in the most expensive campaign in history. >> woodruff: as recovery costs from superstorm sandy continue to rise, paul solman looks at weather risks and the business of insurance. >> all insurance companies are paying very careful attention to the variability and the volatility in the climate. >> brown: and poet joy harjo celebrates the focal point of families and thanksgiving: the kitchen table. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy

martin fletcher joins us tel aviv.tin, did there is start with the assassination or with israel taking down the hamas leader or was there already activity coming from gaza into israel? >> there's been a low level of violence and we start reporting when it reaches a peak. but there was in particular an attack ten days ago when the palestinians fired a missile into an israeli army jeep, seriously wounding four soldiers. that began to be the signal to the israelis a red line being broached. before the assassination the palestinians fired 100 rocketed from gaza over a period of five days into israel. certain point israel said the rules are changinging we have to re-establish control, and they struck and assassinated of course a major success for israel the military leader of hamas. >> tell us what's happening in gaza, because we have continuing firing. where are rockets coming from? we know that iron dome has protected frrl many of them hitting but what is the situation? and also the departure of the u.n. workers from gaza

vamos a otro tema en la grfranj de gaza hay un acuerdo de ce scomse a fuego, pilar continua en tel aviv de la ciudad, pilar. >>> buenas tardes, efectivamente que ha sido un dÍa especialmente inmenso s inmenso en el conflicto de israel y gaza, y hay un paro de fuego gracias a la interviene cciÓn de hillary lin ton hillar han lanzado 5 cohetes luego que se firmÓ el acuerdo. pero tambiÉn este autobÚs que explotÓ en las calles de tel aviv provocando 21 heridos. >>> los esfuerzoss diplomÁticos han dado sus frutos >>> estados unidos da la bienvenida a un cese en fuego en gaza >>> la secretaria de estado y el presidente de egipcio anunciaron un alto al fuego un acuerdo donde israel exige el fin de los ataques a el sur del paÍs y el fin de la entrada de armamento fav en gaza >>> gaza necesita paz, reconstrucciÓn >>> pero la atenciÓn de los Últimos dÍas alcanzÓ su pupnto Álgido luego que una bomba provocÓ mÁs de 20 heridos >>> pasada las 12 del medio dÍa explotÓ un bus en el centro de tel aviv, todavÍa hay cristales en la zona y se siente el terror en las calles de la ciudad. >>> el lugar donde

tel aviv. international human rights watch dogs are now investigating the conflict for war crimes militant rockets targeted israeli cities killing several citizens while tel aviv has been condemned by some observers for causing massive collateral damage filmmaker harry fear was inside gaza throughout the bombing. gasser israel's military operation pillar of cloud has officially ended it started with the assassination of senior hamas commander barry barrett here. more than one thousand two hundred palestinians were wounded overwhelmingly children and women and over one hundred sixty seven were killed half of them civilians including journalists israel says when it targeted the top and eleventh floor of this the show building and it was targeting hamas as operational communications it injured six when it struck the al could t.v. office just below here. at exactly one fifty three on sunday the occupying forces started bombing our office the satellite channel located on the eleventh floor in the we

tel aviv. well israel says iran append point operation that only target hamas militants but in reality refugee camps government buildings and media compounds also came under attack in gaza activist harry fear who is currently working there says the press lines don't guarantee safety for journalists who he says were targeted by israel. israel's military operation pillar of cloud has officially ended it started with the assassination of a senior hamas commander. buried here. more than one thousand two hundred palestinians were wounded overwhelmingly children and women and over one hundred sixty seven were killed half of them civilians including journalists israel says when it targeted the top and eleventh floor of this the show building and it was targeting hamas as operational communications and then did six when it struck the al could t.v. office just below here. at exactly one fifty three on sunday the occupying forces started bombing our office how the satellite channel located on the elevent

reports about the blast in tel aviv just a while ago please tell us more about that. well the communication lines here keep dropping there's massive confusion and hysteria in terms of what has happened in the last twenty minutes or so there was a suicide bus bombing it happened just a short distance from where our studios are we constantly are hearing the ambulances screeching past we can confirm that the figures released from a nearby hospital that has received all the victims stands at sixteen we're also hearing from the police that a manhunt is under way they searching for two people from the information they giving us they understand that one person placed a bag with a bomb either on the bus or near the bus and then ran away so the manhunt is looking for them all the roads in this area have been cordoned off there's a massive sense of hysteria and confusion this comes as peace talks are underway both here in israel and in cairo to try and reach some kind of agreement between israel and hamas and no doubt this is not going to torpedo those talks in fact the latest

tel aviv was 90 miles away. now you have a situation where you have tel aviv only 37 miles from the gaza strip and jerusalem 43 miles away from the gaza strip. we now have rockets that have hit tel aviv and jerusalem. so if you push this down, you still have a direct hit shot into jerusalem. the question becomes, why would they fire these new rockets? these new rockets towards jerusalem, when there are hundreds of thousands of palestinians living in and around the area. the holiest site for islam is in the old city of jerusalem. right now, this situation appears to mirror what happened in 2006 in the days before the israeli troops moved in from northern israel. a very ominous sign. megyn: trace, thank you. it is an honor to have you here, ron. >> thank you for having me. megyn: israel is in a dangerous neighborhood and that report outlines for some of us how it takes them coming from all sides. who's put into perspective this. a possible ground invasion of gaza? >> that could put things into perspective. i just

but the sirens in tel aviv were frightening. of course, not the same as actual rockets landing as they did yesterday where three israeli citizens were killed but today there was a temporary cease-fire as the egyptian prime minister has been visiting gas have on the message on a visit of support and at the same time presumably trying to talk hamas into a cease-fire with israel. there's just been an announcement that the tunisian foreign minister will go to gaza tomorrow and a possibility that the turkish prime minister will be going there too, all the same reason to talk hamas and israel down from this high tree they both reached and try to avoid a ground invasion by israel into gaza. >> yeah, martin, i want to ask you about egypt. you know, the prime minister in gaza, how much pressure ises united states putting a lot of pressure on egypt to be a peace broker here? >> reporter: presumably a lot. there have been conversations between washington and cairo and, of course, jerusalem, too. a lot of pressure is coming from america but

but the sirens in tel aviv were frightening. of course, not the same as actual rockets landing as they did yesterday where three israeli citizens were killed but today there was a temporary cease-fire as the egyptian prime minister has been visiting gas have on the message on a visit of support and at the same time presumably trying to talk hamas into a cease-fire with israel. there's just been an announcement that the tunisian foreign minister will go to gaza tomorrow and a possibility that the turkish prime minister will be going there too, all the same reason to talk hamas and israel down from this high tree they both reached and try to avoid a ground invasion by israel into gaza. >> yeah, martin, i want to ask you about egypt. you know, the prime minister in gaza, how much pressure ises united states putting a lot of pressure on egypt to be a peace broker here? >> reporter: presumably a lot. there have been conversations between washington and cairo and, of course, jerusalem, too. a lot of pressure is coming from america but

here in tel aviv you wouldn't know anything is going on. the siren goes off, everybody runs, but then they're back out and life is pret much back to normal. that is not to say everybody isn't teps. there are 75,000 reservists ready to go. the prime minister said after a cabinet meeting that israel would intensify the conflict if it was necessary. everybody seems to be looking for a way out of this. the egyptians are really playing a role in this to try to broker it. they've been talking to the hamas leadership. they've brought in turkey and qatar to help them out. they're all saying we think we might be able to do this. bear in mind, this is not the egypt of hosey you in barrack. the egyptian government now are muzz lum brotherhood, and israel is in a less-tenable negotiating position and they remain military strong but do they want to go in on the ground take hundreds of thousands of casualties? that they've within boehnered will cause them to lose the international support they have. it's one of those 50-50 chance things but it's looking

stephanie gosk on the ground in tel aviv.'s show you the markets again because they are moving on this news. the dow industrials at the highs of the day now. there's the s&p 500. it is well as the highs, a two and a half point gain. the dow is more substantial to the upside. one-third of one percent. let's look at what's happening in the oil market as well. bk, you've seen at least brent crude take a dip here on this news. i would assume that wti is pulling back as well. there's a look at the chart. >> and this is actually very, very big news because one of the biggest threats we had to our u.s. economy rising oil prices, rising gas prices. with the fiscal cliff, that would have been a real problem for the u.s. economy, so this is very positive, but the oil market will be key in this. if the oil market reverses and goes higher and closes green on the day, that will tell you that the markets do not believe this cease fire's going to hold. we've had several of these over the last, well, thousands of years, but let's call it ten

tel aviv is known as a party town. tonight, streets that are normally bustling are practically deserted. >> pelley: a lot of uncertainty going into the night. alan, thank you. president obama picked up the phone today, hoping to prevent an all-out war. nancy cordes is at the white house for us tonight. nancy. >> reporter: scott, both the president and the vice president have now spoken to israeli prime minister netanyahu, and bespite some tensions between these leaders recently, we're told the two men expressed their support for israel's right to defend itself while also urging him to try to limit civilian casualties. white house officials told us today the onus is on hamas and not on israel to try to deescalate this conflict. they say they've reached out to other allies in the region, like turkey, asking them to pass that message along to hamas as well. in fact, secretary of state clinton, we're told, reached out to egypt's foreign minister today, asking him to deliver that message personally when he visits gaza tomor

panic in the streets of jerusalem and tel aviv, as a barrage of missiles sends families running for cover and tensions threaten to boil over into full-scale war. abc's christiane amanpour reports from a middle east on the brink. >>> and, the cutest curse. a jungle creature so adorable it became a cuddly youtube sensation. how sudden fame could be the downfall of these big-eyed beasts. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 16th, 2012. >> good friday evening, i'm bill weir. well, only in america is it controversial for me to begin tonight's program by declaring that global warming is really happening. for doubters, 332-straight months of above average temperatures is not proof enough. and even among believers, there's a fight over who to blame, god or man, natural cycles of fossil fuels. the very words climate change were noticeably absent from this past election, but sandy brought them back in a big way and eager to fuel the conversation, two artists convinced they can help skept