 Made For Me, a unique concept in Israel. Custom made men's fashion to your measurements. Made For Me, designer of all your events. Schedule your appointment at www.madeforme.co.il. Made For Me, official dresser of I-24 News. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The leaders from Hamas, Heads, Bola and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were meeting in Beirut today, holding talks under the portraits of Iran's Ayatollah Hameine. Hameine says the United States is instructing Israel to bomb Gaza. And the IDF says Iran was directly involved in the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7th. Let's find out what is happening in the North. Our P.S. Steckelback is at Israel's northern border. Pia, what's going on? Right, Laura, a couple of hours ago, four rockets were launched into Israel from southern Lebanon. We're talking about the area, the area of Kiryat Shmoner, which is at the eastern side of the Israel-Lebanon border for rockets launched there. They fell into open area and were not intercepted as per protocol. No reports about casualties or injuries there, as this is also one of the areas that has been evacuated of the course of the last two weeks. Only a couple of days ago, the evacuation started there in Kiryat Shmoner, as these areas so close, only few kilometers far away from the Lebanese border, are deemed to be extremely dangerous right now for civilian movement. We're here. I want to bring this to your attention in the city or in the, more to say, town of Shlomi, which is about two or three kilometers away from the Lebanese border. This has been one of the first localities to be evacuated, already in the first week of the war here. As residents also largely followed the order, there are very, very few people here. Shops, gas stations, everything closed here, Laura. You brought up that meeting between Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, together with the chief of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhle, and one of the major or most official Hamas leaders Salah al-Aroori. That meeting taking place, discussing that was what it was announced under, discussing the next steps in that operation and that sensitive space here of that war, saying that the goal is to bring about the victory of the resistance in Gaza there. That after Hassan Nasrallah has met with the Iranian foreign minister only a few days ago, and we have seen that Hezbollah over the course of the year has been trying to really connect the frontier and the rocket that was launched from Gaza today in the afternoons onto the city of Haifa is the best example there. Hamas also not only targeting Israel's south, but also showing that it has the capability to also try and strike as far as Haifa, which it used a long range missile for missile that can reach up until 160 kilometers. We're talking about a rocket that has exploded in the air also there, no injuries or casualties. Pia, thank you very much indeed. Pia Steckel back there at Israel's northern border. Let me introduce our guests. Our Brigadier General Israel Relig Shafir is the former commander of the Tel Nof Air Force base and a former combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force. Welcome to you. We're also joined on the live from Manama tonight by Abdullah al-Janaid, Bahraini columnist and geopolitical analyst. Great to see you, Abdullah. And with us as well, Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Behnem Ben Taliblu. Welcome, Behnem, as well. So, Relig, I'll start with you if I can. As if we needed any proof, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian, Islamic Jihad sitting together under a portrait of the Ayatollah all working in concert to attack Israel. I'm not sure they're talking in concert to attack Israel, but they're certainly discussing how to manage the situation at this time. I think Hezbollah understands that with Israel's resolve as shown along the border at this time and the American warships sailing in the eastern Mediterranean, they would be hit very hard not just by the Israeli Air Force but might as well be hit by US planes. This is an open threat to Iran and not to foster any hostilities from Hezbollah beyond the skirmishes along the northern border. And also, who knows what goes on at the Hormoz Straits close to Iran. So- This is the Iranian-controlled shipping straits. Yes. And so I think they might be discussing what they should do next or what their steps are rather than actually planning on how to attack. All right, Abdullah Al-Janaid, how was that message in Beirut today received in the Arab Gulf States? I know they were having important economic talks today, but how will it be interpreted, do you think? I agree totally with Alec. What you said is correct. I believe the US have delivered a very clear message. If Hezbollah escalates, I think the response is not gonna be just Israeli, but it's gonna be definitely American. And that's why we have two strike groups in the Med now. And we've seen what took place four days ago when the US Naval presence in the Red Sea have intercepted along with the Saudis few cruise missiles, plus a few drones. So the message and the states within the region are on high alert and Iran better heed to the clear diplomacy that it shouldn't escalate further. Ben, do you think that Iran will be deterred at all or will be rethinking its calculations when it sees this strong response from the United States? Do you think Tehran was expecting that strong response from the United States? By Washington yet, I believe there are strong political signals being sent. I believe Washington has significantly improved its counter Iran policy at least in the very, very, very, very short term as it relates to Iran's chief proxy, Nilevan Hezbollah. But make no mistake earlier this year, for example, the commander of Iran's IRGC Aerospace Force talked about how previously in the world when a US carrier would even move towards the region, the government that that carrier was intended to would fall on paraphrasing his quote. Now I'm sure that both the patron and the proxy see the need to have two carriers in the region as a boom to deter a non-state actor. So in essence, even though there are clear political signals being sent and even though potentially the conflict in Gaza does have the potential to remake US Iran policy, Iran and its proxies are still coasting on risk tolerance, not risk aversion. And in fact, they're trying to clay two different conflict circles or conflict clusters, one targeting Israel and one targeting the US. And if you look at what else is happening in the region, Iraq, Syria and potentially Yemen, that anti-US one is designed to step up to separate Washington and Jerusalem. So I don't think one should be taking a victory lap on messaging just yet. Okay, all right. Thank you, Bennett. Well, Israel's national security chief has praised the diplomatic efforts of Qatar. A reminder, Qatar hosts the Hamas leadership. It's also been instrumental in the release of hostages so far. Meanwhile, the Bahraini foreign minister said during economic talks in Saudi Arabia that the war between Israel and Hamas must not be allowed to derail the economic progress that started under the Abraham Accords. And at that same meeting, the Saudi foreign minister was stopped by journalists and he had this to say. Can I just ask you, what is the first thing that has to happen in order to achieve peace in your view? Right now we need a ceasefire. Beyond that, though. We need to restart the peace process. Is that possible? It has to be possible. If we are not willing to overcome all the difficulties, all the challenges, all the history that is involved in this issue, then we will never have a real peace and security in the region. So we must restart the peace process. Do you think the Arabs have shown clearly, have shown that they are serious, have shown that they are willing to engage? We are ready. We hope that we can do it soon. Do you believe the Israelis are serious? So, Abdullah, a couple of questions for you. Firstly, that's Bahrain and also Saudi Arabia who have kind of alluded to the Abraham Accords and kind of implied that they do want them to continue. And also a word on the comments by the Saudi foreign minister there. Is he setting the kingdom up to take a leading role in what will happen post Hamas, do you think? And when he says the Arabs, is he referring to the Arabs in the Gulf or more broadly in the region? Laura, I'm sorry to say, but the Israelis are very, very slow in picking up their signals from Saudi Arabia when it's come to really reading and understanding what the Saudis are messaging you directly and indirectly. And also through a lot of other diplomacy. Officially, Israel have participated in two events three events in Riyadh. The Israeli national anthem was played in Riyadh and the flag was raised. But you continue or the Israelis continue to demand that it's only the Israeli way or no way. What you need to do is develop your tools, re-approach differently sometime. Can you elaborate on that for us? What do you mean by that? The Israelis need to change their position? I mean, what more? The Saudis have tabled a peace initiative since 2002. Name me one prime minister that have acknowledged that this could be even, could be the way forward, none. Well, I had on that made a very generous offer. Didn't he to the Palestinians in 2008? It was rejected by Mahmoud Abbas. What did this way at the present time? I mean, the Israelis are and the Palestinian are the victims of Netanyahu policies for the last 16 years. No Mahmoud Abbas know the Israelis were in a good position or positive position to start to do something serious about it. What we are talking about is a total new discourse for us to engage directly in finding a solution. This is not just an Israeli Palestinian issue. It's a regional issue. You have partners in this and we could definitely, if we come around starting with Gaza, we could do something differently even when it's come to Iran proxies. Most of those proxies have been labeled or categorized as terrorist organization. Why don't the United States artist ally within the region to work together in sending Iran a clear message by taking action against those proxies in Iraq and Syria? Okay, all right. Thank you, Abdullah. Relique Shafir, you'd like to respond. Yes. We're talking about what Samuel Huntington's called clash of civilization. When they say this, what do they mean? And we're talking east and west. We're talking different cultures, different use of phrases and language. So when the Saudis offered their peace, and when in 2008 is alluded to, Al Mert offered what he thought was almost everything to Mahmoud Abbas. 96% I think of the territory they wanted. Yes. So Mahmoud Abbas is not in a position to accept any offer unless it's shoved down his throat by the Arabs and the Israelis so that he can say, I was forced to accept this. He cannot accept it on his own because he wouldn't have the support of his people. So sometimes just like ourselves Israelis would not accept the hesitation of the move unless we understood that this is mandated by Biden. So we need to read between the lines and behind the front page. What do you mean when you say? And for this, you need people who can understand both languages and not get lost in translation. So do you, to a certain extent, agree with what Abdullah said? Yes. Do you foresee a greater role for the Gulf Arab states in bringing peace to the region? Well, let's think about it this way. There are two and a half million people in Gaza that are going anywhere. But Gaza is too small to house two and a half million people. There was an offer, by the way, which was popped up by Assisi as well, to enlarge Gaza up to El-Ariish, about five times the size and go in an international and Arab-backed program to actually settle the Gazans in a much wider area in lieu of, well, in lieu of disarmament and controlled by the Palestinian Authority and an international community. This is what they're talking about, I think, when they're saying the Arabs should be part and parcel. And for Israel, it'll be some kind of a pill to swallow, but a Biden actually said, have a plan, what do you mean to do after you topple Hamas? For this, Israel is not really, I would say, emotionally prepared at this time. All right, Ben and I want to get to in a second, but I'd just like to get Abdullah's response to that briefly. Put it this way, at the present time, what we need is something like a total candid discussion. We know very well that the Israeli are not hesitant about going into Gaza militarily, but they know that behind the international support, everybody is telling Israel and the Israelis now are even the American are publishing that or leaking that deliberately, telling them you are gonna create a big amiss by going into Gaza. So hold your horses, let us manage this crisis differently. We have other stakeholders, they could come into play and be, let's say, a real partner in a different Gaza. Israel can't manage Gaza on its own. The Palestinian Authority don't have what it takes to manage a real transitional plan within Gaza. So definitely, you'll need the strategic allies and the GCC and Saudi, I mean, are the best they and Egypt. You have Jordan and you have the American and the European now. Everybody is willing to come in as part of the solution, but Israel need to change the narrative as well. All right, okay, thank you, Abdullah. Ben and if I could come back to you because I don't, I mean, the theory is, isn't it that the Ayatollah wanted to derail the peace process between Israel and the Gulf Arab states? And that is why he planned all of this and launched this offensive. If that was the plan, he will be very disappointed to hear about the Gulf Arab states saying they want to take a leading role in a new post Hamas-Gaza. And they do intend to continue with their cooperation with Israel as well. What are your thoughts on that? Listen, I think before we get to the idea of peace talks and, you know, outside the theater. All right, we've got a bit of a sub-problem with Ben and can we try and get- Attacks on the U.S. Yeah, we've lost Ben. We'll try and get Ben and back up on the line. So let's continue our discussion then. I think Ben and we're saying there is a bit early to start talking about a post Hamas-Gaza. But my point is, you know, the Americans didn't have a plan for after the day, after the day in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we saw what happened there. So do you think that this is something that's being talked about in Israel already? Yes, I think so. The Americans, they're probably didn't have a plan or maybe didn't understand what kind of a mess they're getting into. And they've learned from that that you should have an exit plan prior to entering any mess that you can't really control. In this particular case, Israel cannot withdraw its troops and go home, just like they did in Afghanistan. So obviously something has to give. And what we're talking about is what is the end game? We can continue talking about how Hamas is destroying Gaza and they could have a haven and so on. But what do we offer with the Arabs, the moderate states and the United States and the Europeans? What kind of future do we offer the Gazans in the day after? This is what all those leaders- So wasn't that part of the calculation of the Netanyahu government in that he wanted to give the work permits? He offered them to come into Israel and work. He thought that if they were getting enough money and they were getting an awful lot of money, the Hamas leadership was getting an awful lot of money, that that would affect their behavior. It didn't. Well, the reason that I think Netanyahu did this and a lot of people agreed with him was to weaken the Palestinian Authority because the real gem, so to speak, for the Israeli right is control of Judea and Samaria, of the West Bank. And Hamas was cultivated in a way by Israel so that they are actually weakening the Palestinian Authority. This history will judge whether it was a smart move. For internal Israeli politics, it certainly was because it allowed for a moderate right-wing government to survive for a long time. But at this time, with an extreme right-wing government, it looks like it blew in our faces. So this is something that we will need to think the day after. Let me bring in Benham. Benham, I think you're back with us now. Yes. Go ahead, Benham. Yeah, apologies. I know there's been a little bit of talk about potential peace plans and outside invadiation, but rockets are still being fired. They're still continue to be multi-domain, multi-dimensional and multi-directional attacks on US forces, as well as on Israel at the moment, admittedly on a still a little bit of a lower scale. So why did Iran do this? I do fundamentally believe, as you were saying earlier in the lead, that it was to impede Saudi Israeli normalization. But it's also to impede what both the guests are talking about, which is even in the instance where Israel is able to militarily accomplish its goals by air and land in Gaza, which could be the destruction or the eradication of Hamas. The terror that Iran supports in the Gaza Strip there. Ultimately, that it will still be able to fail to win the peace, because Iran's goal is to have the seams of the destruction of Hamas impede or create space between US partners and allies in the region, such that the center of attention for the region and the center of gravity is not unity between Arabs and Israel against Iran, but fracturing of Arabs and Israel and again, a reorientation, a regional ire against Israel based on the images coming out of that military campaign. So unfortunately, the Islamic Republic is moving towards achieving political aims, but through military means and violence. And for that, I think we need a better counter. OK, thank you, Ben. I want to bring in Qatar. We haven't spoken about Qatar yet, because of course, a high-ranking Israeli official today praised Qatar's diplomatic efforts. And we should point out, of course, Qatar is currently hosting the Hamas leadership. Abdullah, I know your country, other countries in the region, have had their problems in the past with Qatar. They imposed a blockade on Qatar. How do they see the country now and its involvement in what's happening in Gaza? Well, to this way, with all my due respect, we had our differences. But it wasn't a trivial sort of issues that accumulated to escalate to that level. We've been the forefront fighting fundamentalists and in all forms. But unfortunately, the Qataris and even the Israelis and the American opted to, let's say, accept the model that Qatar was representing. And as Alec have said, at the end of the day, unfortunately, what was thought to be the best tool of containment of Hamas and Palestinian authority just came to roost and produce a new form of monistat. I mean, Netanyahu made sure that he cultivated Hamas to the maximum possible. He knew exactly what the leadership were. He helped carry the money coming from through Qatar to Hamas. Did any Israeli raised an objection to that? Did any Israeli asked, was there an Iranian money coming through those bags? Did they think that Hamas is going to be building schools and factories and nurseries? Did any Israeli even stop or try to stop? It felt good. And we were telling the whole region, the whole world, you are banking or taking a very high risk by appeasing this radicalism in the form of the Islamic Brotherhood. Look where they went. Now they are a proxy of Iran and not just by other parties. All right, thank you, Abdullah. A policy of appeasement has led us to this. Yes, this was trying to distance facing the problems as far ahead as possible, which is it's not containment. It's turning a blind eye. There were people who were against this and people talking about this. But I think Netanyahu's political abilities, I would say amazing abilities, he was able to silence his critics on the left and the right who were talking about this. So we kind of all took the bait and are all paying for the results. So the question is, what will the future look like? Is it belligerency, stronger and more aggressiveness? Or is it aggressive on the one hand but offering hope on the other hand? That part was difficult for Israel to play and certainly for this particular government. But I think the Interim Defense Council that including the opposition now will help in fostering a new thinking in the future, not immediately because emotions are still tucked into the ruling. Yes. All right, thanks for that. Thank you very much indeed. Abdullah Al-Janaeem, thank you very much to you as well. And to Ben and Ben Talablu. Thank you all very much for your contributions. We appreciate it. We're going to end right now by going to Central Tel Aviv. Our Bacha Levine Tal is there. Bacha. Laura, so earlier when we crossed you, we were showing you the vigil that was set up here. There are teddy bears, around 30 large teddy bears. You can see slightly behind me with the pictures of some of the children that have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. But I want to move out of the frame because I want to show you just the paradox that is here at the center of Tel Aviv. We're seeing a lot of people coming here that is supposed to be vigils, Laura. People are lighting candles. These are teddy bears that have been blindfolded, covered in red paint. And the paradox is that this is a place of comfort. People are coming to sit. They're coming to pay their respects. But there's a fortune of unity in this area. There's a fortune of people wanting to just be together. Earlier when we were walking around the square and we spoke to some people and said, you know, did you come in light of candle? Did you come and see the vigil? And they said, no, I just wanted to be with the Israeli people. And that's the very essence of what this country is about right now, coming together at the hardest, but hardest of times possible. Absolutely. Bacha, thank you. Bacha Levine Tal. They're a reminder of why we are having this war right now. And that dozens of hostages are still being held in Gaza. And that is the forefront of everyone's minds. We're going to take a short break. Stay with us. There have been countless memorable moments broadcasting with I-24 News in the past six years. But for me, the one that stands out the most was the first time that I had ever personally heard a rocket siren sounding in Tel Aviv. And at that moment, we were live on air in studio. I will never forget the moment our senior producer said to me in my ear, the sirens are sounding in Tel Aviv. The control room is going to the shelter. With me in studio at the time were Michael Herzog, a former Brigadier General. Today, the Israeli ambassador to the United States. And Arsene Ostrowski, an international human rights lawyer, and their responses were completely different. Michael Herzog was calm and composed. And on the other hand, Arsene Ostrowski was trying to phone his family and check in to make sure that his loved ones were OK. The camera that normally faces us was hoisted from above. There was an overhead shot of the three of us in the studio. You could see colleagues going to the shelter if you looked at the glass behind the studio. And obviously, we lost contact with our team on the ground, our reporters in Ashkelon, and all the witnesses that we were speaking to during that time. When rockets are coming towards a residential area, they don't distinguish between race, religion, political views, cultural views. They just intend to harm civilians. And that moment, being in studio, hearing those interceptions overhead was the most real coverage I have ever been involved in. Israel is officially in a state of war. This is a very active scene, and we need to get in the car as we're talking. More than 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. Help us, we don't want to do it. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant, and we are ready, and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. Welcome back. Hamas fired rockets at the Red Sea City of Elat and the northern city of Haifa today. There's 19 days into the war between Israel and Hamas. The Air Force has been pounding the Gaza Strip for over two weeks now. Let's get more with our correspondent Hamda Salhout. She is down at the border with Gaza, and she joins us now. Hamda, what's the latest where you are? Right, Laura, so just a short while ago, Hamas firing rockets off of the Gaza Strip that we were able to see reaching far places, north of places like Rishon, the alerts out there. Now, the Israeli military has been continuously bombarding the Gaza Strip, specifically here behind me in the north in Gaza City. Reports indicating that there's been heavy damage sustained in the Shajariah neighborhood in the east part of the city. The Israeli military is continuing with its campaign, saying that it's going to defeat Hamas. We're still waiting for that ground invasion, though. This is the thing that everyone is watching for. Reports are indicating that that ground invasion will be delayed because the United States is hoping to replenish some weaponry across its bases all over the Middle East. So as the bombardment continues, we've seen actually a decrease in the rocket fire today, perhaps an indication that Hamas is trying to save some of their weaponry. But just yesterday, remember, there were 60 rockets fired at once towards central and northern parts of Israel. So really here, the activity is constant. The sounds of artillery are constant, and the Israeli bombardment inside of the Strip continues. And there is some dispute over the number of casualties inside Gaza. Of course, we know that there will be innocent civilians killed in this conflict, but the former head of Reuters pointing out today that those figures cannot be trusted because, of course, Hamas is the only authority in Gaza. And on top of this, only 20 trucks of humanitarian aid have made it into the Strip so far. Is that right, Hamda? Right, so in terms of the health ministry, while Hamas is the governing body, the health ministry is run by medical professionals who are counting the death toll. But remember, that death toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants save the children. This is a nonprofit organization is saying the 2,000 children have been killed inside of the Gaza Strip. There are reports of continuous casualties. And because of the influx of patients in these hospitals, the medical professionals and as well as everyone else in Gaza is asking for additional aid. The international community also wants that aid to come into Gaza. But the hospitals themselves are saying that even though some of this medical equipment and this aid is coming in, it doesn't serve them any purpose without fuel. The Israeli military stance on fuel has been firm and it has been, you know, not so discreet. They've been saying that they don't want to send in fuel because they don't want it to fall into the hands of Hamas at this time. So while some aid is coming in, Gazans are telling me it's simply not enough. All right Hamda, thank you very much. Hamda Sahut there, she's at the border with Gaza. With me in the studio, Brigadier General. Israeli Shafir, former commander at the Tel Nov Air Force base and a former combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force. Thank you for being with us. Let's talk about what might be going on in Gaza right now. We've had constant bombardment for nearly, for 19 days now, so for over two weeks. The Hamas terrorists are buried in these tunnels deep underground. Presumably they need fuel to keep the air in those tunnels. I mean, what will the situation be, do you think, inside Northern Gaza right now? We don't really know. When I say we, I mean, here in the studio or the Israeli public. Sure. But let me take you back about 24 years, 1999, in Yugoslavia when Milosevic was trying to break off and actually carried quite a few massacres for which he was vindicated later on in the Hague. The United States led a NATO coalition, 78 days of continuous bombing, until they capitulated. Not a single foot soldier on the ground. That means that some air campaigns, if they are strong enough and they're directed to the right places with a good enough intelligence, can actually achieve an overwhelming position of capitulation, of the command posts, of communications, of energy such as fuel, electricity, air, and so on in this particular case. What really complicates things are the 220 captives there. But at this time, Israel understands that it's a kind of a do or die situation. We have to be able to bring Hamas down to a place where they're under such pressure that they will give in in one way or another, carry cry for help and so on. Do you think it's in Israel's interest to keep delaying the ground offensive? Yes, as long as we have international support, as long as Hezbollah keeps on the flame, so to speak, in the North and shows that a bigger war might be coming. And as long as we have good enough results, as long as the Israeli public does not push the government too much for emotional reasons. To go in. Yes, there are certainly every day that passes, we destroy more of their capabilities. They have less energy, less communication. And so one thing though, collateral damage or personal damage, if the numbers are kept, I wouldn't say low, but low enough not to cause- Civilian casualties in Gaza, you're talking about. Not to cause an international uproar. Then it'll work for us. That means that we need to be careful so that we can keep on going, so that when the ground incursion, I wouldn't call it invasion, but incursion, does take place in certain areas with a lot of firepower around them, we will get maximum results in minimal international opposition. Okay, all right, thank you. I'm gonna extend with this for the moment because the full extent of the atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7th is still being discovered here in Israel. The Kibbutz of Nahal Oz is just 800 meters from the Gaza border. It was one of the first to be hit by terrorists. Before October 7th, it was home to some 400 people. Many were slaughtered on that day, others kidnapped to Gaza. The terrorists used a teenage boy, Tomer, to go house to house to try and draw out residents. He was then shot dead. Well, my next guest managed to survive the ordeal along with their seven-month-old baby girl. They were locked in a safe room. Elad and Maria Potelman are with us now. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Just Elad is with us. Elad, I mean, your story is beyond terrifying. Can you tell us what happened exactly? Yeah, we were woken up by a rocket collage and the sound of sirens. We grabbed our little daughter and ran to the safe room where we spent some 30 minutes under this incredible rate of fire. I mean, we live in Nahal Oz. We've been through it all. We've never had anything like that before. And while that rocket collage was going on, we've heard a mortar that hit right around, I'll say, in the vicinity of the house a few meters away. So I sent a text message to the person who was in charge of security in the kibbutz to let them know, because whenever a mortar would hit a place, you'd want to check and see that there was no nobody who got injured or any dangerous explosive residue. And then we got a message from the kibbutz. It said something like I was in a complex security situation, interior safe rooms locked the door and keep silence. So we did that just that started hearing gunfire coming closer and closer and this place really became a war zone for the entire day. And then we started receiving fractions of information like I was aware by one of my friends told me that another kibbutz was invaded by terrorists and he asked me if there are any in my kibbutz. I told him, look, I don't know, but it sounds like it's possible. We went on with that basically in chaos in a sense and completely unaware of bigger picture that was going on around us. At around 11 o'clock, we could hear people shouting, open up IDF, but they shouted at with an error so we could tell that they were not really IDF and we kept silent. Then they broke into the house, started shouting ala wakbar and iqba khaliyud, which means massacre the Jews started going through the house. And when they broke in immediately, what we did was basically what you wanna do is shout for help, but couldn't shout for help. So we text message everyone we could think of to come and help us rescue us, but really there was nobody to come and help. The army wasn't there. So we kept quiet. They came towards the safe room door. Luckily the previous tenant in my apartment, my house, installed a metal latch that you could close the door, lock it from within. That really ended up saving our life as well as the fact that my little daughter was in absolute silence. She was silent. Because she said seven months old, right? Seven months old. I mean, the babies cried, they screamed, they make noise. She didn't make... I mean, it's awful to think about how... Is it true you had a weapon with you? You were locked inside, you had a weapon and you were trying to keep the baby quiet. How did you keep your nerve? How did you stay calm? Well, I wish I could tell you that I did stay calm. I was horrified, really. But you do what you can to survive. So I think me and Maria, my wife, we were, at this point, we were like a team and communicated, kept each other focused on point, although you are very much terrified. When they arrived to the safe room door, Maria, there was like a niche in this room. So she was standing with Lynn, holding the baby in one hand and a knife in the other. And I was holding an axe just to the right of the door because I figured if they'll shoot through it, I'll get it if I'm right next to the door, right in front of the door. So I was waiting there and preparing for death, really. That's what it was. I was sure they'll break open. And then, you know, it won't help an axe, won't save you, several of them, at least three. I'm sure of that much. And, you know, they won't come with axes. No chance, really. But they tried the door a few times and I believe that they simply didn't know that we were there, because if they would have- They just gave up, yeah. Yeah, some duplication of effort would have taken place. So, yeah, Lynn was amazing, really. For seven months old, you know, she played quietly, she ate quietly. She was brilliant throughout the day, really. How long were you in there? How long did all of this go on? The terrorists were in our house for about an hour until somebody came, shouted something in Arabic, and they simply left the place. But they completely wrecked the house while they were there. And once they left, we were still locked in the safe room. So, we had to wait several more hours until the real IDF actually came and cleared the house. And then several more hours until we were eventually evacuated from the kibbutz. Goodness me. I mean, it's absolutely astonishing, your story. You owe your lives really to a little metal lock that was on the door that your former tenant installed. I mean- Absolutely. Now, how else was a paradise, wasn't it? I mean, we know now it was an extremely vulnerable paradise. Do you think people can ever go back? Where do you think that those communities that you lived in will never rebuild? It's a tough question. I believe, well, it depends on how the war end they get. I guess that would determine a whole lot about it. But if I have to take a guess, I think at least 50% will not return. So, I don't know what that means to their communities. Yeah, that's- Yeah. Okay. Well, we are incredibly thankful that you're still with us, Elad. What a story. And your lovely baby daughter as well. Astonishing story. Well, we hope you get over this and you have better days. And a big kiss to the baby. What a great baby. Elad Fatemman, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Wow. So many stories like that, where a tiny little thing could decide life or death. Let's talk about efforts to degrade Hamas's capabilities right now. We hear that the group spokesman, I think, has been killed in an airstrike today. His house was destroyed, sorry. I mean, looking back over the past 19 days, have their capabilities been severely harmed? I mean, how will they be operating when so many of their senior commanders have been taken out? They're now in a survival mode. But just yesterday, we saw some naval or a type of a commando trial of raid from Gaza to the Israeli Anitzanim shore. Those were killed and the pier that they came out of was destroyed. So they still have operation capabilities. You can see the shots that they're trying to take. They were getting ready for this for quite a few years. But they're degraded in their ability because they're losing energy, energy's fuel. That's why fuel is such a key issue at this point. How long do you think Israel can continue to block the fuel supplies going in? Actually, Israel has decided it will not ship fuel. And if they want to have fuel, they should have it from Egypt. Or use, for the Gazans, use Hamas' fuel reservoirs, which they do have. So we're putting a lot of pressure on their infrastructure. Because presumably Israel could strike those fuel supplies. Yes. That would be a tactical decision of whether we want to attack their fuel so they don't have any. But we would like for their hospitals to be operative. So it's their choice, whether they feel that they do have, goes to hospitals and for some important energy for their refugees or those who've left going south, or whether they want to keep for themselves. And presumably they need fuel, a lot of fuel, to keep the air conditioning in those tunnels going. Yes, that is true. And the more the Air Force is targeting those tunnels, the more of those tunnels will become unusable for different reasons, collapses, and so on. So communication lines, by the way, they are using landlines so that could eavesdrop on their... It's easy to do. Yes, it's in other conversations. Right. And so as we move on with this campaign, they will have less and less control, less and less energy. And we think that would make them more vulnerable. So either they, at the end of the day, try to save themselves in some kind of an agreement, or a request for ceasefire, for exchange of prisoners and so on. Or we'll have to step in with ground incursion. To force them to do that, we'll have to pay. But I think the public is ready for this kind of payment because we understand that if we don't pay now, we'll pay more dearly in the future. Okay, all right, thank you. All right, let's talk about economic considerations because they are very real. This war is likely to have a detrimental impact on Israel's economy. The Ratings Agency Standard and Pause has already downgraded Israel's credit outlook to negative. But aid is at hand. One organization, Ogan, is putting together an emergency relief program for small businesses. And Eldan Kay, the vice president of development and partnerships at... Oh, Jen, am I saying that right? Oh, Jen, Jerusalem is with us now. Ogan, Ogan, okay, thank you. Tell us a bit about what you're doing, Eldan. So, first of all, Lord, thank you for having me. It's difficult to come on after hearing these stories in some of the events. And hopefully we can create some opportunity for some positivity or at least positive opportunities going forward. Ogan, which I have the privilege of serving, is an organization that's been around for 33 years for a non-profit that is focused on financial inclusion in Israel. We have been with Israel in some of the wonderful times of Aliyah, but also in some of the challenging times like we're experiencing today. And the day after the attack, our team got together and realized that there's going to be a huge financial fallout from what we're seeing. The economy wasn't that great to start off with. In the first place, the target audiences that we're reaching are often the marginalized target audiences that the mainstream banks in this country don't look at in a positive light and see them as too risky to lend to. And so, Ogan prepared an emergency plan to support both families, small businesses, and non-profits, both in terms of actual loans, a lot of them interest-free loans, by the way, as well as a hotline providing mentor advice, expert financial advice, because people are dealing with situations that they don't know how to even approach. Right, of course, because a lot of workers have been deployed, called up as reservists, shops are shut, restaurants are closed. Nobody's obviously going out anymore. You're talking about these kind of B2C businesses, these smaller businesses that, in normal times, are there for people, and now they're at very real risk of going bust? Absolutely, I mean, we're talking about the hair salons, the salons, the pizza shops, the small contractors, the grocery shops, the independent grocery shops, anyone that you and I, on a regular basis, go to and purchase from, these are a deep risk. And we're not only talking about businesses in the South, 40 kilometers from the border or the North, we're talking about countrywide, because as you said, this is not a matter of just being in the war zone, it's a matter of the economy and people's state of mind, and the fact that so many people have been called up to reserve duty. So we're looking at businesses, primarily on a smaller scale of things, that the banks, as I said, would not look at even from their perspective. And so we're really stepping in in a place where both government, unfortunately, thus far, and mainstream banks are not providing any support, at least any meaningful support. And in the past 48 hours, since we launched our outreach campaign, we have had over 2,500 applications, which just shows us that this is just the beginning. And there's a lot more demand, unfortunately, out there that we're going to be serving. All right, so people can, small business owners who are struggling, they can look you up online, this O-G-E-N organ, and they can get in touch. And you're also presumably looking for donations as well. So if anybody would like to donate, get in touch with Eldan and his team as well. All right, Eldan. Sorry, I'll just, families as well, and non-profits are not just small businesses. Okay, families who are struggling, small businesses, and NGOs, anyone who's struggling financially as this war drags on can get in touch with again, O-G-E-N, and they'll be able to help you out. Eldan Kay, thank you very much. Best of luck to you, thank you. Thank you. Well, the war has had a severe impact on Israel's dairy industry as well. Many of the farmers and foreign workers were murdered or kidnapped into Gaza. And while the Kibbutzim were in lockdown, and nobody could tend to the cows, and many of them died, well, two weeks later, dairy farmers are still reeling from events. More in this report. It was only four days after the Hamas massacre in the villages near the Gaza border that the dairy farmers were allowed to return to their farms to milk their cows. While terrorists were attacking his Kibbutz near its crack, Shmuel the farmer was in his dairy farm. It was Saturday I went to feed the cows. At 6.30, I heard the siren go off. As I'm used to it, I took no notice, but continued working. I couldn't imagine what was going on near the Kibbutz gate. I was almost done working and on my way home. I saw the commotion. I ran home, shot myself in the safe room, with my wife. We heard the terrorists around our home, and they also entered our home. It was terrifying. Shmuel's son-in-law, Tal Haimi, was taken by Hamas to Gaza while he was trying to protect his family. After the tragedy, Shmuel refused to leave his Kibbutz. Someone had to take care of the cows. I stayed to safeguard the farm. I can't abandon the animals. Secondly, my son is the dairy farm manager. He's a father of two. I couldn't allow him to stay here. If someone should stay, it should be me. The Israeli dairy farm industry relies on workers from Thailand. When Hamas terrorists entered the villages on October 7th, they murdered and kidnapped the foreigners as well. In one village, 15 people from Thailand were budgeted. Now, many are planning to flee Israel. Others are prepared to stay, but not next to the border with Gaza, and few are willing to come back. I will stay in Thailand and cope with my mental health in the meantime. I have lost 10 of my colleagues. To save the remaining cows, people from across Israel have volunteered to keep the dairy farms working. Rachel immigrated to Israel six years ago. She's now a volunteer on Shmuel's farm. Because of the war and everything, everyone left to take care of all the animals, the cows. That way, when they come back, they have a place home. They're still intact. Even though the area is not secure, Rachel chose to stay. The best way I could help is just honestly coming out here. So I was scared. There's some moments, definitely some moments during the day that, you know, there's a Azhaka and we're running and don't know when to come out. But it's important to be here, to come back. It was meant to be to come here and help out. And I'm happy to be here. But even with the help of volunteers, the financial damage is grave. With the volunteers, we mainly keep the farmer floats. It means feeding the cows and milking them. Not more. The damage is severe because we don't take care of them properly. There are a lot of malfunctions, but we deal with that. There's no other option. It's clear to me that I will need to exchange some of the cows and rebuild the herds. Some cows died after not being milked for three days. And one dairy farmer, Kibbutz Kisafim, was shut down. After the female dairy farmer was murdered. Now in the midst of the war, the government has decided to prolong the dairy import, which will damage the dairy farm's income even more. To save the area's milk industry, Shmiel is pleading for government help. Now, except for the government, everyone is supporting us. The only ones who have not shown their support are the government. It's very frustrating. I want to say to them, remember us after this war ends. Help us recover this lifelong dream after the war. And staying with us on I-24 News Prime Minister Netanyahu is to give a statement to the press within the next hour. We'll cover that live for you. Goodbye. Hell is officially in a state of war. This is a very active scene, and we need to get in the car as we're talking. Within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. Help us. We don't know what to do. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant, and we are ready, and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. We're in Rezum Island, within the Jewish community. Any type of visitation of these hostages, knowing if they are dead or alive. The presentation behind us represents 220 families. Special broadcast on I-24 News, I'm Khaled bin David. It's day 19 of the Israel Hamas War. Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Hamas installations and target its military leaders in the Gaza Strip. While the terror group is launching its rockets into Israel, including a new target, shooting a long-range rocket at the Red Sea resort of Alat. Israel's death toll stands at over 1,400. The Hamas-run health ministry says that in Gaza, the number now tops 6,000. The Prime Minister of Qatar claims progress is being made in negotiations to free more of the at least 220 hostages being held in Gaza. In the north, at least four rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel today, hitting open areas, while the IDF responded with return fire across the border. His bull ahead, Hassan Nasrallah, whose terror movement says it has suffered more than two dozen casualties from Israeli fire, met in Beirut today with top figures from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to talk of, quote, achieving victory over the Zionist entity. And while many Israelis are asking why a ground offensive into Gaza has not yet begun, a Wall Street Journal report offers one possible reason, giving time to the United States to deploy more air defense systems across the Middle East, deploying missile launchers in Iraq, Syria and the Gulf to defend American military assets there. And we expect in the coming, certainly in the coming minutes or coming hour, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a public address. We will carry that life to you. We have some more updated news out of Gaza. Earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces released what they said was the true photograph, picture and name of Abu Abedah. He is the spokesperson, propaganda chief for Hamas. He's been appearing only with his face covered in his public appearances. That is his actual appearance. The IDF is saying his actual name is Hadifa Khaloot. And just in the past hour reports coming out of Gaza Strip that his family home in Gaza was bombed in an Israeli airstrike. These are unconfirmed. This is from the Hamas, Hamas Interior Ministry. And several family members were killed. We have no confirmation yet on whether, on the fate of Abu Abedah. We'll bring you any information we have as it comes through the broadcast. Well, joining me in the studio, Dr. Fadi Ismail, former senior staff there for the U.S. Congress and research fellow at the International Institute for Count the Terrorism. Owen Altiman, our senior diplomatic correspondent. Well, I want to start with this breaking news, Fadi, because the IDF, the Israel saying, targeting the leaders of Hamas is definitely one of the main strategic aims here of it. And it is possible. We've had some big, major figures just in the past few days. We don't know yet. Abu Abedah certainly would be on that list. Yes, we've seen the targeting of their homes, of their properties, of the family's homes. The immediate ring around these leaders, it seems like there is a very detailed list that the Air Force has about these people, about their close contacts and so on. And right from the beginning, beginning of this operation, there was a very repetitive targeting of those specific heads of Hamas. As far as to, even the West Bank, the IDF even took over the House of El-Arouri himself, who is the number two in all of the global Hamas movement. And actually now his house is the Israeli HQ. That's part of the, so it is very clear that the focus primarily is on these guys and probably the right way to do it. That's just everybody will now stay away from them or try to retreat from being with them or around them. And that's part of the effect you want. About Hadifa El-Kahaloud, he may be dead or not, I would say. Let's go down to our correspondent, Hamda Sahlhult. She is in the south near the Gaza border. And Hamda reports coming out of Gaza. I know you discussed earlier, Abu Abedah earlier in the day. What are you hearing any, hearing anything out of Gaza, what could possibly be happening there? Well, look, Kaleb, what I'm hearing from sources inside of the Gaza Strip is that the humanitarian situation is dire. The medical situation is also dire. There is a complete standstill in the halt of some medical services because of the necessity of fuel and additional aid. Today, an aid truck arriving in Hanunis with a lot of medical supplies. But doctors in the hospitals are saying that without fuel, they cannot use any of the supplies that they have now been given. So this situation is continuous. The Israeli bombardment in several parts of the Gaza Strip. We've been hearing it all night. We've also seen rockets coming off the Gaza Strip, heading towards more northern cities like Rishon, La Tzion just south of Tel Aviv. So the situation at this time is catastrophic inside of the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military is preparing itself for that inevitable ground offensive. Right. Of course, the IDF releasing photos that say, there is fuel in Gaza being held and reserved by Hamas for its operations. What about the situation down there in the Gaza border area during the course of the day? As you said, rocket fire continues to come from inside Gaza. Well, look, the Israeli military has evacuated a majority of the southern communities and Israeli media was reporting that the military and home front command told anyone who is still in these communities to seek shelter immediately. That was about 30, 40 minutes ago. This has been declared a military zone. We haven't really seen anyone who was a resident here. It is completely empty. There is no one here but press and the army. Because of the situation, there's constantly artillery fire, constantly airstrikes, constantly things booming in the distance. You can hear that boom right now overhead in Israeli airstrike behind me inside of the northern part of the Gaza Strip that has already sustained heavy damage in the eastern parts of Gaza City today in neighborhoods like a Chagyariya Kalev. All right, Hamas al-Houth there by the Israel-Gaza border. Let's go to the north now, the Israel-Lebanon border because another day of fire across that border as well. And Pia, give us an update on the day there in the north. Right, Kalev, only in the past hours the IDF issuing a statement saying that it has targeted three squads from southern Lebanon trying to launch anti-tank missiles there into Israel. We're talking about squads firing those anti-tank missiles from southern Lebanon. One of them targeting an Israeli army post in the town of Avivim, very close to the Israel-Lebanon border. That comes after this afternoon. Rocket sirens were sounding in the community of Kiryat Shmone in the area. A community that has been evacuated this week. It's a community, a major area there in the eastern part of the Israel-Lebanon border where residents have been asked to evacuate because of the constant shelling, the constant skirmishes that we've been seeing really in the past two weeks between Israel and Hezbollah. That coming also as this afternoon, Haifa was targeted by a missile, a rocket coming not from Lebanon but from Hamas in fact, Hamas firing a long-range missile from the Gaza Strip into the area of Haifa. That missile exploded, that rocket exploded into the air, no casualties, no injuries there. But that really shows you how Hezbollah and Hamas are trying to combine the fronts. This morning, a meeting happening, Hezbollah publishing about it between Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhle and one of the most senior Hamas officials, Salah al-Arore, really them saying and stating that their goal is to now continue to support the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and to really talk about the next steps being taken and that what they said, sensitive moment in that war. So that really shows you and this is also what Hezbollah has been emphasizing throughout the year that the fronts are combined. Also now seeing that yesterday two rockets were launched from Syria. Israel has been targeting Syrian targets throughout the night. Now a couple of hours ago also the airport in Aleppo was struck in what is attributed to Israel and an airstrike for the fourth time already in this war. As we know that Israel is set to target Iranian targets in Syria. They're preventing Iran from delivering weapons to its proxies in Syria. Alright, Piaz Takobach there by the Israel's Northern border. Thank you for that. We just have an announcement from the IDF that the Israel Defense Forces spoke person. We're Admiral Daniel Higari. We'll be giving a statement to the media at a quarter to nine at the IDF headquarters. Significance there all in is that he usually has been announced at giving a statement at 8.15 which would be about four minutes from now indicating that perhaps they've pushed that back to allow Prime Minister Netanyahu to make an address. Of course the Prime Minister often runs a little late there. We should say there is a cab meeting at the cabinet this evening suggesting maybe some decisions are being made. Reports throughout the day of perhaps the Qatari Prime Minister will have more in that later saying there's progress towards a hostage deal. Speculation because of reports and Khandera related to it. Advising residents of the Gaza border area those who remain that they should prepare themselves to send an extended period in their protected shelter. So a lot of speculation about perhaps some announcement of note coming perhaps this evening or development. Netanyahu has not spoken to the country every night Kalev so the fact he decided to speak would lead us to believe that he has something to say. In terms of the rumors there are a lot of rumors swirling around about exactly what happened an hour ago, an hour and a half ago in Gaza City. But I think two things to keep our attention on one is the issue of senior Hamas officials and you and Fadi spoke about that before. Our viewers to end Hamas control of the Gaza Strip which is what Israel wants to do the bottom line is that the tunnel network has to be attacked and destroyed. That's where Hamas assets are that's where Hamas goes to hide and reorganize and have a safe harbor so to speak and if Israel is going to win the war Hamas center of gravity is there in that tunnel network and it may be some of the reports coming out are not as much about the senior official that may be true as well but it's about big parts of the tunnel network having been destroyed and as for that in the ground offensive I just want to take us all back to a conversation we had in the studio with one of our guests about a week and a half ago that made a great impression on me. He was a pilot one of the few pilots that attacked the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 so a senior epic. And we talked in studio again about how to destroy the tunnels because again if Israel is going to win the war that and what came out of the discussion is this first of all that the tunnels are very far underground but there are the openings to the ground to get above ground which is where the earth is weaker and so the process is that Israeli intelligence needs to identify where those openings are and then as as Relic described the Air Force bombs that opening bombs again bombs again bombs again and again and again or just strong munitions until the tunnel simply opens up and if that's the case if he's right about his theory then the ground campaign isn't the central element of the war the central element of the war is destroying the tunnels and that's done from the air not to say a ground campaign isn't necessary to take control of the Gaza Strip it obviously is but taking his theory or his contention to its conclusion the center of attention is the air strike and so it may be that we're seeing evidence of that theory tonight again I'm interested in hearing more from more experts about this side and security side but I think it's an important thing for us to keep our attention well maybe the briefing by the IDF spokesperson will have more information on that but I do want to relate to this Wall Street Journal report Fadi today saying that one of the reasons a ground operation may have been delayed is that the US wanted to deploy air defense systems advanced air defense systems in various countries in the region where it itself has assets perhaps concerned over that those assets military bases or forces in places like Iraq and Syria and the Gulf could come under fire we're seeing the party of the Prime Minister by the way that's what you're looking at there that those assets could come under attack either by proxies from Iran such as the Houthis or Shiite militias in Iraq or Syria or in worst case scenario let's say originally Iran itself yes this is not a war between Israel and Hamas not anymore it hasn't been actually for two weeks you have a whole I can't say any lines but there's a whole movement I put it in very simple words like the writer Einran would say at last struck this is what happens now the whole world is moving we have special forces arriving very close to here from Germany from Holland from places like that the whole world is coming closer here the American forces are not full yet we still have other entities that should arrive in the region not everybody is well deployed not everybody is ready and the air defences are part of this there's intelligence operations have to to be completed this information needs to be collected there's planning that has to be done and also there's no point in running now into Gaza for this we are in the midst of a war over our existence we set two goals for this war to wipe out Hamas by eradicating both its military and governmental capabilities and to do anything and everything possible in order to bring our hostages back home all Hamas activists must die above the ground beneath the ground inside Gaza and outside of Gaza together with Minister of Defense Galan the Minister Benny Gantz the security cabinet chief of general staff and the heads of the security forces we are working around the clock in order to carry out and execute the goals of our war until victory and we do so without any political considerations the only thing we care about is saving this country and obtaining victory we are bringing down lethal fire on Hamas we've already killed off thousands of terrorists and this is just the beginning and we're also preparing for the ground I'm not going to give any specifics on when, how and how much I'm also not going to specify the various considerations we're taking into account many of these considerations are not known to the general population in Israel and that's a good thing because we want to protect our soldiers' lives I would like to be clear the timing of the IDF operation was determined unanimously by the cabinet in charge of this war together with the chief of general staff and together with the cabinet we operate in order to guarantee the most optimal conditions for our troops for the upcoming activities and when we get into Gaza and then later on we're going to get those murders who committed these horrendous horrific events of Hamas to pay the full price once again I call upon those who are uninvolved in Gaza leave and go to the south of the Gaza Strip leave your homes citizens of Israel even amid wartime we do not forget for one moment the terrible pain of the loss of over 1400 of our brothers and sisters who were cold-bloodedly massacred and who were killed in heroic battles against these terrible monsters who wanted to kill us all the loss of their lives are like arrows pointed at our heart our soul the soul of this nation is bleeding we will determine national days of grieving for those who were killed Elisha one of the troops was killed in the war and his mother Nava Elisha grieved for him, eulogized when he was buried and said this war we will be reborn as a nation and I think nobody could say it more aptly I bow my head as I face all these families who are now facing such a terrible tragedy I know that their lives will never be the same again and I would like to send to them to convey to them from the bottom of all Israelis a big and loving embrace of the people of Israel the ministers of the government are doing everything they can in order to reach out and help those who need help we have evacuated thousands of citizens who are in the confrontation lines to hotels and other arrangements and that's fully funded by this state and we are now formulating plans to provide additional assistance as soon as possible we will rebuild and rehabilitate the Kibbutzim and all the communities that have been so severely harmed we've established 600 ready squads with new shipments of weapons coming from overseas and we will add additional forces to this effort we are encouraging citizens to start using weapons but we're doing so in a controlled manner we are rallying the support of world leaders to support our campaign to continue with this campaign many of them understand today what we've been saying to them since 2014 Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas and I say to them that our war against Hamas is their war as well our war against Hamas is a test for all of humanity it is a struggle between the axis of evil of Iran and Hamas and the axis of freedom and progress we are the people of the light they are the people of darkness and light shall triumph over darkness citizens of Israel October 7th was a very dark and black day in our history we will fully investigate what had happened at our southern border the border with Gaza everybody will have to provide answers myself included but all that will happen only after the war as a prime minister I'm responsible for guaranteeing the future of this country and now my role is to lead all Israelis the state of Israel and the people of Israel to an overpowering victory it is now a time to come together for one purpose to storm ahead to achieve victory in joint with joint forces a profound belief in our justice a profound belief in the eternity of the Jewish people realize the prophecy of Isaiah there will no longer be stealing at your borders and your gates will be of glory together we will fight together we will win Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking I would say there was not in that speech it was a speech mainly to address some of the criticism it would seem that has been addressed primary to the government and to the anxiety within Israel over the timing of perhaps of a ground operation or an ottoman your impressions the long lines of what you were saying there aren't any real headlines here or any major pieces of news I think you're right this was mainly to address criticism of the government's functioning inside again concerns about the economic plan in order to help people who have been affected and huge swaths of the society have been affected and Netanyahu also addressing I suspect not to the satisfaction of many in the Israeli public this issue of his not coming out and taking responsibility for what happened on October 7th saying that there will be time for questions after the war right now my responsibility is to guarantee the future of the Jewish states obviously that will be up to the Israeli public a feisty argument about that we did have the prime minister come out and commit Israel to a ground offensive which is a minor headline but I think it was his first very specific reference right because again there are those Kalev among Israel's allies who reportedly are trying to dissuade Israel we had Emmanuel Macron come out and say just in the last few hours it would be a mistake for Israel to go in in a massive way in a ground invasion to parse what Netanyahu say to use the word massive and he can still check that box of a ground invasion through something lesser but he at least indicated that as of now that is a big part of Israel's plan I think it is stepping back there is a sense of kind of stasis here in Israel right a kind of settling into a kind of depressing new routine with this war that it doesn't necessarily seem to moving backward but the goals in the eyes of the Israeli public don't seem to be moving forward at any real speed either in the military or in a sense in the civilian front so I guess Netanyahu wanted to be out there and to see and be seen giving this update and just as a final note on that I think one of the reasons he felt he needed to do this is this is so unfamiliar in the Israeli psyche I can't remember in my lifetime at least Kalev an Israeli military operation that moved with such let's say deliberation right where there was such a long pause and such a long period of trying to understand what the right course of action is generally that's not been Israel's national security doctrine Israel's national security doctrine has been to take the initiative to show strength quickly and decisively and to make an impression on the other side and to have that side therefore be deterred we see a different dynamic bow a different dynamic here I should say maybe for the better again that remains to be seen again Israel in this sense taking counsel from its allies who may have a different approach to these type of issues and obviously where it leads all right I do want to say he did try to maybe make that point of the air campaign having that kind of impact maybe we'll get more maybe we'll get more details when we're Admiral Higari also truth we have reports of the IDF is now striking in Lebanon as we said there was cross-border fire today Fadi I want to get also your reaction also interesting that the Prime Minister did mention there are factors that are dictating the timing of a ground operation which he did specify it would happen that are unknown to the public and maybe it's better not known for the public we just talked about perhaps one of them deployment of more US air defense systems across the region here in a sense telling telling the public you may not know it's coming you won't know when but the things are things are moving even though you may not be aware of it you know I promise you there is Israeli activity inside Gaza in the form of special operations recon collected information, collected data they go in they come out I mean we do have people going in and out it is basically preparing making all the possible preparations you know like somebody taught me in offices school taught us the class war plans are wonderful until they meet reality so you can plan all you want but that's a thing it's a process of thinking getting out of the shock that existed the whole system was in shock I mean let's call it what it is we cannot count them two weeks like they are equal the days were different the first few days were a place where you go back finding your footing again so the system has its footing now now it's playing scenarios what's happening other countries also have to get the ducks in row we're not alone here you have to understand we have China in the picture we have Russia in the picture the whole world is reorganizing itself around this situation and if we are saying this is going to be very long months maybe a year then yeah it's going to be something of a routine something like that it's becoming a marathon it is not a sprint a 10 seconds sprint no consequences of that economic of course social consequences there's a question of how much that can be sustained gentlemen I want to move now from to the diplomatic sphere because across the Israeli political spectrum Israeli leaders here continue to condemn the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres opposition leader for example saying that his comments at a security council session Tuesday and quote brought shame upon the UN now Guterres comments since that Tuesday session have so far done nothing to temper the storm our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Altman examines what Guterres says and why it's kicking up such a fuss even for Israel at the United Nations it's a new low with continued anger in Israel Wednesday over the comments of Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York a day earlier it is important to also recognize the attacks by Amas did not happen in a vacuum the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation Mr. Secretary General in what war do you live definitely this is not our world Saturday October 7 will go down in history as nothing less than a brutal massacre families of Israeli hostages went ahead Tuesday with their meeting with Guterres but Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled his meeting Israel began denying visas to UN officials Ambassador to the UN called for Guterres to resign and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Wednesday had this to say those who seek to understand look for a justifying context do not categorically condemn the perpetrators and do not call for the unconditional and immediate release of the abducted fail the test UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres failed the test Guterres took to the podium Wednesday to explain Israel remained unimpressed I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statements yesterday in the Security Council as if I was justifying acts of terror by a mass this is false it was the opposite Israel and UN institutions have had tense relations for decades with Israel feeling UN bodies and UN officials do not give Israel's claims a fair hearing that the United Nations has a deep rooted anti-Israel culture that has not always tainted the Secretary General himself which is why the fury over Guterres's comments is news and the storm comes at a sensitive time with UN agencies a key force in the Gaza Strip making this a high stakes diplomatic fight for all involved Well let's go now to our senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim in New York there at the UN Mike the Secretary General was shocked that his statements kicked up such a fuss maybe indicating a bit of a bubble there at the UN No doubt whatsoever there it's almost like you're living in two different realities here which is not uncommon at the United Nations whatsoever but Guterres refusing to back down essentially doubling down on his statements today meanwhile there are certainly diplomatic ramifications beyond tweets in this particular issue given that Israel's in the midst of a conflict in which the UN is heavily involved Guterres gave a press briefing a little while ago speaking to I-24 and other reporters in the room he said that essentially that work continues between the UN and Israeli officials at the lower levels essentially on the ground there in Jerusalem they said they're continuing to work well through the challenges despite the rhetoric that's going back and forth right now he said Martin Griffith the UN humanitarian coordinator who had his visa essentially denied by Israeli Ambassador Giladar Don Griffith is currently waiting in Geneva doing other work on other humanitarian crises throughout the world and is essentially awaiting further instructions here as to how to go about handling the Israeli-Gaza conflict in his current role otherwise I asked Juderic it seems that there has been a bubbling of tension between Israel and the United Nations for quite some time keep in mind even before Guterres' comments yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister has yet to pick up the phone when Guterres has called since the outbreak of Hamas' massacre of Israelis and the subsequent military conflict there was also war of words between Erdan and Guterres on another matter earlier on this summer in a counter-terrorism operation in Genine he said listen when there are UN representatives and UN agencies working in conflict areas throughout the world there's bound to be tensions between member states and the UN previously they've been able to work through it obviously now it's a little bit different meanwhile other countries around the world getting involved in this particular conflict we spoke yesterday with the Hungarian Foreign Minister to get his views obviously Hungary and Israel have quite close ties and we asked him his reaction to Guterres' comments and how Hungary may be able to play a productive role along with like-minded countries here's Hungary's Foreign Minister with i24 news yesterday I think in such a situation everybody has to speak clearly and in a way that cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted we have to say very clearly that Israel has been under attack Israel has been under a heinous and brutal terrorist attack Israel does have the right to protect itself and Israel does have the right to make sure that such kind of a terrorist attack will never ever take place again this is not the interest of Israel exclusively this is also the interest of the whole international community because in case such terrorist attacks happen those put a serious risk on the global entire global security as well so Israel does have the right to protect itself and Israel does have to get the support of the international community to do so in the meantime I have to tell you that there is another very important duty of the international community to make it sure that this fight against terror will not turn into a war between countries because if a war between countries launches in the Middle East region that has an absolutely unpredictable conclusion if it does have at all and under the current global security situation including the growing threat of terror in Africa including the war in Ukraine and unfortunately including the latest developments in the Middle East if these are all added together then we come very close to something which we might call a third world war and this definitely must be avoided Well definitely a different framing of the situation than we heard from the Secretary General there Mike but let's look at the UN now resolutions coming and it's going to be seems like it will be an ongoing conflict there in the Security Council coming to some kind if any kind of resolution that's right the dueling resolutions offered up later on this afternoon one by the United States the other by its rival the Russian Federation the draft resolution has been negotiated now over several days was supposed to be brought to a vote yesterday but pushed back now till today it calls for a humanitarian pause it calls for the safe passage of Gazan civilians if they need to move and evacuate throughout Gaza several other clauses in that resolution negotiated on Russia said it's essentially useless resolution which indicates they will use their veto power against it later today it calls for up its own resolution which goes a little bit broader and harder calling for a humanitarian ceasefire not a pause a ceasefire it also essentially orders the rescission the revocation of Israel's evacuation order for Gazans living in the northern part of the enclave Russia offered up a resolution last week in the Security Council it did not garner the requisite votes it's quite unclear if it will do so this time but even so I would imagine if they ceasefire not being approved by the United States the US if necessary will use its veto power once again here as it did on a Brazilian resolution last week I think it's pretty assured the US would veto that if it came to any kind of vote which perhaps won't even get that far Mike Wagon on at UN headquarters in New York thank you for that I want to move now from the diplomatic sphere to the more personal intimate sphere because that's really what's important here what those people went through on October 7th and along with the many tragic stories that have emerged from the Hamas terror attack have also been remarkable tales of heroism and survival one of them concerns a nine-day old baby whose very brief life was almost brought to an end that day but was saved thanks to determination and wits of his parents here's that story adapted from a report by channel 12 news nine days before this picture was taken Kai was in a safe place still in the womb in this picture he is lying without any protection on the window sill of the protected room the house on the right in this video is that of Uriel, Amy and little Kai when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Miriam on October 7th Amy's mother was with the family as well my mother grabbed Kai the baby he started crying she just put a finger in his mouth so that he would be as quiet as possible Uriel and I together just held a handle of the door in a locked position as much as we could they just fought with us to try to open it and when they couldn't get in at all that's the stage they just decided to drag things behind the door and set it on fire the terrorists unable to open the door of the protected room set the whole house alight in an attempt to smoke out the occupants the protected room began to boil we just started seeing the orange of the flames and feeling the heat and all I remember is Uriel simply saying they are burning the house smoke thick and black it managed to get into the protected room we had some water we tried to dampen our clothes and run our faces on the baby's face so that he would inhale as little smoke as possible 6 hours after the fire broke out the room is black whenever there is silence and no shooting they lay Kai on the window sill it was one of the hardest decisions we had to make on the one hand if you leave him inside the room he will probably inhale a lethal amount of smoke and that can be horrible and on the other hand if I put him on the window sill the terrorists are still walking around we're still hearing explosions there is still a code red and missiles falling the worst thoughts came up we look into each other's eyes they say, I love you when you hold him in your hands and he foams at the mouth and he cries and he already has soot in his eyes and nose the whole room is black and everyone is in this situation for hours making difficult decisions and at that moment it looks like the right thing to do is to put him on the window sill to at least let him breathe from time to time Amy nurses Kai from time to time she reaches out and takes a picture until the rescue comes get out, help us out mom will help you out get out, get out, get out wait, my mother first that's the moment we cried all the emotions we tried to keep inside so we could function at that moment I was crying like I haven't cried since I was 6 let them just take the baby and save him first that they rescue us that they move us to a safe place that this nightmare will end now the entire Kibbutz-Nerim community is staying in a hotel in Elat what's in this room right now is all the possessions we have because it's all burned over there is baby equipment it's all donations or gifts from friends all I wear are clothes that are donated the crib is a donation actually this room this room is our home Amy still has a bad cough Oriol has an eye injury and Kai he is perfectly fine the meaning of his name is knowing how to fall and get up his name means warrior it means victory it has a lot of meanings meanwhile he's greatly honoring his name incredible parents and their baby Kai a long healthy and happy life ahead of him Joining us in studio on Middle East correspondent Ariel Oceran Ariel a lot of rumors reports coming out of Gaza this evening what do we know about certainly the military activity and some of the perhaps significant strikes against Hamas leadership there's not a lot that we can say but there is a significant activity in concentrating the northern part of the Gaza strip mainly Bailahia in that area it includes not only activity from the air or artillery that is what we can say but it is significant military activity going on currently in the northern part of the of Gaza Now you've just come, you were in the south today you were at the Keebutzbury site of that horrible massacre more than 100 people killed there dozens more kidnapped just give us a bullet certainly you'll be doing a more full report on this but give us a sense there are reports that four more bodies just two weeks more than two weeks after the attack were discovered in the vicinity the bodies of four more Israelis were discovered by Israeli emergency services in the vicinity of Keebutzbury adding four more dead to the total of 130 members of the Keebutz who have been killed the number of kidnapped is still unknown because there are about 50 unidentified members of the Keebutz that they don't know what happened to them they're considered missing persons at the moment It's not among the 220 confirmed hostages that the IDF has said Not part of the confirmed hostages and not part of the confirmed deceased there are still numerous bodies that have not yet been identified due to the severity of their condition and that is pretty much what you see in Berry it's I mean it's a war zone in an urban in a Keebutz which is one of the most pleasant Keebutz it's the biggest Keebutz in the area over 1200 people on the eve of October 7th and 19 days after you can still smell the smell of burning bodies even though the fires are put out it's the best way it can be described is it looks as if it was swallowed by hell for a few hours and spat out and now we're starting to pick up the pieces that is the situation in Berry we met some very brave courageous locals who are there also explaining the situation to foreign journalists because it's a closed military zone but I will note that already the day after two days after the attacks the printing factory in the Keebutz which is the biggest in Israel and claims to be the biggest in the Middle East that is operating in full steam the residents of Berry are currently in a hotel in the Dead Sea they make the trip day in and day out to keep the printing factory open also for the Keebutz also for themselves to be active in some way or another just to help move forward but I think it's a sign of optimism of hope and of courage for the people not only of the western egg of southern Israel but for all the people of Israel these brave people of Berry are starting to bring life back to the story of resilience a community that's been resilient of course over the decades given what it's had to do with Gaza I want to move now more and more regional leaders have been weighing in here in the Middle East on the Israel Hamas war one of them is the Turkish president Rajip Tayyip Erdogan who in recent years has steered his country toward a renewal of relations with Israel forgoing the harsh criticism that he regularly used in the years of a diplomatic freeze between Ankara and Jerusalem but today speaking to the Turkish parliament you could say the old Erdogan was back defending Hamas and slamming Israel let's take a listen Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a group of liberators and Mujahideen fighting to protect their land and their citizens Dear brothers and sisters of course we had good intentions we had a project to go to Israel but it was cancelled we will not go alright the foreign ministry spokesman Lior Hayat writing putting out a message Israel wholeheartedly rejects the Turkish president's harsh words about the terrorist organization Hamas and Fadi this is Erdogan back to a form that we Israel has not seen him for a number of years and one has to wonder how much of this is rhetoric this may be a backsliding back toward that point where basically there was a diplomatic freeze or cut off between Israel and Turkey I think he identified an opening in the diplomatic opening because we if you look at how the Islamic world and the Arab world is responding to that's an interesting question how did that world react to and we see different views different approaches to that but especially good evening this is the 19th day of the war we are continuing to strike at Gaza today we attacked terrorism infrastructure infrastructure inside buildings beneath the ground we are going to continue and attack in Gaza in order to obtain all of our war every such assault is improving our situation as we approach the next stages of this war the IDF forces are extensively deployed along around the Gaza Strip prepared both on the offensive and the defensive and gearing for the next stages of the war at the north border we managed to kill off several terrorist cells wherever we see a terrorist cell on its way fire towards Israel towards an IDF unit we kill them off it happens every day and it's going to continue like that anybody who sends terrorist cells against us will pay a heavy price for that as for the home front in the Gaza border region we haven't changed our defensive instructions you need to stay near a shelter in a safe room we keep updating the instructions every day we must continue to stay and must not be complacent there will be rockets launched at different places in Israel so adhering to these instructions will enable us to carry on with our routine in the shadow of the war and this is very important for both the Israeli population and for us I'd like to give an update on the situation of fatalities and hostages so far 309 IDF fallen soldiers families have received note over 200 hostages we're going to continue and support the bereft families constantly our heart is always with you the national effort to bring back the hostages is a top priority and we're going to continue and do whatever it takes whether it's a civilian effort an operative effort an intel effort for us it's a top priority and whatever piece of information we will receive we will update this war is going to be a long one and in order to achieve the goals of this war we need resilience we need trust we need patience we are going to keep updating you here on our progress in order to obtain the goals of this war which is completely wiping out Hamas leadership infrastructure terrorism and bringing back the hostages home as a top priority we will answer questions Brigadier General Hagarri we saw about the underground sphere was attacked in the collapse of roads can you tell us was this an attempt to a targeted killing that maybe succeeded or failed I will comment on our assaults in Gaza we are striking around the clock any intel information we receive about an operational apartment or any other infrastructure we targeted we've said this we continue to say this to the people living in Gaza city or around it we keep telling them move south we've established the conditions there is a very big humanitarian effort there with the US and Egypt and we've provided them with food and meds and water we're going to keep attacking in order to achieve our goals and also in order to improve our conditions towards the next phase Brigadier General Hagarri he was asked a question about some of these reports of potentially senior Hamas figures being targeted or killed he did not respond with any specifics he did discuss the hostages putting the focus squarely on that issue as it should be and there is a very interesting moving tribute to them especially the young children from Gaza at Tel Aviv's Dizengov Square or Bachye Leventhal is there tell us about that really I would say emotional display there Bachye hit the nail on the head there Kalev it is just purely an emotional display and a very hard one to look at but very real because it explains exactly the situation on the ground so I'm going to move out of the way exactly so that you can see but there are 30 people in the heart of Tel Aviv and the teddy bears are blindfolded they have also been splattered with red paint to indicate blood and they have the pictures of the individual children their names and their ages that have been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip a fortune of people have been coming past today including foreign international media agencies as well to come and have a look at this vigil the vigil is also accompanied by the lights that are lit all over the square again apart from those who are being kidnapped they are those who are still missing and those that have been murdered at the hands of Hamas and so the square really turning into quite the paradox Kalev because it's very emotional very difficult to be here and to see this but at the same time people keep telling me that they come here because it provides them a sense of unity a sense of calm to be with people to be together and so you can really see this is very much at the fore of not only the Israeli conscience but is also trying to make sure that it stays at the very fore of the world's conscience that we still have children, toddlers that are in the Gaza Strip under conditions that we don't fully know and they need to be brought home and they need to be brought home now and what's been even more heartbreaking actually to see Kalev earlier when we were live on TV and some of the parents that are bringing their children here and having to explain to their children exactly what this is and more so than that we saw a young child could not have been older than 8 or 9 years old go and hug one of the teddy bears this is the reality in Israel at the moment but it's a reality that people are coming together for making sure that the world knows and it's one that we see in the foreign media coming to report on as well and it's very difficult to see how they can possibly look at these teddy bears at least and say anything but what the reality is with regards to these 30 children on the ground in Gaza alright thank you for that about your 11th though we're going to go over to the White House President Biden making some remarks relating to Israel Dear man President Sisi of Egypt we're working with the United States to make sure that food, water and medical supplies are getting through to innocent people in Gaza the flow needs to increase and we're working very hard with our partners to make that happen we're also working around the clock together with our partners in the region to secure the release of hostages and including American citizens behind left behind and held by Hamas and the safe passage of foreign nationals out of Gaza not just Americans but Australians and a whole range of people were trapped in Gaza I also want to take a moment to look ahead toward the future that we seek Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and peace there's no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th that means ensuring Hamas can no longer terrorize Israel and use Palestinian civilians as human shields it also means that when this crisis is over there has to be a vision of what comes next and in our view it has to be a two state solution it means a concentrated effort for all the parties Israelis, Palestinians regional partners, global leaders to put us on a path toward peace in the past few weeks I've spoken to leaders throughout the region including King Abdul of Jordan President C.C. of Egypt President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and just yesterday with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia about making sure there's real hope in the region for a better future about the need and I mean this sincerely about the need to work toward a greater integration for Israel while insisting that the aspirations of the Palestinian people will be part, will be part of that future as well I'm convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did I have no proof of this is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel and regional integration for Israel and we can't leave that work behind and one more word on this I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank that pouring gasoline on fire is what this is like this was a deal the deal was made and they're attacking Palestinians in places that they're entitled to be it has to stop they have to be held accountable and it has to stop now Prime Minister, Prime Minister I want to thank you for your partnership and your friendship quite frankly during this difficult hour over the past few weeks and for many months before we've seen each other and we've seen our alliance grow more critical than ever and we need to continue to make this important progress and our discussions today we've done just that first we're pioneering new advancements and innovations deepening our cooperation with deals like biotechnology advanced batteries quantum computing, cyber security and a lot more we're also signing a new technology safeguards agreement to create more opportunities for American space companies to launch vehicles from US President Joe Biden speaking at the White House addressing the situation here in Israel, not just Israel in the Middle East and he had many interesting points there really going to some details more than we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu understandably but your takeaways because there was some interesting ones there and important speech with a lot of messages to the Israeli government Kalev an emphasis on the two states solution and on the day after the war much more and what we heard from the president there about the day after the war than the war itself we should say and be very clear not backing off of what he said about support for Israel and about eliminating Hamas about the importance of the hostages and about all the rest and of course about the importance of humanitarian aid which we've heard from the administration over the course of the war but a big emphasis on the day after on the saying that the status quo of October 6 is not something that will be able to be returned to both in the sense of Hamas's strength but also in the sense of the political status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict saying there needs to be a new push to resolve it and in their view the two states solution should be what would be pursued obviously that will not necessarily be music to the ears of many in the current Israeli government also talked about the need to continue with the push for normalization saying that he doesn't have hard information that Hamas picked this time in order to disrupt the normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia but saying that indicating that he felt that that was a reasonable theory and saying it's important to return to that and also pointedly talking about the violence by Israeli settlers in the west that was very noticeable the best of my recollection this is the first we've heard from the president on this issue since the start of the war there has obviously been plenty of reports including video footage of settler attacks that are continued or increased over the course of the war it's been a bit of a sideshow in the big picture of all that's been happening whether it be in the Gaza Strip the concern about the Lebanese border but it's certainly been part in the president putting a big emphasis on that and saying that there needs to be accountability for people who are doing this so again, on the one hand not backing away from his strong support for Israel on the visit here and on the days beforehand but certainly laying down some new markers for Prime Minister Netanyahu and that he will have to either respond to now or respond to at some point in the future but Joe Biden maybe in some sense could have in terms of domestic American politics trying to draw some balance between the strong support for Israel and laying out support for the Palestinians and for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict All right, I just sort of adding on to this because where it was this follows this address follows a phone call yesterday between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and which they talked about continuing the peace process and even indicating continuing the normalization process with Israel once this has ended Well, in his speech President Biden said that he believes that this was aimed excuse me, the attacks of October 7th and what has happened since are aimed at trying to derail the normalization process between Israel and the Arab world mainly Saudi Arabia and on to that note in order to prevent that from happening that's why the US President is sending his envoy to the Middle East Barbara Leaf, she's heading to the UAE Qatar, Oman, Egypt Jordan and Israel that's not a random group of countries especially Oman there which is seen as kind of a mediator Oman and Qatar are seen as mediators between the two camps and so the Biden administration and President Biden himself since October 7th continues to consistently show how engaged they are in what's going on also diplomatically, also militarily and that they are cooperating closely with Israel Well, and staying focused on the Gulf for a second you mentioned for example some of those countries the Gulf state of Qatar continues of course to be deeply involved in negotiations aiming to free more of the hostages held in Gaza, it's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani saying at a press conference in Doha today that there is some progress and some breakthrough and there is some progress and we remain hopeful for a breakthrough, also today there were rare words of public praise about Qatar from a top Israeli official the National Security Adviser Sahih Anegbi who tweeted, I'm pleased to say that Qatar is becoming an essential party and stakeholder in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions Qatar's diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time well that statement spurred this reaction from former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett who responded the Israeli government is making a serious more on practical error Qatar is not an essential part in a few humanitarian operations and diplomatic operations Qatar is the enemy itself it finances, assists and strengthens the terrorist organization Hamas Israel's stated goal is the destruction of Hamas, Qatar's goal is exactly the opposite saving Hamas well for more let's go now to our correspondent in the Gulf in Dubai Bastian Burri and Bastian let's talk about Hamas excuse me, let's talk about Qatar and Hamas especially these comments today Qatar seemingly to indicate or giving hope for some major breakthrough in the hostage talks well name another country that has fruitful relations with the four main players of this conflict namely Hamas, Israel, the US and Iran there's only Qatar in Gaza and the West Bank the Qatar is keep Hamas on one side the Palestinian Authority alive on the other to keep millions of Palestinians afloat promising and actually spending billions of dollars for them to develop their infrastructure, hospitals, education system and so on even though it was proven that Hamas uses a part of this money to develop capabilities and incidentally to maintain the rather comfortable lifestyle of its leaders as for the US, the Americans have made Qatar their best non-nato ally they armed Doha with accounting the cost and defend the interests of its royal family in many international issues this situation means American investment in Qatar, advanced military equipment sold and geopolitical interests supported by Washington as for Iran Qatar has maintained deep relations with Iranian intelligence services and there are huge shared economic interests between the two countries including a large natural gas field in the Persian Gulf and finally with Israel well the relations can be considered excellent as they are not existent but they're still very opportunistic these relations exist the Israelis said more or less publicly on a pretty regular basis as you just said they recognize the positive role Qatar is in Gaza Sahih Hanek be said it today but Benny Gantz used to say that a lot as well and let's even remember that Qatar was for a long time long before the Abraham Accords back in the 1990s the only country in the region to do business often secretly with Israel Right, certainly have and many Israelis have been to Qatar officials and some like myself as well Bastian Burry thank you for that I'm joined by Shelly Tal Moran she's a member of the Knesset for the opposition Yaseh Atid Party and she's a former of course Israeli Air Force officer, spokesperson instructor and that'll come relevant too Shelly I want to just start I don't know if you heard President Joe Biden speaking just now a few minutes ago talking very in great detail about what we call maybe what is the day after the war talking about the two state solution that it should lead to a peace process of course your party which is still supporting the government in the war but it's talked about also the day after I know you're the party leader is to give some kind of press conference or statement tomorrow but let me get your response to that because President Biden seems to be pressing the current Israeli government even this emergency war government to say you have to start thinking about the day after Hamas is gone thank you for having me Kalev you know my party and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke about the two state solution in the past I think it's been said and done by many other leaders in Israel and of course we are a peace seeking country but right now I think we're focused on the war we're all united even us as an opposition we're supporting the government from the outside and we're focused on we're winning the war, destroying Hamas demolishing this terror organization and of course we are all concerned about the future and what's going to happen in Israel but right now we have to focus on the war on destroying Hamas and I think President Biden said it with his own voice a few times that they support this strategy and that's what we need to do for right now and later on of course we will have time to discuss the future to ask questions to understand where we're going Well let's discuss the war for a minute Shelly because you are a former Air Force operations officer right now reports today of a major bombardment in northern Gaza especially directed against the tunnel system that some call the metro there and a lot of discussion in Israel whether the Air Force has the capability on its own through the air campaign to really knock out those tunnels enough of those tunnels to set the stage for the ground invasion and based on just what you can tell us in your knowledge Well as you know I spent almost seven years in the Air Force and I also served in reserve for many years and we all see that the Air Force is the major force that's being used right now by the Israeli army I think that I won't go into strategic details and all the military plans that we have but I think that as long as the Air Force can destroy from the air without endangering our soldiers and destroying as many targets as possible that's good for the state of Israel you know to go inside Gaza has a lot of meanings and challenges and as long as we can destroy targets from the air we should do so of course that there are targets that we can do from the air and some we cannot but I think that it's also shown that many of the targets can be demolished by the Air Force and I think today there was also some sort of publicity in the media about one tunnel that was caved in from the air you know I just came back from Well tell us about that I just came back from the southern Gaza area but I just at this very minute it is coming there are air raid sirens in Zikim in the T Vasura crossing so right now that where you were is coming under fire tell us about though what you saw down there today well you know it's been a rough day I went there to the Kibbutzim and I visited Kfar Azar and Beri and I have to tell you it's very different from what you see in pictures and videos on the media when you go there and you see you see the life that was lost right you go into a family's house and you see the pictures on the wall and you know that they're no longer with us you see the blood you see the destruction you see the amount of weaponry that was used to kill them really it's inexplicable it's something that you cannot describe in words the atrocities that we're seeing there is impossible to comprehend I'm saying it because it's very difficult to understand you walk into this family's house and I have been there to many families it looks like a war zone it's it's heartbreaking and you know one of the things that you cannot describe until you get there is the smell you smell death you smell death Ariel also on the Middle East correspondent was also in Beri today and he mentioned that specifically the smell of the smell there the smell of death was two weeks two weeks past the incident and bodies apparently discovered four bodies discovered in that vicinity still at this stage when I was there today they discovered a few bodies and you know some of the homes and some of the territory there was burned so it's very difficult to I think to find all the remains of some of the people there and it's truly a war zone you see destruction you cannot you know I felt like I was in Afghanistan it didn't feel like my country Israel is a western modern democratic country start-up nation you know I'm so proud of my country I served in the army I had a career over the years and you walk into these kibbutzim and you cannot believe what you see with your own eyes it's really you can't describe it and also I just wanted to tell you that you know I've been wearing this for a few days I don't know if you've seen it but this is the necklace that was given to me by brothers in arms you know the organization let me explain for you is that is the organization of reserve officers that achieved notoriety earlier this year as part of the protest movement against the judicial reforms some of them saying that they may not volunteer if the judicial reforms would proceed but on the day the attack happened they mobilized themselves they said they'll support the government they'll see sort of protest and have dedicated themselves to bringing assistance to Israeli civilians affected by in fact establishing a huge operation here in Tel Aviv. Yeah so I went there first of all I have to say that you're very corrected that the day that the war started they called all of the reserve soldiers to come to duty and everybody reported to duty so I went there to support them because they have amazing amazing let's call it squadron room right they have thousands of volunteers there it's it's all very organized in different sections and they gave this to me this is a necklace you know our soldiers use necklaces right yes exactly so they made this one with both sides one side says our hearts is in Gaza for all of the people that are that we're taking as hostages and the other side has the star of David and ever since they gave this to me I've been wearing it and you know our hearts are in Gaza we're waiting for them to come back right for the hostages right come back I want to move now more to the to the situation in the Middle East Egyptian President Abdo Fatah al-Sisi met in Cairo today with the French President Emmanuel Macron he also spoke to his military commanders and he had some interesting things to say to his troops let's take a listen to that Beware not to allow the illusion of power to drive you to make a decision or to take a step that you later realize you didn't properly think through or which was driven by your rage or high spirit I am saying this to the armed forces and to the Egyptian people we always deal with all crises rationally and with patients to the use of power or abilities regarding the developments in the Gaza Strip let me tell you that we are playing a very positive role in containing the current escalation and trying to de-escalate things in order to stop this conflict reach a ceasefire in one way or the other and stop the bloodshed happening now Carol some interesting comments there from Sisi almost thrashing his troops just not to in a sense get involved in presumably the situation in Gaza especially as it develops further clearly he has some concerns about that I also think that message was aimed for Israeli leaders to keep tempers low and not to engage when is not necessary this is the same Sisi that deployed hundreds of special forces soldiers to the Rafa crossing to keep that place, that area safe in case Palestinians start running to the fences and that is indeed an actual possibility as the more this war moves on, progresses especially when there's a ground invasion those who have left northern Gaza and moved south are going to go further south and those who have not yet left the northern part of the Strip they will make their way south when Israeli troops come in just if you're a life-seeking individual you will leave the area because you know that life is further south in the Gaza Strip and as this progresses since October 7th we've seen both President Sisi of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan outline their main concern they do not want to take Palestinian refugees that is their red line as the war progresses and the humanitarian situation in Gaza gets more complicated, more dire they will try to exit in one of two places Israel they cannot exit because Hamas terrorists destroyed the crossings into Israel that leaves one crossing the Rafa border crossing into Egypt that's why hundreds of special forces of the Egyptian military are there that's why every chance Sisi gets a warning of the forced displacement and a second displacement of the Palestinian people but at the end of the day what has the most concern is the fact that Palestinians might want to make their way into Egypt he does not want to collect any refugees and another thing that President Sisi will need to give answers to is how there's I'm reporting in the Wall Street Journal that in the month prior to what happened in October 7th in September at least 500 Hamas Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist fighters went to Iran and they received special training there by the Quds Force the Quds Force commander was also there, Karni was present during these trainings and how did they make their way to Iran there's only like I said there's one exit from Gaza and that's the Rafa crossing and Sisi will need to answer to when he talks to Israeli leaders not only the fact that he does not want to get any Palestinian refugees I just want to jump down to the south, the Gaza border area and our Hamda Salkhut and Hamda give us an update we have reports of Air 8 sirens going off just in the last few minutes there Right Kaleb, you can hear actually these explosions right behind me these Israeli military continues to pound targets inside of the Gaza Strip military spokesperson saying earlier today, today we struck several targets inside of the Gaza Strip both above ground and underground making it easier for the next the next steps in this fight meaning the impending ground operation the outgoing artillery fire from the Israelis has been constant and the booms are only getting louder the airstrikes have been continuous we just saw short while ago rockets going off of the Gaza Strip going into those southern communities like Zikim red alerts we could actually hear them from where we were though we didn't have one in Stirot where we are now the Israeli military is saying that they're preparing for this ground offensive however inside of the Gaza Strip Hamas and both Palestinian Islamic Jihad are saying that they're also prepared to fight the Israelis there the Israeli military has been preparing doing training exercises in tunnels to prepare themselves for that warfare that will be happening at any point in time now Kalev Hamas al-Qut there on the Israel-Gaza border thank you for that and Shelly as the fighting was already happening but as the fighting increasing goes on certainly we're going to hear more calls for I won't even say cease fire the phrase now was humanitarian pause pressure being put on Israel there's a dispute over for example allowing the Gaza Strip the international community says it's needed for hospitals Israel says there's fuel in Gaza Hamas is holding it and the question is how Israel is going to be able to balance that international pressure including from its closest allies like the US with the need to carry on its military campaign well first of all you know we've seen our intelligence has shown yesterday I think the pictures of the gas that it's within Gaza so there is gas within the Gaza Strip and I think that we should all remind ourselves what happened two and a half weeks ago right because the world sometimes forgets how this whole thing started right this war was imposed on Israel we were surprised one time but we won't be surprised again it won't happen again the state of Israel is prepared to anything that it will need to front right so the balance is not something that I think we can discuss every time people say humanitarian aid of course we do not want any civilians to be hurt of course we want the population to go from the north of Gaza to the south let us all remember that Hamas is preventing from their own population to go down south in order to use them as human shields we must remember that fact and we need to remember what happened two and a half weeks ago nothing humane about what they did for example this was done by a terror organization I think calling them ISIS is a compliment they're worse than ISIS this is a new generation of terror that the world has not seen this is a second holocaust holocaust and I think that the world should know that this will not stop with Israel it can happen everywhere in Europe in Asia wherever this is a terror organization and the world needs to stand united against this terror organization so of course I want the people to be safe both sides we don't want to harm civilians but we have to protect our citizens as well we were attacked in a brutal brutal way this was a huge massacre I saw it with my own eyes today also I see videos and footage of things that we're not seeing all around because it's very very graphic and difficult to see it but I've seen it today and I'm telling you the world has not seen such violence in modern history it's horrible it's horrific and the world should condemn this and remember who started this horrible war well on that note I do want to go back to our bot 11th holocaust D's and Goff's Square in Tel Aviv that exhibit of teddy bears paying homage to the many many children who have been taken hostage in the Gaza Batia absolutely Kalev and it's been a very moving tribute here all evening in fact the whole day that we've seen it but something that has also been very pressing is the psychological trauma and effect that this is having on the citizens of Israel and it's perhaps not talked about enough and maybe that's because the full extent, the scope, the scale of it is not known yet and it's not going to be known for a long time but an organization that is trying to make a difference on the ground right here at D's and Goff's Square as so many people throughout the day have been coming to have a look at the vigils is an organization known as psychology first aid and with me is one of the co-founders Techelet and Bresler tell us a little bit about what your organization is doing and how it started so we started nine months ago at the protest area in Israel we are psychologists and social workers that came through all over the country we started with two chairs on the streets and we welcome people to sit with us we know that a lot of events can be really hard for a lot of people now and the events here are really traumatic and we want to have stop the traumatic events to be post-traumatic afterwards from the understanding that there is not nine million psychologists and social workers here in Israel so we are on the street and we welcome everyone and anyone who needs us for all the squares and streets in Israel and come to fail us I want to point out to our viewers that the service that you are offering is free do you have a message for some of the audience that's in Israel at the moment that needs an ear to talk to we are free here for you and we believe that when we talk with each other we can feel so much better not to be alone in this time and to be with people here we can see a lot of people just sitting together not really talking but just sit together it's a really really important for afterwards and where it's a psychologist and social workers that can be and really give some impacts for that and some advices it's not a therapist but just the support that everyone now needs thank you to Khalif obviously a very traumatic time for the people of Israel but a time when the people are really coming together so they are sitting here at the dozen got square pulling up chairs you can identify them in their blue shirts for some of the audience that is watching and that needs somebody to talk to they are here they are listening the point is again this is the paradox of the heart of Tel Aviv where we are right now a square that we have seen so many people coming to set up visuals but also people that are just coming to set these in got square thank you for that and Shelley you were talking earlier about that spirit that you saw for example earlier with the brothers arms and the need that has to be fulfilled I don't want to get too much into the political sphere there are questions about whether the government is fulfilling these needs and again your party leaders been critical of its actions I would say on the home front not the military sphere on the home front and a lot of volunteer groups have been in full those gaps well first of all you know yesterday I went to the health committee we were discussing exactly what she was talking about because there are a lot of people in Israel who are suffering from trauma right the health committee of the Knesset of parliament of course the health committee of the Knesset and I went to this discussion because it was very important to me to say that we have a whole generation now of children who are traumatized from this you know I have two daughters at home one is 17 one is 13 questions are they safe what's going to happen you know we have to treat all these people and the country is making a huge plan of how to treat all the people right maybe through the through the system maybe through schools we'll see how we are going to do it but we're working on it yes sometimes we have criticism over how things are done but we try to cooperate together and find solutions that we can solve all the issues that we have to treat in the home front I think the major thing right now is money is funds who do you direct the money to and we think that we should direct the money to the families who need it right now to the businesses to everybody around and later find the solutions you know within legislation etc right now we have to help the people in the home front which is the wounded people the families that were hurt the people that were homeless basically their refugees within their own country we have to understand them like 120,000 from north and south and we have to remember that these families need to rebuild their life from scratch right they have no homes jobs they have to go to some sort of schools for the children it's very complicated a daunting task and that will be a challenge for for months and I even perhaps even years to come certainly in terms of rebuilding the families and dealing with the psychic scars as well as the physical scars of this conflict shelly tell on their own member of parliament for the Asia Tea Party thank you for joining us again in studio gentlemen I'll ask you to stay with us we have more coming up on our special report on I-24 news it's day 19 of Israel's war with Hamas the battle goes on in the south in the north and in the international arena public opinion and diplomacy as well we'll have more when we're back in about three minutes stay with us made for me a unique concept in Israel custom made men's fashion to your measurements made for me designer of all your events schedule your appointment at www.madeforme.co.il made for me official dresser of I-24 news ladies and gentlemen is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is ready back to the special broadcast on I-24 news and during the course of this program we've spoken more than once about Kibbutz Berry where more than 100 people were killed on October 7th and there are bodies even today four bodies that were found in the vicinity of the Kibbutz more than two weeks after that incident many more needs still to be identified dozens more members of Kibbutz Berry had family members kidnapped in Taghaza but there were also those who were more fortunate that terrible day one is Dr. Elone Pauker a survivor of the Kibbutz Berry massacre he's now one of those internal refugees we spoke about he's in the Dead Sea area and he joins us now alone thank you for joining us first of all tell us what had your story what on October 7th how did it unfold for you in the evening before we had the 77 anniversary of our foundation the Kibbutz Berry was founded before the foundation of the state of Israel and it was a wonderful celebration and then we went to sleep very proud of our communal community you know very strong one very social high level abilities and really strong community and then we waked up in the morning the noise of rockets it happens but we gradually understand that we are in a very unusual unprecedented event we understood that a lot of terrorists Hamas terrorists got inside the Kibbutz and my children are bigger so they have their apartment but me and my wife were in the safe room and gradually we were in the safe room but inside there is something like a battlefield and I was one of the luckiest as you say one of the were lucky enough that they didn't burn my apartment I didn't have the to make the choice between be killed by the smoke that got into the safe room or jumping from the windows and being killed by the terrorists that really as a human being I can't understand their behavior and but for 15 years 15 hours sorry me and my wife we were in inside a battlefield think about your home that becomes a moment like a battlefield of the world world one something like that right let me ask you when you were you aware of I just want to say there are there were air raid sirens right just south of us and we shown let's see on I believe by jam and we're hearing explosions from the interceptions as I'm talking to you but I'm staying I am staying in the studio so we are on the fire here but along I want to ask you did you did you have any information while you were there about the magnitude of the events unfolding or did that only come to you realization when you came out of the safe room and if so what was your reaction when happened so I know at the table seeing it that we understand it gradually during time in life because we have a what's up in inside the kibbutz and we start understand that there been houses that the people are killed that people are kidnapped we knew we were you know I'm an historian and after some hours I understood that I am in and presented the event and that the world that was come back again we are in if we will be in different world world in different kibbutz in different relationship with gaza step there is no possibility we understood that Hamas organization that it's something as we show it on this or that Saturday these people are something something between ISIS and the Nazis their behavior it's out of the human being family so we understood that since we definitely changed going to change and the life we had we won't have again the kibbutz we had we can rebuild it because it's a strong community that was I was going to ask you about that alum because we have had in the studio two people that were down there today by the way said it looks the smell of death is still in the air and they said it doesn't they didn't feel like they were in Israel they thought they were looking at scenes and the station is so great is that community going to be able to rise again after this kind of cataclysm okay I'll tell you the truth we are strong community and we can rebuild our kibbutz but in some under some conditions first of all look our army wasn't there we have to make we have to trust our state again the state wasn't there but this is an internal Israeli issue then it can't be anymore that the Hamas will control Gaza nobody in the world would agree to live nearby a territory that controlled by ISIS the free world decided before some years to destroy ISIS and now the free world must back Israel while Israel going to destroy Hamas it's impossible these people animals or even monsters are not part of the human being and look I'm a peace supporter okay I can agree that the Palestinians has rights but there is no connection no connection between a behavior a Nazi style behavior that we suffered from that terrible Saturday and liberation struggle of the Palestinians you will call it two different things I just can't believe that the BBC don't call them terrorists it's impossible I just want to say we do have live images where you speak we did show live images of the rocket interceptions here just south of our studio in Tel Aviv Dr. Long-Powker I guess really you have to thank God you're being saved from that situation I was just lucky but think about your community 10% are not with us anymore unprecedented you can't imagine I even don't understand the numbers when I say them so it's really terrible and it can't be anymore I may keep what's very rise again stronger stronger than ever God willing and thank you for joining us on my 24 news thank you very much all right we do want to go have an update on because as we were speaking we could hear in the studio Ariel the booms from rocket interceptions presumably and perhaps what information we have right so according to Mada Israel's emergency services medics have been sent to a direct impact in Lishon-Nazion still don't know if there were any injuries or not but there are believed to have been direct impacts in this latest salvo of rockets from Gaza to central Israel right it covered a fairly wide swath of territory Owen there's some news out of the United States that's a relic political news that really what about US politics but it has some repercussions for Israel especially USA to Israel yeah because obviously we're all focused on the war as we should be and as we're giving that coverage to our viewers there's a lot of things going on elsewhere in the world and the United States now has a new speaker of the House of Representatives it's Mike Johnson a previously relatively unknown Republican but he was able to do with those before and were not which is get the votes needed to become speaker of the House of Representatives presumably this will enable the Kaleb the House to be able to function and use its normal procedures and pass legislation and obviously front of mind for us here in Israel US Congress is the aid that Joe Biden wants to give Israel and of course also Ukraine and Taiwan and the aid for the projects in the US Mexican border being held up by the failure in the House of US House of Representatives to appoint a speaker then to move that process along to approve that emergency aid to Israel right so it remains to be seen whether this will be whether this will do the trick but in itself I suppose good news for Americans that the House has a speaker and be able to resume its normal functioning and a reminder for those of us sitting here immersed as we should be in all that's happening around us that of course the rest of the world continues to do its business as well it continues to do its business but it is certainly much of the world consumed by what is happening here in Israel and as we as we keep stressing this is not a localized conflict not even a regional conflict it is a international conflict even and more and more I just you mentioned that Wall Street Journal report earlier it also and there was also indicating the US moving and perhaps delay the ground invasion Israel's ground invasion in order to move advanced air defense systems boosted air defense systems covering US assets in the Middle East Ariel in places like Iraq even on the ground in Syria as well as in the Gulf and rightfully so because just a few minutes ago pro-Iranian militias in Iraq issued a statement saying that they struck a US base in the country now since October 7th there have been at least 13 of those kinds of strikes on US troops and assets in Syria and in Iraq add to that the fact that the US that US Navy ships already intercepted not only cruise missiles but drones that were sent from the Houthis in Yemen north believed to be making their way to Israel they downed them there's also reports that Saudi Arabia downed one of them but irregardless the US is already engaged shots have been fired from actors that are not just on Israel's immediate borders and the US is trying to better its positioning Alright I want to go down to the Israel Gaza border Hamd Salchut and Hamd we'll be getting sirens in the area reports of hits what are you seeing down on the ground there Well actually Clev there's a flare directly behind us here several explosions in the distance you can hear those as the Israeli military continues to pummel these targets inside of the Gaza Strip these are flares that either helicopters or Israeli aircrafts are letting into the air the rocket fire continuing also at this hour to target southern communities and the Israeli military and the Israeli military and the Israeli military along the border like I mentioned earlier this is the closest point at the moment that we can get to as press this is a completely militarized zone the only people who are here are journalists and the Israeli army because they have evacuated all of these communities now the Israeli military is saying that they are hitting targets in the area land and air to pave the way for the next steps of their operation indicating a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip the Israeli prime minister speaking earlier today not giving a lot of details about when the measures will begin but saying that they were imminent the war cabinet also convening this evening to discuss that as the air strikes and artillery continue at this hour things certainly seem to be intensifying in that border area thank you for that now as we mentioned earlier in the program the US Secretary General Antonio Guterres continues to try to let's say qualify his initial comments not apologize but qualify his initial comments in the Security Council yesterday in which he framed the Hamas atrocities committed against Israeli civilians by saying they quote did not happen in a vacuum and then listed a series of Palestinian grievances that for some seem to justify the actions Guterres's latest comments on those widely criticized statements I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council as if as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas this is false it was the opposite in the beginning of my intervention yesterday I clearly stated and I quote I have condemned unequivocally the orifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians or the launching of rockets against civilian targets and quote I spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people and in doing so I also clearly stated and I quote but the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas and then I went on with my intervention referring all my positions on all aspects of the Middle East crisis I believe it was necessary to set the record straight especially out of respect to the victims and to their families thank you Well joining us now is Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations and now Likud member of Kineset Danny Denon Danny thanks you for joining us Mr. Ambassador you heard the Secretary Generals reply to the criticism that Israel and elsewhere about his comments what's your response to that statement I'm very disappointed I hope that today the Secretary General would retract his shameful words from yesterday and would make clear that he made a mistake but he was not able to do it let's go back to yesterday what he said yesterday was full justification for the horrible terror attacks against Israelis he basically explained what happened to the poor Palestinians and because of the occupation and because what's happening in Gaza it didn't happen in a vacuum it's unacceptable we cannot accept such a language that is why we went on the offense we demanded that he would resign or retract his words and I will tell you that I know the Secretary General very well I spent many years with him he's very smart, very knowledgeable about the Holocaust and I would expect much more from him right Danny we heard Prime Minister Netanyahu speak in some detail maybe the most detail this evening he talked about the ground invasion laid out very clearly the recovery of hostages and destruction of Hamas capabilities as the main goes and he addressed the question of the ground operation many people in Israel asking what happened and he said there are factors that people may not know about let's talk what do you say to Israelis who are wondering when is the next phase of this war going to get going I sit on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and we have very long discussions every day and I tell my colleagues it's not about when it doesn't matter we can wait but the main question is what are we intending to do and I urge the Prime Minister to understand that this time we have to go all the way we cannot do half of the way we cannot go to parts of Gaza we have to complete the mission and to eradicate Hamas completely so yeah I speak with the soldiers and the commanders they are eager to go into Gaza we know that we have the kidnapped Israelis, their babies they feel that it has to be done yesterday but I think we can take the time a few more days but we have to be very strong about the goals of the war and the goal should be very clear full evadication in the past I had many arguments about different cycles I think today 99% of Israelis would agree with me that we have to finish the job I just want to say Danny we are showing there was a hit you know we had, well you are in Tel Aviv and you know there was sirens in Rishon Lezion just south of Tel Aviv and we are showing live footage apparently there was a direct hit there in Rishon we don't have any information on what the situation is we'll bring that to you as we come but one more question Danny because one factor of course weighing in to the question of perhaps a ground operation is hostages whether there might be more deals or more freeing of hostages by Hamas maybe relate to that and also a very unusual comment by the national security advisor Tzachia Negbi today praising Qatar for its role in some of the hostage releases I wonder your reaction if you have any reaction to that so we have to work in two parallel lines you know one line you to go and to defeat Hamas and at the same time we have to bring the hostages back so we're going to work with anyone who can help us with that whether with the Qataris, the Egyptians we will work with everybody but you know we have experience with the Qataris so we have to be very careful about their intentions about what they are doing but when it comes to bringing our boys and girls back home we will do everything we can all right Danny as I said the former Israeli ambassador and now Likud member of parliament thank you for joining us on I-24 News and we are looking there that's a channel feed from the channel 12 news a hit on any news coming out Dariel on were the results of that impact in Rishon Leciel directed to a building and also there is a man lightly injured Kvalsirkin if I'm not mistaken Kvalsirkin yes that's a little Central Israel close to Petar Tikva lightly injured from rocket impact we're in land again we're seeing clearly there was some damage to a structure the lightly injured that was in Rishon Kvalsirkin so we have no information teams emergency teams are making their way to the scene as in the next few minutes we should get a clearer picture of the situation in both of these sites reminder to viewers of course because of the iron dome system the rockets generally especially for those who are able to get to safe rooms generally do not present a danger physically a physical danger to Israelis and to Israeli population centers but of course the system is not full-proof as you're seeing on your screens buildings can get damaged people can get injured and God forbid there have been fatalities it illustrates the importance of listening to home front guidelines and making it to the secure room no matter where you are in the country don't feel secure if you're in Rishon or in the Tel Aviv area you should make it as possible to a to a safe room I just want to have one thing out of the US we mentioned Mike Johnson Mike Johnson a new speaker of the House just made a statement out of Washington we're going to bring to this floor of the House of Representatives in just a little while is in support of our dear friend Israel welcome news here in the Holy Land of course a very very important aid that will be very welcome here and the public will be very thankful for earlier we reported on a significant military activity focusing on the northern part of the Gaza Strip that is not limited to airstrikes and artillery so my understanding is that this activity is still taking place with the targets being key commanders in Hamas as well as military infrastructure that explains the heavy firepower that is employed also the gun shots the gun fire shots that she heard gunfire that would fit in with that it could fit in I am not aware of those reports but it could fit in could fit into what's happening gentlemen I want to go I want to stay focused on the south for a moment where of course much of Israel's Bedouin community lives in the southern Negev desert it's been one of the most areas impacted by the Hamas rocket attacks as not only are these Bedouin communities close to the Gaza Strip but they actually rarely have air raid shelters or warning even warning sirens now members of one Bedouin community are coming together to find solutions to this burden of war the cult said that has more in this report which was adapted from Israel's channel 12 news in a legal village with no formal name now in morning 60 Israeli Bedouins live in this village in the eastern Negev on October 7th they were on the front line against Hamas rockets traces of the attack are still visible throughout the village rocket shrapnel on the ground and cars torn apart by the impact all bearing witness to the violence but it's the people who are most affected I have four cousins who died in front of my eyes it's a disaster a rocket fell on the village around 6 30 a.m we all ran to see what happened if anyone was hurt there was only material damage so we moved away and sat down in a tent the whole family gradually the people dispersed a missile fell on the tent four died and one is still in hospital given the urgency of the situation the Israeli army provided concrete shelters the day after the war began but these makeshift shelters aren't reassuring for the local residents the situation is bad as our villages are not officially recognized the state considers them wastelands so we don't have any warning sirens barely any shelters miserable concrete blocks they were brought in the day after the attack but it was too late and many families don't even have this since the beginning of the war the Bedouin community has suffered at least 19 deaths from Hamas some by rockets others killed at point blank range during the terrorist incursions of October 7th a traumatic experience for the entire community the majority of casualties in the Bedouin community occurred within 48 hours of the attack we lost around 20 people there were many wounded and seven hostages we were on the front line many of us live below the poverty line and half of the people live outdoors these people have no protection people are traumatized nevertheless the Bedouins are getting involved volunteer initiatives have been set up to help both the Bedouin community and the region's Jewish inhabitants in Hurra east of Beersheba an emergency council has been set up since the beginning of the war leading members of the Bedouin community have been meeting twice a week to evaluate the situation and find solutions to the most urgent problems we are all meeting here to provide solutions to the lack of shelter unorganized Bedouin volunteers who want to help over 60% of the Bedouin community is under age of 18 so how can we continue to provide them with an education in wartime we have to set up a remote education system but half of the children live in unrecognized villages with no access to internet so Zoom doesn't work initiatives that try to lighten the burden of war for populations still in shock and Ariel I understand there is some news out of the north of the country potentially so the council of the Yarmouch river area that's south of the southern Golan Heights are instructing all locals to remain at home due to a suspected security incident we've been receiving many reports like these since October 7th some have been found out to be true but now the instruction for the locals in that area to stay at home in the vicinity of their home inside due to a suspected security incident I believe still going on so there may be news out of that some developments so many rumors surrounding what happened in Gaza city over the last few hours maybe by the morning Israel time we'll have more clarity and yeah question about the next steps whether it be ground invasion or more emphasis from the air from the United States from our correspondent Mike Wagenheim Mike Johnson the new house speaker wants to prioritize a resolution expressing support for Israel not clear what he wants to do in terms of prioritizing the funding right and many Republicans object to the Biden administration approach appearing that funding tears you with funding for Ukraine so we'll have to see if the Biden administration can square that circle that ends this particular broadcast on I-24 news with the US Bank as chair lots of news developing this evening out of Israel so stay with us as day 19 of Israel's war against Hamas comes to its close thank you for joining us Israel is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world and the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regards they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct it's 19 days since the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel so more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered more than 5,400 people were wounded confirmation today that four more bodies have been recovered in Kibbutzbury identified as the most endangered wolf in the entire world and we need to get in the car in Kibbutzbury identifying bodies has taken this long given the brutality of the attacks now if you listen to the interrogation of terrorists caught since the 7th of October you will hear the clear instructions Hamas gave them to kidnap and kill Israeli civilians at this hour at least 220 people are still being held hostage inside Gaza the hostages come from 25 different countries ranging in age from a 9 month old baby to an 89 year old man they include holocaust survivors and peace activists now Qatar says it's working on some kind of breakthrough for their release Israeli media is now reporting that Jerusalem is considering an exchange deal for women and children to be free these are just reports the IDF has conducted a spate of airstrikes on scores of Hamas terror sites in the Gaza Strip both above ground and underground as the country waits to hear when a large scale ground incursion is likely to start the Wall Street Journal reporting Israel has agreed for now to a US request to get its air defences in place to protect American troops in the Middle East take a look at this picture taken in Beirut today senior leaders of three terror groups Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah Ziad Al-Nachlech the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group and Hamas deputy chief Saleh Al-Aroury now for the latest updates on the ground we go straight to our correspondent Hamda Sahut she is near the Israel Gaza border Hamda siren sounding in Ashkelon, Nativa Asarajas moments ago you are close to the border what update can you share right now? right Benita and just two minutes ago sirens also sounding in the southern city of Ashdod you can hear booms in the distance behind me as the Israeli military continues to pound targets inside of the Gaza Strip the Israeli military spokesperson saying today that they are pounding targets both via land and air and this is in preparation for their next moves meaning the ground operation when they go inside of the Gaza Strip the Israeli prime minister speaking earlier today saying that he's not going to give much information about the ground offensive but that it is in fact imminent so the Israeli military is saying they are targeting heavy Hamas infrastructure on the other side of the fence inside Gaza scenes of destruction black plumes of smoke continuously because of the military's bombardment on the Gaza Strip the Israeli military is saying they are preparing for this ground offensive so the intensity of the strikes is actually going to get harder as they need to pave the way for the next steps of their plans now in the distance we also heard several rounds of small arms fire the Israeli military lighting flares from the ground to illuminate the way to see if anyone was perhaps approaching the fence but we heard several rounds of small arms fire you can hear those booms in the distance now as the Israeli military continues to hit targets inside of the Gaza Strip both with fighter jets and with artillery, Benita thank you so much we will be coming back to our correspondent Hamda Sahut live on the Israel Gaza border stay safe Hamda and as Hamda was explaining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the nation in a televised address just a short while ago explaining that while exact details around the next steps Israel will take can't be publicized right now light will triumph over darkness we will fight together we will win let's take a listen we are bringing down lethal fire on Hamas we've already killed off thousands of terrorists and this is just the beginning and we're also preparing for the ground offensive I'm not going to give any specifics on when, how and how much we're also not going to specify the various considerations we're taking into account many of these considerations are not known to the general population in Israel and that's a good thing because we want to protect our soldiers' lives I would like to be clear the timing of the IDF operation was determined unanimously by the cabinet in charge of this war together with the chief of general staff and together with the cabinet in order to guarantee the most optimal conditions for our troops for the upcoming activities and when we get into Gaza and then later on we're going to get those murders who committed these horrendous horrific events of Hamas Isis to pay the full price October 7th was a very dark and black day in our history we will fully investigate what had happened at our southern border in Gaza everybody will have to provide answers myself included but all that will happen only after the war and now for more insight we welcome to studio a major general in the reserves Eitan Dungart former military secretary to three ministers of defense and former coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories in the IDF and international affairs analyst Dan Perry later at the Associated Press and former chairman of the Foreign Press Association gentlemen thank you both very much for being here in studio so Eitan I'm going to start with you because the nation is waiting to hear when this ground incursion is going to happen listening very carefully to what Benjamin Netanyahu had to say reports in the Wall Street Journal that they need to wait a little bit because the US needs to get its ducks in a row in terms of its spaces with US troops what is your latest assessment shortly before I will explain it I think that the nation cannot hear it from the prime minister in the press the nation got a very clear message we are continuing when, how what kind of way of tactic operative this will be known only when it happens and this is the way it should be worked for the safety of the soldiers for the start in a success way for fulfill the mission and the targets but secondly I think that the prime minister tonight try to bring few messages to the nation first of all we are continuing in our main two goals and there was a goal at the beginning that was not mentioned on the same level the main goal is still of course to destroy the Hamas terror structure and to prevent it to continues and to be in Gaza in any kind of effective way secondly is the release as we can do as more for all the kidnapped people from children till elder soldiers female and others in the Gaza Strip meanwhile there are also one clear effort with the international community which is very well coordinated I'm not can remember such a visiting of major leaders from Europe from the state in every day one after the other it means they are here for covering the umbrella of something that above us and I mean towards the north and the prime minister said we continue with our main mission is to destroy Hezbollah terror structure and we will do it and Hamas yes thank you and you know dad always thinking about Hezbollah about Hezbollah and I think he also signal another thing about the unity of the war cabinet that has been established by him it's a very important and these days to show they don't have to agree with each other that's not the reason to establish such a cabinet they need tense other views etc but decisions are taking together and the last but not I think least is the fact that he said we will come and check ourselves from him first time he mentioned himself with kind of giving answers not mentioning responsibility but we are moved a step above about it and he's right we have to put it on the side and fulfill our duty towards the Israeli population then I want to bring you in on that Benjamin Netanyahu is saying everyone will have to provide answers but the time is not now the time now is on making sure that Israel remains that Israel can exist this was the most non-apology apology and the most non-malculpa imaginable I mean one official after another anyone who had anything to do with this catastrophe comes out in the past weeks and says clearly I bear responsibility and I'll do with that whether I'll resign or not as a whole separate question but they don't deny they bear responsibility and we hear the Prime Minister who is more than anyone the author of the idea that it's pretty cool to have a terrorist group running Gaza because that weakens the moderate Palestinian Authority and makes it less likely that Israel will be corralled into a two-state process that was his idea very much but this is not anything resembling a taking of responsibility and for it to be treated as such I have to say is the soft bigotry of low expectations that Netanyahu lives on a whole other planet where responsibility takes entirely other forms than it does for mere mortals. What we are seeing however right now is a very divided country up until now is now united so politically people were before this war started and right now the focus many will say is just on being safe, eliminating Hamas, eliminating the terrorist rate and making sure that what happened on the 7th of October never happens again. Absolutely, what we're actually saying is a tempering of the anger that had been behind the divisions. You still have voters on one side and the other but I mean evidence that there has been a sea change in the political landscape and there is anger against the government. But that anger is not manifesting itself in daily events because it's less important in most people's minds than prosecuting this war in which the people are united. I mean it is quite remarkable that I would say that when the government speaks of the goal being to remove Hamas power if indeed that's the goal Netanyahu did not say it today. But if that's what they're trying to do the people understand it is that there's consensus behind it and a willingness to pay a very high price and I think Israelis know very well that the price will probably be high. And what he did say is the soul of the nation is bleeding and that certainly is true. Gentlemen stay with us, we're going to come back to unpack lots more right now though. Our correspondent Pierre Hezbollah and the IDF exchanging fire across that Israel-Lebanon border earlier. Talk to us about the latest developments where you are. What can you share? Right Benita the latest IDF statement saying that the Israeli Air Force has been targeting Hezbollah targets in the southern part of Lebanon destroying or targeting specifically a watchtower and the military compound belonging to Hezbollah earlier. Israel has been targeting three squads trying to launch anti-tank missiles towards Israeli territory. One squad succeeded in firing one anti-tank missile towards the community of Avivim towards an army base there. Israel has been striking a back there as well. That comes all after rocket sirens were heard in the community of Kiryat Shmone in the eastern part of the Israel-Lebanon border for rockets being launched earlier this afternoon from southern Lebanon into Israel. They all fell into an open area and did not have to be intercepted. There are more than 30 missiles in the southern part of the country. That comes also after one rocket was fired towards Haifa but not from the north where all of our eyes are at but from the south from Hamas in the Gaza Strip using one of their long-range missiles there but the missile exploded mid-air. Rocket sirens were heard in the area of Haifa and southern communities there. Benita that all happening against the backdrop of that meeting between Hezbollah leader Hassan and the leaders of Palestinian Islam and one senior Hamas official Salah Al-Aroori today earlier this morning one meeting where those three Iran backed groups were speaking about the following steps to take in that what they call sensitive point in time here. What they should do in order to bring about the victory of what they call the resistance in Gaza there. One of those many meetings that we've been seeing between Iranian backed groups throughout the year that comes only about two weeks after the Iranian Foreign Minister met with Hassan Hezbollah leader in Beirut and Hassan Hezbollah specifically has been emphasizing throughout the year that his goal is to combine the front there the northern front in Lebanon Hezbollah with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and also the West Bank and this is what we've been seeing here today specifically. Live in northern Israel close to the border with Hezbollah we will be coming back to you Pierre stay safe meantime. And now we go to Tel Aviv and we're joined by our correspondent Bacir Lebenthol so a little bit earlier siren sounding in many parts of central Israel what update can you share where you are what is the latest there. Right Benita well thankfully no sirens here but they did blast off in Rishon Lutiyon as well as Kholon which is not too far away as you pointed out in the center but what's happening here at Tel Aviv is a vigil usually the visuals include some candles that have been lit and also memorials that have been set up for those that have been murdered by Hamas but tonight a different kind of visual I'm going to move out of the way so that you can see what we're looking at is 30 large teddy bears that have been blindfolded some of them have even been bound together there's some memorial candles near them but they all hold an individual placard of a child with Hamas we don't know the conditions that these children are currently in the Gaza Strip and we there's no telling the torment the trauma that they have gone through their innocence completely whitewashed but what is evidence is that there is a chance to bring them home and the Israeli public very clearly wants to make sure that this is on the public consciousness at all times that yes we are engaged in a war at the moment with Hamas in the Gaza Strip but we still have innocent hostages innocent children the lives of children and this was very important to bring up to the the a lot of the activists that put them here earlier in the day it's the children that need to be focused on it's the children that need world and media attention to be able to bring them home safely these are not combatants these are not IDF military personnel they are innocent young children and so this being made very clear here tonight as well reporting on the same thing it's difficult to see a visual like this and think of any other way that the media can possibly spin this yes there's always two signs to a coin yes they are innocent children on the other side of the border as well but they are being put in harm's way by terrorist organization Hamas whereas here they are being protected and trying to be protected and obviously our government working very hard to make sure that the steps are taken to engage in both a war and also knowing that they have the hard job of making sure that a lot of these children a lot of the hostages in general are brought back to Israel safely thank you so much correspondent by 11th all live from Tel Aviv thank you and now talking of those children let's turn to the latest rhetoric out of Qatar and Turkey the foreign minister in Doha saying negotiations with Hamas to release more than 200 people still held hostage in Gaza continue Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Altani who is also Qatar's Prime Minister saying there is some progress and they remain hopeful the head of Israel's National Security Council taking to social media to say he is pleased to say that Qatar is becoming an essential party in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions meanwhile it was a standing ovation in the Turkish parliament for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he told his AK faction party that Hamas is not a terrorist organization he is also cancelling plans to visit Israel because of what he calls it's inhumane war Israel rejecting the saying Hamas is an abominable terrorist organization that is worse than ISIS that it brutally murders babies children women and the elderly takes civilians hostage and uses its own people as human shields. So still with me in studio I pan al is here in Eitan I want to start with you because top of mind in the hearts of all Israelis right now is the release of these hostages what you make of the plans how seriously do you take them your thoughts I think that at the beginning the goal of the release of the kidnapped people from the children and the others was not enough on the same place as the goal of destroying Hamas structure but I think there were some occasions that brought it to such important first of all I think that we are in an open window time to make it and it was very clear because Hamas got it on a way by dislegitimation and it came from the sponsor of Hamas Qatar and for Qatar Qatar we have to speak on another way because in my opinion Qatar is the main source root and I architect that made this kind of operation without putting the fingers and creating it and I think that Qatar realize what happened with the hostages is giving it a kind of a crisis towards Qatarian double way of foreign policy that they are using and playing with everybody all over the years covering their main ideological way and they made the pressure on Hamas and this is the opportunity that we have to use. The second is the duty. After what happened on the 7th of October Israel duty. Our duty is to bring all of this group back home because they are civilians or soldiers but they are as a result of the failure of those who are well responsible for the security of Israel from the military point and from the political point and we have to bring them as soon as possible back home so now at the end the third is the Israeli street that has realized what happened and started to raise it right as the important thing now for the country. Hamas will not disappear. Even after the operation we will do they will not disappear. It will take time to reach the goal even after the main operation. We have an experience but if it will be in a different way of military policy towards Hamas we will achieve it on some time coming timetable but releasing the group of the kidnaps is something that is in our heart in our mind, in our way as a nation, in our duty. Dan, Qatar finances Hamas Qatar hosts Hamas and yet potentially these are the brokers that may make a difference your take. It's absurd. I host the world sometimes in utter stupefaction honestly when abnormal things become normal when unacceptable becomes acceptable. The world has some leverage over Qatar. Qatar wants to be accepted as a member in good standing of the community of civilized nations. They host the world cup. They pretend to be a normative country. I would hope that if the world wanted to do something useful as a stick that they can do that. They can maybe get the Sunni world to stop being a little bit nasty towards Qatar for while they were totally ostracized by Saudi Arabia and other countries in exchange for understanding that it is no longer acceptable in any way, shape or form to support Hamas. I would absolutely make it a global goal of Israel's. Maybe even before blundering into Gaza with Hamas to completely isolate Hamas to punish any country, any organization, any individual that provides sanctuary for funding for, assistance for or even negotiation with Hamas. After what happened on October 7th Hamas needs to be removed from the from the rank of organizations that one can deal with and not expect to be a pariah to that exact point. What then do you make of Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying Hamas is not a terrorist organization? One wonders how he would define the PKK right now, but that we can park for the moment. This is a guy who is happy to call any Kurd and Turkey a terrorist practically. Well, let's be honest, there were efforts at some kind of warming of relations between Israel and Turkey. He was supposed to be visiting soon. We know the guy. We know it. He will come back to the circle and will climb up and will move around the circle. But the main problem is Qatar. Let's not play the games. Qatar built this kind of murder organization by cheating Israel and find a way of cooperation inside Israel from the fact of coming inside due Israel, bring the money money to civilians with a lot of money that they were not observed or allowed to bring Hamas or gave the Hamas the opportunity to produce a kind of money for producing missiles or rockets. They don't need to give them the papers how to do it. They gave them the resources for this kind of things. They gave them the shelter to be in Doha. They give them the umbrella to play around the world without taking attention. Their way of policy is not different than Hamas because they played like a way of being received by the West and on the other end, they deeper dig the way of bringing their ideologic of terrorism of the extremist Sunnis as they really believe and this is a country of one million people with a lot of money which is very important. They have tens with Iran or have their own problems and also tens with Saudi Arabia and tens with Egypt but on the other end creating a situation recently like a very nice sunshine with empty clouds but above it was a darkness. They continue to sponsor but now we need them we need them to bring back of the people that are now in tunnels inside Gaza is the responsibility of Qatar as the same of Hamas. Sounds like we agree on Qatar. As for Turkey, the answer may be more in the realm of the psychological than the political. I must say. Dan, a tense stay with us. We've got lots more to discuss on exactly that front though but right now we are taking a very quick break. Our breaking news coverage continues in just a few minutes. Our team of reporters is out and about in the field. Our experts stay here in studio so stay tuned to this breaking news edition. Israel is at war. Make an investment in Israel bonds. It is the most powerful and direct way to stand with Israel. Visit israelbonds.com and invest now. 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured injured. We bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas. Follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north. Get the inside scoop on what's going on. Only on i24 news. In the Jewish type of visitation of these hostages knowing if they are dead or alive. The presentation behind us represents two of the most important events in Israel. One of the most important events in Israel. We bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records from those who survived and only one behind us represents 220 families. This is breaking news edition. I'm Benita Levine live in Tel Aviv. And across the political spectrum Israeli leaders continue to condemn UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. With opposition leader Yair Lapid saying his comments at a Security Council session on Tuesday had since then have so far done nothing to temper that storm. Our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman has the details. Even for Israel at the United Nations it's a new low. With continued anger in Israel Wednesday over the comments of Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York a day earlier. It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. Mr. Secretary General in what war do you live? Definitely this is not our war. Saturday October 7 will go down in history as nothing less than a brutal massacre. Families of Israeli hostages went ahead Tuesday with their meeting with Guterres Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled his meeting. Israel began denying visas to U.N. officials. Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan called for Guterres to resign. And the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Wednesday had this to say. Those who seek to understand look for a justifying context do not categorically condemn the perpetrators and do not call for the unconditional and immediate release of the abducted fail the test. Secretary General Antonio Guterres failed the test. Guterres took to the podium Wednesday to explain. Israel remained unimpressed. I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council as if as if I was justifying acts of terror by a mass. This is false. It was the opposite. Israel and U.N. institutions have had tense relations for decades with Israel feeling U.N. bodies and U.N. officials do not give Israel's claims a fair hearing that the United Nations has a deep-rooted anti-Israel culture. That has not always tainted the Secretary General himself which is why the fury over Guterres' comments is news and the storm comes at a sensitive time with U.N. agencies a key force in the Gaza Strip making this a high-stakes diplomatic fight for all involved. And for the latest out of the United Nations the United States and Russia have put forward rival plans to help Palestinian civilians caught in the war a humanitarian pause suggested by Washington or a ceasefire pushed by Moscow both countries seek U.N. Security Council resolutions to address shortages of food, water medical supplies and electricity in Gaza but the U.S. has called for pauses to allow aid to enter Gaza while Russia wants a humanitarian ceasefire. So for more let's go to our senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim. He joins us from the U.N. in New York. So Mike Lotz to unpack. Let's start with that major fallout in the U.N. The U.N. U.S. comments by Antonio Guterres about the Hamas terror attack. He initially said it didn't happen in a vacuum. Talk us through the response and his updated remarks. How is that all going down there? There's obviously a huge disconnect between what Guterres thought he said and how it should be interpreted and how it actually is and it's not just some really political spectrum. We're talking about Benny Gantz who called Guterres's comments essentially terror enabling. This is a Benny Gantz who literally had Mahmoud Abbas over his house for dinner. We're talking Yair Lapid, the opposition leader who made the two-state solution the focal point of his U.N. General Assembly speech last year. So there's obviously a disconnect and a chasm between the, as Ellie Cohen said, the world that Guterres lives in there's been no retraction or anything like that from Guterres and according to his spokesperson there's been no other ambassadors or envoys who have said anything though his spokesperson admitted even if they did he wouldn't say so publicly. And Mike the latest now on those two alternative resolutions at the U.N. one by the U.S. the other the Russian Federation. The U.S. wants this humanitarian pause. Russia wants a humanitarian ceasefire. Where do things stand right now? It's not so much what Russia wants. Russia wants what the U.S. doesn't want which is why there are essentially dual resolutions right now. The U.S. calling for humanitarian pauses causing for a safe passage for those that need to be evacuated calling for the provision and distribution unimpeded of humanitarian aid. Meanwhile Russia calling as you mentioned for a humanitarian ceasefire and the revocation of Israel's order for Gazans to evacuate the northern part of the enclave among other items. But it's obviously a U.S. Russia battle here more so than it is an Israel Hamas battle. They've gone to close consultations here in the security chamber security council chamber behind us. It's very clear that there's further negotiations and talks that need to be worked out on both of those resolutions. Russia has already indicated if not explicitly then implicitly that they would veto the U.S. resolution. Meanwhile a Russian resolution on this same topic would be very unclear. They would have the votes this time around and even if they did very clear the U.S. would veto it. The Maltese Ambassador to the Security Council in the U.N. Vanessa Frazier told us that the E-10 the group of European 10 countries they would put forth their own draft resolution should both of these resolutions here today fail to pass. Mike stay with us. I want to unpack a little bit more about President Joe Biden. He was speaking out in Washington just a short while ago at a press conference talking about a range of issues including the day after the war. Let's take a listen. There's no going back to the status quo as is stood on October the 6th. That means ensuring Hamas can no longer terrorize Israel and use Palestinian civilians as human shields. It also means that when this crisis is over there has to be a vision of what comes next and in our view it has to be a two-state solution. It means a concentrated effort for all the parties Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders to put us on a path toward peace. President Joe Biden mentioning there the two-state solution amongst other suggestions that he didn't talk about so much when he was here not so long ago. Wrap up for us what he did say. You had two separate appearances today on camera both in the Rose Garden and the White House. He was asked about a number of topics related to the conflict. Number one the comments that Benjamin Netanyahu made that a ground invasion is imminent. He was asked if he saw assurances from the Israeli Prime Minister about holding off long enough to negotiate the release of the hostages. He said he'd indicated to Netanyahu that he would prefer that happen but didn't demand it in terms of minimizing civilian casualties. Biden indicated that Hamas' numbers might be trusted. However, Israel should be doing all that it can even in very difficult circumstances to limit those civilian casualties. He did say the U.S. seemed to have lost it. He indicated that they would under any circumstances provide Israel with all that was necessary to make sure that they were able to defend themselves. He said quote unquote, that's a guarantee. Senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim updating us there from the United Nations in New York thank you Mike and apologies for that short technical hiccup there as well still with me in studio, Major General in the Reserves, Eitan Dungott and Dan Perry international relations experts. So let's start with you Dan. Let's turn back here. First of all, your thoughts on Antonio Guterres and his comments fall out walking it back but not really walking it back. What do you see into this? He's a creature of his environment which is D-1 and indeed Israel he's rarely narrative to use a word I hate. It's not that popular in a general assembly. He's more the head of the General Assembly than the head of the Security Council. When he says that the attack didn't happen in a vacuum to an extent that's always true it's true of all things. Nothing happens in a vacuum but of course you have to be spectacularly tone deaf to say that in the context of your first public statements about a massacre of 1,400 people it's going to sound like being an apologist for it. So it would be a little bit sad for poor Guterres if he had reached his advanced years and hadn't figured that out. It sounds like a bit of a faux pas a bit of a gaffe frankly but it probably comes from an emotional place where he's thinking of the General Assembly and knowing that making a statement that sounds purely pro-Israel and it's a little bit sad that just simply condemn a massacre as pro-Israel might have been unpopular I don't know what more to say it's a little it's not his finest moment And certainly if any person whether you are the chief of the UN wherever you are in the world whether you are in the loop about the Middle East and the dynamics here if you saw the brutality if you saw the depravity that was filmed by Hamas when this rampage happened a human being cannot be anything but outraged of course obviously but here's the problem with that when Israel carries out reprisals in Gaza, actions in Gaza when bombard Gaza knowing that there are human shields and that those human shields may die that creates terrible scenes in Gaza and I think if Israel assumes that people will compare the two things human shields with dying in Israel's hand because Israel had no choice but to do the bombardment versus maniacal terrorists or to boot running around southern Israel raping and pillaging they're going to know the latter is worse I think Israel may be disappointed because there is this endless loop of constant death and destruction that causes many people to be confused about who is right and who is wrong Etan take us into the war cabinet we know that leaders have got huge plans not only in terms of Hamas but Hezbollah which you made mention of earlier in the North as well how much influence does the U.S. concern rhetoric out of the U.N. anywhere in the globe right now Middle Eastern players that we were talking about earlier have on the plan of action Israel wants to destroy Hamas and it needs to do that I think that with my experience first of all I must say something about the U.N. Secretary give me 10 seconds shame for him in the General Assembly and shame for the free world and I think this guy should be removed from his job and I'm serious I know we are dealing about the world but how can it be when the blood is still on the floor and what you see and what you watch coming a man making a speech like a dry man without any feelings doesn't signal anything just to be okay with his fellows from the Arab world we know about this kind of context this guy should be blocked by thousands of people who send him a demand and they net at everywhere they can and demand that he will leave his job you're not the only one saying as much secondly not to work I think that above all in the cabinet from my experience of course we are a free country and we are identified for the main goal for our mission in this war when there is escalation but we are not disconnected from what's going above us this area the Middle East is start with Hamas and it's a local Israeli problem but I think that the world and above them it's United States are aware that this threat from Hamas is a threat for future from what Iranian are making in the region you have to take first of all for your country we are 24 hours assess all the time the situation with the North I'm sure about what happened today in Beirut by the way it's not something special you have to this murderer plan was prepared for a long months and as it was prepared for the murderer it was prepared for the defend what will be Israel reaction Hezbollah is very in a high readiness even what's going in the North they didn't do anything till yet they are able to do so all the time you are measuring balancing checking and taking on account of course the master of this region the United States we have to deal with them we have to create we have to coordinate and maybe we have to cooperate stay with us gentlemen I want to bring in Ophir Metzger whose grandparents Tami and Yoram Metzger have been kidnapped by Hamas and are being held in Gaza Ophir joins us from a light Ophir I cannot imagine what you and your family are going through right now thank you very much for speaking to us take us back if you will to Saturday the 7th of October you and your family live in southern Israel near the Gaza border talk us through your recollections yeah so that day started with sirens we went to the safe rooms we started to call our family that lives closer to the border in Kibbutz near Oz and then we stopped getting any messages from my grandparents and at the time we continued talking my sister was at my uncle's house so we continued talking with her she was telling us that she can hear terrorists all around the Kibbutz they could hear from inside of the safe room and they could hear them coming inside of their house and breaking things and they heard shotguns and so much noise and later when they got out of the safe room around 4pm so they've been there since 6 and a half a.m. at the morning until 4pm then some people did they walk and went inside houses and they saw that my grandparents are not there anymore they were not signs of a fight so we just guessed they just took them and couple of days later we got a message from the army that they located the phones of my grandparents inside Gaza and when and yeah and now we don't know their condition and we don't know if they're alive we don't know what holes they've been through and we just watching videos and to keep and search them in videos and have you seen those videos they are horrible absolutely horrific so I just hope that they are okay I hope that they didn't suffer like the people in those videos and these days are so hard because my dad and family we are originally from the same kibbutz in kibbutz new house and these kibbutz has been through a massacre so many people were murdered and women raped and children beheaded and horrible things that should never happen in this world and this we never thought that this size of massacre will happen so this is a great reminder of the world to understand and know that Hamas is a terror organization right sorry and this is the thing that he does and now it's going in Israel but it will come to Europe too and to the US too and to everywhere or fair it's something we've been talking about right here in studio right now the impact of what is happening and how it's been seen in all the world and the reaction as well as you well know four hostages have so far been released including two elderly Israeli women how did you feel when you saw your Heved Liftschitz and Narit Cooper back in Israel does it give you and your family some sense of hope you obviously heard your Heved's account of what she went through how did you and your family feel seeing and hearing this so first of all we are all happy we know them your Heved was my dad's poor teacher when he was young and Narit was walking with my grandpa at the paint factory in New York so we are happy that they're okay and they're here but honestly it's not enough two people out of 200 and more it's not enough we want them all to come back we want them all alive and the world can the world can't just say it's enough and just okay think Hamas is so humanitarian and nice it's not nice and there are still more than 200 people inside of Gaza and we don't know their condition and tell us a little bit about your grandparents what do they lack my grandpa is very funny he tells the same jokes makes very good food my grandma too I wear her earrings and her necklace she gave them to me and my sister has another pair I sit at their house with them every weekend my grandpa used to make me like small sandwiches with a smile on them and we talk and we tell each other a lot we are very open with each other so they know me very well and I know them very well they used to tell me about their childhood and in the keyboards and everything they are very nice people we just celebrated my grandpa's birthday 80th birthday and it was so nice because all of my family was together and it was so nice and we just hope to celebrate his next birthday too and I'm sure they are very proud of you or fear Metzger we hope your grandparents will be returned home you are in our hearts your family is in our hearts and your grandparents are in our hearts thank you very much for being here thank you Dan Perry perhaps we need to send that to the UN the fortitude of that young woman is beyond all comprehension unbelievable and to think what these families are going through as we sit here talking about what plans might be in place to potentially get her grandparents back home it's a global historic drama you couldn't script it more incredibly I understand it's amazing to be home and mother release of babies and mother without her babies and children we think about such and never estimate that I will have to sit here and to speak and this is something that we will have to carry with us we are not understand how it happened to us on the 7th of October it must be clear but we know we have no time now to think about it and we have to correct it immediately because as you see and with the evidence that are coming by the IDF from these terrorists here is a letter and from a phone call and from the others you see what is really was behind it and if you are not succeed to prevent it what will be here at the end of the Israeli state this is a world that is not a nuclear this is a nuclear human behavior how did Israel not see this coming how did Israel and let them drag people back into Gaza training camps were apparently set up just across that border intelligence failure here when you listen to a young woman like that waiting for word on her grandparents talking about the relationship that they have how did this happen I really cannot give you the answer how everything among the way it should be stopped in places where it should be stopped and we have precise from the intelligence and from the operation and from all the discussions and when you see the atmosphere I think we will have to dig it very deep and for time to study from it a very tragic lessons and we will have also to see how the situation in Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah said it and he run very loudly that the internal situation in Israel was a catalysator that move this kind of back wind they feel in their situation the motivation to do it in a success way because they feel that above the weakness of probably what they find out and it was well planned by these people that the atmosphere of Israel gave them the belief that they can do it and they said it loudly towards many months but I said now it's time to leave it on the side and now it's time to make what we have to do with Hamas and later we have to see it and do it very deeply and intensively I have to say sure that sounds good obviously but we know very well who we're dealing with on the political side in Israel if they prolong the war in one way or another don't declare it over for a year or so it is very clear that the hope will be that by then there will be a whole new reality and those responsible more or less be allowed to get away with it whereas some things are very complicated in some ways it's also very simple Israel over the past year more or less joined a global bandwagon well that was predicted in a movie Idiocracy and the idea was that you can elect incompetence and foals and everything will somehow be okay and I think the Piper was paid on October 7th incompetence and it is now okay I think that the goalkeeper is the Israeli nation Israeli nation is now fighting thousands of people for the future of their families the future generations and they will not give any politician and anyone who was involved in this case to find a way to escape from this fact and I think the main hero you ask at the beginning of the unity in Israel and the situation I think I can assess that around 75% of the population understand together what is the need for the country