 to do the job. And that if we have the right ingredients and we do the job, that the Vakita can be protected. 24 News is ongoing coverage of Israel's war against Hamas's murderers. I'm Arielle Levin-Waldman. This war has now entered its 14th day and on the southern front, the IDF and the Shin Bet internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Shahalavia, a terrorist leader of the Special Forces branch of the naval arm of Hamas. On Thursday evening, air raid sirens sounded across the Tel Aviv and central area past 11 o'clock, sending millions of people running for shelter. The IDF has finally gotten their hands on some details and released them of the people abducted by Hamas. These hostages include up to about 30 children, at least 10 others over the age of 60. Most of the hostages are alive, but there are also bodies that were abducted into Gaza. And also from last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Inyoho paid a visit to the troops down south to give them these words of encouragement. I am here with Galani fighters. They come from all parts of the country. They fought like lions, they will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? We are going to win with all our might. The entire nation of Israel stands behind you, and we will deal a hard blow to our enemies to achieve victory for victory. Ready? And we first turn our eye to the northern front where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is joining us from the north. We have seen some escalations with Hezbollah over the past few days, each day intensifying more and more anti-tank rockets fired at Israeli positions. Hezbollah attempting to take out sensor arrays and firing rockets now into Israeli cities. Ultimately, what is going on? What are the latest updates on that front? Ariel, good morning. The cross-border fire intensifying in the last 24 hours, just last night around 11 p.m., three large booms happening in the distance behind me at the border. And the Israeli military announced that it was striking Lebanese positions. Now, as of this morning, the Israeli military, along with the Defense Ministry, said that they are going to evacuate the northern community of Kiryat Shmone. This is a place that had a direct hit yesterday from that barrage of rockets we saw from southern Lebanon yesterday. The Israeli military says that they're going to hold Hezbollah responsible for anything that comes in and out of Lebanon. Now, Hamas is at the Sambergades operating in southern Lebanon, taking responsibility for that, which is exactly why the Israeli military said Hezbollah will be the one who deals with the blow. Now, the military here is on high alert, securing the area, continuing to evacuate communities within five kilometers of the northern border out of fears of it escalating. The United States has asked Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah in order to avoid a larger, more semi-regional conflict, but they did offer them reassurances. If Hezbollah struck first, they would assist them militarily. So really, a waiting game here on the northern border as the tit for tat exchanges of fire continue, Ariel. Hamda, we understand that Hezbollah isn't only taking orders from Iran as well. They have a lot of internal pressures in Lebanon that are factoring through the decision to commit or not. Can you walk us through what some of those are? Well, look, there have been demonstrations both in southern Lebanon and some of these Palestinian refugee camps like Ain al-Hilwa and in Beirut, the capital. We have been seeing demonstrations for days now with Hezbollah flags, with Palestinian flags calling on Hezbollah to get involved. Two weeks ago, when this conflict started, Palestinian factions operating out of the south have been saying they were eager to join the fight, but they needed to go ahead from Hezbollah because they are responsible for anything emanating in and out of their territory. However, there are sources that are indicating there are discussions going on between Beirut and Tehran about when Hezbollah will get involved. The Iranians have been saying quite clearly once a ground invasion starts inside of the Gaza Strip. All bets are off. They cannot guarantee who is going to get involved. But when it comes to Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza, the Iranians have been saying that they're actually not involved, that this is a Palestinian issue, and they deny any involvement, Ariel. Well, thank you very much for that view from the northern border. And we will be coming back to you over the course of the day as the situation there unfolds and develops. For now though, we are going to return to our studio where we are joined by former Air Force pilot Guy Perrin. Guy, thank you very much for being here. Good morning, Ariel. That it has been a staple of Israeli military doctrine to rely first and foremost on the Air Force, on pilots such as yourself, for carrying out Israel's necessary deterrence as well as strike capabilities. Since we just were talking about the northern border, I want to focus there because this seems to be what the biggest concern of the military at this exact moment is, ultimately, what are the capabilities in the north that the Air Force has, and what would be the prime targets that you'd be looking for? Well, I think that everybody knows, certainly Hezbollah, Nasserallah, that the Israeli Air Force is capable of taking Lebanon to the Stone Age. As far as we use this term in the sense of actually destroying all the infrastructure of Lebanon, we've seen that before, you know, in previous years, as far as the airports, the major infrastructure. The question is not about capability. That's obviously there. The issue right now is that not only because of the US demand not to do any preemptive strike, but also because of the logic that Israel would prefer to delay or eliminate altogether a second front as far as possible. Now, obviously, over the last few days, we see this escalation. We were hoping that Hezbollah was going to do the minimum necessary to say, OK, we're helping, but only, you know, here and there, a rocket. But over the last few days, it's obviously escalating. And the risk of that is that it goes out of hand. In other words, if this is what they're doing right now, we can imagine when the troops go into Gaza with images coming out of there and the Iranians having said what we just said, heard them saying that that once IDF goes into Gaza, no control, the Air Force and the rest of the IDF is preparing for a full scale operation in the north as well, as difficult as it might sound. How much of Israel's capabilities will be lost if Israel does not preempt Hezbollah? Well, that's that's that's a very good question. We all know that the Hezbollah, unlike Hamas, has many, many more rockets and many more of them are precise. I mean, what we see in the last few days about these alarms and rockets launched even last night in Tel Aviv. We know that 99% of them are either intercepted or fall in open areas. In other words, they're not accurate. It's a different story in the north. So they're able, we know their aim, that Israeli airports, their aim, that even the center of the army, etc. However, having said that, it doesn't mean that Israel has nothing in reply to that sort of attack. So I know that Hezbollah is hesitating even from a pure military. I'm not talking about the general cause about it's not like they push a button and and they paralyze Israel. This is not the case. And that response is largely where you guys come in in the Air Force, because this is what's talked about in the military as attrition rate, as the attrition of enemy equipment, the ability of you guys to strike and eliminate it as they fire it. How fast would you be able to attrition as the Air Force has ballers 150,000 rockets? Well, this is something that the Air Force has been preparing for for years. It's been, to a certain extent, tried and seen before the capabilities after in the 2006. And then after that, the capability to pinpoint locations of missile launches and being able to strike them. However, as I said, the numbers and the disparity, the fact that they're spread all over Lebanon will not make that a simple task. Absolutely. And before we continue this discussion, we are going to take a look at the southern border as well, where our correspondent P.S. Deckelbach is standing by joining us from the now largely evacuated and seemingly abandoned city of Stero. Pia, walk us through what the latest developments on the southern frontier. Right, Ariel. Yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Joff Garland visiting here military base with reservists telling them that it is not long to go until they will see Gaza from the inside as the ground offensive here is looming. We're hearing reports that Israel has been striking targets in Gaza throughout the night and reports coming out of Gaza, saying that one of the oldest churches has been hit. And what they suggest was an Israeli strike, the St. Peripherous Greek Orthodox Church, where Muslims and Christians have reportedly been sheltering their casualties, but the debris is still being cleared out. That comes also as no humanitarian aid has yet reached the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Biden has both held negotiations with the Egyptians and the Israelis. They both sides agreed upon letting 20 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Egypt. We do not know when that will happen. Now, reports were suggesting that it might happen today or tomorrow. However, experts say that hundreds of those truckloads are needed to really cater to the two million strong civilian population in Gaza that desperately are in need for food, medicine, fuel and water. Israel has agreed to let in a humanitarian aid such as water, food and medicine is against letting fuel into the Gaza Strip. As Israel says, Hamas will take it for their own infrastructure. There are also big parts in the Israeli security establishment and also in the Israeli population against those humanitarian aid deliveries. Unless Hamas is not freed, the hostages yesterday, the Israeli army confirming that 203 Israelis are currently held hostage in Gaza. Hamas suggesting it could be a lot more here. Ariel, here on the Israeli side of the border, the night has been quiet. Although yesterday, the areas here, the city of Sirot and also the villages really alongside the Gaza Strip have gotten under heavy fire here. The last alert that we've seen in Israel was yesterday at about 11 p.m. local time. Rockets were fired at the center at the Tel Aviv area here. The area that borders the Gaza Strip, also Sirot, has really become a ghost area. Sirot, a city of 30,000 residents and estimated 3,000 have remained here as vast parts of the population have evacuated to other areas in the center of the country. They're either with family or accommodated in state sponsors, hotels, Ariel, as the ground offensive here is looming. And the situation here is very, very volatile. Well, Pia, we don't know when exactly that's going to start, but we will definitely be coming back to you over the course of the day for updates as this situation changes moment by moment. There is another angle to bring in first, though, and that is the United States assistance with US President Joe Biden on Thursday asking Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight against Hamas. Biden has said that Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel's democracy. He said he would ask Congress today to approve extra funding for Israel. A source familiar with this said it could be about $14 billion total with the money being spent to sharpen Israel's qualitative edge and strengthen military capabilities. In Israel, I saw people who are strong, determined, resilient and also angry and shocked and in deep, deep pain. I also spoke with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people's right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don't take that right away. Like so many other, I'm heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, which was not done by the Israelis. American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliance is what keep us, America safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk, if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it's just not worth it. That's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. The security package I'm sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge, which we've committed to. The qualitative military edge. We're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. And to break this down much further for us, we are now joined by Professor Etan Gilboa, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Thank you very much for joining us, Etan. Let's start here. $14 billion is what we understand is being discussed in the United States, right now. Where's that going to go? What's $14 billion going to do? We seem to have some connection problems at the moment. So we're going to attempt to return to Professor Gilboa as soon as we can. For now, though, we're going to return to Guy Peran in the studio with us. I can try to answer the question that was not there. If you noticed, President Biden said that their contribution will be in the qualitative capabilities or military, not only in the quantities, in other words, resupply Iron Dome and other weapons that we have already is one thing, which is necessary after so many days of fighting and many, many more ahead. But maybe, however, you said qualitative. And this is something that we know that there are still some military technologies, certain types of bombs, certain types of weapons that the Americans have not shared with the rest and which will be coming to Israel. And so part of the answer to that is that $14 billion, it's not going to be necessarily in terms of a wire transfer to be used by Israel in any which way it will be in terms of equipment and some of it special. Everybody knows that Hamas, to a large extent, is hiding in tunnels underneath Gaza to reach and to be able to tackle those this type of infrastructure. Certain bombs and certain technologies do exist. And I'm hoping that they will be coming to Israel and enable the Air Force, among others, to do things that were not possible to do before. To my understanding, we're referring to the ground penetrating munitions because Hamas's tunnels are deep underground. Israel possesses the JDAM Joint Direct Attack Munitions, but those have something like a three meter maximum penetration. What does the United States have that you guys need? Right, I'm not going to go into these details and I'm not sure that I know everything precisely, but the general idea is there. There are technologies that the Americans will share with us, which have not been shared before and which could, I'm not saying it's going to be the the joker that's the game changer. However, every single element in this military puzzle is important to try to end this operation successfully and shortly as possible. And that's the real challenge because we keep on hearing about this imminent ground operation in Gaza that hasn't materialized just yet. You've been inside the military before, so can you give us a quick idea of what you think is necessary as far as the preconditions would be? Right, I think that on one hand, because of the atrocities and everything that we've seen, people are eager to already start seeing some kind of response or not to say revenge. But at the same time, we have to understand that when we're talking about that kind of magnitude of planned operation, we're not talking about a small unit or even one brigade, which is obviously already ready to do their stuff. We're talking about a much bigger scale, so the preparation and making sure that hundreds of thousands of those soldiers are equipped and ready, trained, not only equipped with equipment, but know what they're going to be doing. It takes time, but also there's another aspect of it not being, not moving in right into the arms of Hamas who is certainly expecting it. And so planning and part of the different weapons that might be coming might play into that. So I think that the, and at the same time, allowing the Air Force to do maximum preparation of the ground or maximum damage, so to make the work or the task of the ground forces easier to the extent possible is all very carefully done. And it should be done so because when you're talking about, it's not like a surprise attack 24 hours later. We're already in the 14th day. If it takes another week or whatever in order to make it better, then this is what should be done. Absolutely. And we're going to continue on this discussion just in a little bit. But first, our defense correspondent Jonathan Reghev has tried to answer the very same question. There's much awaited Israeli ground offensive is still awaited. Just why has it been delayed? Well, these are the answers he's showed us. For nearly two weeks, Israelis have been waiting to see the promises of their leaders to crush Hamas come true. There is a clear understanding it cannot happen without a ground offensive, which has so far been delayed. Why? For various reasons. People in every corner of Israel are moved by the unwavering support expressed by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, as well as all the other Western leaders touching down here. But that support comes with a price. Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well. We mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives like the entire world. The last thing Israel needed is a global leader landing here as images of a catastrophe emerge from Gaza. Hamas almost achieved that with the manipulative reports about the Gaza Hospital bombing just ahead of Biden's visit, Israel exposing that lie just on time. Based on the information we've seen today, it appears a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza. International legitimacy is one reason the combat readiness of the troops is another. For years, the warnings about the poor condition of the ground forces were ignored. Like so many other things, it all crashed down on that terrible Saturday morning. The time since then was used to close the very big gaps that were in the needed equipment. The gap is now almost closed. The constant shelling of areas in the Northern Gaza Strip, along with a call for residents to head south, are meant to create a safer passage for ground forces entering. But that is also a process taking time. By the weekend, the equipment will be in the field. The Northern Gaza Strip will be empty and the foreign leaders will be back home. Will this be the time for the ground offensive to begin? Maybe so. Now, the maneuver will bring the war to the enemy's territory. We will defeat them in that territory. And we are back in studio with Captain Guy Peron of the Air Force. Guy, we're talking about this preparation for Gaza. And we were talking about the necessary preconditions of the air bombardment. But ultimately, we still know, as far as the IDF is concerned, that a ground operation will be necessary. Let's talk about what the limits of the Air Force's capabilities have been so far and in previous military operations in Gaza that will necessitate ground operations. Right. I think that it's well known that any kind of air operations bombardment are very limited efficiency in terms of hitting definitely underground presence in tunnels and bunkers. Not only from the point of view of their ability to penetrate there, but also from the ability to pinpoint the exact location. These guys have been working there for years. We have some intelligence, but the ability of the Air Force to pinpoint a location where an entry to a tunnel where they are currently hiding is very limited. And so if the goal is announced as eliminating Hamas, that cannot be done without people actually doing the ground work, unfortunately, because this is something that no matter how much we prepare ourselves and how much air bombardment preparation is done, it cannot be done without cost. So I guess ultimately, when the ground operation finally starts, what are Israel's key objectives going to be when it comes down to keeping Israeli troops safe from all the ambushes and nasty surprises that Hamas is going to have? Well, it's going to entail moving carefully. It's going to entail moving with large enough forces to be able to cover for each other. In other words, doing something that if a force is going into a specific dangerous area, there will be other coverage of not only ground forces. You're going to be seeing attack helicopters there. You're going to be seeing different kind of technologies to minimize the exposure of the ground forces. And I believe that, and this is maybe the reason for some of this additional time necessary, you're going to be seeing some kind of maneuvers that are surprised. It's not just going to be lines of tanks and infantry moving through the main cities. There's going to be things that are happening from behind. And I don't need to get into details, but it's going to be, we're preparing some surprises for these guys for sure. Absolutely. During this ground operation, the Air Force is going to have somewhat less operational freedom because you're going to be operating with friendlies in the area as well. What sort of role will you guys be switching to during that time? Well, exactly that. It's going to be much less of a general area bombardment. I mean, there's going to be, because we are going to know the Air Force knows where our ground forces are going to be. They're not going to be everywhere. So the Air Force is still going to be busy guarding and hitting targets that are outside of the zone where the military, where the infantry is on one hand. And second, and this is pretty precise. I mean, you can imagine that attack helicopters are working hand in hand with the platoon commander and battalion commander knowing which corner of a building not to hit right now. And on the other hand, where they're getting objection and asking for air support to hit a specific building once they see that something comes out from that building. So there is going to be less of a general type involvement of the Air Force in terms of large area bombardment and more of the precise types. And the precise types would be helicopters, but not necessarily, not only. There's going to be precise missiles that are going to go into buildings where the ground forces ask the Air Force to hit, et cetera. And it's definitely going to soften things up. And we have less than a minute left. We have to very quick one for this. We're going to move away from the tactical side more to the Israeli spirit. You were part of organizing many of the protests. And we saw after this reservist said, doesn't matter what we said before, we're all coming together for this. Talk about the spirit of the Israeli people that you've seen this. Absolutely. I mean, since the hours of this attack, I'm part of the leaders of the protest movement. Everything has been put aside. There isn't a single demonstration or activity. All of our people are active and busy in support of the South, both military and civil. And in many cases, we're doing it instead of the government that was supposed to be there. And it's a very concerning thing for Israelis to see that it has to be us and not the people that were supposed to protect us. Guy, thank you very much for analysis of the tactical side, as well as the Israeli people. For everyone else, we are just about out of time for now. We're going to see you again at the top of the next hour. Until then, stay safe and stay strong. Over 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured. And the war with Hamas continues. 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 I-24 News. The I-24 News is ongoing coverage of Israel's war against Hamas's murderers. I'm Ariel Levin Waldman. This war has now entered its 14th day on the Southern Front. The IDF and the Shin Bet internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Shalavia, a terrorist leader of the Special Forces branch of the naval arm of Hamas. On Thursday evening, air raid sirens sounded across the Tel Aviv and central area past 11 o'clock, sending millions of people running for shelter. The IDF has finally gotten their hands on some details and released them of the people abducted by Hamas. These hostages include up to about 30 children, at least 10 others, over the age of 60. Most of the hostages are alive, but there are also bodies that were abducted into Gaza. And also from last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to the troops down south to give them these words of encouragement. I am here with Galani fighters. They come from all parts of the country. They fought like lions. They will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? We are going to win with all our might. The entire nation of Israel stands behind you, and we will deal a hard blow to our enemies to achieve victory for victory. Ready? And we first turn our eye to the northern front where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is joining us from the north. We have seen some escalations with Hezbollah over the past few days. Each day, intensifying more and more anti-tank rockets fired at Israeli positions. Hezbollah attempting to take out sensor arrays and firing rockets now into Israeli cities. Ultimately, what is going on? What are the latest updates on that front? Ariel, good morning. The cross-border fire intensifying in the last 24 hours, just last night, around 11 p.m., three large booms happening in the distance behind me at the border. The Israeli military announced that it was striking Lebanese positions. Now, as of this morning, the Israeli military, along with the defense ministry, said that they are going to evacuate the northern community of Kiryat Shmone. This is a place that had a direct hit yesterday from that barrage of rockets we saw from southern Lebanon yesterday. The Israeli military says that they're going to hold Hezbollah responsible for anything that comes in and out of Lebanon. Now, Hamas is up the Sambergades operating in southern Lebanon, taking responsibility for that, which is exactly why the Israeli military said Hezbollah will be the one who deals with the blow. Now, the military here is on high alert, securing the area, continuing to evacuate communities within five kilometers of the northern border out of fears of it escalating. The United States has asked Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah in order to avoid a larger, more semi-regional conflict, but they did offer them reassurances. If Hezbollah struck first, they would assist them militarily. So really, a waiting game here on the northern border as they tit for tat exchanges of fire continue, Ariel. Hamda, we understand that Hezbollah isn't only taking orders from Iran as well. They have a lot of internal pressures in Lebanon that are factoring through the decision to commit or not. Can you walk us through what some of those are? Well, look, there have been demonstrations both in southern Lebanon and some of these Palestinian refugee camps like Ain al-Hilwa and in Beirut, the capital. We have been seeing demonstrations for days now with Hezbollah flags, with Palestinian flags calling on Hezbollah to get involved. Two weeks ago, when this conflict started, Palestinian factions operating out of the south have been saying they were eager to join the fight, but they needed to go ahead from Hezbollah because they are responsible for anything emanating in and out of their territory. However, there are sources that are indicating there are discussions going on between Beirut and Tehran about when Hezbollah will get involved. The Iranians have been saying quite clearly once a ground invasion starts inside of the Gaza Strip. All bets are off. They cannot guarantee who is going to get involved. But when it comes to Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza, the Iranians have been saying that they're actually not involved, that this is a Palestinian issue, and they deny any involvement. Ariel. Well, thank you very much for that view from the northern border, and we will be coming back to you over the course of the day as the situation there unfolds and develops. For now though, we are going to return to our studio where we are joined by former Air Force pilot Guy Perin. Guy, thank you very much for being here. Good morning, Ariel. That it has been a staple of Israeli military doctrine to rely first and foremost on the Air Force, on pilots such as yourself, for carrying out Israel's necessary deterrence as well as strike capabilities. Since we just were talking about the northern border, I want to focus there because this seems to be what the biggest concern of the military at this exact moment is. Ultimately, what are the capabilities in the north that the Air Force has, and what would be the prime targets that you'd be looking for? Well, I think that everybody knows, certainly Hezbollah, Nasserallah, that the Israeli Air Force is capable of taking Lebanon to the Stone Age, as far as we use this term in the sense of actually destroying all the infrastructure of Lebanon. We've seen that before in previous years, as far as the airports, the major infrastructure. The question is not about capability. That's obviously there. The issue right now is that not only because of the US demand not to do any preemptive strike, but also because of the logic that Israel would prefer to delay or eliminate altogether a second front as far as possible. Now, obviously over the last few days, we see this escalation. We're hoping that Hezbollah was going to do the minimum necessary to say, okay, we're helping, but only here and there a rocket. But over the last few days, it's obviously escalating. And the risk of that is that it goes out of hand. In other words, if this is what they're doing right now, we can imagine when the troops go into Gaza with images coming out of there, and the Iranians having said what we just said, heard them saying that once IDF goes into Gaza, no control, the air force and the rest of the IDF is preparing for a full-scale operation in the north as well, as difficult as it might sound. How much of Israel's capabilities will be lost if Israel does not preempt Hezbollah? Well, that's a very good question. We all know that the Hezbollah, unlike Hamas, has many, many more rockets, and many more of them are precise. I mean, what we see in the last few days about these alarms and rockets launched even last night in Tel Aviv, we know that 99% of them are either intercepted or fall in open areas. In other words, they're not accurate. It's a different story in the north. So they're able, we know, they're aimed at Israeli airports, they're aimed at even the center of the army, etc. However, having said that, it doesn't mean that Israel has nothing in reply to that sort of attack. So I know that Hezbollah is hesitating, even from a pure military, I'm not talking about the general cause, about it's not like they push a button and they paralyze Israel. This is not the case. And that response is largely where you guys come in in the air force, because this is what's talked about in the military as attrition rate, as the attrition of enemy equipment, the ability of your guys to strike and eliminate it as they fire it. How fast would you be able to attrition as the air force has ballers 150,000 rockets? Well, this is something that the air force has been preparing for for years. It's been to a certain extent tried and seen before the capabilities after in the 2006 and then after that the capability to pinpoint locations of missile launches and being able to strike them. However, as I said, the numbers and the disparity, the fact that they're spread all over Lebanon will not make that a simple task. Absolutely. And before we continue this discussion, we are going to take a look at the southern border as well, where our correspondent Pia Stechelbach is standing by joining us from the now largely evacuated and seemingly abandoned city of Stero. Pia, walk us through what the latest developments on the southern frontier. Right, Ariel. Yesterday Israeli Defense Minister Joff Garland visiting here at military base with reservists telling them that it is not long to go until they will see Gaza from the inside as the ground offensive here is looming. We're hearing reports that Israel has been striking targets in Gaza throughout the night and reports coming out of Gaza, saying that one of the oldest churches has been hit. And what they suggest was an Israeli strike, the St. Peripherous Greek Orthodox Church, where Muslims and Christians have reportedly been sheltering. There are casualties, but the debris is still being cleared to out. That comes also as no humanitarian aid has yet reached the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Biden has both held negotiations with the Egyptians and the Israelis. They both sides agreed upon letting 20 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Egypt. We do not know when that will happen now. So reports were suggesting that it might happen today or tomorrow. However, experts say that hundreds of those truckloads are needed to really cater to the two million strong civilian population in Gaza that desperately are in need for food, medicine, fuel and water. Israel has agreed to let in humanitarian aid such as water, food and medicine is against letting fuel into the Gaza Strip. As Israel says, Hamas will take it for their own infrastructure. There are also big parts in the Israeli security establishment and also in the Israeli population against those humanitarian aid deliveries. Unless Hamas is not afraid the hostages yesterday, the Israeli army confirming that 203 Israelis are currently held hostage in Gaza. Hamas suggesting it could be a lot more here. Ariel, here on the Israeli side of the border, the night has been quiet, although yesterday the area, the city of Stegot and also the villages really alongside the Gaza Strip have gotten under heavy fire. Here, the last alert that we've seen in Israel was yesterday at about 11 p.m. local time. Rockets were fired at the center, at the Tel Aviv area here. The area that borders the Gaza Strip also Stegot has really become a ghost area. Stegot, the city of 30,000 residents, an estimated 3,000 have remained here as vast parts of the population have evacuated to other areas in the center of the country. They're either with family or accommodated in state sponsors, hotels, Ariel, as the ground offensive here is looming, and the situation here is very, very volatile. Well, Pia, we don't know when exactly that's going to start, but we will definitely be coming back to you over the course of the day for updates as this situation changes moment by moment. There is another angle to bring in first, though, and that is the United States' assistance. With U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday asking Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight against Hamas, Biden has said that Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel's democracy. He said he would ask Congress today to approve extra funding for Israel. A source familiar with this said it could be about $14 billion total with the money being spent to sharpen Israel's qualitative edge and strengthen military capabilities. In Israel, I saw people who were strong, determined, resilient, and also angry, in shock and in deep, deep pain. I also spoke with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people's right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don't take that right away. Like so many other, I'm heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, which was not done by the Israelis. American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliance is what keep us, America safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk, if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it's just not worth it. That's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. The security package I'm sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge, which we've committed to, the qualitative military edge. We're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. And to break this down much further for us, we are now joined by Professor Etan Gilboa, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Thank you very much for joining us, Etan. Let's start here. $14 billion is what we understand is being discussed in the United States being right now. Where's that going to go? What's $14 billion going to do? Okay, we seem to have some connection problems at the moment. So we're going to attempt to return to Professor Gilboa as soon as we can. For now, though, we're going to return to Guy Peran in the studio with us. Maybe I can try to answer the question that was not there. If you noticed, President Biden said that their contribution will be in the qualitative capabilities or military, not only in the quantities. In other words, resupply, Iron Dome, and other weapons that we have already is one thing, which is necessary after so many days of fighting and many, many more ahead. But maybe, however, he said qualitative. And this is something that we know that there are still some military technologies, certain types of bombs, certain types of weapons that the Americans have not shared with the rest, and which will be coming to Israel. And so part of the answer to that is that $14 billion, it's not going to be necessarily in terms of a wire transfer to be used by Israel in any which way. It will be in terms of equipment and some of it special. Everybody knows that Hamas, to a large extent, is hiding in tunnels underneath Gaza to reach and to be able to tackle those this type of infrastructure. Certain bombs and certain technologies do exist. And I'm hoping that they will be coming to Israel and enable the Air Force, among others, to do things that were not possible to do before. To my understanding, we're referring to the ground penetrating munitions because Hamas's tunnels are deep underground. Israel possesses the JDAM Joint Direct Attack munitions, but those have something to do with three meter maximum penetration. What does the United States have that you guys need? Right. I'm not going to go into these details. And I'm not sure that I know everything precisely. But the general idea is there. There are technologies that the Americans will share with us, which have not been shared before, and which could, I'm not saying it's going to be the joker that the game changer. However, every single element in this military puzzle is important to try to end this operation successfully and shortly as possible. And that's the real challenge because we keep on hearing about this imminent ground operation in Gaza that hasn't materialized just yet. You've been inside the military before, so can you give us a quick idea of what you think is necessary as far as the preconditions would be? Right. I think that, you know, on one hand, because of the atrocities and everything that we've seen, people are eager to already start seeing some kind of response or not to say revenge. But at the same time, we have to understand that when we're talking about that kind of magnitude of planned operation, we're not talking about a small unit or even one brigade, which is obviously already ready to do their stuff. We're talking about a much bigger scale. So the preparation and making sure that hundreds of thousands of those soldiers are equipped and ready, trained, not only equipped with equipment, but know what they're going to be doing. It takes time. But also, there's another aspect of it not being, not moving in right into the arms of Hamas, who is certainly expecting it. And so planning and part of the different weapons that might be coming might play into that. So I think that the, and at the same time, allowing the Air Force to do maximum preparation of the ground or maximum damage, so to make the work or the task of the ground forces easier to the extent possible is all very carefully done. And it should be done. So because when you're talking about, it's not like a surprise attack 24 hours later. We're already in the 14th day. If it takes another week or whatever in order to make it better, then this is what should be done. Absolutely. We're going to continue on the discussion just in a little bit. But first, our defense correspondent Jonathan Reghev has tried to answer the very same question. There's much awaited Israeli ground offensive is still awaited. Just why has it been delayed? Well, these are the answers he showed us. For nearly two weeks, Israelis have been waiting to see the promises of their leaders to crush Hamas come true. There is a clear understanding it cannot happen without a ground offensive, which has so far been delayed. Why? For various reasons. People in every corner of Israel are moved by the unwavering support expressed by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, as well as all the other Western leaders touching down here. But that support comes with a price. Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well. We mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives like the entire world. The last thing Israel needed is a global leader landing here as images of a catastrophe emerge from Gaza. Hamas almost achieved that with manipulative reports about the Gaza hospital bombing just ahead of Biden's visit. Israel exposing that lie just on time. Based on the information we've seen today, it appears a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza. International legitimacy is one reason the combat readiness of the troops is another. For years, the warnings about the poor condition of the ground forces were ignored. Like so many other things, it all crashed down on that terrible Saturday morning. The times is then was used to close the very big gaps that were in the needed equipment. The gap is now almost closed. The constant shelling of areas in the northern Gaza Strip along with a call for residents to head south are meant to create a safer passage for ground forces entering. But that is also a process taking time. By the weekend, the equipment will be in the field. The northern Gaza Strip will be emptier and the foreign leaders will be back home. Will this be the time for the ground offensive to begin? Maybe so. Now the maneuver will bring the war to the enemy's territory. We will defeat them in their territory. And we are back in studio with Captain Guy Peran of the Air Force. Guy, we're talking about this preparation for Gaza and we were talking about the necessary preconditions of the air bombardment. But ultimately, we still know as far as the IDF is concerned that a ground operation will be necessary. Let's talk about what the limits of the air forces capabilities have been so far in previous military operations in Gaza that will necessitate ground operations. Right. I think that it's well known that any kind of air operations bombardment are very limited efficiency in terms of hitting definitely underground presence in tunnels and bunkers. Not only from the point of view of their ability to penetrate there, but also from the ability to pinpoint the exact location. These guys have been working there for years. We have some intelligence, but the ability of the Air Force to pinpoint a location where an entry to a tunnel where they are currently hiding is very limited. And so if the goal was, is announced as eliminating Hamas, that cannot be done without people actually doing the ground work. Unfortunately, because this is something that no matter how much we prepare ourselves and how much air bombardment preparation is done, it cannot be done without cost. So I guess ultimately, when the ground operation finally starts, what are Israel's key objectives going to be when it comes down to keeping Israeli troops safe from all the ambushes and nasty surprises that Hamas is going to have? Well, it's going to entail moving carefully. It's going to entail moving with large enough forces to be able to cover for each other. In other words, doing something that if a force is going into a specific dangerous area, there will be other coverage of not only ground forces, you're going to be seeing attack helicopters there. You're going to be seeing different kinds of technologies to minimize the exposure of the ground forces. And I believe that, and this is maybe the reason for some of this additional time necessary, you're going to be seeing some kind of maneuvers that are surprised. It's not just going to be lines of tanks and infantry moving through the main cities. There's going to be things that are happening from behind. And I don't need to get into details, but it's going to be, we're preparing some surprises for these guys for sure. Absolutely. During this ground operation, the air force is going to have somewhat less operational freedom because you're going to be operating with friendlies in the area as well. What sort of role will you guys be switching to during that time? Well, exactly that. It's going to be much less of a general area bombardment. I mean, there's going to be, because we are going to know the air force knows where our ground forces are going to be. They're not going to be everywhere. So the air force is still going to be busy guarding and hitting targets that are outside of the zone where the military, where the infantry is on one hand. And second, and this is pretty precise. I mean, you can imagine that attack helicopters are waking hand in hand with the platoon commander and battalion commander, knowing which corner of a building not to hit right now. And we're on the other hand, where they're getting objection and asking for air support to hit a specific building. Once they see that something comes out from that building. So there is going to be less of a general type involvement of the air force in terms of large area bombardment and more of the precise types. And the precise types would be helicopters, but not necessary, not only those, there's going to be precise missiles that are going to go into buildings where the ground forces ask the air force to heat, et cetera. And it's definitely going to soften things up. And we have less than a minute left. We have a very quick one for this. We're going to move away from the tactical side more to the Israeli spirit. You are part of organizing many of the protests. And we saw after this reservist said, doesn't matter what we said before, we're all coming together for this. Talk about the spirit of the Israeli people that you've seen. Absolutely. I mean, since the hours of this attack, I'm part of the leaders of the protest movement. Everything has been put aside. There isn't a single demonstration or activity. All of our people are active and busy in support of the South, both military and civil. And in many cases, we're doing it instead of the government that was supposed to be there. And it's a very concerning thing for Israelis to see that it has to be us and not the people that were supposed to protect us. Guy, thank you very much for analysis of the tactical side as well as the Israeli people. For everyone else, we are just about out of time for now. We're going to see you again at the top of the next hour. Until then, stay safe and stay strong. 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 100 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. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year. And not only in Bolivia, but all over the world. And we need rain for God's sake. 24 News is ongoing coverage of Israel at war. I'm Ariel Levin Waldman. This war has entered its 14th day now on the southern front. The IDF and the Shin Bet internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Sha'a'ilaviya, a terrorist leader of the Special Forces branch of the naval wing of Hamas. On Thursday evening, air raid sirens sounded on Tel Aviv and all across several central Israel past 11 o'clock, sending millions of people running for shelter. The IDF has details on some of the people abducted by Hamas. These hostages include up to 30 children and at least 10 people over the age of 60. Most of the abducted are alive, but there were also bodies that were stolen by Hamas into Gaza. And from last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Yanyahu paying a visit to the troops down south to give words of encouragement and boost morale. I am here with Ghilani fighters. They come from all parts of the country. They fought like lions. They will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? We are going to win with all our might. The entire nation of Israel stands behind you and we will deal a hard blow to our enemies to achieve victory for victory. Ready? And we cross over to that southern border right now where our correspondent P.S. Dekelbach is standing by, joining us from Stiro in southern Israel. Pia, walk us through what the latest developments on the southern front are. Right, Ariel. Israel's Defense Minister Joav Galand yesterday visiting a base here at the Gaza border, saying that the Israeli soldiers here will soon see Gaza from the inside as the possible ground offensive into Gaza is alluming. Now, since the beginning of the war, no humanitarian aid has entered Gaza that has been continuously also targeted throughout the night. U.S. President Joe Biden had held negotiations with both Egypt and Israel to enable at least what has been agreed upon 20 trucks to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, connecting Gaza and Egypt. Israel agreeing to letting in these 20 trucks delivering humanitarian aid such as food, medicine and water, it has not agreed to the delivery of fuel that hospitals say that they need it desperately for their generators to produce electricity. But Israel is concerned that Hamas will actually take that fuel away from them and use it to foster their own infrastructure in the strip. Now, we're also hearing reports from Gaza that a church has been struck today, yesterday and night, a couple of hours ago. Muslims and Christians were reportedly sheltering there. There are casualties, but the debris is currently still being cleared. However, on the Israeli side here, this has been a quiet morning, also quiet night. The last sirens that were heard here in the Gaza area were actually yesterday evening. The area here is pretty much void of civilians. We're talking about, when we talk about Stirot, a city of 30,000 residents and only an estimated 3,000 are believed to have remained in the city here. Most of them now of the residency of Stirot are accommodated in state-sponsored hotels or staying with family in other parts of the country. The same accounts also for the areas for the small Kibbutzim and villages that are even closer to the Gaza border. They've all been relocated, the residents there. As the possible ground defensive, as I said, is looming, the IDF has prepared for that for days now, and we can still see reinforcement arriving here to the border area. But of course, the area here is pretty much void of civilians on that Israeli side. As also here, the situation can change very, very quickly. And again, once you hear an alert here, many of the times you don't even hear it, you only have a couple of seconds to run to shelter. This is why this area is deemed very, very dangerous here. Israel is continuously striking Gaza. We have heard a couple of booms here also this morning as we're very close to the Gaza border. It has done so throughout the night. And we're expecting to see the Rafah crossing to open for these, for now 20 trucks delivering humanitarian aid either today. But now we've seen reports saying, suggesting that it might not happen today, but rather tomorrow. But we're talking about a civilian population of 2 million people in Gaza, whose situation is continuously deteriorating and who are desperately waiting for these trucks to enter the Gaza Strip. Experts are saying that not only 20 are needed, but actually hundreds of trucks to enter Gaza every day to cater to the needs of the civilian population there, Ariel. Well, thank you very much, Pia, for those updates from the border. And we'll be back to you over the course of the day as the situation changes. Before anything else, though, we are going to go to the studio where Rafael Urshami, former Senior Intelligence IDF is at with the IDF. Rafael, it's good to have you with us. Let's jump directly in. We've been hearing soon the invasion of Gaza is happening soon. What does soon mean? Well, hopefully, the later, the better, because the air force and the artillery are destroying a lot of infrastructure that might cause problems to the infantry going in and the tanks, mostly also danger. So we hope that it won't, it will last long and then we should just clean the whole area as much as we can from the air and from afar before entering this death trap that Gaza has become. Also, there is a need to prepare because the scenario that is now strategically sought off is something that's never been done before. So we have to retrain the troops. They've never been trained for that scenario. They have to be prepared very quickly in a few days. That scenario should create an effect of surprise. It will be a very big surprise for the Hamas. They're not expecting it. They're only calculating the strategy according to what they know so far that we've been doing. So this surprise requires a lot of training or organizing logistics because what will be involved in that surprise requires some logistics that were not necessarily already at hand because we didn't expect, of course, this operation. We have also an advantage and we continue gathering meanwhile through the interrogation of the Hamas people who were captured, the terrorists who were captured. The Shin Bet is getting a lot of intel and that intel is of course influencing even more the operational thinking what we should do, what we should strike first. They are talking. They're telling us a lot. One of the things that we should try to achieve is that to strike very hard in such a way that a lot of Hamas fighters and others would surrender. I think there will be, when they see the determination of the army, when they see the might of the army, not everybody is a superhero or a total fanatic. Some of them will realize that they're going to die. And why should they, when their bosses hold 200 Israeli hostages? So at the rate of 200 hostages, that's 200,000 terrorists they could exchange. That is one Israeli for 1,000 people, the going rate on the market. So a lot of the terrorists might make that calculation. Let us be arrested by the Israelis. Let's surrender. There will be an exchange. Maybe anyway, it's better to be in an Israeli jail than die on the ground. So we are building on this possibility that they would surrender. But of course, a lot of them won't because they are such fanatics that they will prefer to martyr them, let's say. So all this takes time to organize. We are reading the map and the idea will go in, of course, when it suits it, but the later, the better. I actually do want to go into more analysis of the enemy forces themselves. We know that Hamas has about 20,000 soldiers, Islamic Jihad, 5,000. Give us a quick overview of what sort of forces are arrayed against Israel. I know that they've lost about 1,500 during the invasion. How many of them need to die before they break? Almost all of them, really, because they can just rise from their ashes. It's been known these terrorist actions look at Daesh. They were almost eliminated and elated in the back. Okay, not in such a scope as they used to be, but they're still there and they created a lot of problems. So you have to really eliminate them all or arrest them all. It's going to be a very long, long, thorough operation. We have to brace ourselves for it also even inside Israel. It's going to be very dangerous. You have to understand something. If you talk about 20 to 25,000, let's take a conservative figure. Let's say we're facing 20,000 fighters inside Gaza by the law of warfare, guerrilla warfare. If they invite the enemy on their ground inside Gaza City, this multiplies by six, their power, meaning these 20,000 inside Gaza City are equivalent to 120,000 fighters. It's the rule of military law because they are on their ground. They are in a very intricate terrain with small streets. They have booby trapped every door, every entrance, every window. They have put bombs on the side of roads. They've got snipers everywhere. All kinds of bad surprises also for us. Our surprise will be a big strategic surprise, but they have tactical surprises. A lot, a lot of dangerous things are awaiting. So just consider that these 20,000 are 120,000 because of the position. We're going to come back to that combat math in a brief moment. But first, we are going to take a look at the northern border where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is standing by. We're hearing that the IDF eliminated some terrorists on the Lebanese side of the border overnight. Give us what the latest updates from the northern front are. Well, look, Ariel, just in the last hour, a couple of booms heard in the distance indicating Israeli artillery fire. Yesterday, over the last 24 hours, was the heaviest cross-border fire we've seen since the war began. You're talking about probably more than a dozen exchanges of fire on the border, several rockets coming from southern Lebanon, the Hamas branch that operates out of southern Lebanon, saying they launched around 30 rockets, the Israeli military, saying it was more along the number of 20. Many of those intercepted some of them falling in open areas, but actually some of them making direct hits in the city of Kiryat Shmoned, which the Israeli military and the Defense Ministry have decided to evacuate it today. Around 20,000 people will go to state-funded guest houses, but it is worth noting a lot of those people have actually already evacuated due to fears of the conflict escalating on the border. The Israeli military says whatever happens along the border, whatever rockets are coming out of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah will be held responsible, even though there are other groups operating out of the country. The Lebanese government is not wanting war, but they cannot control what Hezbollah does in the south. Additionally, you have countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia, all calling for their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately. The national air carrier for Lebanon has even moved planes to Turkey, and this was days ago out of fears of a war. So all eyes are on the northern border as both the Israelis, the Lebanese and the U.S. are fearing for an escalation. Now we've seen preparations by Hezbollah for that sort of escalation over the course of the past week. There's a lot of pressure on Hezbollah from Iran as well to commit their forces, but not just from Iran. What are the pressures both for and against Hezbollah finally committing to this fight? Well, sources have been indicating that Hezbollah has been preparing itself militarily, but what that means is actually yet to be seen. We haven't really seen any images of them moving arms or moving members of their group towards more southern areas. However, sources are also indicating that a decision about the entry into the conflict on a larger scale will be made between Beirut and Tehran. But the Iranians are denying this flat out saying that this is a Palestinian issue. If Hezbollah wants to get involved, it'll get involved. However, they have also been very vocal about saying if there's a ground invasion in Gaza, there are no guarantees as to who will or will not get involved that the conflict will erupt. It will become a semi-regional war when it comes to the issue in Gaza. The Iranians have made their stance clear. Hezbollah has also made their stance clear. But on the flip side, the Israeli military has made their position clear, as has the United States, who has said they will support Israel if Hezbollah strikes first. But they have been both publicly and privately asking the Israelis not to preemptively strike any Hezbollah targets on a larger scale that will lead to an escalation in this conflict because they do not want an all out war breaking on the northern border. I will remind you the weapons capabilities that is possessed by Hezbollah are sophisticated. They are advanced. We would be dealing with a much different beast here in terms of how destructive these ballistic missiles are. We're talking about an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of short range and long range missiles that we really don't even know what kind of capabilities they have. Back in June, they did a weapons showcase to media to show off all of these new advanced technologies that they had and that they weren't afraid to use them. So both the Israeli military and Hezbollah are still exchanging fire along the border as everyone is really bracing for what's next. Yes, Hamd, that's definitely a situation that could escalate at a moment's notice. We're going to be keeping our eye on that border and coming back to you as there are developments. We are now going to discuss more of that United States involvement, though, with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday asking Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas. Biden said Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel. He said he would ask Congress today to approve extra funding for Israel. So we're familiar with this said that could be about $14 billion being used to sharpen Israel's qualitative edge and strengthen military capabilities. In Israel, I saw people who are strong, determined, resilient and also angry and shocked and in deep, deep pain. I also spoke with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people's right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don't take that right away. Like so many other, I'm heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, which was not done by the Israelis. American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliance is what keeps us, America safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it's just not worth it. That's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. The security package I'm sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge, which we've committed to, the qualitative military edge. We're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. And after that visit by U.S. President Joe Biden, other Western leaders continue coming to Israel with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Jerusalem yesterday for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as President Isaac Hertz on every senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Altman explains why this war is so important to Europe. The Hebrew expression is Raqevet Abirit, air train as another foreign leader lands in Tel Aviv Thursday. Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister, here stepping off a military cargo plane, another visit from a strong Western ally to show support in Israel's trying hour. Above all, I'm here to express my solidarity with Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable horrific act of terrorism, and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you. Sunak will stay the night for a two-day visit, demonstrating not only a partnership with Israel and a desire to stop the war's expansion, but also a Britain taking its traditional geopolitical place beside the United States. Sunak, of course, is only the latest. Even before U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz came to show his support. For post-Holocaust Germany, the relationship with Israel has added emotional meaning. We feel the terrible grief of all Israelis whose parents, siblings and children were killed in this barbaric attack. We share the unbearable worry of all those whose family members were taken from their everyday lives and brutally abducted. France has indicated that President Emmanuel Macron will also soon come to Israel, rounding out visits from Europe's three most powerful countries. As a group, Europe's powers have reason to get engaged. For them, this is a fight in a global frame, mobilizing in defense of a Western ally to proclaim solidarity that echoes all the way to the front lines of eastern Ukraine to show Russia that the West stands united globally for the security of Israel and of Europe itself. And the big question is what that is actually going to entail then. That's why we're returning to the studio with our IDF intelligence analyst, Raphael Urshalame. We were discussing about the need to eliminate these at least 25,000 enemy combatants that is just massively forced multiplied by their fortifications and positioning. The question is, how does Israel actually go about getting rid of these enemy soldiers? So the first thing that we're going to try and do is to slice Gaza, the Gaza Strip into different slices. The first huge slice is to cut it into north and south to separate the northern command of the Hamas from the southern command. We've done that before. That's something they're used to and they're prepared for in a way, but we have to cut the Gaza Strip in two. Maybe in three it could be south, center, and north. We are considering that in the south. We are not able to fight as much as we want because we have some zones that will be humanitarian zones. And we do hope and we don't mind that some of the terrorists take refuge in those zones together with civilians. So long as they arrive there without their weapons, it means it's a kind of fleeing. It doesn't matter. They're not a threat if they are in those zones because there would be no fighting anyway. Then inside each zone, you still have to also cut like squares, like a few blocks of houses, and you go block by block and you have to clean those blocks. Then yet again, killing as many as we can, some might flee more and more towards the south because we'll start from the north, some might flee from the south. Then we might have forces waiting for them at the other end or might allow them to flee because they are not combating anymore. So we might let them go. Once you have these blocks secured, it has to be secured. We know that that's it. This is ours. Nobody is going to threaten there. No more snipers on the roof. The engineers can take away all the mines and the booby traps. There are many obstacles also against our armored vehicles and our tanks. So all this has to be cleaned up and then the zone is considered clean. So then you go to the next zone. That's why we're being told that we have to be very patient, that we're going to be painstaking, adding to that the extreme caution we have to use not to endanger the lives of our troops uselessly because we know that every door hundered that they're going to push, there's a booby trap there. So it has to be done very, very quickly. My idea, it's a very bad joke, but we have so many prisoners from the Hamas and Iran's. Maybe they should have gone up and opened the door first. But in any case, that's a cynical move. And this is more or less the scenario of painstaking door by door, stream by street operation. It's definitely a long road ahead for Israel. And because it is going to be a long and grueling road ahead, it's important to remember what everyone is going to be fighting for. It's been two weeks since the initial nightmare of Hamas's invasion and their crimes against humanity in Israel's South. In that time, stories of survivors have shocked the world with these harrowing accounts. And we're going to listen to some testimony from that music festival that became a prime target of Hamas's massacre of civilians. I was with my wife, Yaviv, and friends of ours, for the sake of our ancestors. In the same way, we created a different group of friends, Alon and Gai. Yaviv and his friends are a scene of this massacre, with something they do as a group. They really love it. It's a world of freedom and protection, of love, of freedom, of freedom. We returned to the camp. We felt the presence of our family. They told me it was going to be a camp in this camp. There were 16,000 soldiers. I gathered with a friend, who was also one of my first friends, who came to our group, who was also our friend. And later on, we gathered and I met Yaviv and Gai. We had some fun here. Alon came to my hand and he said, in this way, the sky shows me something. I remember it, and I didn't understand why. I thought, wow, that's awesome. It's beautiful. He said to me, it's beautiful. From above, it's beautiful. Greetings to the people and the people who listen to each other more and more. Gai and Alon were the first to have the feeling that we were the third, that there were a few soldiers among us. Suddenly, we heard gunshots. Bilty pose. I heard a gunshot. It hit me. It hit my friends. It hit my friends. They didn't know what was going on. They heard gunshots from all directions. We left the room. We didn't take anything. I took my phone with me. There were people there. The soldiers were walking. They had to die. They didn't know how to walk. From the other side of the door, there was a bell. To a certain place. We went down to the door of Jesus. We left. We went to the first door we saw. Father Vual, who doesn't understand who we are, told us that we had to go the other way, that we needed help. He gave us a lot of help. Alon, I don't want to. I don't want to die. And I also want to die. Gai and Alon are still alive. Gai and Alon are still alive. Gai and Alon are still alive. We don't know what's going on in the world. Are we lost or not? People think it's not possible. It's been a while since I heard the stories. And the pictures on the phone are really beautiful. And I see that people who were part of the integral life are still alive. It's been a while since I've seen the world and the memories that are there in the dark. To hear the stories that were heard on the phone, that the image of Alamok was still there, I don't think it's possible. To be a human being and say that something like that is not happening is like taking a picture. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. We are still living in Gai and Alamok. And ultimately, this is why we fight for everyone out there. Stay strong. This is going to be a long one ahead. 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured. And the war with Hamas continues. We bring you first-hand testimonies 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 I-24 News. I'm going to say what we would like to know from where you are watching us. All you have to do is prepare the phone and point the Q-AR reader. And there opens a brief questionnaire very easy to complete. Another option is to enter in the link that appears on the screen. We hope for your answers. It's a war. This is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking. Within 100 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. Welcome to I-24 News' ongoing coverage of Israel at war. I'm Ariel Levin-Waldman. This war has entered its 14th day now on the southern front. The IDF has been in operation by internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Sha'a'ilaviya, a terrorist leader of the special forces branch of the naval wing of Hamas. On Thursday evening, air raid sirens sounded on Tel Aviv and all across several central Israel past 11 o'clock sending millions of people running for shelter. The IDF has details on some of the people abducted by Hamas. These hostages include up to 30 children and at least 10 people are alive, but there were also bodies that were stolen by Hamas into Gaza. And from last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Yenio paying a visit to the troops down south to give words of encouragement and boost morale. I am here with Galani fighters. They come from all parts of the country. They fought like lions. They will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? We are going to win with all our might. The entire nation of Israel stands behind you and we will deal a hard blow to our enemies to achieve victory. For victory! Ready? And we cross over to that southern border right now where our correspondent P.S. Deckelbach is standing by, joining us from Styro in southern Israel. Pia, walk us through what the latest developments on the southern front are. Israel's Defense Minister Yov Galan yesterday visiting a base here at the Gaza border saying that the Israeli soldiers here will soon see Gaza from the inside as the possible ground offensive into Gaza is alluming. Now, since the beginning of the war, no humanitarian aid has entered Gaza that has been continuously also targeted throughout the night. U.S. President Joe Biden had held negotiations with both Egypt and Israel to enable at least what has been agreed upon 20 trucks to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing connecting Gaza and Egypt. Israel agreeing to letting in these 20 trucks delivering humanitarian aid such as food, medicine and water it has not agreed to the delivery of fuel that hospitals say that they need it desperately for their generators to produce electricity. But Israel is concerned that Hamas will actually take that fuel away from them and use it to foster their own infrastructure in the Strip. Now we are also hearing reports from Gaza that a church has been located today, yesterday and night a couple of hours ago. Muslims and Christians were reportedly sheltering there. There are casualties but the debris is currently still being cleared. However on the Israeli side here this has been a quiet morning also quiet night. The last sirens that were heard here in the Gaza area were actually yesterday evening. The area here is pretty much void of civilians. We're talking about when we talk about the city of 30,000 residents and only an estimated 3,000 are believed to have remained in the city here. Most of them now of the residency of Sirot are accommodated in state-sponsored hotels or staying with family in other parts of the country. The same accounts also for the areas for the small Kibbutzim and villages that are even closer to the Gaza border. They have all been relocated the residents there as the possible ground offensive as I said is looming. The IDF has prepared for that for days now and we can still see a lot of residents arriving here to the border area but of course the area here is pretty much void of civilians on that Israeli side as also here the situation can change very very quickly and again once you hear an alert here many of the times you don't even hear it you only have a couple of seconds to run to shelter. This is why this area is deemed very very dangerous here. Israel is continuously striking Gaza. We have heard a couple of booms here also this morning as we're very close to the border area and we're expecting to see the Rafah crossing to open for these for now 20 trucks delivering humanitarian aid either today but now we've seen reports suggesting that it might not happen today but rather tomorrow but we're talking about a civilian population of 2 million people in Gaza whose situation is continuously deteriorating and who are desperately waiting for these trucks to enter the Gaza Strip experts are saying that not only 20 are needed but actually hundreds of civilian population there are real. Well thank you very much Pia for those updates from the border and we'll be back to you over the course of the day as the situation changes. Before anything else though we are going to go to the studio where Rafael Urshami former senior intelligence IDF with the IDF. Rafael it's good to have you with us. Let's jump directly in. We've been hearing soon the invasion of Gaza is happening soon and what does soon mean? Well hopefully the later the better because the enforcement industry are destroying a lot of infrastructure but might cause problems to the infantry going in and the tanks mostly also danger so we hope that it won't it will last long and that we should just clean the whole area as much as we can from the air and from afar before entering this death trap that Gaza has become. Also the need to prepare because the scenario that is now strategically sought off is something that's never been done before so we have to retrain the troops they never been trained for that scenario they have to be prepared very quickly in a few days that scenario should create an effect of surprise it will be a very big surprise for the Hamas they're not expecting it they're only calculating the strategy according to what they know so far that we've been doing so this surprise requires a lot of training, organizing logistics because what will be involved in that surprise requires some logistics that were not necessarily ready at hand because we didn't expect of course this operation we have also an advantage and we continue gathering meanwhile through the interrogation of the Hamas people who were captured the terrorists who were captured the Shin Bet is getting a lot a lot of intel and that intel is of course influencing even more the operational thinking what we should do, what we should strike first they're talking they're telling us a lot one of the things that we should try to achieve is that to strike very hard in such a way that a lot of Hamas fighters and others would surrender I think there will be, when they see the determination of the army when they see the might of the army not everybody is a superhero or a total fanatic some of them will realize that they're gonna die and why should they when their bosses hold 200 Israeli hostages so at the rate of 200 hostages that's 200,000 terrorists they could exchange it's one Israeli for 1000 people the going rate on the market so a lot of the terrorists might make that calculation let's us be arrested by the Israelis let's surrender there will be an exchange maybe anyway it's better to be in an Israeli jail than die on the ground so we are building on this possibility that they would surrender but of course a lot of them won't because they are such fanatics that they will prefer to martyr them let's say so all this takes time to organize we are reading them up and the idea will go in of course when it suits it but the later the better I actually do want to go into more analysis of the enemy forces themselves we know that Hamas has about 20,000 soldiers Islamic jihad 5000 give us a quick overview of what sort of forces are arrayed against Israel I know that they've lost about 1,500 during the invasion how many did they need to die before they break almost all of them really because they can just rise from their ashes it's been known these terrorist actions look at Daesh they were almost eliminated annihilated in their back okay not in such scope as they used to be but they are still there and they created a lot of problems so you have to really eliminate them all or arrest them all it's going to be a very long thorough operation we have to brace ourselves for it also even inside Israel it's going to be very dangerous you have to understand something if you talk about 20 to 25,000 you know let's take a conservative figure let's say we're passing 20,000 fighters inside Gaza by the law of warfare guerrilla warfare if they invite the enemy on their ground inside Gaza city this multiplies by six their power meaning these 20,000 inside Gaza city are equivalent to 120,000 fighters it's the rule of military law because they are on their ground they are in a very intricate terrain with small streets they have booby trapped every door every entrance every window they have put bombs on the side of roads they've got snipers everywhere all kinds of bad surprises also for us our surprise will be a big strategic surprise but they have tactical surprises a lot a lot of dangerous things are awaiting so just consider that these 20,000 are 120,000 because of the position we're going to come back to that combat math in a brief moment but first we are going to take a look at the northern border where our correspondent Hamdus Salhu is standing by we're hearing that the IDF eliminated some terrorists on the Lebanese side of the border overnight give us what the latest updates from the northern front are well look Ariel just in the last hour a couple of booms heard in the distance indicating Israeli artillery fire yesterday over the last 24 hours was the heaviest cross-border fire we've seen since the war began you're talking about probably more than a dozen exchanges of fire on the border several rockets coming from southern Lebanon the Hamas branch that operates they launched around 30 rockets the Israeli military saying it was more along the number of 20 many of those intercepted some of them falling in open areas but actually some of them making direct hits in the city which the Israeli military and the defense ministry have decided to evacuate it today around 20,000 people will go to state funded guest houses but it is worth noting a lot of those people have actually already evacuated due to fears of the conflict escalating on the border the Israeli military says whatever happens along the border whatever rockets are coming out of southern Lebanon Hezbollah will be held responsible even though there are other groups operating out of the country the Lebanese government is not wanting war but they cannot control what Hezbollah does in the south additionally you have countries like the United States the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia all calling for their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately the national air carrier for Lebanon has even moved planes to Turkey and this was days ago out of fears of a war so all eyes are on the northern border as both the Israelis the Lebanese and the US are fearing for an escalation now we've seen preparations by Hezbollah for that sort of escalation over the course of the past week there's a lot of pressure on Hezbollah from Iran as well to commit their forces but not just from Iran what are the pressures both for and against Hezbollah finally are committing to this fight well look sources have been indicating that Hezbollah has been preparing itself militarily but what that means is actually yet to be seen we haven't really seen any images of them moving arms or moving members of their group towards more southern areas however sources are also indicating that a decision about the entry into the conflict on a larger scale will be made between Beirut and Tehran but the Iranians are denying this flat but this is a Palestinian issue if Hezbollah wants to get involved it'll get involved however they've also been very vocal about saying if there's a ground invasion in Gaza there are no guarantees as to who will or will not get involved that the conflict will erupt it will become a semi-regional war when it comes to the issue in Gaza the Iranians have made their stance clear Hezbollah has also made their stance clear but on the flip side the Israeli has made their position clear as has the United States who has said they will support Israel if Hezbollah strikes first but they have been both publicly and privately asking the Israelis not to preemptively strike any Hezbollah targets on a larger scale that will lead to an escalation in this conflict because they do not want an all out war breaking on the northern border I will remind you the weapons capabilities that is possessed by Hezbollah are sophisticated they are advanced we would be dealing with a much different beast here in terms of how destructive these ballistic missiles are we're talking about an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of short range and long range missiles that we really don't even know what kind of capabilities they have back in June they did a weapons showcase to to media to show off all of these new advanced technologies that they had and that they weren't afraid to use them so both the Israeli military and Hezbollah still exchanging fire on the northern border as everyone is really bracing for what's next that's definitely a situation that could escalate at a moment's notice we're going to be keeping our eye on that border and coming back to you as there are developments we are now going to discuss more of that United States involvement though with US President Joe Biden on Thursday asking Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas Biden said Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel and he said he would ask Congress today to approve extra funding for Israel source familiar with this said that could be about 14 billion dollars being used to sharpen Israel's qualitative edge and strengthen military capabilities in Israel I saw people who are strong determined resilient and also angry and shock and in deep deep pain I also spoke with President Abbas the Palestinian Authority and reiterated the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people right to dignity and to self determination the actions of Hamas terrorists don't take that right away like so many other I'm heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza which was not done by the Israelis American leadership is what holds the world together American alliance is what keep us America safe values are what make us a partner the other nations want to work with to put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine we turn our backs on Israel it's just not worth it that's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine is a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations in Israel we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always the security package I'm sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge which we've committed to the qualitative military edge we're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel after that visit by U.S. President Joe Biden other Western leaders continue coming to Israel with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Jerusalem yesterday for meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as President Isaac Herzog every senior diplomatic correspondent, Owen Altman explains why this war is so important to Europe the Hebrew expression is rakevet avirit air train as another foreign leader lands in Tel Aviv Thursday Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister here, stepping off the military cargo plane another visit from a strong western ally to show support in Israel's trying hour above all I'm here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people you have suffered an unspeakable horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you Sunak will stay the night for a two day visit demonstrating not only a partnership with Israel and a desire to stop the war's expansion but also a Britain taking its traditional geopolitical place beside the United States Sunak of course is only the latest even before US President Joe Biden German Chancellor Olaf Schultz came to show his support for post holocaust Germany the relationship with Israel has added emotional meaning we feel the terrible grief of all Israelis whose parents, siblings and children were killed in this barbaric attack we share the unbearable worry of all those whose family members were taken from their everyday lives and brutally abducted France has indicated that President Emmanuel Macron will also soon come to Israel rounding out visits from Europe's three most powerful countries as a group Europe's powers have reason to get engaged for them this is a fight in a global frame mobilizing in defense of the Eastern Allied to proclaim solidarity that echoes all the way to the front lines of Eastern Ukraine to show Russia that the West stands united globally for the security of Israel and of Europe itself and the big question is what that is actually going to entail then that's why we're returning to the studio with our IDF intelligence analyst Rafael we were discussing about the need to eliminate these at least 5,000 enemy combatants that is just massively forced multiplied by their fortifications and positioning the question is how does Israel actually go about getting rid of these enemy soldiers so the first thing that we're going to try and do is to slice Gaza and the Gaza Strip into different slices the first huge slice is to cut it into north and south to separate the northern command from us from the southern command we've done that before that's something they're used to and they're prepared for in a way but we have to cut in the Gaza Strip in two maybe in three it could be south, center and north considering that in the south we are not able to fight as much as we want because we have some zones that will be humanitarian zones and we do hope and we don't mind that some of the terrorists have those zones together with civilians so long as they arrive without their weapons it means it's a kind of fleeing it doesn't matter they're not a threat if they are in those zones because there would be no fighting anyway then inside each zone you still have to also cut squares like a few blocks of houses and you go block by block and you have to clean those blocks then yet again killing as many as we can some might flee more and more towards the south because we'll start from the north then we might have forces waiting for them at the other end or might allow them to flee because they are not combating anymore so we might let them go once you have these blocks secured it has to be secure we know that that's it this is ours nobody's gonna threaten there no more snipers on the roof the engineers can take away all the mines and the booby traps there are many obstacles also against our armored vehicles and our tanks so all this has to be cleaned up and then the zone is considered clean so then you go to the next zone that's why we're being told that we have to be very patient that we're going to be painstaking adding to that the extreme caution we have to use not to endanger the lives of our troops uselessly so we know that every door hunter that they're gonna push there's a booby trap there so it has to be done very, very quickly my idea it's a very bad joke but we have so many prisoners from the Hamas in our hands maybe they should open the door first but in any case that's a cynical move and this is more or less the scenario long painstaking door by door street by street operation road ahead for Israel and because it is going to be a long and grueling road ahead it's important to remember what everyone is going to be fighting for it's been two weeks since the initial nightmare Hamas's invasion and their crimes against humanity in Israel's south in that time stories of survivors have shocked the world with these harrowing accounts and we're going to listen to some testimony from that music festival that became a prime target of Hamas's massacre of civilians in an open house that friends always come to her to rescue her on October 7th I was with my wife Yaviv and our friends for the reasons of the crimes and in the same time there were other friends Alon and Gai Yaviv and his friends for the reasons of these crimes with something they did in a strong way they love it very much it's a world of freedom of their life of freedom we went back to the war we felt the power of the woman she was going to be in the war in that war she was 10 years old and I met a friend Gai who is also our friend and she told us that we met here Alon came to me and he was so happy he showed me something and I remember and I didn't understand I was like wow, that's amazing and he told me that it was a routine and we were friends of girls and boys that listen to each other more often Gai and Alon were the first to have a meeting for a few years and we were 30 that we had a few friends and then we came together I was so happy that I heard that she told me she told me about my friends she told me about my friends they didn't know what was going on they were listening to me from all directions they heard that we were getting close and they saw me from above so we left the room I didn't we didn't take anything, I took my phone and there were people and they were crying they were crying, crying they didn't know how to go on the other side of the building there was a room for a meeting we went down to the room of Jesus we left we went to the first door that we saw we opened the door of the building that he brought from us he told us that we went to the reason that we need to go he gave us a lot of money I don't want we have problems and I have a lot of money we have a lot of money we have a lot of illus and a lot of normal And we don't know what is happening about us people who think it's not enough the visitors come and hear the stories and the images, really really are on the wall and I see that the people I was an integral in the life of my mother. We had a long time to come and see the world, the things that are there in the earth. But to hear the voices that were heard on the phone, that the image of my father was lost, that the world was lost, I didn't think it was possible. To be a human being and to say that something like that doesn't happen, it's like a curse. We're still trying to get over it. I don't know if it's okay, I don't think it's okay, but they're alive, they're coming back. And ultimately this is why we fight for everyone out there. Stay strong. This is going to be a long one ahead. 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 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 unicycle. Good morning and welcome to I-24 News's ongoing coverage of Israel at war. My name is Michael Levin-Waldman. This war has entered its 14th day now. We're going to be opening with that northern front though, where an Israeli drone just took out a terrorist in Lebanon's territory. This is coming after Israel evacuated Kiryat Shmona, or at least called for the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, the biggest city in Israel's north, after Hamas fired 30 rockets into the city and Hisbollah has been firing anti-tank missiles at Israeli positions in the north. On the southern front as well, that rockets were just fired a mere few minutes ago towards border community towns. The IDF and the Shin Bet also say they have eliminated Mahmoud Shala Al-Aviya, a terrorist leader of the Special Forces branch of the naval arm of Hamas. On Thursday evening, air raid sirens all across Tel Aviv and central Israel, roughly 11 o'clock, sent millions running for shelter. The IDF has details on some of the people abducted by Hamas during that murderous rampage. These hostages include up to 30 children and at least 10 more people over at the age of 60. Most of the hostages are alive, but there are also bodies that were abducted to Gaza as well. And from last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to the troops down south to give words of encouragement and boost morale. I am here with Galani fighters. They come from all parts of the country. They fought like lions. They will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? Yes! We are going to win with all our might. Yes! The entire nation of Israel stands behind you and we will deal a hard blow to our enemies to achieve victory for victory. Ready? Yes! And we're going to first turn our eye to the northern border where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is joining us. Hamda, give us the quick overview of what the most recent developments along that northern border are. Well, Ariel, good morning. I am here with a military confirming that a UAV struck the Hezbollah operative inside Lebanese territory. This is overnight. There were several booms heard here behind us. Where the Lebanese border is, exchanges of fire have been rampant in the last 24 hours. We also saw an abundance of rockets coming out of southern Lebanon. Hamas operating in the south of the country saying they launched around 30 rockets. The Israeli military saying that 20 were in Israeli territory. Some of them intercepted, some falling in open areas. But some actually making direct impacts in the city of Kiryat Shmone where around 20,000 people live. Now this morning, the Israeli Defense Ministry, along with the military ordering the evacuation of that town, the largest one in Israel's north, moving those residents to state-funded guest houses. But a lot of them have already evacuated. The Israeli military has been issuing these types of evacuation orders for around two weeks now. Since the escalation started at the northern border initially, it was two kilometers from the border that's around 1.2 miles. And now it's a five kilometer distance. Anyone within five kilometers of that border, all of those towns evacuated. First it was 28 different communities. That has since increased as the Israeli military is perhaps waiting for a larger conflict to escalate along the northern border. Now the Israeli military has also been saying that they hold Hezbollah responsible for anything that is coming in and out of Lebanon. They will hold them responsible. They hold Hamas responsible for anything emanating in and out of the Gaza Strip. Remember back in May, when Palestinian Islamic Jihad was firing rockets, they were holding Hamas responsible for that. So the Israeli military is echoing that sentiment, holding Hezbollah responsible for any sort of rockets or any infiltrations, any anti-tank fire. That is happening. Hezbollah will be dealt the blow. The Israeli military is saying they will fight Hezbollah. They will defeat them. They will enact something that will be quite lethal to them. They are going to show them brute force. They are asking them not to strike first, making it pretty firm in their stance. However, Hezbollah is saying along with the Iranians that if the ground invasion inside the Gaza Strip were to happen, the situation would change. The situation within the region itself would escalate. So all eyes continue to be on the northern border as a potential new front in this war could be opened. It's definitely the very tense front. Hamda, thank you very much. And we'll be back with you over the course of the day as it changes. But first, we are going to go to studio. We have sitting with Colonel Grisha Yikubich, former head of this filling department of Kogat, and with 36 years of experience dealing with Gaza and every situation on the ground there. Grisha, we've been talking briefly about the strategy that Hamas has been employing here, and you've identified the main fronts of it. Well, the strategy is very simple. As I've said here all over again, Hamas got their victory at the first six hours, October 7th. This is a victory that will be remembered in Palestinian history. This is the main reason why the government of Israel decided to do whatever the IDF can to make sure that Hamas will not continue controlling Gaza or even exist. I'm not talking about the ideology. The ideology will not be eliminated, as we know all over the world when the West tried to eliminate something like ISIS. It's there, but you can kill the people. You can kill the responsibles. You can arrest, and you can, according to your laws as a Western country, our laws, to forbid it. Hamas were actually surprised from what they succeeded to achieve. It actually hit them by surprise. It's like they did not expect to get so much so fast, and it's a defeat and it's a failure. Let's put it aside. We'll deal with that after the war, after we win the war. But the strategy Hamas planned with Hezbollah and with Iran behind it is based on five parallel axes. One is fire management. They were sure that this war or operation, if they call it that, will last not more than a month. They prepared their abilities for a month. And because of Israel's decision, they understand that they need to manage fire for at least three, five, six months. So they reduced the amount of rockets that they launched. If we will look at the rockets they launched at the first days and what happened, I think only 50 minutes ago, the first rocket was launched from Gaza after 11 hours. Yesterday they waited 14 hours. In the past, it was every hour, rockets were launched all over. So fire management, number one. Number two, the humanitarian card. It was pulled quite fast, faster than it was pulled during other rounds of escalation with Gaza. And of course, with lies. This is not something new. We are used to that. Like, seven days ago, they declared that there will be no electricity in Gaza and the power plant is about to stop functioning and a sheep for hospital is going to collapse and we see their own videos of ambulances bringing people to Shifa hospital and it's with light. Somehow the miracle of Hanukkah is happening in Gaza again and again and again that they have enough energy to do auto-operate. So we see it's also a managed crisis. It will continue dealing with electricity, water, sewage, people, I think they were going to use today the pictures of the people in tents in Hanunas. For them, it will be the third catastrophe. So we already see the Palestinian tragedy of Al-Nakba, Al-Naksa, it means 48, 4867 and now the catastrophe of this war. The fourth parallel axis, the fourth, let's say, strategy is the pressure from the north and we see the games with Hezbollah and Hamas when it comes to Hezbollah, so they attack military bases. When it comes to Hamas, they launch rockets into our cities like we've seen yesterday, over 20 rockets were launched and they will continue playing with that to stretch the IDF and... The event regarding Yemen. Yesterday the Sandcom, US Sandcom and the Sixth Fleet have intercepted several cruise missiles and drones fired out of Yemen. They have announced this officially. This is part of the aerial defense architecture of the US in this region of the Middle East. It shows the capabilities of the US, their defense capabilities and the State of Israel has some of the best defense capabilities in the world and is also set to defend from these sort of threats. The central command, Sandcom, especially after the Abraham Accords, work with us together. We have intelligence, coordination and ties regarding mutual operational activity. This strengthens the IDF and the cooperation with the United States. What the US did yesterday shows this cooperation as for the fallen and kidnapped. So far, announcements have been given to families of 306 fallen IDF soldiers and 203 kidnapped. Also, there are over 100 people considered missing. This number could change as the efforts continue. This is a complex operation that could take days. We're trying to maintain a balance between updating the families and the need to reflect on the media the right picture of the event. Our task is to prevent more pain to the families and to the people of Israel. Therefore, we must be precise and reliable. We are with the families, we feel their pain and we hug them at this difficult time. IDF commanders and its fighters are witnessing over the past two weeks the strength of the people of Israel also at its toughest hour. The strength of the people of Israel is being shown. The back wind that we're getting is moving. The warm hug of Israeli artists is felt all over the borders. It raises the morale of the soldiers and allows them a short break from what they're experiencing. Everyone who assists the IDF, this is nothing to be taken for granted. Have a good day. That was Brigadier General Daniel Higari, the head of the IDF spokesperson's unit giving us the latest briefing in the war. We're going to turn back to Avi Pazner, the former ambassador, joining us in the studio to help us analyze the entirety of the situation. We saw a lot of that briefing focusing on that very topic we had just been discussing. The idea of foreign media's role in the war so far and presenting an actually accurate depiction of what's going on on the ground rather than something manipulated by anti-Israelan terrorist forces and Al Jazeera seems to be just a small facet of that. Yes, I must say that there is a general effort on the part of Hamas pro-Russian forces, Hezbollah, Lebanese, others, to put pressure on the media in order to give more of their angle than ours. And I must say with regret that sometimes they are quite successful. Unlike in the three, four days at the beginning of the war when everybody was very sorry for all the Israelis who were killed, who were abducted for the victims, for the children, for the women, and then slowly, slowly under pressure, a lot of pressure, also money had here what it's part of play. Under a lot of pressure, some of the media's became, I would say, not more even-handed but more critical towards Israel. You know, putting the emphasis on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. For example, listen to the CNN yesterday night. When they spoke about the Palestinians in Gaza, they only said, and the innocent Palestinian, the word innocent came always when they said Palestinian. And the emphasis, I looked for an hour and I got very angry because the whole emphasis was, didn't they ask how this came about? It's true. They explained it a week ago, 10 days ago. But one should explain why the situation in Gaza is what it is. So this is just one example. And this forces Israel to make a special effort. And I hope we are making it, by the way, this spokesman for the Army, General Agari, is wonderful. Credible, outspoken, good Hebrew, good English, is doing a very good job, but it's not enough. I think we have the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's office have to take things of Hasbara into their hands and go on the offensive. On an offensive which, regretfully, we have not done. You know, there are a lot of people like me, ex-ambassadors, who can be used in that effort. We are ready to be used. We are ready to volunteer to be used. But somebody has to concentrate this effort because the other side is putting a lot of money and effort in this drive against Israel. And I guess we're going to touch on this as well because the big issue of international support is coming as we have seen a unified support from the West. Now, obviously, the top of that being President Joe Biden of the United States, who just asked on Thursday, Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel in this fight. Biden said that Hamas seeks to annihilate Israel and that he would ask Congress to approve extra funding that sources say could be about $14 billion worth to sharpen Israel's qualitative edge and to strengthen military capabilities. In Israel, I saw people who were strong, determined, resilient and also angry and shocked and in deep, deep pain. I also spoke with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people's right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don't take that right away. Like so many other, I'm heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, which was not done by the Israelis. American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliance is what keeps us, America safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk, if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it's just not worth it. That's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs, to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine. It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. The security package I'm sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge which we've committed to, the qualitative military edge. We're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. So we're going to go back to Avi Pazner, former ambassador here. We've seen the stance of Western leaders, which seems to be entirely in favor of Israel and supporting Israel's war to destroy Hamas, which is a word they've never actually used before. We've been talking about the media being more or less on the other side of the sympathies, at least the foreign media. Ultimately, that begs the question, how big of a window does Israel have to operate here before pressure from the media turns European leaders? You know, Ariel, I have covered, Ambassador, at least 10 walls. And that's always the case. The moment we are taking action, the moment we are going on the offensive, the moment there are casualties on the other side, the media turns against us. It's automatic. If we would have talked two weeks ago, I would have been able to give you almost the exact time in when is the media going to turn against us. We have about a week of good media. And then we have bad media, all the rest, because afterwards we are winning. And where we are winning, the casualties on the other side and the emphasis is put on that. So it's not a new phenomenon. It's not a new phenomenon. I've gone through it time and over again. But what is really important, Ariel, is the support of the leaders of those countries. And here, Biden has given an extraordinary example of leadership. This president who is up for a tough election and it is not very popular in America today to say, give your money, we give it to foreign countries in order to bolster our security. It's not very popular. He has shown a lot of guts, a lot of courage, political courage in asking money for Israel and Ukraine when this is not a popular thing to do. And I think that Israel has, it's very lucky, very lucky to have President Biden in the White House. We have no better friend as President Biden. He has proven it now. And there was a lot of ridiculous criticism by some Israeli ministers who have no idea about international relations a few months ago. They were ridiculing President Biden. Now they have to eat their hats. This is the greatest friend Israel has in the United States. Same goes for Sunak in England. Came yesterday. Scholz in Germany came the day before yesterday. Those important democratic leaders show they are with Israel. They are not impressed by the media. Yeah, it may be somehow on the border because they understand the common interest of democracies to defend themselves. Democracy has the same enemy. It's terrorism all over. And it can be state terrorism or Hamas terrorism or Hezbollah terrorism, Iran terrorism. It's a common thread in what not all the media understand these leaders understand. And that is why they stand by Israel. They would like to see other leaders do the same. Would like Macron and France also to come here to support Meloni and Italy, other leaders. They will come. I have no doubt. But this is what is important. Not so much the media coverage as the support of the leadership. Definitely, and that's going to be critical in the days, the weeks and possibly months ahead. Avi, thank you so much for joining us in the studio. Thank you very much. Understand all these angles. For everyone else, we are just about out of time at least for now, but we will see you at the top of each hour with breaking news updates from each front in this war as the situation develops and with the critical information that you are going to need to follow these matters. Until then, everybody, stay safe and stay strong. Over 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues. We bring you firsthand 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 I-24 News. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hours of clean renewable energy per year. We came out here, where they see us, to complain about the rain. In fact, at this moment, global warming is affecting Bolivia and not only Bolivia, but all over the world. And we need rain for the seeds of God. The Vakita Reserve, we have to write ingredients and we have to do the job. And then if we have the right ingredients and we do the job, the Vakita can be protected. I-24 News is ongoing coverage of Israel at war. I'm Ariel Levin Waldman. This war has entered its 14th day now and the government has authorized the regulation of Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera. After that outlet published outright lies, Hamas propaganda and the positions even of Israeli soldiers. On the northern front, an Israeli drone took out a terrorist in Lebanese territory. It comes as Israel's government declares the evacuation of Karyat Shmona, that's the biggest city in Israel's north. After Hamas fired dirty rockets into the city and Hezbollah has increased the firing of anti-tank missiles at Israeli positions along the north. On the southern front, the IDF and the Shin Bet internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Shairawea, a terrorist leader of the Special Forces branch of the naval arm of Hamas. But a new front is risking opening up as Iranian Houthi militia in Yemen launched an air attack using three ground attack missiles, cruise missiles in fact, and eight drones that was intercepted by the United States Navy warships in the Middle East. The US says they cannot ascertain the exact targets but the missiles were heading north towards Israel. The IDF has said they do have the capabilities to intercept those. The IDF has details as well on the people abducted by Hamas. Hostages include 30 children and at least 10 people over the age of 60. Most of the abductees are alive, but there are also bodies that were stolen by the Hamas terrorists. We're going to open on the northern border where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is standing by. Hamda, what is the latest along that front? Well, Ariel, good morning. There have been planes and helicopters circling overhead. There was a small fire here, but not clear if it was an exchange of fire by the Israelis or Hezbollah at this time, but overnight the Israeli military killing one Hezbollah operative with a UAV after the largest exchange of fire yesterday. The Israeli military saying they are prepared on the northern front sending heavy reinforcements, armored vehicles, tanks, all other types of military equipment since last week. The Israeli military is also relaying messages to Hezbollah saying that they will meet them with deadly force should they strike first. The United States has been urging the Israelis not to strike Hezbollah first preemptively out of fear of another front breaking out in this war. However, at this time, Hezbollah, according to sources, is moving around military equipment. They are preparing to perhaps get involved in this conflict. Factions operating in the south of the country have been eager to join the fight. However, Hezbollah needs to take the lead as they are responsible and will give the go ahead for any sort of rocket fire or small arms that come out of Lebanon. Now, the Lebanese government has been saying they do not want this conflict, but they're unable to control Hezbollah as we've seen in the past. Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, even Germany, all urging their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately. The United States also urging caution around the world as there have been demonstrations at US consulates all around the world, the globe, because of the conflict that is continuing. So the Israeli military on high alert for what's next. Thank you, Hamdan. We'll be back with you over the course of the day as the front develops. Now, the IDF did give a briefing this morning with spokesman Daniel Higari, giving that morning latest update. So let's take a listen to what exactly the latest on all fronts is. The chief of staff has visited the Air Force this week. It is operating at the pace of strikes that we have not seen in dozens of years. In two arenas, the turnout of reservists is over 100%. The Air Force is operating with a perfect coordination with air defense systems. The war machine of the Air Force with the Southern command with intelligence, and that is remarkable. And before anything else, breaking as we speak, there have been rockets fired at the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod along the southern border. Now, we are going to continue with our analysis of what's going on with Colonel Grisha Yikubovich, former civilian head of Kogat and someone with 36 years of experience in the Gaza Strip. Grisha, thank you again for being with us. What did you make of this briefing from Higari about what the latest developments are? From what I understand, the idea is to continue the preparations for the ground entry to the Gaza Strip. As I said, it's not a question if, it's a question of how and when. There are also preparations to pass another arena from the north after given it's not an order, but it's a network to whoever wants to leave Kiryat Mona or all the places five kilometers from the border that they can actually participate in the program that the government provides that whoever wants to be in the hotel or somewhere else, the government will actually back him. It looks like many things are also happening around us that we need also to be with an open eye. We have the huts that launched yesterday, drones and rockets. And the fifth fleet, this is what the spokesperson of the IDF said. They were stopped by them. Actually, we see a major, major power at the Red Sea and at the Mediterranean. Actually, some sort of umbrella that the Israel and the United States actually created or built above Israel and above the U.S. bases. Also, American troops that landed in the American bases in the Middle East, in Iraq and in Syria to back the soldiers that were already there. I'm talking about about thousands. We have people from Iraq, but with buses already reached to the border with Israel and Jordan. And there is an abnormal movement in Syria. Many pro-Iranian forces are moving from the area of the Azul continue the movement to the border. So it opens the questions. It opens many, many, many questions. Are we going to, the situation is going to be escalated? So are we going to deal with another two fronts? Because we're actually already dealing with three fronts. If I'll put it right, we have Gaza, that the IDF did not stop for a minute to bomb the Gaza Strip. I will get to that in a minute, if you don't mind. We have the West Bank. We only had a huge operation in Tulkarem in Nurasham's refugee camp. That 13 terrorists were killed. In Israeli border police soldiers also got killed. But it was an operation led by Brigade. It means it's also a huge force in the West Bank. Let's see if that will also lead to an escalation. I believe it will not. And we have the two possible northern fronts. That one is Lebanon, Arabian forces. And then we have from Syria. Let's see what will happen then. In Gaza, I think that if I can conclude what is the picture that was burned in the minds of the people in Gaza, is two major events. One is the city of tents in Hanoonis. It's the third catastrophe. If I go back to history, so 1948, when the State of Israel was established, it's called Nakba for the Arab world. And then 1967, when we won the Six Days War, it's a Naksa. And now it's the third catastrophe where our Palestinians are, again, in tents. But this time, Hamas made the hands of Hamas. Hamas is the one who actually created this catastrophe and brought it on them. Of course, they will continue blaming us. This is the only way that they do any successfully if I'll be unpolite. They're doing a good job using also international pro-Palestinian support and pro-Palestinian media, as we've seen, for example, with CNN, BBC and the New York Times also, just admitted, I think, two hours ago, that, yes, it was too early to accept what Hamas said about the Ahle Hospital event. And the second event that is already burned in the minds of the Palestinians is 25 high-store buildings in Arabic in Gaza. It's called Madinat al-Zahra, the neighborhood of al-Zahra, that the air force actually flooded 25 huge buildings that are all all detected with Hamas, with terrorism. So there is no neighborhood anymore. Grisha, I want to jump in here because we're talking about all the fronts. And Yemen was, I guess, from many military planners, not an unexpected angle, given where Iran has moved their assets to destroy Israel. But outside of Israel was not an arena anybody expected. It's very far away, and maybe the Iranian assets in the region are confident that Israel does not have the resources to spend right now hitting targets as far away as Yemen. It's 1,660 kilometers exactly, and the Huts in Yemen have this ability to launch their rockets or ballistic missiles. The Huts in Yemen are a proxy, a clear proxy of Iran supported by Iran. The war between Saudi Arabia and the Huts in Yemen lasted for a few years. And it was one of Saudi's achievements to reconstruct the diplomatic relations with Iran to stop that war. But it's well known that the Huts in Yemen have those abilities. We know that. We knew that. We see that. We are aware of their abilities. The United States is also aware of that. That's why we have, in a way, two fleets to create this umbrella of defense, three layers of air defense. We say, knock wood. OK, doing a good job for now. I hope it will continue like that. And we will see more and more proxy Iranians that are ready for the guy there in Iran to push the button. And they will start sacrificing them, one after the other. And there is a plan also of who will be sacrificed first. So first of all, they will sacrifice the Sunnis in Gaza, Hamas. They are the first ones. We see that. And after that, they will sacrifice Hezbollah. Shia is, yes, but it's Arabs. They are not partians. OK, and then they will sacrifice the guys that joined the Fittamahyun, Zinabyun, and all other proxy pro-Iranian organizations in Syria. But there are also some sort of expense, expendable, OK, people as they use them to fight ISIS and only at the last, OK, at the last level, it will reach to them if at all. And before we continue the tactical and how the fight segment, again, discussing why we fight, the IDF has released some extremely graphic footage of the October 7th Hamas massacre. We're not going to show you the worst of it, but the YouTube video, 10 minutes long, posted on the IDF channel, is very graphic and describing. It captures the scenes of Israeli civilians being murdered and then burnt alive in some cases, featuring more than 10 minutes of footage captured by the local cameras, the dash cams, and the body cams retrieved from Hamas terrorists themselves. The evidence on that channel documents how Hamas methodically forced their way into homes and southern communities and perpetrated acts of torture and murder against residents. The video generated 5.5 million views in less than 24 hours. It's worth noting that the video is a part of Israel's informational campaign to respond to now widespread attempts around the world to deny the atrocity and the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel south. We're going to move now to our correspondent P.S. Stechelbach, who is standing by at the southern border now, well, actually with updates from the southern border from just a little while ago. Everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon. Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galan yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside. Throughout the night here, the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted. A number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military. But according to reports from Gaza, a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well, St. Porphyos, one of the oldest churches in the world. Those inside were Muslims and Christians reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place. Their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for 2 million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border. Civilians are desperately awaiting water, food, medicine and fuel. But in negotiations that U.S. President Joe Biden let with Egypt and Israel, both agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai Peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza, wherever footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there. Now when the crossing will be opening for the first 20 trucks, is not clear yet is it expected for today or tomorrow? Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really. Israel for now too opposes fuel deliveries as it fears fuel would be used to foster Hamas's infrastructure in the strip. The World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the hospitals, desalination plants and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon. In Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are against letting aid into Gaza as long as Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages. It is sold in the enclave. Hamas is believed to be holding at least 203 hostages according to the Israeli military. Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to everyone here might as well further endanger the hostages in Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense. This is Piaz Stekelbach reporting from Stirot for I-24 News. We're going to return back to Grisha here in the studio to understand a little bit more about the situation in Gaza. Ultimately we've seen some nightmarish images over the course of the past. We can have two weeks now since that massacre and Israel has a delicate balancing act going ahead of destroy Hamas to make sure they are broken once and for all and not cross any of these sort of vague red lines that the West has put behind their support for Israel. What's the balancing act that Israel is going to have to thread the needle here? How is Israel going to also placate its own citizens who have seen these nightmarish images and are demanding blood? I think that the demand of blood is something that we are forced to put aside because we are a different nation. We are a democracy. We are a Western country. I know we are all in pain and I know that there are voices in Israel that call for revenge but this is not who we are. And as we see, the IDF and the government, the actions, the operation is not like we would expect to see when people want to get revenge on somebody. We need to draw a very thick line between what we've seen in the past four rounds of escalation between Israel and Hamas and three rounds between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel implemented or lessons learned after each operation and I think that we've seen the operation at May 2021 Israel bombed Hamas headquarters, tunnels as we understand unsuccessfully now but the number of casualties was something like if I'm not wrong 200 and something people. It's like working with a needle. It's like you have an F-16 in the air or F-35 and you throw a missile. It's like you launch a needle that will hit only the target that you wanted to hit and kill only whoever you wanted to kill. In a war, the rules of engagement change so you throw you don't shoot a needle, you throw a bomb or bombs and new bombs with new technologies because you understand that you are forced to eliminate the enemy who from his point of view defeated you, okay? This is a victory and to delete this victory or to make sure that the other side understand that it is not our defeat it their defeat you need to eliminate the enemy and you eliminate the enemy with big bombs and then you enter to this dilemma of why should the innocent people so called of Gaza pay the price? So first of all let's be clear about it the ones who brought it on their heads are Hamas. There is a card that Hamas pulled the humanitarian crisis but this is also their fault okay? Now let's let's make a very fast calculation Hamas with an Egyptian company called Abna Isina, the son of Sinai imported goods, 75% of the goods from Egypt into Gaza and they taxed those goods making an income of $700 million a year. One two, Hamas taxed all the goods that entered through Kerem Shalom crossing. From Israel I'm talking about 1000 trucks a day it's big money. Do you want to know how I know it? I used to sell the biggest cement as a consultant to the biggest cement company in Israel. My clients in Gaza showed me the receipts that they had to pay 8 checkers per a ton that entered to Gaza and it's only 1000 tons a day so if it's 1000 tons a day and 8 checkers per a ton we just do the calculation what about the rest of the goods? Let's move to the northern part the pedestrian crossing areas 17,000 workers who work in Israel do it Hamas, May 2021 and they made an income, let's not enter into the detailed calculations but you can check me 17,000 people each one of them made approximately 450 checkers a day it's close to half a billion dollars a year of money that they brought into Gaza for the wheels of the economy but somebody taxed it and then by the fact that workers worked in Gaza and they brought way more than what people in Gaza get when they get the job it's Hamas responsibility for the economy and prosperity of the people actually Israel backed them so it's big money that Hamas could actually invest in infrastructure in pipes, in water, in electricity they could fix the power plant long time ago and they could have way more diesel to operate it but they prefer to use it to build tunnels underground factories to build weapons to buy ammunition smuggler to pay salaries to those terrorists etc and all the things that Israel supplied to Gaza they even didn't pay about it, they are not the ones who paid for those services it's the PM, Mahmoud Abbas that paid for the electricity and the water that we supplied to Gaza so I want to jump in because what I'm hearing described is that without Hamas you do have the foundations for a viable Palestinian territory but the issue is Hamas still enjoyed as of the last polling majority support even if you get rid of Hamas what's stopping another Hamas with a different name from just taking their place nothing is stopping as I said we can eliminate and the idea for probably eliminate Hamas, the actual terrorists, the leaders you cannot eliminate ideology so we all need to be smart and to think already for the day after it means Israel will probably clean the Gaza Strip from terrorists as we did in the past at the wars, the 6 days war, 70 67 and then we will need together with the moderate Arab countries with the coalition of the Arab countries with the PA, yes or no, if they want to jump on the train or they want to stay behind and with the western countries to build new leadership that will implement the new vision for maybe a possible Palestinian, I don't know state entity let's not enter the definitions but it must be done not only top down but also bottom up you know to grow a new generation with stopping incitement educating to accept the other, educating with values of the western world and not with the values that Hamas educated those kids you know to hate, to kill, to murder and we've seen the results at October 7th it's definitely a challenging question thank you Grisha, we are going to look now at that much awaited Israeli ground offensive and still being awaited, our defense correspondent Jonathan Reghev is asking why that has been delayed and when it can begin, well let's take a quick look for nearly two weeks Israelis have been waiting to see the promises of their leaders to crush Hamas come true, there is a clear understanding it cannot happen without a ground offensive which has so far been delayed, why for various reasons people in every corner of Israel are moved by the unwavering support expressed by the president of the United States Joe Biden as well as all the other western leaders touching down here but that support comes with a price Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well we mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives like the entire world the last thing Israel needed is a global leader landing here as images of a catastrophe emerge from Gaza, Hamas almost achieved that with manipulative reports about the Gaza hospital bombing just ahead of Biden's visit, Israel exposing that lie just on time based on the information we've seen today it appears a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group on Gaza international legitimacy is one reason the combat readiness of the troops is another for years the warnings about the poor condition of the ground forces were ignored like so many other things it all crashed down on that terrible Saturday morning the time since then was used to close the very big gaps that were in the needed equipment the gap is now almost closed the constant shelling of areas in the northern Gaza Strip along with a call to residents to head south are meant to create a safer passage for ground forces entering that is also a process taking time by the weekend the equipment will be in the field the northern Gaza Strip will be empty here and the foreign leaders will be back home will this be the time for the ground offensive to begin maybe so now the maneuver will bring the war to the enemies territory we will defeat them in their territory we will end back in the studio let's talk about the readiness question that Jonathan Regev was looking at reports soldiers never called up simply don't have the right equipment to begin a ground operation it takes time to equip everybody let's not forget that during the years the IDF actually has become a very small army and a very professional army many units in the reserve were actually closed or somebody said sometimes we will call them and after you have an army now that from 140,000 people jumped to half a million it takes time to equip everybody not everybody will have the same equipment the best of the best so the ones who will be there fighting Hamas on the ground will be fully equipped and as you go back you will have less and less and less proper equipment until it will be completed and it takes time eventually everybody will get everything so definitely preparations ahead to do thank you very much Grisha for explaining the situation on the ground as well for everyone else we are out of time at least for now but there will be updates at the top of each hour on this channel as Israel fights a war on multiple fronts 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 100 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 and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities says Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on i24 news rd access our website www.recargas.altis.com.b select the charges and type the number you want to place the charges they also receive the double balance in charges of 8 dollars more Altis the global network of the dominicans i4 news is ongoing coverage of Israel at war this war has entered its 14th day now and the government has authorized the regulation of Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera that outlet published outright lies Hamas propaganda and the positions even of Israeli soldiers on the northern front an Israeli drone took out a terrorist in Lebanese territory as Israel's government declares the evacuation of Karyat Shmona that's the biggest city in Israel's north after Hamas fired 30 rockets into the city and Hezbollah has increased the firing of anti-tank missiles at Israeli positions along the north on the southern front the IDF and the internal security forces have eliminated Mahmoud Shai Al-Aviya a terrorist leader of the special forces branch of the naval arm of Hamas but a new front is risking opening up as Iranian Houthi militia in Yemen launched an air attack using three ground attack missiles cruise missiles in fact and eight drones that was intercepted by the United States Navy warships in the Middle East the US says they cannot ascertain the exact targets but the missiles were heading north towards Israel the IDF has said they do have the capabilities to intercept those the IDF has details as well on the people abducted by Hamas hostages include 30 children at least 10 people over the age of 60 most of the abductees are alive but there are also bodies that were stolen by the Hamas terrorists we're going to open on the northern border where our correspondent Hamda Salhu is standing by Hamda what is the latest along that front well Ariel good morning there have been planes and helicopters circling overhead there was a small fire here but not clear if it was an exchange of fire by the Israelis or Hezbollah at this time but overnight the Israeli military killing one Hezbollah operative with a UAV after the largest exchange of fire yesterday the Israeli military saying they are prepared on the northern front sending heavy reinforcements armored vehicles tanks military equipment since last week the Israeli military is also relaying messages to Hezbollah saying that they will meet them with deadly force should they strike first the United States has been urging the Israelis not to strike Hezbollah first preemptively out of fear of another front breaking out in this war however at this time Hezbollah according to sources is moving around military equipment they are preparing to perhaps get involved in this conflict factions operating in the south of the country have been eager to join the fight however Hezbollah needs to take the lead as they are responsible and will give the go ahead for any sort of rocket fire or small arms that come out of Lebanon now the Lebanese government has been saying they do not want this conflict but they are unable to control Hezbollah as we've seen in the past several countries including the United States the United Kingdom Saudi Arabia the Netherlands even Germany all urging their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately the United States also urging caution around the world as there have been demonstrations at US consulates all around the world the globe because of the conflict that is continuing so the Israeli military on high alert for what's next thank you Hamdan we'll be back with you over the course of the day as the front develops now the IDF did give a briefing this morning Spokesman Daniel Higari giving that morning latest updates let's take a listen to exactly the latest on all fronts is the chief of staff has visited the Air Force this week it is operating at the pace of strikes that we have not seen in dozens of years in two arenas the turnout of reservists is over 100% the Air Force is operating with a perfect coordination with air defense systems the war machine of the Air Force is operating smoothly in coordination with the southern command with intelligence and that is remarkable and before anything else breaking as we speak there have been rockets fired at the cities of Ashkelon and Ashadoud along the southern border now we are going to continue with our analysis of what's going on with Colonel Grisha Yukubovich former civilian head of Kogat and someone with 36 years of experience in the Gaza Strip Grisha thank you again for being with us what did you make of this briefing from Higari about what the latest developments are from what I understand the IDF is continuing the preparations for the ground entry to the Gaza Strip it's not a question if it's a question of how and when there are also preparations to pass another arena from the north after giving the it's not an order but it's a network to whoever wants to leave Kiryat Mona or places 5 kilometers from the border that they can actually participate the program it provides that whoever wants to be in the hotel or somewhere else the government will actually back him it looks like many things are also happening around us that we need also to be with an open eye we have the Hutz that launched yesterday drones and rockets and the fifth fleet this is what the spokesperson of the IDF said were stopped by them actually we see a major major power at the Red Sea and at the Mediterranean actually some sort of umbrella that Israel and the United States actually created a built above Israel and above the U.S. bases also American troops that landed in the American bases in the Middle East in Iraq and in Syria to back the soldiers that were already there I'm talking about about thousands we have people from Iraq but with buses already reached to the border with Israel and Jordan and we there is an abnormal movement in Syria many pro-Iranian forces are moving from the area of the Azor continue the movement to the border so it opens the questions it opens many many many questions are we going to the situation is going to be escalated so are we going to deal with another two fronts because we are actually already dealing with three fronts if I'll put it right we have Gaza that the IDF did not stop for a minute to bomb the Gaza Strip that in a minute if you don't mind we have the West Bank we only had a huge operation in Tulkarem in Noura Shams refugee camp that 13 terrorists were killed in Israeli border police soldiers also got killed but it was an operation led by Brigade it means it's also a huge force in the West Bank let's see if that will also lead to an escalation I believe it will not and we have the two possible northern fronts that one is Lebanon and the other one forces and then we have from Syria let's see what will happen then in Gaza I think that if I can conclude what is the picture that was burned in the mind of the people in Gaza is two major events one is the city of tents in Hanyunis it's the third catastrophe if I'll go back to history so 1948 when the state of Israel it's called the Nakba for the Arab world and then 1967 when we won the 6th day's war it's a Naksa and now it's the third catastrophe where our Palestinians are again in tents but this time Hamas made the hands of Hamas Hamas is the one who actually created this catastrophe and brought it on them of course they will continue blaming us this is the only way that they do any successfully if I'll be unpolite they're doing a good job using also international pro-Palestinian support and pro-Palestinian media as we've seen for example with CNN, BBC and the New York Times also just admitted I think two hours ago that yes it was too early to accept what Hamas said about the public hospital event and the second event that is already burned in the minds of the Palestinians is 25 high school buildings in Arabic and Gaza it's called Madinat al-Zahra the neighborhood of al-Zahra that the air force actually flooded 25 huge buildings that are all detected with Hamas with terrorism so there's no neighborhood anymore I want to jump in here because we're talking about all the fronts and Yemen was I guess for many military planners not an unexpected angle given where Iran has moved their assets and their stated goals to destroy Israel but outside of Israel was not an arena anybody expected it's very far away and maybe the Iranian assets in the region are confident that Israel does not have the resources in 660 kilometers exactly and the Quds in Yemen have this ability to launch their rockets or ballistic missiles the Quds in Yemen are a proxy, a clear proxy of Iran supported by Iran the war between Saudi Arabia and the Quds in Yemen lasted for a few years and it was one of Saudi's achievements to reconstruct the diplomatic relations with Iran to stop that war but it's well known that the Quds in Yemen have those abilities we know that, we knew that we see that, we are aware of their abilities the United States is also aware of that that's why we have in a way two fleets to create this umbrella of defense three layers of air defense we say knock wood doing a good job for now it will continue like that and we will see more and more proxy Iranians that will that are ready for the guy there in Iran to push the button and they will start sacrificing them one after the other and there is a plan also of who will be sacrificed first so first of all they will sacrifice the Sunnis in Gaza Hamas, they are the first ones we see that after that they will sacrifice Hezbollah, Shia yes but it's Arabs they are not partians, okay and then they will sacrifice the guys that joined the fitama yuns in Abiyun and all other proxy pro-Iranian organizations in Syria but there are also some sort of expensive expendable, okay people as they use them to fight ISIS and only at the last, okay at the last level it will reach to them if at all and before we continue the tactical and how the fight again discussing why we fight, the IDF has released some extremely graphic footage of the October 7th Hamas massacre hey everyone excellent we're not going to show you the worst of it but the YouTube video 10 minutes long posted on the IDF channel is very graphic and describing it captures the scenes of Israeli civilians being murdered and then burnt alive in some cases featuring more than 10 minutes of footage captured by the local cameras, the dash cams and the body cams retrieved from Hamas terrorists themselves the evidence on that channel Hamas methodically forced their way into homes and southern communities and perpetrated acts of torture and murder against residents the video generated 5.5 million views in less than 24 hours it's worth noting that the video is a part of Israel's informational campaign to respond to now widespread attempts around the world to deny the atrocity and the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel south we're going to move now to our correspondent P.S. Stechelbach who is standing by at the southern border now well actually with updates from the southern border from just a little while ago everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon Israeli defense minister Joav Galand yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside throughout the night here the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted and a number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military but according to reports from Gaza a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well saying to Porphyos one of the oldest churches in the world those inside were Muslims and Christians reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for 2 million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border civilians are desperately awaiting water food medicine and fuel but in negotiations that U.S. President Joe Biden let with Egypt and Israel both agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza however footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there now when the crossing will be opening for the first 20 trucks is not clear yet it is expected for today or tomorrow Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really Israel for now opposes fuel deliveries fuel would be used to foster Hamas infrastructure in the strip the World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the hospitals desalination plans and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon in Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are being aid into Gaza as long as Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it is sold in the enclave Hamas is believed to be holding at least 203 hostages according to the Israeli military Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to everyone here might as well further endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense this is piaz tekelbach reporting from sterot for i-24 news we're going to return back to Grisha here in the studio to understand a little bit more about the situation in Gaza ultimately we've seen some nightmarish images over the course of the past we can have two weeks now since that massacre and Israel has a delicate balancing act going ahead of destroy Hamas make sure they are broken once and for all and not cross any of these sort of vague red lines that the west has put behind their support for Israel what's the balancing act that Israel is going to have to thread the needle here how is Israel going to also placate its own citizens who have seen these nightmarish images and are demanding blood I think that the demand of blood is something that we are forced to put aside because we are a different nation we are a democracy we are a western country I know we are all in pain and I know that there are voices in Israel that call for revenge but this is not who we are and as we see the IDF and the government the actions the operation is not like we would expect to see when people want to get revenge on somebody we need to draw a very thick line between what we've seen in the past four rounds of escalation between Israel and Hamas and three rounds between Israel and Jihad and Israel implemented or lessons learned after each operation and I think that we've seen the operation at May 2021 Israel bombed Hamas headquarters tunnels as we understand unsuccessfully now but the number of casualties was something like I don't know if I'm not wrong 200 and something people it's like working with a needle it's like you have an F-16 in the air or F-35 and you throw a missile it's like you launch a needle that will hit only the target that you wanted to hit and kill only whoever you wanted to kill in a war the rules of engagement change so you throw you don't throw, you don't shoot a needle you throw a bomb or bombs and new bombs with new technologies because you understand you are forced to eliminate the enemy who from his point of view defeated you okay this is a victory and to delete this victory or to make sure that the other side understand that it is not our defeat it their defeat you need to eliminate the enemy and you eliminate the enemy with big bombs and then you enter to this dilemma of why should the innocent people so called of Gaza pay the price so first of all let's be clear about it the ones who brought it on their heads are Hamas there is a card that Hamas pulled the humanitarian crisis but this is also their fault okay now let's let's make a very fast calculation Hamas with an Egyptian company called Abna Isina the son of Sinai imported goods 75% of the goods from Egypt into Gaza and they taxed those goods making an income of $700 million a year one two Hamas taxed all the goods that entered through Kerim Shalom crossing from Israel I'm talking about 1000 trucks a day it's big money do you want to know how I know it I used to sell cement as a consultant to the biggest event in Israel my clients in Gaza showed me the receipts that they had to check as per a ton that entered together and it's only 1000 tons a day so if it's 1000 tons a day and they check as per a ton we just do the calculation what about the rest of the goods let's move to the northern part the pedestrian crossing areas 17,000 workers who work in Israel after the last operation with Hamas May 2021 and they made a broken income okay let's not enter into the detailed 17,000 people each one of them made approximately 450 acres a day it's close to half a billion dollars a year of money that they brought into Gaza for the wealth of the economy but somebody taxed it and then by the fact that workers worked in Gaza and they brought way more than what people in Gaza get when they get the job it's Hamas responsibility for the economy and prosperity of the people actually Israel backed them with the money that Hamas could actually invest in infrastructure in pipes in water, in electricity they could fix the power plant long time ago and they could have way more diesel to operate it but they prefer to use it to build tunnels underground factories to build weapons to buy ammunition smuggler to pay salaries so those salaries etc etc okay and all the things that Israel supplied to Gaza they even didn't pay about it they are not the ones who paid for those services it's the PM Hamoud Abbas that paid for the electricity and the water that we supplied to Gaza so I want to jump in what I'm hearing described is that without Hamas you do have the foundations for a viable Palestinian territory but the issue is Hamas still enjoyed as of the last polling majority support even if you get rid of Hamas what's stopping another Hamas with a different name from just taking their place nothing is stopping as I said we can eliminate and the idea for probably eliminate Hamas okay the actual terrorists okay the leaders you cannot eliminate ideology so we all need to be smart and to think on ready for the day after it means Israel will probably clean the Gaza Strip from terrorists as we did in the past at the wars the six days war 70-67 and then we will need together with the moderate Arab countries with the coalition of the Arab countries with the PA yes or no if they want to jump on the train or they want to stay behind and with the western countries to build new leadership that will implement the new vision for maybe a possible Palestinian I don't know state entity let's not enter the definitions but it must be done not only top down but also bottom up you know to grow a new generation with stopping incitement educating to accept the other educating with values of the western world and not with the values that Hamas educated those kids you know to hate to kill to murder and we've seen the results at October 7th it's definitely a challenging question thank you Grisha we are going to look now at that much awaited Israeli ground offensive and still being awaited our defense correspondent Jonathan Regev is asking why that has been delayed and when it can begin well let's take a quick look for nearly two weeks Israelis have been waiting to see the promises of their leaders to crush Hamas come true there is a clear understanding it cannot happen without a ground offensive which has so far been delayed why for various reasons people in every corner of Israel are moved by the unwavering support expressed by the president of the United States Joe Biden as well as all the other western leaders touching down here but that support comes with a price Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well we mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives like the entire world the last thing Israel needed is a global leader landing here as images of a catastrophe emerge from Gaza Hamas almost achieved that with the manipulative reports about the Gaza hospital bombing just ahead of Biden's visit Israel exposing that lie just on time based on the information we've seen today it appears a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group on Gaza international legitimacy is one reason the combat readiness of the troops is another for years the warnings about the poor condition of the forces were ignored like so many other things it all crashed down on that terrible Saturday morning the times is then was used to close the very big gaps that were in the needed equipment the gap is now almost closed the constant shelling of areas in the northern Gaza Strip along with a call for residents to head south are meant to create a safer passage for ground forces entering but that is also a process taking time by the weekend the equipment will be in the field the northern Gaza Strip will be emptier and the foreign leaders will be back home will this be the time for the ground offensive to begin maybe so now the maneuver will bring the war to the enemies territory we will defeat them in that territory and we're going to end back in the studio with Grisha Okubovits here let's just talk about that readiness question that Jonathan Regev was looking at hearing reports that is really soldiers because they've never been called up in these numbers simply don't have the right equipment to begin a ground operation well it takes time to equip everybody let's not forget that during the years the IDF actually has become a very small army and a very professional army means many units in the reserve were actually closed or you know somebody said sometime sometime we will call them and after you know you have an army now that from 140,000 people joined to half a million it takes time to equip everybody and not everybody will have the same equipment the best of the best so the ones who will be there fighting Hamas on the ground the first waves will be fully equipped and as you go back you will have less and less and less let's say proper equipment until it will be completed and it takes time okay it takes time but eventually everybody will get everything so definitely preparations ahead to do thank you very much Grisha for explaining the situation on the ground as well for everyone else we are out of time at least for now but there will be updates at the top of each hour on this channel as Israel fights a war on multiple fronts over 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 yet the inside school on what's going on only on i24 news no thank you 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 want to do it we just don't know anything our 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 this is i24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv it is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas some breaking news in the last hour Israeli police say they've arrested four gardens who were found hiding in an apartment in an Israeli city of Beersheva police say they don't know if the four were already in Israel when the war broke out and were stuck or if they infiltrated Israel on October 7th when terrorists massacred some 1400 people and took more than 200 hostages well in Gaza the IDF says it has struck more than 100 targets in the Gaza Strip in operations overnight and in the last hour a barrage of rockets hit the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod the IDF says it's also ready to thwart any potential attacks from Yemen's Iranian backed Houthi rebels this after a US navy ship shot down missiles apparently headed for Israel last night the air force this week it is operating at the pace of strikes that we have not seen in dozens of years in two arenas the the turnout of reservists is over 100% the air force is operating with a perfect coordination with air defense systems the war machine of the air force is operating smoothly in coordination with the southern command with the intelligence and that's remarkable well the United Nations says that the first aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip via the RAFA border crossing with Egypt should take place in the next day or so it had been expected to open today aid convoys are lining up on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to bring in food water and medicine to guards and civilians US Bank including an 18 year old from Ramallah who was in Israel illegally and is accused of planning to ram soldiers with a stolen car more than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7th well let's head to the north of Israel now because the IDF is on high alert amid the threat from the Iranian back to terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon the town of Kiryat Shmona population 20,000 has been evacuated to our correspondent Hamda Salhout joins us now Hamda some reports of a potential infiltration in the north right Laura good afternoon reports of an infiltration in the city of Margaliyot a shooting carried out there reportedly one person injured those are the details we have at this time the authorities have advised residents inside of that city to stay indoors to shelter in place this is a city that is right out the border really just a couple of feet away and it's near Kiryat Shmona the Israeli military and the defense ministry have both ordered the evacuation of today because of the intense activity at the border and also the increase in that same activity yesterday we saw rockets that were launched from southern Lebanon one of them making a direct hit in Kiryat Shmona injuring three people so the Israeli military on high alert in these border communities remember earlier in the week they issued evacuations for 28 communities that were two kilometers from the border they have since extended it to five kilometers trying to get everybody out of harm's way putting them in state funded guest houses in case there is an uptick of violence at the border in the last 24 hours it has been the most violent the most booms the most artillery we've heard since we've been covering this since the beginning of the war proving that it's an escalation that is bound to explode Laura thank you very much our next speaker is at the northern border with Lebanon where as you can see the situation is heating up while the Israeli government said that it is taking steps to close down the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera in Israel for security reasons we'll hear with me in the studio to talk about all the latest developments is Lieutenant Colonel Doron Abutal former commander of the Special Forces for the IDF thanks for being with us Doron let's start with potential infiltrations in the north gunfire in Margaleod we heard it in the last hour a single terrorist attempt I think he was so everybody is on alert now and I think I'm not sure he was captured already only identified and we also had this Beersheva incident of four for people from Gaza it's not clear exactly what's the context of their apprehension but it adds to the sense of tension also in the cities of Israel in terms of the idea that somebody can infiltrate and a lot of those border communities as we heard Hamda saying there including Kiryat Shmoner which is a large town of 20,000 people have been evacuated of civilians it's a decision that the government and the IDF has made I think it's a right decision that Hamza said that the escalation is bound to explode maybe nobody knows the future but I think this percussion had to be taken and they are taken taking the citizens from to a safe distance of the border though of course the abilities of Hezbollah are far can reach farther than of course Kiryat Shmoner and other places which are near the border Remind us of Hezbollah's capabilities I think they hit Haifa if you remember I mean but what do they have in terms of rockets they have an Arsalan which is the magnitude is hundreds of thousands and I hope if there will be some escalation we can target some of those locations but they have an ability in terms of the question is not sometimes the number but the machinery of accuracy that was highly improved since the last Lebanon war in 2006 if you remember so it's a different kind of technology the accuracy and this is where Iran was playing its hand in terms of the technology and this is of course frightening because they can hit targets that are vital to our economy of course citizens and so on and military infrastructure and so on but we just heard the idea of spokesman saying Israel has some of the best air defences on earth of course and Kela David and others the only problem is that when you when you attack on a multitude of targets and it's hard for those systems to really identify the sources and then the interception is not complete interception is not airtight but of course if there would be an attempt to escalate the situation I'm sure we are prepared in terms of the location of those missiles and then the blow that the idea would deliver would be dramatic but it would limit the ability to hurt us and the United States has been clear President Joe Biden warning other actors in the region who are thinking about taking advantage of the situation don't the famous don't exactly he's deployed aircraft carrier significant military aid to the region there is evidence that Iran is trying to pull the United States into this conflict most clearly last night US Navy intercepted missiles that were reportedly fired at Israel they were intercepted by the US Navy just talk us through your position on that on the Houthis this specific incident has to be investigated and to have the clear picture and I'm sure our intelligence American intelligence are doing it but it's a proof that the US presence in the area can help us intercepting such abilities there's no question that this conflict can go original and if it goes original who knows where it can go next so the attempt I think what the US wants is of course to try to limit it to limit it to Gaza to deter Hezbollah but things can go wrong in every moment all right Doran thank you very much indeed Doran stay with us for a second we're going to go to our correspondent Pierce Deckelback now who a moment ago filed this report from the southern border with Gaza everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galand yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside throughout the night here the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted and number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military but according to reports from Gaza a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well St. Porphyos one of the oldest churches in the world those inside were Muslims and Christians reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for two million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border civilians are desperately awaiting water food medicine and fuel but in negotiations that US President Joe Biden led with Egypt and Israel both agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai Peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza where every footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there now the opening for the first 20 trucks is not clear yet is it is expected for today or tomorrow Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really Israel for now too opposes fuel deliveries as it fears fuel would be used to foster Hamas's infrastructure in the strip the World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the U.S. military and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon in Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are against letting aid into Gaza as long as Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it is sold in the enclave Hamas is believed to be holding to the Israeli military Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to everyone here might as well further endanger the lives of the hostages in a Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense this is Piaz Tekelbach reporting from Stirot for I-24 News Piaz Tekelbach there at the border with Gaza and pictures coming into us from the Rafa crossing the U.N. says it is expected to open in the next couple of days to allow some 20 trucks full of humanitarian aid to go into Gaza in the hope that it will reach Gaza civilians many hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians gathering in southern Gaza to get away from the fighting between the IDF and Hamas in the north so all eyes on Egypt today no sign yet that that crossing is opening any time soon it is not expected to open today but in the next day or two and as you heard there Israel has concerns that the aid will go not to the civilians but will fall into the hands of Hamas terrorists while the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is in Egypt today he is expected to speak later but earlier he met with the U.N. Secretary General Guterres to say No solution is possible without the creation of independent Palestine state side by side with Israel with neutral security guaranteed and in line with the international resolutions and in line with the agreements that were established between the two parties The U.N. Secretary General Guterres is in a situation for Gaza Doron Avital, I'm still with me in the studio Doron from a military perspective talk to me about the aid it's going to be very difficult for Israel to protest about aid getting in that a lot of civilians in need in Gaza right now but what are the risks that this could harm Israel's operations against Hamas? I think Israel's concerns are highly justified and of course we want to monitor it very carefully on the other hand though the shock and the rage following this horrendous raid of Hamas really cost some of our decision makers to think that we can block this humanitarian aid I don't think it serves our case or our cause even not in the context of the hostage dilemma which is the maybe the greatest dilemma that our decision makers are facing right now also in the context of ground incursion when and if it happens in humanitarian aid we had to play along with the US and with the UN we would have to allow it but it has to be monitored and with the Egyptians because they made it clear they would not let civilians into Sinai to receive aid there the aid has to go into Gaza and we have to play with the Egyptian we have this close ties intelligence wise and security wise and we have to in some strange way our partners in this case they won't let the refugees cross the borders we have to let the humanitarian aid do other problems and how do we monitor its humanitarian aid as in the past wouldn't be used in the wrong way so and there seems to be some kind of delay it was supposed to be opening today it now looks as though it will be happening in the next couple of days yeah I'm sure the question of negotiation the question is how severe the situation of the civilians in terms of humanitarian aid is I'm talking about medicine, food, water and I think in the end there is no other way but to allow it in but we have to really monitor it carefully and is there any way for Israel to prevent it falling into the hands of Hamas I mean what kind of monitoring might there be will we have to rely on the UN for that we have to trust somebody here the UN and also because we know how other organizations have been manipulated by Hamas but of course we can follow it afterwards and when we see that it's misused we can also stop the delivery of other humanitarian aid because we have the intelligence and the supervision of Gaza right now what we lacked in the days before this raid right now we are on oh let's take a listen, sorry Don the UN Secretary General oh it's just finished speaking we missed it Antonio Gutierrez the UN Secretary General we'll bring that to you in just a moment Adon I mean you say the intelligence has been restored in Gaza is there any intelligence? the proof was that we could verify the fact that the bombing wasn't us by accepting a phone call it's like it's an amazing and showing to the world it's not us it's the Islamic jihad we would be in a different and terrible position yeah the world media has walked back so it gives us time to take action here we are we're looking at Rafa crossing on the Egyptian side so these presumably Egyptian civilians this is on the Egyptian side of the border you can see the Egyptian flag there people marching in solidarity with the civilians in Gaza see some Egyptian soldiers there a lot of Palestinian flags so this is where Antonio Gutierrez the UN Secretary General was speaking just a short while ago and this whole situation has put Egypt in a really tight spot hasn't it? sure I mean they can't allow those refugees entering their domain they don't trust that they would be returning to the Gaza Strip but on the other hand also they have we're inside the country don't forget the Islamic Brotherhood which is an enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood the Muslim Brotherhood President Al-Sisi had to suppress otherwise it would not had been elected well it looks like quite a small organised protest this is nothing like the kind of spontaneous scenes that we saw on the streets of Arab cities in recent days I think this is a very firm regime that Al-Sisi is conducting in Egypt and in this respect we can trust him as a player that when he can deliver on what he promises us we have to really work with him in the context of the Gaza Strip the Egyptians have no interest in importing any volatility into their own houses so just to bring you up to it with what we're looking at this is on the Egyptian side into Gaza a smallish but angry protest going on people expressing solidarity with the civilians inside Gaza this just a short while after the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke we'll try and get his comments for you in a moment so that's the situation as Rafa crossing remains closed it is supposed to be opened in the next couple of days to allow a limited convoy into the Strip but that's what we're hearing from the UN well let's talk about how the United States fits into all of this US President Joe Biden said last night that he is sending to Congress an urgent budget request for military assistance for both Israel and Ukraine the number is expected to be in the region of $100 billion last night President Biden linked the two conflicts together take a listen Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine and it's supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region and we'll continue to hold them accountable I might add American leadership is what holds the world together American alliance is what keep us America safe American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with to put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine we turn our backs on Israel it's just not worth it that's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine alright there you are the US President Joe Biden linking together the conflicts here in Israel the fight with Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well and asking Congress to stump up something in the region of $100 billion Dawn that's very important isn't it that association between the war with Ukraine and the war we shouldn't forget that the war was in the context of the Saudi initiative it was a sort of an answer to the the axis of China, Iran going the Beltway, Russia, the Ukraine issue so in this context Hamas was trying to intercept or to break up this initiative and I think he says well the battle lines are now drawn we have to be with our allies and our allies is of course Israel, Ukraine Europe and in this context and I think Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be also part of this of this group that he refers to and Iran of course represents the greatest demon in the north but of course it's supported in a regional system also with Russia and China we have to admit the scale of the conflict can be even bigger than what we see now let's hope it's contained but it can go I wonder if you saw an interview with the Hamas leader Ismail Haniye on the Saudi network Al Arabiya in which he was he was criticised the host likened Hamas to ISIS he said the world now sees that Hamas is like ISIS I think that's right which is quite an interesting perspective from the Saudi they're trying to draw a line and to put the blame to the atrocities that we have seen on some mob that entered the border following the Hamas Hamas did, yeah, they tried to blame the ISIS I'm not sure they would succeed also we'll have to see how they will play their hand with the host issue so they have a way to go in this context but I think Hamas is clearly supported by the Shiite of Iran but of course it's a Sunni organisation the Muslim Brotherhood Association and it's a terror organisation that will have to dismantle in order to work out any possible solution we heard the UN Secretary talking about Palestinian state Hamas is not doesn't favour a Palestinian state he did favour something else the annihilation of Israel it should be the elimination of Israel quite and yeah I mean the Saudis of course have been fighting the Iranian backed hosties in Yemen for seven years you see that the whole map reorganises and have themselves suffered attacks on their infrastructure it's true, major blow and I think the whole axis are aligned right now but we still hope that the conflict won't go ballistic and stay original I hope it will be contained in Gaza I hope the northern border doesn't blow up but everything can go wrong or escalate quite I mean do you think that this is evidence that we're seeing right now of Iran trying to implement its three point plan attacks on Israel from the south from the north and the east you know the question how much it was orchestrated carefully monitored from Iran I can't acknowledge though their expert to say completely they see an orchestrated campaign but it's clearly they are behind those there's certainly a lot more to investigate isn't it we're going to go back to the north our correspondent is there mass evacuations potential infiltrations exchange of fire what's going on up there right Laura so the Israeli military is saying that following an initial report there was a shootout carried out towards the Israeli military in that area of Margilot the Israeli military responding with live fire and now scanning the area for suspects we have been afraid of infiltration since the beginning of this war remember the initial infiltration of four individuals from Palestinian Islamic jihad happening right after the war broke out and actually ended up killing a bunch of Israeli soldiers the and wounding civilians as well so the situation here is quite volatile the Israeli military is evacuating these communities not just because of the cross-border fire not just because of the rockets that are launched but also such a threat when people from the other side of the border are coming into these communities it is a larger unknown because they now have to scan the area on foot to look for suspects people are being ordered to shelter in place to lock their doors and it's a situation that the military has found itself in since the beginning of this war now a lot of these communities have been evacuated since last week and a lot of people before the mass evacuations actually chose to leave themselves you drive up to the northern part of the country it is the ghost town because of the mass evacuations that have been put in place we're talking about tens of thousands of people that have relocated to either the center or southern part of the country into state-funded guest houses or staying with family or other friends out of fears of escalation here on the northern border and of course Hamda it's not just Hezbollah that's based across Israel's northern border Hamas is also there it has also taken responsibility for rocket fire from there just give us an idea of how the various groups work together or side by side right so you have Palestinian factions operating out of southern Lebanon like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad the PFLP but they all need permission so to speak from Hezbollah to launch any weapons to get involved in any conflict they have been calling on Hezbollah to get involved saying that they are eager to join the fight since two weeks ago however Hezbollah is the one who is responsible for all of the weapons that will come in and out of its territory the Israeli military saying they will retaliate against Hezbollah for any weapons that do cross the border anything that comes into Israeli territory Hezbollah will pay the price now Hezbollah's weapons arsenal is quite large it is advanced it is sophisticated we're talking about a completely different beast here than what we're seeing coming out of the Gaza Strip so these factions operating in the southern part of the country want Hezbollah to take the lead because they understand the type of force and power that they have now countries like the United States have been urging Israel both publicly and privately that they don't want them to preemptively strike they don't want them to start something to light the match that will ignite the larger flame on the northern border however they are telling them if Hezbollah were to be the aggressor first they will assist them militarily via land via air via sea to help fight them but as of now Israel's eyes are on the northern border as the front of the war expands Laura Thank you very much You can see the smoke in the air there have been skirmishes there has been gunfire in the community reports of suspected infiltrators and the northern border very much on high alert amid fears that Hezbollah might seek to join the fight we'll be back with you in a few minutes stay tuned this is I-24 news live from Tel Aviv over 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 school on what's going on only on I-24 news this is I-24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv it is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas some breaking news in the last hour Israeli police say they've arrested four Gazans who were found hiding in an apartment in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva police say they don't know if the four were already in Israel when the war broke out and was stuck or if they infiltrated Israel on October 7th massacred some 1400 people and took more than 200 hostages well in Gaza the IDF says it has struck more than 100 targets in the Gaza Strip in operations overnight and in the last hour a barrage of rockets fired at the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod the IDF says it's also ready to thwart any potential attacks from Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels this after a US Navy ship shot down missiles apparently headed for Israel last night the war machine of the air force is operating smoothly in coordination with the southern command with the intelligence and that is remarkable well the United Nations says that the first aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip via the RAF border crossing with Egypt should take place in the next day or so it had been expected to open today aid convoys are lining up on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to bring in food, water and medicine to guards and civilians well meanwhile there have been more arrests in the West Bank including an 18 year old from Ramallah who was in Israel illegally and is accused of planning to ram soldiers with a stolen car more than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7th well let's head to the north of Israel now because the IDF is on high alert amid the threat from the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon the town of Kiryat Shmona population 20,000 has been evacuated our correspondent Hamda Salhout joins us now Hamda some reports of a potential infiltration in the north right Laura good afternoon reports of an infiltration in the city of Margariyot a shooting carried out there reportedly one person injured at the time the authorities have advised residents inside of that city to stay indoors to shelter in place this is a city that is right out the border really just a couple of feet away and it's near Kiryat Shmona where the Israeli military and the defense ministry have both ordered the evacuation of today because of the intense activity at the border and the also the increase in that same activity yesterday we saw rockets that were launched from southern Lebanon one of them making a direct hit in Kiryat Shmona injuring three people so the Israeli military on high alert in these border communities remember earlier in the week they issued evacuations for 28 communities that were two kilometers from the border they have since extended it to five kilometers trying to get everybody out of harm's way putting them in state funded guest houses in case there is an uptick of violence at the border in the last 24 hours and the most booms the most artillery we've heard since we've been covering this since the beginning of the war proving that it's an escalation that is bound to explode Laura all right Hamda thank you very much Hamda Salhout there is at the northern border with Lebanon where as you can see the situation is heating up well the Israeli government said that it is taking steps to close down the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera security reasons we'll hear with me in the studio to talk about all the latest developments is Lieutenant Colonel Doron Avital former commander of the special forces for the IDF thanks for being with us Doron let's start with potential infiltrations in the north gunfire in Margaleod we've heard it in the last hour a single terrorist it seems some kind of an attempt I think so everybody's on alert now and I think I'm not sure he was captured already or only identified and we also had this Beersheva incident of four for people from Gaza it's not clear exactly what's the context of their apprehension but it adds to the sense of tension also in the cities of Israel in terms of the idea that somebody can infiltrate and and a lot of those border communities as we heard Hamda saying there including Kiria Chmona which is a large town of 20,000 people have been evacuated of civilians yeah it's a decision the government and the IDF has made I think it's a right decision I'm not sure Hamza said that the escalation is bound to explode maybe nobody knows the future but I think this percussion has to be had to be taken and they are taken taking the citizen to a safe distance of the border though of course the abilities of Hezbollah are far can reach further than of course Kiria Chmona and other places which are near the border Remind us of Hezbollah's capabilities I think they hit Haifa if you remember I mean but what do they have in terms of rockets? Well they have an Arsalan which is the magnitude is hundreds of thousand and we I hope if there will be some escalation some of those locations but they have an ability in terms of the question is not sometimes the number but the machinery of accuracy that was a highly improved since the last Lebanon war in 2006 if you remember so it's a different kind of technology the accuracy is something and this is where Iran was playing its hand in terms of the technology and this is of course frightening because they can hit targets that are vital to our economy of course citizens and so on and military infrastructure and so on. But we just heard the idea of spokesman saying Israel has some of the best air defences on earth Of course but you know of course of course we have the Iran Dome for sure and Kela David and others the only problem is that when you when you attack on a multitude of targets and it's hard for those systems to really identify of course if there would be an attempt to escalate the situation I'm sure we are prepared in terms of the location of those missiles and then the blow that the IDF would deliver would be dramatic and this would limit the ability to hurt us. And the United States has been clear President Joe Biden warning other actors in the region who were thinking about taking advantage of the situation don't yeah the famous don't exactly he's deployed aircraft carrier significant military aid to the region there is evidence that Iran is trying to pull the United States into this conflict most clearly last night we US Navy intercepted missiles that were reportedly fired at Israel they were intercepted by the US Navy just talk us through your position on that on the on the Houthis you know this specific incident has to be investigated and to have the clear picture and I'm sure that our intelligence are doing it but it's a proof that the US presence in the area can help us intercepting such abilities there's no question that this conflict can go original and if it goes original who knows where it can go next so the attempt I think what the US wants is of course to try to limit it to limit it to Gaza to deter Hezbollah but things can go wrong in every moment all right thank you very much indeed stay with us for a second we're going to go to our correspondent Pierre Stechelback now who a moment ago filed this report from the southern border with Gaza everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon Israeli defense minister Joav Galan yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside throughout the night here the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted and number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military but according to reports from Gaza a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well saying to Porphyus one of the oldest churches in the world those inside were Muslims and Christians reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for two million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border civilians are desperately awaiting water, food, medicine and fuel but in negotiations that US President Joe Biden let with Egypt and Israel both agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza however footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there now and the crossing will be opening for the first 20 trucks is not clear yet as it is expected for today or tomorrow Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really Israel for now to opposes fuel deliveries as it fears fuel would be used to foster infrastructure in the strip the World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the hospitals desalination plants and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon and Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are again still letting aid into Gaza Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it is sold in the enclave Hamas is believed to be holding at least 203 hostages according to the Israeli military Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to everyone here might as well further endanger the lives of the hostages in a Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense this is Piaz Tekelbach reporting from for I-24 News Piaz Tekelbach there at the border with Gaza and pictures coming in to us from the Rafa crossing which is still closed the UN says it is expected to open in the next couple of days to allow some 20 trucks full of humanitarian aid to go into Gaza in the hope that it will reach Gaza civilians many hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians in southern Gaza to get away from the fighting between the IDF and Hamas in the north so all eyes on Egypt today no sign yet that that crossing is opening any time soon it is not expected to open today but in the next day or two and as you heard there Israel has concerns that the aid will go not to the civilians but will fall into the hands of Hamas terrorists while the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is in Egypt today he is expected to speak later but earlier he met with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Samesh Shukri and he had this to say No solution is possible without the creation of an independent Palestine state side by side with Israel with mutual security guaranteed and in line with the international resolutions in line with the agreements that were established between the two parties the UN Secretary General they're talking about the long-term situation for Gaza Dohan Avital, I'm still with me in the studio Dohan from a military perspective talk to me about the aid it's going to be very difficult for Israel to protest about aid getting in that a lot of civilians in need in Gaza right now what are the risks that this could harm Israel's operations against Hamas? I think Israel's concerns are highly justified that this unitarian aid wouldn't be used in the wrong way and of course we want to monitor it very carefully on the other hand though the shock and the rage following this horrendous raid of Hamas really cost some of our decision makers to think that we can block this unitarian aid I don't think it serves our case or our cause even not in the context of the hostage with the greatest dilemma that our decision makers are facing right now also in the context of ground incursion when and if it happens so I think in unitarian aid we had to play along with the US and with the UN and we would have to allow it but it has to be monitored and with the Egyptians because they made it clear they would not let civilians into Sinai to receive aid there the aid has to go into Gaza and we have to play with the Egyptian I mean we have these close ties intelligence wise and security wise and we have to strange way there are our partners in this case they won't let the refugees cross the borders we have to let the unitarian aid but we have to think how do we solve the other problems and how do we monitor the unitarian aid as in the past wouldn't be used in the wrong way so and there seems to be some kind of delay it was supposed to be opening today it now looks as though it will be happening in the next couple of days yeah I'm sure the question of negotiation the question is how severe the situation of the civilians in terms of unitarian aid is I'm talking about medicine food and water and I think in the end there is no other way but to allow it in but we have to really monitor it carefully and is there any way for Israel to prevent it falling into the hands of Hamas I mean what kind of monitoring might there be will we have to rely on the UN for that or we'd have to trust somebody here the UN and also because we know how UNRA and other organizations have been manipulated by Hamas of course we can follow it afterwards and when we see that it's misused to stop the delivery of other unitarian aid because we have the intelligence and the supervision of Gaza right now what we lacked in the days before this raid right now we are on oh let's take a listen sorry Don the UN Secretary General oh he's just finished speaking we missed him Antonio Guterres the UN Secretary General will bring that to you in just a moment I mean you say the intelligence has been restored in Gaza is there any intelligence and the proof was that we could verify the fact that the bombing wasn't us by accepting a phone call it's like it's an amazing if we didn't have this factual evidence showing to the world it's not us it's the Islamic jihad we would be in a different and terrible position yeah the world media has walked back it gives us some integration here we are we're looking at Rafa crossing on the Egyptian side so these presumably Egyptian civilians this is on the Egyptian side of the border you can see the Egyptian flag there people marching in solidarity with the civilians in Gaza see some Egyptian soldiers there a lot of Palestinian flags so this is where Antonio Guterres the UN Secretary General was speaking just a short while ago and this whole situation has put Egypt in a really tight spot hasn't it sure they can't allow those refugees entering their domain they don't trust that they would be even returning to the Gaza Strip but on the other hand also they have the inside the country don't forget the Islamic Brotherhood which is a sort of an enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood yeah the Muslim Brotherhood President LCC had to suppress otherwise it would not have been elected well it looks like quite a small organised protest this is nothing like the kind of spontaneous scenes that we saw on the streets of Arab cities exactly this is a very firm regime that CC is conducting in Egypt and in this respect we can trust him as a player that when he can deliver on what he promises us we have to really work with him in the context of the Gaza Strip the Egyptians have no interest in supporting any volatility just to bring you up to it with what we're looking at this is on the Egyptian side of the Rafa border crossing into Gaza a smallish but angry protest going on people expressing solidarity with the civilians inside Gaza this just a short while after the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke we'll try and get his comments for you so that's the situation as Rafa crossing remains closed it is supposed to be opened in the next couple of days to allow a limited aid convoy into the Strip but that's what we're hearing from the UN right now well let's talk about how the United States fits into all of this US President Joe Biden said last night that he is sending to Congress an urgent budget request for military assistance for both Israel and Ukraine the number is expected to be in the region of $100 billion last night President Biden linked the two conflicts together take a listen Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine and it's supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region and we'll continue to hold them accountable I might add American leadership is what holds the world together American alliance is what keep us America safe and the values of what make us a part of the other nations want to work with to put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine we turn our backs on Israel it's just not worth it that's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine all right there you are the US President Joe Biden linking together the conflicts here with Israel the fight with Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well and asking Congress to stomp up something in the region of $100 billion that's very important isn't it that association between the war and the war we shouldn't forget that the war was in the context of the Saudi initiative it was sort of an answer to the axis of China Iran going to the Beltway and the Ukraine issue so in this context Hamas was trying to intercept or to break up this initiative and I think he says well the battle lines are now drawn and we have to be with our allies and our allies is of course Israel, Ukraine, Europe and in this context and I think Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be also part of this of this group that he refers to and Iran of course represents the demon in the North but of course it's supported in the original system also with Russia and China we have to admit so the scale of the conflict can be even bigger than what we see now let's hope it's contained but it can go I wonder if you saw an interview with the Hamas leader Ismail Haniye on the Saudi network Al Arabiya in which he was the host likened Hamas to ISIS he said the world now sees that Hamas is like ISIS which is quite an interesting perspective from the Saudi they're trying to draw a line and to put the blame to the atrocities that we have seen on some mob that entered the border following the Hamas they're trying to do it I'm not sure they would succeed also we'll have to see how they will play a way to go in this context but I think Hamas is clearly supported by the Shiite of Iran but of course the Sunni organization the Muslim Brotherhood the association and it's a terror organization that will have to dismantle in order to work out any possible solution, resolution we heard the UN Secretary talking about Palestinian state Hamas is not doesn't favor a Palestinian state like us, the annihilation of Israel it should be clear and the Saudis of course have been fighting the Iranian backed Hossis in Yemen you see that the whole map reorganizes and Hamas himself suffered attacks on their infrastructure I'm major blow and I think the whole axis are aligned right now but we still hope that the conflict won't go ballistic and stay original I hope it will be contained in Gaza I hope the northern border doesn't blow up but everything can go wrong or escalate quite do you think that this is evidence that we're seeing right now of Iran trying to implement its three point plan attacks on Israel from the south from the north and the east? the question how much it was orchestrated carefully monitored from Iran I can't acknowledge the experts to say completely they see an orchestrated campaign but clearly they are behind there's certainly a lot more to investigate isn't it Doran Steyer with us, we're going to go back to the north our correspondent Hamda Salhout is there Hamda massive vacuations potential infiltrations exchange of fire, what's going on up there? Right Laura, so the Israeli military is saying that following an initial report there was a shootout carried out towards the Israeli military in that area of Margilot the Israeli military responding with live fire and now scanning the area for suspects look, they have been afraid of infiltration since the beginning of this war remember the initial infiltration of four individuals from Palestinian Islamic jihad happening right after the war broke out and actually ended up killing a bunch of Israeli soldiers and wounding civilians as well so the situation here is quite volatile, the Israeli military is evacuating these communities not just because of the cross-border fire not just because of the rockets that are launched but also it is such a threat when people from the other side of the border are coming into these communities it is a larger unknown because they now have to scan the area on foot to look for suspects people are being ordered to shelter in place to lock their doors and it's a situation that the military has found itself in since the beginning of this war now a lot of these communities have been evacuated since last week and a lot of people before the mass evacuations actually chose to leave themselves and if you drive up to the northern part of the country it is the ghost town because of the mass evacuations that have been put in place we're talking about tens of thousands of people that have relocated to either the center or southern part of the country into state funded guest houses or staying with family or other friends out of fears of escalation here on the northern border and of course Hamda it's not just Hezbollah that's based across Israel's northern border Hamas is also there and has also taken responsibility for rocket fire from there just give us an idea of how the various groups work together side by side right so you have Palestinian factions operating out of southern Lebanon like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad the PFLP but they all need permission so to speak from Hezbollah to launch any weapons in any conflict they have been calling on Hezbollah to get involved saying that they are eager to join the fight since two weeks ago however Hezbollah is the one who is responsible for all of the weapons that will come in and out of its territory the Israeli military saying they will retaliate against Hezbollah for any weapons that do cross the border anything that comes into Israeli territory Hezbollah will pay the price now Hezbollah's weapons arsenal is quite large it is advanced, it is sophisticated it is a completely different beast here than what we are seeing coming out of the Gaza Strip so these factions operating in the southern part of the country want Hezbollah to take the lead because they understand the type of force and power that they have now countries like the United States have been urging Israel both publicly and privately that they don't want them to preemptively strike they don't want them to start something to light the match that will ignite the larger flame on the northern border however they are telling them that they were to be the aggressor first they will assist them militarily via land, via air, via sea to help fight them but as of now really all eyes are on the northern border as the front of the war expands Laura Hamder, thank you very much Hamder, you can see the smoke in the air there have been skirmishes there have been gunfire in the community of Mar Galiad reports of suspected infiltrators and the northern border very much on high alert amid fears that Hezbollah might seek to join the fight we'll be back with you in a few minutes stay tuned, this is I-24 news live from Tel Aviv 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 a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped help us, we don't want to do it we just don't know anything 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 this particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt we'll be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year we're here to claim for the rain in these moments global warming is affecting Bolivia not only Bolivia but the whole world and we need rain for the embryos Vakita reserve we have the right ingredients and we have to do the job and that if we have the right ingredients and we do the job that the Vakita can be protected thank you for watching i24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas or we're going to start with the situation in the north where Israel is on high alert amid fears Hezbollah the Iranian backed terrorist organization is preparing to join the fight the IDF says its troops came under fire near the northern town of Margaleot which is on the Lebanese border troops returned fire still scanning the area for suspects who may have infiltrated into Israeli territory the town of Kiryat Shmona which has a population of some 20,000 people has been evacuated our correspondent Hamda Salhoutz at the border will be with her in just a few minutes for the very latest but meanwhile here in Israel four Ghazan residents have been arrested they were caught hiding in an apartment in the city of Beersheva police say they don't know if the four were already in Israel when the war began or if they came over on October 7 when Hamas terrorists murdered 1400 people and took more than 200 hostages we can see the pictures now from Beersheva that was earlier this morning four Ghazan residents who were here illegally in Israel they were found hiding in an apartment arrested well there have been more arrests in the West Bank an 18 year old from Ramallah who was also in Israel illegally and who is accused of planning to ram soldiers with a stolen car has been arrested more than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7 well here to talk about all of that our senior correspondent Guy Azraelis with us in the studio Guy let's start with the situation then suspected infiltrators potentially still at large right and we are getting information from the IDF spokesman just a moment ago about a strike of an Israeli drone on a terrorist squad from Hezbollah has been taken down by that aerial vehicle of the IDF in addition to that IDF troops fired towards militants on the Lebanese border so obviously a very hot border there a very hot arena the IDF attempts to maintain the safety on those border communities as we already know residents have been instructed to leave the area it's a closed military zone for quite a few kilometers from the Lebanese border in fear of infiltrations like the one that we saw earlier today we know at least one Israeli that was wounded as a result of shots that were fired at him still unclear whether that was an infiltration from Lebanon as was initially thought in any case an IDF drone shoots down a squad it is still not given the information whether we did not yet hear any announcement to the residents that they can come out so for now we'll assume that we're still examining whether there are any more terrorists in Israeli territory and as we saw in the case of these communities on the Gaza border this is very complicated when you have terrorists infiltrating residential areas perhaps taking over communities as we saw taking over homes for sure this is a very different scenario because we're talking about one maybe two terrorists that have infiltrated if that is the case if potentially hand gliders or enemy aircraft coming over the border from the north when the country was still reeling from the attack on the south we're talking about something very different much smaller obviously the IDF was caught on guard on that Saturday two weeks ago completely different situation in terms of the IDF forces on the ground both in the southern and in the northern front nonetheless there are instances as we see where terrorists attempt to infiltrate Israel attempting to infiltrate Israeli communities I'm sure that bitter lesson that Israel has suffered on Saturday has also given motivation to other terrorists to attempt this sort of our deals these sort of onslaughts on Israeli civilians the IDF is there to protect them and for now the residents are asked to still remain locked up until the areas is clear of terrorists for sure and of course let's not forget the United States is here it wasn't here two weeks ago they've sent the world's largest aircraft carrier they have warned has bollock explicitly don't try to take advantage of the situation but behind the scenes it looks as though they've been putting pressure on the Israelis not to strike preemptively look the Americans obviously are very aware of what's happening here and more than that the possible consequences of an escalation that could drift the entire Middle East really into chaos not just Israel and the Palestinians and Hamas and Gaza not just Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon but perhaps even a wider escalation that would draw in Iranian proxies from Syria and what we reported here on I-24 news just last night those launches out of Yemen by Houthis there allegedly towards Israeli territory both drones both drones and ballistic missiles fired over the US forces there intercepted both by the Americans and at least one of the interceptions by the Saudis some of those interceptions by electronic warfare no injuries, no casualties in this case but a very clear reminder for Israel about the potential threats and risks of other proxies of Iran in the region that could use the opportunity to attack Israel yeah full house Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis that's the worst case scenario for sure and that is why the Americans are here both in terms of rhetoric and with actions on the ground ready to assist Israel if it needs to and that's what I was pointing out today that Israel has some of the best missile defense systems in the world take pause Guy, thank you let's go to the southern border now our correspondent Pierce Deckelback filed this report a short while ago with updates from the border with Gaza everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon as the Israeli military you are of Galan yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside throughout the night here the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted and a number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military but according to reports from Gaza a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well St. Porphyos one of the oldest churches in the world has been reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for 2 million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border civilians are desperately awaiting water food medicine and fuel but in negotiations that US President Joe Biden let with Egypt and Israel agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai Peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza where every footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there now in the crossing will be opening for the first 20 trucks is not clear yet is it is expected for today or tomorrow Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really Israel for now too opposes fuel deliveries as it fears fuel would be used to foster Hamas infrastructure in the strip the World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the hospitals desalination plans and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon in Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are against letting aid into Gaza as long as Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it is sold in the enclave Hamas is believed to be holding at least 203 hostages according to the Israeli military Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to the public in here might as well further endanger the lives of the hostages in a Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense this is Piaz Tekelbach reporting from Stirod for I-24 news Piaz Tekelbach there let's go to the north our correspondent Hamda Stalhouti is close to the border with Lebanon Hamda so two separate incidents today involving potential infiltrators is that's right Laura the Israeli military releasing a statement just a short while ago saying that the Israeli military attack to sell of Hezbollah just a short while ago three people were identified approaching the fence along the Lebanese border and Israeli military aircraft operating in the area targeted them we've been seeing helicopters flying overhead for some time the military saying that in addition snipers shot at armed men who were also in the area so the Israeli military on high alert all sorts of things all sorts of activity you can see actually these patchy helicopters here they've been flying in the distance along Lebanese territory in pairs for some time to kind of survey the area and perhaps these are some of the aircrafts that we're assisting in the targeting of the Hezbollah cells along the border the Israeli military has been clear that it will not allow anyone to enter its territory it will not allow any of the violence and military activity to fall through into civilian areas which is why they've been evacuating much of the civilian population here the the communities up to five kilometers from the border all evacuated the the latest community there could get shmone home to around 20,000 people has been evacuated as per request by both the Israeli military and the defense ministry so on high alert here at the northern border continuous escalations in the last 24 hours have been heating up as this conflict seems to be expanding Laura and Hamda I mean Israel is of course still reeling from the mass infiltration by Hamas terrorists nearly two weeks ago a very different terrain isn't it in the south of Israel to where you are now as we can see behind you it is mountainous you know rocky a very different situation just talk us through how you know that affects the situation when it comes to potential infiltrators well look when it comes to people coming through the fence it's incredibly difficult to scan the area you've got mountainous roads you've got forest you've got a lot of places where people could hide so the Israeli military's first action here would be to identify how many people if possible we do not his but has been targeting military surveillance posts to impede the Israeli military's efforts to try and surveil the area so a lot of these searches and scans are happening on foot they're also happening from Israel view to get a better a bird's-eye view if you will on the situation so the Israeli military is doing its best to secure the border but look there are places where people are coming through they're coming here and there are gun battles that have been going on we heard some in the distance as well so the Israeli military is doing everything it can to try and scan the area advising people to stay indoors until they get the all clear from home front command Laura Hamza thank you very much Hamza Sahoud there is northern border while the reverberations of the war here and the false accusation that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza are being felt across the world there have been massive spikes in anti-Semitic attacks in Tunisia this week hundreds of people were filmed setting fire to an historic synagogue in the city of Alhamma and police did not intervene while Morocco also has a large Jewish community here to talk about that Dr. Wabic Tatu political analysts and senior professor at the University of Rabat so thank you for being with us Dr. Tatu and given the the level of anger at Israel across the Arab and Muslim world right now can you tell me are Morocco's Jews safe? Of course they are safe they have been safe for 2,500 years they are Moroccans before they are Jews and they have been protected by their Muslim brothers for 2,500 years and during the second world war the Vichy government tried to put pressure on the Moroccan king Mohammed 5th to put them in a concentration camps and the Moroccan king then said they are Moroccans so we have to put all the Moroccans on the concentration camps so they are very safe there might be support for the war for the Palestinian cause but that doesn't mean that the Moroccan Jews are in any danger at any time. Well as the king made any comments about the conflict so far not so far but the Moroccan government I've heard this morning that he is trying to negotiate settlement or kind of peace settlement between the two sides but this is obviously not being made official but the Moroccan play a major role in this war which we all hope it will come to an end at some point and which we all hope it will lead to some sort of settlement to some sort for the two people for the Palestinians and for the Israelis and security for everyone bearing in mind that what's happening with the civilians being killed on both sides is real human catastrophe it's a really human drama so I've heard there are attempts to do something. And of course Mohammed you and I have spoken many many times in the past haven't we about the phenomenal cooperation between Israel and Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords in is that cooperation do you think potentially going to be damaged by the war that's going on especially if the war drags on for a long time? No I don't think so I think the cooperation the friendship is a long term thing it's going to continue there might be moments of pose this is a moment of pose the Israeli diplomats have left the country like they did Middle Eastern countries but this is a pose this is a pose and I think things will continue in a different way in a different there will be a different momentum but I think peace and alliance between the two countries is very strong and very reliable. Thank you very much indeed Professor You are most welcome stay safe. Thank you, thank you Mohammed the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has said in the last few minutes that he's dealing with some kind of hold up when it comes to the aid deliveries via the Egyptian controlled Rafa crossing with Gaza it is supposed to be opened within a day or two to allow in limited humanitarian aid that's food, water and medicine Israel has said that it opposes any fuel deliveries for fear that it will help fuel the Hamas war machine hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians have moved south away from the fighting the UN secretary general himself is there and he has been holding meetings with Egyptian officials as well let's take a quick listen to what he had to say No solution is possible without the creation of independent Palestine state side by side with Israel with mutual security guaranteed and in line with the international resolutions and in line with the agreements that were established between the two parties alright so that's the situation at the Rafa crossing no aid deliveries as yet supposed to happen in a day or two well joining me now Mark Regev is the senior advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thank you for being with us Mark my pleasure first of all let's start with the war against Hamas should Israelis feel reassured at this point by the way the war is progressing so the heavy fighting is still ahead of us we should have no illusions a ground offensive will be difficult we're up against a barbaric enemy we saw his barbarism very openly on the morning of 7th of October he is fighting on his own territory he has bunkers he has all sorts of defenses we will win but we have to understand that we shouldn't underestimate the way that they are prepared for us now we will surprise them we will hit them hard and we'll win this but I think anyone who's been speaking to the soldiers who are going into battle soon knows they are brave they know why they're fighting and they know the enemy what they're up against they could be difficult fighting but we will win and every soldier going into battle knows the importance of this battle we are going to free Israel from Hamas we refuse to live in the immediate proximity next to this terrorist enclave that can inflict the sort of attack that they have the sort of brutal massacres that they've committed and when this is over the Hamas military machine will have been destroyed and the radical structure in Gaza will have been dismantled there will be a new Gaza when this is over that will be good for Israelis will be freed from this terrorist threat and it will be good also for the people of Gaza who hopefully will get a leadership that is a little more responsible and it is helpful and reassuring for Israelis that they have had iron clad military and moral support from western governments isn't it Mark the western media however has been far less sympathetic to Israel including spreading the falsehood that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night that was swiftly debunked by numerous evidential sources but do you think that the pressure on Israel to avoid any kind of civilian casualties which is impossible for any army will affect operations is weakening Israel in some way so first of all I'll deal with the first part of your question support from the international community has been almost unprecedented the Americans have been amazing President Biden again last night in his remarks strong unequivocal support for Israel's right to defend itself and it's not just the words it's diplomatic support of the United Nations and very tangible militia support whether it's moving the two American aircraft carrier groups to the region as to show you know that they are serious and whether it's the munitions that they are supplying us with as President Biden says to give us the tools that we need to do the job American support as I said has been amazing at the same time we had yesterday the British Prime Minister here Rishi Sunak before that we had the German Chancellor we're expecting other European leaders next week there really has been very very very strong support but your question also raised the question about the Western media which has been how do I say it they have been not so unequivocal in support of Israel maybe they would say that that's not their job to be but I would urge all journalists especially after we learn from that incident with the with the death of the hospital don't believe Hamas propaganda look Hamas brutally kills people we saw that on October 7th they have no trouble in killing the truth Hamas too and all those press releases coming out of Gaza all that information is coming from a Hamas control government you know they quote the Ministry of Health in Gaza that's a Hamas controlled Ministry of Health all the information about the attack on the hospital Hamas provided that information there is no independent civil society inside Gaza Hamas has stamped that out since they've taken control there 16 years ago it's going to be skeptical about the information coming out of Gaza if you listen to their press releases those you know coming out of let's say the Hamas control Ministry of Health we've only killed civilians we haven't hit and killed a single Hamas terrorist it's obviously not not feasible not rational and people once again I think it's incumbent on every person to take any information coming out of Gaza with a grain of salt quite and I've noticed several Hamas now saying Hamas controlled health authorities so there has been a slight change in the line listen Mark I know it's far too soon to talk about politics at all but I just want to ask you there's been an incident of red paint thrown at the Likud ruling party headquarters in Tel Aviv pictures of the hostages put up clearly there's a lot of public anger hurt and anger a large number of Israelis don't have faith in the current prime minister as a person to be the commander in chief right now there's a time for politics and there's a time for unity and we're at a time for unity now the terrorists who entered Israel on sat day morning two weeks ago now they didn't care how we voted they went into Kibbutzim which are associated with the left and they went into Sterot which is seen as a Likud stronghold they didn't ask are you a dove or a hawk if you're religious or secular they murdered everyone they found they butchered everyone they found and I think we have to as a people unite as we have united clearly Mark clearly Mark but the man who was this happened on his watch is he the right person to be leading the fight back or should he apologize he hasn't apologized unlike his defense minister and other officials should he apologize should he step aside and allow a unity government to take over well we've already gotten more of a unity government since the coalition expanded and we've got the new senior war cabinet as you know which contains people who are until very recently in the opposition and so I think what we're doing is we're uniting as a country we'll win this war we didn't want this war we didn't start this war but we'll win it and we'll do so on our terms and when it's over I'm sure there'll be enough time for politics sure I want to ask you about Rafa crossing if you would it's supposed to open in the next day or two to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza is there any way Israel can stop that getting into the hands of Hamas that's one of the major problems and it's not just Israel that points to that problem it's the United States has done so too President Biden spoke publicly about that issue that he said if Hamas steals the aid then there'll be a whole problem with the delivery of aid and it's not a theoretical question it's a very practical question because we know a few days ago a number of tankers entered Gaza with fuel for the generators specifically it was supposed to go to the hospitals whether so they could generate electricity so the hospitals continue to function and we know for a fact that Hamas stole fuel from the UN facility that was storing it and so if we're just going to be giving supplies to Gaza and it's going to be taken by Hamas for its military terrorist machine that's unacceptable and there have to be safeguards in place it's also not just Israel's problem the whole international community people are donating for the people of Gaza for the civilian population of Gaza Israel has no problem with that whatsoever on the contrary we're happy to be part of a process that helps to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians but no one should be in a situation where we say aid that's being given goes to Hamas that's terrible that shouldn't happen and if it does the whole aid issue is in question all right Mark we'll give senior advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu thank you very much indeed my pleasure and in the last few minutes the Defence Minister Joav Galant has said that once Hamas is vanquished Israel will be seeking a new security regime in Gaza this is air strikes continue in Gaza the no signers yet of a ground offensive though Israeli leaders have said that is imminent and all eyes very much on the north of Israel as well which is dealing with potential terrorist infiltrations to separate incidents which the IDF has responded to with both drones and gunfire we'll keep you updated here on I-24 news do stay tuned Israel murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 I-24 news particular project a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year we've come out here to claim for the rain at this moment global warming is affecting Bolivia not only Bolivia but the whole world and we need rain for the embryos we need to reserve we have the right ingredients and we have to do the job and that if we have the right ingredients and we do the job that the Vakita can be protected official dresser of I-24 news good evening ladies and gentlemen I-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas we're going to start with the situation in the north where Israel is on high alert amid fears Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization is preparing to join the fight the IDF says its troops came under fire near the northern town Al-Galiot which is on the Lebanese border troops returned fire and are still scanning the area for suspects who may have infiltrated into Israeli territory the town of Kiryat Shmona which has a population of some 20,000 people has been evacuated our correspondent, Hamda Salhoutz at the border will be with her in just a few minutes for the very latest but meanwhile here in Israel four Ghazan residents have been arrested they were caught hiding in an apartment in the southern city of Beersheva police say they don't know if the four were already in Israel when the war began or if they came over on October 7th when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages there we can see the pictures now from Beersheva that was early this morning four Ghazan residents were here illegally in Israel they were found hiding in an apartment in Beersheva, they've now been arrested well there have been more arrests in the west bank an 18 year old from Ramallah who was also in Israel illegally and who is accused of planning to ram soldiers with a stolen car has been arrested more than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7th well here to talk about all of that our senior correspondent Guy Azriel is with us in the studio Guy let's start with the situation then in the north in Magaliot suspected infiltrators potentially still at large right and we are getting information from the IDF spokesman just a moment ago about a strike of an Israeli drone on a terrorist squad from Hezbollah has been taken down by that aerial vehicle of the IDF in addition to that IDF troops fired towards militants on the Lebanese border so obviously a very hot border there a very hot arena the IDF attempts to maintain the safety on those border communities as we already know residents have been instructed to leave the area it's a closed military zone for quite a few kilometers from the Lebanese border in fear of infiltrations like the one that we saw earlier today we know at least one Israeli that was wounded as a result of shots that were fired at him still unclear whether that was an infiltration from Lebanon as was initially thought in any case an IDF drone shoots down a squad it is still not given the information they still suspected infiltrators we did not hear any announcement to the residents that they can come out so for now we will assume they are still examining whether there are any more terrorists in Israeli territory as we saw in the case of these communities on the Gaza border this is very complicated when you have terrorists infiltrating residential areas perhaps taking over communities as we saw taking over homes for sure this is a very different scenario because we are talking about two terrorists that have infiltrated that was the big fear earlier on there were reports of potentially hang gliders or enemy aircraft coming over the border from the north when the country was still reeling from the attack on the south we are talking about something very different much smaller obviously the IDF was caught on guard on that Saturday two weeks ago completely different situation in terms of the IDF forces on the ground both on and in the northern front nonetheless there are instances as we see where terrorists attempt to infiltrate Israel attempting to infiltrate Israeli communities I'm sure that bitter lesson that Israel has suffered on Saturday has also given motivation to other terrorists to attempt this sort of our deals these sort of onslaughts on Israeli civilians the IDF is there to protect them and for now the residents are asked to still remain locked up until the areas is clear of terrorists for sure and of course let's not forget the United States is here it wasn't here two weeks ago they've sent the world's largest aircraft carrier they have warned Hezbollah explicitly don't try to take advantage of the situation but behind the scenes it looks as though they've been putting pressure on the Israelis not to strike preemptively look the Americans obviously are very aware of what's happening here and more than that the possible consequences of an escalation that could drift the entire Middle East really into chaos not just Israel and the Palestinians and Hamas and Gaza not just Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon but perhaps even a wider escalation that would draw in Iranian proxies from Syria and what we reported here on i24 news just last night those launches out of Yemen by Houthis there allegedly towards Israeli territory both drones yes both drones and ballistic missiles fired over the US forces there intercepted both by the Americans and at least one of the interceptions by the Saudis some of those interceptions by electronic warfare no injuries no casualties in this case but a very clear reminder for Israel about the potential threats and risks of other proxies of Iran in the region that could use the opportunity to attack Israel yeah full house Hamas Hezbollah and the Houthis that's the worst case scenario for sure and that is why the Americans are here both in terms of rhetoric and with actions on the ground ready to assist Israel if it needs and the IDF spokesman of course pointing out today that Israel has some of the best missile defense systems in the world take pause Guy thank you let's go to the southern border now our correspondent Pierce Deckelback filed this report a short while ago with updates from the border with Gaza everything is pointing at the announced ground invasion into Gaza to begin as soon Israeli defense minister Joav Galan yesterday said to soldiers at a base here at the Gaza border that they will soon see the strip from the inside throughout the night here the Gaza strip has continuously been targeted and number of Hamas targets were hit according to the Israeli military but according to reports from Gaza a Greek Orthodox Christian church was struck as well saying to Porphyos one of the oldest churches in the world those inside were Muslims and Christians reportedly seeking shelter inside as it was considered a relatively safe place their casualties as the debris is still being cleaned up and this comes as the humanitarian crisis intensifies for the civilian population for 2 million people in Gaza and a 14 of the war humanitarian aid still has not come through the border civilians are desperately awaiting water food medicine and fuel but in negotiations that U.S. President Joe Biden let with Egypt and Israel both agreed to let 20 trucks with aid from the Sinai Peninsula through the Rafah crossing into Gaza where every footage from the crossing suggesting that about 200 trucks are lined up there and experts say that in fact hundreds of trucks are needed to enter the strip every day to attend to the basic needs of the civilian population there now when the crossing will be opening trucks is not clear yet is it it is expected for today or tomorrow Israel too said that first of all they want to see that these goods do not fall into the hands of Hamas but get to the civilian population really Israel for now to opposes fuel deliveries as it fears fuel would be used to foster Hamas infrastructure in the strip the World Health Organization says that fuel is desperately needed though to run the generators for the hospitals desalination plans and also ambulances and warnings have been issued by humanitarian organizations and hospitals that they might not be able to operate and care for the thousands of injured anymore as soon in Israel the sentiment is that big parts of the public and parts of the Israeli security establishment are against letting aid into Gaza as long as Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages it is sold in the enclave Hamas is believed to be holding at least 203 hostages according Hamas has put the number even higher and the looming ground offensive that is clear to everyone here might as well further endanger the lives of the hostages in a Gaza but preparations for that are continuing here and Israeli officials are saying that it will be long and intense this is Piaz Stekelbach reporting from Stirod for I-24 news Piaz Stekelbach well let's go to the north our correspondent Hamda Stalhouti is close to the border with Lebanon Hamda so two separate incidents today involving potential infiltrators is that right that's right Laura the Israeli military releasing a statement just a short while ago saying that the Israeli military attack to sell of Hezbollah just a short while ago three people were identified approaching the fence along the Lebanese border and an Israeli military aircraft operating in the area targeted them we've been seeing helicopters flying overhead for some time the military saying that in addition snipers shot at armed men who were also in the area so the Israeli military on high alert for all sorts of things all sorts of activity you can see actually these patchy helicopters here they've been flying in the distance along Lebanese territory in pairs for some time to kind of survey the area and perhaps these are some of the aircrafts that we're assisting in the targeting of the Hezbollah cells along the border the Israeli military has been clear that it will not allow anyone to enter and it will not allow any of the violence and military activity to fall through into civilian areas which is why they've been evacuating much of the civilian population here the the communities up to five kilometers from the border all evacuated the the latest community there could he at Shmone home to around 20,000 people has been evacuated as per request by both the Israeli military and the defense ministry so on high alert here at the northern border continuous escalations of the last 24 hours have been heating up as this conflict seems to be expanding Laura and Hamdah I mean Israel is of course still reeling from the mass infiltration by Hamas terrorists nearly two weeks ago a very different terrain isn't it in the south of Israel to where you are now as we can see behind you it is mountainous you know rocky a very different situation just talk us through how you know that affects the situation when it comes to info potential infiltrators look when it comes to people coming through the fence it's incredibly difficult to scan the area you've got mountainous roads you've got forests you've got a lot of places where people could hide so the Israeli military's first action here would be to identify how many people if possible we do not his but has been targeting military surveillance post to impede the Israeli military's efforts to try and scan the area so a lot of the searches and scans are happening on foot they're also happening from an aerial view to get a better a bird's eye view if you will on the situation so the Israeli military is doing its best to secure the border but look there are places where people are coming through there coming here and there are gun battles that have been going on we heard some in the distance as well so the Israeli military is doing everything it can to try and scan the area advising to be clear from home front command Laura Hamza thank you very much Hamza there is at Israel's northern border while the reverberations of the war here and the false accusation that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza are being felt across the world there have been massive spikes in anti-semitic attacks in Tunisia this week hundreds of people were filmed setting fire to an historic synagogue in the city of Alhamma and police did not intervene while Morocco was in a large Jewish community here to talk about that Dr. Mohamed Statou political analysts and senior professor at the University of Rabat thank you for being with us Dr. Statou given the level of anger at Israel across the Arab and Muslim world right now can you tell me are Morocco's Jews safe? Of course they are safe they have been safe for 2500 years Moroccans before they are Jews and they have been protected by their Muslim brothers for 2500 years and during the second world war the Vichy government tried to put pressure on the Moroccan king Mohamed 5th to put them in a concentration camps and the Moroccan king then said they are Moroccans so we have to put all the Moroccans on the concentration camps so they are very safe there might be support for the war for the Palestinian cause but that doesn't mean that the Moroccan Jews are in any danger at any time Well has the king made any comments about the conflict so far? Not so far but the Moroccan government have heard this morning that he is trying to negotiate settlement or kind of peace settlement between the two sides but this is obviously not being made official but the Morocco can play a major role in this war which we all hope it will come to an end at some point and which we all hope it will lead to some sort of settlement for the two people Palestinians and for the Israelis and security for everyone bearing in mind that what's happening with civilians being killed on both sides is real human catastrophe it's a really human drama so I've heard there are attempts to do something And of course Mohamed you and I have spoken many many times in the past haven't we had any formal cooperation between Israel and Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords I mean is that cooperation do you think potentially going to be damaged by the war that's going on especially if the war drags on for a long time? No I don't think so I think the cooperation the friendship is a long term thing it's going to continue there might be moments of the Israeli diplomats have left the country like they did in all the Middle Eastern countries but this is a pose and I think things will continue in a different way in a different there will be a different momentum but I think peace and alliance between the two countries is very strong and very reliable Thank you very much indeed Professor You are most welcome Stay safe Thank you Well the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said in the last few minutes that he's dealing with some kind of hold up when it comes to the aid deliveries via the Egyptian controlled Rafa crossing with Gaza it is supposed to be opened within a day or two to allow in limited humanitarian aid that's food water and medicine Israel has said that it opposes any fuel deliveries for fear that it will help fuel the Hamas war machine hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians have moved south away from the fighting UN Secretary General himself is there and he has been holding meetings with Egyptian officials as well let's take a quick listen to what he had to say No solution is possible without the creation of the independent Palestine state side by side with Israel with mutual security guaranteed and in line with international resolutions and in line with the agreements that were established between the two parties Alright so that's the situation at the Rafa crossing no aid deliveries as yet supposed to happen in a day or two Well joining me now Mark Regev is the Senior Advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thank you for being with us Mark My pleasure First of all let's start with the war against Hamas Should Israelis feel reassured at this point by the way the war is progressing So the heavy fighting is still ahead of us we should have no illusions a grand offensive will be difficult we're up against a barbaric enemy we saw his barbarism very openly on the morning of the 7th of October he is fighting on his own territory he has bunkers he has all sorts of defences we will win but we have to understand we shouldn't underestimate the way that they are prepared for us now we will surprise them we will hit them hard and we'll win this but I think anyone who's been speaking to the soldiers who are going into battle soon knows they are brave they know why they're fighting and they know the enemy we're up against and they could be difficult fighting but we will win and every soldier going into battle knows the importance of this battle we are going to free Israel from Hamas we refuse to live in the immediate proximity next to this terrorist enclave that can inflict the sort of attack they have the sort of brutal massacres that they've committed and when this is over the Hamas military machine will have been destroyed and their political structure in Gaza will have been dismantled there will be a new Gaza when this is over that will be good for Israelis will be freed from this terrorist threat and it will be good also for the people of Gaza who hopefully will get a leadership that is a little more responsible and it is helpful and reassuring for Israelis that they have had iron clad military and moral support from western governments the western media however has been far less sympathetic to Israel including spreading the falsehood that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night that was swiftly debunked by numerous evidential sources but do you think that the pressure on Israel to avoid any kind of civilian casualties which is impossible for any army will affect operations in Israel in some way so first of all I'll deal with the first part of your question the support from the international community has been almost unprecedented the Americans have been amazing President Biden again last night in his remarks a strong unequivocal support for Israel's right to defend itself and it's not just the words it's diplomatic support of the United Nations and very tangible militia support whether it's moving around the region as to show that they are serious and whether it's the munitions that they are supplying us with as President Biden says to give us the tools that we need to do the job American support as I said has been amazing at the same time we had yesterday the British Prime Minister here Rishi Sunak before that we had the German Chancellor we're expecting other European leaders next week there really has been the question about the western media which has been how do I say it they have been not so unequivocal in support of Israel maybe they would say that that's not their job to be but I would urge all journalists especially after we learn from that incident with the death of the hospital don't believe Hamas's propaganda look Hamas brutally kills people we saw that on October 7th they have no trouble in killing the truth too and all those press releases coming out of Gaza all that information is coming from a Hamas controlled government they quote the Ministry of Health in Gaza that's a Hamas controlled Ministry of Health all the information about the attack on the hospital Hamas provided that information there is no independent civil society inside Hamas has stamped that out since they have taken control there 16 years ago you have to be skeptical about the information coming out of Gaza if you listen to their press releases those coming out of let's say the Hamas controlled Ministry of Health we've only killed civilians we haven't hit and killed a single Hamas terrorist it's obviously not feasible not rational and people once again I think it's incumbent on every person to take any information coming out of Gaza with a grain of salt quite and I've noticed several international news outlets now saying Hamas controlled health authorities so there has been a slight change in the line listen Mark I know it's far too soon to talk about politics at all but I just want to ask you there's been an incident of red paint thrown at the liquid ruling party headquarters in Tel Aviv pictures of the hostages put up clearly there's a lot of public anger hurt and anger a number of Israelis don't have faith in the current prime minister is he the right person to be the commander in chief right now look there's a time for politics and there's a time for unity and we're at a time for unity now the terrorists who entered Israel on Saturday morning two weeks ago now they didn't care how we voted they went into Kibbutzim which are associated with the left and they went into Sterot which is seen as a liquid stronghold they didn't ask people are you a dove or a hawk if you're religious or secular they murdered everyone they found they butchered everyone they found and I think we have to as a people unite as we have united to fight this clearly Mark but the man who was this happened on his watch is he the right person to be leading the fight back or should he apologize and apologize unlike his defense minister and other officials should he apologize should he step aside and allow a unity government to take over well we've already gotten more of a unity government since the coalition expanded when we got the new senior war cabinet as you know which contains people who are until very recently in the opposition and so I think what we're doing is we're uniting as a country we'll win this war we didn't want this war we didn't start this war but we'll win it we'll do so on our terms and when it's over I'm sure there'll be enough time for politics sure I want to ask you about Rafa crossing if you would it's supposed to open in the next day or two to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza is there any way Israel can stop that getting into the hands of Hamas that's one of the major problems and it's not just Israel that points to that problem it's the United States has done so too that he said if Hamas steals the aid then there'll be a whole problem with the delivery of aid and it's not a theoretical question it's a very practical question because we know a few days ago a number of tankers entered Gaza with fuel for the generators specifically it was supposed to go to the hospitals whether so they could generate electricity so the hospitals continued to function and we know for a fact that Hamas stole fuel from the UN facility that was storing it and so if we're just going to be giving supplies to Gaza and it's going to be taken by Hamas for its military terrorist machine that's unacceptable and there have to be safeguards in place it's also not just Israel's problem the whole international community people are donating for the people of Gaza for the civilian population of Gaza Israel has no problem with that whatsoever on the contrary we're happy to be part of a process the suffering of innocent civilians but no one should countenance, no one should be in a situation where we say aid that's being given goes to Hamas that's terrible, that shouldn't happen and if it does the whole aid issue is in question Alright, Mark Regev senior advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu, thank you very much indeed My pleasure And in the last few minutes the Defence Minister Yoav Galant has said that once Hamas is vanquished, Israel will be seeking a new security regime in Gaza, this is air strikes continue in Gaza no sign as yet of a ground offensive though Israeli leaders have said that is imminent and all eyes very much on the north of Israel as well which is dealing with potential terrorist infiltrations to separate incidents which the IDF has responded to with both drones and gunfire we'll keep you updated here on I-24 news stay tuned 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 the inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 news 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 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 I-24 news coming to you live this hour from Tel Aviv it is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas in the last hour rockets have been fired in the direction of Jerusalem around the Judean mountains south of the city of Maudine in the north Israel remains on high alert amid fears the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah is preparing to join the fight the IDF says troops came under fire near the northern town of Margaleot Hamda needs border meanwhile the town of Kiryat Shmona also on the north has a population of some 20,000 people it is in the process of being evacuated right now our correspondent Hamda Salhout is at the border with Lebanon she joins us now Hamda a lot of developments this morning kind of give us a sense of what's been going on developments in the last 24 hours actually when it comes to the exchanges of fire along the border between Israel and Lebanon today the Israeli military saying from UAV they were able to find Hezbollah's cell and take it out there also now fears of more infiltrations after that one infiltration in the city just outside of Kiryat Shmona that sits along the border with Lebanon the Israeli military is flying helicopters in the area surveilling the perimeter trying to find the people who came through the fence gunfights heard in the distance the Israeli military and home front all people to shelter indoors remain indoors yesterday we saw some 20 rockets launched from southern Lebanon the Israeli military intercepting a lot of those rockets some falling into open areas but one of them actually making a direct hit in that city of Kiryat Shmona which has now been evacuated there was a direct hit there three people were injured a building sustaining some damage there these really military trying to minimize any sort of civilian casualties really trying to just get everybody out move them into state funded guest houses as they continue to operate along the northern border with heavy reinforcements and heavy army presence Laura so Handa as you point out these were Hezbollah terrorists who were identified and eliminated earlier but there are multiple groups aren't they operating across the border in Lebanon just give us an idea though there are two separate concerns the concerns about the fighters and the infiltrators and also about the missiles that's correct Hezbollah has an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of weapons they are extremely sophisticated and advanced these are not the same type of weaponry we see coming out of the Gaza strip that are manufactured with things you can find to build your house with these are sophisticated materials built for war they are extremely lethal the Israeli military perhaps has some intelligence on those capabilities but we don't really know exactly how much is in their arsenal what their longer range more ballistic missiles are like in June they did a military showcase for the media which they were also showing new technologies hand held guns that could take down drones that could take down other aircraft so the Israeli military is extremely concerned about this as is the United States but there are also other groups operating out of southern Lebanon the Palestinian factions who are there in the Ain al-Hilwa camp and other surrounding refugee camps they've been eager to join the fight for two weeks now but Hezbollah they're asking of them to take the lead because they're not only in charge so to speak of what comes in and out of their territory but also these factions know about Hezbollah's weapons capabilities and that the destruction and the damage that could be done in Israeli territory would be much larger scale it would be more deadly and it would be much much greater Laura. Alright Hamda thank you very much Hamda Sa'kut there is that Israel's border with Lebanon well here in Israel for guards and residents were arrested earlier after they were caught hiding in an apartment in the southern city of Bersheva police have still not revealed whether they were already in Israel when the war began and were trapped or if they came over on October 7th when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages and there have been more arrests in the west bank as well an 18 year old man from Ramallah was in Israel illegally and he was accused of planning to ramp soldiers with a stolen car more than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7th well let me introduce my guest Guy Azrael is our senior editor we're also joined by Dr. David Shmoni the commander for Israel's security thank you to both so we are dealing with multiple threats obviously we've got the war going on in the south against Hamas we've got potential infiltrators in the north we've got the potential for terrorism from the west bank kind of give us an idea of where we are on this day 14 well as you said for the time being all the attention all the action is in the south our southern command is dealing with it lots of attacks by rockets all over Israel you've been aware of that and for the time being things are simmering in the west bank and in the north no major clashes yet but there's a real danger that things will erupt both in the north and in the west bank so we're trying to the state of Israel is trying to control things to limit this action which front concerns you the most at this point I think the more dangerous and immediate threat is from the north the destruction capabilities of Hezbollah is enormous you mentioned before and you've corresponded mentioned two kinds of danger one is the ground forces the Radwan forces very well trained troops very well equipped and with the mission of taking over areas in the north of Israel settlements, army bases et cetera so what actually happened to us on October 7th in the south there's a big force that's trying to do the same in the north second the Israel was very much caught off guard on October 7th that's not the situation now we also heard the idea of spokesman earlier Daniel Hageri pointing out that Israel has some of the best missile in the world, surely these are factors to take into account definitely I think Israel now is much better prepared to absorb something happening in the north I would say that I think we wouldn't want the war to expand now to the north we have all our attention on the south but things can go wrong in the north and okay okay sorry finish up I said the first danger we're talking about from the north is the ground forces the missiles and the third is the precise missiles okay well let's hold that thought thank you Dr. Shimani I want to bring in Major Libby spokesperson for the idea thank you very much indeed for being with us first of all can I ask you about the threat from the north there is a fear about well trained well armed hezbollah fighters coming across the border in the north while the idea forces are deployed and occupied in the south can you just give us an idea of the level of the threat at this point of course well I should say that the idea at this stage right now is monitoring all of our borders of course we are looking at the situation very very closely monitoring that and we're sending a very very clear message and we're sending it obviously to the terror organizations to hezbollah to other terror organizations that are operating but also sending a message to Lebanon to ask if it is worth it for them to get involved in this and to suffer the consequences of that kind of involvement and of course we're sending a message that they absolutely should not do it and they should think twice about doing that and of course we are monitoring the situation closely and we'll be prepared to deal with whatever situation unfolds can I ask you about the operation in Gaza then should Israelis be reassured about how the campaign to eliminate Hamas is on this day 14 absolutely we are making significant progress as we continue to strike Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip we are attacking naval commandos other people from their forces we are operating of course around the clock to make sure that Hamas won't have the terror capacity or the administrative capacity to ever do what we saw on October 7th do you have an idea of how many senior commanders have been taken out at this point I don't have a specific number for you I can say that we have struck more than 800 Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip and of course we will keep doing that until we are confident that they no longer have the capacity to continue reigning terror against us and of course the defense minister and the prime minister both said yesterday that a ground invasion was imminent nobody outside the armed forces knows what happened but are there any risks associated with delaying a ground offensive for too long well of course the decision to initiate a ground offensive is something that the government would have to make at this stage we are in preparation we are finalizing operational plans and training and awaiting the decision of the government and I trust that they are considering all of the relevant factors and we await to hear their their decision another delivery of US military aid heading into Israel today I think this is the 45th aid delivery so far how is that helping Israel's war effort well we have very very close communication with our allies of course the United States as a central ally the lines of communication are open that communication is taking place at all times and of course I think it sends a very very strong message to the rest of the region around our focus on the goal and I think it sends a strong message that no country on earth wants what happened what happened here on October 7th is to happen anywhere else and we don't want to set that as some sort of norm that any country would accept Major Libby we appreciate it thank you very much indeed thank you well our senior editor Guy Asriel is with me in the studio and Guy on Israel's military strategy the defense minister Joab Galant has outlined a strategy to put it earlier for Gaunter yes before we get to that some more developments in the northern front we are hearing of anti-tank missiles fired towards Israeli troops in Mandov we know the IDF is responding with artillery fired towards the source of that fire obviously those anti-tank missiles very dangerous so that would be Hezbollah not Palestinian groups very dangerous for IDF troops because these are both very accurate and very deadly this unlike rockets which are more long range which you have a siren you can protect yourself from there's no such case when it comes to these cornet style missiles on that front so sitting targets when you see these IDF troops there on the border with these anti-tank missiles that is something the IDF will have to address because this cannot carry on for too long the US has reportedly behind the scenes asked Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah obviously the US is worried about a greater escalation that could draw the entire Middle East into a wider escalation we're talking about Hezbollah and Lebanon and perhaps others like Iranian proxies in Syria and we saw what we reported here on I-24 news yesterday firing by the Houthis out of Yemen both drones and ballistic missiles but as for Defense Minister Yav Ghan well today at the start of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting he brought together the stages that how he sees just to point out we are looking at live images coming from the border with Lebanon right now changes so far that continue there he presented his plan for the rest of the campaign eliminating of course Hamas's military capabilities and also political control over the Gaza Strip and removing all Israeli control over Gaza and eventually creating a new security regime will be very interesting to see once we get to that stage and that's going to take a very long time how would that look like what sort of defenses would Israel be able to offer its citizens on the border obviously a situation in which an armed terror group like Hamas sits on the border will not be accepted by Israeli civilians anymore Dr. Shimani perhaps you could weigh in on that we are in the middle of the war right now and the campaign is to destroy Hamas but inevitably thoughts will turn to what Gaza is going to look like after this because there are two million Palestinian Gazans living in Gaza what is it going to work living so closely to Israelis I think we are missing another point which is the Israeli hostages which is an urgent mission of the state of the military of the political level to take care of that before anything else I believe there is no intention to control Gaza long term to start to establish our education system in Gaza any territory that will be occupied by the IDF will be occupied for military reasons only or should be occupied for military reasons only to take control of areas to search and destroy Hamas elements that are still scattered around there but I don't think that Israel is going to establish a permanent presence in Gaza again and hopefully Prime Minister Ali Cohen say something about Gaza will be a lot smaller after this war there is talk now that we are going to split Gaza into two or three sections especially the northern part of Gaza with the city of Gaza which is now evacuated by most civilians in order to enable a military operation as part of an international coalition or would that be Israel doing it on its own I think for the time being it is only Israel is on its own in the south and most of the intervention or optional intervention of American forces is aimed at the north not in Gaza You think that the focus is very much on the north Yes to deter Well let's talk about deterrence and the efforts of Iran to kind of drag the United States into this of course US Navy shot down three intercepts of three missiles Iranian backed Husky Rebels in Yemen reportedly were aimed at Israel I mean yet another potential front opening up For the time being the Iranians avoided direct contact they use proxies, they use Hezbollah, they use Hamas they use their elements they have in Syria and now from Yemen but they did not yet do anything directly they have ballistic capabilities and cruise missiles very attention to what we're looking at right now sorry to interrupt you Dr. Shimoni we're looking at live pictures coming to us now from the West Bank I'm not sure where exactly in the West Bank that is it's in Ramallah it looks as though people are being taken away in an ambulance Palestinian ambulance fires burning angry protests this is another front to keep an eye on isn't it Dr. Shimoni 500 arrests so far presumably the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in a pretty precarious situation right now as well Yeah Again the situation now proposes an option for him to do something big to unite the Palestinians again to take over maybe to take control of Gaza I hope he'll be strong enough to do it I think now after the war is over or even within the war we will should try to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority really given the level of the level of his unpopularity in the West Bank and he is what is the 86 years old I think yeah he's an old man he's not popular he's very much tainted by corruption is this really the person who's going to move forward with the not to mention the criticism in Israel about Abbas you know we often like I think in the media and in the public to separate between Hamas this Middle Tentera group and the rest of the Palestinian people well first of all Hamas is the most popular movement on the Palestinian street both in Gaza and in the West Bank. In the West Bank it's the most popular well there are no elections in the West Bank for how many years now but Pauling suggests that Hamas is more popular than the PA in the West Bank. Well the main reason why Abbas is still in power is because Israel is the one that enables him to remain in power obviously the security coordination is vital in Abbas is a safety that's part of the very complicated relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Fatah and it should be also noted that that same Palestinian Authority is paying millions to families of Hamas terrorists. Okay but if we're looking at sorry guys we're looking at like this right now if Abbas was gone there would be a power vacuum which would be filled by whom? Obviously Hamas would be the first to jump on board and that is you know the other ticking bomb for Israel you know for so many months now we've been sitting in studios here speaking about the threat of the West Bank while Gaza is at bay and Hamas is deterred well all these threats have proven to be been turned on their head haven't they we did see we saw raids didn't we sometimes almost weekly in Nablus in Jenin in these kind of hotbeds of terror where the IDF forces went in and they confiscated weapons thankfully they have these groups in the West Bank have not been able to build up the same kinds of weapons capabilities that Hamas managed to do over 17 years and we've seen an IDF an extensive group of people in the Jenin refugee camp so of course we're speaking about very different type of ammunition they don't have the rockets threats but nonetheless well trained yes having some sort of weapons because we've seen these terror attacks across the West Bank for such a long time that is still a risk and I can remind our viewers that what transpired on the communities on the southern West Bank has infiltrated communities with weapons with guns with grenades these are sort of weapons that Islamic jihad and Hamas do possess in the West Bank so that is certainly a threat that still exists but not in such large capacity obviously very different as the IDF is involved there on a daily basis both arresting and sometimes taking down terror operatives in the West Bank all right okay well meanwhile the United Nations says we have seen so many trucks loaded with water with fuel with medicines with food exactly the same thing that I needed on the West Bank I'm going to tell you I'm going to tell you I'm going to tell you I'm going to tell you I'm going to tell you I'm seeing that I need it on this side of the wall so these trucks are not just trucks they are a life line They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza we've got the prospect of a humanitarian aid going into Gaza in the next couple of days I mean that that is always that was always going inevitable, wasn't it? It has to go to the civilians in Gaza. Israel cannot maintain a situation where no aid at all is going in. I think Israel shouldn't. I think Israel should adhere to modern humanistic approaches. We're not trying to kill the entire two million Gazans, especially not civilians. We're in a military operation against the Hamas military abilities. And I think it is wrong to demand a way of revenge against the Palestinian population, the civilian population in Gaza. We should enable them to have food, medicine, water out of the area that we wanted to evacuate. In the north, people should be encouraged to go south because in the south they can get relief, can get supplies, can get medicine. But I don't think we have to damage, cause inflict more damage on the population there. Okay, thank you Dr. Shrini. Well, it has been said that Israel is the only country on earth where more people fly in during a war than fly out. Well, two of those people are with me now, Kenny Bendick and Aliza Rimon, husband and wife who made Aliyah yesterday from the United States. Can I just say first of all, welcome home. Thank you so much. Thank you. So happy to be here. Great to have you. Well, can I ask you, did anything over the past two weeks give you perhaps pause for thought about your life changing decision? Not at all. In fact, when we heard the war broke out, we wanted to come that day. There's no way we were going to delay this at all. We needed to be here. We want to be here as fast as possible. Well, I have to tell you, I've personally been moved to tears by so many tragic stories over the past two weeks, but your story is moving me to tears for a very different reason because you've come here in Israel's hour of need. You're standing by the country. You brought your children with you and you have a big family. We did not bring all of our children. Two of our children are too youngest are currently serving in the IDF. So they were already here as lone soldiers. Right, as well as soldiers. And they're in both an active combat units. Wow. So that's good for them to have you here as well. Why do you want to live in Israel? Why do you want to live in this country? I can tell you it's never boring. But tell us what brings you here? Well, this is it's a lifelong dream. I remember the first time I was here in 1977 and I as a on a youth trip. And from that moment on, this this is the place where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, took me that long to get here. But it's a lifelong dream that we're just so happy to realize that we believe that this is the place where all Jews to be from the Torah. And it is where we truly truly in our hearts and in our interest with our whole bodies, we feel at home. I can't imagine during this war, running away from it for from us. It's to me it would be similar to like one of your close relatives, your brother, your sister, your parents had a problem and you ran away to it rather than running running to it to help. And what are people in your old home saying? Were they were they shocked? Surprised? Did they try and change your mind? I don't think anyone was shocked knowing us. But yeah, no, right, exactly. But there are people who say you are delaying your trip, right? And we said, what are you talking about? Yeah, we can't we can't be there fast enough. Wow, incredible. And Medepli, how's your Hebrew? It's not. It's a work in progress, for sure. Right. So you'll be heading to the we'll definitely take advantage of the Opaan given to us. I could tell you it's it's it's hard work. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it. And so you're going to bring the whole family over. This is it. Now this is home for you. Absolutely. This is it, right? Hopefully our other kids that aren't here will join us in the near future, we hope. And I'm wondering, I mean, was there a bit of a push behind this as well? Because we've seen, you know, a horrific spike in anti-Semitic attacks around the world. Do you think that, you know, Jews might sound paradoxical, but Jews are actually safer here than they are in other countries around the world. Well, I definitely think Jews are safer here than any place else in the world, regardless of the situation that's going on now. Personally, I don't think we felt personal antisemitism personally, although we do see a lot of it around. And but I would walk the streets here at night time and in where we come from an L.A., which is L.A. in California is kind of falling apart from top to bottom. Definitely would definitely feel safer here during war time, during peace time. Well, well, Kenny Annaliza guy helped me out here, Baruch Habaita. Baruch Himmabaim. Baruch Habaita. I'm still working on my way. Welcome, welcome to Israel. We're glad to have you with us and love the courage to your two children serving in the IDF as well. A happy story to Eddon. Kenny, Ben, you can at least read one brand new residence here in the state of Israel. Thank you. Shabbat shalom, shabbat shalom. All right, we're going to end on a positive note this hour. I think we all need it. All right, stay with us. More like coverage still to come here at night. For 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues. 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 I-24 News. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year. We've come here to claim for the rain. At this moment global warming is affecting Bolivia. And not only Bolivia, but all over the world. And we need rain for the embryos. The Fakita Reserve, we have to write ingredients and we have to do the job. And that if we have the right ingredients and we do the job, the Fakita can be protected. Watching I-24 News coming to you live this hour from Tel Aviv. It is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas. In the last hour, rockets have been fired in the direction of Jerusalem around the Judean mountains south of the city of Modin. In the north Israel remains on high alert amid fears the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah is preparing to join the fight. The IDF says troops came under fire near the northern town of Margaliot on the Lebanese border earlier. Meanwhile, the town of Kiryat Shmona, also on the north, has a population of some 20,000 people. It is in the process of being evacuated right now. Our correspondent Hamda Salhout is at the border with Lebanon. She joins us now. Hamda, a lot of developments this morning. Kind of give us a sense of what's been going on. The last 24 hours actually when it comes to the exchanges of fire along the border between Israel and Lebanon today. Within the last hour, the Israeli military saying from UAV they were able to find Hezbollah cell and take it out. There also now fears of more infiltrations after that one infiltration in the city just outside of Kiryat Shmona that sits along the border with Lebanon. With Lebanon, the Israeli military is flying helicopters in the area surveilling the perimeter trying to find the people who came through the fence. Gunfights heard in the distance. The Israeli military and home front command advising all people to shelter in doors, remain indoors. Yesterday we saw some 20 rockets launched from southern Lebanon. The Israeli military intercepting a lot of those rockets, some falling into open areas. But one of them actually making a direct hit in that city of Kiryat Shmona, which has now been evacuated. There was a direct hit there. Three people were injured. A building sustaining some damage there. These really military trying to minimize any sort of civilian casualties, damage to buildings as well. So they are really trying to just get everybody out, move them into state funded guest houses as they continue to operate along the northern border with heavy reinforcements and heavy army presence. So, Handa, as you point out, these were Hezbollah terrorists who were identified and eliminated earlier. But there are multiple groups, aren't they, operating across the border in Lebanon? Just give us an idea though of Hezbollah's capabilities because there are two separate concerns. Are there the concerns about the fighters and the infiltrators and also about the missiles? That's correct. Hezbollah has an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of weapons. They are extremely sophisticated and advanced. These are not the same type of weaponry we see coming out of the Gaza Strip that are manufactured with things you can find to build your house with. These are sophisticated materials built for war. They are extremely lethal. The Israeli military perhaps has some intelligence on those capabilities, but we don't really know exactly how much is in their arsenal, what their longer-range, more ballistic missiles are like. In June, they did a military showcase for the media, which they were also showing new technologies, hand-held guns that could take down drones that could take down other aircraft. So the Israeli military is extremely concerned about this, as is the United States. But there are also other groups operating out of southern Lebanon, specifically Palestinian factions, who are there in the Ain al-Hilwa camp and other surrounding refugee camps. They've been eager to join the fight for two weeks now. But Hezbollah, they're asking of them to take the lead because they're not only in charge, so to speak, of what comes in and out of their territory, but also these factions know about Hezbollah's weapons capabilities and that the destruction and the damage that could be done in Israeli territory would be much on a larger scale. It would be more deadly, and it would be much, much greater, Laura. All right, Hamza, thank you very much. Hamza Sakhut there. Is that Israel's border with Lebanon? Well, here in Israel, four guards and residents were arrested earlier after they were caught hiding in an apartment in the southern city of Belsheva. Police have still not revealed whether they were already in Israel when the war began and were trapped or if they came over on October 7th when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages. And there have been more arrests in the West Bank as well. An 18-year-old man from Ramallah was in Israel illegally, and he was accused of planning to ramp soldiers with a stolen car. More than 500 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7th. Well, let me introduce my guest, Guy Adriel. He's our senior editor. We're also joined by Dr. David Shimoni, the commander for Israel's security. Thank you to you both. So, we are dealing with multiple threats. Obviously, we've got the war going on in the south against Hamas. We've got potential infiltrators in the north. We've got the potential for terrorism from the West Bank. Kind of give us an idea of where we are on this day 14. Well, as you said, for the time being, all the tension or the action is in the south. Our southern command is dealing with it. Lots of attacks by rockets all over Israel. You've been aware of that. And for the time being, things are simmering in the West Bank and in the north. No major clashes yet, but there's a real danger that things will erupt, both in the north and in the West Bank. So, we're trying to – the State of Israel is trying to control things and to limit this action. Which front concerns you the most at this point? I think the more dangerous and immediate threat is from the north. The destruction capabilities of Hezbollah is enormous. You mentioned before and you've corresponded. You mentioned two kinds of danger. I'll add a third. One is the ground forces, the Red One forces. Very well trained troops, very well equipped. And with the mission of taking over areas in the north of Israel, settlements, army bases, et cetera. So, what actually happened to us on October 7th in the south, there's a big force that's trying to do the same in the north. Second – But you should point out Israel was very much caught off guard on October 7th. That's not the situation now. We also heard the IDF spokesman earlier, Daniel Hageri, pointing out that Israel has some of the best missile defense capabilities in the world. Surely these are factors to take into account? Definitely. I think Israel now is much better prepared to absorb something happening in the north. I would say that I think we wouldn't want the war to expand now to the north. We have all our attention on the south. But things can go wrong in the north. Okay. Okay. Yeah, sorry. Finish up. I said the first danger we're talking about from the north is the ground forces. The second is the missiles. And the third is the precise missiles. Okay. Well, let's hold that thought. Thank you, Dr. Shimani. I want to bring in Major Libby, spokesperson for the IDF. Thank you very much indeed for being with us. First of all, can I ask you about the threat from the north? There is a fear about well-trained, well-armed Hezbollah fighters coming across the border in the north, while the IDF forces are deployed and occupied in the south. Can you just give us an idea of the level of the threat at this point? Of course. Well, I should say that the IDF at this stage right now is monitoring all of our borders. Of course, we are looking at the situation very, very closely monitoring that. And we're sending a very, very clear message. And we're sending it obviously to the terror organizations, to Hezbollah, to other terror organizations that are operating. But also sending a message to Lebanon, which is to ask if it is worth it for them to get involved in this and to suffer the consequences of that kind of involvement. And of course, we're sending a message that they absolutely should not do it and they should think twice about doing that. And of course, we are monitoring the situation closely and we'll be prepared to deal with whatever situation unfolds. Can I ask you about the operation in Gaza then? Should Israelis be reassured about how the campaign to eliminate Hamas is on this day 14? Absolutely. We are making significant progress as we continue to strike Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. We are attacking naval commandos, other people from their forces. We are operating, of course, around the clock to make sure that Hamas won't have the terror capacity or the administrative capacity to ever do what we saw on October 7th. Do you have an idea of how many senior commanders have been taken out at this point? I don't have a specific number for you. I can say that we have struck more than 800 Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. And of course, we will keep doing that until we are confident that they no longer have the capacity to continue reigning terror against us. And of course, the Defense Minister and the Prime Minister both said yesterday that a ground invasion was imminent. Nobody outside the armed forces knows when that's going to happen. But are there any risks associated with delaying a ground offensive for too long? Well, of course, the decision to initiate a ground offensive is something that the government would have to make. At this stage, we are in preparation. We are finalizing operational plans and training and awaiting the decision of the government. And I trust that they are considering all of the relevant factors and we await to hear their decision. Another delivery of US military aid heading into Israel today. I think this is the 45th aid delivery so far. How is that helping Israel's war effort? Well, we have a very, very close communication with our allies. Of course, the United States as a central ally. The lines of communication are open. That communication is taking place at all times. And of course, I think it sends a very, very strong message to the rest of the region around our focus on the goal. And I think it sends a strong message that no country on Earth wants what happened here on October 7th to happen anywhere else. And we don't want to set that as some sort of norm that any country would accept. Major Libby, we appreciate it. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you. Well, our senior editor, Guy Azriel, is with me in the studio. And Guy, on Israel's military strategy, the Defense Minister, Joav Galant, has outlined a three-point plan, as you put it earlier, for God's sake. Yes, before we get to that, some more developments in the northern front. We are hearing of anti-tank missiles fired toward Israeli troops in Mount Dove. We know the IDF is responding with artillery fire towards the source of that fire. Probably those anti-tank missiles, very dangerous. So that would be his ball or not, Palestinian groups? You would assume so. Very dangerous Friday of troops, because these are both very accurate and very deadly. There's unlike rockets, which are more long range, which you have a siren you can protect yourself from. There's no such case when it comes to these cornet-style missiles on that front. So sitting targets, when you see these IDF troops there on the border with these anti-tank missiles, that is something the IDF will have to address, because this cannot carry on for too long. And a reminder the US has reportedly behind the scenes asked Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah? Obviously the US is worried about a greater escalation that could draw the entire Middle East into a wider escalation. We're talking about Hezbollah and Lebanon and perhaps others like Iranian proxies in Syria. And we saw what we reported here on I-24 News yesterday that firing by the Houthis out of Yemen, both drones and ballistic missiles. But as for Defence Minister Yav Galant, well, today at the start of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee meeting, he brought together the stages that how he sees. Just to point out, sorry Guy, just to point out, we are looking at live images coming from the border with Lebanon right now. Yeah, this is the exchange so far that continue there. He presented his plan for the rest of the campaign, eliminating of course Hamas's military capabilities and also political control over the Gaza Strip and removing all Israeli control over Gaza and eventually creating a new security regime. It will be very interesting to see once we get to that stage and that's going to take a very long time, how would that look like? What sort of defences would Israel be able to offer its citizens on the border, obviously a situation in which an armed terror group like Hamas sits on the border will not be accepted by Israeli civilians anymore? Dr. Shimani, perhaps you could weigh in on that. We are in the middle of the war right now and the campaign is to destroy Hamas, but inevitably thoughts will turn to what Gaza is going to look like after this because there are 2 million Palestinian Gazans living in Gaza. How is it going to work living so closely to Israelis? I think we're missing another point, which is the Israeli hostages, which is an urgent mission of the state, of the military, of the political level to take care of that before anything else. I believe there's no intention to control Gaza long-term to start to establish our education system and welfare system in Gaza. Any territory that will be occupied by the IDF will be occupied for military reasons only or should be occupied for military reasons only to take control of areas to search and destroy Hamas elements that are still scattered around there. But I don't think that Israel is going to establish a permanent presence in Gaza again. I heard the Foreign Minister Ali Cohen say something about Gaza will be a lot smaller after this war. There's talk now that we're going to split Gaza into two or three sections, especially the northern part of Gaza, with the city of Gaza, which is now evacuated by most civilians in order to enable military operation. As part of an international coalition, or would that be Israel doing it on its own? I think for the time being, it's only Israel. Israel is on its own in the south. I think most of the intervention or optional intervention of American forces is aimed at the north, not at Gaza. You think that the focus is very much on the north and should we mention that? Yes, to deter, to deter any... Well, let's talk about deterrence and the efforts of Iran to kind of drag the United States into this. Of course, U.S. Navy shot down three, intercepted three missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Husky rebels in Yemen reportedly were aimed at Israel. I mean, yet another potential front opening up. For the time being, the Iranians avoided direct contact, okay? They used proxies, they used Hezbollah, they used Hamas, they used their elements they have in Syria and now from Yemen, but they did not yet do anything directly. They have ballistic capabilities and cruise missiles. And look, if I could just draw your attention to what we're looking at right now. Sorry to interrupt you, Dr. Shimani. Sure. We're looking at live pictures coming to us now from the West Bank. I'm not sure where exactly in the West Bank that is. It's in Ramallah. It looks as though people are being taken away in an ambulance, a Palestinian ambulance, fires burning, angry protests. This is another front to keep an eye on, isn't it? Dr. Shimani, 500 arrests so far. Presumably the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, is in a pretty precarious situation right now as well. Yeah, again, the situation now proposes an option for him to do something big, to unite the Palestinians again, to take over, maybe to take control of Gaza. I hope he'll be strong enough to do it. I think now after the war is over or even within the war, we will, should, try to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Really given the level of his unpopularity in the West Bank, and he is, what, is he 86 years old, I think? Yeah. He's an old man. He's not popular. He's very much tainted by corruption. Is this really the person who's going to move forward with the Palestinian leadership? Not to mention the criticism in Israel about Abbas. You know, we often like, I think, in the media and in the public to separate between Hamas, this militant terror group and the rest of the Palestinian people. Well, first of all, Hamas is the most popular movement on the Palestinian street, both in Gaza and in the West Bank. And the West Bank is the most popular? Well, there are no elections in the West Bank for how many years now? But polling suggests that Hamas is more popular than the PA in the West Bank. Well, the main reason why Abbas is still in power is because Israel is the one that enables him to remain in power. Obviously, the security coordination is vital in Abbas's safety. That's part of the very complicated relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Fatah. And it should be also noted that the same Palestinian Authority is paying millions to families of Hamas terrorists. Okay, but if we're looking at, sorry guys, if we're looking at scenes like this right now, if Abbas was gone, there would be a power vacuum which would be filled by whom? Well, obviously, Hamas would be the first to jump on board and that is, you know, the other ticking bomb for Israel. You know, for so many months now, we've been sitting in studios here speaking about the threat of the West Bank while Gaza is at bay and Hamas is deterred. Well, all these concepts have proven to be completely failed. We saw raids, didn't we? Sometimes almost weekly in Nablus, in Jenin, in these kind of hotbeds of terror where the IDF forces went in and they confiscated weapons. Thankfully, these groups in the West Bank have not been able to build up the same kinds of weapons capabilities that Hamas managed to do over the seven years. And we've seen an IDF, an extensive IDF operation, for example, in the Jenin refugee camp. So, of course, we're speaking about a very different type of ammunition. They don't have the rockets threat, but nonetheless, well-trained, yes, having some sort of weapons because we've seen these terror attacks across the West Bank for such a long time. That is still a risk. And I can remind our viewers that what transpired on the communities on the southern border was terrorists who infiltrated communities with weapons, with guns, with grenades. These are sort of weapons that Islamic jihad and Hamas do possess in the West Bank. So that is certainly a threat that still exists. But not in such large capacity. Obviously, very different as the IDF is involved there on a daily basis, both arresting and sometimes taking down terror operatives in the West Bank. All right. Okay. Well, meanwhile, the United Nations says that the Egyptian-controlled Rafa crossing with Egypt will be opened within a day or two to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have moved south away from the fighting. The UN Secretary General is there, and he had this to say. We have seen so many trucks loaded with water. With fuel. With medicines. With food. Exactly the same thing that I needed on this side of the wall. So these trucks are not just trucks. They are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza. Dr. Shimane, we've got the prospect of humanitarian aid going into Gaza in the next couple of days. I mean, that is always going to be inevitable, wasn't it? Aid has to go to the civilians in Gaza. Israel cannot maintain a situation where no aid at all is going in. I think Israel shouldn't. I think Israel should adhere to modern humanistic approaches. We're not trying to kill the entire two million Gazans, especially not civilians. We're in a military operation against the Hamas military abilities. And I think it is wrong to demand a way of revenge against the Palestinian population, the civilian population in Gaza. We should enable them to have food, medicine, water out of the area that we want to evacuate in the north. People should be encouraged to go south because in the south they can get relief, can get supplies, can get medicine. But I don't think we have to cause and inflict more damage on the population there. Okay, thank you, Dr. Shrini. Well, it has been said that Israel is the only country on earth where more people fly in during the war than fly out. Well, two of those people are with me now. Kenny Bendick and Aliza Rimon, husband and wife who made Aliyah yesterday from the United States. And just say first of all, welcome home. Thank you so much. Thank you. So happy to be here. Great to have you. Well, can I ask you, did anything over the past two weeks give you perhaps a pause for thoughts about your life-changing decision? Not at all. In fact, when we heard the war broke out, we wanted to come that day. There's no way we were going to delay this at all. We needed to be here. We wanted to be here as fast as possible. Wow, I have to tell you, I've personally been moved to tears by so many tragic stories over the past two weeks, but your story is moving me to tears for a very different reason. Because you've come here, you know, in Israel's hour of need, you're standing by the country. You've brought your children with you and you have a big family. We did not bring all of our children. Two of our children, our two youngest, are currently serving in the IDF. So... Oh, they were already here as lone soldiers. Right, as lone soldiers. And they're in both active combat units. Wow. So that's good for them to have you here as well. Yeah. So tell me that. Why do you... Why do you want to live in Israel? Why do you want to live in this country? I can tell you it's never boring. But tell us, what brings you here? Well, this is a lifelong dream. I remember the first time I was here in 1977 and I was on a youth trip. And from that moment on, this is the place where I wanted to be. And fortunately, it took me that long to get here. But it's a lifelong dream that we're just so happy to realize that we believe that this is the place where all Jews should be from the Torah. And it is where we truly, truly in our hearts and just with our whole bodies, we feel at home. I can't imagine during this war running away from it from us. To me, it would be similar to one of your close relatives, your brother, your sister, your parents had a problem and you ran away to it rather than running to it to hell. What are people in your old home saying? Were they shocked, surprised? Did they try and change your mind? I don't think anyone was shocked knowing us. Yeah, no, you're right, exactly. But there are people who say, you are delaying your trip, right? And we said, what are you talking about? We can't be there fast enough. Wow, incredible. Medically, how's your Hebrew? Good thought. It's a work in progress for sure. So you'll be heading to the... We'll definitely take advantage of the opan. You'll be heading to the opan. I can tell you, it's hard work. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it. And so you're going to bring the whole family over. This is it. Now this is home for you. Absolutely. Yeah, this is it, right? There are other kids that aren't here will join us in the near future, we hope. And I'm wondering, I mean, was there a bit of a push behind this as well? Because we've seen, you know, a horrific spike in anti-Semitic attacks around the world. Do you think that, you know, Jews might sound paradoxical, but Jews are actually safer here than they are in other countries around the world. Well, I definitely think Jews are safer here than any place else in the world, regardless of the situation that's going on now. Personally, I don't think we felt personal anti-Semitism personally, although we do see a lot of it around. And, but I would walk the streets here at nighttime and where we come from in LA, which is LA and California is kind of falling apart from top to bottom. Definitely would definitely feel safer here during wartime, during peacetime. Wow. Well, can you analyze that guy to help me out here? Well, how I am? Sorry, I'm still working on my room. Welcome, welcome to Israel. We're glad to have you with us. And I'd love the courage to your two children serving in the IDF as well. Thank you. A happy story to Eddon. Katie Bendy, can I leave the room on? Brand-new residence here in the state of Israel. Thank you. Shabbat shalom, shabbat shalom. All right. We're going to end on a positive note this hour. I think we all need it, don't we? All right. Stay with us. More like coverage. I'm here at I-24D. 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 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. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year. We have come here to claim for the rain. In fact, at this moment, global warming is affecting Bolivia, and not only Bolivia, but all over the world. And we need rain for the embryos. The Vakita Reserve, we have to write ingredients and we have to do the job. And then if we have the right ingredients and we do the job, the Vakita can be protected. We've been watching I-24 news. We're coming to you live from Tel Aviv. It is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas. Rockets fired this lunchtime in the direction of Jerusalem, close to the city of Maudin, near the Judean mountains. And up in the north, Israel is on high alert amid fears Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon, is preparing to join the fight. The IDF says troops came under fire on the Lebanese border and the town of Kiryat Shmona, which has a population of some 20,000 people, has been evacuated. Well, let's go to the north now. Our correspondent, Robert Swift, is there and several incidents this morning involving infiltrators. Can you tell us what is the situation right now? Yeah, so there has been a series of security events here on the northern border, not at the pace that they occurred yesterday, but definitely happening at pace. Now, the most recent security incident to occur here was around about 30 minutes ago where a series of mortar rounds were fired from the Lebanese side of the border towards Israeli positions in the north of Israel. Now, the IDF has said that it has responded with artillery fire and that this event took place around the Mount Dov area. Now, this is just one of the several security events that have taken place. There was also an infiltration of a shooting with gunfire that occurred around Mar Galeod that resulted in the wounding of a security guard in that area, and that is one of several security events that are taking place, which is causing the evacuation order of the town of Kiryat Shmona. And now, you mentioned that the population there is around 20,000, but it's worth noting that for days now, even over a week, the population in these northern communities has been steadily reducing as people decide that it's just simply not worth remaining here and choosing by themselves to leave to move in with friends and family elsewhere in the country. But the fact that the government now is taking the decision to make this an official order shows that the tensions here, that these continuous security events continue to escalate. So, Rob, just to be clear, are people being evacuated primarily because of the fear of infiltrators by Hezbollah or Hamas terrorists from the north, or is this more about the risk of missile fire? It's a combination of all these things together, to be honest. All of them can be a threat to life. Basically, since the beginning of the war two weeks ago, the anti-tank weapons have been the most dangerous weapon here. They've resulted in the most casualties to civilians and to Israeli military forces. And so, on the northern border itself, Hamas is the most dangerous weapon. But the rockets, the mortars, even the small arms fire itself and, like you say, infiltration, these are threats that can't be discounted either. And there is reportedly pressure on the Israelis from the Americans not to strike Hezbollah preemptively. Yeah, so there has been some reports, some rumors that essentially the Americans were saying that Israel shouldn't strike Hezbollah first, but that if Hezbollah were to throw the first punch, the U.S. would be there to support Israel. Essentially, the U.S. is wanting to avoid this conflict turning into a regional war, escalating beyond merely a conflict between Hamas and Israel. Now, Hezbollah obviously have one foot in this fight. Since the early days of the war, they've been continuously firing across this border. The question that no one is really certain about to what extent Hezbollah actually want to be in the fight, are they merely demonstrating their support for the cause, are they merely tying up Israeli forces here in the north, or do they want to go in full force? And that is unclear, but the Americans have seemed to imply that they think Israel should avoid escalating it, certainly here on this northern front. Alright, Rob, thanks very much. Robert Swift, they're up at the border with Lebanon. Well, let me introduce our guest, Guy Azriel, our senior dear general, Relic Shafir. Thanks for joining us, Reg. So let's talk about the threat from the north. When the Americans say that they would get involved if Hezbollah were to escalate, does that mean we could see U.S. airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon? Is that how you understand it? No, I doubt that this would happen because the Americans don't want to get their hands into the fire here. But they will probably thwart Iran from taking any active participation within Lebanon. And we know that there are quite a few Iranians along the Golan Heights, not just the Lebanon. On the Syrian side? On the Syrian side, yes. The Syrian side is not controlled by Assad's army, but there are some groups out there including Iranian militia. And so while Israel will try to take its hands off Lebanon by keeping this conflict below a threshold of a war, America is helping Israel by thwarting off Iran. So I think this is more or less the position that we're taking. We do not want to have two fronts, even though it's not holding forces up in the north, because Gaza does not take that many forces within this particular conflict. So the focus there very much on the north and efforts to draw in other actors. Oh, I'm just being told that the sirens are blaring in the north now. So more from either Hamas or other Palestinian groups or Hezbollah. But at what point you know, at what point would be a step too far for Israel if we're seeing now anti-tank mortars being fired from across the border? I mean, at what point would Israel say that is enough? We now have to respond properly. I think if there are attacks on civilians or if there'll be casualties that amount to more than one or two per day or wounded. I'm sorry to speak in those terms, but this is something that could be contained. So one person was wounded today. We know it's security guards. Yeah. And there may be more in the coming days. We should be vigilant. But it looks like they're not trying to have a mass scale attack, but with the military. What would an all-out war with Hezbollah look like? Does Israel have the capacity to destroy Hezbollah's capabilities once and for all? Because it's tried in 2006 and it pulled back. Some people say just a day before it was mission complete. Does it have the capacity to destroy Hezbollah? Well, the story is that Hezbollah could troll Lebanon. Rather than chase every single rocket launcher in the Lebanon, probably Israel would strike the infrastructure, electricity, finaries, communications. Israel's missile defense could be overwhelmed, potentially. Well, if they tried to overwhelm, we will take some hits, that's for sure. But we have the iron dome that can protect strategic areas and the Air Force could take out the infrastructure in Lebanon in such a manner that even though they could keep firing just like the Gazans, they will lose control of Lebanon as we know it now. Now, Gaza doesn't have water or energy unless they get it from Israel. And that is something that we are controlling. In Lebanon, it's different. They could cut off their electricity and other supplies to such a manner that Hezbollah will be held responsible and accountable by the Lebanese themselves. This is why they're probably trying to put off a large, full-scale war in any case. Israel is trying to put off or Hezbollah? Both Hezbollah and Israel. I can remind our viewers when we speak about the occasional or random casualties on border Israeli casualties. At least one civilian has lost his life and at least five IDF soldiers. I can remind our viewers that back in 2006 the second Lebanon war started with the mere abduction of two IDF soldiers, reservists and the killing of three others. So we're seeing a much tougher reality now, much greater escalation on the border. Daily events, incidents initiated both by Hamas under the guidance of Hezbollah and by Hezbollah themselves. And yet Israel, at least for now, only responds locally towards the sources of fire, although today we also saw the targeting with a drone of a terror squad that was preparing to enter Israel already taken down by the IDF. So maybe that is some sort of advancement in this sense, because until now those IDF troops on the border were sitting ducks to the anti-tank missiles that Hezbollah was firing whenever it wanted and we've seen that today as well. Okay, so pictures coming to us now from Yemen's capital, Sana'a there we can see a large protest out on the streets similar to what we saw earlier this week when there were protests in solidarity with Palestinians around the world, anti-Israel protests that we can see. And this coming after three missiles were fired by Yemen's Iranian backed Hussi militia rockets or missiles I should say that were reportedly destined to reach Israel. They were intercepted by the U.S. Navy and we'll talk a bit more about U.S. deployment in the region in a moment. But let's turn, so these live scenes coming to us now from Yemen should turn out with a lot of Palestinian flags being flown. This is in the Hussi control part of Yemen. Well, let's go back to the campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza. General, tell me how do you think that the campaign to destroy Hamas is going so far on this day 14? I think we are getting ready for the next phase and so far this particular phase had to deal with moving the Palestinian population further south so that we can reach the center of command of Hezbollah which is in Gaza city and create a kind of a corridor. This is a live shot of Gaza coming just now. Yeah, please continue. It's the Ashkelon in the distance. Create some kind of a corridor so that we can go down to the lower city that Gaza has an upper city and a lower city in tunnels. And so the Air Force is paving way for the ground forces to reach the tunnels in their strategic areas that we want to talk about tactics now, but we're not going to be taking over the whole of Gaza. But we need to clear that we're going to take the Hamas brains so to speak in their command posts. And I just want to say the picture we're looking at there, it's gone, but it's very dense urban environment. This is not what Gaza looks like all over though, whereas the civilians have moved in the south it doesn't look as density populated as this, does it? This is a particular... Also really emphasizes how close it is to these civilian populations, the Israeli population. You can see Ashkelon in the distance the power plants of the Israeli power company right there in the distance a few Israeli communities in between. It really emphasizes the risk, the threat to these communities on the border. And going back to that deadly Saturday, well the police just now releasing new numbers about the number of Israeli casualties and Israeli fatalities that have been identified. Well that number now is 758 civilians that have been identified. That is just 75% of the presumed civilian fatalities. And we are getting reports that there are still bodies on the ground, still bodies that have not yet to be collected and to add to the complexity and to the really horrifying morbid situation that it is possible that many of the bodies or at least some of them will never be identified, never be located, both because many were abducted even after they died or died in the Gaza Strip and because of the state, because of the fact that these terrorists desecrated the bodies, burned the bodies after they slaughtered Israelis, after they tortured them, making it very very difficult for the Israeli forensic institute to even recognize with DNA the Israelis who were murdered there. Absolutely, it's a very very difficult work that is going on in the south of Israel and the full extent of the horrors unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel are, as Guy points out, still being revealed nearly two weeks after that attack, more than 200 hostages are being held and at least 1400 people were murdered. Entire families massacred, children tortured and burned alive in some cases. The worst atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust and Kibbutz Behrie once looked like a paradise close to the border with Gaza was one of the worst hit communities. Our correspondent Piers Stechelbach was there this morning. Almost two weeks after the 7th of October, the terrible day that will probably forever be engraved in the minds of the residents in Behrie, you can still see the testimony of the terrible massacre in onslaught that has happened here in the small community less than three miles away from the Gaza border. This is a home of somebody, possibly family, that has been completely destroyed. People were probably hiding in here such as we are told by forces here on the ground and by many many testimonies that we've been hearing until now how people here hidden their homes when they realized that in the morning of this Saturday, they're not only dealing with rockets which they were used to, but also with the infiltration of Hamas residents. This house here has been completely damaged with bullet holes here on the on the door and now as we're entering also on the wall we're entering somebody's kitchen we're entering somebody's living room and you can still see the chaos that the battles here have left behind. You can see images of alive of a family that has been living here in the kibbutz that people are saying has been a very close knit kibbutz, a very communal area here and as you can still see kitchen towels kitchen drawers a table books on the kitchen counter as well as pictures on the fridge telling the story of a family that was living in this house and has come under attack on that Saturday morning. We've also been talking to one of the residents who went out to fight on that Saturday and keeps coming back after he's been burying many of his friends here from the kibbutz. Let's take a listen to what he had to tell us and also let's take a listen to his thoughts about hope. Well each one of us went through something else and whether it's in his own bomb shelter fearing for his life some of them went as far as 39 hours, no water no air, no electricity no food and some of them were outside fighting and I was lucky to be one of them and we all carry a blame that we didn't stay with our families because some of them didn't survive and maybe we could have saved them by being with them. It's too much. So I do like a salami small slices. A daily slice an hourly slice. Like coming here was a big slice for me because to open myself like so many hours and still go back to my other chores it'll be a heavy day today it's not gonna be easy but again I need to say at the end we're gonna overcome it and we're gonna be okay and this is only one of many houses here in Kibbutz Berri that still show the signs of fighting here out of more than a thousand residents more than a hundred were killed on that Saturday an unknown number of residents have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip now although the blood has been cleaned up the people are still being buried now the scatters, the broken glass here that you can see on the window and the signs of life that has been completely shattered here will probably remain here forever this is Piaz Stekelbach reporting for I-24 News from Kibbutz Berri just a tiny snapshot there of the horror that was unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel on October 7 well there are signs that Hamas's backers in Iran are trying to draw the United States into a regional conflict via its proxies the US Navy shot down three missiles fired by the Iranian backed Hussein militia last night was reportedly headed for Israel in Iraq, meanwhile, Shia militia proxies have reportedly tried to attack US troops joining us now, Entifad Kambar is the former spokesperson for the Iraqi President, thanks for being with us what exactly is happening in Iraq right now what's happening in Iraq is all out war in my opinion there have been two attacks on US bases and by the way these are Iraqi bases and the Iraqi army with some small US presence been attacked twice in one day and as I said the second one is Camp Victory near Baghdad airport risking the Iraqi civilians at the airport and this morning I learned from sources in Iraq all headquarters for Iraqi Shia militia proxies of Iran has been evacuated which means they are preparing for all war I think American citizens in Iraq are under imminent danger I think the United States should evacuate the US embassy in Baghdad and the only safe place for the Americans are Kurdistan the Kurds are the only viable ally to the United States and do you believe then given what you've just told me that Iran is now trying to draw the United States and ignite a wider conflict it's very clear we know how Iran games are they want to test the will and the resolve of the United States they are attacking the United States if the United States do not respond swiftly and retaliate that will give them a sign that Hezbollah can attack Israel and I think the whole world today to protect Israel if Israel is attacked this is an attack on the world when the Jews were executed and killed by Hitler nobody cared and then Hitler invaded whole Europe and caused the death of 55 million people this is Hitler again Hamas is worse than Hitler I have seen first hand and witness first hand the crimes by ISIS which comes from the same ideology and the same basis of Hamas what they have done how they have beheaded people alive people put on bombs and blowed up as a punishment so this is something not only an attack on Israel this is an attack on humanity if we want to have someone a vicious dictator thirsty for blood to rule the world then we should sit in our houses and let Iran do what they are doing now mayhem in the Middle East well the United States has sent significant military aid to Israel the US President is asking Congress to send even more I mean you've been on this show many times in the past and you've warned about the risk of the US neglecting Iraq and neglecting the Middle East and drawing down its troops there do you think we need to see a bigger presence of forces in the region I think President Biden made very strong speeches very strong stance but action more important than words I have to remind you and remind the world that the 6 billion dollars that are talking about unfreezing in Korea for Iran is not the issue what is the issue is 10 billion dollars repeat 10 billion dollars was released by the US by the Biden's administration to be paid by Iraq to Iran last summer so we are witnessing a policy of the United States in which the United States are paying a criminal regime hoping this regime is not going to kill the rest of the people so what happens we have the United States send the wrong message the wrong policy and we can see the devastating results hoping that the Middle East would be quieter but at the end the Middle East turned to a total mayhem and 1400 Israelis are killed and I think innocent people and we are going to see more unfortunately but unfortunately sometimes in this world it takes Jewish lives to correct people's brains thank you very much we appreciate it he is the former spokesperson of the Deputy President of Iraq well with me in the studio Brigadier General Relig Shafir and our guy Azriel we just heard about Iran's wider efforts there but a bit closer to home in the West Bank we could just focus on that for a second we saw some violent scenes earlier around Ramallah people protesting setting fire to things and the Palestinian security forces trying to get a lid on it how concerned are you about the situation in the West Bank I think that's Ramallah all right yes yes this is quite concerning because we don't want to open another front and remember that we have the front in the West Bank another front could be Arab Israelis and using the wrong words wrong vocabulary disrespect to the Arabs will incite wrong words from the Israeli comment yes or from politicians we've seen this in the last in this particular administration using insightful messages disrespecting Arabs and that steers just a reminder I think am I right to say around 20% of Israel yes that steers not just Israelis but also West Bank Arabs and we should refrain from that and I think Netanyahu is trying to do that by having the present coalition or the I would say the thin we've seen very little from the more extremist elements in the Israeli I think they were asked to quiet down and move aside but they are inciting Arabs both in the West Bank and inside Israel and this is something that can cause this particular event that we are at to be expanded without control and so we should be very careful on how we treat this and go on I do want to address this because I do think that after what we've seen on that Saturday and really understanding if anyone didn't understand until now the Nazi like ideology of Hamas and its supporters the idea that violence is being caused by little things that Israelis or Jews in Israel are doing well the reality is that those Jews that were murdered there were the most peace loving, peace activist people that I know very well people who were voluntarily driving Jews to Israeli hospitals in their free time who believed in peace the ideology of Hamas has nothing to do with something that Ben Veer has said or not yes it can contribute to the timing of escalation but doesn't change the fact that those people were murdered because of Jews regardless of what the Israeli government is I think it's more a question of not pouring fuel on the fire at this point there is a significant peaceful Arab community in Israel who are fighting in our army right now and are very much with us on this 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 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 want to do we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the people who were killed they were killed they were killed in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity we're watching i24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv it is day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas rockets fired this lunchtime in the direction of Jerusalem close to the city of Maudin near the Judean mountains and up in the north there is Hezbollah the Iranian backed terrorist group based in Lebanon is preparing to join the fight the IDF says troops came under fire near the northern town of Magaliot on the Lebanese border and the town of Kiryat Shmona which has a population of some 20,000 people has been evacuated let's go to the north our correspondent Robert Swift several incidents this morning involving infiltrators there has been a series of security events on the northern border not at the pace they occurred yesterday but definitely happening at pace the most recent security incident was around 13 minutes ago where a series of mortar rounds were fired from the Lebanese side towards Israeli positions in the north of Israel the IDF has said it has responded with artillery fire and this event took place around the mountain around the Mount Dov area now this is just one of the several security events that have taken place there was also an infiltration and a shooting with gunfire that occurred around Magaliot that resulted in the wounding of a security guard in that area and that is one of several security events that have taken place which is causing the evacuation order of the town of Kiryat Shmona and now you mentioned it is around 20,000 but it's worth noting that for days now even over a week the population in these northern communities has been steadily reducing as people decide that it's just simply not worth remaining here and choosing by themselves to leave to moving with friends and family elsewhere in the country but the fact that the government now is taking the decision to make this an official order shows that the tensions here that these continuous security events escalate Rob, just to be clear are people being evacuated primarily because of the fear of infiltrators by Hezbollah or Hamas terrorists from the north or is this more about the risk of missile fire? It's a combination of all these things together to be honest all of them can be a threat to life basically since the beginning of the war two weeks ago the anti-tank weapons the most dangerous weapon here they've resulted in the most casualties to civilians and to Israeli military forces and so on the northern border itself that's likely seen as the most dangerous weapon but the rockets, the mortars even small arms fire itself and like you say infiltration these are threats that can't be discounted either and there is reportedly pressure on the Israelis from the Americans not to strike Hezbollah preemptively so there has been some reports, some rumours that essentially the Americans were saying that Israel shouldn't strike Hezbollah first but that if Hezbollah were to throw the first punch the US would be there to support Israel essentially the US is wanting to avoid this conflict turning into a regional war escalating beyond merely a conflict between Hamas and Israel now Hezbollah obviously have one foot in this fight since the early days of the war they've been continuously firing across this border the question that no one is really certain about is to what extent does Hezbollah actually want to be in the fight are they merely demonstrating their support for the cause are they merely tying up Israeli forces here in the north or do they want to go in full force and that is unclear but the Americans have seemed to imply that they think Israel should avoid escalating it Alright Rob, thanks very much Robert Swift there up at the border with Lebanon, well let me introduce our guest Guy Azriel our senior registrar is here with us, we're also joined now by Brigadier General, Relic Shafir thanks for joining us so let's talk about the threat from the north when the Americans say that they would get involved if Hezbollah were to escalate does that mean we could see US airstrikes on Hezbollah positions is that how you understand it No, I doubt that this would happen because the Americans don't want to get their hands into the fire here but they will probably thwart Iran from taking any active participation within Lebanon and we know that there are quite a few Iranians along the Golan Heights not just the Lebanon on the Syrian side the Syrian side is not controlled by Assad's army but there are some groups out there including Iranian militia and so while Israel will try to take its hands off Lebanon by keeping this conflict below a threshold for war America is helping Israel by thwarting off Iran so I think this is more or less the position that we're taking Israel does not want to have two fronts even though it's not holding forces up in the north because Gaza does not take that many forces within this particular conflict So the focus very much on the north and efforts to draw in other actors oh I'm just being told that sirens are blaring in the north now so more rocket fire could be from either Hamas or other Palestinian groups or Hezbollah but at what point you know at what point would be a step too far for Israel if we're seeing now anti-tank mortars being fired from across the border I mean at what point would Israel say that is enough to respond properly? I think if there are attacks on civilians or if there'll be casualties that amount to more than one or two per day or wounded I'm sorry to speak in those terms but this is something that could be contained So one person was wounded today we know a security guard and more in the coming days we should be vigilant but it looks like they're not trying to have a mass scale attack but with the military What would an all-out war with Hezbollah look like does Israel have the capacity to destroy Hezbollah's capabilities once and for all because it's tried in 2006 and it pulled back some people say just a day before it was mission complete does it have the capacity to destroy Hezbollah? Well the story is that Hezbollah control Lebanon and rather than chase every single rocket launcher in Lebanon probably Israel would strike the infrastructure electricity, finaries communications Israel's missile defense could be overwhelmed potentially Well if they tried to overwhelm we will take some hits that's for sure but we have the iron dome that can protect strategic areas and the air force could take out the infrastructure in Lebanon in such a manner that even though they could keep firing just like the Gazes they will lose control of Lebanon as we know it now now Gaza doesn't have or energy unless they get it from Israel and that is something that we are controlling in Lebanon it's different but we could cut off their electricity and other supplies to such a manner that Hezbollah will be held responsible and accountable by the Lebanese themselves this is why they're probably trying to put off a large full-scale war in any case put off or Hezbollah? Both Hezbollah and Israel I can remind our viewers when we speak about the occasional or random casualties on the Israel-Lebanon border Israeli casualties at least one civilian has lost his life and at least five IDF soldiers I can remind our viewers that back in 2006 the second Lebanon war started with the mere abduction of two IDF soldiers, reservists and the killing of three others we're seeing a much tougher reality now much greater escalation on the border daily events, incidents initiated both by Hamas under the guidance of Hezbollah and by Hezbollah themselves and yet Israel at least for now only responds locally towards the sources of fire although today we also saw the targeting with a drone of a terror squad that was preparing to enter Israel already taken down by the IDF so maybe that is some sort of advancement in this sense because until now those IDF troops on the border were sitting ducks to the anti-tank missiles that Hezbollah was firing whenever it wanted and we've seen that today as well So pictures coming to us now from Yemen's capital Sana'a there we can see a large protest on the streets similar to what we saw earlier this week when there were protests in solidarity with Palestinians around the world anti-Israel protests there we can see and this coming after three missiles were fired by Yemen's Iranian backed Houssi militia rockets or missiles I should say that were reportedly destined to reach Israel they were intercepted by the U.S. Navy and we'll talk a bit more about U.S. deployment in the region in a moment but let's turn so these live scenes coming to us now from Yemen then we can see a large turnout with a lot of Palestinian flags being flown this is in the Houssi control part of Yemen well let's go back to the campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza General tell me how do you think that the campaign to destroy Hamas is going so far on this day 14 I think we are getting ready for the next phase and so far this particular phase had to deal with moving the Palestinian population further south so that we can reach the center of command of Hezbollah which is in Gaza city and create a kind of a corridor this is a live shot of Gaza coming just now yeah please continue an Ascalon in the distance create some kind of a corridor so that we can go down to the lower city that Gaza has an upper city and a lower city in tunnels and so the air force is paving way for the ground forces to reach the tunnels in their strategic areas that we want to talk about tactics now but we're not going to be taking over the whole of Gaza but we need to clear that we're going to take the Hamas brains so to speak in their command posts and I just want to say the picture we're looking at there it's very dense urban environment this is not what Gaza looks like all over those where the civilians have moved in the south it doesn't look as densely populated as this does it this is a particular also really emphasizes how close it is to these civilian population the Israeli population you can see Ascalon in the distance the power plants of the the Israeli power company right there in the distance few Israeli communities in between it really emphasizes the risk the threat to these the Israeli population the Israeli population the Israeli population back to that deadly Saturday well the police just now releasing new numbers about the number of Israeli casualties and Israeli fatalities that have been identified well that number now is 758 civilians that have been identified that is just 75% that have not yet to be collected and to add to the complexity and to the really horrifying morbid situation it is possible that many of the bodies or at least some of them will never be identified never be located both because many were abducted even after they died or died in the Gaza Strip and because of the state because of the fact that these terrorists desecrated the bodies burned the bodies after they slaughtered Israelis after they tortured them making it very very difficult for the Israeli forensic institute to even recognize with DNA the Israelis who were murdered there absolutely it's a very very difficult work that is going on in the south of Israel and the full extent of the horrors unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel are as Guy points out still being revealed nearly two weeks after that attack 300 hostages are being held and at least 1400 people were murdered entire families massacred children tortured and burned alive in some cases the worst atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust and Kibbutz Berry once looked like a paradise close to the border with Gaza was one of the worst hit communities our correspondent Pierre Stechelbach was there this morning almost two weeks after the 7th of October the terrible day that will probably forever be engraved in the minds of the residents in Berry you can still see the testimony of the terrible massacre in onslaught that has happened here in the small community less than three miles away from the Gaza border this is a home of somebody possibly family that has been completely destroyed people were probably hiding in here such as we are told by forces here on the ground and by many many testimonies that we've been hearing until now how people here hidden their homes when they realized that in the morning of this Saturday they're not only dealing with rockets which they were used to but also with the infiltration of Hamas militants this house here has been completely damaged with bullet holes here on the on the on the door and now as we're entering also on the wall we're entering somebody's kitchen we're entering somebody's living room and you can still see the chaos that the battles here have left behind you can see images of a live of a family that has been living here in the kibbutz that people are saying has been a very close knit kibbutz a very communal area here and as you can still see kitchen towels kitchen drawers a table as well as pictures on the fridge telling the story of a family that was that was living in this house and has come under attack on that terrible Saturday morning we've also been talking to one of the residents who went out to fight on that Saturday and keeps coming back after he's been burying many of his friends here from the kibbutz let's take a listen to what he had to tell us and also let's take a listen to his thoughts about hope well each one of us went through something else and whether it's his own bomb shelter fearing for his life some of them went as far as 39 hours no water, no air no electricity, no food and some of them were outside fighting and I was lucky to be one of them and we all carry a blame that we didn't stay with our families because someone who didn't survive and maybe he could have saved them by being with them it's too much so I do like a salami small slices a daily slice or an hourly slice coming here was a big slice for me because to open myself like so many hours and still go back to my other chores it'll be a heavy day today it's not going to be easy but again, I need to say at the end we're going to overcome it and we're going to be okay and this is only one of many houses in kibbutz berri that still show the signs of fighting here out of more than a thousand residents more than a hundred were killed on that Saturday an unknown number of residents have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip now although the blood has been cleaned up the people are still being buried now the scatters the broken glass here that you can see on the window and the signs of life that has been completely shattered here will probably remain here forever this is Piash Dekalbach reporting for I-24 news from Kibbutz Berri just a tiny snapshot there of the horror that was unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel on October 7 there are signs that Hamas backers in Iran are trying to draw the United States into a regional conflict via its proxies the U.S. Navy shot down three missiles fired by the Iranian Bakht Hussein militia last night they were reportedly headed for Israel in Iraq meanwhile Shia militia proxies have reportedly tried to attack U.S. troops joining us now Entifad Kambar is the former spokesperson for the Iraqi president thanks for being with us Entifad what exactly is happening in Iraq right now what exactly is happening in Iraq is all out war in my opinion there have been two attacks on U.S. bases and by the way these are not U.S. bases these are Iraqi bases with the Iraqi army with some small U.S. presence been attacked twice in one day and as I said the second one is Camp Victory near Baghdad airport risking the Iraqi civilians at the airport and this morning I learned from sources in Iraq all headquarters for Iraqi Shia militia proxies of Iran has been evacuated which means they are preparing for all war I think American citizens in Iraq are under imminent danger I think the United States should evacuate the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the only safe place for the Americans are Kurdistan the Kurds are the only viable ally to the United States do you believe then given what you've just told me that Iran is now trying to draw the United States and ignite a wider conflict it's very clear we know how Iran games are they want to test the will and the resolve of the United States they are attacking the United States if the United States do not respond swiftly and retaliate that would give them a sign that Hezbollah can attack Israel and I think the whole world today to protect Israel if Israel is attacked this is an attack on the whole world when the Jews were executed and killed by Hitler nobody cared and then Hitler invaded whole Europe and caused the death of 55 million people this is Hitler again Amos is worse than Hitler he was seen firsthand and witnessed firsthand the crimes by ISIS which comes from the same ideology and the same bases of Hamas what they have done how they have beheaded people buried people alive people put on bombs and blowed up as a punishment so this is something not only an attack on Israel humanity if we want to have someone a vicious dictator thirsty for blood to rule the world then we should sit in our houses and let Iran do what they are doing now mayhem in the Middle East well the United States has sent significant military aid to Israel the US president is asking Congress to send even more I mean you've been on this show many times in the past you've warned about the risk of the US neglecting Iraq and neglecting the Middle East and drawing down its troops there do you think we need to see a bigger presence of US forces in the region I think President Biden made very strong speeches very strong stance but action more important than words I have to remind you and remind the world that the 6 billion dollars unfreezing in Korea for Iran is not the issue what is the issue is 10 billion dollars repeat 10 billion dollars was released by the US administration by the Biden's administration to be paid by Iraq to Iran last summer so we are witnessing a policy of the United States in which the United States are paying a criminal regime hoping this regime is not going to kill the rest of the people so what happens we have the United States send the wrong message the wrong policy and we can see the devastating results hoping that the Middle East would be quieter but at the end the Middle East turned to a total mayhem and 1400 Israelis are killed and I think innocent people and we're going to see more unfortunately but unfortunately sometimes in this world it takes Jewish lives to correct people's brains thank you very much we appreciate it he's the former spokesperson for the Deputy President of Iraq well with me in the studio Brigadier General Relic Shafir and our guy Azriel we just heard about Iran's wider efforts there but a bit closer to home in the West Bank we could just focus on that for a second for some violent scenes earlier around Ramallah people protesting, setting fire to things and the Palestinian security forces trying to get a lid on it how concerned are you about the situation in the West Bank I think that's Ramallah we're looking at now right yes yes this is quite concerning because we don't want to open another front and remember that we have the front in the West Bank another front could be and using the wrong words wrong vocabulary disrespect to the Arabs may incite wrong words from the Israeli yes yes or from politicians we've seen this in the last in this particular administration using insightful messages disrespecting Arabs and that steers am I right to say around 20% of Israel is Arab that steers not just Israelis but also West Bank Arabs and we should refrain from that and I think Netanyahu is trying to do that by having the coalition or the I would say the thin we've seen very little from the more extremist elements in the I think they were asked to quiet down and move aside but they are inciting Arabs both in the West Bank and inside Israel and this is something that can cause this particular event that we are at to be expanded without control and so we should be very careful and how we treat this I do want to address this because I do think that after what we've seen on that Saturday and really understanding if anyone didn't understand until now the Nazi like ideology of Hamas and its supporters the idea that violence is being caused by little things that Israelis or Jews in Israel are doing and the reality is that those Jews that were murdered there were the most peace loving activists people that I know very well people who were voluntarily driving Palestinians to Israeli hospitals in their free time who believed in peace the ideology of Hamas has nothing to do with something that Ben Veer has said or not yes it can contribute to the timing of escalation but doesn't change the fact that those people were murdered because of Jews I think it's more a question of not pouring fuel on the fire at this point there is a significant peaceful Arab community in Israel who are Arabs are fighting in our army right now and are very much with us stay with us this is our 20 point news this particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year we've come out here where they see us to claim for the rain in these moments global warming is affecting Bolivia and not only Bolivia but all around the world and we need rain for God's sake in the last 10 years there is a conflict zone 1 km from the south of Mosul for me the most intense mission but also certainly the most exciting and the one that brought me to Mosul in June 2017 to cover the fierce battle between the Iraqi army with whom we were embarked and the terrorists of the Islamic State who had made of this city their caliphate in Iraq a few years earlier after having crossed a Mosul in ruin we finally found in the middle of Casbah in the west part of the city near the combats and the bombings of the international coalition we are here a few hundred meters away from Mosque and nourish it we went from house to house to stay covered by Daesh snipers before arriving on a roof at the level of the front line where the Iraqi young soldiers were able to spread their arsenal and their firepower in front of our cameras after leaving this theater of war that I took the measure of what I wanted to live when the information fell according to which a French TV team had been killed by an explosive machine a mine in the same place where we found each other a few days earlier 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 you're watching i24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas airstrikes continue to pound Gaza Hamas rockets continue to fire at Israel Israel says the Rafa crossing is due to open in the next couple of days to allow in humanitarian aid more than 200 hostages are being held in Gaza at least 1400 Israelis were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 Israel says the bodies of 750 people have now been identified hundreds of Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel and took part in the attacks were killed the IDF has now collected weapons used by Hamas to massacre civilians in the south our Pierre-Claude Schendler has this report we're in a storage hole of the IDF somewhere in southern Israel and Major G the head of the institute and research for ammunition and weapons of the Israeli army has told us that this arsenal is only one percent what was found on the bodies and on the pickup trucks of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who perpetrated their slaughter in October 7 they found over 1000 hand grenades one over 1000 improvised explosive devices and RPGs rockets about 500 other explosives 1000 Kalachnikov AK-47 guns about 100 mortars the largest concentration of weapons was found in the Kibbutzim which suffered the heaviest slaughters Kfar Azar, Bari here you can see AIDs fragmentation and claymore found on pickups mines, gaspipes thermobaric warhead for RPG-29 used in Israeli homes to burn people anti-tank EIDs with magnetic mechanism used in villages RPG rockets including some Hamas made hand grenades 60 millimeter mortar and shells made in Iran produced in May 2018 anti-personal fragmentation RPG-7 rockets made in North Korea fuses timers and when I asked Major J whether the terrorists in their medical kit carried the terrorist drug captagon produced in Syria and exported all through the Arab world and beyond he just simply answered I can't relate to this question this is Pierre Kloschendler with more news in southern Israel and the full extent of the horror unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel is still being revealed entire families massacred children tortured and in some cases burned alive Kibbutz Bari close to the border with Gaza was one of the worst hit communities our Pierre Stechelbach was there almost two weeks after the 7th of October when he was left in the minds of the residents in Bari you can still see the testimony of the terrible massacre in onslaught that has happened here in the small community less than 3 miles away from the Gaza border this is a home of somebody possibly family that has been completely destroyed people were probably hiding in here such as we are told by forces here on the ground and by many many testimonies that we've been hearing until now how people here have noticed that in the morning of this Saturday they're not only dealing with rockets which they were used to but also with the infiltration of Hamas militants this house here has been completely damaged with bullet holes here on the on the door and now as we're entering also on the wall we're entering somebody's kitchen we're entering somebody's living room and you can still see the chaos that the battles here have left behind you can see images of alive of a family that has been living here in the kibbutz the people are saying has been a very close knit kibbutz a very communal area here and as you can still see kitchen towels kitchen drawers a table books on the kitchen counter on the fridge telling the story of a family that was that was living in this house and has come under attack on that terrible Saturday morning we've also been talking to one of the residents who went out to fight on that Saturday and keeps coming back after he's been burying many of his friends here from the kibbutz let's take a listen to what he had to tell us and also let's take a listen to his thoughts about hope well each one of us was something else his own bomb shelter fearing for his life some of them went as far as 39 hours no water, no air no electricity, no food and some of them were outside fighting and I was lucky to be one of them and we all carry a blame that we didn't stay with our families because some of them didn't survive and maybe he could have saved them by being with them it's too much so I do like a salami small slices a daily slice, an hourly slice like coming here was a big slice for me because to open myself like so many hours and still go back to mother chores it'll be a heavy day today it'll be easy but again I need to say at the end we're going to overcome it and we're going to be okay and this is only one of many houses that still show the signs of fighting here out of more than a thousand residents more than a hundred were killed on that Saturday an unknown number of residents have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip now although the blood has been cleaned up the people are still being buried now the scatter is the broken glass here that you can see on the window and the signs of life that has been completely shattered here will probably remain here forever this is Piaz Dekalbach reporting for I-24 News from Kibbutz Bayeri well joining me in the studio Amir Aura is a defense and government commentator thanks for being with us so let's talk about the fight back then day 14 air strikes continue how much is still firing rockets and still no ground offensive so as we have seen Israel has the strongest case possible for its counter-attack retaliation hunting down the Hamas leaders it's not a matter of legitimacy this is obviously Israel's stock in trade now the question is operational when is the most opportune time what are the most effective methods to go about it obviously Hamas is on edge Hamas has expected Israel to counter-attack immediately it has made preparations for that and its leaders are apparently at unease because they don't know what Israel has up its sleeve now the stage we are in right now preparing the battlefield and it has several dimensions diplomatically Israel has to await some minor attempts at grand compromise regarding the hostages which obviously the United States is doing behind the scenes President Biden says that he is using every avenue possible leaving no stone unturned and obviously there are some under the table approaches to Hamas via Qatar, Turkey, who knows maybe even Iran there is the intelligence preparation of the battlefield because the more data Israel has on the location of the hostages a very important consideration and the location of the Hamas leaders and the booby traps and whatever they have in store is also very important and preparation by fire mostly by the air force the air force is now preparing corridors for the ground forces to get at their objectives thanks Amir, stay with us because I want to go to the north Israelis of course on high alert Amid fears Hezbollah is preparing to join the fight we are trying to get hold of our correspondent Robert Swift a series of developments in the north a word on that Amir Oran because you are watching that closely So both Hezbollah and the northern branch of Hamas operating out of Lebanon are trying to go to Israel into opening a second front what we have right now is not really a front there are skirmishes along the border anti-tank missiles by the way anti-tank missiles are being launched against the Israeli military assets as well as civilian buildings and facilities and therefore many of the villages and towns have been evacuated let's get the latest on that Rob Swift is with us now at Israel's northern border Rob, tell us what's going on so in the last hour the Israeli military has confirmed that there was a launch of around 20 to 30 rockets and destroyed Hezbollah mortar team it's also been announced that there was small arms fire and anti-tank missiles from Hezbollah over the last few days we've seen Hezbollah attacking surveillance towers and Israeli infrastructure along the border using sniper rifles and it's understood that this is a continuation of that also in there was a report of rocket attacks in the Dovev community although the IDF has said this is a false alarm so several causes for concern then Rob not only rocket attacks now we've got anti-tank missiles we've got potential infiltrations I mean you've been at the border a few times in the last few days would you say it is heating up significantly it does seem that way now that I've come back up after being away for a day the military presence here does seem to have jumped up in that time we're standing I'll not say exactly where we're standing but the area where we are it's clear that the number of Israeli troops here has increased I would say about 95% of the people standing around us are Israeli soldiers you can see the signs of the evacuation order that's been announced today there's not a lot of civilians here anymore Thanks a lot Rob Swift there up at the northern border and remember the US President Joe Biden very clear in his message to Hezbollah he said if you're thinking of getting involved one word for you don't well let's talk about efforts by Iran the backers of Hamas and Hezbollah to draw the United States into a wider conflict Iran also controls the Houthi rebels in Yemen last night that group attempted to fire rockets at Israel but they were intercepted by the US Navy joining us now Waleed Fares foreign policy expert and the author of Iran West Republic thank you very much indeed for being with us Waleed let's start with Lebanon then a significant rise in incidents coming from across the border from Hezbollah and other groups should Israel strike before they do Wow this is a question to the party contending this fight but basically what's happening and that's a reality is that Hezbollah is escalating that's what we observe and they are escalating later because of orders or instructions or a strategy applied by Iran from Tehran now Lebanon's topography is very difficult Hezbollah is infiltrated across the south of Lebanon but what we are hearing now recently just as recently as this morning is that the local population is unhappy most of the local population is unhappy because Hezbollah is installing rocket launchers, artillery and other units in their villages and that they don't want to be like in Gaza shields for Hezbollah so is there a significant number of Lebanese citizens moving away from the conflict zone would you say? Yeah we see it on the videos I mean thousands and thousands of Lebanese hundreds of cars going up to the north meaning to Beirut and around Beirut even Hezbollah and the southern suburb of Beirut is trying to control some apartments trying to open some houses to place these populations but it is not yet what we saw before in previous wars where an entire population has moved they are very nervous especially communities that are not very friendly to Hezbollah that will be the Sunnis across the border in southern Lebanon the Christians and the Jews they are not very happy that Hezbollah may trigger a larger war. Well of course Hezbollah does control the southern border it doesn't it doesn't control the whole of Lebanon though is there any group or any force inside Lebanon that can restrain Hezbollah at this point? Well among the civilians we've seen over the past two decades those who support or supported the Cedars Revolution in 2005 and 2019 against the Syrian occupation army and then of course against Hezbollah they are there they are a popular majority but they are not armed the only military force in Lebanon that can and should by law this armed Hezbollah according to UN resolution 1559 is the Lebanese army unfortunately the Lebanese army also is influenced by Hezbollah not as a body but some areas in the Lebanese army are very close to Hezbollah but not all of it so one can imagine multiple scenarios if a war would widen in Lebanon. Alright well let's talk about events in the Gulf last night Walid are we going to see more of these attempts by Iran to draw in the United States and how should Washington respond? Iran command for the region usually they passed around the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and specifically the coup force they are in charge of what I call the Middle East and battlefield Gaza is just one piece southern Lebanon or Lebanon is another piece southern Syria is a third piece but a very strategic location for the fourth piece is in Yemen and these are the Houthis Houthis have been funded and trained and also obviously operational because of the help from Iran now the question is very strategic because Iran is using the Houthis located in a very important economic lifeline for the world to put pressure to tell the world if you don't do what I want in Gaza or in southern Lebanon I can cross that lifeline and that would cause a huge economic crisis worldwide. What about the position of the moderate Gulf Arab states I mean they too are threatened by Iran via the Houthis in Yemen they also need to show support for the Palestinians they need to show the Arab publics that they stand with the Palestinians how do you see them working their way through this they've done it in the past when there were clashes between Israel and Hamas or other factions in the region they would issue certainly press releases condemning Israel but at the same time not really fueling or supporting Hamas directly other than humanitarian aid but a more important question for these countries the Gulf countries is that what is the aim of Iran Saudi Arabia just signed a normalization treaty that's not an alliance treaty a normalization treaty with Iran this earlier this year hoping that they won't be touched by the by the Iranian forces but what caused that was initially a failure of our administration here to show support to Saudi Arabia UAE Bahrain and others which pushed them cornered them to normalize with Iran but we don't know maybe the Iranians are going to drag even those Arab countries into a confrontation that they don't want Dr. Walid Farris author of Iran imperialist republic thank you very much we appreciate it thank you for having me well here in Israel it's not just the countries Jewish soldiers who are fighting Hamas there are Druze Arab and Bedouins also signing up to destroy the terrorist group this report now on Israel's Bedouin fighters was there a moment in the midst of all the chaos when you said to yourself how is this possible that's not the kind of thing that crosses your mind during a battle you're focused on countering the attack and preventing them at all costs from succeeding in doing what they came to do did you fear for your life I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't so yes of course the fear is there Lieutenant Colonel M is a commanding officer of the Bedouin trackers unit in the Israeli army for the area surrounding the Gaza Strip he has been in service for 24 years never in my worst nightmares did I think that I'd give the order to fire a missile from an Apache helicopter at my headquarters details of what transpired on the morning of the attack have been scarce now we can see from within the idea of base that has turned into a bloody battlefield the bedrooms and offices are riddled with bullets shattered glass in every corner and a gymnasium which was bombed to take down the terrorists who were barricaded inside on that morning I was called up with info of two simultaneous at this time at headquarters only a few men are on site some in the operation room with some staff officers the only combat soldiers on site are the Bedouin trackers I went outside and on the left about 200 or 300 meters away there was a long line of terrorists on motorcycles sound up Allah Akbar I understood right away that they were Hamas operatives and that they were blocking the road the battle to prevent the terrorists from entering the base was long and no doubt it prevented a much greater catastrophe every nook and cranny on the base's entrance every signpost or rock turned into a fighting position then they tried to enter the base on their motorcycles but we stopped them with a barrage of bullets it lasted about an hour and a half we were 6 against 30 after a long exchange of fire the terrorists changed their tactics and split into several groups they placed one group ambushing on this road and the other split up some attacked the entrance others blocked the road to prevent cars from passing at 6.30 am there were rocket alerts and at that moment I received a phone call from the officer at headquarters who told me there is a serious incident in the area go I then headed for the rhyme base to rejoin the division and then I was ambushed by the terrorists in front of the base there were no motorcycles to block the way there were about 13 of them and they started coming towards me they were merely 40 meters away from us and at that point I had no choice but to make contact and attack then return to the base that's what I was trained for that's what I was brought up with as Major Akram rejoins the operations room and prepares to return to combat on the north side Lieutenant Colonel M also goes to the command room to get the latest information on the situation on the ground he leaves tracker Ashraf in position at the entrance with a single mission keep terrorists out my commander told me Ashraf you stay here no terrorist gets through we went into battle again and stopped them from advancing all the way to the entrance we killed 13 at the entrance alone as Ashraf directs the fighting at this entrance dozens of young people who have escaped from the rave party find refuge in the base he tells them where to go for cover there were over 30 families young people full of blood many with face injuries from shreds of glass from windows of the cars they were in when the terrorists shot at them many were shot in the leg, arm or shoulder I got them into the room and told them to close the door and not let anyone in until I got back that I'd say my name three times to let them know it was me the terrorists started to move towards the parking lot I didn't understand what they were doing at the time but I started to hear shooting from the other side of the base so I understood that they had managed to get into the base after all was the fence wide open? yes they opened a breach on the fence they wanted to get in with the motorcycles after more than an hour of fruitless efforts outside the base they realized they weren't going to make it and decided to break through the fence from then on things escalated even further dozens of terrorists invaded the north side of the base searching room by room for the command center as they advance they shoot at anything that moves this went on for four hours an eternity in times of emergency at 10.30 am the IDF's special commander unit of Shaldag arrives on the base and starts taking control of the area Muslim Bedouin fighters give all they had to save lives and even if some are worried about tensions concerning their rights they are focused on their main task defense in times of war and they still have many complicated missions to fulfill I don't care about the gender religion or race of those who are with me we are all citizens of this country the state of Israel and we must be united together now is the time for the people to come together support and give everything to our country and that is Israel isn't it? Jews, Jews, Arabs fighting together yes that is Israel institutions fail sometimes miserably inexplicably individual soldiers fight heroically junior officers and sometimes even field great officers lieutenant colonels and colonels gave their lives valiantly the generals and the cabinet ministers have failed and will probably have to resign when this is over or at least the greatest part of it is over because the public will not stand for people and not being accountable and do you remember a time when Israel has been so united? up until two weeks ago I thought that the Yom Kippur war was at that time but right now because this is the biggest catastrophe ever for Israel this is also the greatest opportunity for people to get around some common denominator not everything particularly united but right now there's a just cause we must get the job done and then we will have repercussions and it's remarkable to see the country I mean just to think just a few weeks ago there was huge divisions in this country people fighting over judicial reform now you see all sectors of Israeli society pulling together to fight this terrible enemy this is again on a very narrow beam because there is a connection between what happened over the last preceding nine months with the judicial coup and the divisions that this has caused and the deterioration in the military readiness and willingness of reserve volunteers to show up and what the general staff should have told Netanyahu and his ministers and they did but they only whispered they did not shout they did not resign and therefore they have become complicit in the failure are you encouraged that there is a unity government in place now well there is no unity government a few ministers or a few politicians joined Netanyahu this is not a positive development the positive development is that the cabinet the war cabinet is headed by one Joe Biden this is the reality that Biden dictates the constraints in which the cabinet operates and therefore all war plans must be approved by the Americans not to say the president Austin Blinken the sent com commander before they are executed all right Amir Arun thank you very much great to talk to you we'll do stay with us our live coverage we'll continue here on I-24 news on this day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas stay tuned please 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 I-24 news you're watching I-24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 14 of Israel's war with Hamas airstrikes continue to pound Gaza Hamas rockets continue to fire at Israel the UN says the raffa crossing is due to open in the next couple of days to allow in the humanitarian system the U.S. military the U.N. to allow in humanitarian aid more than 200 hostages are being held in Gaza at least 1400 Israelis were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 Israel says the bodies of 750 people have now been identified hundreds of Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel and took part in the attacks were killed the IDF has now collected all of the weapons used by Hamas to massacre civilians in the south Pierre-Claude Schendler has this report we're in a storage hole of the IDF somewhere in southern Israel and Major G the head of the institute and research for ammunition and weapons of the Israeli army has told us that this arsenal is only nearly 1% what was found on the bodies and on the pickup trucks of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who perpetrated their slaughter in October 7 they found over 1000 hand grenades over 1000 improvised explosive devices and RPGs rockets about 500 other explosives 2000 Kalachnikov 27 guns about 100 mortars the largest concentration of weapons was found in the Kibbutzim which suffered the heaviest slaughters here you can see IEDs fragmentation and claymore found on pickups mines, gaspipes thermobaric warhead for RPG-29 Israeli homes to burn people anti-tank IEDs with magnetic mechanism used in villages RPG rockets including some Hamas made hand grenades 16mm mortars and shells made in Iran produced in May 2018 antipersonal fragmentation RPG-7 rockets made in North Korea fuses timers and when I asked Mayor Ji whether the terrorists in their medical kit carried the terrorist drug produced in Syria and exported all through the Arab world and beyond he just simply answered I can't relate to this question this is Pierre Kloschendler I-24 news in southern Israel and the full extent of the horror unleashed by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel is still being revealed entire families massacred children tortured and in some cases burned alive Kibbutz Bayeri close to the border with Gaza was one of the worst hit communities our Pierre Stechelbach was there almost two weeks after the 7th of October the terrible day that will probably forever be engraved in the minds of the residents in Bayeri you can still see the testimony of the terrible massacre in onslaught that has happened here in the small community less than three miles away from the Gaza border this is a home of somebody possibly family that has been completely destroyed people were probably hiding in here such as we are told by forces here on the ground and by many many testimonies that we've been hearing until now how people here hidden their homes when they realized that in the morning of this Saturday they were not only dealing with rockets which they were used to but also with the infiltration of Hamas militants this house here has been completely damaged with bullet holes here on the door and now as we are entering also on the wall we are entering somebody's kitchen we are entering somebody's living room and you can still see the chaos the battles here have left behind you can see images of a live of a family that has been living here in the kibbutz that people are saying has been a very close knit kibbutz a very communal area here and as you can still see kitchen towels kitchen drawers a table books on the kitchen counter as well as pictures on the fridge that was that was living in this house and has come under attack on that terrible Saturday morning we've also been talking to one of the residents who went out to fight on that Saturday and keeps coming back after he's been burying many of his friends here from the kibbutz let's take a listen to what he had to tell us and also let's take a listen to his thoughts about hope well each one of us went through something else whether it's his own bomb shelter fearing for his life some of them went as far as 39 hours no water, no air no electricity, no food and some of them were outside fighting and I was lucky to be one of them and we all carry a blame that we didn't stay with our families because some of them didn't survive and they maybe could have saved them by being with them it's too much so I do like a salami small slices a daily slice or an hourly slice like coming here was a big slice for me because to open myself like so many hours and still go back to mother chores it'll be a heavy day today it's not gonna be easy but again I need to save the end we're gonna overcome it and we're gonna be okay and this is only one of many houses in Kibbutz Berri that still show the signs of fighting here out of more than a thousand residents more than a hundred were killed on that Saturday an unknown number of residents have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip now although the blood has been cleaned up the people are still being buried now the scatters the broken glass here that you can see on the window and the signs of life that has been completely shattered here will probably remain here forever this is Piaz Stekelbach reporting for I-24 news from Kibbutz Berri well joining me in the studio Amir Oran is a defence and government commentator thanks for being with us so let's talk about the fight back then day 14 air strikes continue how much is still firing rockets and still no ground offensive what's the delay as you have seen Israel has the strongest case possible for its counter attack retaliation hunting down the Hamas leaders it's not a matter of legitimacy this is obviously Israel's stock in trade now the question is operational when is the most opportune time and what are the most effective methods to go about it obviously Hamas is on edge Hamas has expected Israel to counter attack immediately it has made preparations for that and its leaders are apparently at unease because they don't know what Israel has up its sleeve now the stage we are in right now is called preparing the battlefield it has several dimensions diplomatically Israel has to await some minor attempts at a grand compromise regarding the hostages which obviously the United States is doing behind the scenes President Biden says that he is using every avenue possible leaving no stone unturned and obviously there are some under the table approaches to Hamas via Qatar Turkey who knows maybe even Iran there is the intelligence preparation of the battlefield because the more data Israel has on the location of the hostages a very important consideration and the location of the Hamas leaders and the booby traps and whatever they have in store this is also very important especially the fire mostly by the air force the air force is now preparing corridors for the ground forces to get at their objectives thanks Amir stay with this because I want to go to the north israelis of course on high alert amid fears Hezbollah is preparing to join the fight we are trying to get hold of our correspondent Robert Swift because there have been a series that Amir Oran because we are watching that closely so both Hezbollah and the northern branch of Hamas operating out of Lebanon are trying to go to Israel into opening a second front what we have right now is not really a front there are skirmishes along the border anti-tank missiles are being launched against military assets as well as civilian buildings and facilities and therefore many of the villages and towns have been evacuated okay let's get the latest on that now Rob Swift is with us now at Israel's northern border Rob tell us what's going on so in the last hour the Israeli military has confirmed that there was a launch of around 20 to 30 rockets onto the Haar Dov area the Israeli military said that it responded with artillery fire and mortar team it's also been announced that there was small arms fire and anti-tank missiles from Hezbollah over the last few days we've seen Hezbollah attacking surveillance towers and Israeli infrastructure along the border using sniper rifles and it's understood that this is a continuation of that also in there was a report of rocket attacks in the Dovev community although the IDF has said this is a false alarm so several causes for concern then Rob not only rocket attacks now we've got anti-tank missiles we've got potential infiltrations I mean you've been at the border a few times in the last few days would you say it is heating up significantly it does seem that way I mean now that I've come back up after being away for a day the military presence here does seem to have jumped up in that time we're standing I'll not say exactly where we're standing but the area where we are it's clear that the number of Israeli troops here has increased I would say about 95% of the people standing around us are Israeli soldiers you can see the signs of the evacuation order that's been announced today there's not a lot of civilians here anymore alright Rob thanks a lot Rob Swift there up at the northern border and remember the US President Joe Biden very clear in his message to Hezbollah he said if you're thinking of getting involved one word for you don't well let's talk about efforts by Iran the backers of Hamas and Hezbollah to draw the United States into a wider conflict Iran also controls the Houthi rebels in Yemen last night that group attempted to fire rockets at Israel but they were intercepted by the US Navy joining us now Walid Fares foreign policy expert and the author of Iran Imperialist Republic very much indeed for being with us Walid let's start with Lebanon then a significant rise in incidents coming from across the border from Hezbollah and other groups should Israel strike before they do wow this is a question to the party contending this fight but basically what's happening and that's the reality is that Hezbollah is escalating that's what we observe and they are escalating we'll talk about it probably later or instructions or a strategy applied by Iran from Tehran now Lebanon's topography is very difficult Hezbollah is infiltrated across the south of Lebanon but what we are hearing now recently just as recently as this morning is that the local population is unhappy most of the local population is unhappy because Hezbollah is installing rocket launchers artillery and other units in their villages and that they don't want to be like in Gaza shields for Hezbollah is there a significant number of Lebanese citizens moving away from the conflict zone would you say yeah we see it on the videos I mean thousands and thousands of Lebanese hundreds of cars going up to the north meaning to Beirut and around Beirut even Hezbollah and the southern suburb of Beirut is trying to control some apartments trying to open some houses to place these populations but it is not yet what we saw before in previous wars where an entire population has moved they are very nervous though especially communities that are not very friendly to Hezbollah there will be the Sunnis across the border and southern Lebanon the Christians and the Druze they are not very happy that Hezbollah may trigger a larger war well of course Hezbollah does control the southern border it doesn't control the whole of Lebanon though is there any group or any force inside Lebanon that can restrain Hezbollah at this point well among the civilians we've seen over the past two decades those who support or supported the cedars revolution 2005 and 2019 against the Syrian occupation army and then of course against Hezbollah they are there they are a popular majority but they are not armed the only military force in Lebanon that can and should by law this arm Hezbollah according to UN resolution 1559 unfortunately the Lebanese army also is influenced by Hezbollah not as a body but some areas in the Lebanese army are very close to Hezbollah but not all of it so one can imagine multiple scenarios if a war would widen in Lebanon let's talk about events in the Gulf last night Walid are we going to see more of these attempts by Iran to draw in the United States and how should Washington respond Iran command for the region that's usually the past around and specifically the coup force they are in charge of what I call the Middle East and battlefield Gaza is just one piece Southern Lebanon or Lebanon is another piece Southern Syria is a third piece but a very strategic location for the fourth piece is in Yemen and these are the Houthis Houthis have been funded and trained and also obviously operational because of the help from Iran now the question is very strategic because Iran is using the Houthis located in a very important economic lifeline for the world to put pressure to tell the world if you don't do what I want in Gaza or in Southern Lebanon I can cross that lifeline and that would cause a huge economic crisis worldwide what about the position of the moderate Gulf Arab states I mean they too are threatened by Iran via the Houthis it's proxy in Yemen they also need to know need to show support for the Palestinians they need to show the Arab publics that they stand with the Palestinians how do you see them working their way through this they've done it in the past when there were clashes between Israel and Hamas or other factions in the region they would issue certainly press releases condemning Israel but at the same time not really fueling or supporting Hamas directly other than humanitarian aid but the more important question for these countries the Gulf countries is that what is the aim of Iran Saudi Arabia just signed a normalization treaty that's not an alliance treaty a normalization treaty with Iran this earlier this year hoping that they won't be touched by the by the Iranian forces but what caused that was initially a failure of our administration here to show support to Saudi Arabia UAE Bahrain and others which push them corner them to normalize with Iran but we don't know maybe the Iranians are going to drag even those Arab countries into a confrontation that they don't want Dr. Walid Faris author of Iran Imperialist Republic thank you very much we appreciate it thank you for having me well here in Israel it's not just the countries Jewish soldiers who are fighting Hamas there are Druze, Arab and Bedouins also signing up to destroy the terrorist group in support now on Israel's Bedouin Fighters was there a moment in the midst of all the chaos when you said to yourself how is this possible that's not the kind of thing that crosses your mind during a battle you're focused on countering the attack and preventing them at all costs from succeeding in doing what they came to do did you fear for your life I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't so yes of course the fear is there Lieutenant Colonel M is the commanding officer Bedouin Tracker's unit in the Israeli army for the area surrounding the Gaza Strip he has been in service for 24 years never in my worst nightmares did I think that I'd give the order to fire a missile from an Apache helicopter at my headquarters details of what transpired on the morning of the attack have been scarce now we can see from within the idea of base that has turned into a bloody battlefield the bedrooms and offices are riddled with bullets, shattered glass in every corner and a gymnasium which was bombed to take down the terrorists who were barricaded inside on that morning I was called up with info of two simultaneous incidents near Kibbutz Nakhalaz at this time at headquarters only a few men are on site some in the operation room with some staff officers the only combat soldiers on site are the Bedouin Tracker's I went outside and on the left about 200 or 300 meters away there was a long line of terrorists on motorcycles I understood right away that they were Hamas operatives and that they were blocking the road the battle to prevent the terrorists from entering the base was long and no doubt it prevented a much greater catastrophe every nook and cranny around the base's entrance every signpost or rock turned into a fighting position then they tried to enter the base on their motorcycles but we stopped them with a barrage of bullets it lasted about an hour and a half we were 6 against 30 after a long exchange of fire the terrorists changed their tactics and split into several groups they placed one group ambushing across roads and the others split up some attacked the entrance others blocked the road to prevent cars from passing at 6.30 am there were rocket alerts and at that moment I received a phone call from the officer at headquarters who told me there is a serious incident in the area go I then headed for the Rhine base to rejoin the division and then I was ambushed by the terrorists and they took the motorcycles to block the way there were about 13 of them and they started coming towards me they were merely 40 meters away from us and at that point I had no choice but to make contact and attack then returned to the base that's what I was trained for that's what I was brought up with as Major Akram rejoins the operations room and prepares to return to combat on the north side at 6.30 am also goes to the command room to get the latest information on the situation on the ground he leaves tracker Ashraf in position at the entrance with a single mission keep terrorists out my commander told me Ashraf you stay here no terrorist gets through we went into battle again and stopped them from advancing all the way to the entrance we killed 13 at the entrance alone at the base's entrance dozens of young people who have escaped from the rave party find refuge in the base he tells them where to go for cover there were over 30 families young people full of blood many with face injuries from shreds of glass from windows of the cars they were in when the terrorists shot at them many were shot in the leg, arm or shoulder I got them into the room and told them to close the door and not let anyone in until I got back that I'd say my name three times to let them know it was me the terrorists started to move towards the parking lot I didn't understand what they were doing at the time but I started to hear shooting from the other side of the base so I understood that they had managed to get into the base after all was the fence wide open? yes they opened a breach in the fence they wanted to get in with the motorcycles after more than an hour fruitless efforts outside the base they realized they weren't going to make it and decided to break through the fence from then on things escalated even further dozens of terrorists invaded the north side of the base searching room by room for the command center as they advance they shoot at anything that moves this went on for four hours an eternity in times of emergency at 10.30 am the IDF's special commander unit of Shaldag arrives on the base and starts taking control of the area Muslim Bedouin fighters give all they had to save lives and even if some are worried about tensions concerning their rights they are focused on their main task defense in times of war and they still have many complicated missions to fulfill I don't care about the gender religion or race of those who are with me we are all citizens of this country the state of Israel and we must be united together now is the time for the people to come together support and give everything to our country and that is Israel isn't it Jews, Jews, Arabs fighting together yes that is Israel institutions fail sometimes miserably inexplicably but individual soldiers fight heroically junior officers and sometimes even field grade officers lieutenant colonels and colonels gave their lives valiantly the generals and the cabinet ministers have failed and will probably have to resign when this is over or at least the greatest part of it is over because the public will not stand for people not being accountable and do you remember a time when Israel has been so united up until two weeks ago I thought that the Yom Kippur war was at that time but right now because this is the biggest catastrophe ever for Israel this is also the greatest opportunity for people to get around some common denominator not everything politically united but right now there's a just cause we must get the job done and then we will have repercussions and it's remarkable to see the country I mean just to think just a few weeks ago there was a huge divisions in this country people fighting over judicial reform now you see all sectors of Israeli society pulling together to fight this terrible enemy but this is again on a very narrow beam because there is a connection between what happened over the last preceding nine months with the judicial coup and the divisions that this has caused and the deterioration in the military readiness and willingness of reserve volunteers to show up and what the general staff should have told Netanyahu and his ministers and they did but they only whispered they did not shout, they did not resign and therefore they have become complicit in the failure are you encouraged that there is a unity government in place now? well there is no unity government a few ministers or a few politicians joined Netanyahu this is not a positive development the positive development is that the cabinet the war cabinet is headed by one Joe Biden this is the reality that Biden dictates the constraints in which the cabinet operates and therefore all war plans must be approved by the Americans not to say the president Austin Blinken the sent com commander before they are executed thank you very much alright well do stay with us our live coverage will continue here on i24 news on this day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas stay tuned 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 a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped help us we don't want to do we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity this particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt we'll be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year the exit here where they see us to claim for the rain at this moment global warming is affecting Bolivia and not only Bolivia but all over the world and we need rain for God's sake welcome to our rolling and breaking news coverage of day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas i'm batia 11th we'll look at the latest unfolding in this unprecedented conflict the situation in the north is escalating so much so that Israel's defense minister Yohav Galant has announced that the residents of Kiryat Shmona would be evacuated to state fund guest houses like sterot in the south the city has some 20,000 people that would now need to head south to avoid the exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah meanwhile sirens have been blaring again in the community surrounding the Gaza Strip as well as in the Jerusalem area as Hamas continues its relentless rocket launches this as the Israeli military is still striking Hamas targets in Gaza at a rate not seen in decades well let's go now straight to the northern border where our correspondent Robert Swift is standing by Robert I believe you're in Kiryat Shmona talk to us a little bit about what's happening with the conditions and the feelings that's correct I'm standing in the middle of the city now at first as we drove into the city it did have the feeling of a ghost town and we mostly saw military personnel manning the streets with very little civilians then as we started to get deeper into the city especially into some of the residential neighborhoods you know people poked their heads out of the door asking us questions about what we're doing some people are still here one of the residents that we spoke with said that they thought it was around about 30 to 40% of the city still here but it's clear that people are in the process of getting ready to go there's a family just a short distance from where we're standing they just packed up and left we saw them doing that and there's other families that we've spoken to here on this street that have said they've not left yet but they plan to tomorrow once they're ready once Shabbat's over and there's other families that said that they were waiting to be evacuated that they maybe didn't have the means themselves to get out and they were waiting for the authorities to help them do that Robert there's been an exchange of fire over the last couple of days between the IDF and Hezbollah on that northern border but I believe that drones are now being used by the IDF in order to knock out some of those posts in the Lebanese territory what can you tell us that's correct I mean there's a drone ahead right now I can hear it the constant buzz to be honest on the whole of the northern border that sound is pretty continuous wherever you're standing but particularly here in this region where some of the highest intensity skirmishes have been taking place that's doubly true and that's correct that there was a strike by an Israeli UAV on Hezbollah team in the early hours of today that was just one of several there's been other instances in recent days where the Israeli military has used drones to strike but they have other means at their disposal we've also been here in artillery fire the Israeli military are making plenty use of that where it sees fit and there's also other means from the air there's also been a short time ago we saw two Apache helicopters patrolling over our heads so it's not just drones that are here but the Israeli military is definitely using that weapons platform giving us an update from Kiryat Shmonai in the north near the northern border between Israel and Lebanon thank you very much for that update we'll be crossing more to you live a little bit later now a quick question about this war is what exactly Israel's plans and objectives are in the Gaza Strip speaking at a Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee meeting in Tel Aviv the country's defence minister Yoav Galant clearly laid them out this day should be remembered as the day when the process of eliminating Hamas off the face of the earth has begun no less than that whoever intends to murder Israeli children kill elderly people and take women captive and rape them we will wipe them out and so this war is a war of no other choice we cannot exist here without deterrence and without the realisation that such barbaric actions will result in a price they will not be able to deal with there will be three stages Hamas we are now in the first stage a military campaign that currently includes strikes and will later include maneuvering with the objective of neutralising terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure the second phase an intermediate one will require operations at lower intensity with the objective of eliminating pockets of resistance the third phase will require the removal of Israel's responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel joining me here in studio is reserve Brigadier General Israela Orron the former Deputy Head of the Israel National Security Council and I-24 News Senior Editor Gai Israel, thank you both very much for joining me here this evening Israela I'd like to start with you something that has been almost remarkable is this sort of a sort of favouring of dual nationalities both on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side there's just recently been a report that Palestinian dual nationals are still waiting at the Gaza border at the Rafa crossing and also we've heard it and seen it with many EU officials as well as the US presidents and high level American officials coming in saying they're going to do everything to get dual citizens out so are we really missing the point here that this is necessarily between Israelis and Palestinians versus Israelis and Hamas why the dual nationality argument Any country has the responsibility to protect its citizens so I guess the fact that they are trying to release their citizens from Gaza or from dangerous areas has to do with it they want to protect their citizens exactly as Israel would like to in the future protect better the citizens of Israel from attacks like the ones that was in October 7 There's images of thousands of Egyptians rallying in Tahrir Square in Egypt against the Israeli government I find this interesting because Egypt has a unique opportunity at the moment to be able to assist the Palestinians that it claims to care so much for and yet there's been zero condemnation from the people themselves against the Egyptian government with regards to allowing Palestinian refugees into the country Obviously and we've seen similar protests around the Arab world but that is perhaps the most significant example because Egypt is a possible solution to this problem and when you speak about the fact that these protests don't go against the Egyptian president well that is because he is perhaps initiating them to a certain degree both to improve his popularity as we're expecting elections in Egypt in the very near future but beyond that President Sisi has made it very clear that Egypt objects to any idea of accepting the Palestinian refugees out of Gaza and for his sake he's got good reasons for that first of all they do not wish to move the Palestinian issue into the Egyptian territory that is a hot potato that Sisi would not like to see in his territory he said he would not accept any Gazans in Sinai and there are very more concrete concerns and most of which is that terror operatives from Gaza like Hamas and Islamic Jihad will move into Sinai into Egypt pretending to be innocent civilians we can also remember that Hamas has cooperated with ISIS before and we've seen these links as well in the latest attacks adding to that we've seen Palestinian violence both in Jordan and in Lebanon so that is again something that we want to have on his home turf that is something that he would like to keep away and that is why we're seeing these people in Egypt protesting against the living conditions of the Gazans but not against their government not into allowing those Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula which is of course a massive open territory that has room for a lot of people of course right and speaking of possibly having people in a nation where they don't necessarily belong but not necessarily assisting them there's been serious infiltrations into Israel over the last couple of days with regards to many Hamas terrorists still being in Israeli territory just this morning the Israeli police saying that they found four Gazans hiding into the view as Belsheva is quite well into Israel this is not a border community and it doesn't hover around the enclave and so by no means an attack at the operations of the IDF but how many more Gazans are potentially hiding in Israeli territory Unfortunately I cannot be precise about the number of the Gazans that are still in the Israeli territory but you have to take into account that there are there are Gazan workers still in Israel still in Israel before the war and they were not able to get out and also there are Hamas terrorists that they are hiding and I don't know how many of them but I can assure you that they will be caught and treated according to the war laws and this is as opposed to what Hamas did in Beiri in other Kibbutzim in the south and I must say something here that I'm addressed many times by international press and to answer questions like objective questions what exactly is going on with the strikes and Gaza and how come and all kinds of questions that are really they don't suit the current situation and I believe that the international press they want to show some kind of a symmetry between Israel and what's going on with the Hamas there is no symmetry and you cannot count bodies both side and say oh in Gaza there are much more bodies this is a different situation which and you cannot judge Israel because our purpose is that we will not be will not be forced to live with Hamas across our fence a few meters from our children because we saw exactly what they are capable of we are trying not to injure a civilian in Gaza and because we are going to demolish Hamas from Gaza we don't want a Hamas regime in Gaza so we are trying to avoid people, innocent people to be hurt those are the photos that are shown internationally all over the world how Israel treats Palestinians no Israel wants to avoid killing innocent Palestinians and I really wonder how come that the international press is so much against the legitimate reason of Israel and you asked me before how come that they are releasing their citizens Israel needs and is obliged to protect its citizens so we are trying to do something and every smart people in the world and I'm counting also Tom Friedner which I really admire but he doesn't have an answer what to do and this is the question what should we do I want to continue the conversation with the international press but just for a moment I want to cross now to our correspondent Pierre Clush and Lowe who is standing by for us in the south of the country Pierre as we coming live to you rocket sirens have been going off in Matullah in the very northern part of Israel right on the border with Lebanon but sirens have been sounding all throughout the south today including even near Jerusalem what's the latest on the ground where you are on the southern front and also in Jerusalem but we are here for a reception organized by volunteers for the soldiers because it's the start of the Sabbath and I'll show you first of all a small supermarket that has been organized by those Israeli volunteers you have toilet basic toilet things for the soldiers you have cigarettes you have hand-aware you have thermal closing you have also towels for the soldiers socks everything and at the same time there is a buffet that has been organized for the soldiers that can come here but there are thousands and thousands of meals that have been organized and are distributed on the front line as well where the soldiers are deployed and you see a lot of reservists are here but also some soldiers that perform their military duty a lot of food here soldiers are eating a time of resting maybe the food is excellent the food is excellent the food we are all of together the people of Israel lives this is the power of Israel we are all of together and we have the power thanks you see a lot of cohesion a lot of unity between the people who are not mobilized but mobilize themselves to help those who have been mobilized and believe me sometimes you don't even want to ask how are you because you don't know if the person you're asking knows exactly who are friends who were killed slaughtered or family members who were slaughtered so you're afraid to ask and at the same time you have this immense cohesion this immense sense of unity that you sense here very much when soldiers are eating food that Israelis in the rear have been preparing and the rear is also hammered so that's not an easy task this is what everybody thinks must do some sort of duty to help those soldiers on duty right Pierre I think people forget just how small Israel really is in terms of its population to address the point that you were making that everybody is directly affected by this who knows someone who has either lost a close friend or relative or has close friends and relatives that have been kidnapped by Hamas into the Gaza Strip perhaps that are wounded in Israeli hospitals but you also spoke about the mobilization of the country of general citizens that feel the need to help but more so than that of also institutions in Israel the national airline put out a statement today to say that they have brought over 200,000 people since the war erupted back into Israel no doubt a fortune of some of those reservists coming back to Israel are probably sitting where you are right now absolutely it could be very possible look Israel has a population of less than 10 million 10 million inhabitants so indeed it's a small population and it's a very free population in the sense that just before the war there were very deep arguments about the nature of the state and yet when war starts everybody feels a duty to help each other and there is a totally different kind of atmosphere here and indeed as you said nobody has felt safe in this war the rear as well as the front and people have been slaughtered and people know people who have been slaughtered people have been wounded and people know who has been wounded there is not one single Israeli that doesn't know somebody who where these are either kidnapped or is missing or has been wounded or has been killed and that's the situation but the spirit is very high despite all that you have those soldiers that are eating you have those soldiers that are going to be blessing the start of the Sabbath and you have these volunteers that are backing them day and night in order to organize those thousands and thousands of meals that are distributed on the front line Correspondent Pierre Klushen providing an update from the south and also an update that has been different from our usual updates on the northern the southern border this one really showing a picture of unity instead of destruction thank you very much for that we'll be crossing live to you a little bit later in the meantime I do want to move to New York where I am joined by Adam Jeremy Edelman an Olympian and captain of the Israeli bobsled team Edelman firstly welcome to the broadcast and thank you so very much for joining us just before we had an update from our team we were talking to each other about the way that Israel's war against Hamas has been presented to the international arena and that just brings us to the topic that you're here to discuss being in the sports arena I believe have been a crucial voice yourself in finding the narrative on Israel's war abroad what can you tell us about your personal activism I personally believe that athletes who represent the country have a personal responsibility to do so at all times and all the more so in war of the team members of my bobsled team five are currently serving with one in the past who is a past member of the team he is currently serving I'm the only member of the team essentially who is not serving and moved to Israel too late my responsibility that I have seen fit to to take on is to serve where I can so I'm located in the United States where we were about to start our season and I've tried to go out to people in uniform to just explain to them what our side of things are and to understand why they might not support us I think it's really important that Israelis not lose this PR war historically Israelis have been so poor at presenting our side because we don't have a human face because we don't speak to people it is really easy to connect with loss it's really easy to connect with death and to images of destruction but people don't understand or see the side of the Israelis of why this has occurred that it's not Israel's fault that it's Hamas' fault so that is what my role and responsibility is at this point in time now Leon Asoulin is a former player for HaPoel here in Tel Aviv and he unfortunately was murdered by Hamas terrorist at a music festival in southern Israel Israeli players at the moment understandably are most likely petrified to be playing any of their sports because of the threats of violence against them I'd like to know firstly if you've seen this in action but also to ask how how the world or how at least the sports world views this we're talking about athletes that should be far removed from politics but evidently we know politics and sports are always combined but should not be held responsible for the actions of their country or their government I'll say one of the pivotal moments of my sporting career at the Olympics in 2018 was marred by a hugely anti-Semitic event from a member of the sporting body from which I compete anti-Semitism in sport is nothing new originally it drove me out of my sport but I realized after those Olympics and why I unretired why I came back to sport is this is not how Israelis work Israelis are not it is not our responsibility to change our behavior in response to others hate it is their responsibility not to hate us and so when this war broke out I saw it fit to I wrapped a perfume vehicle it is impossible it is a massive massive bus sitting outside on the streets of New York that has Israel plastered all over it you can't miss it we should be proud we should be an incredibly proud people I have to speak to the people who who insist that we have to hide ourselves for fear Israel exists to protect us for the first time in modern history we can be proud of who we are we should be proud and we should stand on the street and we should say I am an Israeli I am a Jew you don't get to do this to us if you have a problem with us that is your problem it is not our problem it's definitely an interesting perspective on this and no doubt sports teams and individual athletes have been commenting on the war many antagonistic against Israel in fact too many for me to actually even take the time to go through them at the moment but we also need to as you mentioned highlight the positivity especially just as an example legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather since a jet to Israel loaded with over 5,000 pounds or 2,000 kilograms of supplies for Israeli civilians and military what is happening from the efforts from America at this point of time with regards to that as well we seeing more sports figures coming out and offering support and aid to Israel apart from the many that are antagonistic towards the state I think for people who don't have a personal connection to Israel or personal connection to Jewish people who themselves are connected it is a very tough line for them to take because in the United States there is a very vocal group of people who really dislike Jews who really dislike Israel one of the one of the things about this war and one of the thing one of the things that has exposed is the extreme amount of anti-Semitism that is still present in this country and for those of us who have followed it and for those of us who have been in sport or out of sport we have known this we have lived it but there is a great many people in the country who just had no idea and now can openly see it and so because of that because that open anti-Israel sentiment now open anti-Semitic sentiment people are very afraid to speak up public figures even people in the comedy community of which my brother is a part of even if they're Jewish they don't want to speak so loudly because they're worried that they'll affect their livelihoods and I understand that however being on the side of what is right this is why our people in the past have been destroyed this is why our people in the past have been killed the inability to speak up for ourselves and the inability for others to speak up for us leads to the deaths of Jews it is important for all of us to remember that the only way to combat this is to stand strong this is a war of what we are fighting for we are fighting for our existence it is just and it is good Adam Jeremy Edelman an Olympian and captain of the Israeli bobsled team Edelman joining me from New York thank you so very much for your time before we go can I can I can I speak to earlier this week there were a number of Jews one of the things that has been greatly distressing you we've spoken about the reaction in sports but one of the things that goes under the radar is the reaction of other Jews abroad and diaspora and one of the very distressing things which I noticed earlier this week was a number of hundreds of Jews sat in the U.S. Capitol demanding a ceasefire this is not anything that we should ever be interested in when someone launches a war of annihilation against us Jews need to wake up this happens to us every 100 years the Yom Kippur war the Holocaust, blood libel crusades it never stops and the only way to deal with it is to put it out to destroy Hamas to end it this war is important it is a fight for our survival and so for those who sit in the Capitol Jews my own people who sit in the Capitol in demand that the response to those who slaughtered us is to appease them is to sign a ceasefire with them appeasement comes back and harms us tenfold this must be stopped wake up Jews need to wake up to this reality it is happening in real time all right thank you very much for your time and for your analysis and pointing out both not only those in the sports world but also Jews in the diaspora as you so rightly mentioned as well a crucial part in fighting the psychological war and still with me here in studio Reserve Brigadier General Israela Oron and Gaia Azriel we've got 30 seconds left of the broadcast and so I want to just get your take on how all of this has to play out in the international media as a wrap up this is interesting that a few seconds after the attack the bomb that was on the hospital the Hamas announced that we are talking about 500 casualties and the international media bought it stay with us we'll be right back 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 want 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 vestment in Israel bonds it is the most powerful and direct way to stand with Israel visit israelbonds.com and invest now 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 i24 news ladies and gentlemen thank you for joining me and breaking news coverage of day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas I'm about to 11th thanks for joining me as we take a look at the latest unfolding in this unprecedented conflict the situation in the north is escalating so much so that Israel's defense minister Yohav Garland has announced that the residents of Kiryat Shmona would be evacuated to state fund guest houses like sterot in the south the city has no need to head south to avoid the exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah meanwhile sirens have been blaring again in the community surrounding the Gaza Strip as well as in the Jerusalem area as Hamas continues its relentless rocket launches this is the Israeli military is still striking Hamas targets in Gaza at a rate not seen in decades well let's go now straight to the northern border where our correspondent Robert Swift is standing by Robert I believe you're in Kiryat Shmona talk to us a little bit about what's happening on the ground there in terms of both the evacuations and the feelings that's correct I'm standing in the middle of the city now at first as we drove into the city it did have the feeling of a ghost town and we mostly saw military personnel manning the streets with very little civilians then as we started to get deeper into the city in the residential neighbourhoods people poked their heads out of the door asking us questions about what we're doing and it's clear that some people are still here one of the residents that we spoke with said that they thought there was around about 30 to 40% of the city still here but it's clear that people are in the process of getting ready to go there's a family just a short distance from where we're standing they just packed up and left we saw them doing that and there's other families that we've spoken to here on this street they've not left yet but they plan to tomorrow once they're ready, once Shabbat's over they're going to get up and leave and there's other families that said that they were waiting to be evacuated that they maybe didn't have the means themselves to get out and they were waiting for the authorities to help them do that Robert there's been an exchange of fire over the last couple of days between the IDF and Hezbollah on that northern border but I believe that drones are now being used by the IDF in order to take out some of those posts in the Lebanese territory what can you tell us? That's correct, there's a drone over my head right now I can hear it, the constant buzz to be honest on the whole of the northern border that sound is pretty continuous wherever you're standing but particularly here in this region where some of the highest intensity skirmishes have been taking place that's doubly true and that's correct that there was an Israeli on Hezbollah team in the early hours of today that was just one of several there's been other instances in recent days where the Israeli military has used drones to strike but they have other means at the disposal we've also been here in artillery fire the Israeli military are making plenty use of that where it sees fit and there's also other means from the air there's also been a short time ago we saw two Apache helicopters patrolling over our heads so it's not just drones that are here but the Israeli military is definitely using that weapons platform Correspondent Robert Swift giving us an update from Kiryat Shmonai in the north near the northern border between Israel and Lebanon, thank you very much for that updub we'll be crossing more to you live a little bit later now a quick question about this war is what exactly Israel's plans and objectives are in the Gaza Strip speaking at a Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee meeting in Tel Aviv defence minister Joab Gallant clearly laid them out this day should be remembered as the day when the process of eliminating Hamas off the face of the earth has begun no less than that whoever intends to murder Israeli children kill elderly people and take women captive and rape them we will wipe them out and so this war is a war of no other choice we cannot exist here without deterrence and without realisation that such barbaric actions will result in a price they will not be able to deal with there will be three stages to our campaign against Hamas we are now in the first stage a military campaign that currently includes strikes and will later include maneuvering with the objective of neutralising terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure the second phase an intermediate one will require operations at lower intensity with the objective of eliminating pockets of resistance the third phase will require the removal of Israel's responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel joining me here in studio is reserve Brigadier General Israela Orron the former deputy head of the Israel National Security Council and I-24 news senior editor Gai Israel thank you both very much for joining me here this evening Israela I'd like to start with you something that has been almost remarkable is this sort of favouring of dual nationalities both on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side there's just recently been a report that Palestinian dual nationals are still waiting at the Gaza border at the Rafa crossing and also we've heard and seen it with many EU officials as well as the US presidents and high level American officials saying they're going to do everything to get dual citizens out so are we really missing the point here that this is necessarily between Israelis and Palestinians versus Israelis and Hamas why the dual nationality argument Any country has the responsibility to protect its citizens so I guess the fact that they are trying to release their citizens from Gaza or from dangerous areas has to do with it they want to protect their citizens exactly as Israel would like to in the future protect better the citizens of Israel from attacks like the one that was in October 7th Gai thousands there's images of thousands of Egyptians rallying Tahrir Square in Egypt against the Israeli government I find this interesting because Egypt has a unique opportunity at the moment to be able to assist the Palestinians that it claims to care so much for and yet there's been zero condemnation from the people themselves against the Egyptian government with regards to allowing Palestinian refugees into the country obviously and we've seen similar protests around the Arab world but that is perhaps the most significant example because Egypt is a possible solution to this problem and when you speak about the fact that these protests don't go against the Egyptian president well that is because he is perhaps initiating them to a certain degree both to improve his popularity as we're expecting elections in Egypt in the very near future but beyond that President Sisi has made it very clear that Egypt objects to any idea of accepting Palestinian refugees out of Gaza and for his sake he's got good reasons for that first of all they do not wish to move the Palestinian issue into the Egyptian territory that is a hot potato that Sisi would not like to see in his territory he said he would not accept any Gazans in Sinai and there are other very more concrete concerns the first of which is that terror operatives from Gaza like Hamas and Islamic Jihad will move into Sinai into Egypt pretending to be innocent civilians we can also remember that Hamas has cooperated with ISIS before and we've seen these links as well in the latest attacks and I think to that we've seen Palestinian violence both in Jordan and in Lebanon so that is again something that Sisi does not want to have on his home turf that is something that he would like to keep away and that is why we're seeing these people in Egypt protesting against the living conditions of the Gazans but not against their government not into allowing those Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula which is of course a massive open territory that has room to host a lot of people of course right and speaking of possibly having people in a nation where they don't necessarily belong but not necessarily assisting them there's been serious infiltrations into Israel over the last couple of days with regards to many Hamas terrorists still being in Israeli territory just this morning the Israeli police saying that they found four Gazans hiding in a Bel Sheva apartment and we explained to the viewers Bel Sheva is quite well into Israel this is not a border community and it doesn't hover around the enclave and so by no means an attack at the operations of the IDF but how many more Gazans are potentially hiding in Israeli territory unfortunately I cannot be precise about the number of Gazans that are still in Israeli territory but you have to take into account there are Gazan workers that are still in Israel still in Israel before the war and they were not able to get out and also there are Hamas terrorists that are hiding and I don't know how many of them but I can assure you that they will be caught and treated according to the war laws and this is as opposed to what Hamas did in Baeri in other Kibbutzim in the south and I must say something here that I addressed many times by international press and to answer questions like objective questions what exactly is going on with the strikes and Gaza and how come and all kind of questions that are really they don't suit the current situation and I believe that the international press is they want to show some kind of symmetry between Israel and what's going on with the Hamas there is no symmetry and you cannot count bodies both side and say oh in Gaza there are much more bodies this is a different situation which and you cannot judge Israel because our purpose is that we will not be forced to live with Hamas across our fence a few meters from our children because we saw exactly what they are capable of we are trying not to injure a civilian in Gaza and because we are going to demolish Hamas from Gaza we don't want a Hamas regime in Gaza so we are trying to avoid people innocent people to be hurt so those are the photos that are shown internationally all over the world how Israel treats Palestinians no Israel wants to avoid killing innocent Palestinians and I really wonder how come that the international press is so much against the legitimate reason of Israel and you asked me before how come that they are releasing their citizens Israel needs and is obliged to protect its citizens so we are trying to do something and every smart people in the world and I'm counting also Tom Friedneran which I really admire but he doesn't have an answer what to do and this is the question what should we do I want to continue the conversation on the international press but just for a moment I want to cross now to our correspondent Pierre Kluschenblad who is standing by for us in the south of the country Pierre as we coming live to you rocket sirens have been going off in Muttullah in the very northern part near Jerusalem what's the latest on the ground where you are no it's quiet now for the past three hours also it's in quiet on the southern front and also in Jerusalem but we are here for a reception organized by volunteers for the soldiers because it's the start of the Sabbath and I'll show you first of all a small supermarket that has been organized by those Israeli who have toilets basic toilet things for the soldiers you have cigarettes you have underwear you have thermal closing you have also towels for the soldiers socks everything and at the same time there is a buffet that has been organized for the soldiers that can come here but there are thousands of meals that have been organized and are distributed on the front line as well where the soldiers are deployed and you see a lot of reservists are here but also some soldiers that perform their military duty a lot of food here soldiers are eating a time of resting maybe the food is excellent the food is excellent the food is excellent we are all of together you see the people of Israel lives this is the power of Israel we are all of together and we have the power thanks you see a lot of cohesion a lot of unity between the people who are not mobilized but mobilized themselves to help those who have been mobilized and believe me sometimes you ask how are you because you don't know if the person you are asking knows exactly has friends who are killed slaughtered or family members who are slaughtered so you are afraid to ask and at the same time you have this immense cohesion this immense sense of unity that you sense here very much when soldiers are eating food that Israelis in the rear have been preparing and the rear is also hammered so that's not an easy task but at the same time this is what everybody thinks must do some sort of duty to help those soldiers on duty I think people forget just how small Israel really is in terms of its population to address the point that you were making that everybody is directly affected by someone who has either lost a close friend or relative or has close friends and relatives that have been kidnapped by Hamas into the Gaza Strip or perhaps that are wounded in Israeli hospitals but you also spoke about the mobilization of the country of general citizens that feel the need to help but more so than that of also institutions in Israel the national airline El Al put out a statement today to say that they have brought over people since the war erupted back into Israel no doubt a fortune of some of those reservists coming back to Israel are probably sitting where you are right now absolutely it could be very possible look Israel has a population of less than 10 million 10 million inhabitants so indeed it's a small population and it's a very free population in the sense that just before the war there were very deep arguments about the nature of the state when war starts everybody feels a duty to help each other and there is a totally different kind of atmosphere here and indeed as you said nobody has felt safe in this war the rear as well as the front and people have been slaughtered and people know people who have been slaughtered people have been wounded and people know who has been wounded there is not one single Israeli that doesn't know somebody who either kidnapped or is missing or has been wounded or has been killed and that's the situation but the spirit is very high despite all that you have those soldiers that are eating you have those soldiers that are going to be blessing the start of the Sabbath and you have these volunteers that are backing them day and night in order to organize those thousands and thousands of meals that are distributed on the front line Correspondent Pierre Clashen are providing an update from the south and also an update that has been different from our usual updates on the northern the southern border this one really showing a picture of unity instead of destruction thank you very much for that we'll be crossing live to you a little bit later in the meantime I do want to move to New York where I am joined by Adam Jeremy Edelman an Olympian and captain Israeli bobsled team Edelman firstly welcome to the broadcast and thank you so very much for joining us just before we had an update from our team in the south and the north we were speaking in studio about the way that Israel's war against Hamas has been presented to the international arena and that just brings us to the topic that you're here to discuss being in the sports arena you've I believe have been a crucial voice yourself in fighting the narrative on Israel's war what can you tell us about your personal activism I personally believe that athletes who represent the country have a personal responsibility to do so at all times and all the more so in war of the team members of my bobsled team five are currently serving with one in the past who is a past member of the team he is currently serving on the only member of the team essentially who is not serving a move to Israel too late my responsibility that I have seen fit to take on is to serve where I can so I'm located in the United States where we were about to start our season and I've tried to go out and talk to people in uniforms to just explain to them what our side of things are and to understand why they might not support us I think it's really important that Israelis not lose this PR war historically Israelis have been so poor at presenting our side because we don't have a human face because we don't speak to people it is really easy to connect with loss it's really easy to connect with death and to images of destruction but people don't understand or see the side of the Israelis of why this has occurred that is not Israel's fault but it's Hamas' fault so that is what my role and responsibility is at this point in time now Leon Asoulin is a former player for HaPoel here in Tel Aviv and he unfortunately was murdered by Hamas terrorists at a music festival in southern Israel Israeli many players at the moment understandably are most likely petrified to be playing any of their sports because of the threats of violence against them I'd like to know firstly if you've seen this in action but also to ask how how the world or how at least the sports world views this we're talking about athletes that should be far removed from politics but evidently we know politics and sports are always combined but should not be held responsible for the actions of the country or the government I'll say one of the pivotal moments of my sporting career at the Olympics in 2018 was marred by a hugely anti-Semitic event from a member of the sporting body from which I compete anti-Semitism in sport is nothing new originally it drove me out of my sport but I realized after those Olympics and why I unretired why I came back to sport is this is not how Israelis work Israelis are not it is not our responsibility to change our culture in response to others hate it is their responsibility not to hate us and so when this war broke out I saw it fit to I wrapped our team vehicle it is impossible it is a massive massive bus sitting outside on the streets of New York that has Israel plastered all over it you can't miss it we should be proud we should be an incredibly proud people I have to speak to the people who who insist that we have to hide ourselves Israel exists to protect us for the first time in modern history we can be proud of who we are we should be proud and we should stand on the street and we should say I am an Israeli I am a Jew you don't get to do this to us if you have a problem with us that is your problem it is not our problem that's definitely an interesting perspective on this and no doubt sports teams and individual athletes have been commenting on the war many antagonistic against Israel in fact even take the time to go through them at the moment but we also need to as you mentioned highlight the positivity especially as actions speak louder than words just as an example legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather sent a jet to Israel loaded with over 5,000 pounds or 2,000 kilograms of supplies for Israeli civilians and military what is happening from the efforts from America at this point of time with regards to that as well we are seeing more sports coming out and offering support and aid to Israel apart from the many that are antagonistic towards the state I think for people who don't have a personal connection to Israel or personal connection to Jewish people who themselves are connected it is a very tough line for them to take because in the United States there is a very vocal group of people who really dislike Jews who really dislike Israel one of the one of the things about this war and one of the thing one of the things that has exposed is the extreme amount of anti-Semitism that is still present in this country and for those of us who have followed it for those of us who have been in sport or out of sport we have known this we have lived it but there is a great many people in the country who just had no idea and now can openly see it and so because of that because that open anti-Israel sentiment that open anti-Semitic sentiment people are very afraid to speak up even people in the comedy community of which my brother is a part of even if they're Jewish they don't want to speak so loudly because they're worried that saying the wrong thing will affect their livelihoods and I understand that however being on the side of what is right this is why our people in the past have been destroyed this is why our people in the past have been killed the inability to speak up for ourselves and the inability for others to speak up for us leads to the deaths of Jews it is important for all of us to remember that the only way to combat this is to stand strong this is a war of what we are fighting for we are fighting for our existence it is just and it is good Adam Jeremy Edelman an Olympian and captain of the Israeli bobsled team Edelman joining me from New York thank you so very much for your time before we go can I speak to earlier this week there were a number of Jews one of the things that has been greatly distressing you we've spoken about the reaction sports but one of the things that goes under the radar is the reaction of other Jews abroad in diaspora and one of the very distressing things which I noticed earlier this week was a number hundreds of Jews sat in the US capital demanding a ceasefire this is not anything that we should ever be interested in when someone launches a war of annihilation against us Jews need to wake up this happens to us every hundred years the Yom Kippur war the Holocaust blood libels crusades it never stops and the only way to deal with it is to put it out to destroy Hamas to end it this war is important it is a fight for our survival and so for those who sit in the capital Jews my own people who sit in the capital in demand that the response to those who slaughtered us is to appease them is to sign a ceasefire with them appeasement comes back and harms us tenfold this must be stopped wake up Jews need to wake up to this reality it must be dealt with now it is happening in real time alright thank you very much for your time and for your analysis and pointing out both not only those in the sports world but also Jews in the diaspora as you so rightly mentioned as well a crucial part in fighting the psychological war and still with me here in studio reserve Brigadier General John and Gaya Azrael we've got 30 seconds left of the broadcast and so I want to just get your take on how all of this has to play out in the international media as a wrap up this is interesting that a few seconds after the attack the bombs that was on the hospital the Hamas announced that we are talking about 500 casualties and the international media bought it stay with us we'll be right over 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 I-24 News this particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year for the rain in these moments global warming is affecting Bolivia not only Bolivia but all over the world and we need rain for the embryos Fakita reserve we have the right ingredients and we have to do the job and if we have the right ingredients and we do the job the Fakita can be protected made for me a unique concept 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 bringing in breaking news coverage of day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas I'm Bachi Elevento thanks for joining me as we take a look at the latest unfolding in this unprecedented conflict the situation in the north is escalating so much so that Israel's defense minister Joab Galant has announced that the residents of Kiryat Shmona would be evacuated to state funded guest houses like Stavrot in the south the city has some 20,000 people that would now need to head south to avoid the exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah meanwhile sirens have been blaring again in the community surrounding the Gaza Strip as well as in the Jerusalem area as Hamas continues its relentless rocket launches thus as the Israeli military is still striking Hamas targets in Gaza at a rate not seen in decades now a key question about this war is what exactly Israel's plans and objectives are in the Gaza Strip speaking at a Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee meeting in Tel Aviv the country's defense minister Joab Galant clearly laid them out this day should be remembered as the day when the process of eliminating Hamas off the face of the earth has begun no less than that whoever intends to murder Israeli children kill elderly people and take women captive and rape them we will wipe them out and so this war is a war of no other choice we cannot exist here without deterrence and without the realization that such barbaric actions will result in a price they will not be able to deal with there will be three stages to our campaign against Hamas we are now in the first stage a military campaign that currently includes strikes and will later include maneuvering with the objective of neutralizing terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure the second phase an intermediate one will require operations at lower intensity with the objective of eliminating pockets of resistance the third phase will require the removal of Israel's responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel now joining me here in studio to discuss this further is Benjamin Antoni CEO at the Miriam Institute and I-24 new senior editor Guy Azriel good evening to both of you Benjamin this is all very good and nice that after 14 days of war the defense establishment is outlining a clear-cut plan for what they are planning on doing in the Gaza Strip no doubt more so to appease the international community more so than here in Israel but there was no mention of the hostages whatsoever and even today we saw the Tel Aviv headquarter of Netanyahu's Likudpani defaced with fake blood and photos of the Gaza hostages and so the question does need to be asked while our plan in the Gaza Strip is important and it's also important for the public to understand what happens next what about the over 200 hostages that are being kept captive in the Gaza Strip of which their mental state their physical state we don't really know so what you're referring to is actually a growing frustration here in the home front in the states of Israel it's particularly growing as a consequence of President Biden's visit here earlier in the week he spoke directly to the Israeli people about the sympathy the heartache that he shared with them as a consequence of this horrific, horrific taking of more than 200 individuals hostages, hostage into the Gaza Strip Prime Minister Netanyahu has not spoken in those terms is yet to really speak in such visceral clear sympathetic empathetic terms that frustration at the fact that there isn't a clear plan being put forward that is only going to grow and increase now that's with regard to the hostages the reason that that's not being explicated in absolute terms is I suspect there isn't a plan at this stage and why would there be no country has had to face a challenge such as this Israel has faced hostages being held in the Gaza Strip previously but this is on an entirely entirely different scale now what's interesting about Joav Gallant's statement is he is dealing in rhetoric that is extremely strong extremely precise very very defiant and very determined that has toppled previous Prime Ministers in the past you'll remember in 2006 Ehud Olmert called for the complete dismantling of Hezbollah a name that he wasn't able to bring to fruition it fed into his demise as a leader but perhaps Joav Gallant is made of different staff and perhaps as a consequence of this bloody massacre we have much more support and I suspect we do for selling more therapy. Well the hostage situation Odaan unprecedented because normally we are talking about IDF soldiers that are taken captive which again we're talking about 18, 19 and 20 year olds that have to be conscripted into the army but again that's the military side of it we're talking about civilians and guy there is a Shabbat or a Sabbath table being set up I believe just outside the Kiria the military headquarters in Tel Aviv as a sign of this very unprecedented situation of citizens not being able to sit at their Sabbath table today because 203 of them have been tapped into the Gaza Strip. Yeah something that really touches on all all of the Israeli public as you mentioned throughout the day does not one person in Israel is not affected to some degree by this tragedy what makes this particular situation even more complicated is not just the incredible number of over 200 Israelis who are captive and and also their ages so you mentioned soldiers which by the way the IDF mentioned as prisoners of war in order to protect them under the international law if Hamas abides by any such laws we're seeing Israeli kidnapped as young as nine months old babies this is something incredible for the world to understand the situation and what makes the situation even more complicated is the fact that it's not only Hamas that captured Israeli citizens and soldiers also other terror groups like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and beyond that as we could see in the videos from that gruesome attack regular Palestinian citizens who managed the opportunity joined the party for more Jewish blood capturing Israelis it is unclear I don't think the defense establishment really knows where are these Israeli captives are and at the hands of which makes the situation even more complicated I'm not sure Hamas even knows all the information about these Israelis. I want to get an update from the southern border now so let's cross to our correspondent Pierre Kloschenblad who is standing by for us in Offa Kim. Pierre earlier when we spoke to you you were at what is being organized as a dinner Shabbat dinners we've been talking about here in the studio for a lot of the IDFs some of who are on current duty came in from reserves. I have to ask the question though with you being in Offa Kim is Rachel's cookies there for dessert? No we're near Offa Kim we're actually near Gillat which is really on the outskirts of Onofa Kim so no she's not here but I'll make you a tour of what's going on right now there's not so many soldiers many have already left 8 and left back to their front line base you have some of them here reserve soldiers this man here made a speech about the cohesion of the state of Israel volunteers and soldiers alike and he made a speech while he was lighting the candles and singing the songs of the start of Shabbat peace over the world peace of the angels these kind of songs you speak English? Yeah so what's the message that you wanted to convey Well I would say the message is that the people of Israel the nation of Israel is strong we have always been always been united and together and now we are stronger than ever and as much as we are in a lot of pain we are we're going through a very difficult time but I can guarantee you that very very soon we will prevail and we will be stronger than ever and you know that's what we're here for and it's beautiful to see the unity that this is bringing about and we appreciate all the love and the prayers and blessings from all over the world so thank you for being thank you for being here Thanks captain so you see and over there you have soldiers that are already being served their Sabbath meal volunteers who come from across the country and this is a scene that you will see across the front lines in Israel be it in the north or in the south I've received video of the same kind of of rejoicement I would say in the middle of a tragedy from across the front line I think that just speaks to the very epitome of what it's all about Pierre this is a nation we've been saying it over and over again the nation of Israel lives and no matter how many times enemies in particular in an unprecedented attack like this try and knock us down it brings everyone together and the state stands strong thank you very much for that update we'll be crossing live to you a little bit later still with me here in studio to continue the conversation Benjamin Antony and our editor Guy Azrael Benjamin the question almost becomes redundant to be asking Israelis how they are none of us are okay I think the psychological effects of this war are not going to be known right now perhaps even for months and years after what's going on but everyone is trying to pick up the pieces as best as they can because what's first and foremost is the war efforts and everything else sort of takes a back step but there's also been this huge question of how Jews are feeling around the world this is the Jewish state it's a home that many come to have dual citizenship whether they have family here whether they come for the holidays fortunes of trips like birthrights and other organizations Jewish movements that bring trips to Israel the diaspora can't be doing well either no you're absolutely right and since the founding of the state of Israel it has been our insurance policy a dear friend of mine over in New York says that Israel is the international Jewish communities 9-1-1 it's where the international Jewish communities are at risk of safety that impression has been torn as sander as a consequence of this horrific horrific attack that took place now there are also implications for diaspora communities right now we are seeing increasing protests in major cities including in New York which is the most major hub for diaspora Jewry anywhere in the world and we are seeing threats open threats on synagogues on Jewish centers Jewish communities even towards Jewish individuals it is vital that Jewish synagogues communities centers of congregations everywhere across the diaspora now secure themselves it is vital that they do not merely hire a gun to defend them or hire a security company in order to defend them that they take an active role every synagogue should be fortified not only by a hired gun a security guard but also someone from the community who can see who is there the community and should they be granted access learn the lesson that we have said here in the state of Israel we defend ourselves by ourselves so too must the communities abroad they must protect themselves by themselves not as vigilantes but as concerned citizens of their own communities it's very very important not only in synagogues but also dare I say it on too many university campuses right now well that's really it just speaks to the Jewish people where you are we really function in communities and what's quite sad that's happening in Israel both in the south and the north is that communities are being shattered not just by the death or the murderers rampage of Hamas but also because they have to evacuate areas that are currently in the middle of a war zone so for more on that I want to go to our northern border where our correspondent Robert Swift is standing by for us Rob more than 20,000 people evacuating from the north there's been sirens that incoming rocket alerts are spreading in Israeli territory in the north most likely by Hezbollah what's the latest the latest is that the army has been evacuating citizens it was announced earlier today that that evacuation would begin but we've just in the last hour been witnessing it happening there was dozens of buses moving throughout the city they were congregating in one area then spreading out to different parts of the city where they've been picking up residents before returning here and heading out towards cities around the country many of them were going to Tel Aviv to hotels there but many of them were going to other places and it was clear that many of the residents many of them who were elderly they were really quite confused about the situation they said that they didn't know what was happening some of them had just literally been informed that they were about to leave and they were in great stress as the situation unfolded now it has cleared out most of these buses have now departed and this is all part of the evacuation that has taken place due to the security situation that is unfolding here with just around two hours ago the most recent event taking place a short distance to the north of where we are there was yet more shelling coming from the Lebanese side of the border Correspondent Robert Swift there on the northern border reporting for us on all the latest stay safe we'll be crossing live to you a little later the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyel moments ago held another phone call with US President Joe Biden the first since Biden made a wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday and gave an Oval Office address about plans to expand American aid to both Israel and Ukraine Biden is seeking a $14 billion aid package for Israel in order to assist the country militarily and still with me here in studio is Benjamin Anthony and Guy Azrael Guy this is an enormous besides the fact that he was actually here this wasn't just words he's putting words into action he's saying we will get you whatever it needs you need to support yourself and we'll make that happen again obviously all of this needs to be passed by Congress but I can't help but have to equate the numbers in terms of the fact that Israel is in an existential crisis right now and I think it's fair to say that getting $14 billion but they forget to mention the other part of that that is the Ukraine war is getting $60 billion worth of funding it's difficult to compare these two conflicts in scale and in importance certainly for the western world and in terms of the solidarity that both Israel and Ukraine are getting from western countries before we get to that and update on the situation in the north we've reported earlier about security incident in the community of Margaliot where a security officer was shot earlier and there have been extensive searches in the area following that with a feared infiltration well just moments ago the IDF has neutralized a suspect with fire and that seems to be that terrorist who infiltrated the Israeli community still not clear whether he infiltrated out of Lebanon or did he reach that community from other areas and over the past 24 hours four different squads of terrorists out of Lebanon were taken down by Israel's usually using a fighter a helicopter and a drone so we are seeing more activity of the IDF both in having to deal with these terrorists who infiltrate Israel in this case or fire towards Israeli forces but also before they even engage in that sort of operation and trying to prevent those as we saw the several instances of anti-tank missiles towards Israeli troops I want to just point out to our viewers that you are looking at live images as we speak in studio of the Israel Gaza border we can see it does appear to be sorry the Israel Lebanon border there does appear to be flames in the distance there sorry guy please continue so obviously that is a very volatile border the situation is very tense Israel is fearing a wider escalation and we also heard from the IDF spokesman just a short while ago since we are seeing so many incidents on the border what would it take for Israel to say okay this is Hezbollah crossing crossing the rocket rocket alert we will just find out where that is when is the red line where does Israel say well this is a war with Hezbollah what he says a wide or long-range missile attack on Israel or a greater operation by Hezbollah that for Israel would mean the crossing of that red line and the start of the war with Hezbollah something that Israel is trying to push away at least wait with as long as it can while it is engaged in this operation in Gaza while still waiting for that ground incursion I believe that those sirens that we just heard now from your phone were in Ashkelon and Zikim so again we are seeing more red alerts being recorded in the south both the south and the north have been under heavy fire today from rocket alerts as well and Benjamin I wanted to ask you something because following Biden's visit to the region again a momentous and unprecedented there's never been a time where the US president has flown into the country for one day in literally a war zone but the Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas refused to hold a phone call with Biden after the visit again claiming that it was in protest to the Gaza hospital bombing which Israel proved wasn't their responsibility nor their fault that it actually was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired but also because of the situation that the Palestinians are in now surely this should be a platform for Mahmoud Abbas to step up to be able to have these conversations that sounds relatively childish to say the very least to be ignoring calls from world leaders that are trying to solve an issue to make us not like Ukraine and Russia as a guy said not to compare them but not to have a war that goes on for a year. A couple of very swift points first of all Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for peace, Mahmoud Abbas does not have the strength to step up and Mahmoud Abbas does not enjoy popular support from among the Palestinian Arabs everybody should stop dealing in the soft bigotry of low expectations when they say that the Palestinian Arabs are not represented by Hamas many of them very much are represented by Hamas and place them there by way of a democratic election and their popularity is growing in the West Bank, Judea and Samaria lest anyone should say that they support Hamas because they're beneath the jack boot of Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. A couple of other quick things that I want to mention here. Number one the fact that President Biden spoke about more support for Israel and more support for Ukraine keep in mind Ukraine is the underdog when it comes to a military conflict with Russia we are not in that situation I want all of our viewers to understand we are a strong force we are a mighty force and we are about to strike back at the heart of those who came and rampaged against our citizens keep that in mind everybody the other thing that I want to say about what's taking place here is what a wonderful contrast nobody wants to see any of our towns villages communities evacuated because of what awaits us in an active kinetic conflict but we evacuate our people unlike Hamas who keep their people jammed in precisely the areas that the Israel Defense Forces is saying we intend to strike and strike at very very hard and the third and final point I want to make about Hezbollah I say we need to take a first strike a decisive first strike against their airborne munitions there inside southern Lebanon it should not be for Hezbollah to dictate the terms to which we will respond the purpose of Zionism is to take our future in our hands and if we've learned anything from what took place on October 7 it is that we must not wait for our enemies to visit upon us we must in fact take the fight to our enemies and defang them of the most potent weapons that is 200,000 munitions being held by Hezbollah let's go in and take them out and remove that threat or at least reduce it so do you believe that perhaps this underdog narrative and the fact that Israel isn't an underdog has a strong military and has the backing of several western allies that this is also what's causing such a bad reputation in the online world as well because the Palestinians are the underdogs they are the ones that are crammed into a small space that have a blockade that have no fuel no water no supplies no whatever it is in that area but again the blame is not being put on the ruling Hamas or terror organization it's being put on Israel the blame is very much being put on the state of Israel it didn't take long for the international community to resort to form I don't think that anyone is surprised by that but I will tell you something I'd rather defend us I'd rather protect our people and I believe that our leaders would rather do the same and have our popularity somewhat diminished then enjoy great international popularity and continue to fall prey to these horrific terror attacks and this fear that is placed upon us in the Gaza Strip but also Palestinian Islamic jihad there and of course Hezbollah to our north we can act we can move we should move and we should be proactive as we do so the state of Israel is rising from the depths of sorrow and mourning and distress rise we will and we will push back well let's dive a little bit deeper into that because one of the organizations that came under heavy fire for the way that they jumped to conclusions over the Gaza hospital strike in the in the center of the Gaza Strip they retracted their statement and not only that but also admitted a mistake in their coverage of the Gaza hospital last but they still have not resorted to calling Hamas terrorists so the point is is how are we actually winning the psychological war online and we saw how quickly that as you pointed out how quickly the media sort of flipped we had somewhat sympathy which is beyond unusual for international media organizations with regards to Israel then they quickly flip back to attacking them there's sort of this uncomfortability with where they actually lie with their rhetoric I really have to stress here that the international media as a whole is is not the one voice we're seeing different types of coverage from different outlets I think CNN did their own investigation into that failed launch of the that struck the hospital the hospital parking lot in a Gaza and came to the same conclusions as Israel did as President Biden as the Pentagon did so the BBC are not CNN are not Al Jazeera are not ITV are not all the same I think that again the issue of Israel the narrative and Israel versus the Palestinians the weak versus the strong is something that is very easy for many of the viewers in the world and for many reporters to to sell to their audience at the same time there is a reality here and I think many of the correspondents do understand the situation the fact that Israel has for such a long time at least hoped for a better future for the people of Gaza the fact that Israel disengaged from Gaza unilaterally displacing thousands of Israeli settlers out of their homes in the Gaza area in hope for a better future eventually Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people as was mentioned here widely supported in Gaza not just taken by force and the reality was that just a month ago Israel agreed to expand the number of Palestinian workers who are able to come to Israel every day I've seen them in their thousands next to Ashkelon every morning coming into Israel the very sad reality was that it turned out that many of them have used that opportunity to visit Israel for work for many good Israelis that wanted to provide them with income working in the Israeli communities on the border and then using that information and we saw that in documents using their visits to the Israeli communities to provide information detailed information to Hamas about the houses they're about to attack I think something that absolutely cannot be disputed or put into a certain narrative is the fact that war is undoubtedly messy and casualties are evidently piling up especially in a war that was unprovoked now following Hamas' brutal onslaught on October 7th over 1400 people on the Israeli side have been confirmed murdered more than 4600 people have been wounded 203 families have been notified of loved ones taken captive by Hamas into the Gaza Strip and in a recent statement by the Israeli police the bodies of 758 civilians thus far have been identified many mutilated and burned beyond recognition separately 306 soldiers officers and reservists have also been killed and 100 people are still considered missing now on the Gaza side the Hamas run health ministry and Palestinian officials say that more than 4100 people have been killed 13,000 have been wounded but important to note that the sources coming out of the enclave does not separate between terrorists and civilians they have not been independently verified and more than a million garrisons have been internally displaced as well I want to thank very much Benjamin Antony and our correspondent Guy Azrael for being with me here in studio that is a wrap for us for this edition of our breaking and rolling news coverage of the I-24 News Desk stay with us we'll be right back with more updates over 1300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues 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 I-24 News and we need to get in the car as we're talking within 100 soldiers and civilians kidnapped 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 bridge of day 14 of Israel's war against Hamas I'm Bacchia Leventhal, thanks for joining me as we take a look at the latest unfolding in this unprecedented conflict the situation in the north is escalating so much so that Israel's defense minister Joab Galant has announced that the residents of Kiryat Shmona would be evacuated to state-funded guest houses like Stavrot in the south the city has some 20,000 people that would now need to head south to avoid the exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah meanwhile sirens have been blaring again in the community surrounding the Gaza Strip as well as in the Jerusalem areas Hamas continues its relentless rocket launches thus as the Israeli military is still striking Hamas targets in Gaza at a rate not seen in decades now a key question about this war is what exactly Israel's plans and objectives are in the Gaza Strip speaking at a Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee meeting in Tel Aviv the country's defense minister Joab Galant clearly laid them out this day should be remembered as the day when the process of eliminating Hamas off the face of the earth has begun no less than that whoever intends to murder Israeli children kill elderly people and take women captive and rape them we will wipe them out and so this war is a war of no other choice we cannot exist here without deterrence and without the realization that such barbaric actions will result in a price they will not be able to deal with there will be three stages to our campaign against Hamas we are now in the first stage a military campaign that currently includes strikes and will later include maneuvering with the objective of neutralizing terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure the second phase an intermediate one will require operations at lower intensity with the objective of eliminating pockets the third phase will require the removal of Israel's responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel now joining me here in studio to discuss this further is Benjamin Antonis CEO at the Miriam Institute and I-24 new senior editor Gai Israel good evening to both of you Benjamin this is all very good and nice that after 14 days of war the defense establishment is now outlining a clear plan for what they planning on doing in the Gaza Strip no doubt more so to appease the international community more so than here in Israel but there was no mention of the hostages whatsoever and even today we saw the Tel Aviv headquarter of Netanyahu Likudpani defaced with fake blood and photos of the Gaza hostages and so the question does need to be asked while our plan in the Gaza Strip no doubt is important and it's also important to understand what happens next what about the over 200 hostages that are being kept captive in the Gaza Strip of which their mental state their physical state we don't really know so what you're referring to is actually a growing frustration here in the home front in the state of Israel it's particularly growing as a consequence of President Biden's visit here earlier in the week he spoke directly to the Israeli people about sympathy the heartache that he shared with them as a consequence of this horrific horrific taking of more than 200 individuals hostages hostage into the Gaza Strip Prime Minister Netanyahu has not spoken in those terms is yet to really speak in such visceral clear sympathetic empathetic terms that frustration at the fact that there isn't a clear plan being put forward that is only going to grow and increase now that's with regard to the reason that that's not being explicated in absolute terms is I suspect there isn't a plan at this stage and why would there be no country has had to face a challenge such as this Israel has faced hostages being held in the Gaza Strip previously but this is on an entirely entirely different scale now what's interesting about you have gallant statement is he is dealing in rhetoric that is extremely strong extremely precise very very defiant and very determined that has toppled previous Prime Ministers in the past you'll remember in 2006 Ehud Olmert called for the complete dismantling of Hezbollah a name that he wasn't able to bring to fruition it fed into his demise as a leader but perhaps you have gallant is made of different staff and perhaps as a consequence of this bloody massacre we have much more support and I suspect we do for selling more. Well the hostage situation I'm precedent because normally we're talking in captive which again we're talking about 18, 19 and 20 year olds that have to be conscripted into the army but again that's the military side of it we're talking about civilians and guy there is a Shabbat or a Sabbath table being set up I believe just outside the Kiria the military headquarters in Tel Aviv as a sign of this very unprecedented situation of citizens not being able to sit at the Sabbath table today because 203 of them have been kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. It really touches on all of the Israeli public as you mentioned throughout the day there's not one person in Israel is not affected to some degree by this tragedy what makes this particular situation even more complicated is not just the incredible number of over 200 Israelis who are captive and also their ages so you mentioned the soldiers which by the way have mentioned as prisoners of war in order to protect them under the international law if Hamas abides by any such laws we're seeing Israeli kidnapped as young as nine months old babies this is something incredible for the world to understand the situation and what makes the situation even more complicated is the fact that it's not only Hamas that captured Israeli citizens and soldiers also other terror groups like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and beyond that as we could see in the videos from that gruesome attack regular Palestinian citizens who managed the opportunity joined the party for more Jewish blood capturing Israelis it is unclear I don't think the defense establishment really knows where are these Israeli captives are and at the hands of which and that makes the situation even more complicated I'm not sure Hamas even knows all the information about these Israelis. I want to get an update from the southern border now so let's cross to our correspondent Pierre Clashendla who is standing by for us in Offa Kim, Pierre earlier when we spoke to you you were at what is being organized as a dinner Shabbat dinners we've been talking about here in the studio for a lot of the IDF's the some of who are on current duty some who came in from reserves I have to ask the question though with you being in Offa Kim is Rachel's cookies there for dessert? No, we're near Offa Kim we're actually near Gillat which is really on the outskirts of Offa Kim so no she's not here but I'll make you a tour of what's going on right now there's not so many soldiers many have already left eight and left back to their front line base and you have some of them here reserve soldiers this man here made a speech about the cohesion of the state of Israel volunteers and soldiers alike and he made a speech while he was lighting the candles and singing you know the songs of the start of Shabbat peace over the world peace of the angels you know this kind of songs you speak English? Yeah, so what's the message that you wanted to convey? Well I would say the message is that you know the people of Israel the nation of Israel is strong we have always been always been united and together and now we are stronger than ever and as much as we are in a lot of pain we are we're going through a very difficult time but I can guarantee you that very very soon we will prevail and we will be stronger than ever and you know that's what we're here for and it's beautiful to see the unity that this is bringing about and we appreciate all the love and the prayers and blessings from all over the world so thank you for being thank you for being here Thanks captain so you see and over there you have soldiers that are already being served their Sabbath meal by volunteers who come across from across the country and this is a scene that you will see across the front lines in Israel be it in the north or in the south I've received video of the same kind of of rejoicement I would say in the middle of a tragedy from across the front line but yeah I think that just speaks to the very epitome of what it's all about Pierre this is a nation I'm Israel hi we've been saying it over and over again the the nation of Israel lives and no matter how many times enemies in particular in an unprecedented attack like this try and knock us down it brings everyone together and the state stands strong thank you very much for that update we'll be crossing live to you a little bit later still with me here in studio to continue the conversation Benjamin Anthony and our editor Guy Azrael Benjamin the question almost becomes redundant to be asking Israelis how they are none of us are okay I think the psychological effects of this war are not going to be known right now perhaps even for months and years after what's going on but everyone is trying to pick up the pieces as best as they can because what's first and foremost is the war efforts and everything else sort of takes a back step but there's also been this huge question of how Jews are feeling around the world this is the Jewish state it's a home that many come to whether they have dual citizenship whether they have family here whether they come for the holidays fortunes of trips like birthrights and and other organizations Jewish movements that bring trips to Israel the diaspora can't be doing well either no you're absolutely right and since the founding of the state of Israel it has been our insurance policy a dear friend of mine over in New York says that Israel is the international Jewish communities 911 it's where the international Jewish communities can go to for safety that impression has been torn as Sander as a consequence of this horrific horrific attack that took place now there are also implications for diaspora communities right now we are seeing increasing protests in major cities including in New York which is the most major have for diaspora jury anywhere in the world and we are seeing threats open threats on synagogues on Jewish centers Jewish communities and even towards Jewish individuals it is vital that Jewish synagogues communities centers of congregations everywhere across the diaspora now secure themselves it is vital that they do not merely hire a gun to defend them or hire a security company in order to defend them that they take an active role every synagogue should be fortified not only by a hired gun a security guard but also someone from the community who can see who is there is this person a member of the community should they be granted access learn the lesson that we have said here in the state of Israel we defend ourselves by ourselves so too must the communities abroad they must protect themselves by themselves not as vigilantes but as concerned citizens of their own communities it's very very important not only in synagogues but also dare I say it on too many university campuses right now well that's really it just speaks to to the Jewish people no matter where you are and what's quite sad that's happening in Israel both in the south and the north is that communities are being shattered not just by the death or the murderers rampage of Hamas but also because they have to evacuate areas that are currently in the middle of a war zone so for more on that I want to go to our northern border where our correspondent Robert Swift is standing by for us more than 20,000 people evacuating from the north there's been sirens that incoming rocket alerts are landing in Israeli territory in the north most likely by Hezbollah what's the latest the latest is that the army has been evacuating citizens it was announced earlier today that that evacuation would begin but we've just in the last hour been witnessing it happening there was dozens of buses moving throughout the city they were congregating in one area then spreading out to different parts of the city where they've been picking up residents before returning here and then heading out to towards cities around the country many of them were going to Tel Aviv to hotels there but many of them were going to other places and it was clear that many of the residents many of them who were elderly they were really quite confused about the situation they said that they didn't know what was happening some of them had just literally been informed that they were about to leave and they were in great stress as the situation unfolded now it has cleared out most of these buses have now departed and this is all part of the evacuation that has taken place due to the security situation that is unfolding here with just around two hours ago the most recent event taking place a short distance to the north of where we are there was yet more shelling coming from the Lebanese side of the border Correspondent Robert Swift there on the northern border reporting for us on all the latest stay safe we'll be crossing live to you a little later Meanwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Chanel moments ago held another phone call with you as President Joe Biden the first since Biden made a wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday and gave an oval office address about plans to expand American aid to both Israel and Ukraine Biden is seeking a $14 billion aid package for Israel in order to assist the country militarily and still with me here in studio is Benjamin Anthony and Guy Azrael Guy this is an enormous besides the fact that he was actually here this wasn't just words he's putting words into action he's saying we will get you whatever it needs you need to support yourself and we'll make that happen again obviously all of this needs to be passed by congress but I can't help but have to equate the numbers in terms of the fact that Israel is in an existential crisis right now and I think it's fair to say that getting $14 billion but they forget to mention the other part of that Ukraine war is getting $60 billion worth of funding it's difficult to compare these two conflicts in scale and in importance certainly for the western world and in terms of the solidarity that both Israel and Ukraine are getting from western countries before we get to that and update on the situation in the north we've reported earlier about security incident in the community of Margaliot where a security officer was shot earlier and there have been extensive searches in the area following that with a feared infiltration well just moments ago the IDF has neutralized a suspect with fire and that seems to be that terrorist who infiltrated the Israeli community still not clear whether he infiltrated out of Lebanon or did he reach that community from other areas and over the past 24 hours four different squads of terrorists out of Lebanon were taken down by Israel using a fighter a helicopter and a drone so we are seeing more activity of the IDF both in having to deal with these terrorists who infiltrate Israel in this case or fire towards Israeli forces but also before they even engage in that sort of operation and trying to prevent those as we saw the several instances of anti-tank missiles towards Israeli troops I want to just point out to our viewers that you are looking at live images as we speak in studio of the Israel Gaza border we can see it does appear to be sorry the Israel Lebanon border there does appear to be flames in the distance there sorry guy please continue so obviously that is a very volatile border the situation is very tense Israel is fearing a wider escalation and we also heard from the IDF spokesman just a short while ago since we are seeing so many incidents on the border what would it take for Israel to say ok this is Hezbollah crossing crossing the rocket alert we will just find out where that is when is the red line where does Israel say well this is a war with Hezbollah what he says a wide long range missile attack on Israel or a greater operation by Hezbollah that for Israel would mean the crossing of that red line and the start of a war with Hezbollah something that Israel is trying to push away at least wait with as long as it can while it is engaged in this operation in Gaza well still waiting for that ground incursion I believe that the sirens that we just heard now from your phone were in Ashkelon and Zikim so again we are seeing more red alerts being recorded in the south both the south and the north have been under heavy fire today from rocket alerts as well and Benjamin I wanted to ask you something because following Biden's visit to the region again a momentous and unprecedented there's never been a time where the US president has flown into the country for one day in literally a war zone but the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to hold a phone call with Biden after the visit again claiming that it was in protest to the Gaza hospital bombing which Israel proved wasn't their responsibility nor their fault that it actually was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that was fired but also because of the situation that the Palestinians are in now surely this should be a platform for Mahmoud Abbas to step up to be able to have these conversations that sounds relatively childish to say the very least to be ignoring calls from world leaders that are trying to solve an issue to make us not like Ukraine and Russia as Guy said not to compare them but not to have a war that goes on for a year a couple of very swift points first of all Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for peace Mahmoud Abbas does not have the strength to step up and Mahmoud Abbas does not enjoy popular support from among the Palestinian Arabs everybody should stop dealing in the soft bigotry of low expectations when they say that the Palestinian Arabs are not represented by Hamas many of them very much are represented by Hamas and place them there by way of a democratic election and their popularity is growing in the West Bank, Judea and Samaria lest anyone should say that they support Hamas because they're beneath the jack boot of Hamas inside the Gaza Strip couple of other quick things that I want to mention here number one the fact that President Biden spoke about more support for Israel and more support for Ukraine keep in mind Ukraine is the underdog when it comes to a military conflict with Russia we are not in that situation I want all of our viewers to understand we are a strong force, we are a mighty force and we are about to strike back at the heart of those who came and rampaged against our citizens keep that in mind everybody the other thing that I want to say about what's taking place here is what a wonderful contrast nobody wants to see any of our towns villages communities evacuated because of what awaits us an active kinetic conflict but we evacuate our people unlike Hamas who keep their people jammed in precisely the areas that the Israel Defense Forces is saying we intend to strike and strike at very very hard and the third and final point I want to make about Hezbollah I say we need to take a first strike a decisive first strike against their airborne munitions there inside southern Lebanon it should not be for Hezbollah to dictate the terms to which we will respond the purpose of Zionism is to take our future in our hands and if we've learned anything from what took place on October 7th it is that we must not wait for our enemies to visit upon us we must in fact take the fight to our enemies and defang them of their most potent weapons that is 200,000 munitions being held by Hezbollah let's go in and take them out and remove that threat or at least reduce it so do you believe that perhaps the underdog narrative and the fact that Israel isn't an underdog has a strong military and has the backing of several western allies that this is also what's causing such a bad reputation in the online world as well because the Palestinians are the underdogs they are the ones that are crammed into a small space that have a blockade that have no fuel no water no supplies no whatever it is in that area but again the blame is not being put on the ruling Hamas or terror organization it's being put on Israel the blame is very much being put on the state of Israel it didn't take long for the international community to resort to form I don't think that anyone surprised by that but I will tell you something I'd rather defend us I'd rather protect our people and I believe that our leaders would rather do the same and have our popularity somewhat diminished then enjoy great international popularity and continue to fall prey to these horrific terror attacks and this fear that is placed upon us not only by Hamas in the Gaza Strip but also Palestinian Islamic Jihad there and of course Qazbala to our north we can act we can move we should move and we should be proactive as we do so the state of Israel is rising from the depths of sorrow and mourning and distress rise we will and we will push back well let's dive a little bit deeper into that because one of the organizations that came under heavy fire for the way that they jumped to conclusions over the Gaza hospital strike in the center of the area was the BBC and of course they have retracted not only that but also admitted a mistake in their coverage of the Gaza hospital blast but they still have not resorted to calling Hamas terrorists so the point is how are we actually winning the psychological war online and we saw how quickly as you pointed out how quickly the media sort of flipped we had somewhat sympathy which is beyond unusual for international media organizations with regards to Israel then they quickly flipped back to attacking Israel but now with all the proof and evidence that we're giving them there's sort of this profitability with where they actually lie with their rhetoric I really have to stress here that the international media as a whole is not the one voice we are seeing different types of coverage from different outlets I think CNN did their own investigation into that failed launch of the that struck the hospital the hospital parking lot in Gaza and came to the same conclusions as Israel did as President Biden did as the Pentagon did so the BBC are not CNN are not Al Jazeera are not ITV are not all the same I think that again the issue of Israel the narrative and Israel versus the Palestinians the weak versus the strong is something that is very easy for many of the viewers in the world and for many reporters to sell to their audience in time there is a reality here and I think many of the correspondents do understand the situation the fact that Israel has for such a long time at least hoped for a better future for the people of Gaza the fact that Israel disengaged from Gaza unilaterally displacing thousands of Israeli settlers out of their homes in the Gaza area in hope for a better future eventually Hamas