 broken nation, a nation in shock, a nation at war. At least 600 Israelis killed in the large-scale attack. More than 2,040 people wounded. That death toll is likely much higher. A surprise terror assault by Hamas rocket barrages and a ground-air and sea offensive. All starting on what was supposed to be a day of festivities, celebrations for the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah, dozens of armed terrorists managing to infiltrate the country, taking control of several Kibbutzim and Moshevim near the Gaza Strip, butchering Israelis and kidnapping men, women, children and soldiers. Scores of people who were celebrating at a nature party were gunned down. Many are still missing. Intense gun battles continuing between IDF forces and Hamas fighters in at least seven locations at the moment. Israel is planning to evacuate citizens from southern communities ahead of a planned response by the IDF. Israeli air strikes continue in Gaza this afternoon, local time and many questions remain. So for more updates our correspondent Guy Azrael is here in studio and just a short while ago Guy, we heard sirens were sounding in some communities including near Am and Mithal Sim in the south near the border, increasing regularity for these communities having to race to shelter at the same time. We know that there are several scenes unfolding in various Kibbutzim and Moshevim near that front. What updates can you share right now? Yes, exactly. The impossible reality is the fact that these rocket fire is now the smaller problem of these Israeli communities and we have much greater issues on the ground. We can report that there is very intense fighting going on in Kibbutz, Bari with reports of many people killed and hijacked there and security forces still engaged in heavy fighting as we speak in this area. Also, bodies have been collected or started being collected from the area of the nature party. We're hearing about immense numbers there in the hundreds of victims in that attack, that brutal attack on innocent civilians celebrating a party, celebrating life, having to meet these horrendous terrorists on the field and that all these numbers coming together will bring the number of Israelis killed very close to a thousand. I fear, I fear in the coming days or hours that is .01% of the Israeli population, just of 10 million population in Israel. That is an incredible number and it means that almost everyone you would speak to here knows someone or more than one who was hurt. I personally already, unfortunately, know of a few people who lost their lives and many more that are unaccounted for and that is a reality for so many people, so many families are looking for their loved ones and still don't know about their whereabouts, whether they're killed in a kibbutz in their home, taken hostage by Hamas, being left killed in the field in the nature party. People do not know where their loved ones are. In some political developments, the head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, is meeting with these factions right now discussing the possibility of an emergency government, as Netanyahu offered to both Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, will be interesting to see what comes out of that and to conclude the fighting is still ongoing. That event is still very much alive. There are still many Palestinian terrorists inside Israeli territory, surprising and fighting with Israeli forces, but also, and this is what they're there for, slaughtering innocent Israelis, elderly women and children as we saw and the numbers will come out from those communities on the Gaza border that are devastated by that strike. We've been speaking to so many people in that part of the country who are waiting for word on their relatives, who are waiting for word on their friends, who were going to that festival as well. And a lot of uncertainty remains right now. Also, the scale of what is unfolding is difficult for many to comprehend. And while that unfolds on the ground, political developments seem like they're not the priority right now, but you did mention the possibility of an emergency government being set up. Break down for us how this would potentially, if it does happen, change the scenario on the ground and how Israel responds to what has been unfolding? Not too much of a degree, but it's certainly in terms of the backing that Netanyahu will have and his ability to move much wider processes than the ones that we've seen in all previous escalations. This is not the first escalation on the Gaza border since Hamas took over Gaza in 2005, since the disengagement from Gaza. But it really feels as this is a watershed moment in the history of the state of Israel, that a temporary operation of shooting from the air or a temporary ground incursion will not be enough because the situation needs to change and Netanyahu will need more backing if he wishes to do so. Correspondent Guy Azrael stay with us right now. I want to bring in our former Israeli Prime Minister spokesperson to the Arab world. Thank you so much for joining us or fear at this very difficult time in the country. The death toll, as you well know, is at around 600 Israelis. But as we've been discussing here, it is likely to be far higher, more than 2,040 people wounded. What is your response to the scale of this brutal attack, which is still unfolding as we speak? Look, I'm saying on Arab media channels and giving interviews to various Arab satellite TV channels since yesterday. I'm saying what I'm saying now, this is just the beginning of the beginning. We should understand this. This is going to be a long and bloody war, but we will win it. Hamas wanted this war. Hamas prepared for this war and it did what it planned to do, which is to storm the border and kill hundreds or even thousands of innocent Israelis on those border communities. And what the IDF is doing now is clearing out those terrorists from those villages and striking at Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. But this is just the beginning. There is no doubt there is a long road ahead here. But precisely, what should Israel be doing next? What are Benjamin Netanyahu's options right now in terms of a realistic response? I think that we should act in a way that we haven't acted in before. What does that mean? It means that up till now we've seen things that we've done before, which means striking at Hamas headquarters and buildings and so forth. But more needs to be done. And we have to act as if we were, we were part of the region and not part of Europe. And the IDF should get all the authorities it needs in order to make it clear to Hamas and to the other enemies were watching this very, very closely, thinking whether to participate in this war. We should make it very, very clear that the price for those massacres that were perpetrated yesterday will be un-torrible. And I hope that this is the decision that will be made. Orfeer, we understand that there are scores of Israelis kidnapped and taken across into Gaza. It's not exactly clear where they are if they're dispersed around the enclave. There are reports that some are in a tunnel. How would a response that you're describing in the Gaza Strip implicate or impact the Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped and taken across and are now being hidden there? How does that impact the response out of the IDF, your thoughts? That is a very important question. It is unprecedented that so many Israelis were kidnapped. You know, in past wars we had or past incidents, we had one soldier, maybe two. But this is definitely a new ballgame. And I've seen the pictures of those kids and mothers and the young women and men abducted by Hamas. These pictures are broadcast all over the Middle East and the world, and they're creating unprecedented support for Israel, also in the Arab world. And the Arab world is seeing those horrific pictures of those barbaric terrorists, maiming and mutilating bodies of Israelis, women and men. And they're standing by Israel. This is unprecedented. And the world stands with Israel today, and it will continue to stand with Israel until we defeat this horrendous terrorist organization. Orfair Gendelman, former Israeli Prime Minister, spokesperson to the Arab world. Thank you so much for speaking to us here on I-24 News. And now for more, we cross live to our correspondent Bacha Leventhal. She joins us from Tel Aviv. And we know so many people in Israel want to help in some way. Many communities in the South are in need right now. Hospitals, too. What kind of response are you seeing there in terms of blood donations? What are people saying and doing? Benita, well, we have moved from the blood donation or the impromptu blood donation bank that was in Dizengov Mall. We are now at Dizengov Square. And this is just really unbelievable. I'm going to try as best as I can to explain just the juxtaposition that we're looking at here. The majority of the streets in Tel Aviv are almost apocalyptic. It almost looks like Yom Kippur just over a week or two weeks ago. It is completely empty and behind me almost looks like a bustling market. But if I move out, you'll have a look and you'll be able to see that there are boxes all around the square, people coming from all corners of the city, some even outside of Tel Aviv to be donating food, in particular non-perishables, cosmetics, deodorant, soaps, as well as underwear and socks, not just for the soldiers that did not really have time to be able to pack the stuff themselves being called up to the reserves, but also for the citizens, as you mentioned in the South that have been so badly impacted by this. And this is just amazing on another level beneath. I'm standing at a scene where just over two weeks ago, we had reporters on the ground here talking to you about the segregation, the absolute polarization happening in Tel Aviv from a political and ideological point of view, where the Rocio Houdi religious groups set up a segregation or a barrier in between men and women during the high holiday prayers that just sparked such a division between the society here. That almost seems to be water completely under a bridge for lack of a better idiom at the moment. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. This is the face that they almost wanted to present to Israel. And it's hard to swallowing you speak to some residents of some of them turning around and saying, where was this for the last six months? How did it take something as awful as the bloodshed and the absolute atrocities happening in the South and throughout Israel that caused such a unifying presence? The reality is there's going to be far more questions like this being asked at the moment. It's just a matter of coming together and trying to get as much stuff down to the South for those in need as quickly as possible. Thank you so much, Lai from Tel Aviv, Bachar Leventhal. Thank you very much for that update. Now turning to the northern border, two rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel. The IDF responding with artillery fire towards southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, just hours after an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF in the Haridov area, also known as the Shabbar farms. Now the Hezbollah terror group came responsibility for that mortar fire in an unusual official statement. So for more, we now welcome Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve, Sarit Sahavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center. She joins us from Tefen in the Galilee in northern Israel. Thank you so much for your time. So obviously the focus from the start of this war was in the South, in Gaza, and then earlier in the day, two rockets fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel. The IDF responding. Talk us through what unfolded up north. What can you tell us? These were anti-tank missiles that were launched from a school in a town in Lebanon towards an IDF position. We don't know the results of that. IDF retaliated and actually removed the tent that Hezbollah established south of the blue line a few months ago. We understand that there was a little bit more warning shooting afterwards. Since then, in general, we don't know of any more incidents, but we do feel the temperature. We do feel up north that this is expectation to something bigger. I can say that everybody is recruited. I can say that shelters are open. The mirrors of the municipalities next to the border. And when I say next to the border, I mean right at the border, meters away from Hezbollah are evacuated, evacuated the communities. I saw the announcement, the statement of the Defense Minister that said that communities on the north should be evacuated as well. We expected that. We've been doing that since the morning. And it's just an expectation for something bigger. I believe that not negotiations, but the conversation between Iran and Hezbollah is ongoing of how exactly to do, what exactly to do and when exactly to do it. While the IDF is making the right preparations to try to face its future attack from Lebanon and probably with the political level, there are also a lot of pressures from the West trying to prevent that. I personally hardly believe that these pressures will succeed. Since Iran, it's the interest of Iran. It is working according to its own interest and not according to any pressures from the United States or anybody else. Very difficult to try and ascertain what the Hezbollah chief might be contemplating as we speak. But is it likely that Hassan Asrallah would really want to get fully involved in this war? And do you think there is a chance that Israel would strike now? In other words, that Israel would take some kind of proper action right now when it comes to Hezbollah up north? Look, after yesterday, every scenario is on the table. Sure. That's all I can say. As for Hezbollah, he, in the past year and a half, made every single step to send the message that it is interested in escalation and maybe even in war. We witness daily clashes and provocations on the border. We witness terrorist attacks, not only anti-tank, but I remind everybody, pass over 36 rockets from Lebanon. We've seen infiltration from the Lebanese border. Hezbollah is prepared all over the borderline with military positions that were built there in the past two years all over the border. We've seen Hezbollah military personnel on the border. And we've seen preparations also preparing the hearts and minds among the terrorists themselves to a campaign exactly like what we are experiencing now. We've seen this process happening in front of our eyes. We shouldn't be surprised. The only surprise was that it was from the south and not from the north. And even with that, I'm not sure it is truly a surprise because Iran also published that it is planning a campaign of multi-front situation against the state of Israel. And this is what is now happening. This is what they are trying to make. That's why I evaluate that it's going to escalate, including from Syria. I wanted to say limited actions from Syria, but again, after yesterday, all options are over. Lieutenant Colonel on the reserve, Sarit Sahavi, a very worrying situation. The founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center speaking to us from Teffan in the Galilee in northern Israel. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. I hope I'm wrong. We also hope you're wrong. Thank you very much for speaking to us. I always appreciate your insight. Now for more still up north, correspondent Pierre Kloschendler joins us from Kibbutz-Khanita in the north. So, Pierre, the focus as we've been discussing in this broadcast has been on the south, but then developments up north, what are you seeing and hearing where you are? Tell us the latest. Well, there is a nary calm here at the gates of Kibbutz-Khanita. I'm just going to go out of the frame to allow Dean Barenboim, our cameraman, to show you the quasi-emptiness of that place of 200 inhabitants, two-thirds of the inhabitants have been evacuated. Now this is a voluntary evacuation. There has been recommendation by the regional councils of the northern border to allow or to recommend to the civilians that are living in communities which are lying adjacently to the border to leave the place. But since then, Defense Minister Joav Galant has already decided that all the communities adjacent to the border, be it adjacent to the Gaza border or to the northern border, be evacuated and that will be an instruction and not a recommendation. Right now in this particular area of Western Galilithes, eight communities that are lying on the border, 8,500 inhabitants are concerned and two-thirds of the inhabitants here have already left. There is a high state of alert. Definitely we have spoken to the chief officer of the council, he said to me that they're ready to absorb any shock. Behind me in that small building there is an alert squad manned by reservists from the kibbutz who have been called up and are manning the entrance of the kibbutz and the place has basically been invested by the army which means that it's basically a closed military area and that's why we cannot enter it. Pierre, the IDF says it's ready for any multi-front attack. We just heard a short while ago from Sarit Sahavi talking about the concerns, potential threats out of the north. Not only Lebanon, she even mentioned Syria. We don't want to exacerbate tensions about the concerns but what are security experts saying, how prepared is the IDF given, how surprised they were on Saturday? Well I'll tell you, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been quite clear in his communication to the public. He's spoken of a three-fold mission, first of all to cleanse the area that has been invested by the Hamas and Islamic jihad gangs inside Israeli territory, then obviously to hit the Gaza Strip military infrastructure and possibly trying to liberate the tens of hostages that have been captured since yesterday but also to contain the other fronts in order to prevent any other escalation. So I don't think Israel is really gung-ho for a confrontation with Hezbollah right now but given that we don't know what are the plans of Hezbollah. We don't know if they are willing to take the risk of a full-fledged confrontation with Israel. Israel says it's ready for such confrontation and you know something quite ironic. For years we've heard of a scenario of an invasion of community villages such as this one behind me by Hezbollah operatives in a potential war against Hezbollah but never in the Gaza Strip and the opposite scenario vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip happened yesterday. Thank you so much. Very scary situation. You are describing right now. We appreciate the update. We will be coming back to our correspondent Pierre Kloschendler in Kibbutz-Khanita in the north later on in the coming hours. Thank you very much Pierre and still with me in studio our correspondent Guy Azrael. Guy, as we're speaking just a short while ago siren sounding in several communities once again in the south we do know that the infiltrators who are at several Kibbutzim and Moshe Vim as well those situations are still active. What update can you share right now? Yes still some intense fighting in some of the areas like Kibbutz-Berry that we mentioned some other updates at this hour and exchange of fire again into the road next to the police station of course it took so many hours to get to take over that police station will that exchange these exchanges of fire have continued again alluding to the fact that many of these terrorists have managed to find a hiding place you don't know whether they took over homes and been hiding there for 12, 24 hours etc. We're also hearing of an ambulance that has been hijacked it's still not clear its connection to these events but that's definitely closely watched as well we can say that the families representatives of the families of those missing and who are captive by Hamas are going to hold a press conference tonight and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just appointed a new coordinator for the topic of the missing and the of missing soldiers and Israeli civilians Gal Hirsch a well-known police IDF officer who was supposed to be a police chief Netanyahu also holding diplomatic conversation very high level diplomatic conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine with Georgia Malone of Italy and with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Scholz is saying we will increase security in Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany and Germany stands with Israel is hearing a similar message from all those other world leaders that we just mentioned correspondent guy Israel keeping tabs on developments not only here at home but abroad as well thank you so much for that update and that is where we wrap up this edition of our breaking news coverage for now i'm Benita Levine back again with more rolling coverage shortly stay tuned this is i24 news breaking news edition these last 10 years i have not been in many areas of conflict kilometers only 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 feros battle between the iraq army with whom we were embarked and the terrorists of the islamic state organization who had made of this city their caliphate in ira a few years earlier after having crossed a Mosul in ruins where we are 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 the mosque and nourish it is the same 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 young iraq soldiers were able to do the cleaning of their arsenal and their firepower in front of our camera it is only after having left this theater of war that i took the measure of what i was coming to live when the information fell according to which a team of french television had been killed by an explosive mine in the same place where we found ourselves a few days earlier this week in mallard at large my guest will be martin ziegely the former prime minister of the central african republic the vagran mercenaries in the central african republic have taken over the military command of the army they are based within the central staff of the central african armed forces in the headquarters of the armed forces they're the ones who give the orders mallard at large with christian mallard this week on i-24 news since the early hours of the morning israel has been facing infiltrations of terrorists kidnapping of israelis and a barrage of thousands of rockets emanating from the gaza strip the biggest and bloodiest attack in years tune in for our extensive and rolling coverage of the hamas deadly attack on israel with reporters on the ground in depth analysis and most updated and accurate information stay tuned with i-24 news world from politics to religion entertainment to the latest trends and everything in between don't miss jewish world weekly only on i-24 news the middle east is changing old alliances make way for new partnerships bigger threats lead to new relationships and shared goals mean new opportunities we speak to those who know the inside story or those who are at the heart of the changes don't get caught up with the same find out what's happening in middle east now middle east now every weekday on i-24 news this is breaking news edition i'm benita levine coming to you live from tel aviv israel's security cabinet has confirmed that israel is officially in a state of war saying that the war started at six a.m on saturday the seventh of october a heartbroken nation a nation in shock at war at least six hundred israelis killed in the large-scale attack more than 2040 people wounded that death toll is likely much higher a surprise terror assault by hamas rocket barrages and a ground air and sea offensive all starting on what was supposed to be a day of festivities celebrations for the jewish festival of simchatara dozens of armed terrorists managing to infiltrate the country taking control of several kibbutz and moshavim near the gaza strip butchering israelis and kidnapping men women children and soldiers scores of people who were celebrating at a nature party were gunned down many are still missing intense gun battles continuing between idf forces and hamas fighters in at least seven locations at the moment israel is planning to evacuate citizens from southern communities ahead of a planned response by the idf israeli airstrikes continue in gaza this afternoon local time and many questions remain so for more updates our correspondent guy israel is here in studio and just a short while ago guy we heard sirens were sounding in some communities including near arm and mifal sim in the south near the border increasing regularity for these communities having to race to shelter at the same time we know that there are several scenes unfolding in various kibbutz sim and moshavim near that front what updates can you share right now yes exactly the impossible reality is the fact that these rocket fire is now the smaller problem of these israeli communities and we have much greater issues on the ground we can report that there's very intense fighting going on in kibbutz bery with reports of many people killed and hijacked there and security forces still engaged in heavy fighting as we speak in this area also bodies have been collected or started being collected from the area of the nature party we're hearing about immense numbers there in the hundreds of victims in that attack that brutal attack on innocent civilians celebrating a party celebrating life having to meet these horrendous terrorists on the field and that all these numbers coming together will bring the number of israelis killed very close to a thousand i i fear i fear in the coming days or hours that is a dot zero one percent of the israeli population just of 10 million population of in israel that is an incredible number and it means that almost everyone you would speak to here knows someone or more than one who was hurt i personally already unfortunately know of a few people who lost their lives and many more that are unaccounted for and that is a reality for so many people so many families who are looking for their loved ones and still don't know about their whereabouts where they're they're killed in a kibbutz in their home taken hostage by hamas being left killed in the field in the nature party people do not know where their loved ones are in some political developments the head of the opposition area lapid is meeting with these factions right now discussing the possibility of an emergency government as netanyahu offered to both area lapid and benign guns will be interesting to see what comes out of that and to conclude the fighting is still ongoing that event is still very much alive there are still many Palestinian terrorists inside israeli territory surprising and and fighting with israeli forces but also and this is what they're there for slaughtering innocent israelis elderly women and children as we saw and the numbers will come out from those communities on the Gaza border that are devastated by that strike we've been speaking to so many people in that part of the country who are waiting for word on their relatives who are waiting for word on their friends who were going to that festival as well and a lot of uncertainty remains right now also the scale of what is unfolding is difficult for many to comprehend and while that unfolds on the ground political developments seem like they're not the priority right now but you did mention the possibility of an emergency government being set up breakdown for us how this would potentially if it does happen change the scenario on the ground and how israel responds to what has been unfolding not too much of a degree but it's certainly in terms of the backing that Netanyahu will have and his ability to move much wider processes than the ones that we've seen in our previous escalations this is not the first escalation on the Gaza border since Hamas took over Gaza in 2005 since the disengagement from Gaza but it really feels as this is a watershed moment in the history of the state of Israel that a temporary operation of shooting from the air or a temporary ground incursion will not be enough because the situation needs to change and Netanyahu will need more backing if he wishes to do so. Correspondent Guy Azrael stay with us right now I want to bring in Ofir Gendelman former Israeli prime minister spokesperson to the Arab world thank you so much for joining us Ofir at this very difficult time in the country the death toll as you well know is at around 600 Israelis but as we've been discussing here it is likely to be far higher more than 2040 people wounded what is your response to the scale of this brutal attack which is still unfolding as we speak? Look I'm saying on Arab media channels I'm giving interviews to various Arab satellite TV channels since yesterday I'm saying what I'm saying now this is just the beginning of the beginning we should understand this this is going to be a long and bloody war but we will win it. Hamas wanted this war Hamas prepared for this war and it did what it planned to do which is to storm the border and kill hundreds or even thousands of innocent Israelis on those border communities and what the IDF is doing now is clearing out those terrorists from those villages and striking at Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip but this is just the beginning. There is no doubt there is a long road ahead here but precisely what should Israel be doing next what are Benjamin Netanyahu's options right now in terms of a realistic response? I think that we should act in a way that we haven't acted in before. What does that mean? It means that up till now we've seen things that we've done before which means striking at Hamas headquarters and buildings and so forth but more needs to be done and we have to act as if we were we were part of the region and not part of Europe and the IDF should get all the authorities it needs in order to make it clear to Hamas and to the other enemies we're watching this very very closely thinking whether to participate in this war we should make it very very clear that the price for those massacres that were perpetrated yesterday will be un-tourable and I hope that this is the decision that will be made. Ofer we understand that there are scores of Israelis kidnapped and taken across into Gaza. It's not exactly clear where they are if they're dispersed around the enclave. There are reports that some are in a tunnel. How would a response that you are describing in the Gaza Strip implicate or impact the Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped and taken across and are now being hidden there how does that impact the response out of the IDF your thoughts? That is a very important question. It is unprecedented that so many Israelis were kidnapped. In past wars we had or past incidents we had one soldier maybe two but this is definitely a new ball game and I've seen the pictures of those kids and mothers and the young women and men abducted by Hamas. These pictures are broadcast all over the Middle East and the world and they're creating unprecedented support for Israel also in the Arab world. And the Arab world is seeing those horrific pictures of those barbaric terrorists maiming and mutilating bodies of Israelis women and men and they're standing by Israel. This is unprecedented and the world stands with Israel today and it will continue to stand with Israel until we defeat this horrendous terrorist organization. Orfair Gendelman former Israeli Prime Minister Spokesperson to the Arab world. Thank you so much for speaking to us here on I24 News. And now for more we cross live to our correspondent Bacha Leventhal she joins us from Tel Aviv and we know so many people in Israel want to help in some way many communities in the south are in need right now hospitals to what kind of response are you seeing there in terms of blood donations? What are people saying and doing? Right Benita well we have moved from the blood donation or the impromptu blood donation bank that was in Dizengov mall we are now at Dizengov square and this is just really unbelievable I'm going to try as best as I can to explain just the juxtaposition that we're looking at here the majority of the streets in Tel Aviv are almost apocalyptic it almost looks like Yom Kippur just over a week or two weeks ago it is completely empty and behind me almost looks like a bustling market but if I move out you'll have a look and you'll be able to see that there are boxes all around the square people coming from all corners of the city some even outside of Tel Aviv to be donating food in particular non perishables cosmetics deodorant soaps as well as underwear and socks not just for the soldiers that did not really have time to be able to pack the stuff themselves being called up to the reserves but also for the citizens as you mentioned in the south that have been so badly impacted by this and this is just amazing on another level Benita I'm standing at a scene where just over two weeks ago we had reporters on the ground here talking to you about the segregation the absolute polarization happening in Tel Aviv from a political and ideological point of view where the Roshiohudi religious groups set up a segregation or a barrier in between men and women during the high holiday prayers that just sparked such a division between the society here that almost seems to be water completely under a bridge for lack of a better idiom at the moment everyone is showing up this is the unity this is the face that they almost wanted to present to Israel and it's hard to swallowing you speak to some residents of some of them turning around and saying where was this for the last six months how did it take something as awful as the bloodshed and the the absolute atrocities happening in the south and throughout Israel that caused such a unifying presence the reality is there's going to be far more questions like this being asked at the moment it's just a matter of coming together and trying to get as much stuff down to the south for those in need as quickly as possible thank you so much live from Tel Aviv Bacha Leventhal thank you very much for that update now turning to the northern border two rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel the IDF responding with artillery fire towards southern Lebanon on Sunday morning just hours after an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF in the Haridov area also known as the Shabbat farms now the Hezbollah terror group gained responsibility for that mortar fire in an unusual official statement so for more we now welcome Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve Zaritz Zahavi founder and president of the ALMA Research and Education Center she joins us from Tefen in the Galilee in northern Israel thank you so much for your time so obviously the focus from the start of this war was in the south in Gaza and then earlier in the day two rockets fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel the IDF responding talk us through what unfolded up north what can you tell us these were anti-tank missiles that were launched from a school in a town in Lebanon towards an IDF position we don't know the results of that IDF retaliated and actually removed the tent that Hezbollah established south of the blue line a few months ago we understand that there was a little bit more warning shooting afterwards since then in general we don't know of any more incidents but we do feel the temperature we do feel up north that this is expectation to something bigger I can say that everybody is recruited I can say the charters are open the mirrors of the municipalities next to the border and when I say next to the border I mean right at the border meters away from Hezbollah are evacuated evacuated the communities we I saw the announcement the statement of the defense minister that said that communities on the north in the north should be evacuated as well we expected that we've been doing that since the morning and you know it's just an expectation for something bigger I believe that then not negotiations but the conversation between Iran and Hezbollah is ongoing of how exactly to do what exactly to do and when exactly to do it while the IDF is making the right preparations to try to to face its future attack from Lebanon and probably with the political level there are also a lot of pressures from the west trying to prevent that I personally hardly believe that these pressures will succeed since Iran it's the interest of Iran it is working according to its own interest and not according to any pressures from the United States or anybody else very difficult to try and ascertain what the Hezbollah chief might be contemplating as we speak but is it likely that Hassan Asrallah would really want to get fully involved in this war and do you think there is a chance that Israel would strike now in other words that Israel would take some kind of proper action right now when it comes to Hezbollah up north look after yesterday or every scenario is on the table sure that's all I can say as for Hezbollah he in the past year and a half made every single step to send the message that it is interested in escalation and maybe even in war we witness daily clashes and provocations on the border we witness terrorist attacks not only anti-tanks but I remind everybody pass over 36 rockets from Lebanon we've seen the infiltration from the Lebanese border Hezbollah is prepared all over the borderline with military positions that were built there in the past two years all over the border we've seen Hezbollah military personnel on the border and we've seen preparations also preparing the hearts and minds among the terrorists themselves to a campaign exactly like what we are experiencing now we've seen this process happening in front of our eyes we shouldn't be surprised the only surprise was that it was from the south and not from the north and even with that I'm not sure it is truly a surprise because Iran also published that it is planning a campaign of multi-front situation against the state of Israel and this is what is now happening this is what they are trying to make that's why I evaluate that it's going to escalate including from Syria I wanted to say limited actions from Syria but again after yesterday all options are out Lieutenant Colonel on the reserve Sir Itza Havi a very worrying situation the founder and president of the Elmer Research and Education Centre speaking to us from Tefen in the Galilee in northern Israel thank you so much for your time thank you I hope I'm wrong we also hope you're wrong thank you very much for speaking to us though always appreciate your insight now for more still up north correspondent Pierre Kloschendler joins us from Kibbutz-Khanita in the north so Pierre the focus as we've been discussing in this broadcast has been on the south but then developments up north what are you seeing and hearing where you are tell us the latest well there is a neary calm here at the gates of Kibbutz-Khanita I'm just going to go out of the frame to allow Dean Barenboim our cameraman to show you the quasi-emptiness of that place of 200 inhabitants two-thirds of the inhabitants have been evacuated now this is a voluntary evacuation there has been recommendation by the regional councils of the northern border to allow or to recommend to the civilians that are living in communities which are lying adjacent to the border to leave the place but since then defense minister Joav Galant has already decided that all the communities adjacent to the border be it adjacent to the Gaza border or to the northern border be evacuated and that will be an instruction and not a recommendation right now in this particular area of western Galilethes eight communities that are lying on the border 8500 inhabitants are concerned and two-thirds of the inhabitants here have already left there is a high state of alert definitely we have spoken to the chief officer of the council he said to me that they're ready to absorb any shock behind me in that small building there is an alert squad manned by reservists from the kibbutz who have been called up and are manning the entrance of the kibbutz and the place has basically been invested by the army which means that it's basically a closed military area and that's why we cannot enter it Per the IDF says it's ready for any multi-front attack we just heard a short while ago from Sarit Sahavi talking about the concerns potential threats out of the north not only Lebanon she even mentioned Syria we don't want to exacerbate tensions about the concerns but what are security experts saying how prepared is the IDF given how surprised they were on Saturday Well I'll tell you Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been quite clear in his communication to the public he's spoken of a three-fold mission first of all to cleanse the area that has been invested by the Hamas and Islamic jihad gangs inside Israeli territory then obviously to hit the Gaza Strip military infrastructure and possibly trying to liberate the tens of hostages that have been captured since yesterday but also to contain the other fronts in order to prevent any other escalation so I don't think Israel is really gung-ho for a confrontation with Hezbollah right now but given that we don't know what are the plans of Hezbollah we don't know if they are willing to take the risk of a full-fledged confrontation with Israel Israel says it's ready for such confrontation and you know something quite ironic for years we've heard of a scenario of an invasion of community villages such as this one behind me by Hezbollah operatives in a potential war against Hezbollah but never in the Gaza Strip and the opposite scenario vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip happened yesterday thank you so much very scary situation you are describing right now we appreciate the update we will be coming back to our correspondent Pierre Kloschendler in Kibbutz-Khanita in the north later on in the coming hours thank you very much Pierre and still with me in studio our correspondent Guy Azrael Guy as we're speaking just a short while ago siren sounding in several communities once again in the south we do know that the infiltrators who are at several Kibbutzim and Moshe Vim as well those situations are still active what update can you share right now yes still some intense fighting in some of the areas like Kibbutz-Berry that we mentioned some other updates at this hour an exchange of fire again into the road next to the police station of course it took so many hours to get to take over that police station will that exchange these exchanges of fire have continued again alluding to the fact that many of these terrorists have managed to find a hiding place you don't know whether they took over homes and been hiding there for 12 24 hours etc we're also hearing of an ambulance that has been hijacked it's still not clear its connection to these events but that's definitely closely watched as well we can say that the families representatives of the families of those missing and who are captive by Hamas are going to hold a press conference tonight and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just appointed a new coordinator for the topic of the missing and the of missing soldiers and Israeli civilians Gal Hirsch a well-known police IDF officer who was supposed to be a police chief Netanyahu also holding diplomatic conversation have very high level diplomatic conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine with Georgia Maloney of Italy and with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Scholz is saying we will increase security Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany and Germany stands with Israel is hearing a similar message from all those other world leaders that we just mentioned Correspondent Guy Azrael keeping tabs on developments not only here at home but abroad as well thank you so much for that update and that is where we wrap up this edition of our breaking news coverage for now I'm Benita Levine back again with more rolling coverage shortly stay tuned this is i24 news breaking news edition strictly security your weekly look into security intelligence and strategic affairs our team brings the latest on the major international conflicts analysis of the major security issues right here in the Middle East and around the globe Saturdays only on i24 news if you could travel to the Middle East right now without packing and without a plane ticket would you we are in Tel Aviv Israel welcome to i24 news digital we bring Israel and the entire Middle East right to your social networks on your phone on your desktop here i24 news creates videos especially made for social media and believe me we are out there working hard right here Israel and Nepal for the very first time is how they begin making original content streaming live even in the hard moments there are literally rockets flying off them in a bomb shelter and filming docuseries you will find all the big stories you missed on television so join i24 news on facebook, twitter, instagram and youtube and discover the Middle East with us one of the most romantic flavors which is batch of ice cream flavor it's made with Belgian chocolate fresh cream and milk and the selected hazelnuts it was inspired by the batch of praline these are chocolates filled with hazelnuts from Qimonte and they were also shaped a bit like a heart gelateria, it's in the heart of Tel Aviv in the walking area of Nachalat Pignamine it's an Italian ice cream shop we are an Italian couple me and my husband Marco and we make the ice cream in a traditional way 100% artisan so just with raw ingredients and with our own recipe local trends but we are adding some twist some Israeli twist to some flavors like we are using some goat cheese and sage and some cardamom with all spice pepper which is a specific not spicy but perfume spice started to work together from the very start and we learned some little tricks of how to keep down the pressure because of course like any couple you get to the hot point you have to be always very honest with yourself to trust each other and to separate the tasks because in this way you will not step on each other's feet and when we are back home we try not to speak too much of the work but on other things this is breaking news edition I am Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv sirens warning of incoming rockets in southern Israel just a short while ago at the same time Israeli army troops are said to be making their way up to the northern border in recent hours Israel's security cabinet confirming that Israel is officially in a state of war a war that started at 6am on Saturday the 7th of October a heartbroken nation a nation in shock at least 600 Israelis killed in the large scale attack more than 2040 people wounded that death toll is expected to be far higher a surprise terror assault by Hamas rocket barrages and a ground air and sea offensive all starting on what was supposed to be a day of festivities celebrations for the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah dozens of armed terrorists managing to infiltrate the country taking control of several kibbutzim and Moshevim near the Gaza Strip butchering Israelis and kidnapping men women children and soldiers scores of people who were celebrating at a nature party were gunned down many are still missing the prime minister appointing a new coordinator for captives and those missing Galhush just a short while ago now intense gun battles continue between IDF forces and Hamas fighters in at least seven different locations Israel is planning to evacuate citizens from southern communities ahead of a planned response by the IDF and many questions remain so for the latest let's go live to our correspondent Pierre Klushendler he joins us from Kibbutz Hanita in the north and Pierre communities in the north preparing for a possible escalation just a short while ago we're hearing Israeli army troops are making their way to that northern front what is the latest where you are what can you confirm well we know that the Israeli defense minister Joav Galant has instructed the home front command to prepare an evacuation plan similar to the one for the communities adjacent to the Gaza border for the communities adjacent to the northern border now in the sector that we are standing in western Galilee this is Kibbutz Hanita and seven other communities are concerned by the evacuation plan right now it's been a recommendation by heads of councils to the population of those communities adjacent to the border to evacuate voluntarily but with Joav Galant's instruction to the home front command this will be an instruction that means that citizens of these areas along the border will have to evacuate that means that in these particular sectors there are eight communities 8,500 civilians they'll have to leave right now in Kibbutz Hanita a place of 200 families two-thirds of the people have voluntarily left the Kibbutz and the place is basically a closed military area that's why we cannot enter the gate of the Kibbutz is manned by people from the Kibbutz that have been called up for mobilization and they're manning now the gates the army has invested the Kibbutz already they're patrolling along the border which is a few meters away from where we are standing but we cannot go there because it's basically a closed military zone Correspondent Pierre Kloschendler in Kibbutz Hanita in the north we will be coming back to you of course for regular updates in the coming hours now for more we welcome to studio senior security and military consultant Colonel in the Reserves Olivier Rappovich a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of strategy and security and our correspondent Guy Azrael gentlemen thank you both so much developments on several fronts Guy I want to start with you for the latest updates what can you tell us yes more fighting going on right now intense fighting inside Israeli territory this is not over so many infiltrations still inside the country we're hearing both on a barrage of rockets into the communities close to the border nearest the road Mefalzim Niram the area just close to the border and a possible infiltration attempt with a heavy gun fight that's going on right now between IDF troops and the possible terrorists there following these events the Ashkel Regional Council has announced the halt on the evacuation of the residents that are asked to remain in their homes locked up in fear of more terrorists that would go into their communities we're talking about over 2000 Israelis wounded so far 20 of them in critical condition 338 in serious condition these are the numbers that are expected to rise even more Olivier I want to bring you in we are hearing of developments on several fronts as Guy has said as Pierre has said up north as well the scale of what is unfolding the brutality the videos the footage that is being distributed around the region right now give us your sense your assessment of what is unfolding as we speak in the north and the south first of all I would like to convey one message all of us have to be very calm and very focused because we are facing a very serious threat and as a state as a Jewish state we must I would say coordinate our activities our actions and keep the resilience of the state and of the population at the highest level right now but of course we we have faced in the last two days terrible scenes of violence of brutality even apocalyptic scenes when terrorists of from Hamas killed like birches like beast all families we talked about 600 people have been killed at least on the number that you just mentioned are not the are just the provisory but what is now new it is a development in the north and for now the state of Israel is not looking for development facing Hezbollah we have to be ready to any development in the case that Hezbollah or other groups will intend to to do something against Israel we have to be ready that's why now we are seeing so many troops are more vehicles in the north something we're going to be discussing in more detail later on in the broadcast but right now I want to go live to our correspondent Nicole Zedek she is just outside Storot in the south and Nicole as we've been discussing there are several active scenes said to be happening at this hour that means civilians are holed up in their homes or shelters with armed terrorists in the vicinity plus siren sounding in southern communities a short while ago what is the latest what can you tell us yes Benita there is certainly a lot happening right now here in Storot in fact in the past five minutes that is when we saw the most recent barrage of rockets overhead with at least six to seven different iron dome intersections physically above us right here but what I want to show you is these cars that are parked here on the left they are completely abandoned because they are riddled with bullet holes the windows completely smashed through you can see glass still shattering right here all throughout the the car seats the windows all in the back seat look at these bullet holes you can count at least six just on this side alone and this is just one of the many cars that we have seen just abandoned on the roads here in Storot some of the other ones if we turn around here actually what we're what we're looking you can see back there some other cars also abandoned some other ones lit on fire completely charred Benita there is nothing left tires aren't even there anymore there's nothing left here so even as you look on the on the roads here it's completely riddled with glass just debris everywhere shrapnel as well in fact here's just one of the pieces that we've seen while we've been walking around little pieces of the actual rockets that have been fired some of the 3000 rockets that have been fired in the past nearly more than 24 hours now so that's exactly what we're seeing as you can see still a very active scene here and I want to say that in the past hour that's when we were actually in the state of Storot and we heard some of that active gunshots we were actually at an intersection where Israeli troops were guarding the area because it was one of the sections where you could not go in or out of the city without being there so they were making sure that if there are any more terrorists in the area they would have to go through that checkpoint with plenty of armored vehicles and other officers there as well we did hear more of that gunfire while we were while we were there in the area so it's certainly an active scene everyone here and stay roaded in the south is continuing to be urged from the home front stay in their house stay in their safe place and continue to just bunker down because it is definitely an active scene out here with active gunfire between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists horrifying scenes indeed correspondent Nicole Zedek just outside of Storot in southern Israel stay safe we will be coming back to you for more updates now for more we welcome Devorah Ben Adaret who was evacuated from Zikim in the south and taken to Jerusalem Devorah we are hearing terrifying scenes playing out in the south share with us if you will your experience your ordeal since that war started officially at 6 a.m on Saturday tell us more you know I've lived in the Kibbutz on the Gaza border for five six years I want to say I'm used to the wars this is totally different this was is terrifying in a way that the others haven't been when it's only rockets we know where they're coming from we know how many seconds we have and we know where our safe room is this was terrifying I have a six and an eight-year-old we locked ourselves in the mamad I was woken up like you said 6.30 in the morning from the first boom and I'm used to it so my husband ran in and said there was a boom coming the mamad the safe room and I said it's going to be over and I was wrong we spent the whole day in there one by one we took the girls out to use and us to use the bathroom because we had just woken up and we were sitting in there all day my husband snuck out brought in food but it was terrifying to learn that how come out came in on foot and flew in and broke down the fence and this is a whole new kind of infiltration that was terrifying terrifying knowing that even though we're in our safe room I don't have a way to lock the door they could be breaking down my front door any minute we lost internet connection in our whole area these videos are from our kibbutz we lost internet connection and the whole area afternoon and phone service so we couldn't even get our alerts we couldn't even get Artseva Adome siren alerts we needed to sneak out of the safe room and watch the TV to visually just see when an alert in our area was coming or wait for the sound of the dome or rockets it was terrifying in a way it never has been and the smell the horrific horrific burning smell it's terrifying it's terrifying and I'm if I can be totally honest I'm in shock I'm I'm I'm in I just I'm in shock frankly that my country let this happen I mean we're the idea for sleep I can't I can't it's like an episode of Fouda gone bad and I'm living in it I'm I almost don't have words and I would have been hysterically crying over the last few days but I have to hold it together for my girls right and my husband took them down to the lobby now so that I could do this interview because I think it's important to hear to hear what's happening and how we're living right and we so appreciate you finding the words as you say it to explain your ordeal I hope that you and your family stay safe thank you very much for speaking to us Devora Ben Adaret who is now in Jerusalem for everyone thank you so much appreciate you speaking to us thank you everyone be safe so difficult to hear these accounts and now we go to our correspondent Robert Swift he's an Ashkelon at the Barsilai Medical Center in the south horrific accounts we keep on hearing Robert we also have confirmation the death toll in Israel is at more than 600 but we also know it is actually far higher we are expecting that number to rise significantly what details can you share from the hospital what update can you give us right now that's correct the the Ministry of Health has said that it has evacuated 2,156 individuals to hospitals like Barsilai behind me to the hospitals in the vicinity of the of the Gaza communities now from that number it is understood that 33 are in a critical condition and a 20 are in serious condition now that number has increased throughout the day that the number of fatalities I should say has increased throughout the day as the Israeli forces have fought to recapture the communities that were that were lost essentially yesterday during the fighting additionally the Israeli military as it informs families of the deaths of service members it has started releasing the names and the Israeli police force has just in the last hour or so released the names of four of its officers and the Shin Bet has released the names of five individuals who fought and were killed during the last 36 hours of fighting Robert the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a short while ago appointing a new coordinator for captives and those missing obviously the intention is for Gull Hirsch to be the person to update families who are waiting for word on their missing relatives talk to us about the process ahead that's right the government has confirmed that as many as 100 Israelis are understood to be being held hostage in the Gaza Strip now our audience will have heard from many of the interviews that people are in shock they're furious that they don't know where to turn to that they want to to look to someone for an answer as to what is going on where are their family members and there wasn't that individual so the government has appointed this individual in an attempt to try and tie together some of the efforts to address the concerns of family members and also to deal with what comes next now it's worth noting that many of these family members they don't know if their loved ones are in Gaza or if they could in fact be be wounded somewhere in one of the hospitals like the hospital behind me Correspondent Robert Swift lies from Ashkelon at the Barsi Lime Medical Center in the south thank you Robert for that update and now we go to Correspondent Batja Leventhal in Tel Aviv and we know that so many people in Israel are wanting to try and help communities in the south in terms of blood donations or other forms of donations talk to us about what you are seeing there right now such a mix of emotions it's heartwarming to see the amount of people that have arrived here to give donations also to be able to give their time to volunteer to assist with the donations that started this morning completely improvised with just a few people saying that they wanted to take stuff down to the south but again obviously that heartwarmingness also comes on the backs of being heartbroken at what is happening across Israel in particular in the south I'm just going to move out of the way here so that you can see they are closing up for today but you can see some of the boxes in the background they wanted to make sure that the volunteers that are going to be driving down with these boxes in the cars down to the south are not necessarily driving too late in the dark but also given the security situation but again there has been just hundreds of these boxes being packed with foods non-perishables clothing as well as hygiene needs I'm actually standing now with a Tel Aviv residence or our Nornu has been here since the morning and or earlier you told me that there was just one tent being set up and I'll look around just as they're closing up and see probably a dozen yeah so I was on my way to make a blood donation I came back there were like a couple of guys two tents we spread the word on the social media and that's where social media comes in hand it was full by a couple of hours and it's amazing it's going to be here tomorrow as well so it's it's the least we can do what would you advise people to be bringing if they can make their way here but also perhaps for overseas people that are watching the broadcast what are they able to attribute or be able to help here at the square so there's money obviously there's any hygiene food drinks basically anything as family can need we're sending boxes to families we're sending boxes to soldiers so everything you think you might need for a week this is what we're packing now just over two weeks ago this exact spot was the site of quite a few clashes between secular and ultra orthodox Jews it's unbelievable to see so much segregation but today so much unity do you believe that the country is going to unite at the moment everyone together in order to get the security situation under control or will there still be politics that interfere I was here two weeks ago it was people are hurt by the situation really broken and everything is kind of a territory politically and religiously but I think I'm not sure about politics but people come together in these times in Israel it happened 50 years ago it happens again now it nothing matters All right Non thank you very much for your time as you can see lots of donations being here they will be here all week sporadic but they need stuff so if you can get out to Dzenkov Square make sure you bring out those donations back to you in the studio Correspondent Batja Leventhal live from Tel Aviv and now we go live to a press conference the IDS spokesman is about to speak confronting terrorists in Kfar Azar by the navy commando and other special units that's every time unit fighting in Nakhal Oz our forces are striving for contact and to destroy the enemy there are still fighting on the ground some of it draws into Gaza we will continue to push off anyone on the fence the chief of staff has held a situation assessment spoke to the head of the Gaza division the commanders are strong and stable working professionally during heavy fighting we reinforce our forces arranging the space clearing the area and attacking terrorists and every area where they are in our attack on Gaza we have destroyed some 800 targets using fighter jets helicopters and drones today at 345 the IDF struck at Betchanun neighborhood in three rounds using over 50 aircrafts dozens of tons of ammunition to 120 targets it's a complex aerial operation that has destroyed all the buildings in the area of Betchanun that was used by Hamas operatives who were ready to launch attacks in the state of Israel we will continue to attack in this method all of the attack areas of Hamas terrorists everywhere in Gaza the air force in full coordination and spreading out is targeting multiple areas with reservists Hamas has brought a great disaster to the people of Gaza they have encountered hundreds of casualties some of them already in our territory since the start of the war dozens of terrorists have been taken captive in the northern command there have been several strikes without any casualties and the IDF has responded with fire towards Chisbala we follow the actions of the Chisbala group in the northern front we are ready on every arena I call on the public to listen to the instructions of the home front command continue to contact us to repeat the numbers one for soldiers at 1111 for the home front command at 104 you can reach the family center of the home front command at the airport city or call us 105 do not spread news online we update the families first and only then bring the news to the public there are there is room for difficult questions and investigation the public deserves answers and we will do so responsibly now we're in the midst of war the IDF is fully occupied in attacking and striking the enemy first we will fight and then we will investigate we're witnessing over the several days an enormous bravery of the civilians first we'll fight and then we'll investigate we're witnessing over the several days and an enormous civilian bravery women men and children operating in front of the murderous terror showing resilience that is an example to all of us there's acts of heroism Yonatan Steinberg is a brother of a woman Yonatan Steinberg made God bless his soul has lost his life in a battle during gunfights as was his deputy who was killed the Ibn-Nachal brigade continues with its full force also Rehilevi who was killed drink a gunfight with terrorists in Reim Kibbutz who took out 10 terrorists so was the case with many other commanders and fighters who found their death in battle they were immediately replaced by other commanders who were there to take their place these are our commanders and fighters determined to defend the people of Israel first in the front and those are the ones who will promise our victory are we not seeing the full extent of the air force because of the fear of harming the captives the air force is operating over the past few hours broadly in a complex aerial situation we will continue and with this rhythm continuously in all the places where Hamas is getting ready to attack the people of Israel we are following the situation with the captives we're engaged in fighting as for equipment for reservists there are many thousands of reservists they will get the right equipment will get their tasks and then we will provide them with their equipment as needed is this the most of the IDF is going to to strike is this the maximum reaction we are prepared for all scenarios I will not go into details we're gathering strengths and there's readiness also on the northern front when we feel it is right to evacuate communities we will do so after we will update the civilians we have learned that Hasbala is re-established it's tent over the border thank you for standing here but why isn't the chief of staff and the head of the southern command here to answer questions as previous ones have done I'm convinced that the chief of staff will stand in front of the cameras as well he's engaged in fighting we heard the chief of staff ordering the IDF also the head of the chief of staff of the southern command in order to protect Israeli civilians I am the IDF spokesperson I will represent them in front of the media you're watching a live press conference the IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari he says the IDF is prepared for every scenario he says they will fight first and then they will investigate in studio still senior security and military consultant Colonel in the reserves Olivier Rafovich a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security and our correspondent Guy Azrael so the IDF says it's prepared for every eventuality Olivier you have vast experience in this field what did you make from what we just heard out of the IDF first tone was very clear was very focused on what's going on right now we are defending the first part of Israel we are trying to finish this work against the terrorists and to destroy them actually in the territory but then it will be another step another phase within maybe the Gaza Strip against Hamas it was not very clear about what will be the next step is reserving this next step for security reasons not to disclose any information but it is clear that State of Israel has decided to move forward against Hamas by different moves by different steps one after one but first of all now the priority is to destroy the terrorist groups within the State of Israel and to clean all this area of terrorist cell for the northern part it was also not very I would say convincing that something clear is going on right now but we are preparing like just you said the possibility the eventual