 Recargas.altis.com.co.selection a recargas y digita el numero al que deseas colocarle la recarga además ellos reciben el doble de balance en recargas de 8 dólares o más altis la red global de los dominicanas Welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 news desk. I'm Nicole Zettek and I'll be unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day. Two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists, marking the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza. The release of Judith and Natalie Radnan, a mother and daughter from Chicago, was facilitated by Qatar. And Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Joav Galant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the Strip. All while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight. And while rockets continue to attack the south, Israel's northern border is also heating up. The IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian-backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday. Now that's where we want to begin in the north where our I-24 news correspondent Robert Swift is standing by. Robert, the IDF striking Hezbollah targets overnight and this mainly in response to an Israeli reserve soldier who was killed by an anti-tank missile. What can you tell us about what's happening on the ground right now? That's correct. That's an attack that took place during the evening yesterday. It was reported towards the end of yesterday that two soldiers were taken to a hospital in Haifa with moderate shrapnel wounds. But it has been confirmed overnight that a third soldier was indeed a casualty in that incident and that he did die. This is a reserve unit that was attacked. They were positioned in the community of Margoleod, which is at the eastern end of Israel's northern border. This was just a short distance to the north of where we were working last night. And as a result of this, the IDF have indeed struck Hezbollah targets during the hours of last night. Meanwhile, Robert, we're seeing all this action on the north. Anti-tank missiles fired, soldiers killed, injured. Usually, would this be enough for a larger response from Israel? Are they doing enough to hold off from these Hezbollah targets? There has been a lot of commentings pointing out that the 2006 Israeli Hezbollah war was triggered by events similar to these that it's unlikely that Israel would have stood by if it had been so consistently attacked for a period of two weeks. If such a large number of its soldiers had been killed in a short period of time like this. You know, you can imagine that it's likely that the IDF would have conducted some sort of operation. And there's just been a New York Times article published in recent hours saying that Israel's defense minister, Gav Galant, had been advocating for some type of pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah. But this option was decided against by Israel's prime minister. It's understood that the US government's angle on this is that they are not keen on the idea of a pre-emptive attack against Hezbollah. They have said over a week ago that if Hezbollah were to attack Israel, they will be there to support Israel. But the option of a pre-emptive strike is not one that they favor. Meanwhile, Robert, we also know that the government is urging many of those people in those northern communities to evacuate. From what you're seeing out there, are these people in these northern communities, are they heeding the government's warning? Are they evacuating or are some people deciding to stand their ground and stay up there near the Lebanon border? Look, you've always got some holdouts. There's some people that choose not to leave, whether it's out of stubbornness, a sense of this is my home and I'm not going, or if it's due to other reasons, if it's elderly individuals or families with children that they don't believe that they can leave for whatever reason. But the vast majority of people have been leaving. We witnessed last night the evacuation from Keryat Shmona. Many people had already left from the whole of the northern communities. Many people chose to leave before they were told due to the danger here. But in Keryat Shmona yesterday, we witnessed a large number of dozens of buses moving into the center of the city and then dispersing out to gather residents from all across the town in order to take them to hotels and Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the country. And that's not just, that's only those that were traveling by bus. There's also residents who would have taken their own means of transports and heeded the warnings and left themselves. I-24 News correspondent Robert Swift up near the northern border with Lebanon. Thank you for your insight telling us what's happening up there. Now, I want to bring in our studio guest joining me in studio right now. I'm joined by Amir Oran, Defense and Government commentator along with our I-24 News senior correspondent Owen Ulterman. Thank you both for joining me in studio. Now, before I get to you, I want to go to our guest Professor Koby Mikhail, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and former Deputy Director-General for the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs joining us via Zoom from Nassayonah here in Israel. Koby, Israel repeatedly says they are prepared for this war on all fronts, both in the south and in the north. Yet many soldiers mobilized on these borders. They are reserve soldiers. We saw one of them killed yesterday, one of these reserve soldiers. So all this training and possibly lack of training in recent years, does it impact the war efforts on any front? I assume that yes, it will affect. But the idea that we still have the time in order to close gaps, it's something that will compensate in this way or another. But I think that another compensation is determination and the very high level of morale of the soldiers and the very deep idea or belief or knowledge that in the end of the day we are in almost an existential war, mainly if we are talking about two fronts simultaneously. And I do believe that the quality of the commanders at the end of the day will be able to bridge the gaps. And I do believe that at the end of the day we will be with the upper hand with all the difficulties. Well, and Koby, when we're talking about, we've been focusing on what's going to happen in the south, but the northern border absolutely heating up as well. What exactly would you think a northern border phase of this war would look like? In the south we're talking about a ground invasion, ground operation. Is that something that we would expect from the north as well with troops actually going in through the Israeli border? The short answer is yes and the long answer is definitely yes, because if there will be a full-scale war in the north, the end result must be the elimination of Hezbollah as a military organization. Israel cannot tolerate any more such a threat from the north, which is much more serious than the threat of Hamas from the south, and we saw how severe it can be. And I think that there is not any other option but to have a ground force inclusion to south Lebanon. And it is going to be a very long journey, a very difficult war, but at the end of the day it must be done sometime. And I believe that it's better sooner than later. Professor Kobe Michael, thank you, stay with us, but I want to turn to our guests in studio. Amir Oran still focusing on everything that we have going on in the northern border. It's not only Hezbollah and the threat from Lebanon, we're also seeing Syria, we're also seeing Yemen, all truly though proxies of Iran, correct? Yes, in a way, yes, even though each actor has their own interest to look after, but obviously if Iran is giving them money, missiles, material, men, then they have to pay the piper. However, the mood which was reflected in Professor Michael's comment is that war is inevitable and therefore Israel should choose the time and method to wage it, which is in Israeli parlance called a war of choice. This failed in Lebanon in 1982 and the Israeli public will not stand for a war which was not inevitable. Perhaps down the road philosophically one may say that it is predetermined, this is our fate, we must do it, so let's do it now. But once the casualties pile up, the public will turn against it. And this is why you see in the south, and we will go into the hostage release, if it is possible to delay the ground incursion and during that time try diplomacy, some larger hostage deal, perhaps including, probably including the prisoners in Israeli jails. It is better to do that and if it is still necessary to go into Gaza city and fight from house to house and tunnel to tunnel. Well, and you mentioned that hostage situation and just to get everyone caught up to date, two American hostages have been released from the hands of Hamas, Natalie Ranan and her mother Judith were kidnapped on October 7th while visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Now it's believed that as many as 10 other Ranan family members could still be in Hamas captivity. However, Natalie and Judith's release does provide a sliver of hope for the families of those held hostage. Take a listen to what Natalie's father had to say. And actually before we get to what his father had to say, I want to come back to you. Two Americans released. This is obviously very significant. However, let's note, they have American passports. Does this signify in any way that it is going to be foreigners, those with a foreign passport that are going to get priority release in a sense? Yes. So what you see among the 200 hostages are Israelis, civilians and soldiers and foreigners along with babies and other special cases. Now these two are Americans with Israeli passports rather than the other way around. And this was paramount to President Biden. He also mentioned the Americans trying to get out of Gaza. He said they are trapped there. And of course, his second priority is to get the other hostages out. But because the Ranan mother and daughter live in Chicago and only visited Israel, rather than Israelis also holding American passports, they were first to be released. But Hamas holds all of them as human cards. Well, and as we were speaking before, I just want to let everyone listen to exactly what the father of Natalie, who you said, is in the United States right now, what he had to say about his daughter being released. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, for two weeks. I haven't been sleeping for two weeks. Tonight I'm going to sleep good. I spoke with my daughter earlier today. She sounds very good. She looks very good. She was very happy. And she's waiting to come home. Her mother has a little scratch on her hand, but she told me it's nothing. She's okay. I spoke earlier with President Biden. I thank him for his concern, for his helping with the release of them. And he was very, very nice. Natalie and Judith Ranan released from the Gaza Strip from the hands of Hamas down near southern Israel. And southern Israel, that's where our I-24 News Defense Correspondent, Jonathan Regev, is right now standing by. Jonathan, even after Natalie and Judith both released after nightfall, Hamas continuing to launch a heavy barrage of rockets towards Israel. IDF says they are striking back, striking command centers, underground tunnels. However, after all of these hits, Hamas is still striking back, still able to fire these rockets with a lot of force. Yes, still able to strike back, and there's no meaningful change to what we've seen, I think, for the past week and a half or so. Israel pounding hard, yes. But Hamas still has the ability to fire, and even to place as further than southern Israel, the community of Zderot, where we are and other nearby communities. We're seeing sirens also in places further away, further to the north, central Israel, Bersheva and so on. You don't need much to create a siren in central Israel where millions live. You don't need 20 or 30 rockets, one or two rockets. That's enough to create those sirens. And all those rockets are well-heated in bunkers underground. The rockets themselves and the people firing them, they pop up for a minute. That's all they need to fire those rockets and hide back. The estimate is that Hamas entered this war with roughly 15,000 rockets. About half of them, perhaps even a bit less, have been fired so far. Hamas is firing every day, but at a rather slow pace. Why? I think they understand very well that Israel is planning a land incursion and they want to save those rockets for that period to try and first create a panic in the Israeli home front and also perhaps use them against the invading forces. Jonathan, let's briefly touch on that land incursion that you were mentioning. Defense Minister Yoav Galant visiting border troops yesterday to seeing how prepared they are for this inevitable ground invasion. What can you tell us about the defense minister's visit to those southern troops? As far as Yoav Galant is concerned, he wants to see the forces already running in. He's pretty much waiting for the authorization. At the end of the day, the cabinet and of course prime minister, they have to authorize this. The forces already, they've been using these two weeks to complete all the equipment that they were lacking and perhaps to have more legitimacy to any Israeli move. We saw all the foreign leaders that were here this week, President Biden, Prime Minister Sunak, Chancellor Schultz and so on. Israel, I think, didn't want to start any land incursion before all those foreign leaders come and express their support because there's an understanding that land incursion also comes with difficult images from Gaza and many casualties on the other side. The equipment has been coming in, the foreign leaders are gone and northern Gaza has been cleared more and more of its civilian population and I think as far as the security establishment, it is probably time for the land incursion to begin. But as we're seeing, as of Saturday morning now, it has not happened yet. Jonathan Rage by 24 News Defense Correspondent, thank you for bringing us up to date with all of the action that's happening in Israel's south. Now I want to come back to our guests in studio, Owen Alderman, with the release of these hostages. Now we're getting some reports that some western governments possibly pushing back on the Israeli government to start that ground invasion that Jonathan was talking about. How does this release, obviously many people view it as a sliver of hope but others viewing it as a possible deterrence to the ground invasion? Well listen, a couple of things. First of all, going back to something Amir Oran said, because I think this has to be raised, talking about the idea of emptying Palestinian prisons in exchange for the hostages. I think it's going to be much more controversial than Amir Oran leads us to believe. If you look back at the exchange for Gilad Shalit in 2011, 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released, many of them became murderers directly involved, either as leaders, someone including Yechih Asinwar, one of the top leaders in Hamas, freed in that deal. And many of the foot soldiers, if you will, or foot murderers, if you will, in the massacres Ansim Khatturah in October 7th, were themselves people who were freed during that deal. Israel might simply be releasing Palestinian prisoners to create more murderers, to cause more loss of Israeli lives, including in the hundreds as we saw. So I think it's going to be considered very, very carefully by the Israeli public and I hope that there's going to be a full public debate with all that that involves. Look, as for the interplay between the issue of the hostages and the ground invasion, it may well be true. Israel's going to have to be attentive to the western governments. That said, the defense establishment and many, many of the commentators and analysts in Israeli media don't see a big rush, a need to hurry with the ground invasion, right? We've already seen it delayed with those troops on the border. And there may be a number of reasons for that. You raised in your excellent first question to Kobe Mikhail, right? These are reserve soldiers, maybe giving them time to train and to get ready mentally and physically for what they're going to face is something that could be of value. Number two, something that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett since inserting himself into the national conversation mentioned Israel is a big advantage from the air. And maybe there's a lot that can be achieved from the air, including destroying the tunnels themselves. We had a guest, a former senior Air Force pilot who explained this to us in studio about a week ago, that tunnels can often be destroyed best from the air, according to what he explained, right? With repeated bombing of openings in the tunnels. So there may be that as well. So on one hand, there may be pressure from western governments to hold off. And on the other hand, Israel may not, the Israeli military may not see it as something that needs to be hurried. It's something that can be planned out better. And given that Israel has already lost the element of surprise, that this is something that Israel's strategic position and tactical position is not hurt by Israel waiting. Also, I should mention, this gives more time for civilians to leave Gaza City. I assume that whoever was going to leave has already left. But maybe there are some who still feel that they can leave and haven't been able to. There are two clocks running here. One is what Owen just described. There is no rush. The troops are ready for the order. It's better for diplomacy to work its way in order to show President Biden and the other leaders that nothing could be achieved with Hamas, via Qatar, Turkey, or whoever. This is the slow clock. However, the 350,000 reserve soldiers spread between the southern and northern fronts cannot be held there forever. The economy will grind to a halt. People are getting restless. So there is a point in which these two clocks must converge. It may not be tomorrow. It may not even be later next week. But before November comes, someone must make a decision. And this someone is President Biden. President Biden is not only a member of the Israeli War Cabinet. He presides over it. And he has extracted a promise from Netanyahu to get every operation, every major campaign plan to his approval. Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense yesterday talked again with Joav Galant, trying to keep him in place to show him who's calling the shots or put it another way. If you don't hear the shots, Americans are calling them. Meanwhile, I think the hostage situation is certainly one of the biggest questions on everyone's mind. Professor Koby-Michel, I want to come back to you because how exactly accurate is the Israeli intel that we're getting? We know there's claim at least 200 hostages remain. They believe most of those hostages are alive. But if anything, October 7th has shown us that the Israeli intelligence is not always accurate and they don't always know what's happening in the Gaza Strip. And in this situation, how do they know where they're being held? How many there are? How many are alive? With your permission, before answering your question, I would like to make three short comments with regard to the hostages and the release of the two hostages yesterday. Please. The first comment is that I think that it is an immoral principle which was realized here. And it's something that draws us back to the Holocaust and to Anteba in 1976, which is the principle of selection. Instead of imposing on Hamas to release all the citizens without any distinction between of them, we enable them to play with us and to realize the principle of selection, distinguishing between different types of citizenship that innocent civilians have there. And I think that this is a huge error, an error or a mistake. Secondly, I think that we are enabling Hamas to play with everybody and the idea of realizing or exercising diplomacy with Hamas is a wrong idea. Hamas should not be legitimized by diplomacy. Hamas should be eliminated. And thirdly, I think that we have a problem with Qatar. Qatar is our enemy. Qatar is the enemy of the West. Qatar hosts on each soil the head of the snake, Ismail Haniyeh and Khalid Mashal, who calls all the Arabs to go out and slaughter you Jews. And we are using Qatar and its mediation qualifications or abilities and we are legitimizing Qatar. And I think that all of these are problems and very severe problems. With regard to your question... Professor Mihael, first, before we get to that, I want to follow up on something that you were just stating there because you mentioned negotiating with terrorists, Hamas terrorists. It's not in anyone's favor. But then I'm curious, if not negotiations, how do we expect to get these hostages back? What's plan B? We have to bring them to the understanding that the civilian hostages are not an asset for them but liable. We have to remain determined, strong, aggressive and not to blink, okay? The idea that we are negotiating with them, the idea that somebody talks to them, the idea that we enable Qatar to be the mediator between the leader of the free world, the United States of America and those brutal barbarians is something that cannot be tolerated. Hamas and the United States should tell Qatar you have 24 hours to do two things. First of all, to throw out all of Hamas' leaders and activities from your soil and the second thing to shut down Al Jazeera. And if you are not going to do that, you are not going to exist anymore. Who is Qatar? Who is Qatar? A tiny country with 300,000 citizens and 1.5 million slaves. And this country actually plays with all the world as if it's a regional power or a superpower. This is the greatest provider of the terror in the entire world. They were the invaders of the great providers of ISIS and we are still dealing with them and negotiating with them. Professor Kobe Michael, thank you so much for your analysis of this ongoing situation. We truly appreciate it. Coming back to Amir and Owen, I'm curious as to what your response is to what Kobe has to say. Well, his anger is quite understandable. However, there are other geopolitical facts which come into play. One of them is called Al-Odeid. This is the American air base in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Gulf. They have their navy at Bahrain, their air force at Qatar. And this is how they base their military activities out of and they have to take this into consideration when they fight ISIS, when they stage their forces against Iran. So anger and frustration are quite understandable, but from the White House it looks a bit different. Amir, Owen, Defensing Government commentator and our I-24 News senior correspondent, we are going out for a break, but you will both be joining us. We appreciate all of your insight as we continue to unpack all of these latest and ever-changing developments when it comes to the war here in Israel. Now in its 15th day, we continue to keep an eye on all fronts of everything that's happening here in Israel and its effects in the Middle East. Stay with us here on I-24 News. Israel is officially in a state of war. This is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking. More than 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. Help us. We don't want to do it. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year. 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. Welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 News Desk. I'm Nicole Zettig and I'll be unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day. Two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists. Marking the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza. The release of Judith and Natalie Radnan, a mother and daughter from Chicago, was facilitated by Qatar. And Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons, but others speculate it was purely strategy. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Joav Galant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the Strip. All while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight. And while rockets continue to attack the south, Israel's northern border is also heating up. The IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian-backed terror group, which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday. And that's where we want to begin in the north where our I-24 News correspondent Robert Swift is standing by. Robert, the IDF striking Hezbollah targets overnight, and this mainly in response to an Israeli reserve soldier who was killed by an anti-tank missile. What can you tell us about what's happening on the ground right now? That's correct. That's an attack that took place during the evening yesterday. It was reported towards the end of yesterday that two soldiers were taken to a hospital in Haifa with moderate shrapnel wounds, but it has been confirmed overnight that a third soldier was indeed a casualty in that incident and that he did die. This is a reserve unit that was attacked. They were positioned in the community of Margo Leod, which is at the eastern end of Israel's northern border. This was just a short distance to the north of where we were working last night. And as a result of this, the IDF have indeed struck Hezbollah targets during the hours of last night. Well, meanwhile, Robert, we're seeing all this action on the north. Anti-tank missiles fired, soldiers killed, injured. Usually, would this be enough for a larger response from Israel? Are they doing enough to hold off from these Hezbollah targets? There has been a lot of common things pointing out that the 2006 Israeli Hezbollah war was triggered by events similar to these that it's unlikely that Israel would have stood by if it had been so consistently attacked for a period of two weeks, if such a large number of its soldiers had been killed in a short period of time like this. You know, you can imagine that it's likely that the IDF would have conducted some sort of operation. And there's just been a New York Times article published in recent hours saying that Israel's defense minister, Yoav Galant, had been advocating for some type of pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah, but that this option was decided against by Israel's prime minister. It's understood that the US government's angle on this is that they are not keen on the idea of a pre-emptive attack against Hezbollah. In fact, they have said over a week ago that if Hezbollah were to attack Israel, they will be there to support Israel. But the option of a pre-emptive strike is not one that they favor. Well, and meanwhile, Robert, we also know that the government is urging many of those people in those northern communities to evacuate. From what you're seeing out there, are these people in these northern communities, are they heeding the government's warning? Are they evacuating? Or are some people deciding to stand their ground and stay up there near the Lebanon border? Look, you've always got some holdouts. There's some people that choose not to leave whether it's out of stubbornness, a sense of this is my home and I'm not going, or if it's, you know, due to other reasons, if it's elderly individuals or families with children that they don't believe that they can leave for whatever reason. But the vast majority of people have been leaving. We witnessed last night the evacuation from Kiryat Shmona. Many people had already left from the whole of the northern communities. Many people chose to leave before they were told due to the danger here. But in Kiryat Shmona yesterday, we witnessed a large number of dozens of buses moving into the centre of the city and then dispersing out to gather residents from all across the town in order to take them to hotels and Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the country. And that's not just, that's only those that were travelling by bus. There's also residents who would have taken their own means of transports and heeded the warnings and left themselves. 24 News correspondent Robert Swift up near the northern border with Lebanon. Thank you for your insight telling us what's happening up there. Now I want to bring in our studio guest joining me in studio. Right now I'm joined by Amir Oran, Defense and Government commentator along with our I-24 News senior correspondent Owen Ultriman. Thank you both for joining me in studio. Now before I get to you, I want to go to our guest Professor Kobe Michael, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and former Deputy Director-General for the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs joining us via Zoom from Nessayona here in Israel. Kobe, Israel repeatedly says they are prepared for this war on all fronts both in the south and in the north. Yet many soldiers mobilized on these borders. They are reserve soldiers. We saw one of them killed yesterday, one of these reserve soldiers. So all this training and possibly lack of training in recent years doesn't impact the war efforts on any front. I assume that yes, it will affect both the idea that we still have the time in order to close gaps. It's something that will compensate in this way or another. But I think that another compensation is the termination and the very high level of morale of the soldiers and the very deep idea or belief or knowledge that in the end of the day we are in almost an existential war. Mainly if we are talking about two fronts simultaneously. And I do believe that the quality of the commanders at the end of the day will be able to bridge the gaps. And I do believe that at the end of the day we will be with the upper hand with all the difficulties. Well, and Kobe, when we're talking about we've been focusing on what's going to happen in the south, but the northern border is absolutely heating up as well. What exactly would you think a northern border phase of this war would look like? In the south we're talking about a ground invasion, ground operation. Is that something that we would expect from the north as well with troops actually going in through the Israeli border? The short answer is yes and the long answer is definitely yes. Because if there will be a full-scale war in the north the elimination of Hezbollah as a military organization. Israel cannot tolerate any more such a threat from the north which is much more serious than the threat of Hamas from the south and we saw how severe it can be. And I think that there is no other option but to have a ground force inclusion to south Lebanon and it is going to be a very long journey, a very difficult war, but at the end of the day it must be done sometime and I believe that it is better sooner than later. Professor Kobe Michael thank you, stay with us but I want to turn to our guests in studio. Amir Oren still focusing on everything that we have going on in the northern border. It's not only Hezbollah and the threat from Lebanon we're also seeing Syria, we're also seeing Yemen all truly though proxies in Iran, correct? Yes, in a way yes, even though each actor has their own interest to look after but obviously if Iran is giving them money, missiles material, man then they have to pay the piper. However the mood which was in Professor Michael's comment is that war is inevitable and therefore Israel should choose the time and method to wage it which is in Israeli Poland's called a war of choice. This failed in Lebanon in 1982 and the Israeli public will not stand for a war which was not inevitable. Perhaps down the road philosophically one may say that it is predetermined this is our fate we must do it, so let's do it now but once the casualties pile up the public will turn against it and this is why you see in the south and we will go into the hosted release if it is possible to delay the ground incursion and during that time try diplomacy some larger hostage deal perhaps including probably including the prisoners in Israeli jails it is better to do that and if it is still necessary to go into Gaza city and fight from house to house and tunnel to tunnel. Well and you mentioned that hostage situation and just to get everyone caught up to date two American hostages have been released from the hands of Hamas Natalie Ranan and her mother Judith were kidnapped on October 7th while visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz now it's believed that as many as 10 other Ranan family members could still be in Hamas captivity however Natalie and Judith released provide a sliver of hope for the families of those held hostage take a listen to what Natalie's father had to say and actually before we get to what his father had to say I want to come back to you Amir two Americans released this is obviously very significant however let's note they have American passports does this signify in any way that it is going to be foreigners those with a foreign passport that are going to get priority release in a sense Yes so what you see among the 200 hostages are Israelis civilians and soldiers and foreigners along with babies and other special cases now these two are Americans with Israeli passports rather than the other way around and this was paramount to President Biden he also mentioned the Americans trying to get out of Gaza he said they are trapped there and of course his second priority is to get the other hostages out but because the Iranian mother and daughter live in Chicago and only visited Israel rather than Israelis also holding American passports they were first to be released but Hamas holds all of them as human cards well and as we were speaking before I just want to let everyone listen to exactly what the father of Natalie have you said is in the United States right now what he had to say about his daughter who was released I've been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks I haven't been sleeping for two weeks tonight I'm going to sleep good I spoke with my daughter earlier today she sounds very good she looks very good she was very happy and she's waiting to come home her mother has a little scratch on her but she told me it's nothing she's okay I spoke earlier with President Biden I thank him for his concern for his helping with the release of them and he was very very nice Natalie and Judith Ranan released from the Gaza Strip from the hands of Hamas down near southern Israel and southern Israel that's where our I-24 news defense correspondent Jonathan Regev is right now standing by Jonathan, even after Natalie and Judith both released after nightfall Hamas continuing to launch a heavy barrage of rockets towards Israel IDF says they are striking back striking command centers underground tunnels however after all of these hits Hamas is still striking back still able to fire these rockets with a lot of force still able to strike back there's no change no meaningful change to what we've seen I think for the past week and a half or so Israel pounding hard yes but Hamas still has the ability to to fire and even to places further than southern Israel the community of Zderot where we are in other nearby communities we're seeing sirens also in places further away further to the north, central Israel Bersheva and so on you don't need much a siren in central Israel where millions live you don't need 20 or 30 rockets one or two rockets that's enough to create those sirens and all those rockets are well hidden bunkers underground the rockets themselves and the people firing them they pop up for a minute that's all they need to fire those rockets and hide back the estimate is that Hamas entered this war with roughly 15,000 rockets about half of them perhaps even a bit less have been fired so far Hamas is firing every day but at a rather slow pace why I think they understand very well that Israel is planning a land incursion and they want to save those rockets for that period to try and first create a panic in the Israeli home front and also perhaps use them against the invading forces Jonathan let's briefly touch on that land incursion that you were mentioning Defense Minister Yoav Galant visiting border troops yesterday to seeing how prepared they are for this inevitable ground invasion what can you tell us about the Defense Ministers visit to those southern troops as far as Yoav Galant is concerned he wants to see the forces already running in he's pretty much waiting for the authorization at the end of the day the cabinet and of course Prime Minister they have to authorize this the forces already they've been using these two weeks to complete all the equipment that they were lacking and perhaps to give to have more legitimacy to any Israeli move we saw all the foreign leaders that were here this week President Biden, Prime Minister Sunak and so on Israel I think didn't want to start any land incursion before all those foreign leaders come and express their support because there's an understanding that land incursion also comes with difficult images from Gaza and many casualties on the other side the equipment has been coming in the foreign leaders are gone and northern Gaza has been cleared more and more of its civilian population and I think as far as the security establishment it is probably time for the land incursion to begin but as we're seeing as of Saturday morning now it has not happened yet Jonathan Rage by 24 News Defense correspondent thank you for bringing us up to date with all the action that's happening in Israel's south now I want to come back to our guests in studio Owen Alderman with the release of these hostages now we're getting some reports that some western governments possibly pushing back on the Israeli government about that ground invasion that Jonathan was talking about how does this release obviously many people view it as a sliver of hope but others viewing it as a possible deterrence to the ground invasion well listen a couple things first of all going back to something Amir Oran said because I think this has to be raised talking about the idea of emptying Palestinian prisons in exchange for the hostages I think it's going to be much more controversial than Amir Oran leads us to believe if you look back for Gilad Shalit in 2011 a thousand Palestinian prisoners released many of them became murderers directly involved either as leaders someone including Yahya Sinwar one of the top leaders in Hamas freed in that deal and many of the foot soldiers if you will or foot murderers if you will in the massacres Ansim Khatorah in October 7th were themselves people who were freed during that deal Israel might simply be releasing Palestinian prisoners to create more murderers to cause more loss of Israeli lives including in the hundreds as we saw so I think it's going to be considered very very carefully by the Israeli public and I hope that there's going to be a full public debate with all that that involves look as for the interplay between the issue of the hostages and the ground invasion it may well be true Israel is going to have to be attentive to the western governments that said the defense establishment and many many of the commentators and analysts in Israeli media don't see a big rush to hurry with the ground invasion right we've already seen it delayed with those troops on the border and there may be a number of reasons for that one to call that you raise your excellent first question to Kobe Michael right these are reserve soldiers maybe giving them time to train and to get ready mentally and physically for what they're going to face is something that could be a value number two something that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett since inserting himself into the national conversation mentioned Israel is a big advantage from the air and maybe there's a lot that can be achieved from the air including destroying the tunnels themselves we had a guest a former senior Air Force pilot who explained this to us in studio about a week ago the tunnels can often be destroyed best from the air according to what he explained right with repeated bombing of openings in the tunnels so there may be that as well so on one hand there may be pressure from western governments to hold off and on the other hand Israel may not the Israeli military may not see it as to be hurried that it's something that can be planned out better and given that Israel's already lost the element of surprise that this is something that that it isn't Israel's strategic position and tactical position is not hurt by Israel waiting also I should mention this gives more time for civilians to leave Gaza city I assume that whoever was going to leave is already left but maybe there are some who still feel that they can leave and haven't been able to now two clocks running here one is what Owen just described there is no rush the troops are ready for the order and better for diplomacy to work its way in order to show President Biden and the other leaders that nothing could be achieved with Hamas via Qatar Turkey or whoever this is the slow clock however the 350,000 reserve soldiers spread between the southern and northern fronts cannot be held there forever the economy will grind to a halt people are getting restless so there is a point in which these two clocks must converge it may not be tomorrow may not even be later next week but before November comes someone must make a decision and this someone is President Biden President Biden is not only a member of the Israeli war cabinet he presides over it and he has extracted a promise from Netanyahu to get every operation every major campaign plan to his approval Lloyd Austin the Secretary of Defense yesterday talked again with Joav Galant trying to keep him in place to show him who's calling the shots or put it another way if you don't hear the shots this is because the Americans are calling them Meanwhile I think the hostage situation is certainly one of the biggest questions on everyone's mind Professor Kobe Michiel I want to come back to you because how exactly accurate is the Israeli intel that we're getting we know there's claim at least 200 hostages remain they believe most of those hostages are alive but if anything October 7th has shown us that the Israeli intelligence is not always accurate and they don't always know what's happening in the Gaza Strip so when it comes to this hostage situation how do they know where they're being held how many there are how many are alive with your permission before answering your question I would like to make three short comments with regard to the hostages and the release of the two hostages yesterday first comment is that I think that the immoral principle which was realized here and it's something that throws us back to the Holocaust and to Anteba in 1976 all the idea of selection instead of imposing on Hamas to release all the citizens without any distinction between of them okay we enable them to play with us and to realize the principle of selection distinguishing between different types of citizenship that innocent civilians have there and I think that this is a huge error a moral error and mistake secondly I think that we are enabling Hamas to play with everybody and the idea of realizing or exercising diplomacy with Hamas is a wrong idea Hamas should not be legitimized by diplomacy Hamas should be eliminated and thirdly I think that we have a problem with Qatar Qatar is our enemy Qatar is the enemy of the west Qatar hosts on each soil the head of the snake Ismail Haniye and Khalid Mashal who calls all the Arabs to go out and slaughter you Jews and we are using Qatar and its mediation qualifications or abilities and we are legitimizing Qatar and I think that all of these are problems and very severe problems with regard to your question before we get to that I want to follow up on something that you were just stating there because you mentioned negotiating with terrorists Hamas terrorists it's not in anyone's favor but then I'm curious if not negotiations how do we expect to get these hostages back what's plan B we have to bring them to understanding that the civilian hostages are not an asset for them but liable we have to remain determined strong, aggressive and not to blink the idea that we are negotiating with them the idea that somebody talks to them the idea that we enable Qatar to be the mediator between the leader of the free world the United States of America and those brutal barbarians is something that cannot be tolerated Hamas and the United States should tell the Qatar you have 24 hours to do two things first of all to throw out all of Hamas leaders and activities from your soil and the second thing to shut down Al Jazeera and if you are not going to do that you are not going to exist anymore who is Qatar who is Qatar a tiny country with 10,000 citizens and 1.5 million slaves and this country actually plays with all the world as if it's a regional power or a superpower this is the greatest provider of the terror in the entire world they were the invaders of the great providers of ISIS and we are still dealing with them negotiating with them Professor Kobe Michael thank you so much for your analysis of this ongoing situation we truly appreciate it coming back to Amir and Owen I'm curious as to what your response is to what Kobe has to say well his anger is quite understandable however there are other geopolitical facts which come into play one of them is called Al-Odeids this is the American Elbeis in the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf their navy at Bahrain their air force at Qatar and this is how they base their military activities out of and they have to take this into consideration when they fight ISIS when they stage their forces against Iran so anger and frustration are quite understandable but from the White House it looks a bit different Amir or in defencing government commentator and our I-24 News senior correspondent we are going out for a break but you will both be joining us so as always we so appreciate all of your insight as we continue to unpack all of these latest and ever-changing developments when it comes to the war here in Israel now in its 15th day we continue to keep an eye on all fronts of everything that's happening here in Israel and its effects in the Middle East 1500 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 I-24 I hope you know what we want to know from where we are seeing each other all that they should do is to prepare the phone to point to the Q-A-R's office and there we open a brief questionnaire very easy to complete another option is to enter in the link that appears on the screen we wait for your answers it's of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped tell us what we 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 welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 News Desk I'm Nicole Zettik this is the first war here in Israel now it's 15th day two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists working the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza the release of Judith and Natalie Rannan a mother and daughter from Chicago was facilitated by Qatar Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy minister Yoav Galant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the strip all while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight and while rockets continue to attack the south Israel's northern border is also heating up the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday and the wrath of border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is expected to open this morning allowing foreign citizens to leave and 20 trunks of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war and that's where we want to begin in Israel's south as that border crossing is expected to open in the next 30 minutes here Israel south is where our I-24 news defense correspondent Jonathan Raghive is standing by Jonathan even with this announcement that the wrath of border crossing is expected to open in the past 30 minutes we see another round of rockets targeting southern Israel what can you tell us where you are yes so the wrath of border may be happening we don't know we're getting this message yes but we also heard this message come in previous times so until it happens we don't really know if it will really be the case this time and roughly what 30 minutes ago rockets fired to the city of Ashdod in southern Israel but one that is not right on the Gaza border some 20 miles or so from the border itself so these are the developments this morning and of course border crossing there's some kind of an arrangement between Israel and the United States and Egypt of course to allow humanitarian aid coming in from Egypt a decision which I say is infuriating for many Israelis there's no humanitarian corridor to help the people of Bariq, Farhaza and all the other border communities no one really came into a system with any humanitarian corridor of course when it comes to the Palestinians the world views it a little bit differently Jonathan you bring up a great point there and another fact that is infuriating some of the residents here in Israel is the concern that any of that aid is going to end up in the hands of Hamas terrorists how is Israel says they're going to do everything they can to make sure that that doesn't happen but what's the likelihood that some of that aid will end up with Hamas I'd call it as 100% Nicole the aid when it comes in is it going to be UNRWA the United Nations Relief and Works Agency we've seen their warehouses already taken over by Hamas they take everything they need from there so yes maybe Israel is making sure that everything coming in now will not be able to be used for military purposes this is all food and water you can bet that all this will make it not necessarily all of it but a lot will make it to the hands of Hamas and not necessarily to those displaced civilians that you spoke about Jonathan Regev our Defense Correspondent in the south thank you for the latest update as everything continues to develop in that area now I want to bring in our guests that are joining me in studio I'm joined by Amir Oren Defensing Government Commentator along with our I-24 News Senior Correspondent Owen Alterman thank you both for joining me in studio before I get to you I want to go live to our guest we're tired Colonel Dr. Jack Nariah former Deputy Head of Assessment for Israeli Military Intelligence and former Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Dr. Nariah I want to begin with you when we're discussing the possible opening of the Rafa border crossing as our correspondent Jonathan said we'll wait and see if it happens but the reports are stating that it could happen in about 30 minutes around 10 a.m. Israel time 20 trucks of humanitarian aid helping those Palestinian civilians who have been displaced but the main concern being that it's not going to help them it's just going to end up helping the terrorists again well you know this is quite known from past experience you know cement that was meant and to build the Gaza was in fact received by Hamas operatives and help them building the tunnels there's no way to control that and it's quite clear that this is a price that Israel has to pay in order to get the support from the United States and the name of the game today is the advices given by the the Biden administration one not to initiate a preemptive attack against Hezbollah in the north which was a plan that was preplanned and the missile defense wanted to implement and at the last moment the Americans administration said no second is delaying the ground offensive in order to let some time for negotiation on the assages issue and this again I mean that brings the idea that there is a common interest between the United States and Iran right now to stop Israel from expanding its operation on the one hand not for the same reasons of course the Iranians and Hezbollah are trying to stop Israel by initiating war like activities and certainly from Yemen in order to stop Israel from initiating the ground offensive whereas the Americans believe that there is some time still left and in the meantime we have to concentrate on most important things from the humanitarian field. This is where we find ourselves today and whereas Israel is concerned Israel doesn't want to initiate a war in Lebanon it's not interested in that war and it's trying to concentrate on the issue of Gaza. You mentioned something that I want to talk about quickly about U.S. President Biden reports that he is urging Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah we're also seeing reports that Defense Minister Yom Galant was advocating for that preemptive strike but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also urged against it so what exactly is President Biden's oversight into the Israeli war cabinet that we have? Well you know the American administration is not interested in transforming this war into regional war and this is what Iran is threatening and firing the missiles and the cruise missiles and the drones from Yemen is exactly the signal that Iran is sending the United States that it might it might be involved in a regional conflict we've seen only the day before yesterday three American bases in Iraq Ain al-Assad and the Conoco and the Altana crossing being attacked by missiles from the Iraqi militias pro-Iranian Iraqi militias so this is a warning signal to the Americans and the Americans are not interested in widening the scope of the conflict and to limit only to between Israel and Hamas I don't think that there's much hope for that because Hezbollah and Iran have different plans in their mind. Dr. Jack Naria, thank you I want you to stay with us but I want to turn to our guests who are joining me in studio Mayor Oran let's focus again with everything that Dr. Naria was saying about the threat from Hezbollah the threat on Israel's northern border we continue to see escalations anti-tank missiles firing from Israeli reserve soldiers this would usually be enough for a larger response from Israel so the question is what is the Hezbollah's primary interest if they want to go to Israel into launching the first blow in order for them to cry out that they are the victims maybe but it seems more reasonable that what they are trying to do is distract Israeli attention from the southern front keep the 350,000 reservists on duty for an extended period of time hurting Israel while not getting above the threshold of war and this also ties what Jack Naria just said you may say that there are various Israelis from Mars because the Biden approach while of course emotionally charged regarding the massacre and the attacks on Jews in America too not only in Israel nevertheless he is a rational commander in chief what has been done the massacre is behind us what should we do now and there is no rush regarding the ground incursion it could still be conducted later while the other problems and especially a preemptive strike must be handled now now the United States has assets of its own in addition to its partners and friends around the region Biden does not want American soldiers and civilians around the area maybe a hundred thousand of them hurt because of Iranian retaliation to what Israel does in Lebanon so he must get into his game plan more factors than Israel sees for Israel it has been hurt has been humiliated it sees at least an opening in the northern scenario as long as this has been forced upon us let's get rid of the problems for Biden it's another view altogether from Washington well I think that is just what's so interesting just hearing the western response do everything that is happening here and when it comes to this just the fact that President Biden does have such a say over what is happening here and still a say over Israel's war cabinet he's earned a say with his strong support for Israel and the way it's been received in the Israeli public and also the fact that there are those two aircraft carrier strike groups either here or on their way with the understanding in the United States and maybe in Israel too that Israel may need the United States and therefore Israel needs to listen to the United States look as for this New York Times report that a preemptive strike against his bubble of something the defense ministry of Gallant wanted and then because of US pressure Benjamin Netanyahu stopped it was actually new right it had been reported in Israeli media that not only did defense minister you have Gallant want this but the more importantly maybe the defense establishment as a whole the professionals actually recommended it right so it's not just a politician it is actually the military and the security services themselves and as for those who don't want it Netanyahu has a record of being cautious in conducting wars and military operations so independent of the Americans interested not in preemptively striking and as for the US John Kirby the spokes first the director of communications for the National Security Council on the plane right from Washington to Tel Aviv if you look at that transcript pretty clearly hinted there were very strong hints very strong hints that this was the American position so it's not too much of a hop skip and a jump from there to the information that this was actually said in the room it was just about said in that briefing so there's no real surprise as for the wisdom of a preemptive strike and how it serves everyone's interest a lot has been said about this right but the calculations on Israel side and above is about the calculations on the American side but suffice it to say that for the time being it doesn't look likely because this does very clearly and again not only through a report but they're on the record comments by John Kirby seem to very clearly be the American position. I won't come back to you but before we continue to unpack this we actually have our correspondent Robert Swift who is standing by in the north as we continue to talk about these northern developments Robert even overnight the IDF striking Hezbollah targets in response to more anti-tank missiles being fired towards northern Israel what can you tell us about the operations that took place overnight. That's right so altogether yesterday there was around six attacks from anti-tank weapons and which represent a serious threat to Israelis on this side of the border and that's the reason that the IDF struck targets somewhere in south Lebanon they haven't given us details of the location or of casualties inflicted but you can be assured that what they're trying to do there is reduce the threat from these anti-tank weapons as much as possible these weapons have a range of about five kilometers so well into Israeli territory these teams can be a threat and that's why Israel is trying to hit them as hard as possible and deter this threat so far today there's not been any attacks but well and meanwhile Robert as we're focusing on everything that's happening on the northern front on the southern front we also have to remember that there's also another threat in Israel's West Bank another front we continue to see nightly arrest raids nightly operations how is the IDF also managing to control that any cells of terrorist organizations in the West Bank as well. That's right among the four or five different fronts that Israel has to deal with the West Bank represents the third and it is a serious consideration for the last two years people have seen how violently activity in the West Bank can be and that's a serious draw on the IDF they won't want to make the same mistake that they made two weeks ago by putting all their forces in one location and then neglecting an additional front so there are serious resources being applied to that front too and just in recent hours the IDF have released information saying that there are forces alongside forces into a village close to Ramallah where they took over the home of a senior Hamas commander in there placing an Israeli flag on the front of the building alongside a photograph of that Hamas commander and essentially letting him know that their feet were in his home. Our correspondent Robert Swift on that northern border thank you for giving us the latest not only happening on the northern West Bank as well a lot of developments to unpack Dr. Jack Neary I want to come back to you as we're still focusing on the threat from Hezbollah and the north we continue to hear different reports what will happen what won't happen as we're talking about the south we know that a military operation is going to happen but what exactly what a military operation look like in the north as well. Well you know in a nutshell I mean you know not to expand too much I know that the time is limited Israel right now is containing the front this is the main effort hoping and hoping that Hezbollah attacks don't hit severely Israeli citizens or military soldiers or military men because if this happens I mean right now we are in control we have one one wounded one killed this is this is something that you can bear but if it goes beyond that we will have no choice but to initiate deeper attacks into Lebanon what you hear is that Israeli Air Force is striking in Lebanon in fact it's striking along the border not beyond that but not in the depth of the Lebanese territory and this is definitely a reason for containment on the on the southern border we have two choices one choice is to stay and continue the actual siege of Gaza bombing Hamas positions hoping to reach a stage where you know it would be unbearable for Hamas to maintain to cope with the Israeli pressure as it happened with the PLO in Beirut in 1982 and finally I mean under the pressure of Israeli bombardments and artillery there might be a situation where Hamas would say okay thank you very much I'm leaving the area this is one possibility which has to be considered and the second one is the land intrusion this is this is planned but it has a lot of of problems because we are facing 40,000 fighters and the price that we will have to pay is enormous and we have to do all what we can do in order to minimize the casualties from our side and this is something to be taken into consideration also and this is something to be taken into consideration also Well Dr. Zaknaraya thank you now you mentioned everything that's happening in the south and one of the latest developments was that two American hostages were released yesterday Judith and Natalie Ranan released from the hands of Hamas terrorists we know some 200 hostages still remain in the Gaza Strip not earlier today I spoke with Professor Kobe Michael, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and former Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and he talked about the hostage situation along with the danger of negotiating with Hamas terrorists I think that it is a immoral principle which was realized here and it's something that draws us back to the Holocaust and to entab in 1976 all the idea of selection instead of imposing on Hamas to release all the citizens any distinction between of them we enable them to play with us and to realize the principle of selection distinguishing between different types of citizenship that innocent civilians have there and I think that this is a huge error, a moral error and mistake secondly I think that we are enabling Hamas to play with everybody and realizing or exercising diplomacy with Hamas is the wrong idea Hamas should not be legitimized by diplomacy, Hamas should be eliminated Professor Kobe Michael having some strong statements when it comes to the release of these hostages and hostage negotiations Dr. Naria I want to come back to you I'm curious your response to what Professor Michael had to say when it comes to negotiating not only with Hamas but also by proxy Qatar in an inferior position we are black maids here, we have 200 people maybe adopted and we have to negotiate from a position that is unbearable impossible, I mean the price that they want us to pay is 6000 Palestinian prisoners with blood on their hands and this is something that Israel cannot accept so we might be witnessing the black male scenes where hostages would be put in front of Hamas positions in order to use them as human shields and this would be a dire problem to confront imagine an Israeli paratrooper having to shoot Hamas while hostages would be standing in front of him this is something that never such a script has been written in our history and the last one like this was the national black man and he paid the price and two other officers also were killed during the Rabin tenure in 1994 so this is something that we have to remember the hostages and Hamas is using that very wisely in order to leverage its positions and in order to get advantages that the US and all you humanitarian organization in the world certainly are pushing and accusing Israel of being in humane and treating mistreating 1.4 million Palestinians this is something that we have to cope with and to understand that we have to explain to the world that the ultimate goal is to get rid of this evil Dr. Nari as you mentioned Hamas even claiming that they release these hostages for humanitarian reasons Amir Oran I want to come back to you when it comes to this hostage situation it really is one of the most complex aspects especially as Israel does prepare for a ground operation many are saying that this was maybe a smart move by Hamas to continue to hold out on this invasion for the possibility that more hostages might be released apparently the Hamas attack on October the 7th was planned meticulously and the hostage situation was pre-planned this was the entire reason for their abduction in order to trade them later for the prisoners in Israel now they apparently did not have in mind foreign nationals this is something that they had to improvise on and also for President Biden what happens in the Rafa crossing is a sort of a revolving door he wants the Americans or the Palestinians holding American passports in Gaza to be able to cross out from Gaza into Egypt this is one reason for the pressure on Israel now what we haven't heard regarding the decision-making process in Israel has to do with Guns and Eisencourt the two former military chiefs who joined the Netanyahu war cabinet we've been hearing about Gallant the defense minister about Netanyahu even about Ron Dahmer who is Netanyahu's alter ego regarding diplomacy vis-à-vis the United States but we haven't heard whether Guns and Eisencourt had any bearing at all on such decisions were they for the preemptive strike suggestion were they against it did they join the Americans who were against it because this happened when the Iran strike was on the table some 12-13 years ago when the military and the security services were against it as was President Paris at the time and the Obama administration was against it and prevailed upon Netanyahu right now we don't know whether in cabinet in the war cabinet itself much like the US Supreme Court when one vote can move the decision from the liberals to the conservatives or vice versa we don't know how this is playing out but we will know first of course to remind viewers that Eisencourt and Dahmer don't actually vote they're there as observers in terms of Hamas I agree with Amir Oran I don't think they understood just how many people with foreign passports they were taking and I suspect once they took stock on that horrible Saturday and on that Saturday night I think that they just had a huge headache on their hands because I don't think they counted on this I don't think they understood the implications for the media around the world in each of these countries the media was going to focus on those kidnapped and those hostages from those countries what it would do to Hamas what it would do to Hamas' cause if you will that said they seem to be turning lemons into lemonade and using this to their advantage to actually get those governments to put pressure on Israel to stand down in a sense which I think presents a very complex dilemma and I think Koby Mikhail is right that we have to be very very careful not to fall into that kind of trap and meanwhile when we're talking just about the international response as well what we're seeing from different Arab countries we know that there is an Egypt peace summit even scheduled for today the United States not involved is real clearly not involved as well but several Arab and European heads of state are going to be participating in that but what's the importance of a peace summit if these major factors in the Middle East are not in play because Cece can say he's doing something look peace is unlikely to break out at this peace summit right on the one hand you have governments from the Arab world that have their own public opinion to consider the Russians and the Chinese are there another hand you have the German foreign minister so ask yourself if there's going to be any kind of consensus about the state and coming out of this except for a very general statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to follow international law and maybe just maybe we can get some of these Arab governments to sign on for the release of the hostages beyond that don't count on anything else there's no way there's going to be consensus here but it gives a chance for Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to be able to go to his public and say he's doing something and who knows we may hear from some of these individual heads of state and foreign ministers were going to be there by the way as a side note both of Italy and Spain going they've been kind of on the sidelines here those two middle powers in Europe while the Germans the French and the British have been taking the lead I want to alter men Amir Oran and Dr. Jack Naira joining us via Zoom all of you thank you so much for your insights so much continuing to happen here in the war in Israel and its repercussions abroad as well we'll continue unpack this on this breaking news edition of I-24 news 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 but in a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity of the world the best weapon in the world come to another breaking edition of the I-24 news desk I'm Nicole Zedek and I'll be unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now it's 15th day two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists marking the first release of the some 200 hostages that were main in Gaza the release of Judith and Natalie Rannan a mother and daughter was facilitated by Qatar Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy meanwhile Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the strip all while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels and will rockets continue to attack the south Israel's northern border is also heating up the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday and the rough of border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is expected to open this morning Israel is expected to leave and 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war and that's where we want to begin in Israel's south as that border crossing is expected to open in the next 30 minutes here Israel south is where our I-24 news defense correspondent Jonathan Raghiv is standing by and he's going to open in the past 30 minutes. We see another round of rockets targeting southern Israel. What can you tell us where you are? Yes, so the rough border may be opening. We don't know we're getting this message. Yes, but we also heard this message come in previous times. So until it happens, we don't really know if it will really be the case this time and it will be the case in southern Israel, but one that is not right on the Gaza border some 20 miles or so from the border itself. So these are the developments this morning and of course the rough border crossing to some kind of an arrangement between Israel and the United States and Egypt, of course, to allow humanitarian aid coming in from Egypt. A decision which I say is infuriating for the people of Bariq, Farazah and all the other border communities. No one really came into a system with any humanitarian corridor. Of course when it comes to the Palestinians, the world views it a little bit differently. Jonathan, you bring up a great point there and another fact that is infuriating some of the residents here in Israel is the concern that any of that aid is going to end up in the hands of Hamas terrorists. What's the likelihood that some of that aid will end up with Hamas? I'd call it as 100%, Nicole. It simply will. Who is exactly going to monitor the aid when it comes in? Is it going to be UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency? We've seen their warehouses already taken over by Hamas. They take everything they need from there. So yes, maybe Israel is making sure that everything coming in will not be able to be used for military purposes. This is all food and water. You can bet that all this will make it not necessarily all of it, but a lot will make it to the hands of Hamas and not necessarily to those displaced civilians that you spoke about. Jonathan Regge of our Defense Correspondent in the south. Thank you for the latest update as everything continues to develop in that area. Now I want to bring in our guests that are joining me in studio. I'm joined by Amir from the Defense and Government commentator along with our I-24 News Senior Correspondent Owen Ulterman. Thank you both for joining me in studio. Before I get to you, I want to go live to our guest who's also joining us, retired Colonel Dr. Jack Naria, former Deputy Head of Assessment for Israeli Military Intelligence and former Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Dr. Naria, I want to begin with you when we're discussing the situation. You said we'll wait and see if it happens, but the reports are stating that it could happen in about 30 minutes around 10 a.m. Israel time, 20 trucks of humanitarian aid helping those Palestinian civilians who have been displaced, but the main concern being that it's not going to help them. It's just going to end up helping the terrorists again. Well, you know, this is quite known from past experience, you know, to build the Gaza was in fact received by Hamas operatives and help them building the tunnels. There's no way to control that and it is quite clear that this is a price that Israel has to pay in order to get the support from the United States and the name of the game today is the advice is given by the Biden administration. One, not to initiate a preemptive attack against Hezbollah in the north which was a plan that was pre-planned and the Minister of Defense wanted to implement and at the last moment the Americans administration said no, second is delaying the ground offensive in order to let some time for negotiation on the hostages issue. And this again I mean that brings the idea that there is a common interest between the United States and Iran right now to stop Israel from expanding its operation on the one hand not for the same reasons of course the Iranians and Hezbollah are trying to stop Israel by initiating war like activities and certainly from Yemen in order to stop Israel from initiating the ground offensive whereas the Americans believe that there is some time still left and in the meantime we have to concentrate on most important things from the humanitarian field. This is where we find ourselves today as Israel is concerned that Israel doesn't want to initiate a war in Lebanon it's not interested in that war and it's trying to concentrate on the issue of Gaza. You mentioned something that I want to talk about quickly about US President Biden reports that he is urging Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah we're also seeing reports that Defense Minister Yom Galant was advocating for that preemptive strike but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also urged against it so what exactly is President Biden's oversight into the Israeli war cabinet that we have? Well you know the American administration is not interested in transforming this war into a regional war and this is what Iran is threatening and firing the missiles and the cruise missiles and the drones from Yemen is exactly what Iran is sending. The United States said that it might be involved in a regional conflict. We've seen only the day before yesterday three American bases in Iraq Ain al-Assad and Konoko and the Altana crossing being attacked by missiles from the Iraqi militias pro-Iranian Iraqi militias so that this is a warning signal to the Americans and the Americans are not interested in widening the scope of the conflict and to limit it only to between Israel and Hamas I don't think that there's much hope for that because Hezbollah and Iran have different plans in their mind. Dr. Jack Naria, thank you. I want you to stay with us but I want to turn to our guests who are joining me in studio. Mayor Oran let's focus again with everything that Dr. Naria was saying about the threat from Hezbollah, the threat on Israel's northern border. We continue to see escalations, anti-tank missiles firing, even killing some Israeli reserve soldiers. This would usually be enough for a larger response from Israel. So the question is what is the Hezbollah's primary interest? If they want to go to Israel into launching the Hezbollah in order for them to cry out that they are the victims maybe. But it seems more reasonable that what they are trying to do is distract Israeli attention from the southern front, keep the 350,000 reservists on call on duty for an extended period of time hurting Israel while not getting above the threshold of war. And this also ties with what Jacques Maria just said. You may say that there are Americans from Venus, Israelis from Mars. Because the Biden approach, while of course, emotionally charged regarding the massacre and the attacks on Jews in America too, not only in Israel. Nevertheless, he is a now commander in chief. What has been done has been done. The massacre is behind us. What should we do now? And there is no rush regarding the ground incursion. It could still be conducted later while the other problems and especially a preemptive strike must be handled now. Now the United States has assets of its own in addition to its partners and friends around the region. Biden does not want American soldiers and civilians around the area. There are maybe 100,000 of them hurt because of Iranian retaliation to what Israel does in Lebanon. So he must get into his game plan more factors than Israel sees. For Israel has been hurt, has been humiliated. It sees at least an opening in the northern scenario as long as this has been forced upon us. Let's get rid of the problems for Biden. It's another view altogether from Washington. Well, I think that is just what's so interesting just hearing the western response do everything that is happening here. Oh, and when it comes to this, the fact that President Biden, U.S. President does have such a say over what is happening here and still a say over Israel's war cabinet. Yeah, he's earned a say. He's earned a say, Nicole, with his strong support for Israel and the way it's been received in the Israeli public and also the fact that there are those two aircraft carrier strike groups either here or on their way with the understanding in the United States and maybe in Israel too that Israel may need the United States and therefore Israel needs to listen to the United States. Look, as for this New York Times report, right? That this is that a preemptive strike against his bubble of something the Defense Ministry of Galant wanted and then because of U.S. pressure, Benjamin Netanyahu stopped. The reality is it's not entirely new, right? It had been reported in Israeli media that not only did Defense Minister Yov Galant want this, but the more importantly maybe the defense establishment as a whole, the professionals actually recommended it, right? So it's not just a politician. It is actually the military and the security services themselves. And as for those who don't want it, Netanyahu has a record of being cautious in conducting wars and military operations. So independent of the Americans, he may well be interested not in preemptively striking. And as for the U.S., John Kirby, the spokesperson of the Director of Communications for the National Security Council on the plane right from Washington to Tel Aviv, if you look at that transcript pretty clearly hinted there were very strong hints, very strong hints that this was the American position. So it's not too much of a hop skip and a jump from there to the information that this was actually said in the room. It was just about said in that briefing. So there's no real surprise. As for the wisdom of a preemptive strike and how it serves everyone's interest, a lot has been said about this, right? About the calculations on Israel's side. And above is easy about the calculations on the American side. But suffice it to say that for the time being it doesn't look likely because this does very clearly. And again, not only through a report, but through the record comments by John Kirby seem to very clearly be the American position. I mean, I won't kind of come back to you, but before we continue to unpack this, we actually have our correspondent, Robert Swift, who is standing by in the north as we continue to talk about these northern developments. Robert, even overnight, the IDF striking Hezbollah targets in response to more anti-tank missiles being fired towards northern Israel. What can you tell us about the operations that took place overnight? That's right. So altogether yesterday there was around six attacks from anti- tank weapons, which represent a serious threat to Israelis on this side of the border. And that's the reason that the IDF struck targets yesterday. Somewhere in south Lebanon they haven't given us details of the location or of casualties inflicted, but you can be assured that what they're trying to do there is reduce the threat from these anti- tank weapons as much as possible. These weapons have a range of about five kilometers, so well into Israeli territory, these teams can be a threat, and that's why Israel is trying to hit them as hard as possible and deter this threat. So far today there's not been any attacks, but you can just wait until that happens. Meanwhile, Robert, as we're focusing on everything that's happening on the northern front, on the southern front, we also have to remember that there's also another threat in Israel's West Bank, another front. We continue to see nightly arrest raids, nightly operations. How is the IDF also affecting any cells of terrorist organizations in the West Bank as well? That's right. Among the four or five different fronts that Israel has to deal with in the north and the south, the West Bank represents the thirds, and it is a serious consideration. For the last two years people have seen how violently activity in the West Bank can be, and that's a serious draw on the IDF. They won't want to make the same mistake that they made two weeks ago by then and then neglecting an additional front. So there are, you know, serious resources being applied to that front too. And just in recent hours the IDF have released information saying that they have sent their forces alongside Shembet forces into a village close to Ramallah where they took over the home of a senior Hamas commander in there placing an Israeli flag on the front of the building alongside a photograph of that Hamas commander making him know that their feet were in his home. Our correspondent Robert Swift on that northern border, thank you for giving us the latest, not only happening on the northern border in the West Bank as well, a lot of developments to unpack. Dr. Jack Neary, I want to come back to you as we're still focusing on the threat from Hezbollah and the north. We continue to hear different reports what will happen, what won't happen as we're talking about the south. The military operation is going to happen but what exactly would a military operation look like in the north as well? In a nutshell, I mean not to expand too much and I know that the time is limited. Israel right now is containing the front. This is the main effort hoping that Hezbollah attacks don't hit severely Israeli citizens or military soldiers or military men because if this happens right now we are in control. We have one wounded, one killed and this is something that you can bear. But if it goes beyond that, Israel will have no choice but to initiate deeper attacks into Lebanon. What you hear is that Israeli Air Force is striking in Lebanon. In fact, it's striking along the border, not beyond that, not in the depth of the Lebanese territory and this is definitely a reason for containment. On the southern border we have two choices. One choice is to stay and continue the actual siege of Gaza bombing and bombing Hamas positions hoping to reach a stage where it would be unbearable for Hamas to maintain the to cope with the Israeli pressure as it happened with the PLO in Beirut in 1982 and finally under the pressure of Israeli bombardments and artillery that might be a situation where Hamas would say, okay, thank you very much I'm leaving the area. This is one possibility which has to be considered and the second one is the land intrusion. This is planned but it has a lot of problems because we are facing 40,000 fighters and the price that we will have to pay is enormous and that we have to do all what we can do in order to minimize the casualties from our side and this is something to be taken into consideration also. Well, Dr. Jack Naria, thank you now you mentioned everything that's happening in the south and one of the latest developments was that two American hostages were released yesterday Judith and Natalie Ranan released from the hands of Hamas terrorists we know some 200 hostages still remain in the Gaza Strip not earlier today I spoke with Professor Kobe Michele, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and former Deputy Director General for the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and he talked about the hostage situation along with the danger of negotiating with Hamas terrorists. I think that it is a immoral principle which was realized here and it's something that throws us back to the Holocaust and to entab in 1976 all the idea of selection instead of imposing on Hamas to release all the citizens without any distinction between of them ok, we enable them to play with us and to realize the principle of selection distinguishing between different types of citizenship that innocent civilians have there and I think that this is a huge role, a moral error and mistake secondly I think that we are enabling Hamas to play with everybody and the idea of realizing or exercising diplomacy with Hamas is a wrong idea. Hamas should not be legitimized by diplomacy, Hamas should be eliminated. Professor Kobe Michele having some strong statements when it comes to the release of these hostages and hostage negotiations Dr. Neri, I want to come back to you, I'm curious your response to what Professor Michele had to say when it comes to negotiating not only with Hamas but also by proxy Qatar in an inferior position we are black we are black maids here we have 200 people and more may be adopted and we have to negotiate from a position that is impossible, I mean the price that they want us to pay is 6,000 Palestinian prisoners with blood on their hands and this is something that Israel cannot accept so we might be witnessing the black male scenes where our hostages would be put in front of Hamas positions in order to use them as human shields and this would be a dire problem to confront imagine an Israeli paratrooper having to shoot Hamas while hostages would be standing in front of him this is something that you know never such a script has been written in our history and the last one like this was the natural black man and he paid the price and two other officers also were killed during the Rabin tenure in 1994 so this is something that we have to remember the hostages and Hamas is using that very wisely in order to leverage its positions and in order to get advantages that the US and all humanitarian organization in the world certainly are pushing and accusing Israel of being inhumane and treating mistreating 1.4 million Palestinians this is something that we have to cope with and to understand that we have to explain to the world that the ultimate goal of this evil Dr. Nari as you mentioned Hamas even claiming that they release these hostages for humanitarian reasons Amir Oran I want to come back to you when it comes to this hostage situation it really is one of the most complex aspects especially as Israel does prepare for a ground operation many are saying that this was maybe a smart move by Hamas to continue to hold out on this invasion for the possibility that more hostages will be released apparently the Hamas attack on October the 7th was planned meticulously and the hostage situation was pre-planned this was the entire reason for their abduction in order to trade them later for the prisoners in Israel now they apparently did not have in mind foreign nationals this is something that they had to improvise on and also for president Biden what happens in the Rafa crossing is a sort of a revolving door he wants the Americans or the Palestinians holding American passports in Gaza to be able to cross out from Gaza into Egypt this is one reason for the pressure on Israel now what we haven't heard regarding the decision making process in Israel what we need to do with Gunsend Eisencote the two former military chiefs who joined the Netanyahu war cabinet we've been hearing about Gallant the defense minister about Netanyahu even about Ron Domer who is Netanyahu's alter ego regarding diplomacy vis-a-vis the United States but we haven't heard whether Gunsend Eisencote had any on such decision were they for the preemptive strike suggestion were they against it did they join the Americans who were against it because this happened when the Iran strike was on the table some 12 13 years ago when the military and the security services were against it as was president Paris at the time and the Obama administration was against it and prevailed upon the Netanyahu right now we don't know whether in cabinet in the war cabinet itself much like the U.S. Supreme Court when one vote can you can move the decision from the liberals to the conservatives or vice versa we don't know how this is playing out but we will know first of course to remind viewers that Eisencote and Dermair don't actually vote they're there as observers in terms of Hamas I agree with Amir Oran I don't think they understood just how many people with foreign passports they were taking and I suspect once they took stock on that horrible Saturday and on that Saturday night I think that they just had a huge headache on their hands because I don't think they counted on this I don't think they understood the implications for the media around the world in each of these countries the media was going to focus on those kidnapped and those hostages from those countries what it would do to Hamas what it would do to Hamas's cause if you will that said they seem to be turning lemons into lemonade and using this to their advantage to actually get those governments to put pressure on Israel to stand down in a sense right which I think presents a very complex dilemma and I think Kobe Michael is right that we have to be very very careful not to fall into that kind of trap and meanwhile when we're talking just about the international response as well what we're seeing from different Arab countries we know that there is an Egypt peace summit even scheduled for today the United States not involved is real clearly not involved as well but several Arab and European heads of state are going to be participating in that but what's the importance of a peace summit if these major factors in the middle you start not in play because Cece can say he's doing something look peace is unlikely to break out at this peace summit right on the one hand you have your own public opinion to consider the Russians and the Chinese are there on the other hand you have the German foreign minister so ask yourself if there's going to be any kind of consensus or statement coming out of this except for a very general statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to follow international law and maybe just maybe we can get some of these Arab governments to sign on for the release of the hostages beyond that don't count on anything else there's no way there's going to be consensus here but it gives a chance for Abdel Fattahal Cece to go to his public and say he's doing something and who knows we may hear from some of these individual heads of state and foreign ministers we're going to be there by the way as a side note we see the prime ministers both of Italy and Spain going they've been kind of on the sidelines here those two middle powers in Europe while the Germans the French and the British have been taking the lead I want to alter men Amir Oran and Dr. Jack Naira joining us via Zoom all of you thank you so much for your insight so much continuing to happen here in the war in Israel and its repercussions we'll continue unpack this on this breaking news edition of I-24 News Israel is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped tell 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 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 and we need rain for all the world and we need rain welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 News Desk I'm Nicole Zetic unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists working the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza the release of Judith and Natalie Rannan a mother and daughter from Chicago was facilitated by Qatar Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy meanwhile Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited troops on the Gaza border if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the strip all while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight and while rockets continue to attack the south as well as northern border is also heating up the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday the Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened this morning allowing foreign citizens to leave and roughly 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war all of that new information coming out of near Israel's southern border in the Gaza Strip and that's where we find our I-24 news defense correspondent Jonathan Ragev in Israel south right now, Jonathan we have information, trucks carrying medicine medical supplies, food all entering Gaza now through the Rafa border crossing and has finally opened after two weeks of the war here in Israel yes see that humanitarian corridor is open things are coming into the Gaza Strip I don't remember there's any humanitarian corridor the Gaza border communities and the residents who were killed massacred in their home but that's how the international community deals with Israeli victims and with Palestinians and that's how it is the facts are that this humanitarian corridor has opened through the Rafa border crossing and goods are coming into Gaza those 20 trucks which you mentioned coming in from Lebanon and reports are saying that people in Gaza foreign nationals in Gaza are now able to leave to Egypt through the Rafa border crossing this process began roughly 30 minutes ago we do not know for sure how long the border crossing will be open it's certainly going to be a chaotic scene down there as well as many of those foreign nationals as you said are trying to leave the Gaza Strip right now now all of this as we saw even within the past hour more rockets continuing to be fired from the Gaza Strip targeting some of these southern areas in Israel so it's still very much a threat of rocket fire also from the south that is correct the fact that humanitarian aid is coming in that doesn't stop the Israeli bombing in Gaza and that doesn't stop the Palestinian rockets being fired earlier today we saw rockets fired towards the city of Ashdod which is not on the Gaza border itself roughly 20 miles or so north of the Gaza Strip and yes aid may be coming in but that is not even close to being the end of the war not even close to it well and Jonathan just as you mentioned just the beginning of the war even with that humanitarian aid we all know that Israel is preparing for a ground operation I'm sure you see the troops mobilizing there in the south as well does this humanitarian aid and the border opening impact the ground operation in any way I don't think so not this not the humanitarian corridor and not the aid coming in what may have an effect on the ground incursion is the release of the two prisoners which we saw last night Hamas knows that they have a very strong card against Israel anytime Israel would want to perhaps begin with a ground incursion then more information may come of prisoners or more prisoners will be released and Hamas knows that this is a very strong card that they have opposing Israel Jonathan we have our defense correspondent as you're speaking we're also taking a look at some of those live images coming out of the Rafa border crossing right now as it has officially open bringing in those trucks of medical supplies humanitarian aid some food as well now finally coming in after two weeks from the Rafa border crossing now I want to bring in my studio guests who are with me right now Daniel Shek former Israeli ambassador to France and political commentator along with our senior correspondent Owen Alterman thank you both for joining me in studio before I get to you I also want to bring in our other guest Dr. Michael Barak senior researcher for the International Institute for Counter Terrorism and Head of Research for Global Jihad and Palestinian terrorism joining us from Herzlian Israel Dr. Barak thank you so much for joining us now as we were speaking to our correspondent Jonathan Regev in the south we also know that some of the main threats are from the north as we're looking at this war that's mainly the two fronts that we're focusing on right now but we know that there are many other threats including in the West Bank we continue to see nightly arrest operations hundreds of terrorists Hamas terrorists as well arrested since the beginning of this war so how is Israel also trying to keep control of the already very turbulent area that is the West Bank Israel is well prepared to control the borders there are some operation inside the West Bank to make sure that protesters or Hamas supporters will not break out the fence there is a cooperation also between Israel to the Palestinian Authority there is also cooperation between Israel to Jordan Kingdom so the situation is under control I don't think we need to make panic in the media because the situation is under control but Israel has to be prepared for other developments we see it right now that there are Shia militias Shia militia organization like Kataib Hizballa a Shia militia from Iraq who is trying to penetrate to Jordan from the Iraqi border and this is something that can undermine the stability of the Jordanian Kingdom the King Abdullah is need to cope with these security threats in his border from Iraq Dr. Barak I want you to elaborate on that a little bit just the threat of these different radical groups around the world as you said it's not just here in Israel or even on Israel's borders but the cooperation between some of these different groups it definitely poses a threat to what's happening here in Israel the threat is not only on Israel the threat is also on the Jewish community around the world this is something that is not very discussed in the media but Iran and Al-Qaeda is also cooperating together we know that the leader of Al-Qaeda Sefer Ladel is staying in Iran with his headquarters and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are planning how to Al-Qaeda is trying to help to the Iranian regime to escalate the situation and to target Jewish targets we saw a few days ago Al-Qaeda leadership published an announcement how to escalate and how it's giving a plan how to target Jewish targets around the world for example Al-Qaeda call on the Bedouin and Sinai peninsula to come to the borders within Rafah and to help to the Ghazan people to cross to Hamas terrorists to help them in the battle they call to the Bedouins in Jordan also to come to the border we see that Al-Qaeda is trying not in this regard is trying to help Iran attempt to escalate the situation not only in rhetoric but Al-Qaeda is trying to activate sleeping cells around the world this is something that we have to remember the leader of Al-Qaeda is a very close ally to the Iranian regime and Iran is trying already made a success to turn Al-Qaeda to the proxy of Iran so the threat is not only in Israel we saw that the Houthis also were launch missiles to Israel but the Yemeni situation we don't have to underestimate the threat from the Houthis I think the Houthis they are not they are a minimal threat they are not can target Israel in some way but the main concern will be in the borders between I think Jordan and Iraq where the Shia militias are trying to penetrate to Jordan in order to challenge Israel from the Jordanian border right now the Jordanian regime is blocking this attack from the Shia militias to penetrate from the Jordanian border they are also by the way Shia militias from Syria which are trying to challenge Israel in the Golan Heights but Israel is prepared for that Yes and certainly we are keeping an eye as you said Dr. Brak everything that is happening to the Jewish population all over the world I want you to stay with us Dr. Brak but I want to come back to our guests Daniel Shek as as Brak was saying just the threat to the Jewish population all over the world the Israeli population as well we're hearing more just about some of these different countries that are tightening their travel warnings Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey all of that Israel warning any Israelis get out as soon as possible because it is no longer safe for you in some of these countries Well you know travel bans and banks naturally have a trend to be as cautious and as extreme as it can be and this is not a criticism I think that's the role they should have and to be honest even if you're just a sensible person I think you probably would think twice before going to an Arab country to visit the sites currently if you're in Israeli but this goes beyond just Arab countries there is also heightened awareness in western countries with the large Jewish communities such as France I know that there is a real discussion not even a discussion yet anymore it's a decision to strengthen security on Jewish sites synagogues, community centers In European countries we should add security has already been tight for decades in Jewish sites unlike in the United States That's true but there are degrees of real concern in France they call it they're always afraid of importing the Arab-Israeli conflict into France and if you take into consideration that it has the largest Muslim community in Europe and the largest Jewish community in Europe you understand that the friction potential is tremendous And we continue to see this friction not only in France in London also we see more pro-Palestinian Anywhere where there are I believe that as the general population might be protesting against Israel is the government doing enough to keep Jewish people and is really safe? To be honest there's not much demonstrations against Israel currently I can't guarantee anything for two or three weeks from now but again I'm taking the French example there was an attempt by the authorities to blanket ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations it was struck down by the courts as unconstitutional which one can understand but there is a real fear among the authorities that such pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli demonstrations could sort of degenerate into something very violent but so for the moment in the end there was a demonstration which wasn't really significant for others in other countries campuses etc it's unpleasant to see but it's not yet a significant really significant factor I'm curious as to what you'd have to say about that because as what we have seen and what we have talked about it's just the information war that is also brewing on top of this real war that's happening here in Israel and especially as Daniel Sek mentioned in some of these liberal college campuses at the White House as well more pro-Palestinian demonstrations planned in London today so a lot of the general public seems to have a different message than what their leaders of the countries are saying yes and no look left wing anti-Israel activity is a fact on the ground it's a fact on the ground across the western world around the world it's simply a fact on the ground that we in Israel have to live with or in some cases die with the target of our information war if you will the target of course of the persuadables in the middle and there obviously as always it's a combination of policy and message right Israel's ability and concentration and investment on managing has grown over the course of the years and decades to the point where we have a lot of professionals who are engaged in this right and are doing their very best one can compliment or criticize their efforts I had to say on both counts I had what to say if you will about the IDF spokesperson in the wake of the blast at the hospital of course not a strike a blast caused by a Palestinian Islamic jihad rocket and it's also a combination of policy and this goes back to the story of the hour the opening of the Rafak border crossing Nikol and a wider statement about the war we as Israelis have to stop being addicted to making our to our own psychological satisfaction right into what we had been calling the picture of victory I don't understand the fetish in this country for destroyed buildings I don't understand why I understand why but I don't endorse the satisfaction it gives people from hearing reports of Gaza from Gaza of Gazan civilians who essentially don't have clean water to drink this policy of denying food and water to people in Gaza was never realistic or sustainable right putting aside the ethical and legal issues was never something Israel was going to be able to sustain and it caused tremendous damage to Israel's messaging and I think to Israel's position without actually doing what we really need to do which is beating Hamas the things that make me excited is hearing about is hearing about the killing of leaders of Hamas because that is actually beating Hamas and hitting Hamas targets that is what should give a psychological satisfaction that's our goal not pictures of rubble in Gaza city which are at best only a means to an end not an end itself okay and also this issue of the humanitarian situation in Gaza I'm not saying we should Israel should be distributing flowers but in terms of the basics of life food and water and essential medicine they have to be able to go through and my hope is now that this has happened and the crossing has opened and Israel through its cooperation with the United States has done this step I hope that the pressure on Israel can start to subside even if a lot of damage has already been done and I hope the public attention can now be focused on the real issue which is beating Hamas killing Hamas leaders destroying their tunnels and their weapons and telling the world that that's what we're doing and telling the world why we're doing it and that certainly seems to be the message from Israel as well they are doing everything they can they say preparing for this ground operation and as you said completely destroying Hamas that is their number one goal now as we talk about everything that is happening in the south we also have to remember that Israel's northern border also heating up we are still seeing the tit for tat retaliation happening on the northern border as well our I-24 news correspondent Robert Swift was in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon and he filed this report overnight the IDF conducted strikes in the south of Lebanon against against Hezbollah targets this is in response to continued anti-tank attacks that have emanated from Hezbollah forces along the border with yesterday there have been around six separate attacks with anti-tank weapons now overnight the IDF announced that one of their soldiers had been killed in the latest of these anti-tank attack which took place on the eastern end of Israel's northern border around the community of Margaleot that attack took place late in the evening yesterday with two other soldiers also wounded them being evacuated to hospital Haifa with light to moderate shrapnel wounds now all of this comes in the context of what Israel should do with regards to Hezbollah how should they respond to these continuous attacks which appear to be escalating now there's been a report in the US media stating that there's some disagreement between the US government and parts of the Israeli government members of the Israeli cabinet including defense minister Gallant had expressed some desire to conduct some sort of preemptive strike against Hezbollah and this is a policy which is supported by much of Israel's defense establishment including the military however the US have pushed back against this approach because they're concerned that any sort of escalation with Hezbollah whether it's one that's triggered by an Israeli preemptive strike or one that comes after Israel goes into Gaza they're concerned that any sort of escalation on the northern border could expand into a wider regional conflict which would have the danger of sucking in Iran first of all but also the US itself so with this regard the US has applied pressure and Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of the day is the one who's made the decision and has expressed a desire not to immediately take this option although obviously it's an option that's still on the table and could be used if Israel sees an advantage in going down that route Our correspondent Robert Swift in northern Israel talking about the latest developments and also the possibility for a more larger wide scale war in the region Dr. Michael Barak I want to come back to you as we're focusing on the threat from the north as well many people while we're saying we're completely going to eliminate Hamas that's clearly the main goal from Israel however if Hezbollah does get involved if then proxies and Iran does decide to back this war what is Israel's obligation to completely eliminate Hezbollah if they get involved Look the real threat is from the north because Hamas if we want we can exterminate the threat in one moment but because of moral dilemmas and international calculations we are more hesitating to get inside with our full power into Gaza the real threat is in the north if Hezbollah will dare to open a front against Israel Hezbollah will not bear only the price but also Lebanon itself so Hezbollah has to think twice if it should involve or not so I think this is a golden opportunity that Israel must strike Hezbollah and to eliminate this threat from the north if we want that our next generations next let's say 40 years we live in peacefully without a threat from the north this is the time to strike Hezbollah let's remember that Hezbollah and Iran since 2021 increased the coordination with Hamas and I have to mention that there is also a joint warfare between Hamas, Hezbollah PIJ a popular front for the liberation of Palestine and other Palestinian factions they have headquarters in Beirut where those terrorists are coordinating how to challenge Israel so since 2021 since the Israeli operation defenders of the walls Hezbollah and Hamas are trying to find a way how to challenge Israel for example and we publish it in our institution the open discussions in Zoom via Facebook we saw how Hezbollah gave instructions to Hamas how to disseminate recruiting messages to Arab Israelis how they should be recruited to the next battle against Israel this is something that IDF knew but was not done Hezbollah is trying Iran likes to sacrifice its proxies so right now Iran and Hezbollah are using Hamas so Hezbollah is part of this is the main threat to Israel and Israel has to face with that I hope that if Israel now will get inside Gaza they will do it very slowly and in the same time will strike Hezbollah this will be the best scenario to do in order to guard the future of Israel Dr. Michael Barak thank you always for all of your insight especially with what's happening with all of these different armed groups bargaining Israel here now I want to come back to our guests in studio now specifically as we're talking about all of these different Arab countries Iran their proxies coming out to Israel we know that right now today there's expected to be an Egypt peace summit now the United States not involved in that summit Israel not involved but several Arab and European heads of states will be in attendance some interesting leaders as well Daniel Sheik what can we actually expect to come out of a peace summit if not the former diplomat to say that the gathering of such prominent people is an unimportant event but I am tempted to say that not unimportant but not necessarily useful for the real goal which is to find the way out of this war for a number of reasons first of all there are only very few countries in the world that have real leverage on Hamas that's one of the many disadvantages of dealing with a non-state entity they're just not open to much pressure some of these leaders will be in Cairo today but they will be surrounded with all sorts of people who don't really have leverage the second thing is timing I think it's just too early it's not realistic to think that at this point you can stop the war what does it where do I do I see the importance first of all I can understand the willingness of these countries to mobilize to just get together and put their heads together and try and think of something maybe it is the groundwork for a forum for the resolution of this conflict in the future we will see and you know if nothing better it's a good thing that people are getting together and trying to talk about stopping a war and stopping violence and suffering what I'm sure is a big item on the agenda I would assume would also be the fact of the hostage situation many of them not Israelis you're absolutely right I don't entirely I don't think that's a big issue on the agenda this is all about the leaders themselves this is about Abdel Fattah al-Sisi showing his public he's doing something for middle European powers like the Prime Minister of Italy and Pedro Sanchez the Prime Minister of Spain this is their chance to be in the sun and to be in the spotlight after the British the French and the Germans have in some sense monopolized European policy to a lesser extent from Israel to key European Union officials potentially less inclined in the heart in the staunch pro-Israel line for example of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are coming at any rate these about the leaders themselves their own public opinion their own public I don't think it's much about the hostages if it's about anything it's about talking about the humanitarian situation in Gaza the hostages is a secondary point it is true though that this is the one element that's actually favorable to Israel that one could actually imagine in some kind of consensus statement out of this gathering and I do think there is some value if it happens in having Arab heads of state in many cases Royals come out and actually sign on to a document calling for Hamas to unconditionally release the hostages that has some level of importance in putting some level of international pressure on Hamas again going back to something we said earlier on I think in this broadcast where Hamas simply did not under or in a previous talk with Daniel as well and Hamas simply didn't understand the implications of taking so many foreign nationals to impact just who is released and how they are released Daniel Shek former Israeli ambassador to France and political commentator along with I-24 news senior correspondent Owen Altman thank you both for your insight as always as we continue to unpack the latest ever changing developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day thanks for joining us on the I-24 news desk 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 also we just don't know anything entire families including babies 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 another breaking edition of the 924 News Desk. I'm Nicole Zedek unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel, now in its 15th day. Two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists working the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza. The release of Judith and Natalie Rahnan, a mother and daughter from Chicago, was facilitated by Qatar. Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons, but others speculate it was purely strategy. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border are still in operation in the strip. All while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight. And while rockets continue to attack the south as well as northern border is also heating up, the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian-backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday. Another crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened this morning allowing foreign citizens to leave and roughly 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war. All of that new information coming out of near Israel's southern border in the Gaza strip and that's where we find our I-24 News Defense Correspondent Jonathan Ragev in Israel's south right now. Jonathan, we have information trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies food, all entering Gaza now through the Rafa border crossing and has finally opened after two weeks of the war here in Israel. Yes, see that humanitarian corridor is open things are coming into the Gaza strip I don't remember there's any humanitarian corridor for any of the Gaza border communities and the residents who were killed, massacred in their home but that's how the international community deals with Israeli victims and with Palestinians that's how it is the facts are that this humanitarian corridor has opened through the Rafa border crossing and goods are coming into Gaza those 20 trucks which you mentioned coming in from Lebanon and reports are saying that people in Gaza, foreign nationals in Gaza are now able to leave to Egypt through the Rafa border crossing this process began roughly 30 minutes ago we do not know for sure how long the border crossing will be open it's certainly going to be a chaotic scene down there as well as many of those foreign nationals as you said are trying to leave the Gaza strip right now now all of this as we saw even within the past hour more rockets continuing to be fired from the Gaza strip targeting some of these southern communities in Israel so it's still very much a threat of rocket fire also from the south the fact that humanitarian aid is coming in that doesn't stop the Israeli bombing in Gaza and that doesn't stop the Palestinian rockets being fired earlier today we saw rockets fired towards the city of Ashdod which is not on the Gaza border itself roughly 20 miles or so north of the Gaza strip and yes aid may be coming in but that is not even close to being the end of the war not even close to it Jonathan just as you mentioned just the beginning of the war even with that humanitarian aid we all know that Israel is preparing for a ground operation I'm sure you see the troops mobilizing there in the south as well does this humanitarian aid and the border opening impact the ground operation in any way I don't think so not this not the humanitarian corridor not the aid coming in what may have an effect on the ground incursion is the release of the two prisoners which we saw last night Hamas knows that they have a very strong card against Israel anytime Israel would want to perhaps begin with a ground incursion then more information may come of prisoners or more prisoners will be released and Hamas knows that this is a very strong card that they have opposing Israel Jonathan Regev our defense correspondent as you're speaking we're also taking a look at some of those live images coming out of the Rafa border crossing right now as it has officially open bringing in those trucks of medical supplies humanitarian aid some food as well now finally coming in after two weeks from the Rafa border crossing now I want to bring in my studio guests who are with me right now Daniel Scheck former Israeli ambassador to France and political commentator along with our senior correspondent Owen Alterman thank you both for joining me in studio before I get to you I also want to bring in our guest Dr. Michael Barak senior researcher for the international institute for counter terrorism and head of research for global jihad and Palestinian terrorism joining us from Herzlien Israel Dr. Barak thank you so much for joining us now as we were speaking to our correspondent Jonathan Regev in the south we also know that some of the main threats are from the north as we're looking at this war that's mainly the two fronts that we're focusing on right now but we know in the west bank we continue to see nightly arrest operations hundreds of terrorists Hamas terrorists as well arrested since the beginning of this war so how is Israel also trying to keep control of the already very turbulent area that is the west bank? Israel is well prepared to control the borders there are some operation inside the west bank to make sure that protesters or Hamas supporters will not break out the fence there is a cooperation also between Israel to the Palestinian Authority there is also a cooperation between Israel to Jordan so the situation is under control I don't think we need to make panic in the media because the situation is under control but Israel has to be prepared for other developments we see right now that there are Shia militias organizations like Katai Prisbala who is trying to penetrate to Jordan from the Iraqi border and this is something that can undermine the stability of the Jordanian kingdom the king Abdullah needs to cope with these security threats in his border from Iraq Dr. Barak I want you to elaborate on that a little bit just the threat of these different radical groups around the world as you said it's not just here in Israel or even on Israel's borders but the cooperation between some of these different groups it definitely poses a threat to what's happening here in Israel the threat is not only on Israel the threat is also on the Jewish community around the world this is something that is not very discussed in the media but Iran and Al-Qaeda is also cooperating together we know that the leader of Al-Qaeda Sefer Ladel is staying in Iran with his headquarters he and the Iranian revolutionary guards are planning how to Al-Qaeda is trying to help to the Iranian regime to escalate the situation and to target Jewish targets we saw few days ago Al-Qaeda leadership published an announcement how to escalate giving a plan how to target Jewish targets around the world for example Al-Qaeda called the Bedouin Sinai Peninsula to come to the borders within Rafah and to help the Ghazan people to cross and to help to Hamas terrorists to help them in the battle they called to the Bedouins in Jordan also to come to the border we see that Al-Qaeda is trying in this regard is trying to help Iran attempt to escalate the situation not only in rhetoric but Al-Qaeda is trying to activate sleeping cells around the world this is something that we have to remember because Sheikh Sefer Ladel the leader of Al-Qaeda is a very close ally to the Iranian regime and Iran is trying to make a success to turn Al-Qaeda to a proxy of Iran so the threat is not only in Israel we saw that the Houthis also were launch missiles to Israel but the Yemeni situation we don't have to underestimate the threat from the Houthis but I think the Houthis they are a minimal threat they are not target Israel in some way but the main concern will be in the borders between I think Jordan and Iraq where the Shia militias are trying to penetrate to Jordan in order to challenge Israel from the Jordanian border right now the Jordanian regime is blocking this attempt from the Shia militias to penetrate from the Jordanian border and the Shia militias from Syria which are trying to challenge Israel in the Golan Heights but Israel is prepared for that Yes and certainly we are keeping an eye as you said Dr. Barak everything that is happening to the Jewish population all over the world I want you to stay with us Dr. Barak but I want to come back to our guests who are in studio Daniel Sheikh as Barak was saying just the threat to the Jewish population we are hearing more just about some of these different countries that are tightening their travel warnings Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey all of now Israel's warning any Israelis get out as soon as possible because it is no longer safe for you in some of these countries Well you know travel bans and travel warnings naturally have a trend to be as cautious and as extreme as it can be and this is not a criticism I think that is the role they should have and to be honest even if you are just a sensible person I think you probably would think twice before going to an Arab country to visit the sites currently if you are in Israeli but this goes beyond just Arab countries there is also heightened awareness in western countries with the large Jewish communities such as France I know that there is a real discussion not even a discussion anymore it is a decision to strengthen security on Jewish sites synagogues European countries we should add security has already been tight for decades in Jewish sites unlike in the United States True but there are degrees and I think there is real concern in France they call it they are always afraid of importing the Arab Israeli conflict and if you take into consideration that it has the largest Muslim community in Europe and the largest Jewish community in Europe you understand that the friction potential is tremendous and we continue to see this friction not only in France and London also we see more pro-Palestinian anywhere where there are sizable Jewish community do you believe that as the general population might be protesting against Israel is the government doing enough to keep people and is really safe well to be honest there is not much demonstrations against Israel currently I can't guarantee anything for 2 or 3 weeks from now but again I am taking the French example there was an attempt by the authorities to blanket ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations it was struck down by the courts as institutional which one can understand but there is a real fear among the authorities that such pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli demonstrations could sort of degenerate into something very violent but so for the moment in the end there was a demonstration which wasn't really significant and I know there are others in other countries campuses etc it's unpleasant to see but it's not yet a significant really significant factor I'm curious as to what you have to say about that because as what we have seen and what we have talked about it's just the information war that is also brewing on top of this real war that's happening here in Israel and especially as Daniel Sek mentioned in some of these liberal college campuses we even saw some demonstrations at the White House as well more pro-Palestinian demonstrations planned in London today so a lot of the general public seems to have a different message than what their leaders of the countries are saying yes and no look left wing anti-Israel activity is a fact on the ground it's a fact on the ground across the western world around the world it's simply a fact on the ground that we in Israel have to live with or in some cases die with it's not the target of our information war if you will the target of course the persuadables in the middle and there obviously in some ways it's a combination of policy and message right Israel's ability and concentration and investment on managing has grown over the course of the years and decades to the point where we have a lot of professionals who are engaged in this right and are doing their very best one can compliment or criticize their efforts I had to say on both counts I had what to say if you will about the IDF spokesperson in the wake of the blast at the hospital of course by a Palestinian Islamic jihad rocket and it's also a combination of policy and this goes back to the story of the hour the opening of the Arafat border crossing we as Israelis have to stop being addicted to making our own psychological satisfaction right into what we had been calling the picture of victory I don't understand the fetish in this country for destroyed buildings I understand why but I don't endorse the satisfaction of people from hearing reports of Gaza from Gaza of Gazan civilians who essentially don't have clean water to drink this policy of denying food and water to people in Gaza was never realistic or sustainable right putting aside the ethical and legal issues was never something Israel was going to be able to sustain and it caused tremendous damage to Israel's messaging and I think to Israel's position without actually doing what we are doing is actually beating Hamas the things that make me excited is hearing about the killing of leaders of Hamas because that is actually beating Hamas and hitting Hamas targets that is what should give a psychological satisfaction that's our goal not pictures of rubble in Gaza city which are it best only a means to an end not an end in itself and also this issue of the humanitarian situation in Gaza but in terms of the basics of life food and water and essential medicine they have to be able to go through and my hope is now that this has happened and the crossing has opened and Israel through its cooperation with the United States has done this step I hope that the pressure on Israel can start to subside even if a lot of damage has already been done and I hope the public attention can now be focused on the real issue which is beating Hamas killing Hamas leaders destroying their tunnels and their weapons and telling the world that that's what we're doing and telling the world why we're doing it and that certainly seems to be the message from Israel as well they are doing everything they can they say preparing for this ground operation and as you said completely destroying Hamas that is their number one goal now as we talk about everything that is happening in the south we also have to remember that Israel's northern border also heating up we are still seeing tit for tat on the northern border as well our I-24 news correspondent Robert Swift was in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon and he filed this report overnight the IDF conducted strikes in the south of Lebanon against Hezbollah targets this is in response to continued anti-tank attacks that have emanated from Hezbollah forces along the border with yesterday there have been around six separate attacks with anti-tank weapons overnight the IDF announced that one of their soldiers had been killed in the latest of these anti-tank attack which took place on the eastern end of Israel's northern border around the community of Mar Galiad that attack took place late in the evening yesterday with two other soldiers also wounded them being evacuated to a hospital in Haifa with light to moderate shrapnel wounds now all of this comes in the context of what they do with regards to Hezbollah how should they respond to these continuous attacks which appear to be escalating now there's been a report in the US media stating that there's some disagreement between the US government and parts of the Israeli government members of the Israeli cabinet including Defense Minister Galant had expressed some desire to conduct some sort of preemptive strike against Hezbollah and this is a policy that is supported by much of Israel's defense establishment including the military however the US have pushed back against this approach because they're concerned that any sort of escalation with Hezbollah whether it's one that's triggered by an Israeli preemptive strike or one that comes after Israel goes into Gaza they're concerned that any sort of escalation on the northern border could expand into a wider regional conflict which would have the danger of sucking in Iran first of all but also the US itself so with this regard the US has applied pressure and Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of the day is the one who's made the decision and has expressed a desire not to immediately take this option although obviously it's an option that's still on the table and could be used if Israel sees an advantage in going down that route Our correspondent Robert Swift in northern Israel talking about the latest developments and also the possibility for a more larger wide scale war in the region Dr. Michael Barak I want to come back to you as we're focusing on the threat from the north as well many people while we're saying we're completely going to eliminate Hamas that's clearly the main goal from Israel however if Hezbollah does get involved if then proxies and Iran does decide to back this war what is Israel's obligation to completely eliminate Hezbollah if they get involved Look the real threat is from the north Hamas if we want we can we can exterminate the threat in one moment but because of moral dilemmas and international calculations we are more hesitating to get inside with our full power together the real threat is in the north if Hezbollah will dare to open a front against Israel Hezbollah will not bear only the price but also Lebanon itself so Hezbollah has to think twice if it's it should involve or not so I think this is a golden opportunity that Israel must strike Hezbollah and to eliminate this threat from the north if we want that our next generations let's say 40 years we live in peacefully without a threat from the north this is the time to strike Hezbollah let's remember that Hezbollah and Iran since 2021 increased the coordination with Hamas and I have to mention that there is also a joint warfare between Hamas, Hezbollah PIJ a popular front for the liberation of Palestine and other Palestinian factions they have 8 quarters seen by root where those terrorists are coordinating how to challenge Israel so since 2021 since the operation Israeli the operation defenders of the walls Hezbollah and Hamas are trying to find a way how to challenge Israel for example and we publish it in our institution the open discussions in Zoom via Facebook we saw how Hezbollah gave instructions to Hamas how to disseminate recruiting messages to Arab Israelis how they should be recruited to the next battle against Israel this is something that is IDF knew something has to be done but was not done so Hezbollah is trying also Iran is Iran like to sacrifice to sacrifice its proxies so right now Iran and Hezbollah are using Hamas so Hezbollah is part of this is the main threat to Israel and Israel has to face with that I hope that if Israel now will get inside Gaza strip it will do it very slowly and in the same time will strike Hezbollah this will be the best scenario to do in order to guard the future of Israel Doctor Michael Barak thank you always for all of your insight especially with what's happening with all of these different armed groups targeting Israel here now I want to come back to our guests in studio now specifically as Michael Barak is talking about all of these different Arab countries Iran their proxies coming out to Israel today there's expected to be an Egypt peace summit now the United States not involved in that summit Israel not involved but several Arab and European heads of states will be in attendance some interesting leaders as well Daniel Schepp what can we actually expect to come out of a peace summit if not the main leaders in the Middle East are there well you won't get a former diplomat to say that the gathering of such prominent important event but I am tempted to say that not unimportant but not necessarily useful for the real goal which is to find the way out of this of this of this war for a number of reasons first of all there are only very few countries in the world that have real leverage on Hamas that's the one of the many disadvantages of dealing with a non-state entity they're just not open to much pressure some of these leaders will be in Cairo today but they will be you know surrounded with all sorts of people who don't really have leverage the second thing is timing I think it's just too early it's not realistic to think that at this point you can stop the war what does it where do I do I see the importance first of all I can understand the willingness of these countries to mobilize to just get together and put their heads together and try and think of something maybe it is the groundwork for a forum for the resolution of this conflict in the future we will see and you know if nothing if nothing better it's a good thing that people are getting together and trying to talk about stopping a war and stopping violence and suffering well I'm sure it's a big item on the agenda I would assume would also be the fact of the hostage situation many of them not Israelis but foreign national I don't entirely agree I don't think that's a big issue on the agenda this is all about the leaders themselves this is about Abdel Fattah showing his public he's doing something for middle European powers like George the Prime Minister of Italy George Maloney and Pedro Sanchez the Prime Minister of Spain this is their chance to be in the sun and to be in the spotlight after the British the French and the Germans have in some sense monopolized European policy to a lesser extent also true for the European Union Charles Michel and Joseph Burrell to key European Union officials potentially less inclined in the heart in the staunch pro-israel for example of commission presidents are coming at any rate these about the leaders themselves their own public opinion their own public I don't think it's much about the hostages if it's about anything it's about talking about the humanitarian situation in Gaza the hostages is a secondary point it is true though that this is the one element that's actually favorable to Israel that one could actually imagine in some kind of consensus statement out of this gathering and I do think there is some value if it happens in having Arab heads of state in many cases royals come out and actually sign on to a document calling for Hamas to unconditionally release the hostages that has some level importance in putting some level of international pressure on Hamas again going back to something we said earlier on I think in this broadcast where Hamas simply did not under or in a previous talk with Daniel as well and Hamas simply didn't understand the implications of taking so many foreign nationals hostage and it's certainly going to impact just who is released and how they are released Daniel Shek former Israeli ambassador to France and a local commentator along with I-24 news senior correspondent Owen Altman thank you both for your insight as always as we continue to unpack the latest ever-changing developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day thanks for joining us on the I-24 news desk over 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 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 insight 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 clean renewable energy per year 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 welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 news desk I'm Nicole Zedek unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists working the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza the release of Judith and Natalie Ranan a mother and daughter from Chicago was facilitated by Qatar Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy meanwhile Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor it's the tens of thousands of troops near Israel's southern border already for an expanded operation in the strip oh well the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight and while rockets continue to attack the south Israel's northern border is also heating up the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday at the Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened this morning allowing foreign citizens to leave parts of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war and that is where we want to begin with the latest happening out of the Gaza strip our I-24 news defense correspondent Jonathan Oregev is currently in Israel south Jonathan we are seeing images of trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies, food entering Gaza through the Rafa border crossing but we are also hearing that as quickly as those 20 trucks were allowed in the border was shut down again what can you tell us? So probably this was the agreement this is what can come into Gaza and that's it that humanitarian corridor as it is called no one really had a humanitarian corridor for the people in the communities where we are neighboring communities on the Gaza border no one in the world really created any corridor for them but that's how the world sees it maybe you don't have to help the Israelis you do have to help the Palestinians that is why the Rafa border crossing was opened for as it seems as far as we are hearing 30 minutes or so those 20 trucks came in and that's it the border is now closed as far as we understand as it seems this was the agreement this is the amount of trucks that were allowed in and that's it. Jonathan Oregev as you are speaking we are taking a look at some of those live images besides you of the Rafa border crossing right now now I'm curious because as the border was shut down for those 20 trucks of humanitarian aid we're also hearing that was the time for foreign nationals if possible for them to get out so if it shuts down after the aid is let in what's going to happen to those trying to flee the Gaza Strip? Not exactly clear the notion was that the humanitarian the humanitarian assistance will come in and foreign nationals living in Gaza will come out did they really go out there's no indication for that at the moment will they really be leaving Gaza or not we really don't know no no indication for that at this time. Meanwhile Jonathan another question that many people are wondering especially here in Israel and what's enraging many Israelis about this aid going to Israel as it's not only United States aid helping the Palestinians also likely that it will go into the hands of Hamas we also know that Russia is one of the countries sending 27 tons of aid it's not sure if any of that has gotten in yet but with that type of aid how likely is it that illicit goods are in that aid that is also going to end up in the hands of Hamas. I have no proof to what I'm going to say but you can rest assured this will fall to the hands of Hamas who can exactly guarantee what happens to the aid once it goes into Gaza is it UN relief and works agency we've seen Hamas coming basically loot everything that they have in their warehouses can we count on them to make sure that the assistance doesn't have in the end of Hamas the answer is no in this case we're speaking mainly of food and water and medicine and so on nothing that can become a equipment for war only things for the population with the population end up with it at least as it seems the answer is no it will go into the hands of Hamas we've heard of lack of electricity and all those other things you can rest assured that down in the bunker where the rest of the Hamas leadership are there's an abundance of all of them Jonathan Regev our defense correspondent in Israel's southern border thank you for all of the latest that's happening out of the Gaza Strip we're still taking a look at those live images coming from the Rafa border crossing right now some of those movement of those trucks that aid entering the Gaza Strip now another major movement to come out of the Gaza Strip overnight is two American hostages released from the hands of Hamas Natalie Radnan and her mother Judith were kidnapped on October 7th while visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz it's believed that as many as 10 other Radnan family members could still be in Hamas captivity but Natalie and Judith's release does provide a slight sliver of hope for the families of those held hostage I've been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks I haven't been sleeping for two weeks tonight I'm going to sleep good I spoke with my daughter earlier today she sounds very good she looks very good she was very happy and she's waiting to come home her mother has a little scratch on her hand but she told me it's nothing she's okay I spoke earlier with President Biden I thank him for his concern for his helping with the release of them and he was very very nice I want to bring in my studio guests with me now I'm joined by Colonel and reserve Grisha Yukovic former head of the civilian department of Kogat and Israeli Palestinian relations experts for the IDF along with our senior correspondent Owen Alterman thank you both for joining me here in studio but before I get to you I want to come to our other guest retired colonel Dr. Michael Mielstein head of the Palestinian studies forum for Moshe Dayan center for Middle Eastern and African studies and former advisor for Kogat the coordination of government activities in the territories joining us from Kiret Ono here in Israel let's begin with what we're hearing about the hostage situation two hostages released from the hands of Hamas many people saying that this is clearly some sort of strategy when it comes to Hamas dealing with the hostage negotiations hostage release well Nicole I do think that the Hamas strategy right now is actually an attempt to use or to take advantage of the hostages as actually a measure a tool to lay to halt the broad military move of Israel you know I do think that the release of the two hostages we saw yesterday the American with the American citizenship was actually an attempt the balloon of Hamas with a lot of assistance of Qatar to check if there is any possibility to limit the Israeli future move against Hamas and I do think that they I mean Hamas they will try to repeat such an experiment I do think that they will try to signal to the whole world and mainly and to the other to the states that their citizens are held by Hamas that maybe they will gradually release more and more hostages and this is their manner to maybe to limit the future move but as I assess Nicole and this is my knowledge I do think that it will not succeed to stop Israel from its major strategic target to erase Hamas to eradicate Hamas from the map for many people in Israel and I mean among the policy makers but also among the public it is much more important to put an end to this existential threat Hamas and there is no no doubt that people want to see all the hostages released but they are not ready to give up on this major strategic goal of eradicating Hamas from the map clearly also as just as you said even if it's not one of Israel's major goal is to defeat and eliminate Hamas they are going to be continuing to get some outside pressure from some of these foreign states who have foreign nationals held captive I'm curious though because as we're talking about Hamas just the level of coordination and possible collaboration that we're seeing between Hamas their strategy impacted by Qatar, Iran any coordination as well with Hezbollah Yeah sure, you know from the 7th of October it is quite clear that Hamas is not you know a separated player in the whole scene of the war Hamas is very much coordinated with the whole players of the axis of resistance of the Mukawama and mainly Iran and of course in a very fruitful let's call it like that and a very tight connection to Qatar and you know I do think and we call that in the day after the war and I don't know when it will be in about a month, a year, maybe more than that Israel should think a lot about the lessons that we learned from the attack the brutal attack of the 7th of October I do think for example that the whole question of the role of Qatar in the Palestinian arena and mainly in Gaza must be questionable. I think that Qatar right now has a very negative role Qatar is fully affiliated with Hamas it is not a mediator it is actually a measure in the hands of Hamas we must also remember that right now when we are speaking actually almost all Hamas leadership is promoting the policy the strategy of the war not from Doha not from anywhere else so I do think that in the day after Israel should consider and should think about getting Qatar out of the arena of Gaza and maybe and I am saying that in a very cautious and modest manner maybe think about another alternative players in this arena maybe we should convince other players in the Gulf much more moderate than Qatar to be effective player when there will be no I wish that there will be no Hamas over there but we cannot repeat once again this negative experience of playing with very gentle policy toward Hamas while Qatar is the mediator I think that this kind of equation we cannot repeat such an idea anymore Dr. Michael Milstein thank you I want you to stay with us but turning to our guests in studio Grisha Milstein brought up a great point what happens after the war and specifically I know he's talking about some of these countries abroad but also we have to focus on what happens after the war in Gaza as the former de facto mayor of Gaza city before Israel's disengagement I'm curious about the Gaza Strip going to work and how are we going to have this new security regime first of all I have to say Shabbat Shalom to Michael we serve together in office by office and I do accept the majority of what he said the day after is part of the strategy so Israel is pushing and continues bumping the Gaza Strip with the readiness again it's not a question of if the question is when and how the IDF would be boots on the ground in Gaza and only the pressure only the pressure the continuous pressure will release the prisoners the ones that were captured and Israel already is preparing itself as a country as a southern entity thinking about the day after like first of all what will be the reality of the people who will be left in Gaza let's see how many of them will be able to fled Gaza okay though I know something like 200,000 already are in Europe during the almost 16 17 years of Hamas regime in Gaza something like 200,000 Gazans fled Gaza and they live in Europe or in other places let's see what will be the situation in Gaza on the ground when it comes to infrastructure okay let's go back to Second World War okay actually the United States okay the coalition bombed Japan bombed Germany and eventually their own money actually was the money to rebuild it reconstruct it okay and to create a new reality in those countries and we see that today two big democracies so this is the same I think it was the Marshall Plan if I'm not wrong so I think it's about time we implement for the day after some sort of a Marshall Plan and I do agree with Michael Dr. Michael we need to approach to the moderate Arab countries let's say the new Western coalition that is already there okay the general secretary Mr. Bligden flew to Israel Jordan Saudi Arabia okay there is a reason for everything whatever happens there is a reason for that when appealing to these more moderate Arab countries even today we see that there is a potential summit in Egypt happening between many of these different Arab leaders some European heads of states as well however senior prime minister Owen Altman we were talking earlier we're not sure exactly what's going to come out of a summit like this especially so soon into the war not much I actually with your permission I want to go back to what Michael Milstein said about Qatar look if this is the verdict on Qatar why wait until the day after right Qatar is playing such a central role as this war goes on and Qatar is very vulnerable here very vulnerable Nicole Qatar cares about nothing more than its brand especially in the United States and think about how much Qatar invested in the world cup because of that and Qatar at this point I think is very very vulnerable to Israeli leaders going out on television and making the case against it with all of the support for Israel in the U.S. Congress Qatar is very vulnerable if this is the verdict on Qatar and maybe there's a question for Michael Milstein the day after they're vulnerable now they're vulnerable now more than on the day after this is the time to quote unquote launch the diplomatic attack and if that's the verdict it seems to me that Israel should act sooner rather than later right against Qatar against Al Jazeera of course that process is well underway here in Israel maybe there's something to be done with that in the United States of course the legal regime is entirely different so I'm simply throwing out an idea here not knowing how realistic or even appropriate it is but taking on Qatar's brand if that's the step that Israel should take and that's Israel's national interest it seems to me it should be done now and not on the day after as for the summit in Egypt look we talked about it there will be nothing that comes out of it other than it seems to me a very general statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza maybe something about the hostages the number of people there the countries there and their interests are simply too diverse you have everything from Arab leaders who have every incentive to take a hard line diplomatically to the foreign minister of Germany and everything in between so the idea of there being a consensus statement that really says something seems to me awfully hard to see but of course there is still interest in the individual leaders to host the summit in the case of Al-Fattah Qalsisi to show his public he's doing something and obviously each of the individual leaders we could talk about them one by one what incentive they have to see and be seen there as you said just the humanitarian crisis the situation that we are seeing in Gaza Risha I'd like to talk to you as we're seeing some of these truck loads of humanitarian aid come into the strip I understand also from the ground there are reports that some of these cities don't have any electricity is real no longer funding them but I'm hearing also that that doesn't seem to be the case you know we are falling always to the trap of repeating for somebody's else definition okay you just used it there is a return crisis no there is not I don't know if you've seen pictures from Kanyunis and Al-Fattah you know people go to the market all the shops are open kids are going to schools and we are all repeating the same lie the humanitarian crisis this is a lie this is Hamas lie industry welcome to the club there's reports that people don't have clean water and they're taking well water you think those reports are not true I want to be clear about it okay because when people hear that Israeli officials or politicians state that we shut down the electricity from Gaza automatically you assume that they are left without one megawatt right? okay let's go back to the facts Israel supplied only 45% of the consumption the rest they have a power plant that can supply the same amount of electricity from inside Gaza there is electricity line coming from Egypt during the years that Hamas as an entity and we accepted that one of our mistakes I think that now you see the pictures yes we're seeing some of those pictures you see some of those pictures in the south okay Khayyounis and Rafah that people actually walking freely buying the shops are open so how can we accept that fact when they say you know what I would say something else as I said here a week ago they will pull the humanitarian card as fast as possible but nobody will really check it so the moment we started checking it you see that it's not really like that by the way those are pictures published by Hamas not by Israelis so it's their own evidence to show that there are some normal life about water Israel supplied only 12% of the consumption the rest of the water they are using from the underground water in Gaza the aquifer now if Hamas decided two years ago with Iran to start a war let's assume that they prepared themselves well in our weapons, rockets no they miss everything in Gaza except rockets so I'm sure that they also prepared food, electricity, diesel to operate generators they have thousands of generators they have solar panels come on let's not fall to that trap I'm not saying it's easy it's not also easy for us but let's be at least put the facts on the table and let's not fall into that trap that this is what they said and they show us some grey water or I don't know what to say okay there is a crisis, not really meanwhile with everything brewing as a strip in Israel as well we're also seeing what continues to unfold abroad we're hearing new reports that last night a homemade bomb was detonated near the Israeli embassy in Cyprus one person has been arrested and wanted in connection with this attack all the men suspected are Syrian nationals joining us is I-24 news senior defense correspondent Jonathan Oragiv Jonathan what can you tell us about this latest attack to Israelis abroad yes this report coming in the last half an hour or so not a lot more information from what you've said Nicole but we have seen today just about two hours ago a regional security council here in Israel advising Israelis to leave not Cyprus but other countries in the region Jordan and Egypt and Morocco where now the level of threat against Israelis is very high is at level four which is the highest level same level of course in Turkey where we've seen many many protests against Israel Turkey one of the main backers of Hamas even with relations getting somewhat warmer in recent months still Turkey one of the most hostile places towards Israelis and yes even in Western countries such as the UK the US Germany and others there have been protests against Israel and we can assume that this is just one of the anti-Israel cases around the world it was very clear that it will not take a long time before the words would become actions of a lot of details about what happened last night in Nicosia but the anti-Israel rhetoric is all over the place not only unfortunately in Arab nations but in Western nations where governments are at least are very supportive of Israel but many in the public arena certainly the local Muslim population but not only them are very anti-Israel and this could be one of the expressions seen now in the Cyprus the anti-Israel rhetoric certainly a dangerous one Bruno Bride Jonathan Raghav that update on the situation happening over there Dr. Michael Milstein I want to come back to you now as we're talking about not only the strategy we're seeing by Hamas but also the strategy that we're seeing with Hezbollah we continue to see anti-tank missiles being fired from the Lebanon border into Israel but for now it's mainly been some of this low level firing happening back and forth so I'm curious how sustainable that is for Hezbollah versus them actually fully getting involved Well actually this is the main strategic dilemma now for Israel and when I'm trying to analyze the strategy and the way that both Hezbollah and Iran are trying to analyze their future steps I do think that there is not yet a strategic decision of both of them how or when to be involved in a much more dramatic manner in the war of course this dilemma will be much more tougher when the ground maneuver begin and I do think that today there are three main heavy considerations in front of Hezbollah that makes the whole dilemma much more complex first of all Israel is very much ready for any kind of attack from Hezbollah very different from the situation of 2006 second not very far from the shores of Lebanon and mainly Beirut there are two serious heavy aircraft carriers of the USA it's quite a strategic challenge to Nasrallah and there is something very important the internal discourse in Lebanon itself you know during the last week there were a lot of voices from Lebanon even from a senior figures in Lebanon that call Hezbollah the slogan is our heart is in Palestine in Palestine but please do not involve Lebanon in this war we do not want to be or not want to cause the root to look like a remote neighborhood in Gaza and I do think that you know all those considerations maybe will make the policy of the Iranian's end of Hezbollah to be much more limited there is a second point I want to refer to there was a question about Qatar before Nicole why to promote a different tougher policy Qatar in the day after and not now and there is one basic answer for that question and this is the consideration of the hostages I do believe that right now you know it's not easy to admit it but right now Qatar is the only channel to confines to promote any leverage on Hamas and I do think that as long as there is a possibility to promote release of more ideas, you need to be in contact with Qatar but as I said before when this war will end we must think again about the whole structure the strategic one of Qatar and Gaza as we retired colonel Dr. Michael Milstein thank you so much as always for breaking down all the analysis here certainly one of the main questions that everyone has as Dr. Milstein answered is exactly how the structure from abroad ties into the hostage situation as well as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast to Americans recently released from the hands of Hamas but certainly playing into just the difficulties of everything that continues to happen here in Israel day 15 of the war colonel and reserve Grisha Jakobovich thank you so much for joining us along with senior correspondent Owen Alterman your insight and analysis always appreciated as we continue to unpack on the I-24 news thank you 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 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 have 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 the vaquita can be protected welcome to another breaking edition of the I-24 news desk I'm Nicole Zedek unpacking the latest developments of the war here in Israel now in its 15th day two American hostages have been released by Hamas terrorists marking the first release of the some 200 hostages that remain in Gaza the release of Judith and Natalie Rannan a mother and daughter from Chicago was facilitated by Qatar Hamas claims it was for humanitarian reasons but others speculate it was purely strategy meanwhile Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited troops on the Gaza border to monitor if the tens of troops near Israel's southern border are ready for an expanded operation in the strip while the IDF continues to strike Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight and while rockets continue to attack the south Israel's northern border is also heating up the IDF striking multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight in response to anti-tank missiles and rockets launched by the Iranian-backed terror group which killed one Israeli reserve soldier on Friday and the Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened this morning allowing foreign citizens to leave and 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into the strip to help the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced since the start of the war and that is where we want to begin with the latest happening out of the Gaza strip in a fort news defense correspondent Jonathan Oregov is currently in Israel south Jonathan we are seeing images of trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies food entering Gaza through the Rafa border crossing about 20 trucks however we're also hearing that as quickly as those 20 trucks were allowed in the border was shut down again what can you tell us so probably this was the agreement this is what can come into Gaza and that's it, that humanitarian corridor as it is called no one really had a humanitarian corridor for the people in the communities where we are in Sderot and neighboring communities on the Gaza border no one in the world really created any corridor for them but that's how the world sees it maybe you don't have to help the Israelis you do have to help the Palestinians that is why the Rafa border crossing was opened for as it seems as far as we're hearing roughly 30 minutes or so and that's it, the border is now closed as far as we understand as it seems this was the agreement this is the amount of trucks that were allowed in and that's it Jonathan, we're taking a look at some of those live images besides you of the Rafa border crossing right now I'm curious because as the border was shut down for those 20 trucks of humanitarian aid we're also hearing that was the time for foreign nationals if possible for them to get out if it shuts down after the aid is let in what's going to happen to those trying to flee the Gaza Strip not exactly clear, the notion was that the humanitarian the humanitarian assistance will come in and foreign nationals living in Gaza will come out did they really go out there's no indication for that at the moment will they really be leaving Gaza or not we really don't know no indication for that at this time meanwhile Jonathan another question people are wondering especially here in Israel and what's enraging many Israelis about this aid going to Israel is it's not only United States aid helping the Palestinians also likely that it will go into the hands of Hamas we also know that Russia is one of the countries sending 27 tons of aid it's not sure if any of that has gotten in yet but with that type of aid how likely is it that illicit goods are in that aid that is also going to end up in the hands of Hamas I have no proof to what I'm going to say but you can rest assured this will fall to the hands of Hamas who can exactly guarantee what happens to the aid once it goes into Gaza is it enra the UN relief and works agency we've seen Hamas coming basically loot everything that they have in their warehouses can we count on them to make sure that the assistance doesn't end in the end of Hamas the answer is no in this case we're speaking mainly of food and water and medicine and so on nothing that can become equipment for war only things for the population end up with it at least as it seems the answer is no it will go into the hands of Hamas we've heard of lack of electricity water and all those other things you can rest assured that down in the bunker where the rest of the Hamas leadership are there is an abundance of all of them Jonathan Regev our defense correspondent in Israel's southern border and for all of the latest that's happening out of the Gaza Strip we're still taking a look at those live images coming from the Rafa border crossing right now some of those movement of those trucks that aid entering the Gaza Strip another major development to come out of the Gaza Strip overnight is two American hostages released from the hands of Hamas Natalie Radnan and her mother Judith were kidnapped on October 7 while visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz as many as 10 other Radnan family members could still be in Hamas captivity but Natalie and Judith's release does provide a slight sliver of hope for the families of those held hostage I've been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks I haven't been sleeping for two weeks tonight I'm going to sleep good I spoke with my daughter earlier today she sounds very good she looks very good she was very happy and she's waiting to come home her mother has a little scratch on her hand but she told me it's nothing she's okay I spoke earlier with President Biden I thank him for his concern for his helping with the release of them and he was very very nice I want to bring in my studio guests with me now I'm joined by Colonel and Reserve Grisha Yokovic former head of the Civilian Department of Kogat and Israeli-Palestinian relations experts for the IDF along with our senior correspondent Owen Alterman thank you both for joining me here in studio but before I get to you I want to come to our other guests retired Colonel Dr. Michael Milstein head of the Palestinian studies forum for Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and former advisor for Kogat the coordination of government activities in the territories joining us from Kira Ono here in Israel let's begin with what we're hearing about the hostage situation two Americans released from the hands of Hamas many people saying that this is clearly some sort of strategy when it comes to Hamas dealing with the hostage negotiations hostage release well Nicole I do think that the Hamas right now is actually an attempt to use or to take advantage of of the hostages as actually a measure a tool in order to delay to halt the broad military move of Israel you know I do think that the release of the two hostages we saw yesterday with the American citizenship was actually an attempt the balloon of Hamas of course with a lot of assistance of Qatar to check if there is any possibility to limit the Israeli future move against Hamas and I do think that they I mean Hamas they will try to repeat such an experiment I do think that they will try to signal to the whole world and mainly to the other to the states that their citizens are kept by held by Hamas that maybe they will gradually release more and more hostages and this is their manner maybe to limit the future move but as I assess and Nicole and this is my knowledge I do think that it will not succeed to stop Israel from its major strategic target to erase Hamas to eradicate Hamas from the map for many people in Israel and I mean in the among the policy makers but also among the public it is much more important to put an end to this existential threat Hamas and there is no no doubt that people want to see all the hostages released but they are not ready to give up on this major strategic goal of eradicating Hamas from the map clearly also as just as you said even if it's not one of Israel's major goal is to defeat and eliminate Hamas they are going to be continuing to get some outside pressure from some of these foreign states who have foreign nationals held captive I'm curious though because as we're talking about Hamas just the level of coordination and possible collaboration that we're seeing between Hamas their strategy impacted by Qatar, Iran any coordination as well with Hezbollah yeah sure you know from the 7th of October it is quite clear that Hamas is not a you know separated player in the whole scene of the war Hamas is very much coordinated with the whole players of the Axis of resistance of the Mukawama and mainly Iran and of course in a very fruitful let's call it like that and a very tight connection to Qatar and you know I do think and call that in the day after the war and I don't know when it will be in about a month a year maybe more than that Israel should think a lot about the lessons that we learned from the attack the brutal attack of the 7th of October I do think for example that the whole question of the role of Qatar in the Palestinian arena mainly in Gaza must be questionable I think that Qatar right now has a very negative role Qatar is fully affiliated with Hamas it is not a mediator it is actually a measure we must also remember that right now when we are speaking actually almost all Hamas leadership is promoting the policy the strategy of the war from Doha not from anywhere else so I do think that in the day after Israel should consider and should think about getting Qatar out of the arena of Gaza and maybe and I'm saying that in a very cautious and modest manner maybe think about another alternative players in this arena maybe we should convince other states from the Gulf much more moderate than Qatar to be effective player when there will be no I wish that there will be no Hamas over there but we cannot repeat once again this negative experience of playing with a very gentle policy toward Hamas while Qatar is the mediator I think that this kind of equation belongs to the past we cannot repeat such an idea anymore Dr. Michael Milstein thank you I want you to stay with us but turning to our guests in studio Grisha Milstein brought up a great point what happens after the war and specifically I know he's talking about some of these countries abroad but also we have to focus on what happens after the war in Gaza as the former de facto mayor of Gaza city before Israel's disengagement I'm curious exactly how is the reshaping of the Gaza Strip going to work and how are we going to have this new security regime First of all I have to say shabbat shalom to Michael we serve together in office by office and I do accept the majority of what he said the day after is part of the strategy okay so it's pushing a continuous bump in the Gaza Strip with the readiness again it's not a question of if the question is when and how the idea would be boots on the ground in Gaza and only the pressure only the pressure the continuous pressure will release the prisoners the ones that were captured and Israel already is preparing itself as a country as a sovereign entity thinking about the day after like first of all what will be the reality of the people who will be left in Gaza let's see how many of them will be able to flood Gaza okay I know that something like 200,000 already are in Europe during the almost 16 17 years of Hamas regime in Gaza something like 200,000 Gazans flood Gaza and they live in Europe or in other places let's see what will be the situation in Gaza on the ground when it comes to infrastructure okay let's go back to Second World War okay actually the United States the coalition bombed Japan bombed Germany and eventually their own money were actually was the money to rebuild it reconstruct it okay and to create a new reality in those countries and we see that today two big democracies so this is the same I think it was the Marshall plan if I'm not wrong so I think it's about time we implement for the day after some sort of a Marshall plan and I do agree with Michael, Dr. Michael we need to approach to the moderate Arab countries let's say the new western coalition that is already there okay the General Secretary Mr. Bligden flew to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia okay there is a reason for everything what ever happens there is a reason for that when appealing to these more moderate Arab countries even today we see that there is a potential summit in Egypt happening between many of these different Arab leaders some European heads of states as well however senior prime minister Owen Alterman we were talking earlier we're not sure exactly what's going to come out of a summit like this especially so soon into the war yeah not much I actually with your permission I want to go back to what Michael Milstein said about Qatar look if this is the verdict on Qatar why wait until the day after right Qatar is playing such a central role as this war goes on and Qatar is very vulnerable here Qatar is very vulnerable Nicole Qatar cares about nothing more than its brand especially in the United States and think about how much Qatar invested in the World Cup because of that and Qatar at this point I think is very very vulnerable to Israeli leaders going out on television and making the case against it with all of the support for Israel in the US Congress Qatar is very vulnerable if this is the verdict on Qatar and maybe there's a question for Michael Milstein why wait until the day after they're vulnerable now they're vulnerable now more than on the day after this is the time to quote unquote launch the diplomatic attack and if that's the verdict it seems to me that Israel should act sooner rather than later right against Qatar against Al Jazeera of course that process is well underway here in Israel maybe there's something to be done with that in the United States of course the legal regime is entirely different so I'm simply throwing out an idea here not knowing how realistic or even appropriate it is but taking on Qatar's brand if that's the step that Israel should take and that's Israel's national interest it seems to me it should be done now and not on the day after as for the summit in Egypt look we talked about it there will be nothing that comes out of it other than it seems to me a very general statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza maybe something about the hostages the number of people there the countries there and their interests are simply too diverse you have everything from Arab leaders who have every incentive to take a hard line diplomatically to the foreign minister of Germany and everything in between so the idea of there being a consensus statement that really says something seems to me awfully hard to see but of course there are still interests of the individual leaders to host the summit in the case of Al-Fattah Kalsisi to show his public he's doing something and obviously each of the individual leaders we could talk about them one by one what incentive they have to see and be seen there as you said just the humanitarian crisis the situation that we are seeing in Gaza Risha I'd like to talk to you as we're seeing some of these truckloads of humanitarian aid come into the strip I understand also from the ground there are reports that some of these cities don't have any electricity Israel no longer funding them but I'm hearing also that that doesn't seem to be the case you know we are falling always to the trap of repeating for somebody's else definition okay you just used it there is a return crisis no there is not I don't know if you've seen pictures from Hanyunas and Rafah you know people go to the market all the shops are open kids are going to schools and we are all repeating the same lie humanitarian crisis this is a lie this is Hamas lie industry it's like welcome to the club there's reports that people don't have clean water and they're taking well water are you saying those reports are not true I want to be clear about it okay because when people hear that Israeli officials or politicians state that we shut down the electricity from Gaza automatically you assume that they are left without one megawatt right okay let's go back to the facts Israel supplied only 45% of the consumption the rest they have a power plant that can supply the same amount of electricity from inside Gaza there is electricity line coming from Egypt during the year that Hamas as an entity and we accepted that this is one of our mistakes I think that now you see the pictures we're seeing some of those pictures you see some of those pictures in the south okay Hanyunas and Rafah that people actually walking freely buying these shops are open so how can we accept that fact when they say you know what I would say something else as I said here a week ago they will pull the humanitarian card as fast as possible but nobody will really check it so the moment we started checking it you see that it's not really like that by the way those are pictures published by Hamas not by Israelis so it's their own evidence okay to show that there are some normal life about water Israel supplied only 12% of the consumption the rest of the water they are using from the underground water in Gaza the aquifer now if Hamas decided two years ago with Iran with an order from Iran to start a war we let's assume that they prepared themselves well you know weapons rockets they miss everything in Gaza except rockets okay so I'm sure that they also prepared food, electricity diesel to operate generators they have thousands of generators they have solar panels come on let's not fall to the trap I'm not saying it's easy okay it's not also easy for us but let's be at least let's put the facts on the table and let's not fall into the trap that this is what they said and they show us I don't know some grey water or I don't know what's said okay there is a crisis not really meanwhile with everything brewing as a strip in Israel as well we're also seeing what continues to unfold abroad we're hearing new reports that last night a homemade bomb was detonated near the Israeli embassy in Cyprus one person has been arrested and three more are wanted in connection with this attack all the men suspected are Syrian nationals joining us is I-24 new senior defense correspondent Jonathan Oregiv, Jonathan what can you tell us about this latest attack to Israelis abroad yes this report coming in the last half an hour or so not a lot more information from you've said Nicole but we have seen today as just about two hours ago the national security council here in Israel advising Israelis to leave not Cyprus but other countries in the region Jordan and Egypt and Morocco where now the level of threat against Israelis is very high is at the level four which is the highest level same level of course in Turkey where we've seen many many protests against Israel Turkey one of the main backers of Hamas even with relations getting somewhat warmer in recent months still Turkey one of the most hostile places towards Israelis and yes even in western countries such as the UK, the US Germany and others there have been protests against Israel and we can assume that this is just one of the anti-Israel cases around the world it was very clear that it will not take a long time before the words would become actions and we don't have a lot of details about what happened last night in Nicosia but the anti-Israel rhetoric is all over the place not only unfortunately in Arab nations but in western nations where governments are at least very supportive of Israel but many in the public arena certainly the local Muslim population but not only them are very anti-Israel and this could be one of the expressions seen now in Cyprus the anti-Israel rhetoric certainly a dangerous one Jonathan Raghav thank you for that update on the situation happening over there Dr. Michael Milstein I want to come back to you now as we're talking about not only the strategy we're seeing by Hamas but also the strategy that we're seeing with Hezbollah we continue to see anti-tank missiles being fired from the Lebanon border into Israel but for now it's mainly been some of this low level firing happening back and forth so I'm curious how sustainable that is for Hezbollah versus them actually fully getting involved well actually Nicole this is the main strategic dilemma now for Israel and when I'm trying to analyze the strategy and the way that both Hezbollah and Iran are trying to analyze their future steps I do think that there is not yet not yet a strategic decision of both of them how or when to be involved in a much more dramatic manner in the war of course this dilemma will be much more tougher when the ground maneuver begin and I do think that today there are three main heavy considerations in front of Hezbollah that makes the whole dilemma much more complex first of all Israel is very much ready for any kind of attack from Hezbollah very different from the situation of 2006 second not very far from the shores of Lebanon and mainly Beirut there are two serious heavy aircraft carriers of the USA it's quite a strategic challenge to Nasrallah and there is something very important the internal discourse in Lebanon itself during the last week there were a lot of voices from Lebanon even from senior figures in Lebanon that call Hezbollah the slogan is the heart is in Palestine in Palestine but please do not involve Lebanon in this war we do not want to be or not want to cause Beirut to look like a Rimal neighborhood in Gaza and I do think that all those considerations maybe will make the policy of the Iranians and of Hezbollah to be much more limited at the same point I want to refer to there was a question about Qatar before Nicole why to promote a different tougher policy toward Qatar in the day after and not now and there is one basic answer for that question and this is the consideration of the hostages I do believe that right now it's not easy to admit it but right now Qatar is the only channel to promote any leverage of Hamas and I do think that as long as there is a possibility to promote release of more and more hostages you need to be in contact with Qatar but as I said before when this war will end we must think again about the whole structure the strategic one of Qatar and Gaza well Dr. Michael Milstein thank you so much as always for breaking down all the analysis here certainly one of the main questions that everyone has as Dr. Milstein answered is exactly how all the pressure from abroad ties into the hostage situation as well as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast to Americans recently released from the hands of Hamas but certainly playing into just the difficulties of everything that continues to happen here in Israel day 15 of the war thank you so much for joining us along with Senior Correspondent Owen Alterman your insight and analysis always appreciated as we continue to unpack all of the developments here in Israel on I-24 News thank you Israel is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking more than 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 you first hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas says Israel fights terror from the south and north yet the inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 News I'm Nicol Michel and this is a special I-24 News in Spanish let's analyze what has happened since its start on October 7 when the criminal attack started more than 1,500 terrorists Hamas against Israel share with you the support messages that Israel received from Ibero-America to update the situation and how it can help collaborating to support young people that have been damaged by the war that the state doesn't help them on Saturday October 7 at 6.30 in the morning an attack with missiles from Gaza that served as a cover and distraction so that at the same time an invasion was made to the population around the border the result until now 300 dead, 2,500 injured a definitive figure of 150, 200 dead Kibbutzim completely destroyed a devastated country both the government and the Israeli army took understanding, analyzing and responding in those first hours in which thousands of Hamas terrorists were freely assassinating, raping and trying to fulfill with their commitment to destroy the state of Israel but after the initial shock and the Israeli defense forces and the citizenship also reacted in a unison to defend the country the attack was terrible the images of families were found killed by young people running in favor while they were shooting on the back in a music festival hundreds of kidnapped everything has shocked the world that it hasn't been apathetic, there is tragedy and it seemed that once there was more clarity against who is fighting the democratic state of Israel against the terrorist group fundamentalist Hamas inspired by ISIS but ISIS was forced and Hamas who has become an exterminator terrorist group will also be nothing will be like it was in the Middle East Nicole has been in the southern front to understand what is going on when you are in combat tell us your experience well it was impressive we were with the I24 news team the French-English channel in the south, in the city of Esderot, it was shocking because the whole city was taken for almost two days grenades, bullets that were in the place and it really impacts that they have come so close we are talking about Esderot that is one kilometer from the and five kilometers from the center of Gaza and that is Esderot one hour, one hour and ten minutes like much of Tel Aviv and I asked those moments Carlos and I felt a great concern what would have happened if the Hamas terrorists had been much more prepared and they would have come to Tel Aviv today we would not be here let's see then the report of Nicole that happened one day in front of Esderot where the police are El Kibbutz Niram has a very interesting story it is located between Esderot and Bay of Hanun and it was the only Kibbutz that could be saved from the barbarity that they were doing in Israeli territory the Hamas terrorists Imbal Lieberman who is 25 years old is an Israeli soldier who saved El Kibbutz he was armed he immediately realized what was happening and he armed a whole squadron of reservists killing 25 terrorists unlike all of the other Kibbutz that were completely affected Esderot is a city that is one kilometer from the Gaza and five kilometers from the center of Gaza there are all the commands of the Al-Qasam Brigades of Hamas I also want to highlight that in this city 100 people died in the hands of the terrorists the terrorists that are more or less calculated were a hundred and a few who arrived there are not exact numbers yet they arrived here to the city they were able to get out of the city even from the center of the police and it is still suspected that the terrorist has been released the most impressive apart from everything is to think that from the city of Esderot to Tel Aviv by car there is one hour of route if they had been prepared we would wonder do you imagine what would happen if the Al-Qasam Brigades of Hamas had followed their objective and they would have arrived and that we are living here in the city of Esderot so close to the Gaza Strait a special report for News 24 in I-24 News Nicole, we see that on the map Esderot is stuck to Gaza and that in your visit the streets were almost empty but I see that you brought memories of your visit Exactly, Carlos here is a grenade already, of course, crushed of Hamas invest in this type as I say, of toys and not in books, in education, in food in advance for the society of the Gaza Strait Carlos a good reminder of your work as a journalist in the front despite that in all this chaos Esderot tried to give it a bit of normality to the daily life and you found yourself with two different stories Nour and Nofar Exactly, Carlos we are going to see Arab-Israeli, Bedouin Muslims and he was cleaning the streets and those moments when you say I want to give a message through something small and Nofar is a volunteer girl who lives very close to Esderot and she is very moved because she has lost friends Let's see then the meeting of Nicole with Nofar and Nour It's unbelievable when I heard about it She says it's something incredible Even when my friend got died got shot, got killed, I don't know Even when I heard about it I couldn't believe someone could be that evil It's something that will impact a lot, a lot, a lot I can't explain the feelings the things you were doing it's just too much It's too much Nofar, Nofar Thank you, thank you for that effort Everything will be fine Life in an learning The streets of Esderot were completely destroyed Mayoum Sencha Nour lives near the city of Bergeva Atabedouin He is Bedouin He is a Muslim and he is collaborating with Israel to clean the streets Thank you Nour You see that coexistence can exist that the disasters that provoked the terrorist groups as it is never in that barbaric so similar that ISIS has to be analyzed and reflected by the international community here we continue in the city of Esderot But Carlos another of the central topics that has moved the country has been the take of prisoners It is estimated that between 130 to 200 it cannot be known exactly between them American, Mexican, Italian, French and also Argentinian, I mean and Latin American it has no news yet about them The portavoz of the armed arm of Hamas Abu Abaidah said that the group will kill an active Israeli civil every time Israel attacks civilians without any news before One of the affected by this tragedy is the journalist Haidz Haidz who has disappeared to two of his children Jair and Eitan Hor I had a brief conversation with Itzik Horan I asked him to tell our public who he is and what is the situation of his children My name is Itzik Horan I live in Israel in the city of Esderot I am a geometer of the Gaza Strip and I am the father of Jair and Eitan who have disappeared from the state where they were living in the Niroz quibout and we do not know anything about them after the terrorists entered and they were taken we presumed that they are and after that we did not have any information about the whereabouts of our children and what has happened with them, if they are alive, if they are dead if they are prisoner I asked Itzik if someone from the government had contacted him to give him some kind of information let's listen to what he told me Just now we learned from the press that exactly this type of commission has been formed that, as I understand it is through the force of the Israeli Armed Forces until this time that you and I are recording we are doing this interview no one has taken contact with us Itzik's children are two of the disappeared kidnappers from October 7 a topic that produces high attention within the Israeli society there are 1,300 families who have been deported to their loved ones murdered in a wild way and who have recently been asked to form a national emergency government that acts with all the necessary force to erase all the terrorists from the map and that they do not have more military and operational capacity but on the other side of the coin are the family of the kidnappers disappeared, they understand that releasing them before an attack by land to Gaza has made a difficult decision for the Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government but there is something that must be said considering that the kidnapped Israelis have double nationality English, French, Italian, among others this is a message directed to the Prime Minister of Britain, Rishi Sunak Mr. Sunak British citizens are held hostage by Hamas if you want to help freedom send your aircraft and station it in front of the port of Gaza demanding the unconditional release of all prisoners from all countries this is a message directed to the President of France Emmanuel Macron President Macron there are French citizens held hostage by Hamas if you want to help free him send your aircraft and position it in front of the port of Gaza demanding the unconditional release of all prisoners from all countries and now this is a message directed to the President of the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni if you are an Italian citizen and you are held hostage by Hamas if you want to help free him send your aircraft and station it in front of the port of Gaza demanding the unconditional release of all prisoners from all countries this message is directed to you, the leaders of Europe so that you can join the support provided by President Joe Biden who sent the aircraft all together you can pressure Hamas to understand that Israel is not alone and to avoid unnecessary deaths of the civilian population of Hamas prisoner Nikol Hancanza symbolically is the time when Europe was besieged by the evil forces of the 20th century with an exterminator that devoured the continent and cost the lives of 6 million Jews you were not alone countries of the world joined together to liberate Europe by paying a huge price it's time to do what should be and station your force in front of Hamas and demand without spending a single minute to free all prisoners do not leave Israel alone Israel is not alone not even started this war especially from the Latin American countries they received support messages condemning the Hamas terrorist group and offering help to Israel there were dozens of marches in different cities along and all over the continent Carlos, let's hear some support messages to Israel I'm Felipe Calderón former president of Mexico and I condemn the absurd massacre the unacceptable terrorist act perpetrated by Hamas against the people of Israel the murder of those children of those young people of those women is a reputable act that was done against all humanity it is not about being left or right it is about being Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Agnostic it is about respecting human life and repudiate with all energy this act against the people and the people of Israel not to the Hamas terrorism not to the terrorism in any part Greetings Rodrigo Chavez president of the Republic of Costa Rica I want to manifest our solidarity with the people of Israel against the deplorable and unacceptable attacks terrorists of Hamas of the last days receive our most felt burden by the dead injured and captured people in these unfortunate events in these times the solidarity and the commitment to restable peace must be the guide a fraternal hug and our most felt support in these difficult times of Costa Rica that God blesses them We can not triumph we can not consent the horror we feel and the stolen victims can not become hatred or fear because then the evil would have won and a person of good can leave today to pray to God if he has it to solidarize with the families of the dead and injured to demand the immediate release of the kidnapped no one can deny the right to the legitimate defense of the people and the state of Israel I just ask that we do not let the terrorists, the fanatics or the anti-Semites and forget who you are one of the most important peoples of the history of humanity the only democracy of the next generation one of the most capable, brave and mestizos of the world I am the admiration of those who have a heart to admire for your ability to live in the middle of the danger to prosper and innovate to know how to be at the height of everything that your ancestors suffered you are a brother to Spain and we are like you as Spaniard and representative of the Madrileños I bring you our condolences our love and support as a woman, I feel scared and will never erase certain images I know that you will be at the height of the terrible time that you have to go through more than 2,000 years even out of your land you continue to be the same people the Jewish people and no one will change you no one can deny your right to exist to the promised land that is your home and the home of many who are not Jews but your democracy no one can believe the terrorism to any kind to end with freedom the coexistence and prosperity in the world the terror wants to kill all the good that we have built throughout history to make us forget our own humanity but I repeat that they will not get it conviction, enthusiasm bravery and imagination of the people of Israel will make this admirable work that you are thank you very much I think that Simerman has an excellent relationship with Pope Francis and he had a telephone conversation asking for support it's true that evil has spread here and do you know that there are many Argentinians between the 20s? I don't know because I know and in fact they have called me today and they have told me that we would have to take the Argentinian families to see Pope Francis and talk to him to receive a little support I said, well, we'll see we'll see later if you have if you have strength later we could bring some families of these because they really need comfort what has happened here is that they don't have a name inside and outside of Israel dozens of NGOs have been working to collaborate with the people of Israel with initiatives that go from the basic and even request donations for those who have lost everything well, an example among many that is the chain the humanitarian organization for example in Colombia led by Sol Ventolila the war doesn't only affect those who are in the battle but it also affects especially the small and medium-sized companies and the autos that when there is no activity in their rubles, they don't have income since day one of the war dozens of NGOs that exist in Israel have been busy preparing boxes with food for the soldiers sending medicines to the elderly of third age and attending requests from mothers with newborn babies but in what way will the independent workers take care of themselves? well, in our studio we have two luxury guests one honor are Mika and Galit Gurovich the daughter of Carlos who have taken an initiative to help those who are here today for the war they are private to generate income Mika and Galit, welcome to your program and also your father well, thank you for the space I am Galit Gurovich and I am Mika Gurovich my older sister at the beginning of this war we have seen that many independent workers here in Israel have been affected by the lack of work so we came up with the idea of starting this foundation that we call Akoh Jelanu Beyahal Mika our joint force we started this foundation with the objective to raise funds from all over the world through a PayPal account that will be able to send money from all over the world for those who are interested to help those who do not know when they will be able to return to have work this foundation was created by Mijal and since the two of us are independent workers Mijal, tell us how you have felt in these days, we have been for a week and some war how has it been for you, for your work as a photographer? I have been a photographer a lifestyle photographer for more than 10 years and obviously nobody wants now to take their photos taken not for social media there are no events happening everything is like around funerals and the moral is so low with the people that nobody wants to do fun stuff so like me, there are thousands hundreds of thousands of people that their work has completely stopped the dancers, the performers nobody is going to use our services in the next two weeks, three weeks two months, one year we have no idea how long this is going to take so that's when this idea came to our mind, that we wanted to see how we can help the small businesses to cope with this situation in the next future Ok Galit, explain to us what would be the method someone who is watching them now who sees us we are going to publish it on the screen where the money can be sent how is it going to work then? well, in principle we have a web page where we explain what is on the screen now we are going to explain in detail how the project arises, how we are going to work who we are there is a direct link for Paypal they have to send money to a bank account and we also have an Instagram all in English where they are going to be able to see how we are managing and we are real people who are not fake news we are not fake news exactly living in Israel in a moment of a lot of difficulty and what has been the feeling you have picked up in the same situation that you now, Galit, in Israel well, the truth is that thank you very much a word from Alibio we are very grateful that someone puts their eyes on this situation so delicate well, we just have to feel proud of the initiative and we hope that people respond, that they help so many people who in Israel at this moment do not have any income and that the state must recognize that at this time they have been busy with other things from Michal and Galit to be successful and that people can receive help even though it is the least that can be given to girls thank you very much for the great Michal and Galit we reached the end of this mission a different mission where we hope that in the future our next mission is a mission where we can say that the situation has not escalated in the region more deaths that we can live and live with us next to the Gazettes of the Liganeses brothers who we do not want to see involved in this war nor to people who are unnecessary victims of the exterminating terrorism exactly, Carlos we have to live in peace Israelis and Palestinians and continue to inform them monitoring everything that happens here in Israel in the Middle East in Spanish thank you very much for being with us Carlos, thank you we are here again to tell you what is happening thank you 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 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 tell 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 issues everyone is showing up this is the unity you're watching i24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now 210 a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by the group last night the IDF says that number is not final the families of all those being held have been informed mother and daughter Judith and Natalie were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar last night 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have crossed into Gaza via the Egyptian controlled RAF crossing more than 200 trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border hundreds of thousands of gardens have moved south away from the conflict zone is hosting an international summit on the conflict today Jordan's king of Dullar the president of the UAE the emir of Qatar are all attending as is the Palestinian leader the Turkish foreign minister the prime ministers of Iraq and Italy are there along with delegations from the EU, France, Russia, China and Japan but neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia are taking part and tens of thousands of Israeli troops remain gathered at the border with Gaza in anticipation of a ground offensive the Israeli defense minister Yoav Galan visiting the troops last night while the IAF continued to pound Hamas command centers and underground tunnels overnight and today we have had a barrage of rockets fired at the communities around the Gaza Strip well let me introduce my guest for you now Grisha Yakubovic is the former head of the civilian department Israeli-Palestinian relations expert Ahayla Grisha we're also joining the studio by our senior international affairs editor, Owen Ultiman Grisha, let's talk about Gaza then the first aid convoys rolling across the Egyptian controlled raffle crossing this morning tell us what is life in Gaza like right now two weeks after this war began well the life at the northern part of Gaza are empty because the IAF asked the people to get salt into the valley of Gaza and in the south life it looks like excellent I've seen pictures and videos from Gaza and there is electricity and there is water people go into the shops markets are open actually even better than in Israel so why people are mentioning even that there is a humanitarian crisis why are we all in panic so explain it to me then because there has been pressure on Israel accusing Israel of putting Gaza under siege saying that they've cut off the electricity they've cut off the water explain that to me in practical terms did Israel actually do that or not there are four crossings around the Gaza Strip one in the north the Arabian pedestrian crossing 17,000 Palestinian workers entered to work in Israel on a daily base since 2021 there is another crossing at the triangle border between Gaza, Egypt and Israel with 1000 trucks a day that brought goods from Israel into Gaza back to back on both cases Hamas as the sovereign entity in Gaza taxed those goods making huge money into their pockets that eventually they invested in the tunnels and not at the people there are also two crossing between Gaza and Egypt that were open almost 24-7 so 65% of the goods entered to Gaza from Egypt and Hamas also taxed those goods and there is a natural border to the Mediterranean with thousands of fishermen that used to enter and be at the Mediterranean 15 miles inside so do we control their electricity and water or not Israel supplied until October 8 45% of the electricity and 12% were supplied to Gaza of water the rest of the water came from the aquifer yes they need electricity so they can clean the water and there is a well and you take the water from underground there is a compacted deceleration plant on the well so it's operated with electricity so you will be able to decelerate it because the salinity is very very high on the other hand Hamas could invest millions of dollars to build more deceleration plants in Gaza or to improve the power plant or do other things I want to focus on the situation right now because the accusation that's been leveled with Israel is that it has put Gaza under siege since October 7 it has cut off the water it has cut off the electricity and so that makes it necessary for a large aid convoy it's political declarations of Israeli ministers to the Israeli audience now when we look at it on the ground we see that it's not only Israel that supplied those things to Gaza they were also provided to themselves and it's there, it's left they have thousands of generators they have solar panels they can operate it by the way I've seen just a video from Gaza from Gaza the northern part of the Gaza Strip of Shifa hospital with a woman that is crying because somebody is dead my sympathy is to her but it's with full electricity even the trees are also lightened all right well stay with us Quisha Egypt is hosting a major international summit today with leaders from across the region and indeed the world taking part Itzhak Levanon is the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in Egypt thank you for being with us it's like dozens of countries taking part today and when you have such a disparate coalition can anything really be achieved by holding these talks or are we just going to see calls for a ceasefire I think that those who are participating in this summit called the peace summit I think that each one has a different agenda when you speak to the Egyptians and more or less also with the Jordanians they are afraid of what they call the relocation of the Palestinian whether in Jordan or whether in Gaza when you talk to the president Mahmoud Abbas and the other leaders that are supporting the Palestinian narrative I am not talking about Hamas I am talking about the Palestinian authority narrative and when I am listening I see there is no change with this narrative we cannot reach any political solution Tennis then because you know Egypt how is Egypt a president SEC affected by the war in terms of its own security we've seen some very angry scenes and large protests on the streets in the last few days well now in Egypt I think that if the president didn't want to have any demonstration in the street he could stop it immediately by not giving any okay coming from the police but he did not he let the people you know to go into the street chanting against Israel etc and I think this is a mistake from his side for the mid and the long term but this is another issue the second point I see also that in Jordan the king is you know dealing with the situation in a very weak a hesitating way and this is again is not good we have to bear in mind and Israel you know is trying to do the best in giving the clear picture and I do agree with Colonel Geyser now what he says look the northern part Hamas is the bastion of Hamas the leadership the terrorism the bonkers the killing everything in the south it is something completely different and what Israel is trying to do is calling the population go to the south be safe and let us finish the work with Hamas in the northern part if the leadership the Arab leadership will not understand that Hamas is a terrorist organization and this is bad for Egypt and there are bad for Jordan and there are bad for all the Middle East I think that Israel will have to go forward and do the job alone Egypt and Israel are allies via a peace treaty and have been for many decades can this treaty survive this war between Israel and Hamas well in the past the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt survives all kinds of turbulences in the Middle East I guess that this time also it will survive just for the simple reason really very simple and probably it is travel but it is true of the Fatah Assisi himself the president has a long account with Hamas they killed his people during the Ramadan and he said so I think that the Fatah Assisi will not cry for a minute if Hamas will be decapitated or there will be a vanish or they will disappear in order to bring a different kind of institutions or leadership or call it whenever you want in Gaza which will bring Egypt a kind of good neighborhood and stability all right it's like Lebanon thank you very much indeed we appreciate it well there have been rockets fired at the communities in Israel close to the border with Gaza this morning we can get the latest on the situation in the south now with our Jonathan Regev our defense correspondent he's with us now Jonathan a barrage of rockets fired this morning yes to the communities around the Gaza border there have been two or three instances of rockets not very much it's not been very noisy here relatively speaking of course in the morning there were rockets fired towards the city of Ashdod further to the north but all in all it has not been very loud not on behalf of rockets flying from the Gaza towards Israel and we've not heard a lot of artillery Israeli artillery we do hear it here and then usually the pace picks up around the evening I suspect we'll see the same today and of course the defense minister was visiting the thousands of Israeli troops close to the border with Gaza last night tens of thousands I should say still no sign of that ground offensive Jonathan there are reports that international pressure is being put on Israel to hold back for now yes and Hamas is doing very well in playing with that very strong card it has with his hands which is the hostages there's a constant call to try and do as much as possible in the negotiations to free the hostages and yes Israel perhaps was ready to go in with ground forces last night but then came those images of the two hostages released we now know that there are up to 210 hostages in Gaza so a quite a strong card there for Hamas and they played very well as unfortunate as it is for me to say it all right Jonathan thank you Jonathan Regev there close to the border with Gaza Grisha Yakovovich is with us security expert what are your thoughts then on the fact that Israel has not yet gone into Gaza these military considerations is there diplomatic pressure is it to do with the hostages and is there a risk in delaying too long there's the general picture the general events okay many things are happening in parallel let's not forget that the question is not if the ground attack will start the question is when and how I've said it almost on a daily base what Hamas are trying to do by releasing the two the mom and the daughter last night the mother and daughter it's a hostage situation okay just just imagine that terrorists enter to a house with hostages and now somebody is negotiating and they ask for a cup of water they are supposed to release somebody the pizza they need to release somebody the same thing is happening but we are talking about probably by the way from what I understand it's not 210 it's close to 300 people that we kidnapped that's what I understand Hamas even don't know yet all the numbers the official number is 210 the official number is 210 the find is disappeared exactly so that's what I refer to so if we will continue like that and that will be the let's say the way to move ahead it means it will take us a year because every day is two hostages or once a week so they will delay the only way what I'm saying is that what I'm saying it will happen the only way to release the ones who were kidnapped is only by continuing the pressure continuing the attack and a ground attack do you think there is international pressure from Israel's allies on it to hold back of course there is but they also understand that the only way to release them is by a huge pressure I just want to point out the IDF has said in the last few minutes that 550 rockets fired from Gaza have fallen short in the strip and this is pertinent isn't it Owen given what happened on Tuesday nights when pretty much all of the world media went and said that Israel had hit a hospital in an airstrike they were forced to walk that back very quickly we're now seeing retractions and corrections all around the world to some degree listen this has happened in past conflicts between Israel and the terrorists in Gaza that the rockets have not only been shot at Israel but have fallen in Gaza and have causing damage and injury and even death in Gaza which again is of a piece with what happened at that hospital in Gaza city so another example of how the actions by Hamas and in the case of the hospital by Islamic jihad are harming the people of Gaza in this case rather directly and they're trying to do the same thing with the church close by two days ago a Greek Orthodox church that has been said by those in Gaza as having been hit by an Israeli airstrike and there is a lot of evidence pointing to the contrary in one direction or another my hope is that because of these incidents and particularly the incident of a hospital or that it will cast justifiable doubt on all of the information coming out of the authorities of Gaza including the death toll by the way to the hospital a U.S. congressman has confirmed that he lost family members in that in that strike so there certainly were civilian casualties at the hospital nobody's claiming that there wasn't I never claimed that either there were indeed civilian casualties the question is what's the incident we don't know what caused the incident when you hear that 550 rockets have misfired I think we know with a fair amount of confidence would cause the incident because the Israeli has presented evidence that presents I think a fairly compelling case oh the church sorry I'm not talking about the hospital there is overwhelming evidence about the church there is a building near the church a building near the church that collapsed not the church I know the place personally I've been there because the story was Israel dropped a bomb on a church killing everyone and by the way I will defer to people of deeper expertise in international law I don't know that a church or a place of worship is automatically off bounds if there are military targets within that building it may well be that it passes the test and becomes a legitimate target I don't know what the situation was with that church if it was hit if it wasn't hit what was inside it wasn't inside but Hamas is using buildings like schools and shelters hospitals mosques and other possibly we don't know other places of worship as places to locate their assets there is no reason and it doesn't mean that there is an automatic bar on targeting these places if in fact they are military targets and targeting them passes all of the relevant tests under international humanitarian law Israel says that it is acting within the law international law in this war can we just talk for a moment about what happened in Cyprus I'm sorry we will get to Cyprus in a minute we're going to go to the north of Israel the army is on high alert amid fears the Iranian backs terrorist group Hezbollah may seek to join the conflict our Robert Swift is there Robert series of escalations by Hezbollah yesterday IDF strikes across the border what's the situation now the situation now is quite quiet to be honest after the intensity of the skirmishes here two days ago and also to a lesser extent those launches of anti-tank weapons yesterday this morning seems quite quiet there has been reports of one rocket fire here on the border and we saw something that may have been some confirmation of that but for the time being it remains quite quiet if I just move to the side you'll be able to see the Lebanese border behind me the darker hills on the far distance that is where Israeli territory and Lebanese territory meet and just to give you an idea of the situation of the residents of the villages here in the north of Israel we are standing about eight kilometers from the Lebanese border and the anti-tank weapons that have been causing so much death and destruction here in the north most of them the standard ammunition that they are using have a range of about six kilometers so that gives you an idea that the communities here where we're standing are outside of the the range of those weapons systems but there are other villages closer to the border and some of them have been evacuated the village that we're standing in has not officially had an evacuation order but I've been speaking to some of the local residents and one told me that he thinks about 30% of the population of the village have already left not due to any official directive but just because they don't feel safe here because although the anti-tank weapons are the main threat there's also rockets like we possibly just saw a short distance ago Hamas have been firing rockets from the south of Lebanon and Hezbollah definitely have the capability to fire similar weapons that they choose to do so and so the streets here are pretty quiet one resident I spoke to he was doing repairs around the house he said because he was getting ready to bed down in the family home other residents have decided not to take that chance and are deciding to move to other parts of the country if they have the means to do so and Rob we've just been talking about how there is potentially international pressure on Israel not to launch a ground invasion into Gaza is there similar pressure on Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah and wipe out their missile capabilities there is it's just been reported in US media earlier today that there's pressure from the Israeli government sorry I should say from the US government on to the Israeli government not to launch any kind of preemptive strike previously we've heard previously we've heard reports backing this up so you can see that international pressure there Rob thank you Robert Swift there he's at the north which is on high alert tens of thousands of citizens have had to leave their homes essentially the border area being turned also into a war zone let's talk about hostages of course the two American citizens the mother and daughter were freed last night why do you think Hamas decided to do this now two things one there are Americans so they want to show the United States the biggest supporter of the State of Israel that the first one will be released will be American citizens like okay you also need to shift a little bit President Biden and also support us not only Israel number two something that for the first time I think we succeeded when we said Hamas ISIS or even the worst ISIS and they want to show some humanity because ISIS of course never released any hostages ISIS slaughtered people that they kidnapped so they wanted by the way I know that there was a debate I heard okay it's not that I know I heard a debate between the Gaza leadership Sinwar death and others between Hamas leadership from outside Hania and Mashal and others there was a pressure from the outside leaders to release those prisoners but you know they look at things differently because they are from the outside they are not actually underground under this huge pressure that Israel is pushing them so those are the two main reasons to show to gain support from the United States and to show themselves as human beings it will not help them can we all know I agree with all of that and I obviously the hostage issue in general presents a serious moral dilemma for the Israeli public and for the Israeli leadership but we must I think and I think the public supports this must keep our eye on the all important main goal here which is to achieve the objective of the operation which is ending Hamas control over the Gaza Strip and we can't let anything stand in our way of that ultimate objective including the hostages. I want to take a quick listen to the father of the American girl who was released last night let's take a listen I've been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks I haven't been sleeping for two weeks tonight I'm going to sleep good I spoke with my daughter earlier today she sounds very good she looks very good she was very happy and she's waiting to come home her mother has a little scratch on her hand but she told me it's nothing she's okay I spoke earlier with President Biden I thank him for his concern for his helping with the release of them and he was very very nice that's the father of Natalie Ranan one of the American hostages who was released last night and absolute agony for the families of the 210 plus people who are still being held by Hamas terrorists including of course babies and young children and Holocaust survivors disabled people all the rest of it it's a lot it's very difficult to say the least I want to talk about the situation around the world an incident earlier today in Cyprus overnight in Cyprus we have two different versions of what happened by the way the Cypriot media has said that around 1.30 in the morning a bomb was placed outside the embassy and went off again because it was in the middle of the night causing no injuries and that four people have been arrested in connection with the incident all of them Syrian nationals that's what's been a report in the Cypriot media just in the last hour we have a statement from Israel's foreign ministry which tells a slightly different story it talks about the firing of fireworks outside the embassy and says that they're again no injuries or casualties according to the Cypriot media four Syrian nationals arrested in connection with the incident the Israeli foreign ministry didn't address the nationality of who did it or who did it or what arrests have been made so two slightly different versions of what happened but both confirming that something happened someone was trying to at least make a statement outside the embassy and what is happening with Israeli diplomatic missions around the world it's not entirely clear the foreign ministry has told I-24 news safety protocols of Israeli diplomats abroad in the initial stages of the war the Israeli embassy in Jordan was evacuated one can easily understand why but we don't have a lot of information about how expansive embassy evacuations have been I assume it's in the hands of the professionals and the experts on the one hand Israel obviously needs a strong diplomatic presence overseas now more than ever on the other hand obviously the safety and security of those personnel's paramount okay so the MFA not confirming whether or not embassies and diplomatic missions have been evacuated but of course we're also talking about large Jewish communities in some countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Tunisia we saw an attack on them not large but present Jewish communities in both of those countries 2,000 Jews in Tunisia thousands of Jews live in Morocco and of course we're seeing large pro-Palestinian protests in London today so Jewish communities in the world feeling vulnerable and feeling unsafe this is the yeah listen I think we do need to distinguish in this sense between the communities in Tunisia especially but also I suspect Morocco versus communities in places like London where there's obviously much more of a critical mass and the environment is quite different and even by the way Tunisia and Morocco these are communities that are well rooted that have been there for centuries particularly in Morocco there's a traditional feeling of warmth toward Jews I'm sure there's a lot of tension now surrounding this issue but there is that heritage that Moroccans are very, very proud of at least in many circles so one would hope that that would help keep the communities safe but obviously there's a lot of concern around the world I'm not sure if I'm right but I don't think Morocco is taking part in the conference today in Egypt there's also an alert from MFA that Israelis should not fly to Morocco probably good advice okay Grisha and Owen thank you very much stay with us our live coverage continues in a few minutes here on I-24 news stay with us 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 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 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now 210 a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by the group last night the IDF says that number is not final the families of all those being held have been informed mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Rahnan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar last night 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have crossed into Gaza via the Egyptian controlled RAF crossing more than 200 trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border hundreds of thousands of gardens have moved south away from the conflict zone and Cairo is hosting an international summit on the conflict today Jordan's king of Dullar the president of the UAE the Emir of Qatar are all attending as is the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas the Turkish foreign minister the prime ministers of Iraq and Italy are there along with delegations from the EU, France, Russia, China and Japan but neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia are taking part and tens of thousands of Israeli troops remain gathered at the border with Gaza in anticipation of a ground offensive the Israeli defense minister Joav Galan visiting the troops last night while the IAF continued to pound Hamas command centres and underground tunnels overnight and today we have had a barrage of rockets fired at the communities around the Gaza Strip. Well let me introduce my guest for you now Grisha Yekul Bolvage is the former head of the civilian department at Kolgat the Palestinian relations expert we're also joining the studio by our senior international affairs editor Owen Alterman. Grisha let's talk about Gaza then the first aid convoys rolling across the Egyptian controlled raffle crossing this morning tell us what is life in Gaza like right now two weeks after this war began well the life at the northern part of Gaza are empty because the IAF asked the people to evacuate and to divide Gaza and in the south life it looks like excellent I've seen pictures and videos from Gaza and there is electricity and there is water people go into the shops markets are open actually even better than in Israel so why people are mentioning even that there is a humanitarian crisis why are we all in panic so explain it to me then because there has been pressure on Israel of course saying they're using Israel of putting Gaza under siege saying that they've cut off the electricity they've cut off the water explain that to me in practical terms did Israel actually do that or not there are four crossings around the Gaza strip one in the north the Arab pedestrian crossing 17,000 Palestinian workers entered to work in Israel on a daily base since 2021 there is another crossing at the Triangle border between Gaza Egypt and Israel Kerem Shalom a thousand trucks a day that brought goods from Israel into Gaza back to back on both cases Hamas as the southern entity in Gaza attacks those goods making huge money into their pockets that eventually they invested in the tunnels and not at the people there are also two crossing between Gaza and Egypt that were open almost 24 seven so 65% of the goods entered to Gaza from Egypt and Hamas also attacks those goods and there is a natural border the Mediterranean with thousands of fishermen that used to enter and you know being at the Mediterranean 15 miles inside so do we control their electricity and water or not Israel supplied until October 8th 45% of the electricity and 12% were supplied to Gaza of water the rest of the water came from the aquifer yes they need electricity so they can clean the water when there is a well and you take the water from underground there is a compacted deceleration plant on the well so it's operated with electricity so you will be able to decelerate it because the salinity is very very high on the other hand Hamas could invest millions of dollars to build more deceleration plants in Gaza or to improve the power plant I want to focus on the situation right now because the accusation that's been leveled against Israel is that it has put Gaza under siege since October 7th it is cut off the water it is cut off the electricity and so that makes it necessary for a large aid convoy it's a political declarations of Israeli ministers to the Israeli audience okay now when we look at it on the ground we see that it's not only Israel that supplied those things to Gaza they were also able to provide it to themselves okay and it's there it's left they have thousands of generators they have solar panels okay they can operate it by the way I've seen just a video from Gaza from Gaza the northern part of the Gaza Strip of Shifa Hospital with a woman that is crying because somebody is dead my sympathies to her but it's with full electricity even the trees even the trees are also lightened okay alright well stay with us Quisha because I want to talk more about the diplomatic side of things we are hosting a major international summit today with leaders from across the region and indeed the world taking part Itzhak Levanon is the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in Egypt thank you for being with us it's like dozens of countries taking part today and when you have such a disparate coalition can anything really be achieved by holding these talks or are we just going to see calls for a ceasefire I think that those who are participating in this summit called the peace summit I think that each one has a different agenda when you speak to the Egyptians and more or less also with the Jordanians they are afraid of what they call the relocation of the Palestinian whether in Jordan or whether in Gaza when you talk to the president Mahmoud Abbas and the other leaders that are supporting the Palestinian narrative I am talking about the Palestinian authority narrative and when I am listening I see there is no change with this narrative we can not reach any political solution tell us then because you know Egypt how is Egypt a president SEC affected by the war in terms of its own security we've seen some very angry scenes and large protests on the streets of Egyptian cities in the last few days well knowing Egypt I think that if the president didn't want to have any demonstration in the streets he could stop it immediately by not giving any okay coming from the police but he did not he let the people you know to go into the street chanting against Israel etc and I think this is a mistake from his side for the long term but this is another issue the second point I see also that in Jordan the king is you know dealing with the situation in a very weak, hesitating way and this is again is not good we have to bear in mind and Israel you know is trying to do the best in giving the clear picture and I do agree with Colonel Gershon now what he says look the northern part of Gaza is the bastion of Hamas the leadership the terrorism the bunkers the killing everything in the south it is something completely different and what Israel is trying to do is calling the population go to the south be safe and let us finish the work with Hamas in the northern part if the leadership will not understand that Hamas is a terrorist organization and this is bad for Egypt and they are bad for Jordan and they are bad for all the Middle East I think that Israel will have to go forward and do the job alone Egypt and Israel are allies via a peace treaty and have been for many decades can this treaty survive this war between Israel and Hamas well in the past the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt survives all kind of turbulences in the Middle East I guess that this time also it will survive just you know for the simple reason really very simple and probably it is tribal but it is true of the Fatah Assisi himself the president has a long account with Hamas they killed his people during the Ramadan and he said I will never forget it so I think that the Fatah Assisi will not cry for a minute if Hamas will be you know decapitated or they will be vanished or they will disappear in order to bring a different kind of institutions or leadership or call it whenever you want in Gaza which will bring Egypt a kind of good neighborhood and stability All right, E-cycle Lebanon thank you very much indeed we appreciate it Well there have been rockets fired at the communities in Israel close to the border with Gaza this morning we can get the latest on the situation in the south now with our Jonathan Regev our defense correspondent he's with us now Jonathan a barrage of rockets fired this morning Yes to the communities around the Gaza border there have been two or three instances of rockets not very much it's not been very noisy here relatively speaking of course also earlier in the morning there were rockets fired towards the city of Ashdod further to the north but all in all it has not been very loud not on behalf of rockets flying from the Gaza towards Israel and we've not heard a lot of artillery Israeli artillery we do hear it here and then usually the pace picks up around the evening I suspect we'll see the same today And of course the defense minister was visiting the thousands of Israeli troops close to the border with Gaza last night tens of thousands I should say still no sign of that ground offensive Jonathan there are reports that international pressure is being put on Israel to hold back for now Yes and Hamas is doing very well in playing with that very strong card it has with his hands which is the hostages there's a constant call to try and do as much as possible in negotiations to free the hostages and yes Israel perhaps was ready to go in with ground forces last night but then came those images of the two hostages released we now know that there are up to 210 hostages in Gaza so a quite a strong card there for Hamas and they played very well as unfortunate as it is for me to say it Alright Jonathan thank you Jonathan Regev there close to the border with Gaza Grisha Yakovovich is with us security expert what are your thoughts then on the fact that Israel has not yet gone into Gaza these military considerations is their diplomatic pressure is it to do with the hostages and is there a risk in delaying too long there's the general picture the general events okay many things are happening in parallel let's not forget that the question is not if the ground attack will start the question is when and how I've said it almost on a daily base what Hamas are trying to do by releasing the two the mom and the daughter last night the mother daughter it's a hostage situation okay just just imagine that terrorists enter to a house with hostages and now somebody is negotiating and they ask for a cup of water they are supposed to release somebody they need to release somebody the same thing is happening but we are talking about probably by the way from what I understand it's not 210 it's close to 300 that's what I understand Hamas even don't know yet all the numbers the official number is 210 the official number is 210 to find is disappeared exactly so that's what I refer to so if we will continue like that and that will be the the way to move ahead it means it will take us a year because every day they will release two hostages or once a week so they will delay the only way what I'm saying is that what I'm saying and it will happen the only way to release the ones who were kidnapped is only by continuing the pressure continuing the attack and the ground attack do you think there is international pressure from Israel's allies on it to hold back? of course there is but they also understand that the only way to release them is by a huge pressure I just want to point out the IDF has said in the last few minutes that 550 rockets fired from Gaza have fallen short in the strip and this is pertinent isn't it Owen given what happened on Tuesday night when pretty much all of the world media went and said that Israel had hit a hospital in an airstrike and they were asked to walk that back very quickly we're now seeing retractions and corrections all around the world to some degree listen this has happened in past conflicts between Israel and the terrorists in Gaza that the rockets have not only been shot at Israel but have fallen in Gaza and have caused damage and injury and even death in Gaza which again is of a piece with what happened at that hospital in Gaza city so another example of how the actions by Hamas and in the case of the hospital by Islamic Jihad are harming the people of Gaza in this case rather directly and they're trying to do the same thing with the church close by two days ago right a Greek Orthodox church that has been said by those in Gaza as having been hit by an Israeli airstrike and there is a lot of evidence pointing to the contrary in one direction or another my hope is that because of these incidents and particularly the incident of a hospital or that it will cast justifiable doubt on all of the information coming out of the authorities of Gaza including the death toll by the way the hospital a U.S. congressman has confirmed that he lost family members in that in that strike so there certainly were civilian casualties at the hospital nobody's claiming that there wasn't I never claimed that either no I'm sure but I'm just pointing out that there were indeed civilian casualties the question is what's the incident we don't know what caused the incident when you hear that 550 rockets have misfired I think we know with a fair amount of confidence would cause the incident because the Israeli that presents I think a fairly compelling case I'm talking about the church I'm not talking about the hospital there is overwhelming evidence I don't think anyone is about the church there is a building near the church that collapsed okay not the church I'm not the place personally I've been there because the story was Israel dropped a bomb on a church killing everyone and by the way I will defer to people of deeper expertise in international law that a church or a place of worship is automatically off bounds if there are military targets within that building it may well be that it passes the test and becomes a legitimate target I don't know what the situation was with that church if it was hit if it wasn't hit what was inside it wasn't inside but Hamas is using buildings like schools and shelters more hospitals mosques and other possibly we don't know other places of worship as places to locate their assets for exactly this reason and it doesn't mean that there is an automatic bar on targeting these places if in fact they are military targets and targeting and passes all of the relevant tests under international humanitarian law Israel says that it is acting within the law international law in this war can we just talk for a moment about what happened in Cyprus sure I'm sorry we will get to Cyprus in a minute we're gonna go to the north of Israel the army is on high alert amid fears the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah may seek to join the conflict our Robert Swift is there Robert series of escalations by Hezbollah yesterday IDF strikes across the border what's the situation now the situation now is quite quiet to be honest after the the intensity of the skirmishes here two days ago and also to a lesser extent that those launches of anti-tank weapons yesterday this morning seems quite quiet there has been reports of one rocket fire here on the border and we saw something that may have been some confirmation of that but for the time being it remains quite quiet if I just moved to the side you'll be able to see the Lebanese border behind me the darker hills on the far distance that is where Israeli territory and Lebanese territory meet and just to give you an idea of the situation of the residents of the villages here in the north of Israel we are standing about eight kilometers from the Lebanese border and the anti-tank weapons have been causing so much destruction here in the north most of them the standard ammunition that they are using have a range of about six kilometers so that gives you an idea that the communities here where we're standing are outside of the range of those weapons systems but there are other villages closer to the border and some of them have been evacuated the village that we're standing in has not officially had an evacuation order but I've been speaking to some of the local residents and one told me that he thinks about 30% of the population of the village have already left not due to any official directive but just because they don't feel safe here because although the anti-tank weapons are the main threat there's also rockets like we possibly just saw a short distance ago Hamas have been firing rockets from the south of Lebanon and Hezbollah definitely have the capability to fire similar weapons if they choose to do so and so the streets here are pretty quiet the one resident I spoke to he was doing repairs around the house he said because he was sort of getting ready to bed down in the family home other residents have decided not to take that chance and are deciding to move to other parts of the country if they have the means to do so and Rob we've just been talking about how there is potentially international pressure on Israel not to launch a grounding invasion into Gaza is there similar pressure on Israel not to preemptively strike Hezbollah and wipe out their missile capabilities there is it's just been reported in US media earlier today that there's pressure from the Israeli government sorry I should say from the US government on to the Israeli government not to launch any kind of preemptive strike previously we've heard previously we've heard reports backing this up so you can see that international pressure there Rob thank you thank you Robert Swift there he's at the north which is on high alert tens of thousands of citizens have had to leave their homes essentially the border area being turned also into a war zone let's talk about hostages of course the two American citizens the mother and daughter were freed last night why do you think Hamas decided to do this now two things one there are Americans so they want to show the United States the biggest supporter of state of Israel that the first one will be released will be American citizens like okay you also need to shift a little bit President Biden and also support us not only Israel number two something that for the first time I think we succeeded when we said Hamas is or even the worst ISIS and they want to show some humanity because ISIS of course never released any hostages people that they kidnapped so they wanted by the way I know that there was a debate I heard okay it's not that I know I heard a debate between the Gaza leadership Sinwar death and others between Hamas leadership from outside Hania and Mashal and others there was a pressure from the outside leaders to release those prisoners but you know they look at things differently because they are from the outside they are not actually underground under this huge pressure that Israel is pushing them so those are the two main reasons to show to gain support from the United States and to show themselves as human beings it will not help them we all know I agree with all of that and I obviously the hostage issue in general presents a serious moral dilemma for the Israeli public and for the Israeli leadership but we must I think and I think the public supports this must keep our eye on the all important main goal here which is to achieve the objective of the operation which is ending Hamas control over the Gaza Strip and we can't let anything stand in our way of that ultimate objective including the hostages I want to take a quick listen to the father of the American girl who was released last night let's take a listen I've been waiting for this moment for a long time for two weeks I haven't been sleeping for two weeks tonight I'm going to sleep good I spoke with my daughter earlier today she sounds very good she looks very good she was very happy to come home her mother has a little scratch on her hand but she told me it's nothing she's okay I spoke earlier with President Biden I thank him for his concern for his helping with the release of them and he was very very nice that's the father of Nathalie Ranan one of the American hostages who was released last night and what an absolute agony for the families of the 210 plus people who are still being held by Hamas terrorists including babies and young children Holocaust survivors and Holocaust survivors, disabled people all the rest of it it's a lot it's very difficult I want to talk about the situation around the world an incident earlier today in Cyprus overnight in Cyprus we have two different versions of what happened Cypriot media has said that around 1.30 in the morning a bomb was placed outside the embassy and went off because it was in the middle of the night causing no injuries and that four people have been arrested in connection with the incident all of them Syrian nationals just in the last hour we have a statement from Israel's foreign ministry which tells a slightly different story it talks about the firing of fireworks outside the embassy and says that all of them were Syrians according to the Cypriot media four Syrian nationals arrested in connection with the incident the Israeli foreign ministry didn't address the nationality of who did it or who did it or what arrests have been made so two slightly different versions of what happened but both confirming that something happened someone was trying to at least make a statement outside the embassy and what is happening with Israeli diplomatic missions around the world it's not entirely clear the foreign ministry has told I-24 news we're going to comment on the safety protocols of Israeli diplomats abroad in the initial stages of the war the Israeli embassy in Jordan was evacuated one can easily understand why but we don't have a lot of information about how expansive embassy evacuations have been I assume it's in the hands of the professionals and the experts on the one hand Israel obviously needs a strong diplomatic presence overseas now more than ever on the other hand obviously the safety and security personnel is paramount so the MFA not confirming whether or not embassies and diplomatic missions have been evacuated but of course we're also talking about large Jewish communities in some countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Tunisia we saw an attack not large but present Jewish communities in both of those countries 2,000 Jews in Tunisia thousands of Jews live in Morocco and of course we're seeing large pro-Palestinian protests in London today so Jewish communities around the world feeling vulnerable and feeling unsafe this is the I think we do need to distinguish in this sense between the communities in Tunisia especially but also I suspect Morocco versus communities in places like London where there's obviously much more of a critical mass and the environment is quite different and even in Tunisia and Morocco these are communities that are well-rooted that have been there for centuries particularly in Morocco there's a traditional feeling of warmth toward Jews I'm sure there's a lot of tension now surrounding this issue but there is that heritage that Moroccans are very, very proud of at least in many circles so one would hope that that would help keep the communities safe but obviously there's a lot of concern around the world. I'm not sure if I'm right but I don't think Morocco is taking part in the conference today in Egypt they're not there but there's also an alert from MFA that Israelis should not fly to Morocco no, probably good advice okay Grisha and Owen thank you very much stay with us our live coverage continues in a few minutes here on I24 News stay with us 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 the world and we need rain for the seeds Fakita 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 Fakita can be protected tell me you're watching I24 News coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says the number of hostages is now 210 at least a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by the group last night the IDF says that that number is not final and that the families of all those being held have been informed the mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Ranan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar last night here's the IDF spokesman talking about the revised number of hostages a short while ago so far we have notified the families of 210 hostages I want to talk about this number 210 to explain that we are in a constant state of operational intelligence investigation we are receiving information and we will also refute some information involving missing people when we have any indication or any sign of information as slim as it may be we contact the family and update them in order to be accurate and credible therefore today I am telling you that the number of hostages is 210 and in the next few days this number may change and I will continue to update you about every family we inform our mission is to bring all the hostages back home meanwhile some 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have now crossed into Gaza via the Egyptian controlled wrapper crossing well then 200 trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side thousands of Gazans have moved south away from the conflict zone and Cairo is hosting an international summit on the conflict today, Jordan's King Abdullah the President of the United Arab Emirates the Emir of Qatar all attending as is the Palestinian leader Mahoud Abbas the Turkish Foreign Minister the Prime Ministers of Iraq Italy are there, delegations from France Russia, the EU, China and Japan also attending but neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia are taking part tens of thousands of Israeli troops remain stationed at the border with Gaza in anticipation of a ground offensive you have visited the troops last night while the IAF continued to pound Hamas command centres and underground tunnels so a round up of where we are so far on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas video by Lieutenant Colonel Doran Amital former commander of the Special Forces of the IDF and here we are 15 days in still waiting for that ground offensive, Doran I think first of all the hostage dilemma surfaced yesterday with the release of those two hostages and I think this is part of the calibration of this ground offensive we have to understand also that the army had to plan to gather intelligence because we didn't have the right intelligence as we can know by now and really to have an operation in such force you really have to be well planned well trained and I hope by now we are ready and now waiting for the right window of opportunity and the right of herization from the war cabinet and then we can go but this is still open Doran with military strategy I don't know if you saw a tweet by the former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett today a kind of message to the troops if you will and he showed a picture of Gaza kind of demolished buildings and he said we will go in when the time is right for us not when the time is right for them but he was arguing that as the airstrikes continue every day there are new airstrikes that is weakening Hamas do you agree with that as well? No for sure every strategy I would say but then in military strategy there's always this point when it's too late so to go maybe to a ground offensive a few days ago it was too early but the such a thing is too late when you lose the momentum and you lose the legitimation from abroad when everything doesn't converge the troops are already lose faith in the idea so there's a very singular moment that you have to pick and this moment is in a question of days, weeks but not months. Because unlike other countries of course Israel has to take into account exactly reserves but you think might actually be weeks and still be within that window? I'm not sure, weeks might be too long but I'm thinking I think the hostage dilemma is a deep issue and I think the Hamas is very clever unfortunately and doing those moves. If you were the commander in chief when would you want to go in? If you cannot say? I would have to know the intelligence I would have to see the forces I think that we have enough readiness in terms of the courage, the determination of the forces in terms of the planning I would like to see the plan. I understand, stay with us thousands of Israeli citizens have been evacuated from Israel's northern communities on the border with Lebanon the defense minister Yoav Galant says the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group has been paying a heavy price for its attacks against Israeli military targets in recent days I think we can take a listen now. Hezbollah decided to participate we charge them a heavy price I see the preparation of the division and the defense systems as well as the readiness your duty is to make all the preparations both in defense and for anything else that may be required and I get the impression that it is very strong in my observation of the whole arena of the war I see the northern and southern arenas and other things as well we are at war there is no choice this is not something we ordered we will unite, act wherever necessary and win the war let's go to the north our Robert Swift is there and Rob there is the defense minister Galant outlining Israel's strategy so far with God Hezbollah tell us how many of their positions has Israel managed to destroy Israel has been hitting a number of their positions mostly focusing on anti-tank teams due to the threat that they pose that's why Joav Galant has been visiting up here the fact that he's made a visit to the military units along the Gaza border and now he's visiting here in the north I think goes to show how seriously Israel is taking both its fronts the worst of violence might have been seen in the south but Israel is not underestimating the opponent it has up here in the north and that's why Joav Galant has been here visiting the military commanders and the troops on the ground here getting an appreciation for the operations part in recent days but also the plans that they'll have going forward I think it's also worth noting not only did he meet with military commanders but he was meeting with the heads of civil society here with members of communities, mayors from various towns and that's because up here in the north as also in the south the home front and the northern front are very much blurring together and that's why the minister felt the need to make that visit here and Rob just as Israel is feeling international pressure not to launch a ground offensive into Gaza or right now anyway it's also under pressure not to preemptively attack Hezbollah from the United States but at what point will the provocations from Hezbollah be too much and Israel will have no choice but to act? Well I think it's worth bearing in mind that the US some of the pressure that it was giving towards Israel was concerned from the US that Israel may not be able to sufficiently handle a full military operations in the south and on the north now I'm sure Israeli military experts and officials would refute this but there is reason for the US to be concerned that's why it sent an unprecedented military force into the region with two aircraft carriers standing just off the coast of Israel now Israel is likely to be able to handle what Hezbollah has but obviously the more forces that are sucked up here into the north here the more combat operations escalate in the north that the less resources there are to use for any military activity taking place around Gaza. Okay Rob, thanks a lot Rob Swift there he's up in the north of Israel, Doron Avital again I'll ask you the question if you were the commander in chief would you launch a preemptive strike on Hezbollah? I think from the beginning I was very clear that a preemptive strike didn't make sense because we didn't have the preemptive strikes rest on some surprise some element of surprise there's no element of surprise here and there was no need for us to open a second front without really a good I would say military excuse it means a threshold to the other side the crosses in such a fashion that we have to react so now we sit very well there we have all the forces ready we have the targets we have the intelligence we have to wait and hold our energy and power to the moment in which it clicks and we have to act but not in this context Yeah this is obviously a dilemma for Israeli policymakers as we know I think at this point it's moot because of the reported American position you know reported by the New York Times today but the reality we didn't almost didn't need the New York Times to tell us this if you look at the comments by John Kirby the National Security Council official on the plane with reporters on the way to Israel with the president the hints are very very very strong that this is the U.S. position and I don't know that it's going to be sustainable for Israel to exceed every single U.S. request over the course of the war even with all the strong American support but on a question as central as this one and given the fact that Israel may well need American support in a war with Hezbollah Israel is going to have to listen to the American opinion particularly when the argument there are arguments on both sides of making a fateful decision like this and here the Americans really do have every right to get involved why because it directly affects them because if Israel opens launches a preemptive strike against Hezbollah it may well require the United States to fly sorties towards Lebanon and if that's the case in the American position simply has to be taken into consideration. Definitely right I think with the independency that we need as decision makers in Israel of course be secured and protected and when we have to act we'll act but for sure this is our best ally in the context of Lebanon this is an opening a whole northern front it opens also the Iranian context dramatically Lebanon is a weak economy America is interested in Lebanon we have to consider it very heavily take it into account there would be a moment or a time in which we didn't have any other choice and then we have to act and then we also have the legitimization to do so and this is better to go in this fashion to war. I think that's why Hezbollah on its border for the time being. This is what we call unfortunately a dialogue in fire and this is what we communicate in fire right now with Hezbollah and Hamas operatives and Islam and Jihad. I think two casualties one we have more than two casualties. How many casualties on the Israeli side? We had the general I mean a colonel that killed at the beginning where the civilians and the entire community is emptied first of all going back to the the reasons not to do a preemptive war you know in law there's a notion that if you can make a decision based on one set of rationale and while leaving other parts of the dispute to the side that's what you do when there's one element that's decisive and I think that's the case here the American element is decisive and so the full debate over the propriety is a debate we just don't need to get into right now because it's not it's not germane and as for living with Hezbollah you know report by Israel's channel a few days ago that one idea being considered as a border arrangement on that border similar to the demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea where there is a massive military presence on the Israeli side of the border and Israel would declare I presume on the Lebanese side of the border I presume on the Lebanese side of the border in a strip of land of one kilometer or whatever distance is said and anyone who enters it is simply shot on sight as happens in the border between North and South Korea and a very militarized presence would be required to remember history this is this was the condition in Lebanon from 78 on we went I was a young soldier we went to the Littani operation and we created what you call the bubble zone but the description here is I think a much smaller area than the security zone was and we really had that and we should I assume the sacrifice of the Lebanese side I don't think there's an idea a notion of evacuating Israeli communities a few kilometers away from a few miles away from the border I have to be clear that wasn't clear in the report okay all right okay let's let's put the North aside for the moment and let's turn our attention back to Cairo because world leaders are there attending an international summit on the conflict let's take a quick listen to the Egyptian president of the Fatah STC speaking area I can assure the world very clearly and honestly of the will of the Egyptian people that the solution to the Palestinian issue will not happen under any circumstance at the expense of Egypt ever I invited you all here today so we can together come to an agreement on a roadmap that aims at ending the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza and to revive a path to peace through several fronts starting with a guarantee of a safe, complete fast and continuous flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza that is immediately followed by negotiations for a ceasefire and quick negotiations leading to a two-state solution and the foundation of an independent Palestinian state so that's what's happening in Cairo right now and we'll touch on that in a moment but first a major pro-Palestinian rally has just started in London during protests last week tens of thousands marched some seen openly expressing support for Hamas the British Home Secretary has warned that those found supporting terrorist groups will face the full weight of the law. We're joining me now over Hidmah Eshti is an Iranian human rights activist he's been campaigning for the British government to recognize the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group and was attacked by pro-Palestinian supporters last week because he was flying an Israeli flag to show sympathy with the victims of Hamas an Iranian backed terrorist proxy and Vahid is with us now. Vahid I see that you're out on the streets you've got your Israeli flag up a pretty bold move given the scenes that we're seeing in London today Thank you for having me here and Laura and today they have their stage exactly in front of the artistry but please thanks to the police they have their vans here they have their forces here they block the road from both sides so so far they are not here yet but they will get here about one hour and of course we embrace them you know I've been advised to bring the Israeli flag down I said there is no way of bringing the Israeli flag down I'm gonna stay here this is our principle this is our values we cannot go even one step backwards from these values they want to destroy these values not in region even in middle of Europe we're not going to allow that we are willing to pay the price for it and then yes we are waiting police are waiting and their stage is exactly outside of our streets today and what advice have you been given by the the British authorities by the police Vahid because I saw that there was a Jewish group in London a couple of nights ago they were driving around London with a van which just had pictures of the hostages on and it said free the hostages and they were told by the Metropolitan Police to switch that off because they could be in breach of public order they would have been in breach of public order have you been given similar advice unfortunately you know the police say to me and that's wrong standing here today talking to you because of the great work of the police but from the other side their ways is not appropriated is not the best way because yes I received that advice I had three meetings with counter-terrorism in a unit in past week and their advice to me their main advice to me was it was this to convince me to live here for some for four weeks for example for five weeks I said no way I live here for five weeks because it's not going to get better it's going to get worse this is a long road this is not operation this is a war with terrorists and I'm not going to live here so they have to understand these terrorists that we are not going to go back yes I've got that advice they I've been and I said today I refuse that with full force I said I'm not going to live here I'm going to stay here and I'm not going to bring the Israeli flag there I'm not going to have the Israeli flag up here and they have to understand that they have their views we have our views we have our reason that we have to understand the strong in front of these terrorists this time and we should clear the region and I mean your bravery is really commendable Wahid and you know and it's a sign isn't it of how your brothers and sisters back in Iran are also struggling to overthrow the Islamic regime they have also shown extraordinary coverage coverage how is your support for Israel representative of the Iranian people I can send this message give this the message to my brothers and sister in Israel you have the full support of absolute majority of Iranians and only if we look at this past two weeks we saw what happened in a football stadium about ten days ago yesterday in football stadium when they call out the regime one minute silent for Gaza you saw what happened people made so much noise and that showed people of Iran standing side by side shoulder by shoulder with Israelis in this battle with terrorists yesterday in the sunny part of Iran Zahedan the Balochistan after the Friday prayer people of Balochistan they came out and they chanted no to Gaza no to Lebanon and we sacrifice our life for Iran that means no to Hamas and Jihad no to Hezbollah and we are just for Iran that showed they showed their support for Israelis and another example I give Miss Fatemeh Saferi a political prisoner when they transferred her to hospital for heart surgery after her heart surgery in hospital in her first video she says they transferred her to prison now she stated we are with our Israeli Israeli friends we stand next to Israel and we condemn this barbaric act of Hamas so Israelis have the full support of Iranians and one thing I am going to say here to the whole world I don't know how much time but maybe take one minute look I had few interviews here with television some media they said okay if Iran get involved itself directly in this war it's going to become very dangerous it's going to become self-war war is not like that what our leaders are not seeing is the support of more than 80 million Iranians who they are against this regime after I am a bit confident I say this if Iran involved itself directly in this war and Israel, America and UK target few of IRGC sites debate house of Khamenei or maybe few of the nuclear sites in 2-3 days then the whole witness how the Iranians raise again and finish this regime once for all all right may we all have an ounce of your courage Bahid good for you good luck today Bahid Bahishti thank you very much quite astounding an important reminder an important reminder of what people in Israel already understand even if people abroad don't understand that we understand it the difference between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people and there's been friendship between the people of Iran and the Jewish people going back millennia and we heard it in that soccer stadium as we just heard we heard it just in our screens right now it's real it's broad especially in that diaspora where people have more freedom and more ability and God willing we will overcome the Iranian regime together and be able to rekindle that partnership in a real way yeah we have good friends in Iran that's that's short I just want to bring in some breaking news now from the IDF this is an initial report Doron a short while ago a number of launches identified towards the Hardov area and IDF soldiers are right now responding this is kind of typical of what we've seen Adon is always disputed in a place of exchange of fire between us and Hezbollah you remember the tent issue way before this a small piece of land to understand that is claimed by Hezbollah as part of Lebanon whereas Israel and much of the rest of the community is part of Syria it goes up to the Hermon mountain and it's really there's always clashes but it was once upon a time part of Syria if I understand it of course because it's never part of Lebanon it's never been part of Lebanon there are different maps that show different places where the lines go at any rate Hezbollah has seized on this as a way to claim it the dubious claim to this as a Cassus belly is a rationale for firing at Israel exchange fires there are something that we can handle because the civilian population is far away from and it has a long history of exchange also in the Palestinian times so we command this area it's a very beautiful area by the way How concerned should we be about the threat from inside Syria we know that Israel has been striking targets inside Syria for years now have they managed to put that threat on ice we still have those militias supported by Iran that they can pose some threat I don't think dramatic no way near what we have in Lebanon and Hezbollah and of course we have the time to prevent the employment of weaponry through Syria to Lebanon or to those militias in the Syrian front I feel that we are in command but of course we have to be very careful and this is the difficult reality that Israel has been forced to live with in its four states country against country, Syria, Egypt and there was a legitimate fight but now Israel is being delegitimized because it's fighting non-state actors, terrorist groups which have imposed themselves upon civilian communities From a military perspective every military man won't prefer to fight army against army this asymmetrical warfare poses real difficulty sometimes it's in population so it's tricky it's concerned terror it's concerned exactly the rules of law the rules of international rules of war how to identify your enemy this is tricky, they can switch once as an enemy then the other day they are civilians it's very tricky we did have the war of Lebanon in 1982 against the Palestinian PLO back then but they were more organized as an army which we can consider as full pledge army I'm not sure it's an army that abides by the rules of war but it's an army so it has the strength of an army but it's not obliged to respect international law it is obliged, it doesn't but a terrorist group in itself doesn't have any obligations it does have obligations it unequivocally has obligations under international humanitarian law but they don't fulfill those obligations that's something else they have also political power in Lebanon so it's a tricky situation Lebanon was always a tricky geometry the Europeans were quibbling over the has volumilitary wing and political wing and they didn't want to label it terrorist at least within Hamas I think this distinction ended between the military establishment and the political establishment of Hamas which for many years we were weighing and deciding who we are not but right now this is one entity that has to be dismantled that was one of Israel's biggest failures wasn't it treating Hamas as a rational actor which is part of the reason in many respects we have their own rationality that we have to decipher when we go into war with them alright we're going to take a short break I'm looking at live pictures of aid convoys moving across the Egyptian controlled Rafa crossing into Gaza the UN is putting pressure on there is a concern that the aid will fall into the hands of Hamas we'll keep you updated here on I-24 news stay tuned only on I-24 news colored project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year the Fakita 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 the Fakita can be protected I-24 news good evening ladies and gentlemen tell me you're watching I-24 news coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now 210 at least a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by the group last night the IDF says that that number is not final but the families of all those being held have been informed the mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Ranan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar last night here's the IDF spokesman talking about the revised number of hostages a short while ago so far we have notified the families of 210 hostages I want to talk about this number 210 to explain that we are in a constant state of operational intelligence investigation we are receiving information and we will also refute some information involving missing people when we have any indication or any sign of information as slim as it may be we contact the family and update them in order to be accurate and credible therefore today I am telling you that the number of hostages is 210 and in the next few days this number may change and I will continue to update you about every family we inform our mission is to bring all the hostages back home and in the next few days this number may change meanwhile some 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have now crossed into Gaza via the Egyptian controlled Rafa crossing well then 200 trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side hundreds of thousands of Gazans have moved south away from the conflict zone and Cairo is hosting an international summit on the conflict today Jordan's King Abdullah Emir of Qatar all attending as is the Palestinian leader Mahoud Abbas the Turkish foreign minister the prime ministers of Iraq, Italy are there, delegations from France, Russia the EU, China and Japan also attending but neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia are taking part tens of thousands of Israeli troops remain stationed at the border with Gaza in anticipation of a ground offensive so you have visited the troops last night while the IAF continued to pound Hamas command centres and underground tunnels so a round up of where we are so far on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas I'm joined in the studio by Lieutenant Colonel Doran Amital a commander of the Special Forces of the IDF and here we are 15 days in still waiting for that ground offensive Doran first of all the hostage dilemma surfaced yesterday with the release of those two hostages and I think this is part of the calibration of this ground offensive we have to understand also that the army had to plan gather intelligence because we didn't have the right intelligence as we can know by now and really to have an operation in such force you really have to be well planned and I hope by now we are ready and now waiting for the right window of opportunity and the right authorization from the war cabinet and then we can go but this is still open I don't know if you saw a tweet by the former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett earlier today a kind of message to the troops if you will and he showed a picture of Gaza kind of you know demolished buildings and he said we will go in when the time is right for us but he was arguing that as the airstrikes continue every day there are new airstrikes that is weakening Hamas do you agree with that as well? No for sure I mean every strategy it would say but then in military strategy there's always this point when it's too late or too early so to go maybe to a ground offensive a few days ago it was too early but such a thing is too late when you lose the momentum you lose the legitimation from abroad when everything doesn't converge you already lose faith in the idea so there's a very single moment that you have to pick and this moment is in a question of days, weeks but not months because unlike other countries of course Israel has to take into account exactly reserves but you think it might actually be weeks and still be within that window I'm not sure weeks might be too long but I'm thinking I think the hostage dilemma is a deep issue and I think the Hamas is very clever unfortunately and doing those moves If you were the Commander-in-Chief when would you want to go in? If you can answer I would have to know the intelligence I would have to see the forces I think that we have enough readiness in terms of the courage, the determination of the forces in terms of the planning I would like to see the plan Okay I understand, all right stay with this Daron and Owen, thousands of Israeli citizens have been evacuated from Israel's northern communities on the border and on the Defense Minister Joav Galant says the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group has been paying a heavy price for its attacks against Israeli military targets in recent days I think we can take a listen now Hezbollah decided to participate we charge them a heavy price I see the preparation of the division and the defense systems as well as the readiness your duty is to make all the preparations both in defense and for anything else and I get the impression that it is very strong in my observation of the whole arena of the war I see the northern and southern arenas and other things as well we are at war, there is no choice this is not something we ordered they forced a war on us we will unite, act wherever necessary and win the war Let's go to the north our Robert Swift is there and Rob there is the Defense Minister Galant outlining Israel's strategy so far with regard to Hezbollah tell us how many of their positions has Israel managed to destroy Israel has been hitting a number of their positions mostly focusing on anti-tank teams due to the threat that they pose and that's why Joav Galant has been visiting up here the fact that he's made a visit to the military units along the Gaza border and now he's visiting here in the north I think goes to show how seriously Israel is facing these fronts the worst of the violence might have been seen in the south but Israel is not underestimating the opponent it has up here in the north and that's why Joav Galant has been here visiting the military commanders and the troops on the ground here getting an appreciation for the operations that they've been taking part in in recent days but also the plans that they'll have going forward I think it's also worth noting that not only did he meet with military commanders but he was meeting with the heads of civil society with the members of communities, mayors from various towns and that's because up here in the north as also in the south the home front and the northern front are very much blurring together and that's why the minister felt the need to make that visit here and Rob just as Israel is feeling international pressure not to launch a ground offensive into Gaza or right now anyway it's also under pressure not to preemptively attack Hezbollah from the United States but at what point will the provocations from Hezbollah be too much and Israel will have no choice but to act well I think it's worth bearing in mind that the US is some of the pressure that it was giving towards Israel was concerned from the US that Israel may not be able to sufficiently handle a full military operations in the south and on the north now I'm sure Israeli military experts and officials would refute this but there is reason for the US to be concerned that's why it sent an unprecedented military force into the region with two aircraft carriers standing just off the coast of Israel now Israel is likely to be able to handle what Hezbollah has but obviously the more forces are sucked up here into the north here the more combat operations escalate in the north that the less resources there are to use for any military activity taking place around Gaza. Okay Rob thanks a lot Rob Swift there, he's up in the north of Israel, Doron Avital again I'll ask you the question if you were the commander in chief would you launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah? I think from the beginning I was very clear that a pre-emptive strike didn't make sense because we didn't have the pre-emptive strikes rest on some surprise some element of surprise there's no element of surprise here and there was no need for us to open a second front without really a good I would say military excuse it means a threshold to the other side the crosses in such a fashion that we have to react so now we sit very well there we have all the forces ready we have the targets we have the intelligence we have to wait and hold our energy and power to the moment in which it clicks and we have to act but not to do pre-emptive strikes in this context though. Yeah this is obviously a dilemma for Israeli policymakers as we know I think at this point it's moot because of the reported American position you know by the New York Times today but the reality Lori we didn't almost didn't need the New York Times to tell us this if you look at the comments by John Kirby the National Security Council official on the plane with reporters on the way to Israel with the president the hints are very very very strong that this is the US position and I don't know that is it's going to be sustainable for Israel to exceed to every single US request over the course of the war even with all the strong American support and the question is central is this one and given the fact that Israel may well need American support in a war with Hezbollah Israel is going to have to listen to the American opinion particularly when the argument there are arguments on both sides of making a fateful decision like this anyway and here the Americans really do have every right to get involved why because it directly affects them because if Israel opens launches a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah it may well require the Lebanon and if that's the case in the American position simply has to be taken into consideration. Definitely right I think with the independency that we need as decision makers in Israel of course be secured and protected and when we have to act will act but for sure this is our best ally in the context of Lebanon this is an opening a whole northern front it opens also the Iranian context dramatically Lebanon is a weak country America is interested in Lebanon we have to consider it very heavily take it into account there would be a moment or a time in which we didn't have any other choice and then we have to act and then we also have the legitimization to do so and this is better to go in this fashion to war. Israel is going to have to live with Hezbollah on its border for the time being. This is what we call unfortunately a dialogue in fire and this is what we communicate in fire right now with Hezbollah and Hamas operatives to take two casualty one we have more than two casualty we had the general I mean the colonel that in the beginning we had the civilian and the entire community is emptied of people and evacuated I mean listen they make two very quick points first of all going back to the reasons not to do a preemptive war you know in law there's a notion that if you can make a decision based on one set of rationale and while leaving other parts of the dispute to the side you do when there's one element that's decisive and I think that's the case here the American element is decisive and so the full debate over the propriety is a debate we just don't need to get into right now because it's not it's not germane and as for living with Hezbollah you know a report by Israel's channel 12 a few days ago that one idea being considered as a border arrangement on that border similar to the demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea where there is a massive military presence on the Israeli side of the border the Lebanese side of the border I presume on the Lebanese side of the border in a strip of land of one kilometer or whatever distance is said and anyone who enters it is simply shot on site as happens in the border between North and South Korea and a very militarized presence would be required in a very different arrangement but it's only I mean we have to remember history this is this was the condition in Lebanon from 78 on we went I was a young soldier we went to the Lytani operation and we created the description here is I think a much smaller area than the security zone was I assume the sacrifice of the Lebanese side I don't think there's an idea a notion of evacuating Israeli communities a few kilometers away from a few miles away from the border although that wasn't clear in the report okay alright okay let's put the North aside for the moment and let's turn our attention back to Cairo because world leaders are there attending an international summit on the conflict let's take a quick listen to the Egyptian president of the Fatah STC speaking area I can assure the world very clearly and honestly of the will of the Egyptian people that the solution to the Palestinian issue will not happen under any circumstance at the expense of Egypt ever I invited you all here today so we can together come to an agreement on a roadmap that aims at ending the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza and to revive a path to peace through several fronts starting with a guarantee of a safe complete fast and continuous flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza that is immediately followed by negotiations for a ceasefire and quick negotiations leading to a two-state solution and the foundation of an independent Palestinian state so that's what's happening in Cairo right now and we'll touch on that in a moment but first a major pro-Palestinian rally has just started in London during protest last week tens of thousands marched some seen openly expressing support for Hamas the British Home Secretary has warned that those found supporting terrorist groups will face the full weight of the law we're joining me now Ahid Maheshdi is an Iranian dissident and human rights activist he's been campaigning for the British government to recognize the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group and was attacked by pro-Palestinian supporters last week because he was flying an Israeli flag to show sympathy with the victims of Hamas an Iranian-backed terrorist proxy and Ahid is with us now Ahid I see that you're out on the streets you've got your Israeli flag up a pretty bold move given the scenes that we're seeing in London today thank you for having me here and Alora and today they have their stage exactly in front of the artistry but please thanks to the police they have their vans here they have their forces here they've been brought from both sides so far they are not here yet but they will get here about one hour and of course we embrace them I've been advised to bring the Israeli flag down I said there is no way I'll bring the Israeli flag down I'm gonna stay here this is our principle this is our values we cannot go even one step backward from these values they want to destroy these values not in region even in middle of Europe we're not gonna allow that we are willing to pay the price for it and then yes we are waiting police are waiting and their stage is exactly outside the artistry today and what advice have you been given by the British authorities by the police Ahid because I saw that there was a Jewish group in London a couple of nights ago they were driving around London with a van which just had pictures of the hostages on and it said free the hostages and the Metropolitan Police to switch that off because they could be in breach of public order they would have been in breach of public order have you been given similar advice unfortunately the police saved me and that's why I'm standing here today talking to you because of the great work of the police but from the other side their ways is not appropriated it's not the best way because yes I received that I had three meetings in the terrorism unit in past week and their advice to me their main advice to me was was this to convince me to live here for four weeks for example for five weeks I said there is no way I live here for five weeks because it's not going to get better it's going to get worse this is a long road this is not operation this is a war with terrorists and I'm not going to live here I'm not going to understand these terrorists that we are not going to go back yes I've got that advice I've been and I said to them I refuse that with full force I said I'm not going to live here I'm going to stay here and I'm not going to bring the Israeli flag up we are going to have the Israeli flag up here and they have to understand that they have their views we have our views we have our reason that we have to stand the strong in front of these terrorists and we should clear the region and I mean your bravery is really commendable and you know it's a sign isn't it of how your brothers and sisters back in Iran are also struggling to overthrow the Islamic regime they have also shown extraordinary coverage how is your support for Israel representative of the Iranian people okay I can send this message give this the message to my brothers and sister in Israel you have the full support of absolute majority of Iranians and only if we look at this past two weeks we saw what happened in the football stadium about 10 days ago yesterday in the football stadium when they call out the regime one minute silent for Gaza so what happened people made so much noise and that showed people of Iran standing side by side shoulder by shoulder with Israelis in this battle with terrorists yesterday in the Sony part of Iran Zahedan the Balochistan after the Friday Friday prayer people of Balochistan they came out and they chanted no to Gaza no to Lebanon and we sacrifice our life for Iran means no to Hamas and Jihad no to Hezbollah and we are just for Iran that showed they showed their support for Israelis and another example I give miss Fatimah Sapehri a political prisoner when they transferred her to hospital for heart surgery after her heart surgery in hospital in her first video she says they transferred her to prison now she stated we are with our Israeli with Israeli friends we stand next to Israel and we condemn this barbaric act of Hamas so Israelis have the full support of Iranians and one thing I am going to say here to the whole world I don't know how much time I have maybe take one minute. I had few interviews here television some media they said if Iran get involved itself directly in this war is going to become very dangerous is going to become self-war-war-war is not like that what our leaders are not seeing is the support of more than 80 million Iranians who they are against this regime after I say this if Iran involve itself directly in this war and Israel, America and UK target few of IRGC sites debate house of Khamenei or maybe few of the nuclear sites in 2-3 days then the whole war witness how the Iranians raise again and finish this regime once for all. May we all have an ounce of your courage Rahid Bahishti thank you very much quite astounding an important reminder of what people in Israel already understand even if people abroad don't understand that we understand it the difference between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people and there's been friendship between the people of Iran and the Jewish people going back millennia and we heard it in that soccer stadium as we just heard we heard it just in our screens right now it's real, it's broad especially in that diaspora where people have more freedom and more ability and God willing we'll overcome the Iranian regime together and be able to rekindle that partnership in a real way. We have good friends in Iran that's short I just want to bring in some breaking news from the IDF this is an initial report on a short while ago a number of launches identified towards the Haar-Dov area and IDF soldiers are right now responding to a lot of what we've seen in recent days. I know there's always a disputed and a place of exchange of fire between us and Hezbollah you remember the tent issue way before this. A small piece of land to understand that is cleaned by Hezbollah as part of Lebanon whereas Israel and much of the rest of the community, international community is part of Syria. No, no, it's those mountains that goes up to the Hermon mountain and it's really there's always clashes. But it was once upon a time part of Syria if I understand it. It's never been part of Lebanon. There are different maps that show different places where the lines go at any rate Hezbollah seized on this as a way to claim a dubious claim to this and use it as a Casus belly as a rationale for firing at Israeli troops. Exchange fires there are something that we can handle because the civilian population is far away from Haar-Dov and it has a long history of exchange also in the Palestinian times so we command this area it's a very beautiful area by the way. How concerned should we be about the threat from inside Syria? We know that Israel has been striking targets inside Syria for years now. Have they managed to put that threat on ice? I think we still have those militias supported by Iran that they can pose some threat. I don't think dramatic, no way near what we have in Lebanon and Hezbollah and of course all the time to prevent employment of weaponry through Syria to Lebanon or to those militias. In the Syrian front I feel that we are in command but of course we have to be very careful. And this is the difficult reality that Israel has been forced to live with because in the past it has fought states country against country, Syria, Egypt and there was a legitimate fight but now Israel is being delegitimized because it's fighting non-state actors, terrorist groups which have imposed themselves upon civilian communities. For a military perspective every military man would prefer to fight army against army. This asymmetrical warfare poses real difficulty. Sometimes it's in population as we have in Hamas or in Lebanon so it's tricky it's concerned terror it's concerned exactly at the rules of law at the rules of the international rules of war how to identify your enemy. This is tricky they can switch once as an enemy then the other day they are civilians it's very tricky. We did have the war of Lebanon war in 82 against the Palestinian PLO back then but they were more organized as an army it was easier but now we have Hezbollah which we can consider as full pledge army I'm not sure it's an army that abides by the rules of war but it's an army. So it has the strength of an army it's not obliged to respect international war. It is obliged it doesn't but a terrorist group in itself doesn't have any it does have obligations it's a side of the conflict it unequivocally has obligations under international humanitarian law if they don't fulfill those obligations well that's something else. They also have political power in Lebanon so it's a tricky situation. Lebanon was always a tricky geometry. The Europeans were quibbling over the Hezbollah military wing and they didn't want to label it terrorists and then they finally... At least within Hamas I think this distinction ended between the military establishment and the political establishment of Hamas which for many years we were weighing and deciding who can hit, who can target who we cannot but right now this is one entity that has to be dismantled. That was one of Israel's big failures wasn't it? Treating Hamas as a rational actor which is part of the reason. In many respects. Well we are here today. It's a reality that we have to decipher when we go into war with them. Okay all right we're going to take a short break. Looking at live pictures of aid convoys moving across the Egyptian controlled Rafa crossing into Gaza the UN is putting pressure on for more aid to go in. There is concern that the aid will fall into the hands of Hamas. We'll keep you updated here on I-24 News. Stay tuned. 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 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. 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. We don't know what to do. We just don't know anything. Entire families including babies in their beds. Awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. Watching I-24 News, we're live from Tel Aviv on this day. 15 of Israel's war with Hamas. The IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is 210 at least. A number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed last night. The IDF says the families of all those being held have been informed. Mother and daughter, Judith and Natalie Rannan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar. Here's the IDF spokesman addressing the revised number of hostages. So far we have notified the families of 210 hostages. I want to talk about this number, 210 to explain that we are in a constant state of operational intelligence investigation. We will also refute some information involving missing people. When we have any indication or any son of information, as slim as it may be, we contact the family and update them in order to be accurate and credible. Therefore, today I'm telling you that the number of hostages is 210 and in the next few days this number may change and I will continue to update you about every family we inform. Our mission is to bring all the hostages back home. Thank you very much. The UAE, the Emir of Qatar are all attending as is the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Turkey's foreign minister, the prime ministers of Iraq, Italy are there, many European leaders as well and a small correction earlier we did say that Saudi Arabia was not taking part in the summit. In fact, the Saudi foreign minister is there. My apologies for that. He delivered remarks earlier and we'll be speaking about that in just a few moments. The United States is not taking part in the conference. While tens of thousands of Israeli troops are of course gathered at the border with Gaza in anticipation of a ground offensive. A short while ago, the IDF Spokesman talked about the troops' readiness. Let's take a listen. The Nachal Brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission. We are facing the enemy with determination, looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them, no more, I'm Israel Chai and we represent this generation. We will prevail. With me in the studio this hour, our Middle East correspondent, Ariel Ossaran and Rafael Jarosalmi, he's a former senior intelligence officer for the IDF. Thanks for being with us, both of you. Rafael, would you say, given what we've just heard, that a ground offensive is now imminent? It's ready and it could happen anytime. There are two things that we have to notice. This first, kind of international pressure, especially after the release of two hostages yesterday to delay at least this offensive on the ground. The Israelis are complying so far and they will complying so long as there is hope to liberate more hostages. The Hamas, of course, might cynically exploit that and just free them one by one and each day being like this one to delay our forces. At some points there might be an opportunity on the operational domain that might entice us to enter anyway. There was one such opportunity two days ago that was presented to the government, to the political level. The government refused, I suppose, because of American pressure but the army is ready. They are the later, the better way because while we are waiting to enter then we can train more. We have to train the reserves because the scenario is something of a surprise. It's something our own troops hadn't trained for in the past. It's going to be a completely different way of attacking, of course, to disarm the Hamas. Also the initial shock has to be very, very strong. A war is often won from the first battle and that first battle should be violent enough to obtain at least one result. The surrender of many Hamas fighters. Hamas fighters are not known for the huge bravery and if they will see a determination and a strong first impact some of them might lay down their weapons and surrender or escape to the south laying down their weapons and escape to the south with the refugees. That's one of our hopes. Remember that in their mind they can be captured by the Israelis that will be well treated. They might be exchanged later on for any kind of a deal or ceasefire so they have really not much to fear much more to fear if they see that the attack is very, very violent. So all this is in a way to our advantage so far to delay. Meanwhile the air force and the artillery are cleaning the ground and the more they bomb and the more they clean the better it is, of course, for our troops. It's dangerous if we can say that to enter. So all in all it's not about seeing that we have to wait unless, as I said there is an opportunity on the operational level that should not be missed but then it will depend on the green light of the government and then we can enter at any minute. All the plans on the march orders are authorized by the Admiralty and say by the headquarters that everything is in place. Thank you Raphael. Ariel, I'd like to turn our attention to the West Bank situation that has become extremely volatile in recent days. Dozens more Palestinians arrested last night. What more can you tell us? Well Laura, pretty much since day one of this since the attacks by Hamas took place in the Gaza Strip the West Bank has been bubbling, simmering in its highest volatility we've seen in months I mean just last night there was a massive arrest rate 89 terror suspects arrested across the West Bank and into Jordan Valley of them 68 members of Hamas now in total we're talking about since October 7th 670 suspects have been terror suspects arrested of those 450 Hamas. So this is very significant while they see that there is an uptick in attempts to clash with Israeli forces in the West Bank also trying to uproot any potential of escalation of the West Bank joining in a substantial way because all the focus is on the southern border with Hamas the northern border with Hezbollah but indeed the third front in the West Bank is a very very dangerous one because of the close proximity of Israeli and Palestinian towns and villages and so a lot of forces, a lot of activity in the West Bank in recent days and this is also brought to a significant death toll among Palestinians 84 Palestinians killed just in the West Bank since October 7th most of them militants but obviously not all now I want to take you to interesting scenes that were taking place this morning near in the village of Alarour near Ramallah during the arrest raid Israeli forces this is IDF as well as Shin Bet during their massive arrest raid pretty much took over the home of Hamas deputy Saleh Alaroury used the home as a command post during this operation using it to interrogate Hamas operatives in the home of the Hamas deputy but they didn't go, they didn't stop there they also added they hung up a banner on the front of the house reading this used to be the home of Saleh Alaroury now it's the headquarters of Abunimer Israeli intelligence and also in the picture that they had of Alaroury in the banner they had in the background an Israeli flag like a campaign for an elections we can see that on the screen right now so he looks like a candidate in the local elections right now that's the number two head of Hamas obviously trying to give a slight jab back in the psychological warfare but obviously this part of a wider campaign and operation by the IDF to try and keep tensions in the West Bank as low as possible and Rafael of course in the past Israel and the Palestinian authority have cooperated to a certain extent in terms of security is that completely off the table now they still do of course the president of the authority Abumazen cannot say it aloud but he's very very happy with what is happening now who are taking care of his arch rival the Hamas we're doing the dirty job for him and there's even talk that he might be the mantis exactly we might be preparing his glorious return as the ruler of the whole Palestinian authority actually if we are preparing this and it should be one of the solutions that we should look at then we should from now with the Americans start to rebuild and strengthen the security forces the Palestinian security forces yes yes because if we want them to rule over Gaza right now they are not able to do so impossible for them to do so so we should try and reinforce them from now okay alright stay with us for a moment because there have been rockets fired from Gaza at the south of Israel throughout the day and there are reports of a direct hit on a house in the city of Stelot no casualties thankfully well our Jonathan Regev is in nearby Ashkelon he's with us now Jonathan what's happening yes so there have been rockets throughout the day to southern Israel the earliest ones actually were fired to the city of Zderot which is even further north than the place where we are now there are also rockets to Zderot about an hour and a half ago as you mentioned one of them hit a house like most of the houses in Zderot it is empty since about 90% of the population is gone therefore no casualties but damage there are also rockets fired at some of the Gaza border communities they were all intercepted there are also very few people left there at the moment so still the morning has not seen a lot of rockets but still few sirens especially in the Gaza border communities what about the civilian communities there Jonathan a lot of people moving out of of Stelot obviously but also Ashkelon yes Ashkelon has not gotten a evacuation plan it's also practically impossible since this is a city of more than 100,000 people it's impossible to evacuate the entire city but whoever could leave Ashkelon already did it Ashkelon is a city which took the most rockets in this this war so far about a thousand or so directed at Ashkelon there are also a few direct hits so whoever could leave Ashkelon has already done it but a city so as big as Ashkelon obviously there are still quite a lot of people that are still there all right Jonathan thank you very much Jonathan Rickard there and you see Hamas still has the capability to fire rockets in Israel it will keep that capability for a while yet we are not attacking all the areas of Gaza there are some areas that haven't even been dealt with because of a high presence of civilians because we're not ready to go to these areas yet we want to secure some main points Gaza is a small place but it's not that small when you have to deal with it house by house block by block so it's going to take quite a while also the Hamas will keep some ammunition for later it's mostly those who with a far range like towards Tel Aviv they're going to keep that for later when they feel cornered, when they feel desperate or panic they will shoot these missiles these projectiles so now what we see is not pleasant but it's not massive either and of course as time goes the capacity will be reduced bit by bit but to finish that will also necessitate ground entrance I want to ask you about the development 20 trucks full of aid going across the border into Gaza to help civilians is there a risk that could also help Hamas of course we are trying to get guarantees that Hamas shouldn't take this equipment fuel has not been allowed to enter because of that I want to stress right away there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and we do not foresee one in the very near future the humanitarian crisis is just the fact that people have to leave their homes and escape the combat zone that's a problem enough for any family but there is food there is water and the reserves the stocks of medicine are full enough to last quite a while so there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza the real crisis is the real culprit of this crisis Egypt Marshall C.C. he is guilty of crime against mankind in the fact that he still refuses to open the border and to let people take refuge in the Sinai desert to be at least temporarily out of the combat zone this could easily be done physically like Turkey did it there is a lot of opposition to that in the Arab world because they see this potentially a permanent displacement and President Al-Sisi is you're absolutely right the Arab world is afraid that the Palestinians would come to them the Arab world doesn't want them they have abandoned them they're just asking for them have you seen an Arabic plane from Saudi Arabia the only country that's offered to take Palestinian refugees to Scotland which and the Scottish leader doesn't have the authority to do that but the fear in the Arab world is that Israel is trying to cause a permanent displacement that is also yes this fear is justified because Palestinians from Gaza who will leave Gaza most of them will not return they don't want to return they're trying to flee Gaza they're paying smugglers to smuggle them out of Gaza it's $5,000 How many people have left Gaza in the last few years? Yes around around 170,000 170,000 mostly young people you know it's not difficult with the family and children but young people who could afford the $5,000 it costs more or less to pay smugglers they're doing smugglers to smuggle you out through the tunnels or otherwise also bribing the Egyptian border guards that's for the poor Gazans the more wealthy Gazans those who have degrees will participate in a seminar they'll be invited to a medical seminar or they will go abroad to sign a contract or some will get away and they will not come back they will not the Gazans if they want a future they will not stay in Gaza Gaza is a poor country anyway even without the war Hamas it's not economically viable so people don't want to stay there because of course they've been living for 17 years under a terrorist regime also also okay alright okay so world leaders have been discussing the conflict at an international summit today in Cairo let's take a quick listen to the Egyptian leader Adel Fassa I can assure the world very clearly and honestly of the will of the Egyptian people that the solution to the Palestinian issue will not happen under any circumstance at the expense of Egypt ever I invited you all here today so we can together come to an agreement on a roadmap that aims at ending the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza and to revive a path to peace through several fronts starting with a guarantee of a safe complete fast and continuous flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza that is immediately followed by negotiations for a ceasefire and quick negotiations leading to a two-state solution and the foundation of an independent Palestinian state and I just want to clarify some numbers for you over the past year around 17,000 Palestinians have left Gaza in recent years the number is 70,000 so just to be clear about numbers but let's talk about what's happening in Cairo today we're joined now from Manama by Bahrain economist and analyst Abdullah Aljanayid good to see you Abdullah thank you for joining us my pleasure Laura now there was some confusion earlier in the day about whether or not the Saudis were attending that summit in Cairo the Saudi Foreign Minister is there and he has delivered comments today he's calling for a ceasefire isn't he? I just I would imagine that the that Saudi will be absent from such a gathering and for them it is important for the rest of the world to hear exactly what Saudi have to say with regard to the current scene in Gaza and hopefully try to lend a hand to help at any which way in Saudi Arabia Abdullah has broken ranks with the rest of the Arab world in recent days and has criticized Hamas we heard Prince Faisal al-Turki a very well respected diplomat saying that Hamas's actions were unislamic I mean what do you read into those comments I think Prince Faisal was from the very from the get go is against any radical you know party or the likes of Hamas we have seen what sort of devastation they played since 2003 until 2016 we've seen it in Syria we've seen it in Iraq we've seen it in Tunisia Yemen Sudan I mean we had to live with this it's about time that the rest of the world agree that we need to designate the Islamic Brotherhood and all its offsprings in similar case like we have categorized either or ISIS or the IRG and the rest the offshoots of those organization if we don't take a stand now collective stand to address and manage this crisis we gonna lend a hand and legitimizing Hamas at a later stage we need to do something now and is there a sense do you think Abdullah in the Gulf countries the moderate countries the UAE Bahrain and others that despite the overwhelming solidarity that there clearly is for the Palestinian people and that there is also you know an acceptance that Israel and those countries are fighting a common enemy they are fighting the Iranian regime via its terrorist proxies the Hussis have attacked infrastructure in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia is that message do you think getting through at all well Laura I mean you and I have been there in this situation we raise those questions I don't believe it just us making sure that our point of view with regard to Hamas and its life is a clear but at the same time what Israel is gonna do about a prime minister that have been for the last 16 years making sure that Hamas stays finance and all those finances are carried in suitcases via Qatar and delivered by Mossad what the Israeli is gonna do about that before asking us where we stand Abdullah if it's alright with you my colleague Ariel Ossaran our Middle East correspondent would like to put a question to you Oh please Abdullah nice to see you my friend always good to chat with you you're saying that there needs to be a collective stand against the against Hamas that the Arab nations need to see it as ISIS and Al Qaeda but in the peace summit today no one condemned Hamas's actions no one referred to them they only talked about those who did keep any neutral talking talked about the importance of stopping civilian killings but no one condemned Hamas so how I mean that's not really a collective stand is it what do you want do you want us to condemn Hamas in every minute of the day and discount the continuous toll of the dead because we feel outraged when Hamas committed that atrocity against the Israelis now our job collectively to stop the living from being killed so we don't want to go that in every stand that Israel dictate that we condemn Hamas we've done that now can we move on and see what could be done first of all to eradicate Hamas it's not going to be done militarily it's going to take collective will, collective work and we need to you know and install some sort of a different culture to motivate those I don't want the Gazan to use to you know go on death boats and the rest I want them to stick around see what the Israelis are doing to the in Israel learn from them work with them I want both you know people in a state of making fighting for land is the objective let them harvest the fruit of them working together it's not the matter of land because the Israelis and the Gazan once they work this out I mean you go to talk to Israelis residing in UAE or establishing businesses is anybody questioning them why they are here are they a threat to us no we welcome everybody we have plenty of land it doesn't have to be encouraging on other people's land let's work together in developing something that is more significant for the generations to come Abdullah it's great to talk to you we very much appreciate your voice of reason thank you very much for talking to us Abdullah Al-Janeid there in Manal alright let's head to the north because there have been some developments there our correspondent Rob Swift joins us now with the latest Rob yes Laura the latest development is a rocket attack from Lebanese territory into the area around Mount Dov which is close to the northern border this is the second time that there has been an attack there yesterday there was also a rocket attack which the Israeli military responded to hitting a Hezbollah mortar team and separately in the far east of the country around about an hour and a half ago there was reports of a security incident sorry on the far east there was reports of a security incident taking place around the communities of Marguelot this is a real hotspot where we've seen a lot of activity there including the killing of an IDF soldier yesterday by anti-tank fire at the minute it's not clear what that security incident is but the Israeli military has told residents in five separate communities around that area to get into their safe rooms and to remain there until further notice alright so a number of risks coming from across the northern border Rob Hezbollah rockets, Hatemass rockets and potential infiltrators as well Israel is deployed on all fronts isn't it it is and just to bear in mind these are the first two major security events of the day up until this point it's been quite quiet but that is the exception to the rule yesterday was quite kinetic the day before even more so so although we've only had two events there's a high probability that this will pick up and there will be more to come the Israeli military will be on standby for this that's why the Israeli defence minister Yov Galant was up here visiting the troops, assessing the situation and also meeting with civilian leaders to see how the people in the towns many of which are now either being officially evacuated or the residents are taking it upon themselves to evacuate so the population here is thinning out and that's why the defence minister was here to see that happening for himself all right Rob, thank you very much indeed Robert Swift there with the latest from the north and we're going to take a short break we will keep you updated on all the very latest in the south in the north and in the west bank and regional developments as well stay tuned this is I-24 news 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 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 watching I-24 news day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is 210 at least a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed last night the IDF says that number is not final the families of all those being held have been informed mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Ranan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar is the IDF spokesman addressing the revised number of hostages so far we have notified the families of 210 hostages I want to talk about this number 210 to explain that we are in a constant state of operational intelligence investigation we are receiving information and we will also refute some information involving missing people when we have any indication or any sign of information as slim as it may be we contact the family and update them therefore today I am telling you that the number of hostages is 210 and in the next few days this number may change and I will continue to update you about every family we inform our mission is to bring all the hostages back home 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have crossed into Gaza via the Egyptian controlled RAF crossing the first deliveries of aid as the war began more than 200 trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border the United Nations says that more aid must enter Gaza hundreds of thousands of civilians have moved south away from the conflict zone Cairo is hosting an international summit on the conflict Jordan's King Abdullah the President of the UAE the Emir of Qatar are all attending as is the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Iraq, Italy are there many European leaders as well and a small correction earlier we did say that Saudi Arabia was not taking part in the summit in fact the Saudi Foreign Minister is there my apologies for that he delivered remarks earlier and we'll be speaking about that in just a few moments the United States is not taking part in the conference while tens of thousands of Israeli troops are of course gathered at the border and a short while ago the IDF Spokesman talked about the troops readiness let's take a listen the Nachal Brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission we are facing the enemy with determination looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them no more and we represent this generation we are a pavel with me in the studio this hour our Middle East correspondent Ariel Moran and Raphael Jarosalmi he's a former senior intelligence officer for the IDF thanks for being with us both of you Raphael would you say given what we've just heard that a ground offensive is now imminent it's ready and it could happen anytime there are two things that we have to notice this first some kind of international pressure especially after the release of two hostages yesterday to delay at least this offensive on the ground the Israelis are complying so far and they will comply so long as there is hope to liberate more hostages the Hamas of course might cynically exploit that and just free them one by one and each day being like this one to delay our forces at some point there might be an opportunity on the operational domain that might entice us to enter anyway there was one such opportunity two days ago that was presented to the government to the political level the government refused I suppose because of American pressure but the army is ready they are later the better anyway because while we are waiting to enter then we can train more we have to train the reserves because the scenario is something of a surprise it's something that our own troops hadn't trained for in the past it's going to be a completely different way of attacking of course to disarm the Hamas also the initial shock has to be very very strong a war is often won from the first battle and that first battle should be violent enough to obtain at least one result the surrender of many Hamas fighters Hamas fighters are not known for the huge bravery and if they will see a determination and a strong first impact some of them might lay down their weapons and surrender or escape to the south laying down their weapons and escape to the south with the refugees that's one of our hopes remember that in their mind if they are captured by the Israelis they will be well treated they might be exchanged later on for any kind of a deal or ceasefire they haven't really not much to fear much more to fear if they see that the attack is very very violent so all this is in a way to our advantage so far to delay, meanwhile the air force and the artillery are cleaning the ground and the more the bomb and the more the clean the better it is of course for our troops it will be less dangerous if we can say that to enter so all in all it's not sure it's about seeing that we have to wait unless then there is an opportunity on the operational level that should not be missed but then it will depend on the green light of the government and then we can enter at any minute everything all the plans on the march orders are authorized by the admiralty and say by the headquarters so everything is in place Thank you Raphael Ariel I'd like to turn our attention to the west bank a situation that has become extremely volatile in recent days dozens more Palestinians arrested last night what more can you tell us? Well Laura pretty much since day one of this since the attacks by Hamas took place in the Gaza Strip the west bank has been bubbling simmering in its highest volatility that we've seen in months I mean just last night there was a massive arrest rate 89 terror suspects arrested across the west bank and into Jordan valley of them 68 members of Hamas now in total we're talking about since October 7th 670 suspects have been terror suspects arrested of those 450 Hamas so this is very significant while they see that there is an uptick in attempts to clash with Israeli forces in the west bank also trying to uproot any potential of escalation of the west bank joining in a substantial way because all the focus is on the southern border with Hamas the northern border with Hezbollah but indeed the third front in the west bank is a very very dangerous one because of the close proximity of Israeli and Palestinian towns and villages and so a lot of forces a lot of activity in the west bank in recent days and this is also brought to a significant death toll on Palestinians 84 Palestinians killed just in the west bank since October 7th most of them militants but obviously not all now I want to take you to interesting scenes that were taking place this morning near in the village of Alarour near Ramallah during the arrest rate Israeli forces IDF as well as Shin Bet during their massive arrest rate pretty much took over the home of Hamas deputy Salah Khilruri used the home as a command post during this operation using it to interrogate Hamas operatives in the home of Hamas deputy but they didn't stop there they also they hung up a banner on the front of the house reading this used to be the home of Hamas deputy Salah Khilruri now it's the headquarters of Abu Nimer Israeli intelligence and also in the picture that they had of Alarour in the banner they had in the background in Israeli flag like a campaign for an elections we can see that on the screen right now yeah so he looks like a candidate in the local elections right now that's the number two head of Hamas obviously trying to give a slight jab back in this operation by the IDF to try and keep tensions in the West Bank as low as possible and Rafael of course in the past Israel and the Palestinian authority have cooperated to a certain extent in terms of security is that completely off the table now yes no they still do of course that the president of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen cannot say it allowed but he's very very happy with what is happening now of his arch rival the Hamas we're doing the dirty job for him and there's even talk that he might be the mantin exactly we might be preparing his glorious return as the ruler of the whole Palestinian Authority actually if we are preparing this and it should be one of the solutions that we should look at then we should from now with the Americans start to rebuild and strengthen the security forces the Palestinian security forces yes yes because if we want them to rule over Gaza right now they are not able to do so impossible for them to do so so we should try and reinforce them from now okay all right stay with us for a moment because there have been rockets fired from Gaza at the south of Israel throughout the day and there are reports of a direct hit on a house in the city of Stelot no casualties thankfully well our Jonathan Regev is in nearby Ashkelon he's with us now Jonathan what's happening yes so there have been rockets throughout the day to southern Israel the earliest ones actually were fired to the city of Stelot which is even further north than the place where we are now there are also rockets to Stelot about an hour and a half ago as you mentioned one of them hit a house like most of the houses in Stelot it is empty since about 90% of the population is gone therefore no casualties but damage there are also rockets fired at some of the Gaza border communities they were all intercepted there are also very few people left there at the moment so still the morning has not seen a lot of rockets but still a few sirens especially in the Gaza border communities what about the civilian communities there Jonathan a lot of people moving out to Stelot obviously but also Ashkelon yes Ashkelon is not got an evacuation plan it's also practically impossible since this is a city of more than 100,000 people it's impossible to evacuate the entire city but whoever could leave Ashkelon already did it Ashkelon is a city which took the most rockets in this war so far about a 1,000 or so directed at Ashkelon there are also a few direct hits so whoever could leave Ashkelon has already done it but a city so as big as Ashkelon obviously there are still quite a lot of people that are still there alright Jonathan thank you very much Johnson-Regard there and Raphael as we see Hamas still has the capability to fire rockets at Israel it will keep that capability and we are not attacking all the areas of Gaza there are some areas that haven't even been dealt with because of a high presence of civilians because we're not ready to go to these areas yet we want to secure some main points Gaza is a small place but it's not that small when you have to deal with it house by house block by block so it's going to take quite a while also the Hamas will keep some ammunition for later it's mostly those who with a far range like towards Tel Aviv they're going to keep that for later when they feel cornered, when they feel desperate or panic they will shoot these missiles these projectiles so for now what we see is not pleasant but it's not massive either and of course ice time goes capacity will be reduced bit by bit but to finish that will also necessitate ground entrance I want to ask you about the development 20 trucks full of aid going across the border into Gaza to help civilians is there a risk that that could also help Hamas of course we are trying to get guarantees that Hamas shouldn't take this equipment fuel has not been allowed to enter because of that I want to stress right away there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and we do not foresee one in the very near future the humanitarian crisis is just the fact that people have to leave their homes and escape the combat zone that's a problem enough for any family but there is food there is water and the reserves the stocks of medicine are full enough to last quite a while so there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza the real crisis is the real culprit of this crisis Egypt Marshall Sisi he is guilty of crime amends mankind in the fact that he still refuses to open the border and to let people take refuge in the Sinai desert to be at least temporarily out of the combat zone this could easily be done physically like Turkey did it there is a lot of opposition to that in the Arab world because they see it as potentially a permanent displacement President Al-Sisi is you are absolutely right the Arab world is afraid that the Palestinians would come to them the Arab world doesn't want them they have abandoned them they are just speaking a lot they are doing nothing for them have you seen an Arab plane from Saudi Arabia take a child the Scottish leader doesn't have the authority to do that but the fear in the Arab world is that Israel is trying to cause a permanent displacement that is also Yes, this fear is justified because Palestinians from Gaza who will leave Gaza most of them will not return they don't want to return they are trying to flee Gaza even in peace time they are paying smugglers to smuggle them out of Gaza and around $170,000 $170,000 Gaza is a blend mostly young people it's not difficult with the family and children but young people who could afford the $5,000 it costs more or less to pay smugglers they are doing smugglers to smuggle you out through the tunnels or otherwise also bribing the Egyptian border guards that's for the poor Gazans the more wealthy Gazans will participate in a seminar they will be invited to a medical seminar or they will go abroad to sign a contract or some will get away and they will not come back they will not, the Gazans if they want a future they will not stay in Gaza Gaza is a poor country anyway, even without the war even without Hamas it's not economically viable so people don't want to stay there because of course they've been living under a terrorist regime also so world leaders have been discussing the conflict at an international summit today in Cairo, let's take a quick listen to the Egyptian leader Adel Fassa, SEC I can assure the world very clearly and honestly of the will of the Egyptian people that the solution to the Palestinian issue will not happen under any circumstance at the expense of Egypt, ever I invited you all here today so we can together come to an agreement that aims at ending the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza and to revive a path to peace through several fronts starting with a guarantee of a safe, complete, fast and continuous flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza that is immediately followed by negotiations for a ceasefire and quick negotiations leading to a two-state solution and the foundation of an independent Palestinian state and I just want to clarify some numbers for you, over the past year around 17,000 Palestinians have left Gaza in recent years the number is 70,000 so just to be clear about numbers but let's talk about what's happening in Cairo today we're joined now from Manama Bahrain economist and analyst Abdullah Al-Janaid good to see you Abdullah, thank you for joining us my pleasure Laura now there was some confusion earlier in the day about whether or not the Saudis were attending that summit in Cairo, the Saudi foreign minister is there and he has delivered comments today he's calling for a ceasefire isn't he true, I would imagine that the Saudi will be absent from such a gathering and for them it is important for the rest of the world to hear exactly what Saudi have to say with regard to the current scene in Gaza and hopefully try to hand to help at any which way in Saudi Arabia Abdullah has broken ranks with the rest of the Arab world in recent days and has criticized Hamas we heard Prince Faisal al-Turki a very well respected diplomat saying that Hamas's actions were on Islamic, I mean what do you read into those comments I think Prince Faisal was from the Ziddiq is against any radical party or the likes of Hamas we have seen what sort of devastation they played since 2003 until 2016 we've seen it in Syria we've seen it in Iraq we've seen it in Tunisia, Yemen Sudan I mean we had to live with this it's about time that the rest of the world agree that we need to designate the Islamic Brotherhood and all its offsprings in similar case like we have categorized Ida or ISIS or the IRG and the rest of those organizations if we don't take a stand a collective stand to address and manage this crisis we're going to lend a hand and legitimize Hamas at a later stage we need to do something now Is there a sense do you think Abdullah in the Gulf countries the moderate countries the UAE Bahrain and others despite the overwhelming solidarity that there clearly is for the Palestinian people there is also you know an acceptance that Israel and those countries are fighting a common enemy they are fighting the Iranian regime via its terrorist proxies whose these have attacked infrastructure in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia is that message do you think getting through at all well Laura I mean you and I have been there in this situation we raise those questions I don't believe it just us making sure that our point of view with regard to Hamas and its like is it clear but at the same time what the Israeli is going to do about a prime minister that have been for the last 16 years making sure that Hamas stays financed and all those finances are carried in suitcases via Qatar and delivered by Mossad what the Israeli is going to do about that before making us where we stand Abdullah if it's alright with you my colleague Ariel Ossaran our Middle East correspondent would like to put a question to you Abdullah nice to see you my friend always good to chat with you you're saying that there needs to be a collective stand against Hamas that the Arab nations need to see it as ISIS and al-Qaeda but in the peace summit today no one condemned Hamas's actions no one referred to them they only talked about those who did keep any neutral talking talked about the importance of stopping civilian killings but no one condemned Hamas that's not really a collective stand is it what do you want do you want us to condemn Hamas every minute of the day and discount the continuous toll that Hamas did because we feel outraged when Hamas committed that atrocity against the Israelis now our job collectively to stop the living from being killed so we don't want to go that every stand that Israel dictate that we condemn Hamas we've done that now can we move on and see what could be done to eradicate Hamas it's not going to be done militarily it's going to take collective will collective work and we need to install some sort of a different culture to motivate those I don't want the Gazan to use to go on death boats and the rest I want them to stick around see what the Israelis are doing and then again and Israel learn from them I want both you know people in a state of making fighting for land is the objective let them harvest the fruit of them working together it's not a matter of land because the Israelis and the Gazan once they work this once they work this out I mean you go to and talk to Israelis who are designing a new way or establishing businesses is anybody questioning them why they are here are they a threat to us no we will come everybody we have plenty of land it doesn't have to be encouraging on other people's land let's work together in developing something that is more significant for the generations to come Abdullah it's great to talk to you we very much appreciate the voice of reason thank you very much for talking to us Abdullah al-Junaid there my pleasure alright let's head to the north because there have been some developments there our correspondent Rob Swift joins us now with the latest Rob yes Laura the latest development is a rocket attack from Lebanese territory into the area around Mount Dov which is close to the this is the second time that there has been an attack there yesterday there was also a rocket attack which the Israeli military responded to hitting Hezbollah mortar team and separately in the far east of the country around about an hour and a half ago there was reports of a security incident sorry on the far east of the northern border there was reports of a security incident taking place around the communities of Marguelot this is a real hot spot where we have seen a lot of activity there including the killing of an IDF soldier yesterday by anti-tank fire at the minute it's not clear what that security incident is but the Israeli military has told residents in five separate communities around that area to get into their safe rooms and to remain there until further notice alright so a number of risks coming from across the northern border Rob Hezbollah rockets, heart mass rockets and potential infiltrators as well Israel is deployed deployed on all fronts isn't it it is and just to bear in mind these are the first two major security events of the day up until this point it's been quite quiet but that is the exception to the rule yesterday was quite kinetic the day before even more so so although we've only had two events there's a high probability that this will pick up and there will be more to come the Israeli military will be on standby for this that's why the Israeli defense minister of Gallant was up here visiting the troops assessing the situation and also meeting with civilian leaders to see how the people in the towns many of which are now either being officially evacuated or the residents are taken upon themselves to evacuate so the population here is thinning out and that's why the defense minister here was here to see that happening for himself alright Rob thank you very much indeed Robert Swift there with the latest from the north and we're going to take a short break we will keep you updated on all the very latest in the south in the north and in the west bank and regional developments as well stay tuned this is I-24 news 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 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 not only in Bolivia but all over the world and we need rain for the seeds this is I-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says it's continuing to prepare for a widely anticipated ground offensive into the Gaza Strip with plans to expand the fighting being approved in recent days tens of thousands of troops are gathered at the border is the IDF spokesman on that a short while ago the Nakhon brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission we are facing the enemy with determination looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them no more I'm Israel Chai and we represent this generation we will prevail and we'll talk more about that widely anticipated ground offensive into Gaza in a moment but let's turn our attention now to Israel's northern border with Lebanon the IDF says an anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon towards the area surrounding the small town of Maragalliot the IDF says it responded with a drone strike Israel on high alert in the north amid concerns that the terrorist organization Hezbollah might seek to join the fighting well our correspondent Baleer Sledin is in the north he joins us now Baleer there have been a lot of developments on the northern border in the last hour kind of give us a sense of what's been going on yes well in the last hour there has been a few incidents here on the Israeli-Lebanese border the biggest one was in Maragalliot the same village that is beside the border that is only less than one kilometer from the border on the eastern side of it was hit by an anti-tank guided missile as you said and there has been two injuries specifically two Thai workers have been injured from that same missile in Maragalliot one of them has been reported has been seriously injured from that attack so the Israeli army attacked back the same group of people that did fire that missile with a drone and the IDF said that this same group was eliminated and another incident happened just right like half an hour ago it was in the Hanita also a village that has seen a few incidents in the last couple of weeks one of them was also like sorry some who belongs to the Hamas group actually in Lebanese interpreted into Israel and was eliminated also afterwards also anti-tank guided missiles have been attacking that village that is kilometers from the border we didn't know about any injuries from that same attack in Hanita but that same thing is happening over and over again especially in Hanita and Maragalliot we heard what the Israeli security minister Afgalant said earlier this morning he said that his Bala decided to intervene in this war this fight we can't understand if he means that his Bala wants to take part in the war as a player or just participating at some level that can help the Hamas in Gaza but he said of course that if his Bala wants to join that fight then Lebanon of course will be affected by this until now we didn't know about what the decision is in Beirut in Nasrallah's mind he is of course keeping that strategic ambiguity throughout this whole time maybe we're waiting for the ground invasion in Gaza and then we will know what Nasrallah will decide regarding another front in the northern border okay thank you Belair we'll join him in the studio Avi Pazanar is the former world chairman of Keren Hayesad the united Israel appeal and he is with us now and ambassador to Italy and France which is maybe more relevant I'm so sorry I don't know why I didn't refer to that it's been a long day apologies Avi of course the former Israeli ambassador to Italy and France as well thank you for joining us Avi we've just seen what's going on in the north it is very tense that incidents in recent days at the same time we know that the Americans are putting pressure on Israel not to go in and wipe out Hezbollah's capabilities do you think that's the right decision at this stage I will tell you something with Hezbollah you never know I mean as by the way we didn't know with the Hamas but this time I can assure you something Laura we are not going to be surprised we are ready but from the Hezbollah you can expect the worst okay you don't know when it comes and you can expect the worst and here the decision is not made in Beirut it's made in Tehran maybe Hezbollah is a tool of Iran and if for example we start our ground invasion into Gaza and in Tehran Ayatollah Khamenei thinks this is the right time to intervene he will just press a button and tell Nasrallah go for it but this time we are ready and this was the purpose of the visit of the minister Gallant in the north to indicate to Hezbollah by the way who has already joined the fighting it's true at quite a low level limited level but Hezbollah is fighting yesterday we had one death today I see we are too wounded the day is not yet over so we have to be prepared and I can assure you that we are prepared because we are not going to be surprised again like we were surprised two weeks ago around Gaza Iran's strategy is clear isn't it France via its terrorist proxies it's been exporting terror and chaos throughout the region for many years the question is and I know they're not rational actors but Hamas is on the verge of being completely destroyed Hezbollah and also lots of innocent people in Lebanon will pay the price for Hezbollah's actions I mean how do you interpret their strategy Iran doesn't care about people being killed they don't care but the proxies themselves they are fanatical I mean the proxies themselves you have to know who is Hamas I mean an organization who is capable of killing in cold blood 1500 people, babies, children women, elderly people I mean what can you expect Hezbollah is no better I can assure you Hezbollah is no better they are fanatical they are religion driven they don't care about human life on the contrary they search death for other than for themselves so that we have here a difficult enemy and we know that it will be a long and difficult battle but we have to be ready for a war on two fronts maybe more and it will not be the first time during our war of independence we fought on three fronts in the six-day war we fought on three fronts young people war we fought on two fronts we can do it but this time we are fighting not other countries Israel is fighting non-state actors, terrorist groups which have been allowed to prosper and thrive on Israel's borders for a variety of reasons I want to ask you as a former diplomat in Europe I mean there has been an effort also in Europe hasn't there to kind of contain Hezbollah president Macron met with them not so long ago in Lebanon trying to separate the military wing from the political wing has that all contributed do you think? Those are illusions Hezbollah is Hezbollah like Hamas for example when we say now that we want to eradicate Hamas eliminate Hamas we are speaking both about the political leadership the military leadership the economic leadership all the leadership you cannot separate so people who have illusion that maybe within the Hezbollah or the Hamas they are moderates and less moderates no it's not the case do you think they realize that now in Europe people like president Macron not sure about that you know I'm not sure about that there is a lot of support for Israel at the political level in Europe there is a lot of support but if you ask me does public opinion understand that I don't think so even though they've gone through their own struggles with terrible diet stay with us Avi we're going to go to the south because rockets have been fired from Gaza throughout the day towards southern Israel and there was a direct hit on a house in Starrot earlier no casualties reported let's find out more with our Mary McAuliffe who's in Starrot for us now Mary that's right Laura so since yesterday evening we continue to see large rocket barrages fired at the Gaza border communities including here in Starrot all through this morning we also heard a number of different riots in this area the house you can see just directly behind me this was a house that was hit at around 2 o'clock local time so just a couple hours ago thankfully there were no injuries there was a lot of people living inside we're talking to one of the neighbors here and of course this is an area that has been ordered to evacuate all of the residents have been asked to go to safer parts of the country I spoke to one of the neighbors here who has decided to remain in his home and he said the family who lived here said there's a grandmother who often had grandchildren and a metapellet so a nursery for young children who often came this area she said she only lasted until day 5 of this war before going to seek shelter to show you what it looks like the damage inside this house significant damage to the room the central room in there we can see much of the damage both inside and outside the house from these rockets that just continue to be fired from the Gaza border again it's just a couple of miles from where we're standing now in this street particularly there are four houses that have been hit just on this tiny street in the course of these two weeks of this war you can even see some of the rocket fragments here Daniel can show you all throughout this street you can find little pieces like this both from rockets that have been fired as well as shrapnel from the iron dome that has been intercepting rockets constantly overhead in these southern communities I don't know if Daniel can go back and show us the roof again because that's that's quite incredible to see I mean we can see the damage inside the house let's go back and show the roof absolutely and you can see this netting you can see some of the netting so there's this iron mesh netting which looks like it caught a lot of the damage but even still of course just pieces of the roof now littering what used to be this family salon their living room now covered in debris if they had been inside the house at the time this is one of the many houses in Stroat that actually doesn't have a properly functioning shelter just like our neighbor or friend that we talk to next door they also don't have a shelter they've simply just decided to stay here because for them they feel there's nowhere else to go he says this is his home he immigrated to Israel 30 years ago and he's not going to be pushed out of it but most of the residents in this area have evacuated and have gone to safer parts of the country as we just continue as we continue as rock a fire overhead okay Mary thank you very much indeed okay well we can I'm happy to stay if you guys are happy to stay there's a siren going off right now sorry my phone's making an awful lot of noise sirens are going off right now rockets are being fired at Tel Aviv okay all right are we all right you want to stay okay no we can stay I guess all right we're on air right now so we're going to stay here rockets being fired at Central Israel at Tel Aviv at Jaffa okay let's go to Colonel Rich Altson senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and he's now at Dragoman LLC thank you for being with us Rich speaking to you as sirens blair here in Jaffa in Tel Aviv how much is firing rockets at us as we speak you know evidence of the reality we're living with right now Israelis have been overwhelmed by the support given by the United States the US President Joe Biden especially but it's true isn't it that to a certain extent Washington is putting pressure on Israel to pull back not to strike has bothered decisively we just had the interception overhead I don't know if you heard that loud boom that was the Iron Dome intercepting a rocket Rich is it right oh my goodness this was near that was a big one okay sorry all right let's go Rich just talk us through that is the US right to hold Israel back from striking its enemies decisively well it's good to be with you and I'm glad you're safe with rockets passing a few dozens of meters away so I understand the situation and look so I think this is a very old pattern if you look at the history of US support to Israel during conflicts there is typically overwhelming support for the right to self-defense and also concern about escalation and a desire to impose sort of time delimitation and in most of the Israel's wars there was about a week period where the United States was rightfully outraged about the attacks on Israel and firmly backing with logistics and intelligence and weaponry and sort of public diplomacy Israel's efforts and yet also this desire to constrain and contain the funding I think that's what Biden has actually incurred significant political risk element in the States is this portion of the US of left that is actually actively pro Hamas or pro Palestine there's interesting polling that's come out 75% of Americans dramatically and emphatically support Israel's right to self-defense but over 50% also want direct humanitarian aid and access and also want de-escalation so I think it's a mixed picture I think Biden to emphatically support Israel I also think personally it's access directly but look this is not going to get better until Hamas no longer rules Gaza so those voices in the US who conflate Hamas with the people of Gaza are simply wrong and I think that thinking needs to be resisted how concerned is Washington about Iran targeting its own forces we've seen Iranian proxies trying to harm US assets in Iraq for example in recent days are the US respond more decisively well we should be prepared to and we signal readiness to do so as of right now the attacks have been more of a harassment nature so we're talking about some rockets on our bases in Syria bases in Iraq we're talking about missiles fired from Yemen towards Israel that the United States has shot down with naval assets as of right now none of these have been particularly direct effective threats against our troops I think the movement of the carrier strike groups into air waters near Israel was a strong signal towards Iran that if you want to play this game with us you're going to lose this game big and I think that's the right signal but I also think it's important not to overreact at this point the United States needs to support Israel's careful and sort of very targeted use of force against the people behind these terror attacks at the beginning of the month and escalating into a broader war even if there's justification even if our forces are attacked is going to push further from that goal it's going to create a bigger political division between the United States and Israel and our other regional allies so I think we should exercise some restraint as long as the Iranian attacks are as ineffective as they have been do you think I mean there has been some criticism of US policy towards Iran in recent years certainly from Israel I mean we're all on the same side now but there has been some criticism that the pursuit of the Iran nuclear deal offering to pay 6 billion dollars that's now been put on ice but in exchange for American citizens being held in Iran do you think we're going to see a shift in policy towards Iran once all of this is over well I think so and the 6 billion dollars is really secondary the biggest problem is the cessation of sanctions on Iranian oil exports which have put billions and billions more into the pockets of Tehran and clearly the assurance of this flow of money sort of reduced their risk in terms of launching the attacks that they have supported from Hamas and now from elsewhere in the region I come from the political spectrum in the US that is very skeptical money in Tehran because seriously when they call us the big Satan and Israel the little Satan when they call for the destruction of Israel and so I think this is going to show that the current administration's somewhat naive approach towards Iran has backfired and it will strengthen the hand of those who say treat Iran as it has to be treated as a determined enemy of the United States. Alright Colonel Richelton we appreciate it thank you very much indeed. Thank you too. A major pro-Palestinian rally is taking place in London right now during protests last week tens of thousands marched some seen openly expressing support for Hamas. These are scenes from the streets of London today Britain's Home Secretary has warned that those found supporting terrorist groups will face the full force of the law and Jews and Israelis are on high alert all around the world amid large anti-Israel protests and a spike in anti-Semitic attacks. Israelis have been advised to leave Egypt and Jordan immediately and earlier today or last night I should say there was an incident in Cyprus close to the Israeli embassy in Nicosia. Ambassador Michael Harari is a policy fellow at Mitevim and he's also the former Israeli ambassador to Cyprus thank you very much indeed for being with us. First of all what happened in Nicosia last night? Well basically it's Pfizer I know there was a minor explosive at the early hours of the morning no casualties, no damage four people were arrested and the investigation goes on all Israeli people and families are safe at this point of view we are okay. We know that there have been Iranian backed assassination attempts on Israelis in Cyprus even before this war started I mean given your knowledge of Cyprus how much of a handle do the authorities there have on the IRGC elements within their own country? No they do absolutely there is very good cooperation between Israel and Cyprus for the last 10-12 years Cypriot authorities are very much aware of these let's say dangers or efforts I fully confident with the Cypriot authorities dealing with these efforts And just to give us a sense of how this is typical for the very tense situation for Jews and Israelis around the world I mean as a former diplomat yourself you know what it's like to be in another country when the situation in Israel is volatile just give us a sense of how you think people could be dealing with that right now I mean once the situation started to be as tense as we know extra measures are taken vis-a-vis the embassies but vis-a-vis as well of course the Jewish communities see that people are more aware I don't see that there is let's say extreme fear or history but I think that there is much more awareness that those kind of incidents by to attack Israelis or Jews could happen might happen so there are extra measures by the relevant of course host governments by Israel and by local Jewish communities Okay and do you think that they should be taking precautions and what would you advise them to do They should take precautions absolutely yes I don't think that they should be too much let's say you know too much overreacting but I think that at this present time at this war in Gaza it's much better let's say to be more careful and cautious and to keep as much as possible or to follow as much as possible you know reports and advices by the government and by the host government Okay Makoharari thank you very much Indy great to talk to you Thank you Alright Abbi Padna former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy still with this in the studio we've been sitting here as the booms go on above us and that is the reality in Israel today isn't it First of all I commend you for continuing to broadcast I don't know I am used to that kind of situation but you will slowly get used to it but you continued and you know I am very worried about what is going on outside Israel not in Israel and what you have shown coming from the UK or what I know coming from Paris and from the campuses in the United States it worries me because it shows that there is a shortcoming of our Hasbara of our information services you know we used to have until two weeks ago a ministry for information who absolutely did nothing now we have the foreign ministry who is doing his best we have the spokesman for the army who is doing an excellent job I have said Elon Levy is also doing an excellent job Elon Levy spokesman for the government yes he is doing also an excellent job but there are too few of them we should mobilize now tens or maybe hundreds of people there are lost cause lots of these people I mean people who are marching on the streets of London today you are never going to reach them with any kind of logic or rationality and of course not them but you have to reach those who are not marching of course those who are not marching and who are watching and those you have to convince that we are right that we have been attacked that has been murdered and that the evil is on the other side and what we are doing in Gaza is not to fight against Palestinians but to fight against Hamas to fight against a terrorist organization I'm not sure when the world has seen actual photographs of babies that were murdered by terrorists and they still don't understand the evil that Israel is fighting I'm not sure what more can be done are you encouraged though by that poll that 25% of Americans strongly support Israel yes yes I'm very encouraged of course and I think that Biden is doing a great job in standing at the side of Israel and if everything goes alright we are going to get a big aid package now and this is how does it come because 75 of Americans are in favor of Israel and President Biden will be able to pass it in Congress when the Republicans will have chosen a leadership we are going to get a lot of help do you think it's different in Europe do you think there's less sympathy for Israel and Europe and is that partly as a result of the very large waves of immigration to Europe in recent years you know you have countries who have between 10% and 15% in Western Europe in Western Europe they didn't let the Muslims in but in Western Europe you have countries who have 10% to 15% of Muslim and when you those Muslims are automatically on the side of the not in every case, lots of Muslims but it's more difficult in Western Europe but I want to say something but there is strong sympathy with the Palestinians yes but at the government level they are with us they can't sorry we're out of time I know and you will trust me we're going to take a short break stay with us our live coverage continues here on i24 news rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last few minutes more next there are phrases that you know from where they come from come here and the package for when and loads that you already know where they go on international loads to your people in rd access our web page loads.altis.com.co select loads and type the number you want to place the load they also receive the double balance in loads of $8 or more Altis the global network of the Dominicans is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking more than 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped help us we don't want to do we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas the IDF says it's continuing to prepare for a widely anticipated ground offensive into the Gaza Strip with plans to expand the fighting being approved in recent days tens of thousands of troops are gathered at the border is the IDF spokesman on that a short while ago the Nachal Brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission we are facing the enemy with determination looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them no more I'm Israel Chai and we represent this generation we will prevail and we'll talk more about that widely anticipated ground offensive into Gaza in a moment but let's turn our attention now to Israel's northern border with Lebanon the IDF says an anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon towards the area surrounding the small town of Mar Galiat the IDF says it responded with a drone strike Israel on high alert in the north amid concerns that the terrorist organisation Hezbollah might seek to join the fighting our correspondent Baleer Sledin is in the north he joins us now Baleer there have been a lot of developments on the northern border in the last hour give us a sense of what's been going on in the last hour there has been a few incidents here on the Israeli Lebanese border the biggest one was in Mar Galiat the same village that is beside the border that is only less than one kilometre from the border on the eastern side of it was hit by an anti a tank guided missile as you said and there has been two injuries specifically two high workers have been injured from that same missile in Mar Galiat one of them has been reported has been seriously injured from that attack so the Israeli army attacked back the same group of people that did fire that missile with a drone and the IDF said that this same group was eliminated and another incident happened just right like half an hour ago it was in the Hanita also a village that seen a few incidents in the last couple of weeks one of them was also like sorry some who belongs to the Hamas group actually in the Lebanese integrated into Israel and was eliminated also afterwards also anti tank guided missiles have been attacking that village that is a couple of kilometres from the border we didn't know about any injuries from that same attack in Hanita but that same thing is happening over and over again especially in Hanita and Mar Galiat and we heard what the Israeli security minister Afgalant said earlier this morning he said that Hezbollah decided to intervene in this war and in this fight we can't understand if he means that Hezbollah wants to take part in the war as a player or just participating at some level that can help the Hamas in Gaza but he said of course that if Hezbollah wants to join that fight then Lebanon of course will be affected by this so until now we didn't know about what the decision is in Beirut in Nasrallah's mind he is of course keeping that strategic ambiguity throughout this whole time maybe we're waiting for the ground invasion in Gaza and then we will know what Nasrallah will decide regarding the another front in the northern border okay thank you Beliar, Beliar Sladeen up at Israel's northern border we're joining me in the studio Abbi Paznar is the former world chairman of Keren Hayesad the United Israel Appeal and he is with us now and ambassador to Italy and France which is maybe more relevant I'm so sorry I didn't refer to that it's been a long day I'm going to go back to the ambassador to Italy and France as well thank you for joining us Abbi we've just seen what's going on in the north it is very tense we've had these kind of tit-for-tat incidents in recent days at the same time we know that the Americans are putting pressure on Israel not to go in and wipe out Hezbollah's capabilities do you think that's the right decision at the stage? I will tell you something by the way we didn't know with the Hamas but this time I can assure you something Laura we are not going to be surprised we are going to be ready but from the Hezbollah you can expect the worst okay you don't know when it comes and you can expect the worst and here the decision is not made in Beirut it's made in Tehran maybe Hezbollah is a tool of Iran and if for example we start our ground invasion into Gaza and in Tehran Ayatollah Khamenei thinks this is the right time to intervene he will just press a button and tell Nasrallah go for it but this time we are ready and this was the purpose of the visit of the minister Galant in the north to indicate to Hezbollah by the way who has already joined the fighting it's true at quite a low level a limited level but Hezbollah is fighting yesterday we had one death today I see we are too wounded the day is not yet over so we have to be prepared and I can assure you that we are prepared because we are not going to be surprised again like we were surprised two weeks ago around Gaza Iran's strategy is clear isn't it it wants to attack Israel on all fronts via its terrorist proxies it's been exporting terror and chaos throughout the region for many years the question is and I know they are not rational actors but Hamas is on the verge of being completely destroyed Hezbollah and also lots of innocent people in Lebanon will pay the price for Hezbollah's actions I mean how do you interpret their strategy Iran doesn't care about people being killed but the proxies themselves they are fanatical you have to know who is Hamas I mean an organization who is capable of killing in cold blood 1500 people babies, children, women, elderly people I mean what can you expect Hezbollah is no better I can assure you Hezbollah is no better they are fanatical they are religion driven they don't care about human life on the contrary they search death for other than for themselves so that we have here a difficult enemy and we know that it will be a difficult battle but we have to be ready for a war on two fronts maybe more and it will not be the first time during our war of independence we fought on three fronts in the six day war we fought on three fronts young people war we fought on two fronts we can do it but this time we are fighting not other countries Israel is fighting non-state groups which have been allowed to prosper and thrive on Israel's borders for a variety of reasons I want to ask you as a former diplomat in Europe there has been an effort also in Europe hasn't there to kind of contain Hezbollah President Macron met with them not so long ago in Lebanon trying to separate the military wing from the political wing has that all contributed do you think those are illusions Hezbollah, Hezbollah, Hezbollah like Hamas same for example when we say now that we want to eradicate Hamas eliminate Hamas we are speaking both about the political leadership the military leadership the economic leadership all the leadership you cannot separate so people who have illusion that maybe within the Hezbollah or the Hamas they are moderates and less moderates no it's not the case when we go do you think they realize that now in Europe people like President Macron not sure about that I'm not sure about that there is a lot of support for Israel at the political level in Europe there is a lot of support but if you ask me does public opinion understand that I don't think so okay even though they've gone through their own struggles with terrible dialogue stay with us Avi we're going to go to the south because rockets have been fired from Gaza throughout the day towards southern Israel and there was a direct hit on a house in Starrot earlier no casualties reported let's find out more with our Mary McAuliffe who's in Starrot for us now Mary that's right Laura so since yesterday evening we continue to see large rocket barrages fired at the Gaza border communities including here in Starrot all through this morning the house you can see just directly behind me this was a house that was hit at around 2 o'clock local time so just a couple hours ago thankfully there were no injuries there were nobody living inside we're talking to one of the neighbors here and of course this is an area that has been ordered to evacuate all of the residents have been asked to go to safer parts of the country I spoke to one of the neighbors here who has decided to remain in his home and he said the family who lived here said there's a grandmother who often had grandchildren and a metapalit so a nursery for young children she said she only lasted until day five of this war before going to seek shelter in a safer area Daniel Noor behind the camera is now zooming in to show you what it looks like the damage inside this house significant damage to the room the central room in there we can see much of the damage both inside and outside the house from these rockets that just continue to be fired from the Gaza border again it's just a couple of miles from where we're standing now in this street particularly there are four houses that have been hit just on this tiny street in the course of these two weeks of this war you can even see some of the rocket fragments here Daniel can show you all throughout this street you can find little pieces like this both from rockets that have been fired as well as shrapnel from the Iron Dome that has been intercepting rockets constantly overhead in these southern communities I don't know if Daniel can go back and show us the roof again because that's quite incredible to see I mean we can see the damage inside the house can we go back over there you can see some of the netting so there's this iron mesh netting which looks like it caught a lot of the damage but even still of course just pieces of the roof now littering what used to be this family salon their living room now covered in debris if they had been inside the house at the time this is one of the many houses in Stroat that actually doesn't have a properly functioning shelter just like our neighbor or friend that we talked to next door they also don't have a shelter they've simply just decided to stay here because for them they feel there's nowhere else to go he says this is his home he immigrated to Israel 30 years ago and he's not going to be pushed out of it but most of the residents in this area have evacuated and have gone to safer parts of the country as we just continue as we continue as rock fire overhead okay Mary thank you very much indeed okay weekend I'm happy to stay if you guys are happy to stay there's a siren going off right now sorry my phone's making an awful lot of noise sirens are going off right now rockets are being fired at Tel Aviv okay all right are we all right do you want to stay okay no we can stay I guess all right we're on air right now so we're going to stay here rockets being fired at Central Israel at Tel Aviv at Jaffa let's go to Colonel Rich Altson senior fella from the Atlantic Council and he's now at Dragon Man LLC thank you for being with us Rich speaking to you as sirens blare here in Jaffa in Tel Aviv how much is firing rockets at us as we speak you know evidence of the reality we're living with right now Israelis have been overwhelmed by the support given by the United States the US President Joe Biden especially but it's true isn't it that to a certain extent Washington is putting pressure on Israel to pull back not to strike has bothered decisively not to oh we just heard the interception overhead I don't know if you heard that loud boom that was the Iron Dome intercepting a rocket Rich is it right oh my goodness this was near that was a big one okay sorry okay all right let's go at Rich just talk us through that is the US right holds Israel back from striking its enemies decisively well it's good to be with you and I'm glad you're safe I've been in Israel with rockets passing a few dozens of meters away so I understand the situation and look so I think this is a very old pattern if you look at the history of US support to Israel during conflicts there is typically overwhelming support for the right to self defense and also concern about escalation and a desire to impose sort of time delimitation and in most of the Israel's wars there was about a week or two week period where the United States was rightfully outraged about the attacks on Israel and firmly backing with logistics and intelligence and weaponry and sort of public diplomacy Israel's efforts and yet also this desire to constrain and contain the funding I think that's what really incurred significant political risk element in the States is this portion of the progressive left that is actually actively pro Hamas or pro Palestine there's interesting polling that's come out 75% of Americans dramatically and emphatically support Israel's right to self defense but over 50% also want direct humanitarian aid and access and also want de-escalation so I think it's a mixed picture I think Biden to emphatically support Israel I also think personally it's right to push and access directly but look this is not going to get better until Hamas no longer rules Gaza so those voices in the US who conflate Hamas with the people of Gaza are simply wrong and I think that kind of thinking needs to be resisted How concerned is Washington about Iran targeting its own forces we've seen Iranian proxies trying to harm US assets in Iraq for example in recent days should the US respond more decisively well we should be prepared to and we signal readiness to do so as of right now the attacks have been more of a harassment nature so we're talking about some rockets on our bases in Syria, bases in Iraq we're talking about missiles fired from towards Israel that the United States has shot down with naval assets as of right now none of these have been particularly direct effective threats against our troops I think the movement of the carrier strike groups into airwaters near Israel was a strong signal towards Iran that if you want to play this game with us you're going to lose this game big and I think that's the right signal but I also think it's important not to overreact at this point the United States needs to support a careful and sort of very targeted use of force against the people behind these terrorist attacks at the beginning of the month and escalating into a broader war even if there's justification even if our forces are attacked is going to push further from that goal it's going to create a bigger political division between the United States and Israel and our other regional allies so I think we should exercise some restraint as long as the Iranian attacks are as ineffective as they have been so do you think there has been some criticism of US policy towards Iran in recent years certainly from Israel I mean we're all on the same side now but there has been some criticism that pursuit of the Iran nuclear deal the offering to pay $6 billion that's now been put on ice but in exchange for American citizens being held in Iran we're going to see a shift in policy towards Iran once all of this is over well I think so and the $6 billion is really secondary the biggest problem is the cessation of sanctions on Iranian oil exports which have put billions and billions more into the pockets of Tehran and clearly the assurance of this flow of money sort of reduced their risk in terms of launching the attacks that they have supported from Hamas from elsewhere in the region I come from the political spectrum in the US that is very skeptical money in Tehran because it's seriously when they call us the big Satan in Israel the little Satan when they call for the destruction of Israel and so I think this is going to show that the current administration's somewhat naive approach towards Iran has backfired and it will strengthen the hand of those who say treat Iran as it has asked to be treated as a determined enemy of the United States all right Colonel Rich Alton we appreciate it thank you very much indeed thank you to you see it thank you a major pro-Palestinian rally is taking place in London right now during protests last week tens of thousands marched some seen openly expressing support for Hamas these are scenes from the streets of London today Britain's home secretary has warned that those found supporting terrorist groups will face the full force of the law and Jews and Israelis are on high alert all around the world amid large anti-Israel protests and a spike in anti-Semitic attacks Israelis have been advised to leave Egypt and Jordan immediately and earlier today or last night I should say there was an incident in Cyprus close to the Israeli embassy in Nicosia Ambassador Michael Harari is a policy fellow at Mitevim and he's also the former Israeli ambassador to Cyprus thank you very much indeed for being with us first of all what happened in Nicosia last night well basically as far as I know good afternoon Elora as far as I know there was a minor explosive at the early hours of the morning no casualties no damage if people were arrested and the investigation goes on all Israeli people and families are safe at this point of view we are okay we know that there have been Iranian backed assassination attempts on Israelis in Cyprus even before this war started I mean given your knowledge of Cyprus how much of a handle do the authorities there have on the IRGC elements within their own country no they do absolutely I mean there is very good cooperation between Israel and Cyprus for the last 10-12 years Cypriot authorities are very much aware of these let's say dangers and all efforts I fully have fully confident with the Cypriot authorities dealing with these efforts and just to give us a sense of how this is typical for the very tense situation for Jews and Israelis around the world I mean as a former diplomat yourself you know what it's like to be in another country when the situation in Israel is volatile just give us a sense of how you think people could be dealing with that right now well of course I mean once the situation I mean you know started to be as we know external measures are taken I mean vis-a-vis the embassies but vis-a-vis as well of course the Jewish communities see now people are more aware I don't see that there is the extreme fear or history but I think that there is much more awareness that those kind of incidents by who tries let's say to attack Israelis or Jews could happen might happen so there are extra measures by the relevant of course host governments by Israel and by the local Jewish communities and do you think that they should be taking precautions and what would you advise them to do they should take precautions absolutely yes I don't think that they should be too much let's say you know too much overreacting but I think that at this present time the war in Gaza it's much better let's say to be more careful and cautious and to keep as much as possible or to follow as much as possible the reports and the advice by the government and by the host government okay Maka Harari thank you very much Indy great to talk to you thank you all right Abbi Padna former Israeli ambassador to France and still with us in the studio sitting here as the booms go on above us and that is the reality in Israel today isn't it also for like commend you for continuing to broadcast I don't know I am used to that kind of situation but you will slowly get used to it but you continued and you know we I am very worried about what is going on outside Israel not in Israel and what you have shown coming from the UK or what I know coming from Paris and from the campuses in the United States it worries me because it shows that there is a shortcoming of our Hasbara of our information services you know we used to have until two weeks ago a ministry for information who absolutely did nothing now we have the foreign ministry it is best we have the spokesman for the army who is doing an excellent job I have said Alon Levy is also doing an excellent job who is that Alon Levy spokesman for the government yes he is doing also an excellent job but there are too few of them we should mobilize now tens or maybe hundreds of people there are lost cause lots of these people I mean people who are marching on the streets of London today you are never going to reach them with any kind of logic not them but you have to reach those who are not marching those who are not marching and who are watching and those you have to convince that we are right that we are the side that has been attacked that has been murdered the evil is on the other side and what we are doing in Gaza is not a fight against Palestinians but a fight against Hamas a fight against a terrorist organization I'm not sure when the world has seen actual photographs of babies that were murdered by terrorists and they still don't understand the evil that Israel is fighting I'm not sure what more can be done are you encouraged though by that poll Rich Altson just talked about 75% of Americans strongly support Israel? Yes yes I'm very encouraged of course and I think that Biden is doing a great job in standing at the side of Israel and if everything goes alright we are going to get a big aid package now and this is how does it turn because 75 of Americans are in favor of Israel so that President Biden will be able to pass it in Congress when the Republicans will have chosen a leadership we are going to get a lot of help Do you think it's different in Europe? Do you think there's less sympathy for Israel in Europe and is that partly in as a result of the very large waves of immigration to Europe in recent years? You know you have countries who have between 10 and 15% of Muslims in Europe Western Europe? Eastern Europe they didn't let the Muslims in but in Western Europe you have countries who have 10 to 15% of Muslims and when those Muslims are automatically on the side of Not in every case, lots of Muslims but it's more difficult in Western Europe but I want to say some But there is strong sympathy with the Palestinians Yes, but at the government level they are with us we had the visit of Schultz Sorry, we're out of time I could speak for hours I know and you will trust me we're going to say thank you Abbey we're going to take a short break stay with us, our live coverage continues here on i24 news, rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last few minutes This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year 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 vaquita can be protected 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 road we finally found in the middle of Casbah in the west part of the city near the combats and bombings of the international coalition we are here a few hundred meters only of the mosque nourished 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 spread their arsenal and their power of fire in front of our cameras it is only 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 television team had been killed by an explosive engine a mine in the same place where we found ourselves a few days earlier thirteen hundred people murdered and more than three thousand 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 i24 news thanks for joining us you're watching i24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day fifteen of Israel's war with Hamas in the last hour a barrage of rockets fired at central Israel including Tel Aviv the IDF says it continues to prepare for a widely anticipated ground offensive into the Gaza Strip with plans to expand the fighting being approved in recent days tens of thousands of Israeli troops are stationed at the border listen to the IDF's spokesperson a short while ago the Nachal Brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission we are facing the enemy with determination looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them no more I'm Israel Chai and we represent this generation we will prevail with me in the studio are Middle East correspondent Ariel Ossaran and columnist Ben Doa Yemini Israeli newspaper welcome to you both the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now 210 a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by Hamas last night the IDF says that number is not final and that the families of all those being held have now been informed mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Rannan were freed in a deal that was negotiated by Qatar last night well with me now Rami Igra is a former head of the Mossads MIA unit thank you very much indeed for being with us we have some information that Hamas is separating the hostages Israelis and soldiers on one side foreign nationals on the other how can Israel balance its concern for the hostages on the other it's a very difficult question I don't know how you can balance these two things but the plan is pretty simple Israel has no alternative it had to once and for all stop this phenomenon called Hamas Hamas will not exist the day after the war this is on the one hand this is why the invasion is eminent and it's very very important to eradicate the Hamas on the other hand we have 200 hostages over there and the way that Israel has dealt with this to my understanding is they have created a very big and very intensive unit that is headed by General Nitzan Alon and this unit is there to gather information trying to track down where the hostages are on the one hand and then create special operations for their release negotiations unlikely the Hamas wants all its prisoners and we have been through this paradigm when we released Gilaad Shalit and in return got all the leaders of the current Hamas all these people running Hamas now are the people we released in the Gilaad Shalit deal so this is not the way the way is to release them by force if some magical event will happen and they will be released by the Hamas like these two American women we will all be blessed and this question will come out off our heads. Why do you think that Hamas chose to release the two Americans last night? Simple Hamas declared yesterday we are releasing these people to show the fascist government running my president Biden that the stories about us are untrue Hamas is trying to portray itself humane now Hamas has many followers around the world as you all know many people don't take the Israeli standpoint but take the Palestinian standpoint and this is one more way to get their support one more way to influence public opinion in America that this is where it's really important for them in order to ease the American involvement in Israel today we all know and thankful for it America is here and they are here to help us Reportedly it's not just Hamas holding our hostages there are also other terrorist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad and ordinary civilians in Gaza as well Yes, ordinary civilians that broke into Israel that terrible Saturday took with them back Israeli women children men I don't know for what reason except for maybe starting some money or something else later on And of course there are many foreigners among the hostages French citizens, Americans ties from many different countries Do you think that that means there will be even more international pressure on Israel in terms of holding back from achieving its military objectives because those countries for them their priority is getting their hostages back Lots of them are people with dual nationality these American women were not dual nationality but most people are, most of the people there are dual nationality Of course these countries would like to see their citizens back but they all understand the problem here and I would imagine that there is no real pressure and if there is pressure it's irrelevant to this point Israel is fighting a war for survival and the war for survival is imminent and it's the most important thing on the table right now the French can ask for the Germans can ask for the ties that have most of their citizens can pressure but first of all we will take the Hamas down and let's hope and pray that as we do that the Israeli effort to release these prisoners by force or these kidnapped civilians by force will work and we will be able to release most of our people and bring them back home the Mossad is a legendary and feared organization it is carried out incredible operations around the world since its creation the Hamas leadership is right now living in the lap of luxury in Doha, Qatar when you say that Israel will wipe out Hamas would you say that those two characters are also in Israel sites I would say I would look back on my back all the time check my car and pray to God that I have another day right, thank you very much indeed Rami Igra formally of the Mossad thank you, great to talk to you alright, well with me in the studio then Ben Roy Yemini senior journalist at Yed Yodakonod and Ariel Oteran but Ben what do you think then in terms of the pressure that's on Israel at the moment, the international pressure not only is it fighting not one but two terrorist groups at its borders it also has the whole world watching to make sure that there are limited civilian casualties which of course Israel also wants but no other country has to deal with this kind of pressure does it what we could do is once and again in all the rounds that we had before vis-a-vis Hamas that actually they have a kind of how to call it it's not a human shield it's a kind of intellectual shield propaganda shield of so many people intellectual scholars journalists who are actually siding with the Hamas siding with Hezbollah they don't say it just like that in a direct way, so just give excuses just for example I hear it again and again and I read it in many articles I have to understand the people of the Hamas they live in the biggest prison in the world open air prison I guess you are familiar with this kind of expression an open air prison with very poor security guards because they manage to imagine all the problems it's a lie maybe they live in a prison but because of the Hamas because the Hamas refused to any proposal coming from the international community the EU and others and again no more siege, no more blockade you will get whatever you want whatever you want they always refused why? because they have their own ideology they have their own platform they don't think just like those scholars and yet, yet so many people blame Israel and here is coming this kind of intellectual kind of wall they are telling us don't do anything they are telling us you have to limit yourself they are telling us you are not allowed to do anything so what we are allowed to do under the circumstances what Israel is allowed to do what proportionality I mean, I checked it now as a research not as a journalist I can tell you that Israel actually killed much less innocent civilians comparing to any other battlefield in the last 20 years much less than in Iraq much less than in Afghanistan just to give you the numbers we are speaking about in Iraq 70% of the buildings were destroyed by the American air force and in Mosul it was 65% we did not do it, not yet but what we see, we see on the background always destroyed buildings we see rebels but we are speaking about something which was used by the Hamas because they put the rockets the launch rockets from this building that's why not because Israel wants to destroy the life of the people in Gaza we are sorry about the suffering but it's not because of us it should be clear it's because of the Hamas stay with us for a moment Ben because rockets have been fired from Gaza throughout the day towards Tel Aviv and central Israel in the last hour and also towards southern Israel where there was a direct hit on a house in the city of Sterot thankfully no casualties there the house was empty but our Mary McAuliffe is there Mary Hi that's right Laura so we just moved from that house we just viewed some of the extensive damage that was caused this house by a rocket that was fired just about three hours ago luckily all of the residents in that house had already evacuated about a week ago to go to safer parts of the country as of course Sterot is one of these areas where heavy rocket fires from within the Gaza Strip targeting this community the house that we were at it was just one of four houses on a very small street of about 15 houses that had been hit by a rocket and face damage significant damage to those buildings in the past two weeks of this war right now we're standing just outside the Gaza boarding still in the community of Sterot where from here we can not only hear the sounds of Israeli firing into Gaza Strip whether it's airstrikes from above or from tanks and anti-tank missiles just right behind me over that border into some of the communities in northern Gaza Beit Lakhiah, Beit Honun, Jabaliah all of those communities are right behind me on this hillside over here and this of course is an area that Israel and the IDF has been warning for over a week now all of residents should flee southwards and we've also heard reports just now from Palestinian media saying the IDF is once again dropping leaflets on communities in northern Gaza telling them that any residents above north Wadi Gaza will be putting their lives at risk and not only will they be putting their lives at risk and this is a new message coming out from the IDF now if it is to be confirmed but also telling them all residents who are living above Wadi Gaza and who are still here right now as Israel continues its operation will be considered a partner in a terrorist organization. Okay Mary, thank you very much for that update. Mary McAuliffe there in Sterot which was hit by a rocket earlier today destroyed somebody's roof thankfully no casualties Well let's get the focus back on diplomacy now because world leaders have been discussing the conflict at an international summit in Cairo today Saudi Arabia has broken ranks somewhat with the Arab world in recent days and has criticized Hamas calling its attack on civilians on Islamic publicly though Saudi officials do strongly support the Palestinian civilians in Gaza you can take a listen now to the Saudi foreign minister who spoke at the summit in Cairo earlier today I call on the international community to press the Israeli side to lift the siege and stop the military operations that has led to the loss of innocent lives and that threatens undesirable consequences on the regional and international security and stability. We also assert our flat rejection to the Israeli attempts of forced displacement of Palestinians and Ariel I want to take those comments in context of another prince, Prince Al-Turki who's a kind of a veteran diplomat in Saudi Arabia earlier this week and he really tore into Hamas and saying their actions were un-Islamic he also heavily criticized Israel but it was interesting to hear that and also on the Al Arabiya news channel the Hamas leader Khaled Mechal was also strongly criticized by the news anchor over what they had done and how they had bought this destruction on the people of Gaza so just give us a little bit of where the Saudi stand right now. I think we can say from all Arab leaders that we've heard from so far the Saudi kingdom has been the most I think in air quotes pro-Israel in terms of the acknowledgement of the atrocities that happened and also or anti Hamas perhaps correct right anti Hamas but if we look at what was said today in the summit in Cairo and condemned Hamas no one mentioned their atrocities except no I'm talking about from the Arab world in delegations however the Saudi Foreign Minister did call on the release of all hostages and those who were kidnapped called on the end of killing civilians on both sides and so the fact that he mentioned the hostages I think that is significant because we're looking at what King Abdullah Jordan said or CC of Egypt their main concern is that their borders will be flooded with Palestinian refugees waiting to escape either from Gaza or from the West Bank we're not in that situation in the West Bank but you see already the Egyptian military deploying forces on the border you see large amounts of military forces in Sinai along the Rafa crossing because this is seen by Egypt as a national security threat they do not want to let one Palestinian in no women their children no one even even now they're not they're refusing to allow dual nationals these are Western citizens even they're not allowed to go out according to the Egyptian authorities I do think it's interesting to see that the entry of a limited amount of humanitarian aid we're talking about 20 trucks that were let in with medicine medical equipment and food nothing else there were reports that there were burial shrouds included in one of the trucks that's a very ominous piece of aid to come in but if we're looking at why would they take up maybe you have a point why would they take up space delivering that when you know surely the thing that they need the most is food and water right now there's a siege on Gaza I mean there are images on social media which tell a different story which show the lights on and show people so I think because this is the first act of good faith on both sides what did we see just hours before these 20 trucks went in two hostages were released and this is a point that Israel made or at least the hostage the families of the hostages made clear that no humanitarian aid is to go into Gaza unless hostages are released so we saw very minimal limited convoy of 20 trucks entering and we saw two hostages being freed obviously for them it's a change of their lives but indeed it's just to say that Egyptians they have a very bad experience very bad experience with the Hamas why because for many years actually there was a kind of collaboration between the Hamas and the Jihad and Daesh in North Sinai they were attacking Egyptian security forces? of course I mean they helped each other and I mean so many Egyptian soldiers were killed actually because of that so and they sometimes even found shelter in the Gaza Strip the people of Daesh from North Sinai so they know what they are doing in that respect we don't want it anymore now that we maybe we overcame the Daesh in North Sinai we don't want more kind of people that might reuse Ariel I mean it's still very early days the Israeli forces yet to go in and destroy Hamas completely but is there any talk at that summit or anywhere else about what Gaza might look like after this war once Hamas is destroyed? No and that's why I think a lot of this summit is lip service if I'm being honest I think it's for many of these Arab leaders to show that they're engaged in the Palestinian issue to show that they care because the leading Arab channels that's all they're showing on the news what Israel bombing Gaza the destruction in Gaza the suffering in Gaza that's what their people are seeing around the Arab world so they have to show that they're engaged in some form or another but in terms of actual substance Jordan and Egypt they're talking about we don't want to get involved we don't want any refugees The most important thing for them is that the Gaza's stay where they are Exactly and as Israel pushes them further south and Egypt prevents them from exiting at some point it's going to boil and there's two exits from Gaza there's Egypt and there's Israel they stormed the Israeli border once and Egypt has deployed a significant amount of special forces to brace for the option that they will be that their border will be overrun as well Alright interesting thank you Ariel well let's turn our attention now to Israel's northern border the IDF says an anti-tank guided missile was fired from terrorist groups in Lebanon towards the area surrounding the town of Magaliot the IDF says it responded with a drone strike our correspondent Balir Saladin is in the north Balir take us through the latest developments in the northern border if you would Yes well on the last hour reports coming from Lebanon so I can hear myself if you can fix this please Yes so in the last hour there has been reports from the south of Lebanon and Israeli airstrike has hit a car apparently it belongs to one of Hezbollah's leaders maybe or at least some armed squad there and we know about one person that was killed in this attack there is no confirmation from the Israeli side but we can hear the reports that are coming from south in Lebanon this comes about an hour after a guided missile anti-tank missile that was fired at Magaliot in the border between Israel and Lebanon and there are two people that were wounded specifically we're talking about two Thai workers one of them is actually seriously injured and both of them were taken to the hospital and it's fat nearby another incident was in which is right in the center of the border where also an anti-tank guided missile was fired to the Israeli side from Lebanon and Israel actually the Israeli army just half an hour ago of the drone that was the armed squad in Lebanon and this comes also after a lot of escalation in the last 24 hours specifically a lot of shelling from both sides and we're talking about the equation that Hezbollah actually is standing by which is if you attack us if you kill one of us so we will kill one of you and that's what we're seeing in the last couple of weeks but specifically in the last 24 hours really escalated and we can say that at least seven incidents of Israel attacking Hezbollah squads in Lebanon so we're talking about at least a dozen people were killed and they will absolutely try to kill the Israeli soldiers on the other side in revenge for this and this whole thing may be not a war yet but the confrontation is here and everything is possible. And Balio I just wanted to ask you because of course ordinary Lebanese people who are not affiliated with Hezbollah they don't want a war with Israel they have very bad experiences of conflict with Israel in the past there are reports of some kind of civilian resistance inside some of these southern villages inside Lebanon trying to prevent Hezbollah from bedding in there do you have any information on that at all? We still don't have but we still don't see any resistance in southern Lebanon we're talking about an organization that is the de facto army the de facto leader of the country the Lebanese army is not actually responsible or is not actually in power or in charge of the situation especially in the south area and we know also that the south of Lebanon is mostly Shiite Muslims and many of them if they are not affiliated with Hezbollah they sympathize with Hezbollah and of course after all the images that are coming from Gaza showing only the one side of this war it makes the people there encouraged to help or participate at some level in the last week or so we heard demonstrations that are in support of Nasrallah they are calling for him to intervene in this war of course still no sign from him where he is planning to take this but his deputy the secretary the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah and Naim Qasem actually said half an hour ago that they are monitoring the situation they will of course intervene or participate in this war if needed and they will respond to any as he said aggression from the Israeli side towards the Gazans and the tribe so everything is actually possible we can't see right now any resistance but of course all the Lebanese people are going to pay the price in case of a full scale war between the two sides alright thank you very much Balir Balir Sledin there up in the north Ben doyemini I just wanted to ask you something a bit unrelated but Israeli is taking steps to basically force the news channel Al Jazeera to leave Israel I just wondered as a journalist what are your thoughts on that decision from one hand we have you know freedom of speech and we don't want anybody to gag any channel from the other hand it totally became but totally became the actually the spoke person of the Hamas of the Hezbollah so we have a problem we have a problem now sometimes they are going to the north or to the south and they are reporting where the units are and they have an Arabic language media of course and what they are doing actually is not in the service of free speech in the service of democracy no it is in the service of one thing of the Hamas of the Muslim brothers so if Israel will decide to tell them enough is enough it will be completely correct it will be the right thing to do I made the comparison with Russian news channels who are very swiftly closed down in the UK and in France once Russia had invaded Ukraine some because in Israel it's a process it's not that don't believe the rumors Israel is still a democracy and everything is taking time you need all this kind of confirmations of the general attorney and so on by the way last week just to remind us you in Europe it was decided by some states to block the Hamas channel that was broadcasted also in so I mean if we will do it we will do just what Europe is doing so just very quickly I just want to add regarding the northern border that the foreign minister of Lebanon told the Al Jazeera not too long ago we asked the western countries that Israel stop firing for 48 hours there's no answer yet so they're also concerned okay Aril thank you for that Ben Doi Yemini thank you to you stay tuned our live coverage continues here on I-24 news stay with us among 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-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas in the last hour a barrage of rockets fired at central Israel including Tel Aviv the IDF says it continues to prepare for a widely anticipated ground offensive into the Gaza Strip with plans to expand to the south and north to the south and north to the south the Gaza Strip with plans to expand the fighting being approved in recent days tens of thousands of Israeli troops are stationed at the border take a listen to the IDF spokesperson a short while ago the Nachal Brigade has been training in recent days and is ready for any mission we are facing the enemy with determination looking into the enemy's eyes and telling them no more I'm Israel Chai and in this generation we will prevail with me in the studio our Middle East correspondent Ariel Ossaran and columnist Bendoa Yemini at the Israeli newspaper Welcome to you both first though the IDF says the number of hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now 210 a number which does not include the two American citizens who were freed by Hamas last night and that is not final and that the families of all those being held have now been informed mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Ranan were freed in a deal facilitated by Qatar last night well with me now Rami Igra is a former head of the Mossad's MIA unit thank you very much Indy for being with us we have some information that Hamas is separating the hostages Israelis and soldiers on one side, foreign nationals on the other how can Israel balance its concern for the hostages with its ground invasion into Gaza it's a very difficult question I don't know how you can balance these two things but their plan is pretty simple Israel has no alternative it has to once and for all stop this phenomenon called Hamas just a day after war this is on the one hand and this is why the invasion is imminent and it's very very important we have to eradicate Hamas so on the other hand we have 200 hostages over there and the way that Israel has dealt with to my understanding is they have created a very big and very intensive unit that is headed by General Nitzan Alon and this unit is there to gather information trying to track down where the hostages are on the one hand and then create special operations for their release negotiations unlikely the Hamas wants all its prisoners and we've been through this paradigm when we released Gail Alshalit and in return got all the leaders of the current Hamas all these people running Hamas now and the people we released in the Gail Alshalit deal so this is not the way the way is to release them by force or if some magical event will happen and they will be released by the Hamas like these two American women we will all be blessed and this question will come out off our heads. Why do you think that Hamas chose to release the two Americans last night? It's simple Hamas declared yesterday we're releasing these people to show the fascist government right my president Biden that the stories about us are untrue Hamas is trying to portray itself humane now Hamas has many followers around the world as you all know many people don't take the Israeli standpoint but take the Palestinian standpoint and this is one more way to get their support one more way to influence public opinion in America that this is where it's really important for them in order to ease the American involvement in Israel today we all know and thankful for it America is here and they're here to help us Reportedly it's not just Hamas holding our hostages there are also other terrorist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad and ordinary civilians in Gaza as well Yes, ordinary civilians that broke into Israel that terrible Saturday took with them back Israeli Israeli women, children, men I don't know for what reason except for maybe starting some money or something else later on and of course there are many foreigners among the hostages French citizens, Americans ties people from many different countries do you think that that means there will be even more international pressure on Israel in terms of holding back from achieving its military objectives because those countries for them their priority is getting their hostages back Lots of them are people with dual nationality these American women were not dual nationality but most people are with dual nationality Of course these countries would like to see their citizens back but they all understand the problem here and I would imagine that there is no real pressure and if there is pressure it's irrelevant to this point Israel is fighting a war for survival and the war for survival is imminent and it's the most important thing on the table right now so the French can ask for the Germans can ask for the ties that have most of their citizens can pressure but first of all we will take the Hamas down and let's hope and pray that as we do that the Israeli effort to release these prisoners by force or these kidnapped civilians by force will work and we will be able to release most of our people and bring them back home The Mossad is a legendary and feared organization it is carried out incredible operations around the world since its creation the Hamas leadership is right now living in the lap of luxury in Doha Qatar when you say that Israel will wipe out Hamas would you say that those two characters are also in Israel sites? If I was same I would look back on my back all the time check my car and pray to God that I have another day Alright, thank you very much indeed Rami Igra formally of the Mossad Thank you, great to talk to you Alright, well with me in the studio then Ben Doi Yemini, senior journalist of the Mossad and Ariel Asaran Ben what do you think then in terms of the pressure that is on Israel at the moment, the international pressure not only is it fighting not one but two terrorist groups at its borders it also has the whole world watching to make sure that there are limited civilian casualties which of course Israel also wants but no other country has to deal with this kind of pressure does it? Once again in all the rounds that we have before vis-a-vis Chisbala, vis-a-vis Hamas that actually they have a kind of how to call it it's not a human shield it's a kind of intellectual shield propaganda shield of so many people intellectual scholars, journalists who are actually siding with the Hamas siding with Chisbala they don't say it just like that in a direct way give excuses just for example I hear it again and again and I read it in many articles you have to understand the people of the Hamas they live in the biggest prison in the world open air prison I guess you are familiar with this kind of expression an open air prison with very poor security guards because they might show a mask and all the problems it's a lie maybe they live in the prison but because of the Hamas because the Hamas refused any proposal coming from the international community Kvarte, the EU and others they were offered again and again no more siege, no more blockade you will get whatever you want whatever you want they always refused why? because they have their own ideology, they have their own platform they don't think just like those scholars and yet yet so many people blame Israel and here is coming this kind of intellectual kind of wall they are telling us don't do anything they are telling us you have to limit yourself, they are telling us you are not allowed to do anything so what we are allowed to do under the circumstances what Israel is allowed to do what? proportionality I mean I checked it now as a research not as a journalist I can tell you that Israel actually killed much less innocent civilians comparing to any other battlefield in the last 20 years much less than in Iraq much less than in Afghanistan in Iraq and Syria just to give you the numbers we are speaking about in Iraq 70% of the buildings were destroyed by the American Air Force and in Mosul it was 65% we did not do it not yet but what we see we see on the background always destroyed buildings but we are speaking about something which was used by the Hamas because they put rockets launch rockets from this that's why not because Israel wants to destroy the life of the people in Gaza we are sorry about the suffering but it's not because of us it should be clear it's because of the Hamas stay with us for a moment Ben rockets have been fired from Gaza throughout the day towards Tel Aviv and central Israel in the last hour and also towards southern Israel where there was a direct hit on a house in the city of Sterot thankfully no casualties there the house was empty but our Mary McAuliffe is there Mary hi that's right Laura so we just moved from that house we just viewed some of the extensive damage that was caused by this house by a rocket that was fired just about three hours ago really all of the residents in that house had already evacuated about a week ago to go to safer parts of the country as of course Sterot is one of these areas that has seen heavy heavy rocket fires from within the Gaza Strip targeting this community the house that we were at it was just one of four houses on a very small street of about 15 houses that had been hit by a rocket and face damage significant damage to those buildings in the past two weeks of this war right now we're standing just outside the Gaza boarding still in the community of Sterot and not only hear the sounds of Israeli firing into Gaza Strip whether it's airstrikes from above or from tanks and anti-tank missiles that are being fired just right behind me over that border into some of the communities in northern Gaza all of those communities are right behind me on this hillside over here and this of course is an area that Israel and the IDF has been warning for over a week now all of residents should flee southwards and we've also heard reports just now that the IDF is once again dropping leaflets on communities in northern Gaza telling them that any residents above north Wadi Gaza will be putting their lives in risk and not only will be putting their lives at risk and this is a new message coming out from the IDF now if it is to be confirmed but also telling them all residents who are living above Wadi Gaza and who are still here right now as Israel continues its operation will be considered a partner in a terrorist organization. Okay Mary, thank you very much for that update which was hit by a rocket earlier today destroyed somebody's roof thankfully no casualties well let's get the focus back on diplomacy now because world leaders have been discussing the conflict at an international summit in Cairo today Saudi Arabia has broken ranks somewhat with the Arab world in recent days and has criticized Hamas calling its attack on civilians un-Islamic publicly though Saudi officials do strongly support the Palestinian civilians in Gaza you can take a listen now to the Saudi foreign minister who spoke at the summit in Cairo earlier today I call on the international community to press the Israeli side to lift the siege and stop the military operations that has led to the loss of innocent lives and that threatens undesirable consequences on the regional and international security and stability we also assert our flat rejection to the Israeli attempts of forced displacement of Palestinians and Ariel I want to take those comments in the context of another prince Prince al-Turki who's a kind of a veteran diplomat in Saudi Arabia earlier this week and he really tore into Hamas and saying their actions were un-Islamic he also heavily criticized Israel but it was interesting to hear that and also on the al-Arabian news channel the Hamas leader Khaled Michelle was also strongly criticized by the news anchor over what they had done and how they had bought this destruction on the people of Gaza so just give us a sense of where the Saudi stand right now I think we can say from all Arab leaders that we've heard from so far the Saudi kingdom has been the most I think in air quotes pro-Israel in terms of the acknowledgement of the atrocities that happened anti Hamas perhaps correct right anti Hamas but if we look at what was said today in the summit in Cairo no one condemned Hamas no one mentioned their atrocities except no I'm talking about from the Arab world and delegations however the Saudi foreign minister did call on the release of all hostages and those who were kidnapped called on the end of killing civilians on both sides and so that the fact that he mentioned the hostages I think that is significant because we're looking at what King Abdullah of Jordan said or a CC of Egypt their main concern is that their borders will be flooded with Palestinian refugees waiting to escape either from Gaza or from the West Bank we're not in that situation in the West Bank but you see already the Egyptian military deploying forces on the border you see large amounts of military forces in Sinai along the Rafa crossing because this is seen by Egypt as a national security threat they do not want to let one Palestinian in no women their children no one even even now they're not they're refusing to allow dual nationals these are Western citizens even they're not allowed to go out according to the Egyptian authorities I do think it's interesting to see that the entry of a limited amount of humanitarian aid we're talking about 20 trucks that were let in with medicine medical equipment and food nothing else there were reports that there were burial shrouds included in one of the in one of the trucks that's a very ominous piece of aid to come in but if we're looking at that maybe you have a point why would they take up space delivering that when you know the thing that they need the most is food and water right now we're hearing about you know there's a siege on Gaza I mean there are images on social media which tell a different story which show the lights on and show people so I think because this is the first act of good faith on both sides what did we see just hours before these 20 trucks went in two hostages were released and this is a point that Israel made or at least the hostage the families of the hostages made clear that no humanitarian aid is to go into Gaza unless hostages are released so we saw very minimal limited convoy of 20 trucks entering and we saw two hostages being freed obviously for them it's a change of their lives but indeed it's just just to say that Egyptians they have a very mean experience very bad experience with the Hamas why because for many years actually there was a kind of collaboration between the Hamas and the Jihad Daesh in North Sinai so they were attacking Egyptian security forces of course I mean they helped each other and I mean so many Egyptian soldiers were killed actually because of that so and they sometimes even found shelter in the Gaza Strip the people of Daesh from North Sinai so they know what they are doing in that respect we don't want it anymore now that we maybe we overcame the Daesh in North Sinai we don't want more kind of people that might renew Ariel I mean it's still very early days the Israeli forces yet to go in and destroy Hamas completely but is there any talk at that summit or anywhere else about what Gaza might look like after this war once Hamas is destroyed? No and that's why I think a lot of this summit is lip service if I'm being honest I think it's for many of these Arab leaders to show that they're engaged in the Palestinian issue to show that they care because the leading Arab channels that's all they're showing on the news what Israel bombing Gaza the destruction in Gaza the suffering their people are seeing around the Arab world so they have to show that they're engaged in some form or another but in terms of actual substance Jordan and Egypt they're talking about we don't want to get involved we don't want any refugees the most important thing for them is that the Gaza stay where they are. Exactly and as Israel pushes them further south and Egypt prevents them from exiting at some point it's going to boil and there's two exits from Gaza there's Egypt and there's Israel they stormed the Israeli border once and Egypt has deployed significant amount of special forces to brace for the option that they will be that their border will be off around as well. Interesting thank you Ariel. Well let's turn our attention now to Israel's northern border the IDF says an anti-tank guided missile was fired from terrorist groups in Lebanon towards the area surrounding the town Margaliot the IDF says it responded with a drone strike our correspondent Balir Saladin is in the north Balir take us through all the latest developments in the northern border if you would. Yes well on the last hour reports coming from Lebanon so I can hear myself if you can fix this please yes so in the last hour there has been reports from the south of Lebanon and Israeli airstrike has hit a car apparently belongs to one of Hezbollah's leaders maybe or at least some armed squad there and we know about one person that was killed in this attack there is no confirmation from the Israeli side but we can hear the reports that are coming from south in Lebanon this comes about an hour after a guided missile anti-tank missile that was fired at Margaliot in the border between Israel and Lebanon and there are two people that were wounded specifically we're talking about two Thai workers one of them is actually seriously injured and both of them were taken to the hospital and it's fat nearby another incident was in Khulita which is right in the center of the border where also an anti-tank guided missile was fired to the Israeli side from Lebanon and Israel actually the Israeli army showed the footage just half an hour ago of the drone that was that did the attack sorry the armed squad in Lebanon and this comes also after a lot of escalation in the last 24 hours specifically a lot of shelling from both sides and we're talking about the equation that is that Hezbollah actually is standing by which is if you attack us we will attack you kill one of us so we will kill one of you and that's what we're seeing in the last couple of weeks but specifically in the last 24 hours really escalated and we can say that at least seven incidents of Israel attacking Hezbollah squads in Lebanon so we're talking about at least a dozen people were killed and they will absolutely try to kill the Israeli soldiers at the other side in revenge for this and this whole thing may be not a war yet but the confrontation is here and everything is possible and Balia I just wanted to ask you because of course ordinary Lebanese people who are not affiliated with Hezbollah they don't want a war with Israel they have very bad experiences of conflict with Israel in the past there are reports of some kind of civilian resistance inside some of these southern villages inside Lebanon trying to prevent Hezbollah from bedding in there do you have any information on that at all we still don't have but we still don't see any resistance in the south in Lebanon we're talking about an organization that is the de facto army the de facto leader of the country the Lebanese army is not actually responsible is not actually in power or in charge of the situation especially in the southern area and we know also that the south of Lebanon is mostly Shiite Muslims and many of them if they are not affiliated with Hezbollah they sympathize with Hezbollah and of course after all the images that are coming from Gaza showing only the one side of this war it makes the people there encouraged to help or participate at some level in the last week or so we heard demonstrations that are in support of Nasrallah they are calling for him to intervene in this war of course still no sign from him where he is planning to take this but his deputy the the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah he actually said half an hour ago that they are monitoring the situation they will of course intervene or participate in this war if needed and they will respond to any as he said aggression from the Israeli side toward the Gazans and the Stripe so everything is actually possible we can't see right now any resistance but of course all the Lebanese people are going to pay the price in case of a full scale war between the two sides alright thank you very much Balir Balir Sledin there up in the north Ben Doyemini I just wanted to ask you something a bit unrelated but Israeli is taking steps to basically force the news channel Al Jazeera to leave Israel I just wondered as a journalist what are your thoughts on that decision sorry that was good from one hand we have a lot of speech and we don't want anybody to gag any channel from the other hand they totally became they actually the spoke person of the Hamas of the Hezbollah so we have a problem we have a problem now sometimes they are going to the news or to the south and they are reporting where the units are in the language media of course and what they are doing actually is not in the service of free speech is not in the service of democracy no it's in the service of one thing of the Hamas of the Muslim brothers so if Israel will decide to tell them enough is enough it will be completely correct it will be the right thing to do I made the comparison with a very swiftly closed down in the UK and in France once Russia invaded Ukraine why is it taking so long because in Israel it's a process it's not that don't believe the rumors Israel is still a democracy and everything is taking time you need all this kind of confirmation of the general attorney and so on by the way last week we asked to remind us you in Europe it was decided by some states to block the Hamas channel that was broadcasted also so I mean if we will do it we will do just what Europe is doing so just very quickly I just want to add regarding the northern border that the foreign minister of Lebanon told the Al Jazeera not too long ago we asked the western countries to stop firing for 48 hours there's no answer yet thank you for that thank you to you we're going to wrap things up for now do stay tuned our live coverage continues here on i24news stay with us Israel is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking more than 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 here where they come to claim 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 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 the Vakita can be protected our special broadcast here on i24 news as we continue rolling coverage on day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas while the IDF is preparing for a pending ground operation in the Gaza Strip the northern border is on edge ongoing exchanges of fire there seven anti-tank squads foiled in southern Lebanon in the last 24 hours alone to foreign workers injured the IDF has strikes and as bala targets and response carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt, entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafa crossing with security officials saying there is no humanitarian crisis there. The Israeli War Cabinet holding an assessment session this evening down south, meanwhile the National Security Council raising travel warning for Israelis to Egypt and Jordan to the highest level. Morocco is on the no-travel list too. This is an international peace summit convened in Cairo and the results of which remain quite unclear. We begin this broadcast by heading down south at 24 News Correspondent Mary McAuliffe standing by there. Mary, thank you very much for joining us. So the IDF continues to try and protect northern Gaza civilians, essentially urging them to head south. Is that an indication a ground operation might be nearing? That's right Ellie. Well that is the big question and one that we have been watching for over a week now. When the IDF first began to issue these orders, calling on all residents above Wadi Gaza to flee south for their own safety, this giving our first indication that like there's going to be a heavy Israeli operation, whether that's on the ground just from the skies as we have been seeing over the past week or something else entirely. But today the IDF now dropping new leaflets with also new information once again telling residents to flee south but telling all residents who are remaining north of Wadi Gaza. So that's in the northern half of the Gaza Strip that remaining there is putting their own lives at risk and the IDF is prepared to take any measure that they will also be treating them as partners and terror organizations. So this is perhaps the most serious message we have seen coming out from the IDF calling on the residents to move south and certainly another indication that this operation that we have been bracing for that the IDF says it is preparing and accepts is really imminent and we certainly can feel the activity here in the south. Many many army tanks have been in the area. We hear heavy machinery Israeli fighter jets continue to fly overhead and we can periodically see some of the strikes that are happening right below me. I think you won't be able to see some of the smoke. Now it's dissipated, but this right behind me. So just two miles from where we standing. These are some Gaza communities in the northern part of the strip right near the Israeli border. So Bayt Lachia Bayt Hanun and Jabalia further south. I don't know if you can hear that big boom, but we're hearing lots of activity here in the area from within the Gaza Strip. Palestinian media is reporting that there have been some 70 airstrikes, 70 strikes from Israeli planes overhead in the past hour or so. And we do know the IDF itself is saying that continues to operate in the area from the sky and from the land, but that they are preparing the next steps. Yeah, and again this war cabinet convening down south this very evening. And Mary briefly before we let you go US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanking Israel and Egypt for this humanitarian aid that entered the strip today, but also warning that it might fall into Hamas's hands. What are the reassurances that it won't? Absolutely, this is the big question that we've been hearing. So we know there has been heavy, heavy diplomatic efforts over the past two weeks really since this began. And the main focus of negotiations this week has been some of the aid convoys. There are over 200 aid convoys who are waiting on the Rafa crossing on the Egyptian side of the crossing to enter into the Gaza Strip. Today only 20 were allowed in. They're just carrying food and water and medical supplies that were to be discharged to the residents. But Israel has said they won't allow more than 20 trucks in and they are trying to lobby to get access to these trucks so that they can verify the contents of all of them before they actually go inside the Gaza Strip because the Israeli military wants to make sure they can do everything they can to prevent Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza Strip from bringing more equipment to fuel their fire. So that's the main task right now is how to guarantee humanitarian aid while at the same time trying to keep Hamas and other groups from getting more fuel for their weapons. More fuel to the fire. I-24 News correspondent Mary Akalif and the I-24 News team there down south. Thank you very much for this. Much more from Mary Akalif later on in the evening. And joining us now in studio, Colonel Grisha Akabovich, former head of the civilian department of Kogat and Ariella Seron are very on I-24 News senior Middle East correspondent. And thank you gentlemen very much for joining us. Colonel Akabovich, I do want to begin with you since we've seen those humanitarian aid convoys entering the Strip. And we will perhaps address in a bit the humanitarian states of the hostages, over 200 of them that are being held by Hamas here in the Strip as we speak. And yet when it comes to the humanitarian situation in some areas of the Gaza Strip, I wouldn't say business is usual. Nothing is usual these days. But life continues there. I want to be clear about three things. Like anything in the army that divides to three. So let's divide it to three. Number one, the number of people who are kidnapped into Gaza is probably 300. The official number is 210. But there are still a huge number of people that we don't know. Or considered missing. That considered missing are probably some of them, the majority are actually inside Gaza. Maybe yes. People were kidnapped or lost bodies. Number two, about the aid, about the 20 trucks. I don't know if this is the right way to say it in English, but it sounds better maybe in Hebrew. It's a laundry of wards. OK, it's like somebody. White washing. White washing, thank you. Why is that? Any aid entering to Gaza since June 2007 is actually aid to Hamas. Hamas is the sovereign entity since June 2007. So even if workers work in Israel, or we look at ourself at the mirror and we say, wow, we are so amazing. We are the West. We are supporting 70,000 families that each one of those workers brings back home $200 a day. We are actually helping Hamas by doing that. Why? Because it's their responsibility. Inside Gaza, they are responsible on the poverty in Gaza, on the wealth in Gaza, on the economy of Gaza. So any aid that enters to people to Gaza, it's actually helping Hamas. Instead of Hamas helping those people, the Egypt or the West is helping those people. Number three, there is no crisis in Gaza. Let's be clear about it. There were pictures shown today in the southern part of Gaza, in Chanyounis, in Derebala, and Rafah. Shops are open. Markets are open. People buy goods. People buy staff. Water, let's talk about the fact. Israel supplied only 12% of the water consumption to Gaza. The rest is from the aquifer. So why always to blame Israel about those things? Well, why not, perhaps, at this point in time? It's the easiest thing to do. Of course, it's the easiest thing to do. Electricity, Israel supplied only 45%. The rest is they have their own power plant. They could fix it. They could supply diesel. They could build tanks to store more diesel. They had generators by the thousands. And of course, they prepared this attack for at least two years. They also prepared the supply on the ground. So it's all there. Let's not fall into that trap. As I said a week ago, Hamas will pull the humanitarian card faster than we think. And it happened. I hope that you're not surprised as everybody else. Well, we are perhaps not falling into this trap, but global leaders are regional heavyweights. That seems to be the case when it comes to them. Let's take a quick listen to some of the remarks heard today in Cairo where the slaughter, the massacre, the torturing of Israelis seems to not be a big deal for many there. Let's take a listen. Egypt condemns with complete clarity the targeting, killing, or intimidation of all peaceful civilians. And at the same time, expresses its extreme astonishment that the world stands by and watches a catastrophic humanitarian crisis affecting two and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and collective punishment, a siege, and a siege are imposed on them, starvation and violent pressure for forced displacement. No excuse or reason for inflicting such a collective and cruel suffering on human lives like the one happening in Gaza. You must be unequivocal in condemning and resisting loss of any single innocent life. By dehumanizing Palestinian lives, Israelis aims to normalize Palestinian suffering. We say never. Never for Palestinians, never for anybody else. I am sure we all share the revulsion at Hamas's murderous acts of terrorism, the targeting of the civilians, the murdering of children, the desecration of dead bodies. And I'm sure we're all distressed by the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, whose lives have been made harder, more painful, and more dangerous because of the brutal attacks by Hamas on the 7th of October. And we all mourn the dead, both Israeli and Palestinian. And still here with us in studio colonel Grisha Kupović, I-24 News, senior Middle East correspondent, Ariel Sinsa, last night since the release of the two Israeli-American hostages. We haven't heard much from Hamas, but it seems quite obvious that the issue of the hostages or rather the way Hamas is going to handle the issue of hostages is going to have some serious impact on the dynamics of the war. I think if we're looking at, I think what's going to mainly impact is the Western support for Israel. I think if Western support relied mainly at the beginning, the first few days, at the complete and utter shock regarding the atrocities that were committed by Hamas, I think what is maintaining that support moving forward is the issue of the hostages. Not only are these many of them dual national citizens of the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, but the fact that these kidnapped over 210, among them are over 30 children, babies, under 18. Also, you have elderly, someone medication that at this stage, their situation has rapidly deteriorated, even if they weren't harmed physically in captivity. And so that point really speaks volume among these Western nations. And that also, I mean, you saw, for instance, just in the statement the night before or two nights after the joint statement by the US, EU, UK, France, and Italy and Germany supporting, condemning Hamas' attack, they highlighted the desert music festival. Because many of these countries, they host these kinds of festivals. It's seen as it was a festival for peace. I mean, these are issues that resonate among not only among Western populations, but also Western leaders. And this is an issue that has Hamas pretty much on the defensive. You see that they're releasing statements on their social media platforms in English in a faster pace than they ever have to try and touch on this issue to fight back against criticism. They're targeting of civilians. This is a point that they're being pressed on, also in Arab media. And so they're trying to show that they're a reputation, to an extent, but too little, too late. I assume with that said, the term humanitarian aid is usually referred to the Palestinian population. Not that it is not needed there, but similarly to the term displaced, displaced Palestinians. We're not talking, perhaps, enough about the humanitarian aid needed for the hostages and the many displaced Israelis. Nearly 100,000 Israelis are currently displaced in the southern and northern countries. Their own home country. All right, moving to another burning front. No other way to put it. Crossing now to I-24 News correspondent, Belir Sledin, joining us from the Israel-Lebanon border. Belir, thank you very much for joining us. While ongoing fire on the northern front, what can you tell us? It's been a busy day there. Yes, well, many incidents happened in the last couple of hours and also since the beginning of this day. The last one was in Bir'am, where an anti-tank missile was actually fired by Hezbollah. They just actually took responsibility for that toward Bir'am, which is in the center of the Israeli-Lebanese border that comes after also a similar incident in Hanita, which is also on the border, more of the west of it. And also comes, of course, after an incident that happened earlier this day. In Margaliot, where an anti-tank missile also hit Margaliot. Two people were wounded. We know that both of them are Thai workers, foreign workers that work in Israel. One of them, at least, was seriously injured and was, of course, both of them were moved to a nearby hospital in the spot. Now also the Israeli army is actually issued a warning that Hezbollah is going to extend his fire range in the coming days. That comes just moments after a security meeting in the south was actually finished. Maybe that's because we know that there is a relation between what will happen in the south, specifically the ground invasion and what Hezbollah can react to it. He said over and over again. And if that happens, we will react. We will do something. We will participate in this war. Also today, again, the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qasim, just said that we are monitoring the situation. And if our intervention was needed, we will intervene. Malir Shladin with the rest of the I-24 News team up north. Thank you very much for this, all the updates from Malir Shladin later on in the evening. Of course, back here in the studio. Colonel Yakovic, what remains pressing question is, what is up with Hezbollah? At this point, we're seeing those cremations, those poking, these provocations, that perhaps exceeded the border of literally, of provocation at this point in time. And yet the big question remains, whether they're going to get all in once, if, when the ground operation in Gaza will begin? Let's talk about the declarations. I think number two at Hezbollah declared a few hours ago that they continue with the harassment of the IDF. They, too, define it as harassment. Yeah, yeah, harassment. So actually, we define it the same. But what they are claiming is the harassment continues. And because of this support to Hamas with the arresting the IDF, three divisions, they are actually occupying three divisions in the north. And those three divisions could actually join the five to fight Hamas. Keeping them busy in the north, so they will not eliminate Hamas in the south, OK? This is number one. Number two, they are dealing with a huge environment in Lebanon that they are under some criticism. It's like, why are you and bringing us Lebanon? Or why are you pushing us into this no reason war or a possible war? Three, the IDF hit and targeted assets of Hezbollah since yesterday. We see the escalation on both sides. You mentioned seven anti-tank squads that were eliminated. It's something like 14 to 18 Hezbollah terrorists, OK? Usually, usually, when it's one or two, Hezbollah will admit. We lost one of our fighters in a unique Jihad war. Here, they are not admitting. It means they contain and they will be forced to react back, OK? And they will escalate it. Number four, they started to target the Khramon, OK? With motor shells. I think that all of that together, it's a question now, who will be the first to make a mistake? Not a mistake. Who will be the first to start? Ah, we're there. We're there. I understand that we are there. And I think that one of the sides is about to take a decision to start first. All right, and yeah? Yeah, so Palestinians and social media are reporting the killing of two key commanders in the Hamas military wing, talking about Talal al-Hindi. He was, they're both targeted in their homes, Talal al-Hindi, as well as Abul-Sahir al-Fahran, or Talal al-Hindi. He's a very outspoken commander also, not only. No, I'm not familiar with wall flowers among Hamas leadership, so. Yes, but indeed, there's already a picture of Hamas's political bureau and of about 14 or 16 members, about five have already been eliminated. And this is in accordance to what Israeli leaders and military leaders have been saying, that in addition to targeting infrastructure, terror infrastructure of Hamas, the rocket launchers and different command posts, they're also targeting senior leadership. And this is continuing also in these past few moments. And at his best hour, American President Joe Biden was speaking to the two hostages that were released last night to, with a dual American citizenship, a Yehudit and Natalie Al-Anan. And the US, of course, had a pivotal role in bringing about their release. Let's take a listen. Hey, Judith, I'm so glad you're home. I'm not home, I'm glad you're out. I just want to say thank you for your services. Look, that's been long, sir. And I'm just glad to be able to get you out. We've been working on it in a long time. We're gonna get them all out, God willing. I just want to say, I hope you're both, not only feeling good, but in good health as well. Yes, sir. Yes, we are. Thank you so very much, well, thank you. Well, God bless you guys. We keep on talking about all those war strategies and maneuvers and diplomatic restraints and geopolitical tactics and numbers and assessments, but all of those cannot be erased, the inconceivable amount of life that has been shattered, violated, erased. And we want to turn now to social activist Danna Marash joining us now to tell the story of two out of many, too many, Ruth and Eric Peretz. Hi, Dan. Yeah. Hi, Ely, great to be with you. I apologize that it's like this, so consent is, but good to be with you, yes. So I asked to talk with you about Ruth and Eric Peretz who were murdered by the Nazis of Hamas in the party in Raim last Saturday, the Black Lives Matter Day in history of the state of Israel. And I wanted to tell you before you ask me some question, I believe, I want to tell you that there are few, the Hamas terrorists are pure Nazis. Like, see, people with disabilities who are pure people, they didn't do anything to anyone. And I'm not involved in any terror attack or something like that. Just went to a party because Ruth, the therapy of her was the music and her father Eric should take her to every party that she go in order to do, do her better things. And they just murdered her because she's due. And they saw her from her region and just murdered her with good blood. Yeah, peace-loving, music-loving father and daughter that went there to celebrate life, to celebrate everything that is good in humanity and encountered the very worst. Idan, what is your message to the international audience that is currently watching you? Listen, I have to, I will try to, I will try to. First of all, you need to know, the whole world needs to know that innocent people, I've been killed by the Nazis of Hamas, like Ruth and Eric and the autistic girl, Noya Dan, with some peace and her grandmother Carmela, with some peace that were killed only because they are Jewish. And Noya calls her mother from the shelter and told her, Mama, we have a terrorist name of rape. So this is the first one. The second one, I wanna tell you, I hear some speaking about humanitarian corridors for the innocent people together. I don't believe people in Gaza are innocent. Every single person in Gaza has involved in this terror because who is not involved could go from there before the war. And I wanna tell you one more thing, there is no humanitarian corridor without something about who I was kidnapped there in Gaza. I don't wanna see, I don't wanna see every transit going into Gaza through the Raffaella border until I don't have some something for my citizens who will keep them. I understand Biden and his values to the Palestinian people, but listen, people with disabilities, people who didn't do anything to anyone. So Noya Dan and Ruth didn't have a humanitarian corridor before they murdered them. So you know what, if you wanna be clear with yourself you cannot believe humanitarian corridor because listen. Well, unfortunately Dan, the ways terror is handling itself, the way Hamas is handling itself is by terrorizing not just Jews and Israelis, but many Palestinians, those who are not collaborating with Hamas, many there live in their unbelievable reality as well. This is Hamas couldn't care less about civilian lives whatsoever. But one more sentence please, with your permission. I wanna tell you, we are talking 18 years after the Holocaust. What we have experienced here in Israel in Saturday, 7th of October, it's the second Holocaust. And all the world must know that Noya Dan and Ruth Perish. Dan Marash, this is unfortunately all the time we have. Thank you so very much for speaking with us. We'll be back at the top of the hour. Israel is officially in a state of war. This is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking. More than a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. 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 I-24 News. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the special broadcast here on I-24 News as we continue our ruling coverage on day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas. Well, the IDF is preparing for a pending ground operation and the Gaza Strip, the northern border, is on edge on going exchanges of fire. There are seven anti-tank squads foiled in Southern Lebanon in the last 24 hours alone to foreign workers injured. The IDF is tracking his bala targets in response. Under Southern Front, trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafa crossing with security officials saying there is no humanitarian crisis there. The Israeli War Cabinet holding an assessment session this evening down south. Meanwhile, the National Security Council raising travel warning for Israelis to Egypt and Jordan to the highest level. Morocco is on the no-travel list too. This is an international peace summit convened in Cairo and the results of which remain quite unclear. We begin this broadcast by heading down south to the IDF. We have a 24 News Correspondent, Mary McAuliffe standing by there. Mary, thank you very much for joining us. So the IDF continues to try and protect northern Gaza civilians, essentially, urging them to head south. Is that an indication a ground operation might be nearing? That's right, Ellie. Well, that is the big question and one that we have been watching for over a week now. When the IDF firstly began to issue these orders, calling on all residents above Wadi Gaza to flee south for their own safety, this giving our first indication that there's gonna be a heavy Israeli operation, whether that's on the ground, just from the skies, as we have been seeing over the past week, or something else entirely. But today the IDF now dropping new leaflets with also new information. Once again, telling residents to flee south, but telling all residents who are remaining north of Wadi Gaza. So that's in the northern half of the Gaza Strip that remaining there is putting their own lives at risk and the IDF is prepared to take any measure that they will also be treating them as partners in terror organizations. So this is perhaps the most serious message we have seen coming out from the IDF, calling on the residents to move south. And certainly another indication that this operation that we have been bracing for, that the IDF says it is preparing and accepts is really imminent. And we certainly can feel the activity here in the south. Many, many army tanks have been in the area. We hear heavy machinery. Israeli fighter jets continue to fly overhead and we can periodically see some of the strikes that are happening right below me. I think you won't be able to see some of the smoke now. It's dissipated, but this right behind me. So just two miles from where we standing, these are some Gaza communities in the northern part of the Strip, right near the Israeli border. So Beit Lachia, Beit Hanun and Jabalia further south. I don't know if you can hear that big boom, but we're hearing lots of activity here in the area from within the Gaza Strip. Palestinian media is reporting that there have been some 70 air strikes, 70 strikes from Israeli planes overhead in the past hour or so. And we do know the IDF itself is saying that continues to operate in the area from the sky and from the land, but that they are preparing the next steps. Yeah, and again, this war cabinet's convening down south this very evening. And Mary, briefly before we let you go, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanking Israel and Egypt for this humanitarian aid that's entered the Strip today, but also warning that it might fall into Hamas' hands. What are the reassurances that it won't? Absolutely, this is the big question that we've been hearing. So we know there has been heavy, heavy diplomatic efforts over the past two weeks, really, since this began and the main focus of negotiations this week has been some of the aid convoys. There are over 200 aid convoys who are waiting on the Rafa crossing, on the Egyptian side of the crossing, to enter into the Gaza Strip. Today, only 20 were allowed in, just carrying food and water and medical supplies that were to be discharged to the residents. But Israel has said they won't allow more than 20 trucks in, and they are trying to lobby to get access to these trucks so that they can verify the contents of all of them before they actually go inside the Gaza Strip because the Israeli military wants to make sure they can do everything they can to prevent Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza Strip from bringing more equipment to fuel their fire. So that's the main task right now is how to guarantee humanitarian aid while at the same time trying to keep Hamas and other groups from getting more fuel for their weapons. More fuel to the fire. I-24 News correspondent, Maryam Khalif and the I-24 News team there down south. Thank you very much for this. Much more from Maryam Khalif later on in the evening. And joining us now in studio, Colonel Grisha Kobović, former head of the civilian department of Kogat and Ariella Serrano, very I-24 News senior Middle East correspondent. And thank you gentlemen very much for joining us. Colonel Yakubović, I do want to begin with you since we've seen those humanitarian aid convoys entering the Strip. And we will perhaps address in a bit the humanitarian states of the hostages, over 200 of them that are being held by Hamas here in the Strip as we speak. And yet when it comes to the humanitarian situation in some areas of the Gaza Strip, I wouldn't say business as usual, nothing as usual these days, but life continues there. I want to be clear about three things. You know, like anything in the army that divides to three, so let's divide it to three. Number one, the number of people who were kidnapped into Gaza is probably 300. The official number is 210, but there are still a huge number of people that we don't know. They're considered missing. That they're considered missing are probably the... Some of them, the majority are actually inside Gaza, maybe yes, people who were kidnapped or lost bodies. Number two, about the aid, about the 20 trucks. I don't know if this is the right way to say it in English, but it sounds better maybe in Hebrew. It's a laundry of wards. Okay, it's like some... White washing, yeah. White washing, thank you. Why is that, okay? Any aid entering to Gaza since June 2007 is actually aid to Hamas. Hamas is the sovereign entity since June 2007. So even if workers work in Israel or we look at ourself at the mirror and we say, wow, we are so amazing, we are the West. We are supporting 17,000 families that each one of those workers brings back home $200 a day, we are actually helping Hamas by doing that. Why? Because it's their responsibility. Inside Gaza, they are responsible on the poverty in Gaza, on the wealth in Gaza, on the economy of Gaza. So any aid that enters to people to Gaza, it's actually helping Hamas. Instead of Hamas helping those people, the Egypt or the West is helping those people. Number three, there is no crisis in Gaza. Let's be clear about it. There were pictures shown today in the southern part of Gaza, in Hanyunas, in Derebala, in Rafah, shops are open, markets are open, people buy goods, people buy stuff. Water, let's talk about the fact. Israel supplied only 12% of the water consumption to Gaza. The rest is from the aquifer. So why always to blame Israel about those things? Well, why not perhaps at this point in time? It's the easiest thing to do. Of course, it's the easiest thing to do. Electricity, Israel supplied only 45%. The rest is they have their own power plant. They could fix it. They could supply diesel. They could build tanks to store more diesel. They have generators by the thousands. And of course, they prepared this attack for at least two years. They also prepared the supply on the ground. So it's all there. Let's not fall into that trap. As I said a week ago, Hamas will pull the humanitarian card faster than we think. And it happened. I hope that you're not surprised as everybody else. Well, we are perhaps not falling into this trap, but global leaders are regional heavyweights. That seems to be the case when it comes to them. Let's take a quick listen to some of the remarks heard today in Cairo, where the slaughter, the massacre, the torturing of Israelis seems to not be a big deal for many there. Let's take a listen. Mr. Hadeff. Egypt condemns with complete clarity the targeting, killing, or intimidation of all peaceful civilians, and at the same time, expresses its extreme astonishment that the world stands by and watches a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, affecting 2 and 1 half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and collective punishment, a siege, and a siege are imposed on them, starvation and violent pressure for forced displacement. No excuse or reason for inflicting such a collective and cruel suffering on human lives, like the one happening in Gaza. You must be unequivocal in condemning and resisting loss of any single innocent life. By dehumanizing Palestinian lives, Israel aims to normalize Palestinian suffering. We say never. Never for Palestinians, never for anybody else. I am sure we all share the revulsion that Hamas' murderous acts of terrorism, the targeting of the civilians, the murdering of children, the desecration of dead bodies. And I'm sure we're all distressed by the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, whose lives have been made harder, more painful, and more dangerous because of the brutal attacks by Hamas on the 7th of October. And we all mourn the dead, both Israeli and Palestinian. And still here with us in studio colonel, Grisha Kupović, I-24 News, senior Middle East correspondent, Ariel Sinsa, last night since the release of the two Israeli-American hostages. We haven't heard much from Hamas, but it seems quite obvious that the issue of the hostages or rather the way Hamas is going to handle the issue of hostages is going to have some serious impact on the dynamics of the war. I think if we're looking at, I think what's gonna mainly impact is the Western support for Israel. I think if Western support relied mainly at the beginning the first few days at the complete and under shock regarding the atrocities that were committed by Hamas, I think what is maintaining that support moving forward is the issue of the hostages. Not only are these, many of them, dual-nationals, citizens of the U.S., Canada, Brazil, you name it, Germany, but the fact that these are, that these kidnapped over 210 are, among them are over 30 children, babies under 18. Also, you have elderly, someone medication that at this stage, their situation has rapidly deteriorated even if they weren't harmed physically in captivity, and so that point really speaks volume among these Western nations, and that also, I mean, you saw, for instance, just in the statement, the night before or two nights after the joint statement by the U.S., E.U., U.K., France, and Italy and Germany supporting, condemning Hamas' attack, they highlighted the desert music festival that because many of these countries, they host these kinds of festivals, it's seen as it was a festival for peace. I mean, these are issues that resonate among these, not only among Western populations, but also Western leaders, and this is an issue that has Hamas pretty much on the defensive. You see that they're releasing statements on their social media platforms in English in a faster pace than they ever have to try and touch on this issue, to fight back against criticism. They're targeting of civilians. This is a point that they're being pressed on, also in Arab media, and so they're trying to show that they're... There's no reputation to an extent, but too little and too late, I assume. With that said, the term humanitarian aid is usually referred to the Palestinian population, not that it is not needed there, but similarly to the term displaced, displaced Palestinians. We're not talking, perhaps, enough about the humanitarian aid needed for the hostages and the many displaced Israelis. Nearly 100,000 Israelis are currently displaced in the southern and northern countries. All right, moving to another burning front. No other way to put it. Crossing now to I-24 news correspondent, Belir Sledin, joining us from the Israel-Lebanon border. Belir, thank you very much for joining us. Well, ongoing fire on the northern front. What can you tell us? It's been a busy day there. Yes, well, many incidents happened in the last couple of hours and also since the beginning of this day. The last one was in Bir-A'am where an anti-tank missile was actually fired by Hezbollah. They just actually took responsibility for that toward Bir-A'am, which is in the center of the Israeli-Lebanese border that comes after also a similar incident in Hanita, which is also on the border, more of the west of it. And also comes, of course, after an incident that happened earlier this day in Margaliot, where an anti-tank missile also hit Margaliot. Two people were wounded. We know that both of them are Thai workers, foreign workers that work in Israel. They were one of them at least was seriously injured and was, of course, both of them moved to nearby hospital in the spot. Now, also the Israeli army is actually issued a warning that Hezbollah is going to extend his fire range in the coming days. That comes just moments after a security meeting in the south was actually finished. Maybe that's because we know that there is a relation between what will happen in the south, specifically the ground invasion, and what Hezbollah can react to it. He said over and over again. And if that happens, we will react. We will do something. We will participate in this war. Also today, again, the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qasim, just said that we are monitoring the situation. And if our intervention was needed, we will intervene. Balear Sledin with the rest of the I-24 News team up. No, thank you very much for this. I'm all the updates from Balear Sledin later on in the evening, of course. Back here in the studio, Colonel Yakovic, what remains? Pressing question is, what is up with Hezbollah? At this point, we're seeing those cremishes, those poking, these provocations that perhaps exceeded the border of literally, of provocation at this point in time. And yet, the big question remains whether they're going to get all in once, if, when the ground operation in Gaza will begin. Let's talk about the declarations, OK? I think number two at Hezbollah declared a few hours ago that they continue with the harassment of the IDF. They, too, define it as harassment. Yeah, yeah, harassment. So actually, we define it the same. But what they are claiming is the harassment continues. And because of the support to Hamas with the arrest in the IDF, three divisions, they are actually occupying three divisions in the north. And those three divisions could actually join the five to fight Hamas. Keeping them busy in the north so they will not eliminate Hamas in the south, OK? This is number one. Number two, they are dealing with a huge environment in Lebanon that they are under some criticism. It's like, why are you end bringing us Lebanon? Or why are you pushing us into this no-reason war or a possible war? Three, the IDF hit and targeted assets of Hezbollah And since yesterday, we see the escalation on both sides. You mentioned seven anti-tank squads that were eliminated. It's something like 14 to 18 Hezbollah terrorists, OK? Usually, usually, when it's one or two, Hezbollah will admit. We lost one of our fighters in a unique jihad war. Here, they are not admitting. It means they contain. And they will be forced to react back, OK? And they will escalate it. Number four, they started to target the Kharmul, OK? With motor shells. I think that all of that together, it's a question now, who will be the first? To make a mistake. Not a mistake. Who will be the first to start? Ah, we're there. I understand that we are there. And I think that one of the sides is about to take a decision to start first. All right. And yeah. Yeah. So Palestinians and social media are reporting the killing of two key commanders in the Hamas military wing. Talking about Talal El-Hindi, they're both targeted in their homes, Talal El-Hindi, as well as Abul-Sahir Al-Farah. Now, Talal El-Hindi, he's a very outspoken commander also not only. No, I'm not familiar with wallflowers among Hamas leadership. Yes, but indeed there is already a picture of Hamas's political bureau and of about 14 or 16 members, about five have already been eliminated. And this is in accordance to what Israeli leaders and military leaders have been saying, that in addition to targeting infrastructure, terror infrastructure of Hamas, the rocket launchers, and different command posts, they're also targeting senior leadership. And this is continuing also in these past few moments. And at this past hour, American president Joe Biden was speaking to the two hostages that were released last night with a dual American citizenship, who didn't naturally allow none. And the US, of course, had a pivotal role in bringing about their release. Let's take a listen. Hey, Judith, I'm so glad you're home. I'm not home. I'm glad you're out. Love you. I just want to say thank you for your services. Look, that's been long serving. I'm just glad to be able to get you out. We've been working on it a long time. We're going to get them all out, God willing. I just want to say I hope you're both not only feeling good, but in good health as well. Yes, sir. Yes, we are. Thank you very much. Well, God bless you guys. We keep on talking about all those war strategies and maneuvers and diplomatic restraints and geopolitical tactics and numbers and assessments. But all of those cannot erase the inconceivable amount of life that has been shattered, violated, erased. And we want to turn now to social activist Dan Marash joining us now to tell the story of two out of many, too many, Ruth and Eric Peretz. Hi, Dan. Yeah. Hi, Ellie. It's great to be with you. I apologize. Like this circumstances, but good to be with you. So I asked to talk with you about Ruth and Eric Peretz who were murdered by the Nazis of Hamas in the party in Raim last Saturday, the Black Saturday, in the history of the state of Israel. And I wanted to tell you before you ask me some question, I believe. I want to tell you that the Hamas terrorists are pure Nazis. Like, see, people with disabilities who are pure people that didn't do anything to anyone. And I'm not involved in any terror attack or something like that. Just went to a party because Ruth, the therapy of her, was the music. And her father, Eric, should take her to every party that she go in order to do her better things. And they just murdered her because she's due. And they saw her from her region. And that's the murder, good luck. Yeah, peace-loving, music-loving father and daughter that went there to celebrate life, to celebrate everything that is good in humanity and encountered the very worst. Idan, what is your message to the international audience that is currently watching you? Listen, I have to. I will try to. I will try to. There's no idea. First of all, you need to know the whole world. You need to know that innocent people, I've been killed by the Nazis of Hamas, like Ruth and Eric and the autistic girl, Noya Dan, with sin peace, and her grandmother Carmela with sin peace, that were killed only because they are Jewish. And Noya calls her mother from the shelter and tells her, Mama, we have a terrorist name of rape. So this is the first one. The second one, I want to tell you. I hear some speaking about humanitarian corridor for the innocent people in Gaza. I don't believe people in Gaza are innocent. Every single person in Gaza is involved in this terror because who is not involved could go from there before the war. And I want to tell you one more thing. There is no humanitarian corridor without something about who was kidnapped there in Gaza. I don't want to see, I don't want to see every transit going into Gaza with the refugee border until I don't have some something for my citizens who will keep them. I understand Biden and his values to the Palestinian people. But listen, people with disabilities, people who didn't do anything to anyone. So Noya Dan and Ruh didn't have a humanitarian corridor before they murdered them. So you know what? If you want to be clear with yourself, you cannot believe humanitarian corridor because listen. Well, unfortunately, Dan, the ways terror is handling itself, the way Hamas is handling itself, is by terrorizing not just Jews and Israelis, but many Palestinians, those who are not collaborating with Hamas, many there live under unbelievable reality. As well, this is Hamas couldn't care less about civilian lives whatsoever. But one more sentence, please, with your permission. I want to tell you, we are talking 18 years after the Holocaust. What we have experienced here in Israel in Saturday, the 7th of October, it's the second Holocaust. And all the world must know that Noya Dan and Ruh This is unfortunately all the time we have. Thank you so very much for speaking with us. We'll be back at the top of the hour. 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 hour 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 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, that the Fakita can be protected. Made For Me, a unique concept in Israel. Custom made men's fashion to your measurements. Made For Me, designer of all your events. Schedule your appointment at www.madeforme.co.il. Made For Me, official dresser of I-24 News. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this special broadcast here on I-24 News as we continue our rolling coverage. On the 15th of Israel's war with Hamas, while the IDF is preparing for a pending ground operation in the Gaza Strip, targeted elimination of Hamas leaders. Persist, Palestinian reports suggest to Lal El-Hundi, senior Hamas military wing official, been hit earlier this evening. The Israeli war cabinet's holding an assessment session down south, an indication the next phase is nearing. Well, meanwhile, the northern border is on edge and ongoing exchanges of fire. Another anti-tank squad was foiled by the IDFI in southern Lebanon this very hour, adding to seven others in the past 24 hours alone. The IDF striking Hezbollah targets and responds. Hezbollah second in command, not rolling out today. The option of Hezbollah getting all in. And we start a broadcast down south, heading now live to I-24 News correspondent, Mary McCollough, standing by there with the rest of the I-24 News team there on the ground. Mary, as mentioned at the opening of this broadcast, the IDF continues to try and essentially protect the civilians, urging them to head south. And this war cabinet session is convening also in the southern district this evening. Are these indications that a ground operation might be nearing? That's right, Ellie. Well, it certainly feels imminent here being on the ground in the south, where we continue to hear Israeli airplanes overhead, dropping strikes into the Gaza Strip, but also just the movement of military back and forth in this area. And today, there are also a number of checkpoints and roadblocks. So there are areas in the southern communities that we are not able to access. All of these, of course, also leading to indications that perhaps the operation may be imminent. But that is, of course, to say we have also been waiting for this for well over a week now. We know the IDF has been on this war footing, has been launching preparations to go inside Gaza Strip. They say they're prepared to conduct a massive operation from the land, sea, and the ground, and from the air inside the Gaza Strip. When that actually will begin, we really do not know. But the IDF is once again issuing leaflets, so dropping leaflets from the skies onto residents in northern Gaza. And of course, just a reminder, all of the top half of Gaza Strip has been asked to evacuate. And now the IDF is telling civilians, not only do they risk their lives if they stay, but they will also be treated just like a partner in a terror organization. So this really is a new level in warnings from the IDF, ratcheting up their response and really issuing a very dire warning to those in the northern Gaza Strip that it is not going to be safe for them. So this is what we are waiting to see if the operation truly is ready to begin in the next coming days. And while the IDF does prepare to do so, they continue to try and urge all civilians in the northern half of Gaza to go south, to go to safer areas. And Mary, before I will let you go earlier in the day for the first time since the beginning of this war we've seen humanitarian ed cornvoise entering the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State's Anthony Blinken thanking Israel and Egypt for facilitating that. And yet warning that there aren't no reassurances really, it will not end up in Hamas's hands. Absolutely, Ellie. So we did see major diplomatic breakthroughs. First of all, of course, with the release of the two American hostages last night and then those 28 trucks that Israel did allow Egypt to open that border crossing and allow just 20 of the trucks inside. There's still some 200 trucks which are waiting to enter with aid, but Israel has been pushing and says it will continue to push to try and get access to the trucks that are entering through the Rafa crossing, how they would actually be able to go about doing this and have their military check these convoys. The Rafa crossing is on the southern side of the Gaza Strip, of course, bordering with Egypt, not with Israel. So this is also something whether or not they're gonna have teams inside the Egyptian side crossing checks. We really don't know, but we are also continuing to hear from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and also many voices on the international scene calling that the aid trucks is just one step. The release of those two American hostages was just one step. They're also trying to push to the Rafa crossing, push Egypt and Israel to allow the crossing to open for all the foreign nationals who remain stuck inside of the Gaza Strip at this moment. They were supposed to be allowed entrance and to exit the Strip today. We did not see that happening so far. We have no confirmation. We reached out to the U.S. Embassy whether they had really told citizens to go to the Rafa crossing and we did not receive an answer yet. And Egypt too facing towards nightmare to an extent saying time and time again, we will not accept not even one Palestinian refugee. And yeah, no one wants Egypt to join this boiling pot, that's for certain. Thank you very much, Mary McCollough with the I-24 News team there down south, much more from you of course, later on in the evening. Joining us now in studio Colonel Mary Eisen, Director of the International Institute for Counterterrorism, Colonel Eisen, thank you very much for joining us. I would like to begin, I wouldn't even say on the sidelines of it because this is perhaps the epicenter to an extent. If anything, we need to challenge our conceptions, our terminology. And in this respect, I would like to, because the terms war crimes are being thrown up in the air. And all those other, again, terms in lingo of international law. And I would like to point out, to the fact that Hamas and other radical groups are reaching out for some sort of protection under the auspices of international law time and time again. And yet are not bind by it whatsoever, creating this inherent asymmetry. Disonance. Yeah, against positive actors. That's the basic notion. Well, it's like after two weeks of the worst war we've ever seen. Ever seen, that's something that's so hard to be able to understand that you and I are living in a time of the worst war that we've ever seen in 2023, that we don't actually have the way to talk about it. Unprecedented, incomprehensible. And everybody goes, just like, and try and compare it, but it's incomparable. The pictures don't do it, I don't wanna say justice, right? It's a barbaric war that was uploaded onto social media, live streamed on Facebook, continues to be so. And you asked about the issues of crimes against humanity and all this. Hamas are not waiting to be put on trial. Hamas are in the middle of an event, event. Again, we don't have words for this, where I'm not looking at it in those terms right now. One of the biggest challenges in international law, in both of you and I, we're not legal experts. It's not about the law in that sense. We're two different aspects. One is that it's only about state actors. There's no concept inside international law that looks at non-state actors. Isn't non-state actors a nice term, I say, in my cynicism? A terror organization is a non-state actor. So you actually have this ridiculous situation where the worst terror organization to ever attack a country, state, Israel, as it's happened right now in the barbaric attack was semi-sovereign over an area, in academic terms, I call it a hybrid terror organization, but it's not about that kind of a word. And it's getting the protection that on the one hand, it's as if responsible, but nobody holds it responsible because it's a non-state actor. And so we're in that situation. I think though, the only, there's nothing good, but one positive aspect that has come out of these last two weeks is that we've heard in the clearest terms that we've ever heard from world leaders that they do understand that distinction, hearing President Biden say, we're going against Hamas with everything we can, this barbaric terror organization, and separating that from the civilians of the Gaza Strip. And that's already a really big step compared to what we've had in the past. And yet this is coming out of Western leaders and the most important Western leader, the leader of the Western world, rather, and not undermining its significance whatsoever. As we speak, or a short while ago, this peace summit in Cairo wrapped up, hosting regional and European leaders and diplomats, among them, by the way, the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney, currently on her way to Israel, yet another solidarity visit. And yet the summit, again, peace summit, focused mostly on the situation in the Gaza Strip without really mentioning Israelis being slaughtered and tortured and murdered without mentioning Hamas crimes against humanity if we're using those terms. Well, regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia calling for a ceasefire. Let's take a listen. In the tragic events taking place in Palestine require urgent action to put an immediate end to military operations, provide protection for civilians, and release hostages and prisoners in compliance with international norms and laws and common humanitarian principles, pointing to the necessity of finding a peaceful solution to this crisis that will remove the region from recurring cycle of violence and bloodshed and bring about the promise of a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace. Colonel Mary Eisen, with US President Joe Biden illustrating so clearly a new modern version of the axis of evil. Saudi Arabia can't really stay on the fence at some point or another, will be forced to choose sides. I don't want to do complexity. I want to give you, in that sense, people are coming in and saying, okay, it's very clear cut when it comes to the morals and the higher moral ground, that's Hamas. But Ali, I'm doing a distinction, which most Israelis right now find very hard to do, and that's the Palestinian people. And it doesn't matter if Hamas was, is in the Gaza Strip. It is the Gaza Strip. It was founded in the Gaza Strip. It's also strong in the West Bank. So doing that separation right now is something which I can do in my mind. I'm against terror Hamas. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood is very much something that disturbs Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood is something that Qatar supports. Muslim Brotherhood is something that Saudi Arabia is afraid of. So you suddenly get into an Islamist terminology world that I think right now that Saudi Arabia is scared totally that something like this could happen in Saudi Arabia. So on the one hand, they have to cater to their people. Hamas has been putting out daily cries, come and join us. We are starting the war against the worst thing that's in the world. That would be us, the Zionist entity. That was me being sarcastic, right? But Hamas puts out very clear cut cries. Not only that, but Hamas says, we're going to free al-Aqsa, al-Quds. They put it into the religious terminologies. So I listen to Saudi Arabia, and I listen carefully. I listen to Egypt, and I listen carefully. I listen to Jordan, and I listen carefully. And this isn't to make it easier for anybody. But they're in between a rock and a hard stone. They are Muslim, not all Muslims are jihadi Islamists. Of course. And so in that world, they need, this isn't about catering to your base. This is about acknowledging that there are Palestinian people, and they have to have some kind of a future. And we're not a race in the Palestinian people. And we want to erase Hamas' terror capabilities because if they succeed, that's the biggest threat to the world, and to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and all of these countries. And first and foremost, for the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people. Absolutely. You've mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood, and in recent days, rightfully so. We're hearing so many comparisons between Hamas and ISIS, and yet the Muslim Brotherhood as a social movement is very similar to Hamas' tactics, and in that sense, rooted in Palestinian hearts and minds, building a social infrastructure, and hence being able to maintain it power. But we'll put a stop right here and jump to London, because what better way to spend your Saturday night there than to head out and protest against Israel at 24 News Senior UK Correspondent Jonathan and Sir Shaddadi's joining us live from there, Jonathan. Yeah, the streets are packed yet again. Ellie, there were an estimated 100,000 protesters on the streets of London today, police by 1,000 police. Apparently around 20 police vans outside the Israeli embassy, just in case there was trouble there. The police have said they made only one request in relation to an incident last week. They said that while today's march was forming up, officers spotted a man who was wanted for being abusive in Parliament square after last weekend's protest, and he was arrested for a public order offence and is now in custody. That has caused quite a few people to question what exactly the police are doing because the Home Secretary had said that she would prefer the police to take a very tough line on these protests, especially where they seem to veer into supporting Hamas, which is a prescribed terror organization under UK law. And in fact, there were some jihadi style flags flown in last time's protests. So it's interesting that the police say that they made only one arrest following up from last week. That's left many people in the Jewish community, not just the Jewish community, feeling quite afraid. It's also a bit of footage that's come out online of a London underground train, a tube train, where it would appear that the driver making an announcement over the Tanoi is effectively making supportive statements to the protesters and starting that chant free, free for the people on the train to return with Palestine again. Lots of people saying that would have made the train feel very unsafe for other passengers. And apparently the Metropolitan Police have passed this on to London Transport Police and they are looking into it. So we don't know the full details of that yet. So there may be more arrests or more inquiries to come. But generally speaking, this is a stark contrast to what we've seen from the UK government who've really been right behind Israel speaking out. You saw Rishi Sunak visiting Israel. You've seen James Cleverley there, the foreign secretary. And yet 100,000 people mobilized on the streets of London. There is obviously a gulf between the two sets of opinions. Yes, and again, this confusion that's perhaps an understatement between the Palestinian political cause and the atrocities committed by Hamas. Jonathan Sashadadi joining us live from London. I-24 News, a senior UK correspondent. Thank you so very much for this alarming update. No other way to put it. Thank you, Jonathan. And from one front to another, earlier today, Israeli Defense Minister Yav Galant spoke on the IDF readiness for an expanded conflict, a scenario that many would like to avoid and yet very feasible, including, of course, Israel's northern front at the border with Lebanon. Let's take a quick listen. Hezbollah decided to participate. We charged them a heavy price. I see the preparation of the division and the defense systems as well as the readiness. Your duty is to make all the preparations, both in defense and for anything else that may be required. And I get the impression that it is very strong. In my observation of the whole arena of the war, I see the northern and southern arenas and other things as well. We are at war. There is no choice. This is not something we ordered. They forced a war on us. We will unite, act wherever necessary, and win the war. And now joining us now, Dr. Elie Kamon, senior researcher at the Institute for Counterterrorism at the Reikman University and still with us here in the studio, of course, Colonel Mary Eisen. Dr. Kamon, try to explain to us the level of coordination between this triangle, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas. What is Hezbollah's strategy or rationale at this point in time? And does it matter, really? Or is it all going according to the nods from Tehran? Good evening. This is a very old relationship between Hamas and Islamic jihad and Hezbollah and Iran. Already since 1992, where 450 people, especially leaders, from the two organizations were expelled to southern Lebanon and they began to be trained by Hezbollah under Iranian orders how to use suicide bombings and attack Israel. And immediately after the Austro agreement in 1993, two months later, they began to use suicide bombings in Israel itself in order to sabotage the peace process at that time. And this relationship continued for a long period of time. The only time when there was some kind of crisis was when the civil war in Syria began. In 2012, 2013, Hamas was not happy that most of the people killed the Sunni population, which is the majority in Syria. So there was a conflict between Hamas and the Assad regime. They left the Damascus. And there was some cold air between Hezbollah and Iran. But quite quickly, they achieved new strategic agreement, the three of them, that the most important is to fight Israel. We can differ on Syria, but we can continue to fight against Israel together. And by the way, lately Hamas returned also to Damascus. We know, again, since the Secondary father, that also there was a huge influence in operations. For instance, Hezbollah and Iran paid between 2000 and 2005 many suicide bombers with $9,000 in order to stage three bombings in Israel. And lately, we see what happens in the West Bank. It is mainly the smuggling of weapons. This is the financing of the terrorist activity of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank and the instigation from Gaza Strip. I had the impression that what happened these days is that Hezbollah was prepared to be in the next phase after the Hamas attack. They wanted to see how it develops. And it developed perhaps too well from the point of view of Hamas, but it puts Hezbollah perhaps in a more cautious position. And they declare that the new red line will be, if there will be a ground operation, then this will be the green light to begin to attack directly Israel. We see lately that there is still an excavate of provocations in southern Lebanon. And this is because they have to show at least some solidarity. Some Hamas leaders spoke against Hezbollah on this issue. But there is indeed a threat that this will translate itself in a real conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Well, Colonel Eisen, it began with poking, to an extent, this tent or tents at the beginning, then one, then two again. We've been talking about four months then, provocations that perhaps we've seen on the border. And now it is more so. So the question being, whether we're at a point in time where it's about the mistake one side will make or will not make, or rather, who will hit first? So both exist at the same time. You have the absolute challenge of escalation. Hezbollah has not just been poking. Hezbollah has been using a variety of different capabilities similar to what Hamas used, but in a very specific area. They fired anti-tank missiles. They fired mortars. They fired rockets. They've used UAVs and different type of suicide drones. They've had attacks themselves, infiltrations, explosives. They're using all the variety, but very specifically, they're trying to poke all along the border. Let's add in that they're probably trying to see what our response is. On every single time we are responding, we have killed many Hezbollah operatives over the last 10 days. And I say many, because in the accumulative, the numbers are going up. That brings the escalation. Hezbollah has said every time we kill somebody of theirs, they're going to attack again. It's like, you see that, but we're not going to respond. So is it tit for tat, is it tit for tat? But what about the intention? But the intention in that sense is that we all understand, even though it's hard right now to grasp what that means, that Hezbollah has 10 times the capabilities that Hamas has, that for the last decade, the IDF saw a similar scenario to what happened down south, not the brutality. We did not expect the atrocities. But the scenario of attacking 20 different civilian communities and conquering them, and as I said, the atrocities are what so are just impossible to think about. But we have those type of scenarios, and those are things that Hezbollah could still try, but they know that they're not going to surprise. But Ali, I'm going to ask it in the following way. Would you want to live in Kiryat Shmona in another month, if this is over without? If you don't take care of them. And I'm giving that as the challenge, because, oh my god, I don't want to have to make that decision. And that's what the cabinet that sat today, it may have sat in the southern command, but that doesn't mean that they weren't talking about northern things. That's part of that balance. How do you go back and live next to Hamas' terror in the Gaza Strip? You can't, right? So you can do so with Hezbollah up north. It's a real big challenge. So then Dr. O'Carman, and let's call it a spade of spade. New York Times reporting that it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding the brakes on a preemptive strike in Lebanon that was, to an extent, pushed by the defense establishment. Of course, we don't have any confirmation of that. Perhaps it is also part of the psychological war that all sides are currently engaged in. But what is more dangerous that Hezbollah will join the fighting or that it will not be deterred? What's the greater risk? Well, you heard from New York Times and also from Israeli journalists. So something probably happened in the cabinet. Personally, I think for the first time, I'm agreeing with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the sense that we have to finish the threat of Hamas. It's quite difficult also. It's not so simple. So to have another war, especially on the home front with Hezbollah, which can send every day 2,000, 3,000 missiles, it's a very, very huge challenge for Israel. So I think we have to try to restrain ourselves and to try to deal with the small provocations in the northern border, but concentrate ourselves on the destruction of Hamas, especially that in the next days, possibly after a new deal on the hostages, we'll have to enter the ground operation in Gaza Strip. And Colonel Eisen, it sounds perhaps or seems far-fetched at this point in time to see a greater regional war. And yet, if we're looking at indications on the ground, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, different players that are very much willing to join if and when. You may have noticed that there are US aircraft carriers in the area, armies in the area, both in the Persian Gulf, already intercepted missiles that were fired out of Yemen towards Israel, were kind of already in it. And I'm going to even say something further, and I'm worried about what I'm going to say. We've been in it for a long time. It just hasn't been open. And right now, what's happening is that it's coming out much more into the open. There's been what we've called that war between the wars, and I didn't want to arrive at October 7th. But what's happening now is that everything is coming above ground. And in its own way, at least it's happening when we have clear cut United States, European, UK, the German voices, and additional one that are so clearly on Israel's understanding. Add into that India under Modi. It's really important that we have these world powers who see Hamas as the terror organization it is, and all of those other Islamic axes as being part of that, trying to annihilate the state of Israel. And again, not just standing by Israel, but perhaps further realizing that the Jews are always first, never the last, history shows. Before, when we were listening to the man who's in London right now, and I'm sitting here with you in the studio, and I thought to myself, Ali, I feel more safe here with you around the world looking at us and going, oh my god. And I feel more safe here right now. As a Jew, as an Israeli, than I would as a Jew or an Israeli anywhere in the world. So to an extent, the world as we've known it completely changed, chattered to Saturdays ago. And at the same time, not much has changed. It was always there. We just chose not to see it. No, there is a new world out there as well. The fact that we have, again, the relationships that are out there with Morocco, with the Emirates, by the way, Egypt, Jordan that we talked about, we hope. New world is coming, hopefully, for the better. Dr. Ali Karmon, Colonel Amiri Aizen. Thank you so very much for joining us on this broadcast. We'll be back at the top of the hour. Stay strong. Stay resilient. We're here. 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. Yes, Hamas, we're ready to start. We've seen and we need to get in the car as we're talking. Within 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. Help us, we don't want to do it. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant, and we are ready, and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. Welcome to this special broadcast here on I-24 News as we continue our rolling coverage. On day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas, while the IDF is preparing for pending ground operation in the Gaza Strip, targeted elimination of Hamas leaders. Persist, Palestinian reports suggest Tlaul El-Hundi, senior Hamas military wing official, been hit earlier this evening, the Israeli war cabinet, holding an assessment session down south, an indication the next phase is nearing. Well, meanwhile, the northern border is on edge, ongoing exchanges of fire, another anti-tank squad was foiled by the IDF in southern Lebanon this very hour, adding to seven others in the past 24 hours alone. The IDF striking Hezbollah targets and responds, Hezbollah second in command, not rolling out today, the option of Hezbollah getting all in. And we start a broadcast down south, heading now live to I-24 News correspondent, Mary McCollough standing by there with the rest of the I-24 News team there on the ground. Mary, as mentioned at the opening of this broadcast, the IDF continues to try and essentially protect civilians, urging them to head south. And this cabinet, war cabinet session is convening also in the southern district this evening. Are these indications that a ground operation might be nearing? That's right, Ellie. Well, it certainly feels imminent here being on the ground in the south, where we continue to hear Israeli airplanes overhead, dropping strikes into the Gaza Strip, but also just the movement of military back and forth in this area. And today there are also a number of checkpoints in roadblocks, so there are areas in the southern communities that we are not able to access. All of these, of course, also leading to indications that perhaps the operation may be imminent, but that is, of course, to say, we have also been waiting for this for well over a week now. We know the IDF has been on this war footing, has been launching preparations to go inside Gaza Strip. They say they're prepared to conduct a massive operation from the land, sea and the ground and from the air inside the Gaza Strip. When that actually will begin, we really do not know, but the IDF is once again issuing leaflets, so dropping leaflets from the skies onto residents in northern Gaza. And of course, just a reminder, all of the top half of Gaza Strip has been asked to evacuate. And now the IDF is telling civilians, not only do they risk their lives if they stay, but they will also be treated just like a partner in a terror organization. So this really is a new level in warnings from the IDF, ratcheting up their response and really issuing a very dire warning to those in the northern Gaza Strip that it is not going to be safe for them. So this is what we are waiting to see if the operation truly is ready to begin in the next coming days. And while the IDF does prepare to do so, they continue to try and urge all civilians in the northern half of Gaza to go south, to go to safer areas. And Mary, before I will let you go earlier in the day, for the first time since the beginning of this war, we've seen humanitarian ed coin convoys entering the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken thanking Israel and Egypt for facilitating that. And yet warning that there are no reassurances really. It will not end up in Hamas as a hint. Absolutely, Ellie. So we did see major diplomatic breakthroughs. First of all, of course, with the release of the two American hostages last night, and then those 28 trucks that Israel did allow Egypt to open that border crossing and allow just 20 of the trucks inside. There's still some 200 trucks which are waiting to enter with aid, but Israel has been pushing and says it will continue to push to try and get access to the trucks that are inching through the Rafa crossing, how they would actually be able to go about doing this and have their military check these convoys. The Rafa crossing is on the southern side of the Gaza Strip. Of course, bordering with Egypt, not with Israel. So this is also something whether or not they're gonna have teams inside the Egyptian side crossing checks, we really don't know, but we are also continuing to hear from the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and also many voices on the international scene calling that the aid trucks is just one step. The release of those two American hostages was just one step. They're also trying to push to the Rafa crossing, push Egypt and Israel to allow the crossing open for all the foreign nationals who remain stuck inside of the Gaza Strip at this moment. They were supposed to be allowed entrance and to exit the Strip today. We did not see that happening so far. We have no confirmation. We reached out to the US embassy to see whether they had really told citizens to go the Rafa crossing and we did not receive an answer yet. And Egypt too facing towards Neithmer to an extent saying time and time again, we will not accept not even one Palestinian refugee. And yeah, no one wants Egypt to join this boiling pot, that's very certain. Thank you very much, Mary McCollough with the I-24 News team there down south, much more from you of course, later on in the evening. And joining us now in studio, Colonel Mary Eisen, Director of the International Institute for Counterterrorism, Colonel Eisen. Thank you very much for joining us. I would like to begin. I wouldn't even say on the sidelines of it because this is perhaps the epicenter to an extent. If anything, we need to challenge our conceptions, our terminology and in this respect, I would like to, because the terms war crimes are being thrown up in the air and all those other, again, terms in lingo of international law. And I would like to point out to the fact that Hamas and other radical groups are reaching out for some sort of protection under the auspices of international law time and time again and yet are not bind by it whatsoever, creating this inherent asymmetry. Dissonance. Yeah, against positive actors. That's the basic notion. Well, it's like after two weeks of the worst war we've ever seen. That's something that's so hard to be able to understand that you and I are living in a time of the worst war that we've ever seen in 2023 that we don't actually have the way to talk about it. Unprecedented, incomprehensible. And everybody goes just like and try and compare it, but it's incomparable. The pictures don't do it. I don't wanna say justice, right? It's a barbaric war that was uploaded onto social media, live streamed on Facebook, continues to be so. And you asked about the issues of crimes against humanity and all this that Hamas are not waiting to be put on trial. Hamas are in the middle of an event, event. Again, we don't have words for this where I'm not looking at it in those terms right now. One of the biggest challenges in international law in both of you and I, we're not legal experts. It's not about the law in that sense. There are two different aspects. One is that it's only about state actors. There's no concept inside international law that looks at non-state actors. Isn't non-state actors a nice term I say in my cynicism? A terror organization is a non-state actor. So you actually have this ridiculous situation where the worst terror organization to ever attack a country, state, Israel, as it's happened right now in the barbaric attack was semi-sovereign over an area, in academic terms I'd call it a hybrid terror organization, but it's not about that kind of a word. And it's getting the protection that on the one hand it's as if responsible, but nobody holds it responsible because it's a non-state actor. And so we're in that situation. I think though, the only, there's nothing good. But one positive aspect that has come out of these last two weeks is that we've heard in the clearest terms that we've ever heard from world leaders that they do understand that distinction. Hearing President Biden say, we're going against Hamas with everything we can, this barbaric terror organization, and separating that from the civilians of the Gaza Strip. And that's already a really big step compared to what we've had in the past. And yet this is coming out of Western leaders and the most important Western leader, the leader of the Western world rather, and not undermining its significance whatsoever. As we speak, or short while ago, this peace summit in Cairo wrapped up, hosting regional and European leaders and diplomats, among them by the way, the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney currently on her way to Israel, yet another solidarity visit. And yet the summit, again, peace summit, focused mostly on the situation in the Gaza Strip without really mentioning Israelis being slaughtered and tortured and murdered, without mentioning Hamas crimes against humanity if we're using those terms. Well, regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia calling for a ceasefire. Let's take a listen. The tragic events taking place in Palestine require urgent action to put an immediate end to military operations, provide protection for civilians and release hostages and prisoners in compliance with international norms and laws and common humanitarian principles, pointing to the necessity of finding a peaceful solution to this crisis that will remove the region from recurring cycle of violence and bloodshed and bring about the promise of a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace. Colonel Mary Eisen, with U.S. President Joe Biden illustrating so clearly a new, modern version of the axis of evil. Saudi Arabia can't really stay on defense. At some point or another, will be forced to choose sides. Here's the, I don't want to do complexity. I want to give you, in that sense, people are coming in and saying, okay, it's very clear cut when it comes to the morals and the higher moral ground, that's Hamas. Ali, I'm doing a distinction, which most Israelis right now find very hard to do, and that's the Palestinian people. And it doesn't matter if Hamas was, is in the Gaza Strip. It is the Gaza Strip. It was founded in the Gaza Strip. It's also strong in the West Bank. So doing that separation right now is something which I can do in my mind. I'm against terror Hamas. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood is very much something that disturbs Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood is something that Qatar supports. Muslim Brotherhood is something that Saudi Arabia is afraid of. So you suddenly get into an Islamist terminology world that I think right now that Saudi Arabia is scared totally that something like this could happen in Saudi Arabia. So on the one hand, they have to cater to their people. Hamas has been putting out daily cries, come and join us. We are starting the war against the worst thing that's in the world, that would be us, the Zionist entity. That was me being sarcastic, right? But Hamas puts out very clear cut cries. Not only that, but Hamas says we're going to free al-Aqsa, al-Quds. They put it into the religious terminologies. So I listen to Saudi Arabia and I listen carefully. I listen to Egypt and I listen carefully. I listen to Jordan and I listen carefully. And this isn't to make it easier for anybody, but they're in between a rock and a hard stone. They are Muslim, not all Muslims are jihadi Islamists. Of course. And so in that world, they need, this isn't about catering to your base. This is about acknowledging that they're Palestinian people and they have to have some kind of a future. And we're not erasing the Palestinian people. And we want to erase Hamas terror capabilities because if they succeed, that's the biggest threat to the world and to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and all of these countries. And first and foremost for the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people. Absolutely. You've mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood and in recent days, rightfully so, we're hearing so many comparisons between Hamas and ISIS. And yet the Muslim Brotherhood is a social movement is very similar to Hamas tactics and that's intruded in Palestinian hearts and minds, building a social infrastructure and hence being able to maintain power. But we'll put a stop right here and jump to London because what better way to spend your Saturday night there than to head out and protest against Israel at 24 News Senior UK Correspondent Jonathan Sashadadi is joining us live from there, Jonathan. Yeah, the streets are packed yet again. Ellie, there were an estimated 100,000 protesters on the streets of London today, police by 1,000 police. Apparently around 20 police vans outside the Israeli embassy just in case there was trouble there. The police have said they made only one request in relation to an incident last week. They said that while today's march was forming up, officers spotted a man who was wanted for being abusive in Parliament square after last weekend's protest and he was arrested for a public order offense and is now in custody. That has caused quite a few people to question what exactly the police are doing because the Home Secretary had said that she would prefer the police to take a very tough line on these protests, especially where they seem to veer into supporting Hamas, which is a prescribed terror organization under UK law. And in fact, there were some jihadi style flags flown in last time's protests. So it's interesting that the police say that they made only one arrest following up from last week. That's left many people in the Jewish community, not just the Jewish community, feeling quite afraid. It's also a bit of footage that's come out online of a London underground train, a tube train, where it would appear that the driver making an announcement over the Tannoy is effectively making supportive statements to the protesters and starting that chant free-free for the people on the train to return with Palestine again. Lots of people saying that would have made the train feel very unsafe for other passengers and apparently the Metropolitan Police have passed this on to London Transport Police and they are looking into it. So we don't know the full details of that yet. So there may be more arrests or more inquiries to come. But generally speaking, this is a stark contrast to what we've seen from the UK government who've really been right behind Israel speaking out. You saw Rishi Sunak visiting Israel. You've seen James Cleveley there, the foreign secretary. And yet 100,000 people mobilized on the streets of London. There is obviously a gulf between the two sets of opinions. Yes, and again, this confusion that's perhaps an understatement between the Palestinian political cause and the atrocities committed by Hamas. Jonathan Sashadadi joining us live from London, I-24 News, a senior UK correspondent. Thank you so very much for this alarming update. No other way to put it. Thank you, Jonathan. And from one front to another earlier today as really Defense Minister Joav Galant spoke on the idea of readiness for an expanded conflict, a scenario that many would like to avoid and yet very feasible, including, of course, Israel's northern front at the border with Lebanon, let's take a quick listen. Hezbollah decided to participate. We charged them a heavy price. I see the preparation of the division and the defense systems as well as the readiness. Your duty is to make all the preparations, both in defense and for anything else that may be required. And I get the impression that it is very strong. In my observation of the whole arena of the war, I see the northern and southern arenas and other things as well. We are at war. There is no choice. This is not something we ordered. They forced a war on us. We will unite, act wherever necessary, and win the war. And joining us now, Dr. Elie Komon, senior researcher at the Institute for Counterterrorism at the Reikman University and still with us here in the studio, of course, Colonel Mary Eisen. Dr. Komon, it's right to explain to us the level of coordination between this triangle. Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas. What is Hezbollah's strategy or rationale at this point in time? And does it matter, really? Or is it all going according to the nods from Tehran? Good evening. This is a very old relationship between Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah and Iran. Already since 1992, where 450 people, especially leaders from the two organizations were expelled to southern Lebanon and they began to be trained by Hezbollah under Iranian orders how to use suicide bombings and attack Israel. And immediately after the Austro-German in 1993, two months later, they began to use suicide bombings in Israel itself in order to sabotage the peace process at that time. And this relationship continued for a long period of time. The only time when there was some kind of crisis was when the civil war in Syria began. In 2012, 2013, Hamas was not happy that most of the people killed the Sunni population, which is the majority in Syria. So there was a conflict between Hamas and the Assad regime. They left the Damascus and there was some cold air between Hezbollah and Iran. But quite quickly, they achieved a new strategic agreement, the three of them, that the most important is to fight Israel. We can differ on Syria, but we can continue to fight against Israel together. And by the way, lately, Hamas returned also to Damascus. We know since, again, since the Secondary father that also there was a huge influence in operations. For instance, Hezbollah and Iran paid between 2000 and 2005 many suicide bombers with $9,000 in order to stage three bombs in Israel. And lately, we see what happens in the West Bank. It is mainly the smuggling of weapons. This is the financing of the terrorist activity of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank and the instigation from Gaza Strip. I had the impression that what happened these days is that Hezbollah was prepared to be in the next phase of the after the Hamas attack. They wanted to see how it develops. And it developed perhaps too well from the point of view of Hamas, but it puts Hezbollah perhaps in a more cautious position and they declare that the new red line will be, if there will be a ground operation, then this will be the green light to begin to attack directly Israel. We see lately that there is still an escalate of provocations in southern Lebanon. And this is because they have to show at least some solidarity. Some Hamas leaders spoke against Hezbollah on this issue, but there is indeed a threat that this will translate itself into a real conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Well, Colonel Eisen, it began with poking, to an extent, this tent or tent at the beginning, then one, then two again, that we've been talking about for months, then provocations that perhaps we've seen on the border and now it is more so. So the question being whether we're at a point in time where it's about the mistake one side will make or whether who will hit first? So both exist at the same time. You have the absolute challenge of escalation. Hezbollah has not just been poking. Hezbollah has been using a variety of different capabilities similar to what Hamas used, but in a very specific area. They fired anti-tank missiles. They fired mortars. They fired rockets. They've used UAVs and different type of suicide drones. They've had attacks themselves infiltrations, explosives. They're using all the variety, but very specifically, they're trying to poke all along the border. Let's add in that they're probably trying to see what our response is. On every single time we are responding, we have killed many Hezbollah operatives over the last 10 days. And I say many, because in the accumulative, the numbers are going up. That brings the escalation. Hezbollah said every time we kill somebody of theirs, they're gonna attack again. It's like, you see that, but we're not not going to respond. So it's a tit for tat, a tit for tat, but what about the intention? But the intention in that sense is that we all understand, even though it's hard right now to grasp what that means, that Hezbollah has 10 times the capabilities that Hamas has, that for the last decade, the IDF saw a similar scenario to what happened down south, not the brutality. Okay, we did not expect the atrocities, but the scenario of attacking 20 different civilian communities and conquering them as I said, the atrocities are what so are just impossible to think about, but we have those type of scenarios and those are things that Hezbollah could still try, but they know that they're not gonna surprise. But Ali, I'm gonna ask it in the following way. Would you wanna live in Kiryat Shmona in another month, if this is over without, if you don't take care of them? And I'm giving that as the challenge, because oh my God, I don't wanna have to make that decision and that's what the cabinet that sat today, it may have sat in the southern command, but that doesn't mean that they weren't talking about northern things, that's part of that balance. How do you go back and live next to Hamas terror in the Gaza Strip? You can't, right? So you can do so with Hezbollah up north, it's a real big challenge. So, and Dr. Kalman, and let's call it a spade a spade, New York Times reporting that it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, holding the brakes on a preemptive strike in Lebanon that was to an extent pushed by the defense establishment. Of course, we don't have any confirmation of that. Perhaps it is also part of the psychological war that all sides are currently engaged in, but what is more dangerous that Hezbollah will join the fighting or that it will not be deterred? What's the greater risk? Well, you heard from New York Times and also from Israeli journalists. So something probably happened in the cabinet. Personally, I think for the first time, I'm agreeing with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the sense that we have to finish the threat of Hamas. It's quite difficult also, it's not so simple. So to have another war, especially on the home front with Hezbollah, which can send every day 2,000, 3,000 missiles, it's a very, very huge challenge for Israel. So I think we have to try to restrain ourselves and to try to deal with the small provocations in the northern border, but concentrate ourselves on the destruction of Hamas, especially the next days, possibly after a new deal on the hostages will have to enter the ground operation in Gaza Strip. And Colonel Eisen, it sounds perhaps there seems farfetched at this point in time to see a greater regional war. And yet, if we're looking at indications on the ground, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, different players that are very much willing to join, if and when. You may have noticed that there are U.S. aircraft carriers in the area, armies in the area, both in the Persian Gulf, already intercepted missiles that were fired out of Yemen towards Israel were kind of already in it. And I'm going to even say something further and I'm worried about what I'm going to say. We've been in it for a long time. It just hasn't been open. And right now what's happening is that it's coming out much more into the open. There's been what we've called that war between the wars, and I didn't want to arrive at October 7th, but what's happening now is that everything is coming above ground in its own way. At least it's happening when we have clear cut United States, European, U.K., the German voices and additional one that are so clearly on Israel's understanding, add into that India under Modi. It's really important that we have these world powers who see Hamas as the terror organization it is and all of those other Islamic axes as being part of that, trying to annihilate the state of Israel. And again, not just standing by Israel, but perhaps further realizing that the Jews are always first, never the last history shows. Before when we were listening to the man who's in London right now, and I'm sitting here with you in the studio, and I thought to myself, Ali, I feel more safe here with you around the world looking at us and going, oh my God, and I feel more safe here right now as a Jew, as an Israeli than I would as a Jew or an Israeli anywhere in the world. So to an extent, the world as we've known it completely changed, chaptered to Saturdays ago and at the same time, not much has changed. It was always there. We just chose not to see it. No, there is a new world out there as well. The fact that we have, I mean, again, that the relationships that are out there with Morocco, with the Emirates, by the way, Egypt, Jordan that we talked about, we hope. New world is coming, hopefully for the better. Dr. Ali Karmon, Colonel Amiri Eisen, thank you so very much for joining us on this broadcast. We'll be back at the top of the hour. Stay strong, stay resilient. We're here. 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. Help us, we don't want to do it. We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant, and we are ready, and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unity. This particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year. To claim for the rain. At this moment global warming is affecting Bolivia, and not only Bolivia, but all over the world. We need rain for God's sake. The Vakita 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 Vakita can be protected. Welcome to the special broadcast here on I-24 News, as we continue our rolling coverage on day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas in the north. Renewed anti-tank fire from southern Lebanon. In the aftermath of Israel's defense, minister visits there, as well as second in command, not ruling out the option of it getting all in. In the south, Israel's war cabinet convening an assessment session this evening at the southern command, ahead of a pending ground operation. The IDF chief of staff is saying we are ready to win. We will enter the Gaza Strip. We will enter on an operational, professional mission to destroy Hamas operatives and Hamas infrastructure. And we will also remember in our heads the pictures and the sights of the fallen from Shabbat two weeks ago. Gaza is complex. Gaza is dense. The enemy prepares many things in it, but we also prepare for them. And joining us now in studio, Colonel Kobe Richter, a former fighter pilot at Israel's Air Force, Kerry Keller, Lee and political correspondent for the Times of Israel and our very own I-24 News senior, Middle East correspondent Ariella Saran. Thank you all very much for joining us, Colonel Richter. Sounds like the IDF chief of staff is ready to go. In my mind, very unfortunate, because there's no reason to move foot before there is a strategy, a political diplomatic peace and operation strategy. Who is going to get in there? How we are going to create a new rule in Gaza if and after we remove Hamas from control and the lack of such a plan to me makes the whole operation on the ground senseless. So without a political end goal, you suggest that it is not a good call to pursue a ground operation. I do believe so. I think we had time enough to create a plan. For example, I'm just inventing at the moment something that for two years, Saudi and American forces will control a transfer into maybe a PLO rule that the civilian population will have finally a leadership into a peaceful life. Now, if you don't have that, let's suppose we get into Gaza and what people call a win. I don't know what is that exactly. Destroy all the launcher and all the fighter of the Hamas. Then what? We stay there in order to see that we don't know what to do there. We stay there and do what? And yet, obviously there is a need for an immediate reaction. And we have seen such a reaction from the air until this point in time. And as we are lost around, we'll just tell us this piece I'm convening in Cairo today unable to speak in one voice and unable to be coherent about what regional heavyweights and European diplomats have to say on the current unfolding situation. So maybe these circumstances to think about an end goal in den act is a privilege Israel might not necessarily have. Well, Ali, I agree with you that not only Israel is not talking in a clear way as to what this political aspect of defeating Hamas, what that will look like. But if we're listening to Arab leaders and also European delegates that were at the summit, apparently there are disagreements regarding the final statement, the wording of the final statement. This is a report in recent hours in Al-Arabiya Jadid. It's a London-based Pan-Arab newspaper saying that disagreements between the Arab camp and the European camp regarding the inclusion of a phrase Israel's right to defend itself in the final statement and also to include an explicit condemnation of Hamas. And it's not unlikely that these disagreements will lead to an absence of a final statement. And that shows that basically the goal of this summit was lip service by these different Arab leaders to show that they're engaged in some way in the Palestinian issue, but no real tangible steps or operative steps for the future. Mainly given that for Egypt and Jordan, more importantly than ending the crisis, is that the crisis will stay out of their territory away from their borders. Kerry. I think that's a great point. And just to build on it, one of the concerns that we're hearing increasingly is the fear of the current conflict blowing up to a larger regional war. And this is something that the U.S., which kind of sat out the summit alongside Israel, is deeply concerned about. And that's why we're hearing this report that the U.S. pressured Prime Minister Netanyahu to not allow the defense establishment to have a first surprise attack against Hezbollah, something that would have given Israel a definite advantage in a very difficult military front. And speaking to that point, exactly, let's jump up north. Belir Sledin, I-24 News correspondent standing by there with the I-24 News team. Belir, thank you for joining us. Well, Hezbollah, second in command, is speaking this afternoon. The war on the ground might be still quote-unquote contained, but the war of wards far from it. Yes, it is contained. It is more like what we have seen in the last couple of days. But the escalation is sensible here. Like, we can sense that there are always squads from the Lebanese border trying to fire missiles, anti-tank missiles toward the Israeli side. We've seen it three times, at least today, that were successful, at least. One of them was in Mar Galiot, where two workers, foreign workers from Thailand were hit by that missile and were injured and were moved, of course, to the nearby hospital. And it happened also in Bir Am, where a fire is actually ongoing right there, a huge fire. And the Israeli, of course, side is trying to contain that fire. It happened also during this afternoon in Hanita, and anti-tank missile also was fired there. We didn't know up to this point about any casualties from that. But we also know that the Israeli side is, of course, is responding to this. At one incident, he released the footage, the Israeli army, of hitting a squad that is trying to fire an anti-tank missile in Hardov. It's just right beside Mar Galiot in the western side of the border. So that one wasn't actually successful. But we're talking about people or, like, Huzballah militants are killed right there. And Huzballah is actually standing by his equation where he said that any missile attack or any attack in general, we will respond to it. And also, if you kill one of us, we will kill one of yours. And that's, of course, very dangerous in this tense situation where anything can turn into a bigger scalable war that we can see right on the northern border. At least what we hear from the Israelis is that they are not interested in it. But no one knows what will happen in the future. At least the Israeli army warned that there could be in the coming days an expansion of the range of missile from Lebanon toward Israel. So that actually might mean something, of course. But we still need to wait and see. But these small incidents maybe, quote, unquote, can lead to a larger conflict. Yeah, at this point in time, still a tit for tat, a tit for tat. But obviously, with the current conditions, it could inflame me to much more than just that. Balir Sledin up north, thank you very much for this. And from north to south, I-24 News correspondent Mary McCollough with the I-24 News team there down south. Mary, the targeted elimination of Hamas leaders in the Strip continue as well. What are we hearing? That's right, Ellie. So we've heard numerous airstrikes hitting Gaza Strip from Israeli airplanes overhead over the last couple of hours. These airstrikes have really been ongoing and continuous. Of course, the news that's coming from Palestinian media inside the Gaza Strip is that two members of the Hamas leaders have been eliminated in those strikes. But we do know they've been striking significantly also in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. This is the area where RDF has asked all residents to evacuate south, even raising that alert level, not just telling them it's for their own lives and for their own protection that they need to go south. But also saying anybody who remains in the northern half of the Gaza Strip will now be considered a terrorist or a partner in a terror organization. So certainly trying to put some extra pressure on those residents. The IDF estimates that at this point there's some 700,000 residents from the northern half of Gaza who have fled south. That's still not the entire population that's there. There's estimated to be some over 1.1 million Palestinians who are living in that northern part of the Strip. So the efforts from the Israeli military to try and get the residents to leave have certainly been ratching up those warnings. All perhaps signaling that maybe this operation really could be imminent, could be coming in the next couple of days. Certainly the messaging coming out of the Israeli military from Israeli leaders seems to suggest that the time is getting near. Indeed, Mary, and earlier today for the first time since the beginning of the war, a humanitarian aid convoy is entering the Gaza Strip. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken thanking both Israel and Egypt for facilitating that and yet not ruling out that it will end up in Hamas's hands. Absolutely, that of course is the big question and the main reason why Israel has put such a harsh blockage on some of these Strip, on some of these aid convoys who are coming in. So it's part of these diplomatic efforts. It was agreed that only 20 trucks will be able to come in, only carrying water, food, mostly medical aid to try and service some of the hospitals and some of the aid workers who are on the ground inside the Gaza Strip. But one of Israel's stipulations is that there will be no fuel allowed in. Of course fuel is very needed in the Gaza Strip right now running on major electricity shortages as well as running generators, especially in hospitals. These fuel could be a major need, but they say they can't guarantee that it's not going to go to Hamas fighters or it's not going to be taken from Hamas fighters. We saw earlier in the week reports from a UN compound that some fuel and other medical supplies were taken from the compound. They said purportedly members of the Hamas organization, they later deleted that statement. But of course this is ongoing as we try and watch to see the situation inside the Gaza Strip trying to fit together these many bits and pieces and the idea of saying it's trying to do what it can to help the civilians inside Gaza Strip. But its utmost priority is removing Hamas from the Gaza Strip. That is its number one priority. Yes, Mary McCauley. If it indeed seems that the clock is ticking backwards ahead of a pending ground operation there. I-24 News correspondent Mary McCauley, thank you very much. For this, Kerry Keller-Lynn, obviously this humanitarian aid issue was really an American push that was bearing fruit today. But even the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is saying we do not have real reassurances that it will get to those who need it. The reassurances are twofold right now. And both of them are quite weak in that way. One is that there's a tacit understanding between Israel and Egypt that Israel would have some sort of veto over what can go through the Strip and that Egypt would coordinate security with Israel to check. Israel's not actually on the ground doing that, is my understanding. And the second is this understanding that should aid or should convoys go through that are unapproved, Israel could bomb them. So those are really the only two things holding back the Egyptians from letting Maury through. However, I will say that I spoke with an Israeli official this evening who told me that Israel gave the green light for humanitarian aid to pass through several days ago. And this was an issue that was actually held up on the Egyptian side. And so the official did not know the specifics of why the Egyptians decided to hold it up. They said that there's ongoing construction after destruction within the border itself, but that this was something green-lighted by Israel several days ago. Yes, Egypt definitely in a tough position here. Perhaps we'll elaborate on that in a second. But Colonel Richter, I do want to circle back to your reservations from a pending ground operation. Not for the reason you cited that with the lack of an end goal it will be reckless to do so, but rather the concern voiced by the families of over 210 hostages, according to other estimations, we're nearing the 300, that these two objectives of Israel's war vis-à-vis Hamas at this point, one, to the Sventel Hamas and the other to bring back the hostages, cannot be achieved at the same time through a ground operation. There is a problem there. And at least in my mind the government of Israel owe it to its citizens that their release, their safety and release would be priority one, not next to anything, not side-by-side with anything. And in as much as planning and ground operation that will in any way endanger them or decrease the chances that an agreement can be reached in which they will be released, it should be halted. Bringing them home is the number one priority, not one of the goals of the war, but the first goal of the war. I think that the arrogant, I would say, and angry, I understand it, frustrated statement of we'll destroy Gaza, we will bring it back to the Stone Age and so on was understandable, but not a plan to follow. So if you were to sit in the decision-making room in the aftermath of October 7th massacres, what would be your advice to Israel's leadership? First of all, to sit, cool down and think. Well, 15 days later. Well, 15 days later, I thought you asked me what would I do. You're correct. You're correct. On the first day I'll say sit and think. We had enough days to sit and think. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this is what our government is doing. I and about 80% of the citizens of Israel now have zero confidence in our prime minister really thinking about the interest of Israel, the conflict of interest has become a head on collision of interest and this is very unfortunate. Now, satisfying feelings of revenge does not solve anything. For me, a win, people say we have to have a win 100 to zero. There's no 100 to zero. After the first half, there's only 99 to zero to the Hamas. Do we need 100 to 99? No. We need a solution. We need to make sure as much as we can that this will never happen again. And this is not winning over the Hamas. This is getting a new arrangement in Gaza that will take the the will or the reason for people from Gaza to do this again. I think that some of those goals unfortunately butt up against each other because Israel has already stated that it is saying that the priority to bring the hostages home is high but it is also saying that it will continue to attack the Gaza Strip without concern for whether or not this hostages might hit. I think I understand why Israel is making that choice in the sense that it has a very narrow window of operation given from American backing and that window is closing as each day comes. And so while you might be right that if cooler heads were to prevail and Israel were to take time and to think about a real strategy to remove Hamas, it might be more successful. However, the geopolitical reality is that if Israel does not strike now and does not strike soon it might not have the opportunity in the backing and the cover to do it at all. We have two windows, you say. Both of them are going to close if I have to choose. I don't want the window of negotiation for releasing the hostages close and if I have to sacrifice something I will close the window of an immediate operation. It's that clear to me. There's a clear priority in my mind. And the government of Israel I think is very clear of choosing another course of action. And the government of Israel is for me a huge problem. You heard me say so that I think the Prime Minister of Israel is not considering the best interest of Israel but rather his own. That's actually a great point to bring up in that there was much talk only two and a half weeks ago that this upcoming Saudi-Israel U.S. brokered normalization could be the great saviour for Benjamin Netanyahu's political career, especially given the fact that it seems like most of the country would be willing to forgive him for the nine months of judicial reform and for his criminal trial should something such a breakthrough happen and that seems to be completely unice now. I agree and for example in the hypothetical arrangement that I just talked about at first let's make Saudi and American soldiers the peacekeeping force and that part of a three-some agreement that will in two first of all put the Saudis in on the ground secondly we'll have the Saudis support a two-state solution for the Palestinian that now can maybe unite the West Bank and Gaza into one Palestinian state. Well speaking of this there are three states for two people. Well let's try to protect this one state first perhaps but speaking of the Saudi question obviously in the aftermath of Biden's clear-cut stance creating or illustrating alright we will tune in now to the idea of a spokesperson now speaking live. Good evening we're on day 15 of the war two weeks since its onset on the north today anti-tank missiles were launched and missiles on the border we attacked in response to his bullet targets and terrorist squads that conducted the fire this is how we operate from the beginning of the war we are mobilized with defense and offense on the north we are convening assessments constantly with the IDF chief of staff on the northern front as well our main goal is Gaza this is where Hamas is and this is where the hostages, Israeli hostages are currently at and this is why we are solid on defense and offense on the north but on Gaza in Gaza rather we continue during the weekend with air strikes we continued eliminating Hamas leaders were involved in the massacre two weeks ago we continue to dismantle terror targets terror infrastructure ahead of the next phase of the war Hamas in the past 24 hours the past day similarly to recent days but particularly in the last day is trying to portray itself around the world is a humane organization after it released two hostages last night but the world cannot forget Hamas is worse than ISIS Hamas two weeks ago infiltrated to the state of Israel massacred slaughtered raped burned murdered killed babies children elderly Arabs Jews Israelis all Israelis no matter who they seen on their way they've killed all Israelis foreigners Muslims they killed they raped they murdered them all committed a crime against humanity and then kidnapped children babies elderly sick people people with disabilities kidnapped them into the Gaza strip Hamas committed and is committing crimes against humanity Hamas launched a war not Israel Hamas is hiding behind the population in Gaza and wants its citizens to die to get popularity around the world to see Gaza and shambles to gain support since the beginning of the war we've seen 500 field rocket launches falling in landing rather in the Gaza strip and harming civilians there and infrastructure Hamas is conducting on purpose launches of rockets so and continues to operate terror activity there only today we have attacked an apartment that