 anti-tank missiles at the border post earlier. Hezbollah taking responsibility. What is the latest update there? That's correct. This is the fourth time in the recent days that Hezbollah has admitted its role in these attacks, signalling, apparently, its willingness to be further involved in the conflict that Israel has found itself in. Now, the big question is, how far is Hezbollah willing to go? Are they merely demonstrating their support of the Hamas cause, or is there further? Are they willing, essentially, to open up a second front in this conflict, so that Israel has a fight on its southern front and another one on the north, which will remind our viewers, is a major scenario that Israeli military commanders have warned about in recent years, saying that if they were to be involved in a conflict on multiple fronts, it would stretch them much further. Now, part of the reason that the U.S. has moved aircraft carriers and other warships into the region is to act as a deterrence, to demonstrate that parties such as Hezbollah, possibly Iran, would be wise to avoid becoming embroiled in the conflict. And Hezbollah have said that they are unthreatened by that, but we wait to see what happens. Thank you so much, Robert. Give us a sense, though, while you are explaining what is unfolding across the security front, what is happening in terms of hospitals in the north, we're hearing that they were moving patients underground. What are communities doing right now as this threat unfolds? That's correct. So, hospitals in the north of Israel have begun moving some patients further south into the center of the country. This is, presumably, essentially to open up additional capacity. The hospitals here will be the backbone of the medical response of the military if conflict is to open up here. And by removing those patients, not only do they get them out of harm's way, but they also free up those hospitals if they are suddenly inundated with additional patients due to opening conflict here. Thank you so much, correspondent Robert Swift, live from the border up north between Israel and Lebanon. Thank you, Robert. Now here in studio, a political development, an emergency unity government has been set up. Music to the ears of many waiting for some kind of clarity and direction about what will happen next. Correspondent Bacha Leventhal is here in studio. What is known, what is the latest? This is a massive development on day five already of Hamas' attack and the war between Hamas and Israel. What we do know at this time is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially signed an agreement with the coalition leader from the National Unity Party, a key opposition figure at this point, Benny Gantz. They have decided that between the two of them, as well as five other members in the National Unity Party, at the moment, we only know three of them, which would also include the IDF commander, Gadi Eisenkart. Get on, sir, is said to be there as well. But get on, sir, Ron Derma, as well as Eisenkart, are going to be given the sort of these portfolios that are not legitimate portfolios. They are oversights. They are observers to what's going on at the moment. It is basically going to be up to the Prime Minister for this time being in a key opposition figure that has very much been an anniversary of Netanyahu for the last couple of years, now forming this unity government that has to deal with war matters only. The Knesset Winter Session is set to open when it does. The Knesset will be passing things that only have to do with the management of the war for the time being and not other affairs. And again, a big thing left here, there is a spot available for the leader of the opposition being Eir Le Peer from the Asia-Tid Party. It's not clear just yet whether or not he is set to join. That is not finalized officially. But again, I'll remind our viewers that he has come out and said he will absolutely not be joining any kind of coalition unity government, emergency coalition government, whatever you want to brand it as. If that includes far-right ministers of Netanyahu's current coalition, being the finance minister, but Salah Smartridge, or the national security minister, Itamar Bing Veer. Joining us as well here in studio, Dr. Fadi Ismail, former senior staffer in the US Congress and research fellow at the International Institute for Counterterrorism. So as we've just been discussing this new development and emergency government, a unity government, we are waiting to find out the details exactly of what it is going to involve. But what we do know, the focus is on the war and what steps need to happen next. Your take on what this means for the Israeli public, hearing this news that there is an attempt at a proper plan in place right now. I think this is exactly what it is. It's an act that is akin to what happened at the beginning of the Six Day War, projection of strength, of unity, one position to the entire world. Is it a question? Is it necessary and operational? Does it have operational meaning? I hope so, because when you have people like General Guns and General Eisencott in the picture, especially giving the lack of experience around the current cabinet, almost very few of them really know what they talk about when they talk about military, let's hope that it will also have operational dimension and that they will be listened to. Let's hope that that's what's going to happen. Time will tell. I think the Prime Minister in this instance would give it some serious weight. He can use every bit of experience around him right now. He needs the knowledge. He needs the depth of abilities that he sees. What he has now is only Garland. He's the only one in the cabinet who's able to give him a good backup. Having these kinds of others there, especially Guns and Eisencott, will be a great achievement. That's good. Would you have expected to hear more up until now from Benjamin Netanyahu and Joff Garland specifically? I would have expected to hear much more of all cabinet ministers and to see them more in the field, all of them. The fact that only now we're beginning to see them, the whole government, the whole system, went AWOL for a good two or three days. Of course, the short answer is yes. The long answer is I would expect more of all of them. They need to be more connected to the street. What's going on? Not now. Yesterday they started doing this more and I respect that. They need to be involved as much as possible. Not just sitting in meetings, but also be there available to the public, listening to the needs. I have to say some of the decisions that they made, like issues that have to do with licensing firearms and so on, make absolute sense. Not only that, in some other areas as well. The more these ministers, many of them have absolutely no experience, the more they learn how to be involved in the daily operations of the situation that we're in, the better off all of us will be. We cannot keep on going headless, running around like the headless chicken. It doesn't work anymore. If I may, I think a point that needs to be brought up here as well is the fact that, yes, I think the entire public of Israel at this point would have really been enlivened to have been had enlightenment from the government at this point. But again, we're talking about an unprecedented situation that has not happened in modern-day Israel. This is a situation where our armies, our defense establishment has been undermined. And of course, the political turmoil in the last couple of months has played into that. The fact that this governmental cabinet was wholly unequipped to deal with the situation, I think just brings into the essence of the reason that there was so much silence at first. I do agree with the fact that there does need to be more communication with the public going forward. There are still family members that have not heard even from the representative appointed about this. But again, this is a much more complex situation with the government that was wholly unequipped. The formation of this national unity government, emergency government is now likely to put a stop to that going forward that we now have a very secure, in a sense, three-man emergency government to be putting forward anything to do with the war and to do with the citizens of Israel. Apparently, qualifications matter. What a concept. Having somebody in charge, it is important that they are qualified in some way. That's a concept that seemed to have been lost in the last year or so. So, yeah, I'm just making it in a little bit more lighthearted way. But yeah, absolutely. We had a cabinet of amateurs, really. And now, and the way, look, I have to say the truth, the whole system failed the first two days. And I don't want to say put it only on the cabinet. I mean, there are many things that need to be answered, and they will be answered. I want to remind everybody, we're still studying the 1973 war and we're still finding more new data that puts the entire failure there in a whole different light. So, it will take years before we really analyze every bit of it. And yeah, that's the point about qualifications. It's very, very important. A surprise development starting both of those wars 50 years and one day apart. No doubt about that. When we talk about leaders speaking out and sharing messages, it was a heartfelt emotional message from Joe Biden on Tuesday night. He was so shocked at the atrocities that unfolded. He reiterated the support that the US has for Israel. How important is that right now for Israel as this emergency unity government plots out its next plan of action knowing that Washington is fully behind whatever steps Israel is going to be taking. It's critical. Israel has not has been and it's not me saying that it's generals IDF generals who say have been saying that for years like a like General Brick who said it at time and again Israel cannot fight multiple frontiers. That's a fact. It's a mathematical equation. And over the years, the military has been decreased in size and capabilities and many units were disbanded and so on. So if indeed, by the way, we're not Israel is not fighting Hamas. It's a wars with Iran. People have to get it and you have an Iran can activate five to six frontiers at the same time if they wanted. And frankly, the army, the IDF and the entire security establishment is not now is not equipped for it. Therefore, the entrance of the US changes the whole the whole decision cycle for everyone. Now the real leaders of this fight against Israel who sit in Tehran. Now they're facing something yet. It's not only the U.S. It's the entire West. Britain has said we are in the picture. Italy, France. It's not only the one one one or one air for air. But one of the not only the American you would say I don't know if this is the thing that we should talk about. There are many countries in the picture here that changes the plans that ruins actually the ruins of plans for the Iranians. Now, even if they are moving, they are mobilizing towards a right now, as I speak, the convoy is moving towards the borders in Israel. But it's different than dealing with just Israel and having the United States standing there. It's a whole different ballgame, a different place. Of course, it's critical. My point is everything changed from that moment on. Fadi Bacir stay with us. We're going to discuss much more. But right now we're going to our correspondent, Pia Steckelbauer. She joins us from the Shura camp in Ramle. And, Pia, I understand that bodies are being identified where you are. Difficult to cover. No doubt. What can you tell us? Right, Benita. We're standing here in front of a military base that houses the military rabinate. But that has now been turned into a center for the identification of corpses of bodies of soldiers and citizens and trucks are still coming in here. We're talking about the bodies of those murdered in the massacres at the southern border over the weekends. Soldiers identified here at a different section. We have just been touring this institution here. We did not enter the halls with the corpses out of respect, of course. But we were told how civilians, how citizens here are getting identified behind us, which can be a very, very long, painful and quite tragic process. We were touring the facilities with the chief superintendent of the Israeli police, Gilad Bahat, and he said that the police forces and also the soldiers that are stationed here, they haven't seen anything like this. We're talking about 800 bodies who are stored here right now. This is not the final number. As corpses, as I said, are still coming in here. They're working day and night to identify those people, but the bodies come in conditions that makes it very, very hard to actually identify them. We're talking about bodies that have caused wounds from shootings, but that are also burnt that show all kinds of signs of desecration. And we're also talking about corpses that show signs of rape. That is what we have been told here. We're talking about men, women, children, even babies from all walks of life here. They're coming here. What is being done is, first of all, they're being photographed. Their personal belongings are being taken if they still have them on them. To later be given to their families. After that, their fingerprints are being taken and some DNA samples. The police and the military here has access to all kinds of databases from the army, from the police, also from the Ministry of Interior. So samples have to be matched with other samples that are in those data banks. And it is, of course, a very painful process for the personnel here on the ground. If you look at people's faces, this is an incredibly difficult job that the police and the soldiers here are doing. Also, Zaka Israeli paramedics are also here on the ground doing that. And it is a quite lengthy process. Identification of a body can take days. Only in very, very rare cases are families invited to identify a body. If the body still enables a family to come here, this is being done. But the forces here really try to avert that as it is extremely, extremely tragic and painful for families here. We have seen one or two here that were invited to identify a body. The main goal of the forces here on the ground is to make sure that they correctly and quickly identify the bodies. They really want to avert a situation where an identification turns out not to be right, which has happened also here in the past as we were told here. But it is an extremely difficult work here that is still continuing. As I said, we're talking about 800 bodies here behind us. We've just seen another truck entering and what the police officers here on the ground have been telling us about the conditions of the bodies is just really, really difficult. We were just there. As I said, we didn't even enter the halls where they store the bodies as of now. But the smell also outside is unbearable. The smell of death there is everywhere. And from the testimonies that we've heard from the police officers who are dealing with these bodies on a daily basis now since Saturday, this institution opened on Saturday morning. So right after the massacre happened right after Israel was infiltrated from Gaza, they are working here very, very hard. And the work is nowhere near to be finished, Benita. Difficult even to hear the details that you are sharing with us, Pierre. And as we are speaking to you, sirens are sounding in Ashkelon's Zikim and other parts of the southern communities, warning of incoming rocket fire. Once again, that was happening, of course, earlier on in the afternoon as we discussed earlier on in the broadcast. Pierre, help us understand the teams in place right now to speak to bereaved families or to speak to the families that are still waiting for answers on what may have happened to their loved ones. The country was caught by surprised by what unfolded on Saturday. What plans and contingency teams are in place right now to help with the trauma, to help with breaking the news to families who have had an agonizing wait since Saturday? So Benita, as I said, only in very rare cases, our family brought to these facilities because it is really, as you can imagine, not easy to have to identify a loved one. So we have seen one or two families here on the ground. They are accompanied by paramedics in case they cannot cope with what they are about to see. We do see quite a few families waiting here outside. So I can imagine that they also just come here in order to try and get some information because there's still dozens, if not hundreds of families waiting for the details of their loved ones. But of course also for the team working here on the ground, we're talking about soldiers, paramedics and police officers. This is not an easy scene. I've had the chance to speak to one of the police officers and ask him what about their psychological support. And he says, well, there are a few teams here on the ground, but of course it is not enough. And what these people are also going through here, having to identify these bodies, having to look at these bodies and having to eventually also over the course of time, we're speaking about since Saturday, deal with these very, very graphic images. Of course leaves a lasting mark on them. Also, of course, Benita, you mentioned the incoming rocket fire. We also had to seek shelter here. We were laying down on the road earlier. Of course, that also interferes with their work here when rocket silence also ring. We talk about really a staff that are dozens of people here who are working here on the ground and families. We've seen families who stand on the road here who are coming in. Their faces tell the entire story. I guess nobody can really imagine what a family goes through who does not know what actually happened to their loved ones. If one of their loved ones is actually here in that facility and being identified now, we were told about one incident where a family came to identify a body which, as I said, is only granted in very, very rare cases. They were told that the person had a specific tattoo. And according to that tattoo, the family thought they had identified their body. But right before the actual burial was supposed to take place, the forensic matching, the forensic analysis that is being conducted here and also in other data banks and throughout Israel said that this is actually not the right person. And the family had to of course return the body and had to wait for other information. So there are really, tragic stories here coming out of that institution here behind me. Tragic. Indeed. Correspondent Pierre Stekelbach from Central Israel. Thank you for that very difficult update. Right now, for more, we bring in Renanna Botzis-Swisser, a resident of Kfar Azar, and she joins us from Central Israel. Renanna, we so appreciate you speaking to us after the incomprehensible brutality of that massacre in Kfar Azar, unimaginable. Firstly, how are you? I'm trying to be okay as much as possible, trying to be positive and take care of this trauma that happened to me. The nation is in shock and now the world has seen the images of the horror. I can't imagine your account if you can. Tell us what happened. Yeah, so I went into a safe room in 630. It's actually my room. And I just had panic attack and I couldn't open the, I couldn't close the window of the safe room until my mom came in and closed it. Then we stayed there for 16 hours and in this time, we prayed and we sang songs and we also heard all the gunshots around us and we heard all of the fires and really everything that was happening around us. It was a really terrifying experience. I said with my mom all the praise that I could and I guess someone up there just heard me and kept me alive. Then in 10 p.m. the army came and they saved us. They came into our house. Got us to a safe place where I am right now. Renana, what do you understand from what happened around you? You were there for such a long time. You've described hearing gunshots. What did you understand? What was going through your mind about your understanding about what was happening across the Kippurts then? Well, because our electrics wasn't shut off, so we could see everything which is great like sometimes but it's also gives a really big panic. So we tried to stay as quiet as possible and to just try to listen to what was going on around us. There was really nothing we could do. So it was really a terrifying experience because you can't do anything. You can't go outside. You can't run away. You can't hide. And you are now in central Israel. You know that the whole nation is grieving and trying to process hearts of the country are with you and the community of Karazah and the world is now seeing all these graphic images. If you had a message, what would you want to share right now? What do you want the world to understand about what happened at Karazah? I just hope people will know that when terrorists attack Israel and murder children and babies and pregnant women and fathers and elderly, Israel have to step back. We can't stay silent. We need to bring peace to our country as much as we can. And if we won't do anything, people will do stuff to us. Once our Prime Minister, Golda Menyeva, she said, if our enemies will put down their weapons, there will be peace. But if Israel will put down her weapons, there will be no Israel. And I hope people will understand this, that we have to protect ourselves. The other survivors from the kibbutz, where are they? Are you in touch? What can you tell us about how they are doing right now? So many of my kibbutz are in here right now where I am. And some of them are also in a lot. So we're all just trying to stay positive and stay as much as we can together. Everyone in here is grieving. It's really hard to see everyone, all the people that grew up with you and were with you since day one, just crying with you and mourning. It's so hard to see it. It's unimaginable. And the whole nation is mourning with you. Renanna Botzis, Swiss, thank you for your bravery. Thank you for talking to us, joining us from Central Israel. The nation is grieving with you. You have the hearts of the nation. Thank you very much. You've been watching I24 News. I'm Denise Levine.