 Breaking News Edition, I'm Penise Levine, coming to you live from Tel Aviv, Day 21 of the war. And new details are still emerging around the Hamas terror rampage, the terror group being compared to ISIS or some suggest worse than ISIS. Questions remain about the pending full-scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight, seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Tomorrow marks three weeks since the darkest day in Israel's 75-year history. The Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel on the 7th of October, which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several kibbutzim and basses. Tomorrow marks three weeks since more than 200 people were kidnapped during that terror onslaught and taken across to Gaza. Since then, four women have been released. Qatar saying it's working on a deal to secure the release of the other hostages. Details emerging about extensive underground tunnels in the enclave, tunnels that are not set to complicate the pending IDF incursion. In the most recent airstrikes, the IDF saying it killed five senior Hamas commanders. As Defence Minister Joab Gallant reiterates that Israel will win the war. He says the country's next 75 years largely depends on it. So, for more on the ground, we go up north. Our correspondent, Chanda Sahut, is in northern Israel. And Chanda, give us the latest updates on the ground. Many communities there in the north evacuating the area in recent days. Given concerns around Hezbollah's potential moves, what is the latest where you are? Right, Benidah. Communities within five kilometers of the Lebanese border have been evacuated by the Israeli military and the Defence Ministry and that's because the Israelis are hoping to keep civilians out of the line of fire that could erupt with Hezbollah on the northern border. Now, Hezbollah, while they have informally involved themselves in this war, since October 7th, there have been tit for tat exchanges of fire that have resulted now in more than 46 deaths on Hezbollah's side and several on the Israeli side as well. That number also includes civilians who are dead or injured among Israeli soldiers. So the Israeli military is saying that it's prepared to open another front on the northern border. Hezbollah is the aggressor. The United States has been both publicly and privately pressuring the Israelis not to have a larger preemptive strike inside of Lebanese territory out of fears of the situation erupting into a multi-conflict war, a multi-front war, rather a semi-regional conflict that the United States simply doesn't want to see. They want the Israelis to put all of their focus in the south on their goals with Hamas. And the reality of the situation is, if other groups or countries in the Middle East are involved, Israel and the United States will have no choice. Now, along with that pressure, they are adding assurances to the Israelis that they will assist in the fight against Hezbollah militarily, meaning that they will assist via air, land and sea with whatever the Israelis might need to combat Hezbollah because their weapons capabilities are much more sophisticated and advanced than what we see coming out of Gaza. The exchanges of fire continuing overnight yesterday, the Israelis conducting drone strikes in Lebanese territory that resulted in huge fires, plumes of smoke, even reaching several parts of northern Israel. There was a haze in the air that is actually still present this morning, so the situation is quite sensitive and it continues at this time and it doesn't really seem to be letting up, Benita. Talk to us about the latest rhetoric after that big meeting in Beirut earlier on in the week. We saw that message of unity, so to speak, from Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic jihad and Hamas all meeting in the Lebanese capital. What is the latest out of Lebanon itself? Well, look, Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief meeting with Saleh Al-Arrouri from the Hamas political bureau, along with Ziyad al-Nakhali, the secretary general of Palestinian Islamic jihad, the axis of resistance, as they call it, they said, is strong and their mission is one, their enemy is one, and that is Israel. So they said that they are willing to continue assisting each other in this fight, but that meeting also goes to show that the coordination and the communication between the three groups is prevalent and it is continuous. So while they might not have, while Hezbollah might not have aided in that initial Hamas attack on October 7th, they are still willing to assist them. They are still willing to open up another front to really put the pressure on Israel in more than just one place. Thank you so much. We will be coming back to you for regular updates corresponding Hamda Salehut live from northern Israel. Thanks, Hamda. Now for more, we welcome to studio Rafael Urushalmi, former senior intelligence officer in the IDF. Rafael, thank you so much for being here. So many developments on this day, day 21. I want to start with this limited land incursion overnight by the IDF into the Gaza Strip, seeming to lay the groundwork, so to speak, for bigger moves down the line. Talk to us about exactly what unfolded. Yes, absolutely. So first of all, it shows that we can use these ground incursions for quite a while while the hostage situation is developing, meaning we can wait for the ground offensive. The last night and the night before, the infantry went into Gaza with tanks, and this is an achievement in itself because there are many obstacles prepared for the entry of our forces and especially tanks, obstacles against tanks. Those tanks managed to destroy outposts equipped with anti-tank missiles, so they could destroy these outposts before those missiles were shot at them. The main purpose of these incursions is to open access into Gaza for the main offensive, to open like a road. Of course, this road is not marked, and we only know where it is. And around it, we put mines and booby traps for the terrorists, so they don't really know where is this road. But these roads, we're going to need much more than two. Now we've opened like two inland roads for the main offensive. That's one of the purposes, and another purpose is, of course, to inflict losses to the terrorists and also to gain intelligence and spot, of course, entrances to the tunnels. Last night, terrorists came out. As soon as they put their nose out of the tunnel, they were eliminated, but the most important is that we knew where the tunnel was, which also allows us to experiment intelligent ammo, ammunition, that is a new thing. It's a little surprise for the Hamas that we have in store of how this ammunition can go in the tunnel and make its way through the tunnel and hit the targets inside. So all this is being experimented. A few little technological things are being put there and left on in the field that will help us for the bigger surprise that we're preparing them, something that is more technological, but that needs little relays on the ground. So all this put together makes it very, very important, this little incursion is actually super important for the success of the main ground entry. What is waiting for this ground entry, as you put it, help Israel or not? What is the sentiment on the ground among soldiers who have seen what unfolded on the 7th of October and may feel that it's time to go out and defend the country to make sure that it doesn't happen again? Does waiting help that kind of feeling on the ground? No, of course not. There's a frustration among the soldiers. It's not only the soldiers, the whole people of Israel. We're all wanting to go and do the job. But we have noticed and we have learned that even though we want to do the job, it's not necessary really to enter very fast because unless there is an opportunity on the operational tactical level, that shouldn't be missed and then we should go in. But otherwise, the waiting is just, it's good for everybody. The waiting is good for the hostage situation. We can allow for waiting a little longer. It's good also for our own soldiers because the more we wait, you will see this incursion, the more we wait, the more we gather intelligence, the more we train for what we're going to have to do, the more we prepare logistically. So all this will limit the risk to the lives of our soldiers. I said after, they're starting to understand that even though there is a frustration and this frustration is filtering up to the generals and the generals not so great trust in the political level is filtering down to the soldiers. So it's not a very healthy situation, but so far, so of course all this will be limited in time. I would say like a few days at the most and also three, four days. And the Hamas is going to anyway cynically just prolong these negotiations. They're going to make it last because the more they negotiate, the more they manage to delay our offensive. In the end, it's still a good thing. You know, I'll tell you, for 20 years, we've waited to do this. We could have done this 20 years ago. So we can wait a few more days. Rafael, you're a shell me. If you could wait just a few more minutes, we've got more to discuss. I first want to go, though, to our correspondent, Robert Swift. He joins us from southern Israel. So Rob, tomorrow marking three weeks since the Hamas killing rampage in the south. We know that the IDF conducted this limited incursion overnight. What update can you share from where you are right now? That's right. So this was a raid involving tanks, infantry and engineering units. And just to explain the context of this essentially in military terms, a raid is a limited capturing of the ground in order to complete certain objectives with the troops then withdrawing afterwards. It's understood that the objectives that the Israeli military was conducting there was to attack various Hamas defensive positions, particularly anti-tank missiles and elements of Hamas' command on the ground there at the tactical level. This is likely all part of essentially preparing the ground for the next stage. Now this is the second of these raids that have been conducted in the last 24 hours. And this suggests that Israel is maybe getting closer to the stage where it launches the full ground operation. Now there have been previous raids into Gaza since hostilities began, but those were more special forces raids which had a focus on the hostages. Some of them retrieved bodies of Israelis who had fallen and been seized into Gaza. But the operation that took place last night and the one the previous day, they're more about setting the ground. They also come after a large-scale bombardment last night. We were on the ground close to the border and the amount of fire that Israel was putting in, first with artillery and then later with airstrikes and drones. It was a larger-scale bombardment than we'd seen down here on the border. And this, combined with the two raids, like I say, suggests that Israel is getting ready to that launch stage. Talking about the hostages, Israel is denying reports of a deal to give fuel to the strip in exchange for the release of the hostages. What more is known about efforts right now to make sure that these hostages get home and that they get home safely? That's right. Well, essentially there's an argument over the fuel with humanitarian causes inside Gaza Strip, saying that more fuel is required for them to be able to conduct humanitarian work. But Israel, very concerned that fuel is likely to go to Hamas. And that Hamas is already seizing and monopolizing the fuel that does remain within the Gaza Strip. Now, Qatar has been very much involved in negotiations behind the scenes with regards to the negotiations and was involved in the release of the four hostages who've previously made it out of the Gaza Strip. And obviously, as we get closer to the potential ground invasion by Israel, the situation for those hostages becomes increasingly more precarious. Rob, you spoke about the rocket fire still emanating from the strip as of yesterday. Give us a sense of ideas around the scale of the Hamas weapons arsenal right now. It's nearly three weeks in and there are still rockets to be sent from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory. Yeah, that's correct. A lot of people ask the question, how are they still able to fire these rockets? First of all, why has the IDF not struck their rockets, preventing them from firing? And how do they still have ammunition? But these are rocket firing positions which are hidden throughout a very tightly packed urban area. So they're not easy to find. And obviously, they'll have multiple locations from which they can fire from. And it's understood that Hamas' arsenal is significant. I saw some reports yesterday suggesting that at the current rate of fire, Hamas could continue its rocket launches for at least a month or two at the current rate. So that gives you an idea of the scale at which they're able to continue this fire. That in itself may come to an end as Israel goes in on the ground, however, as the Hamas will be unable to fire at the same rate, perhaps. Watching all those developments in southern Israel correspondent Robert Swift, we'll be coming back to you for more updates. Thank you for now, Rob. Still with me in studio, Rafael Yerushami, and your take on exactly what we were talking about right now with Rob and the capacity that Hamas still has nearly three weeks in to keep sending rockets towards civilians here in Israel. Yes, this capacity was built over the years, which is another nice and big mistake of some Israeli governments to have let the Hamas strengthen itself in that way over the years. This being said, it's not that easy to destroy. First of all, the ammunition is one thing, and the launching parts is another thing. Some of the launching only requires a motorcycle, sometimes a truck, so it's mobile. It can change. It can hide in an orchard. They usually shoot at night. So these are, of course, the smaller missiles and rockets. But from a truck, you can shoot a rocket that can reach Ashdod. For the larger parts that can reach Tel Aviv and inside Israel, you need a real launching pad made of concrete. These ones are built mostly in the courtyards of schools and hospitals. So even if we know where they are, we cannot hit them. It's only when we come in the ground that we can destroy them. It's too dangerous for the collateral damage, and they know that. And some of them are, of course, in the ground and very well assimilated. So it takes time, it takes intelligence, and it takes surgical operation to destroy them. We are destroying them, but there are many of them. This is the same with the Kisbalah. The strength of the power of the Kisbalah is not that it has 150,000 missiles. It's got hundreds of launching pads, meaning they can launch quite a few at the same time. Which is, of course, as you know, the Iron Dome is 95% success, so 5% will get through. So it's going to take time. People have to understand that you can't just destroy overnight all these places. Also, the Kisbalah will save ammo and launching pads for further stages of the war. They're not going to spend everything now, of course. So they're going to save that. And, of course, also for the final stage, when they feel that they really, like, maybe might lose the war, then shoot a lot in Israel and cover the escape. Because what will happen? They'll cover the escape of the leaders and chiefs who will run out towards Egypt or give us back hostages in exchange for their lives. Well, talking about Egypt and unusual development early on this morning, a missile struck the resort town of Taba, a medical facility there. Six people are injured. Making reports because it's vague as to where this missile could have come from. So share with us what exactly was going down. It is vague in the sense that it's a small-caliber, short-range projectile. So it's very difficult to know who shot it and from where. So it could be from Sinai, because it's happened before. In Sinai, there are Hamas-affiliated terrorist cells, but there are also al-Qaeda and Daesh-affiliated terrorist cells that create quite a lot of havoc and problems for the Egyptian army there in Sinai. So it might have come from there in solidarity with the Hamas, or it came really from Gaza shot by the Hamas towards Elat, fell short. This only shows that what the Biden administration is afraid of could really happen, meaning the extension of the conflict to other theaters of operation. The Egyptians said that once they'll know who and from where the missile was shot, they will react accordingly. But we see also last night that there was another extension, a little of the conflict when the American forces hit Syrian and Iranian interests inside Syria. So it's a very good signal anyway from the United States Army to show that even America is not interested in an extension of conflict and destabilization, the region, they have a strong stand and they're showing it. They're not afraid. And they shot at even Iranian interests in Syria. She's a very good signal. What do you make then of those reports that the U.S. is pressuring Israel to hold off for now or delay its ground offensive so it can sort out its American bases at various sites across the Middle East? Yes, they're advising us and they're asking for a favor. They're not really ordering us. I think Joe Biden himself has made it clear that we have a right to defend ourselves and to defend ourselves the way we see it proper. They're not going to impose on us. Even the European Union yesterday came out with a press communique where they didn't ask for ceasefire, for instance. So people understand that we have to do what we have to do. On the other hand, if we can oblige, and if Biden administration, who's supporting us so strongly, desires to give more of a chance to hostage negotiations and preparing its troops and bringing more support to the American troops already present in the Middle East, all this, if we can do it, we'll have to do it, of course, do it. And I remind you that we are waiting now even a bigger support with more Iron Dome batteries coming from the United States. So I think that we can only be grateful and the Americans do understand that we can only be so grateful as we can. And at some point we might have to do what we have to do. And certainly those Iron Dome's are more necessary than ever right now, not only in the South, potentially in the North as well. And we wait to see what kind of negotiations will be fruitful in terms of helping with hostages, a very worrying situation and heartbreaking to think that with each delay that the pain and the trauma that is going on right now inside the Gaza Strip, it's difficult to imagine. Rafael Yoroshalmi, former senior intelligence officer in the IDF. Thank you as always for being here. I appreciate your insight. Nearly three weeks since the Hamas killing Rampage in southern Israel and still more bodies are being identified. The death toll is at more than 1,400. And many families are still waiting for news on their relatives and friends as we've just been discussing here in studio. Those who are being held hostage in Gaza. Our Orisha Perra went to a special village set up to help survivors of the terror onslaught. Let's take a look. Two and a half weeks since the horrific Hamas onslaught in southern Israel, many are still trying to pick up the pieces. The Emil Rehabilitation Center north of Tel Aviv is one of those places. It opened its gates to survivors of the massacre at Reim Nova Festival on October 7th. The people who were at this party took psychedelic drugs. They didn't land on the ground. They are here, but they are not here. In this village, the main treatment is logotherapy based on the method of Victor Franco. He used the empowerment of internal forces and creating a shell that wraps around the patient. One of the survivors, Natalie Bloom, shared her story with I-24 News and speaks about her personal battle after October 7th. I saw the terrorist with my own eyes. I had severe anxiety attacks. I saw my sister and she looked like a terrorist to me. I looked at her and I saw a terrorist. I saw a person with a gun standing in front of me and trying to kill me. I understood that I can't deal with anything. My sister held me and I screamed, stop, stop. I don't want to die. I understood that I needed mental treatment. Emil, founder of this center, considers himself a rebel and opposes some of the mainstream mental care methods. Although some may see this approach as controversial, many of his patients feel grateful and some even continue to work in this village. What Emil does here is he doesn't put my mind and soul and body in a cage. He lets my soul be free here. He lets my mind be free. I am allowed to experience new things. I'm allowed to experience a new way of life. And if I don't like it, the door is open. The massacre at Rayeem will most likely continue to haunt everyone who was involved. The combination with hallucinogenic drugs make the treatment even more challenging. Emil and his crew have a message to the thousands of survivors. You're not alone. And if it's not here, then try finding another place that can let you have that peace of mind that you need so bad right now. Yedidim is the biggest volunteer organization in Israel more than 60,000 volunteers are involved. And since the start of the war nearly three weeks ago now, the organization has been focused on helping out displaced residents, organizations, and even military units. More in this report. This small school in the central city of Petah Tikva has become the temporary headquarters of Yedidim, the Hebrew word for friends and to the biggest volunteer organization in Israel. The organization is known mostly for helping cars stuck on the road, but now does much more. We are acting on three main levels. The first level concerns the people's spirit. We are organizing barbecues and military bases. We are taking care of the families. We even do their laundry. The second level is helping the public. We fix security rooms, we deliver food and supplies. The third level is the front. We understand what they lack and we supply them with everything they need. I-24 News joined a team on their daily mission. Our first stop is in a makeshift military base near the southern city of Ophakim. A group of reserve soldiers are asking for ratchet straps. Look, I don't try to find out why things are missing here, but as someone who serves for two years in this unit, I know that whenever I need something, I can turn to Yedidim organization. The second stop is in Bersheva, where the team joins another group of volunteers on their way to fix the window of a security room. One member of the Bersheva team tells us about his experience on October 7th. Starting from 5 p.m. Saturday, we started to help the forces to collect the bodies from the party at Reim. I was there until Monday morning. In the organization's warehouse, we see a variety of objects donated to soldiers and civilians, from simple shirts to drones worth thousands of dollars. This is perhaps another example of the rare spirit of giving, helping, and caring in the Israeli society today. Incredible seeing the scale of volunteer work happening across the country right now, and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition. I'm Denise Levine in Tel Aviv. Our rolling coverage continues shortly. Stay tuned. 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured, and the war with Hamas continues. We bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines, from those who survived, and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas. Follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north. Get the inside scoop on what's going on, only on I-24 News. Israel's story to the world. I-24 News Channels. In the news edition, I'm Denise Levine, coming to you live from Tel Aviv. Day 21 of the war, and new details are still emerging around the Hamas terror rampage, the terror group being compared to ISIS, or some suggest worse than ISIS. Questions remain about the pending full-scale response by Israel, and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight, seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Tomorrow marks three weeks, since the darkest day in Israel's 75-year history. Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel on the 7th of October, which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured, and butchered at a music festival, and at several Kibbutzim, Moshevim, and bases. Tomorrow marks three weeks, since more than 200 people were kidnapped during that terror onslaught and taken across to Gaza. Since then, four women have been released. Qatar, saying it's working on a deal to secure the release of the other hostages. Details emerging about extensive underground tunnels in the enclave, tunnels that are set to complicate the pending IDF incursion. In the most recent airstrikes, the IDF saying it killed five senior Hamas commanders. As Defense Minister Joab Gallant reiterates that Israel will win the war. He says the country's next 75 years largely depends on it. So for more on the ground, we go up north. Our correspondent, Chanda Sahut, is in northern Israel. And Chanda, give us the latest updates on the ground. Many communities there in the north evacuating the area in recent days, given concerns around Hezbollah's potential moves. What is the latest where you are? Right, Benita. Communities within five kilometers of the Lebanese border have been evacuated by the Israeli military and the Defense Ministry. And that's because the Israelis are hoping to keep civilians out of the line of fire that could erupt with Hezbollah on the northern border. Now Hezbollah, while they have informally involved themselves in this war, since October 7th, there have been tit for tat exchanges of fire that have resulted now in more than 46 deaths on Hezbollah's side and several on the Israeli side as well. That number also includes civilians who are dead or injured among Israeli soldiers. So the Israeli military is saying that it's prepared to open another front on the northern border. If Hezbollah is the aggressor, the United States has been both publicly and privately pressuring the Israelis not to have a larger pre-emptive strike inside of Lebanese territory out of fears of the situation erupting into a multi-conflict war, a multi-front war, rather a semi-regional conflict that the United States simply doesn't want to see. They want the Israelis to put all of their focus in the south on their goals with Hamas. But the reality of the situation is if other groups or countries in the Middle East are involved, Israel and the United States will have no choice. Now along with that pressure, they are adding assurances to the Israelis that they will assist in the fight against Hezbollah militarily, meaning that they will assist via air, land and sea with whatever the Israelis might need to combat Hezbollah because their weapons capabilities are much more sophisticated and advanced than what we see coming out of Gaza. The exchanges of fire continuing overnight yesterday, the Israelis conducting drone strikes in Lebanese territory that resulted in huge fires, plumes of smoke, even reaching several parts of northern Israel. There was a haze in the air that is actually still present this morning, so the situation is quite sensitive and it continues at this time and it doesn't really seem to be letting up, Benidah. Talk to us about the latest rhetoric after that big meeting in Beirut earlier in the week. We saw that message of unity, so to speak, from Hezbollah, Palestinian-Islamic jihad and Hamas all meeting in the Lebanese capital. What is the latest out of Lebanon itself? Well look, Hasan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief meeting with Salih Al-Arrouri from the Hamas Political Bureau, along with Ziyad al-Nachal, the secretary general of Palestinian-Islamic jihad, the Axis of Resistance, as they call it, they said is strong and their mission is won, their enemy is won and that is Israel. So they said that they are willing to continue assisting each other in this fight, but that meeting also goes to show that the coordination and the communication between the three groups is prevalent and it is continuous, so while they might not have, while Hezbollah might not have aided in that initial Hamas attack on October 7th, they are still willing to assist them, they are still willing to open up another front to really put the pressure on Israel in more than just one place. Thank you so much. We will be coming back to you for regular updates corresponding Hamdas al-Hut live from Northern Israel. Thanks Hamda. Now for more, we welcome to studio Rafael Urushalmi, former senior intelligence officer in the IDF. Rafael, thank you so much for being here. So many developments on this day, day 21. I want to start with this limited land incursion overnight by the IDF into the Gaza Strip, seeming to lay the groundwork, so to speak, for bigger moves down the line. Talk to us about exactly what unfolded. Yes, absolutely. So first of all, it shows that we can use these ground incursions for quite a while while the hostage situation is developing, meaning we can wait for the ground offensive. The last night and the night before, the infantry went into Gaza with tanks and this is an achievement in itself because there are many obstacles prepared for the entry of our forces and especially obstacles against tanks. Those tanks managed to destroy outposts equipped with anti-tank missiles so they could destroy these outposts before those missiles were shot at them. The main purpose of these incursions is to open access into Gaza for the main offensive to open like a road. Of course, this road is not marked and we only know where it is and around it we put mines and booby traps for the terrorists so they don't really know where is this road. With these roads, we're going to need much more than two now. We've opened like two inland roads for the main offensive. That's one of the purposes and another purpose is, of course, to inflict losses to the terrorists and also to gain intelligence and spot, of course, entrances to the tunnels. Last night terrorists came out as soon as they put their nose out of the tunnel. They were eliminated but the most important is that we knew where the tunnel was which also allows us to experiment intelligent ammunition that is a new thing. It's a little surprise for the Hamas that we have in store of how this ammunition can go in the tunnel and make its way through the tunnel and hit the targets inside. All this is being experimented. A few little technological things are being put there and left on in the field that will help us for the bigger surprise that we're preparing them. Something that is more technological but that needs little relays on the ground. All this put together makes it very, very important. This little incursion is actually super important for the success of the main ground entry. Does waiting for this ground entry, as you put it, help Israel or not? What is the sentiment on the ground among soldiers who have seen what unfolded on the 7th of October and may feel that it's time to go out and defend the country to make sure that it doesn't happen again? Does waiting help that kind of feeling on the ground? No, of course not. There's a frustration among the soldiers. It's not only the soldiers, the whole people of Israel. We're all wanting to go and do the job but we have noticed and we have learned that even though we want to do the job it's not necessarily ready to enter very fast because unless there is an opportunity on the operational tactical level that shouldn't be missed and then we should go in. But otherwise, the waiting is just, it's good for everybody. The waiting is good for the hostage situation. We can allow for waiting a little longer. It's good also for our own soldiers because the more we wait, you see this incursion, the more we wait, the more we gather intelligence, the more we train for what we're going to have to do, the more we prepare logistically. So all this will limit the risks to the lives of our soldiers. They're starting to understand that even though there is a frustration and this frustration is filtering up to the generals and the generals not so great trust in the political level is filtering down to the soldiers. So it's not a very healthy situation but so far. So of course all this will be limited in time. I would say like a few days at the most and also three, four days. And the Hamas is going to anyway cynically just prolong these negotiations. They're going to make it last because the more they negotiate, the more they manage to delay our offensive. In the end, it's still a good thing. I'll tell you, for 20 years, we've waited to do this. We could have done this 20 years ago. So we can wait a few more days. Well, Yerushalmi, if you could wait just a few more minutes. We've got more to discuss. I first want to go, though, to our correspondent, Robert Swift. He joins us from southern Israel. So Rob, tomorrow marking three weeks since the Hamas killing rampage in the south. We know that the IDF conducted this limited incursion overnight. What update can you share from where you are right now? That's right. So this was a raid involving tanks, infantry and engineering units. And just to explain the context of this, essentially in military terms, a raid is a limited capturing of the ground in order to complete certain objectives with the troops then withdrawing afterwards. It's understood that the objectives that the Israeli military was conducting there was to attack various Hamas defensive positions, particularly anti-tank missiles and elements of Hamas's command on the ground there at the tactical level. This is likely all part of essentially preparing the ground for the next stage. Now, this is the second of these raids that have been conducted in the last 24 hours. And this suggests that Israel is maybe getting closer to the stage where it launches the full ground operation. Now, there have been previous raids into Gaza since hostilities began, but those were more special forces raids which had a focus on the hostages. Some of them retrieved bodies of Israelis who had fallen and been seized into Gaza, but the operation that took place last night and the one the previous day, they're more about setting the ground. They also come after a large-scale bombardment last night. We were on the ground close to the border and the amount of fire that Israel was putting in, first with artillery and then later with airstrikes and drones, it was a larger-scale bombardment being down here on the border. And this, combined with the two raids, like I say, suggests that Israel is getting ready to that launch stage. Talking about the hostages, Israel is denying reports of a deal to give fuel to the Strip in exchange for the release of the hostages. What more is known about efforts right now to make sure that these hostages get home and that they get home safely? That's right. Essentially, there's an argument over the fuel with humanitarian causes inside Gaza Strip saying that more fuel is required for them to be able to conduct humanitarian work, but Israel, very concerned that that fuel is likely to go to Hamas and that Hamas is already seizing and monopolizing the fuel that does remain within the Gaza Strip. Now, Qatar has been very much involved in negotiations behind the scenes with regards to the negotiations and was involved in the release of the four hostages who've previously made it out of the Gaza Strip. And obviously, as we get closer to the potential ground invasion by Israel, the situation for those hostages becomes increasingly more precarious. Rob, you spoke about the rocket fire still emanating from the Strip as of yesterday. Give us a sense of ideas around the scale of the Hamas weapons arsenal right now. It's nearly three weeks in and there are still rockets to be sent from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory. Yeah, that's correct. A lot of people ask the question, how are they still able to fire these rockets? First of all, why has the IDF not struck their rockets, preventing them from firing, and how do they still have ammunition? But these are rocket firing positions which are hidden throughout a very tightly packed urban area. So they're not easy to find, and obviously they'll have multiple locations from which they can fire from. And it's understood that Hamas's arsenal is significant. I saw some reports yesterday suggesting that at the current rate of fire, Hamas could continue its rocket launches for at least a month or two at the current rate. So that gives you an idea of the scale at which they're able to continue this fire. That in itself may come to an end as Israel goes in on the ground, however, as the Hamas will be unable to fire at the same rate, perhaps. Watching all those developments in southern Israel correspondent Robert Swift will be coming back to you for more updates. Thank you for now, Rob. Still with me in studio, Raphael, Yoroshalmi, and your take on exactly what we were talking about right now with Rob, and the capacity that Hamas still has nearly three weeks in to keep sending rockets towards civilians here in Israel. Yes, this capacity was built over the years, which is another nice and big mistake of some Israeli governments to have let the Hamas strengthen itself in that way over the years. This being said, it's not that easy to destroy. First of all, the ammunition is one thing and the launching part is another thing. Some of the launching only requires a motorcycle, sometimes a truck, so it's mobile. It can change. It can hide in an orchard. They usually shoot at night. These are, of course, the smaller missiles and rockets, but from a truck you can shoot a rocket that can reach Ashdod. For the larger parts that can reach Tel Aviv and inside Israel, you need a real launching pad made of concrete. These ones are built mostly in the courtyards of schools hospitals, so even if we know where they are, we cannot hit them. It's only when we come in the ground that we can destroy them. It's too dangerous for the collateral damage, and they know that. And some of them are, of course, underground and very well-dissimulated. So it takes time. It takes intelligence and it takes surgical operation to destroy them. We are destroying them, but there are many of them. This is the same with the Kisbala. The strength of the power of the Kisbala is 150,000 missiles. It's got hundreds of launching pads, meaning they can launch quite a few at the same time. Which is, of course, as you know, the Iron Dome is 95% success, so 5% will get through. So it's going to take time. People have to understand that you can't just destroy overnight all these places. Also, the Kisbala will, sorry, the Hamas, but also the Kisbala and the Hamas will save ammo and launching pads for further stages of the war. They're not going to spend everything now, of course, so they're going to save that. And of course, also for the final stage when they feel that they really, like, maybe might lose the war, then shoot a lot on Israel and cover the escape, because what will happen, they'll cover the escape of the leaders and chiefs who will run out towards Egypt or attack hostages in exchange for their lives. Well, talking about Egypt and unusual development early on this morning, a missile struck the resort town of Taba, a medical facility there. Six people are injured. Interesting reports because it's vague as to where this missile could have come from. So share with us what exactly was going down. It is vague in the sense that it's a small caliber short-range projectile. So it's been difficult to know who shot it and from where. So it could be from Sinai because it's happened before. In Sinai, there are Hamas affiliated terrorist cells, but there are also Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliated terrorist cells that create quite a lot of havoc and problems for the Egyptian army there in Sinai. So it might have come from there in solidarity with the Hamas. Or it came really from Gaza shot by the Hamas towards Elat and it fell short. This only shows that what the Biden administration is afraid of could really happen, meaning the extension of the conflict to other theaters of operation. The Egyptians said that once they will know who and from where the missile was shot, they will react accordingly. But we see also last night that there was another extension a little of the conflict when the Americans hit Syrian and Iranian interests inside Syria. So it's a very good signal anyway from the United States Army to show that even America is not interested in an extension of conflict and destabilization in the region. They have a strong stand and they are showing it, they're not afraid and they shot at even Iranian interests inside Syria. She's a very good signal. The United States is pressuring Israel to hold off for now or delay its ground offensive so it can sort out its American bases at various sites across the Middle East. Yes, they're advising us and they're asking for a favor. They're not really ordering us. I think Joe Biden himself has made it clear that we have a right to defend ourselves and to defend ourselves the way we see and we've come out with a press communique where they didn't ask for ceasefire for instance. So people understand that we have to do what we have to do. On the other hand, if we can oblige and if Biden administration who's supporting us so strongly desires to give more of a chance to hostage negotiations and preparing their troops and bringing more support to the American troops already all these, if we can do it we'll have to do, of course, do it. I remind you that we are waiting now even a bigger support with more Iron Dome batteries coming from the United States so I think that we can only be grateful and the Americans do understand that we can only be so grateful as we can and at some point we might have to do what we have to do. And certainly those Iron Dome's are more necessary than ever the South potentially in the North as well and we wait to see what kind of negotiations will be fruitful in terms of helping with hostages, a very worrying situation and heart breaking to think that with each delay that the pain and the trauma that is going on right now inside the Gaza Strip it's difficult to imagine. Raphael Yoroshalmi former senior intelligence officer in the IDF, thank you as always for being here I appreciate your insight. Nearly three weeks since the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel and still more bodies are being identified, the death toll is at more than 1,400 and many families are still waiting for news on their relatives and friends as we've just been discussing here in studio, those who are being held hostage in Gaza. Our Orisha Pere went to a special village set up to help survivors of the terror onslaught. Let's take a look. It's been two weeks since the horrific Hamas onslaught in southern Israel. Many are still trying to pick up the pieces. The Emile Rehabilitation Center north of Tel Aviv is one of those places. It opened its gates to survivors of the massacre at Reim Nova Festival on October 7th. The people who were at this party took psychedelic drugs. They didn't land on the ground. They are here, but they are not here. The main treatment is logotherapy based on the method of Victor Franco. He used the empowerment of internal forces and creating a shell that wraps around the patient. One of the survivors Natalie Bloom shared her story with I24 News and speaks about her personal battle after October 7th. I saw the terrorists with my own eyes. I had severe anxiety attacks. I saw my sister and she looked like a terrorist to me. I looked at her and I saw a terrorist. I saw a person with a gun standing in front of me and trying to kill me. I understood that I can't deal with anything. My sister held me and I screamed, stop, stop. I don't want to die. I understood that I needed mental treatment. Emile, founder of the Center, considers himself a rebel and opposes some of the mainstream mental care methods. Although some may see this approach as controversial, many of his patients feel grateful and some even continue to work in this village. What Emile does here is he doesn't put my mind and soul and body in a cage. He lets my soul be free here. He lets my mind be free. I am allowed to experience a new way of life. And if I don't like it, the door is open. The massacre at Rayeem will most likely continue to haunt everyone who was involved. The combination with hallucinogenic drugs make the treatment even more challenging. Emile and his crew have a message to the thousands of survivors. You're not alone and if it's not here then try finding another place that can let you have that peace of mind that you need so mad right now. Yedidim is the biggest volunteer organization in Israel. More than 60,000 volunteers are involved. And since the start of the war nearly three weeks ago now, the organization has been focused on helping out displaced residents, organizations and even military units. More in this report. This small school in the central city of Yadikba has become the temporary headquarters of Yedidim, the Hebrew word for friends and to the biggest volunteer organization in Israel. The organization is known mostly for helping cars stuck on the road, but now does much more. We are acting on three main levels. The first level concerns the people's spirit. We are organizing barbecues and military bases. We are taking care of the families. The second level is helping the public. We fix security rooms. We deliver food and supplies. The third level is the front. We understand what they lack and we supply them with everything they need. I-24 News joined a team on their daily mission. Our first stop is in a makeshift military base near the southern city of Ofakim. A group of reserve soldiers are asking for ratchet straps. Look, I don't try to find what things are missing here, but as someone who serves for two years in this unit, I know that whenever I need something I can turn to Yedidim organization. The second stop is in Bersheva where the team joins another group of volunteers on their way to fix the window of a security room. One member of the Bersheva team tells us about his experience on October 7th. Starting from 5 p.m. Saturday we started to help the forces to collect the bodies from the party at Reim. I was there until Monday morning. In the organization's warehouse we see a variety of objects donated to soldiers and civilians from simple shirts to drones worth thousands of dollars. This is perhaps another example of the rare spirit of giving, helping and caring in the Israeli society today. Incredible seeing the scale of volunteer work happening across the country right now and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition. I'm Benita Levine in Tel Aviv. Our rolling coverage continues shortly. Stay tuned. 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. 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. In news edition I'm Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv. The fate of at least 224 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip terror group remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire. The message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between representatives of the terror group Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Khani. This all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries. They range in age from a 9 month old baby to an 89 year old man. They were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1400 people shot tortured and butchered at a music festival in several Kibbutzim, Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Defense Minister Joav Galant reiterating that Israel will win the war. He says that Israel's next 75 years largely depends on it. So let's start with the latest on the ground. We go to our correspondent Robert Swift. He joins us from southern Israel. And the IDF has struck hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip since the start of this war and now a limited ground incursion overnight. What details are known? What can you share? Well, the last few weeks that you've just mentioned they are continuing as we speak and about the last hour there's been maybe six airstrikes conducted behind me but I'll just step aside and you can see the view that we have here towards the north of the Gaza Strip. While we've been here for the last few hours there's pretty much been constant jets over our head and every now and again one of them drops is payload and we can hear an explosion in some of the buildings behind us. The IDF went into Gaza in the early hours of this morning and that was the second time that they've conducted this sort of raid into Gaza second time in the last 24 hours. Now this was a limited raid in terms of they went in temporarily to attack targets in the inside Gaza Strip using infantry tanks and engineering equipment backed up by Israeli aircraft and drones and it was temporary in nature so once they'd completed their objectives they withdrew and so those troops are no longer on the ground inside Gaza and this is all seen as preparations for the upcoming land invasion by the military into the north of Gaza Strip. Interestingly there's just been one piece of polling conducted saying that there's been a dip in the Israeli public's support for an immediate invasion with about 49% of the public saying that they were not convinced that Israel's military should immediately go in. This is a reduction in support as of about a week ago although bearing in mind it's just one piece of polling and it might suggest that the danger that the hostages are in if and when Israel goes into the ground it's becoming increasingly clear to the Israeli public because obviously those people are in Hamas's hands and if the conflict is to escalate as Israeli troops go into Gaza then the risk to those hostages obviously increases. Thank you so much correspondent Robert Swift live from Southern Israel we will be coming back to you Rob for regular updates. Thank you. Now for more we welcome to studio a retired Colonel Dr. Jacques Nerea deputy head of assessment in the Israeli military intelligence and former foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin thank you Jacques for being here in studio so many developments to discuss. I want to start with the hostages this meeting in Moscow a low-level Hamas delegation nonetheless they are saying no release no freedom for hostages unless there is a ceasefire what do you make of this message right now? You know Hamas has said has just declared the obvious everybody knows that I mean from the history of wars and conflicts that exchange of prisoners happens only either in a ceasefire or after the end of hostilities so there's nothing new in that and we know that what we are trying right now to differentiate between this is what Hamas is doing between the soldiers he has abducted and the civilians we are talking about a deal concerning the civilians and there is a possibility but he is asking for he has conditions that right now Israel cannot meet like providing fuel or other humanitarian aid that are not included in what's happening today in what's being channeled into Gaza so I think that the chances of reaching an agreement are very slim and beyond the fact that they are saying that they need a ceasefire in order to complete this exchange of prisoners or the abducted people the idea is that they want 6,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails this is what it's all about let's be clear these prisoners are not in jail for traffic offenses these are convicted terrorists criminals, criminals blood on their head definitely criminals of the highest degree of criminality so this is not people who are held in custody because of their political views no, not at all so 6,000 of them they want them to be released to just empty our jails from Palestinian presence and this is obviously impossible to meet could agree to such to such a deal Shaq Stay with us I want to bring in retired Colonel Mary Eisen director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Rahman University joining us from Ramata Sharron, thank you so much for your time, you're hearing this conversation concerned obviously across the country about these hostages they include children, they include the elderly peace activists from the region people from 25 different countries and this Hamas delegation albeit a low level delegation announcing no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire we're discussing what it's going to take for the freedom to be secured these hostages the civilians that are being held your thoughts on what it's going to take Qatar says it's involved what does it look like from your perspective I'm not the person who right now is going to make everybody feel better and I say that because I really think we need to face reality so tell us the reality tell us 230 families have been informed that their dear ones from a nine month baby through an 89 year old man are held hostage but Hamas has not released anything do we know what they are how they are we know for sure that they took when they went in they took live hostages they also took bodies with them part of the actions that the IDF has been trying to do to help us get more clear because the terror organization has not said anything they are very much trying to manipulate the media they want us to show as much as we can and we should our hostages but they've never said how they are they've never said and I I'm sorry to the viewers if they're alive at all it's three weeks into it it's very fearful that Hamas is doing that same media manipulation we're focusing on the four women that they released and not on the 230 that we have no idea what their condition is that they're focusing on the civilians that they are hiding behind inside the Gaza Strip that ceasefire that they're asking for let them send out right now 230 videos of 230 cut beautiful babies 10-year-old men who are showing themselves as being held live and well and then maybe we can talk about it and I say that with a heavy heart because they're not going to participate in that they send people to Moscow they send people to the Middle East they are a terror organization and that is the crux of the challenges the IDF in that sense has said consistently that to get to the hostages that the only thing that we kind of know is that underground subterranean hundreds of kilometers event but that's not the only thing Hamas came in and you described it so well at the opening in the most murderous butchering attack murdering torturing and saying I'm taking the nine month baby I'm murdering the mother and it isn't just for hostages it's also about making sure that a terror organization cannot do an attack a murderous attack such atrocities and at the end what they do is ransom hostages and as Jacques said before get the 6000 prisoners that were arrested put on trial and put into jail that this isn't tit for tat and we cannot view it that way and I'm saying that as a mother that I cannot imagine what these families are going through as you say it's such a heavy heart for everybody across the country waiting to hear a word but as you say it could be part of the Hamas strategy in terms of giving information that may not be accurate not being upfront about exactly what is happening and I want to bring Jacques in here about what it means for this limited land incursion that happened into the Gaza Strip overnight in effect laying the groundwork for something bigger but when that invasion does happen how does the fact that these hostages may be hidden in tunnels dispersed across the Gaza Strip how does that land incursion get impacted by making sure that if the hostages are alive that they stay alive and hopefully can be saved hopefully I would say that also with a heavy heart when we began this campaign we had two goals one was to eradicate the Hamas and in parallel to free the hostages well due to public pressure to the pressure exerted by the families the goals the priorities have to release the hostages and fight to eradicate Hamas and this doesn't marry together it doesn't marry together because if you want to reach your final goal and liberate Israel from this evil then we don't have the choice but to fight now what we have seen on the ground is the fifth incursion into Gaza and we know exactly from what we see on the videos released that there is a pattern that Israel is conducting the troops are entering with engineers in front and then you have the tanks and you have mechanized troops you have infantry and all is covered by attack helicopters and drones and we have seen for instance when this column entered Gaza that terrorists got out from the tunnels and tried to fight and they were killed all killed so this is what's happening in fact those incursions are meant to test the defenses of Hamas and we might be surprised to see that there are no defenses in some places and this is where the thrust is going to be held so when the question is when I think that our patience is almost finished and I think that in the next 48-72 hours it's either a deal on part of the hostages or we just go all in Jacques, Mary please stay with us we've got much more to discuss but first I want to go up north our correspondent Hamda Salhout is in northern Israel and Hamda we've been discussing this big meeting in Moscow this Hamas delegation also at that meeting the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia also Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister talk to us about the players here Iran, Russia, Hamas and of course the developments up north there what is happening across in Lebanon right now Well Benira let's begin here along the Lebanese border fire is actually still burning inside Lebanese territory from Israeli strikes yesterday the Lebanese civil defense still really unable to get a lot of those blazes under control because of the magnitude that have burned we're talking trees, buildings all of it engulfed in flames so while the authorities there work to fight that fire the smoke and plumes are actually spilling in to northern Israel Hezbollah has now claimed that 47 combatants on their side have now died since the exchanges of fire began between Israel and Hezbollah along the northern border but additionally we're seeing four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad since October 7th in the exchanges of fire in the north now regarding this meeting between Hamas representative the Iranian deputy foreign minister and a Russian official in Moscow yesterday this just goes to show that Hamas actually does have a lot of strength and they do have allies in the region and even beyond that so for them a meeting like this is quite a morale boost we also heard from Ismail Hania yesterday the head of Hamas speaking in a lengthy statement calling on the world to give Hamas more support and meetings like this are exactly what he's talking about while he was talking about a wide variety of support in terms of funding weapons and other types of means this is exactly what he's referring to to give them that legitimate stake in the game to give them that voice to give them that seat at the table now the Israelis of course are not taking kindly to this neither are the Americans the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is something that the world has essentially been waiting for and since last week in the general public in Israel the polling has gone down for a ground invasion you now have less than 50% of the population in favor of that ground operation not only because it's been 21 days because of fears as to what can happen as a result of what is going to happen and what is going to happen specifically here along the northern border you've got Hezbollah you've got it on that are saying all bets are off and that there are simply no guarantees to an Israel enters on foot for this tunnel type of warfare that they're hoping to achieve inside of the Gaza Strip so while all eyes are on the south people are still watching out for our correspondent come to Salhut in northern Israel appreciate the update thank you and still with our focus on players abroad and Moscow's potential role in the latest developments in the Middle East our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman has more on the international reaction to this war reaction at the UN and particularly out of Russia and China what America is for they are against Russia against China keeping on with their policy of taking sides with Israel's opponents on Wednesday Russia coming to the United Nations Security Council with a resolution on the war that got only China's vote and two others the Russian resolution voted upon today sought to tie Israel's hands preventing us from eliminating a threat to our existence would Moscow or Beijing be given a right to face with the same threat I believe so the positions at the UN Security Council highlight just how much this war has become a great power struggle what started as a set of horrific local massacres kicked up the threat of a regional war and brought on Russia and China who saw an opening to take aim at the United States here Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking from Tehran the US is one of the leaders of those who are already intervening which is manifested in the deployment of two aircraft carrier groups the more such proactive measures are taken by any state the greater the risk and danger of conflict escalation for Israel a key question going forward how to relate to Russia and China Israel has tried to boost economic ties with Beijing going as far as it can without angering the United States Israel is famously tiptoed around the war in Ukraine with the familiar arguments about keeping freedom of action in the skies of Syria and protecting the Jewish community in Russia itself now Israel needs America's support and the support of the political center across the west while Russia and China are explicitly siding with Israel's opponents pushing Israel ever more into Washington's arms still with us retired Colonel Mary Eisen and we just saw in that report President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu hugging that was obviously from the recent visit from the US leader looking at the international reaction all around there are reports that the US is pressuring Israel to delay the ground invasion as it bolsters its defenses at various spaces in the Middle East Benny Gantz in the war cabinet Israel is going to ultimately make its own decisions can Israel afford to wait on its next move because the US wants it to ostensibly is that a possibility is that viable? I'm taking the word you just said ostensibility a word that I probably would never be able to say and say who says that the US has said that we have to stop I've actually listened and I don't say I don't think the US has we have to stop the listening to the spokespeople and to President Biden and to Congress and overall it's they're separating between that crushing of Hamas that needs to be done and that is because right now the US is already under attack when we say that they're pushed into our arms we're in this together Israel was attacked by a horrific terror attack on October 7th and we're three weeks into it they're still attacking they're still firing rockets but if we connected also to the north and to Hezbollah and go further away to Iran and to the different Shiite proxies the United States of America in a variety of different places in the Middle East is already under attack so I don't see right now the United States telling us don't do it the United States I think right now is bettering its position is of the absolute understanding that this is not Israel just against Hamas it is Israel against a terror organization that is connected to Iran even if it's not a direct Iranian proxy and if Hamas in any way succeeds if they're shown as winning that is the worst news ever not just for the United States but for all the west and by the way for Russia and China as well so when I look at that Benita I again I don't think we're being whole held back I think that it's complex I think that the hostages and our heart goes out are the most complex part about it but this is about choosing our time our way doing it hand in hand with enormous cooperation with the United States and additional allies all of the other voices around to me are the ones trying to make a case that is not relevant at this stage I want to bring you in here because I'm curious if this invasion gets pushed out more and more how does it impact soldiers on the ground they all saw and understand what happened on the 7th of October the carnage that was unleashed in southern parts of the country and they want to defend the country and make sure that this can't happen again how does waiting pushing out the response impact the atmosphere the intensity between soldiers who are waiting to react you know Benita it's been 50 years before I mean since Israel last mobilized such a huge quantity of soldiers so most of them are not trained not ready for combat not they have problems with equipment so we need the time to prepare we need to just train them again and to put them in combat conditions this takes time now if you remember in 1967 we spent three weeks waiting and we are at the end of the third week right now and as I said we have to decide what is our path where are we trying to reach if we want to eliminate Hamas we don't have the choice but to begin our ground offensive now concerning Russia and China I suggest that those two have no moral lessons to give us the Russians with the Chechens and the Chinese with the Uyghurs holding more than 2 million Chinese in concentration camps so these are not the people that can teach us anything in morality so I think that this has to be remembered by all who are involved in it and America is under attack yes but it's not the first time it is attacked in Iraq in Syria and the Americans have responded three times at least three times I remember in February and June of 21 in August of 22 in March of 23 and now so this is really this is not the first time that the Americans are just under attack from Iranian proxies and I think that right now in this context they understand that the axis of evil is preparing and we have to just counter it Mary I want to bring you in on the rhetoric the threats out of Ghassan Nasrallah particularly they're not going to be waiting on the sidelines nor is Iran also saying they're not going to be waiting and not getting involved depending on what transpires in terms of this ground invasion your confidence that Israel is in a position to handle several threats at once in the coming weeks the IDF has been preparing itself the security establishment has been preparing itself against Hezbollah threat for a decade and we were not in that sense noticing the horrific Hamas threat and we have paid a horrific price because of that on Saturday the 7th and again in the following three weeks this didn't end on October 7th Hezbollah right now is testing waters Iran behind it also they're very much aware that we are prepared that we have evacuated communities that we have brought in troops that we are constantly and I follow these in numbers over the last three weeks because Hezbollah has been testing against Israel the latest count that I saw at the end it's about 47 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in the last three weeks in their different attempts against Israel rocket fire anti-tank fire drone suicide drones into Israel all of that along the immediate front they are I think and here I'm saying I don't want to say I hope because after October 7th my hopes have been dashed but Hezbollah lives in Lebanon Hezbollah is not the only player in Lebanon as opposed to Hamas on the Gaza Strip which is why it's so complicated and Hezbollah in Lebanon let's say that they have 50% perhaps support inside Lebanon 50% do not support them in the actions of the IDF that are very clear and ready and targeted and again war is ugly and there will be casualties on both sides but our capacity and capability to address the Hezbollah threat is full and I think Hezbollah knows that. Parting words just a few seconds Jacques. In 1948 we were 600,000 Israelis living in Israel and we had 1% of our population killed during the war of independence we held against five Arab armies and we won retired Colonel Dr. Jacques Neria former deputy head of assessment in the Israeli military intelligence and retired Colonel Mary Eisen director at the international institute for counterterrorism. Appreciate your insight at this time. Thank you both for being with us on breaking news edition and no doubt we will have lots more to unpack in the coming days and weeks. Thank you both very much and with that we wrap up this breaking news edition I'm Benita Levine in Tel Aviv coverage continues shortly 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 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 in I-24 News the American Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world and it the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regards they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct. In news edition I'm Benita from Tel Aviv the fate of at least 224 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire the message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between representatives of the terror group Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Khani this all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries they range in age from a 9 month old baby to an 89 year old man they were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several Kibbutzim Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Defense Minister Yoav Galant reiterating that Israel will win the war he says the country's next 75 years largely depends on it. So let's start with the latest on the ground we go to our correspondent Robert Swift he joins us from southern Israel and the IDF Robert has struck hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets since the start of this war and now a limited ground incursion overnight. What details are known what can you share? Yeah indeed so those strikes that you've just mentioned they are continuing as we speak in about the last hour there's been maybe six airstrikes conducted behind me but I'll just step aside and you can see the view that we have here towards the north of the Gaza Strip while we've been here for the last few hours there's pretty much been an explosion over our head and every now and again one of them drops is payload and we can hear an explosion in some of the buildings behind us. Now as you said the IDF went into Gaza yesterday in the early hours of this morning and that was the second time that they've conducted this sort of raid into Gaza second time in the last 24 hours now this was a limited raid in terms of temporarily to attack targets in the inside Gaza Strip using infantry, tanks and engineering equipment backed up by Israeli aircraft and drones and it was temporary in nature so one side completed their objectives they withdrew and so those troops are no longer on the ground inside Gaza and this is all seen as preparations for the upcoming land invasion by the military into the north of Gaza Strip interestingly there's just been one piece of polling conducted saying that there's been a dip in the Israeli public's support for an immediate invasion with about 49% of the public saying that they were not convinced that Israel's military should immediately go in. This is a reduction in support as of about a week ago although bearing in it's just one piece of polling and it might suggest that the danger that the hostages are in if and when Israel goes into the ground is becoming increasingly clear to the Israeli public because obviously those people are in Hamas's hands and if the conflict is to escalate as Israeli troops go into Gaza then the risk to those hostages obviously increases. Thank you so much correspondent Robert Swift live from southern Israel we will be coming back to you Rob for regular updates. Thank you now for more we welcome to studio retired colonel Dr Jacques Naria former deputy head of assessment in the Israeli military intelligence and former foreign policy advisor to prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Thank you Jacques for being here in studio. So many developments to discuss. I want to start with the hostages this meeting in Moscow a low level Hamas has just declared a ceasefire. What do you make of this message right now? Well you know Hamas has said what the has just declared the obvious everybody knows that from the history of wars and conflicts that exchange of prisoners happens only after either in a ceasefire or after the end of hostilities. So there's nothing new in that and we know that we are trying right now to differentiate between this is what Hamas is doing between the soldiers he has abducted and the civilians and we are talking about a deal concerning the civilians and there there is a possibility but he's asking for he has conditions that right now Israel cannot meet like I mean providing fuel or other humanitarian aid that that are not included in what is being channeled into Gaza. So I think that the chances of reaching an agreement are very slim and beyond the fact that they are saying that they need a ceasefire in order to complete this exchange of prisoners or the abducted people the idea is that they want 6,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails this is what it's all about. Let's be clear these prisoners are not in jail for traffic offences these are convicted terrorists. Criminals, criminals with blood on their head definitely criminals of the highest degree of criminality so this is not people who are held in custody because of their political views no not at all so 6,000 of them they want them to be released to just empty our jails from Palestinian presence and this is obviously impossible to meet. I mean no one could agree to such a deal. Shaq Stay with us I want to bring in retired Colonel Mary Eisen director of the International Institute for Counterterrorism at Rahman University joining us from Ramata Sharron thank you so much for your time you're hearing this conversation I'm concerned obviously across the country about these hostages they include children they include the elderly peace activists from the region people from 25 different countries and this Hamas delegation albeit a low level delegation announcing no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire we're discussing what it's going to take for the freedom to be secured these hostages the civilians that are being held your thoughts on what it's going to take Hamas says it's involved what does it look like from your perspective I'm not the person who right now is going to make everybody feel better and I say that because I really think we need to face reality so tell us the reality tell us 230 families have been informed that their dear ones from a nine month baby through an 89 year old man are held hostage but Hamas has not released anything do we know what they are how they are we know for sure that they took when they went in they took live hostages they also took bodies with them part of the actions that the IDF has been trying to do to help us get more clear because the terror organization has not said anything they are very much trying to manipulate the media they want us to show as much as we can and we should our hostages but they've never said how they are they've never said and I'm sorry to the viewers if they're alive at all it's three weeks into it and I'm very fearful that Hamas is doing that same media manipulation we're focusing on the four women that they released and not on the 230 that we have no idea what their condition is that they're focusing on the civilians that they are hiding behind inside the Gaza Strip that ceasefire that they're asking for let them send out right now 230 videos of 230 cut beautiful babies and 89 year old men who are showing themselves as being held live and well and then maybe we can talk about it and I say that with a heavy heart because they're not going to participate in that they send people to Moscow they send people to the Middle East they are a terror organization and that is the crux of the challenges the IDF in that sense has said consistently to get to the hostages that the only thing that we kind of know is that they're all over the Gaza Strip in that underground subterranean hundreds of kilometers event but that's not the only thing Hamas came in and you described it so well at the opening in the most murderous butchering attack murdering torturing and saying you know I'm taking the nine month baby I'm murdering and it isn't just the hostages it's also about making sure that a terror organization cannot do an attack a murderous attack such atrocities and at the end what they do is ransom hostages and as Jacques said before get the 6000 prisoners that were arrested put on trial and put into jail this isn't tit for tat and we cannot view it that way and I'm saying that as a mother that I cannot imagine what these families are going through as you say it's such a heavy heart for everybody across the country waiting to hear a word but as you say it could be part of this Hamas strategy in terms of giving information that may not be accurate not being upfront about exactly what is happening and I want to bring Jacques in here about what it means for this limited land incursion that happened into the Gaza Strip overnight in effect laying the groundwork for something bigger but when that invasion does happen how does the fact that these hostages may be hidden in tunnels dispersed across the Gaza Strip how does that land incursion get impacted by making sure that if the hostages are alive that they stay alive and hopefully can be saved hopefully I would say that also with a heavy heart when we began this campaign we had two goals one was to eradicate Hamas and in parallel to free the hostages well due to public pressure to the pressure exerted by the families the things I mean the goals the priorities have to release the hostages and fight to eradicate Hamas and this doesn't marry together it doesn't marry together because if you want to reach a certain goal and liberate Israel from this evil then we don't have the choice but to fight now what we have seen on the ground this is the fifth incursion into Gaza and we know exactly from what we see on the videos released that there is a pattern that Israel is conducting the troops are entering with engineers in front and then you have the tanks and you have mechanized troops infantry and always covered by attack helicopters and drones and we have seen yesterday for instance when this column entered Gaza that terrorists got out from the tunnels and tried to fight and they were killed all killed so this is what's happening in fact those incursions are meant to test the defenses of Hamas and we might be surprised to see there's no defenses in some places and this is where the the thrust is going to be held so when the question is when I think that our patience is almost finished and I think that in the next 48-72 hours it's either a deal on part of the hostages or we just go all in Jacques, Mary please stay with us we've got much more to discuss but first I want to go up north our correspondent Hamda Salhout is meeting this big meeting in Moscow this Hamas delegation also at that meeting the deputy foreign minister of Russia also Iran's deputy foreign minister talk to us about the players here Iran, Russia, Hamas and of course the developments up north there what is happening across in Lebanon right now Well Benira let's begin here along the Lebanese border fire is actually still burning inside from Israeli strikes yesterday the Lebanese civil defense still really unable to get a lot of those blazes under control because of the sheer magnitude that have burned we're talking trees buildings all of it engulfed in flames so while the authorities their work to fight that fire the smoke and plumes are actually spilling in to northern Israel Hezbollah has now claimed that 47 combatants on their side have now died since the exchanges the fire began between Israel and Hezbollah along the northern border but additionally we're seeing four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad also killed since October 7th in the exchanges of fire in the north now regarding this meeting between Hamas representative the Iranian deputy foreign minister and a Russian official in Moscow yesterday this just goes to show that Hamas actually does have a lot of strength and they do have allies in the region even beyond that so for them a meeting like this is quite a morale boost we also heard from Ismail Hania yesterday the head of Hamas speaking in a lengthy statement calling on the world to give Hamas more support and meetings like this are exactly what he's talking about now while he was talking about a wide variety of support in terms of funding weapons and and other types of means this is exactly what he's referring to to give them that legitimate stake in the game to give them that voice to give them that seat at the table now the Israelis of course are not taking too kindly to this neither are the Americans the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is something that the world has essentially been waiting for and since last week in the general public in Israel the the polling has gone down for a ground invasion you now have less than 50% of the population in favor of that ground operation not only because it's been 21 days because of fears as to what can happen as a result specifically here along the northern border you've got Hezbollah you've got it on that are saying all bets are off and that there are simply no guarantees to when Israel enters on foot for this tunnel type of warfare that they're hoping to achieve inside of the Gaza Strip so while all eyes are on the south people are still watching out for the north because it could erupt into a much larger conflict at any time Benita. Thank you so much we will be coming back to our correspondent Khamdes al-Hut in northern Israel appreciate the update thank you and still with our focus on players abroad and Moscow's potential role in the latest developments in the Middle East our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman has more on the international reaction to this war reaction at the UN and particularly out of Russia and China. What America is for they are against Russia and China keeping on with their policy of taking sides with Israel's opponents on Wednesday Russia coming to the United Nations Security Council with a resolution on the war that got only China's vote and two others the Russian resolution voted upon today sought to tie Israel's hands preventing us from eliminating a threat to our existence would Moscow or Beijing be given a right to self-defense if faced with the same threat I believe so. The positions at the UN Security Council highlight just how much this war has become a great power struggle. What started as a set of horrific local massacres kicked up the threat of a regional war and brought Russia and China who saw an opening to take aim at the United States here Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking from Tehran. The US is one of the leaders of those who are already intervening which is manifested in the deployment of two aircraft carrier groups the more such proactive measures are taken by any state the greater the risk and danger of conflict escalation. For Israel a key question going forward is to relate to Russia and China. Israel has tried to boost economic ties with Beijing going as far as it can without angering the United States and on Russia Israel is famously tiptoed around the war in Ukraine with the familiar arguments about keeping freedom of action in the skies of Syria and protecting the Jewish community in Russia itself. Now Israel needs America's support and the support of the political center across the west and China are explicitly siding with Israel's opponents pushing Israel ever more into Washington's arms. Still with us retired Colonel Mary Eisen and we just saw in that report President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu hugging that was obviously from the recent visit from the US leader looking at the international reaction all around there are reports that the US is pressuring Israel to delay the ground invasion as it bolsters its defenses at various spaces in the Middle East. Benny Gantz in the war cabinet he says Israel is going to ultimately make its own decisions. Can Israel afford to wait on its next move because the US wants it to ostensibly is that a possibility is that viable? I'm taking the word you just said a sensibility a word that I probably would never be able to say but the US has said that we have to stop I've actually listened and I don't say I don't think the US says we have to stop of all of the people and I've been listening to the spokespeople and to President Biden and to Congress and overall it's they're separating between that crushing of Hamas that needs to be done and that is because right now the US is already under attack when we say that they're pushed into our arms were in this together terror attack on October 7th and we're three weeks into it they're still attacking they're still firing rockets but if we connected also to the north and go further away to Iran and to the different Shiite proxies the United States of America in a variety of different places in the Middle East is already under attack so I don't see right now the United States telling us don't do it the United States I think right now considering its position is of the absolute understanding that this is not Israel just against Hamas it is Israel against a terror organization that it is connected to Iran even if it's not a direct Iranian proxy and if Hamas in any way succeeds if they're shown as winning that is the worst news ever not just for the United States but for all of the west and by the way for Russia and China so when I look at that Benita again I don't think we're being held back I think that it's complex I think that the hostages and our heart goes out are the most complex part about it but this is about choosing our time our way doing it hand in hand with enormous cooperation with the United States and additional allies all of the other voices around to me are the ones trying to make a case that is not relevant at this stage you in here because I'm curious if this invasion gets pushed out more and more how does it impact soldiers on the ground they all saw and understand what happened on the 7th of October the carnage that was unleashed in southern parts of the country and they want to defend the country and make sure that this can't happen again how does waiting pushing out the response impact the atmosphere the intensity between soldiers who are waiting to react you know Benita it's been 50 years before I mean since Israel last mobilized such a huge quantity of soldiers so most of them are not trained not ready for combat they have problems with equipment so we need the time to prepare we need to just train them again and to put them in condition of in combat conditions this takes time now if you remember in 1967 we spent three weeks waiting and we are at the end of the third week right now and as I said we have to decide what is our path where are we trying to reach if we want to eliminate Hamas we don't have the choice but to begin our ground offensive now concerning Russia and China I suggest that those two have no moral lessons to give us the Russians with the Chechens and the Chinese with the Uighurs holding more than 2 million Chinese in concentration camps so these are not the people that can teach us anything in morality so I think that this has to be remembered by all who are involved in it and America is under attack yes but it's not the first time that America is attacked in Iraq and Syria and the Americans have responded at least three times I remember in February and June of 21 in August of 22 in March of 23 and now so this is really I mean this is not the first time that the Americans are just under attack from Iranian proxies and I think that right now in this context they understand that the we have to just counter it Mary I want to bring you in on the rhetoric the threats out of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah particularly they're not going to be waiting on the sidelines nor is Iran also saying they're not going to be waiting and not getting involved depending on what transpires in terms of this ground invasion your confidence that Israel is in a position to handle several threats at once in the coming weeks the IDF has been preparing itself the security establishment has been preparing itself against the Hezbollah threat for a decade and we were not in that sense noticing the horrific Hamas threat and we have paid a horrific price because of that on Saturday the 7th and again in the following three weeks this didn't end on October 7th Hezbollah right now is testing waters Iran behind it also they're very much aware that we are prepared that we have evacuated communities that we have brought in troops that we are constantly and I follow these in numbers over the last three weeks because Hezbollah has been testing against Israel the latest count that I saw at the end it's about 47 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in the last three weeks in their different attempts against Israel rocket fire anti-tank fire suicide drones into Israel all of that along the immediate front they are I think and here I'm saying I don't want to say I hope because after October 7th my hopes have been dashed but Hezbollah lives in Lebanon Hezbollah is not the only player in Lebanon as opposed to Hamas on the Gaza Strip which is why it's so complicated and Hezbollah in Lebanon let's say that they have 50% perhaps inside Lebanon 50% do not support them in the actions of the IDF that are very clear and ready and targeted and again war is ugly and there will be casualties on both sides but our capacity and capability to address the Hezbollah threat is full and I think Hezbollah knows that parting words just a few seconds Shaq in 1948 we were 600,000 Israelis living in Israel and we had 20% of our population killed during the war of independence we held against 5 Arab armies and we won retired colonel Dr. Jacques Neria former deputy head of assessment in the Israeli military intelligence and retired colonel Mary Eisen director at the international institute for counterterrorism appreciate your insight at this time thank you both for being with us on breaking news edition and no doubt we will have lots more to unpack in a couple of days and weeks thank you both very much and with that we wrap up this breaking news edition I'm Benita Levine in Tel Aviv our rolling coverage continues shortly stay tuned this is I-24 News 1300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived in the hands 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 2,500 serious injured 212 injured and a country that in the middle of a chaos is creating a new line both on social media and in the military to eliminate the operative and Hamas terrorists at home I want to start reading the beginning of a long article published by Pilar Raola at the National Port of Catalonia and says that paralyzes me, although I have always felt comfortable in the territory of the word and I have never avoided a dialectic scream in the defense of my convictions. These terrible days have left me without breath. I have the impression that madness wins the ground for the reason and that there are no lights that put so much darkness into light. Everything that has happened in the reactions that many of the people I know have had has opened us in a moral void and in an intellectual way that treats us as a very sick society has lost the sense of the limits of humanity and confusion, the pure evil, has made its way to be analyzed by some, justified by others, even in some cases applauded. Very hard, isn't it, Nicole? Accent words, very hard, but for this we are going to be talking today because we have as guests one of the most distinguished journalists of Israel recognized in Europe, Latin America and also in the Arab countries. I am talking about Enrique Simerman who has joined today in News 24 to analyze everything that is happening since the beginning of the war. Thank you Enrique for being with us. Pleasure, Nicole. Pleasure, Carlos. Let's start with the following. I tell you what we are going to talk about in this special mission. First, we want your analysis on the relations Israel, Hamas, the national Palestine, then we want to see how all this situation affects the region, the United States, Europe, the Arab countries. We want to talk about the digital war, the fake news and also the incident with President Petro who did not want to let it happen. And finally we have read an article that you have written about how to recommence and rethink, recalculating this region. So Enrique, I would like you to start by giving us a wide view of what has been the before and after October 7th. How have you played the role, something very important, the Palestinian national authority Enrique? The Palestinian national authority is lost. They lost the GPS. They do not know where they have to go for several reasons. And the main thing is that for them Hamas is a rival. A very strong rival. That is why there are no elections in the Palestinian authority 17 years ago. Because they know that Hamas would probably win. And as they are afraid of it, the Palestinian authority remains undemocratic. But at the same time they continue to fight for the Palestinian public opinion. So they cannot face Hamas. I can tell you that last week, days after the most atrocious killing that I have seen since I am here, and I have been covering this region for many years, I was in Iraq, I saw the Islamic State, I must say that what we saw here is really unprecedented. And also planned for four years by Iran, together with Hamas. I called the muhattah, the Palestinian authority, and I told them gentlemen, if you do not get rid of Hamas, you will pass on to history as something irrelevant. And they told me, but if nothing happened, if what happened is that there were some incidents and I told them about the violations, and the kidnappings, and the kidnappings. And they asked me to send them movies and I sent them. And the next day, the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. The OLP represents the Palestinian people. He said it in a conversation with the president of Venezuela. And he wrote it on a tweet and immediately he deleted it. And he left only the OLP represents the Palestinian people. They have a problem. And we have a problem, like Israel, in the measure in which we believed that we could have some kind of dialogue, I would say, indirect with Hamas, allowing him to get some kind of money, to cut it down, to never, malletines full of workers. Two twenty thousand workers a day who enter, who give to eat hundreds of thousands of people, all type of entry and exit of humanitarian aid. Today we understand that we cannot understand ourselves with Hamas, that Hamas cannot be there on the other side of the border, that Hamas is a neo-fascist intersection. That is why I want to ask you, the attacks that he has done with his defense, Israel has killed civilians, which are always human shields of Hamas, there in Gaza. And they claim, the Palestinian national authority, that those deaths are innocent of those children. Do you exist and believe in the eye by eye, tooth by tooth? No es una cuestión de ojo por ojo, es una cuestión de que si tú decides que no puedes tener un vecino así, porque él hace cosas que el mundo civilizado no conoce ni ha visto y los conocemos ya de sobras, pero empieza saliendo ahora y yo estuve en el Kibbutz ni Roz y verlo con tus propios ojos, ver las historias una por una, casa por casa, de hecho me llegó una prueba de que estaban drogados. Los terroristas de Hamas estaban drogados, eso fue parte de la preparación hecha en Irán, pero tú ves exactamente el grado de sadismo que no tiene precedentes en mi opinión desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Bueno, también estuve en el sur, en Nicole fue la ciudad de Sderot que se encuentra cinco kilómetros de la frontera y nos preparó este informe con su visión en esta ciudad tan golpeada en medio de la catástrofe de la estación de policía en la ciudad de Sderot tomada por dos días por los terroristas de Hamas. Ver una estación de policía israelí hechas combros era algo inimaginable antes del 7 de octubre el olor a cloaca aquella que imana el terrorismo se siente entre los charcos de agua sucia que se entre mezclaron con los trozos de cemento que quedó de la demolición el ejército israelí había llegado el 8 de octubre Sderot una ciudad capturada por los terroristas que se atrincheraron en la estación policial matando a los pocos oficiales de guardia la única manera de eliminarlos de moler la estación observo y no comprendo la policía israelí vulnerada por el vecino enemigo terrorista al que creían pequeño en Sderot perdieron la vida más de 200 civiles israelí es un sábado de descanso de shabbat las calles son un desierto fantasmal la lluvia de balas están marcadas en su cotidianidad un consencionario de autos refleja sin sangre el horror donde lo doloroso no es la pérdida material sino que esas balas eliminaron vidas inocentes carros familiares con manchas de sangre sangre sangre la silla del niño en el coche se imaginan si ese niño hubiese estado allí sentado lo estuvo no sabemos pero de repente la vida nos envía un mensaje una camioneta blanca como la paz cargada de banderas de israel apareció a lo alto alguien colocaba en los postes de luz la bandera con la estrella de david como señal de identidad recuperamos la ciudad y conocí al encargado de colocarlas en sderot vemos cómo esta bandera de israel está siendo colocada por un árabe israelí que está allá arriba salá malécum toda roba machan shell ha es de rod no volverá a ser la misma como toda israel como todo judío del siglo 21 porque ahora toca ser resiliente sam haris filósofo americano escribio la verdad es que todos vivimos en israel lo único es que alguno de nosotros no lo entendemos hay enemigo pequeño seguimos en esta misión especial de nios 24 en español dedicada a israel bajo ataque con un invitado de lujo que es el paredista enrique ximerman enrique la semana pasada tuvimos la visita del presidente de estados unidos biden vino el primer ministro sunak de gran britannia el canciller schultz de alemania qué importancia tiene estas visitas en la región y sobre todo con los países del golfo todo lo que se hablaba antes con aria saudita hacia dónde vamos con todo esto la importancia es enorme porque ellos los líderes empezando por biden entiende que este no es un conflicto entre israel y jamás esto es algo mucho más amplio estos son coaliciones que de hecho se están enfrentando en el lugar que es el punto de encuentro entre occidente y el mundo libre y los guiadistas islamistas entonces hay aquí un punto de encuentro en el que nosotros israel está en primera línea y yo creo que ellos empiezan a entender que también ellos tienen algo que ver con todo esto y por eso israel está recibiendo el apoyo internacional que está recibiendo incluso de países europeos como gran britannia como francia como alemania como italia siempre ha tenido una tendencia palestina mucho más mucho más pero entienden aquí que jamás no es palestina entienden aquí que jamás es un fenómeno muchísimo más grave que ha sido alimentado por iran en los últimos años no era si hace los primeros años de jamás pero lo es ahora hoy en día jamás es una organización totalmente iraní absolutamente financiada ahora arabia saudi arabia saudi está en un en una situación difícil porque ellos estaban muy cerca muy cerca de la normalización con israel iran lo sabía y por eso decidieron esta fecha como ataque hay que entender que jamás destrozó después de oslo cuando había esperanza de paz en esta región cuando todo era positivo ellos empezaron los atentados suicidas y mataron el proceso de paz ahora están haciendo lo mismo dos dos décadas y media después están haciendo exactamente lo mismo están 30 años después están intentando matar la posibilidad de que israel y arabia saudi se lleguen a un acuerdo de paz y que se amplían los acuerdos de abram y yo tengo una pregunta el logro con los acuerdos de oslo fue casi total consiguieron paralizar lo que es un estatus cubo donde ninguna de las dos partes fue a ningún lado pero lo que ha pasado el sitio de octubre es un game changer o sea no va a volver a ser lo que había antes y iran va a conseguir de alguna manera evitar de que haya un cambio tal donde ellos de repente se encuentra en una situación aislada frente al mundo que se opone a su actitud mi esperanza es que irán no lo logre a medio plazo pero irán ha logrado a través de jamás son sus brazos postergar el proceso este proceso está postergado pero yo creo que no está muerto todo lo contrario yo recibo indicios del golfo incluso os puedo citar alguien muy destacado en el golfo que me llama cada dos tres días y que me dijo una frase me dijo mientras no cortéis la cabeza de la serpiente la serpiente seguirá intentando matar y lo dice enrique que cuántas veces has estado en el radio saudita cinco años cinco este año conoce muy bien bueno pero hay algo es un tema bastante amplio hay algo importante enrique que uno de los fenómenos que hemos visto es que el manipuleo y la desinformación que hay en las plataformas sociales y que es base fundamental de la información actualmente no nosotros vamos a escuchar ahora y quiero que me ayude a analizar lo a frey bernal frey bernal es el gobernador del estado tachina en venezuela sabemos la alianza que tiene venezuela con iran quizás la la alianza más fuerte de irán para en america latina no y luego a carlos te va a mostrar unas gráficas que vamos a comentar sobre los caos y las y las opiniones que han tenido el respecto sobre toda esta situación vamos a verlo a las cortes y que pasa con el estado del rey que pasa con el estado del rey de asesinar y exterminar un pueblo es inadmissible en pleno siglo 21 que te parece enrique las opiniones este gobernador del estado tachira de nicolás maduro presidente venezuela una caricatura tan simple como eso pero una caricatura premeditada o sea intent es un intento de engañar a la opinión pública presentando algo que es sólo una pequeña parte de la realidad es verdad hay sufrimiento civil en casa es un hecho pero quien abrió toda esta guerra quien abrió las puertas del infierno quien empezó todo esto o sea estamos hablando de un grupo se olvidan que es homófobo que rechaza la mujer que no permite que la mujer tenga libertad y que además no acepta la existencia de israel y además de todo envía 1500 hombres drogados para matar judíos con el único objetivo de matar y secuestrar judíos obviamente no se puede defender en el mundo libre en el mundo democrático alguien así y debería preocuparle israel esa alianza que tiene iran con en america latina con venezuela un pez petrolero de obviamente pero no sólo con venezuela con toda america latina yo hace años que que sé que hay una presencia de grupos islamistas radicales entre ellos un país que es iran que es el padre de todos ellos que están en estos países cada vez más arraigados cada vez más agasajados y eso es un error porque es traer células cancerígenas a tu propio país si creo que vamos a un breve comentario acerca de la actitud que tiene el presidente petro de colombia bosque manejas relaciones internacionales ahí lo estamos viendo amenazar de cortar las relaciones con israel a que se debe esto se debe a sus intereses propios se debe a mucha mucha propaganda se debe a cuestiones económicas yo me imagino se debe a estereotipos muy profundos decía hincetán que es más fácil destruir un atomo que destruir un estereotipo y aquí estamos viendo gente que tiene no solamente intereses sino también todo tipo de prejuicios que han sido acumulados que venga este señor aquí le llevaremos al sur a la frontera de gaza le enseñaré el qui boots en el que yo estuve ayer en el qui boots near us en le enseñaré a carmela la casa de carmela una señora de 80 años que estaba siendo babysitter a su nieta el viernes por la noche y que de repente ve cómo entran en su casa y como ya está encerrada en el bunker le lanzan una granada y le incendian la casa y matan viva a su nieta autista y a carmela esto ocurrió en decenas de lugares esto esto sí que es genocidio y además premeditado lo otro es una reacción de autodefensa hablando de genocidio te quisiera comentar algo que la gente no tiene idea cómo fue que gaza quedó tipo sandwich entre egypto y israel y la historia es que el presidente saddad con se reunió con con vegin el primer ministro de israel para acordar el el desenganche de las fuerzas en esa época saddad dijo mire yo recibo todo la península sinal pero gaza no lo quiero y vos sabés cuánta gente vivía en gaza en el año 1978 tenés una idea cientos de miles trescientos ochenta mil gaza ties y hoy cuántos viven más de dos millones y te diré que el promedio de hijos es uno de los más altos del mundo son siete niños por familia entonces cuando todo el mundo utiliza la palabra genocidio genocidio cuando tu población merma desaparece no cuando se incrementa no cierto hay aquí un problema muy serio con los conceptos israelis visto como un centro de colodialismo como fueron yo recuerda los líderes de jamás diciéndome yo entrevisté a todos catorce veces entrevisté al fundador de jamás el jeque ajmed y asin en su casa y ellos siempre hablaban de los israelí es como los nuevos cruzados van a estar aquí una época y al final los terminamos por por echar y por derrotar de aquí y piensan que israel es como argelia es como afganistan para estados unidos no entienden que la realidad es totalmente distinta aquí y vemos lo que está pasando en la sociedad israeli si me pedís para resumiros en una frase que ocurrió aquí el 7 de octubre esto es un intento de iran que olio debilidad dentro de la sociedad israeli olio sangre debido al debate político interno israeli en torno a la reforma judicial a la revolución judicial ellos lo interpretaron como una debilidad y decidieron atacar para dos cosas una para acabar con israel porque creían que esto haría que todos nosotros correríamos al aeropuerto de vengurión y tendríamos miedo y nos iríamos de aquí es la palabra a terrorizar y lo segundo acabar con el proceso negociador que nos está llevando a la paz posible con países árabes del de todo de toda esta región y fracasaron no lograron yo estoy convencido que el tema de arabes sauditas será postergado pero no está muerto ni mucho menos que conoce la sociedad israelis será resiliente a toda esta situación que han conseguido el efecto puesto hoy en día los israelíes que estaban muy divididos en los últimos 10 meses están más unidos que nunca yo quiero decir algo porque mencionaste argelia yo he leído los libros de france fanon que era el ideólogo de la revolución argelina y el consiguió a través de este mismo tipo de acciones echar a los franceses los franceses tenían a dónde irse quiera volverse a francia los judíos no israel no tenemos dónde ir y yo nada por el mediterráneo no creo que pueda quisiera terminar nuestro encuentro con una propuesta has escrito un artículo que se llama se requiere una coalición internacional y árabe en gaza tenemos seis minutos para que nos expliques de qué estás hablando porque aunque no querramos hay que pensar en el futuro hablé otro día con el hijo del líder de jamás nensis jordania el jeque haza nussef que acaba de ser detenido de nuevo por israel y su hijo se llama moza biosef y luego se descubrió que era el príncipe verde que había sido un espía de israel de llun y cuando yo iba su casa él entrevistaba no sabía que él ya era un espía de israel y él me dijo jamás odia los israelíes más de lo que ama sus propios hijos lo que decía guldamero y eso lo dice el hijo del líder de jamás nsis jordania lo que yo escribí aquí es algo que es difícil de hablar de ello en este momento cuando todo está ocurriendo pero creo que es vital que lo hagamos israel es la gran experta en la táctica pero fracasamos a veces en la estrategia hay que pensar en el día después hay que pensar hacia dónde vamos hacia dónde vamos a llevar todo digamos y es legítimo y creo que hoy en día en el mundo libre se entiende que israel tiene todo el derecho a defenderse y acabar con un grupo terrorista como jamás cuidado con la población civil separemos las dos cosas pero acabar con jamás la pregunta es qué pasa el día después nos vamos a quedar en gaza ocupando gaza como hasta el 2005 yo no quiero que mis hijos estén ocupando gaza son dos millones y medio de gas actives que tampoco egipto no los quiere a jordanio no los puedes mandar a levano tampoco están ahí se van a quedar ahí pero te acuerdas que vegin propuso a sadat y sadat lo rechazo es como un problema que nadie quiere tocarlo y hasta ahora qué hizo así si el presidente de egipto cerrar la frontera él no quiere que pase gente de gaza hacia el sinai el el tema eso profundamente y es un gran enemigo de jamás también porque son los hermanos musulmanes a mí me gustaría que tú aprovecharás aquí las cámaras de este programa en español y que lo van a ver en cualquier otro idioma y si tú vices que hablarle a la autoridad nacional palestina al primer ministro no habas el presidente que quizás puede ser un sucesor a uno de los consejeros de aba josein que también puede ser un sucesor que le dirías tú con la experiencia que tienes que es entrevistado exactamente esto yo les diría que en un primer término tendremos que traer una coalición internacional por un lado pero árabe también tenemos que traer a los saudís que tienen el poder moral y el poder económico tenemos que traer a los egipcios que tienen poder político y tenemos que traer a los emiratís que tienen visión de futuro y que me dicen os voy a contar algo que nunca dije que están dispuestos a hacerlo y están dispuestos a coordinarlo abudabi los emiratís y dos reinos el marroquí y el jordan estos países tienen que venir aquí y tienen que preparar el terreno no pienso que israel tenga que permanecer muchos tiempo allí estuvimos en el libano 18 años no quiero repetir libano dos nosotros tenemos que estar vencer jamás limpiar el terreno entregarlo a esta coalición que incluirá estados unidos y la única posibilidad real de futuro es que esta coalición agasaje la autoridad palestina y la traiga allí quien será en la autoridad palestina está por ver pero sin te escuché muy bien a todas las naciones que mencionaste lo que deja fuera a los que financian ahora que es catar y de una manera es impedir el acceso de irán o sea de esa manera se cerraría un círculo en el cual quizás podemos pensar en un futuro mejor iran tiene que estar fuera de todo irán es un estado terrorista que está desestabilizando el mundo libre entero israel es parte de ello y cómo será para apartar irán hay que hacer una coalición internacional con todos los países que están que tienen que preocuparse por el futuro iran no es una amenaza para israel irán es una amenaza para el mundo libre y para el mundo árabe suni que está amenazado por ellos y cuando dice todos países europea e medio oriente america latina también aparte estados sin duda yo creo que países de america latina tendrían la obligación de ser parte de la reconstrucción de gaza y ser parte del futuro de esta región bueno realmente en rique muchísimas gracias por tu análisis creo que de esta manera desde nuestro pequeño rincón contribuimos a que la gente comprenda mejor que es lo que está pasando y compartimos tu visión de que el futuro también hay que pensarlo porque hoy están todos enfrascados con lo que pasa en este momento con el dolor de las víctimas de israel con los desaparecidos que hay que mencionar y que nosotros de aquí pedimos a las organizaciones internacionales que hablan de humanitarismo en el mundo que se ocupa en eso también muchísimas gracias y esperamos más adelante quizás volver a contar contigo para explicarle al mundo esto que está gracias en rique con nosotros nicole realmente un tema sobre el que vamos a seguir hablando y los que quieren nos pueden seguir en facebook en twitter en el canal 34 de hot pueden responder a nuestra encuesta y seguiremos hablando de israel bajo ataque gracias por estar con nosotros 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with hamas continues we bring you first hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by hamas follow us as israel fights terror from the south and north yet the inside school on what's going on only on i-24 news dozens of correspondence throughout the world brings the truth from israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries bringing israel's story to the world i-24 news channels now on hot i'm nicole zedek reporting in tell of eve since the outbreak of this war in israel our journalists here at i-24 news have been providing around the clock coverage giving a voice to all of those impacted by the october seventh massacre we're getting perspective on the whole left throughout israeli society and the impact on the entire middle east here's some of the best stories from our coverage since the war began a little closer can i get out of the car right here's the house can you smell it i have to go inside at the gate of kibbutz na halos mayan the mother of 15-year-old dafna and eight-year-old elah tries to enter she's trying to get an impression of what happened to them when they were kidnapped by hamas into gaza last week she learned that the father of her daughter's her ex-husband noam elia kim was found dead after he was murdered by the terrorists who broke into their home on october 7th his body was found a few hours after his wife and 17-year-old son were laid to rest side by side i was in my home in the kibbutz i woke up from rocket alert sirens i then heard unusual gunshots which were right outside my window i immediately ran to the security room and called my mom i said to her mom do you also hear gunshots it sounds really close are there terrorists she told me no and i said mom are you sure i'm telling you i can hear it it's outside my window they're here we don't understand what was happening friends called me in the morning they asked me how the situation was in the kibbutz if everything was okay it was about eight in the morning from that moment i was on the phone non-stop with mom and noam and tomev video calls trying to see what was going on with him i spoke to them until half past 10 and then it was all over no one answered anymore a few hours passed and then i get a call stov there's a live feed from your mother's facebook their last hours were recorded in a video that is now part of the collective memory of the attack the horrific use of cameras and facebook live streams by the terrorists what do you know about what do you know about you in an unprecedented act of cruelty amass terrorists used 17-year-old tomev to lure other families out of the security rooms and murdered them hello open the door i will not shut i will not shut open the door i will not shut open the door i will not shut i will not shut now oh my god i just want to get the nachalos to my daughter's room i want to see my little daughter's teddy bear the big girl's dressing table to see where they sat in the video dafna noam dikla elah tomev i want to get there to the place from where my family was taken they want to sleep at home and woke up in gaza what a nightmare at the place they should be safest for any person in the world they were pulled out of their bed by terrorists by the most brutal murderers into hell into horror her daughters dafna and elah are among the only victims documented alive inside gaza we miss them so much it's hard for me to think that they're there i don't know what's going on with them if they're okay what are they thinking if they know anything at all i will cross oceans to reach them hamas messed with the wrong mother my girls are my life on the way to nachalos we pass through the slaughter zone the fields of death and to the place is still dangerous we are stopped at the checkpoint they fear fire of anti-tank missiles on the road even after the threat was removed the soldiers received orders not to allow anyone through the threat is too real excuse me is there any chance you'll let me in who are you i'm the mother of dafna and elah who are kidnapped in gaza wait a minute please finally the gate opens but in front of the house things get even more difficult the soldier who assisted us wants to spare her the terrible sides and finds himself in a heartbreaking situation i'm begging please you have to let me in mayan i ask not i beg of you don't enter if it's hard for me i'll turn my head i'm a strong woman really if my daughter stood up to it i will stand up to it too no no no they did not see what i see now most of the members of this kibbutz which was infiltrated by more than a hundred terrorists are displaced from their homes and have yet to return you want me to bring your daughter's clothes but dafna's and elah's please she fought to bring them to the world now they are all she has left the whole world has to see what they did here two little girls after the idf shared with hundreds of foreign journalists bodycam videos and pictures from hamas's october 7th onslaught on southern israel the shin bet and israeli police shared footage from interrogations of hamas terrorists from gaza who participated in a destruction and mass murder in it they describe in detail how they were ordered to kill and kidnap women and children one second the detainees said in their investigations that they received orders to kidnap as many people as they could specifically women and children and to kill the rest the one The dog was walking in the street. He was barking at us. What did he do? He barked at us. Yes. Who barked at us? He barked at us a lot. Yes, he barked at us. Yes, he barked at us. What did he do? He barked at us. He barked at us. They closed the door. They closed the door. They opened the door and went outside. They went in and out. He was blindfolded. He closed the door. They opened the door. The dog didn't look back. He brought the key, put it down. The widows opened the door, opened the door and went outside. He was inside the door. Someone was walking in the street. He told me to get in. Did the dogs defend them? With many around the world denying the atrocities that were committed against innocent Israeli civilians, Israeli interrogators asked the detainees what Islam has to say about what they did. The arrested Hamas terrorists point a blaming finger at their leadership, who seeks refuge abroad while Gaza is laid to rubble. It's been nine days since the horrific slaughter in a community surrounding the Gaza Strip and the dust is still settling. But at Israel's National Medical Forensic Center, examiners are working around the clock to identify as many of the 1,400 bodies. And at times, it's an impossible task. And the remains here are charred, you cannot see what is there, again, go another one. And this, when we separated it, we see that there are two people there at least, we don't know how many people are there. So these people were sitting in the room and they were not shot because we don't see any metal fragments there. But they were banned because they were not shot. This is like a crematorium, they're just banned in the security room and this is what is actually left from them. I don't know if you will be able to take DNA from these samples because they are very charred. You can see here two spines, another one, you see, two spines, and Dr. Natan can show two ribs, two sets of ribs. And this is an adult with a child sitting together and hugging the child, no, no, the first one. And Dr. Nachman thinks it might, this metal wire that you see here might use to tie two bodies together. And they were banned like this. This last Saturday, the center's examiners have checked over 950 body bags. Some have their remains of more than one body of victims from the border communities, the Desert Music Festival, and security forces. So far, there are about 500 bodies that were identified and there are still close to 300 bodies that remain unidentified and new ones keep coming in. We're getting samples from the deceased. We're sampling them for the right amount of material that we need to extract DNA for. Then we'll use that to create a genetic profile and compare it to the family members who wait for the answers. Many of the bodies have bullet wounds, some also in the hands, as the victims were trying to protect themselves in their final moments. Burnt babies, headless bodies, some of the bodies are in such bad condition that they may never be identified. So this is a baby mattress. But just by addition by the sign or the size of the spot, it seems that he was bleeding or he or she were bleeding in the bed. I never saw anything like this. This is heart wrenching because you can see innocent people that were just not butchered and people that were shot where they were tied, people that were burned to death, people that were tied together. So this cruelty is something that you cannot imagine anything like that. With a ground invasion looming and increasing international criticism over Israel's response, there is also a growing movement of people denying that Hamas terrorists committed such horrific acts of violence and torture. But hundreds of people from first responders to the medical examiners at this center have seen it all. You've seen this happen. I saw you pictures of dead bodies and also babies. You've seen it. And I don't know how many were decapitated and so on. We see people without heads. But things have happened. Just to deny it didn't happen. You saw the pictures. You see the bodies. It's here. You can tell yourself any story that you want and you can believe it. So if you don't want, if you refuse to believe that this happened, even though you see the pictures, you see the videos, you see the signs, it is all recorded. Right now standing in the Makhabi House. If you could believe this is normally the professional basketball stadium for the Makhabi Rishon Lezion basketball team, a very good team here. Now that we're in the middle of this war, this has literally turned into an emergency place to collect special items that are going directly to the soldiers in the south of Israel right now along the border preparing to do whatever is being prepared to do. You can see here we have clothes, underwear, supplies, hygienic items and a very enthusiastic crowd which we're going to get to in a second. I want to also share here, if you look at some of these boxes, it's been over 2,000 boxes that have been packed with individual notes. Look at this. Individual notes. This is going to our children that are fighting and defending Israel at this time. Shampoo, toothpaste, underwear, basic supplies that human beings need that are going to be fighting this war. And this is the heart and soul again of this country. This group of people that have been here every single day. Even the supply isn't that full because they've given it all away. All away. So now we are joined by a very special man. He's the deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion. Thank you so much for number one being so on top of your beloved city and all of these wonderful people who already feel like family. And I've only been here an hour with you. It feels good to be here in spite of the fact that we're here for the worst possible reason. Yeah. In order to overcome the atrocities we hear from the front, the best way for us and to boost the morale is just bring all these wonderful volunteers to do everything they can in order to help our troops on the Gaza border. Unfortunately now even on the northern border and to help all the families that lost the best friends and all the kings and everything. And don't forget there are so many missing people after six days. They still don't know where they are. It's unbelievable how they kidnapped babies, elderies, 90 years old in wheelchairs and everything. And they just want to have any news from their families. So these boxes that you guys are preparing there have been more than 2,000 that are literally being delivered in armored cars directly to the soldiers at the border of Gaza that we know of right now. Exactly. They take everything directly to the soldiers and to the Kibbutz near the border, which all the homes were burned. They don't have any clothes, any food, nothing. And we give them the first aid to survive the first days. Also with Rishon, a very tight community as we can see here. This is really a very, really, I'm loving being here in Rishon. That's the only with you all right now. It gives me a lot of comfort to be here with such strong, warm people. And I just want to know, I mean, how are you dealing with the fact there are what, how many, how many people from Rishon have been killed? 30? 30 was delivered to us this data on Sunday. I'm very sad to say that the numbers are growing by each day. So this, how do we deal with this? Explain why this is how Amisrael deals with this. This is, you know, we have mainly our viewers in the United States. So what is your message? Besides what we're going to get to in a moment. Our message is that we don't have any other country. And that's our secret weapon. We don't have anywhere to go. This is the only country in the world that can safeguard all the Jews. So nobody will drive us away from our country and from our homeland. Amen. All right. Now all of you, do you have something to say? And more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continued. 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. Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world. And the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States. And in that regards, they should be a national treasure. So it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct. In News Edition, I'm Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv. We start with news just in. The IDF has just confirmed that the number of known hostages being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza is at 229. That's higher than was initially thought. Their fate remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow, announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire. The message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between Hamas representatives, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Khani. This all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries. They range in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man. They were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several Kibbutzim, Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Meanwhile the latest out of the Red Sea the IDF suggesting that an aerial threat that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area. Cairo says it was a drone. Six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba. Here's more from IDF spokesman Daniel Higari. In the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. Fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation. In our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat. Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the Red Sea area. So for the latest on the ground we go to our correspondent Robert Swift he joins us from southern Israel. So Rob let's start with the latest, the scariest development out of the Red Sea area. Cairo says it's a drone that hit Egypt this morning. Six people injured when it hit a medical facility in Taba. The IDF says the aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. What is known right now? What confirmation can you share? So this explosion that took place in the city of Taba it's understood that that happened at an ambulance spot where medical facilities were based. Now the Egyptian authorities have said through a local media outlet that they reserve the right to respond with military force if required when they have determined the origins of this explosion. Israel obviously hinting that they believe it came from Yemen. The Egyptians have not so far commented on that and just in the last hour or so it's been confirmed that there has been a second explosion possibly taking place at around about the same time it's understood that the two are likely to have occurred at the same point and this took place further south along the coastline in the Egyptian city of Noeba or just on the edge of the city I should say. Now just to remind our viewers last week there was a launch of cruise missiles and drones from Yemen understood to have been launched by the Houthi group that's another armed group that operates there and is yet another proxy of Iran. Those weapons were intercepted by a US ship that was based in the area. It's air defense systems taking it down. So the main suspicion is that this is yet another launch originating in Yemen and most likely being aimed towards the southern Israeli city of Elat. And it's a situation we are going to unpack a little bit later on in this broadcast. Thank you for now though our correspondent Robert Swift in southern Israel. Thanks Rob. And now for more. We welcome Major General in the Reserves Yair Golan, former Deputy Chief of Staff. He joins us from Moshav Meftahim in southern Israel. Thank you so much for joining us on this day. A retired Major General in the IDF a former Deputy Chief of the IDF talk to us though about the 7th of October how you first heard about the unfolding terror attack and how you personally responded on that day. Well I think that as far as I remember rumors about the situation in the south started around 6.30. I was awake at that time and after about two hours or three hours I understood that something really unusual is happening in the south and therefore I put on my uniform and went straight away to the home front command headquarters located in Ramla and then I asked commanding officer of the home front command to give personal envoy to the south. Here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova Festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times taking out six persons out of the bushes and all in all in three intervals and that's it. In fact you know the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. Enormous courage, enormous courage. Indeed, but you personally. This is the true story. I was not involved in the fighting so again, those who fought in the Kibbutzin and the Moshevin, those who fought in the Sderot and the Fakim, those who managed to save their friends and their beloved family these people are the true heroes of the October 7th horrific day for the state of Israel probably the most horrific one in our history and I think that right now we need to recover, to fight back to change the situation in the Gaza Strip entirely it should be a demilitarized zone and we should bring back all our hostages and students possible. I want to get to that but first what happened on the ground on that day, you're getting phone calls from people saying please help my child you're getting messages what is going through your mind did you have any idea of the scale of what was happening you went and risked your own life to go and save other people not really knowing exactly what was unfolding on the ground take us back if you can to what was going through your thoughts at that moment. Look I'm a well experienced soldier I fought a lot in my life so what I see was new in the scale but not in nature so I managed to understand where is more dangerous where is less dangerous and I found my way through the fields and the hostages in order to reach those people who managed to escape and again you know from my perspective it was really my modest contribution to the overall chaos that was in the south at that terrible day Well you certainly are being hailed as a hero and as some parents have said as an angel so we appreciate your modesty in describing exactly what unfolded a true story of survival you made mention of the future your thoughts given your credentials on the ground you know the region well this ground invasion said to be imminent it could be happening soon does Israel need to wait your take on what should be happening on the ground well I have no intention to go into you know operational considerations I think that the most important thing right now is to well define the goals of this war it's going to be a long war it will take years to clean the Gaza Strip it's not only a military effort it's also a civilian effort diplomatic effort a regional effort and the international effort so therefore I would say it's really hard to define whether we see we will see any kind of major operation inside the Gaza Strip I would say that this is not the right discussion right now not Israel not in Israel and not elsewhere the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel and we're just hearing a short while ago the IDF confirming it's actually 229 people being held hostage now inside Gaza very worrying it's more than was initially thought and it could be even higher as you know more and more information emerging on a daily basis how does the hostage situation impact the way Israel will conduct itself when it does go into Gaza your thoughts well I think no doubt it's a kind of limitation it's hard to predict it's all about you know the way Hamas will act so it's not a matter of my personal prediction it's a matter of handling this conflict in the most I would say rational and well deliberated manner as I mentioned the war for years and therefore we need you know here and there to hold our horses to be to think about their current situation not just from the military perspective and we need to as a nation we need to decide that we are going to destroy Hamas but it's a matter of time and we need to make priorities and the most important thing right now is to make the right priorities and when Israel says it is going to eradicate Hamas and make sure obviously that attack like the one that happened on the 7th of October never ever happens again we had the defense minister Joav Galan saying Israel will win and that the next 75 years in the country depends on a victory what does a victory look like what is a win victory for Israel is not just you know defeating our enemies our military capabilities and you know change their intention it's about providing all citizens of Israel the same level of security no matter where they live and it's about by the end of the day promoting as much as possible peace with all possible nations in the region and it's about initiative we need to take an initiative no matter what is the situation and I think that in the last 14 years we did almost nothing in order to solve the conflict in order to secure our citizens in order to make sure that from here to eternity we will be able to provide the right level of security in the enveloping settlements of Gaza and I think this is the issue now we need to work hard to combine together diplomatic efforts economical efforts regional efforts and military efforts and that's what I'm looking for up to now I didn't hear from the Israeli government what is the right policy what are the goals of this war how in what a way rather than military both military efforts we are going to implement our goals in on the ground this is a practical issue the most important one Major general in the reserves Yair Golan former deputy chief of staff speaking to us from Oshaf Meftahim in southern Israel thank you for your time and thank you again a hero in the country thank you and please come to the south help the mercy work so hard to renew all inhabitants locations here around the Gaza street and I think it's really moving to see those farmers who are just superb and I salute them really salute them thank you the country salutes them too thank you so much and thank you again for your time and now for more at junk fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy what a story your thoughts Yair Golan remarkable remarkable and by the way not just him as a retired general former politician but also several other retired generals on the day on October 7th who actually got in their cars either armed or not and went down south and either saved people actively or helped rescue people and a lot of these people we should mention were very prominent critics of the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu either Yair Golan an actual left wing parliamentarian or others in a personal capacity and these people were the first to go down and really get in the line of fire and actually rescue civilians so it just shows you that the way in the conversation that has been going on in Israel now for the past year and really even before that in terms of trying to tar people like Yair Golan disloyal or traitorous to the nation to the state was completely removed from reality and they showed that on a personal level through their courage on October 7th incredible one thing that is so abundantly clear right now in the country is that the divisions that existed three weeks ago aren't there right now because right now there is an existential threat and people are uniting to make sure that the whole country can be safe that's right if there's one silver lining in a very dark dark time in Israel's history it's that that after October 7th really politics were put aside I mean it's Israel so there's still politics but really the deep divisions that we've seen now for the past several months and several years were put aside for the overall effort the overall effort in the war against Hamas and also to heal and to help inside Israel whether it's survivors from southern Israel whether it's families of the hostages taken into Gaza whether it's families of reservists now on the front line whether it's donations or actual time like picking agriculture in the fields of southern Israel everyone is coming together it's an entire full country full nation effort and also by the way not just inside Israel but also amongst the American Jewish and other diaspora communities all over the world and other friends of Israel really it's a full civilization again in a very dark time but it is a sign of solidarity and unity and I think that should be embraced and remain whenever this war will end and eventually the war will end something Yair Golan said and many people obviously around the country have a heavy heart right now worrying about the fate of what we now know is 229 hostages being held by Hamas right now and no inkling at all about what's going to be released if they're going to be released and the players who are ostensibly involved in trying to secure that freedom Qatar, meetings in Russia break down for us your sense of what the situation looks like and how it could likely unfold so we've seen now four women that were taken hostage released in two stages over the past week essentially it was done unilaterally by Hamas through Qatar so the Egyptians are involved just physically because the border crossing is where these women went through and then back into Israel but really it's the Qatari track and so there are back room, back channel negotiations going on between Qatar, Hamas and we presume the Israeli government as to what a future and further and perhaps wider hostage release deal would look like we've seen sketchy reports now over the past few days but again this is very very difficult for one primary reason Hamas has to choose to actually release hostages and again how many it's up to them and also Israel for its part has to decide whether it's willing to give Hamas ostensibly what it's demanding not just humanitarian aid but primarily fuel which the Israeli military has not allowed into Gaza now for three weeks and also a potential prison release on the Israeli side perhaps women and minors held in Israeli prisons, Palestinians held in Israeli prisons it's potentially doable but again what is the mood inside Israel right now is the wider public ready to perhaps release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli hostages Israel has done that in the past but under very very different very different circumstances something that is definitely going to be unpacked in the coming days no doubt as the situation unfolds stay with us Neri we want to go right now though to the north and our correspondent Hamdi Sahut joins us again from northern Israel and we now know that Hezbollah says 47 of its operatives have been killed in IDF bombing so far what is the latest fires could be seen earlier inside southern Lebanon what update can you share right Benita well those fires actually still burning now in southern Lebanon they're a little bit in the distance behind me but you can't really see them because of the smoke in the haze that has engulfed the area over the last 24 hours from the fires that the Lebanese civil defense still haven't been able to get under control after continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah positions inside of Lebanese territory now there is a lot still left on the table whether Hezbollah is going to be fully involved in this conflict we've seen this kind of tit for tat small exchanges of fire here and there a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians dead on this side and on the other side 47 Hezbollah combatants four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad there is a lot of interesting information still coming out that will really shift the conflict remember the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is one of them but as of this morning the Israeli police and the government are reportedly voting on measures to allow Israeli police to use live ammunition at protesters in several parts of the country now this will also if this move is approved will likely to shift things that have been going on because we do know that force used against Palestinian demonstrations is something that the factions including Hezbollah are heavily against so just aggression from all sides here that will continue to really light the match that will ignite the flames of a larger escalation on the northern front remember the Americans have been pressuring all sides to really urge calm and restrain telling the Israelis publicly and privately not to have a larger strike in Lebanese territory against any Hezbollah targets because they don't want a semi-regional conflict to break out in the region in exchange though they're offering them assurances militarily via air land and sea to assist them in their fight with Hezbollah should it get to that next level but here along the border while it is quite calm for now the situation is constantly developing the situation is constantly evolving so the fire are expected to continue the number of deaths expected to rise as those exchanges of fire continue here along the border Benita and keeping us posted on all the evolving developments as you put it correspondent Khamdeh from northern Israel thank you Khamdeh and still in studio Neri I want to get to the developments in Egypt earlier this morning but first I want to pick up on what we were just talking about in the north and obviously this major concern about Hezbollah potentially getting fully involved we know what is transpired in the last three weeks but the concern is a full onslaught out of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah that's right and it is a major concern if not the primary concern just given Hezbollah's strength and firepower over 100,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel and Israeli population centers so it would be a very different dynamic a very different dynamic a very different dynamic if you will if Hezbollah actually decided to get fully involved but as you say they are already involved over the past three weeks cross-border fire Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile teams and also sporadic mortar fire again those are within what's called here the rules of the game certain parameters known to both Hezbollah and Israel who for its part doesn't want a wider escalation Israel has made very clear that if Hezbollah escalates further then it will have no choice but to retaliate very strongly but again Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is said to give a speech at some point in the coming days it will be very interesting to see what he says he hasn't said anything publicly since October 7th certainly we'll be watching to see what comes out of Hassan Nasrallah and what his future plans are obviously huge risks involved and what our future plans will be depending on what Nasrallah decides no doubt about that many people would have been surprised to hear Egypt mentioned in reports earlier on this day because of what appears to have been a drone that landed in Taba mixed reports about exactly where it emanated from talk to us about exactly what is going down right now so this war is not just being fought in southern Israel on the Gaza front Lebanon in the north there's also been rocket fires from Syria in the northeast and also the south via the Red Sea this likely emanated from Yemen the Houthi militia closely allied with Iran they fired several cruise missiles and drones at Israel or in the direction of Israel last week it was intercepted by American naval assets in the Red Sea we don't quite know where this drone came from it was a Houthi drone strike that got intercepted or failed right before by the way Taba it's on the border with Elat Israel's southern most city and many suggesting that perhaps it was something intended for Elat the reach that could come that far from Yemen yes absolutely we've seen the Houthi militia in Yemen fire missiles and drones kilometers away hundreds of kilometers away into Saudi Arabia into the United Arab Emirates they have the capabilities they have the range thanks to Iran and they've also shown that they're at least an active participant in this war hopefully they also do not get involved because that would be a further complication but again America has deployed various assets all across the region so this would not be just an Israel versus Iran and its proxies fight the idea would be that if his Bala and other Iranian proxies did get involved that Biden the Biden administration military would also get involved so much to unpack so many developments happening at the same time across the region always appreciate your insight and breaking down what the significance is the dynamics involved in all these players at once. Neri Zilber journalist and a junked fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy thank you very much for being here once again and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition. I'm Bernice Levin in Tel Aviv our rolling coverage continues shortly stay tuned thank you for watching 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 we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity news news news news news bring news news news Copacuando. Y recargas que ya sabes hacia donde van. En día recargas internacionales, Altiz, a tu gente NRD. Accede a nuestra página web, recargas.altiz.com.b. Selecciona recargas y digita el número al que deseas colocarle la recarga. Además, ellos reciben el doble de balance en recargas de 8 dólares o más. Altiz, la red global de los dominicanos. Making news edition. I'm Benita Levine, coming to you live from Tel Aviv. We start with news just in. The IDF has just confirmed that the number of known hostages being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza is at 229. That's higher than was initially thought. Their fate remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow, announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire. The message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between Hamas representatives. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani. This all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries. They range in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man. They were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several kibbutzim, Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile, questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Meanwhile, the latest out of the Red Sea, the IDF suggesting that an aerial threat that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area. Cairo says it was a drone. Six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba. Here's more from IDF spokesman Daniel Higari. In the last few hours, an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. Fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation. In our understanding, the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat. Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the Red Sea area. So for the latest on the ground we go to our correspondent, Robert Swift. He joins us from southern Israel. So Rob, let's start with the latest, this curious development out of the Red Sea area. Cairo says it's a drone that hit Egypt this morning. Six people injured when it hit a medical facility in Taba. The IDF says the aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. What is known right now? What confirmation can you share? So this explosion that took place in the city of Taba, it's understood that that happened at an ambulance spot where medical facilities were based. Now the Egyptian authorities have said through a local media outlet that they reserve the right to respond with military force if required when they have determined the origins of this explosion. Israel obviously hinting that they believe it came from Yemen. The Egyptians have not so far commented on that. And just in the last hour or so it's been confirmed that there has been a second explosion possibly taking place at around about the same time. It's understood that the two are likely to have occurred at the same point. And this took place further south along the coastline in the Egyptian city of Noeba or just on the edge of the city, I should say. Now just to remind our viewers, last week there was a launch of cruise missiles and drones from Yemen understood to have been launched by the Houthi group. That's another armed group to operate there and is yet another proxy of Iran. Those weapons were intercepted by a US ship that was based in the area. It's air defense systems taking it down. So the main suspicion is that this is yet another launch originating in Yemen and most likely being aimed towards the southern Israeli city of Elat. And it's a situation we are going to unpack a little bit later on in this broadcast. Thank you for now, though. Our correspondent, Robert Swift, in Southern Israel. Thanks, Rob. And now for more. We welcome Major General in the Reserves, Yair Golan, former Deputy Chief of Staff. He joins us from Moshev Meftahim in Southern Israel. Thank you so much for joining us on this day. A retired Major General in the IDF, a former Deputy Chief of the IDF. Talk to us, though, about the 7th of October, how you first heard about the unfolding terror attack and how you personally responded on that day. Well, I think that as far as I remember, rumors about the situation in the south started around 6.30. I was awake at that time. And after about two hours or three hours, I understood that something really unusual is happening in the south. And therefore I put on my uniforms and went straight away to the Homefront Command headquarters, located in Uramla. And then I asked the commanding officer of the Homefront Command to give personal envoy to the south. Here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escapes from the Nova Festival. And they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival. And I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area. And that's what I did for about three times, taking out six persons out of the bushes. And all in all, in three intervals. And that's it. In fact, the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. Enormous courage. Enormous courage. Indeed. But you personally... This is the true story. I was not involved in the fighting. So, again, those who fought in the Kibbutzim, in the Moshevin, those who fought in Sderot and the Fakim, those who managed to save their friends and their beloved family, these people are the true heroes of October 7th. A horrific day for the state of Israel. No doubt. Probably the most horrific one in our history. And I think that right now, we need to recover. Right. To fight back. To change the situation in the Gaza Strip entirely. It should be a demilitarized zone. Right. And we should bring back all our hostages and students possible. Yeah, I want to get to that, but I don't know what to do. Yeah, I want to get to that. But first, you're being incredibly modest about what happened on the ground on that day. You're getting phone calls from people saying, please help my child. You're getting messages. What is going through your mind? Did you have any idea of the scale of what was happening? You went and risked your own life to go and save other people, not really knowing exactly what was unfolding on the ground. Take us back if you can to what was going through your thoughts at that moment. Look, I'm a well-experienced soldier. I fought a lot in my life. So what I see was new in the scale, but not in nature. So I managed to understand where is more dangerous, where is less dangerous. And I found my way through the fields and the orchards in order to reach those people who managed to escape. And again, from my perspective, it was really my modest contribution to do overall chaos that was in the south at that terrible day. Well, you certainly are being hailed as a hero and as some parents have said as an angel. So we appreciate your modesty in describing exactly what unfolded a true story of survival. You made mention of the future. Your thoughts, given your credentials on the ground, you know the region well. This ground invasion said to be imminent. It could be happening soon. Does Israel need to wait? Your take on what should be happening on the ground? Well, I have no intention to go into, you know, operational considerations. I think that the most important thing right now is to well define the goals of this war. It's going to be a long war. It will take years to clean the Gaza Strip. It's not then only a military effort, it's also a civilian effort, diplomatic effort, a regional effort, and the international effort. So therefore I would say it's really hard to define whether we see, we will see any kind of, you know, major operation inside the Gaza Strip. I would say that this is not the right discussion right now. Not Israel, not in Israel and not elsewhere. The most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel, the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages. I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip. We need to bring them back. And all the rest, it's a matter of time. And stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens, no matter where, need to feel secure in the state of Israel. And we're just hearing a short while ago the IDF confirming it's actually 229 people being held hostage now inside Gaza. Very worrying. It's more than was initially thought and it could be even higher, more and more information emerging on a daily basis. How does the hostage situation impact the way Israel will conduct itself when it does go into Gaza? Your thoughts? Well, I think no doubt it's kind of a limitation. But it's hard to predict. It's all about the way it must really act. So it's not a matter of my personal prediction. It's a matter of handling this conflict in the most, I would say, rational and well-deliberated manner. As I mentioned, the war for years and therefore we need, you know, here and there to hold our horses and to be to think about their current situation, not just from the military perspective and we need to as a nation, we need to decide that we are going to destroy Hamas. But it's a matter of time and we need to make priorities. And the most important thing right now is to make the right priorities. And when Israel says it is going to eradicate Hamas and make sure, obviously, that an attack like the one that happened on the 7th of October never, ever happens again, we hear the Defence Minister Joav Galan saying Israel will win and that the next 75 years in the country depends on a victory. What does a victory look like? What is a win? Well, victory for Israel is not just, you know, defeating our enemies, our military capabilities and, you know, change their intention. It's about providing all citizens of Israel the same level of security, no matter where they live. And it's about by the end of the day promoting as much as possible peace with all possible nations in the region. And it's about initiative. We need to take an initiative, no matter what is the situation. And I think that in the last 14 years we did almost nothing in order to solve the conflict, in order to secure our citizens, in order to make sure that from here to eternity we will be able to provide the right level of security in the enveloping settlements of Gaza. And I think this is the issue. Now we need to work hard to combine together diplomatic efforts, economical efforts, regional efforts and military efforts. And that's what I'm looking for. Up to now, I didn't hear from the Israeli government what is the right policy, what are the goals of this war. How? In what way? Rather than, you know, military, both military efforts, we are going to implement our goals in on the ground. And this is a practical issue, the most important one. Major general in the reserves, Yair Golan, former deputy chief of staff, speaking to us from Osha Miftahim in southern Israel. Thank you for your time and thank you again a hero in the country. Thank you. And come to and please come to the south and help the leaders here who work so hard to renew all inhabitants locations here around the Gaza Strait. And I think it's really moving to see those farmers who are just superb and I salute them. Really salute them. Thank you. The country salutes them too. Thank you so much and thank you again for your time. And now, for more, Yair Golan, a young fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. What a story. Your thoughts? Yair Golan, remarkable, remarkable. And by the way, not just him as a retired general, former politician, but also several other retired generals on the day on October 7th, who actually got in their cars, either armed or not, and went down south and either saved people actively or helped rescue people. And a lot of these people we should mention were very prominent critics of the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, either Yair Golan, an actual left-wing parliamentarian or others in a personal capacity. And these people were the first to go down and really get in the line of fire and actually rescue civilians. So it just shows you that the way and the conversation that has been going on in Israel now for the past year and really even before that in terms of trying to tar people like Yair Golan disloyal or traitorous to the nation, to the state was completely removed from reality and they showed that on a personal level through their courage on October 7th. Incredible. One thing that is so abundantly clear right now in the country is that the divisions that existed three weeks ago aren't there right now because right now there is an existential threat and people are uniting to make sure that the whole country can be safe. That's right. If there is one silver lining in a very dark, dark time in Israel's history, it's that that after October 7th really politics were put aside. I mean, it's Israel so there's still politics. But really the deep divisions that we've seen now for the past several months and several years were put aside for the overall effort, the overall effort in the war against Hamas and also to heal and to help inside Israel, whether it's survivors from southern Israel, whether it's families the hostages taken into Gaza whether it's families of reservists now on the front line whether it's donations or actual time like picking agriculture in the fields of southern Israel everyone is coming together. It's a entire full country full nation effort and also by the way not just inside Israel but also amongst the American Jewish and other diaspora communities all over the world and other friends of Israel. Really it's a full conversation again in a very dark time but it is a sign of solidarity and unity and I think that should be embraced and remain whenever this war will end and eventually the war will end. Something Yair Golan said and many people obviously around the country have a heavy heart right now worrying about the fate of what we now know is 229 hostages being held by Hamas right now and no inkling at all about when they're going to be released if they're going to be released and the players who are ostensibly involved in trying to secure that freedom. Qatar meetings in Russia break down for us your sense of what this situation looks like and how it could likely unfold. So we've seen now four women that were taken hostage released in two stages over the past week essentially it was done unilaterally by Hamas through Qatari mediation where the Egyptians are involved just physically because the border crossing is where these women went through and then back into Israel but really it's the Qatari track and so there are back room, back channel negotiations going on between Qatari, Hamas and we presume the Israeli government as to what a future and further and perhaps wider hostage release deal would look like we've seen sketchy reports now over the past few days but again this is very very difficult Hamas has to choose to actually release hostages and again how many it's up to them and also Israel for its part has to decide whether it's willing to give Hamas ostensibly what it's demanding not just humanitarian aid but primarily fuel which the Israeli military has not allowed into Gaza now for three weeks and also a potential prison release on the Israeli side perhaps women and minors held in Israeli prisons, Palestinians held in Israeli prisons it's potentially doable but again what is the mood inside Israel right now is the wider public ready to perhaps release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli hostages Israel has done that in the past but under very very different very different circumstances something that is definitely going to be unpacked in the coming days no doubt as the situation unfolds stay with us Neri we want to go right now though to the north and our correspondent Hamdi Sahud joins us again from northern Israel and we now know that Hezbollah says 47 of its operatives have been killed in IDF bombing so far what is the latest fires could be seen earlier inside southern Lebanon what update can you share right Benita well those fires actually still burning now in southern Lebanon they're a little bit in the distance behind me but you can't really see them because of the smoke in the haze that has engulfed the area over the last 24 hours from the fires the Lebanese civil defense still haven't been able to get under control after continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah positions inside of Lebanese territory now there is a lot still left on the table whether Hezbollah is going to be fully involved in this conflict we've seen this kind of tit for tat small exchanges of fire here and there a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians dead on this side and on the other side 47 Hezbollah combatants four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad there is a lot of interesting information still coming out that will really shift the conflict remember the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is one of them but as of this morning the Israeli police and the government are reportedly voting on measures to allow Israeli police to use live ammunition at protesters in several parts of the country now this will also if this move is approved will likely to shift things that have been going on because we do know that force used against Palestinian demonstrations is something that the factions including Hezbollah are heavily against so just aggression from all sides here that will continue to really light the match that will ignite the flames of a larger escalation on the northern front remember the Americans have been pressuring all sides to really urge calm and restrain telling the Israelis publicly and privately not to have a larger strike in Lebanese territory against any Hezbollah targets because they don't want a semi regional conflict to break out in the region in exchange though they're offering them assurances militarily via air land and sea to assist them in their fight with Hezbollah should it get to that next level but here along the border while it is quite calm for now the situation is constantly developing the situation is constantly evolving so the fire are expected to continue the number of deaths expected to rise as those exchanges of fire continue here along the border Benita and keeping us posted on all the evolving developments as you put it correspondent Khamdeh Sahut live from northern Israel thank you Khamdeh and still in studio Neri Silva I want to get to the developments in Egypt earlier this morning but first I want to pick up on what we were just talking about obviously this major concern about Hezbollah potentially getting fully involved we know what is transpired in the last three weeks but the concern is a full onslaught out of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah that's right and it is a major concern if not the primary concern just given Hezbollah's strength and firepower over 100,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel and Israeli population centers so it would be a very different dynamic a very different ball game if you will if Hezbollah actually decided to get fully involved but as you say they are already involved over the past three weeks cross-border fire Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile teams and also sporadic mortar fire again those are within what's called here the rules of the game certain parameters known to both Hezbollah and Israel who for its part doesn't want a wider escalation Israel has made very clear its focus is on Gaza not Hezbollah and not Lebanon both as a country and a state Israel would rather avoid having to fight a two front war but Israel has also made clear that if Hezbollah escalates further then it will have no choice but to retaliate very strongly but again Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to give a speech at some point in the coming days it will be very interesting to see what he says he hasn't said anything publicly since October 7th certainly we'll be watching to see what comes out of Hassan Nasrallah and what his future plans are obviously huge risks involved and what our future plans will be depending on what Nasrallah decides no doubt about that many people would have been surprised to hear each have mentioned in reports earlier on this day because of what appears to have been a drone that landed in Taba mixed reports about exactly where it emanated from talk to us about exactly what is going down right now so this war is not just being fought in southern Israel on the Gaza front Lebanon in the north has also been rocket-fired from Syria in the northeast and also the south the southeast via the Red Sea this likely emanated from Yemen the Houthi militia closely allied with Iran they fired several cruise missiles and drones at Israel or in the direction of Israel last week it was intercepted by American naval assets in the Red Sea we don't quite know where this drone came from but it wouldn't surprise me the Houthi drone strike that got intercepted or failed right before by the way Taba it's on the border with Elat Israel's southern most city and many suggesting that perhaps it was something intended for Elat the reach that could come that far from Yemen yes absolutely we've seen the Houthi militia in Yemen fire missiles and drones kilometers away hundreds of kilometers away into Saudi Arabia into the United Arab Emirates they have the capabilities they have the range thanks to Iran and they've also shown that they're at least an active participant in this war hopefully they also do not get involved because that would be a further complication but again America has deployed various assets all across the region so this would not be just in Israel versus Iran in its proxies fight the idea would be that if his Bala and other Iranian proxies did get involved that Biden the Biden administration would also get involved so much to unpack so many developments happening at the same time across the region always appreciate your insight and breaking down what the significance is the dynamics involved in all these players at once Neri Zilber journalist and a junked fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy thank you very much for being here once again and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition I'm Denise Elavine Tel Aviv our road and coverage continues shortly stay tuned thank you for watching 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 inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 news coming watching I-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border over the past hour Egypt says a drone in the Red Sea resort town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Tel Neweba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen and Israel has revised upwards to the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7th that number does not include the four hostages who have already been released the IDF says it conducted further targeted raids into Gaza last night for a second straight night the defence minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war well major general in the reserve is the former deputy chief of staff and while the terrorist attack was unfolding last week the former left wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova music festival where dozens of people were murdered he managed to save lives he told us about his own personal experiences of October 7th and about what he considers to be the main goals of this war here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get the phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times and taking out six persons out of the bushes all in all in three intervals and that's it in fact the real heroes are those who managed to escape and show much much courage and managed to save the life of their friends the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel Well a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the terrorist group had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's federal bureau said that he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian-backed terrorist group let's find out what is happening at Israel's northern border we're joined now by our correspondent Hamza Sahut Hamda what is the latest this hour Right Laura so while the exchange of fire is in a lull right now their fire is still burning across southern Lebanon and experts are saying that the Israeli military started these fires because Hezbollah uses the trees uses the mountainous terrain to move around and kind of launch surprise attacks on Israeli surveillance sites and military positions now the smoke is still in the air behind me those fires still burning as Lebanese civil defense is trying to get them under control but still can't seem to do so the last explosions we heard here were around 1 a.m. local time in that tit for tat exchanges that don't seem to be letting up so far Hezbollah says around 47 combatants from their side have been killed and the exchange is a fire and this is not even an indication that Hezbollah has fully entered the realm of this war this is just the beginning stages we've heard from Hezbollah officials over the last several weeks saying that this is just a warning to Israel and this is not the full extent of their capabilities now people inside of Hamas inside the political bureau are hoping to see more from Hezbollah hoping to see more from their allies in order to assist with their fight with the Israeli military and saying that if Hezbollah were to launch a larger scale attack they will be met with full force Thank you very much indeed She's at Israel's northern border well let's head to the south now where much of the action has been this morning and last night our correspondent Robert Swift is at the border with Gaza Rob give us the latest developments this morning then So just a few minutes ago there were launches of rockets or mortar fire from Gaza to communities in the very south close to the Egyptian border that appeared to be a limited launch throughout the morning there's been heavy Israeli air attacks started around about 3-4 hours ago and this escalated to the point where there was essentially airstrikes occurring once every minute or so at some point that has quieted down a little bit I can still hear drones overhead what sounded like an airstrike about five minutes ago but it's not at the same frequency with which it was earlier in the day Rob there was a limited ground incursion into Gaza overnight the second such raid by the IDF can you tell us a bit about what happened Yeah so the Israeli military went in with tanks and infantry and also with some engineering assets these were backed up by drones and Israeli aircraft and they went in essentially to prepare the ground for upcoming operations there and to attack targets inside Gaza Strip this is essentially aimed at degrading Hamas' defensive capabilities attacking their tactical level command and control and essentially seeding the ground for potentially larger scale incursions in the future Right the IDF says it's preparing for the second stage of the war Rob I mean three weeks on what kind of terrain well obviously everybody's aware that Gaza is a very heavy populated urban area it's also worth bearing in mind that there are some areas of open fields immediately between the border fence before the Israeli forces will come to the urban interface those areas the open areas Israel's likely to be able to move through them very quickly it has the advantage of range, fire power and mobility when it gets into the urban areas itself that's when Israel's likely to find that it's a more difficult terrain to deal with many of the advantages that Israel has as a significant military force many of them will be negated by the dense terrain and that's where Hamas will start to find that the battlefield is a little bit more even and that's when it will be dangerous for the Israeli military Rob thank you very much Robert Swift there he's down at the border with Gaza well with me in the studio Lieutenant Colonel Don Abital is the former commander of the Special Forces in the idea thank you very much for being with us a word first of all then on the limited raids into Gaza last night what do you think the idea is trying to achieve there those moves and I hope also other moves that we are not of course familiar with preparation for a bigger move in the future we have to understand that an army when it prepares it also prepares behind the borders and I think those important moves and they have to make all those preparations and I think it brings us closer to the possibility of a ground offensive right and do you think this is also linked to trying to locate the hostages perhaps but maybe those kind of operation we will know very little about and underneath the surface and when nobody would let us know nothing about them of course but I hope and I'm sure the Special Forces are operating on the borders trying to locate intelligence in order to get a clear picture about this issue it's important to know that what crystallizes is lately in the Israeli public and in the decision maker's mind is that the hostages in many respect come first or at least we have to open a window to any possible way of releasing at least the sick, the elderly and infants so this changes a little bit the way we move forward in terms of the ground offensive and of course support from the United States has been solid we heard another US official John Kirby last night really siding with Israel when it comes to what's going on inside Gaza but there is pressure isn't there because there is a large civilian population that is suffering we're hearing that 10 more aid trucks have entered Gaza this is the UN agency UNRAS says that food is running low in the strip I think from the beginning, from the offset I said that we don't play with humanitarian aid of course we have to monitor it carefully and we do this is not the issue, this is not the way we'll win the war we ask the population to go soft of course and we do know that Hamas is trying to block this movement to the south and we make all this preparation but humanitarian aid is something that we have to allow even if on the margin it might be used against it by Hamas because clearly there's no, we don't want the population to suffer in a magnitude that doesn't serve our interest and also is not humane. All right Doha I'll stay with this for now Doha and Amitabh thank you. Well joining us now on the line Mohamed Khabia is a reservist in the Israeli Air Force thank you very much for being with us Mohamed, first of all if I could ask you about the situation in the south and the north Hamas saying it's disappointed that Hezbollah has not joined the fighting so far in your view do you think this is in some ways a defeat Iran Hamas had hoped for a multi thronged attack on Israel and do you see signs that that hasn't materialized yet? I think, first of all thank you so much for having me and about your question but today Hezbollah they understood that they will get a massive attack by the IDF if they will help they try to help the Hamas to organization because they saw what happened to Gaza Strip and we already wanted to attack Gaza Strip sorry and we still in the first steps then we still in the first steps and we didn't invade to Gaza and Hezbollah they say that Hezbollah is in a country that destroyed economy they hiding behind civilian civilian people and inside a country that have big problems then I think that Hezbollah will think too much before they doing any step to attack Israel and to go with Israel to other steps with the Israeli IDF then I think that what Hezbollah doing today to shoot antitank missiles they want to show their people that we doing something to help the Hamas but they want to still in this in this limit to between Israel between the IDF and between Hezbollah Mohammad I mean you are in Arab you are a Muslim you are a member of the IDF I think it's fair to say that you offer a pretty unique perspective on this conflict people outside Israel might find it hard to understand but can you talk us through some of the complexities for you in your position for me it's very basically because I feel that I am Arab Israeli and Bedouin and I served in the IDF and like all my family members all of my family members they served and they are combat soldiers and all units in the IDF and my family and my tribe and my village built a blood alliance with the Jewish people before the state was established since 1936 until nowadays we are together with the Jewish people and Israel is my country the Torah nations can't separate between us Muslims Jewish and then we are we have to defend our country and we saw that the Hamas ISIS tourists they slaughtered and killed and murdered Bedouin Muslims in the south October 7th they didn't separate between the Jews and the Arabs then Hamas it is a Torah nations and our duty is to fight against this Torah nations and I think that many Arabs like me the majority the majority of the Arabs in Israel they are feeling like me that they have Israel and they support Israel they support the IDF Israel and our IDF have to destroy Hamas have to destroy the Torah infrastructure of Hamas and to release the hostages by the Hamas and the Jadik Islam and we know of course that members of your community the Bedouin community were also murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th and we know that the whole country Muslims, Christians, Jews are all affected by the Hamas rockets that are flying at us every day are you worried Mohammed that this terrible war might cause divisions in Israeli society? No, no, many people they not many people, some people they spoke about it will be like Shomar Homo operation like what's happened before two years that today all of the Israelis from all parties of the Israeli society they know that this war is war to defend the home, to defend our life here in Israel and we have to be the victories, we have to be the winners in this war because if not we will not be here we will not be in our homes because the homes will control and the Turks are innocent and the proxies of Iran will destroy everything in this country and I think that today and we saw it, we saw people from Bedouin villages that donating to the army and donating to the villages in the south and the towns in the south we saw that the Haridim, the Orthodox, Jewish Orthodox they joined to the IDF and we saw it that the all Israelis the all Israelis also the people that they protested against each other before one month today all of them in the front line and they fighting shoulder to shoulder to defend our country Mohammad I mean before you go, what about across the Arab world in Egypt, in Jordan, in other countries, I mean we see very very strong support not only for the Palestinian cause but in some cases for Hamas, I mean how do we how do we reach people, how do we tell people there about what's going on and do you think that they think differently privately perhaps? It's very complicated in the Arab world but if we going to if we looking to Gulf countries, we will find that the majority there, they support Israel and because they they know what it is Hamas and we have to remember that the Hamas and the Palestinian Turks, the United Nations, they kicked out from the all Arab countries because in the Black September and the 17th the PLO and Ashraf they tried to kill the King of Jordan and after that they went to Lebanon and they destroyed Lebanon because Lebanon had a war between Israel and between the Palestinian Turkish groups in their land and after that they went to Tunis and the Tunis had problems. I think that today the Arab world, not all of the Arab world but many people in the Arab world they understood that Hamas is a big problem and a big danger to the Arab countries also because Hamas is a Turkish nation before I think before 6 or 7 years Saudi Arabia they create rules against Hamas and against the brotherhood movement and they kicked out there that the Hamas leaders from the Saudi Arabia and because they know that Hamas is the brotherhood movement the brotherhood movement it's all of the Arab countries and the Muslim countries they know that is an extreme movement that is a big danger to their government but in the last of the day they have to show their peoples their communities that they want to help the Palestinian people and the Arab countries the Arab governments they want to help the Palestinian peoples and not Hamas because they know that Hamas is the problem. Thank you so much Thank you so much Thank you so much Alright we're going to head back to the border with Gaza What's happening? Yeah so we've just had another four airstrikes taking place here I'll step to my side so you can see some of the dust which has been thrown up into the air after back of that one of the airstrikes in particular was particularly strong you can probably still see smoke and dust which is above the buildings to our front this is not the first Israeli airstrikes we've seen here today but it is the first in maybe about 20 minutes half an hour I think and we're also starting to hear some Israeli artillery firing there has been some of that intermittently throughout the day on top of that we've also seen a little bit of movement of Israeli vehicles we're not sure quite what that's related to but there is a bit of movement here on the ground and that is all off the back of the earlier actions that we've seen as I said earlier there's been airstrikes here for at least the last three four hours with a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Air Force Alright Rob, thank you very much for bringing us up to date there Robert Swift he's in southern Israel Alright well let's take a closer look at the news that's coming out of Egypt overnight the IDF says two projectiles hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area Cairo says it was a drone six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba we can take a listen to the IDF spokesman now In the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation in our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defence in the region against threats from the Red Sea area Diane, if we could talk a bit about what's happened in Egypt overnight Egypt said it was a drone not a missile and Israel saying that it looks like it came from Yemen Yeah, I mean we had it before for sure this is Iranian hand and we have to think long term for Hezbollah may not join now to the battlefield and Iran is playing its hand on the margins but this is a long term campaign and the alliances are clear and they're coming from different angles also from the Syrian front we know that there's some kind of a Gershiyat militia we have to be prepared to all fronts and we know who is behind it and we have to play our hands very smartly and wisely, so and Egypt says it may respond I think it's important and I keep emphasizing it that we have allies in this game and Egypt is like it or not a disagreement statements the Egyptian public in the end it's our ally in this campaign and of course being heard by those by those attacks Egypt should play its hand with us I'm sure in terms of the intelligence there's a very firm coordination us the Egyptian and the Americans and we have to work it out fully and see how we block this kind of attacks I mean do you think Iran is trying to draw Egypt into this? What do you think Iran is trying to do? I don't think they were aiming Egypt I think they were aiming a lot and we know that in a lot many of the people that were evacuated are there so I think it was a very nasty and cynical attempt to hurt a lot and like in this battlefield it never goes as they wish I don't think they want to draw Egypt but they actually want to wear us out in the end and to play their hands when we are weaker so we have to be very careful and understand that it's a long campaign and Iran's big plan of course was to attack Israel on three fronts from the north and from the east how was that disappointed? I would say yeah of course but I think they want to wear us out it's not like they have a plan that goes hand by hand and then they conquer Israel I don't think they're smarter than that I don't think they want to wear us out in a society to isolate it to cause it to lose its alliances in the Sunni in the Sunni world and outside so it's a long campaign and we have to work it in all fronts including not only the battlefield but only the diplomatic front. Right and part of that we just heard from Muhammad there he's a Muslim in a bedroom he describes himself as an Israeli Arab and those general that evacuated so they were Bedouins one of them is really a heroic Bedouin leader that actually succeeded to save 30 or so party girls very impressive and I think the cohesiveness of the Israeli society is right now a test and I want to remind also as the Israelis that 20% Arabs the Druze that fought with us sold to shoulder in all the campaigns we have to understand that this is one Israeli society that has to stand to the challenge that is coming. This would also be a victory for Hamas and for sure. I think this would be for the greatest move they succeeded to separate us from our Bedouin friends because that was there in 2021 wasn't it? Exactly, exactly so this we have to be very careful there. I must say that the police and even the police testimony the head of the police said that the Arab population behaves very respectfully and it is less worried from riots within Israel and I think it's encouraging to and we have had near daily raids by security forces in the West Bank I think over a thousand people that are arrested. This is a preventive move that have to be taken because we have to not forget the year before those events where this campaign with Hamas operative and Islamic Jihad operative in northern Samaria they are there we have to do the preventive moves we have to as long as the campaign continues and of course hand those terrorists because we don't want the West Bank to wake up so it's important for the Palestinian Authority to keep it in power and not to see it weakened by those terrorists. Where is Muhammad Abbas in all of this? In the end it's a very problematic scenario we have to admit it it does see Palestinian civilians unfortunately dying but of course Hamas is his enemy he was chased off the Gaza Strip and I think in the long run we have to see Hamas diminished and we have to see a different new middleist. Do you see a greater role for him in any future post Hamas I'm not sure he is an elderly leader but I'm sure that the Palestinian Authority and the young leaders that might come out they have to be partner in any arrangement of the future Right of course and the most agonizing dilemma for Israel of course is the hostages that numbers have been revised upwards Exactly and this is really this we came to the Israeli public and to the decision makers crystal clear lately and this is why the window opens up in terms of trying to find some solution at least for the civilians before any major grand offensive starts of course things can change we have to see whether the Hamas is here so that Qatar can really pull its hand and really create a real deal we'll have to wait and see Alright Doron Abital thank you very much indeed we're going to take a short break do stay with us our live coverage continues here on I24 news for now though goodbye 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on I24 news on international charges your people in rd access our website www.recargas.altis.com.co select charges and type the number you want to place the charge they also receive the double balance in charges of 8 dollars or more Altis, the global network of the Dominicans I24 news we're coming to you live from the Israeli war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza Israeli's this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border over the past hour while Egypt says a drone not a missile struck the Red Sea Resort Town of Tabba overnight a second projectile struck to Nwaba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children and taken to Gaza on October 7th. That number does not include the four hostages who have already been released. The IDF says it conducted further targeted raids into Gaza last night for a second straight night. The Defense Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war. Well, Major General in the reserve, Yair Golan, is the former Deputy Chief of Staff. And while the terrorist attack was unfolding last week, the former left-wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova Music Festival where dozens of people were murdered. He managed to save lives. And earlier, he told us about his own personal experiences of October 7th and about what he considers to be the main goals of this war. Here and there, I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova Festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival. And I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area. And that's what I did for about three times, taking out six persons out of the bushes, all in all, in three intervals. And that's it. In fact, the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. The most important thing, I think, for all citizens of Israel, the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages. I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip. We need to bring them back. And all the rest is a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely. And all our citizens, no matter where, need to feel secure in the state of Israel. Well, a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the terrorist group had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel. Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said that he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian-backed terrorist group. Well, let's find out what is happening at Israel's northern border. We're joined now by our correspondent Hamda Sahut. And Hamda, what is the latest this hour? Right, Laura, so while the exchange of fire is in a lull right now, their fire is still burning across southern Lebanon. And experts are saying that the Israeli military started these fires because Hezbollah uses the trees, uses the mountainous terrain to move around and kind of launch surprise attacks on Israeli surveillance sites and military positions. Now, the smoke is still in the air behind me. Those fires still burning as Lebanese civil defense is trying to get them under control, but still can't seem to do so. The last explosions we heard here were around 1 a.m. local time in that tit for tat exchanges that don't seem to be letting up. So far, Hezbollah says around 47 combatants from their side have been killed in the exchanges of fire, and this is not even an indication that Hezbollah has fully entered the realm of this war. This is just the beginning stages we've heard from Hezbollah officials over the last several weeks saying that this is just a warning to Israel, that they have a full extent of their capabilities. Now, people inside of Hamas, inside the political bureau are hoping to see more from Hezbollah, hoping to see more from their allies in order to assist with their fight with the Israeli military, and the Americans have been saying that if Hezbollah were to launch a larger scale attack, they will be met with full force. Laura. Hamza, thank you very much indeed. Hamza Salahud there, she's at Israel's northern border. Well, let's head to the south now where much of the action has been this morning and last night. Our correspondent Robert Swift is at the border with Gaza. Rob, give us the latest developments this morning then. So just a few minutes ago there was launches of rockets or mortar fire from Gaza to communities in the very south close to the Egyptian border. That appeared to be a limited launch. Throughout the morning there's been heavy Israeli air attacks started around about three or four hours ago and this escalated to the point where there was essentially airstrikes occurring once every minute or so at some point. That has quieted down a little bit. I can still hear drones overhead and there was what sounded like an airstrike about five minutes ago, but it's not at the same frequency with which it was earlier in the day. And Rob, there was a limited ground incursion into Gaza overnight. The second such raid by the IDF can you tell us a bit about what happened? Yeah, so the Israeli military went in with tanks and with infantry and also with some engineering assets. These were backed up by drones and Israeli aircraft and they went in essentially to prepare the ground for upcoming operations there and to attack targets inside Gaza Strip. This is essentially aimed at degrading Hamas's defensive capabilities attacking their tactical level command and control and essentially seeding the ground for potentially larger scale incursions in the future. Right, the IDF says it's preparing for the second stage of the war, Rob. I mean, three weeks on what kind of terrain are they looking at? Well, obviously everybody's aware that Gaza is a very heavy populated urban area. It's also worth bearing in mind that there are some areas of open fields immediately between the border fence before the Israeli forces will come to the urban interface. Those areas, the open areas Israel's likely to be able to move through them very quickly. It has the advantage of range, fire power and mobility. When it gets into the urban areas itself, that's when Israel's likely to find that it's more difficult to deal with. Many of the advantages that Israel has as a significant military force, many of them will be negated by the dense terrain, and that's where Hamas will start to find that the battlefield is a little bit more even, and that's when it will be dangerous for the Israeli military. Rob, thank you very much. Robert Swift there, he's down at the border with Gaza. Well, with me in the studio, Lieutenant Colonel Dohan Abital is the former commander of the Special Forces in the IDF. Thank you very much for being with us. A word, first of all, then on the limited raids into Gaza last night. What do you think those moves, and I hope also other moves that we don't we are not, of course, familiar with are preparation for a bigger move in the future. We have to understand that an army, when it prepares, it also prepares behind the borders and I think those important moves and they have to make all those preparations, and I think it brings us closer to the possibility of a ground offensive. Right, and do you think this is also linked to trying to locate the hostages? Perhaps, but maybe those kind of operation we will know very little about and then leave the surface and when nobody would let us know nothing about them, of course, but I hope and I'm sure that Special Forces are operating on the borders, trying to locate intelligence in order to get a clear picture about this issue. It's important to know that what crystallizes is lately in the Israeli public and decision maker's mind is that the hostages in many respect come first or at least we have to open a window to any possible way of releasing at least the sick, the elderly and the infants, so this changes a little bit the way we move forward in terms of the ground offensive. And of course support from the United States has been solid. We heard another U.S. official John Kirby last night really siding with Israel when it comes to what's going on inside Gaza, but there is pressure, isn't there, because there is a large civilian population that is suffering. We're hearing that 10 more aid trucks have entered Gaza. This is the U.N. agency UNRAS says that food is running low in the strip. I think from the beginning, from the offset I said that we don't play with humanitarian aid. Of course, we have to monitor it carefully and we do it. This is not the issue. This is not the way we'll win the war. We ask the population to go soft, of course, and we do know that Hamas is trying to block this movement to the south and we make all this preparation, but humanitarian aid is something that we have to allow, even if on the margin it might be used against it by Hamas because clearly there's no, we don't want the population to suffer in a magnitude that doesn't serve our interests and also is not humane. All right, Doran, stay with us and thank you. Well, joining us now on the line, Mohammed Khabib is a reservist in the Israeli Air Force. Thank you very much for being with us, Mohammed. First of all, if I could ask you about the situation in the south and the north, Hamas saying it's disappointed that Hezbollah has not joined the fighting so far. In your view, do you think this is, in some ways, a defeat? Iran, Hamas had hoped for a multi thronged attack on Israel and do you see signs that that hasn't materialized yet? I think, first of all, thank you so much for having me and about your question. I think that today, Hezbollah they understood that they will get a massive attack by the IDF if they will help, they try to help the Hamas to organization, because they saw what happened to Gaza Strip and we already wanted to attack Gaza Strip, sorry, and we still in the first steps, then we still in the first steps and we didn't invade Gaza and Hezbollah, they say that Hezbollah is a country that destroyed the economy with the hiding behind civilian civilian people and inside a country that have big problems then I think that Hezbollah will think too much before they doing any step to attack Israel and to go with Israel to other other steps with the Israeli IDF then I think that what Hezbollah doing today to shoot anti-tank missiles as they want to show their people that we doing something to help the Hamas, but they want to still in this limit between the IDF and between Hezbollah. Mohammad, I mean, you are an Arab, you're a Muslim, you're a member of the IDF I mean, I think it's fair to say that you offer a pretty unique perspective on this conflict people outside Israel might find it hard to understand but can you talk us through some of the complexities for you in your position? For me, it's very basically because I feel that I'm Arab Israeli and Bedouin and I served in the IDF and I like all my family members all of my family members they served and they are combat combat soldiers and all units in the IDF and my family and my tribe built a blood alliance with the Jewish people before when the state was established since 1936 until nowadays we are together with the Jewish people and Israel is my country that all the nations can't separate between us Muslims between us Jewish and then we are we have to defend our country so that the Hamas ISIS they slaughtered and killed and murdered Bedouin Muslims in the south in the October 7th they didn't separate between the Jews and the Arabs then Hamas it is our duty is to fight against this towards the nations that many Arabs like me the majority of the Arabs in Israel they are feeling like me that they have Israel and they support Israel they support the IDF and Israel and our IDF have to destroy Hamas have to destroy the entire infrastructure of Hamas and to release the hostages by the Hamas and we know of course that members of your community the Bedouin community were also murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th and we know that the whole country Muslims, Christians, Jews are all affected by the Hamas rockets that are flying at us every day are you worried Mohammed that this terrible war might cause divisions in Israeli society no many people not many people some people they spoke about it will be like operation like what's happened before two years but I think that today all of the Israelis from the all parties of the Israeli society they know that this war is war to defend the home our our life here in Israel and we have to be the victories we have to be the winners in this war because if not we will not be here we will not be in our homes because the host will control and the Turks are innocent and the proxies of Iran will destroy everything in this country and I think that today and we saw it we saw people from Bedouin villages that donating to the army and donating to the villages in the south and the towns in the south we saw that the Haridim the Orthodox Jewish Orthodox they joined to the idea and we saw it that the all Israelis the all Israelis also the people that they protested protested against each other before one month today all of them in the front line and they fighting shoulder to shoulder to defend our country and Muhammad I mean before you go what about you know across the Arab world in Egypt in Jordan in other countries I mean we see very very strong support not only for the Palestinian cause but in some cases for Hamas I mean how do we reach people how do we tell people there about what's going on do you think that they think differently privately perhaps you know it's very complicated in the Arab world but if we going to the if we looking to the Gulf countries we will find that the majority there they support Israel and because they know what it is Hamas and we have to remember that the Hamas and the Palestinian organization they kicked out from the all Arab countries because in the black September and in the 17th the Pelo and Ashraf they tried to kill the king of Jordan and after that they went to Lebanon and they destroyed Lebanon because Lebanon had a war between Israel and between the Palestinian tour groups in their land and after that they went to Tunis and the Tunis had problems I think that today in the Arab world not all of the Arab world but many people in the Arab world they they understand that Hamas is a big problem and a big danger to the Arab countries also because Hamas is a tour organizations I before I think before six or seven years Saudi Arabia they create a law against Hamas and against the brotherhood movement and they kicked out the Hamas leaders from the Saudi Arabia and because they know that Hamas is the brotherhood movement and the brotherhood movement it's all of the Arab countries and the muslim countries they know that is an extreme movement that is a big danger to their government but you know in the last of the day they have to show that their peoples their communities that they want to help the Palestinian people and the Arab countries the Arab government they want to help the Palestinian peoples and not Hamas because they know that Hamas is the problem. Mohammad thank you so much. Thank you so much. Alright we're going to head back to the border with Gaza our Robert Swift is there Rob what's happening? Yeah so we've just had another four airstrikes taking place here I'll step to my side so you can see some of the dust which is being thrown up into the air after back of that one of the airstrikes in particular was particularly strong you can probably still see the cloud of smoke and dust which is above the buildings to our front this is not the first Israeli airstrikes we've seen here today but it is the first in maybe about 20 minutes half an hour I think and we're also starting to hear some Israeli firing there has been some of that intermittently throughout the day on top of that we've also seen a little bit of movement of Israeli vehicles we're not sure quite what that's related to but there is a bit of movement here on the ground and that is all off the back of the earlier actions that we've seen as I said earlier there's been airstrikes here for at least the last three four hours with a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli force all right Rob thank you very much for bringing us up to date there Robert Swift he's in southern Israel all right well let's take a closer look at the news that's coming out of Egypt overnight the IDF says two projectiles that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the red sea area Cairo says it was a drone six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba we can take a listen to the IDF spokesman now in the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the red sea area fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation in our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the red sea area we could talk a bit about what's happened Egypt overnight Egypt said it was a drone not a missile and Israel saying that it looks like it came from Yemen yeah I mean we had it before for sure this is Iranian hand and we have to think long-term Hezbollah may not join now to the battlefield and Iran is playing its hand on the margins but this is a long-term campaign and the alliances are clear and they're coming from different angles also from Syrian front we know that there's some kind of organized militia we have to be prepared to all fronts and we know who is behind it and we have to play our hands very smartly and wisely so and Egypt says it may respond what kind of I think it's important and I keep emphasizing it that we have allies in this game and Egypt is like it or not disagreement statements the part the Egyptian public in the end it's our ally in this campaign and of course being heard by those by those attacks Egypt should play its hand with us I'm sure in terms of the intelligence there's a very firm coordination us the Egyptian and the Americans and we have to work it out fully and see how we block this kind of attacks I mean do you think Iran is trying to draw Egypt into this what do you think I don't think they were aiming Egypt I think they were aiming a lot and we know that in a lot many of the people that were evacuated are there so I think it was a very nasty and cynical attempt to hurt a lot and like in this battlefield it never goes as they wished but I don't think they want to draw Egypt but they actually want to wear us out in the end and to play their hands when we are weaker so we have to be very careful and understand that it's a long campaign and Iran's big plan of course was to attack Israel on three fronts from the north and from the east how much is it disappointed I would say yeah of course but I think they want to wear us out it's not like they have a plan that goes hand by hand and then they conquer Israel I don't think they're smarter than that just to wear the Israeli society to isolate it to cause it to lose its alliances in the Sunni in the Sunni world and outside so it's a long campaign and we have to work it in all fronts including not only the battlefield but only the diplomatic front. Right and part of that I mean we just heard from Muhammad he's a Muslim and a Bedouin he describes himself as an Israeli Arab it's a very interesting comment and I want to emphasize you mentioned the Ayur Golan and those generals that evacuated so there were Bedouins one of them is really a heroic Bedouin leader that actually succeeded to save 30 or so party girls very impressive and I think the cohesiveness of the Israeli society is right now a test and I want to remind also us the Israelis that 20% Arabs the Druze that fought with us sold to shoulder in all the campaigns we have to understand that this is one Israeli society that has to stand to the challenge that is coming. That would also be a victory for Hamas and for sure. I think this would be the greatest move they succeeded to separate us from our Bedouin friends. That was here in 2021 wasn't it? Exactly so this we have to be very careful there I must say that the police and even the police testimony the head of the police said that the Arab population behaves very respectfully and it is less worried from riots within Israel and I think it's encouraging to hear this. And we have had near daily raids by security forces in the West Bank I think over 1000 people are arrested This is a preventive move that have to be taken because we have to not forget the year before those events where this campaign with Hamas operative and Islamic Jihad operative in Northern Samaria they are there we have to do the preventive moves we have to as long as the campaign continues and of course hand those terrorists because we don't want the West Bank to wake up. It's also important in terms of the Palestinian Authority to keep it in power and not to see it weakened by those terrorists. Where is Muhammad Abbas in all of this? In the end it's a very problematic scenario we have to admit it it does see Palestinian civilians definitely dying but of course Hamas is his enemy he was chased off the Gaza Strip I think in the long run we have to see Hamas diminished and we have to see a different new Middle East. Do you see a greater role for him in any future post Hamas Gaza? I'm not sure he's an elderly leader but I'm sure that the Palestinian Authority and young leaders that might come out they have to be a partner in any arrangement of the future. Right of course and the most important for Israel of course is the hostages that numbers have been revised upwards. Exactly and this is really this we came to the Israeli public and to the decision makers crystal clear lately and this is why the window opens up in terms of trying to find some solution at least for the civilians. Before any major grand offensive starts of course things can change we have to see whether the Hamas is serious whether Qatar can really pull its hand and really create a real deal we'll have to wait and see. Alright Doreen Abital thank you very much indeed we're going to take a short break do stay with us our live coverage continues here on i24 news for now though goodbye. 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 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 are watching i24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza has resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border and more recently in the city of Ashdod. Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7th that does not include the four women who were released last week. The IDF says it hit around 250 Hamas targets overnight and also conducted further targeted raids inside Gaza last night for the second straight night. The Defence Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war. Egypt says a drone not a missile struck the Red Sea Resort town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Nwaba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen Egypt has said it may respond and in the latest diplomatic pressure brought to bear on Israel the United Nations Israel may be guilty of war crimes accusing it of imposing collective punishment on civilians in Gaza. Well let's head south our correspondent Robert Swift is at the southern border he joins us now. Rob the IDF says it hit dozens of Hamas targets overnight and there has been a lot more rocket fire from Gaza this morning. That's right there's been the rocket fire that you mentioned primarily onto the city of Ashdod that was about 20 minutes ago but that's not the only incidents taking place here on the Gaza border there's been additional airstrikes in the last I'd say 40 minutes some pretty heavy bombardments from Israeli jets taking place behind us as well as there's been some machine gun fire and also rifle or marksman's fire that we can hear over there to sort of the north of Gaza now if you look towards the buildings you might notice that they're less clear they're less visible than they were previously and that's because of the intensity of the bombardment we're standing over a mile away from these buildings where the Israeli ordnance landed and we could taste and smell the gunpowder in the air you could feel the dust in your eyes so you can imagine so in fact we're just now going over our heads what appears to be intercepts or missiles I think that looks like it might be an iron dome firing over our head if that is the case and that likely indicates that there's a rocket being fired but we're just waiting for confirmation and you could and also to our front we're staying Rob alright we have rocket sirens blaring here in Jaffa as well Central Tel Aviv being targeted with rockets right now as well Rob you're still with us we've lost Rob just to bring you up to date Sirens blaring here in Central Tel Aviv we're in Jaffa right now and we've just had the sirens going off so that was Rob Avi Melamed is here with us in the studio he is a security expert the founder of Inside the Middle East Institute so here we are 21 days in and there are still very much firing rockets Yes and there is a lot more to come unfortunately We had a similar barrage of rockets fired at Tel Aviv around the same time yesterday didn't we getting into some kind of routine I don't exactly remember that but obviously as we know they are kind of like from time to time particularly Friday is a day where we know they are trying to target the center Tel Aviv area and other places let's talk there we go I think we just heard the interception two interceptions overhead this is becoming this is the part of the lunatic reality yeah it's not nice but you can hear those rockets exploding quite closely but let's continue with our broadcast because we are not going to be taking off air because of that let's talk about what is going on inside Gaza then 250 targets hit overnight what is your assessment of how the IDF is degrading the military capabilities of Hamas at this point well look for the last 21 day the Israeli Air Force is spawning Hamas infrastructure targets you know commanding rooms, militants, activists the tactical command chain of Hamas is severely beaten so we are looking at the continuing and constant grinding of Hamas military capacities this is for itself cannot achieve the final objective that Israeli government say meaning to eliminate Hamas ruling power in Gaza Strip but it is definitely something that is preparing the ground for the next move and there is a lot of pressure on Israel we just heard that statement from the UN that's following a UN General Assembly vote we know that none of the UN Security Council motions have managed to pass they've been blocked either by the United States or by Russia and China but part of the pressure on Israel right now is to allow fuel supplies into Gaza the age group say that they need that fuel for the hospitals and all the rest of it Israel has said no Hamas has fuel capabilities it is up to Hamas whether they want to share that with the civilian population or not well we see now a vicious game look Hamas holding the hostages and Hamas is using the hostages as a shield as an insurance policy Hamas would like as much as possible to exhaust that card called the hostages in order in the end of the day to stop the upcoming Israeli military Israel has currently two major pressure powers a card in its possession to put pressure on Hamas one is the aerial attacks on Hamas and the escalating of the attacks on Hamas and the other thing is the fuel and this is a vicious game because Hamas is desperately going to need more and more of that fuel because they need air conditioning and the tunnels among other things many of their commanding systems and the launching system which is basically remotely activated are based upon the ability to produce this electricity that they generated so they need this fuel that's the reason why they insist to have this fuel so we are looking at a kind of like a vicious power game here but Israel has to try to exhaust all the cards that it has in its possession to basically force Hamas to move on to finalize the saga of the hostages and bring them back home How long can Israel hold out on the fuel issue do you think we're coming up to three weeks now look I mean I don't think that we should stand up with a watch you know watching the every minute that goes by I think that the right approach would be to say this is a long term project this is a long term process this is something that is going to take a long period of time it has to be done in phases and it has to be done in a way that will match the intermin objectives that Israeli government sets and the Israeli military sets Are you of the opinion that it's better to that there is a window of opportunity for when that ground offensive should go in or do you think Israel can take as long as it needs a hostage situation apart obviously well I don't know to say about window for opportunity there are different opinions about it some are saying that the more Israel is prolonging the attack it's not good some are saying no it's the opposite because for the time being the Israeli Air Force is surrounding Hamas its diminishing Hamas military capacity so when the time come to move in full force ahead that will be the right time to do that I don't know to say if there is the right window of opportunity but I do think that when we look at the whole picture generally we see that the combination of the Israeli military air strikes and the preparation and seemingly the last couple of days this small scale Israeli on the ground military operation that basically sets the ground for the upcoming stage which hopefully would be a much more powerful in the sense of like putting more pressure on Hamas let's talk about another element of this there were US strikes against Iranian proxies inside Syria in response presumably to Iranian proxy attacks on US assets in the region do you see the US gradually getting more and more involved? that is yes by the way there has been report coming from Syria that following the US attack on the Iranian militias in eastern part of Syria and according to one of my sources one of the place that was hit directly was a place of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards themselves in the eastern part of Syria it's a place called Mazare next to the Syrian-Iraqi border and what happened after the American attack is that there was some sort of like apparently retaliation by Iranian back militias who fired at an oil field called the Amir in the northeast part of Syria and following that apparently there is a gradual process of like exchange of punches sort of speaking between the United States and Iranian back militias in Syria it seems like the Iranian are raising the stakes gradually all right well I hold that to what Aviv Melamed because it's talking about trying to spark a more broader regional conflict as the senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that they had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel that Sakhazi Hamad a member of the Hamas political bureau he said he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian back terrorist group Hamda Salhouti is up at the northern border and she's with us now Hamda just give us an update of what's been going on where you are Well Laura look fires continue to burn from strikes by the Israeli military yesterday and just moments ago an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah operatives apparently at an Israeli military base along the border causing a fire there there are smoke plumes behind me but because of the haze you can't really see them this is not the haze just because of the weather it's also from the fires that have been burning for the last 24 hours now experts are saying that Israel is setting fires to these areas because Hezbollah can move freely and secretively among the trees among the forest and among the mountainous terrain so if they're able to burn some of the acres and acres of land they're not able to move as freely and then surprise attack Israel with attacks on its security infrastructure or other military capabilities now while this is all ongoing there are meetings going on between Hamas officials Iranian officials and Russian officials as well all of this with the hopes that Hamas will garner more support for his cause hoping that Hezbollah will have more of a hand in this war so that Israel can really what they're hoping is over stretch itself to the northern and southern front where all the focus won't just be on the south inside of the Gaza Strip now there's also a few other things to take into consideration the Israeli police and the government are looking to approve measures that will allow the use of live fire against Palestinian demonstrators this is something that will be seen as extremely provocative and unacceptable to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah so perhaps once more measures by the Israeli military and the government are taken we can expect to see more of a response but as of now those tit for tat exchanges of fire still continuing combat instead on both sides on the Israeli side civilians included in that exchange I'll remind you a lot of these communities evacuated by the defense ministry along with the Israeli military trying to just get civilians out of harm's way and the same thing on the other side of the border the Lebanese are also evacuating around a hundred kilometers of the southern border so that people can go more central and north but the Lebanese government doesn't really have the means to do so so at this time the situation still developing as we can expect to see more of these escalations Hamda thank you very much indeed Hamda Sahud there at the northern border where she says the IDF has been lighting fires to literally create a smoke screen which makes it more difficult for Hezbollah the terrorist group on the other side of the border and there are fears of course that it will join the conflict Israel is on high alert there we've had rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last 15 minutes we have heard reports of one casualty if I could get details on that one person lightly injured in southern Tel Aviv so that is the situation now we just heard the booms from the studio right here is the iron dome intercepted some of those rockets but apparently one person lightly injured in the south of Tel Aviv will try and get you more details on that the IDF meanwhile has made public the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7 between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities committed against civilians and his commander back in Gaza and we can listen to part of it now right so as the UN is accusing Israel of committing war crimes there we heard yet more evidence that Hamas terrorists directly targeted civilians in southern Israel but now let's talk about what happened just a few moments ago rocket fire a large barrage of rockets and one of those rockets hit Tel Aviv we're hearing from Israeli media from channel 12 news that one of those rockets hit a building in Tel Aviv one person was injured intercepted there we are you can see the building that was hit fire in an apartment in Tel Aviv three people have been injured I'm now hearing three people injured can we get those pictures back up three people injured after a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv you can see flames and smoke from the building that was hit a reminder that Hamas is and Palestine in Islamic jihad and other groups are firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas here in Israel and then you can see the result of one of those rockets it has just hit a building in Tel Aviv in the south of the city and three people have been injured Avi I think this is one of the rocket attacks that we've seen so far would you agree with that? I don't know we've seen many rocket attacks I want to say something about something that you mentioned before which is very significant one of the senior leaders of Hamas basically expressed what we already noticed there is a growing discontent within Hamas because of the fact that the Hezbollah is not full steam ahead joining the war why is it so significant because one of the major concepts that Hamas was marketing to the people in Gaza Strip when they come and there is a war with Israel Hezbollah the big brother of Hamas all of speaking will join into the war Hezbollah up until now has not joined full steam to the war there is a reason for that the Iranian and Hezbollah are hesitant to do that because the Iranians the Iranians are facing a dilemma if they are going to throw Hezbollah to the war in order to save their base in Gaza Strip meaning Hamas and Islamic jihad they may jeopardize both of them they are not full of Hamas and Islamic jihad and also severe damage to the Hezbollah so the Iranian regime and the Hezbollah for the time being are applying a tactic of a very gradual escalation of the situation but not crossing some specific lines in Hamas and Islamic jihad every day that goes by and the Hezbollah is not joining in basically increase the pressure upon Hamas and Islamic jihad because already they are facing a significant criticism in the Arab world in the Muslim world for the havoc and disaster they have inflicted upon Gaza Strip and the people of Gaza Strip so right now we see these tensions between Hamas and the Hezbollah but the Hezbollah in the end of the day is tuned to the Hezbollah and Iranian orders not necessary to the needs of the Hamas and Islamic jihad if by the end of this story Hamas is crushed and losing its power in Gaza Strip Islamic jihad is crushed and at the same time Hezbollah being out of the wall that will be yet another nail in Hamas political coffin and I mean there seems to be an effort as well on the part of many of the Hamas spokespeople to really distance themselves from that ISIS tag that seems to be something particularly sensitive we saw one of the Hamas officials interviewed on the Al Arabiya Saudi news channel and it appeared to become very angry at the comparison with Daesh ISIS. That is correct the Hamas are very sensitive with that look they are trying to do some sort of like a damage control but it has to be clear even though Hamas and ISIS are different organizations they have couple of things in common they are both advocating and advancing a genocidal agenda they both boast to eliminate the state of Israel they both want to establish a caliphate not a Palestinian state and they both express none compromising animosity towards Jews and towards infidels meaning Christians so in that regards Hamas and ISIS have a lot of common denominators and for them as well and by the way there are people in the world who are saying no but ISIS and Hamas are two different organizations that is correct but as I said before these are the common denominators and this is why it's accurate to say Hamas is ISIS the same way that people are saying ISIS and Al Qaeda are different organizations that's correct they are different organizations but they have lots in common denominators exactly the same picture when it comes to Hamas and ISIS, Hamas is ISIS alright okay well let's talk more about what happened on that dreadful day almost three weeks ago a major general in the reserve Ziaia Golan is the former deputy chief of staff while the terrorist attack was unfolding on October 7th the former left-wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova music festival where dozens of young people were murdered he managed to save lives he told us about his only personal experiences of October 7th and also about what he considers to be the main goal of this war here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times taking out six persons out of the bushes and all in all in three intervals and that's it in fact the real heroes are those who managed to escape and show much courage and managed to save the life of their friends the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 citizens inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel that was Major General Yair Golan now a national hero I believe the channel earlier Avi Melamed is still with us Avi, we heard Yair Golan talking about the goals of the war there the Israeli leadership have said time and again that destroying Hamas is the number one goal there is also the goal of course more important than anything to bring back the hostages are those two goals mutually exclusive can they both be achieved? I think that what the Israeli government is doing is moving in parallel in those two trajectories fighting the war as if there is no issue of the hostages and dealing with the issue of the hostages as if there is no war I want to say something about the objective of the final objective of this war in the end of this war the purpose is that Hamas will stop to be a relevant player Hamas views itself as a regional player and he wants to dictate its agenda not only on the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also on the region as whole and in the end of this war what has to happen is that Hamas will be irrelevant that he will be no longer able to dictate its agenda and the Iranian agenda it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to hunt every last person of Hamas or to eliminate every last rocket of Hamas that is not the story the story is basically in the end of the day to make sure that Hamas will be no longer a relevant player and he will basically taken out of the equation that is enormously significant it's an Israeli interest, it's a Palestinian interest, it's a regional interest it's an international interest and the other most significant outcome of something like that, hopefully that will be the case, it is totally destabilizing and taking out of balance the Iranian master plan and it's totally disrupting the Iranian ability to continue to play the flames of the conflict as they wish therefore that should be the objective toppling down Hamas will in Gaza Strip and basically Hamas an irrelevant player in the region alright, thank you Avimele Ahmed and just a reminder of what has happened in the last 20 minutes a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza and there has been a direct hit on an apartment building in Tel Aviv there you can see footage coming from Israeli media an apartment was seen in flames I'm not sure if this is live or is this just a few moments ago, there we go this is the apartment that's been hit three people injured we're not sure how badly injured we will of course keep you updated on that but a stark reminder of just how dangerous these rockets and missiles that are being fired at Israel constantly are, we'll keep you up so that is something that Israelis millions of Israelis are having to deal with on a daily basis it used to be, didn't it, Avimele Ahmed we're dealing with this now of course the whole country very much affected by rocket fire out of Gaza yes, this is something that the world must understand, there is no one single inch in the state of Israel that could not be hit by rockets or missiles either fired from Gaza Strip or fired from Lebanon or flying through Syria this is something that the world has to be aware of alright, Avimele, thank you very much indeed well, we will keep you updated rockets or not here at I-24 news from Tel Aviv, we continue our coverage do stay tuned all the very latest developments for you here in English, don't go anywhere, goodbye 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 news the American Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world and the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regards they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can understand what's going on in the world so that they can understand the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct we are watching I-24 news we are coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza has resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border and more recently in the city of Ashdod Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7 and that does not include the four women who were released last week the IDF about what's going on inside Gaza then 250 targets hit overnight what is your assessment of how the IDF is degrading the military capabilities of Hamas at this point well look for the last 21 day the Israeli officers bounding Hamas infrastructure targets commanding rooms, militants the tactical command chain of Hamas is severely beaten so we are looking at the continuing and constant grinding of Hamas military capacities this is for itself cannot achieve the final objective that Israeli government say meaning to eliminate Hamas as a ruling power in Gaza Strip but it is definitely something that is preparing the ground for the next move and there is a lot of pressure on Israel we just heard that statement from the UN following a UN General Assembly vote we know that none of the UN Security Council motions have managed to pass they've been blocked either by the United States or by Russia and China but part of the pressure on Israel right now is to allow fuel supplies into Gaza the age group say that they need that fuel for the hospitals and all the rest of it Israel has said no Hamas has fuel capabilities it is up to Hamas whether they want to share that with the civilian population or not Hamas holding the hostages and Hamas is using the hostages as a shield as an insurance policy Hamas would like as much as possible to exhaust that card called the hostages in order in the end of the day to stop the upcoming Israeli military Israel has currently two major pressure powers a card in its possession to put pressure on Hamas one is the aerial attacks on Hamas and the escalating of the attacks on Hamas and the other thing is the fuel and this is a vicious game because Hamas is desperately going to need more and more of that fuel they need air conditioning don't they and the tunnels they could among other things many of their commanding systems and the launching system which is basically remotely activated are based upon the ability to produce this electricity that generated so they need this fuel they need this fuel that's the reason why they insist to have this fuel so we are looking at a kind of like a vicious power game here but Israel has to try and exhaust all the cards that it has in his possession to basically force Hamas to move on and to finalize the saga of the hostages and bring them back home How long can Israel hold out on the fuel issue do you think we're coming up to three weeks now look I mean I don't think that we should stand up with a watch you know watching the every minute that goes by I think that the right approach would be to say this is a long term project this is a long-term process this is something that is going to take a long period of time it has to be done in phases and it has to be done in a way that will match the intermin objectives that Israeli government sets and the Israeli military sets Are you of the opinion that it's better to that there is a window of opportunity for when the ground offensive should go in or do you think Israel can take as long as it needs a hostage situation apart obviously well I don't know to say about window of opportunity I know there are different opinions about it some are saying that the more Israel is prolonging the attack it's not good some are saying no it's the opposite because for the time being the Israeli air force is pounding Hamas it's limited it's diminishing Hamas military capacity so when the time come to move in full force ahead that will be the right time to do that I don't want to say if there is the right window of opportunity but I do think that when we look at the whole picture generally we see that the combination of the Israeli military air strikes and the preparation and seemingly the last couple of days this small scale Israeli on the ground military operation that basically sets the ground for the upcoming stage which hopefully would be a much more powerful in the sense of like putting a more pressure on Hamas let's talk about another element of this there were US strikes against Iranian proxies inside Syria in response presumably to Iranian proxy attacks on US assets in the region do you see the US gradually getting more and more involved? Yes the bottom line for that is yes by the way there has been report coming from Syria that following the US attack on the Iranian militias baked in eastern part of Syria and according to one of my sources one of the place that was hid directly was a place of the Iranian revolutionary guards themselves in the eastern part of Syria it's a place called Mazare next to the Syrian-Iraqi border and what happened after the American attack is that there was some sort of like apparently retaliation by Iranian back militias who fired at an oil field called the Amir in the northeast part of Syria and following that apparently there is a gradual process of like exchange of exchanges sort of speaking between the United States and Iranian back militias in Syria it seems like the Iranian are raising the stakes gradually. All right well hold that thought Aviv Melamed because it's talking about trying to spark a more broader regional conflict a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that they had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel that Sakhazi Hamad was a member of the Hamas political bureau he said he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian back terrorist group Hamda Salhouti is up at the northern border and she's with us now Hamda just give us an update of what's been going on where you are. Well Laura look fires continue to burn in Lebanese territory from strikes by the Israeli military yesterday and just moments ago an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah operatives apparently at an Israeli military base they're causing a fire there. There are smoke plumes behind me but because of the haze you can't really see them this is not the haze just because of the weather it's also from the fires that have been burning for the last 24 hours now experts are saying that Israel is setting fires to these areas because Hezbollah can move quite freely and secretively among the trees, among the forest and among the mountainous terrain so if they're able to burn some of the acres and acres of land they're not able to move as freely and then surprise attack Israel with attacks on its security infrastructure or other military capabilities now while this is all ongoing there are meetings going on between Hamas officials Iranian officials and Russian officials as well all of this with the hopes that Hamas will garner more support for his cause hoping that Hezbollah will have more of a hand in this war so that Israel can really what they're hoping is overstretch itself to the northern and southern front where all the focus won't just be on the south inside of the Gaza Strip now there's also a few other things to take into consideration the Israeli police and the government are looking to approve measures that will allow the use of live fire against Palestinian demonstrators this is something that will be seen as extremely provocative and unacceptable to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah so perhaps once more measures by the Israeli military and the government are taking we can expect to see more of a response but as of now those tit for tat exchanges of fire still continuing combat instead on both sides on the Israeli side civilians included in that exchange I'll remind you a lot of these communities have already been evacuated by the defense ministry along with the Israeli military trying to just get civilians out of harm's way and the same thing on the other side of the border the Lebanese are also evacuating around a hundred kilometers of the southern border so that people can go more central and north but the Lebanese government doesn't really have the means to do so so at this time the situation is still developing as we can expect to see more of these escalations Thank you very much indeed at the northern border where she says the IDF has been lighting fires to literally create a smoke screen which makes it more difficult for Hezbollah the terrorist group on the other side of the border and there are fears of course that it will join the conflict Israel is on high alert there we've had rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last 15 minutes we have heard reports of one casualty if I could get details on that one person lightly injured in southern Tel Aviv so that is the situation now we just heard the booms from the studio right here as the Iron Dome intercepted some of those rockets but apparently one person lightly injured in the south of Tel Aviv we'll try and get you more details on that well the IDF meanwhile has made public the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7 between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities committed against civilians and his commander back in Gaza we can listen to part of it now as the UN is accusing Israel of committing war crimes there we heard yet more evidence that Hamas terrorists directly targeted civilians in southern Israel but now let's talk about what happened just a few moments ago rocket fire and one of those rockets hit Tel Aviv we're hearing from Israeli media from Channel 12 news that one of those rockets hit a building in Tel Aviv and one person was injured eight other rockets at least were intercepted there we are you can see the building that was hit fire in an apartment in Tel Aviv three people have been injured can we get those pictures back up three people injured after a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv you can see flames and smoke from the building that was hit so a reminder that Hamas is and Palestine in Islamic Jihad and other groups are firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas here in Israel and there you can see the result of these rockets it has just hit a building in Tel Aviv in the south of the city and three people have been injured Avi I think this is one of the worst rocket attacks that we've seen so far would you agree with that? I don't know we've seen many rocket attacks I want to say something about something that you mentioned before which is very significant that's what we already noticed there is a growing discontent within Hamas because of the fact that the Hezbollah is not full steam ahead joining the war why is it so significant? because one of the major concepts that Hamas was marketing to the people in Gaza Strip and the Arab world was that when the time come and there is a war with Israel Hezbollah the big brother of Hamas all of speaking will join into the war Hezbollah up until now has not joined full steam to the war there is a reason for that the Iranian are facing a dilemma if they are going to throw Hezbollah to the war in order to save their base in Gaza Strip meaning Hamas and Islamic jihad they may jeopardize both of them meaning both the downfall of Hamas and Islamic jihad and also severe damage to the Hezbollah so the Iranian regime and the Hezbollah for the time being are applying a tactic of like a very gradual escalation of the situation but not crossing some specific lines in Hamas and Islamic jihad every day that goes by and the Hezbollah is not joining in basically increase the pressure upon Hamas and Islamic jihad because already they are facing a significant criticism in the Arab world in the Muslim world and in the Palestinian street for the havoc and disaster they have inflicted upon Gaza Strip and the people of Gaza Strip so right now we see this tensions between Hamas and the Hezbollah but the Hezbollah in the end of the day is tuned to the Hezbollah and Iranian orders not necessary to the needs of Hamas and Islamic jihad if by the end of this story Hamas is crushed and losing its power in Gaza Strip Islamic jihad is crushed and at the same time Hezbollah in the end of the day is staying out of the world that will be yet another nail in Hamas political coffin and I mean there seems to be an effort as well on the part of many of the Hamas spokespeople to really distance themselves from that ISIS tag that seems to be something particularly sensitive we saw one of the Hamas officials interviewed on the Al Arabiya Saudi news channel and it appeared to become very angry at the comparison with Daesh with ISIS that is correct the Hamas are very sensitive with that look they are trying to do some sort of like a damage control but it has to be clear even though Hamas and ISIS are different organizations they have couple of things in common they are both advocating and advancing a genocidal agenda they both both to eliminate the state of Israel they both want to establish a caliphate not a palestinian state and they both express non-compromising animosity towards Jews and towards infidels meaning Christians so in that regard Hamas and ISIS have a lot of common denominations and for them as well and by the way people in the world were saying no but ISIS and Hamas are two different organizations that is correct but as I said before these are the common denominators and this is why it's accurate to say Hamas is ISIS the same way that people are saying ISIS and Al Qaeda are different organizations that's correct they are different organizations but they have lots in common denominators exactly the same picture when it comes to Hamas and ISIS Hamas is ISIS alright okay well let's talk more about what happened on that day almost three weeks ago a major general in the reserve is the former deputy chief of staff while the terrorist attack was unfolding on October 7th the former left-wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the supernova music festival where dozens of young people were murdered he managed to save lives he told us about his own personal experiences of October 7th and also about what he considers to be the main goal of this war here and there I got more and more messages about the people who were escaped from the nova festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times taking out six persons out of the bushes and all in all in three intervals and that's it in fact you know the real heroes are those who managed to escape and show much much courage and managed to save the life of their friends the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest is a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel That was Major General Yair Golan now a national hero one of many national heroes speaking to the channel earlier Avi Melamed is still with us Avi, we heard Yair Golan talking about the goals of the war there the Israeli leadership have said time and again Hamas is the number one goal there is also the goal of course more important than anything to bring back the hostages are those two goals mutually exclusive can they both be achieved I think that what the Israeli government is doing is moving in parallel in those two trajectories meaning fighting the war as if there is no issue of the hostages and dealing with the issue of the hostages as if there is no war I want to say something about the objective of the final objective of this war in the end of this war the purpose is that Hamas will stop to be a relevant player Hamas views itself as a regional player and he wants to dictate its agenda not only on the trajectory of the Israeli Palestinian conflict but also on the region as whole and in the end of this war what has to happen is that Hamas will be irrelevant that he will be no longer able to dictate its agenda and the Iranian agenda it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to hunt every last person of Hamas or to eliminate every last rocket of Hamas that is not the story the story is basically in the end of the day to make sure that Hamas will be no longer a relevant player and he will basically taken out of the equation that is enormously significant it's an Israeli interest it's a Palestinian interest it's a regional interest it's an international interest and the other most significant outcome of something like that hopefully that will be the case it is totally destabilizing in taking out of balance the Iranian master plan and it's totally disrupting the Iranian ability to continue to play the flames of the conflict as they wish therefore that should be the objective toppling down Hamas will in Gaza Strip and basically making Hamas irrelevant an irrelevant player in the region Thank you Avi Melamed and just a reminder of what has happened in the last 20 minutes a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza and there has been a direct hit on an apartment building in Tel Aviv there you can see footage coming from Israeli media an apartment was seen in flames I'm not sure if this is live or is this just a few moments ago there we go this is the apartment that's been hit three people injured we're not sure how badly injured we will of course keep you updated on that but a stark reminder of just how dangerous these rockets and missiles that are being fired at Israel constantly are we'll keep you up so that is something that Israelis, millions of Israelis are having to deal with on a daily basis it used to be didn't it Avi Melamed that people in Steor, Dashdor, Dashkalon we're dealing with this now of course the whole country very much affected by rocket fire out of Gaza Yes this is something that the world must understand there is no one single inch in the state of Israel that could not be hit by rockets or missiles either fired from Gaza Strip or fired from Lebanon or flying through Syria this is something that the world has to be aware of Alright Avi thank you very much indeed well we will keep you updated rockets or not here at I-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv we continue our coverage do stay tuned all the very latest developments for you here in English don't go anywhere goodbye 1300 people murdered and more than 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 pondenced around the world from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries completely sundown in their beds from Israel to Israel state of emergency and war in Israel bringing Israel's story to the world I-24 news channels I'm Nicole Zedek reporting in Tel Aviv since the outbreak of this war in Israel our journalists here at I-24 news have been providing around the clock coverage giving a voice to all of those impacted by the October 7th massacre we're getting perspective on the whole of Israeli society and the impact on the entire Middle East here's some of the best stories from our coverage since the war began Miri cartoon we're not going to start with themkel we may want to I don't know Miri cartoon a small network of many families in the same group of people who were forced to stay in their own homes. One important step towards their good is to create a life for them. Miki, one of the unique units of the Israeli government. How is it? Is it a war? Is it RPG? Is it a war between the Shni Kov and the Romans? How is it? How is it? How? Small things, a gun, a gun, a gun, and a gun. What was the other option? To shoot and not to shoot? So it wasn't... It wasn't a shot. It wasn't a shot like that. It wasn't a shot either. We shot it. The bullet hit them, and the shooting was actually... ...that... ...that the photo was taken there. Six and a half weeks later, on October 7th, they were shot when they were shot with a bullet. They were shot in the neck. Their big shot was a free shot, two nights before, so they were friends in the Royal. And after they were sure they were going to school and that they were in a safe place, they came back home. After 40 minutes, we started hearing the sounds of the shooting. I thought it was a gun or something, something big. It sometimes happens. And then, you realize that the sounds start to get closer to one another, and you hear a sound. Suddenly you get a lot more on WhatsApp than people who have guns in their homes. You start hearing the sounds, and you hear the sounds of the Arabs everywhere. The sounds of the shooting. The shots of the guns, the shooting of them, and the shot was not found. And the one who found it was shot and if he was shot, and we were shot in the neck, and shot, and all of them were alone. I got ready to go to school, I told them to go to school. At the same time, they didn't tell us to go to school, there was no sound. It was a strange sound. I was sure it was the gun. Who is taking the gun from the Glock 10, who is not wearing a lot of guns, as much as possible? I was in the gun, in the warehouse, under the light, and I realized I needed more guns. I had some small, small gun. On those days. I was at home, in the living room. Suddenly they started to shoot the bullets, the shots of the gun. They started to shoot one, I ran to the front of the other side of us. I threw a gun, I shot the gun, they really shot the gun, they shot the gun, and then I saw them, there were three of them. There were a lot of things to do, such as a gun, a gun, a gun. They were so close, so close. So close. I remember their shots, I also remember the fire there, they shot him, the shot that was on them. After a few seconds, the other gun, on the other side of the house, began to shoot. The same thing, I ran to the other side, the same gun, at least more than the gun. I shot it, I shot it again, and then... I heard the bullets, bullets, a bullet bullet, you hear the gun, and the gun, you hear the shots, and the bullets, and a lot of bullets, and then... RPG to the bullet, the bullet was shot, I also had a gun, I understood what was happening, I shot the gun there, also a gun to shoot. I went inside, I shot the gun, between the bullets, there, the gun, and basically every time they came to take the gun, they were shooting at Yeri, without a gun, without a gun, I had a gun, someone came in, Yeri 1 or 2, shot, shot, and that's how we met, about an hour and a half, Yeri, it didn't work. From the point of view of Hamas, they knew exactly where they were coming, to some place in the neighborhood, and to some house, they chased him, they wanted to take him to the 7th floor. They wanted me to... get ready and leave. This was their apartment. Do you hear that? I can hear it now, yes. Other than you? Yes. Do you rent the house? Do you rent the house? There were even some water that came to us, the toilet, that was their kitchen, they brought the mother, the mother-in-law, and she told me that I was pregnant, and that I would leave, and if I didn't leave, they would all leave. And then she brought her child, her child, she told me the same thing, and I asked her to leave, and then, after 2 or 3 years, she would leave first. I told her, don't leave, I will kill you, the child in the 10th, 12th floor, Do you hear that? Do they kidnap her? They kidnap her, and... I heard her kidnap her, and her hysteria. I remember that I told her that I loved her, and... I remember that, and they kidnap her. And what did you say? They kidnap her, they kidnap her. Come with me, come with me! Where do you know about? Where do you know about? Give me. There was another child between 16, who also came to us. Come, come, come. Come, come, come. Come, come, come. I also understood that I had to open the door because it was a part of them, and I was sure that it was a very small event that even there were people. There is no dilemma. There is no dilemma. There is no dilemma, and also in Diabad, the child is a kid. Is that a tumor? It's a tumor. Wow! Yes, it's a tumor. Come, come. Come, don't worry. Don't worry, now I have to see people who are not in pain. Come, come. It's painful. Come, come, come. I saw myself in the mirror with this picture. I don't know... I don't know to hide it for a moment. It was... It was behind me. I heard it. I don't see it. After all the hours? Yes. Always, always. Always, always, always, always, always, always. And there was one time when I was holding my hands and I was opening the door, and there I gave myself the opportunity to get up and I didn't give up. I started looking at the mirror and I saw how much it was painful. And I understood that I had to keep fighting and to get rid of the pain now because it didn't help me either. Was it painful to get up? Yes, it was painful to get up. After hours of fighting between the brave and the brave, a psychological war started there, mainly with one of them, the man who led the story of Hamas between the brave and the brave. And that made me realize that if I don't get up now and break through the whole school, there's no one here, not you, not your wife, and not your child. I took this time, yes, to hold on for a while and I started holding it in my hand. I said to him that I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to fight. I just have to make sure that he doesn't get hurt in the face and in the child. And yes, I also wanted to make sure that I'm a bit of a loser, that I'm going to fight myself, to get a bit of a fight, to get a bit of a fight. I started asking him questions about Islam and the Qur'an. Why are you doing these things? It's not... It's something that's... It's not worth it. He's against you? He's against me. He said that we're in Islam they don't care about women and not about children. And they're not doing these things. The English language is good, it's good, it's good. I'm going to get you out and give you some water. You know, you don't have water. So... You know what he's talking about in an intelligent way? That he knows what he's doing, right? So, his whole speech, he knows what he's saying. He knows what he's saying. Like, he's ready to fight. Yes, yes, very, very much. Someone who's ready to fight and he's going to do it as he needs to. At some point, he said, he's a loser. He said, I'll kill you in time. I've stopped talking to you. Now I'm going to talk to you and I'm going to start fighting. And I'm going to start fighting. And I'm going to start fighting. And I'm going to see that you're fighting for the sake of your mother. I'm going to write a letter to RPG. And I'm going to see him in everything. I'm going to see him fighting. He's going to start fighting. He's going to say, why are you so angry? He's going to tell me, I'm going to fight my mother. And I'm going to tell you. And I'm going to start fighting the second to the third. I remember that in ten or twelve years, I was fighting, I didn't want to fight. I told him that I'm going to fight and I'm going to fight. So he said, I want to fight with my hands up. You'll put your sword in the ground. You'll open the door, you'll put your sword in the door. I'm going to start fighting and I'm going to show you the signs that I want to fight. And then I tell him, I'm going to show you the signs and the family that I want to fight. You know what you opened for me? You're going to start fighting. Why do you have to fight? I'm going to start fighting. You're going to tell me what you're going to fight? I'm going to start fighting. I remember that he started fighting and I just opened the door and I was fighting. You scared him? I was scared. And there, there was the attack. There, there was the attack. You'll tell me a little bit about the fight When you fought, you fought a lot in the end of the story. When you came back home, you fought with yourself. I fought less than 14-15 years old. Everyone who came to your house. Yes. How many were in the kitchen? After all, they were just a small family. I had 300 of them. There were several, several, several of them. 300 of them? Do you believe that there are 300? Less. Yes, it's a big deal. It's a big deal. It's a big deal, and it's hard for me to say that. Because many of the families, the families, they didn't have the courage to keep themselves, or their bodies. We had a big deal, maybe a little bit of pain, maybe a little bit of pain, I'm not a person who believes in it, but maybe in any case. But what if they didn't have it? It's a bit of a hassle to say, wow, we won. Because that's a lot of it. I'm happy, I'm not happy with my life yet. I can say a little bit of thank you, but it's hard to say thank you, because the kitchen is so many families in Israel. It's not a feeling of pain. It's hard for me, thank you, with friends who are proud of me, and who find me. Thank you, I got my family in the end of everything. I can feel more... Feelings of... feelings of... I think about them. A lot, a lot of them. So I sit here and... I don't. But it's hard. It's hard for me to eat, knowing that maybe they don't eat, or don't drink. In the meantime, they are in the kitchen, all the family, including the kitchen, which was not enough to create a connection with the whole kitchen. They are trying to make sure what happened in the kitchen. In the village of Ekdach Glok, it is necessary to clean, to clean, or to clean from his house. More than 10 people are in the kitchen. 50 of them are clean and clean. You said that you want to go back to the kitchen, even if it's boring. You said that you can stay here and keep your family for a week, but you want to go back because... First of all, it gives a sense of security, that we come and give hand. Also for our help. There is also a lot of sense of security. Really, security. To return to the kitchen, of the people we know, that are just simple, just like that. You can get rid of the feeling that it's the right moment. You can get rid of the feeling that it's the right moment. It's a shame. It's a shame, it's a shame. It's a feeling that the government will trust me. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. But it's the people who are most affected. I have four cousins who died in front of my eyes. It's a disaster. A rocket fell on the village around 6.30am. We all ran to see what happened if anyone was hurt. There was only material damage, so we moved away and sat down in a tent, the whole family. Gradually, the people dispersed and there were just five people in the tent. Shortly afterwards, a missile fell on the tent. The Israeli army provided concrete shelters the day after the war began. But these makeshift shelters aren't reassuring for the local residents. The situation is bad as our villagers are not officially recognized. The state considers them wastelands. So we don't have any warning sirens, barely any shelters, miserable concrete blocks that were brought in the day after the attack, but it was too late and many families don't even have this. Since the beginning of the war, the Bedouin community has suffered at least 19 deaths from Hamas. Some by rockets, others killed at point-blank range during the terrorist incursions of October 7th. A traumatic experience for the entire community. The majority of casualties in the Bedouin community occurred within 48 hours of the attack. We lost around 20 people. There were many wounded and seven hostages. We were on the front line. Many of us lived below the poverty line and half of the people live outdoors. These people have no protection. People are traumatized. Nevertheless, the Bedouins are getting involved. Volunteer initiatives have been set up to help both the Bedouin community and the region's Jewish inhabitants. In Hurra, in the east of Bersheba, an emergency council has been set up. Since the beginning of the war, leading members of the Bedouin community have been meeting twice a week to evaluate the situation and find solutions to the most urgent problems. We are all meeting here to provide solutions to the lack of shelter and organize Bedouin volunteers who want to help. What's more, over 60% of the Bedouin community are still in shock. So how can we continue to provide them with an education in wartime? We have to set up a remote education system but half of the children live in unrecognized villages with no access to internet so Zoom doesn't work. Initiatives that try to lighten the burden of war for populations still in shock. Two weeks into Israel's war with Hamas, there are still heartwarming gestures from volunteers who come to the south. Several organizations have joined forces to assist the farmers affected by the fighting. Driving down and seeing all the cars actually going towards the war zone and not running away, I think it says a lot about the power that we have as a nation, as a people. And coming here hearing the echoes from the war zone, meanwhile picking and helping the farmers out in times of need, it's an amazing feeling. We're in the right direction and this is winning. Here in Mosheviated, close to the Gaza border, only a few farmers are left to work in the fields. The farmers have many problems these days, such as the absence of foreign workers from Thailand and Palestinian workers who can't work here now. So the assistance of volunteers is needed. In addition to that, some of the farmers were killed in the initial Hamas onslaught and others were recruited by the Israeli service. Others are mourning their loved ones so we operate this project, not just here, but across Israel. I-24 News joint shy, a local farmer who points out the damage done by a rocket from Gaza. This is a crater made by a 170-millimeter rocket. It caused huge damage to the environment. The plants were destroyed. The poles were broken. We're lucky we didn't have workers here because they wouldn't have survived this. As we tour the greenhouse, we hear a siren. We're farmers. We don't have anything else. This is our job. This is our home. We need to secure this place. We are guarding the border. We never thought about leaving here. Our wives and the foreign workers left for security reasons. We can't leave this place. Not far from here, in the Amios village, another group of volunteers assist in collecting tomatoes. We got used to the rockets. What happened on October the 7th was frightening. We'll learn how to live with it. But we need that the country will reorganize and help agriculture. Farmers say the current crisis may lead to a lack of fruit and vegetables for the entire country. We're continuing their labors while hoping for more assistance from the government and help from the public. It was only four days after the Hamas massacre in the villages near the Gaza border that the dairy farmers were allowed to return to their farms to milk their cows. In the past hour, during the winter, the weather was very cold. In the year 2023, the weather was very cold. It was very cold. While terrorists were attacking his kibbutz near its crack, Shmuel the farmer was in his dairy farm. It was Saturday I went to feed the cows. At 6.30 I heard the siren go off. As I'm used to it, I took no notice but continued working. I couldn't imagine what was going on near the kibbutz gate. I was almost done working and on my way home. After a week of commotion, I ran home, shot myself in the safe room with my wife. We heard the terrorists around our home and they also entered our home. It was terrifying. Shmuel's son-in-law, Tal Chayini, was taken by Hamas to Gaza while he was trying to protect his family. After the tragedy, Shmuel refused to leave his kibbutz. Someone had to take care of the cows. I stayed to safeguard the farm. I can't abandon the animals. Recently, my son is the dairy farm manager. He's a father of two. I couldn't allow him to stay here. If someone should stay, it should be me. The Israeli dairy farm industry relies on workers from Thailand. When Hamas terrorists entered the villages on October 7, they murdered and kidnapped the foreigners as well. In one village, 15 people from Thailand were butchered. Now, many are planning to flee Israel. Others are prepared to stay right next to the border with Gaza. And few are willing to come back. I will stay in Thailand and cope with my mental health in the meantime. I have lost 10 of my colleagues. To save the remaining cows, people from across Israel have volunteered to keep the dairy farms working. Rachel immigrated to Israel six years ago. She's now a volunteer on Shmuel's farm. Because of the war and everything, everyone left. All the animals, the cows, so that way, when they come back, they have a place home. They're still intact. Even though the area is not secure, Rachel chose to stay. The best way I could help is just honestly coming out here. I was scared. There's some moments, definitely some moments during the day that, you know, there's a Zaka and we're running and don't know when to come out. But it's important to be here, to come back. It was meant to be to come here and help out and I'm happy to be here. But even with the help of volunteers, the financial damage is grave. With the volunteers, we mainly keep the farm afloat. It means feeding the cows and milking them, not more. The damage is severe because we don't take care of them properly. There are a lot of malfunctions, but we deal with that. There's no other option. It's clear to me that I will need to exchange some of the cows and rebuild the herds. Some cows died after not being milked for three days. And one dairy farm in Kibbutz Kisafim was shut down after the female dairy farmer was murdered. Now in the midst of the war, the government has decided to prolong the dairy import, which will damage the dairy farm's income even more. To save the area's milk industry, Shmiel is pleading for government help. Now, except for the government, everyone is supporting us. The only ones who have not shown their support are the government. It's very frustrating. I want to say to them, remember us after this war ends. Help us recover this lifelong dream after the war. 1,500 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continued. We bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines, from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities of 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 would like to start by reading the beginning of a long article published by Pilar Raola at the National Port of Catalonia. It says, I begin this article with a despair that paralyzes me, although I have always felt comfortable in the territory of my country. I want to express my gratitude to all of you who have supported and supported me. Thank you. Thank you very much. I have always felt comfortable in the territory of the word and I have never avoided a dialectic scream in the defense of my convictions. These terrible days have left me breathless. I have the impression that madness wins the land for the reason and that there are no lights that light up so much darkness. Everything that has happened and the reactions that many people who I know have had treat as a very sick society have lost the sense of the limits of humanity. And the confusion, the pure evil has made its way analyzed by some, justified by others, even in some cases, has plagued. Very hard, isn't it, Nicole? Accent words, very hard. But for this, we are going to be today talking because we have as guests one of the most distinguished journalists of Israel, recognized in Europe, and also in the Arab countries. I am talking about Enrique Simerman who has joined today in News 24 to analyze everything that is happening from the beginning of the war. Thank you Enrique for being with us. A pleasure, Nicole, a pleasure, Carlos. Let's start with the following. I tell you what we are going to talk about in this special mission. First, we want your analysis of the relations between Israel, Hamas, the National Palestinian Authority. Then we want to see how Europe, the Arab countries want to address the issue of the digital war, of the ethnic news and also the incident with President Petro who did not want to let it happen. And finally, we have read an article that you have written about how to start over and re-think about this region. That is why, Enrique, I would like you to start giving us a broad view of what has been before and after October 7th on how you have played the role something very important of the National Palestinian Authority, Enrique. The National Palestinian Authority is lost. They lost the GPS. They do not know where they have to go for various reasons. And the main thing is that for them Hamas is a rival. A very strong rival. That is why there are no elections in the Palestinian Authority that probably would never win. And as they are afraid of it the Palestinian Authority keeps it without democracy. But at the same time they continue to fight for the public opinion of Palestine. So they cannot face Hamas. I can tell you that last week days after the most atrocious and sadistic matanza that I have seen since I was here and I have been covering this region for many years. I was in Iraq, I saw the Islamic State I must say that what we saw here is really unprecedented. And also planned for four years by Iran together with Hamas. I called the Mujata the Palestinian Authority and I told them, gentlemen if you do not disarm Hamas they will go to history as something irrelevant. And they told me, but if nothing happened if what happened is that there were some incidents and I told them the violations and the kidnappings and the kidnappings and they asked me to send them movies and I sent them. And the next day the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. The OLP represents the Palestinian people. I said it in a conversation with the president of Venezuela and he wrote it on a tweet and immediately deleted it. And he left only the OLP of the Palestinian people. They have a problem. And we have a problem like Israel in the measure in which we believed that we could have some kind of dialogue I would say indirect with Hamas allowing him to get some money from Qatar to Hamas malletines full of 20,000 workers the day they entered that they eat hundreds of thousands of people all type of entry and exit humanitarian aid today we understand that we cannot understand that Hamas can never be on the other side of the border that Hamas is a neo-fascist conversation That's why I want to ask you the attacks that he has done with his defense Israel has killed civilians that are always human shields of Hamas there in Gaza and they claim the Palestinian national authority that those deaths are innocent does it exist and do you believe in the eye by eye it's not a matter of eye by eye it's a matter of that if you decide that you cannot have a neighbor like that because he does things that the civilized world doesn't know and we already know them from works but it starts coming out now and I was in the Kibbutz and see it with your own eyes stories one by one house by house in fact I got a proof that they were drugged the Hamas terrorists they were drugged that was part of the preparation made in Iran but you see exactly the degree of sadism that doesn't have precedents in my opinion from the Second World War well it was also in the south the city of Derot from the border and he prepared this report with his vision in this hit city in the middle of the police station in the city of Derot taken for two days by Hamas terrorists to see a police station made in Israel it was something unimaginable before October 7 the smell of cloaca the smell of terrorism among the puddles of dirty water that were mixed with the pieces of cement that remained of demolition the Israeli army had arrived on October 8 Derot, a city captured by terrorists that were besieged in the police station killing the few guards the only way to eliminate them is to demolish the station I observe and I don't understand the Israeli police vulnerable by the enemy neighbor terrorist to whom they believed in Derot lost more than 200 civilians Israelis on Saturday the streets are a ghost desert the rain of bullets is marked in their daily life a car dealership reflects without blood the horror where the painful is not the lost material but those bullets eliminated innocent lives family cars with blood stains blood the child's chair in the car can you imagine if that child was sitting there he was we don't know but suddenly the life sent us a message a white truck loaded with Israeli flags appeared at the top someone placed the flag with the star of David as a sign of identity we recovered the city and I met the person in Derot we see how this flag of Israel is being placed by an Arab Israeli that is up there peace be upon you all the robes Derot will not do the same again like all Israel like all Jews of the 21st century because now it has to be resilient Sam Harris American philosopher wrote the truth is that we all live in Israel the only thing is that some of us we don't understand it there is no small enemy we continue in this special mission of the 24th in Spanish dedicated to Israel under attack with a luxury guest who is the journalist Enrique Zimmerman last week we had the visit of the President of the United States Biden came the Prime Minister of Zunach of Great Britain the Chancellor Schultz of Germany what is the importance of these visits in the region Saudi Arabia where are we going with all of this the importance is enormous because they, the leaders starting with Biden understand that this is not a conflict between Israel and Hamas this is something much wider these are coalitions that are actually being faced in the place that is the meeting point between the West and the free world and the Islamic jihadists in which we Israel is in the first line and I think they start to understand that they also have something to do with all of this and that is why Israel is receiving the international support that is receiving even from European countries like Great Britain, like France, like Germany like Italy they have always had a tendency more to Palestine but understand here that Hamas is not Palestine understand here that Hamas is a phenomenon much more serious that has been fed by Iran in the last years it was not like that in the first years of Hamas but today Hamas is a totally Iranian organization absolutely financed now Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is in a difficult situation because they were very close very close to normalization with Israel and Iran knew it that's why they decided this date as an attack you have to understand that Hamas destroyed after Oslo when there was real hope in this region when everything was positive they started the suicide attacks and they killed the peace process now they are doing the same two and a half decades later they are doing exactly the same they are 30 years later they are trying to kill the possibility that Saudi Arabia will get to a peace agreement and expand the agreement I have a question the achievement with Oslo agreements was almost total they managed to paralyze it which is a status quo where neither of the two parties was anywhere but what happened in October is a game changer that is, it will not be what was before Iran will get somehow to avoid a change where they suddenly find an island in front of the world that opposes their attitude my hope is that Iran will not achieve it in the middle of the day but Iran has achieved through Hamas are their arms, to postpone the process this process is postponed but I think it is not dead on the contrary I receive indications of the Gulf I can even mention someone very prominent in the Gulf and who told me a phrase he told me while you do not cut the head of the snake the snake will continue trying to kill us and he says Enrique how many times have you been in Saudi Arabia? 5 years 5 years and you know very well but there is something, it is a fairly broad topic there is something important Enrique that one of the phenomena we have seen is that manipulation and disinformation that is in social platforms and that is fundamental of the information currently we are going to listen now and I want you to help me analyze it Fred Bernal Fred Bernal is the governor of the state of Tachin in Venezuela we know the alliance that has Venezuela with Iran perhaps the strongest alliance of Iran in Latin America and then Carlos we are going to show you some graphs that we are going to comment on the chaos and the opinions that have had this situation, let's see it what do you think Enrique? the governor of the state of Tachin of Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela a caricature as simple as that but a premeditated caricature that is to say the president of Venezuela of the state of Tachin of the state of Venezuela of the state of Tachin of the state of Venezuela of the state of Tachin of the state of Tachin of the premeditated caricature that is to say it is an attempt to deceive the public presenting something that is just a small part of reality it is true there is civil suffering in Gaza it is a fact but who opened all this war who opened the doors of hell who started all this we are talking about a group that is forgotten that does not allow women to have freedom and that does not accept the existence of Israel and besides it sends 1,500 drugged men to kill Jews with the only objective of killing and kidnapping Jews obviously it cannot be defended in the free world in the democratic world and you should worry Israel those alliances that Iran has with the Latin America with Venezuela with all the Latin America I know for years that there is a presence of radical Islamist groups among them a country that is Iran that is the father of all of them that are in these countries more and more more aghast and that is a mistake because it is bringing cancer cells to your own country about the attitude that President Petro from Colombia you manage international relations there we are seeing to threaten to cut relations with Israel what is this? it is due to your own interests it is due to a lot of propaganda it is due to economic issues I imagine it is due to very deep stereotypes Einstein said that it is easier to destroy an atom than to destroy a stereotype and here we are seeing people that have not only interests but also all kinds of prejudices that have been accumulated that come this lady here we will take her to the south to the border of Gaza I will teach her the Kibbutz where I was yesterday in the Kibbutz near Oz I will teach her to Carmela who was visiting her granddaughter on Friday night and who suddenly sees how they enter her house and as she is locked in the bunker they throw a grenade and they fire her at the house and kill her autistic granddaughter and Carmela this happened in dozens of places this is genocide and also premeditated the other is a reaction of self defense talking about genocide I would like to comment something that people have no idea how it was that Gaza was sandwiched between Egypt and Israel and the story is that President Sadat met with Beggin the Prime Minister of Israel to agree the disengagement of the forces at that time Sadat said look, I receive all the pressure but I don't want to how many people lived in Gaza in 1978 do you have an idea? hundreds of thousands three hundred and eighty thousand and how many live? more than two million and I will tell you that the average of children is one of the highest in the world there are seven children per family so when everybody uses the word genocide when your population disappears not when it increases there is a very serious problem with the concepts Israel is seen as a center of colonialism as they were I remember the leaders of Hamas saying I interviewed everybody 14 times I interviewed the founder of Hamas GK Ahmed Yassin and they always talked about Israelis as the new crusaders they will be here for a while and at the end we will end and for defeat here and they think that Israel is like Algeria is like Afghanistan for the United States they don't understand that the reality is totally different here and we see what is happening in the Israeli society if you ask me to summarize in a phrase that occurred here on October 7 this is an attempt of Iran that oiled weakness within Israeli society oiled blood because of the internal Israeli conflict around the judicial reform the judicial revolution they interpreted it as a weakness and decided to attack for two things one to end with Israel because they thought that this would make us all run to the airport of Ben-Gurion and we would be scared and we would leave here it is the word to terrorize and the second to end with the negotiating process in the Arab countries of this region and they failed they failed and I am convinced that the Saudi Arab issue will be postponed but it is not dead what do you know about the Israeli society will it be resilient to this situation? I think they have achieved the opposite effect today the Israelis who were very divided in the last 10 months are more united than ever I want to say something that was the ideologist of the Argentine revolution and he achieved through this same type of actions to throw the French the French had to go where to go back to France we don't have where to go and I don't think I can do anything I would like to end our meeting with a proposal you have written an article called an international coalition and Arab in Gaza to explain to us what you are talking about because although we don't want we have to think about the future I spoke another day with the son of the leader of Hamas in Cisjordania Heke Hasan Yusef who has just been arrested again by Israel and his son is called Mosa Yusef and then he discovered that he was the green prince who had been a spy of Israel and when I was going to his house I knew that he was already a spy of Israel and he told me he never hates the Israelis more than what he loves his own children and that is what the son of the leader of Hamas in Cisjordania what I wrote here is something that is difficult to talk about at this moment when everything is happening but I think it is vital that we do it Israel is the great expert in tactics but sometimes we fail in strategy we have to think about the day after we have to think about where we are going where we are going to take everything let's say it is legitimate and I think that today in the free world it is understood that Israel has the right to defend itself and end up with a terrorist group like never before careful with the civil population let's separate the two things but end up with Hamas in Gaza, occupying Gaza like until 2005 I don't want my children to be occupying Gaza there are 2.5 million of Gaza people that don't want Egypt you can't send them to Lebanon and they will stay there do you remember that Beggin proposed to Sadat and Sadat rejected it it is like a problem that nobody wants to touch and until now he doesn't want to close the border he doesn't want people from Gaza to the Sinai he fears that deeply and is a great enemy of Hamas because they are Muslim brothers I would like you to take advantage of the cameras of this program in Spanish and that you will see it in any other language and if you had to talk to the National Palestinian Authority the Prime Minister maybe he could be a successor to one of Aba's advisers who could also be a successor with the experience you have exactly this I would say that in a first term we will have to bring an international coalition on the one hand but also Arab we have to bring the Saudis who have the moral power and the economic power we have to bring the Egyptians who have political power and we have to bring the Emiratis who have a vision of the future they are willing to do it and they are willing to coordinate it Abu Dhabi, the Emiratis and two Kingdoms, the Marroquí and the Jordan these countries have to come here and they have to prepare the land I don't think Israel has to remain there for a long time we were in Lebanon for 18 years I don't want to repeat Lebanon 2 we have to be to win Hamas, clean the land deliver it to this coalition that will include the United States and the only real possibility of the future is that this coalition crushes the Palestinian Authority and brings it there who will be the Palestinian Authority is to see I listened very well to all the nations that you mentioned what it leaves out to those who finance now to escape and in a way it would close a circle in which maybe we can think in a better future Iran has to be out of everything Iran is a terrorist state that is destabilizing the entire free world Israel is part of it and how will it be to separate Iran we have to make an international coalition with all the countries that have to worry for the future Iran is not a threat to Israel it is a threat to the free world and to the Arab world that is threatened by it and when you say all the countries Europe, Middle East Latin America without a doubt I think that countries of Latin America would have the obligation to be part of the reconstruction of Gaza and to be part of the future of this region really thank you very much for your analysis I think that in this way from our little corner we contribute so that people understand better what is happening and we share your vision of the future, we also have to think about it because today they are all frail with what is happening at this moment with the pain of the victims of Israel with the disappearances that we have to mention and that we from here ask for international organizations that talk about humanitarianism and that they also take care of that thank you very much and we hope to see you again to explain this to the world Thank you Enrique Nicole, really a topic we will continue to talk about and those who want can follow us on Facebook, on Twitter on the channel 34 of Hot you can answer our survey and we will continue to talk about Israel under attack Thank you for being with us in this state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we are 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 of the entire world and the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regard they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct We are coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas at least three people have been lightly injured after a rocket fired from Gaza hit an apartment in the south of Tel Aviv flames and smoke were seen coming from a top floor apartment a second barrage of rockets was fired at Southern Tel Aviv and Jaffa shortly afterwards shrapnel fell into a children's park thankfully nobody was hurt but our Pia Stechelback is at the scene and she joins us now Pia tell us what happened right Laura I'm standing in front of a building that was hit by that one rocket you can see the top floor here you can still see the black on the wall here the top floor was directly hit by that one rocket and it sent the building on fire you can see that the fire went down to the lower floors as well here that happened at about two ten low full time that was the first barrage of rockets that were sent into Central Israel into Tel Aviv for it today and as you can see here on the ground police also see a police firefighters and also representatives of the home front command trying to calm down the remaining residents here because we're here in East Tel Aviv in a very residential neighborhood here I've just received an update from the home front command saying that we're talking about poor injured people here to a moderately injured and were taken to hospital here but that really shows you Laura that the Iron Dome does not have a hundred percent success rate there is no a hundred percent accuracy successful in those cases but that really shows you how important it is to adhere to the advice of the home front command to immediately look for shelter to enter the safe spaces that is also why we don't have more injuries here we're talking about lightly moderately injured people and what could have had way worse consequence you can see the burnt floor see behind me that building was lit on fire as a consequence of the direct hit that really again shows you very brutally how important it is to seek shelter here in Tel Aviv you do have one and a half minutes when the siren goes off to look for a safe room to enter a safe space and that really again is a stark reminder that this is incredibly important and actually saves lives it's here the Iron Dome was not successful in intercepting that one rocket that hit that building directly in the top floor you can still see here of course it's on the ground also many many residents here coming to the street taking to the street and seeing what the building looks like and you can see here this is a residential neighborhood building is next to the building here and I would say it is quite maybe it's a miracle that nothing will happen as you can see how burned the building is now closed it is also to another one over here the fire was contained very very quickly fire fighters arrived to the scene very soon as I said four people are into two of them are in hospital right now this is what we've been hearing here from the home front command so some of them sadly do get through as did that one in Southern Tel Aviv Pia thank you very much Pia Stechel back there down in South Tel Aviv where an apartment building was hit earlier today well let's look more broadly across the region because Egypt says that it was a drone not a missile which struck the Red Sea resort town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Newebar in Egypt's Sinai province and Israel has indicated that that launch likely came from Yemen Egypt has said it may respond well meanwhile the IDF says it hit around 250 Hamas targets overnight in Gaza and for a second night conducted a targeted raid inside the Gaza Strip the Defence Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of the war and we will be going to Stel Aviv in just a moment to get the very latest from our correspondent Pia Kloshendla Owen Altman is here with me in the studio and Owen just another word on those scenes from Tel Aviv today I mean these are things that people in Stel Aviv and the Southern border communities are used to now we're seeing right in the middle of Tel Aviv an apartment building hit sure rockets come to Central Israel too we all know that thankfully the Iron Dome again a partnership of the United States in Israel both parties in the United States over the course of a number of presidential administrations and of course many Israeli governments how much it saves lives how much it helps preserve normal life in Israel how much indirectly saves lives in Gaza because it may mean that at least in the past I'm not talking about this war but in past rounds of conflict for better or worse historians will have to debate that that Israel didn't feel it had to retaliate as much or as strongly because the rockets weren't as disruptive of daily life here but of course as Pia said the fact that Iron Dome exists doesn't absolve us all of our responsibilities to follow the instructions of Israel's home front command and to go to safe rooms whenever possible within the time frame and to stay there for the 10 minutes as we're asked to do so obviously important instructions for everybody living in this country and important time to be reminded of that and we see the pictures here from Central Israel alright thanks Owen and I just want to draw your attention to something that the IDF released this morning now this is the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7th between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities inflicted on Israeli civilians he was speaking to his commander back in Gaza and you can hear a part of what he had to say right now just before we go on I'd like to introduce my studio guest to you Dani Alakidi is an American politician she's running against Ilan Omar in Minnesota welcome you've flown in from America to show your solidarity with Israel we appreciate it and look forward to speaking to you a bit more in a moment but welcome thank you and someone who has been directly affected by the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th is also with us now Omri Almog welcome thank you for being with us your sister Chen and her three children have been abducted to Gaza yes they are family of six they live in Kfaraza there's a large family there I mean my parents live there Chen parents and Nadav parents also live in Kfaraza they was not there because they were in trip outside of the state but Chen my brother in Lona Dav and the oldest daughter was murdered in the house that Saturday and Chen my sister and the other three kids are 18 years old almost and Ghal 11 years old and Tal 8 years old is kidnapped to the Samur in Gaza boy and two girls yes three kids one girl and two boys my goodness they've been told by the Israeli authorities that they are being held they were abducted they are being held they were confirmed as missing there's no bodies for over a week and just last week we got confirmation and they moved from missing to kidnapped which is give us a hope I really believe that they are alive and safe somewhere bring them back to Israel this week on Monday we buried in Shfaim was a funeral in Shfaim because we cannot bury people in Kfaraza it's a war zone so we did it in Shfaim we're gonna move them to Kfaraza later on I don't know when at that day that the mother is not there and the other kids is not there the family is completely apart and it was also it's not crazy enough so it was a birthday of my sister she was 49 years old that day and that's it now we put all the energy and the efforts we can to bring them back first of all I'm terribly sorry about your niece and your brother-in-law condolences that's terrible and we're really hopeful for your sister and the children who are being held in Gaza it's been three weeks now I mean I can't imagine what you're going through what is keeping you going can you tell us a bit about your sister what kind of person is she my sister she's very strong mentally and physically she wouldn't let the kids go just like that the family car is also missing my sister she's beautiful she like to laugh and everything she took care of all the kids you have to understand the world needs to understand that we are dealing here with the organization that is so cruel that there is no way it's not a state if you can come and talk to them they don't think like us they don't behave like us I think it's against human rights what they do because my sister didn't do anything wrong they just live on the border for many years the kids grew up there and they never left home and Adav always said my brother in law that they wouldn't live home under any issue no matter what happened but this time it was too much and the world need to understand that we have to take down this organization especially this one there is no way the humans all over the world live with something like that it's beyond the imagination it's they torture us look what they doing now they release whatever they want they ask for people in Israel to do another passport we're going to release only foreign people not people that have Israeli passport they want us to fight between each other you have to be very very specific with them you have to control yourself we so mad but we have to put the energy for ourselves together it's 200 over 220 people there to do everything we can all over the world and inside Israel to bring them back and the country of Israel the state of Israel now understand that this is the first priority now they need to do before anything else my sister and the three kids need help they cannot do it themselves I cannot go there and bring them back it's need to be all over the world together needs to sit and think how to do it absolutely well we're really feeling for you I hope you get some good news one of these days we're all praying for your sister and her children and all the other hostages thank you so much for coming thank you his sister and her three children are being held by terrorists in Gaza alright well let's find out the latest on the military operation to destroy Hamas inside Gaza we can go to Sderot in southern Israel our correspondent Pierre Kloschenler is there Pierre just give us the latest what's happening well our conversation is going to be punctuated by a lot of shelling by the Israeli artillery as well as some bombing pounding the northern Gaza Strip at this moment and it's been going on for the past hour or so what is new in that terrible war is that the IDF has authorized the publication of something quite unique usually it's censorship but this time there is an exception by the IDF the naval commandos of the IDF landed from the sea in the Rafah sector of the Gaza Strip is in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip and destroyed some Hamas infrastructure as well as a compound used by the naval commando of Hamas now that naval commando is responsible for many deadly infiltrations in the northern tip of the Gaza Strip bordering with Israel in the area of Kibbutz Zikim just on the northern tip of the border with the Gaza Strip and some of those infiltrations have been particularly deadly in October 7 during the massacres but at the same time for instance a couple of days ago nine terrorists of the naval commandos of Hamas were killed in a firefight trying to infiltrate again Israeli territory so this time may be quite unique the Israeli army is authorizing the publication of that landing in the Rafah sector. Meanwhile Pierre the campaign to prepare the terrain as the Israeli defence minister put it continues heavy air strikes constantly 250 Hamas targets were hit overnight is that right? Right and it's about the number of Hamas target targeted every 24 hours or so yesterday also the IDF published a communique saying that over 250 targets were eliminated inside the Gaza Strip three days ago it was 420 and at the same time they eliminate gradually step by step building by bombing the field commanders of Hamas and this is very important because these are the terrorists that will wage the wage against the Israeli assault inside the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air when that assault comes to fruition so when you kill those field commanders of battalions of regiments this is very important because you actually disorganise completely the military apparatus of Hamas Pierre, thank you very much Pierre Klaus Schendler there with the latest from Stairaute in southern Israel while support for Israel from the United States has been rock solid both in terms of military aid and diplomatic support but not all Democrats support Stance, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was one of the 9 Democrats to vote against a motion to condemn Hamas and support Israel's right to defend itself in the past Omar has called to defund Israel's iron dome defense system that's the system that's intercepting missiles fired at civilian populations daily, she's even had to apologise for using anti-semitic tropes. Well Dalia Al-Aqidi is a candidate for the US Congress and she's also the executive director at the American Center for Counter-Extremism welcome Dalia you are running to unseat Ilhan Omar do her anti-Israel views reflect the views of most voters in your district first of all thank you for having me it's my first time in Israel and I'm sad in that my first trip would be under these very sad circumstances absolutely not and that's why I'm here Ilhan Omar does not represent her district does not represent the people of Minnesota, the state and does not represent America that's the problem I'm here first of all to show solidarity with the Jewish people, with the Israelis and give them a clear message that this is not your fight only this is our fight you are not fighting a group you're fighting an ISIS-like terrorist group and we cannot be just say that let's be quiet let's get ceasefire no this has to end and it has to end now the Jewish people are suffering Israelis are suffering Palestinians are suffering and all different countries in the region are suffering due to these terrorist groups that are funded absolutely by certain countries and especially by Iran so no Ilhan Omar does not represent her constituents and that's why I'm here to bring the message from Minnesota to you you have Iraqi heritage Ilhan Omar has Somali heritage you've spoken about your love for America now as the child of immigrants you didn't want to import ideas from the old country as it were do you think that that's the opposite of Ilhan Omar and that this is becoming a wider problem in the United States a country that after all was built by immigrants? absolutely look I don't like identity politics but I'm forced at one point I'm forced to use it just to counter her narrative and her and Rashida Tlaib and many others in the US Congress which is so sad at this moment that we have US politicians in our own Congress that would fight for terrorists Ilhan Omar until this moment doesn't call Hamas a terrorist group Ilhan Omar until this moment while she calls for the Palestinian genocide let's stand against it while the term to the sea doesn't mean anything to her doesn't mean that this is not a genocide but no and that's the thing I am forced to say I'm proud that I came from Iraq this is my origin but I have to say it and stress that I came from Iraq I went to the United States of America to pursue my dreams I fled my country with my family I fled with my Russian dictatorship Saddam Hussein we fled it fled the country and I don't want to come to another Iraq we fled the atrocities of the radical Islamism and I don't want to live in a society that radical Islamism is flourished Omar Stant is world's apart from that of President Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who is the governor in the Republican race has made comments that many people here in Israel find unnerving isn't it that the Democrats are not the Republicans under a potential Donald Trump who would be the friends of Israel well we don't know we don't know until now and honestly when it comes to war especially now I'm not going to talk about what went wrong with his policies to Iran and with his policies in the Middle East we are at war and I support right now Biden's stance with Israel sorry that discussion would be for further for a different time but now as a country we all Republicans Democrats we all stand behind Israel and behind the Jewish people and we have one fight and it's so it's interesting that as an American I've never felt welcomed around the world as much as I felt welcomed from yesterday until today and that made me really proud well that's nice it just one final point just very quickly do you think you're going to win this race I will do my best to do so I will work hard to do so and it's not only about her it's about radical Islamism it's about atrocities or ISIS Al Qaeda and Hamas surpassed ISIS so I will work hard to do so welcome to Israel Dalia we appreciate you flying in at a time of war we hope you'll be here for a more peaceful day soon Dalia Al-Aqidi thank you we've got a report this is in the Qatari state funded news channel Al Jazeera which is claiming that there is some kind of negotiation underway for the release of more hostages Owen do you have some information on that yeah I mean Al Jazeera reporting that Laura and I from what I understand again the details just coming out the idea is that there would be a ceasefire from what we understand the report a full-on ceasefire right in order for this to be undertaken we know from over the past week reports have claimed that Hamas has essentially said we cannot return the hostages all of them without a ceasefire because we don't know where they are Al Jazeera is under this bombing campaign we need a ceasefire just for the practical logistical reason of being able to identify where all of the hostages are be able to go and collect them and be able to go and bring them over to Israel again that's Hamas's claim it's hard to judge the merits of that claim obviously Hamas is not a good faith actor on the face of it of course one can understand why this claim might be plausible were Hamas making it in good faith or if Hamas is making it in good faith if Hamas actually sees this kind of step they claimed 50 hostages had died already in airstrikes we don't believe what they say about who's dying and who's not dying I think we're well past that point not only by the way in I-24 news but I think across major news organizations around the world we're well past the point where we believe what the Gaza health ministry has to say but this is a more specific claim Hamas is making in practical matter cannot implement a hostage deal given the conditions in Gaza and the bombing campaign and we need a ceasefire in order to be able to implement and carry out a hostage deal again it's hard to judge the merits of that claim on the face of it Laura obviously it makes sense if Hamas is acting in good faith and making that in good faith on the other hand it's hard to trust that Hamas is acting in good faith and obviously it stands to reason that Hamas feels it could benefit from a ceasefire and Hamas is organized to regroup given the campaign in Gaza and so again the question is is this something that the Israeli government is willing to consider and how do they assess Hamas's claim when it's making this and I think that's the part that we don't know of course I don't think and certainly at this point we cannot take reports from Al Jazeera at face value it's of course an arm essentially of the Qatari government and Qatar is on one hand a broker right in the hostage deal that it wants to advance and hosting Hamas leaders and as its own national interest wants to advance so it's hard to judge whether this is a report about the reality and the actual status of negotiations or if this is a report that is put out there in order to engineer public opinion in Israel and around the Arab world that's what we don't know but that's the state of play thank you very much Owen Altman there well just to point out the defense minister no once again to the idea of bringing fuel into Gaza, Galan says that those fuel supplies will be used to bring air to the Hamas tunnel network where they are hiding now as Israeli airstrikes continue above the ground alright we're going to take a very short break we'll be back with all the very latest right after this developments in the north as well the IDF has carried out airstrikes on Lebanon as well we'll bring you the latest on that stay tuned make an investment in Israel bonds it is the most powerful and direct way to stand with Israel visit israel bonds dot com and invest now this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking but then 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 ready we are ready we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity 24 24 news the national fell into a children's park thankfully nobody was hurt our pier Stechelback is at the scene as she joins us now pia tell us what happened right Laura I'm standing in front of a building that was hit by that one rocket you can see the top floor here you can still see the black on the wall here the top floor was directly hit by that one rocket and it said the building on fire you can see that the fire went down to the lower floors as well here that happened at about two to ten low full-time that was the first barrage of rockets that were sent central Israel into Tel Aviv for it today and as you can see here on the ground there are still lots of police supposed to see a police firefighters and also representatives of the home front command trying to calm down the remaining residents here because we are here in East Tel Aviv in a very residential neighborhood here I've just received an update from the home front command saying that we're talking about four injured people here two are moderately injured there is no 100% accuracy it is more than 95% successful in those cases but that really shows you how important it is so it appears to the advice of the home front command to immediately look for shelter to enter the safe spaces that is also why we don't have more injuries here we're talking about four lightly moderately injured people and what could have had way worse consequences you can see the burnt floor seat behind me that building was lit on fire as a consequence of the direct hit that really again shows you very brutally how important it is to seek shelter here in Tel Aviv you do have one and a half minutes when the siren goes off to look for a safe room to enter a safe space and that really again is a stark reminder that this is incredibly important and actually safe life as here Darren Dome was not successful in intercepting that one rocket that hit that building direct in the top floor you can still see here of course it's on the ground also many many residents here coming to the street taking to the street and seeing what the rocket has of course here in that residential building as you can see here this is a residential neighborhood building is next to the building here and I would say it is quite maybe it's a miracle that nothing will happen as you can see how burnt that building is now close it is also to another one over here the fire was contained very very quickly the fire fighters arrived to the scene very soon as I said two of them are in hospital right now this is what we've been hearing here from the home ground command on the ground Laura a reminder Pia if we needed one that the iron dome does not stop all the missiles some of them sadly do get through as did that one in Southern Tel Aviv Pia thank you very much Pia Stechle back there down in South Tel Aviv where an apartment building was hit earlier today well let's look more broadly across the region because Egypt says that it was a drone not a missile which struck the Red Sea town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Nawabah in Egypt's Sinai province and Israel has indicated that that launch likely came from Yemen Egypt has said it may respond well meanwhile the IDF says it hit around 250 Hamas targets overnight in Gaza and for a second night conducted a targeted raid inside the Gaza Strip the Defence Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of the war and we will be going to Stelot in just a moment to get the very latest from our correspondent Pia Kloschenlau but Owen Altman is here with me in the studio and Owen just another word on those scenes from Tel Aviv today I mean these are things that people in Stelot and the Southern border communities are used to now we're seeing right in the middle of Tel Aviv an apartment building hit sure rockets come to Central Israel too and we all know that thankfully the iron dome again a partnership of the United States in Israel both parties in the United States over the course of a number of presidential administrations and of course many Israeli governments how much it saves lives how much it helps preserve normal life in Israel how much indirectly saves lives in Gaza because it may mean that at least in the past I'm not talking about this war but in past rounds of conflict for better or worse historians will have to debate that that Israel didn't feel it had to retaliate as much or as strongly because the rockets weren't as disruptive of daily life here but of course as Pia said the fact that iron dome exist doesn't absolve us all of our responsibilities to follow the instructions of Israel's home front command and to go to safe rooms whenever possible within the time frame and to stay there for the 10 minutes as we're asked to do so obviously important instructions for everybody living in this country and important time to be reminded of that and we see the pictures here from Central Israel alright thanks Owen and I just want to draw your attention to something that the IDF released this morning now this is the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7 between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities inflicted on Israeli civilians he was speaking to his commander back in Gaza and you can hear a part of what he had to say right now just before we go on I'd like to introduce my studio guest to you, Dalia Alakiri is an American politician and she's running against Ilan Omar in Minnesota welcome you've flown in from America to show your solidarity with Israel we appreciate it and look forward to speaking to you a bit more in a moment but welcome and someone who has been directly affected by the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7 is also with us now Omri Almog welcome thank you for being with us your sister Chen and her three children have been abducted to Gaza yes they are family of six they live in Kfaraza there's a large family there I mean my parents live there Chen parents and Nadav parents also live in Kfaraza they was not there because they were in trip outside of the state but Chen my brother in Lona and the oldest daughter Yam was murdered in the house that Saturday and Chen my sister and the other three kids Agam 18 years old almost and Gal 11 years old and Tal 8 years old is kidnapped to the Samur in Gaza yes three kids one girl and two boys and you've been told by the Israeli authorities that they are being held they were abducted they were confirmed as missing there's no bodies for over a week and just last week we got confirmation and they moved from missing to kidnapped and I really believe that they are alive and safe somewhere and we have to help them to bring them back to Israel this week on Monday we buried in Shfaim was a funeral in Shfaim because we cannot bury people in Kfaraza it's a war zone so we did it in Shfaim we're gonna move them to Kfaraza later on when at that day that the mother is not there and the other kids is not there the family is completely apart and it was also it's not crazy enough so it was a a birthday of my sister she was 49 years old that day and that's it now we put all the energy and the efforts we can to bring them back first of all I'm terribly sorry about your niece and your brother-in-law condolences that's terrible and we're really hopeful for your sister and the children who are being held in Gaza it's been three weeks now I can't imagine what you're going through what is keeping you going in can you tell us a bit about your sister what kind of person is she my sister she's very strong mentally and physically she wouldn't let the kids get the family car is also missing my sister she's beautiful she like to laugh and everything she took care of all the kids you have to understand the world needs to understand that we dealing here with organization that is so cruel that there is no way it's not a state if you can come they don't think like us they don't behave like us I think it's against human rights what they do because my sister didn't do anything wrong they just live on the border for many years the kids grew up there and they never left home and Adav always said my brother-in-law that they wouldn't live home under any issue no matter what happened but this time it was too much and the world needs to understand that we have to take down this organization especially this one this is the there's no way the humans all over the world live with something like that it's beyond the imagination it's I mean they torture us look what they doing now they release whoever they want they do whatever they want and they're gonna do it they ask for people in Israel to do another passport we're gonna release only foreign people not the people that have Israeli passport they want us to fight between each other you have to be very very specific with them and you have to control yourself we so mad but we have to put the energy of ourself together it's 200 over 220 people there to do everything we can all over the world and inside Israel to bring them back and the country of Israel the state of Israel now understand that this is the first priority now they need to do before anything else my sister and the three kids need help they cannot do it themselves I cannot go there and bring them back it's need to be all over the world together needs to sit and think how to do it absolutely well I mean we're really feeling for you I hope you get some good news one of these days we're praying for your sister and her children and all the other hostages thank you so much for coming thank you his sister and her three children are being held by terrorists in Gaza alright well let's find out the latest on the military operation to destroy Hamas inside Gaza we can go to Sderot in southern Israel our correspondent Pierre Kloschenler is there Pierre just give us the latest what's happening well our conversation is going to be punctuated by a lot of shelling by the Israeli artillery as well as some bombing pounding the northern Gaza Strip at this moment and it's been going on for the past hour or so since we've been here what is new in that terrible war is that the IDF has authorized the publication of something quite unique usually it's under censorship but this time there is an exception by the IDF the naval commandos of the IDF landed from the sea in the Rafah sector of the Gaza Strip which is in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip and destroyed some Hamas infrastructure as well as a compound used by the naval commando of Hamas now that naval commando is responsible for many deadly infiltrations in the northern tip of the Gaza Strip bordering with Israel the area of Kibbutz Zikim which is just on the northern tip of the border with the Gaza Strip and some of those infiltrations have been particularly deadly in October 7 during the massacres but at the same time for instance a couple of days ago nine terrorists of the naval commandos of Hamas were killed in a firefight trying to infiltrate again Israeli territory so this time maybe quite unique the Israeli army is authorising the publication of that landing in the Rafah sector meanwhile Pierre the campaign to prepare the terrain as the Israeli defence minister continues heavy air strikes constantly 250 Hamas targets were hit overnight, is that right? Right and it's about the number of Hamas targeted every 24 hours or so yesterday also the IDF published a communique saying that over 250 targets were eliminated inside the Gaza Strip three days ago it was 420 and at the same time they eliminate gradually step by step, bombing by bombing the field commanders of Hamas and this is very important because these are the terrorists that will wage the wage against the Israeli assault inside the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air when that assault comes to fruition so when you kill those field commanders commanders of battalions of regiments this is very important because you actually disorganise completely the military apparatus of Hamas Pierre, thank you very much Pierre Klossendler there with the latest from Starrot in southern Israel while support for Israel from the United States has been rock solid both in terms of aid and diplomatic support but not all Democrats support President Biden's stance Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was one of the nine Democrats to vote against a motion to condemn Hamas and support Israel's right to defend itself in the past Omar has called to defund Israel's iron dome defense system that's the system that's intercepting missiles fired at civilian populations daily she's even had to apologise for using anti-Semitic troops Dalia Al-Aqidi is a candidate for the U.S. Congress and she's also the executive director at the American Center for Counter-Extremism welcome Dalia you are running to unseat Ilhan Omar do her anti-Israel views reflect the views of most voters in your district? First of all thank you for having me it's my first time in Israel and I'm sad in that my first trip would be under these very sad circumstances absolutely not and that's why I'm here Ilhan Omar does not represent her district does not represent the people of Minnesota the state and does not represent America that's the problem I'm here first of all to show solidarity with the Jewish people with the Israelis and give them a clear message that this is not your fight only this is our fight you are not fighting a group you're fighting an ISIS-like terrorist group and we cannot be just say that let's be quiet let's get ceasefire no this has to end and it has to end now the Jewish people are suffering Palestinians are suffering all Arab and all different countries in the region are suffering due to these terrorist groups that are funded absolutely by certain countries and especially by Iran so no Ilhan Omar does not represent her constituents and that's why I'm here to bring the message from Minnesota to you You have Iraqi heritage Ilhan Omar has Somali heritage you've spoken about your love for America and how as the child of immigrants you didn't want to import here's the IDF spokesman Daniel Higari there are infrastructures and the status of fuel I want to start with Shifa hospital located in Gaza city the biggest hospital in Gaza this is the Shifa hospital you can see where it locates in Gaza city the largest hospital in Gaza it has over 1500 beds 4000 staff and now it has also more people around the surroundings of the hospital the red marks that you've seen before and you'll see later are red marks of building that are involved with Hamas and we know it and we have the proofs that they are with involvement of Hamas Hamas is cynically using hospitals and as a shield for its underground terror complex I want to explain there is an underground metro tunnels in Gaza city not just in Gaza city usually it's based next to next to unique sites or sensitive sites not just the hospital but other sites as Hamas etc etc UNRWA places, hospitals schools etc etc this is a philosophy of Hamas and Shifa is one of them the red buildings as I mentioned are building that Hamas is using meaning he does his command and control in different departments of the hospital like the rengen room and others he uses these places in order to do command and control for terror activities launching rockets etc etc it is here in Shifa hospital where Hamas operates some of its command and control cells this is where the direct rocket attacks command Hamas forces Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa hospital and other hospitals in Gaza with network of terror tunnels Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards meaning from different places of the hospital you can go into an underground tunnel that will provide you shelter we'll show it now in a map this is an illustration of Shifa hospital and the underground facilities I want to repeat this is only an illustration we will not share here the true material we will not share here the true material that we have in our hands this is only an illustration right now terrorists move freely in Shifa hospital and other hospitals in Gaza we have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7 Hamas uses Shifa hospital as a shield for Hamas disaster infrastructure Hamas wages war from hospitals by operating from these hospitals Hamas not only endangers the lives of Israelis civilians but also exploit innocent Gaza civilians as human shield Shifa is not the only hospital it is one of many Hamas use of hospitals is a systematic Hamas terrorists operate inside hospitals precisely because they know the IDF distinguishes between terrorists and civilians Israel targets terrorists Hamas targets Israeli civilians and Gaza civilians as we have shown in the Helmadi incident in the hospital of Helmadi Hamas is stealing from Gaza civilians to fuel its attack we already exposed that Hamas stole fuel from UNRWA and UNRWA confirmed it and as I said there is fuel there is fuel in hospitals in Gaza and Hamas is using it for its infrastructure here's a proof that Hamas has fuel in Gaza and uses it for its infrastructure this is a recording please listen Who are you talking to now I'm talking to you who you're talking to right now Hamas? You don't have any experts?? You saw the last sentence. I think the last sentence, this is how Hamas sees the Gaza. He uses the destruction, the death in Gaza that occurred because they're using them as human shield. In order to show the world and get this anti-propaganda against Israel. Here's another proof that Hamas is running its sero-infrastructure from inside the under-hospitals in Gaza. I think that Hamas is running his sero-infrastructure from inside the under-hospitals in Gaza. We have also other recordings and video. We will share with you later, and we will share more materials, classified materials with member of the intelligence community. When medical facilities are used for terror purposes, they are liable to lose the protection from attack in accordance with international law. The IDF will continue making efforts to minimize harm to civilians' population and will continue to act in accordance with international law. For over two weeks, the IDF has called and continue calling the civilians of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporarily move to your own safety, move south to Wadi Gaza. We are continuing to assist the efforts led by Egypt and the United States to provide a humanitarian effort in this area, which will have food, water, and medicine to the people of Gaza. We will increase this humanitarian effort. I would like to answer your questions, if you have. My question, young kids, our idea of German-relief intervention, there were directives of hospitals in Gaza telling journalists that it's impossible to evacuate a hospital. You were talking about the human shield factor. What does it mean for the operation? I think what we are doing now is putting a red flag to the world. We're putting a red flag against the international law, using a war crime to use hospitals as a terror infrastructure, using the Gaza as a human shield. This is a red flag. Israel is putting this red flag to the world. Any other questions? I have another question related to the hostages. They might be in these structures as well, probably. How is the mission now, which IDF has, depending on the question of the hostages? Israel has put clear targets for the operation in Gaza. Our aim is to achieve both of the targets, to defeat Hamas and to bring our babies, our women, our elderly, our men back home. And we will do that. Thank you. That was the IDF spokesman there, Daniel Hagarri, explaining how Hamas systematically uses hospitals not only to hide its terrorist infrastructure tunnels, et cetera, but also uses the hospitals themselves as command centers. Daniel Hagarri there issuing a warning for people to evacuate that hospital and go south to Wadi Gaza, where Israel is coordinating with Egypt and the United States to deliver humanitarian aid, make sure humanitarian aid gets to civilians. Our senior correspondent, Owen Altamine, is here. I'm also joined by Colonel Amit Asa, formerly of the Israeli Security Agency. I mean, just kind of round up what we just heard then, basically saying that the chief of hospital, this is the one that certain members of the world media falsely accused Israel of bombing. It was actually hit by a Palestinian Islamic jihad missile earlier in the week. But he's saying that this is a legitimate target because it is basically a Hamas command center. I don't know if he went quite that far, Laura. And of course, the hospital that had been alleged falsely to have been hit with an Israeli airstrike was a different hospital in Gaza City. This is the main hospital. But look, the bottom line here is this. On the one hand, a civilian object of the highest order, right? The main hospital in an area with a population of two million people. On the other hand, a military objective, right? Of the highest order, the base, the military base, essentially the military headquarters, right? The Pentagon of Hamas is sitting right there inside the hospital, inside the hospital wards. You know, Laura, watching that press conference took me back to my law school days. It took me back to my time when I started out here in Israel working on international humanitarian law, the law of war. If you're a law professor, this is your ultimate hypothetical. I mean, this is the question for your final exam and your course. I mean, I just want to try to read out for viewers the legal standard. We'll try to get this on screen over the course of the next few hours. It's a bit long, but try to stick with me. This is from the International Committee for the Red Cross, seen as the authoritative source for what is customary international law. And this is its rule 14. And this is the standard for proportionality, as it's known. Launching an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, right? If you had a hospital, you're going to kill civilians, God forbid. Treat to civilians, same, damage to civilian objects, harming a hospital. Or a combination thereof, which would be excessive, would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage, right? Hitting Hamas's Pentagon, hitting Hamas's Kiryat, is prohibited. Basically what you do in proportionality, you weigh how big the military objective is, right? Here in this case, hitting their headquarters, I used this hand like I did before. And on the other hand, the incidental loss to civilian life, injury, blah, blah, blah. In this case, hitting the main hospital of Gaza City. This is, in a sense, the standoff at the Dodge City Saloon of International Humanitarian Law, right? Again, a military objective of the highest order, civilian object of the highest order. And this is the ultimate test for the laws of war. And of course, Laura, I talked about this being the ultimate hypothetical for a law professor, but it's not a hypothetical. This is a real life situation, and it was just presented there by Daniel Hagari. And it's an enormous challenge, not only for the laws of war, for which it is the ultimate challenge, maybe, but obviously an enormous challenge for the Israeli military. And you were right, he laid out the case for why this is a military target. But the Israeli military is still going to have to confront how to balance the military and civilian elements here. But he certainly laid the groundwork. I don't know about the hospital being targeted, let alone from the air. He said that the Hamas terror group's main base of operations is under that hospital. That's right. As I said. Thank you. That is a significant military target now. It looks like it's confidential information, but it's not. Because everybody knows that this is their aim. From the minute they started to build the headquarters under the Shifa hospital, they knew that never Israelis will hit this hospital. And this is what they did. And that's why this headquarters is down this Shifa hospital. And as he said, of course, this is the main, main headquarter of Hamas and all the highest rank of the army of Hamas is standing there, sitting there, and doing all the activities from there. Right. I mean, it was remarkable what he said. I mean, first of all, Hagari said that this is a hospital with 1,500 beds, 4,000 staff. He says that they are all essentially being used as human shields. You've not only got the tunnels going down, and you've got various cells where the terrorists are deep underground. You've also got exits to terror tunnels inside wards where patients are recovering. I mean, they have really embedded themselves into the hospital, haven't they? Yeah, that's right. In law, in ethics, and in strategy, Laura, this is the heart of the matter. And in a sense, this is the heart of the matter of the war. This is the heart of matter of what Hamas is. And this is the heart of the matter of what Israel needs to be and is. And it's an enormous challenge for the Israeli military. I think the IDF did an enormous service for itself, for Israel, and for the world in laying out exactly what the facts are, right? The law will have to be based upon these facts and the enormous challenge the facts present because you're absolutely right in laying out exactly what Hamas is using that building for. But of course, the building is also used for some very sick people who are innocent people who are there and being victimized by Hamas in the hospital. And it is left in the lap of the Israeli military to untangle this mess. And I think it's extremely helpful to put that mess now before the world, so the world understands exactly what the facts are and now how the very big challenge of how that law has to be applied to the facts. And I mean, do you think that this will help Israel? It says it's shared it with the intelligence services of allies, particularly the United States and others, I don't know, perhaps Egypt as well. As already today, the UN has accused Israel of possibly committing war crimes in Gaza, also committing Hamas of war crimes, but saying that Israel is imposing collective punishment on the people of Gaza. Do you think that this evidence will go some way to make Israel's case? In the name of law, in the aspect of law, yes, of course. But we know that we have limited time. We know that the world will be against us anyway, and it will take time that somebody will raise this flag of humanity and killing civilians in Gaza. So we need some time, and this is giving us more time for ground operation. I'm trying to think of another situation, you know, another war where an enemy has dug in so deep into the civilian population and in such a cynical way. It's as cynical as could possibly be. It doesn't get more cynical, Laura, than taking the main hospital for an impoverished enclave of more than 2 million people and taking that hospital and making it your Pentagon. It's as cynical as it gets. And obviously, Hamas knew what it was doing, and obviously, it doesn't come as a surprise to any of us. I think it was widely assumed that this was the case, and it may have even been previously reported that it was the case, but of course, to have the spokesperson of the IDF go on live television in English and lay it out with slides and illustrations, it makes it much more real, and it really, again, brings the law to the crux of the matter. I wonder what you make of this, Amit. A poll out from Mariv, it was published in the newspaper Mariv, it says that nearly half of Israelis are opposed to an immediate military ground invasion. What do you, just 29% said that they wanted the offensive to start immediately. How do you interpret that? Look, also, the Israeli population is losing patience, because we want to see them dead. This is what the public thinks and feel, and as much as the time is going by, it's getting less and less opportunity for us, maybe, to do it. So, people in Israel want to do it very fast, but it's not really... But why are they against an immediate? Because the number was higher a week ago, last week, at 65%. Because even in Israel, even in our population, we are getting down and down with our blood, you know, our blood was boiled, and now we are coming down. We think there are other ways, but it's not the way that it will happen. Of course, it will be ground action, but it will be in time and at the right place that the army will plan it. And maybe it will be some maneuver here and some maneuver there, and not just as we are expected, as a large maneuver inside Gaza. As we saw last night, it can happen once, twice, third time. And every time, you can get other things from it. You can get other... And I should point out as well, as we're talking about this, rockets continue to be fired from Gaza today. Several rockets launched from Gaza landed in the southern city of Ashkelon today. And Ambulance Services say they're looking to see about injuries, no reports of any injuries. As yet, one rocket impacted a road in the city, another damaged a balcony. And of course, we saw that direct hit on an apartment in Tel Aviv earlier today. Three people were wounded there. So, you know, as we were talking about all of this and the potential ground invasion and when it may happen, they are very much still firing rockets. They can fast at Israel. Yeah, I think it's assumed at this point that Hamas is going to be firing rockets until really the very final stages of this war, Laura. They're not going to run out. They'll still have firing capacity. And it will take the absolute overthrow of Hamas's rule to Gaza Strip to stop the rocket fire, which is one of the reasons why we're at it in this war. Well, thank you. There are developments in the north as well. We can go up to Israel's northern border where there are concerns. The Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization, Hezbollah, is waiting to join the fight. Our Mary McAuliffe is there. Mary, what's the latest? That's right, Laura. So it's sort of gone down a little bit. But just within the past 10, 15 minutes, there were major fires on this hillside that's right beside me. We don't have an official statement from the IDF yet as of this recent event, but probably due to Israeli strikes in the area. We know the Israelis have been conducting a number of different artillery strikes in response to anti-tank missiles and other sorts of attacks in rocket launching groups that have been trying to fire into northern Israeli communities for about two weeks now. So Israel has responded with fire. We believe that is what they continue to do. It's just important to know most of the communities that you can see behind me have been ordered to evacuate due to their safety. And they continue to see these cross-border attacks from Hezbollah operatives who are working inside southern Lebanon. And then Israeli, of course, responding with fire. And we're hearing, Mary, that the IDF has been burning some of the brush, some of the hedgerows up there, a lot of fires, a lot of smoke, creating perhaps a literal smoke screen to make it more difficult for the Hezbollah terrorists. It's very possible. We don't know so much about what the IDF, how they're exactly operating in this area. Much of their military information is kept under wraps about what exactly they are doing. But we have seen multiple fires who have been raging in this area for the past two weeks. It's also possible that the fire that was right here behind me was also due to Israeli military action in the area. We know that they are absolutely on high alert here on the northern border. We have a number of our troops were forced stationed in Gaza down in the south, but a good portion of them are also stationed here in the north. That Israel is very carefully watching Hezbollah to see if it decides to get involved in this operation. But we know Hezbollah has already launched a number of attacks, not just on civilian communities, but also Israeli military infrastructure in the area. So they've also been trying to target the surveillance posts and different IDF outposts that we have really near us in this border and the communities who are just living south beneath them. So all throughout this Israeli military says it's prepared to act in any way to defend itself and it will continue to act to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks. But we do know right now the consensus seems to be that they are hoping at all costs that Hezbollah does not decide full force to enter this war. Mary, thank you very much. Mary McCall, if that was the latest from the north, well, from the north, let's head to the south. There have been rockets fired at Ashkelon in the last hour. One of them hit a road reportedly. Let's get the latest with our peer, Kloschen layer. Pia, I think you're still in Steyroth, right? What's happening down there? Right, we're nearby Steyroth and our conversation is going to be punctuated by the booms of the artillery shells that Israeli armies pounding the Gaza Strip right now as we speak. Now, there was a rocket attack on Ashkelon 55 minutes ago, three impacts according to the Israeli police, one on the residential building, one on the villa and one on the construction site. But there are no casualties. I repeat, no casualties in Ashkelon. And just 15 minutes ago, just up north on the community village, which is the closest to the Gaza Strip because it lies just on the border with the Gaza Strip in Netiva Sara. There was also a rocket strike, but we haven't heard of any casualties there. The Kibbutz was the site of the massacre. And right now only the Israeli army is occupying the village. In addition, regarding Gaza, the IDF spokesperson, spokesperson, unit chief, Rear Admiral Daniela Garry, spoke about the Shifa Hospital in Central Gaza City, which is about probably seven kilometers in the direction that I'm pointing right now. And he says that Shifa Hospital is actually underground, a command and control center for Hamas, which directs from there a rocket fire and other activities. It is also an ammunition and weapons depot and the ground in tunnels that are reaching the hospital and that are used not for the people that are hospitalized inside the hospital, but only used by Hamas terrorists. He adds that there is absolutely no shortage of fuel, but the fuel resources and the energy resources are just captive of Hamas. He shows a phone conversation in which the head of energy department says that there is absolutely no shortage of energy inside the Gaza Strip and other means of intelligence that he says is being shared with Israel's Western allies. Now, Shifa Hospital is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, with 1,500 beds and 4,000 staff members. But it's also it appears, according to the IDF, the largest command and control center. Now, why do they suddenly authorize that for publication? Because simply there's a lot of pressure for Israel to allow fuel inside the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid and safe passage to the Gaza Strip and from the Gaza Strip. And at the same time, their negotiations for the release of some of the 229 hostages kept captive by Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. And all that seems to be aimed at deflecting the pressure and possibly coming closer to the event that everyone is expected a ground incursion inside the Gaza Strip. Pierre, tell us a bit about the Marine operation that happened earlier today. There was also a naval commando of the Israeli army that landed from the sea to the area of Rafah in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip. They destroyed Hamas infrastructure. They destroyed also a compound in which the naval commandos of Hamas are located. Those naval commandos have been very instrumental in perpetrating the massacre of October 7, but also have tried since then to infiltrate Israeli territory on numerous occasions, just 48 hours ago. There was a firefight between Israeli soldiers and Hamas terrorists who tried to infiltrate the Zikim area, which is the southern tip of Israel vis-à-vis the Gaza border. Nine terrorists were killed in that firefight two days ago. Pierre, thank you very much indeed. Pierre Glashendale there, he's down in Starrot. The south has been hit by a barrage of rockets from Gaza. All right, well, the United States has taken action today. In Syria, it struck weapons depots belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. We can talk a bit about that now with Ben and Ben Taliblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Ben and thanks for joining us. This was in response, wasn't it, to IRGC attacks on American assets in Iraq a few days ago? Yes, indeed, Iraq and Syria, I think at least since October 17 or October 18, depending on how you count and what open source information you're using, there's been upwards of 10, 12, perhaps even 14 indirect fire attacks, be it mortar, rocket or drone on positions in Iraq and Syria, affiliated with the U.S. force presence. This is the first time in response to those attacks that the U.S. has authorized the use of force. The press statement following that by the Secretary of Defense did talk about something that was narrowly tailored in precision strike and self-defense with immense respect. If you do translate that conceptually into Persian, I'm sure the Iranians are not deterred, given the need by the U.S. to politically dampen the impact of the strike. When it's successfully deterred Iran, you might want to politically expand it. OK, and these strikes in and of themselves are not very unusual, are they? We do see strikes like this at a time where a war isn't raging. But given the war that's going on right now, it does have other connotations, doesn't it? Yes, there's the strategic, the broader picture, which is Iran is attacking U.S. forces this time to simply draw U.S. support away from Israel and to threaten America with a potential wider war if America continues to stand with Israel as Israel is exploring its military options against Hamas and Gaza. But back to the norm, even though, for instance, President Biden does have a greater response ratio than President Trump, meaning he's used more force against these militias historically, meaning since twenty twenty one. He has only responded or almost exclusively responded in Syria. You mentioned the point of origin of some strikes being Iraq. You mentioned some strikes in Iraq earlier. Time will tell if the U.S. will actually strike back against the point of origin in Iraq or against some of the militias that are trained and equipped in Iraq as well. And remarkably, I mean, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Amir Abdul Ali, was walking around New York yesterday. He gave an address at the UN General Assembly, in which he pretty directly threatened the United States. And he said that the United States would not be spared from the fire engulfing the region if the violence in Gaza continued. That's right. Iran is trying to hold America accountable for any kind of Israeli military action in Gaza. And more broadly, this is part of the strategic attempt by Tehran to divide Washington from Jerusalem because it knows that Jerusalem is going to be responding militarily. So Tehran is trying to do everything to save or bail out its proxy in Gaza. And at the same time, play up America's fears about escalation in a wider regional war. Again, time will tell if America falls into that trap or not. But Iranians feel increasingly emboldened, not just the Iranian officials like Abdul Laki, as you mentioned, but also hardline Iranian press having making these comments as well. Right. And over the past couple of days, we've seen the Iranian Revolution regards staging military drills, a show of force. Ben, and what should we read into that? Unfortunately, a group like the IRGC, which is the foreign terrorist organization here in the U.S., has no shortage of military drills. But right now what they're trying to do is signal resolve through more of these maneuvers, trying to get Washington to know that the regime remains risk tolerant, not risk averse. Even though the regime is facing quite a catch-22 of its own, meaning at what point would its chief proxy in the Levant, Lebanese Hezbollah, have to enter the fray and then risk even losing that to bail out another proxy. So this is really an attempt by Tehran to operationalize its ring of fire and death by a thousand cut strategy, even though it is going to be quite risky to Tehran. And that's why how Washington responds and when Washington responds and where Washington responds is going to be key to deterring Iran and keeping Iran and its proxies off the sidelines as Israel continues against Hamas. All right, Ben, thank you. Stay with us if you would. I'd like to bring in Colonel Amit Asda, formerly of the Israeli Security Agency. Hamas officials have expressed some disappointment that Hezbollah hasn't joined in more, if you like, and come to their assistance. Similar situation with Iran. I mean, what is your take on things? Why do you think Iran and Hezbollah are holding back at this stage? Iran knows that it can be complicated for for Iran and the whole region can get into a bigger war. And the sign is U.S. getting in and Moscow getting in and also the Chinese. So Iran is not is not in the game. OK, is pointing that she can be in the game. She they they want everybody to know that they are ready. But as I expected them, aesthetically, they doesn't need it. In the other hand, Hezbollah has the right hand of Iran have to show some something for for the Hamas because they expected from them to be an ally to to act at the north against Israel the same as they are fighting us in the south. So they have to do something and this acting of of violence in the north is signing the Hamas. We are with you, but still we know that they will not engage. They will not do anything as I can say now, aesthetically, of course, in war, you can know how you start the war. You don't know how it will be ended. And we can be surprised about what things can happen in Hezbollah and we have to be aware of it. And also Iran. But as I can see it, Iran will not get in. I mean, it was quite absurd to see the Iranian foreign minister in New York yesterday. Yeah, obviously ironic. But I think just as interesting to people here in Israel, Laura, it was the Iranian delegation in Moscow, right? Meeting with the Moussabou Marzouk, senior political leader in Hamas there in Russia. The Israeli government to say the least, not very happy about this. And the Kremlin doing at least a half back step away by saying it wasn't the Kremlin, it was the foreign ministry, right? That was having this meeting of Landon Putin is still committed to dialogue with Israel. So make make of that what you may. OK, Owen and I mean, Asa and Ben and Ben Tellerble, thank you very much to you all. And just to bring you up to date with where we are this hour, the IDF says that Hamas's main operations base is under the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The IDF has shared sensitive information with its allies about the group's command centre being in and underneath the hospital and is urging civilians to get out. This, as Israel continues to carry out heavy air strikes on Gaza and a barrage of Hamas rockets fired at Israel throughout the day. An apartment in Tel Aviv was hit. Three people injured, a hit also in Ashkelon today. We will keep you updated on all the very latest a lot going on here today with us. This is I-24 News. We're live from Tel Aviv. Bringing Israel's story to the world. I-24 News Channels, now on Hot. Give these kids, innocent kids who are now in some tunnel in Gaza who knows what's happened to them. Kids who saw their parents being shot and then were kidnapped into Gaza. I'm Nicole Zettick reporting in Tel Aviv. Since the outbreak of this war in Israel, our journalists here at I-24 News have been providing around the clock coverage, giving a voice to all of those impacted by the October 7th massacre. We're getting perspective on the whole left throughout Israeli society and the impact on the entire Middle East. Here are some of the best stories from our coverage since the war began. I understand that this is going to happen. I wanted it to happen and I'm proud of it. It was a very, very decisive moment that we're not going to leave them now. You said you were going to kill them. I was going to kill them, yes. I was going to kill them. That's why. We're talking to each other and we're listening to each other. And we're saying no. And so is the child. We're not going to leave him. We're not leaving him. Miri, Miki and Vita are a small group of children. Amur was going to give birth to some families who are in a very poor family who were forced to stay in their own homes. One of the most important members of the family was the one who created their own life. Miki, one of the unique families of the State of Israel. How is it? It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. It's great. There's nothing else to say and not say. So it doesn't. I wouldn't have to be happy. There's nothing in this life to say. No, I wouldn't be happy. We're happy because of it. It's great. And the photo there is the one that a problem has. 6.5C on the morning of October 7. The weather is Bad, When a storm is about to shower, Even when the roof of a building is broken, it's connected to the Kibbutz Pass. Their big house is empty, there's a night before, so friends are in the room. And after they're sure they're going to school and that they're in the right place, they're back home. 40 minutes later, we've already started to hear the sounds of the Kibbutz Pass. I thought it was the sound, or something big. And it sometimes happens. And then you realize that the sounds start to get closer to you and you hear a noise. Suddenly, people are receiving messages on the internet, there's people fighting in the house. You start to hear the sounds, the sounds of Arabs everywhere, the sounds of the fighting. The sound of the Kibbutz Pass, the sound of the Kibbutz Pass, and the sound of the Kibbutz Pass. And whoever finds that he's going to be in the wrong place, and if he's going to be in the wrong place, and we're the ones fighting here, and fighting here, and all kinds of things, I was very surprised when I saw the kids, I told them they were in the wrong place. In that situation, they didn't let us talk, there was no sound. But I feel something... It's happening, and I was sure it was the sound, I see. From the moment the Kibbutz Pass was opened, the Kibbutz Pass was closed for five times as much as it could be. I was actually in the Kibbutz Pass, in the middle of the Kibbutz Pass, and I was in the middle of the Kibbutz Pass, and I realized that I needed more equipment. I had a small slick in my right hand. I was in the house, in the living room, and suddenly the Kibbutz Pass started to play, the sounds of the Kibbutz Pass. One of the Kibbutz Passes started to play, and I ran to the other side of the building. I turned on the light, I noticed that the Kibbutz Pass was really broken, and then I saw them, there were three of them. There was a hole in the head, these holes. Head, neck, neck. They were so close, so close. I also remember their faces, I also remember the background there, their faces, the distance between them. After a few seconds, the other building, on the other side of the building, started to play. The same thing, I ran to the other side, the same hole, less or less, and I ran to the other side. I ran again, and then I heard the sounds, sounds of the street, you hear the sound from the jeep, you hear the sounds they make, and the sounds they make, and the sounds they make, and then the RPG to Delet, the game. Delet is gone, I also heard the sound from the shed, I understood what was happening, I turned on the light, I turned on the light, I turned on the light, and every time they came to turn on the light, they were playing with Yeri, without a gun, without a gun, I was fighting, someone came in, Yeri was 1 or 2, shooting, shooting, and that's how we heard it, 6 and a half hours later, Yeri didn't make it. For those who knew, that they were coming, to some place in the neighborhood, to some house, to a house and a house. So it was their house. You know that? I understand that now. Other houses? Yes, the houses. There were even water that came to us, the pool, the house of their wife, they brought the mother, the mother, and told me that I was going to go, and that I will leave, and that I will not leave everyone here, and then they brought her child. After 2 or 3 years, she started to fight, I was sorry, I was angry, I was at 10 or 12, They were fighting? They were fighting, I heard her fight, and her hysteria, I remember I told her that I love her, and in that, they took her. Was it a fight? Fights, fights. Where are you from? Where are you from? There was another fight between the 16th, that also came to us. I also understood there that I have to open the door, because it is a part of them, and it is also very important that they put people there. There is no dilemma. There is no dilemma. And also in Diabad, this child is released. Is it Thomas? Fight, fight. Fight, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of people, I don't want to fight. Fight, fight, fight. I was afraid of being hit, I didn't want to stop fighting, I was... I was behind, I was listening to my eyes. I didn't think... You were all the time? Yes, I was more and more afraid. And it was the first time that I was with my hands, and I gave the opportunity to stop, because I didn't want to stop. So I looked at her eyes, and I saw how much she was afraid. I understood that I had to keep fighting, and to stop fighting now, because she also didn't help me. She was afraid to stop? She was afraid to stop. After a few hours of fighting because of the fighters, a psychological war also began there, mainly with one of them, the person who led the fight and broke all the rules. There is no one here, not you, not your wife, not your child. I took the time to keep fighting, and I started to keep fighting. I told him that I was ready to fight. I was ready to fight, only if he opened up for me that he wouldn't hurt the woman and the child. And yes, I was also afraid that I would be a little angry, that I would hurt myself, that I would be a little angry, that I would be afraid. There are also questions about Islam and the Qur'an. Why do you do these things? It's not something that... He's against you? He's against me. He said that we are in Islam, they don't hurt women and children, and they don't do these things. The English language is good, it makes you feel better, and it gives you water. You know, you don't have water. You think he speaks in a very intelligent way, that he knows what he's doing, right? He knows what he's saying, he knows what he's saying. Like, he's ready to fight? Yes, very, very, someone who's ready to fight, and he knows how to do it. At some point, he said to me, he's angry, he said to me, now I'm going to talk to you, and I'll start talking to you later. And he told me to start talking to you later. And then I saw it, he was standing in front of his teacher, standing in front of his teacher, and he said to me, I'm going to talk to you later. And then I started talking to him later. I remember that in ten or twelve years, I left when he left, and I said to him, I'm going to talk to you later. So he said, I want to talk to you later, if you know what to do, you can open the door, and I'll talk to you later. I'm going to talk to you later, to see if I can talk to you later. And then I said to him, I'll open the door for him to see and the family to see what I've opened for him. I don't know how to open the door of the R-Pig, what to do with the R-XG commands. This Saturday, he was next week, I remember he was starting to open it, he just opened the door and noticed I was here. I tried? I tried. And that's where it happened. You know, like, we had a few fights, we had a few fights in the end, and you're back in your own home. I had a few fights in ten or fourteen months. There were 14 of them. They were all coming to your house. Yes. So how many were in the kitchen? All of them? There were 300 of them. 300 of them? At least. Yes, it was a big deal. It was a big deal. And it was hard. I had to say it. Because many families didn't want to listen to themselves. They were angry. We were angry. Maybe a little angry. Maybe a little angry. I'm not a human being. But maybe all of them. But what if they didn't want to listen to them? It's a bit hard to say, wow, we won. Because that's a lot of them. I'm not happy with life yet. I can say a little thank you, but it's hard to say thank you because there are so many families in Israel. It's not a feeling of anger. It's hard to say thank you with friends who are angry and don't find me. Thank you. I got to my family in the end of the year. I have more feelings than anger. I think about them. Yes, a lot of them. I sit here and they don't. It's hard. It's hard even to eat. Maybe they don't eat or don't drink. In the meantime, all the family is angry because of the food that was not enough to create a connection with the entire family. They try to find out what happened in the Shabbat. How, in the help of a great help, they managed to make it to the castle more than 10 people were angry. 50 of them were angry and angry. You said you want to go back to the castle even if it's boring. You said you can stay for a while after the Shabbat, but do you want to go back? First of all, it gives a sense of security that we come and give a hand also to our help. And there is also a lot of sense of feeling that it's worth it. Really worth it. I think it's worth the effort of our friends who simply, simply, just like that. You can't give them the feeling that it's worth it, right? You can't give them the feeling that it's worth it. It's worth it. The feeling that it's worth it, it's worth it. The feeling that the state of the country is my faith. It's worth it. No formal name. Now, in morning, 60 Israeli Bedouins live in this village in the eastern Negev. On October 7th, they were on the front line against Hamas rockets. Traces of the attack are still visible throughout the village. Rocket shrapnel on the ground and cars torn apart by the impact, all bearing witness to the violence. But it's the people who died. I have four cousins who died in front of my eyes. It's a disaster. A rocket fell on the village around 6.30 am. We all ran to see what happened if anyone was hurt. There was only material damage, so we moved away and sat down in a tent, the whole family. Gradually, the people dispersed and there were just five people in the tent. After the emergency of the situation, the Israeli army provided concrete shelters the day after the war began. But these makeshift shelters aren't reassuring for the local residents. The situation is bad as our villages are not officially recognized. The state considers them wastelands. So we don't have any warning sirens, barely any shelters, miserable concrete blocks that were brought in the day after the attack, but it was too late that we had to move away. Since the beginning of the war, the Bedouin community has suffered at least 19 deaths from Hamas. Some by rockets. Others killed at point-blank range during the terrorist incursions of October 7th, a traumatic experience for the entire community. The majority of casualties in the Bedouin community occurred within 48 hours of the attack. Many people. There were many wounded and seven hostages. We were on the front line. Many of us live below the poverty line. And half of the people live outdoors. These people have no protection. People are traumatized. Nevertheless, the Bedouins are getting involved. Volunteer initiatives have been set up to help both the Bedouin community and the region's Jewish inhabitants. In Hurra, east of Beersheba, an emergency council has been set up since the beginning of the war. Leading members of the Bedouin community have been meeting twice a week to evaluate the situation and find solutions to the most urgent problems. We're all meeting here to provide solutions to the lack of shelter and organize Bedouin volunteers who want to help. What's more, over 60% of the Bedouin community is under age of 18. So how can we continue to provide them with education in wartime? We have to set up a remote education system, but half of the children live in unrecognized villages with no access to internet. So Zoom doesn't work. Initiatives that try to lighten the burden of war for populations still in shock. Two weeks into Israel's war with Hamas, there are still heartwarming gestures from volunteers who come to help the people of the south. Several organizations have joined forces to assist the farmers affected by the fighting. Driving down and seeing all the cars actually going towards the war zone and not running away, I think it says a lot about the power that we have as a nation, as a people. And coming here hearing the echoes from the war zone, meanwhile picking and helping the farmers out in times of need, it's an amazing feeling. It's really empowering and gives a really good feeling that we're in the right direction and we're here in Mosheviated, close to the Gaza border, only a few farmers are left to work in the fields. The farmers have many problems these days, such as the absence of foreign workers from Thailand and Palestinian workers who can't work here now. So the assistance of volunteers is needed. In addition to that, some of the farmers were killed in the initial Hamas onslaught and others were recruited to military service. So we operate this project, not just here, but across Israel. High 24 news joint shy, a local farmer who points out the damage done by a rocket from Gaza. This is a crater made by a 170 millimeter rocket. It caused huge damage to the environment. The plants were destroyed. The poles were broken. We need major renovation here. We're lucky we didn't have workers here to survive this. As we tour the greenhouse, we hear a siren. We're farmers. We don't have anything else. This is our job. This is our home. We need to secure this place. We are guarding the borders. We never thought about leaving here. Our wives and the foreign workers left for security reasons. We can't leave this place. Not far from here, in the Amios village, another group of volunteers assist in collecting tomatoes. We got used to the rockets. What happened on October 7th was frightening. We'll learn how to live with it. But we need that the country will reorganize and help agriculture. Farmers say the current crisis may lead to a lack of fruit and vegetables for the entire country. In the meantime, they are continuing farmers while hoping for more assistance from the government and help from the public. It was only four days after the Hamas massacre in the villages near the Gaza border that the dairy farmers were allowed to return to their farms to milk their cows. In the morning, the time was at the end of the year in the year 2023 in the hands of the public. While terrorists were attacking his keyboards near its back, Shmuel the farmer was in his dairy farm. It was Saturday I went to feed the cows. At 6.30, I heard the siren go off. As I'm used to it, I took no notice, but continued working. I couldn't imagine what was going on near the keyboard's gate. I was almost done working and on my way home. I saw the commotion. I ran home, shut myself in the safe room with my wife. We heard the terrorists around our home and they also entered our home. It was terrifying. Shmuel's son-in-law, Tal Haimi was taken by Hamas to Gaza while he was trying to protect his family. In his tragedy, Shmuel refused to leave his kibbutz. Someone had to take care of the cows. I stayed to safeguard the farm. I can't abandon the animals. Secondly, my son is the dairy farm manager. He's a father of two. I couldn't allow him to stay here. If someone should stay, it should be me. The Israeli dairy farm industry relies on workers from Thailand. When Hamas terrorists entered the villages on October 7th, they murdered and kidnapped the foreigners as well. In one village, 15 people from Thailand were butchered. Now, many are planning to flee Israel. Others are prepared to stay but not next to the border with Gaza. And few are willing to come back. I will stay in Thailand and cope with my mental health in the meantime. I have lost 10 of my colleagues. To save the remaining cows, people from across Israel have volunteered to keep the dairy farms working. Rachel immigrated to Israel six years ago. She's now a volunteer on Shmuel's farm. Because of the war and everything, everyone left to take care of all the animals, the cows. That way when they come back, they have a place home. They're still intact. Even though the area is not secure, Rachel chose to stay. The best way I could help is just honestly coming out here. I was scared. Some moments, definitely some moments during the day that, you know, there's a azaka and we're running and don't know when to come out. But it's important to be here, to come back. It was meant to be to come here and help out and I'm happy to be here. But even with the help of volunteers, the financial damage is grave. With the volunteers, we mainly keep the farmer float. It means feeding the cows and milking them. Not more. The damage is severe and we don't take care of them properly. There are a lot of malfunctions, but we deal with that. There's no other option. It's clear to me that I will need to exchange some of the cows and rebuild the herds. Some cows died after not being milked for three days and one dairy farmer, Kibbutz Kisafim, was shut down after the female dairy farmer was murdered. Now in the midst of the war, the government has decided to prolong the dairy import, which will damage the dairy farm's income even more. To save the area's milk industry, Shmiel is pleading for government help. Now, except for the government, everyone is supporting us. The only ones who have not shown their support are the government. It's very frustrating. I want to say to them, remember us after this war ends. Help us recover this lifelong dream after the war. This is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking. Within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped. Help us, we don't want to do... We just don't know anything. Entire families, including babies and children and elderly, were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong. Everyone is showing up. This is the unicycle. Sir, that's him. Are you ready to come? I'm ready. This week on News 24, Israel under attack. News 24 in Spanish brings the analysis and information about the events of the war, Iron swords. Exclusive interviews and reports from the war zone. The reaction of Spanish-speaking countries. News 24, the only medium in Spanish that keeps you informed and connected with the Latin community in Israel. News 24, only on iTunes 24 News. The American Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world. And the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States. And in that regards they should be a national treasure. So it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct. This breaking news edition, I'm Betsy Eleventh coming to you live from Tel Aviv. Today 21 of war here in Israel. The world consistently demands more proof and evidence from Israel to not only justify its self-defense but keep the Jewish state in line during its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In a recent briefing to international media outlet IDF Spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says the Hamas terror group's main base of operations is under if you can believe this, Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip. To back that up let's take a look at this clip. It shows several underground complexes under the hospital which are used by the terror group leaders to direct attacks against Israel. There's also an entrance to the tunnels within one of the wards. Hamas's internal security also has a command center inside Shifa Hospital where it stores weapons. Here is more on this tactic from the IDF Spokesperson. Hamas is cynically using hospitals and as a shield for its underground terror complex. I want to explain. There is an underground metro tunnels in Gaza City, not just in Gaza City. Usually it's based next to next to unique sites or sensitive sites not just the hospital but other sites as mass etc etc. Unra places, hospital schools, etc etc. This is a philosophy of Hamas and Shifa is one of them. It is here in Shifa Hospital where Hamas operates some of its command and control cells. This is where the direct rocket attacks command Hamas forces, Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza with network of terror tunnels. Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards meaning from different places of the hospital you can go into an underground tunnel that will provide you shelter. We'll show it now in a map. This is an illustration of Shifa Hospital and the underground facilities. I want to repeat. This is only an illustration. We will not share here the true material. We will not share here the true material that we have in our hands. This is only an illustration. Right now terrorists move freely in Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza. We have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7th. Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure. Hamas wages war from hospitals. By operating from these hospitals Hamas not only in dangers the lives of Israelis civilians but also exploit innocent Gaza civilians as human shield. Rocket sirens are blaring across the Gaza border towns at the moment. Meanwhile action is heating up on the Israeli-Israeli border. Tehran recently launched more anti-tank guided missiles on open fire with light arms at an Israeli military position near the border. Some of the latest developments do not even involve Jerusalem which is only adding to the growing concerns that the Israel Hamas conflict may spread in the Middle East. On Friday two U.S. fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria in retaliation for attacks on American forces by Iranian-backed militia. They have been attacked at least 19 times in Iraq and in Syria by Iranian-backed forces in the past week. Let's cross now live to our correspondent Mary McAuliffe who is standing by for us in northern Israel. Mary reports coming out now by the R&DF saying that rockets that were fired from Lebanon toward Israel actually hit Syria. That's right Batia, so this is likely to be an area in the Golan Heights that was likely what we believe that some of these terror aspects were trying to hit communities but then going across the border into Syria. The IDF saying in a statement this is why no sirens were launched in the area. Nobody was forced to take shelter because they determined that one either wasn't going to launch an Israeli community, not even a community inside Israel's boundaries coming into the Syrian area. But of course this continues to be the strategy that we've seen from between Israel and Hezbollah. They continue to trade fires across this border that you can see just behind me throughout the day. We've seen a number of different fires. Israel attempted launches into Israeli communities as well as also at Israeli military infrastructure that's on the border and I'm going to step out of the way. Igor Bazlenko behind the camera can show you just a little bit. It's gone down a bit so I'm not sure you can even see the smoke. It's also a bit foggy today but just about an hour ago there were major plumes of smoke rising from that hillside over there. Just beyond that hillside of course is Lebanon. So we're standing very near the Israel Lebanon border and this is an area that has seen numerous fires over the past two weeks that will continue to trade these attacks. But Hezbollah says right now that their sources inside Hezbollah are saying that they're not trying to go to a full out war but what we're seeing here is a bit of a tit-for-tat operations Israel and Hezbollah continuing against each other. Amir, it seems like we have lost a little bit of connection there with you. Thank you so much for that update and we'll be crossing live to you for more updates a little bit later. Terror factions in the Gaza Strip also launched rockets at cities in both the south and center of Israel. In the southern coastal city of Ashkelon there was one reported rocket impact on a road which damage also caused to the balcony of an apartment in a high-rise building. In the center three people were wounded this afternoon including one moderately after a rocket hit an apartment in Tel Aviv. Footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the top floor of the building. Our correspondent Piers Stakobach was there earlier and filed this report. The rocket that was fired from Gaza into central Israel, the rocket that hit the building here right behind me at about 210 local time, a barrage of rockets was fired into central Israel here. Hitting that building in a residential neighborhood in East Tel Aviv injuring four people too lightly too moderately, the two moderately injured were transported to hospital and this is really a dramatic example for the fact that the Iron Dome rocket interception system does not have a 100% success rate. How important it is to adhere to the instructions of the home front command and enter a safe space once the sirens here go off as you can see. The cleaning is still in process so you can still see the firefighters here as the rocket impact sent the upper floor of this building on fire here. Luckily it did not spark onto other buildings that are here behind me. There is a very dense neighborhood here as well and four people were injured none of them seriously which is a consequence of people actually listening to the instructions of the home front command to a very dramatic example that also in the center of Israel, also in the center of Tel Aviv rockets can impact and how important it is for residents to stay safe to seek safe areas once the sirens here go off. That was not the only barrage that was fired to Tel Aviv today, only a few minutes after that barrage was fired, another one was fired to Tel Aviv here, that one building impacted after a building had already been impacted in the first week of the war in another neighborhood of Tel Aviv and this is really another stark reminder for the fact that it is dangerous in these situations and that safe spaces need to be seeked for when sirens go off here again, a residential building impacted here, spark fire was incited by the rocket impact here, four people are injured. This is Piyas Deklebach reporting for I-24 News from Tel Aviv. And with me here in studio is Reserve Captain Guy Poran, co-leader of the Air Force Pilots and our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Altman, good evening to you both gentlemen. Guy, there is a lot of concern for the fact that rockets are not only being targeted towards the center of the country, but actually impacting buildings and infrastructure and the reason that I say that is because over the last couple of days a lot of the international media has been putting out reports that their correspondence based in Israel, particularly in Tel Aviv seem to be getting back to somewhat we can attest that that's not quite true. No, no, it isn't and a lot of people are surprised by the fact that in spite of all the bombardment and all the pressure on Hamas, they managed to launch practically every day additional rockets. However the number of rockets and out of those, the number that actually hit and are not intercepted are relatively low. So the issue, I don't think that this is something that's going to impact the main concerns right now both as far as entry into Gaza and what's going on over there and the hostages as well as in the north. I mean people in the center like myself every day running to the shelter has normalized unfortunately especially when you don't see people actually getting killed here in the center. But I'm afraid we're going to have to leave with that for a while. And Owen, I want to speak to you a little bit about you. You started by mentioning the pressure that's being put and there is being pressure put at the moment on the fact that the U.S. has imposed new sanctions on eight individuals that have links to Hamas. How practical is it at this point to be putting sanctions on Hamas on Iran on increasing these kinds of things? Do they actually work in times of war? Can we use examples from Ukraine and Russia? This is cat and mouse game as sanctions always are, right? It's hard to imagine that putting sanctions on eight individuals is going to be a game-changer and taking on Hamas. I think Hamas is more threatened by other activities that are going on right now than these sanctions. But obviously having a robust sanctions regime is an important I think an important part of foreign policy and public policy. Certainly the Iran sanctions have made an impact. They've been unevenly enforced, particularly on issues of oil. These of course are separate issues from the immediate issues of the war but I hope and expect that the whole Iran sanctions regime I'm sure will be revisited in the months to come in Washington as Iran's involvement, whether direct or indirect, and everything that's going on here and all the threats that hover over us and hover over the entire region and hover over American troops become clear. As going back to the thing you and Guy were talking about, the sense of normalcy here, just to give viewers a sense, it is true that there is a very, very cautious return to normalcy in some senses. The education system in fits and starts starting to come back but still almost COVID era style debates about what to open and how a concern about rockets but frankly even more concern about potential terror attacks on educational institutions and big pushes for armed guards and weapons and organization of neighborhood patrol groups. It's an element of the war, Bacchia that has not gotten a lot of attention either in foreign media or Israeli media but when 400,000 Israelis are taking out weapons licenses that has long-term consequences for the feel of Israeli life and Israeli security. So there's that element and just in terms of the more granular level of normal life the mall this morning was packed almost as if it were a normal Friday but restaurants were largely closed at least an area where I live. So again there is a certain cautious return to normalcy at least for essential services like getting food for Shabbat for example but in terms of entertainment and culture and restaurants and all the rest there there's really no return to normalcy so the idea that everything is fine because Tel Aviv has a beach and there's nice weather and Israelis thankfully aren't being killed left and right at least in the center of the country unlike what happened on the Gaza border where 1,400 people were massacred it doesn't really tell the full story of course obviously to stipulate that it's better to be a civilian in Tel Aviv right now than it is civilian in Gaza but that doesn't mean that everything here is fully normal and that everything is calm. Absolutely and speaking of a place that evidently is not fully normal in the south of the country the IDF says that it hit around 250 Hamas Terran targets overnight in the same time frame the Israeli army sent tanks and troops into Gaza for a second limited incursion it marks the second night in a row that forces briefly entered the strip ahead of an expected full ground offensive. Let's go now live to our correspondent Pierre Closh and Lowe standing by for us in southern Israel. Pierre Sirens went off just a short while ago in the south how frequent have they been throughout the afternoon and the evening where you are? Well it started around two o'clock over Ashkelon and Ashdod to major city in the southern part of the country and then it moved like a bad wind to the northern edge of the Gaza Strip to Netiva Asara which is a community village really lying on the border fence between Gaza and Israel and was the site of a major massacre and then it moved to near its track a couple of minutes ago which is in the southern sector facing the Gaza Strip but there was a major rocket attack in Ashkelon about two hours ago three impacts one on the residential building according to the Israel police one on the construction site and one on a villa but no casualty only damage to the building and the construction site so that's the routine basically and you can maybe hear while I'm talking the pounding by the Israeli artillery of Hamas targets inside the Gaza Strip it's been incessant since we've been here about 3-4 hours ago an unrelented pounding of the Gaza Strip you know for hours and hours I would say Correspondent Pierre Clushen like giving us an update there in the south of Israel, thank you very much for that still with me here in studio reserve Captain Guy Poran and Owen Ultiman there was a recent poll that was cited today in the newspaper Mariv that said that almost half of Israelis that was about 49% if I'm not mistaken oppose an immediate ground incursion into the Gaza Strip we know that there's a fortune of different angles here and reasonings as to why there's been a delay but is this strategically smart to be holding off for the time being to get all the ducks in a row so to speak before going in it's a very tough question and I think it obviously in the war cabinet there are it's a very clear division between those people who think everybody thinks that trying to release the hostages is a major goal unlike the beginning when everybody was talking about just destroying Hamas and the hostages it has become a major role even the Prime Minister has announced that maybe before yesterday however there's still a division whether Israel's leverage in terms of even releasing the hostages we're better off now doing some kind of negotiation still and maybe trading them against petrol and other prisoners versus those people who are sure that only when Hamas with a ground invasion which is going to put more leverage on Hamas and more pressure only then we're going to be able to negotiate to better negotiate and I don't think that there is a very clear answer evidently even within the cabinet there is a division there we know about it now it's reported this division personally I think that exhausting all the options of trying to do the deals that apparently the Qataris are announcing that it's very imminent trying to do that before entering makes more sense because the difference between entering tomorrow morning and in a week after a possible release of some hostages I don't see how it makes a big military difference Owen we know the double standards and I dare say the hypocrisy of a lot of the international media when it comes to Israel and what's occurring now against Hamas in the Gaza Strip but something that was quite alarming was the fact that every time Hamas run health ministry including officials on the Palestinian side put out numbers it almost seems to be universally adopted and adopted by the United Nations with them even putting out a statement today to say they're not sure how much fuel petrol as you mentioned is actually there in reserves but they're going to go with the numbers that Hamas tells them I forget the United Nations in terms of international media I think the good news here is that Israel is actually winning the rightful war against the numbers from the Gaza health ministry more and more international news media outlets are casting doubt in those numbers as the numbers should have doubt cast upon them we heard President Biden himself come out and say he doesn't believe the numbers so I think it's becoming more and more universally understood that the numbers just don't have any meaning that the numbers are thrown out there that the numbers don't have much basis that the numbers can't be trusted and that I suspect the numbers to this very day Bacha include 500 people killed by an Israeli airstrike on a hospital there was no Israeli and there were no 500 people killed so obviously the numbers can't be trusted and I think international news media outlets again through fits and starts and having their teeth pulled to do so in some cases are more and more having to essentially label the numbers as not verified at the very least or having little credibility the end of the day I think media outlets have to report the number in some way because those are the only numbers of casualty figures coming out of Gaza by the way Jonathan Conricus one of the IDF spokespersons and before he was called up on reserves of course a frequent guest here in I-24 News said in one interview that the IDF is trying to use intelligence to get real death toll counts from Gaza and that would obviously be a great service to truth but look obviously the United Nations and United Nations humanitarian agencies there maybe the best argument in favor of them is they're trying to help innocent civilians the best way for them to function in Gaza is to work with Hamas done to their head and to follow Hamas's lead and they may feel that doing so under duress is the best way to actually serve innocent people in Gaza be that all as it may we don't have to trust what they say and guy speaking okay the numbers perhaps may not have meaning but surely visuals and audio should and Israel as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast has been called on to release a fortune of proof and evidence now a clip that went viral yesterday showed a senior Hamas official someone from the political bureau storming out of a BBC interview because the hosts press them about Israeli civilians being killed of which he said that was clearly not the intention and we also now see reports coming out that Hamas is rejecting the idea of assertion of command centers being hit under the hospital calling them baseless but there's proof I know I know and I agree with all and that actually when the situation is so clearly a lie it is it it acts against them because they lose credibility even on something that they might say in truth very important point right so it's actually they are shooting it was a huge fake you're absolutely right if you're going to fake the numbers don't fake them this badly and so with such an ability to prove you lie and the fact that they did it out of stupidity and out of hastfulness you know they wanted to immediately create an international vague against Israel was shooting themselves in the foot and from that point I agree it's a victory to Israel at the same time there are those channels overseas that their agenda is to reflect the Israeli side of hurting people over there and they would obviously emphasize those images but I think it's a major and the hospital story is a milestone in that sense because it was such an obvious lie that everybody afterwards after that event should say but why should we believe you now absolutely and I want to take off that point if I have a minute it's not only that it was a huge tactical mistake it was a very consequential tactical mistake because the death toll figures from Gaza is essentially the death star of Hamas propaganda like in the movie if you hit that you destroy all of it because people abroad are playing the basketball game right which side has more dead and whoever is more dead that's the side that I'm going to support but once you say that that number of more dead is a fake number it's much harder to keep score if you will in that gory basketball game and it really does a great service to the truth and to Israel's effort that plus what they have done here in the beginning of this situation where it's so clearly proved you know that we see these images and all the correspondence that could actually go and see those you know the bodies and the children while this guy on the BBC is claiming that they had clear instructions not to kill civilians I know this is so ridiculous so from that point of view I think we're winning Guy Perrain Owen Altman thank you both very much for breaking down a complex issue here in studio and moving on now UDDEM is the biggest volunteer organization in Israel more than 60,000 people are involved they're focused on helping out displace residents organizations and even military units take a look This small school in the central city of Petach Tikva has become the temporary headquarters of Yedidim the Hebrew word for friends and the biggest volunteer organization in Israel the organization is known mostly for helping cars stuck on the road but now does much more we are acting on three main levels the first level concerns the people's spirit we are organizing barbecues and military bases we are taking care of the families the second level is helping the public we fix security rooms we deliver food and supplies the third level is the front we understand what they lack and we supply them with everything they need I-24 News joined a team on their daily mission our first stop is in a makeshift military base near the southern city of Ufaqim a group of reserve soldiers are asking for ratchet straps look I don't try to find out why things are missing here but as someone who serves for two years in this unit I know that whenever I need something I can turn to Yedidim organization the second stop is in Bersheva where the team joins another group of volunteers on their way to fix the window of a security room one member of the Bersheva team tells us about his experience on October 7th starting from 5 p.m. Saturday we started to help the forces to collect the bodies from the party at Reim I was there until Monday morning in the organization's warehouse we see a variety of objects donated to soldiers and civilians from simple shirts to drones worth thousands of dollars this is perhaps another example of the rare spirit of giving helping and caring in the Israeli society today and joining me here in studio is Eva Levy a volunteer for Yadidim and a physiotherapist in France welcome firstly and secondly tell us a little bit about the organization and what it is exactly that you're doing to assist the soldiers hello so the organization was starting like at the beginning of the war today there is like one of the physiotherapists and the Facebook message saying that hey this is a real mess that's happening right now so maybe we can help in the military bases as a physiotherapist so who want to reach out and go help and so maybe 30 physiotherapists like had to respond and I respond from my house in Paris so I book flight and I came here to help that's pretty amazing you've been able to fly from your home in Paris to come and assist here in Israel and there's been a lot of emphasis placed on the mental the psychological factors of this war but still the physical is a very big variable in particular because the mind and the body are so closely connected definitely in the military bases all the soldiers get used to the pain and so they didn't like really connect to their bodies so when we arrive at first they're all saying that it's kind of cool everything is okay again deeply they are already in a lot of pain their backs are like a mess because they're handling a lot of weight and so we are trying to make them understand that you have to take care of your body if you want to be a better soldier and that's all part of our job are there others in the organization that also flew out from abroad to assist here or most of them local we all come from Israel I'm the only one who comes from Europe we are reaching out in a spot like Tel Aviv or something like this and we're going together in the military bases that's really just an unbelievable initiative I salute you for the job that you do it's not easy work and the fact that you came here from abroad in order to assist in the war effort is just amazing thank you so very much for joining us here on the broadcast and continue the fabulous work that you do and that brings us to the end of this broadcast but for anything you must make sure to check out our website at i24news.tv of course you can also tune in at the top of the hour for more updates from the north and the southern border as well as more in-depth analysis right here in studio stay with us at the top of the hour we'll be right back 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 because we don't know what to do we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity and in Israel Bonds it is the most powerful and direct way to stand with Israel visit israelbonds.com and invest now 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 i24news good evening ladies and gentlemen this breaking news edition I'm about the 11th or coming July from Tel Aviv thanks for joining me this evening it's day 21 of war here in Israel consistently demands more proof and evidence from Israel to not only justify itself defense but keep the Jewish state in line during its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a recent briefing to international media outlets idea of spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says the Hamas terror groups main base of operations is under if you can believe this she for hospital the largest in the Gaza Strip to back that up take a look at this clip it shows several underground complexes under the hospital which are used by the terror group leaders to direct attacks against Israel there's also an entrance to the tunnels within one of the wards Hamas's internal security also has a command center inside she for hospital where it stores weapons here is more on this tactic from the idea of spokesperson Hamas is cynically using hospitals and as a shield for its underground terror complex I want to explain there is an underground metro tunnels in Gaza city not just in Gaza city usually it's based next to next to unique sites or sensitive sites not just the hospital but other sites as most etc etc. Unra places hospital schools etc etc. this is a philosophy of Hamas and Shifa is one of them it is here in Shifa hospital where Hamas operates some of its command and control cells this is where the direct rocket attacks command Hamas forces Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa hospital and other hospitals in Gaza with network of terror tunnels Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards meaning from different places of the hospital you can go into an underground tunnel that will provide you shelter we'll show it now in a map this is an illustration of Shifa hospital and the underground facilities I want to repeat this is only an illustration we will not share here the true material we will not share here the true material that we have in our hands this is only an illustration right now terrorists move freely in Shifa hospital and other hospitals in Gaza we have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7 Hamas uses Shifa hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure Hamas wages war from hospitals by operating from these hospitals Hamas not only in dangers the lives of Israelis civilians but also exploit innocent Gaza civilians as human shield rocket sirens are blaring across the Gaza border towns at the moment with meanwhile action is heating up on Israel's northern border Kazbalatogra recently launched more anti-tank guided missiles on open fire with light arms at an Israeli military position near the border some of the latest developments do not even involve Jerusalem which is only adding to the growing concerns that the Israel Hamas conflict may spread in the Middle East on Friday two US fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria in retaliation for attacks on American forces by Iranian backed militia US and coalition troops have been attacked 18 times in Iraq and in Syria by Iranian backed forces in the past week let's cross now live to our correspondent Mary McAuliffe who is standing by for us in northern Israel Mary reports coming out now by the IDF saying that rockets that were fired from Lebanon toward Israel actually hit Syria that's right Batia so this is likely to be an area in the Golan Heights that was likely what we believe that some of these terror aspects were trying to hit inside northern Israeli across the border into Syria the IDF saying in a statement this is why no sirens were launched in the area nobody was forced to take shelter because they determined that one either wasn't going to launch an Israeli community not even a community inside Israel's boundaries coming into the Syrian area but of course it continues to be the strategy that we've seen from between Israel and Hezbollah they continue to trade fires across this border that you can see just behind me throughout the day we've seen Israeli communities as well as also at Israeli military infrastructure that's on the border and I'm going to step out of the way Igor Bazlenko behind the camera can show you just a little bit it's gone down a bit so I'm not sure you can even see the smoke it's also a bit foggy today but just about an hour ago there were major plumes of smoke rising from that hillside over there just beyond that hillside of course is Lebanon so we're standing very near the Israel Lebanon border and this is an area that has seen numerous fires over the past a lot of these attacks but Hezbollah says right now that their sources inside Hezbollah are saying that they're not trying to go to a full out war but what we're seeing here is a bit of a tit-for-tat operations Israel Hezbollah continuing against each other Mary it seems like we have lost a little bit of connection there with you thank you so much for that update and we'll be crossing live to you for more updates a little bit later terror factions in the Gaza Strip also launched a major barrage of attacks with the south and center of Israel in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon there was one reported rocket impact on a road which damage also caused to the balcony of an apartment in a high-rise building in the center three people were wounded this afternoon including one moderately after a rocket hit an apartment in Tel Aviv footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the top floor of the building a correspondent pierce was there early and files this behind me this is the rocket that was fired from Gaza into central Israel at the rocket that hit the building here right behind me at about two ten local time barrage of rockets was fired into central Israel here hitting that building in a residential neighborhood in Eastern Tel Aviv injuring four people too likely to moderately the two moderately injured were transported to hospital and this is really dramatic example for the fact that the iron dome rocket interception system does not have a hundred holes in it is to adhere to the instructions of the home front command and enter a safe space once the sirens here well as you can see the cleaning is still in process so you can still see the firefighters here as the rocket impact set the upper floor of this building on fire here it luckily did not spark onto other buildings that are here behind it is a very dense neighborhood here as well and four people were injured none of them seriously which is a consequence of people actually being able to get out of the construction of the home front command to a very dramatic example but also in the center of Israel also in the center of Tel Aviv rockets can impact and how important it is for residents to stay safe to seek safe areas once the sirens here will go off that was not the only barrage that was fired toward Tel Aviv today only a few minutes after that barrage was fired another one was fired to a Tel Aviv fear that one building impacted after it building here in Tel Aviv and this is really another stark reminder for the fact that it is dangerous in these situations and that safe spaces need to be seeked for when sirens will go off here again the residential building impacted here spark fire was incited by the rocket impact here four people are injured this is Piaz Tegrebach reporting for I-24 News from Tel Aviv and with me here in studio is reserve captain Gaya Poran co-leader pilot's protest and a former Air Force pilot himself and our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Altman good evening to you both gentlemen guy there is a lot of concern for the fact that rockets are not only being targeted towards the center of the country but actually impacting buildings and infrastructure and the reason that I say that is because over the last couple of days a lot of the international media has been putting out reports that their correspondence based in Israel in particular in Tel Aviv seem to be normal although we can attest that that's not quite true no no it isn't and you know a lot of people are surprised by the fact that in spite of all the bombardment and all the pressure on Hamas they managed to launch practically every day additional rockets however you know the number of rockets and out of those the number that actually heat and are not intercepted are relatively low so the I don't think that this is something that's going to impact the main concerns right now both as far as entry into Gaza and what's going on over there and the hostages as well as in the north I mean people in the center like myself every day running to the shelter has normalized unfortunately especially when you don't see people actually getting killed here in the center I'm afraid we're going to have to leave with that for a while and Owen I want to speak to you a little bit about you you started by mentioning the pressure that's being put and there is being pressure put at the moment on the fact that the U.S. has imposed new sanctions on eight individuals that have links to Hamas how practical is it at this point to be putting sanctions on Hamas on Iran on increasing these kinds of things do they actually work in times of war can we look at in mouse game as sanctions always are right it's hard to imagine that putting sanctions at eight individuals is going to be a game changer and taking on Hamas I think Hamas is more threatened by other activities that are going on right now than these sanctions but obviously having a robust sanctions regime is an important I think an important part of foreign policy and public policy certainly the Iran sanctions have made an impact they've been unevenly enforced particularly on issues of oil these of course are separate issues from the immediate hope and I expect that the whole Iran sanctions regime I'm sure will be revisited in the months to come in Washington as Iran's involvement whether director indirect and everything that's going on here and all the threats that hover over us and hover over the entire region and hover over American troops become clear as going back to the thing you and Guy were talking about the sense of normalcy here just to give viewers a sense it is true that there is a very very cautious return to normalcy in some senses the education system in fits and starts starting to come back but still almost COVID era style debates about what to open and how a concern about rockets but frankly even more concern about potential terror attacks on educational institutions and big pushes for armed guards and weapons and organization of neighborhood patrol groups it's an element of the war that has not gotten a lot of attention either in foreign media or Israeli media but when 400,000 Israelis are taking out weapons licenses that has long-term consequences for the feel of Israeli life and Israeli security so there's that element and just in terms of the more granular level of normal life the mall this morning was packed almost as if it were a normal Friday but restaurants were largely closed at least an area where I live so again there's a certain cautious return to normalcy at least for essential services like getting food for Shabbat for example but in terms of entertainment and culture and restaurants and all the rest there's really no return to normalcy so the idea that everything is fine because Tel Aviv has a beach and there's nice weather and Israelis thankfully aren't being killed left and right at least in the center of the country unlike what happened on the Gaza border where 1,400 people were massacred it doesn't really tell the full story of course obviously to stipulate that it's better to be a civilian in Tel Aviv than it is to be a civilian in Gaza but that doesn't mean that everything here is fully normal and that everything is calm absolutely and speaking of a place that evidently is not fully normal in the south of the country the idea says that it hit around 250 Hamas terror targets overnight in the same time frame the Israeli army sent tanks and troops into Gaza for a second limited incursion it marks the second night in a row that forces briefly entered the strip ahead of an expected full ground offensive let's go now live to our correspondent Pierre Closh and Lowe standing by for us in southern Israel Pierre Sirens went off just a short while ago in the south how frequent have they been throughout the afternoon and the evening where you are well it started around two o'clock over Ashkelon and Ashdod two major cities in the southern part of the country and then it moved like a bad wind to the northern edge of the Gaza Strip to Netiva Asara which is a community village really lying on the border fence between Gaza and Israel and was the site of the major massacre and then it moved to near its track a couple of minutes ago which is in the southern sector facing the Gaza Strip but there was a major rocket attack in Ashkelon about two hours ago three impacts one on the residential building according to the Israel police one on the construction site and one on a villa but no casualty only damage to the building and the construction site so that's the routine basically and you can maybe hear while I'm talking the pounding by the Israeli artillery of Hamas targets inside the Gaza Strip it's been incessant since we've been here about 3-4 hours ago an unrelentied pounding of the Gaza Strip for hours and hours I would say Correspondent Pierre Clashen like giving us an update there in the south of Israel thank you very much for that still with me here in studio reserve captain Guy Poran there was a recent poll today by the daily newspaper Mariv that said that almost half of Israelis that was about 49% if I'm not mistaken oppose an immediate ground incursion into the Gaza Strip we know that there's a fortune of different angles here and reasonings as to why there's been a delay but is this strategically smart to be holding off for the time being to get all the ducks in a row so to speak before going in it's a very tough question and I think it obviously even within the war cabinet there are it's a very clear division between those people who think everybody thinks that trying to release the hostages is a major goal unlike the beginning when everybody was talking about just destroying Hamas and the hostages it has become a major role even the prime ministers announced that maybe before yesterday however there's still a division whether Israel's leverage in terms of even releasing the hostages we're better off now doing some kind of negotiations still and maybe trading them against petrol and other prisoners versus those people who are sure that only when Hamas with a ground invasion which is going to put more leverage on Hamas and more pressure only then we're going to be able to negotiate to better negotiate and I don't think that there is a very clear answer evidently even within the cabinet there is a division that we know about it now it's reported that this division personally I think that exhausting all the options of trying to do the deals that apparently the Qataris are announcing that it's very imminent trying to do that before entering makes more sense because the difference between entering tomorrow morning and in a week after a possible release of some hostages I don't see how it makes a big military difference Owen we know the double standards and I dare say the hypocrisy of a lot of the international media when it comes to Israel and what's occurring now against Hamas in the Gaza Strip but something that was quite alarming was the fact that every time Hamas run health ministry including officials on the Palestinian side put out numbers it almost seems to be universally adopted and adopted by the United Nations with them even putting out a statement today to say they're not sure how much fuel or petrol as you mentioned is actually there in reserves but they're going to go with the numbers that Hamas tells them forget the United Nations in terms of international media I think the good news here is that Israel is actually winning the rightful war against the numbers from the Gaza health ministry more and more international news media outlets are casting doubt on those numbers as the numbers should have doubt cast upon them we heard President Biden himself come out and say he doesn't believe the numbers so I think it's becoming more and more universally understood that the numbers just don't have any meaning that the numbers are thrown out there that the numbers don't have much basis that the numbers can't be trusted and that I suspect the numbers to this very day bacha include 500 people killed by an Israeli airstrike on a hospital and there were no 500 people killed so obviously the numbers can't be trusted and I think international news media outlets again through fits and starts and having their teeth pulled to do so in some cases are more and more having to essentially label the numbers as not verified at the very least or having little credibility at the end of the day I think media outlets have to report the number in some way because those are the only numbers of casualty figures coming out of Gaza by the way Jonathan Conricus one of the IDF spokespersons and before he was called up on reserve of course a frequent guest here in I-24 News said in one interview that the IDF is trying to use intelligence to get real death toll counts from Gaza and that would obviously be a great service to truth but look obviously the United Nations and United Nations humanitarian agencies there maybe the best argument in favor of them is they're trying to help innocent civilians the best way for them to function in Gaza is to work with Hamas essentially with a gun to their head and to follow Hamas's lead and they may feel that doing so under duress is the best way to actually serve innocent people in Gaza be that all as it may we don't have to trust what they say and guy speaking okay the numbers perhaps may not have meaning but surely visuals and audio should and Israel as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast has been called on to release a fortune of proof and evidence now a clip that went viral yesterday showed a senior Hamas official someone from the political bureau storming out of a BBC interview because the hosts pressed them about Israeli civilians being killed of which he said that was clearly not the intention and we also now see reports coming out that Hamas is rejecting the IDF assertion of command centers being hit under the hospital calling them baseless but there's proof I know I know and I agree with all and that actually when the situation is so clearly a lie it is it acts against them because they lose credibility even on something that they might say in truth very important point right so it's actually they are shooting it was a huge mistake you're absolutely right if you're going to fake the numbers don't fake them this badly this badly and so with such an ability to prove you lie and the fact that they did it out of stupidity and out of hastfulness you know they wanted to immediately create an international vague against Israel was shooting themselves in the foot and from that point I agree it's a it's a victory to Israel at the same time there are those channels overseas that their agenda is to is to reflect the you know the Israeli side of hurting people over there and they would obviously emphasize those images but I think I think it's a major and the hospital story is a is a milestone in that sense because it was such an obvious slide that that everybody afterwards after that event should say but why should we believe you now absolutely and I want to take off that point if I have a minute it's not only that it was a huge tactic mistake was a very consequential tactical mistake because the death toll figures from Gaza is essentially the death star of Hamas propaganda like in the movie if you hit that you destroy all of it because people abroad are playing the basketball game right which side has more dead and whoever is more dead that's the side that I'm going to support but once you say that that number of more dead is a fake number it's much harder to keep score if you will in that gory basketball game and it really does a great service to the truth and to Israel's effort that plus what they have done here in the beginning of this situation where it's so clearly proved you know that we see these images and all the correspondence that could actually go and see those you know the bodies and the children while this guy on the BBC is claiming that they had clear instructions not to kill civilians I know this is so ridiculous so from that point of view I think we're winning Guy Perrain, Owen Altman thank you both very much for breaking down a complex issue here in studio and moving on now UDDEM is the biggest volunteer organization in Israel more than 60,000 people are involved they're focused on helping out displaced residents organizations and even military units take a look this small school in the central city of Petach Tikva has become the temporary headquarters of Yedidim the Hebrew word for friends and to the biggest volunteer organization in Israel the organization is known mostly for helping cars stuck on the road but now does much more we are acting on three main levels the first level concerns the people's spirit we are organizing barbecues and military bases we are taking care of the families we even do their laundry the second level is helping the public we fix security rooms we deliver food and supplies the third level is the front we understand what they lack and we supply them with everything they need I24 News joined a team on their daily mission our first stop is in a makeshift military base near the southern city of Ufaqim a group of reserve soldiers are asking for ratchet straps look, I don't try to find out why things are missing here but as someone who serves for two years I know that whenever I need something I can turn to Yedidim organization the second stop is in Bersheva where the team joins another group of volunteers on their way to fix the window of a security room one member of the Bersheva team tells us about his experience on October 7th starting from 5pm Saturday we started to help the forces to collect the bodies from the party at Reim I was there until Monday morning in the organization's warehouse we see a variety of objects donated to soldiers and civilians from simple shirts to drones worth thousands of dollars this is perhaps another example of the rare spirit of giving helping and caring in the Israeli society today and joining me here in studio is Eva Levy a volunteer for Yadidim and a physiotherapist in France welcome firstly and secondly tell us a little bit about the organization and what it is exactly that you're doing to assist the soldiers hello, so the organization was starting at the beginning of the war there is one of the physiotherapists saying that this is a real mess that's happening right now so maybe we can help in the military bases as a physiotherapist so who want to reach out and go help and so maybe 30 physiotherapists like had to respond and I respond from my house in Paris and so I book flight and I came here to help that's pretty amazing and as you mentioned you literally got on a flight from your home in Paris to come and assist here in Israel there's been a lot of emphasis placed on the mental the psychological factors of this war but still the physical is a very big variable in particular because the mind and the body are so closely connected definitely, in the military bases all the soldiers get used to the pain and so they didn't like really connect to their bodies so when we arrive at first they're all saying that it's kind of cool everything is okay and when we are getting deeply they are already in a lot of pain like their backs are like mess because they're handling a lot of weight and so we are trying to make them understand that you have to take care of your body if you want to be like a better soldier and that's all part of our job are there others in the organization that also flew out from abroad to assist here or most of them local we are often from Israel I'm the only one who comes from Europe and we are reaching out in a spot like Tel Aviv or something like this and we are going together in the military bases that's really just an unbelievable initiative I salute you for the job that you do it's not easy work and the fact that you came here from abroad in order to assist in the war effort is just amazing Eva Levy thank you so very much for joining us here on the broadcast continue the fabulous work that you do thank you and that brings us to the end of this broadcast but for anything you must make sure to check out our website at news.tv of course you can also tune in at the top of the hour for more updates from the north and the southern border as well as more in-depth analysis right here in studio stay with us at the top of the hour we'll be right back 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on i24 news there's no time those people almost truly held in captive in a terrible condition we need to bring them back it's our responsibility to bring them back safe the American Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world and the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regards they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct to your measurements made for me designer of all your events schedule your appointment at www.madeforme.co.il made for me official dresser of i24 news ladies and gentlemen I'm Nicole Zettick reporting in Tel Aviv since the outbreak of this war in Israel our journalists here at i24 news have been providing around the clock coverage giving a voice to all of those impacted by the October 7th massacre getting perspective on the whole left throughout Israeli society and the impact on the entire Middle East here's some of the best stories from our coverage since the war began unbelievable the casualties that we saw and then we thought that everything we saw everything but then it came to yesterday when we went into Kibbutz B'Airi and we saw the the rally what was done to the families to the children that was 33 years in this position and I was everything I saw everything I thought I saw everything but something like that I never saw you'll see Landau he's a commander of Zaka coming from the south Zaka now being the organization largely made up of volunteers so many heinous attacks in the past helping to preserve the dignity of bodies after these attacks so you'll see thanks for being with us right now look please if you can share with our viewers a lot of this is difficult a lot of this is fresh just being digested right now if you can share with our viewers around the world who care deeply what you've seen in these southern communities perhaps even if you can tell us some of the worst things that you've seen hi good afternoon the way how much we can tell that good afternoon in our from our side but as I said I'm 33 years in the force I saw everything all over the world if it's if it's 9-11 attack if it's a natural a natural disaster if it's if it's a terror attack I saw everything all over and we thought that we saw the limit when we got on the scene on Saturday and I'm a father of 10 children it was we had a it was Saturday and I had all my family with me but I left my house with no questions and came over here to the south to help to see what we can be to help and when I saw the disaster and in the beginning when we picked up people who were only shot or burned to death and people that were shot more than once and that to make sure that they're all they're for sure dead okay you know we saw that but when I came in two days ago to Kibbutz the Aries it's called and our first stop that we're talking about I have 50 people on my team that going house to house and house to house and searching for bodies and to see what we can be helpful and when we get into the house and we see a pregnant lady pregnant lady in the on the floor and we turn her around we turn around and the stomach is open wide open there's a baby connected an unborn baby connected to the cord with a dad with a knife and the mother shot in the head and you you're over there and you look and you think you use imagination to think what was first there's been a lot of controversy in the world denying these reports exaggerating the levels of the tragedy please speak to that yes when we go to the next house and we see in the living room to see two parents father and mother hand tied in the back and the other side against them the children two small children hand tied in the back and in each of them they were torched to see and the middle is a table with this terrorists sitting and eating while they were torching the kids they use imagination who saw what and you see missing parts on their bodies that's only for torch and by the end a gunshot wound how much how much could that be there were a great number of children taken out of these communities dead you'll see there's been a lot of controversy around reports of children babies as you're describing there's a lot of people out there trying to deny this saying we're exaggerating these reports of young children and babies killed in these communities you've seen this I saw yes I saw babies I saw children I saw a mother holding her baby holding her baby and only one one one bullet went through both of them together how much work is left to be done I saw 20 children together with their hand tied in the back and they were burned they're shot and burned and piled 20 children shot and burned in a pile you'll see and two piles right how much work is left to be done you'll see how many bodies have we begun to tally the toll for real or is it too overwhelming even at this point to know the extent my team in the four days we picked up I saw bodies that I never saw in my life 670 bodies you'll see you're still are you still calming these communities can you tell us already have at least all the dead been found I don't know we're still searching we know that they we know that was from yesterday that we found between the bodies of the terrorists we found a civilian that we taught from the beginning it was because they dressed the civilian and we don't know if that was before they were killed or after they were killed they dressed them up like a terrorist with a belt that we should think that it's a terrorist so disguising some of the dead Israelis as Hamas terrorists you'll see can you tell us can you tell us some of the communities you mentioned where the children were slaughtered which towns where were some of these worst atrocities and far and far as we reported earlier this week yes to a lot of controversy around the world our reports of the children and babies being slaughtered in places like Farazah and Berry Yossi Landau I can only thank you for having the strength to come on our show here to impart this information to the world and above and beyond all for participating and helping down there in the south please put a prayer for us and for our people for our soldiers that we should stay normal after this because there's no human being that could stay normal we all have families we want to go home to our children and raise them and raise them as a normal parent and after seeing this things it's going to be very hard Yossi Landau again from Zaka thank you for joining us keep up the good work here 9 days before this picture was taken Kai was in a safe place still in the womb in this picture he is lying without any protection on the window sill of the protected room the house on the right in this video is that of Uriel, Amy and little Kai when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nirim on October the 7th Amy's mother was with the family as well my mother grabbed Kai at the baby he started crying she just put a finger in his mouth so that he would be as quiet as possible Uriel and I together just held a handle of the door in a locked position as much as we could they just fought with us to try to open it and when they couldn't get in at all that's the stage they just decided to drag things behind the door and set it on fire the terrorists, unable to open the door of the protected room, set the whole house into light in an attempt to smoke out the occupants the protected room began to boil we just started seeing the orange of the flames and feeling the heat and all I remember is Uriel simply saying they are burning the house smoke thick and black it managed to get into the protected room we had some water we tried to dampen our clothes water on our faces on the baby's face so that he wouldn't hail as little smoke as possible 6 hours after the fire broke out the room is black whenever there is silence and no shooting they lay Kai on the window sill it was one of the hardest decisions we had to make and on the other hand if you leave him inside the room he will probably inhale a lethal amount of smoke and that can be horrible and on the other hand if I put him on the window sill the terrorists are still walking around we're still hearing explosions there is still a cold red and missiles falling the worst thoughts came up we look into each other's eyes they say, I love you when you hold him in your hands and he foams at the mouth and he cries and the whole room is black and everyone is in this situation for hours making difficult decisions and at that moment it looks like the right thing to do is to put him on the window sill to at least let him breathe from time to time Amy nurses Kai from time to time she reaches out and takes a picture until the rescue comes get out, help us out mom will help you out get out, get out, get out wait, my mother first that's the moment we cried all the emotions we tried to keep inside so we could function at that moment I was crying like I haven't cried since I was 6 let them just take the baby and save him first that they rescue us that they move us to a safe place that this nightmare will end now now the entire Kibbutz nearing community is staying in a hotel in Elat what's in this room right now is all the possessions we have because it's all burned over there is baby equipment it's all donations or gifts from friends all I wear are clothes that are donated the crib is a donation actually this room is our home Amy still has a bad cough Oriole has an eye injury and Kai he is perfectly fine the meaning of his name is knowing how to fall and get up his name means warrior it means victory it has a lot of meanings meanwhile he's greatly honoring his name a tour of this abandoned Kibbutz is like entering a war zone the epicenter of Apogrom just after the perpetrators disappeared that house belongs to Tamir from the Kibbutz emergency team I don't know what happened to it the ruins and paths are flanks by burnt houses look, they burned down a children's room here objects left behind by the looters are scattered around they tried to steal everything there was and in the parking lot there remains from dozens of cars that were set alight 400 people lived here a full and vibrant community everything is abandoned now each house with its own story those who were kidnapped those who were murdered and those who barely survived with all this blood here how did they survive he survived but he was injured he has a bandage on his hand but managed to hold the door and because of that his family survived her sister's family they were murdered all five of them this morning at the entrance to the Kibbutz we met Ron Bart who hasn't left since the Hamas rampage he is the one who's trying to gather people's belongings and also oversees the volunteers with the vans who came to evacuate the survivors we've got an opportunity to hand some of the equipment over to the residents we have lists of additional residents who are waiting for us to take the things out their homes we will take any van like this to the family the volunteers will pack, collect, register each box and that is what they are doing right now call me if I can organize some friends with vans to come and take out small equipment of the Kibbutz members what does it do to the soul to see such a thing I walked with shivers for several days it's something stronger than me every laptop you see take it there is not much left inside the homes the thieves who came in the second wave dismantled televisions from the walls took laptops and turned over the cabinets in search of jewellery and luxury items during those hours we accompanied Omri into the homes of his friends he talked about everything but did not say a word about the family tragedy are the parents okay? the parents were kidnapped yours? yes, the parents were kidnapped my father used to be a journalist and there are articles about him playing the piano my kidnapped parents are 83 and 85 years old this whole row of houses my parents were kidnapped this is Ofer and his two daughters kidnapped this is Yuval here can't remember his last name the two daughters and both parents kidnapped is it your parents? yes, this is my mother's cinematography she was upside down they couldn't move her and she was upside down everything is burned ashes ashes ashes my parents are among the founders of this kibbutz kitchen, living room, small room attic attic this is the piano there are a lot of videos of my father playing did you manage to understand exactly what happens? they were in the secure room but they had no chance to really hold the handle it's not a handle that locks and they were probably taken out they did a search they're in Gaza according to the phones that's all the information we have the abductees are what's important the houses will be fine if the parents don't come back then what's the house worth without those inside? right? 100 members of kibbutz near Oz were murdered or kidnapped to Gaza and every fourth resident was injured at the end of the day Om replaced the new organ in the corner of the piano and placed a chair in front of it in the hope that Oded, his father would come back to play here then he collected his things the entire life of a family went into one pink bag just before we left what had once been a living and active kibbutz Ron Bartz, he who refuses to move from here wanted to say one more thing sad to see it now but we will rebuild it and better the Israeli residents living next to the Gaza border have been forced to evacuate their homes in a hurry many were forced to leave their pets behind we're talking about cases where people themselves had to run with their babies under hands stories of them, you know jumping out of windows with their babies and they the stories that I hear are of people trying to call their dogs right or cats is even harder to come with them but the dogs are so afraid that they hide or they run away and they just had to run they were running for their lives so a lot of the dogs which are right there are another and cats there are another family member that was just left behind so that's why it was really important for us to just go and get you know, extract them as fast as possible Dr. Shira Yasve from the Dogs and Heroes organization realized the problem early on and is trying to rectify it Dogs and Heroes is a spontaneous grouping of a few volunteers friends from before the war started some of us are graphic designers, I'm a veterinary doctor there's people from all across the spectrum of professions and basically when the war broke we understood that animals would have to be animals' needs would have to be addressed in some way and that there's going to be a crisis also on the animal front so already like the same night of the 7th and October we started our gathering volunteers for the past two weeks thousands of Israelis from all over the country have come together to reunite families with their pets a war room in Beit Kama in the south of Israel was established and from there the teams leave for their assignments these volunteers are headed to another operation to extract dogs from the dangerous areas the areas that are still closed military zones under the control of the IDF don't try to run to a shelter just lie on the ground and put your hands on your head don't kneel same goes if we are driving quickly halt the cars get as far away as we can from the car and lie flat on the ground in Kerim Shalom or any other village when we look after animals if the dog runs off let us know so we can come with you don't get too far away from us we can be with the forces of the village they will direct us where to go I'm sure you all know us well but just please stay with us for those who are carrying weapons we are here to safeguard you please leave your gun in the holster except when we are under fire it doesn't faze these volunteers when the war broke out I was basically just at home and I didn't really do anything to help and I felt a little bad with myself that I can do something better than just sitting at home watching the news it can be a bit scary sometimes but it's for the dogs for the volunteers the satisfaction of reuniting pets with owners is worth the risk this dog owner came all the way from Elat where he and his family have been staying since the war broke out after his dog was found in one of the villages he tells the volunteers that his second dog is still inside not a minute goes by and another group of volunteers come back with the missing dog the unions are unbelievable they're unbelievable I think it's also a sliver of hope that if the dog came back then maybe the kidnap people would come back as well it shows the possibility of getting back someone that you thought you lost track of more rages between Israel and Hamas the worldwide sporting arena is becoming a battleground of its own famous athletes are taking a stance in the brutal massacre of Israeli civilians and the following attacks by Israel in the Gaza Strip Tunisian tennis star Anjabor took to Instagram posting a story stating what Palestinians have been going through during the last 75 years is indescribable and ending her post with the hashtag freepalestine this sparked a strong response by the Israel Tennis Association including a quote murderous terrorist organization she's not the only athlete in the line of fire Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema sparking flames with his post on X all our prayers for the inhabitants of Gaza who are once again victims of these unjust bombings which spare no women or children former Israeli goalkeeper Doudou Await responding to Benzema in five languages Hebrew, Arabic, French, Spanish and English calling Benzema a quote big son of a bee and while a war of words has broken out between athletes off the field some organizations are speaking out the NBA as a whole posting their solidarity for the people of Israel boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is even going beyond empty words on social media sending his private plane to Israel full of food, protective vests and critical supplies for Israeli soldiers to a source close to Mayweather a clear sign of solidarity with the Jewish people and as the war between Hamas and Israel escalates it will be telling to see which athletes use their platform for peace and which just add fuel to the social media fire 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on i24 news story to the world declared by Hamas that started on October 7 against Israel leaving more than 1400 murdered 2500 injured and serious 212 RNs and a country that in the middle of the chaos is composing its lines both in social media and in military eliminating the operational capacity and the Hamas terrorists in Gaza I would like to start reading the beginning of a long article published by Pilar Raola in the National Portal of Catalonia and says I start this article with a despair that paralyzes me although I have always felt comfortable in the territory of the word and I have never avoided a dialectic scream in the defense of my convictions these terrible days have left me without breath I have the impression that the madness wins the ground for the reason and that there are no lights that put so much darkness and that many of the people I know have had us opened in a moral void and in an intellectual poverty that they treat us as a very sick society has lost the sense of the limits of humanity and in the confusion the pure evil has made its way banalized by some justified by others even in some cases plagued very hard, isn't it, Nicole? very hard words today, speaking because we have as guests one of the most distinguished journalists from Israel, recognized in Europe in Latin America and also in the Arab countries I am talking about Enrique Simerman who has joined today in News 24 to analyze everything that is happening from the beginning of the war Thank you Enrique for being with us a pleasure, Nicole, a pleasure Carlos let's start with the following I tell you what we are going to talk about in this special edition Israel, Hamas, the National Palestinian Authority then we want to see how all this situation affects the region the United States, Europe the Arab countries we want to talk about the digital war the fake news and also the incident with President Petro who didn't want to let it happen and finally we have read an article that you have written about how to recommend and rethink a recalculation of this region That's why Enrique I would like you to start giving us a broad view of what has been before and after October 7 how have you played the role something very important the National Palestinian Authority Enrique The National Palestinian Authority is lost they lost the GPS they don't know where they have to throw for several reasons and the main thing is that for them Hamas is a rival a very strong rival that's why there are no elections in the Palestinian Authority for 17 years because they know that Hamas would probably win and as they are afraid of it they keep the Palestinian Authority without democracy but at the same time they keep fighting for the public opinion so they can't face Hamas I can tell you that last week days after the most atrocious and sadistic matanza I have seen since I am here and I have been covering this region for many years I was in Iraq I saw the Islamic State I have to say that what we saw here is really unprecedented and also planned for four years for Iran together with Hamas I called the Mujata the Palestinian Authority and I told them if you don't disarm Hamas it's irrelevant and they told me but if nothing happened if what happened is that there were some incidents and I told them about the violations and the kidnappings and the kidnappings and they asked me to send them movies and I sent them and the next day the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Hamas doesn't represent the Palestinian people the OLP represents the Palestinian people he said it in a conversation in Venezuela and he wrote it in a tweet and immediately deleted it and he left only the OLP representing the Palestinian people they have a problem and we have a problem like Israel in the measure in which we believed that we could have some kind of dialogue I would say indirect with Hamas allowing some money 20,000 workers a day who come in and eat hundreds of thousands of people all type of entry and exit of humanitarian aid today we understand that we can't understand that Hamas can never be on the other side of the border that Hamas is a neo-fascist That's why I want to ask you the attacks he has done with his defense Israel has died and Hamas' human shields are always there in Gaza and they claim the Palestinian national authority that those deaths are innocent those children do you believe in the eye by eye tooth by tooth? It's not a question of eye by eye it's a question of that if you decide that you can't have a neighbor like that because he does things that the civilized world doesn't know but it starts coming out now and I was in the Kibbutz and see it with your own eyes see the stories one by one house by house in fact I got a proof that they were drugged the Hamas terrorists they were drugged that was part of the preparation made in Iran but you see exactly the degree of sadism that doesn't have precedents in my opinion Second World War Well, I was in the south and Nicole was in the city of Esderot which is five kilometers from the border and she prepared this report with her vision in this hit city in the middle of the catastrophe of the police station in the city of Esderot taken for two days by the Hamas terrorists I saw a police station in Israel that was unbelievable before October 7 the smell of cloaca that emanates terrorism is felt between the water pools that were mixed with the groves of cement that dating from demolition the Israeli army arrived on October 8th an一些o force taken by the terrorists that were hit in the police station killing the few government authorities the only way to eliminate them is to demolish the station. I observe and I don't understand. The Israeli police, vulnerable by the enemy neighbor, a terrorist, who they believed were small. In Esderot, they lost more than 200 civilians Israelis. A week of rest. Shabbat. The streets are a ghost desert. The rain of bullets are marked in their daily lives. A car dealership reflects without blood the horror, where the painful is not the loss of material, but that those bullets eliminated innocent lives. Family cars with blood stains. Blood. Blood. The child's seat in the car. Can you imagine if that child had been sitting there? We don't know. But suddenly, life sends us a message. A white truck, like peace, loaded with Israeli flags, appeared. At the top, someone placed in the light posts the flag with David's star, as a sign of identity. We recovered the city and I met the person in charge of placing them in Esderot. We see how this flag of Israel is being placed by an Arab-Israeli that is up there. Peace be upon you. All the way up there. Esderot will not do the same again, like all Israel, like all Jews of the 21st century, because now it has to be resilient. Sam Harris, an American philosopher, wrote, The truth is that we all live in Israel. The only thing is that some of us don't understand it. There is a small enemy. We continue in this special mission of New Years 24, in Spanish dedicated to Israel under attack, with a luxury guest, who is the journalist Enrique Zimmermann. Enrique, last week we had the visit of President of the United States, Biden, came the Prime Minister of Zunach, in Britain, the Chancellor Schultz of Germany. What is the importance of these visits in the region? And especially with the Gulf countries, everything that was said before with Saudi Arabia, where are we going with all this? The importance is huge, because they, the leaders starting with Biden, understand that this is not a conflict between Israel and Hamas. This is something much wider. These are coalitions that are actually facing in the place that is the meeting point between the West and the free world and the Islamist jihadists. So there is a meeting point in which we, Israel, are in the first line. And I think that they begin to understand that they also have something to do with all this. And that is why Israel is receiving the international support that it is receiving, even from European countries, like Great Britain, like France, like Germany, like Italy. They have always had a more palestinian tendency. Much more, much more. But they understand here that Hamas is not Palestine. They understand here that Hamas is a much more serious phenomenon that has been fed by Iran in the last years. It was not like that in the first years of Hamas. But today Hamas is a totally Iranian organization. Absolutely financial. Now Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is in a difficult situation because they were very close, very close to normalization with Israel. And Iran knew it. And that is why they decided at this time as an attack. We have to understand that Hamas destroyed after Oslo when there was a real hope of peace in this region. When everything was positive, they began the attempted suicides and killed the peace process. Now they are doing the same two and a half decades later. They are doing exactly the same. They are 30 years later. They are trying to kill the possibility that Saudi Arabia and Israel reach a peace agreement and that the Abram agreements are expanded. I have a question. The achievement with Oslo agreements was almost total. They managed to paralyze it, which is a status quo where neither of the two parties was anywhere. But what happened in October was a change. I mean, it will not be the same again as it was before. Iran is going to get, somehow, to prevent a change where they suddenly find themselves in an isolated situation in front of the world that opposes their attitude. My hope is that Iran will not achieve it in the meantime. But Iran has achieved, through Hamas, are its arms to postpone the process. This process is postponed but I think it is not dead. On the contrary. I receive indications of the Gulf. I can even mention someone very prominent in the Gulf who calls me every two or three days and who told me a phrase. He told me, while you don't cut the snake's head, the snake will continue to try to kill us. And he says, Enrique, how many times have you been in Saudi Arabia? Five this year. Five this year and you know very well. But there is something, it is a fairly broad topic. There is something important, Enrique, that one of the phenomena that we have seen is that manipulation and disinformation that exists on social platforms and that is a fundamental basis of the information currently. We are going to listen now and I want you to help me analyze it. Fredy Bernal. Fredy Bernal is the governor of the state of Tashina in Venezuela. We know the alliance that has Venezuela with Iran. Perhaps the strongest alliance of Iran in Latin America. And then, Carlos, we are going to show you some graphics that we are going to comment on the chaos and the opinions that have had respect for this whole situation. Let's see it. Bombarded. While we are here calm, taking a case in San Cristóbal, that town is being bombarded. And we must say to the free world that it is pronounced to the United Nations, to the OECA, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, to the International Penal Court, to us if they don't vote, to us if they don't take the courts. And what happens with the State of Israel? What happens with the State of Israel? The State of Israel, if it can kill and exterminate a people, it is indescribable in the middle of the 21st century. What do you think, Enrique, the opinions of this governor of the State of Tachira, of Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela? A caricature, as simple as that. But a premeditated caricature. I mean, it is an attempt to deceive the public opinion, presenting something that is just a small part of reality. It is true. There is civil suffering in Gaza. It is a fact. But who opened all this war? Who opened the doors of hell? Who started all this? We are talking about a group that forgets that it is homophobic, that rejects women, that does not allow women to have freedom and that also does not accept the existence of Israel. And in addition to everything, it sends 1500 drugged men to kill Jews with the only objective of killing and kidnapping Jews. Obviously, it cannot be defended in the free world, in the democratic world. I would have to worry about Israel, that alliance that Iran has with Venezuela, a oil country. Obviously. But not only with Venezuela, with all of Latin America. I have known for years that there is a presence of radical Islamic groups, among them a country that is Iran, which is the father of all of them, who are in these countries increasingly outraged, increasingly aghast. And that is a mistake to extract cancer cells from your own country. Yes, I want to add a brief comment about the attitude that President Petro has in Colombia. You manage international relations. We are seeing it. To threaten to cut relations with Israel. What is this due to? It is due to its own interests. It is due to a lot of propaganda. It is due to economic issues, I imagine. It is due to very deep stereotypes. Einstein said that it is easier to destroy an atom than to destroy a stereotype. And here we are seeing people that have not only interests, but also all kinds of prejudices that have been accumulated. Let this lady come here. We will take her to the south, to the border of Gaza. I will teach her the Kibbutz I was in yesterday, in the Kibbutz near Oz. I will teach Carmela the house of Carmela, an 80-year-old woman who was visiting her granddaughter on Friday night. And suddenly she sees how she enters her house. And as she is locked in the bunker, they throw her a grenade and they fire her at home and kill her autistic granddaughter and Carmela. This happened in dozens of places. This is genocide and also premeditated. The other is a self-defense reaction. Speaking of genocide, I would like to comment on something that people have no idea. How did Gaza stay sandwiched between Egypt and Israel? And the story is that President Sadat met with Beggin, the Prime Minister of Israel, to agree on the disengagement of the forces at that time. Sadat said, look, I receive all the money, but I don't want Gaza. And do you know how many people lived in Gaza in 1978? Do you have an idea? Hundreds of thousands. Three hundred and eighty thousand of you. And how many live? More than two million. And I will tell you that the average of children is one of the highest in the world. There are seven children per family. So when everyone uses the word genocide, genocide is when your population disappears. Not when it increases, right? There is a very serious problem with the concepts. Israel is seen as a center of colonialism. As they were, I remember the leaders of Hamas telling me, I interviewed everyone. I interviewed the founder of Hamas 14 times, GK Ahmed Yasin, in his house. And they always talked about Israelis as the new crusaders. They will be here for a while and at the end they will finish them. We will not throw them away and defeat them here. And they think that Israel is like Algeria. It is like Afghanistan for the United States. They do not understand that reality is totally different. Here and we see what is happening in the Israeli society. If you ask me to summarize in a phrase that occurred here on October 7, this is an attempt of Iran that smelled weak inside the Israeli society, smelled blood because of the internal political debate around the judicial reform, the judicial revolution. They interpreted it as a weakness and decided to attack for two things. One, to finish Israel. Because they believed that this would make us all run to the Ben-Gurion airport and we would be afraid and we would not go from here. It is the word to terrorize and the second, to finish with the negotiating process that is taking us to the possible peace with Arab countries throughout this region and they failed. They failed and I am convinced that the issue of Saudi Arabia will be postponed but it is not dead for many months. What do you know about Israeli society? Is it resilient to all this situation? I think they have achieved the opposite effect. Today the Israelis who were very divided in the last ten months are more united than ever. I want to say something because you mentioned Algeria. I have read the books of Franz Fanon who was the ideologist of the Argentine Revolution and he achieved through this same type of action to throw the French out but the French had to go back to France. The Jews did not. We do not have to go anywhere and I do not think the Mediterranean can do anything. I would like to finish our meeting with a proposal you have written an article called It is required an international coalition and Arab in Gaza. We have six minutes so that you can explain what you are talking about. Because even if we do not want we have to think about the future. I spoke another day with the son of the leader of Hamas in Cisjordania Heke Hasan Yusef who has just been arrested again for Israel and his son is called Mosa Yusef and then he discovered that he was the green prince who had been a spy of Israel from Juhn and when I was going to his house he interviewed him he was already a spy of Israel and he told me he never hates the Israelis more than what he loves his own children what he said to Goldameru and that is what he says the son of the leader of Hamas in Cisjordania what I wrote here is something that is difficult to talk about at this time when everything is happening but I think it is vital that we do it Israel is the great expert in tactics but we fail sometimes in strategy we have to think in the day after we have to think where we are going where we are going to take everything let's say if it is legitimate and I think that today in the free world it is understood that Israel has the right to defend and to end with a terrorist group like never before careful with the civil population let's separate the two things but to end with Hamas the question is what happens the day after we are going to in 2005 I don't want my children to be occupying Gaza they are 2.5 million they are 2.5 million they are 2.5 million of Gaza and Egypt doesn't want them Jordan doesn't want them you can't send them to Lebanon they are not there and they are going to stay there do you remember that Beggin proposed to Sadat and Sadat rejected him that is no problem it is like a problem that no one wants to touch until now what did the president of Egypt close the border he doesn't want there is no the fear that deeply and it is a great enemy of Hamas also because they are Muslim brothers I would like you to take advantage of the cameras of this program in Spanish and that they are going to see it in any other language and if you had to talk to the National Palestinian Authority the Prime Minister the president who may be a successor to one of the Abah Hussein who may also be a successor what would you say with the experience you have that in a first term we will have to bring an international coalition on the one hand but also Arab we have to bring the Saudis who have the moral power and the economic power we have to bring the Egyptians who have political power and we have to bring the Emiratis who have a vision of the future and who tell me I'm going to tell you something that I never said that they are willing to do it and they are willing to coordinate it Abu Dhabi the Emiratis and two Kingdoms the Marroquí and the Jordan these countries have to come here and they have to prepare the land I don't think that Israel has to stay for a long time there we were in Lebanon for 18 years I don't want to repeat Lebanon 2 we have to never win clean the land deliver it to this coalition that will include the United States and the only real possibility of the future is that this coalition gathers the Palestinian Authority and brings it there who will be the Palestinian Authority is to see but without I listened very well to all the nations that you mentioned what it leaves out to those who finance now even if it is Qatar and in a way is to prevent the access of Iran that is that way a circle would close in which maybe we can think in a better future Iran has to be out of everything Iran is a terrorist state that is destabilizing the entire free world Israel is part of it and how will it be to separate Iran? there has to be an international coalition with all the countries that have to worry about the future Iran is not a threat for Israel Iran is a threat for the free world and for the Arab world Sunni that is threatened by them and when you say all the countries Europe Middle East Latin America also apart from the United States without a doubt I think that Latin America would have the obligation to be part of the reconstruction of Gaza and be part of the future of this region well really I thank you very much for your analysis I think in this way from our little corner we contribute so that people understand better what is happening and we share your vision that the future also has to think about it because today everyone is frustrated with what is happening at this moment with the pain of the victims of Israel with the missing that we have to mention and that from here we ask international organizations that speak of humanitarianism in the world that take care of that also thank you very much and we hope later maybe again to count on you to explain to the world this person Thank you Enrique for really a topic about which we are going to continue talking for sure those who want can follow us on Facebook on Twitter on the channel 34 hot they can answer our survey and we will continue talking about Israel under attack thank you for being with us 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 want to do we 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 to this breaking news edition I'm about to 11th coming July from Tel Aviv thanks for joining me this evening it is day 21 of war here in Israel rocket sirens have been in central cities as Israel is currently pounding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip this evening and perhaps the biggest air strikes seen since the war began this is a recent report from Egypt claims that Israel has agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages there are thus far 229 confirmed hostages being held in the Gaza Strip CNN and UltraZera reporting that significant progress on this matter is being made in officials although again there is no official confirmation especially from the Israeli side who are not engaging directly in negotiations and with me here in studio to touch on this a little bit more is retired Brigadier General Zvika Chimovich a former Israeli air defense forces commander and our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman good evening to you both Israeli reports Owen are coming out now that indicate that hospitals are being prepared to receive some of those captives but the report that came out on the times of Israel's sister side the Hebrew version of it says that this was a general instruction and should not allude to the fact that there is an imminent release of hostages that makes sense that makes sense that have the hospitals be able to prepare obviously if many of these people be released all at once they may need their own set of treatment the hospital may need to get ready so I wouldn't read too much into that obviously there's conflicting reports exactly where the talks stand on the hostages again I think the central demand that Hamas seems to be making that surrounds a lot of these talks is Hamas is saying that it needs a ceasefire in order to just logistically be able to implement a hostage deal that it doesn't know where all of the people are some of them are held by other groups maybe private citizens in Gaza by the way but you can even imagine a private citizen extorting Hamas in that situation right in order to for Hamas to get the hostage and Hamas is saying gather everybody and find everybody and be able to implement it if we're in a world okay where Hamas genuinely wants to release the hostages and is acting in good faith if obviously a gigantic if but if we're in that world I think on its face that request actually makes a certain amount of sense right because the conditions Gaza really probably aren't there to be able to collect and deliver quote unquote the hostages of course the big question is are we in that world that we suspect that we aren't that Hamas would use a ceasefire for its own needs that it's bargaining it for it maybe it would release the hostages but it doesn't really need the ceasefire and to to release the hostages and it would simply use it as a chance to regroup so as usual in these situations there's a lot of fog there isn't a lot of certainty we know that Qatar is involved we know the Israeli government has come out and complimented Qatar for its involvement to Hamas but be that all as it may Qatar is obviously involved there seem to be talks of some kind exactly where they lead we'll have to see and of course the ultimate question how do you balance the imperative of getting the hostages out with the imperative of winning the war And Zika another topic obviously very high on the list of the major developments this evening apart from the Israeli side is the Palestinian side and there are reports coming out of Gaza that the IDF is striking by land air and sea possibly a turning point because at least the reports coming out across various different media channels is the fact that this is perhaps the biggest pounding of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip to date I don't know I don't have any specific information if this is really the biggest strike since the last three weeks when we started this this war the air force and the army they are striking every day and many times per day south west and the central part of Gaza I think that sooner or later we will see the ground maneuvers starting in Gaza and it might be a clue that we are very close to that decision point by the cabinet but I I don't really think that this is really the biggest it depends on when you count the the big or the small strike the number of the jets the number of the bombs I'm not sure I know for sure that in the last 21 days the air force the army the artillery they are striking 24-7 around the clock Oh and you spoke a little bit about the fact that Israeli officials were praising the Qatari officials given their complex relationship with Hamas and we know that there have been also some reports quote on quote that say that they will be re-looking at their ties with Hamas once this is done but something that's also quite interesting is that there's many Israelis that despite this still believe that are not enough is being done in terms of the strikes on the Gaza Strip and also in terms of getting the hostages home would the strikes tonight and would the reports coming out be them as they may if we had to take them at face value true would this be all of the governments at the moment Well the two parts of your question first the issue of Qatar and Hamas and then the issue of the Israeli public's sense of satisfaction with how the war is going As for Qatar and Hamas look at the end of the day Hamas is being hosted by Qatar in part because that's the way Israel in the United States I think had wanted it and what's the rationale that if Hamas is in Qatar Qatar can use its leverage to contain Hamas and the reason why the United States still has good relations with Qatar of course there's the big Air Force base there but also that this was seen as potentially something that would be helpful to Israel in the United States in their interest but then comes October 7th then comes and of course Qatar just wasn't able to deliver the goods they didn't restrain Hamas Hamas went out and murdered a thousand 400 people so then what's the value of Qatar hosting Hamas both for Israel in the United States and Israel and for that matter what's the value for Qatar if there simply can be essentially embarrassed in this way and that's I suspect the way behind closed doors that they feel and completely ashamed that they simply weren't able to do the most basic thing that they promised to do either spoken or unspoken which is to restrain Hamas so it's not surprising to see reports that there are talks of getting Hamas out of Qatar as for the Israeli public and satisfaction on the war people are very focused on this issue of the ground campaign of course we have an Air Force retired Brigadier General sitting next to me so he can speak to this my own sense as a non-military expert but speaking to the military experts in this studio and outside and as said to viewers in the past my own layman's sense is that the ground campaign is actually less important than people think it is and the air campaign is much more important because if the real objective is to destroy the tunnel network my understanding is that's done but through the air and so maybe that explains the intensified airstrikes tonight by the way the New York Times quoting an organization that tracks these things over the past 10 years says that this is the most intensive air campaign that their organization ever tracked maybe the most intensive one of the 21st century and that's before the intensified strikes tonight so if people think that nothing in Israel that not enough is being done because there's no ground campaign it seems to me to be not the right impression of the reality now the idea of Spokesperson Ria Admiral Daniel Hageri is said to be giving a presser this evening and around 8.15 local time and as soon as he starts to speak we will be bringing that to you live but the world continues to demand more proof and evidence from Israel and the IDF to not only justify its self-defense but to keep the Jewish state in check during its war against Hamas in the most recent briefing to international media that the idea of Spokesman Ria Admiral Daniel Hageri gave a video showing that the Hamas terror group's main base of operations is under if you can believe it Shifa Hospital the largest medical center in the Gaza Strip here's more from the IDF Spokesperson Hamas is cynically using hospitals and as a shield for its underground terror complex I want to explain there is an underground metro tunnels in Gaza City not just in Gaza City usually it's based next to next to unique sites or sensitive sites not just the hospital but other sites as masks etc etc UNRWA places hospital schools etc etc this is a philosophy of Hamas and Shifa is one of them this is an illustration of Shifa Hospital and the underground facilities I want to repeat this is only an illustration we will not share here the true material we will not share here the true material that we have in our hands this is only an illustration right now terrorists move freely in Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza we have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7 Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure Hamas wages war from hospitals by operating from these hospitals Hamas not only in dangers the lives of Israelis civilians but also exploit innocent Gaza civilians as human shield because something that I picked up listening to that recent statement by the idea of spokesperson Daniel Hageri was the fact that he kept bringing up that this is simply a 3D illustration and not the real material and the way that we've been seeing words being spun at the moment and the need for proof and evidence immediately makes me think that this statement is already going to be spun internationally and by some that support the Palestinians and Hamas by saying well if this isn't the real images then it's fabricated and not true First of all we know about Shifa many years ago we saw it during pillow defense protective edge and some more campaigns in the last decade and so on so Shifa is not in new terror facilities basement terror facilities unfortunately it's it's emphasized the asymmetrical war between Israel and Hamas and the Jihad they are using civilian facilities like hospitals they are using UNRWA facilities they are using schools they are using masks as a headquarter as a bunkers as a weapon system sites etc we can see it very very clear we don't see only or don't need only a Shifa example to show the world look what the Hamas is doing today for some I would say intelligence needs and requirements I believe that they didn't share the real materials but we know for sure and I believe that once we will start the ground the maneuvers the rest of the world we'll see the network that the Hamas build in the last 10 or 15 years in Gaza and not only in Gaza city in Gaza area mostly in the north part of Gaza city but not only gentlemen stay with me I do want to go now to the south where our correspondent Pierre Clashendler is standing by for an update Pierre there's been sirens blaring in the last couple of hours between the southern communities and in central cities of Israel what's the latest on the ground there well there's been only a rocket fire in a locality in the southern sector of the security fence but you can hear the outgoing shells of the Israeli artillery that are pounding the Gaza Strip for about I would say five hours five hours at least until we've been here you can hear them very clearly and at the same time we hear the muffled noise of Israeli jet pounding as well the northern sector of the Gaza Strip and the central sector of the Gaza Strip there's been an intensification of the artillery and of the air force fire on the Gaza Strip something unprecedented say Palestinian reports but we can also say that as well because we never heard such an intensity of shelling and and bombing since the start of the war Hamas on Israel on October 7 now we've seen the rocket fire targeting the center of the country in which one foreign worker was moderately wounded by shrapnel in an agricultural farm on the outskirts of Rishon Lezion in the center of the country there were six rocket fires six launches that we clearly saw from here and the angle of the launching we could clearly see that it wasn't targeting us because if it would have targeted us it would have been almost horizontal and that was far far targeting tens of kilometers away was quite obvious now you can hear always you know five six seven ten shells a minute and that's the reality right now here on the southern front correspondent Pierre Clush and Lezion as you mentioned we can clearly hear that artillery shell in the background so I can only imagine how loud it is where you're standing appreciate very much that updates at this hour still with me here in studio retired Brigadier General Zvika and our Owen I know you're not the IDF but I also know that you have a stick clip and one of the big things about what we were talking about earlier about this hospital being hit is the fact that the international community keeps bringing up the fact that Israel should be accused of war crimes targeting hospitals it's not abiding by international law what can you show us or tell us that perhaps gives some kind of indicative proof that that's not necessarily the case well I don't know if I'm going to quite deliver deliver that Bacchia there's going to be a host of claims that perhaps in October 7th are clearly war crimes possibly crimes against humanity and there are real scholars who say that it's genocide as well so that seems to be a pretty closed case as for what Israel is doing in this trip there are obviously going to be a lot of claims that are already starting to be hashed out in the media and ultimately might be hashed out in legal forums specifically about the hospital I found this to be interesting from the perspective of international humanitarian law based on my background that I have in it because this presents it takes you back to law school and puts you in the mind of a law professor trying to think of a hypothetical for a final exam and you almost couldn't think of a hypothetical better than Hamas essentially putting its pentagon the ultimate military objective into the biggest hospital in a densely populated place of 2 million people the ultimate civilian object and having to balance between the two to explain what I mean let's actually dig a little bit and take a look at what the law is I'll try to put it into plain English first I'll put on screen there's actually a rule about hospitals right this is from the customary international humanitarian law database of the international community of the Red Cross which is an authority on these things you can see it on your screen basically what it says in plain English is hospitals are not supposed to be a target unless the other side makes them a potential target right by using the hospital as a military facility and again that is what the IDF laid out in that press conference a few hours ago the question is what Bacchia is what Hamas is doing so once the hospital is used for military purposes it could and I want to emphasize very very clearly the word could because it's subject to something else could become a target but then the question is Bacchia okay it might be a target but you have to worry about something else you have to worry about it not just being a target but having to balance the military value against the loss of civilian life so we'll put on the screen the rule on what's called proportionality this is one of the central rules in international world you've got to balance in plain English how important the military objective is how much of a loss of life and injury to civilian there is and this is the ultimate test because both are very very high and I want to continue with that in just a second but we are seeing a briefing now by the IDF spokesperson Admiral Daniel Haagari let's dip in rough translation not the exact words we exposed the use of the hospital in order used by Hamas a cynical use by Hamas we showed the world and what this is what we need to do we will continue to attack in Gaza and its environs in Gaza sitting around below Wadi Gaza there are safer conditions there was fire from Lebanese territory toward the Israeli community there are no injuries to our forces we are continuing to look for and to take on groups of terrorists from the beginning of the war the IDF has attacked many terrorist groups in Lebanon whoever tries to fire at us will pay for that with his life we are continuing security assessment we are continuing security assessment we are following we are following we found an error to threaten the Red Sea we asked Egypt and the United States to tighten the defense in the Red Sea we are taking on the defense and all of the arenas to take on the essential security interests of the State of Israel on the home front I call you to follow the instructions of the home front command they save lives continue to do that the enemy is firing rockets continue to go into safe spaces it saves lives in recent times we got a lot of approaches from citizens who are not getting updates from the home front command app we are trying to upgrade the app and telling the public the app is only one tool in addition to the actual sirens themselves use all of the tools up to now we have told families of 310 fallen soldiers and I believe it was 225 we will check families of 229 families of hostages we are committed to the task of the national task to bring home all of the hostages we are at the end of the third week of the war 100s of thousands of soldiers and security forces are on all of the borders of the State of Israel to see the land to protect, to defend the country questions I have this all the time and I can't repeat we have excellent defences the State of Israel in many different levels we can take on different threats it's shooting down in the south it's not in a hermetic defense so therefore the importance to listen to the instructions of the home front command in a sense it saves lives we will continue to shoot down as best as we can in a full sense it's not hermetic asking about the hospital she has a hospital in the activity under it reports about Israel a question about the reports of Israel accepting a ceasefire as for the she's of a hospital we have brought and will continue to bring information we will publish more more videos of investigation along with the security service and more and more information about the use of civilian facilities humanitarian facilities in this case she's of a hospital but not only she's of a hospital the cynical use of these by Hamas that uses its own population human shields to protect terror activity we're raising a red flag on this we cannot allow the terror activity against Israel in the hospital together with the world to deal with this red flag this is something the State of Israel cannot allow ask for your question about the issue of the rumors that are going up now about a deal I'll say this I'm in this case don't listen to rumors this is this is psychological terror a cynical use by Hamas to the citizens of the State of Israel we hold and will bring reliable information reliable intelligence information all the relevant information first of all to the families and then we'll update the public until then do not give into manipulations of psychological terror of Hamas last question talking about the rockets that fell including in Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv said that they're only going to allow education facilities open near safe rooms we are conducting a routine in the shadow of war and we need to do it with great responsibility and of course with coordination with the heads of local authorities Tel Aviv as with other places like Bersheva, Ashgilon this is a big city and even with the other authorities we will continue to use situational assessments we will try to do it we need to make sure there are safe spaces we are in good conditions that this is being done there is a there is deliberation there's a lot of authority along with the home front command and other authorities we'll try Shabbat Shalom that was Rea Admiral Daniel Hagari the idea of spokesperson giving a presser this evening I want to thank very much our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman for paraphrasing that presser and Zvika I'd like to ask you the main takeaway of this being that he mentioned that the IDF is going to be ramping up the scope of ground operations can you explain quite clearly what he means by that we spoke earlier about the waiting time for the ground operations and the air strike and all the other fronts that are part of this very complicated war I think that the government and the cabinet declare a very clear objective to the IDF the first priority of the objective is to defeat the Hamas military capabilities in Gaza Strip how much of it can be done via the air and I'll touch it in a while and the air campaign it's a massive I cannot compare it not to the protective edge not to the second Lebanon war not to any other wars in our history that's for sure but we spoke about the underground Gaza and if we want to achieve and defeat and destroy it all the Hamas military capabilities there is no other choice than take the decision it's a very tough decision and the our ground forces to Gaza the air campaign will not finish at that point they will continue to supply kind of aerial umbrella to the ground forces very close escorting very close support and we believe that once we will start the ground maneuvers the terrorists from the tunnel they will go out they will find the air they will find the ground forces the navy as well and this is the only way to complete the mission and to achieve the very complicated goal by the cabinet, by the government to defeat the Hamas there is no other way Can I ask a question? When do you think the air campaign without a ground invasion will have run its course is there a timetable for how long you can keep up a campaign like this before the diminishing marginal returns really in that graph so to speak has leveled off and you can't really make any progress there is no a timer there is no a point as we can say okay it's done and not we can see that in the last few days more than two and fifty hundred targets strike by the air force every day one day it was four hundred two hundred and fifty etc. Intelligence is working and supplying more and more targets and the air force is not like the Hamas striking only military and terror targets terror apartments, terror depots terror headquarters etc and tunnel as well the fact that and Agari mentioned that during his speech we are collecting a lot of information for the terrorists that we caught in October 7 we have more than two hundred and even more Hamas terrorists in our ends and this is a huge and important information and we need to translate it very fast to operations in Gaza this is the only way to close the circle and maximize the sources in our ends thank you both so very much for being here just to wrap up before we end this broadcast and you can tune in again at the top of the hour for more updates rocket sirens have been blaring throughout Israel's southern and central cities as Israel is currently pounding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip this evening we'll have right more at the top of the hour when we come back in the meantime for anything you missed make sure to check out our website at i24news.tv very hard to see these kids innocent kids who are now in some tunnel in in Gaza who knows what's happened to them kids who saw their parents being shot and then were kidnapped into Gaza to this breaking news edition I'm about 11th all coming July from Tel Aviv thanks for joining me this evening it is day 21 of war here in Israel rocket sirens have been blaring throughout Israel's southern and central cities as Israel is currently pounding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip this evening and perhaps the biggest airstrikes seen since the war began this is a recent report from Egypt claims that Israel has agreed to a 24 hour ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages they are thus far 229 confirmed hostages being held in the Gaza Strip CNN and UltraZera reporting that significant progress on this matter is being made with Qatari and other American officials although again there is no official confirmation especially from the Israeli side who are not engaging directly in negotiations and with me here in studio to touch on this a little bit more is retired Brigadier General Zvika Chaimovich a former Israeli air defense forces commander and our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman good evening to you both Israeli reports Owen are coming out now that indicate that hospitals are being prepared to receive some of those captives but the report that came out on the times of Israel's sister site the Hebrew version of it says that this was a general instruction and should not allude to the fact that there is an imminent release of hostages yeah and that makes sense so that the hospitals be able to prepare obviously if many of these people be released all at once they may need their own set of treatment the hospital may need to get ready for that obviously there is conflicting reports about exactly where the talks stand on the hostages again I think the central demand that Hamas seems to be making that surrounds a lot of these talks is Hamas is saying that it needs a ceasefire in order to just logistically be able to implement a hostage deal that it doesn't know where all of the people are some of them are held by other groups maybe private citizens in Gaza by the way you can even imagine a private citizen extorting Hamas in that situation in order to for Hamas to again get the hostage saying while we're under this kind of bombardment we simply can't gather everybody and find everybody and be able to implement it if we're in a world okay where Hamas genuinely wants to release the hostages and is acting in good faith if obviously a gigantic if but if we're in that world I think on its face that request actually makes a certain amount of sense right because the conditions Gaza really probably aren't there to be able to collect and deliver the hostages of course the big question is are we in that world we have every reason to suspect that we aren't that Hamas would use a ceasefire for its own needs that it's bargaining it for it maybe it would release the hostages but it doesn't really need the ceasefire into to release the hostages and it would simply use it as a chance to regroup so as usual in these situations there's a lot of fog there isn't a lot of certainty we know that Qatar is involved we know the Israeli government has come out and complimented Qatar for its involvement she was really hard for those officials to do it for the national security advisor to do it given Qatar's connections to Hamas but be that all as it may Qatar is obviously involved there seem to be talks of some kind exactly where they lead we'll have to see and of course the ultimate question how do you balance the imperative of getting the hostages out with the imperative of winning the war and speaker another topic obviously very high on the list of the major developments this evening apart from the Israeli side is the Palestinian side and there are reports of Gaza that the IDF is striking by land air and sea is this possibly a turning point because at least the reports coming out across various different media channels is the fact that this is perhaps the biggest pounding of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip to date I don't know I don't have any specific information if this is really the biggest strike since the last three weeks when we started this this war the air force and the army they are striking every day many times per day south west and the central part of Gaza I think that sooner or later we will see the ground maneuvers starting in Gaza and it might be a clue that we are very close to that decision point by the cabinet but I don't really think that this is really the biggest it depends on how you count the big or the small strike the number of the jets the number of the bombs I'm not sure I know for sure that in the last 21 days the air force, the army, the artillery they are striking 24 or 7 around the clock You spoke a little bit about the fact that Israeli officials were praising the Qatari officials in their complex relationship with Hamas and we know that there have been also some reports that say that Qatari officials and other countries that are close to Hamas will be re-looking at their ties with Hamas once this is done but something that's also quite interesting is that there's many Israelis that despite this still believe that not enough is being done in terms of the strikes on the Gaza Strip and also in terms of getting the hostages home would the strikes tonight be them as they may if we had to take them at face value true? Would this be appeasing some of the Israeli public that's quite vocally critical of the government at the moment? Well the two parts of your question first the issue of Qatari and Hamas and then the issue of the Israeli public's sense of satisfaction with how the war is going As for Qatari and Hamas look at the end of the day Bacchia Hamas is being hosted by Qatari that they think had wanted it and what's the rationale that if Hamas is in Qatari Qatari can use its leverage to contain Hamas to restrain Hamas I think that was kind of either the spoken promise or the unspoken promise and the reason why the United States still has good relations with Qatari of course there's the big Air Force base there but also that this was seen as potentially something that would be helpful to Israel and the United States in their interest but then comes October 7th the goods they didn't restrain Hamas Hamas went out and murdered 1,400 people okay so then what's the value of Qatari hosting Hamas both for Israel and the United States if Hamas is going to do this anyway they might as well just go to Tehran right so what's the value for the United States in Tehran for that matter what's the value for Qatari if there simply can be essentially embarrassed in this way and that's I suspect the way behind closed doors that they feel and completely ashamed that they simply weren't able to do the most basic thing that they promised to do either spoken or unspoken which is to restrain Hamas so it's not surprising to see reports that there are talks of getting Hamas out of Qatari as for the Israeli public and satisfaction on the war people are very focused on this issue of the ground campaign of course we have an Air Force retired Brigadier General sitting next to me so he can speak to this my own sense as a non-military expert but speaking to the military experts in this studio and outside and as said to viewers in the past my own layman sense is that the ground campaign is actually less important than people think it is and the air campaign is much more important because if the real objective is to destroy the tunnel network my understanding of course defer to to Tzvika my understanding is that's done but through the air and so maybe that explains the intensified airstrikes tonight by the way the New York Times quoting an organization that tracks these things over the past 10 years says that this is the most intensive air campaign that our organization ever tracked maybe the most intensive one of the 21st century and that's before the intensified strikes tonight so if people think that nothing in Israel that not enough is being done because there's no ground campaign it seems to me to be not the right impression of the reality. Now the idea of spokesperson Rea Admiral Daniel HaGarry is said to be giving a presser this evening and around 8 15 local time and as soon as he starts to speak we will be bringing that to you live but the world continues to demand more proof and evidence from Israel and the IDF to not only justify its self-defense but to keep the Jewish state in check during its war against Hamas. In the most recent briefing to international media that the idea of spokesman Rea Admiral Daniel HaGarry gave he played a video showing that the Hamas terror groups main base of operations is under if you can believe it Schiefer hospital the largest medical center in the Gaza Strip here's more from the IDF spokesperson Rea Admiral Daniel HaGarry Hamas is cynically using hospitals and as a shield for its underground terror complex I want to explain there is an underground metro tunnels in Gaza city not just in Gaza city usually it's based next to next to unique sites or sensitive sites not just the hospital but other sites as mosques etc etc Wunra places hospital schools etc etc this is a philosophy of Hamas and Schiefer is one of them this is an illustration of Schiefer hospital and the underground facilities I want to repeat this is only an illustration we will not share here the true material that we have in our hands this is only an illustration right now terrorists move freely in Schiefer hospital and other hospitals in Gaza we have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacre of October 7th Hamas uses Schiefer hospital as a shield for Hamas terror infrastructure Hamas wages war from hospitals by operating from these hospitals Hamas not only in dangers the lives of Israelis civilians but also exploit innocent Gazan civilians as human shield it's because something that I picked up listening to to that recent statement by the idea of spokesperson Daniel Haagari was the fact that he kept bringing up that this is simply a 3D illustration and not the real material and the way that we've been seeing words being spun at the moment and the need for proof and evidence immediately makes me think that this statement is already going to be spun internationally and by some that support the Palestinians and Hamas by saying well if this isn't the real images then it's fabricated and not true first of all we know about Schiefer many years ago we saw it during pillow defense protective edge and some more campaigns in the last decade and so on so Schiefer it's not a new terror facilities basement terror facilities unfortunately it is emphasized the asymmetrical war between Israel and Hamas and the Jihad they are using civilian facilities like hospitals they are using UNRF facilities they are using schools they are using masks as an bunker as a weapon system site etc we can see it very clear we don't see only or don't need only a Schiefer example to show the world what Hamas is doing today for some I would say intelligence needs and requirements I believe that he didn't share the real materials but we know for sure and I believe that once we will start the ground maneuvers the rest of the world we'll see the network that the Hamas built in the last 10 or 15 years in Gaza and not only in Gaza city in Gaza area mostly in the north part of Gaza Strip but not only gentlemen stay with me I do want to go now to the south where our correspondent Pierre Clashendler is standing by for an update it's been sirens blaring in the last couple of hours between the southern communities and in central cities of Israel what's the latest on the ground there well there's been only a rocket fire in a locality in the southern sector of the security fence but you can hear maybe the outgoing shells of the Israeli artillery that are pounding the Gaza Strip for about I would say five hours at least until we've been here you can hear them very clearly and at the same time we hear the muffled noise of Israeli jet pounding as well the northern sector of the Gaza Strip and the central sector of the Gaza Strip this is what's going on there is an intensification of the artillery and of the air force fire on the Gaza Strip something unprecedented say Palestinian reports but we can also say that as well because we never heard such an intensity of shelling and bombing since the start of the war that has been waged by Hamas on Israel on October 7 now we've seen the rocket fire targeting the center of the country in which one foreign worker was moderately wounded by shrapnel in an agricultural farm on the outskirts of Rishon Lezion in the center of the country there were six rocket fires six launches that we clearly saw from here and from the angle of the launching we could clearly see that it wasn't targeting us because if it would have targeted us it would have been almost horizontal and that was targeting tens of kilometers away it was quite obvious now you can hear always five, six, seven, ten shells a minute and that's the reality right now here on the southern front Correspondent Pierre Clauchandla as you mentioned we can clearly hear that artillery shell in the background so I can only imagine how loud it is where you're standing appreciate very much that update at this hour still with me here in studio retired Brigadier General Zvika Chaimovich and our Owen Ultiman Owen I know you're not the IDF but I also know that you have a stick lip I can put it that way for international law and one of the big things about what we were talking about earlier about this hospital being hit is the fact that the international community keeps bringing up the fact that Israel should be accused of war crimes targeting hospitals it's not abiding by international law what can you show us or tell us that perhaps gives some kind of indicative proof that that's not necessarily the case well I don't know if I'm going to quite deliver that but there's going to be a host of claims obviously surrounding this war first of all let's get started right the Hamas attacks on October 7th are clearly war crimes against humanity and there are real scholars who say that it's genocide as well so that seems to be a pretty closed case as for what Israel is doing in this trip there are obviously going to be a lot of claims that are already starting to be hashed out in the media and ultimately might be hashed out in legal forums specifically about the hospital I found this to be interesting from the perspective of international humanitarian law based on my background that I have in it because this presents kind of the ultimate question right it takes you back to law school right puts you in the mind of a law professor trying to think of a hypothetical for a final exam and you almost couldn't think of a hypothetical better okay then Hamas essentially putting its pentagon right the ultimate military objective into the biggest hospital in a densely populated place of 2 million people the ultimate civilian object right and having to balance between the two to explain what I mean let's actually dig a little bit and take a look at what the law is about the plain English first I'll put on screen there's actually a rule about hospitals right this is from the customary international humanitarian law database of the International Committee of the Red Cross which is an authority on these things you can see it on your screen basically what it says in plain English is hospitals are not supposed to be a target unless the other side makes them a potential target right by using the hospital as a military facility and again that is what the IDF laid out in that press conference a few hours ago Bacha is what Hamas so once the hospital is used for military purposes it could and I want to emphasize very very clearly the word could because it's subject to something else could become a target but then the question is Bacha okay it might be a target but you have to worry about something else you have to worry about it not just being a target but having to balance the military value against the loss of civilian life so we'll put on the screen the rule on what's called proportionality this is one of the central rules in international humanitarian law this is one of the big rules in Israel's wars in Gaza you got a balance in plain English how important the military objective is how much of a loss of life and injury to civilian there is and this is the ultimate test because both are very very high oh and I want to continue with that in just a second but we are seeing a briefing now by the IDF spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari let's dip in rough translation not the exact words we exposed the use of the hospital in order used by Hamas a cynical use by Hamas we showed the world and what this is what we need to do we will continue to attack in Gaza and its environs in Gaza city and around below Wadi Gaza there are safer conditions there was fire from Lebanese territory there was fire from Lebanese territory toward the Israeli community there are no injuries to our forces we are continuing to look for and to take on groups of terrorists from the beginning of the war the IDF has attacked many terrorist groups in Lebanon whoever whoever tries to fire at us will pay for that with his life we are in continuing security assessment we are following we are following we found an threat in the Red Sea we asked Egypt and the United States to tighten the defense in the Red Sea we are taking on the defense and all of the arenas to take on the security interests of the State of Israel on the home front I call you to follow the instructions of the home front command they save lives we continue to do that the enemy is firing rockets continue to go into safe spaces it saves lives in recent times we got a lot of approaches from citizens who are not getting updates from the home front command application we are trying to upgrade the app and telling the public the app is only one tool in addition to the actual sirens themselves use all of the tools up to now we have told families of 310 fallen soldiers and I believe it was 225 we will check families of 229 families of hostages we are committed to the task of the national task to bring home all of the hostages we are at the end of the third week of the war 100s of thousands of soldiers and security forces are on all of the borders of the state of Israel on the sea the land to protect and defend the country questions I have this all the time and I can repeat we have excellent defenses the state of Israel we can take on different threats we also saw the air forces shooting down in the south it's not in a hermetic defense so therefore the importance to listen to the instructions of the home front command in a sense it saves lives we will continue to shoot down as best as we can in a full sense it's not hermetic as you said asking about the hospital she has a hospital and the activity under it reports about Israel accepting a ceasefire as for the she has a hospital we have brought and will continue to bring information we will publish more videos of investigation along with the security service and more and more information about the use of civilian facilities humanitarian facilities in this case a hospital but not only a hospital we will show the world the cynical use of these that uses its own population as human shields to protect terror activity we are raising a red flag on this we cannot allow the terror activity against Israel together with the world to deal with this red flag this is something that the state of Israel cannot allow as for your question about the issue of the rumors that are going up now about a deal I'll say this I'm in this case don't listen to rumors this is this is psychological terror a cynical use by Hamas to the citizens of the state of Israel we hold and will bring reliable information reliable intelligence information all the relevant information first of all to the families and then we'll update the public until then do not give into manipulations of psychological terror of Hamas last question talking about the rockets that fell including in Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv said that they're only going to have education facilities open near safe rooms we are conducting a routine in the shadow of war and we need to do it with great responsibility and of course with coordination with the heads of local authorities Tel Aviv thank you