By Downloading Duckduckgo On Mobile and desktop today. Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, im john vause. U. S. President joe biden will travel to israel wednesday, a dramatic show of support which comes at a crucial moment. More than a week after a Surprise Attack by hamas militants who murdered more than 1400 civilians in israel, and Israeli Ground offensive in gaza is now going to be imminent as well as israeli airstrikes that left gaza facing a humanitarian crisis like never before and white house officials fear this conflict could spiral into a wider regional confrontation. U. S. Soccer state Anthony Blinken announced the president s visit. Hes been on a marathon Diplomatic Mission across the middle east. Blinken also says the u. S. And israel have agreed to develop a plan for humanitarian aid from donations to reach civilians in gaza. You and experts warn that the territory is being strangled by israels weeklong siege and aerial bombardment. The Prime Minister says that more than 2000 an Israeli Ground offensive in gaza is expected to start at any moment. Benjamin netanyahu says the country will not stop until it is destroyed the military and government capabilities of hamas. More now from cnns Senior International correspondent sam kiley and a warning, his report contains some graphic video. At a widening wall in the middle east. A humanitarian horror and floods of refugees. The conundrum that israel faces is selfdefense versus Collective Punishment. Still reeling from the october 7th hospitality, in which at least 1400 people were killed, and most of them civilians, israels Prime Minister has pledged to destroy hamas and called for international support. He said, just like the world united to destroy the knot seas and crisis, now the world must unite in order to defeat hamas. But at what cost . The u. S. Secretary of state embarked on a frantic round of talks with israel ahead of a widely anticipated Ground Assault on gaza. You know our deep commitment to israels right, indeed its obligation, to defend itself and to defend its people. But theres also been a warning from the white house. I think it would be a mistake for israel to occupy gaza again. Hamas is blamed for mounting civilian casualties in gaza by israel and the uks foreign secretary. Of course we want to minimize palestinian casualties, we want to minimize israeli casualties, we want everybody to respect civilians. But the real clear distinction is israel are trying to get civilians out of danger, hamas are trying to put civilians into danger. Gaza has no power, no freshwater, it is besieged by israel, and its egyptian border sealed. Half its 2 million population has been told to leave the north of the enclave amid continued israeli airstrikes. [sound of artillery] more than half 1 million are on the move. Egypts president said i believe the ongoing retaliation goes beyond the right of selfdefense for israel, and amounts to the Collective Punishment of the gaza strip. Egypt further insists that the palestinians should not leave their territory and face permanent displacement. China, meanwhile, is spending a special envoy to the region next week and calling for calm as around the world, revulsion of hamas has really sent atrocities risks being eclipsed by israels operation in gaza. Along the israel gaza border, lebanon and israel have been skirmishing. Israel evacuated 28 villages along the frontier in case of outright war, an invasion of gaza could trigger just that. Once again, in the middle east, there is Global Division over what the problem is and fear of some of the solutions. Sam kiley, cnn. Live now to london, cnns Katie Polglase is following developments for us. What more do we know about bidens visit . This is a second trip to an active war zone this year, it comes at some personal risk for the president , but also he feels like he needs to do. Good morning john, absolutely. That is clearly very evident from the decision here to provide him to go visit israel. There is a clear security risk, the white house has said that they have done their homework before deciding that biden will visit, clearly there have been some considerable preparations before this decision was made. But it also shows how seriously Bidens Administration think this issue is and how pressing it is to ensure that there is some deescalation. Now, if you look at his Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinkens visit recently, all of this diplomacy that weve been talking about. The number of different state actors, the number of Different Countries that blinken met with really shows how many Different Countries are involved and how much concern there is for this conflict spreading, broadening out into a wider regional conflict beyond just israel and the palestinian territories. That is really part of why biden is deciding to make this visit arriving tomorrow. Clearly there was also the question of whether there will be u. S. Military involvement as well. We are hearing just this morning that the u. S. Head of Central Command is in israel talking to the israel Chief Of Staff, the armys Chief Of Staff about potentially help from the u. S. Military. Clearly a statement there that the u. S. Is considering some kind of form of support for israel, but, amid all of this discussion about a potential shuffle diplomacy states, states getting involved in this conflict, there is the continued concern about the humanitarian situation in gaza. As mentioned there in some of the package, and also, as we have seen from blinkens statements about this in the recent report that the u. S. And israel are now making a plan for humanitarian aid to enter into gaza, this is a pressing humanitarian need on a very, very dire scale. Clearly we are looking at the road for border, that is the only border where there is potential access to the gaza strip, that is with egypt. There have been many discussions, biden yesterday calling the egyptian president regarding this crossing. We dont know if they discussed this crossing, but clearly that is the main topic of discussion. Also we know that bidens Secretary Of State blinken also discussed with the potential opening of the Rafah Crossing. This is crucial for enabling aid in gaza and one of the main reasons why the gaza strip has not had any humanitarian aid at all since this conflict began. Likely to be on the table as biden arrives tomorrow. Really, as we are seeing, two things to discuss. The humanitarian aid, as we are talking about, but also any u. S. Involvement as this conflict clearly, there is a very major concern about escalating, broadening out from israel and involving many other states as well. John . Katie, thank you. Katie polglase live for us in london. Eight groups have been warning of a Imminent Health Crisis in gaza if supplies of water and fuel remain cut off. Cnns Salma Abdelaziz has more on the growing desperation inside gaza. A warning, some images in her report are graphic. This is what life looks like in places israel told families to flee towards for their safety. Constant bombardment has reduced homes to rubble and wiped out entire families. Survivors say, i lost all my relatives, 15 people, this man says, we were not on the frontline or anything, we were just sitting at home. What have we done wrong . The u. N. Warns there are no safe places. About half 1 Million People fled here to southern gaza, after invocation order from the Israeli Military. Families, desperate for refuge are still trapped in the war zone. The dead and injured flooding and Health Care System on the brink. Civilians are caught in the crossfire. The death toll mounting just over a quarter of those killed our children. According to palestinian officials. A weeklong Sieges Strangling u. N. Says. Food, fuel, water, and medical supplies will soon run out. Some 2 Million People are crammed into this 140 square mile territory. Many of them pushing to an even smaller corner. About half the population are children. There are not enough shelters to house the sheer number of civilians. Even those who do fine spaces in overwhelm schools turn refugee centers, it is a little comfort to the youngest victims. Theres no one to protect us, this little girl says. There is no one to come save us. How are we supposed to live, how . Answer me. [crying] Prime Minister netanyahu has vowed to annihilate hamas, after a Terror Attack by the group left 1400 killed in israel. With hamas soon deeply embedded within gazas population, the group fears a bloodbath. What we are seeing great now, the direction that israel is going to, they have said they want to destroy hamas, but their current trajectory is going to destroy gaza. Hamas does not answer to the people of gaza. No elections have been held here since the group seized power in 2007. Still, its these residents that will pay the price. With the potential Ground Incursion expected, that cost is unfathomable. Salma abdelaziz, cnn, london. Joining me now from tel aviv s jonathan conricus, International Spokesperson for the Israel Defense forces. Colonel, good to see you, thanks for being with. Us good morning, thank you for having me. Its a pleasure, sir. Im wondering if you can comment on a report which just received from palestinian sources within gaza that there were israeli airstrikes around the Rafah Crossing in the south, killing at least 28 people, also airstrikes in the region of which as you know is in the center of gaza. These areas which israelis urged palestinians to head towards to be out of danger for Israeli Operations that were taking place in the north. What more can you tell us about the airstrikes in the south . Yes, the Combat Operations continue. We continue to hunt hamas operatives to attempt to degrade their military capabilities, whereabouts, locations, tunnels, rocket launchers, and of course other things that are part of this war that has been forced upon us. I am not aware of any strikes specifically in those areas, but they could have happened. Anyhow, we continue to operate and strike hamas targets as we have defined before and we tried to do that according to the conflict and to minimize civilian casualties. Just as we have you talking about rafa, what was the situation there as far as you know, with regards to that Border Crossing actually being open so that all the trucks on the egyptian side of the border, trucks filled with humanitarian assistance can be allowed into gaza . Yes, i know, first of all i am aware of lots of discussions of reports and quite a lot of conflicting information about it. Sorry to say i dont have clarity myself. The only thing i can say is that the last attempt that i am aware of, that we were involved, in was three days ago when there was an attempt to evacuate foreign nationals, americans and others, which failed because hamas refused to open the gate. Other than that, i dont have any update on the situation. We understand the complexity and perhaps there will be news later in the day about rafa and other issues pertaining to humanitarian aid. Its confusion and more comes with the territory, but we appreciate everything you can do to clarify. We just heard the news as well on monday that the u. S. President joe biden will visit israel on wednesday. There is an imminent Ground Operation in gaza. Does the president s visit to israel complicate or delay that Ground Incursion in any way . Not as far as i understand, and i think, what i understand from public statements, the Statement Bag by Secretary Blinken, the secretary is here to show its support for israel and that he stands with israel. Our right to defend ourselves and, of course, any enhancement of our operation is part of our right to defend ourselves. I think the president also said that hamas needs to be destroyed and that is exactly our military aim. We want to dismantle hamas and make sure that, never again, will any terrorist organization in gaza have the ability to perform the atrocities that hamas did on the 7th of october. With regards to the Military Operations in the exodus from the north of gaza to the south that we are talking about moment ago, that did send a fairly clear message to hamas that Big Operation was on its way. Can you say how long and specifically where those operations will take place around the north in gaza city and whether the risk is facing those who stay in that area . Is there a danger of two hamas militants of what is coming down the line . Yeah, three good questions in one. Listen, it is generally not wise for military to be advertising its intelligence. We are aware of the fact that we have just advertised our intelligence by telling civilians in Northern Gaza to go south. Why have we done that . Because we want to civilians out of fighting and we dont want them to be killed. So there is a balance here between achieving a military objective and minimizing civilian damage and, in this case, which is very evident and you cannot argue with it, we have chosen to that the sanctity of life and helping Palestinian Civilians to go south and not be stuck in an area where there will be significant combat activities. There is a risk and we will have to mitigate this risk with the tactics, the weapons, and the time that we use when and if we will operate. There is tremendous desire in israel to see hamas defeated, to see the scourge and the terror gone from gaza, but israelis, of course, also want the idf to operate smartly and in a way that does not expose our troops to undo danger in an environment that already is amongst the most dangerous on any battlefield. Very quickly, one of the other reasons why President Biden is coming to the region, to israel, and the Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinken has been there is concern that this conflict with hamas in gaza could spread and erupt into a much bigger regional confrontation with actors for iran, in particular, warning if there are any more Palestinian Civilians killed, if this continues, there will be consequences for israel. What is your response to that . Well, i read it the same way. I see that President Biden and Secretary Blinken and Many Americans statements are made exactly to prevent regional escalation. The common denominator of, lets say the region or power that could escalate the middle east into regional escalation is iran. They have their tentacles, they have their Proxy Organizations around israel, hezbollah in the north, jihad in the south, and lots of proxies in syria and iraq, and if they decide so than maybe they will want to throw more of their proxies towards israel. That would be unwise and definitely not something that would serve the interest of the people of the region. Maybe it would serve iranian interest, but definitely not the people of the region. I think that is a very strong message that the u. S. Is delivering to iran. If you are thinking about doing it, dont. What we are saying is we are prepared, along the northern border, in the south, whoever threatens us and whoever challenges our safety and security of our civilians, we will defend and we will make sure that they dont have the ability to do so. Colonel conricus, thank you for being with us, we appreciate your time. Thank you, good morning. Well take a short break, when we come back i moss has released the first Hostage Video of a woman taken prisoner from israel. Well have your families reaction when they saw her. That is just ahead. Hamas released the first Hostage Video. A 21 year old woman by the name of cnn made the decision not to air that video, but we have seen it and she was talking about an arm injury and that she was taken to gaza. Its not known when the video was recorded or if she is still alive. The mother says that she is grateful for that video, heres what she told cnns anderson cooper. How does your daughter look to you . She has been through shes in pain. She is injured and she looks a bit terrified. But she is alive and stable. Does it help to see her . Of course, because until now i didnt know that she was dead or alive. Cnn spoke with israeli families of others who are missing and they are pushing for the government to show more urgency in bringing home hamas hostages. More details now from cnns clarissa ward. Four days they have that outside the Military Headquarters in tel aviv, Holding Vigil for their loved ones. Among many Family Members of those held in gaza there is anger at the Israeli Government s handling of the crisis. Growing cries to make a deal for the hostages to be released. Tsai and her family are looking for her sister a 19 year old soldier, who disappeared at the kibbutz. We dont know where she is, if she eats, sleeps where they keeper, we do not know anything. Tell me why are you here . Because i wanted someone to look at me, look at all of us. Earlier today the government confirmed they believe another 50 hostages are being held in gaza. Bringing the total close to 200. Among them is 74 year old vivian silver, of Peace Activist and canadian citizen who lived in the beeri kibbutz. It was a sight of some of the darkest bloodshed during the october 7th attack. Vivian sun was on the phone with her throughout the morning, as the horror unfolded. I heard a lot of gunshots outside the window. And we decided to stop talking, because she was hiding. But at some point she wrote me, they are inside the house. Her house . Yeah. And that was the, i wrote that i am with you. She wrote that i feel you in that was the last message. For nine agonizing days he is shuttled between optimism and despair, as israels leaders steal its citizens for an invasion of gaza. When you look at more than 300,000 reservists being called up, huge amounts of weaponry and Military Personnel amassing at the border, a lot of anticipation about a Ground Offensive, how does that make you feel . It makes me anxious. I did not want war before, i do not want more now. I dont think we can cure dead babies with more died of babies. Do you think in israel, most people agree with you, do you think most people want more . Nobody wants war, but i think people are willing to accept war. Because youll hurt anyone to stop the pain. So you see a demon in front of you and you want to vanquish it. I do not think it is realistic, whatever we do to gaza now would come back. A plea to break the endless Cycle Of Violence and to prioritize rescuing the living over avenging the dead. But in this moment of raw anguish, it is the calls for invasion that are growing louder. Stood come here on cnn, its not just the u. S. President heading to israel. The u. S. Military is sending a Rapid Response force to the borders of israels coast. More on that in a moment. U. S. Marine Rapid Response force has been deployed to israel, part of a show of force intended to bolster u. S. Presence in the middle east. Cnns Owen Liebermann reports now from the pentagon. A marine rocket Response Force is headed towards the waters off the coast of israel, according to a u. S. Defense official familiar with the plans as the u. S. Commits a growing number of Military Assets to the region that are converging near israel, even as the Biden Administration is trying to avoid being directly involved militarily in a very hot conflict. The rain is in the gulf of oman, according to navy officials, about, according to that u. S. Defense official, it is moving towards israel. It is unclear if it will join other navy assets in the eastern med or if it will remain in the red sea off the coast of southern israel. But, again, there are a growing number of Military Assets there. The u. S. s general are Forward Carrier Strike Group is already in the eastern met and the u. S. Is eisenhower Carrier Strike group will arrive in that same area within just a couple of weeks here. It is already moving that way, according to cnn reporting from over the week. And the key here is that, as the u. S. Is trying to show support for israel, and offer its strong message of deterrence for iran and iranian proxies in the region, in particular hezbollah and lebanon, the u. S. Is still trying not to become directly involved in this conflict, and trying to walk a very fine line there. At the same time, on sunday night, u. S. Defense secretary lloyd austin issued orders for a group of about 2000 people to prepare for the possibility of deployment directly to israel, offering another option for President Joe Biden as he considers how much support, out offer that support, and whether the u. S. Should become directly more involved. Its crucial to note here that those 2000 troops that might be preparing for the possibility of deployment to israel would not be combat troops. Instead, they would be support. So, logistics, planning, as well as perhaps medical assistance we are looking at more details from the pentagon here in the coming days. But all of this as the u. S. Becomes more and more involved here in a conflict as israel promises a prolonged and perhaps Difficult Campaign and the next stage of israels operations expected here with a growing force on the border of gaza. Oren liebermann, cnn, in the pentagon. Cnn Military Analyst and u. S. Cedric leighton is with us now from washington. Its good to see cedric. Good to be with, the john. Okay, so the israeli response so far, just over a week, it looks very familiar to previous conflicts with hamas in gaza. High number of Palestinian Civilians, especially get children are being killed by the israeli airstrikes which have targeted hamas infrastructure as well. Residential areas have been shattered and destroyed. This time, though, when the air strikes stop, that wont be the end of the Military Operation has been in the past. Next come is a Ground Incursion, or expected Ground Incursion. One of the israelis been doing from the air for the past week or so with regard to that looming Ground Offensive and what is your sense of timing here . How much longer will the air Campaign Last before they go in on the ground . Yeah, john, those are great questions. Really what is happening is they are softening up the target, as we would say in the military, and what the israelis are doing with their air campaign, as it currently stands, is creating a zone where they believe they can move their infantry forces and special Operations Forces into certain areas to, in essence, clean them out, and also to use them as a Staging Areas for further operations, perhaps operations into other areas of gaza city or underground, which of course is where we believe most of the hostages, if not all the hostages, are being held right now. For the first freeze is the softening up stage, the second phase would be to use ground troops, either for special operation purposes, or for the seizing of territory, at least temporarily, and then moving into areas where they can then take care of their main objective, which they say is to decapitate the hamas leadership. In other words, take it out and destroy hamas as a viable political and military entity. The Israeli Military has always warned that a major Ground Offensive into gaza was fraught with risk and could quickly become a quagmire. One reason why, these narrow streets are typical across many parts of gaza. They are Refugee Camps which, overtime, have become these narrow, winding streets with cement and cinder block and buildings, sort of permanent structures there, if you like. Kids grew up in gaza, a lot of them anyway, knowing every inch of those alleyways. Israeli soldiers do not. And then there is a system of hamas underground tunnels, as well as booby traps. So, in The Big Picture here, could Israel Be Giving Hamas The Fight which they want, which is going to be yes it is definitely possible. One of the israelis have is the very thing you said, they dont really know as well as the gaza kids do, and as soon as you get into the enemies home turf, that becomes a real problem. If you dont know the territory as well as your enemy, you are at a disadvantage. When you go into a place like this where the possibility of ambush is absolutely almost 100 percent, possibility of all of those things are really hallmarks that were bloody campaign that is an essence going to be on hamass terms. The last is really grounding Corruption Into Gaza was productive, again, the israeli airstrikes which are followed by Ground Operation looking for an destroying hamas tunnels. And here is how the described the operation. Although idf forces personally a few kilometers into gaza to find and destroy the cross border tunnels, the idf certainly in places such as where the one of the most intense battles of the war. That was in 2014. Hamas fighters have now been trained, equipped have decades to prepare for this moment. As you say they will be fighting on the home turf, so given all of the downside, all of the risk, and this is israels only option here . Yes. I think they really have not thought this through very much. Because something similar to that. In this next phase, unless you do something very different in terms of perhaps surrounding them at a different place, or finding the leadership, first and taking out, the one thing is, of course the fact that there are hostages, the idea is to grab the hostages first, release them released the hostages, or maintain their freedom, and if not successful, than a Military Option will be next in line, that might change the order of things. It might change the way in which israelis will do, things but right now it seems like it is a rehash of 2014. It is definitely not what you want to do in 2023. As, always good, city thank you. Thank, you john, good to be with you. When we come back here on cnn, A Closer Look at what many palestinians right now in gaza. Theyre darkest hour. From Northern Gaza to the south, as trying to keep his family alive on a dangerous and harrowing journey. Is it possible my network could take my business to the next level . It is with comcast business. Powering all your devices with gigspeed wifi. And you get fast downloads and uploads. Pick it up pick it up oh we got this because its powered by The Next Generation 10g network. More speed for your business . Its not just possible. Its happening. Get started for 59. 99 a month for 12 months. Plus, ask how to get an 800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. Comcast business, powering possibilities. To the north of israel, the idf confirms ongoing strikes on Terror Targets in lebanon, the group with an Israeli Ground offensive intended to wipe out hamas from gaza, now leaving a minute cnns Matthew Chance reports now from the israel lebanon border. They are bracing for a dangerous second front. We give exclusive access to israels tense northern front. The israeli army have now sealed off as a security zone, some of the areas close to the lebanese border because of the they are taking us now. This is the closest place they can, they say is safe, to see the land is hostile. None of the Israeli Soldiers who wanted their faces shown, to hide their identities from hezbollah. Powerful lebanese militia with a vast arsenal trained on these positions from across the board. We are ready, if they choose to, come they will make a huge mistake. All with hezbollah way to be brutal said the senior israeli commander, who asked not to be identified. But it is now also necessary, he told me. Do you believe there will be a second front open here . Or are you hopeful still that hezbollah will stay out of this one . I hope there will. We need to destroy hezbollah. You hope there will be another . Front you won the war . Yes. Why . What hamas did in gaza, it did not come from nowhere. It came from hezbollah. It came from iran. And in order for us to stop what happened from hamas, that we need to stop all right, well, this is as close as the Israeli Military say we can go. Just across there, this territory of lebanon controlled by hezbollah, the lebanese militia. And Israeli Soldiers in this position in Israel Talowah the past few days, there have been multiple attempts by hezbollah fighters to penetrate the fence and come into israel. But they have been fired back. If there is going to be a second front in this war in israel, the likelihood is it is going to start here. Already, there have been exchanges of fire, forcing local israelis to flee, terrified what happened in israels south could have been here as well. Various attack at the scale has im what is happening here. I want to be strong, i want to come back in a, here but i need to think about my kids. Back from the border, israel is bolstering its forces, with some of the 360,000 troops mobilized after the hamas attacks last week. If War In The North is coming, israel seems ready even bristling to Matthew Chance, cnn, northern israel. Sometimes for those it just gets personal, so it has been for a member of our cnn family. A cnn journalist living with his family and two young boys in Northern Gaza. Mike hundreds of thousands of other palestinians, he made their journey to the south and hopefully to safety. With their journey, their exodus from their home. [speaking in a nonenglish language] [speaking in a nonenglish language] [speaking in a nonenglish language] [speaking in a nonenglish language] abraham, has, wife and two boys, alive clearly worried about their own, safety and they are terrified about the future. We will take a short break, back in a moment. Vladimir putin arrived emission just hours ago to meet with his dear friend president xi jinping. Officially the russian president is there for the belt and road form for international cooperation. The visit is also seen as a showpiece of the no limits partnership amid rising tensions. Court dartmouth surveil new details about a Stabbing Attack near chicago is 56yearold muslim boy that, and his mother seriously wounded. She told police their landlord told her he was angry with her about the situation in israel. She responded with pray for peace, he attacked her and her son with a knife. Prosecuting the attack of a hate crime, more details now from cnns a sixyearold boy, laid to rest today. Its a very kind kid. He likes to jump up and down. When he was u. S. Lewis turns mom im fine. You know. He is in a better place. Police say he was brutally stabbed to death by his landlord just outside of chicago, allegedly for being muslim. A landlord and an act of hate shouted threats and unleashed violence. The boys mother was also stabbed more than a dozen times, and is still being treated in the hospital. She was unable to attend her sons funeral today. The landlord appearing in court today, he allegedly and heard the room who rented to them saturday, morning stabbing the sixyearold 26 times. As a femur claiming the landlord has the child in another room, and apparently is stabbing or has stabbed the child. Authorities have now opened a federal hate crimes investigation. The local sheriff saying in a statement, both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being muslim, and the ongoing middle eastern conflict involving hamas enter the israelis. Outreach erupting over the brutal crime. He paid the price for the atmosphere of hate. Illustrating why federal officials arent worried about growing threats aimed at American Muslims and american since the hamas terror tack in israel. Counterterrorism remains the fbis number one priority, and we will not tolerate violence motivated by hate, and extremism, and we are going to continue to do everything in our power to protect the american people. A sixyearold funeral more evidence that threat is all too real. His father said, the conflict in the middle east should cause no violence on american soil, saying quote, i hope that my son will be the bullet that will resolve this issue. He was ordered to be held without bond today, has next Court Appearance as october 30th. Brittney wild, cnn, illinois. Im john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. Please stay with, us we will be back with more news after a very short break. You are watching cnn