welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. it's 5:00 a.m. here in atlanta. more than 700 foreign nationals are expected to leave southern gaza through the rafah crossing today. among that group, nearly 400 americans as well as british, french, germans, and egyptians. we just want to warn you, the video obtained by cnn is graphic. the israeli military admits it struck an ambulance leaving the scene. at least 15 people have been reported kly been killed. they were using emergency vehicles to transport weapons in the past. the strike happened while u.s. secretary of state was in israel to urge for greater safety of gaza civilians. here he is. >> we need to do more to protect palestinian civilians. failure to do so plays into the hands of hamas and other terror groups. there will be no partners for peace if they're consumed by catastrophe and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight. >> we're following the developments from abu dahdhabi. let's start with the strike on the ambulance. what more have we learned? >> 16 people injured is the number we're working with right now. 15 people killed. if you see the images and the horrors of the aftermath of that strike, we have seen international reaction to that as well. the u.n. secretary-general antonio guterres called this attack horrific. i want you to take a listen to what he had to say. he said, i'm horrified by the attacks on gaza and the attack on the ambulance. the images of the bodies strewn on the street in front of the hospital are hearrowing. what we've been seeing has been very difficult to watch. it's been increasingly becoming untenable. also increasingly so for the united states. we had antony blinken in israel and talking to benjamin netanyahu, reiterating the point the civilians should not be caught in the middle. at the end of the day, israel has an absolute right to defend itself after the gruesome terrorist attack on october 7th. benjamin netanyahu says there will only be a cease-fire or perhaps a pause in some way if there's a total release of the 240-plus hostages being held in gaza. he had quite an emotional response. i want you to take a listen to what he's had to say. >> i've seen images, too, of palestinian children, young boys and girls pulled from the wreckage of buildings. when i see that, when i look into their eyes through the tv screen, i see my own children. how can we not? >> and he mentions that hamas is, of course, using children and civilians as human shields. that has been an important stance coming from the u.s. as well as the israeli government. that's why that's been no safe zone. there's been a call for people to move from the north to the south and bombing continues in south, and gazans are watching it may out in real time. >> thank you. a television correspondent was killed along with members of his family. his home was targeted in an air strike. but it was said there was not any military activity in the area. we want to warn you again some of the images in the report are disturbing. >> translator: it is every journalist's worst nightmare. while on air, this colleague found out his colleague was killed. in utter despair, he rips off his flak jacket. there's no protection of law, nothing. this safety gear, this helmet, it does nothing to keep us safe. these are just slogans. no journalists are protected at all. >> reporter: he and 11 of his family members were killed in an alleged attack. he's among at least 33 journalists killed since the start of the conflict on october 7th, the committee of journalists says, making it the deadliest since the group began tracking in 1992, it said. he was killed in part of southern gaza, the part of the strip israelis have been telling people to lean toward. in remain here in the north of the strip where gaza city is encircled by israeli troops, the idf says. and some 300 to 400,000 civilians are trapped. they're stuck in a hellscape. relentless air strikes and ground assaults have leveled neighborhoods and have left thousands of children missing under the rubble, humanitarian organizations say. their parents keep digging for them. my four children, this father cries. why, god? why didn't you let me die? and there's nowhere to turn for refuge. nearby shelters that have claimemed israelis lives are no longer safe. now many l live on the streets a war zone. we're humans, not terrorists, he says. look, we have our children around us. not even the u.n. can protect us. only god can protect us. and with israeli troops closing in, their flight seems increasingly more precarious. ing. >> aid agencies are warning that the people of gaza are running out of supplies. look here. you can see crowds of people waiting in line for food and filling up plastic jugs with water. the director of the main agency in gaza says thehe situation kes getting worse. >> we now have over 4,000 people on a average in the 147 schools which are now operating as shelters. conditions there are becoming desperate particularly in termr of sanitation and access to basic services. people are h having to go out o the street andnd try and find water and food, and this is for the e whole population really i gaza as food and water is increasingly in short supply. so, you know, the situation continues to get worse here in gaza. >> a spokesperson for the u.n. says it would cost about $1.2 billion to meet the needs of people in gaza and the western bank and that's just for the rest of the year. the u.s. says its military will shift tactics as ground forces push into gaza city. we spoke with malcolm davis for this early part of the operation. here he is. >> go in and consolidate and exploit advantages on the ground to find hamas deeper into gaza. it could involve going into the item, the gaza metro as it's called. and probably reducing the number of air strikes. reducing the amount ofary violence, but reducing the air strikes would probably make a great deal of sense, and i think that certainly the united states and others will put pressure on israel to do that. i think it's a shift that israel probably could comply with. >> israel says it believes 241 hostages are currently being held by hamas, and cnn has learned u.s. is helping israel search for them. >> reporter: the u.s. military's flying surveillance trones over gaza in an attempt to provide israelis with intel on the location of hostages and assist in their rescue efforts. these drones have been flying since october 7th when the u.s. shortly thereafter said it would help israel any way it could on intel and planning for a hostage rescue planning. these drones -- we don't know what types of drones they are, but they're part of the pentagon. they're meant to provide intel in the ongoing hostage rescue attempts by flying over southern gaza. take a look at this graphic. that red line -- those numerous red lines, i should say -- show the trajectories and flight packets of the different drones so you can see them focusing on southern gaza over the course of the past several days and weeks, this coming as the u.s. now has two carrier strike groups in the eastern mediterranean sea that have been operating and exercising together, the defense department putting out these images of two strike groups working together in the eastern med. they've been exercising together for the past several days, and shortly thereafter the pentagon announcet the "dwight d. eisenhower" will be in the water. this is part of a broader effort to deter iran or iran proxies from getting involved in the fight and so the u.s. have force protection. we've seen a number of attacks on the u.s. forces in iraq and syria. this is very much part of an effort to show a massive display of firepower and force in the region. or yen lieberman, cnn, pentagon. for the first time since the war began, some people are getting out. plus, we'll hear on the impact ofof children in g gaza and isi. ststay with usus. honduras is the latest country to recall its ambassador to israel. honduras announced the decision on friday calling it a grave situation in gaza. others also withdrew their ambassadors this week. the white house says the u.s. embassy in cairo has helped more than 100 u.s. citizens and families get out of gaza. the departures which began on wednesday are the first since the war began between israel and hamas. others are waiting for a chance to leave. >> reporter: a tired smile and a wave for one of the lucky few finally allowed to leave gaza since the war began. these families, just some of the first foreign and dual nationals finally permitted through the rafah crossing into egypt on wednesday, the result of a deal brokered by qatar between israel, hamas, egypt, and the united states, that will allow all foreign and dual nationals to leave the besieged enclave. also allowed to leave under the deal, the first palestinians, 81 of the most severely wounded, those december principal enough for urgent surgical intervention taken one by one in a convoy of ambulances to a field hospital set up a few miles away and to other hospitals in northern egypt. large crowds of foreign nationals have been massing at the border after hearing at the start of the conflict they would be allowed out. families desperately checking to see if they're some of those lucky enough to finally get through. >> translator: i'm an american living in gaza. we heard the border was open but we heard it was for specific nationalities. then we had to turn back. the cellular was down and we heard there was a list. >> reporter: as the only crossing from gaza into anywhere other than israel, all eyes have been on rafah ever since the total seemg of the strip was announced by israel. it's the only way in and out, and what's gone in has been painfully little. a little 20 trucks arrived, a drop in the bucket for the nation. for some it's been days or even weeks of waiting or praying with ever dwindling supplies and the fear of constant israeli strikes, even here civilians have been told by the idf to evacuate. nowhere in gaza is safe. finally, a small chance to leave and live again. melissa bell, cnn, cairo. aid groups are warning there's a growing humanitarian crisis inside gaza. earlier our reporter spoke with them and discussed how the conflict is impacting children both in gaza and israel. >> the situation is desperate. it's catastrophic right now for hundreds of thousands of children in gaza and israel. we need an immediate cease-fire and also a release of hostages taken from their homes. right now children are living a relentless nightmare. day after day, bombs, fire attacks, death, grief. it's just unbearable for them. they've been enduring this for way too long, a nightmare no child should ever have to go through. we have reportedly now over 3.7,000 children killed since october 7th. 7,000-plus in injured. that's an average of over 400 children killed or injured reportedly ever day, michael. that's an unacceptable number. it's almost one child every ten minutes. so with these figures, you can imagine how dire the situation is. >> they are staggering numbers. i was reading those earlier. more children are being killed in this conflict than in 18 months of the war in ukraine and 420 kids a day killed or injured. it is staggering. now, israeli kids as you've pointed out, they've been trom advertised, of course, 20 being held hostage as we speak. unicef said before this latest escalation, more than 800,000 kids in gaza. that's three-quarters of the kids in the entire operation have been needing psychological and mental help. that was before. what is and whether will be the psychological impact of this war on kids for probably years to come? >> it's already very heavy, michael. you can imagine children are like sponges, so they absorb a lot of what's happening around them in their environmental. and children in gaza and also israel have been enduring decade decades -- their ancestors and parents decades and decades of tensions in the region, intensity conflicts, different rounds of conflicts. three-quarters of the children population, they're experiencing nothing else but fear. fear, grief, loss, insecurity, and confusion obviously. so if -- before this escalation, three out of four children were already vulnerable and reportedly in need of mental health support. we can only imagine what the situation is now. it's only getting worse, and it will have a very long-term impact for a whole generation of children. still to come, the secretary of state met with israeli officials urging them to minimize civilian deaths in gaza, but israel's prime minister is calling for a cease-fire unless his conditions are met. plus we look into how mumuc gaza is gaining in fighting in the middle east. stay with us. welcome back to all all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. coverage of the israel gaza war are continuing this hour. meanwhile there's more international outrage with an israeli air strike outside of a gaza hospital on friday. we wantlet to warn you the video is graphic here. the u.n. secretary of general called the carnage horrific. the blast killed 15 people and wounded 60 others. israel says it struck an ambulance because it was being used by what it calls a hamas terror cell. the hamas-run ministry rejects the assertion saying a driver and paramedic were injured. the idf says it struck two terrorist cells that were attempting to fire into israel from lebanon. israel says it also struck a hezbollah observation post. u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken is now in jordan where he met with the qatari prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. blinken has been a key player with negotiations. he met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on friday. netanyahu says he won't agree to a cease-fire in gaza unless hamas releases all of its hostages. they've been frustrated with hamas releasing only one or two at a time. >> translator: i clarified that we, israel, is going with all of its force and refuse to any cease-fire which does not include bringing back our hostages. >> cnn's becky anderson has more on blinken's trip. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of state antony blinken arriving in tel aviv on friday with a forceful message. america's top diplomat reinforced washington's support for israel's right to defend itself after the brutal october 7th hamas attacks. but he also said this. >> how israel does this matters, and it is very important that when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of hamas' making that everything is done to protect them and bring a assistance to those who so desperately need it. >> reporter: blinken pushed for a humanitarian cause, releasing hostages, some of them american citizens. >> how do you use any period of pause? how to connect a pause to the release of hostages? how to ensure that hamas doesn't use these hostags pauses to the own advantages. >> reporter: benjamin netanyahu said his government opposes any temporary cease-fire unless hamas releases all of the hostages. and all sources tell cnn the defense minister directly told blinken there would be no pause without their release. those directly involved in the talks said the negotiators need a period of calm to facilitate the hostage release. >> obviously when there's constant bombardment, we can't even expect for the hostages to be safely moved from one place to another, so the best situation for us, the best scenario for us would be a period of calm, a significant period of calm that would allow for the hostages to be taken out of gaza. at the same time, we would offer humanitarian aid to go in. >> reporter: blinken has left israel, and the fate of the hostages remains far from certain. becky anderson, cnn, doha. michael warren, israel's foreign ambassador to the u.s. spoke to cnn's john king earlier and gave his perspective on things. >> what do you take away from the fact that benjamin netanyahu appeared to say no to antony blinken after he visited today? >> not surprising. the notion of a humanitarian pause is very unpopular. keep in mind we have the families of 240 hostages who have been taken by hamas. the humanitarian system, if you will, in gaza is their only leverage to get back from hamas some indication of the whereabouts of their loved ones, even if they're in captivity. many don't know if their loved ones are in captivity. they're missing. they have no leverage. >> the leader of hesitate bole says the united states is fully responsible for the war in gaza. they reiterated a call for a cease-fire and warned that, quote, all scenarios are possible on the borders of hezbollah and israel where hamas is based. >> reporter: they turned out in the thousands to hear their leader. the general speaking out for the first time since the start of the war between israel and hahamas. all optitions, he wawarned, are opopen, and wewe can exercise t at any moment. already hezbolollah and israel e engaged in a deadly exchange of fire along the border. hezbollah has buried almost 60 of its fighters killed so far. it was a speech watched closely across the middle east while other arab leaders beseeched the u.s. to put pressure on israel to relent on its offensive in gaza, hezbollah well armed and battle hardened is the only one putting military pressure on israel, tying down in the process a third of israel's army. the u.s. has deployed two carrier groups to the eastern mediterranean to deter hezbollah and others from joining the fight. his response? i tell the americans threats and intimidation against us and the resistance in the region are pointless, but despite the high expectations for the speech, it ended ambiguously without a clear indication of where hezbollah and iran's other allies in the region will go. in the lead-up to the speech, hezbollah supporters put out what some call trailers with an ominous tone of what might be coming. after the speech, the word here in lebanon was that the trailers were better than the film. >> as hezbollah steps up its war of words, its main sponsor iran is calling for the fighting to stop. iran's foreign minister spoke on the phone on friday and called for an immediate soussefire and urgent humanitarian aid for gaza. for more, we're joined by our next guest. he's speaking with us from berlin. thanks so much for joining us here. so israel and russia had been, you know, relatively close. for example, israel had offered only some diplomatic support to ukraine but no weapons. are you surprised to see russia more supportive of the palestinian cause here? >> in a way it's surprising, i think, but it's important to note that for russia, what's happening in gaza and the war there is more seen as some sort of global conflict rather than a local or even a regional one because if you look at the statements coming from russian officials, you know, they see it basically as an opportunity to blame the u.s. for what's happening there. and in doing so, i think they also try to create some resemblance with, you nknow, what's been remoting with ukraine. it's the location, quote, unquote, where they call it the war in ukraine. beyond that in a sense it goes beyond israel, and the russians are well aware that it's kind of -- they realize the relationship with israel is at stake, but there are three opportunities that the russians feel in this situation. first one is strategic, of course, in the sense that, you know, the more western or u.s. resources are being diverted from ukraine to israel, the better for russia, of course, and this is something that would cause the russians maybe to be happy with the protraction on the immediate conflict there. then there's the diplomatic push by russians in order to advocate their own cause for something like -- i mean in a way championing the palestinian cause with hezbollah and other countries, and the third would be in order to win the hearts of the muslim and other people and reach out to their domestic audience to say, look, this is the war that is caused by the u.s. exactly like what's happening in ukraine, so we are just defending ourselves exactly like the palestinians are doing in their own, you know, fight with israel. >> so obviously ukraine looms large in this if they can siphon any materiel support because the u.s. and allies had been struggling to supply weapons to them. how much does this have to do with iran, do you think? israel's enemy has become one of russia's key weapons suppliers. >> well, of course, you know, it can be one of the causes of the current trend, but more importantly, one of the results of what russia has decided to do in terms of its strategic moves, vis-a-vis, the war in gaza. why i'm saying this, because, you know, basically what's happening on the ground is as a result of russia's position, for example, israel and ukraine seem to be getting closer to each other. there are reports that president zelenskyy is going to travel to israel next week. and on the other side, you know, the russians are, i think, quite well aware of why there are implications of this. but then, you know, the relationship that they have had with iran has been through some sort of qualitative change, i would say, because before it was like iran relying on russia for infrasastructure, military support, et cetera, now it's turned the other way. you look at their goals and interests. that's the iranian factor and the so-called axis of resistance that comes to play. even at the highest level, there's no strategic or informed position for them to side with iran and others in the region. i think this is a result of the conflict and russia's position, vis-a-vis, the war in gaza. >> you talked before about the battle of the narratives. explain a little bit more how russia is trying to capitalize on that front. >> well, on the one hand, you know, russia tries to use this opportunity to kind of claim that the u.s. proposals for the kind of resolution of the palestinian/israeli conflict is one-sided. that's what they basically are doing already with the u.n. security council saying that we have counter kind of measures that are more balanced and fair, and i think they are clear-eyed about the very little to zero chance of the success of their initiatives. but then, again, that plays well into the global public and at least some part of the elite. so this is one aspect of that. and related to that, what's more broad, it's about kind of the long-standing russian narrative of the kind of uni polar iization of the united states of conflicts in the region of ukraine to the israeli conflicts. and so that's what they are trying to promote. you can see it in their media. you can see it in the statesmen, coming from president putin, for example, coming from mr. lave rose, the foreign minister. so that's the line of the narrative. in the middle, for example, iranians quite embrace it, and the same, more or less, with other countries in the region. >> certainly an appealing message to many. i want to finish on that propaganda level. here in the u.s. there's so much political turmoil over the humanitarian aid to israel and against those who back israel. russia has been known to amplify people in the u.s., using disinformation, troll farms and so on. might we see that in this region as well? >> to some extent, yes, especially in the russian language media, but it's more directed to the domestic audience as far as i can see because, you know, actually the ukraine war basically showed the limits and restrictions of russia's media and propaganda. i mean, in social media, yes, but more broadly speaking, it didn't kind of cause the benefits that russia would expect. for example in europe and other countries. so basically it's a two-pronged strategy, i would say. using the official media, the russian language media to promote and establish that on the one side and on the other hand to use social media platforms to also support this political kind of position that they are taking in this case, specifically speaking about the gaza war within a wider kind of populous. so that's how i see things. >> listen, we'll have to see it there. i appreciate your expertise on this. hamidreza azizi, thanks so much for being with us. donald trump's son eric took the stand in new york on friday for a second day of testimony in his father's fraud trial. we'll have details on that. and when the president will take the stand himself. that's coming up on cnn. stay with us. c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. order that kept donald trump from speaking out about his southbound version case. he can now publicly criticize those in the criminal proceeding. also on friday, the judge expanded the gag order in friday's proceedings. donald trump's son finished up his testimony. >> reporter: eric trump wrapped up his trial testimony after being on the stand for over four days. it's something the judge has already found to be fraudulent, eric trump saying after he was cop fronted, he said they were perfect, adding he was happy to sign them and wouldn't sign anything that was inaccurate. the judge extended the gag order to the attorneys saying they can't make any inference incourt or outside of court the judge has in communications with his staff. that's after trump's lawyers raised potential bias with the judge's clerk passing notes to him during trial and during testimony. next on the stand will be donald trump, and eric trump after leaving court said his father is more than ready. >> my father is here. he's fired up to be here. he thinks this is one of the most incredible icnjustices he' ever seen, and it really is. >> it's expected to last all monday. next up is ivanka trump. after that they'll rest their case. president biden and the first lady were in maine meeting with if families of last week's shooting victims. a gunman opened fire on a bowling alley and restaurant killing 18 people before he was found dead apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> reporter: even though it's been more than a week since the shootings, the pain is still very raw. that was the climate president biden was visiting in over the course of friday. he meant with first responders, nurses, others responding to the pair of shootings that happened a little more than a week. you can't go far from lewiston without seeing support, even where i am, outside the bowling alley, which is the first site where the shootings happened. signs like "be nice," acknowledging the pain and climate so many people are going through even at this point. 18 people killed total in these shootings, and their families are still trying to figure out how to process. now, president biden along with meeting with first responders, he also met with members of some of the victims families. he also took some moments to make some remarks about his visit. take a listen to what someone said with regard to the political climate around some of these mass shootings. >> i know consensus is ultimately possible. this is about common sense, reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities because regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom, to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, a school, a church without being shot and killed. >> reporter: and another thing the president talked about is how he's had to make too many of these visits before, including in places like buffalo and uvalde, and now, of course, here in lewiston, maine. one thing we heard from a community member ahead of his visit, whether they wanted him to be here, he said, they were glad he was here. it shows that the higher levels of government care about what happened in lewiston. and another thing my crew and i heard overwhelmingly after this shooting happened a little over a week ago, they couldn't believe something like this happened here in maine. and i say that because when you look at their yearly homicides across the state, that number is comparable to the amount of people that were lost in a single night in this community, and that gives you an idea of the shock, but also the amount that they're actually having to process over what happened again in just a matter of minutes at two separate locations, here at this bowling alley, and, of course, just a few miles from me at that bar and restaurant as well. but every indication we have seen has shown that they have banded together in the face of this adversity and they are going to try to move forward stronger together. that's why you can't go far in this community without seeing symbols like the state of maine and a heart over where we are in lewiston to represent the love and the strength they will have for each other moving forward. omar jiminez, cnn, lewiston, maine. people in northwestern nepal are assessing the damage after a strong earthquake struck the region, killing dozens and injuring even more. we'll have details after the break. stay with h us. in nepal, a strong earthquake has killed at least 129 people and injured 140. officials expect the death toll to rise. the quake was a magnitude 5.6 with the epicenter in the western region of the country. people felt the tremors as far away as kathmandu, about 300 miles from the center. this is the strongest quake to hit nepal since 2015 when at least 9,000 people were killed. hours after the disaster, nepal's prime minister spoke with a number of the victims and india's prime minister is offering condolences. at least six people were killed in tuscany, italy, after torrential rains and strong storms tore through the region. cnn's chad myers has more on this storm and another that's close behind. >> the first major storm of the year, that was the name that came through with 184 kilometer-per-hour winds, also some rainfall totals almost up to a quarter of a meter. but here's tuscany. the flooding in does ka in where the center of cure ron never got closer than 600 millimeters from there. how did that happen? the waves and the wind from france and the uk, but the storm itself is west of copenhagen. but notice what happened down here in a warm mediterranean sea. a cold front came through and rains for hours and hours and hours without end and that's how we got so much rainfall down there. look at this. 237 millimeters of rainfall, the top number i can find so far, but more reports are coming in. the wind, the biggest number at 184. that's a short chute of a formula 1 car. that's going fast. there's a next storm on the way already and it may be affecting you already. there's the low pressure. it's domingo, the next named storm. it isn't nearly as strong as ciaran, thank goodness, but it will bring rainfall and gusty winds. winds could be at 100 kilometers per hour along some of the areas that are very rocky, coastal rocky surface smashing waves into the shore and much of the rainfall there as well, even lisbon and port ghoul could see rainfall. they could really use it there. somebody else that could use this precipitation is the alps, and, yes, there will be snow in the alps. this is a much colder storm than the one that came through. that wrap this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. "cnn this morning" is next. for the rest of the world it's "african voices," playmakers. c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network.