here are the top stories we re covering this hour. israel says its war effort to eliminate hamas is entering a new phase with the new year. but is it going to reduce civilian casualties as the question has been questioning. this as prime minister netanyahu suffers a major political setback from his country s supreme court. i ll teak to ambassador mark regev and the democratic senator. and in tokyo, a five-man crew of air national guard claimed dead but all 400 on board a wide-body passenger plane escaping safely in just minutes after their plane exploded on the runway. and we ll look at the surge of respiratory illnesses over the holiday season. as flu, covid and rsv give families a rough start to 2024. and good day, everyone. i m andrea mitchell in washington. israel is starting the new year by launching intense attacks against central and southern gaza, even as the idf begins the process, it says, of bringing the first several thousand of its troops home. that includ
Rachel welcome back. Were going straight to a fox news alert. Right now smoke is rising over gaza city after a major blast rocked the hamas terrorist hub, and the idf made sweeping arrests in the west bank capturing at least 68 Hamas Terrorists. Yeah jee and hours ago, aid trucks being the rafah Border Crossing to deliver humanitarian aid to gaza saw. Its its unclear if standed foreigners are being allowed to get out. Pete on the heels of hamas releasing Two American Hostages on friday. The idf says the release is simply a delay tactic as the israelis prepare for a major Ground Invasion. An Idf Spokesman joined us earlier on this program and says theyre in a battle of good versus evil. The unfathomable barbarism of this terrorist organization is really, really beyond any understanding of human nature. And it shocks the souls of e any decent human being. Rachel now lets go to trey yingst live on the ground in southern israel. Trey . Whats the latest . Reporter yeah, hey, guys, good morn
At least 1200 people are dead, 570 people in gaza, the west bank, 700 people in israel. Soldiers, civilians, children. The state Department Says nine americans are among those killed, and more may be missing. Around 150 taken hostage by hamas, and presently somewhere in gaza, the fates unknown. This afternoon. Hamas that is threatened to execute they. Now she says she has no idea her father, sister, cousin with special nines, grandmyowith demeantia. Another carried away to be used as a bargaining chip. Meanwhile, begging for the return of his wife and his daughters, ages 3 and 5. I tell them that be strong, hold on. Im thinking about you. Im working hard to try in order to get you back. Stay strong, trying to happy. Adopt be afraid. You know, its hard to say those things when i dont really know what conditions theyre being held in. Americans are believed to be among those kidnapped as the United States and the world plots the next moves. Nation scrambling to say their citizens out of a
to compete with the future. kevin s now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. hey, everyone, good morning, and welcome to cnn this morning. it is saturday, november 18. i m amara walker. i m victor blackwell. thank you for being with us. here is what we re watching for you. the first plane carrying people injured in fighting in gaza arrives in the uea this morning. a colorado judge says former president trump did engage in insurrection but rules he can stay on the republican primary ballot. the reason for the judge s ruling and what comes next into spacex will try today to launch its starship rocket, the most powerful ever built. details on the launch and what it could mean for human exploration of the moon and mars. more than 100 days after the maui wildfires, officials are still searching for missing people. how they are working to bring closure to those families coming up on cnn this morning. this morning, a plane carrying
considering at this point for what the gaza would look like if it s successful in defeating hamas. and, josh, just quickly, when they talk about a security perimeter. bottom line for the u.s. is that land cannot be taken from gaza, from the palestinians. has israel conceded that? or are they still insisting that the security perimeter come from gaza land? reporter: israel hasn t really said publicly where that land would come from. whether it would be basically a perimeter inside what is now the gaza strip, from land that is palestinian, which is something that the u.s. has already said is unacceptable. there will be no reduction in palestinian land. or if israel would consider taking its own land from the area around gaza strip a perimeter. that say key question for the israelis, as they consider this plan in the cabinet, ahead of this expected visit of secretary of state antony blinken to israel in the coming days. thank you, josh lederman for