-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world to cnn's coverage of israel at war. i'm anderson cooper. >> and i'm kaitlan collins. president biden is warning he does not believe israel should try to reoccupy gaza, though he is adding, to "60 minutes" that israel has to respond to that hamas assault that has killed 1,400 people in israel. he also says the suffering of palestinian civilians that is happening right now can be managed. >> i'm confident that israel is going to act under the measures of the rules of war. there are standards that democratic institutions and countries go by. and so i'm confident that there's going to be an ability for the innocents in gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water. >> of course the president has had multiple conversations with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. tonight we have also learned from the state department that the death toll in israel now includes 30 americans. all of this is coming as president biden is weighing whether to visit israel after he was invited by the prime minister. >> it's 4:00 a.m. here in tel aviv. much of the world wonders, will this be the day that israeli forces invade gaza. right now along the border with gaza, more than 300,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery, await orders. a short time ago, the president of the palestinian authority issued his first public condemnation of the hamas attacks. -- called for an end to civilian casualties, the release of prisoners, and a rejection of violence. also tonight, gaza is running out of water and gaza is running out of life. that's a quote coming from the united nations agency, warning that the air strikes are pushing civilians into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. fuel, water, food, and medicine. palestinian officials say the number of people killed there has surpassed 2,600. cnn's nic robertson is sderot near the gaza border. nic, i know you spoke to current and former idf fighters. what did they tell you? >> i think one of the big take aways is the similaritys that the forces that idf is going through right now and the situation in gaza is right now compared to the last ground incursion, 2014. one of the big issues that's going to be, if there's a ground incursion, for the idf to distinguish between hamas and civilians. because there will be civilians in the area. i think everyone seems to accept that, despite the fact that there are these corridors for civilians to move mouth from the north end of gaza. that said, it doesn't mean that those civilians are going to be safe. we went with them, saw some of the troops training today. >> reporter: close to gaza, preparations underway for a much-anticipated ground offensive. troops from different units training together. there is an urgency here. they have to be ready fast. right now, this is a rehearsal. if and when there's an incursion, these troops could be at the front of it. tanks, or for this practice, model ones right now, followed by infantry and combat engineers. a combined force spearheading an incursion. if they do, major -- will be near the front. >> translator: we expect to go to war. we expect to destroy the terrorist organization, hamas, kill its government, and ill every last terrorist. that's what we plan to do, and that's how it will be. >> reporter: the last time the idf went into gaza targeting hamas' leaders was 2014. ariel bernstein was 21, in the special forces, one of the first to cross the border. >> well, you're just afraid that there's something waiting for you at every corner. >> reporter: but his experiences then have left him questioning the tactics today. back then, he says, the idf wants civilians to leave, and hamas told them to stay, just as is happening here. but some had stayed. his orders, he says, assume the civilians had left. >> so, whoever you see is basically engaged in fighting or is involved in fighting. and therefore we call it engaging with fire with any home you enter, with any kind of shape of a person that you see from afar. >> reporter: in many ways, israel's actions are playing out, just as they have in the past. 2021 gun positions freshly dug, back in use. and in gaza, the civilian death toll, according to palestinian health officials, already higher than in 2014. and like then, israel is already facing huge international pressure to avoid more civilian casualties. >> what we are doing is saying privately what we've said publicly, which is that all military operations should be conducted consistent with the law of war, that civilians should be protected. >> reporter: the problem the idf says it faces just like 2014, hamas will be hiding among civilians. >> the whole situation we're talking about with gazan civilians forcibly embedded is another element of hamas. hamas has to be fully defeated. >> so, the responsibility is on them and not you. >> the responsibility is on hamas for their own civilians. our responsibility is to eliminate hamas' capabilities completely. >> reporter: pausing during training in a mocked up palestinian town says they don't hurt innocents, only terrorists. but admits if he is sent into gaza, avoiding civilian deaths won't be easy. >> do you think it's possible to fight hamas without civilians getting injured? >> translator: we're concerned with overthrowing the hamas regime and killing the terrorists who are currently in gaza. if it will be difficult, it will be difficult, not easy. >> reporter: outside the camp ga gates, as israel's military ponder their next move, troops are saying their fond farewells. and that really does seem to be the ground reality. it doesn't matter how much you ask civilians to get out of the way and how much you prepare troops to go into combat where civilians might be and their mission is to get the terrorists behind them, the civilians, unfortunately, are going to get caught up in the conflict. and for ariel, who was part of the forces going in in 2014, he is still left very traumatized. >> let's talk about the humanitarian situation in gaza, hamas. israel has asked civilians to leave, to go to the south. hamas has told people to stay. the humanitarian situation always becomes a focus in other gaza conflicts. how is it -- this time? what's being done about it? >> yeah, i think you're absolutely right, anderson. you know, if we go back to 2014, there was discussion back then about trying to provide a safe humanitarian zone. and israel's ambassador to the u.n. has been saying the same. they're working with u.n. agencies to try to create this humanitarian safe zone. but without -- you know, without housing, without tents, without food, without water, all of these things, they're just not able right now in gaza. it's not a particularly safe space. i mean, you're talking there for about hundreds of thousands of people essentially living outside and hoping it doesn't rain. and it has been raining this season. more rain is forecast to come. and they still have to eat. unless the border opens with egypt and that aid is allowed to come in or some people, palestinians in gaza, are allowed to go out into egypt, that humanitarian zone in gaza, you know, may be away from most of the bombs. but it's not going to be somewhere where they're going to get food and water and adequate shelter and everything else people would expect. >> nic robertson, thanks very much, near the gaza border. kaitlan. tonight the secretary general of the united nations that nic just mentioned, antonio gutierrez, is warning that the middle east is on the verge of the abyss and is calling on hamas to release all hostages and israel to grant rapid aid into gaza, which has not happened. joining us tonight is ambassador to the united nations, also former israeli ambassador to the u.s. thank you, ambassador, for your time tonight. let's start with what israel says is the next phase of this war. we heard from the prime minister just a few hours ago. what does the success, in israel's eyes, of this mission look like? >> i think there is only one goal that we can define, and we're very satisfied that also president biden said it tonight. you know, the full obliteration of hamas terrorist capabilities, no other goal can be enough to secure the communities and the cities of israel that were attacked by the barbaric terrorists of hamas. so, that is our goal. and we are committed to use every mean at our disposal to achieve that goal. >> is that all of hamas or just the leadership of hamas? >> all of hamas terror capability. >> and how long do you believe that this could take, ambassador? >> whatever it will take, we will continue because we have suffered atrocities like we have never -- atrocities we have never suffered since the holocaust. i don't want to repeat even, you know, the numbers of thousands of people who were killed and injured and 150 hostages. this is a rescue operation, kaitlan. we want to rescue the hostages. we want to rescue our future. it's a matter of survival. we cannot promise a future to the people of israel and to our kids without knowing that we totally obliterated hamas terror capabilities and ensured that these atrocities will not happen again. >> i know rescuing the hostages is obviously one of the most complex parts of this, given how hamas operates in this sophisticated tunnel system under gaza. does israel have intelligence on where the hostages are located? how confident are senior israeli officials that you'll be able to find the hostages? >> obviously i can't share what we know or don't know about them. we know that israel has a very advanced intelligence agencies. and, again, we are now fully committed to releasing the hostages together with obliterating hamas terrorist capability. >> are there any negotiations happening? the last time i spoke with your successor, the u.s. ambassador to israel, he said there were no negotiations happening to get those haostages released. is that still the case tonight? >> as far as i know, there are no negotiations and there shouldn't be any negotiations. because, again, the only thing that we are focused on is targeting hamas terrorists and eradicating their capabilities. we have no interest -- by the way, i'm referred now to what the president said tonight. we have no interest to occupy gaza or to stay in gaza. but since we are fighting for our survival, and the only way, as the president himself defined, is to obliterate hamas. so, we will have to do whatever is needed to obliterate their capabilities. >> okay. that's an important statement there. you say that israel does not have plans to try to reoccupy gaza. that's what president biden warned about in his "60 minutes" interview tonight. after israel's next phase of this, what does -- who is in charge of gaza? zr israel doesn't plan to reoccupy it. who is in charge and in control of gaza after that? >> kaitlan, there are many, many questions regarding the future. but we will have time to discuss them, to negotiate them. obviously we would like to be coordinated with our american allies. but for now, the only focus should be how to release the hostages, how to secure our future by obliterating hamas capabilities. it's a very, you know, complicated goal to achieve. so, we're not thinking now what will happen the day after the war. first of all, we need had to win this war. and that's the only thing that we're focused on now. >> israel, of course, has asked gazan civilians, palestinian civilians, to leave their homes in northern gaza, to go south ahead of this an ticipated next phase. one concern we've heard from gazans is whether or not they'll be allowed to return back to their homes. will the palestinians who are fleeing be allowed to go back? >> i believe they will be allowed to return. the problem now is not if they are allowed to return. the problem right now is that we are trying to temporarily call for their evacuation because it can be reversed. the loss of human life cannot. and hamas is now threatening them because they always use them as human shields in order to try and recruit the international community to put pressure on israel and tie our hands. so, that's the main problem right now because hamas is threatening the life of the people of gaza, trying to prevent them from evacuating the area where the war will take place. >> we've seen reports that hamas is blocking civilians from being able to leave. some reports that they have been taking their keys. have you confirmed any of that? have you heard or seen that they are, in fact, doing that? >> yeah, 100%. we have even recordings of gaza residents who are speaking on the phone and telling other people that hamas doesn't allow them to leave their homes. and they are threatening them to stay there. as i said, they want to increase the number of civilian casualties in order to recruit naive organizations like the u.n. to pressure the law-abiding democracy that is israel instead of pressuring the terrorists that is hamas. >> and the question, of course, is when they leave, where they can go and how these civilians who live in gaza can exit. can you confirm whether there are plans to open the rafah border crossing from gaza into egypt. there are reports that could happen as soon as overnight tonight. do you know if that is the plan, ambassador? >> i don't know if it will happen tonight. we wanted to allow diplomats and foreigners to leave gaza. it was prevented by others. it is now under negotiation. and i hope that we will find the solution very soon in order to enable people who want to leave the gaza strip, to leave towards egypt. >> jake sullivan, president biden's national security adviser, said earlier that israel had turned on the water back into southern gaza. we have not seen that confirmed, i don't believe, yet from an israeli official. can you confirm that tonight, ambassador? >> from what i know, yes, there is water now in gaza. >> and to have that, obviously power would also be important for it to be pumped. is that part of the plan as well from israel, to make sure these civilians who can't leave can have clean drinking water? >> i have to refer to all these questions about the resources in gaza. we should always remember that hamas has the sole responsibility for whatever is happening inside gaza. for the last 16 years, you know, it has funneled all the money that was funneled into gaza, they exploited it into turning gaza into a war machine. there's a lot of energy and fuel right now in gaza that can be used for their hospitals and water desal nation, power plant. you know where is this fuel, kaitlan? it's right now being used for their missile launchers. it's being used for their subterranean terror city, that was built now to serve as a shelter for the terrorists. so, we should always remember that israel cherishes life, and we are monitoring the humanitarian situation in gaza. and once we see that there's a need, we will allow humanitarian aid to enter gaza. but the pressure should be applied on the barbaric terrorists of hamas. >> mr. ambassador, always appreciate you taking our questions, making some news there that israel has no plans to reoccupy gaza. ambassador, thank you so much for joining me tonight. >> thank you very much. and as this next phase of the war, what happens in gaza, as the ambassador was noting, what that looks like, is looming, the work to rescue hostages, including americans who are in that group, is becoming more complicated. we'll talk about that as cnn's special live coverage continues right after this. israeli defense forces say hamas is still holding 155 hostages, some in precarious health. families of hostages are urging the biden administration to act now. lieutenant general mark schwartz served as the security -- for israel, also a green beret. what is the best strategy to secure hostages in a situation like this? >> anderson, it's good to be with you tonight. obviously, as you reported on throughout the beginning of this crisis, it's one of the most complex environments in which special operations forces would have to go in and secure the release of the hostages that have been taken. over 150 hostages have been taken, representing a multitude of nations. as president biden and secretary blinken, secretary austin have stated, israel has the lead in terms of the analytical efforts, the collection that's ongoing inside of gaza to try to locate. i'm fully confident, particularly with the deployment of the uss ford strike group that deployed the amount of inner agency intelligence collection that's ongoing, and i'm also confident that there's special operations working on this. the most difficult is to locate the hostages. so, ideally, the security situation will be such that once they are located, they can be rescued. >> how much more complex is this made? because this isn't some rogue terror group that is operating on its own in some country. this is the government of the gaza strip. i mean, these are the rulers of the gaza strip. they have access to everything, all government facilities. they have access to underground tunnels. that must make this all the more complex. >> you're correct. they are a terrorist organization far more than they are the governing body of gaza certainly. the fact that they're on their home turf, so to speak, makes this all that more complex, the fact that they have a network of underground facilities, which they can not only protect themselves but they can also place the hostages makes the recovery, once the hostages are located, even more complex. again, there's no more difficult environment of which to operate in. fortunately, the israeli special operations forces have got a significant amount of experience operating in these types of environments, as do our forces that are assigned to the u.s. special operations command. so, there's a very strong relationship between these two forces, as are other -- with other allies. so, that is very positive going into this. you're not having to build the relationship at the same time you're trying to get a intelligence baseline and then synchronize the intelligence collection that's necessary in order to locate the hostages. >> obviously hostage rescue is one thing, negotiations for hostages, another. but doing that in the midst of -- or in the preparation for a ground invasion, which is assumed what is coming next, what takes priority when you have a massive ground operation underway? >> well, i can't set the priorities for the operational and strategic commanders. but clearly from the u.s. standpoint, our president has been very clear. his number one priority is the security, the location, and the safe return of the hostages. and i know they're working that through a series of diplomatic efforts. anderson, i could give you, i think, a relevant vignette. so, in 2003, while these hostages weren't taken before the ground war in iraq started, if you recall, the 507 maintenance company was ambushed based on some navigation errors, and as a result several more were taken. and, you know, during that operation, i could see potential hostage rescue situations playing out similar to what happened there. you had a marine expeditionary brigade operating in complex terrain. you had an iraqi civilian that provided the intelligence to find private lynch at that time. and of course a special operation was conducted to secure her as well as nine -- remains of nine others that were killed during that encounter. so, i could see that happening in this situation, where we may not have actionable intelligence. the israelis may not before ground operations start. but we may be also very reliant on the -- frankly the sympathy of the palestinian populous. and that's why i think it's so important that we do separate the populous from the terrorist organization that's holding them hostage as well collectively across gaza. >> lieutenant general mark swartz, i appreciate your expertise. thank you. ahead tonight, more from the region. a travel ceo, more than 100 high school american students and the, quote, terrifying journey they went through together, as she helped them evacuate israel together. cnn's special coverage continues. is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's 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. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. immediately after the hamas attacks on israel, tourists were frantically trying to get out of what had suddenly become a war zone. sherry was in israel for her niece's bah mitzvah. after the attack, she got a call to help get a group of 100 american high school students out of the country. you're the head of kenice tours. you're used to planning trips for people. talk about finding out -- it was very difficult to get people out of israel at the time. how did you do it? >> well, thanks for having me, anderson, very much appreciated. it was a very crazy time. actually, i'm the ceo located here in atlanta, georgia, but the company, kenis tours, is located in tel aviv. i was there for a family bah mitzvah. it was also holiday time. but i was also there to kick off our busy fourth quarter. then the call came from the fund, a major client of ours. they basically said, we need your help. we've got to get these kids out. there were 107 kids. they were all part of the program called the alexander must high school in israel. most of them arrived in august. they were between the ages of 15 and 18. and their parents were freaking out. so, we don't really have much of a choice. and we got to work. we knew, from hearing about cancellations of u.s. carriers we weren't going to to be able to get them on the flight on u.s. carrier direct to tel aviv to, say, jfk. so, i knew we had to act pretty quickly and try to get them to europe. kenis tours is part of a major israel travel company called ista. they have a flight department, and i just picked up the phone and called them and said, hey, guys, i've got 107 kids. i understand what the parents are going through. i'm an alumni parent myself. i'd be freaking out. i need a plane to anywhere. and we knew that israeli carriers, el al, israel rare, ar kia, they were on the ground. there were planes in israel. so, we opted to use one of those. >> listen, i appreciate you being on with us tonight, talking about your efforts to get a lot of people trying to get out of israel and obviously the situation in gaza. you have a lot of americans who are trying to get out along that southern border if and when that becomes open. ahead tonight, president biden's latest remarks on the situation here, weighing in on support -- whether he'd support an israeli occupation of gaza. this, as we learned discussions about a visit by president biden to israel may be underway. live at the white house next. tonight, president biden is said to be considering an invitation from prime minister netanyahu to visit israel. white house sources say a decision has not been made at this time about whether or when president biden could go. but this is coming as in a new interview, the president is saying he does not believe israel should try to reoccupy gaza, warning that he believes that would be a big mistake. the israeli ambassador to the united nations just responded to those comments. he told me israel has no plans to do so, to try to occupy gaza long term. pri sila, when it comes to this invitation that netanyahu has extended to the president, what are white house officials weighing when it comes to that decision? >> what we're still trying to understand is how advanced these discussions are and if it is possible that would happen. of course it would come on the heels of secretary of state antony blinken and his dpli si in the region. all of this is very much in flux. as you mentioned, the ambassador's comments really line up with what president biden said in a "60 minutes" interview, which is that israel has the right to defend itself, that they should go after hamas. but he said they should also not occupy gaza because that, the president said, would be a mistake. take a listen. >> i think it would be a big mistake. look, what happened in gaza, in my view, is hamas iand the extreme elements of hamas don't represent all the palestinian people. and i think that it would be a mistake for israel to occupy gaza. going in and taking out the extremists, hezbollah is up north but hamas down south, is a necessary requirement. >> now, over the weekend, the president also spoke with prime minister benjamin netanyahu as well as the president of the palestinian authority. top of mind of both of those conversations was that they should not -- they do not want the conflict to widen or to spread any further as well as the humanitarian situation playing out in gaza. it's clear, kaitlan, that all of this is top of mind. and it is something that the president was regularly briefed on throughout the course of the day by his senior officials today. >> yeah. priscilla, the other thing we heard from the ambassador is he did confirm israel has turned back on the water pipe into southern gaez. obviously that had been a major humanitarian concern, whether or not civilians had drinking water, any water at all. that is something jake sullivan told jake tapper today. when you talk to white house officials and the question and the pressure to allow aid into gaza, what are those conversations looking like behind the scenes? >> they are working hour by hour to get their arms around the situation that is in gaza. it is a deepening crisis. they were aware that there were food shortages, that there were water shortages. and really what was top of mind, as it came to this situation, was that humanitarian corridor. and having conversations with regional partners to make sure that palestinians and palestinian americans could lead gaza into egypt. now, those conversation are very much still in play and ongoing with secretary of state antony blinken in the region and meeting with his counterparts. when national security officials are talking about the situation here and it's clear to him that this is a crisis and they do not want to see the loss of life of innocent civilians, as israel starts to ramp up to move into the region. >> secretary blinken has been on quite a busy trip. priscilla, thank you. joining me now is former commanding general of the u.s. army and general mark hertling. thank you so much for being here. we keep hearing officials talk about the next phase of this war. it seems safe to assume that this ground invasion is coming. the question really is when but also what does that look like? what do you think is happening behind the scenes? >> there are a lot of considerations, kaitlan. what i would say from our perspective, hostages are most important and then civilians on the battlefield. but then you have to look at things like the readiness of the israeli defense forces and the capabilities of hamas fighting in the city. you also have to consider how much intelligence has the idf collected over the last six days since the attack that they hadn't collected before about the internal workings and the city of -- well, all the cities in gaza. also, implicating everything is the weather. so, all of these things are all part of, when do we attack, how do we attack, what are the objectives, where are different forces going, how do we synchronize those attacks, and how do we make sure that the various arms, the air, ground, and sea of the israeli defense forces, are coordinated? they've just mobilized 300,000-plus people. most of those individuals have been -- they're coming from civilian jobs, and most of them have never seen combat. so, you also put that factor involved that this is the first time a lot of the israeli soldiers are going into a fight. and we've had hamas, obviously, based on their actions last saturday, very well-trained, a lot better trained than we've ever seen a terrorist group before, synchronous in their action, and doing a lot of different things than last time israel went into gaza in 2014. >> and obviously when you mentioned the weather there, that's important, because if it is going to be this ground invasion, they need to have air cover for those forces. and that's something they can't do if the weather is bad, if it's cloudy, if it's raining. if they actually go in, if israel does go into gaza, which is what's anticipated, we keep talking about this tunnel system that hamas operates out of, that's not for civilians but is underneath gaza that they use. it appear to be quite sophisticated. if you're the israeli defense forces and you're preparing to go in, what are the questions about how that system operates, how hamas uses that, that factors into what they are going to do? >> well, the idf saw this in 2014. i'm going to go back to the last time they went into gaza. they saw these very complex tunnel systems, and they were stymied by them, truthfully. those have only been expanded. you're talking about tunnels and shafts -- you have to include the shafts coming out of building. even high-rise apartments, where you can get undergrount. and it's not just right underground. these are very deep to prevent them from being bombed and exploded and caving in. but they are also complex. it literally is a city of roads underneath the ground -- or city of trails, rather. so, they can move around those. and not only that, kaitlan, but the u.s. military trained soldiers to go into caves in afghanistan and iraq. and what we found -- and it's something that dates back in military history. if you're a defender inside of a cave or a tunnel, you have a huge advantage over the attacker because they have to come to you. they're going down different shafts, different corridors. and if you have good vision devices or you know when to set up an ambush inside a cave, it could take ten -- there was one instance in a training environment where 100 soldier ls could not dislodge five soldiers inside of a cave complex. the same thing applies inside of a tunnel. sniper can be in there. the hamas can take their prisoners, their hostages in there, and put them in a strong point defense. they can move them around when they see the israelis coming. this adds a whole other condition of the battlefield, which is very difficult, and it's only been improved over the last decade by hamas. >> and i was reading that they're quite sophisticated in the sense that they have power, they have running water, they have food down there. these aren't just -- when you think of tunnels underneath the ground, i think people think of something that is a dark tunnel they're crawling in. these seem quite large tunnels, quite sophisticated, that hamas is able to use to their ability. i mean -- >> well, we've seen it recently in ukraine in the might in mariupol. a relatively small number of ukrainian soldiers underneath a factory that was built as a bomb shelter in that city in ukraine held off russians for over a month, sometymies the attack bye russians. you're showing the simplicity of the tunnels. but what you don't see is the curves and the angles and the ways you can set up defense positions. and the power. all of these things make the battlefield in gaza much more difficult than you can imagine. >> and one thing that i was just speaking about with the israeli ambassador to the united nations is about what their goal is, what that looks like, how long it could potentially take. obviously he's not going to tell us what their exact plan is. but he talked about eradicating hamas' terrorist capabilities, was the phrase that the ambassador used there. when they go in there, they're looking for just the leaders of hamas? we've seen them killing several of them. is it all of hamas, period? what could this look like for israel's objectives here? >> that's the whole point when you have civilians on the battlefield or civilians in the area. when you're an israeli soldiers or any kind of soldier going into a situation where you're going against an ununiformed individual, are they the enemy or just someone there? are they a hostage? is it a civilian just trying to get to a new location. these are the things that are difficult. they're saying today that the israeli force are really well trained and they will only kill hamas. you know, that's a great thing for someone in an office to say, but i'm telling you, on the battlefield, when you have new soldiers, newly mobilized soldiers who have not seen combat before and who are frightened and somewhat scared of what's going to happen, they're going to shoot at anything that moves. so, these are the kind of things that happen in a close-end fight in an urban environment. and that's what makes it so challenging. >> yeah, a lot of questions in what these next few days will look like. mark hertling, thank you for your time tonight and for your expertise. >> pleasure, kaitlan. thank you. ahead, we'll get an update from a spokesman with the israeli defense forces, as gaza is looming and bracing for what could be a ground invasion from israeli troops. welcome back to our continuing coverage of israel at war, continuing to follow new developments here on the war on hamas. this weekend israeli forces continued to bombard garza saying they struck more than 250 targets on sunday. israeli officials say hamas commanders were killed in the strikes which also claimed the lives of innocent civilians who say they were bombed without warning. want to bring in our guest from the idf. can you talk about what you feel has been accomplished thus far with the bombing that has gone on? >> yes, what we're doing is targeting hamas, its military infrastructure, and we have a special priority for hamas seniors and commanders. it is a challenging task because they are hiding under ground using civilians as human shields. we are deploying lots of intelligence capabilities working together with the isa, israeli security agency, and actively targeting them. so far with good results but there is a long, long way to go. from the leader and butcher all the way down to the last military commanders they are all targets and anybody who was involved in the atrocious attacks against israel on the 7th of october will pay the price. >> do you have any sense of numbers of civilians who may have moved further south heeding idf warnings? >> the estimates, and i emphasize these are estimates, and it is difficult to track, but we are looking at approximately 500,000. those are the figures that i have at this stage. of course, there are many more who have tried to evacuate but have been stopped by hamas. i'm sure there are many more who want to but perhaps are deterred because they don't want to confront hamas or are victims to misinformation in the gaza strip. i want to repeat, our warning and our demand, from palestinian civi civilians in gaza go south from garza city toward the gaza river and continue south to preserve your life and enhance your safety. >> we talked about this yesterday. there was an explosion on one road that people were using to go south. there's a lot of people in gaza who believe israel struck that. you said you were looking into it. do you have any more information about the explosion that took place on that road? >> yes, we have looked into it, and i can say based on the statement of our brigadier general, that we clearly did not actively strike anything in that area of the reported event. we have not tried to strike civilians, not in gaza in general and specifically not there. what we've said is that, a, any information out of the gaza strip must be treated with extreme caution and suspicion because it is controlled by hamas and they are known to manipulate, lie, and falsify. and the second thing is that this event only serves hamas. the fact that there was a mysterious explosion and casualties and it was quickly amplified in palestinian and international media serves only the purposes of hamas, of sending a message for the civilians not to evacuate and, of course, trying to blame israel for the events in the international media. >> do you have evidence that hamas has actually tried to prevent people from heading further south? i know they have told people not to go south. do you have information they are actively preventing people? >> yes, we have. we released it earlier today. there is a recording of an interesting conversation between an israeli intel officer and palestinian citizen. the intel officer asks him what is going on and the palestinian citizen said hamas officials stopped him and confiscated his keys because they don't want him to travel south. we released aerial imagery of a road block hamas erected on the same evacuation road, the highway which crosses the gaza strip, the main thoroughfare. and they erected road -- they stopped people and it is a clear image of two vehicles blocking the road and a giant back pile of vehicles that are stopped because of that road block. >> there had been a statement that water had been restored in southern parts of gaza. is that confirmed? has it actually occurred? we haven't been able to confirm that on the ground that there is actually water coming out of taps. >> yes, it has. we have opened taps on our side. what is going on with the infrastructure in gaza i, too, don't have visibility on exactly how much is actually flowing where it should. things in gaza have a tendency of not flowing where they should. usually things that are supposed to support civilians have a tendency of supporting terrorist activity especially under the rule of hamas and it wouldn't surprise me they are siphoning off water for their combatants instead of allowing it to flow to civilians but that is more speculation than information. >> and have you seen any efforts on the egyptian side in the sinai building any tents or anything that might give an indication they'd be willing to have civilians from gaza cross the border? >> no, i have not. >> lieutenant colonel, i appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> stay with cnn. a special edition of the whole story "terror in israel" starts right now. welcome to the whole story. i'm anderson cooper in tel aviv. one of the worst scenes of slaughter dung