positive sign harris gave a thumbs up to the fans as he was loaded into the ambulance. we are staying on all the breakiking news out of israel a gaza. stay with "cnn news central." starts now. ♪ hello, thank you so much for joining us, i'm kate bolduan with john in new york, sara sidner is in israel. the breaking news we're following right now, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is back in israel this morning. blinken has been shuttling around the renal for days now. this morning he met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, he's also meeting with the israeli president and we're standing by to see if blinken will be speaking after these critical meetings. one major focus, the horrifying news we're learning this morning the idf says 199 are now being held hostage by hamas in gaza, that's a huge and significant jump from what was believed to be the number of people taken after the hamas terror attack. the latest from the biden administration is that at least 15 americans are still missing. we have new video also coming in showing the growing humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border. there's video of hospitals struggling to keep up amid air strikes from israel who are trying to take out hamas's leadership in northern gaza. the palestinian red crescent says hospitals are running dangerously low on supplies, including water and fuel. in southern gaza overnight this we will show you was the scene where israel -- a scene where israel has directed people to move to. gaza officials say at least ten people were killed. john? >> inside gaza this morning the rafah border crossing into egypt is still closed. the united nations wants to get supplies and aid in. the united states very much wants to get americans out, but unless egypt and hamas and israel can all agree, it will stay closed. now, in northern israel right now there is renewed fighting along the border here between hezbollah forces, the militia group that exists in lebanon and israel. israel has now ordered 28 villages within 2 kilometers of the israel-lebanese border, ordered those people to evacuate. sara sidner is north of there in haifa where evacuations of u.s. citizens are under way. sara? >> yeah, you know, we just watched, we just missed the enormous cruise ship that left here called rhapsody on the sea, it's owned by royal caribbean, but the united states government chartered this enormous cruise ship so that americans can get out because it is very, very, very difficult for americans to be able to leave israel. there are very few flights and those that go out with usually completely full. there 20housd americans who contacted the state department here in israel asking about how to leave. not all of them wanted to leave, but they needed to know what the deal was in trying to get out. so all of these folks are being taken to cyprus who made it on to the ship. they are basically a full ten hours away by ship to cyprus where we are here right now at the haifa port where all of this happened and we will be giving you some pictures and talking to some of the families in just a bit here, but first i want to start with cnn's jeremy diamond. jeremy, we have secretary of state blinken, he is here for the second time in a week. that tells you a lot about the u.s. involvement with israel as it tries to deal with the ramifications of the terror attack that happened a week and two days ago. jeremy, what are you learning right now about everything? there are americans that are trapped in gaza, there are palestinians that are in an incredible amount of danger trying to get out of gaza and, of course, you have the potential ground offensive by israel that is expected to happen at any moment. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, sara. and all of those issues are top of mind for the secretary of state as he meets today with the israeli prime minister, as well as the israeli president, the israeli opposition leader and defense minister, all of those meetings are on the books but the timing and scheduling of those meetings keeps changing which tells you how in flux this situation currently is. over the last several days we have had conflicting information, we have had a lot of finger pointing regarding the status of that rafa border crossing between egypt and gaza. american officials for the last couple of days have been telling american citizens in gaza to head to that crossing, believing that it would open soon, including on -- as early as this past saturday, but as of yet that crossing remains closed. so we will see whether this series of meetings that the secretary of state is having in israel today can finally resolve and close this logjam that appears to be preventing americans from leaving gaza through that crossing, but also from allowing humanitarian aid from egypt into gaza. the secretary of state has visited about a half dozen arab countries in the region over the last week since he came to israel first at the beginning of last week up until he returned today. countries ranging from saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, qatar, jordan, egypt, bahrain, all on his list as he tries not only to address this issue of humanitarian aid to gaza and getting americans out but also broader considerations as it relates to those 199 hostages, 20 some of whom are believed to be american citizens to try to get them out of gaza, as well as also trying to prevent this conflict between israel and hamas to devolve into a broader regional war. amid all of this the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu inviting pbin to come this week to meet with him. we know that president biden was slated to visit colorado today, he canceled that trip at the last minute, staying at the white house instead for what they have described as, quote, national security meetings. whether or not that is an indication that the president is going to actually come to israel this week, unclear as of yet. the white house not yet confirming that but clearly that is all being discussed right now and there are a number of balls in the air as we look at this humanitarian situation and also the possibility any day now of israel launching its broader ground invasion of gaza. >> yeah, it is a true humid crisis in gaza where people don't have enough food, don't have enough water, don't have fuel and just want to get out. the civilians that are there here in israel. there's a lot of fear, jeremy diamond, as you well know, a lot of fear, trepidation, but also a sense of solidarity here. jeremy diamond, thank you all of the reporting on what is happening on the israel side. let's talk about where i'm now and what's happening. i am at the haifa port, about 85 miles away from the lebanon border so we are in the northern part of israel close to lebanon where there have been sirens that have gone off over these past eight days because of rockets coming over from lebanon. there have been some incursions on the ground between israel and lebanese forces, the hezbollah forces who are backed by iran and a sworn enemy of israel. but here this is where americans today streamed in from all around israel, all around the country to try to get out. these are americans that wanted to get out from the beginning but could not seem to find their way out because there are very, very few flights leaving, sometimes difficult to get to those flights, and all of the flights going out are generally completely booked up. about 20,000 americans have inquired with the state department, not all of them wanted to leave, but they wanted to get some sense. we know that the huge ship that just left here and you're seeing some pictures of what happened about half an hour ago with the rhapsody of the sea, a royal caribbean cruise ship that was chartered by the united states was put here in this port so that israeli-americans and straight american citizens could get out. there were about 200 to 300 people that we saw, most of them were families with children. feeling that it is just safer, better, easier for their kids' mental health as well as physical health to be able to get out of the country for now. every single family we talked to, though, said they will be back. i think we have some sound from one of the families we spoke to earlier today who was just about to board that cruise ship. >> i don't agree with this trip. i came along because i want to be with my family but i think that we should be in israel with our nation and with our family and i think we have to show support and if everybody picked up and left, not everybody would come back and what are we fighting for? we are fighting for our country and for our home -- a place to call home. i think that we should stick to our land and stay there and be with us. i feel unity. if something bad happens we can support each other and help each other through it. >> i know she sounds very adult, but she is just 14 years old. she disagrees with her family's decision to leave israel as you heard there and there is some conflict within families as to whether to stay or to go because a lot of families feel very strongly that they want to be here to help with the war effort. they want to aid folks who need it. they want to get supplies, for example, that they've been taking to the troops on the border with lebanon. that is the folks here in haifa. but ultimately for the sake of the kids, for the sake of family members in the united states who are terrified as they're watching what's happening here, they decided it was time to leave, but they said they will be back and they said they felt so strongly about it that they were going to come back next week potentially and said if they can't get back by air or bomb she's going to swim. she was joking but showing how strongly she felt about coming back to israel and making their home here. john and kate. >> all right. sara, thank you very much for that. let's get right to becky anderson who i do understand has some important news about what might be happening in the border areas. i can show people on the map the border we are talking about, we're specifically talking the border between egypt and gaza, the rafah crossing which is right there. becky, what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, before i fill you in on what we understand to be the preparations for this next phase by israel and on gaza i am just getting information in that our cameraman on the gaza side of the rafah crossing has said that he has seen six u.n. fuel trucks entering from gaza through that crossing. now, that's important, of course, because there's been much debate and clearly much argument between israel, hamas and egypt about getting that border crossing, one of the few border crossings that exist, the main one now with egypt, getting that open at least for the humanitarian supplies that are building up on the egypt side of the border. we know that, for example, water israel says is now switched back on in southern gaza, but without fuel for generators there is no electricity and, therefore, no facilities to get that water running. so that news just coming into us, more on that as we get it. this is a report from our cameraman at rafah on the gaza side saying that he has seen six u.n. fuel trucks entering into gaza. so more to come on what is going on at that border as israel readies for the next stage in this war. we are clearly not privy to the detailed military planning but we can report what we know as far as preparations are concerned. now, at the border with gaza and israel saturated with some 300,000 troops, the idf has evacuated residents from communities around the border with gaza, in gaza conflicting reports about how many people have fled south, reports suggest as many as half a million. the israelis blaming hamas for preventing more people from leaving from the north, putting in road blocks and telling people to stay in their homes. not clear on whether there is an official pause in israeli strikes to extend this humanitarian window that we've seen for more people to flee. egypt claiming that israel has agreed to a ceasefire, israel absolutely denying that. there has certainly been some restraint on the part of israeli forces, an idf spokesman late last night explaining to me that this pause is a period of patience, but he said that patience is running out. and, again, not clear what's happening at that rafah border as we say, we have now learned from a cameraman on the ground that he's seen six u.n. fuel trucks coming in, but, you know, that's still obviously a real point of contention. what is clear as jeremy was reporting, that rescuing these hostages is a national priority for israel. we can now confirm 199 hostages, including foreign nationals, held by hamas. israel also telling us 291 soldiers have been killed since last saturday. i will just close with this, both these numbers, the number of hostages and the number of israeli soldiers killed will massively impact an israeli society already experiencing collective trauma after the horrendous attack by hamas saturday. and this will be certainly reinforcing israel's commitment to completely root out hamas in northern gaza, the question is when, how do they do it, what does that look like and what happens next. what the sort of spillover from that might be. john? >> we want to go back, though, to what our cnn's cameraman is seeing because as you were reporting seeing six u.n. fuel trucks crossing from egypt into gaza. becky, to put a fine point on it for everyone, this is significant because this is really the first time that we have any reporting like this. what we've had until this point is images of fuel trucks lined up on the gaza side trying to get into israel, empty fuel trucks, and now you're seeing the reverse, seeing some indication of a, quote, unquote, opening at the rafa crossing. this is huge. this is exactly what tony blinken has been doing, this shuttle diplomacy over the weekend is really about. >> reporter: yeah, and the question is, you know, how much can they get in, how long will that be open if indeed it is now open and that's the reporting that we've got on the ground. i mean, you know, a cameraman that is employed by us witnessing that, but the question has been there is an enormous amount of aid on that egypt side of the border in a place called arish. the uae has sent an enormous amount of supplies, as has jordan, the u.n. has an enormous amount of medical supplies, of fuel, of food aid sitting on that border. they need to get that through in order to support the near half a million or more people who have fled into southern gaza. i mean, this is an enormously complicated task. they need that border open. the problem with that border has been that egypt does not want to see a flood of refugees going into the sinai at this point. they can't cope, jordan has said it's a red line for them, they will not take palestinians fleeing. not that they don't support palestinians, not that they don't absolutely squarely support the plight of the palestinians but they say they cannot cope given the refugees that they already host. so this is difficult because of course antony blinken wants that border open in order to get the u.s. citizens caught in gaza through. very, very complicated. this is going on behind the scenes, diplomacy absolutely at work here. >> okay. becky anderson for us in tel aviv, becky, thank you very much. we are waiting to hear from u.s. secretary of state antony blinken. we could get clarity on what our cameraman saw at the rafah crossing between egypt and gaza. six he counted u.n. fuel trucks going into gaza, this would be the first aid getting into gaza since the terror attack more than one week ago. very significant. with us now is former nato supreme allied commander, europe retired u.s. air force general philip breedlove. in addition to that which is a significant development we want to talk about the other development this morning which is israel, the idf, saying that 199 hostages are being held in gaza right here. a small area, it's only 25 miles. how does that complicate the ground mission? what will the ground mission, therefore, look like from israel? >> well, thanks for having me. the ground mission is going to be hard no matter what, but these additional hostages are going to make it tougher. and we all know that hamas intends to use those hostages. hamas wants the world to see palestinians dying, they want the world to see israeli hostages dying and american hostages dying. this is their entire effort. the public affairs campaign is the biggest campaign now for the hamas. >> one thing -- speaking of public affairs and messages being sent, let's talk about the united states sending a second aircraft carrier -- is that the one we want, john? >> yes. >> they're sending a second aircraft care why err into the eastern med. >> carrier group. >> the dwight eisenhower joining the gerald ford. why send a second one? there's been some suggestion that it's because the first didn't send a strong enough message but what do you see in this big move? >> i don't think it's about one wasn't enough. i think the united states is sending a clear message to iran, they're pulling all the strings with hamas, they're pulling all the strings with hezbollah and they're sending a clear message to iran that do not widen this conflict or else we are here. that is an important message and we'll see if iran takes it seriously or not. >> the u.s.s. gerald ford carrier group, the eisenhower group headed there over the next several weeks. general, another significant development this morning, the border between israel and lebanon, hezbollah militants operating inside lebanon, there's been an exchange of fire steady over the last several days, may have intensified over the last 24 hours. israel is telling people within 2 kilometers of that border to evacuate. what does that tell you? >> well, israel is taking it seriously, just like they're telling the people of the gaza strip to move south. this is a problem and if, in fact, iran pushes hezbollah to attack on get more serious in the north, israel wants to be able to act with its military more freely in that area to eliminate the threat. >> one thing that is a big unknown at this moment is when and how israel will begin a ground invasion, a ground incursion, if you will. looking at the options, a tactical question on this. from your perspective do you see it beginning as kind of -- moving as like massive movement across the border of israeli forces, or i've heard some talking about it should actually be something more of smaller raiding parties going in. what goes into that decision of how the beginning of it looks? >> well, the very beginning of it may include some small incursions, but by read of what israel intends to do is they're going to go in and they're going to go in hard. it will not be small raiding parties for the duration. they are going to try to do what they can to get hostages out but you have heard all the israeli leadership be clear, this is about eliminating hamas and its ability to do the same terrorist activity into the future. >> all right. general philip breedlove, thank you so much for helping us understand what we're seeing here. again, the breaking news we learned just moments ago, we have a cameraman down here at the rafah crossing between egypt and gaza, he saw six u.n. fuel trucks heading in from egypt to gaza. that would be the first time that aid of any kind was getting into gaza over the last several weeks. we're waiting for much more information on that. >> that has been a key demand -- has been a key demand from nations like egypt and other especially nations in the arab world, a key call to israel is to allow more aid in. what we're seeing now some coordination between egypt, israel, the united states if it's starting to move in now. >> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is in tel aviv. perhaps he will haveannon cemen development. our live special coverage continues right after this. the united nations says the situation in gaza right now is a, quote, hellhole on the brink of collapse. a potentially huge development on this front this morning, cnn just witnessed six u.n. fuel trucks cross noog gaza from egypt, possibly the first time we are seeing resources heading back into gaza. all of gaza is till in desperate need as we know of water, medicine and food. the u.n. also says that its shelters in southern gaza are now becoming overwhelmed, most are not equipped for this kind of emergency, which of course is why people of the united states and israel have wanted ee script to open up some flow so palestinians can get into egypt in this time period. we just showed you video of one woman who gave birth on sunday staying with her newborn in a school turned shelter in gaza. the palestinian authority says half a million people have fled to southern gaza from the north as this evacuation warning hassan issued by the israel defense forces. let's go now to cnn's scott mclean for more on this. scott, you've been gathering informations from various sources. where do things stand now with the creation of a humanitarian zone, a safe zone, if you will? >> reporter: this is an idea at this stage that has been floated by israel, but there are no indications at this point that it's something that's going to happen immediately. we've asked the u.n. about t which could not confirm whether it's even in discussions with the israelis about anything like this. the u.n. says that it's priority at this stage is simply getting any kind of aid into gaza at all, period. obviously potentially a glimmer of hope now that some may be coming in given that six fuel trucks have now crossed the rafah border crossing, this will be music to the ears of these aid groups like the u.n. which have been shouting as loud as they can to anyone who will listen in the outside world about just how dire this situation is inside of gaza. the world food program, for instance, kate, says that is correct look, it's running out of food and if it can't help people it says that very clearly people will starve. the u.n. says that, look, if food is not going to get through that border crossing that you could be looking at a situation with thousands of people dying potentially. it says that it has more food to give out but at the moment some of the places where it's being stored are inaccessible because of the bombing and there's also issues with water as well. israel says that the taps have been turned back on in southern gaza but they say that, look, without electricity, without fuel to run the water stations or water plants to desalinate and pump them it's simply not going to get to people. you also have the msf, doctors without borderers saying that the hospitals are overwhelmed and barely functional, quote, unquote, that's their words. we know there are hospitals in the northern part of gaza where children are hooked up to ventilators, they say they cannot bring people south and it's also important to point out, kate that is correct even if they could go south there is no guarantee of safety. we've seen strikes outside of the evacuation zone over the weekend, even this morning and even just earlier today, very close to that rafah border crossing in the community of ra rafah. five people killed when an israeli strike according to the palestinians hit a multistory house there, kate. >> scott, thank you so much. as we've heard from secretary of state tony blinken when he's asked about all of this things he adds the caveat civilians are being caught in the crossfire that hamas is making. scott, thank you. sara? >> all right. joining us from tel aviv is lieutenant colonel lerner, a spokesperson for the israel defense forces. in case you can hear that noise that is not a siren, just here at the port an alarm going off in the normal course of business for those who may have been a little taken aback by the sound of the beeping. thank you so much for joining us. i want to ask you about the palestinian situation right now in gaza. they are amassing at the rafah border crossing to escape, as we heard from our scott mclean out of gaza into egypt, but there's confusion over whether it will actually open to humanitarian aid. can you give us some sense of what you are hearing because egypt and those in gaza have been saying, look, there is a bombardment that has been going on in the region since of course the hamas attack, we've all seen that happen. what's the status as you know it of the critical crossing right now, that rafah border crossing into egypt? >> share ration we are on day ten of our military operation against hamas in order to destroy hamas's capability as a terrorist organization, as a governing body of the gaza strip, and as the organization that perpetrated the atrocities against the families of israel living in the surrounding areas of gaza strip. that operation is ongoing and we are striking hamas wherever they are, but focusing most definitely in the areas in the heart of their operations in gaza city and in order to negate their operational capability, pursue their leaders and destroy their professional offensive capabilities such as drones and so on. with regard to the humanitarian situation, we are taking measures in order to evacuate people from the north to the south and i'm happy to report that there have been hundreds of thousands of people that have adhered to our suggestion that people go down. and, yes, as you're reporting about the situation in rafah, i can't really comment on that because we are busy conducting our battle, our fight against the terrorist organization, while the diplomats are doing diplomacy in order to find and instruct. of course, as the military if we are instructed to hold then we will. currently we are conducting our strikes, we are determined to defeat hamas, we are determined to destroy all of their capabilities and make sure they can never ever conduct and use the gaza strip as a staging grounds to butcher babies in their bedrooms, sara. >> all right. i know that that continues. i am curious right now you've got secretary antony blinken who is back here for the second time having discussions with the president at this point and with the prime minister, as well as the defense minister and the opposition party, mr. lapid. from your advantage point when he is here do you have any sense of timing? is there actually going to be a ground war, is that imminent, or is there some decision that that may not happen? >> so we are prepared for the ground mobilization if instructed to do so by the government and indeed that is our role to be prepared and to respond and make the operational plans in order to implement that based on the military necessity, the principal of distinction between noncombatants and the terrorists and hamas and proportionality in warfare. i don't know if you've seen, sara, just now just within the last hour they have actually reported that some of their fuel and medical supplies have been commandeered by hamas. so when you were reporting earlier about the need for bringing foodstuff and fuel, who can guarantee that it will actually reach anyone other than hamas that will help them in their battle effort? this is of concern and we need to keep this in mind. >> yeah, and that's a u.n. agency for those who are unaware. the u.n. agency that operates in gaza and, you know, helps run schools and the like. i do want to ask you about the population of gaza, as you well know, about half the population is under the age of 18, meaning that they are children, they are innocents. is there anywhere at this point safe for civilians in gaza? is the southern part of gaza the place where people can be and also on the border with egypt? is that a place that is -- that you would consider as a member of the military safe as you conduct right now air operations, but there will also potentially be the ground operation as well. >> sara, what is happening to the children of gaza is -- it's just heartbreaking, but ultimately the responsibility lies with hamas and what they've done to the gaza strip. they have, you know -- they've been terrible to the people of gaza, they've let them down miserably and this is just the eventuality of their making. when they declared war on israel, they made a huge mistake. when hamas declared war against us, they basically signed their death warrant. our job is to secure the safe -- restore safety and security to the people of israel. you know, there are some 1,000 -- over 1,300 people that were butchered at the instruction of the hamas terrorist organization. so indeed these images of children in gaza, but also, you know, there are children that have been abducted by hamas and being held by them. they have no regard for human life. israeli or palestinian. and this is the tragedy of it. you know, this government, the hamas government, this terrorist government, they have done nothing good for the people of gaza and unfortunately in our efforts to secure the state of israel, it is indeed the people of gaza that are paying the price for their poor leadership, for the people -- for yahya sinwar, the people he financed, the people he gave the order to go to kibbutz, to go to kfar aza. all of these people that he instructed them to go, him and his organization, he is going to pay a price and we are going to be rid of this organization. we won't be held hostage by the terrorist organization hamas and i would say the people of gaza also should not be held hostage by hamas. >> lieutenant colonel peter lerner, thank you so much for joining us. there are two things that are very clear, hamas knows that when they send rockets over or attack israel and certainly in this terrorist attack that there will be repercussions and a response and we also know that, you know, israel is amassed on the border waiting for instructions, as you put it, to go into gaza on the ground when called up to do so. i appreciate your time. thank you so much. john? >> all right. sara, thank you very much. by the way, this is where sara is, she is in haifa which is not far from the israeli-lebanese border and it is along that border over the last 24 hours where there has been intensified exchanges of fire between hezbollah militants operating in lebanon and the idf the israel defense forces. we will get the very latest on the situation there as israel has now called on people within 2 kilometers of that border to evacuate. our live special coverage continues right after this. you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. it's happening. over the last 24 hours or so there has been intensifying exchanges of fire between israel and hezbollah militants that operate inside lebanon. hezbollah is a terrorist organization that gets support from iran, but operates as a quasi governmental force really inside the borders of lebanon. they've been going back and forth with israel over the last seven days. united nations peacekeepers who operate inside southern lebanon say that their headquarters was hit by a wayward rocket, luckily no one was hurt there, but it gives you a sense of the situation along that border with israel now saying that people who live within 2 kilometers that have border should evacuate. 28 villages concerned. our matthew chance is in northern israel not far from that border right now. matthew, give us the situation. >> reporter: yeah, a very tense situation up here close to the lebanese border. you're right, within the last few hours the israeli military has ordered 28 israeli communities to evacuate from their positions very close to that front here with lebanon. so that's in process now. and that follows a string of cross-border attacks that have been taking place over the course of the past 24 hours or, in fact, even longer than that, but nine rocket attacks according to the israeli defense forces over the course of the past 24 hours. they've responded to that with air strikes and artillery strikes, some of which we can hear being launched from very close to this location here, close to the lebanese border. we're also able, though, to gain some access to that exclusion zone close to the border, it's actually 4 kilometers, about 2.5 miles back from the border that they have now said is off limits to israeli civilians. they gave us access and showed us where basically the front lines were. it's also the place, remember, which could really turn this conflict inside israel into a much broader regional war. so it's a very dangerous sort of tipping point here in northern israel. still, all the civilians we talked to, most of them at least, the soldiers, the politicians that i've been in contact with as well, they are so engaged, so angry at what happened in gaza last weekend that they say they are ready even bristling for a fight with hezbollah. >> are you hopeful still that hezbollah will stay active this war? >> i hope there will be another front. we need to destroy hezbollah. >> you hope there will be another front? >> yes. >> you want the war? >> yes. >> why? >> what hamas did in gaza it didn't come from nowhere. it came from hezbollah, it came from iran and in order for us to stop what happened from hamas, we need to stop them also. >> reporter: john, and the big difference now of course is that for some reason the israeli military were not ready during the gaza attacks, they are very ready up here in the north of the country. >> matthew, really extraordinary to see him pointing right there, gives you a sense of how close they are. he was merely just pointing a little north to where hezbollah operates with this extremely powerful and well-trained militias. matthew chance in northern israel, stay safe. the other big story that we are tracking yet again today, the house of representatives now into day 13 without a speaker. are republicans going to move this from out behind closed doors on to fighting this out on the house floor? what the uphill battle that jim jordan still faces now looks like. that's next. this morning there is no speaker of the house and no clear path to get one. congressman jim jordan of ohio is the latest to win a majority of republicans but he still seems way, way short of the 217 votes he would need on the house floor. cnn's lauren fox is on capitol hill. lauren, i know we were he was working the phones trying to drum up support from the holdouts but is he getting close enough. >> reporter: he did get one breakthrough and that is from mike rogers the chairman of the house services committee who came out on twitter saying that he will support jim jordan. now, that is only one member that he has flipped so publicly now but it is an indication that jordan at least is winning some folks over. one of the frustrations that has existed from members of the conference is that jim jordan finished and then scalise dropped out after he could not get enough in conference and then there are members who are frustrated that the jordan allies are going to be essentially rewarded if you can hear jim jordan on the floor, and then the republican lawmaker are going to return to washington and have a closed door meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. and go to floor and vote as soon as tomorrow at noon on the speaker of the house. there is some feeling among jordan allies that if you are getting out on to be the floor that happens you can start to build on the members to support you once you are there, and this is obviously a strategy that kevin mccarthy deployed in january. it took 15 rounds, but he eventually became speaker of the house, and few members believe he has the support, but this is significant. >> yes, a big one, an needs more than that, but this is one of the key steps that he needs to get past if he wants to get to the 217. lauren fox on capitol hill, thank you very much. >> this morning the police in illinois are investigating for further details a horrible attack on a 6-year-old palestinian american boy and his mother in the chicago area. we will show you this man's picture, and this man was their landlord and he is now facing multiple charges including first-degree murder and hate crimes. he allegedly stabbed the child 26 times killing him, and also wounding, and seriously wounding his mother. whitney wild is there in chicago. what more are you learning? >> police are describing a nightmarish saturday morning and at 9:50, the mother call to report a stabbing, and then they found joseph czuba in the driveway and when they walked in that home they found the 6-year-old boy and his mother who had been stabbed more than a dozen times and the little boy stabbed more than 26 time. he had just had a 6-year-old birthday and full of love and life, and this is how the council on life describes this lit rl boy. >> he was a lovely boy who loved his family and friends. he loved soccer. he loved basketball. he paid the price for the atmosphere of hate. he has no clue about these larger issues happening in the world, but he was made to pay for it. >> reporter: police did not describe what information they had, and just for the hate crime charges, and the details though, they did come from cair and the mother of the little boy texted father, landlord had been angry with what he had been seeing on the news, and he knocked on the door when she opened he attacked her with a knife and when she opened the door he yelled "you muslims must die" and he attacked the mother and stabbed the little boy to death, and it all happened in seconds. president joe biden issuing a statement today saying that the child's palestinian family came to america seeking what we all seek, an atmosphere to live and pray without hate, and this is standing against our fundamental values, and against who we are, and this man is due in court for the first appearance and the fbi has launched a federal hate crime investigation as well. >> more to come. whitney, thank you. john. >> a horrible story. all right. the breaking news. our cameraman on the gaza border with egypt at the rafah crossing saw six u.n. fuel trucks crossing border into gaza, and the first time any aid has been getting in, and it is a significant development, and we are waiting for more information on that, and waiting for u.n. secretary of state antony blinken as well. our special live coverage continues after this. 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