united states and all around the world. as we continue our coverage of israel at war. i'm rosemary church. we begin in gaza, where israeli forces bombarded gaza with air strikes monday. palestinian officials in gaza tell cnn dozens of people were killed in the refugee camp. buildings in rafah, central gaza and gaza city, were also struck, including several residential homes. a senior israeli official tells cnn there will be no seriize fi, saying humanitarian efforts cannot interfere with the mission to disman hamas. they met on sunday to discuss security. here's more from the country's defense minister. >> this needs to be the last maneuvering inside gaza. due to the simple reason that hamas will cease to exist. it might take a month, two. eventually, there will be no hamas. a second convoy of at least 14 aid trucks entered gaza on sunday, through the rafah border crossing. journalist elliot gotkine joins me with more. good morning, elliot. we're seeing increase in air strikes in northern gaza. what's the latest on that? and what were you learning about the ground incursion that's expected any moment? >> reporter: the idf has sent out an update. in the past day, 320 military targets. it's been targeting tunnels belonging to hamas, and jihad, with militants inside. it's been targeting anti-tank missile cells. 320 targets. that would tally with our reporting. they seem to be the heaviest bombardment going on in the gaza strip, since israel started the air strikes against hamas following the october 7th terrorist attack. from the israeli side. we're hearing from palestinian doctors and hamas military of health, saying 26 people were killed in overnight strikes. no letup in the air strikes. one other line we got from the idf in the last few minutes, it was targeting assets that were in its words, posing a threat to forces in the surrounding area, who are preparing for ground operations. more evidence that israel is preparing for a ground operation, if it is needed. we don't know when israel will go in. the drum beat is growing louder in the past week. we heard from the chief of the general staff telling troops they will go into gaza. they see this ramping up of air strikes. we saw the first clash inside the gaza strip between the idf and hamas militants that militants fired an anti-tank missile towards israeli troops that were operating an engineering vehicle, killing one idf soldier and killing three. we don't know when it will happen. it seems we are closer than ever. we're on the cusp of the start of this ground operation, rosemary. >> in the meantime, u.s. president joe biden is asking israel to delay that ground incursion into gaza so that more work can be done to negotiate w the release of hostages and humanitarian aid to get in. any sign that will happen? and how much influence does the u.s. have on an issue like this, so delicate? >> president biden i suppose has prompted a delay by coming to israel. during that time when he was in town, israel was not going to launch a ground offensive, when the president of israel's closest ally is in town. the u.s. has more influence on israel than any other country. it provides more military aid and the u.s. is israel's ally. we understand that the u.s. has been leaning on israel to get more progress, more success, if you like, getting hamas to release the hostages it's holding. we saw them release two americans on friday. they want more to be released. they're working to get more humanitarian aid into the gaza strip, as well. when he was asked on the u.s. leaning on israel, secretary of state antony blingen said this is a matter for israelis. president biden was asked and he said, i am talking to the israelis. there are conversations going on. israel talking to other world leaders. we had the prime minister of italy and the prime minister of u.k., and in addition with president biden, meeting with netanyahu, the prime minister in israel. we're expecting the french president and the dutch prime minister to come to israel today. they will be talking about security issues and the hostage situation. whether they will discuss plans for a ground offensive, we don't know as of yet. israel has a number of factors it is playing with. perhaps not just being leaned on by the united states, but where the russian intelligence, where hamas' tunnels, the tunnel network it maintains under the gaza strip. and things as mundane as the weather. it's a political decision and a decision to go in. hasn't been made yet if it's been communicated to the troops, as we know, have been massing outside of the gaza strip for two weeks now. >> elliot gotkine, bringing us that report. nic robertson is in surratt in the border with gaza and has more on the next stages of the war. >> reporter: bristling with battle-ready troops, farmers' fields north of gaza, churn with the controlled fury of a nation readying for an incursion to strike hamas. yet, they are waiting with no explanation why. it feels that the rush of battle-readiness has passed. the troops are deployed, standing by. the question is, how long can they be kept out here? affording to the former idf general, as long as needed. there are military gains. >> we are now improving our intelligence and our capacity of targets. >> reporter: but the political calculation is more difficult. >> they understand that the legitization window is closing quickly. >> reporter: civilian losses in gaza are growing. more than one-third of them children, according to palestinian health officials. lengthy negotiations have led to two american hostages released. there's a tiny amount of humanitarian aid has crossed into gaza. israel fears ends up in hamas' hands. prime minister benjamin netanyahu's calculus of when to send in ground troops has never been so fraught, under pressure from the white house, for more hostage releases. >> netanyahu is in real problem. he can't say no to biden. he cannot say yes to the humanitarian aid that drifts into northern gaza. >> reporter: he is under pressure at home, too. military and others hawkish for a dencisive blow against hamas. >> we're finishing the ground force. we've changed plans. we're going to maneuvers. >> reporter: netanyahu's dilemma compounded by his dependence on american weapons. >> the pressure from washington is real. is real and strong. and the prime minister says many times to his ministers, listen. we're getting from the united states, more than you know. >> reporter: where less than a week ago, these fields were teeming with tanks. troops making last-minute repairs. today, there are just tracks in the sand. >> reporter: a soldier's jacket here. bread and a bag on the table. the question is, where have all the tanks gone? forward for an incursion? or back to base for a pause? close to the front line in gaza these days, more questions than answers. an incursion highly probable, but when? nic robertson, cnn, seurat, israel. joining me now from brisbane, australia, is peter layton, a visiting qufellow at e asian institute. >> hi. >> the u.s. and others fear this war could expand beyond israel's borders, with the u.s. secretary of state and the defense secretary, voicing their concern this war could escalate. how do they prevent that from happening? given that we are seeing hezbollah and others flexing their muscles at this time? >> they're flexing muscles but doing it in a constrained manner. they are hoping that the threats will convince hezbollah in the north and the iranians, as well. the iranians got the hutis to push back. israelis clearly have a force in the north of israel. they don't want another war up there. they would prefer to concentrate on gaza. >> i hope you're right on that particular issue. i want to ask you this. u.s. president joe biden is reportedly asking israel to delay a planned ground incursion into gaza, so more work can be done to release hostages. israel denies this. should a ground incursion be del delayed? what are the dangers involved in such an operation? and the likely ramifications? >> there are a host of dangers. it depends on the size of the invision is. we are seeing the start of raids into gaza. there may be stepped up raids during the night, raids aimed at killing hamas leaders and possibly rescuing some of the hostages. after that, you can see, a fairly major ground incursion into the north of all of gaza. israeli leaders are talk about annexing gaza as it ends. they may annex gaza city and push everybody south into the southern part of the gaza strip. before there's a ground war, you would think that the israeli would know how the ground war ends and what peace they want after the war. at the present time we have no idea of the peace after the war. israelis saying they will destroy hamas. there's other groups that will take their place when hamas goes. that doesn't seem useful ground war aim. on the other hand, president biden has spoken about a two-state solution. the president is thinking of ovling the longer-term problem. israelis on short-term revenge. >> this will need a military solution. and a military solution is not going to cut it, is it? you've touched on israel's mission to be able to wipe out hamas, militarily and politically. how achievable is that? and what are the dangers of radicalizing other bad actors to fill the vacuum? and what is the likely goal of hamas, too? what is it planning? why did it do this? >> all those issues rise up, i think now. the chances of destroying hamas totally, is unlikely. it will certainly -- israel can kill a lot of hamas leaders and a lot of hamas soldiers. they are hiding amongst 2 million people. that's a lot of people that could join hamas-like groups. all this is going on for a long time. some would say since 1948, or at least since 1967. a political solution is required for it to end. israelis show no signs to do that. in the territories on the west bank, this has been a horrid year. it's been about 250 palestinians have been killed. that's roughly one a day. there's a lot of tension there, as well. 5 million palestinians are angry and annoyed. it will be a difficult war to win. a political solution is the only game in town. there's no sign of it yet from the israelis. >> peter, thank you for joining us and sharing your analysis and perspective on all of this. appreciate it. >> thank you, rosemary. aid workers are warning the situation in gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe. the hama-controlled ministry of health, says that 4,600 people have been killed since the war started. among them, 1,000 women and nearly 2,000 children. rights groups fear an israeli ground incursion would increase the casualties dramatically. they dropped these flyers in a neighborhood, warning residents if they choose not to evacuate to the south of gaza, they, quote, might be considered as a partner for the terrorist organization. a journalist told cnn some residents will never leave their homes. >> there were aghast. my cousin's wife sends me a video rocking her infant twins and said, now, we're essentially being told that either we leave our home by force and get displaced and join, you know, 1 million others in tents without food or access to water or we're terrorists? i mean, she literally had no words. she said, we're not leaving. we're going to stay here and die in the dignity of our own homes. as the situation worsens in gaza, some parents are resorting to heartbreaking measures for their children. warning the images you're about to see are graphic. they are writing their children's names on their legs so they can be identified if the parents or children are killed. a cnn photographer captured the gut-wrenching images of children with names on their legs. relief aid trucks are reviving in gaza but don't include fuel. 14 humanitarian relief trucks, stop sored by the red crescent and the u.n., entered gaza on sunday, carrying food and medicine. but officials say it's not enough to meet the needs of the people. >> 20 trucks of aid to gaza will not change much. gaza needs 500 trucks daily of fuel, food and medicine and water. for 14 days, gaza got nothing. and its immediate need now is 7,000 trucks. earlier, i spoke with the director of external relations and communications with the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees. and she says the situation in gaza is dire. they desperately need fuel. >> over the last two days, two convoys of humanitarian assistance managed to go into gaza. we're talking about 20 trucks, the day before yesterday, and 14 trucks overnight this morning. however, these trucks really only contain a fraction of what is needed, given the immense humanitarian needs, particularly amongst the 400,000 people displaced in schools, that have become shelters. these are usually the schools that the palestinian refugees runs and where it hosts little girls and boys. these are overcrowded shelters with no privacy, no locks. one toilet for several hundred people. the situation is dire. 20 and 14 trucks is a welcome gesture. as a reminder, before the conflict, over 100 trucks of humanitarian aid and fuel used to come in. and here, i insist on the fuel. no fuel has come into gaza for the last two weeks. without fuel, it's not possible to distribute assistance. or to power the plants and get clean drinking water. or to power hospitals and the life-saving machines. you've just shown how the health system is on the brink of collapse. we need fuel. that's very urgent. as urgent as water and food. >> and the idf is not allowing fuel in. it's concerned that hamas will take it as it has in the past. i wanted to ask you when you expect more humanitarian aid to get into the gaza. and what's the process involved in rationing out what is available until more supplies enter the war-torn region? >> it's a strict rationing. it's counting the minimum required calories of person per day for survival. that's how dire it is and how small, little, access to humanitarian assistance is. we're counting on unimpeded trucks into gaza. the trucks have to contain fuel, water, food and urgently needed medical supplies. and the flow has to be a big flow. not just a trickle of tens trucks a day. still to come, what we know about this -- the so-called hamas hostage handbook and what it tells us about the risk to those being held by the militant group. we're back with that and more in just a moment. sources saying the biden administration is urging idz real to delay its incursion into gaza, to allow for more possible hostage releases and for humanitarian aid to enter the territory. but a senior israeli official tells cnn they were not aware of the united states request. and they know of no cease-fire. the israeli president told cnn his country's army has recovered a hostage-taking handbook from hamas. that discovery comes in the aftermath of the surprise attack on israel on october 7th. perhaps the most revealing part of this manual is the idea that hamas was never supposed to bring the hostages into gaza. >> this booklet is instruction guide how to go into a civilian premises. into a city. break in. and first thing, what do you do when you find the citizens? you torture them. it says how to torture them. how to abduct them. how to kidnap them. joining me is graham wood, a writer for "the atlantic" and writer of the book "the way of the strangers: encounters in islamic state." you write that the hostage-taking handbook says to kill the difficult ones and use hostages as human shields. you received that document from an official in the israel defense forces. what else does that chilling document reveal about how hamas might be treating the more than 200 hostages that they're currently holding inside gaza? >> the document which i received from idf and through other sources, in fact other sources gave me parts of the document that idf didn't. it does describe a program of hostage-taking. it was clear there was an expectation they would be able to take hostages and treat them with brutality from the start. the document says, for example, you should identify the problematic ones, the ones that might resist, and kill them first. separate the women and children from the men. and remove any implement they might be able to use to kill themselves. it says to force them into come clines. the game plan it describes is not what happened. hamas may have planned to take hostages into gaza. but the document describes having a standoff that was supposed to take place in israeli territory. they were surprised to get so many hostages and bring them back to gaza where they have leeway how to handle them. >> given what the handbook said about that, is there any idea why they changed the plan? and instead of keeping them in homes, they took them back to gaza. anyone understand why that was changed? >> i think it's straightforward, actually. they didn't expect, nor did israel expect, that when they went into israeli territory, they would have the run of the place so long. it was shocking, i think, to israelis, it took hours. like, 12 hours to have a full response from the idf. so, i think hamas expected they would have the full fury of a modern military come after them. they had hours of leisure, when they could do what they wished on-site. during that time, it was pretty obvious to them, they would rather not have a prolonged standoff in israeli territory when they could take everybody back. hundreds of people back and bring them in gaza territory instead. >> i wanted to raise a point p israel's president said it contained the instructions for the manufacture of chemical weapons. have you heard more on that? >> yes. i have seen the documents. and these documents are strange. i have discussed them with chemists. i'm assured that the chemical weapons are most primitive and least likely to work. the document is an expression of aspiration, rather than a fully fledged plan to kill large numbers of people with terrible, corrosive, poisonous gas or whatever. it's alarming, but unlike the hostage manual, it's not describing anything close to being able to taken to fruition. >> our thanks to graham wood joining us last hour. world leaders are working to solve this crisis. but the latest assessment from the chinese envoy on the ground in the region is not optimistic. a live report from hong kong, next. from chrome to duckduckgo. duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. more on the top story this hour. the ongoing conflict between israel and hamas. the israel defense forces say 320 terror targets were struck in gaza overnight, including tunnels and dozens of operational command centers belonging to hamas and islamic jihad. dozens were killed. hamas fighters and isr israeli forces engaged in limited clashes inside gaza. at least 14 humanitarian relief trucks entered the gaza strip from egypt sunday, through the rafah border crossing. these trucks arrived a day after a convoy of 20 egyptian trucks unloaded humanitarian aid in gaza using the same crossing. china's special enjoy to the middle east says the situation in gaza is severe. and the risk of a large-scale ground conflict is rising significantly. according to chinese state media, he warned of armed conflicts spreading along israel's borders with lebanon and syria. he is visiting the region this week to promote peace talks and push for a cease-fire. and we go live to hong kong to talk more on this. what is expected to come out of the middle east visit by china's enjoy? >> reporter: china's enjoy for middle east affairs is in the region to push for peace. china is willing to do, quote, whatever is conducive to promote dialogue and a seize ficease-fi and restore peace. he adds that the risk of a ground conflict is significantly rising. china wants to present itself as a neutral mediator. china has economic interests in the middle east, that it wants to safeguard, especially access to energy and oil and gas. on saturday, that is when he was in egypt. he made remarks at the cairo summit for peace. he's visited the middle east and qatar and other areas of the region. china will provide humanitarian aid to palestinians through u.n. channels and bilateral channels. and china wants to promote a two-state solution. according to a readout of the cairo summit, we have it for you. to end the cycle of the conflict between palestine/israel, it's essential to implement a two-state solution. realize peaceful co-existence between palestine and israel. unquote. this is what we heard from chinese leader xi jingping on thursday. this is his first public comments since the war broke out. xi called for a two-state solution. and called it the fundamental way out. we have not heard condemnation of hamas. china has refrained from condemning hamas. that's prompted anger and disappointment from israel. it's also prompted criticism from the u.s. coming up, some of the other headlines we're following here. including the latest on the leaderless house of representatives in the united states. how long can the political dysfunction last? we'll take a look. from chrome to duckduckgo. duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. e make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. welcome back, everyone. we'll return to cnn's coverage of israel at war in a moment. and let's look at some of the other headlines we're looking at this hour. a detroit synagogue leader who was killed over the weekend is being mourned by friends and family. samantha wool was found stabbed to death outside of her home. police say they found a trail of blood leading to the home where they believe the crime happened. at a memorial service, wool was remembered as a model citizen who loved bridging divides. >> samantha may have been the nicest person that i have ever met or will ever meet in my lifetime. sam did more for our community, our state, our world. our lives. in her short time here on earth, than most will ever accomplish in 1,000 lifetimes over. and her killer will not rob us of the memory of her joy and warmth and kindness that she leaves behind. >> she had led the synagogue in detroit since 2022. the police chief tsay they are still investigating her death. and they have no evidence that it was by anti-semitism. nine republicans have entered the high-stakes race for house of representatives speaker. jim jordan failed three times to win the spot this last week. the house has been paralyzed without a speaker for nearly three weeks, which ousted speaker kevin mccarthy calls embarrassing. with a crowded field, it's unclear if they can get the voted needed for the speakership. one standout is tom emma, that is endorsed by kevin mccarthy. given mccarthy's ouster, that may harm his chances. to discuss all of this, is jessica levinson, host of "the passing judgment" podcast. good to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> nine republicans have joined the race after jim jordan failed to get support and dropped out of the race. how will this play out? and who will likely get sufficient support if that's possible? >> i don't know if any of the 9 or 217 that have to vote for that person know that for sure. i think the house is in chaos. we've never had a situation where the house is without a speaker for three weeks because the speaker himself was ousted by his party and the next two in line could not garner the votes needed. who is going to get this job? the person that can. and save to all of the factions with the republican party we're going to lose in 2024 if we don't elect somebody. we need to do things like vote on a budget. keep the government functioning. our government is based on three branches. and half of one of the branches isn't functioning at all. >> that's a problem. republicans will vote on the floor tuesday. i don't know if they'll succeed in that. that's the plan. the house remains paralyzed and cannot pass legislation on israel's war on gaza and russia's war on ukraine. how likely is it that they will get those done in time for parts of the world and a looming government shutdown. there's so much at stake while the gop dithers. >> there's never a good time for the house of representatives to grind to a halt. this is a particularly precarious time as you outlined. there's serious issues with respect to foreign policy. the ukraine crisis and the crisis in the middle east. and we need to pass a bill to keep the government open, to keep it functioning. we know what happens if our federal government shuts down. that would be a problem for many americans. that is not an abstract concept. that would have dire impacts. who is it going to be? and how would the person garner support? the person would have to explain that it not only looks like house republicans are in chaos but it will look like this to the voters. they will have to make compromises. i think the person will have to be strong enough not to make promises that he or she cannot keep. that was part of kevin mccarthy's downfall, he made so many promises to many people. they were competing and conflicting. he could not make everybody happy. >> that was jessica levinson, law professor and host of the passing judgment podcast, talking to me last hour. coming up next, we return to israel to bring you a story of bravery and triumph that emerged from the september 11th terror attack. a group of brave volunteers managed to fight off more than 30 hamas terrorists during the surprise attack over two weeks ago. no one inside was killed. cnn's erin burnett spoke with some in this community. >> reporter: you were at the gate. we saw the cars they used to block. you were able to stop that. they burst through the pedestrian gate. we have footage from the security cameras. >> they were actually shooting anti-tank missiles on the gate. there's an extra carnage going on outside the gate. people trying to come in. the gate is closed. they cannot see the terrorists. they run to the gate. they're being shot at from short distance. >> reporter: the terrorists at the gate are trying to come in. they were picking them off as they run in. >> they can cover around the gate. and firing at them. >> firing at the civilians running to the gate. shooting them. they are engaging, there's a small bomb shelter outside the gate. some of the party members were hiding there. you see a group of terrorists going in and their massacre there. >> they throw hand grenades. >> reporter: into the shelter? >> yes. you can see in the movie, the security movie. you see the hand of the terrorist throw hand grenades inside. so, i went out solo and start ing moving towardses the main gate. but not in a straight line. i went through the houses. i got to parking lot number two. and there's a hill. a small hill overwatching it. from outside, there were two or three guys wearing black, looking at the road. i wund sure if this was our people. and the moment they turned around, i saw ak-47s. >> you know immediate signal -- >> that's not us. i shot at this group. one of them got hit. the other two scattered. >> reporter: do you have any idea how many -- you have m-16s. you have magazines. just a sense, this went on for hours. how many bullets did you shoot? do you have any idea? >> i shot 240 bullets. >> i knew i have only six magazines. i counted every bullet. i cannot shoot. i have a backup or something like that. i've been shooting, every bullet has a target. i didn't shoot just to make them lie. >> reporter: you had to shoot to kill? >> i had to shoot to kill. >> reporter: this is what was found on them. at least on somebody. this is their plans of what they were going to do. it's dated october 2022. they were planning it for a full year. they knew everything. >> except our names. >> reporter: they put phone numbers in here. the task. i mean, it's military. >> specified. >> reporter: god is great. they have the cameras visible. they need a tank brigade. it's this part. this is what they planned to do inside. where they were supposed to go. everything. did you see them. were they trying to execute this plan? >> exactly. >> reporter: exactly. >> the plan was actually to engage the security group, to open the main gates. to allow vehicles in. to sabotage the main power and the generator. and to make as much casualties for the security team to allow the second wave to go in. the fact they know the exact street to go to. >> reporter: street-by-street. >> that's exactly what they were executing. exactly. they came to the points where the gates are. it's in the plan. i saw a page. >> the symbols of the gate. gate, gate. >> reporter: when you sit about this. this is military. how do you react to that? the date is october 2022. >> it's terrifying. it is a military plan the terrorists planned on it. it is clear they knew what they were doing. disciplined. this is the military, great planning. >> that was cnn's erin burnett reporting there. want to thank you for joining us this hour. we'll be back with more news in a moment. stay with us. from chrome to duckduckgo. duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today.