racing track. >> i was going ask if anyone was making comparisons to monaco and vegas because of the tight turns. >> verstappen very vocal about it. we'll see what plays out later on tonight into tomorrow. >> i look forward to your report tomorrow. patrick snell, good to see you. ♪ ♪ hello again, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. i'm fredericka witfield. let's begin in israel, where desperate families of the 237 hostages held by hamas are gathering at this hour. thousands marched today in jerusalem and tel aviv, calling on the israeli government to do more to bring the hostages home. six weeks after they were abducted, it comes as israel defense forces are now vowing to advance anywhere hamas is found. there are growing signs that the idf may soon expand operations into southern gaza. but the fighting continues in gaza city. doctors at al shifa hospital, gaza's largest, sayered to evac israeli military, though the idf disputes that claim. six doctors are staying at the medical complex to treat around 120 patients too vulnerable to evacuate. meantime, the first plane carrying children from gaza with urgent medical needs arrived in the uae today. it comes as the palestinian authority's ministry of health says only nine of gaza's 35 hospitals are still operating. cnn's jeremy diamond is in tel aviv, where that rally for the israeli hostages is ongoing. what are you hearing from people there? >> reporter: well, we are hearing constant chants of "now, now now." people here are trying to raise pressure on the israel government to reach a deal to free at least some of those civilian hostages being held in the gaza strip. there are an estimated 237 hostages being held. here today you are seeing not only people who are simply concerned for the well-being of these hostages and want to bring them home, but also family members of some of those hostages. we spoke moments ago with mia roman, the cousin of yardin roman. she told me about the frustration and the efforts to raise pressure on the israeli government to get them to reach a deal. >> of course i'm frustrated. again, i don't know if i can blame anyone. i don't know what's going on behind the scenes. this is a terrorist organization. i wouldn't know how to do these kind of negatotiations. i just know on a basic level my cousin, an innocent woman, was taken and she's still not home. i want to see them home now. our ability to wait is nonexistent. one of our biggest fears is that people will go back to their routine and get back to normal life while our family is still not intact. we are very frustrated. we'll the roller coaster all the time. i see my family, i see her brother and sister broken. every day is just terrible. we are, of course, frustrated. >> reporter: as we speak, fred, some of the m families of these hostages are, in fact, meeting with the leaders of israel's wartime cabinet. they hope that meeting will help to bring pressure to bear on israel's government to reach a deal to free these hostages. one of the most difficult parts for these families is they have watched for weeks now as there have been reports about the potential for a deal to release 50 hostages, women and children primarily, in exchange for a pause in fighting. they are seeing those reports, but they have not seen that deal come to fruition. >> jeremy diamond, thank you so much. more humanitarian aid is starting to trickle into gaza. fuel tankers entered the enclave through the rafah crossing today. the israeli war cabinet agreed to allow two fuel trucks to enter daily, though israeli government ministers are meeting soon to review that decision. the u.n. says that limited amount of supply is not enough to meet gaza's urgent needs. na some of the images you're about to see are graphic. >> reporter: in the central gazan city heavily bombarded by israeli air strikes for weeks now, this family is forced to live amid the ruins of what was once their home. he and his wife were rescued from underneath the rubble. miraculously they survived. but now with nowhere to go, this family must make do with what little they have left. when we saw the catastrophe before us, we tried to find shelter anywhere safe, but it was already too crowded. there isn't anywhere safe to go here. there is no aid getting in. i just want somewhere to shelter my family, my children. the u.n. has warned that some 70% of people in gaza are now forced to drink contaminated water. raw sewage is said to be flowing through the streets in some areas. while the israeli government says it will now allow two fuel tankers a day to enter gaza, the entire strip is said to be facing the immediate possibility of starvation, according to the u.n. world food program. there is no electricity and no running water here. as temperatures drop, this family has no choice but to sleep in the cold. the daughter says she put this sheet of nylon to protect her from the wind and rain at night. these blankets are all the family has left to keep them warm. the rest of their belongings tangled and buried amid blackened rubble. across northern and central gaza, scenes of destruction are all that remain. civilians told to evacuate southwards. the israeli military says it is targeting hamas and allowing for evacuation corridors. but even in the south there is no escape from this punishing war. the ruins you see here are homes in the southern city of khan younis. amid the destruction, members of the family standing helpless, loved ones still buried under the rubble. every second of every minute there's another massacre, he says. where are the humanitarian ceasefires? displaced people, women and children, our family members are here buried underneath this home. they escaped the massacres and war in northern gaza. they told us that the south would be safe. on the grounds of southern gaza's hospital, another funeral prayer is held. closed with a message of peace amid unfathomable loss. with fears growing of an expanded ground incursion said to be targeting hamas in the south after israeli forces dropped leaflets near kahan younis warning people to go to shelters. with some 500 million people already displaced, there is nowhere safe to turn. as each hour ticks by, there is only more uncertainty and more tragedy. the wounded rush through the hospital's crowded halls. children, battered and bloody, sharing whatever space is left in this panic-filled emergency room. but as doctors in the south race to rescue the wounded, survivors further north struggle to come to terms with this now shattered reality. he says neighbors thought he was dead when they pulled him from the rubble. now, he says, he wishes he too had been killed in the air strike. in gaza, only the dead are at peace. as the war between israel and hamas continues to rage on, president biden is stressing the need for all hostages held by hamas to be released without any more delays. he made that point during a call to the leader of qatar on friday. that country is acting as a broker in the hostage negotiations. the two countries also discussed the need for humanitarian assistance in gaza. priscilla alvarez joining us from wilmington, delaware, where the president is spending the weekend. what more do we know about how influential president biden can be here? >> reporter: well, he has certainly touted how influential he can be, not only in getting humanitarian aid, but also in trying to get the release of hostages. of course, the reqquestion of we that deal remains is still a big question, but we did see a trickle of hostages released weeks ago. the president was saying that the, quote, only answer to this conflict is a two-state solution, an idea long endorsed by president biden. he went onto say that israel occupying gaza would be, quote, a big mistake, again reiterating a message there. looking to the nearer term and the urgency right now is the release of hostages held by hamas. these negotiations have been ongoing for weeks. the administration officials are working feverishly behind the scenes. president biden even acknowledging that this week, saying that he himself is involved multiple times a day on this issue. but, of course, he spoke to qatar yesterday. in that conversation they again talked about hostages. that was the second time the two leaders had spoken in a week, which goes to show how much pressure they are putting on this. again, unclear when there will be a breakthrough. also, against the backdrop of all of this is the domestic landscape the president is having to navigate, the politics of the moment. that includes pushback from members of his own party. just last week the president heard directly from a protester at an event who called for a ceasefire. these are issues that the president, while he works with leaders around the globe to try and solve and find breakthroughs in this conflict, he's also having to wrestle with them domestically. >> priscilla alvarez in wilmington, thank you so much. still ahead, despite a marathon meeting between president biden and chinese president xi jinping just days ago, new fears today in taiwan of a war with china as beijing continues to step up military pressure on the island. welcome back. a key face-to-face meeting this week between president biden and china's president xi made some progress on easing frosty relations between the two countries, the two leaders vowing to reopen high-level military channels and to combat the fentanyl trade. but some of the tensions remain on full display after the summit when biden described xi as a dictator for the second time this year. there was also little progress to be seen on taiwan as china continues to step up military pressure on the island. will ripley has more from taipei. >> reporter: taiwan will never forget those four tense days when former house speaker nancy pelosi's visit triggered unprecedented chinese military drills, widely seen as a dress rehearsal for war. more than a year later on the streets of taipei, for some, the prospect of war feels closer than ever. >> translator: of course we are concerned that what happened to ukraine could happen to taiwan. i'm a mother and i have kids. >> reporter: president joe biden and chinese president xi's marathon meeting in san francisco aimed at dialing down the temperature on a host of hot-button issues, especially taiwan, the most important and sensitive issue in u.s./china relations. xi was quoted in chinese state media, washington has no plans to stop selling billions of dollars in weapons to taipei. military cooperation, including u.s. training of taiwanese troops at the highest level in decades. the u.s. formerly switched diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in 1979. >> we maintain an agreement that there is a one china policy. i'm not going to change that. >> reporter: as for the future of this self-governing democracy, xi says china will realize reunification, this is unstoppable. >> beijing's activity -- [indiscernible] >> reporter: director of taiwan's institute for national defense and security research warns china's military buildup, the biggest in a century, may be just beginning . he says it can only be deterred by massive military power. does that need to include the help of larger militaries like the u.s. and japan? >> sure. taiwan enjoys a very important location. if beijing can occupy taiwan, it's become a so-called -- [indiscernible] such a submarine can reach the west coast of the united states to strike the united states. >> reporter: last year, beijing fired ballistic missiles over taiwan. here in taiwan, people have lived their entire lives with the reality that china has an arsenal of missiles pointed at this island that could be raining down in a matter of minutes. that's why here in taipei alone there's an estimated 90,000 air defense shelters, ready for whatever comes. when the people's liberation army surrounded the self-governing democracy, chinese state media said they were simulating a blockade, practicing a possible recurser f -- precursor for a full-scale invasion, jolting taiwan into a new risk-filled reality, putting high-stakes diplomacy to the test. on saturday here in taipei two opposition parties announced their joint presidential ticket. they are going to challenge the ruling dpp. the current vice president is the presidential candidate. he was considered a shoo-in by many analysts until this opposition by these parties, which notably tend to have a more pro-beijing or at least pro-cooperation with beijing s dpp said you have to stand up two china with strength. the result of next year's taiwanese presidential elections will have huge implications for taiwan and also the u.s./china relationship. will ripley, cnn, taipei. >> david singer is a national security analyst and a "new york times" national security correspondent. great to see you. so you argue there was a subtle shift in power at the meeting between biden and xi. to what degree? >> i think what we saw -- and i just got back from the summit meeting in san francisco -- is that the chinese were of a somewhat more accommodating tone. now, whether the reality turns out that way, we'll have to see over time. and we think that's largely because their economy is in far tougher shape than it's been at almost any point in the 30 or 40 years they've been holding meetings like this with the united states. it used to be fairly standard fair for the chinese to come into these meetings with the assumption they're on the rise, we're on the decline. now, xi showed up having to talk to americans about investing in china at a moment that there's been disinvestment. he's got a huge property crisis with this overhang of debt. he's got economic slowdown. he's got troubles getting employment for young chinese. unemployment levels look to be running about 20%. so their question that american officials were asking was, can he afford a conflict over taiwan or other confrontations in the short-term? >> do you suppose china is hoping they can count on the u.s. easing tariffs, export controls on technology? >> so there were two things that seem ed to bother xi jinping th most that he brought up in that closed-door meeting with president biden and his aides. one was the unrelenting anti-china tone you hear here in washington from democrats and republicans, which he thought was sort of feeding a cycle between washington and beijing. he's right about that. it is feeding a cycle, because the more people in beijing hear that, the more they do the same. of course, everybody is under pressure to step up their military exercises and so forth. the second thing he complained about was the export controls. these were the controls on the most advanced computer chips and the equipment to make them. president biden has said we're not backing down on those. those are not about an economic advantage. they're about a military advantage and not giving the chinese military the ability to get the most high-end chips. he said this is on national security grounds. the question really that's hanging out there is, can china make up for this on its own? they've been having trouble doing that. or would they basically hope another administration would ease up on those controls? i don't think biden is going to ease up on them. >> now, what about when the two talked about taiwan? to what extent did they talk about that or even lay any groundwork on the road ahead? >> it sounded like the beginning of the taiwan conversation was pretty familiar with xi jinping saying this is an issue that's got to get resolved at some moment. xi has made it pretty clear he wants it resolved while he is president. that would presumably be in another ten years. he also said, i don't know where all these artificial deadlines come from, all this talk about 2027. well, it comes from him. he's the one who's told the chinese military they have to be ready by 2027 to take the island. that's different from saying that he'll be ready to go do it. frankly, an invasion that resulted in significant economic sanctions against china would be a lot more harmful with a slow-growing china, the one we're seeing more than with a fast-growing one. >> and what would the u.s. do if china were to invade taiwan? >> you know, fred, i think from the tabletop exercises we've seen, it all depends on how they do it. if the chinese invasion was a full-scale invasion into the island, i think the u.s. and others would respond militarily. i also think that's the less likely scenario, because china needs taiwan's semiconductor, which makes most of the world's most leading-edge chips, as much as we do. destroying that on the way in would be counter productive for china as well. it is, i think, more possible that they could do the slow squeeze. you heard will talk a little bit about that in his piece, which is, surround the island, cut off its communications, do some. kind of embargo on goods coming in and out that they would have to inspect and basically slowly take over the island that way. without the show of military force, i think that would be a much harder response for washington. >> thank you so much. have a great holiday week. >> good to see you. you too. still ahead, a colorado judge rules donald trump can be on the ballot, but also says he engaged in the january 6th insurrection. we'll talk about what that means, next. 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. a colorado judge ruled that former president trump engaged in an insurrection on january 6th, but at the same time the judge rejected a motion to remove the former president from the 2024 presidential primary ballot there, citing the 14th amendment. the district judge says the insurrectionist ban does not apply to presidents. it marks the first time any court determined that trump engaged in an insurrection. the former president faces federal charges related to efforts in overturning the 2020 election results in washington, d.c. joining me is gloria brown marshall, a constitutional law prof professor and author of "the voting rights war" and "she took justice." good to see you, gloria. let's break this down for everybody. it's complicated. at the same time it can be looked at in a very splisimplis way. these three decisions have shared rulings to keep trump on the ballot, but all had different standards to meet. colorado said it's unclear if barring insurrections from public office applies to the presidency. in minnesota, the court said trump can remain on the ballot because political parties have sole choice over who appears. then there's michigan, where the judge ruled congress is the proper forum for deciding whether trump is on the ballot. is it all case closed now, no openings for other states to challenge whether trump should be on their ballots, ohr is it ultimately just simply up to voters? >> i think all of the above apply. i'll tell you why. i truly believe that other state courts and federal courts should weigh in, because they all have different interests. i also believe that the colorado case is going up on appeal and that that appeal is going to be expedited. unfortunately, we have a super majority of conservatives that have already shown their allegiance to donald trump, so we don't know what's going to happen at the supreme court level, but i think it deserves to be there. i also believe that when judge wallace decided in the colorado federal court that donald trump had participated in an insurrection, that was pivotal. that's what was missing here. i said this before, that until he has been seen as an insurrectionist by a court, then it's difficult to view the statute that's based on insurrection. so we've actually overcome a very high hurdle with that determination in the colorado case. >> because that's the most stunning portion, right, that the colorado judge sarah b. wallace did conclude that the former president engaged in an insurrection against the u.s. now, was that a reach for her to do that, or was that within her confines of her justification of the ruling to say, while i do believe that he should be on the ballot, let me just say i do believe he was responsible for an insurrection? >> i think part of the standard that was before her was the basis of the provision in the 14th amendment of section three. was the provision regarding an insurrectionist not being able to be on the ballot applicable? so they had to determine whether or not donald trump had engaged in insurrection. she did that. that was one part of the standard. remember, the other two courts didn't reach this point because they believed they were not the proper forum for this issue. she actually reached the part of the standard as to whether or not insurrection had taken place, whether or not he was an insurrectionist. but she said in applying the law, it didn't reach to the president. and i disagree and i think other scholars will as well. >> the group that brought this challenge, do they feel more emboldened now as a result of her comments about the insurrection to appeal that ruling? >> i believe so, because to this point, we saw insurrectionists' behavior, we saw the engagement of the president in this behavior, and yet there has been no ruling that donald trump was indeed an insurrectionist, that he had incited the riots that led to the january 6th attack on the capitol. now we have that connective piece. once that's in place, as it is here, the idea that when who does this pertain to, if it pertains to state and federal officers, then why not the president? the reason why i say this is because back in 1868 when the 14th amendment was enacted, there were of course certain federal positions, but nothing like we have today. there are thousands of places in government that could not have been thought of back in 1868. you can't limit it to just what was thought of there as an officer. i was a law clerk in federal court. i raised my hand and swore to protect the constitution. think of all of the different jobs that are in federal, local and state government where that's done and of course in the military and such. so i don't think it should be limited based on the wording that doesn't specifically include president, because it could also include justice of the supreme court. i think this is an issue worthy of appeal and it should be taken quite seriously. >> gloria brown marshall, thank you so much and have a great thanksgiving holiday week. >> you too. in the race for 2024, president biden is facing an uphill battle with a bloc of voters critical to putting him in the white house, young voters. in 2020, exit polls show biden won young voters in georgia by 13 points, but recent polls show those same voters are now split between biden and trump. cnn's jeff zeleny traveled to georgia to find out why some of them are less inclined to support biden this time around. >> reporter: as keri singleton looks to the next presidential election, he's thinking back to the promises he heard president biden deliver on a visit to atlanta. >> pass the freedom to vote act! pass it now! >> reporter: on that winter day, the president was closing in on his first year in office. hopes were high for singleton and other students. since then, voting rights legislation stalled. the supreme court rejects a student loan forgiveness plan, and high prices from food to housing are fuelling economic ang exiet anxieties. >> i think everyone is willing to hold the administration accountable for some of those promises made, and if they don't happen, i think it's going to be a scary election. >> reporter: the skepticism and apathy of young voters rank high. >> folks are poorer now than they were two years ago. there's going to have to be a lot of conversations about how we feel our issues are being home. >> reporter: this is the youngest woman to win a seat in the georgia senate. in 2020 she went door to door in the atlanta suburbs, building coalition to help biden turn the state blue. that coalition, she said, could fracture by the president's handling of the israel/hamas war. >> young voters recognize you can't bomb your way to peace and security. so we feel uncomfortable with that. >> reporter: rachel carroll's first vote for president went to biden. she said she doesn't regret it given the alternative, but finds herself disappointed by some priorities of the white house. >> if they can fund the war, they can find the money to pay off our student loans. >> reporter: in georgia biden defeated donald trump by only 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million cast. exit polls in 2020 show that voters 18-29 made up 20% of the georgia electorate, the only state of the top six battlegrounds where the percentage of young voters exceeded the national share of 17%. biden won young georgia voters by 13 points, but now a year before the 2024 election, surveys show a far closer race with vetoters under the age of here in georgia split 46% for trump and 44% for biden. >> the excitement is not as high as it was last time. >> reporter: elon gibson and some of his classmates wish they had more inspirational and generational choices. >> we have to pick between two people who are very old. >> we would like to see biden pass the baton. >> think the vice president sparks that energy. when she came to moorehouse, it was fun. i feel her passion zb. >> reporter: with biden at the top of the ticket, voters say the burden rests on him to deliver on his promises and not take their support for granted. >> we have to hold biden accountable. there was success and failure for spacex starship this morning. we'll explain what happened and why not all was lost when we come back. the most powerful rocket ever built, spacex's starship exploded this morning and was lost over the gulf of mexico during its second test launch. but apparently it's not all bad news. kristin fisher joining me now from south padre island in texas. why are scientists saying this is halfway successful, halfway bad? >> reporter: well, spacex is calling it a success, because this second test flight was far more successful than the first back in april. this time, all 33 of these big raptor engines all ignited at once, something that's never been done before on this rocket. and then they were able to do the riskiest maneuver of this test mission, something they'd been very worried about called the hot staging technique. this was the moment of separation, the moment when everything went wrong back in april. the fact that that was a success today, some great news for spacex. and then they also didn't blow up the launch pad, which they did last time, totally destroyed it. that's a success as well. but it is also a failure, because this rocket did not complete its ultimate mission, which was to do almost a complete lap of planet earth and splash down into the pacific ocean. so now it ended in an explosion or a rapid unscheduled disassembly, as spacex likes to call it. because it ended in an explosion, that triggers an immediate mishap investigation by the faa, which could theoretically delay a next test flight attempt. but nasa very pleased. the administrator congratulated spacex today calling this big progress. this, of course, critical to nasa's artemis program to return american astronauts to the moon. >> finding the silver lining, thank you so much. still to come, cnn returns to sudan being ripped apart by war. i could use a little help. yeah, there's a lot of risk out there. huh ♪♪ hey, is this thing hard to learn? nah, it's easy. huh. you know, i think i'm going to ride it home. good thing you chose u.s. bank to manage and grow your money. with our 24/7 support at least you're not taking chances with your finances. yeah, i think i'm gonna need a chair. oh, ohhhh. in sudan, war has been unimaginably brutal, communications have been actively blocked by the rapid support force or rsf, who are in a battle with the sudanese army for control of the country. our reporter traveled to a border town in chad where many survivors have fled. we've got to warn you, the content you're about to hear and see is disturbing. >> reporter: one by one, survivors come forward wanting to share, to document what has happened to them. >> translator: i held my 5-year-old brother and ran with him to the mosque. the rsf chased us, shooting at us. a bullet hit my brother's head. the rsf said, leave these ones, we will find better ones to sell. these ones, let's rape them. >> reporter: textbook ethnic cleansing, these are the hallmarks of genocide. we interviewed over a dozen survivors and eyewitnesses who witnessed the abduction of at least 200 other girls. through their testimony, we were able to pinpoint key neighborhoods where civilians were targeted and where women were being sold from slave houses. places where survivors say they counted 75 girls abducted in one fell swoop. there is nowhere safe. >> cnn chief international investigative correspondent joining me right now. nema, this is not the first time of genocide in darfur. you covered the initial campaign of atrocities as a young journalist. this has to be so incredibly disturbing for you and so many. do you feel like it is worse now? >> absolutely. unfortunately, we see this time and time again, when you are not holding forces like this accountable, it only ever gets worse. the leadership of the rsf were implicated in the previous genocide, and now their forces are better equipped, better trained, they have much more resources. it is a descent into what one u.n. official called on friday evil, and i think that is probably the best script of it. the level of depravity, the intent to humiliate and terrorize so people cannot go back to their homes, so that land is cleared. it is heartbreaking that, after the first genocide in darfur, there was such a public outcry around the world, especially in the u.s., and so many people called for action. to come back 20 years later and have to say, actually, we failed these people, it's very -- it's difficult to see. >> you're in an incredible position because you have the power to help enlighten the world by the people that you're talking to, the images that we're seeing. yet at the same time, this is going home for you, you know, and i wonder, too, if people felt a particular comfort being able to share with you, share with you details that people haven't felt like anyone would believe, nor did they know who to trust in which to share it. what was that position that you have here to do that? >> i have to say, the young boy in our documentary was one of those people who felt that kind of, i suppose, degree of comfort and familiarity, and we had -- because he's only 17, although he had a guardian there, we had felt -- we had felt uncomfortable on his behalf and wanted to talk him through the ramifications of being identifiable. and he just looked at me, and he said, i want you to believe me when i tell you that i have nothing to be ashamed of. and i guess i hadn't really thought about that until you asked that question. i think the familiarity, perhaps, allowed him that confidence at 17 years old to feel, no, i want to tell my story, i want to show my face. the enslavement and the humiliation and what was done to me, that doesn't chain me. so i hope, and it's amazing we're getting to do this whole hour and it's going to go out on cnn tomorrow, because i really hope that people are able to watch this and take on board the risks people have taken, the bravery that they are showing, so that they can get the world to take notice. >> yeah, indeed. and all of that that you and your team were able to do as well. the bravery and the risk to get this story out. thank you so much. of course, we will be watching, everyone should watch. tune in to an all new episode of "the whole story", one whole hour, one whole story, airing tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. eastern on cnn.