House without a speaker and congressional business at a standstill. Geoff and. Students and universities put more emphasis on College Admissions essays in the wake of the Supreme Courts affirmative action decision. The Supreme Court made a ruling, and that doesnt change my identity. It doesnt change what im interested in and what my like what ive achieved. Major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including kathy and Paul Anderson and camilla and george smith. Pediatric surgeon, volunteer, topiary artist. A Raymond JamesFinancial Advisor taylors advice to help you live your life. Life, wellplanned. Actually, you dont need vision to do most things in life. Im excited to be part of a team driving technology forward. I think thats the most part in thing. People who know, know bdo. The john s and James L Knight foundation. Fostering informed and engaged communities. More at kf. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Geoff welcome to the newshour. Its a horrific night in gaza, where an airstrike hit a hospital, killing hundreds. Who hit the hospital is in dispute. Amna palestinians and others said it was an israeli bombing. The Israel Defense forces say it was an errant missile fired by the militant Group Islamic jihad in gaza. Geoff the fallout has been swift. Condemnations of israel have poured in from turkey, jordan, many gulf countries and beyond. And a scheduled meeting with leaders in jordan has been canceled. President biden still left this afternoon for a visit to israel tomorrow. Amna from israel, leila molanaallen again begins our coverage. In the dark of the night, chaos. Paramedics carry the dead after explosion at a key hospital in gaza city. Packed with thousands of wounded gazans seeking refuge, their sanctuary engulfed in flames. Gazas Health Ministry said there were hundreds killed. [indiscernible] we are in the er and suddenly there was a huge explosion. The doctor was in the hospitals operating room at the time of the massacre. We spoke to him by phone. It was a massacre. [indiscernible] after the explosion, protests erupted in the middle east and in the west bank, palestinians flooded the streets, calling for Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to be ousted. In gaza, it had already become a hub for thousands of displaced palestinians seeking shelter. She left her house after her street was bombed. Her daughter has special needs. Bombs and rockets are everywhere there. What is happening is not acceptable. These are children we are talking about. Children with fear in their hearts. How do these children deserve this . Another airstrike today hit a refugee camp in central gaza. Residents rushed the wounded into ambulances to try to save them. For the survivors, only wails of sorrow. But israel said the strike targeted hamas command center. And killed so far the most highprofile militants known to have been successfully targeted. At a press conference today, Prime Minister netanyahu accused thomas of committing multilayered war crimes. Not only is it targeting and murdering civilians with unprecedented savagery, its hiding behind civilians, their own civilians. It seems there is no safe zone for palestinians amid israeli bombardment. This residential building was also destroyed today in a Southern City in the area of the evacuation zone. We were told that the south was safer. We were displaced from our homes but we found that death follows wherever we go. Across the border, as israel braces for war, authorities are doing what they can to evacuate the towns and cities that lie along the border with gaza. Its just a few days since we were last here, but the difference is clear. Now it is a ghost town, the streets deserted, the pavement covered in shattered masonry and roof tiles because there have been so many strikes on this town in the last few days. It has evacuated more than 80 of its residents. For some, leaving home in the midst of such trauma is a step too far. We met an 86yearold survivor last week. Her daughter, unable to reach her since yesterday and frantic with worry, called us. So we went to check on her. When we last saw gina, she was stubborn and furious. Now after days of endless rocket attacks and with all her friends and neighbors gone, she is in despair. Where is my government . I would hit them back right away. Dont wait. All week we are waiting for entrance to gaza. For what . You have decided . So go in dont build up the tension this tension is killing us no matter the urgent calls from her children every five minutes and the rockets raining down overhead, she will not budge from this front porch, where she has sat for 60 years. Where would i go at this age . And i dont care about myself,en being kidnapped. I told my daughter i will not leave my home, only by death. As we leave, gina sits alone once more, watching and waiting for what is to come. Others here want to go, but have no idea where. When hamas fighters invaded her town just over a week ago, single mother Sima Yekhshekel snatched up her three young kids and ran for her life. Shes been putting herself up in a hotel just outside tel aviv since then, but cant afford it anymore. She returned home on saturday to a fridge full of rotting food, no electricity and a home in chaos. No one in sterodt help me. They give money, it does not come to me. They give me cookies, i dont need this. They send me this. I dont need this. Come see what happened. While she was away her neighbours house had been hit by a rocket, sending huge shards of shrapnel ripping through her doors and ceiling. Sima has been offered refuge in an evacuation hotel in the mixed neighbourhood of east jerusalem, but says that is not an option for her. With three children, its very difficult for me. So what are you going to do . Stay here. Maybe i will live, maybe i will die. Many across the country, including israelis who supported the rights of palestinian civilians, they now feel the same. It is us or them. We just had a massive alert go off for rockets coming overhead here on the highway as troops assemble for the war. Just a mile from the border, these war staging areas are in clear sight of hamas rockets as our villages and towns along the gaza border. The death toll would be much higher but for israel savior, the iron dome system. The stateoftheart Defense System detects and intercepts incoming rockets in real time, but overwhelmed by an assault on this scale, some slip through the net. But the idf says the past week marks the most intense missile assault from gaza they have seen. In the 2014 gaza war, hamas launched 5,000 rockets in 50 days. This time, theyve already launched 6,000 in just over a week. Were seeing many many more rockets and far more advanced rockets being launched into israeli communities. Civilians on both sides of the border here are praying for peace, but preparing themselves for an even bloodier war. For the pbs newshour, im leila molanaallen on the israelgaza border. Amna for more on the days fastchanging development, im joined by my colleagues Foreign Affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin and White House Correspondent laura baran lopez. Lets begin with that news of the day of this horrific strike on the hospital in gaza. The israeli Defense Forces say it was not them. Many believe it was the israelis. What do we know at this point it is competing claims, as you say. Israeli Defense Forces say it was not them, they said that pretty quickly after the strike. In the last 10 or 15 minutes i got in that statement about four or five times. What they just said a few minutes ago was that theyve gone back and done an analysis of what they call their operational system and they blame rockets fired by what they call terrorists in gaza that passed by the hospital at the time it was hit. They say it was from multiple sources of intelligence and indicates Islamic Jihad was responsible for what they called a failed rocket launch that hit the hospital. Again, thats what the israeli Defense Forces are saying. Palestinians are saying it was an israeli airstrike. Just some context, in the past, israel has hit hospitals in this war and in the past. We have also seen palestinian groups fire rockets that misfire and land in gaza, so the competing claims will continue. Amna what have we heard from the white house about this . Have they been able to weigh in or see any evidence about who was behind this attack . When it comes to the evidence, they are not saying who they believe was responsible for the strike. A white house official did issue a statement just moments ago saying that the president s in sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in gaza. And he wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. And that ultimately the president is not going to be making the jordan portion of his trip, after consulting with King Abdullah of jordan. Also due to a day of mourning announced by the Palestinian Authority, President Biden considered it best that he not do that second portion of his trip. He agreed to remain in close contact with the leaders in hopes of speaking to them in the coming days, but that takes a big portion about of the desired stops in his trip. Amna what are the implications of the summit not happening . Nick its the implications of the strike, the images have been fast forwarded through the entire region and through the world and it will make that containing of this or so much more difficult. Lets think about the summit, what President Biden needs his help from one of the summits participants, the president of egypt. He is now not going to be able to talk to him. They need egypt to open the rafah crossing to allow humanitarian aid and president abbas not being willing or able to meet President Biden, again, someone the president needs to try to keep a lid on violence, especially through the west bank and jerusalem. And of course King Abdullah of jordan oversees the holiest sites in jerusalem, a key figure that has been close to the United States for so many years, and if this war is going to be contained, all three of those figures are going to need to participate with the United States and what it is trying to do to prevent hezbollah and prevent iran from entering this war. If these leaders are not willing to even be seen in public with the president , containing this war becomes much more difficult. Amna we should stress we still dont know a lot, especially in the fog of war. There are disputed claims about this horrific hospital strike. What does it mean for the relationship between the u. S. And israel . President biden has pledged that the u. S. Will stand with israel. Does that change the landscape moving forward . I think so far President Biden has been very clear that he plans to continue showing solidarity with israel, that he is continuing to go on this trip. He arrived at joint base andrews just moments ago to head to israel to meet with israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu in person. And when he has those facetoface conversations, sources close to the white house tell me he is still going to try to stress the point that nick was making, which is that it is very important to the administration that this is a contained conflict, that it does not escalate. And that also they will try to focus on making sure that civilians in gaza are out of harms way as much as possible. Of course the inability to go to jordan really hurts the president s ability to prioritize that second part of what his mission was on this trip. But it is something he will be talking to netanyahu about. Amna thats our White House Correspondent, laura baran lopez. Nick, youve been continuing to cover this horrific ongoing story. Many hostages still held by hamas. What can you tell us . Nick one of President Bidens most pressing concerns is the fate of as many as 13 americans being held hostage by hamas. They are among some 200 hostages in gaza, with more than 30 nationalities. I spoke to American Families of the missing, about what they want President Biden to do. And about their anguish. On the morning of october 7, hamas rampaged, terrorized, and burned and murdered their way through the israeli kibbutz. With a small, they kidnapped the most vulnerable, the communitys and youngest residents, oldest and youngest residents, including an israeli americans son. My son is a 35yearold father of two little daughters, and his wonderful wife is pregnant and in her seventh month. He is the son every father, every parent would want to have. A gift to us all and a gift to everything and everyone he touched. Nick as best you can tell, what happened to him on the day of the attack . They descended upon the kibbutz and proceeded to kill anyone they could find or take into captivity anyone they could find. So he got back to his house with his wife and two little daughters and made sure they were secured inside a bomb shelter. For approximately the next hour he was in handtohand combat with terrorists who were trying to break in they had already broken into his house, but break into that bomb shelter. He continued communicating often off and on with the remnants of the Security Team and his wife until about 9 30, and after that, no contact whatsoever. Nick i am a father too, and my kids are a lot younger than yours. I cannot imagine what youre going through. I will just ask a single question and you answer it anyway you want. What do you want the world to understand that you are going through right now as a father and a grandfather . Im sorry, nick, i cant answer that question. I just cant. I understand where it is coming from. I cant. I apologize. Its too much. Its just too much. Pres. Biden theres not a single thing worse than having someone you know and love, not knowing their fate. It left no doubt in my mind that the president specifically and his administration are totally committed to finding the hostages. Not just the american citizens, but everyone, returning them home. Nick how do you balance the need to eliminate hamas, as the Israeli Government has promise, with the need to save your son . Its an impossible challenge. Two things are true at once. That organization and its heads must be destroyed. We cannot continue living like this in these communities. That is an absolute truth. And it is an absolute truth that i and the other families of the hostages want these babies, young men and women, grannies and grandpas, we want them back, for them to live the lives that they were meant to. Nick what is your message to President Biden as he goes to israel . My understanding is that our goal is to get the hostages, the american hostages, and i pray we also get the other hostages from other countries and from israel. Abigail is a beautiful little girl, growing up the youngest of three children. She is just a kind, sweet little girl. Nick during the attack, the gunman killed abigails mother and chase down her father and two older siblings. While they were running, he was shot and killed. The two older kids ran home and locked themselves in the closet. The little girl managed somehow to get to a neighbor and knock on the door. They took this child in. The family that took her in, the husband went outside to see what he could do. When he came home, his wife and three kids and abigail are missing. So thats where we are right now. I think she is in gaza, and i hope and pray being taken care of enough that she is ok. It is heartwrenching. Its really hard. Its so hard, and it hurts so bad. Nick the only proof of life of any of the 200 or so hostages is from this hamas video. The family of a 21 year old today told the media they want this propaganda video shown. They want the world to do everything to bring them back home. You want the u. S. To push until the hostages, including your greatniece can be saved. They understand that we need to get the hostages out. American hostages and other hostages. And so i do hope that it will be delayed, what i hope it gives time for the people on the other side to get to places where they will be safer. That is my hope. Nick that is all the families of the missing can do, hope that their loved ones can somehow be saved. For the pbs newshour, im Nick Schifrin. Vanessa updating our top stories, the white house says the number of americans killed in the hamas attacks on israel is now 31. Police in brussels killed a tunisian man accused of gunning down two swedish soccer fans on monday. The man was shot dead after an hourslong manhunt. Prosecutors said he posted a video calling himself an Islamic State fighter and condemning quran burnings in sweden. Obviously, the link between the burning of quran and the nationality of the victims seems easy to make, but you need evidence, you need proof. It seems that in one of the communications he made, it was indicated that burning the quran was a red line that should not be crossed. But these elements have yet to be verified. Vanessa authority said the gunman was known by police that was being sought for deportation. There is no word on how he was able to obtain the gun he used in the at