states and all around the world. i m paula newton ahead right here on cnn newsroom hope francis is presiding over easter mass. at the vatican, where thousands have gathered for celebration. but in the middle east religious events this weekend are being marred by ongoing violence. we are alive in jerusalem and beirut for the latest, and we ll take a closer look. at that abortion drug that s at the center of two opposing court rulings in the united states. live from cnn center. this is cnn newsroom with paula neeson. but first it is easter sunday, the holiest day of the christian calendar. celebrating with the bible says was the resurrection of jesus. thousands of the faithful have converged on st peter s square for easter mass. currently underway. you see it there. francis is presiding over the service. now he did not walk in the traditional procession, but instead arrived in a wheelchair . you will soon deliver his traditional easter blessing. the 86 year old pontiff has been
hello i m abby phillip in washington. welcome to cnn newsroom we begin this hour in the middle east, where both violence and tensions are escalating. today israeli forces unleashed air strikes in southern lebanon and gaza and israel says it struck targets belonging to the palestinian militant group hamas. israel blames hamas for firing 34 rockets from lebanon yesterday and the latest barrage since the two countries were at war back in 20 in 2006. now that has raised fears of an escalating conflict across the region, and just overnight, we learned that israel has mobilized some of its military reserves. a short time ago, israel s defense minister ordered security bolstered across the country after two israeli women were shot to death in the west bank. israel has called it an act of terror. let s get straight to cnn s fred pleitgen, who is near the israeli gaza border, and scott mclean is in beirut, lebanon, for us as well. but let s start with you, fred. fred you did talk to t
86 year old pontiff has been recovering from bronchitis after being hospitalized last week. later in the show, we will head live to the vatican. for a report. now easter is also being observed in jerusalem today, along with passover and ramadan , but the ceremonies have been overshadowed by a recent surge in violence right across the region. just hours ago, israel carried out a new wave of attacks in syrian territory this time and it released this video . you see it there, which appears to show strikes on a syrian military compound radar systems. and artillery posts. israel says it launched the strikes after rockets were fired from syria towards israeli controlled territory. it s just the latest escalation of tension since israeli forces stormed the al aqsa mosque in jerusalem multiple times last week. we are covering all the angles of the story for you ve seen in selma adel s eases in jerusalem and scott mclean is in beirut. salma to you first. i mean, let us know what is happening at
States and all around the world. i m paula newton ahead right here on cnn newsroom hope francis is presiding over easter mass. at the vatican, where thousands have gathered for celebration. but in the middle east religious events this weekend are being marred by ongoing violence. we are alive in jerusalem and beirut for the latest, and we ll take a closer look. at that abortion drug that s at the center of two opposing court rulings in the united states. live from cnn center. this is cnn newsroom with paula neeson. but first it is easter sunday, the holiest day of the christian calendar. celebrating with the bible says was the resurrection of jesus. thousands of the faithful have converged on st peter s square for easter mass. currently underway. you see it there. francis is presiding over the service. now he did not walk in the traditional procession, but instead arrived in a wheelchair . you will soon deliver his traditional easter blessing. the
Channel has met with the leader of the palestinian militant group hamas to discuss what happened at the al aqsa mosque complex in jerusalem and the readiness of what they described as the resistance access to confront it. hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the barrage of rockets toward israel from lebanon, but they have also said precious little about it. in the meantime, the lebanese army now has the very complicated task of trying to prevent any potential new attacks. about an hour south of beirut. the yellow flags of israel s sworn enemy, the lebanese militant and political group hezbollah. is the first sign that the jewish state doesn t have many friends here. after the police raid on the l. aqsa mosque in jerusalem. outrage came in the form of almost three dozen rockets fired across the border from southern lebanon. palestinian refugee camps have for decades shelter tens of thousands of displaced people on friday, israel