let s hope they re both home soon. i m wolf blitzer in the situation room. erin burnett outfront starts right now. outfront next, house-to-house combat, the fighting in gaza s second largest city ramping up tonight and civilian casualties are mounting. and president biden revealing he wouldn t be running for reelection, except for one thing, this as voters open up about why they are giving desantis another look at trump. and george santos s second act, making new cameos, the price has gone up. that s the old supply, demand, and people are paying up. let s go outfront. and good evening, i m erin burnett. out front tonight, surrounded. israel says its forces have encircled gaza s second largest city. there s fierce fighting inside khan younis. that s where the civilian population has ballooned, as people are told to go from northern gaza south towards khan younis, and now reports of house-to-house battles, according to an israeli km commander, quote, we are in
arriving in north east scotland later. details throughout the programme. good morning. it s monday, the 20th of november. our main story. it s the start of a big week for the covid inquiry, which will hear evidence from the high profile doctors and scientists who helped to shape and explain the government s response to the pandemic. the former chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, whose diaries from that time accused boris johnson of chaotic leadership, will appear today, followed by professor sir chris whitty, jonathan van tam and damejenny harries over the coming days. our health reporter jim reed reports. patrick, over to you. thank you very much. numbers are increasing and they re increasing across europe and in the uk. sir patrick vallance was up there at the downing street podium in some of the darkest days of the pandemic. we re also recommending increased social distancing. that s the phrase that you hear. already the inquiry has heard extracts from his priv