later. thank you for joining us. i m kasie hunt. don t go anywhere. cnn this morning starts right now. good morning, everyone. glad you re with us. i m poppy harlow with phil mattingly in new york. the number of hostages believed to be in gaza has risen, 240. according to the israeli military. this comes as israeli soldiers and tanks push deeper into the gaza strip with prime minister benjamin netanyahu refusing to halt the ground and air assault on hamas. just as the united states would not agree to a cease fire after the bombing of pearl harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, israel will not agree cessation with hamas after the horrific attacks on october 7th. calls for a cease fire are calls for israel to surrender to hamas. hamas has released a hostage video of these three israeli women being held captive. one of them begs netanyahu to secure their release. netanyahu called the video cruel propaganda. troops have been battling terrorist cells armed with