we continue here at cnn, our coverage of israel at war. you re most welcome, wherever in the world you re joining us from. i m richard quest in abu dhabi. here the time is 1:00 p.m. it s a few hours earlier in gaza, 11:00. they re two hours behind in gaza. and idf helicopters have been seen flying along the israeli coastline. these are pictures from ashkelon earlier today. now, ashkelon is only 20 kilometers from gaza. it is there, of course, that the idf says hamas has been is holding 230 hostage. and it is there where israeli military says it s hit more than 450 targets in the last day. israel says it includes hamas command centers, observation posts, and missile launch sites. first, let me update you with events overnight. these are the pictures israel says it s been targeting hamas tunnels and underground spaces, continues to urge everyone to go further south. in gaza itself, the near-total communications blackout apparently is easing, hospitals resume to be overwhelm