Live in east jerusalem. The United Nations and the us have expressed concern about israels plans for a military operation in rafah. The city, at the south western edge of gaza, has seen the arrival of hundreds of thousands of palestinians taking refuge from the fighting elsewhere in the strip. The Israeli Military had previously urged civilians to go there but now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has approved plans for an assault on hamas militants believed to be based there. The un issued this warning. I think the consequences of a Ground Operation in rafah under the current circumstances would be catastrophic for the people of gaza, for the palestinians. It would be catastrophic for the humanitarian situation. It would be catastrophic or around. The us is one of israels most important supporters but it seems that the Israeli Government has not shared details of the planned assault on rafah with officials in washington. Heres Us National Security council spokesman, john kirb
Good morning, welcome to cnn this morning. Great to be with you. So glad youre here. Thank you for being here. Im amara walker. Thank you for waking up with us at 7 00 this morning. We do begin with some very tragic news and the devastation in hawaii. Officials now say at least 80 people are dead. That number is expected to rise. The search teams continue to comb through the destruction. Now hawaiis Attorney General is ordering a review of the states response. And today more republican president ial contenders get ready to make their case to voters at the Iowa State Fair. Well have the latest as the candidates kick their campaigns into high gear. Plus lays down the law to President Trump during a contentious hearing. Shes putting the former president on notice about any fu future inflammatory language or intimidation of witnesses. We begin with the grim news from hawaii, where those devastating wildfires have now claimed at least 80 lives. Officials warn the death toll will likely rise
it is january 18th. steve: almost the weekend. almost. fox news alert. u.s. forces striking houthi strikes overnight. that action coming afterthe terrorist groups hits a second cargo ship in the red sea. the pentagon insists the conflict in the middle east is not expanding beyond gaza. that does not make sense. lawrence: vice president kamala harris says she is scared of heck of donald trump taking back the white house. i guess she did not hear this from the ceo of j.p. morgan chase. this negative talk about maga is going to hurt biden s election campaign. brian: and rob rob gronkowski is tackling issues, including california push to ban kids flag football. final hour of fox and friends starts now. your mornings are better because you re with friends. get dressed. steve: what a pretty view of the atlantic off the jersey shore, that is seaside heights. it is 31 degrees. there are snow flurries. i see cloud cover. we see the sun in the distance warming thi