w an opportunity to reach that and is there a plan as well as far as you know with government well first of all our movement the commanders for the uh security of israel we have a plan of disengagement in the west bank it's a gradual plan a committee implemented starting now um i think one of the problems within our decision making mechanisms is that there's no consensus in israel what is the plan okay we are very funny country we don't have agreed upon borders within israel i'm not talking about the international community but within israel there's still an argument what are our borders and before we settle our differences i think it would be very difficult even to negotiate to negotiate a big change nevertheless there is an opportunity now i think it should be exploited i think we should deal with the palestinian issue i hope the west bank will not blow up within these a few hours of days and i hope eventually out of this terrible mess and terrible massacre in the south we will be able to achieve a lasting peace in the middle east okay i want to hear what the best case scenario according to you looks like uh but first we have to turn to piaz takobach in the northern border on the northern border where piaz i understand that just about 15 minutes ago another missile or missiles were shot at israeli posts army posts right arielle we're talking about his bala firing anti tank missiles at least four as we know as of now for today we can occasionally hear the booms also of israeli artillery retaliating we also earlier saw helicopters striking the area very close to the lebanese border now here behind me you cannot see because it's behind this mountain range behind me is the israeli village of stula which was attacked by his bala barrages earlier at noon one person the first civilian casualty here up north confirmed to have been killed three others have been evacuated to hospital in narya we occasionally still hear the booms as i said here in this region now the israeli army after that incident closed off the area in proximity of less than four kilometers to the border the residents were advised to stay near to shelters now this area has been opened up again until a proximity of two kilometers away from the border this is where we are at right now we're about three kilometers away from the lebanese border this situation here in the north has been quite a volatile ariel the skirmishes between israel and his bala have increased only yesterday we saw 30 mortar shells being fired as an ad in israeli army post in the area of hard dove east from us as well one his bala operative was said to be killed there today his bala saying another of their members was killed in an israeli strike then an infiltration attempt in the wake of the firing of mortar shells yesterday another one yesterday morning that was both of them were apprehended by the israeli army yesterday morning three palestinians crossing into israeli territory under his bala orders the situation here tends residents here know that they have to be prepared public shelters are open but many of the areas here so far up north are already deserted as residents many of them have evacuated to other areas in israel now tell me about this evacuation process i know some of the districts regional councils as they're called in israel have guided or recommended that their citizens leave is this being done in an organized way by the government with buses with a ministry of transportation taking part or are people just leaving with their own cars fleeing something that could develop into a war zone well as of now we do not see any movement of fleeing also this could be dangerous now a mass amounts of people fleeing the the areas as i said people have gradually evacuated already throughout the week that does not seem to have been anything coordinated by the government the different regional councils recommending this but of course it is very hard to force citizens to leave their own home so also yesterday when we were in the village of shlomi two kilometers away from the border there were here and there are still residents who said that they simply did not want to leave and it is very hard also for the israeli army of course to really uh you cannot basically enforce this it's not feasible to force these residents to leave their homes they're appealing to them using their own reasoning to to evacuate to safer areas here what the regional councils are really actively doing is preparing the shelters to put mattresses and shelters we've just been to the city of naria a major city here in the northern area that we're saying we spoke to the municipality they were saying that they're stocking up food and water in those shelters of course keeping them open and just raising the awareness among the public because we're not only talking about possible strikes from the air we're also talking about possible further infiltration attempts we have seen that all over again this week we've also seen a few false alerts which really shows you how vigilant israeli forces are and they're appealing they're calling upon people to be the same to just be vigilant and very very aware of the very volatile situation here up north okay any word from hezbollah today they have taken responsibility for the shooting earlier at the stula where one person died a few others were injured any word from hezbollah basically what they have been saying today is that they still did not take revenge for a journalist on the lebanese side of rotors journalist that was killed two days ago they're attributing that strike on israel they're saying they have not taken revenge for that now but over the course of the past few days statements from hezbollah have been saying that they're very closely watching the developments here in israel at the gaza border that any further escalation could lead to them joining this war meetings between hezbollah leader hassan asrallah and the iranian foreign minister the same wording is there that they're watching the events closely and that any further israeli atrocities israeli escalation a possible the looming ground offensive in gaza could lead to them joining the frontier okay piers takabakh thank you we'll be back with you momentarily dr david shimoni first of all i do want to hear what you're the best case scenario that you think could come out of this for israel for the palestinians for gaza let's start with that and then i want to talk about the north just because we didn't finish that discussion well my best scenario would be the destruction of the hamas i totally agree with that with that and the hamas being replaced by the palestinian authority taking taking over taking power and managing things there especially civilian affairs welfare hospitals schools rebuilding the the gaza strip and the city of gaza i'm sure there'll be a lot of international support to that and a longer range of course i would like to see a separation between israelis israeli mostly jewish population and a palestinian population also in the west bank okay we'll talk about the northern front in a bit i now want to turn to europe where germany and france have banned pro-palestinian protests while in the uk yesterday a large protest in support of the palestinians took place after the one in new york now ali barrett joins us now live from london ali thanks for joining us first of all tell us about that demonstration in in london how many people attended what were you hearing there and what is the reaction from the authorities in london vis-a-vis berlin and paris that are forbidding such demonstrations at this time well the uk government position on this is very clear which is that they say that it is wrong for anyone to be supporting visibly hamas out on the streets of london or any other british town or city but that protests are allowed to go ahead which are in support of the palestinian people for example the metropolitan police have been making it very clear as well that they will facilitate any demonstrations and protests that take place lawfully but they and the government are stressing that anyone who does show support for a prescribed terrorist organization which hamas is in this country that that is potentially a criminal offense and that that would be something that would lead to the potential for arrest for example the protest we saw in london on saturday various different estimates about how many people attended the organizers were talking about believing that there were hundreds of thousands of people there i think that probably that is on the upside of estimates it's probably tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands but it certainly was a large protest and there were also demonstrations in support of the palestinian people in other british towns and cities as well so it is probably safe to say that in the uk as a whole on saturday there were hundreds of thousands of people attending those types of rallies now for the most part they were peaceful for the most part they passed off without incident that said there were around 15 arrests we think nationwide and as a result of various episodes that broke out at those rallies at those demonstrations as i say the uk police stressing that any kind of show of support for hamas would be a criminal offense and would be the kind of thing that would lead to police intervention but for people out on the streets in support of the palestinian people those demonstrations are being allowed to continue here in a way that as you suggest is not being allowed to go ahead in some other european countries tell me more about the reactions this sunday from the british government with regards to what israel experienced here of course last week and continues to experience with the constant barrages of rockets we just had one on televieve and her to lia romato show on north of televieve and with regards to israeli plans to infiltrate the gaza strip by land as well the british government is standing we know with the united states supporting israel fully how long do you think or how far would this support go whether it is in time or whether it is in terms of objectives that are achieved well we've been hearing a lot from the foreign secretary james cleverly today who has been speaking in a series of interviews and he has been reiterating that full support from the uk for israel of course we've also seen that military deployment from british authorities we've seen patrol surveillance aircraft or any beginning flights in the region we are seeing a naval deployment heading towards the eastern Mediterranean as well and we're told that that will be partly to show support for israel but partly also to potentially be involved in a humanitarian operation at some point james cleverly he's has been reiterating that the uk is fully in support of israel but he's also been pressed on humanitarian concerns and he has been saying that when he has conversations with his israeli counterparts that he always stresses the british position which is that there is full support for israel after the terrorist attacks of last weekend but that he says he continues to remind his israeli counterparts that the uk wants to see civilian casualties minimized as much as possible and that the uk position of course is that the international law should be respected as well and he says he's been stressing today james cleverly that that's exactly what israel itself has been saying that it wants to make sure that it respects international law in its response as well so the british position remains clear and is being reiterated by the foreign secretary james cleverly over and over again that idea of full support for israel but wanting to see civilian casualties minimized as much as possible and also wanting to try and ensure that this doesn't spill over into a more wide more broad regional conflict as a result of what took place in israel of course all the way you're mentioning is of course concerns on the on the governmental level and also reactions from government i don't want to ask you about what we're seeing on the street there's a rise in anti-semitic crimes across europe in the united states in the last week i've heard i'm hearing from friends who live in london they're saying never has the uk been so silent yeah that is a real issue for debate here in the uk i mean you could take for example sporting events and there's been a big row here about exactly how far for example the football association should go given that there is a match between england and italy due to take place at wembley stadium in on tuesday and as far as we know the israeli flag for example is not going to be beamed on to the wembley arch or the way or the exterior of wembley stadium in the in a way that we have seen for some other countries in the wake of other terrorist atrocities over recent years now this is the events in israel are going to be marked we understand that there will be a silence at that particular match but there is a an ongoing debate about why exactly the football association to pursue that particular example isn't going further than it is now when you mention anti-semitic incidents we've been hearing from jewish charities here in the uk that they've been seeing they think a fourfold spike in anti-semitic incidents till since the attacks by hamas of last weekend we've also seen the uk government pledging support for jewish communities up and down the country pledging extra funding as well to make sure that things like security can be beefed up at jewish schools and at synagogues as well here in london several jewish schools actually closed at the end of last week saying that it was a safety issue that they thought it was just much more easy for their pupils to not turn up to school towards the end of last week and and so there's real concern among jewish communities here in the uk about their safety and i think you're right as well that there is certainly a questioning of why there hasn't been potentially more visible support in some areas since those attacks took place ollie i want to ask about your colleagues our colleagues if i may the bbc it's a news organization owned by the state funded by the state considered to be one of the most prestigious in the world i highly respect this personally but it is one that refuses to call hamas terrorists this is as you mentioned a terror organization according to uk law how do you explain that well the bbc says that it's not its place to describe the organization in that way when it comes to the attacks of last weekend but you're quite right to say that it's hugely controversial indeed government minister after government minister in their interviews on the bbc and on other media outlets actually have been heavily criticizing the bbc for not going further with its language now the bbc will say this isn't about this particular group or this particular set of attacks in israel that this is just how its policy works when it comes to language and the description of individuals and groupings and organizations but it's very much a controversy here in the uk i mean we saw at the end of last week a message coming from the royal family in which hamas were described as terrorists and that led some critics of the bbc to say look if the royal family can use that description can use that word why can't the the public broadcaster here in this country as i say the bbc insisting that's just simply how its policy how its standards work when it comes to language but it's a huge issue for debate here in the uk and from the prime minister downwards cabinet ministers have been critical of the bbc in that regard very very strange i wish them all the best at the bbc and continuing excellent journalistic work i just doubt if they would have thought the same if it were their babies women children that were abducted slaughtered as innocent civilians just mesmerizing i have to say and and not understandable at all neither to me nor nor to many around the world and i hope that they do change their policy soon ollie barrett this has been fascinating thank you very much for joining us from monday okay yeah dr david shimoni back here to our reality we have just one minute left a word about hamas being a terrorist organization or not other than the bbc i think there is quite a consensus around the world now that hamas needs to be eradicated right not only that the arab world the last week rhetoric around the world is making hamas and isis as the same thing hamas being an extension of isis and uh yeah so i think the entire world is agreeing apart from the bbc in other words okay david shimoni you're staying with me we're going to take a short break now we're going to be right back with a lot more from all of the fronds in the south in the north and here in the center of the country state well is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity because we go subsea and we utilize the hydrostatic pressure the weight or the water above your head we're able to save energy i want to turn to it's huck live unknown he's the former israeli ambassador to the united nations in geneva and to egypt thank you very much uh for joining us thank you thank you good to see you can you try and help me and our viewers make sense of the egyptian policy around gaza in the last week um how do you interpret their complete closure of the fence not allowing gauzans to flee into cyanide although israel has said go a few days ago well ian if you would like to understand you know what is the egyptian position concerning what's going on in gaza you have to take into account several levels in the egyptian if we are talking about relocated palestinians from gaza into the cyanide territory i think that the president abel fatah sisi will refuse it categorically egypt fought the yom kippu war in order to restitute cyanide for egypt it is part and parcel of the egyptian territory and not to give it to the palestinians the other level possible is if we are talking about refugees egypt has received during the last 10 years more than 11 million refugees so one one and a half million palestinians refugees who are by definition temporary in cyanide egyptian might consider it under certain circumstances number four number three and i think this is the most feasible in my mind if the palestinians will leave north gaza toward the south and they will be on the border between gaza and egypt or the rapha crossing i think that the egyptian will consider to give some humanitarian help to these people but not to relocate in cyanide so it is a little bit complicated but i think in the mind of abel fatah sisi help the palestinians is okay relocated i don't think that he is ready for that now egypt has been circulating videos of trucks and trucks that are standing at the border in the rafa crossing wanting to enter the gaza strip that's according to egyptian sources and they're saying that israel is preventing that completely another thing that i would like you to try and help us understand assuming that this is indeed humanitarian assistance and not ammunition or anything of that sort look this is not the first time that the egyptians are closing opening re-closing reopening the rapha crossing they do it for their own interest or their interpretation what is the national security for them not for the palestinians and not for the israelis this time i think that the egyptians of the fatah sisi understand very well that israel has no choice after the atrocities and what happened i think that he understand and i think in deep in his heart he will not cry if israel will crash hamas but he has to take into account the palestinian issue quote and quote and this is why from time to time he will open the crossing and and and closing the crossing etc but one thing he understand very well without the consent of israel now he can do nothing so this is why he called he by the way he called for a meeting of his national security committee and they decided to call for a regional meeting between all the leaders in order to stop the fighting at the fatah sisi understand that at this moment israel cannot stop because stopping now means another round against hamas in a few while or in a few times but why is it understand this very well why isn't it's actually but now why isn't israel allowing egypt to enter the gaza strip with that humanitarian aid well this is the policy that nothing will go in or out in order that the population would put pressure on hamas and in order that hamas will go out from uh and the places where they are fighting israelis to put their arm down and that's it to leave to leave gaza so israel think that by closing everything not only from the egyptian side but from the israeli side including electricity including water you put pressure on hamas and this is something which have been tested to be very effective now gaza used to be the problem for egypt for many years before the 1967 war when it was reoccupied by israel from the egyptians one thing that startles me and perhaps you can shed some light as an egypt expert for so many years egypt has been putting gaza on siege just as much as israel has there is so much criticism around the world of course the arab world but also generally among human rights activists etc with regards to israeli occupation in gaza and then the siege of the israeli imposes on gaza there is a border there is this raffa crossing that we were talking about it's very hypocritical isn't it i mean there is an arab country bordering with gaza why isn't there and i'm sorry for being naive here but it's a question that i've been asking for for years and i i don't really understand there is a border why couldn't that border be open and provide a lifeline to the palestinians for years look uh to be i mean look don't make any any mistakes the the israeli has no struggles when it comes to its interest if the interest of israeli national security interest to close the crossing they will close in if even if the people inside gaza are starving if they have to shoot against the palestinians and they did it in a few years ago when they crossed the border without the permission of the egyptian army and they shoot some people egypt is working for its own interests this is exactly the way between gaza and egypt when the egyptian security forces they flattened two kilometers all houses were destroyed nobody opened his mouth and now there are there are not houses you know in this part of the border between gaza and egypt it's all flattened and egypt did not give even compensation or another place to leave to that people so when it comes to the security national security or interest in egypt the egypt will behave only according to that we're seeing earlier today hamas leaders meeting with iranian leaders in doha in qatar if anybody had doubt with regards to the connections between hamas and iran and the fact that iran sponsors hamas of course with those uh uh suitcases of of cash performerly now with credit cards uh shipped from uh qatar to to gaza here's another proof that they all work in collaboration with one another uh we're going now itzhak lebanon thank you for for staying with us we're going to briefing by the idf let's take a listen i'm not sure what we're seeing in the images is that an idf officer is speaking those ids are very powerful approximately six kilograms of tmp shape charged the idf is showcasing there to foreign press ammunition that was found in gaza uh or uh in uh israel also by terrorists let's listen in i think if the war will continue and our forces will work for people on the ground in the gaza street so we'll see about five times of what you can see here the idf spokesperson uh making sure was talking about we have to be careful with the strikes that we see in gaza and assuming it's the idf given what you have here sadly the the sound quality uh isn't uh great there but it would be interesting uh to see what the uh what's imprinted on some of these shells and and and how and and where they could be uh traced uh to uh dr david uh shimoni this meeting today that takes place between uh hamas and um iranian officials uh in uh doha i think israel uh perhaps was too vain to think that uh it's can consequent attacks on iranian soil would not yield such an operation uh backed by uh iran on israeli soil finally it happened i think for many years it will be investigated exactly uh what the israeli intelligence knew what it did not know uh what the israeli government knew and what it did not know um but but for now the picture is is is quite clear do you think we if israel uh um really goes ahead with entering gaza uh by land uh will we see a greater involvement of iran in this game i believe so first of all we know that uh the hamas and the gaza population cannot sustain without uh help from outside it's a closed uh system uh they don't have their own uh resources uh they're depending on uh international funding and uh now it's uh directed uh by uh doha via katar uh but there's a lot a lot of iranian interest in uh in in hamas there's a lot of iranian interest in khizbollah as well because one of the uh the the the ways that iran is trying to deter the idf from attacking iran is the understanding that they can activate uh rocket launching from gaza and from lebanon in case we do something in in iran so the picture is much much greater than just fighting the hamas and gaza of course so just explain to me why are we not seeing a greater involvement of uh khizbollah at this moment is this because of the american aircraft carrier the british aircraft carrier that are making their way to this area or that are in this area already each each uh party does its own calculations and uh for khizbollah uh i think they will act only on direct orders from iran because uh i don't think they would like to get involved now in a major war there'll be again we're talking about the idf spreading its efforts between the south and the north the idf can prevail both fronts at once we would try to avoid it i think if we can but the khizbollah knows that it will cost them dearly we're also talking about how each one of these parties are preparing for war and i think the khizbollah has not completed its preparations because they are trying to stockpile a precision guided weapons they still do not have enough to totally shut down the country of israel so for them the fact that on saturday morning last week the hamas invaded and slaughtered israelis is not necessarily a reason for either hamas either khizbollah or israel to start a war on the northern front thank you a fourth anti-tank missile fired into israel by khizbollah uh that's the latest that we're getting into our newsroom at the moment piastakelbach on the northern border right daryl skirmishes and firing between israel and khizbollah has continued for hours now and now latest news is that there is a security incident in the broader area of kirjat shmone four towns and villages where the residents were asked to remain in their shelters we're talking about the villages of manara yiftah embargo leoton ramot naftali if we don't have any information about what that security incident entails again residents are asked to stay in their shelters and roads to those localities are blocked off as of now now for hours we've been hearing a shelling between israel and his bala his bala no saying that this is part of retaliation for the killing of a journalist two days ago writer's journalist on the lebanese side of the border in a strike that his bala attributes to israel now these skirmishes have really increased recently tensions are high in the north israeli army blocking off roads occasionally also blocking off certain areas and then opening them up again only earlier we had that major incident in stula where missiles were fired killing one civilian three others were injured the area in the proximity of two kilometers to the border with lebanon has been closed off and is still closed off so that means that no civilians can enter that area as of now and those civilians who remained in that area are really asked to stay as close as possible to their shelters if not in their shelters aria thank you pia and me while i can update you and our viewers that the first cabinet meeting government meeting of the new emergency government that was founded in israel just two days ago took place it started with a moment of silence in respect of the victims of this attack by hamas or the 1300 in number and netanyahu says in that meeting we will dismantle hamas a message that we've already heard from the prime minister a message that the entire israeli establishment repeats time and again well there have been numerous more than numerous what am i saying there have been countless initiatives by people in israel to jump in where the government and the idf have been lacking either with providing support to families that have been evacuated from southern communities or northern communities by now or in replacing all sorts of government institutions that haven't been working we're hearing of equipment that some of the reserves units are missing and also some food that people are longing for at the front rosita panini the co-founder and ceo of the myriam institute joins us on that topic exactly thank you very much rosita for coming into our studio tell me about what you've been up to the last week thank you so much for having me so i woke up on sunday morning and i thought to myself after being glued to the tv the whole saturday because i experienced 2014 what happened then i knew that the soldiers will be in a great need for food because they are in several different fronts so i said to myself i have a good friend his name is nesha edry who owns a whole wedding hall i called him up and i said to him nesha no events are happening in the south what can i take over your kitchen and he said to me come over it's yours open it up do whatever you want and what i did was i wrote in few groups i need volunteers i cannot even start and begin to tell you what kind of response i got i got a response overwhelming i have what sort of people any kids elderly anyone that you can imagine young people before their service after their service anyone that like i have about 70 to 90 people every day we prepare about 1500 meals wow and we send it to the fronts at the in the south and in the north what sort of food do you make i mean you said the troops due to your experience you knew that the troops would be needing food is that because they are they don't have enough supplies of food or do you mean that they would need good food i think they need good food i think they need warm good food not just the sandwiches that they get or the manot crab that they get honestly i think that they all complain about the manot crab they all complain about the sandwich that after two hours they become soggy so what we do we do an individual packing of meat some carbs and some vegetables for them and we add to it some letters from kids i have moved my whole community here in televiv with the children and i asked to put letters because the the officers that are responsible for the units they tell me you know what the letters are much more important important because it really raises their spirit so we're doing that we're putting some our hearts and souls and what can cheer them up what amazing and it gets the children involved as well 100% 100% yeah now tell me about delivering these these fantastic dishes from what i hear that you're preparing how do you get to the soldiers especially in days like those so we also have volunteers that are drivers it's a whole group and a team of drivers that it's all online we speak to them we you put the direction that you want the food to move to and they apply to what they could do i have some gentlemen's who are joining us with making the food who are willing to take the food to the soldiers sometimes the officers will get to us but most of the time we maneuver the food to them and have you received any special requests by now oh my god i was up until 12 30 last night because shabbat ended just getting on my phone please can you send 50 meals here 150 there this morning i got a 750 and i i i have to say i can't say no because i know that every request that we get is definitely something and somewhere and they understand that they need it there now who is financing this rosita so my organization i i have a non-for-profit we i co-founded with the benjamin anthony and a non-for-profit organization i've been i lived in the u.s for the last 38 years i have a non-for-profit that's called the miriam institute i work with the state department i bring officers and cadets to poland and to israel to learn about what israel is all about and i have donors my donors who are in the united state fantastic causes but very far away from cooking 100 but they understand the needs we express to them but that's not the only thing that we do we are going to supply the soldiers with many other items nothing that they need to fight with yes not like the vests and the helmets that you hear that nobody can get but you know like knee pads and maybe they would need some some other things that they really essentials for them so i have some great people in the u.s who are willing to donate i've been having things that are already being shipped to us over here like simple socks underwear that they they have no time to wash their stuff we need to provide them with anything that's possible that will make them like first aid kit that the soldier can have on him just in case you mentioned vests for example and i want to bring in dr. david shimone as well into the discussion and ask both of you we have seen israel cope with a disaster that is the worst that it's experienced since the foundation of the state 75 years ago 1300 dead in one day an infiltration of 1500 terrorists and yet israel has been through enough wars to learn lessons and we speak about how strong israeli military are is for deterrence etc and then on the other hand as you're saying well zeta all of us are getting messages from reserves personnel we're saying we don't have vests we don't have helmets we don't have how does israel come to a situation where one of the strongest armies in the world is so badly equipped and unprepared i wouldn't say the army is badly equipped i think everybody has everything and everything they need within the timetable that it is needed we have to take into account as far as we know over 360 000 troops reserve troops were called to service within 48 hours it's a huge logistic challenge and nobody expected over 100 of the soldiers to appear because as you know in the last months politicians were badmouthing the idf its commanders soldiers were protesting reservists were protesting and i think what we see now together with this very exciting initiative by rosita and your team shows that the people of israel support and it's more a matter of wanting to help to be available to provide to the soldiers i don't think that there is one israeli combat soldier who is intended to go into war who is not very very well equipped and supplied so i would like to strengthen the point of reservists 360 000 at 48 hours it's a lot we have never had that before you know i remember in 2014 we took 100 000 reservists and even then we had shortage so i think it's not a matter of preparing ourselves so much we didn't have time to even prepare ourselves and the other issue that i see is what's the capability within the country itself to have so much supply so we have to go out there but then you have to be approved by the state department and with everything that enters israel so that also creates an issue within the capability of supplying for the demand that is right now that needed so i think that's these are things that we definitely need to analyze for the future because our neighbors are here and hopefully yes we are the strongest in the neighborhood but we still need to understand how what are the things that surround in us that we need to strengthen ourselves with but before we we part i want to ask you dr. david shimone about the hostages situation there has been different sorts of discourse coming from both the politicians and the military the military has been saying that there is going to be no discussion with the terrorists of hamas with regards to the release of the hostages or any hostages exchange any prisoner exchange deal in exchange for the hostages until fighting is over on the other hand some we've heard other voices saying that we need to negotiate constantly are there according to your knowledge negotiations happening throughout this whole war or are the parties indeed waiting to the moment after first of all regarding the statements we are dancing a very delicate dance between credibility of announcements and deception and in the case of hostages i i believe deception is also a tool that is utilized i believe there are negotiations i don't think it's the government of israel negotiating with hamas but i'm sure that people all over the world are initiating contact and trying to first of all to obtain information and to secure the welfare of the hostages and provide them with medicine that they need and with information about their well-being but also trying to find the solutions to to release them okay dr. david shimoni rosita panini thank you very much both of you for coming into a studio today and thank you our viewers for watching our coverage here on i-24 news continues next so don't go anywhere this is the ninth day this rules war with hamas thanks for watching wherever you are in the world we hope that you're keeping well 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with hamas continues we bring you firsthand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by hamas follow us as israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside school on what's going on only on i-24 news and we need to get in the car as we're talking within 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity this breaking news edition i'm benita levine coming to you live from tel aviv it's day nine of the war between israel and hamas details of the planning ahead of the massive terror attack involving civilian massacres are emerging a plan more than a year in the making a plan that has seen more than 1300 people shot tortured and butchered at a music festival festival and at several kibbutz and moshavim in southern israel a plan that has seen hamas compared to isis and has drawn repeated calls for the terror group to be eliminated a plan that now sees at least 150 people being held hostage inside gaza that's according to israel's current assessment the hostages ranging in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man it's not only israelis impacted by this horrific attack those killed and those missing include nationals from 43 different countries in total 148 foreign nationals have been killed 143 are missing now the idf has since struck several hamas terror sites in the gaza strip including high-ranking hamas and palestinian islamic jihad members the idf has repeatedly warned gaza residents to leave the northern part of gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations the un says so far more than 423 000 palestinians have already left their homes several world leaders condemning the terrorist spree which started on saturday the 7th of october the united states showing its unwavering support with the visit of both secretary of state anthony blinkin and loyde austin the u.s defense secretary saying he knows isis and hamas is worse than isis on the ground in the north israel is striking hezbollah posts this hour after the terror group there claimed responsibility for another anti-tank guided missile attack on the lebanon border the fourth this morning hezbollah claims it targeted an israeli tank the idf confirming troops were targeted on the border adding that earlier one person was killed and three were wounded so for more details now we go live to our correspondent pierce dekelbach she is on the northern border so pierr idf targeting hezbollah sites in response to this anti-tank guided missile attack on the border therefore this morning we can hear the noise behind you what is the latest right now omita at least for anti-tank guided missiles will fire toward israel by hisballah within the past couple of hours and we've been time and time again hearing the booms in the israeli artillery striking back as of now the idf is striking hisballah targets in southern lebanon then early at noon the incident stula where the first civilian casualty was registered in the very very northern village of a bit more than 300 residents three injured there which have been evacuated to hospital now that first civilian casualty here at the northern border at a time where really tensions are very very high we're talking about an area where stula is located for example that is only a few hundred meters away from the border and the idf has now blocked off the area in a proximity of two kilometers to the lebanese border for civilian movement that means that the very few residents who remained in these localities are really advised to stay close to the shelters if not in their shelters but you do see that quite a lot of the towns and villages that are that close to the lebanese border have already been deserted have become ghost towns of course it is very difficult to really evacuate entire towns and villages as residents still then decide to remain in their homes but we've seen also throughout the last days that time and time again the israeli army has blocked off certain areas in the north there have been infiltration attempts yesterday evening his bala squad trying to infiltrate into israel has been apprehended before that 30 mortar shells were fired toward an army post yesterday morning another infiltration attempt through palestinians under his bala command trying to enter the area of margagliote in the eastern part of the israeli lebanese border also there now we have been receiving reports about a security and ongoing security incident there no more information about that as of now but in four israeli cities and villages in that area margagliote where yesterday morning the infiltration attempt happened residents are said or are called upon to stay in their shelters as of now and you really do feel that the area stands the area is very very volatile his bala has said that they are now retaliating for that journalist that was killed in southern lebanon the writer's journalist two days ago in what his bala says is an israeli strike so this is what we're seeing now is a retaliation in escalation with his bala is looming the question that is very very present here of course is if and when it will happen as of now we have been seeing that also municipalities are preparing their public shelters as not everyone of course especially in bigger cities such as naria for example we've been this morning not everyone there has a public has a private shelter in their homes some municipalities are making sure to open their public shelters and to also really equip them we're talking about mattresses we're talking about food and water reserves so residents are also prepared for a possible escalation but the situation has been tense really over the course of the past days sir berita thank you so much stay safe we will be coming back to our correspondent pierce tekelbach on the northern border between israel and lebanon news just in now israel's emergency unity government is holding its first meeting at this hour prime minister benjamin netanyahu opening that meeting with a moment of silence in honor of the israeli victims of the war and its fallen soldiers we work around the clock in teamwork with the united front the unity within us conveys a clear message to the people the enemy and the world i saw our wonderful warriors who are now on the front line they know that the entire nation is behind them they understand the magnitude of the task they are ready to act at any moment to exterminate the bloody monsters that rose up against us hamas thought we would break up we will break up hamas and we're also hearing that benjamin netanyahu is going to be speaking shortly with the families of the hostages those are the people kidnapped and taken from israeli territory into gaza on saturday the 7th of october meanwhile the idf has repeatedly warned gaza residents to leave the northern part of gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations satellite photographs show hamas blocking gaza residents from heading south to the humanitarian corridor at the rougher crossing the un saying so far that more than 423 000 palestinians have already left their homes this palestinian civilian from gaza spoke to an idf officer on the phone let's take a listen i'm up and so for more we welcome to studio our correspondent guy israel and retired colonel amit asa former member of the israeli security agency thank you both so much for being here there is so much to unpack so many developments all at once guy i want to start with you developments as we heard from pier up north concerns obviously about what is unfolding inside the gaza strip right now bring us up to speed across the region yes so obviously over the past several days hezbollah continues to attempt to inflame the situation on the northern border as well that threat of the anti-tank missiles is a serious one for the idea if it's pretty difficult to defend yourself from these very accurate cornet missiles and we know that earlier in the day there have been some at least injuries or some sort of casualties from these missiles and as you said that is the fourth just today the idea is hitting back is firing towards lebanese territory obviously that does not seem to deter hezbollah as it is continuing to inflame the situation there yeah i'm interrupting you because red alert sirens are sounding right now as we speak in nakhal oars those sirens indicating rocket fire coming towards nakhal oars once again yeah the rockets do not stop we saw just an hour ago rockets right here in tel aviv i was on the main highway on aya lon hundreds of cars had a having to pull off on the side of the road seeking shelter obviously impacting millions of israeli civilians living in the air of tel aviv in the greater area a daily occurrence at this point for sure and look israel has at least the idea doesn't expect to stop all the rocket capabilities of hamas so quickly that would inquire that ground offensive that the idea is preparing for and until then we're seeing serious strikes of the israeli air force on gaza mainly on northern gaza where the residents have been asked to evacuate and it will take that ground offensive in order to destroy all of hamas's military capabilities that is impossible to do just from the air amit i want to bring you in on exactly this the situation unfolding across several fronts at this point your take on where things stand right now it is day nine of the war and for some it sounds like it's just getting started particularly up north your assessment um what i see now and we all know that above all the iranian are controlling everything uh and this is part of their plan as we know khizballah is connected to the iranian because of the shia and they are also soldiers of iranian so if we are taking the wide view about all this conflict somebody is it control it from the up down is khizballah and hamas they are all soldiers of the same main idea of destroying israel as we're speaking more sirens are sounding again in some of the southern communities right now the border communities in the south of israel near the gaza border again indicating that rockets are being sent right now towards israeli communities most of which let me add have been evacuated your assessment of the weapons capabilities coming out of gaza right now it's day nine and there's still rockets is it likely there are many many more your take yeah i think that uh they will not stop until we will hit them in the ground because they know they know that we will hit them from the air and they are building shelters for years now we gave them the the ability to do it we gave them the time to do it we gave them the money that gets in to the to build all these shelters and they know how to hide it so what i estimate is that we will see rockets until we will get them inside the ground very deep and i estimate that uh it will be very very deep and to get this kind of a job you have to go out in so share with us your expertise on what that ground invasion could look like and what it means because if and when it happens and it looks increasingly likely that it will happen that is a red line for Hezbollah so yes as you're saying israel needs to respond and stop this rocket fire and all other plans emanating out of the strip right now but it comes with serious risks your take on how that's going to look yeah of course what i'm going to say just my private point of view and Hezbollah is waiting just because they want the world to see that they are waiting actually they are not waiting they know the plan from the beginning they know that we will get in together and they know the sign for them to attack from the north so i expect them to do it any minute and any day now they will not wait for us what i can say about it that we have to strike them before we have to strike them as we needed to to do a strike on the Hamas in the Gaza before they attacked us when you attack before they will have the surprise and you will not be in the place that we are now and talking about that surprise details are emerging around the scale of the planning ahead of the 7th of October and it is extensive it includes several training camps right near the border under Israel's nose how is it possible that this was not detected it was going on for months and months right across the border it's a big question the big question just somebody will have to answer it after the war now we have to concentrate on fighting but after the war somebody will have to put his hand on the table and to say i needed to know and i didn't certainly many many questions that need to be answered thank you so much stay with us we've got more to discuss but right now let's go to our correspondent Mary McAuliffe she joins us from Ashkelon she's at the Barasi Lai hospital so we know Mary that sirens have been sounding and Nakhal Oz just a short while ago are the parts of the southern border communities what update can you share from Ashkelon specifically hi good afternoon Benita yeah so here in Ashkelon it's actually been a bit of reprieve for residents who are living in the city of course they've faced incessant rocket barrages ever since this began over a week ago but we haven't had any sirens in this city overnight the last one was 9 p.m last night so again as i said it's a bit of a rest for these residents who have been continuously mostly staying in their home as yesterday they saw rockets after rockets yesterday evening as they continue to try and pound targets and cities inside israeli cities many of the residents here are really not leaving their homes nothing is really open in the city as it continues to be the situation and as they continue to remain in high alert mode and mary i understand that there are so many patients they're still waiting to be treated give us an idea as well in terms of the plans in place if sirens do in fact go off again near Ashkelon what it means for the patients inside the hospital and what it means for the medical staff the nurses the doctors who are working there as well when sirens sound off what kind of plan is in place there absolutely benita so luckily for those patients and for those hospital workers who are here and have been working really around the clock to treat patient patients that have been coming in from the south ever since this did begin last saturday they've seen a steady stream the stream of those they take in and has luckily gone down a little bit in recent days as many of the residents here in this area have left and we haven't had really really serious rocket impacts in the city in the past couple of days but the good news for them is that this entire area this entire complex that you see behind me is a fortified shelter so all the patients inside the healthcare workers they can continue working when there are rocket alert sirens you can see all these people here behind me if sirens do go off everybody simply flees inside for the 15 or so minutes that you are supposed to stay inside after a rocket siren alert goes off so that is at least the good news that they can continue working that the residents here in this area can be safe but we are also seeing an outpouring of residents here at the hospital simply people who live in the city who have come to bring food and coffee and just provide supplies and support to both the patients who are here at the hospital but as well as the staff workers and all of the medical teams that are working really around the clock to treat those who have been injured in the past week so many initiatives around the country people banding together making food organizing parcels trying to help communities in need thank you so much for now i'll correspond to Mary McAuliffe from Barasi lie hospital in Ashkelon thank you Mary now earlier today the foreign ministers of israel and france meeting with some of the many bereaved families from those southern communities we've just been talking about let's take a listen to one of the residents who lost her son and her husband in the Hamas terror onslaught how did i find out that my son was murdered i received a video on whatsapp is it even possible this is how i should find out that my son was murdered i need to see a video of my son being shot in the head tell me how we got here i'm not looking for someone to blame i'm not a hero i'm a bereaved mother who lost a husband a fireman who saved his sons he jumped on a grenade shot three terrorists and eliminated them gil has been preparing for this his whole life we're not heroes we've been saying for years in itiva asarada we are hanging on a thread near the gaza border and we ask for help not only in terms of businesses and agriculture which are collapsing we're asking for help and protection like all other citizens in the country unimaginable situation for families they're still waiting for answers now on the diplomatic front saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman has met with u.s secretary of state anthony blinkin during which he voiced support for gaza and the palestinian people adding that the kingdom seeks to intensify communication and work to calm the situation and stop the escalation in gaza blinkin on the other hand highlighting the united states unwavering focus on stopping terrorist attacks by hamas securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading he called their meeting very productive and israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the u.n danita nun took several ambassadors on a tour to the southern city of starotte earlier when sirens sounded he was joined by ambassadors from the check republic south sudan kosovo and albania and they got to see firsthand what it means for people to run to shelters now for more senior correspondent oan ultiman joins me in studio and retired colonel amit asa is still here as well so much to discuss but i want to start with that hot wrenching message from a woman in israel who had to see on video details about what happened to his son and her husband the agonizing wait for clarity it just serves to speak all this time later nine days in how many people are still waiting for word and clarity on exactly what happened certainly the country is still grieving and still is sitting with this terribly unimaginable situation such a heavy heart oan so much agony so much grief so many pictures so many conversations so many interviews extensively covered not only in israel's media this time but around the world given the enormity of the in the depth of the tragedy benita there's also political story here too you know she's speaking to a minister and there is consistent there's been constant criticism and growing criticism in israel that the government has not done enough to meet with the families to to go to the area near the gaza strip to those border communities to really immerse themselves in the situation and be seen there and be seen there and to really mobilize for the response to the humanitarian response on the israeli side for the civil response on the israeli side in terms of setting up government agencies to really care for these families and for the traumatized people the way they should be obviously the government starts in a big big big hole right given the intelligence and operational failures by every account right at the first day of the war but even beyond that and what's happened since they had the government has not really failed in large parts of the public to win back the public's trust through what it's doing in the civil in the civil response the military response the army i think has gradually won back more public trust there is i think a cautious sense of satisfaction with the military response so far but in terms of the response on the civil side right helping the families helping the communities a lot of ongoing frustration and no matter what happens in this war this government is going to on the other side have a real reckoning potentially with voters although of course the better the results from the war from the perspective of the public of course the better the political standing of the government will be but again this issue of being able to show empathy being out there meeting with the people we saw an example there benita but it hasn't been seen by the israeli public to be enough so i think watch for the government to ramp that up trying to respond to the criticism amid given your security background what is your take on the emergency unity government focusing right now on war focusing right now on the next plan of action do you have faith or you confidence that israelis will have that security that sense of stability back and it will happen soon your take obviously we see that security is inside it's not just war in the borders we see that everybody can be hurt inside israel it can be inside cities it can be inside settlements it's going to be inside villages and the the secure that the the public have to to feel is because you have measured everything to secure people inside of the of the country not just the border not just army not just getting into a war inside it's just giving them back the secure feeling is putting measures into security inside homes right now we're looking at live images on our screen the idf conducting it strikes in gaza these are live images on your screen right now the idf targeting hamas sites in gaza right now and amidst that raises another important issue and it's a crucial one the world is watching on how civilians are getting out of that scenario right now the rougher crossing at the border egypt is closed at right now and that certainly complicates issues if people can get there over and about that we have satellite photographs showing hamas trucks blockading stopping civilians from leaving and a phone call that we played a little bit earlier on in the show we heard a civilian saying they are being stopped from leaving what happens next look the hamas taking hostage not just israelis all the population in gaza are hostage by hamas hamas is the organization that deal with all the cruel things that we see not just against the israelis years over years they're taking hostage all their population so this population wants to be safe now and we can count on it we can say to them go out because we're going to track any one of them until they will be dead so get out we can't count on your safety anymore oh and we know anthony blinkin is busy with some serious shuttle diplomacy across the region and he's coming back tomorrow to israel break down the kind of discussions that he is having right now across this region well first start with the obvious leader this isn't the standard diplomatic visit right where you make an announcement you have an announced itinerary it's very stage managed and you go back home this seems to be a kind of improvisation right he came here first then he went to the gulf then he decided to go to it's Saudi Arabia now making an impromptu visit back here shows that the diplomacy is very very active and he seems to be carrying messages from one back to the other of course that the most recent stop in Saudi Arabia is the most intriguing right going back to riyadh to meet with muhammad bin salman of course muhammad bin salman is in an absolutely impossible position right a month ago coming out in favor of normalization with israel i think his interests on that haven't changed all the circumstances in the short term certainly have changed dramatically we certainly will be watching to see what comes out of all the meetings as they happen oh and ultiman i met us a retired colonel thank you both so much for being here for this edition of our breaking news coverage and that is where we end for now i'm venita davine until i be of our rolling coverage continues shortly stay tuned this is i-24 news breaking news edition 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with hamas continues we bring you first hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by hamas follow us as israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on i-24 news because we go subsea and we utilize the hydrostatic pressure the weight or the water above your head we're able to save energy news edition i'm venita davine coming to you live from tel aviv it's day nine of the war between israel and hamas details of the planning ahead of the massive terror attack involving civilian massacres are emerging a plan more than a year in the making a plan that has seen more than 1300 people shot tortured and butchered at a music festival festival and at several kibbutzim and moshavin in southern israel a plan that has seen hamas compared to isis and has drawn repeated calls for the terror group to be eliminated a plan that now sees at least 150 people being held hostage inside gaza that's according to israel's current assessment the hostages ranging in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man it's not only israelis impacted by this horrific attack those killed and those missing include nationals from 43 different countries in total 148 foreign nationals have been killed 143 are missing now the idf has since struck several hamas terror sites in the gaza strip including high ranking hamas and palestinian islamic jihad members the idf has repeatedly warned gaza residents to leave the northern part of gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations the un says so far more than 423 000 palestinians have already left their homes several world leaders condemning the terrorist spree which started on saturday the 7th of october the united states showing its unwavering support with the visit of both secretary of state and loyde austin the u.s. defense secretary saying he knows isis and hamas is worse than isis on the ground in the north israel is striking hezbollah posts this hour after the terror group there claimed responsibility for another anti-tank guided missile attack on the lebanon border the fourth this morning hezbollah claims that targeted an israeli tank the idf confirming troops were targeted on the border adding that earlier one person was killed and three were wounded so for more details now we go live to our correspondent pierce dekelbach she is on the northern border so pierr idf targeting hezbollah sites in response to this anti-tank guided missile attack on the border therefore this morning we can hear the noise behind you what is the latest right now omita at least four anti-tank guided missiles were fired toward israel by hisballah within the past couple of hours and we've been time and time again hearing the booms and the israeli artillery striking back as of now the idea of is striking hisballah targets in southern lebanon then early at noon the incident stula where the first civilian casualty was registered in the very very northern village of a bit more than 300 residents three injured there that which have been evacuated to hospital now that first civilian casualty here at the northern border at a time where really tensions are very very high we're talking about an area where stula is located for example that is only a few hundred meters away from the border and the idf has now blocked off the area in a proximity of two kilometers to the lebanese border for civilian movement that means that the very few residents who remained in these localities are really advised to stay close to the shelters if not in their shelters but you do see that quite a lot of the towns and villages that are that close to the lebanese border have already been deserted have become ghost towns of course it is very difficult to really evacuate entire towns and villages as residents still then decide to remain in their homes but we've seen also throughout the last days that time and time again the israeli army has blocked off certain areas in the north they have been in filtration attempts yesterday evening his bala squad trying to infiltrate into israel has been apprehended before that 30 mortar shells were fired toward an army post yesterday morning another infiltration attempt through palestinians under his bala command trying to enter the area of margalliot in the eastern part of the israeli lebanese border also there now we have been receiving reports about a security and ongoing security incident there no more information about that as of now but in four israeli cities and villages in that area margalliot where yesterday morning the infiltration attempt happened residents are said or are called upon to stay in their shelters as of now and you really do feel that the area stands the area is very very volatile his bala has said that they are now retaliating for that journalist that was killed in southern lebanon a rotors journalist two days ago in what his bala says is an israeli strike so this is what we're seeing now is a retaliation in escalation with his bala is looming the question that is very very present here of course is if and when it will happen as of now we have been seeing that also municipalities are preparing their public shelters as not everyone of course especially in bigger cities such as naria for example we've been this morning not everyone there has a public has a private shelter in their homes so municipalities are making sure to open their public shelters and to also really equip them we're talking about mattresses we're talking about food and water reserves so residents are also prepared for a possible escalation but the situation has been tense really over the course of the past days sir benita thank you so much stay safe we will be coming back to our correspondent pierce tekelbach on the northern border between israel and lebanon news just in now israel's emergency unity government is holding its first meeting at this hour prime minister benjamin netanyahu opening that meeting with a moment of silence in honor of the israeli victims of the war and its fallen soldiers we work around the clock in teamwork with the united front the unity within us conveys a clear message to the people the enemy and the world i saw our wonderful warriors who are now on the front line they know that the entire nation is behind them they understand the magnitude of the task they are ready to act at any moment to exterminate the bloody monsters that rose up against us hamas thought we would break up we will break up hamas and we're also hearing that benjamin netanyahu is going to be speaking shortly with the families of the hostages those are the people kidnapped and taken from israeli territory into gaza on saturday the 7th of october meanwhile the idf has repeatedly warned gaza residents to leave the northern part of gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations satellite photographs show hamas blocking gaza residents from heading south to the humanitarian corridor at the raffa crossing the un saying so far that more than 423 000 palestinians have already left their homes this palestinian civilian from gaza spoke to an idf officer on the phone let's take a listen i'm out and so for more we welcome to studio our correspondent guy israel and retired colonel amit asa former member of the israeli security agency thank you both so much for being here there is so much to unpack so many developments all at once guy i want to start with you developments as we heard from pier up north concerns obviously about what is unfolding inside the gaza strip right now bring us up to speed across the region yes so obviously over the past several days hezbollah continues to attempt to inflame the situation on the northern border as well that threat of the anti-tank missiles is a serious one for the idea if it's pretty difficult to defend yourself from these very accurate cornet missiles and we know that earlier in the day there have been some at least injuries or some sort of casualties from these missiles and as you said that is the fourth just today the idf is hitting back is firing towards lebanese territory obviously that does not seem to deter hezbollah as it is continuing to inflame the situation there yeah i'm interrupting you because red alert sirens are sounding right now as we speak in nacho or those sirens indicating rocket fire coming towards nacho or once again yeah the rockets do not stop we saw just an hour ago rockets right here in tel aviv i was on the main highway on aya lon hundreds of cars had having to pull off on the side of the road seeking shelter obviously impacting millions of israeli civilians living in the air of tel aviv in the greater area a daily occurrence at this point for sure and look israel has or at least the idf doesn't expect to stop all the rocket capabilities of hamas so quickly that would inquire that ground offensive that the idf is preparing for and until then we're seeing serious strikes of the israeli air force on gaza mainly on northern gaza where the residents have been asked to evacuate and it will take that ground offensive in order to destroy all of hamas's military capabilities that is impossible to do just from the air amit i want to bring you in on exactly this the situation unfolding across several fronts at this point your take on where things stand right now it is day nine of the war and for some it sounds like it's just getting started particularly up north your assessment um what i see now and we all know that above all the iranian are controlling everything uh and this is part of their plan as we know gizbala is connected to the iranian because of the shia and there are also soldiers of iranian so if we are taking the wide view about all this conflict somebody is it control it from the up down this gizbala and hamas there are all soldiers of the same main idea of destroying israel as we're speaking more sirens are sounding again in some of the southern communities right now the border communities in the south of israel near the gaza border again indicating that rockets are being sent right now towards israeli communities most of which let me add have been evacuated your assessment of the weapons capabilities coming out of gaza right now it's day nine and there's still rockets is it likely there are many many more your take yeah i think that uh they will not stop until we will hit them in the ground because they know they know that we will hit them from the air and they are building shelters for years now we gave them the the ability to do it we gave them the time to do it we gave them the money that gets in to the to build all these shelters and they know how to hide it so what i estimate is that we will see rockets until we will get them inside the ground very deep and i estimate that uh it will be very very deep and to get this kind of a job you have to go out so share with us your expertise on what that ground invasion could look like and what it means because if and when it happens and it looks increasingly likely that it will happen that is a red line for hezbollah so yes as you're saying israel needs to respond and stop this rocket fire and all other plans emanating out of the strip right now but it comes with serious risks your take on how that's going to look yeah of course what i'm going to say is just my private point of view and hezbollah is waiting just because they want the world to see that they are waiting actually they are not waiting they knows the plan from the beginning they know that we will get in together and they know the sign for them to attack from the north so i expect them to do it any minute and any day now they will not wait for us what i can say about it that we have to strike them before we have to strike them as we needed to to do a strike on the Hamas in the Gaza before they attacked us when you attack before they will have the surprise and you will not be in the place that we are now and talking about that surprise details are emerging around the scale of the planning ahead of the 7th of october and it is extensive includes several training camps right near the border under israel's nose how is it possible that this was not detected it was going on for months and months right across the border it's a big question the big question just somebody will have to answer it after the war now we have to concentrate on fighting but after the war somebody will have to put his hand on the table and just say i need it to know and i didn't certainly many many questions that need to be answered thank you so much stay with us we've got more to discuss but right now let's go to our correspondent Mary McCullough she joins us from Ashkelon she's at the barzi lie hospital so we know Mary that sirens have been sounding and nacho us just a short while ago other parts of the southern border communities what update can you share from ashkelon specifically hi good afternoon benita yes so here in ashkelon it's actually been a bit of reprieve for residents who are living in the city of course they space incessant rocket brogues ever since this began over a week ago but we haven't had any sirens in this city overnight the last one was 9 p.m last night so again as i said it's a bit of a rest for these residents who have been continuously mostly staying in their home as yesterday they saw rockets after rockets yesterday evening as they continue to try and pound targets and cities inside israeli cities many of the residents here are really not leaving their homes nothing is really open in the city as it continues to be the situation and as they continue to remain in high alert mode and mary i understand that there are so many patients they're still waiting to be treated give us an idea as well in terms of the plans in place if sirens do in fact go off again near ashkelon what it means for the patients inside the hospital and what it means for the medical staff the nurses the doctors who are working there as well when sirens sound off what kind of plan is in place there absolutely benita so luckily for those patients and for those hospital workers who are here and have been working really around the clock to treat patient patients that have been coming in from the south ever since this did begin last saturday they've seen a steady stream the stream of those they take in and has luckily gone down a little bit in recent days as many of the residents here in this area have left and we haven't had really really serious rocket impacts in the city in the past couple of days but the good news for them is that this entire area this entire complex that you see behind me is a fortified shelter so all the patients inside the healthcare workers they can continue working when there are rocket alert sirens you can see all these people here behind me if sirens do go off everybody simply flees inside for the 15 or so minutes that you are supposed to stay inside after a rocket siren alert goes off so that is at least the good news that they can continue working that the residents here in this area can be safe but we are also seeing an outpouring of residents here at the hospital simply people who live in the city who have come to bring food and coffee and just provide supplies and support to both the patients who are here at the hospital but as well as the staff workers and all of the medical teams that are working really around the clock to treat those who have been injured in the past week so many initiatives around the country people banding together making food organizing parcels trying to help communities in need thank you so much for now i'll correspond to Mary McAuliffe from Barasi lie hospital in Ashkelon thank you Mary now earlier today the foreign ministers of israel and france meeting with some of the many bereaved families from those southern communities we've just been talking about let's take a listen to one of the residents who lost her son and her husband in the Hamas terror onslaught how did i find out that my son was murdered i received a video on what's up is it even possible this is how i should find out that my son was murdered i need to see a video of my son being shot in the head tell me how we got here i'm not looking for someone to blame i'm not a hero i'm a bereaved mother who lost a husband a fireman who saved his sons he jumped on a grenade shot three terrorists and eliminated them gil has been preparing for this his whole life we're not heroes we've been saying for years in itiva aserada we are hanging on a thread near the Gaza border and we ask for help not only in terms of businesses and agriculture which are collapsing we're asking for help and protection like all other citizens in the country and an imaginable situation for families they're still waiting for answers now on the diplomatic front saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman has met with us secretary of state anthony blinkin during which he voiced support for Gaza and the palestinian people adding that the kingdom seeks to intensify communication and work to calm the situation and stop the escalation in Gaza blinkin on the other hand highlighting the united states unwavering focus on stopping terrorist attacks by Hamas securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading he called their meeting very productive and israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the u.n. Danny Denon took several ambassadors on a tour to the southern city of starot earlier when sirens sounded he was joined by ambassadors from the Czech Republic South Sudan Kosovo and Albania and they got to see firsthand what it means for people to run to shelters now for more senior correspondent Owen ultiman joins me in studio and retired colonel Amit Asar is still here as well so much to discuss but i want to start with that hot wrenching message from a woman in israel who had to see on video details about what happened to his son and her husband the agonizing wait for clarity it just serves to speak all this time later nine days in how many people are still waiting for word and clarity on exactly what happened certainly the country is still grieving and still is sitting with this terribly unimaginable situation such a heavy heart Owen so much agony so much grief so many pictures so many conversations so many interviews extensively covered not only in israel's media this time but around the world given the enormity of the in the depth of the tragedy benita is also political story here too you know she's speaking to a minister and there is consistent there's been constant criticism and growing criticism in israel that the government has not done enough to meet with the families to to to go to the area near the gaza strip to those border communities to really immerse themselves in the situation and be seen there and be seen there and to really mobilize for the response to the humanitarian response on the israeli side for the civil response on the israeli side in terms of setting up government agencies to really care for these families and for the traumatized people the way they should be obviously the government starts in a big big big hole right given the intelligence and operational failures by every account right at the first day of the war but even beyond that and what's happened since they had the government has not really failed in large parts of the public to win back the public's trust through what it's doing in the civil in the civil response the military response the army I think has gradually won back more public trust there is I think a cautious sense of satisfaction with the military response so far but in terms of the response on the civil side right helping the families helping the communities a lot of ongoing frustration and no matter what happens in this war this government is going to on the other side have a real reckoning potentially with voters although of course the better the results from the war from the perspective of public of course the better the political standing of the government will be but again this issue of being able to show empathy being out there meeting with the people we saw an example there Benita but it hasn't been seen by the Israeli public to be enough so I think watch for the government to ramp that up trying to respond to the criticism amid given your security background what is your take on the emergency unity government focusing right now on war focusing right now on the next plan of action do you have faith are you confident that Israelis will have that security that sense of stability back and it will happen soon your take obviously we see the security is inside it's not just war in the borders we see that everybody can be hurt inside Israel it can be inside cities it can be inside settlements it's going to be inside villages and the the secure that the the public have to to feel is because you have measured everything to secure people inside of the of the country not just a border not just army not just getting into a war inside it's just giving them back the secure feeling is putting measures into security inside homes right now we're looking at live images on our screen the IDF conducting it strikes in Gaza these are live images on your screen right now the IDF targeting Hamas sites in Gaza right now and amidst that raises another important issue and it's a crucial one the world is watching on how civilians are getting out of that scenario right now the rougher crossing at the border Egypt is closed at right now and that certainly complicates issues if people can get there over and above that we have satellite photographs showing Hamas trucks blockading stopping civilians from leaving and a phone call that we played a little bit earlier on in the show where we heard a civilian saying they are being stopped from leaving what happens next look the Hamas taking hostage not just Israelis all the population in Gaza are hostage by Hamas Hamas is the organization that deal with all the cruel things that we see not just against the Israelis years over years they're taking hostage all their population so this population wants to be safe now and we can count on it we can say to them go out because we're going to track any one of them until they will be dead so get out we can't count on your safety anymore Owen we know Anthony Blinken is busy with some serious shuttle diplomacy across the region and he's coming back tomorrow to Israel break down the kind of discussions that he is having right now across this region well first start with the obvious meter this isn't the standard diplomatic visit right where you make an announcement you have an announced itinerary it's very stage managed and you go back home this seems to be a kind of improvisation right he came here first then he went to the Gulf then he decided to go to Saudi Arabia now making an impromptu visit back here shows that the diplomacy is very very active and he seems to be carrying messages from one back to the other of course that the most recent stop in Saudi Arabia is the most intriguing right going back to Riyadh to meet with Muhammad bin Salman of course Muhammad bin Salman is in an absolutely impossible position right a month ago coming out in favor of normalization with Israel I think his interests on that haven't changed all the circumstances in the short term certainly have changed dramatically we certainly will be watching to see what comes out of all the meetings as they happen Owen Ultiman I met us a retired colonel thank you both so much for being here for this edition of our breaking news coverage and that is where we end for now I'm Benita Devine and Tel Aviv our rolling coverage continues shortly stay tuned this is i24 news breaking news edition it's officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity this particular project with a gross capacity of 103.5 megawatt will be producing around 230 gigawatt hour of clean renewable energy per year Tito reserve we have to write ingredients and we have to do the job and that if we have the right ingredients and we do the job that the Vakita can be protected in news edition I'm Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv it's day nine of the war between Israel and Hamas details of the planning ahead of the massive terror attack involving civilian massacres are emerging a plan more than a year in the making a plan that has seen more than 1,300 people shot tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several kibbutzim and moshavim in southern Israel a plan that has seen Hamas compared to Isis and has drawn repeated calls for the terror group to be eliminated a plan that now sees at least 150 people being held hostage inside Gaza that's according to Israel's current assessment the hostages ranging in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man it's not only Israelis impacted by this horrific attack those killed and those missing include nationals from 43 different countries in total 148 foreign nationals have been killed 143 are missing now the IDF has since struck several Hamas terror sites in the Gaza Strip including high ranking Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad members the IDF has also repeatedly warned Gaza residents to leave the northern part of Gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations the UN says so far more than 423,000 Palestinians have already left their homes several world leaders condemning the terrorist spree which started on saturday the 7th of october the united states showing its unwavering support with the visit of both secretary of state Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin the U.S defense secretary saying he knows Isis and Hamas is worse than Isis so for the latest developments we go live to our correspondent pia kloschendler he joins us from Storot in southern Israel so we know siren sounded earlier in some southern communities pia at the same time we're also hearing the red cross is demanding Hamas grant immediate access to hostages held in Gaza bring us up to speed on the latest developments down south well we've been scoring the area of the Gaza border and we've seen some deployment ground stages by armored vehicles that we cannot show to the media in order not to divulge their positions and also in order to keep the safety of the soldiers and of the media at the same time but we've seen some starts of ground stage deployments in the vicinity of the Gaza border we've seen also patrols of hammered jeeps manned by reservists that are scoring the area because there are still fears of infiltrations this morning just near Sderot in Kibbutz near Arm there was an infiltration by two terrorists one was killed we don't know about the fate of the other one but these are terrorists it's not even an infiltration these are terrorists that are still here nine days after they infiltrated onto Israeli territory onto Israeli soiled during that slaughter on october 7th and now these are patrols that are on the Israeli soil and not on the fence between Israel and the Gaza border and that shows you the volatile situation and the fear that they are still terrorists in the area in the meantime Defense Minister you have gallant mate soldiers on the security border between Israel and the Gaza Strip and he spoke about a war between the man of darkness versus the man of light and you imagine that the man of light are the Israelis and the man of darkness as the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad terrorists well we certainly hope for days where there is light across the region thank you for now correspondent Pierre Kloschendler joining us live from Sderot in southern Israel we will be coming back to pier in the coming hours now for a week the eyes of the world have been on southern Israel and the Gaza Strip but even the Gaza arena might ultimately prove a sideshow should the war expand to Lebanon, Syria or even Iran itself at this last hour Israel striking Hezbollah posts after the terror group claimed responsibility for another anti-tank guided missile attack on the Lebanon border the fifth time this morning and a short while ago Iran's foreign minister saying Iran cannot remain a spectator if what he calls the aggression against Gaza continues senior correspondent Owen Ultiman looks at the dilemma facing Iran to cut Hamas loose or to risk losing everything in Doha on Saturday he was all smiles Iranian foreign minister Jose Namer Abdullah greeting Hamas leader Ismail Hania in the capital of Qatar and in Beirut on Friday too he had been all smiles Amr Abdullah Yann happy with his work and playing coy with what comes next of course the resistance has kept on the table all possible scenarios on the other fronts the zero hour for any action against the crimes is also at the hands of the resistance the resistance of course is Hezbollah with Iran even at this hour separating itself formally from the group even as Hezbollah is widely recognized as Iran's proxy is Iran and its network facing Israel a top readiness and the United States set to be parked offshore with two aircraft carrier strike groups Iran and Hezbollah since day one of this war are finding themselves in a dilemma here is the dilemma if Iran is going to send Hezbollah to the war Iran is going to jeopardize not only the risk or downfall of Hamas in Gaza Street which seems to be like almost imminent imminent but also a massive strike to Hezbollah and indeed that dilemma Axios reported Iran passed Israel a message through the United Nations warning of Iran's direct entry into the war should the Israeli campaign in Gaza intensify the decisions in Tehran are fateful ones by design or by accident the clock for Iran is ticking to high noon and Israel hopes that for Iran's proxies from Gaza to Lebanon to Syria and beyond that the clock is ticking so for more insight we welcome to studio Israeli Palestinian relations expert colonel in the reserves Grisha Yakubovich former head of the civilian department of Kogat in the IDF and former ambassador Abhi Pazner the former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy and former world chairman of Karen Hayas so thank you gentlemen both of you for being here in studio nine days in Grisha I want to pick up with you on the report we just heard the concerns around Lebanon Syria and Iran pulling the strings breakdown what is unfolding right now from a security perspective across the region Hamas started the war and actually all the players entering all of them each one of them with their own dilemma so Hezbollah are in a dilemma if they will join the war if they will open a node in front the ones who will pay the price will be the people of Lebanon now the people of Lebanon understand that that if another chaos will happen in Lebanon like in 2006 they are going to pay the price for that so they need to wait and to see what will be the developments in the Gaza Strip or to wait and for an order from Iran their sponsor because they are an Iranian proxy simple as it is Syria they're also in a dilemma Assad is a let's say in captivity at the hands of Iran okay he's a doll he's a puppet on the stream and he's managed by Iran and there is a division that was moved from dear Azul to Kunetra the border in Syria with Lebanon and they are also waiting to an order to engage or not we just saw the beginning of that okay a watershed that was launched or a missile from Syria so is it another front we've been talking about a multi war arena it means Lebanon Syria Gaza or Gaza Lebanon Syria and Iran and there is a dilemma of Iran if they will also participate and it depends because I believe that the moment that they will understand that their front post is about to collapse Hamas it looks like they will do something to interfere because they don't want to lose their investment it's a huge investment and they are also in dilemma because then they will lose what they got from the west recently okay and people are talking differently to Iran no sanctions let's see what can we do maybe talk maybe nuclear abilities and other stuff and we have Russians back in all of that yes or no I think it will be checked and for Putin it's a celebration because the whole world is focused on what's happening between Israel and Hamas and Lebanon so he can do whatever he wants to do in Ukraine and as we've seen in Idlib a continuous bombing I'm going to stop you right now because we're going to pick up on that shortly right now we need to go to our correspondent Khamdes al-Hut joining us from the northern border I understand interceptions happening as we speak Khamdes what can you tell us Benita if you could see just in the distance there the iron dome active after red alerts were issued for communities just below the Lebanon border remember there is a closure anywhere that is four kilometers near the Lebanon border now the iron dome intercepting those missiles you can also see in the distance the Lebanese positions that the Israeli military has struck in retaliation for the fifth time today tit for tat exchanges of fire at the border the iron dome now activated intercepting those missiles while the Israeli military continues to strike Lebanese territory you can hear also booms and explosions in the distance that's the iron dome working let's discuss the possibility of Hezbollah entering this war yesterday the Iranian foreign minister arriving to Qatar is saying that there are no guarantees specifically if Israel enters a ground operation inside Gaza Hezbollah will get involved let's also remind our viewers of the arsenal Hezbollah has back in June they did a weapons showcase showcasing a lot of the different types of capabilities they now have of their new weaponry they are stronger than any branch of the Lebanese military they've got upwards of 150 to 200,000 rockets in their arsenal but what wasn't on display there were the larger more destructive ballistic missiles that no one really knows what they are like since 2006 the last time we really saw any sort of weaponry being used from them so the Israeli military on high alert as this conflict is now shifting to a multi-front war and we heard just a short while ago Iran's foreign minister saying that Iran cannot remain a spectator if what he calls the aggression against Gaza continues so break down the connection here we are waiting to hear confirmation if and when the IDF is going to open up its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip talk us through the lucky timelines what are you hearing from experts right now well look the Iranian foreign minister's statement yesterday in Doha was clear and I have it here on my screen quote if the attacks of the Zionist against the defenseless citizens and the people of Gaza continue no one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non expansion of the conflict remember these groups like Hezbollah are backed by Iran they are watching closely they are waiting to get involved in the conflict last week Palestinian factions operating in the south have been saying that they are eager to join the fight but they need the the go the green light from Hezbollah to really get involved they need their approval for any sort of rockets or weaponry that is going to be issued at the moment there are still fears of infiltration people crossing through the border today for a fifth time that exchange of fire in Israel the Israeli military Benidah remaining on high alert as the Iranians are now involved somehow in this conflict correspondent khamdesal hoot live from the northern border we will be coming back to you stay safe khamdes and now we go across to the south and our correspondent Mary McAuliffe joins us from Bari Zilai hospital in Ashkelon so sirens just moments ago in the north we know earlier there were sirens in some parts of the south give us an update what are you seeing and hearing from Bari Zilai hospital absolutely right Benidah so about an hour ago there were some sirens that ring out in border communities here in Ashkelon there haven't been any sirens since later in the evening last night but we did see a massive barrage at rockets that were fired at Ashkelon overnight luckily there were no injuries and nobody needed to be treatment from those rocket brogues many of the residents here in this area have gone and fled to safer parts of the country as they do continue to be pounded by this rocket fire continuously having to run into their shelters due to the constant rockets that are being fired from Gaza towards this area but as I said it has been a little bit of quiet for the residents here since yesterday evening but what we are seeing we just about an hour ago we also saw earlier today visitor visit from the french foreign minister who was here on the ground in Israel on a support and solidarity visit and he was here touring this hospital facility he met with the director of the hospital he saw the damage where a rocket hit this hospital just down the road in one of their other complexes earlier in the week and he was updated on the situation here got a security briefing and the situation with the soldiers who are still actively fighting the french foreign minister pledging that france can do everything it will be able to to try and assist with the rescue mission to try and bring back some of the hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip so this is just one of many different visits from some of israel's western allies who have come and have been on the ground here to express their support and to tell them that they are standing behind Israel in this difficult time and we are also hearing Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to be meeting with relatives of some of the people who are being held hostage still in Gaza and that should be happening in the coming hours for now thank you very much to our correspondent Mary McAuliffe live from Barzilay hospital in Ashkelon thanks Mary now turning to the diplomatic front Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which he voiced support for Gaza and the Palestinian people adding that the kingdom seeks to intensify communication and work to calm the situation and stop the escalation in Gaza Blinken on the other hand highlighting the United States unwavering focus on stopping terrorist attacks by Hamas securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading Blinken also calling their meeting very productive and Israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the UN Danny Denon took several ambassadors on a tour to the southern city of Storot when siren sounded he was joined by ambassadors from the Czech Republic South Sudan Kosovo and Albania who got a first-hand look at what happens when siren sound warning of incoming rocket fire so for more in studio still with me avi Pazner former Israeli ambassador to France and Italy and we're also joined by our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Altman thank you both for being here avi i want to start with you there is so much to discuss on the diplomatic front but i want to start with the fact that Anthony Blinken has been here he's left he's visited a range of regions very very quickly and he's back here tomorrow talk to us about the important message he needs to be getting across right now while we wait to see the next moves in the war on day nine thank you very much you know the very fact that Blinken was here went to Saudi Arabia it's coming back here but we are in the middle of a serious crisis a serious crisis and it's not enough to change messages Blinken comes here to tell us about what he found out in those Arab countries it's true that there is a lot of lip service support for the Palestinian Gaza I don't believe for one moment that Muhammad bin Salman really cares about Hamas but politically from an arabic point of view he cannot now continue his relation his effort to build a relationship with Israel he has to be in the arab can but why is Blinken coming back I think you hear we heard the escalation on the northern front there is clearly every day now more and more and more incident locally incidents for the time being but there is an escalation on the northern front and it seems more and more possible that his bala might go into into the war now also mrs corona the french foreign minister is here on her way to Lebanon she she's here solidarity visit it's okay but she goes away with a message to Lebanon and we see the Lebanese government responsible for what is going if it is going to happen from the side with all the consequences that this country which is by the way in a terrible economical situation there are two hours electricity in Beirut I mean they are there but if his bala really joins the fighting then the country must expect a big Israeli retaliation and it's true we're not speaking up we're not going to say yes we're going to do that and that and that and that but the very fact that we are silent and sending diplomatic messages they have to be very careful oh and people in this region closely watching the words out of the Saudi crown prince given that before the war it seemed that steps were definitely getting closer and closer and warmer to some kind of normalization what did you make of the message that was sent by Muhammad bin Salman right now I did it look that way but uh the Saudi crown prince said it in his own voice right every day we're getting closer to normalization that was just a month ago look he's in an impossible position as Abid just explained obviously has to have a certain kind of messaging for his own public and for publics around the Arab and Muslim world that said what was true in September is still true today and it's going to be true in November and it's going to be true next year the Saudi interest in terms of what Muhammad bin Salman wants to see is the vision for his country and his need to show and pay a costly signal to show how serious he is about that vision all of it points in the medium or long term for the normalization of my opinion to be back on in the short term it may be maybe complicated although you know I put out a thought experiment on Twitter I'm just going to see your reaction what if what if Muhammad bin Salman were there in that room with Anthony Blinken and say Mr. Secretary in exchange for Israel stopping the campaign in Gaza instant normalization I'll sign the piece of paper right now that's a big what if what result right and I meant it as a thought experiment and what was I in a sense I think trying to get at is that Saudi Arabia has a lot of leverage here this is a country that Israel want to listen to that Israel want to cooperate with that Israel might even be willing to make concessions with even given the stakes of this war even given the objectives that we as a public right and a military government want to achieve and even given what we faced this is one player that even given all of that even given all of that has real leverage maybe even second only to the United States so I think it's really worth watching not only what Muhammad bin Salman says right because what he says is important but maybe not fully reflective of his thinking but also what he does and to think out of the box about what he can offer and at what stage of the process he can offer it Oh and ultimate of your personal stay with us we've got more to discuss right now though I want to go to New York we welcome Natalie Sanandaji she survived that music festival the Nova party on Saturday and she is now back in the United States Natalie thank you so much for speaking to us I cannot imagine what you have been through in the past week and a day take us back if you will to Saturday morning the 7th of October you were at that music festival take us through your recollections we were at the festival thousands of young Israelis just coming to have a good time to dance at around 6 30 from my campsite at the festival I was one of the only Americans at around 6 30 one of the girls Israeli girls came up to me to tell me there have been some rockets that have been sent our way they wanted to keep me calm let me know that this happens sometimes this is something that is a reality for most Israeli kids this is something that they grow up with this is something that they're used to I don't think if there was a festival anywhere else in the world and suddenly rockets were being intercepted right over their heads that they would stay so calm and they would say oh it's okay it'll probably just be a few it's normal for the area that we're in this will be over soon that wouldn't that wouldn't happen anywhere else but these kids grew up with war as a reality nobody understood the severity of the situation when the rockets first started coming they thought that it would just be a few rockets and that's it right now you guys are actually showing a video of the bathrooms being shot at the festival the first time I saw this video was yesterday and this is something that hit me very hard because when the rockets first started coming and they shut off the music and the security of the festival asked us to please evacuate the premises and go to our cars I asked my friends I knew that we would have a long drive home at this point we thought it was just rockets and that we would all drive out of here safely I asked my friends you think I can just go to the bathroom for a second before this long drive and they said yeah go to the bathroom I was in those bathrooms maybe I don't know how long before the terrorists came and started shooting at them but I was there and seeing that made me realize how much my life was in danger and that I could have been in those bathrooms when they came and they started shooting we evacuated waited to our cars and the party security asked us to all please start going in a specific direction we were in a field you couldn't drive on most of this field and we're all trying to get down the same road the security eventually asks us to turn around and to go in the other direction at this point we started to get a little bit confused a little bit more worried the rockets kept coming and we had a feeling that there was something else coming that we were not informed of yet once we started going in the other direction the security started yelling at everyone to please get out of their cars and start running because the fact was that so many cars in such a confined space was making us an easy target we sat in our cars we didn't understand why they asked us to get out at first until we heard the first gunshots and that's when we realized that the terrorists were right next to us they had come on foot they had guns and we were thousands of children with nothing to protect ourselves as soon as we heard the gunshots we opened our doors and we just started to run everyone was running in different directions nobody knew what direction was safe nobody knew where they were coming from every decision we made on what direction to run in was a decision that either saved our lives or got us killed or got us kidnapped at a certain point I remember we were running and a bunch of kids that were at the festival were hiding in a ditch and we contemplated whether or not to hide in the ditch or keep running and then we heard more gunshots and we decided to run instead of instead of hiding in this ditch and later on one of my friends that was with me told me that the kids that hid in the ditch got shot and that they're no longer with us and that could have been us if we made one wrong decision we ran for about four hours unbelievable for the first two hours there was nobody around us to protect us most of the security that was at the festival was killed trying to help everyone go in the right direction after about two hours we did come across a police officer he didn't seem to have much information either all he had on him was a handgun and that wasn't even much to protect us with but he walked with us he walked by our side and we asked him if he's able to call anyone to send help to send back up but right away we heard that the the terrorist had taken over the nearby police station it had taken over their radio station and we heard them screaming on his walkie-talkie he couldn't even call for backup for anyone to come help us because if he said where we were they would have hurt us and he would have came for us what's going through your mind at this point what are you thinking at this point all I can think about is all the people that didn't make it out that weren't as lucky as me all the people that were killed all the people that were kidnapped and my biggest fear right now is that it's only going to get worse before it can get better and I fear for all of my friends and all of my family that's still there so many people that were at the festival that got lucky that survived the festival are now re-enlisting in the army and putting their lives at risk once again to protect their people to protect their country we're hearing that and we are blown away by the bravery of people who have survived this attack people like you who are prepared to speak out now and other people who are prepared to go back and fight we are learning more and more details every single day about exactly what emerged and the scale of what unfolded thank you for sharing your ordeal stay safe thank you thank you for having me israel is officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking within a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity in news edition i'm bonita levine coming to you live from tel aviv it's day nine of the war between israel and hamas details of the planning ahead of the massive terror attack involving civilian massacres are emerging a plan more than a year in the making a plan that has seen more than 1300 people shot tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several kibbutzim and moshavin in southern israel a plan that has seen hamas compared to isis and has drawn repeated calls for the terror group to be eliminated a plan that now sees at least 150 people being held hostage inside gaza that's according to israel's current assessment the hostages ranging in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man it's not only israelis impacted by this horrific attack those killed and those missing include nationals from 43 different countries in total 148 foreign nationals have been killed 143 are missing now the idf has since struck several hamas terror sites in the gaza strip including high ranking hamas and palestinian islamic jihad members the idf has also repeatedly warned gaza residents to leave the northern part of gaza and is so far holding off on its ground response giving more time for evacuations the un says so far more than 423 000 palestinians have already left their homes several world leaders condemning the terrorist spree which started on saturday the 7th of october the united states showing its unwavering support with the visit of both secretary of state antony blinkin and loyde austin the u.s defense secretary saying he knows isis and hamas is worse than isis so for the latest developments we go live to our correspondent pia kloschandler he joins us from starot in southern israel so we know siren sounded earlier in some southern communities pier at the same time we're also hearing the red cross is demanding hamas grant immediate access to hostages held in gaza bring us up to speed on the latest developments down south well we've been scoring the area of the gaza border and we've seen some deployment ground stages by armored vehicles that we cannot show to the media in order not to divulge their positions and also in order to to to keep the safety of the soldiers and of the media at the same time but we've seen some starts of ground stage deployments in the vicinity of the gaza border we've seen also patrols of hammer jeeps manned by reservists that are scoring the area because there are still fears of infiltrations this morning just near starot in kibbutz near ham there was an infiltration by two terrorists one was killed we don't know about the fate of the other one but these are terrorists it's not even an infiltration these are terrorists that are still here nine days after they infiltrated onto israeli territory onto israeli soil during that slaughter on october 7th and now these are patrols that are on the israeli soil and not on the fence between israel and the gaza border and that shows you the volatile situation and the fear that there are still terrorists in the area in the meantime defense minister you have gallant made soldiers on the security border between israel and the gaza strip and he spoke about a war between the man of darkness versus the man of light and you imagine that the man of light are the israelis and the man of darkness as the Hamas and palestinian islamic jihad terrorists well we certainly hope for days where there is light across the region thank you for now correspondent pia clausian led joining us live from starot in southern israel we will be coming back to pier in the coming hours now for a week the eyes of the world have been on southern israel and the gaza strip but even the gaza arena might ultimately prove a sideshow should the war expand to lebanon syria or even iran itself at this last hour israel's striking hezbollah posts after the terror group claimed responsibility for another anti-tank guided missile attack on the lebanon border the fifth time this morning and a short while ago iran's foreign minister saying iran cannot remain a spectator if what he calls the aggression against gaza continues senior correspondent owin ultiman looks at the dilemma facing iran to cut Hamas loose or to risk losing everything in doha on saturday he was all smiles iranian foreign minister jose and amir abdulayan greeting hamas leader ismail hania in the capital of katar and in beirut on friday too he had been all smiles amir abdulayan happy with his work and playing coy with what comes next of course the resistance has kept on the table all possible scenarios on the other fronts the zero hour for any action against the crimes is also at the hands of the resistance the resistance of course is hezbollah with iran even at this hour separating itself formally from the group even as hezbollah is widely recognized as iran's proxy as iran and its network face in israel at top readiness and the united states set to be parked offshore with two aircraft carrier strike groups iran and hezbollah since day one of this war are finding themselves in a dilemma here is the dilemma if iran is going to send hezbollah to the war iran is going to jeopardize not only the the risk or downfall of hamas in gaza street which seems to be like almost imminent imminent but also a massive strike to hezbollah and indeed that dilemma axios reported iran passed israel a message through the united nations warning of iran's direct entry into the war should the israeli campaign in gaza intensify the decisions in tehran are fateful ones by design or by accident the clock for iran is ticking to high noon and israel hopes that for iran's proxies from gaza to lebanon to syria and beyond that the clock is ticking too mid so for more insight we welcome to studio israeli palestinian relations expert colonel in the reserves krisha yaku bobech former head of the civilian department of kogat in the idf and former ambassador abhi pasner the former israeli ambassador to france and italy and former world chairman of karen hyersword thank you gentlemen both of you for being here in studio nine days in krisha i want to pick up with you on the report we just heard the concerns around lebanon syria and iran pulling the strings breakdown what is unfolding right now from a security perspective across the region hamas started the war and actually all the players entering all of them each one of them with their own dilemma so hezbollah are in a dilemma if they will join the war if they will open a node in front the ones who will pay the price will be the people of lebanon now the people of lebanon understand that that if another chaos will happen in lebanon like in 2006 they are going to pay the price for that so they need to wait and to see what will be the developments in the Gaza Strip or to wait and for an order from iran they're a sponsor because they are an iranian proxy simple as it is syria they also in a dilemma asad is a let's say in captivity at the hands of iran okay he's a doll he's a puppet on a stream and he's managed by iran and there is a division that was moved from dir azur to kunetra the border in syria with lebanon and they are also waiting to an order to engage or not we just saw the beginning of that okay a watershed that was launched or a missile from syria so is it another front we've been talking about a multi war arena it means lebanon syria gaza or gaza lebanon syria in iran and there is a dilemma of iran if they will also participate and it depends because i believe that the moment that they will understand that their front post is about to collapse khamas it looks like they will do something to interfere because they don't want to lose their investment it's a huge investment and they are also in dilemma because they and they will lose what they got from the west recently okay and people are talking differently to iran no sanctions let's see what can we do maybe talk maybe nuclear abilities and other stuff and we have russians backing all of that yes or no i think it will be checked and for putin it's a celebration because the whole world is focused on what's happening between israel and khamas and lebanon so he can do whatever he wants to do in the ukraine and as we've seen in idlib he continues bombing i'm going to stop you right now because we're going to pick up on that shortly right now we need to go to our correspondent khamdas al hut joining us from the northern border i understand interceptions happening as we speak khamda what can you tell us benita if you could see just in the distance there the iron dome active after red alerts were issued for communities uh just below the lebanon border remember there is a closure anywhere that is four kilometers near the lebanon border now the iron dome intercepting those missiles you can also see in the distance the lebanese positions that the israeli military has struck in retaliation for the fifth time today tit for tat exchanges of fire at the border the iron dome now activated intercepting those missiles while the israeli military continues to strike lebanese territory you can hear also booms and explosions in the distance that's the iron dome working let's discuss the possibility of hezbollah entering this war yesterday the iranian foreign minister arriving to qata to saying that there are no guarantees specifically if israel enters a ground operation inside gaza hezbollah will get involved let's also remind our viewers of the arsenal hezbollah has back in june they did a weapons showcase showcasing a lot of the different types of capabilities they now have of their new weaponry they are stronger than any branch of the lebanese military they've got upwards of 150 to 200 000 rockets in their arsenal but what wasn't on display there were the larger more destructive ballistic missiles that no one really knows what they are like since 2006 the last time we really saw any sort of weaponry being used from them so the israeli military on high alert as this conflict is now shifting to a multi-front war and we heard just a short while ago iran's foreign minister saying that iran cannot remain a spectator if what he calls the aggression against gaza continues so break down the connection here we are waiting to hear confirmation if and when the idf is going to open up its ground invasion of the gaza strip talk us through the lucky timelines what are you hearing from experts right now well look the iranian foreign minister's statement yesterday in doha was clear and i have it here on my screen quote if the attacks of the zinus against the defenseless citizens and the people of gaza continue no one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non expansion of the conflict remember these groups like hezbollah are backed by iran they are watching closely they are waiting to get involved in the conflict last week palestinian factions operating in the south have been saying that they are eager to join the fight but they need the the go the green light from hezbollah to really get involved they need their approval for any sort of rockets or weaponry that is going to be issued at the moment there are still fears of infiltration people crossing through the border today for a fifth the time that exchange of fire in israel the israeli military bonita remaining on high alert as the iranians are now involved somehow in this conflict correspondent khamdesal hoot live from the northern border we will be coming back to you stay safe khamdes and now we go across to the south and our correspondent mary macaul of joins us from hospital in ashkelon so sirens just moments ago in the north we know earlier there was sirens in some parts of the south give us an update what are you seeing and hearing from baracy lie hospital absolutely right bonita so about an hour ago there were some sirens that ring out in border communities here in ashkelon there haven't been any sirens since later in the evening last night but we did see a massive barrage of rockets that were fired at ashkelon overnight luckily there were no injuries and nobody needed to be treatment from those rocket broads many of the residents here in this area have gone and fled to safer parts of the country as they do continue to be pounded by this rocket fire continuously having to run into their shelters due to the constant rockets that are being fired from gaza towards this area but as i said it has been a little bit of quiet for the residents here since yesterday evening but what we are seeing we've just about an hour ago we also saw earlier today visitor visit from the french foreign minister who was here on the ground in israel on a support and solidarity visit and he was here touring this hospital facility he met with the director of the hospital he saw the damage where a rocket hit this hospital just down the road in one of their other complexes earlier in the week and he was updated on the situation here got a security briefing and a situation with the soldiers who are still actively fighting the french foreign minister pledging that france could do everything it will be able to to try and assist with the rescue mission to try and bring back some of the hostages who are being held in the gaza strip so this is just one of many different visits from some of israel's western allies who have come and have been on the ground here to express their support and to tell them that they are standing behind israel in this difficult time and we are also hearing benjamin netanyahu is likely to be meeting with relatives of some of the people who are being held hostage still in gaza and that should be happening in the coming hours for now thank you very much to our correspondent mary macaul of live from barzi lie hospital in ashkelon thanks mary now turning to the diplomatic front saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman has met with u.s. secretary of state anthony blinkin during which he voiced support for gaza and the palestinian people adding that the kingdom seeks to intensify communication and work to calm the situation and stop the escalation in gaza blinkin on the other hand highlighting the united states unwavering focus on stopping terrorist attacks by hamas securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading blinkin also calling their meeting very productive and israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the un danida nun took several ambassadors on a tour to the southern city of starot when siren sounded he was joined by ambassadors from the check republic south sudan kosovo and albania who got a first-hand look at what happens when siren sound warning of incoming rocket fire so for more in studio still with me avi puzner former israeli ambassador to france and italy and we're also joined by our senior diplomatic correspondent oan ultiman thank you both for being here avi i want to start with you there is so much discuss on the diplomatic front but i want to start with the fact that anthony blinkin has been here he's left he's visited a range of regions very very quickly and he's back here tomorrow talk to us about the important message he needs to be getting across right now while we wait to see the next moves in the war on day nine thank you very much you know the