Joining us today on I-24 News, on the 48th day of the war, a short time ago a major rocket barrage from Hezbollah into Israel on the northern border, at least three dozen rockets fired. It appears deep into Israel near the area of spot where the IDF Northern Command is housed. No reports of injuries, but several houses appear to have been damaged in this attack. This comes after Hezbollah confirming this morning that the son of its chairman inside the Lebanese parliament was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. Let's go right now to I-24 News correspondent Nicole Tzedek, who joins us from the Israel-Lebanon border in the north, Nicole, a major rocket barrage. Any update perhaps on what prompted this, and if this is a sign that more barrages or an increased threat of violence is going to happen throughout the day? We certainly are seeing that increased threat because it's not even noon, or it is just now noon. And before, all throughout the morning hours, Hezbollah has already claimed responsibility for at least 10 attacks on Israel. Now to put that into perspective, just yesterday we saw a very, very heavy increase in some of these attacks from Hezbollah, and they claimed responsibility for 12 by about 7pm Israel time. So we are already on track to be surpassing that number, and it's still the mid-afternoon hours here in Israel. So with those 10 attacks, as you said, the IDF estimating about 50 rockets launched towards northern Israel and Hezbollah, backing that claim, stating that they sent 48 rockets towards the Israeli Northern Command headquarters in Spat or Safed in English. Now there are no reports of injuries, however, as you mentioned in a very northern town, there are reports of two damaged houses in the town of Minera, which is right on the Israel-Lebanon border. However, it is one of those evacuated towns. It's within the two kilometer buffer zone by the Lebanon border, so most of those residents have evacuated, and that's likely why we have not seen any injuries so far. But these tensions, these clashes that we're seeing, still in the morning to afternoon hours, it's just getting started, and we are seeing this increase. Now as to exactly what that increase and why it's happening now, that's still unknown. It could be in response to, as you said, the Israeli Air Force targeting the son of a senior Hezbollah lawmaker just yesterday, killing him along with four other Hezbollah members. The death toll of Hezbollah members has now reached at least 85 since October 7th. There's a number that continues to climb day by day, and it's also likely higher because that's the death toll that Hezbollah has confirmed. However, it could be higher considering all of this back and forth artillery and Israeli airstrikes that we continue to see day after day. Now this increased attack also comes as Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah met early this morning with his Iranian foreign minister to talk about the security situation not only here in Lebanon, but of course the developments that are happening in Gaza as far as the ceasefire and a truce potentially. We've heard from Iranian foreign minister stating that if this truce, if and when it does happen in southern Israel and in the Gaza Strip, if it does not continue and if it is only a brief momentary pause, a four day truce as we're hearing from these reports, that once the fighting does pick up, he says it's likely that there could be a regional war here as well. So implicating that Iranian proxies Hezbollah is going to continue to get involved on this northern border. All right, Nicol Tzedek with the update, perhaps in some scary days ahead. Thank you so much. Stay safe as you continue to report for us here in studio aerial Osiron, our Middle East correspondent. For weeks now there's been different metaphors usually around hot water. I mean, this is a low boil kind of conflict. It was a simmering conflict, but didn't exactly boil over between Israel and Hezbollah with this kind of attack deeper into Israel that we've seen a heavier salvo of rockets than we've seen since the war started. Your sense perhaps on our things starting to spiral is the water boiling over the pot to continue that metaphor. Look, Jeff, I've been saying since the start of Hezbollah's engagement in this war, which was already on day three or day two, actually. This is a war on Israel's northern border. Israel and Hezbollah are at war. Just the fighting is at a lower threshold than what we're used to seeing in a regular war. This is cross-border firing on a daily basis. We're already in the double digits on a daily basis, double-digit attacks. Every day gets more significant, more severe, 48 rockets. That's the most significant barrage of launches since the war began and basically since 2006 because prior to the war the biggest was 34 about a couple years ago. Israel's northern border with Lebanon has not seen this kind of fighting till this day for about 17 years. This is indeed significant. However, it is important to note that the vast majority of these attacks are limited to either idea of border outposts or border communities that have been largely evacuated. That's why we're not seeing such a large casualty rate, obviously. There have been civilians and soldiers killed, but this is much fewer than what could have been if there wasn't this precaution taken in advance. Now, what Nicole talked about, the elimination of the head of Hezbollah's faction in parliament, Mohammad Rad as the father, the son, Abbas Mohammad Rad. He was one of five killed in a targeted elimination in Beit Yehun. Now, Mohammad Rad's telling Hezbollah's El Monard TV last night saying, if I have anger, it is because he, my son, preceded me and martyred him and was smarter than me and faster than me. One, that's an example of who Israel's dealing with. But another, this just shows that they're willing to continue to engage Israel as the war progresses. Thank you, Ariel. Also, the attacks continue in the South Israel Hamas this morning firing rockets into Israel. And it's confirmed that no hostages will actually be released today. Israeli authorities, after confirming that a deal was done with Hamas, are now saying that there is no deal today. It will only go into effect possibly tomorrow. There's a flurry of contradictory reports about the reasons why. It still remains unclear exactly what went wrong and the hours between Netanyahu went on national television and announced a deal and then confirming later that it was being delayed. With us now is I-24 News senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Alderman in Tel Aviv for us. Owen has Israel holds its breath, hoping that this hostage deal will materialize. The war does go on, the IDF offensive continues. And also the push to maintain global support among world leaders is ongoing even today. Yeah, that's right, Jeff. I mean, part of that effort, of course, you see behind me, right the displays here at hostages, or it's become known, sadly, as hostages square in Tel Aviv near the city's main art museum, main municipal library. Across the street from Israel's military headquarters, you can see behind me the display, Jeff, of the children being held in the tunnels of Gaza. And of course, children are a major focus of the pending agreement to free hostages with children and mothers expected to be at the center of those 50 hostages who would, and I think the Israeli public hopes, will be released over the course of that four day truce. But you're right, it's not only about the displays, as important as they are here and around the world. It's also bringing world leaders to visit. And today in Israel, one of those visitors, the newly installed British foreign secretary, David Cameron, of course, a former British Prime Minister, brought back now, unexpectedly, as foreign secretary. In making a trip to Israel, one of his first visits, one can easily understand why, visited Kibbutz Baeri earlier on today, one of the sites of one of the most horrific of the October 7th massacres. And here's what foreign secretary David Cameron had to say after that trip. I wanted to come here myself to see the horrific nature of the attacks that you suffered on October the 7th, and they are absolutely horrific.  I've heard things and seen things that obviously I will never forget. And it's important we understand that. Today is also a day where we hope to see this humanitarian pause. I think that's important because it's an opportunity to get hostages out and to get aid in. And I hope and would urge everyone who's involved in that agreement to make sure that it happens. I think it is important. So, Jeff, again, another mark of how supportive the British government has been of Israel, of course, as we see on the streets of London, there are other currents in British public opinion, but the government, the government has been extremely supportive. And now David Cameron back as foreign secretary and as a member of that cabinet here to express that solidarity. I, by the way, was with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of David Cameron's successors in his visit to Kfar Azar. And we interviewed him there as well. Again, one of the many British visitors, both current and former officials who have been here. And it's obviously very important to have them come here as a kind of show of solidarity. Note also the way David Cameron sees this deal. And of course, he's not alone. From Israel's perspective, this is a painful deal where Israel's making concessions, freeing Palestinian prisoners, stopping the obvious military momentum on the ground in order to bring the hostages home or some of them home. But from the perspective of even a government that's supportive as the British government, there's also another part of this impact of this ceasefire or pause, which is again bringing aid to Ghazan civilians. Jeff, Israel might have needed to have a temporary pause anyway to help Joe Biden and short Israel support there and the British government as well. In this case, Israel would and maybe will be getting in exchange for giving what it would have had to give anyway in that pause, getting some hostages home. Oh, and thanks so much for that update for us. Joining me now is Professor Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the hostages and missing families forum. Thank you so much, Professor, for being with us. We will keep our fingers crossed. We will hope that hostages are able to return home obviously not today, perhaps hopefully tomorrow, dozens of women and children primarily. Can you tell me a little bit about what the process may be if this does materialize? If a soldier will meet them at the crossing, how and when do you go about the process of checking them medically? Where is that done? How do you escort them? Who escorts them? What may this look like? Hello, Jeff. As you can imagine, it's extremely complex. Look at it from the point of view of the hostages. Innocent people abducted from their home. Some of them have seen on October 7th, the family members murdered their homes burned. Now it has been more than six weeks. Now they come to them. We don't know exactly, you know, will they give them any update? And then I told you are taken, don't know. Maybe they're going to do something to them. And they are maybe moved to someone else from the Hamas, then to the Red Cross for a short while, then to the IDF physicians at the border. It's still a war zone, danger zone, then maybe by helicopters to an Israeli hospital, one of six hospitals. And there, you know, with many people want to help them, we need to keep it very quiet for them and, you know, to meet their needs. And then we hope short time in the hospital to do whatever they need to check. Some of them may be hospitalized. And then to move to the community, some of them don't have home to return to. We set three principles that we think are very important to be personal. It's tailor made. You cannot have one size fits all for everyone to be professional because we know from the literature, although this is a new thing that, you know, 10 months old baby is released, but we know something about what's going on with hostages that are released. So to be professional and to be patient, we cannot fix all the problems at once. The diet, the lack of exposure to light, the medical problems, some have untreated diabetes or hypertension or asthma and mental health issues. So we need to go slow and prioritize and see what they need to see with the family members, not all family members at once, the closest or the ones that they want to be next to them. I know that the Israeli hospitals have been preparing for this, but you cannot prepare for every scenario. We at the family form will be there, will be with the families and if needed, with the hostages, but I must say, as you opened with, there are so many others that will not be released now. Our heart and our soul is with them, will be with them because it's very challenging time for them when they see that other are released, they have hopes but they also have fears. So we will be with them and the support we get from all around the world and from here in Israel is very important for the families and for releasing all the hostages because they need to come back home now. Professor, how important is psychological treatment, emotional treatment for these children, for these parents who are going to be released? Talk to me about that element as well, beyond just the physical healing. Well, it's absolutely crucial obviously because we know that the body and soul are tightly connected and this is rehabilitation from a severe trauma. We don't know what they know about what happened in Israel, what happened to their beloved. They've seen very difficult scenes and maybe they didn't get the necessary support to digest it and to understand and they really need to become humans again. They did not have any control of the situation.  Some of them may do it more quickly, recovery and some slower. I met with some of the hostages that were released, amazing, very strong women. You'll have a leaf sheets and you did for a nun and I learned from some of their experience and we will have to pay close attention also to what they don't say. Maybe they don't say but they have thoughts, they have nightmares, maybe they fear from any human contact. You just shake hands or hug, instantly you want to hug them, maybe they don't want to be hugged. So you need to be sensitive to their psychological needs, to their social needs, to their physical needs and see how you get to them slowly with what they need and this is different for anyone, a big guy, three and half years old and that both parents were murdered. Who will be with her? Who was with her when she was in captivity? How we get to inside her world? You need to be extremely sensitive and I know that in the Israeli hospitals, the people that will take care, people that are treating with child abuse and they have a lot of experience in how to approach children but they also say we have never been in such uncharted water and we will have to see and I must say we will have to learn from the first patients that will be released for the others because then we will be more informed about the situation and as you ask their mental status. Professor Levine, thank you so much for being with us, walking us through the process that may unfold in the hours to come or days to come, great to have you. Fingers crossed, literally, thank you. And let's go now to Pierre Kloshendler for us on the Israel Gaza border for an update on the situation there, Pierre. Well, the same, you know, bounding presumed terror targets in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip, where there's no ground offensive as of yet and probably also consolidating and solidifying the Israeli army positions in advance of potential humanitarian truce posed in the fighting in exchange of the release of women and children held hostages by Hamas but at the same time, a focus of the Israeli military but at the same time, a focus on hospitals. The Indonesia hospital, which is just a few kilometers away behind me in Bed Hanun, has been uncircled already almost a week ago and tanks have been rolling in the vicinity of the hospital complex. And at the same time, according to media, Palestinian media affiliated to Hamas from Gaza, there is an ultimatum by the IDF for the hospital personnel and everybody else to evacuate the hospital. Move East joined the Salahadin Unilateral Humanitarian Corridor opened by the IDF since November 5th and in order to take over non-violently the hospital premises as part of their thrust into administrative and health complexes because those are hiding beneath them terror hubs by Hamas with an interlacing of tunnels with bunkers, weapon storages, weapons, et cetera, et cetera. So the thrust right now seems to be to try and take over that Indonesian hospital before any possibility of a humanitarian truce. At the same time, fortifying maybe Israeli positions, both defensively and aggressively. And at the same time, trying to hammer Hamas, not just militarily, but also publicly, such as what the IDF has been showing the world in Shifa Hospital with evidence of hostages being held after the October 7th massacre and Beniz the hospital. And at the same time also creating the conditions that there won't be any administrative power inside Gaza that is affiliated to Hamas because Hamas has permeated Palestinian society in Gaza to such an extent that every official basically is a nomination by Hamas. And hence, the director general of Shifa Hospital has been arrested while he was trying to use the humanitarian corridor. He was picked up by the IDF forces and by the Shin Bet, probably, and as well as three other doctors. So this is the thrust right now before maybe a humanitarian truce will start, but not before tomorrow. Tomorrow at the earliest. Yeah, thank you so much for that update. A busy day, of course. At the earliest. At the earliest, as the IDF continues. Thank you, Pierre. With me now in studio is Rabbi Ariel Constantine, the director of Habaytna, Tel Aviv. Also the rabbi at the Tel Aviv International Synagogue. Rabbi, thanks so much for being with us as we talk more about perhaps a pending hostage deal. Not a done deal, but perhaps one that is in the final stages of being worked on. So many of these hostages, dozens of them are children, young children, including babies and toddlers. Many of them have had family members murdered in front of their eyes, including parents. And there are some hostages that don't have family members to even advocate for them. Tell us where you and your organization are able to step in here. So Habaytna is an organization that really represents and helps Olim around the countries. We have communities throughout. And one of the advantages is that we speak the language and understand the needs of the Olim. And there's a family atrofalov that has no family here. They made Aliyah 20 years ago. They live in Kibbutz near Oz. But the father of a fellow named Sasha was murdered. He, his mother, Yelena, his grandmother, Irana, and his girlfriend, Sapir, are all held hostage in Gaza. And we want to be a voice for them. Most of the people who have been kidnapped. This is one family coming back. One family. One family, atrofalov is a family.  And they don't have a voice out there really promoting and advocating for them. Like so many of Israelis have family who are putting up signs and helping to support and advocate as much as we can. So we have adopted as an organization to advocate and be their family and be their voice to try to hopefully bring awareness. Most of our events open with a prayer for them, even a roll-up. And just to try to let them know somehow if they can hear us, we're there for them. And when they return, God willing, very soon, we'll be there to embrace them as well. Why is this important for you personally, Rabbi, to keep this advocacy for this family? As an ole, as if someone who made aliyah with and without family came here, along with my wife and children, and raised a family here. You know what it's like to be distant from other family and to build a life in a new country and a new home. And therefore, we want to give that support as much as we can in general to Aleem, in particular to those in such dire straits and to give them. And tell them though, we're there for them. We understand how hard it is to be alone and we can't even imagine what they're going through, but we want them to know they don't have just a community and we know they have a community there in Kibbutz, but they have a community beyond what they even realize of people who understand and are there for them. And that's important to us to give them that message. Do you know this family, the representatives personally? Do you have a personal connection or not? No, we don't. So I want to ask about that because so many Israelis, so many Jews around the world feel such a personal connection to people they've never met before. They cry, they pray, they mourn for children whose faces they've only seen in pictures. Don't know, never met before, but they feel such a longing for them. Why do you think that is in yourself included? I have to tell you what's happened since October 7th as the darkest of darkest of days have been put upon us. We've seen the most light ever, I think, in the modern history of the Jewish people. It's this incredible light within the darkness. And it happened on Shabbat pre-sheet where we read about God said, let there be light. And I said, we spoke that first Shabbat. Israel now says the people have to let there be light. We have come together as a people. We've realized we're a family and every single person is a member, extend the member of my family. And everybody feels that way, secular, religious, Kharedi, and everyone's doing what they can and advocating and helping and volunteering and donating. And it's just simply brought the people together. We were in a rough state before this from a national perspective. And this has simply coalesced our family to be wanting and to realize that we're brothers and sisters. And that sense of family has just sparked an incredible reaction, I think an unprecedented reaction amongst our people to bring everyone together. And I think it's very personal, every single person. As much as we don't know them personally, they're an extension of who we are. And the people of Israel have come together and brought so much light and try to banish all this darkness and support each other as best we can. The power of a picture that you can look into someone's eyes and you feel a connection as a Jew, as an Israeli, as someone who needs your help. Absolutely. Do you still have hope? I mean, the country went to bed last night, being told that there was a deal, hopeful that there was gonna be releases today, now maybe only tomorrow. It's disheartening news, but do you still have hope that they will be returned home safe? How do you maintain that hope amid the confusion? Look, every day we hope, every day we're trying to pray and try to hope and do what we can with our limited capacity to keep up the optimism. We believe that they will come home and I wanna put my faith in the army in the state of Israel that they will do everything we can and we as individuals do everything we can because every single life is a whole world unto itself.  Our organization, Abayta, we pray for Abayta, that they come home and become connected to our people and I believe we must maintain our whole anthem is Hatikva, the hope. And we've never given up hope throughout our 2,000 years of exile. We continue to have hope here in our homeland in the state of Israel that we should have peace and people can live a peaceful life in their homes and we can rid ourselves of evil and have peace with our neighbors and we want nothing more. All we want is that peace. Thank you so much, Rabbi, for bringing this family story and the importance of advocacy to us here on the channel. We've been showing images of these hostages. So many of them let us all hope and pray they come home very soon. Rabbi, thank you so much. Thank you. And we're going out for a break.  More news ahead. Stay with us here on I-24 News and thanks for watching. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely gunned down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front line but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. Otaque. News 24 en Español trae el análisis y la información de los acontecimientos de la guerra espadas de hierro. Entrevistas exclusivas reportes desde la zona de guerra. La reacción de los países hispanoparlantes. News 24, el único medio en Español que te mantiene informado y conectado con la comunidad latina en Israel. News 24, únicamente en I-24 News. Draw story to the world. Thanks for joining us today on I-24 News on the 48th day of the war. A short time ago, a major rocket barrage from Hezbollah into Israel on the northern border. At least three dozen rockets fired. It appears deep into Israel near the area of Spat where the IDF Northern Command is housed. No reports of injuries, but several houses appear to have been damaged in this attack. This comes after Hezbollah confirming this morning that the son of its chairman inside the Lebanese parliament was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. Let's go right now to I-24 News correspondent, Nicole Zedek, who joins us from the Israel-Lebanon border in the north, Nicole, a major rocket barrage. Any update perhaps on what prompted this and if this is a sign that more barrages or an increased threat of violence is gonna happen throughout the day? We certainly are seeing that increased threat because it's not even noon or it is just now noon and before all throughout the morning hours, Hezbollah has already claimed responsibility for at least 10 attacks on Israel. Now, to put that into perspective, just yesterday we saw a very, very heavy increase in some of these attacks from Hezbollah and they claimed responsibility for 12 by about 7 p.m. Israel time. So we are already on track to be surpassing that number and it's still the mid-afternoon hours here in Israel. So with those 10 attacks, as you said, the IDF estimating about 50 rockets launched towards northern Israel and Hezbollah, backing that claim, stating that they sent 48 rockets towards the Israeli Northern Command headquarters in Spott or Safed in English. Now, there are no reports of injuries, however, as you mentioned, in a very northern town, there are reports of two damaged houses in the town of Minera, which is right on the Israel-Lebanon border. However, it is one of those evacuated towns. It's within the two kilometer buffer zone by the Lebanon border, so most of those residents have evacuated and that's likely why we have not seen any injuries so far but these tensions, these clashes that we're seeing, still in the morning to afternoon hours, it's just getting started and we are seeing this increase. Now, as to exactly what that increase and why it's happening now, that's still unknown. It could be in response to, as you said, the Israeli Air Force targeting the son of a senior Hezbollah lawmaker just yesterday killing him along with four other Hezbollah members. The death toll of Hezbollah members has now reached at least 85 since October 7th. It's a number that continues to climb day by day and it's also likely higher because that's the death toll that Hezbollah has confirmed. However, it could be higher considering all of this back and forth artillery and Israeli air strikes that we continue to see day after day. Now this increased attack also comes as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah met early this morning with his Iranian foreign minister to talk about the security situation not only here in Lebanon but of course the developments that are happening in Gaza as far as the ceasefire and a truce potentially. We've heard from Iranian foreign minister stating that if this truce, if and when it does happen in southern Israel and in the Gaza Strip, if it does not continue and if it is only a brief momentary pause, a four day truce as we're hearing from these reports that once the fighting does pick up, he says it's likely that there could be a regional war here as well. So implicating that Iranian proxies Hezbollah is going to continue to get involved on this northern border. All right, Nicole Sinek with the update perhaps in some scary days ahead. Thank you so much. Stay safe as you continue to report for us here in the studio, Ariel Oseron, our Middle East correspondent. For weeks now there's been different metaphors usually around hot water. I mean, this is a low boil kind of conflict. It was a simmering conflict but it didn't exactly boil over between Israel and Hezbollah with this kind of attack deeper into Israel that we've seen a heavier salvo of rockets than we've seen since the war started. Your sense perhaps on our things starting to spiral is the water boiling over the pot to continue that metaphor. Look, Jeff, I've been saying since the start of Hezbollah's engagement in this war, which was already on day three or day two, actually. This is a war on Israel's northern border. Israel and Hezbollah are at war. Just the fighting is at a lower threshold than what we're used to seeing in a regular war. This is cross-border firing on a daily basis. We're already in the double digits on a daily basis. Double digit attacks every day gets more significant, more severe, 48 rockets. That's the most significant barrage of launches since the war began and basically since 2006 because prior to the war, the biggest was 34 about a couple of years ago. And so Israel's northern border with Lebanon has not seen this kind of fighting till this day for about 17 years. And so this is indeed significant. However, it is important to note that the vast majority of these attacks are limited to either idea of border outposts or border communities that have been largely evacuated. And so that's why we're not seeing such a large casualty rate, obviously. There have been civilians and soldiers killed, but this is much fewer than what could have been if there wasn't this precaution taken in advance. What Nicole talked about, the elimination of the head of Hezbollah's faction in parliament, Mohamed Rad is the father, the son, Abbas Mohamed Rad, he was one of five killed in a targeted elimination in Beit Yehun. Now, Mohamed Rad's telling Hezbollah's El-Monard TV last night saying, if I have anger, it is because he, my son, proceeded me and martyred him and was smarter than me and faster than me. One, that's an example of who Israel's dealing with, but another, this just shows that they're willing to continue to engage Israel as the war progresses. Thank you, Ariel. Also, the attacks continue in the South Israel Hamas this morning firing rockets into Israel, and it's confirmed that no hostages will actually be released today. Israeli authorities, after confirming that a deal was done with Hamas, are now saying that there is no deal today, that it will only go into effect possibly tomorrow. There's a flurry of contradictory reports about the reasons why. It still remains unclear exactly what went wrong and the hours between Netanyahu went to national television and announced a deal, and then confirming later that it was being delayed. With us now is I-24 News senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Alderman in Tel Aviv for us. Owen, as Israel holds its breath, hoping that this hostage deal will materialize, the war does go on, the IDF offensive continues, and also the push to maintain global support among world leaders is ongoing even today. Yeah, that's right, Jeff.  Right, the displays here at hostages, or it's become known, sadly, as hostages square in Tel Aviv near the city's main art museum, main municipal library. Across the street from Israel's military headquarters, you can see behind me the display, Jeff, of the children being held in the tunnels of Gaza, and, of course, children are a major focus of the pending agreement to free hostages with children and mothers expected to be at the center of those 50 hostages who would, and I think the Israeli public hopes will be released over the course of that four day truce. But you're right, it's not only about the displays, as important as they are here and around the world. It's also bringing world leaders to visit, and today in Israel, one of those visitors, the newly installed British foreign secretary, David Cameron, of course, a former British prime minister, brought back now, unexpectedly, as foreign secretary, in making a trip to Israel, one of his first visits, one can easily understand why, visited Kibbutz Baeri earlier on today, one of the sites of one of the most horrific of the October 7th massacres, and here's what foreign secretary David Cameron had to say after that trip. I wanted to come here myself to see the horrific nature of the attacks that you suffered on October the 7th, and they are absolutely horrific.  I've heard things and seen things that obviously I will never forget, and it's important we understand that. Today is also a day where we hope to see this humanitarian cause. I think that's important because it's an opportunity to get hostages out and to get aid in, and I hope and would urge everyone who's involved in that agreement to make sure that it happens. I think it is important. So, Jeff, again, another mark of how supportive the British government has been of Israel. Of course, as we see on the streets of London, there are other currents in British public opinion, but the government, the government has been extremely supportive, and now David Cameron back as foreign secretary and as a member of that cabinet here to express that solidarity. I, by the way, was with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of David Cameron's successors on his visit to Kfar Azar, and we interviewed him there as well. Again, one of the many British visitors, both current and former officials who have been here, and it's obviously very important to have them come here as a kind of show of solidarity. Note also the way David Cameron sees this deal, and of course he's not alone. From Israel's perspective, this is a painful deal where Israel's making concessions, freeing Palestinian prisoners, stopping the obvious military momentum on the ground in order to bring the hostages home, or some of them home. But from the perspective of even a government that's supportive as the British government, there's also another part of this impact, of this ceasefire or pause, which is, again, bringing aid to Ghazan civilians. Jeff, Israel might have needed to have a temporary pause anyway to help Joe Biden and short Israel support there and the British government as well. In this case, Israel would, and maybe will be getting in exchange for giving what it would have had to give anyway in that pause, getting some hostages home. Oh, and thanks so much for that update for us. Joining me now is Professor Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Thank you so much, Professor, for being with us. We will keep our fingers crossed. We will hope that hostages are able to return home, obviously not today, perhaps hopefully tomorrow, dozens of women and children primarily. Can you tell me a little bit about what the process may be if this does materialize? If a soldier will meet them at the crossing, how and when do you go about the process of checking them medically? Where is that done? How do you escort them? Who escorts them? What may this look like? Hello, Jeff. As you can imagine, it's extremely complex. Look at it from the point of view of the hostages. Innocent people abducted from their home. Some of them have seen, on October 7th, the family members murdered their homes burned. Now it has been more than six weeks. Now they come to them. We don't know exactly, you know, will they give them any update? And then they are told you are taken, don't know, maybe they're going to do something to them and they are maybe moved to someone else from the Hamas, then to the Red Cross for short while, then to the IDF physicians at the border. It's still a war zone, danger zone, then maybe by helicopters to an Israeli hospital, one of six hospitals. And there, you know, with many people want to help them, we need to keep it very quiet for them and to meet their needs. And then we hope short time in the hospital to do whatever they need to check. Some of them may be hospitalized and then to move to the community. Some of them don't have a home to return to. We set three principles that we think are very important to be personal. It's tailor made. You cannot have one size fits all for everyone to be professional. Because we know from the literature, although this is a new thing that, you know, 10 months old baby is released, but we know something about what's going on with hostages that are released. So to be professional and to be patient. We cannot fix all the problems at once. The diet, the lack of exposure to light, the medical problems, some have untreated diabetes or hypertension or asthma and mental health issues. So we need to go slow and prioritize and see what they need to see with the family members, not all family members at once, the closest or the ones that they want to be next to them. I know that the Israeli hospitals have been preparing for this, but you cannot prepare for every scenario. We at the family forum will be there, will be with the families, and if needed with the hostages, but I must say, as you opened with, there are so many others that will not be released now. Our heart and our soul is with them, will be with them because it's very challenging time for them when they see that other are released, they have hopes, but they also have fears. So we will be with them and the support we get from all around the world and from here in Israel is very important for the families and for releasing all the hostages because they need to come back home now. Professor, how important is psychological treatment, emotional treatment for these children, for these parents who are going to be released? Talk to me about that element as well, beyond just the physical healing. Well, it's absolutely crucial, obviously, because we know that the body and soul are tightly connected and this is rehabilitation from a severe trauma. You know, we don't know what they know about what happened in Israel, what happened to their beloved. They've seen very difficult scenes and maybe they didn't get the necessary support to digest it and to understand and they really need to become humans again. They did not have any control of the situation.  It depends. Some of them may do it more quickly, recovery and some slower. I met with some of the hostages that were released, amazing, very strong women. You'll have a leaf sheets and you did for a nun and I learned from some of their experience and we will have to pay close attention also to what they don't say. Maybe they don't say, but they have thoughts, they have nightmares, maybe they feel from any human contact, you know, you just shake hands or hug, instantly you want to hug them, maybe they don't want to be hugged. So you need to be sensitive to their psychological needs, to their social needs, to their physical needs and see how you get to them, you know, slowly with what they need. And this is different for anyone, you know, a bigile, three and a half years old that both her parents were murdered. Who will be with her? Who was with her when she was in captivity? How we get to inside her world? You need to be extremely sensitive and I know that in the Israeli hospitals, the people that will take care, people that are treating with child abuse and they have a lot of experience in how to approach children, but they also say we have never been in such uncharted water and we will have to see it and I must say, we will have to learn from the first patients that will be released for the others because then we will be more informed about the situation and as you ask their mental status. Professor Levine, thank you so much for being with us, walking us through the process that may unfold in the hours to come were days to come, great to have you. Pingers crossed, literally, thank you. And let's go now to Pierre Kloshendler for us on the Israel Gaza border for an update on the situation there, Pierre. Well, the same, you know, bounding presumed terror targets in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip, bounding presumed terror targets in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip where there's no ground offensive as of yet and probably also consolidating and solidifying the Israeli army positions in advance of potential humanitarian truce posed in the fighting in exchange of the release of women and children held hostages by Hamas, but at the same time, a focus on hospitals, the Indonesia hospital, which is just a few kilometers away behind me in Bed Hanun has been uncircled already almost a week ago. And tanks have been rolling in the vicinity of the hospital complex. And at the same time, according to media, Palestinian media affiliated to Hamas from Gaza, there is an ultimatum by the IDF for the hospital personnel and everybody else to evacuate the hospital. Move East joined the Salahadin Unilateral Humanitarian Corridor opened by the IDF since November 5th. And in order to take over non-violently the hospital premises as part of their thrust into administrative and health complexes because those are hiding beneath them terror hubs by Hamas with an interlacing of tunnels with bunkers, weapon storages, weapons, et cetera, et cetera. So the thrust right now seems to be to try and take over that Indonesian hospital before any possibility of humanitarian truce. At the same time, fortifying maybe Israeli positions both defensively and aggressively. And at the same time, trying to hammer Hamas not just militarily, but also publicly, such as what the IDF has been showing the world in Shifa Hospital with evidence of hostages being held after the October 7th massacre underneath the hospital. And at the same time also creating the conditions that there won't be any administrative power inside Gaza that is affiliated to Hamas because Hamas has permeated Palestinian society in Gaza to such an extent that every official basically is a nomination by Hamas and hence the Director General of Shifa Hospital has been arrested while he was trying to use the humanitarian corridor. It was picked up by the IDF forces and by the Shin Bet probably. And as well as three other doctors. So this is the thrust right now before maybe a humanitarian truce will start, but not before tomorrow. Tomorrow at the earliest. Pierre, thank you so much for that update. A busy day, of course. At the earliest. At the earliest as the IDF continues. Thank you, Pierre. With me now in studio is Rabbi Arielle Constantine, the Director of Habayta, Tel Aviv. Also the Rabbi at the Tel Aviv International Synagogue. Rabbi, thanks so much for being with us as we talk more about perhaps a pending hostage deal. Not a done deal, but perhaps one that is in the final stages of being worked on. So many of these hostages, dozens of them are children, young children, including babies and toddlers. Many of them have had family members murdered in front of their eyes, including parents. And there are some hostages that don't have family members to even advocate for them. Tell us where you and your organization are able to step in here. So Habayta is an organization that really represents and helps olim around the countries we have communities throughout. And one of the advantages is that we speak the language and understand the needs of the olim. And there's a family atrofalov that has no family here. They made aliyah 20 years ago. They lived in Kibbutz near Oz. But the father of a fellow named Sasha was murdered. He, his mother, Yelena, his grandmother, Irana, and his girlfriends, Sapir, are all held hostage in Gaza. And we want to be a voice for them. Most of the people who have been kidnapped. This is one family coming back. One family. One family, atrofalov is a family. And Sapir is a girlfriend who was kidnapped alongside the family, who's Israeli born. And they don't have a voice out there really promoting and advocating for them. Like so many of Israelis have family who are putting up signs and helping to support and advocate as much as we can. So we have adopted as an organization to advocate and be their family and be their voice to try to hopefully bring awareness. Most of our events open with a prayer for them. Even a roll up and just to try to let them know somehow if they can hear us, we're there for them. And when they return, God willing, very soon we'll be there to embrace them as well. Why is this important for you personally, Rabbi, to keep this advocacy for this family? As an Ole, as if someone who made Aliyah without family came here, along with my wife and children and raised a family here. You know what it's like to be distant from other family and to build a life in a new country and a new home. And therefore we wanna give that support as much as we can in general to Aleem, in particular to those in such dire straits and to give them. Tell them though, we're there for them. We understand how hard it is to be alone and we can't even imagine what they're going through. But we want them to know they don't have just a community and we know they have a community there in Kibbutz. But they have a community beyond what they even realize of people who understand and are there for them. And that's important to us to give them that message. Do you know this family, the representatives personally? Do you have a personal connection or not? No, we don't. So I wanna ask about that because so many Israelis, so many Jews around the world feel such a personal connection to people they've never met before. They cry, they pray, they mourn for children whose faces they've only seen in pictures. Don't know, never met before, but they feel such a longing for them. Why do you think that is in yourself included? I have to tell you what's happened since October 7th as the darkest of darkest of days have been put upon us. We've seen the most light ever, I think in the modern history of the Jewish people. It's this incredible light within the darkness. And it happened on Shabbat pre-sheet where we read about God said, let there be light. And I said, we spoke that first Shabbat, Israel now says the people of Israel, let there be light. We have come together as a people. We've realized we're a family and every single person is a member, extended member of my family and everybody feels that way, secular, religious, Kharedi and everyone's doing what they can and advocating and helping and volunteering and donating. And it's just simply brought the people together. We were at a rough state before this from a national perspective. And this has simply coalesced our family to be wanting and to realize that we're brothers and sisters. And that sense of family has just sparked an incredible reaction. I think an unprecedented reaction amongst our people to bring everyone together. And I think it's very personal, every single person, as much as we don't know them personally, their extension of who we are and the people of Israel have come together and brought so much light and try to banish all this darkness and support each other as best we can. The power of a picture that you can look into someone's eyes and you feel the connection as a Jew, as an Israeli, as someone who needs your help. Absolutely. Do you still have hope? I mean, the country went to bed last night being told that there was a deal hopeful that there was gonna be releases today, now maybe only tomorrow. It's disheartening news, but do you still have hope that they will be returned home safe? How do you maintain that hope amid the confusion? Look, every day we hope, every day we're trying to pray and try to hope and do what we can with our limited capacity to keep up the optimism. We believe that they will come home and I wanna put my faith in the army in the state of Israel that they will do everything we can and we as individuals do everything we can because every single life is a whole world unto itself.  Our organization, Habaita, we pray for Habaita, that they come home and become connected to, reconnected to our people. And I believe we must maintain our whole anthem is Hadikva, the hope. And we've never given up hope throughout our 2,000 years of exile. We continue to have hope here in our homeland in the state of Israel that we should have peace and people can live a peaceful life in their homes and we can rid ourselves of evil and have peace with our neighbors and we want nothing more. All we want is that peace. Thank you so much, Rabbi, for bringing this family story and the importance of advocacy to us here on the channel. We've been showing images of these hostages. So many of them let us all hope and pray they come home very soon. Rabbi, thank you so much. Thank you. And we're going out for a break.  More news ahead. Stay with us here on IDF for news and thanks for watching. The global network of the Dominicans is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front lines but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. The Israel story to the world. I-24 News Channels. The news is ongoing coverage of Israel at war. I'm Ariel Levin. A long awaited hostage and ceasefire deal has been delayed at least until Friday. Palestinian sources say negotiations broke down over demands to allow the international Red Cross access to hostages not freed in the initial deal. The Red Cross claims they had no knowledge of such a condition. The deal was supposed to initiate a four day ceasefire beginning today along with halting air surveillance at the Southern Gaza Strip and intermittent breaks in Northern coverage as well. Alongside the release of 150 convicted terrorists this in exchange releasing 50 innocent women and children kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th massacre. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to unleash the Mossad clandestine services to hunt down all of Hamas's leadership no matter where they hide or which nation shelters them. Ahead of any potential temporary ceasefire the IDF has destroyed some 400 tunnel shafts releasing some videos of combat engineers flooding some of the tunnels while Hamas operatives flee the tunnels and other videos. The IDF says they have destroyed or disabled some 30% of Hamas's underground fortress network in the north of Gaza. And for some more updates on the war in Gaza we turn now to our correspondent Pierre Kloschenleur. He was standing by in Sterode city just in southern Israel on the border. Pierre walk us through the latest developments we're hearing on the Gaza war. The targeting of presumed terror targets is going on not just in the northern Gaza Strip where the ground forces have been operating since October 27th but as well in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip where there's no boots on the ground at this moment in Hanyounes, Rafah. At the same time area which has been taken over by the IDF such as the Shati refugee camp on the northern western entrance to Gaza city are still the site of fighting kuskirmishes and discovery of weapons depots of explosive belts for suicide bombers of all kind of things as well as administration buildings. The headquarters of the head of the brigade of the northern command of Hamas has been destroyed but there's been also the building of the justice ministry of Hamas in Gaza city that has been destroyed in effect. The Israeli army is not just operating militarily and also on a humanitarian realm such as opening every day a safe passage for the population to move south but also regarding the administrative structure of Hamas because there is an understanding and a realization that Hamas has permeated all layers of society be it the military part of it but also the administrative part of it the contact with the population, et cetera, et cetera. And if the order of mission of the Israeli army is the dismantling of Hamas, you gotta dismantle everything which is related to Hamas and it is very dense. It was part of, it is part of Palestinian society in Gaza and the lines of defense of Hamas are not only dense militarily speaking but also administratively speaking and thus the need for instance to focus on healthcare centers hospitals such as the Indonesia hospital which is a few kilometers away behind me in Bethanoon where according to Palestinian media affiliated to Hamas, the hospital which has been encircled already for almost a week with tanks in the vicinity of the hospital has been given an ultimatum to leave the premises that the deadline is just now according to Palestinian media. So I don't know what the outcome of that encirclement of Indonesia hospital but it is the same kind of modus operandi that the IDF has been using against Rantisi hospital, Shifa hospital in order not only to show publicly what's underneath those hospitals in terms of terror hubs but also in order to dismantle as much as possible Hamas services to the population. Well thank you very much for those updates from the front Pierre. We'll be back with you over the course of the day as the situation there develops. Today was meant to be a day in which some hostages return home and fire stopped at least for some time. That's far from being the reality on the ground. The IDF chief of staff visited the forces in Gaza as they fought Hamas terrorists and exposed some of the main underground infrastructure or senior fence correspondent Jonathan Regheff has this story. There may eventually be a ceasefire. It may be delayed. As far as the IDF chief of staff is concerned the war is progressing full speed ahead. We are not stopping until victory. We will keep on pushing forward to other Hamas strongholds. Herzi Alevi met various brigade commanders inside the Gaza Strip to carry the message that fighting continues and that is what will facilitate a better hostage deal. We are trying to connect between the objectives of the war. The pressure we apply with the ground operation can set the ground for the release of the hostages. As one war rages in the streets of Gaza another battle is also being fought the war for its legitimacy. We are talking about a tunnel which is more than this only this specific area is more than 300 meters of a tunnel. So this area goes directly outside of the hospital approximately to one of the areas outside maybe a mask, maybe an apartment. As the number of civilian casualties in Gaza is rising Israel is making a major effort to show this is happening due to the use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas terrorists. The most notorious example is the terror tunnel serving as a major Hamas headquarters and built underneath the Shifa hospital the biggest medical facility in the Gaza Strip. But this room is an operational room that has communication with electricity providing from the sources of the hospital meaning the hospital is providing electricity. This room was evacuated all the guilt was evacuated I guess it was evacuated when they knew how understand we're going to enter into Shifa hospital. 10 a.m. was the original hour set for the ceasefire and the hostage release but that is long gone. It may happen Friday maybe the day after at least for now it is constant fighting on the streets and constant uncovering of Hamas terror infrastructure. And for more on this we are joined in studio by our senior defense correspondent Jonathan Rega thanks for being here to discuss this further. Give us a quick overview of just how much has been accomplished so far on the ground in Gaza given that there's all this talk right now of a potential ceasefire beginning tomorrow. Well, this whole operation is going along in two different directions. One is the military direction. The other is a hostage release direction. As far as a hostage release direction nothing has been achieved. Five hostages have been... One of them was rescued and now the four were freed by Hamas weeks ago. Two bodies were found. I think that's it. As far as the military direction is concerned at least on the northern part of the Gaza Strip there have been quite a lot of achievements. Hamas is not completely crushed there's still fighting going on in this area but the whole northern Gaza Strip is encircled by Israeli forces. The Gaza Strip is cut to two and Israel has control in taking over more and more neighborhoods of northern Gaza. All that is very good. Let's remember there's a southern part of the Gaza Strip with hundreds of thousands of people who live there originally. Hundreds, thousands more fleeing from the north. Therefore there's still a lot to do on the military side, the crushing Hamas and of course when it comes to hostages. Now one of the things that Israel was about to do was complete the battle in the Jabalia camp. We'd seen some initial incursions but this is a Hamas fortress. It's one of their heaviest fortified areas and heaviest manned areas in the northern Gaza Strip. Is that still moving forward or is that being delayed because of these negotiations? For as far as the army is concerned there's no deal, there's no ceasefire. Therefore everything is going on. Everything is proceeding. Yes, there were reports surfacing yesterday about a ceasefire coming into effect at 10 a.m. That was three hours ago. There's no ceasefire and fighting is ongoing earlier in the morning. We saw heavy shedding especially of that area which you mentioned, the Jabalia neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Gaza city. That is continuing and until someone tells the army that a ceasefire, a temporary ceasefire has been agreed on and for now we're holding the fire for a few days that is not happening. As far as the army is concerned nothing has changed on the ground at the moment. Now I wanna talk more about this underground infrastructure because this has been the bulk of Hamas's fortifications. It's their attack routes. It's the defensive bunkers. It's likely where they're holding the hostages as we speak right now. We're hearing the IDF say they've destroyed 400 tunnels. Other estimates of 30% of the tunnels in northern Gaza. Does Israel have to destroy every last one of these? Or is there a certain number, some bulk of it or weight of it that can be destroyed before they're completely inoperable? Israel doesn't have to destroy each and every tunnel and kill each and every Hamas member. I think that's impossible. But what Israel has to do is take away completely the ability of Hamas to be a threat ever again. And in order to do that, you have to take out the vast majority of their infrastructure, the vast majority of their people. And then there's still a long way to go. We're seeing that their leadership is still somewhere, still able to negotiate, still able to not only negotiate but play those games saying, okay, yeah, we will release 10 hostages but then you know what? We will provide the names and then say, you know it will not provide the names for now. We will begin on Thursday but maybe we'll begin on Friday. Being in touch with the Qataris and the Egyptians. So that's still going on. There's still a lot of work to do in order to crush Hamas down completely. Can the IDF do it? Yes, is it going to something that's going to be very fast? Absolutely not. It's definitely a very long road ahead. You mentioned your report just a couple of minutes ago, the battle for legitimacy as well, showing off the infrastructure built underneath hospitals. Using them as the ultimate human shield. We're also seeing now the director of the Al-Shifa hospital was just arrested by the military for being a Hamas terrorist himself. Is this changing anything? If it changes anything as far as the international perception, I'm afraid not. It's very difficult to convince those who are convinced. We saw a video more than a week ago that to me was very convincing of an Israeli officer from the IDF spokesperson unit going around the basement, not even the tunnels, but the basement of the Shifa hospital showing that the MRI machine, rather than doing MRIs, it's actually a hideout for Kalashnikovs and for ammunition and for military supplies. The response for many people abroad was, you the Israelis planted it. So it is very, whatever evidence you have. And to me, this evidence that we're seeing on the screen, that is proof to me. But whoever doesn't want to believe can always come up with the idea that, no, you planted it. This is something that you've done. You, the Israelis did. It is very difficult to convince those who are convinced. Some people are saying there was no massacre on October the 7th, so what is this war all about? It is, I'm not going to say impossible, but very close to that. Virtually impossible to convince those people. Well, you're not going to convince everyone, especially people that have their minds made up or have an ideological stance, but you don't have to convince everyone. You only have to convince certain people, decision makers that have Israel's back defensively. The United States certainly seems convinced by the evidence presented. We also have the British Foreign Minister in town today, too. How much is he going to have an impact when it comes down to supporting Israel at war? He is a British Foreign Minister, but he's also David Cameron, the former prime minister. And a very, I think a very well-esteemed political figure in the UK. So I think his opinion is valuable. The British establishment, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, they support Israel all along. Same could be said for the American administration, for the Germans, also for the French, despite comments here and there. The leadership of the Western civilized nations, they support Israel, but not everybody. Certainly not in the Middle East. I'm speaking also of countries that have relations with Israel. Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, it's very difficult to convince those countries. And even some Western nations are presenting their doubts. This is a war that is extremely important to win in that war. And let's remember, we, of course, remember what happened on October 7th. That is the whole pretext of this war. But as far as what the world is seeing now, they're seeing the images from Gaza, not from Israel anymore. I'm very happy that the war is on the other side and not on our side. But as far as the world is concerned, that is the images they're seeing and they're relating to. We're going to bring another voice into this discussion now. That is our senior diplomatic correspondent, Owen Alterman. He's standing at what's become known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where the families of so many hostages are demanding answers from their government, especially right now, that the ceasefire deal for hostages seems to have been delayed at a bare minimum. Owen, tell us what's going on right there. Well, Ariel, over the last few hours, the square is gradually filled with people. Of course, families have been coming through. We spoke just a few moments ago with a mother of a hostage. She herself from the Bedouin community here in Israel and her son, of course, from the same community in the tunnels of Gaza. We'll put that interview on our air over the next few hours. But they're not only the families, but also the survivors here as well. And I have with me Iris Ganor from Nachal Oz, one of the kibbutzim right on the Gaza border. You were there, Iris, on October 7th. First of all, how are you? I survived. I'm alive, which is a lot. I was lucky all my family came out alive. In one piece, no one was kidnapped, and no one was injured. And of course, no one was dead. But a shell of a person for some of the time. Some of the time, I'm OK. We all know Nachal Oz is a small community. How was their number of years ago? Only a few hundred residents. You obviously know people, not only who were savagely murdered on that day, but also people who were taken hostage who are there. And Gaza, tell us about some of those people, and tell us about how it feels to be here and have to just square standing with them. Well, I'm just waiting for them to come back, to come home. We have Elma, who is 84. Elma is a mother of my best friend, my BFF. And she's not well. She's not healthy. She should have her medicine. And personally, I waited to hug her on October 7th. There was supposed to be the anniversary of Nachal Oz. And it never happened, of course. We had another thing for the, instead of the anniversary. There are also Tzachi, whom I know from birth. His father, when he came to the Kibbutz, he was sort of adopted by my family. So he's kind of family. And Omri, I don't know him, but I grew to know him. And the two girls, Elma and Afna, which are girls, shouldn't experience such an event ever. And now they're held for 46 or seven days. And nobody knows what about them. And it's heartbreaking, really. And how do you feel as a resident of Nachal Oz about the future? You talked about the anniversary. It was October 7th of 2023. How does October 7th, 2024 look like in Nachal Oz? Can you imagine it? Can you picture it? And tell us how you feel. On every year, on the end of the court, on Simchat Torah, we used to have the anniversary of Nachal Oz. Now we will never celebrate it. You can't celebrate on a day of mourning. So I don't know. I don't know that the whole community is, most of them are in Mishmar Ha'emek and some in Kibbutz Karameem in the Negev. We don't know when and we'll be able to go back and who will go back because you can't raise kids into this reality. What's your message to people sitting at home around the world, to leaders, even ambassadors, who may be watching us right now? What's your message to them as a resident of a community like Nachal Oz, what, just a few hundred meters from the border with Gaza about what has happened to your community and about looking to the future? Let me tell you a story. Just a month before I came to, we had this march of Nachal Oz. We do it every year. And we all, we marched for about one kilometer and we saw Gaza from where we were. And I said, it could be the new Singapore. It's a beautiful, it could be the, they have the most beautiful beaches in the area. And they could be a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful place to be in. And this was my own dream. Now my dreams are a bit shattered. I don't know what's going to happen in a year from now. I really don't know. I'm looking for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. And I live by the day at the moment. Iris, thank you so much for being with us. And we wish you and your community and obviously those still held hostage in Gaza all of the best. Thank you very much. Thank you for this. So Arielle, you just heard it. Lives that were just broken by what happened on October 7th. We talk and we must talk and we should talk about those who are held hostage in Gaza and the efforts to bring them back. We must also talk about the 1,200 Israelis who were murdered or died fighting on that day itself as well. But there's also the rest, the families, the communities, and the future, and so much hardship and so many questions. Thank you very much, Owen, for that report, for all the talk we do. Ultimately, we have to accept that words cannot do justice to the truth or to the stories. But we still have to tell the stories in the words of the people that experienced them. To do that, we are now joined by Daniel Lifshitz, the grandson of Yohavid and our dead Lifshitz who were kidnapped by Hamas. Yohavid was famously released, one of the first few hostages released in a video done by Hamas. But now, with a hostage deal possibly imminent but cruelly delayed, we have to ask, Daniel, well, what's going through your mind right now? Well, I think as everyone else, we're just waiting for this deal to come through. I really hope that tomorrow we can already see the first hostages going out. And that's what I'm wishing for. Of course, it's like 24 hours delay in the mind. It's like a very hard and cruel break. So I'm really looking forward for that to happen. As you know, I'm from Kibbutz, near Oz and from Kibbutz, near Oz, one of every four person has been brutally murdered or violently kidnapped. And we have 75 hostages, which is one of every third hostage for the moment. So I'm really looking forward for my family to come back. It's a nightmarish situation you're describing. And you're in a perspective, in a position where you can feel much of Israel's suffering firsthand because a hostage deal that's being discussed right now is only for some hostages, women, children. But the men that are held hostage will not be released. That includes your grandfather right now. Ultimately, what's going through your mind when you hear this? So as I said, it's like everything happened in this situation from one side, it's very devastating. But from the other side, I have huge relief for those who will be released as they are, as I told you, they are part of my family, whether it's those people from the Kibbutz or the other hostages' family, which are for the moment very close to me as well. Yes, what we will have to do is whenever this deal is starting to be over, we will have to push for more, push every day, continue to push for the release, not letting go for a moment. And that's what will be important for us. And that's what we will have to do until we'll all come back home. But to get to everyone, we have to start. This release has to start. I'm very happy that this deal came true and I hope that to know today we will have the news that they finalize it and tomorrow it's starting. Daniel, one of the complaints I've heard from many family members of hostages is a fury that the International Red Cross has not even been let in to see them for more than a month and a half. We don't know the condition of many of these people that have been taken. And now we're hearing that even in the deal that's being discussed right now, the Red Cross is likely not being allowed to see the hostages even at this stage. What do you say to that? So I actually met the American Red Cross. I was in New York two days ago. They've been a bit offended by me that I told them that they are not only taxi drivers because to bring the hostages when they must release them to the border, but I do appreciate the work about that that they take care of them and they see their situation. So I've told them that, I told them they need to take action. They never took before because something that never happened before happened. So you need to take actions that you never took before. And my demand was that if you are not being able to meet the hostages, to see that they get the right treatment and the right, as I said, medicines, so go out of Gaza. Go out of Gaza, tell us, say that because we don't get to make our work, we are going out of Gaza Strip. That's what I told them that I think if they would say that they will be able to see the hostages. Anyway, they have to do everything to do so and I hope it will happen as well and we will know the situation of all the hostages that stay in Gaza after that deal. Daniel, one of the things I've also heard from so many Israelis in the street ever since this ceasefire for hostages deal has been announced is that the terms are simply too high, that there are red lines that should not be crossed as the family member of somebody who is still being held. Are there red lines? Are there any terms that are too high to accept to bring those people home? Do you think that those terms are higher than 1027 Hamas prisoners and terrorists for Gilan Shalit? I'm talking about what people have said. There are many people discussing this back and forth right now. I wanna know your perspective. Personally, I think we need to do everything to bring those hostages back because that is the contract between the country and the people of it. So if the terms are higher or lower, we need to take the terms and we need to continue. And I think that is the most important thing. And Daniel, to given everything that's going on right now, where do you fall between having hope and despairing of the situation as a whole? Would you repeat the question, please? Where do you stand right now? Because things change every day. On one hand, it looked like a deal was imminent. Now we don't know what's going on. Do you have hope? Are you despairing? How are you handling it? How are you feeling about this? As I feel from the start of everything that's being announced, and of course I suffer that when my grandmother released. So it was on Saturday, we got a message from the Hamas that they want to release them. But then they in Israel refused and then on Monday finally, and fortunately they've been released. So I try not to speculate. That's the best thing I can do is not to speculate. Thank you. And I'm glad that you are still managing to stay strong and maintain some hope during all these times. We as a nation are praying for you. We're praying for your family and we're praying that all of those fast passages can come back home again. Daniel, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now for everyone else though, we are about to go on a short break, but we'll have so much more to discuss as soon as we're back. That's in just about three minutes. So don't go anywhere, stay with us. We're gonna be back very soon to discuss the war more in depth. Is in a state of war, families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front line, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. Thanks for staying with us as we now turn our eye up to the Northern Front. In Lebanon, that front is heating up with some 35 rockets firing at Israel this morning in the heaviest barrage of the war to date. This as the Hezbollah terror group says an Israeli airstrike killed five of its members, including the son of a senior Hezbollah political leader, at least 79 members of the terror group have been killed since the beginning of the war. Israel's foreign minister has reportedly warned the United Nations that the war in Gaza will erupt into a full blown regional war if Hezbollah is not disarmed. While Iran is making the exact same threat should a ceasefire with Hamas not be made permanent. Well, for more on the situation in the North, we are joined by our reporter Nicole Zedek who is standing by in Northern Israel. All of this happening at the same time as there's a high profile meeting between Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian leadership. What do we know about that meeting? What's going to come out of this? Well, as we heard from the Iranian foreign minister and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, they're discussing really the security situation and the ongoing threats here on the Lebanon border as well as the security situation in Gaza as well. And in their words talking about the Israeli occupation and the Israeli resistance that's happening in Gaza. Now, as you mentioned, as we heard from Iranian foreign minister talking about the truce that is supposed to happen in Southern Israel and Gaza within the next coming days, he said if that truce does not last, then it's likely there could be a regional war and we could see these Iranian proxies Hezbollah continuing to get involved and continuing to step up attacks. Today is the largest increase in attacks we have seen since the beginning of the war. For noon Israel time, Hezbollah had already claimed responsibility for at least 10 different attacks on Northern Israel. And that includes that massive barrage of rockets. Hezbollah claiming they had fired 48 rockets towards Israel specifically targeting one of the Israeli headquarters in the Northern command in the city of Safat, Safed in English. Now Israel, the IDF confirms that they had seen about 35 different launches come into Israeli territory, intercepting the majority of them and then going after those different launch sites, not only with different IDF aircrafts, artillery, fire, but also the use of the iron sting. This is a guided mortar that we've only seen used for the first time in combat earlier this week in Gaza. So the IDF continuing to use these different types of warfare when it comes to these war efforts, not only in the South, but also on the Northern front because this is a front that Israel is continuing to monitor and especially day by day as we continue to see these increase in attacks, it marks a strong escalation and certainly something that we need to keep an eye on up here. Nicole, you mentioned to go the Iranian proxies because it's not just Hezbollah that we're talking about. It's not just Hamas and Gaza either, but we're also seeing things such as the Houthis in Yemen. There's also Iranian backed groups in Syria. Have we heard any rumblings coming out of them and any updates on what the Houthis are up to ever since they took that ship? Listen, it seems like we continue to see them firing different projectiles towards the Southern tip of Elot in Southern Israel, but it's still been minor for the most part here. And so as far as when we're looking at all these fronts, the Houthis are definitely a front that Israel is monitoring especially on that very, very Southern border in Elot, but for the most part, the main threats do remain on the South near the border with Gaza and the North near the border with Lebanon. Now, if this does increase to a more regional war, I think it is important, as you mentioned, to keep an eye on those different Iranian proxies, but the fact that they're meeting in Lebanon, the fact that they're meeting in Beirut really does show that this Lebanon border, this Lebanese border is something that we need to keep an eye on. And it's something that Israel continues to say they're going to keep an eye on. We heard from War Cabinet member Benny Gantz just yesterday in a meeting stating that, something that they had previously stating, so just reiterating the message that what's happening in Gaza right now, if these attacks on the Northern border continue, they will do the same to Beirut. So sending a clear warning to Hezbollah, however, it seems as of today, Hezbollah has not heeded that warning and is continuing to fire strong and stronger even than we've seen in the past. Definitely a situation that's already tense and we're all waiting to see how that develops. Nicole, thank you very much for that report from the North and we will be coming back to you if the situation there changes. Now, at the exact same time as this is happening, the UK's newly appointed foreign minister, David Cameron, is in Israel to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian officials. But his first stop was at Kibbutz Barre, the site of October 7th's worst nightmares. Even more than a month later, after all the bodies have been removed, Cameron said he has seen things he can never forget. I wanted to come here myself to see the horrific nature of the attacks that you suffered on October the 7th and they are absolutely horrific.  I've heard things and seen things that obviously I will never forget and it's important we understand that. Today is also a day where we hope to see this humanitarian pause. I think that's important because it's an opportunity to get hostages out and to get aid in and I hope and would urge everyone who's involved in that agreement to make sure that it happens. I think it is important. And for more on this, we are joined by Phil Dave, broadcaster and producer from Hertzfordshire UK. Thank you very much for being with us. From the UK's perspective, Phil, what exactly is Dave's purpose in being here? That's a very good question indeed. I mean, not least of all because I would suggest that many of us take what's the former prime minister, of course, now Lord David Cameron, who of course is now foreign secretary, says with a bit of a massive pinch of salt, the truth is that he has been heard in the past is actually even saying that Gaza is, in his words, an open air prison. So I am very dubious about sort of when the former prime minister now foreign secretary visits Israel and starts sort of making all the right noises because is it just a case of making up for lost time? I don't know whether or not sort of people take him too seriously. David Cameron left office with a bit of a bad reputation here. So frankly, I don't really sort of think that anyone really takes his newfound position really with much credit. They don't really sort of give him the credence of being a decent foreign secretary because he certainly wasn't much for prime minister either. But Phil, from the UK's other perspective, how involved are they really in the war in this region? This seems like it's Israel plus its backer in the form of the United States. Why is the UK having a position at all? It's a very good question. I suspect it's primarily because in this country we've had a longstanding history of doing what makes America pleased. America has obviously quite rightly stood by Israel throughout this and continues to do so. And I think that it sort of is this historic notion that we have to stand by our ally, our greatest ally in the form of America, no matter what. So that's what I believe is probably more fueling the UK's stance. But then I would also like to think that British politicians do see what is going on over in that part of the world. And they do recognize that a prescribed terrorist cell is wreaking havoc in the area. And that a democratic state in the form of Israel is doing what any democratic state in the West would do, which is simply standing their ground and defending their people. Now, Phil, this is happening at the same time as you're seeing some rumblings in UK politics. Largely so far, it's been the political establishment holding against calls for a ceasefire. But you do still have the leftist wing of the Labour Party demanding ceasefire, even as Keir Starmer tries to prevent that. Does a visit like this sort of stabilize UK politics, stabilize the establishment message that there will be no ceasefire that they're pushing for? Well, I think what's important to note about UK politics at the moment is probably since the UK decided to leave the European Union back in 2016, that I'm afraid that the politics has not really been stable in any way, shape or form. There's always been this great divide, this great polarization amongst our political elite. And I'm afraid that sort of a situation like this is just no exception to that rule. In terms of David Cameron's visit over there, as I say, many of the British public take a bit of a dim view of Lord Cameron's stance in politics in this day and age. And certainly when he was Prime Minister as well, I think that there are a lot of people in the opposition benches who also hold that view. And I don't really believe that sort of a visit by Lord Cameron to that region is necessarily gonna change their stance. But what's also important to note is that the politicians who are calling for a ceasefire either have some relation to Islamic culture themselves. So naturally there's an affiliation towards those of people of Gaza and the people who identify as Palestinian. But then there's also those who have constituents that have a large Muslim population. So it's not a major shock that the calling of a ceasefire by those politicians is the stance they take. I would suggest that the ones who need to be more concerned about those who maybe don't have any affiliation whatsoever and the ones who are calling for a ceasefire, fortunately they're quite few and far between. Most British politicians understand and recognize that a ceasefire would not be in the interest of the people of Gaza and certainly not in the interest of Israel. You mentioned large constituencies that are Islamic in England, largely in London. We've seen rallies 300,000 people strong pro-Palestinian anti-Israel protests. Are we expecting to see some sort of large backlash in England against Cameron's visit? Don't know about backlash against the visit. It's probably curious, actually, the mention about these rallies, I do imagine, that it'd be more likely to be backlash against those. And we are already seeing examples of that, by the way. I recognize that when you say that there are 300,000 people in the largest pro-Palestinian rally that took place in central London in recent days and weeks, I understand why that number to Israel sounds like a large number. But the truth is when you consider that London alone is a population of 9.6 million people or thereabouts, 300,000 in the grand scheme of things is actually not that many people here. Certainly not in a country where the population is around 67 million people. So actually it's quite a small fraction in the grand scheme. But I think that in terms of backlash against David Cameron's visit, no, I just don't think people care enough about it, to be honest with you. Then in light of all that we just said, what do we expect the upshot of this visit to be? What is gonna come out of this? What's gonna come out of it is hopefully a bit more positive publicity for Israel, which unfortunately seems to get very negative press over here in the UK. We have on many occasions, many examples of our national broadcasters, unfortunately seeming to just take Hamas's word for whatever they release out into the great British public and also into the wider public of the world as well. Just taking it all with a pinch of salt and saying, yeah, no problem at all. That's obviously true because Hamas have told us whereas what they do is if something that Israel reports, say for example, terrorists have been located and the tunnels and all of that and the HQ found under the hospital in Gaza city. Well, the way that the news reports it over here is they say Israel says rather than it stated as fact. So it's little things like that that unfortunately sort of show that the British media is not really sort of as onside as it should be. I would suggest that what comes out of Lord Cameron's visit hopefully is showing that the government at the very least do stand with Israel. And maybe that should be enough of the cause for the British media and at the very least our national broadcast of the BBC to start really thinking very carefully about the stance they truly take in this situation. Well, thank you much Phil for breaking down the visit and what it means or what it really might not given how little influence there might actually be in the region here. But thank you for helping us understand what it is going to mean. And the next question is and before we actually get to that I have to announce that there will be very soon a press conference coming out of Qatar addressing the hostage deal and the moment that starts we will hopefully be able to go to take that live. So you can see exactly what's going there. This is the thing that has everybody in Israel holding their breaths for some sort of resolution to this hostage crisis. But before we can do that, we are going to be asking another question. What can be learned from Israel's previous wars in Gaza? And what can be learned for this war that will hopefully be the last war in Gaza? Our US correspondent, Mike Wagenheim, spoke to former Netanyahu Chief of Staff Ari Harrow, who served during the major military operation during 2014. Here are his insights. Ari Harrow, thank you so much for taking the time to join us here. Quite a timely book coming out on your authorship called My Brother's Keeper, Netanyahu and Obama and the Year of Terror and Conflict that Changed the Middle East Forever. It comes out in January, but certainly more relevant now than you probably imagined. It would have been when you wrote it. First off, thanks for joining us. And secondly, Ari, what lessons can we draw from your upcoming book that are relevant to what we're seeing on our screens and in front of our eyes each and every day with this current conflict? Well, firstly, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. As you said, when I wrote the book, I was writing it from a historical perspective, from a personal perspective as someone who, at the time, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, sitting in the War Cabinet, the Security Cabinet and dealings with the United States and the international community. Little did I know that on October 7th, the book was really going to turn into somewhat of a microcosm of what we're seeing today. In 2014, Hamas in the West Bank kidnapped and murdered three teenage boys. They abducted them. The State of Israel launched a troop of humongous manhunt that was called My Brother's Keeper. And that's one of the reasons for the name of the book, where for about a month, the entire country searched high and low for the boys. That ends up sort of rolling into a conflict with Hamas Gaza and ultimately to the last military operation, including the ground incursion into Gaza. So the similarities are extremely relevant and many of the lessons that were learned from 2014 are being implemented today. Your book focuses much on the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and then President Obama and sort of the deterioration of that relationship during that year in 2014. Do you feel there's any carryover? I mean, Joe Biden was the vice president at the time. Obviously it's a Democratic administration back in play here in 2023. Do you feel that that level of distrust is still there for Prime Minister Netanyahu? I definitely think that there's a stark difference between what happened in 2014 and what we're seeing today. The United States had a very short leash with Israel in 2014. There were comments that came out of the White House, both behind closed doors and some of them very public, that put Israel in a very uncomfortable position. And there were moments where Israel's standing in the number of international bodies, be it the UN and other international arenas where potentially we could have come under tremendous pressure. We weren't confident that the U.S. administration would be there to defend us. I think that this time around, Joe Biden made, President Joe Biden had made his position very, very clear on what happened. Obviously I think that the horrific massacre of October 7th as a launching point for the Gaza War really shook the President and the United States in a different way. And therefore, I think the relationship and the communication, the coordination between the countries today is very, very different than it was in 2014. And I think that's one of the lessons that both countries learned from the 2014 war. You point to that 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict is one that's denoted in your title that changed the Middle East forever. We've certainly seen it rapidly changing Middle East since that point, but even in the last few years, how do you kind of pace that evolution from 2014 to the Middle East we see now? So I think that the focal point or really the one factor that shifted the Middle East was Israel's willingness to both stand up to the United States when it came to Syria to security matters in this region and to continue its battle against Iran. Something that people have to remind themselves is that as terrible as Hamas is, and it is terrible, Hamas is an extension, it is a proxy of Iran. And without dealing with the octopus head, the tentacles are very problematic, but ultimately it is the octopus itself that we have to be looking at. And the region, be it the Gulf States, and as we all saw before October 7th, even Saudi Arabia, its move towards Israel was not a result of international diplomacy alone. It was extremely influenced or tremendously influenced by Israel's willingness to stand up against the threat of Islamic fundamentalism from Iran and its proxies, and to stand up to allies as well and say this is something that needs to be dealt with. I wanna ask you about that and go a little bit further here because Prime Minister Netanyahu, especially during your time as a Chief of Staff, but beyond that as well, brought people into his deep inner circle who were, I'm using extremists, not in a pejorative term here, but understood fully more than most other people the threat that Iran posed to Israel. They saw it in very, very stark existential terms. What in your opinion, as somebody on the front lines there, did you see in the Obama administration and other American allies that they could not see, whether it was economic interests, whether it was political interests, that they could not see the threat in the stark terms that the Israeli political and military echelon see it is. Where is that cousin? Where is that divergence? So I mean, I guess I'll answer it in two ways and I address this extensively in the book. First and foremost, there was a difference in worldview between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. They saw the world differently. They saw the region differently. I think no more evidence is needed than President Obama's first international speech, his first international trip, which took place in Egypt and was a call to the Muslim world to try and bring them back into the fold and that included Iran. So we and Prime Minister Netanyahu rather saw Iran and its proxies as a great threat, not just to Israel, but to the United States and the entire West. And I think that there was two different worldviews that really clashed from that perspective. The second thing is really something that you hear a lot in Israel these days. And that is that in the United States and elsewhere, they speak in English. In the Middle East, they speak in Arabic. And when dealing with the Middle East, you need to speak Arabic. The relationship itself between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama, I mean, it's still studied to this day. And there are so many undertones to it. Generational, philosophical, even racial and religious undertones to it as well. When all is said and done, when the final chapter is written on this relationship as it ever is, how do you define that relationship between the Prime Minister and President Obama? So as opposed to what was portrayed in the mainstream media, I believe that both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama, I mean, I can speak from the Netanyahu side. It wasn't a personal animosity that drove them. It was never personal. You have two very, very sharp, very intelligent individuals who, as I said earlier, had very, very different worldviews. And they were both extremely determined to act upon those worldviews. I also think that both of those players viewed their roles in a historic sense and from a historic perspective. And sometimes even the greatest of allies, even brothers, big brother and little brother, come to a point where they're, what's best for their own countries is at odds. In terms of how Prime Minister Netanyahu, and I'm asking you to grade your former boss in a sense, but how do you think he's managing the relationship with President Biden and the Americans at this point in time? Obviously, there have been tensions since day one. We kind of have an ebb and flow. You deal from crisis to crisis.  So I think that, as you said, there is ebb and flow within any type of relationship and ultimately every country in the world, firstly and foremostly looks out for their own national interests. And lots of times when there's friction between countries, that's where it stems from, not because they don't want to get along, but because their national interests are different. I think that you can assess Prime Minister Netanyahu's relationship before October 7th, but I think it's probably worthwhile to look at it from October 7th. I think the fact that the President and the Prime Minister have retained such a close line of communication, they speak regularly, the fact that President Biden came to Israel during this war, the first sitting U.S. President to visit Israel in a time of war and to show such unbendable support for the state of Israel, not only speaks to President Biden's stance for what is just and moral, but I think it does speak to the way that the Netanyahu administration has handled that relationship from October 7th and on. Is there anything specific that I didn't ask you about that you feel is relevant or any pitch you wanna make for the book here? Well, as you started off the interview by saying, I think that I wrote this book with the idea that there was a period in Israel the year of 2014 that really brought together the issues of U.S.-Israel relationship, it brought together Hamas, the war in Gaza, and Iranian nuclear threat. Little did I know when the book was written that in 2023 on October 7th, we were gonna face a completely monstrous reality that was not only gonna change the history of Israel, but the history of the world in my opinion. And I think that there's a tremendous blueprint and historical relevance to what happened in 2014 that had direct effect on what we're seeing today. So I think that to truly understand what happened in 2023, reading My Brother's Keeper and what happened in 2014 is critical. Ari Harrow, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the book is called My Brother's Keeper, Netanyahu, Obama and the Year of Terror and Conflict that changed the Middle East forever. It comes out in January. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us. We really appreciate it. Thank you. And just to remind people, we are expecting in the next few minutes a press conference to begin in Qatar that will determine the fate of some 50 Israeli hostages. As soon as that begins, we are going to bring that to you live. But before we do that, we are going to be reminding people of just why this war is going on. Now, remember on October 7th, one of the key events was the massacre of the Nova Music Festival. Almost 400 party goers were massacred at that music festival. In fact, some of the bodies still being identified today, such as Shani Gubai, just identified as of this morning. Those who survived still need all the help they can get to recover. Here's their story. There's a need for survivors of the Nova Festival in Israel to be together in a caring, supportive place, a place where everybody has lived through the same horrors and speaks the same language, the language of survival. We have organized the healing space, healing place for all the survivors and all the families from the...