is your message? Besides what we're going to get to in a moment. Our message is that we don't have any other country. And that's our secret weapon. We don't have anywhere to go. This is the only country in the world that can safeguard all the Jews. So nobody will drive us away from our country and from our homeland. Amen. All right. Now all of you, do you have something to say? And more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continued. We bring you firsthand testimonies from the front lines, from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas. Follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north. Get the inside scoop on what's going on. Only on I-24 News. Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world. And the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States. And in that regards, they should be a national treasure. So it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct. In News Edition, I'm Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv. We start with news just in. The IDF has just confirmed that the number of known hostages being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza is at 229. That's higher than was initially thought. Their fate remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow, announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire. The message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between Hamas representatives, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Khani. This all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries. They range in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man. They were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several Kibbutzim, Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Meanwhile the latest out of the Red Sea the IDF suggesting that an aerial threat that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area. Cairo says it was a drone. Six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba. Here's more from IDF spokesman Daniel Higari. In the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. Fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation. In our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat. Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the Red Sea area. So for the latest on the ground we go to our correspondent Robert Swift he joins us from southern Israel. So Rob let's start with the latest, the scariest development out of the Red Sea area. Cairo says it's a drone that hit Egypt this morning. Six people injured when it hit a medical facility in Taba. The IDF says the aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. What is known right now? What confirmation can you share? So this explosion that took place in the city of Taba it's understood that that happened at an ambulance spot where medical facilities were based. Now the Egyptian authorities have said through a local media outlet that they reserve the right to respond with military force if required when they have determined the origins of this explosion. Israel obviously hinting that they believe it came from Yemen. The Egyptians have not so far commented on that and just in the last hour or so it's been confirmed that there has been a second explosion possibly taking place at around about the same time it's understood that the two are likely to have occurred at the same point and this took place further south along the coastline in the Egyptian city of Noeba or just on the edge of the city I should say. Now just to remind our viewers last week there was a launch of cruise missiles and drones from Yemen understood to have been launched by the Houthi group that's another armed group that operates there and is yet another proxy of Iran. Those weapons were intercepted by a US ship that was based in the area. It's air defense systems taking it down. So the main suspicion is that this is yet another launch originating in Yemen and most likely being aimed towards the southern Israeli city of Elat. And it's a situation we are going to unpack a little bit later on in this broadcast. Thank you for now though our correspondent Robert Swift in southern Israel. Thanks Rob. And now for more. We welcome Major General in the Reserves Yair Golan, former Deputy Chief of Staff. He joins us from Moshav Meftahim in southern Israel. Thank you so much for joining us on this day. A retired Major General in the IDF a former Deputy Chief of the IDF talk to us though about the 7th of October how you first heard about the unfolding terror attack and how you personally responded on that day. Well I think that as far as I remember rumors about the situation in the south started around 6.30. I was awake at that time and after about two hours or three hours I understood that something really unusual is happening in the south and therefore I put on my uniform and went straight away to the home front command headquarters located in Ramla and then I asked commanding officer of the home front command to give personal envoy to the south. Here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova Festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times taking out six persons out of the bushes and all in all in three intervals and that's it. In fact you know the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. Enormous courage, enormous courage. Indeed, but you personally. This is the true story. I was not involved in the fighting so again, those who fought in the Kibbutzin and the Moshevin, those who fought in the Sderot and the Fakim, those who managed to save their friends and their beloved family these people are the true heroes of the October 7th horrific day for the state of Israel probably the most horrific one in our history and I think that right now we need to recover, to fight back to change the situation in the Gaza Strip entirely it should be a demilitarized zone and we should bring back all our hostages and students possible. I want to get to that but first what happened on the ground on that day, you're getting phone calls from people saying please help my child you're getting messages what is going through your mind did you have any idea of the scale of what was happening you went and risked your own life to go and save other people not really knowing exactly what was unfolding on the ground take us back if you can to what was going through your thoughts at that moment. Look I'm a well experienced soldier I fought a lot in my life so what I see was new in the scale but not in nature so I managed to understand where is more dangerous where is less dangerous and I found my way through the fields and the hostages in order to reach those people who managed to escape and again you know from my perspective it was really my modest contribution to the overall chaos that was in the south at that terrible day Well you certainly are being hailed as a hero and as some parents have said as an angel so we appreciate your modesty in describing exactly what unfolded a true story of survival you made mention of the future your thoughts given your credentials on the ground you know the region well this ground invasion said to be imminent it could be happening soon does Israel need to wait your take on what should be happening on the ground well I have no intention to go into you know operational considerations I think that the most important thing right now is to well define the goals of this war it's going to be a long war it will take years to clean the Gaza Strip it's not only a military effort it's also a civilian effort diplomatic effort a regional effort and the international effort so therefore I would say it's really hard to define whether we see we will see any kind of major operation inside the Gaza Strip I would say that this is not the right discussion right now not Israel not in Israel and not elsewhere the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel and we're just hearing a short while ago the IDF confirming it's actually 229 people being held hostage now inside Gaza very worrying it's more than was initially thought and it could be even higher as you know more and more information emerging on a daily basis how does the hostage situation impact the way Israel will conduct itself when it does go into Gaza your thoughts well I think no doubt it's a kind of limitation it's hard to predict it's all about you know the way Hamas will act so it's not a matter of my personal prediction it's a matter of handling this conflict in the most I would say rational and well deliberated manner as I mentioned the war for years and therefore we need you know here and there to hold our horses to be to think about their current situation not just from the military perspective and we need to as a nation we need to decide that we are going to destroy Hamas but it's a matter of time and we need to make priorities and the most important thing right now is to make the right priorities and when Israel says it is going to eradicate Hamas and make sure obviously that attack like the one that happened on the 7th of October never ever happens again we had the defense minister Joav Galan saying Israel will win and that the next 75 years in the country depends on a victory what does a victory look like what is a win victory for Israel is not just you know defeating our enemies our military capabilities and you know change their intention it's about providing all citizens of Israel the same level of security no matter where they live and it's about by the end of the day promoting as much as possible peace with all possible nations in the region and it's about initiative we need to take an initiative no matter what is the situation and I think that in the last 14 years we did almost nothing in order to solve the conflict in order to secure our citizens in order to make sure that from here to eternity we will be able to provide the right level of security in the enveloping settlements of Gaza and I think this is the issue now we need to work hard to combine together diplomatic efforts economical efforts regional efforts and military efforts and that's what I'm looking for up to now I didn't hear from the Israeli government what is the right policy what are the goals of this war how in what a way rather than military both military efforts we are going to implement our goals in on the ground this is a practical issue the most important one Major general in the reserves Yair Golan former deputy chief of staff speaking to us from Oshaf Meftahim in southern Israel thank you for your time and thank you again a hero in the country thank you and please come to the south help the mercy work so hard to renew all inhabitants locations here around the Gaza street and I think it's really moving to see those farmers who are just superb and I salute them really salute them thank you the country salutes them too thank you so much and thank you again for your time and now for more at junk fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy what a story your thoughts Yair Golan remarkable remarkable and by the way not just him as a retired general former politician but also several other retired generals on the day on October 7th who actually got in their cars either armed or not and went down south and either saved people actively or helped rescue people and a lot of these people we should mention were very prominent critics of the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu either Yair Golan an actual left wing parliamentarian or others in a personal capacity and these people were the first to go down and really get in the line of fire and actually rescue civilians so it just shows you that the way in the conversation that has been going on in Israel now for the past year and really even before that in terms of trying to tar people like Yair Golan disloyal or traitorous to the nation to the state was completely removed from reality and they showed that on a personal level through their courage on October 7th incredible one thing that is so abundantly clear right now in the country is that the divisions that existed three weeks ago aren't there right now because right now there is an existential threat and people are uniting to make sure that the whole country can be safe that's right if there's one silver lining in a very dark dark time in Israel's history it's that that after October 7th really politics were put aside I mean it's Israel so there's still politics but really the deep divisions that we've seen now for the past several months and several years were put aside for the overall effort the overall effort in the war against Hamas and also to heal and to help inside Israel whether it's survivors from southern Israel whether it's families of the hostages taken into Gaza whether it's families of reservists now on the front line whether it's donations or actual time like picking agriculture in the fields of southern Israel everyone is coming together it's an entire full country full nation effort and also by the way not just inside Israel but also amongst the American Jewish and other diaspora communities all over the world and other friends of Israel really it's a full civilization again in a very dark time but it is a sign of solidarity and unity and I think that should be embraced and remain whenever this war will end and eventually the war will end something Yair Golan said and many people obviously around the country have a heavy heart right now worrying about the fate of what we now know is 229 hostages being held by Hamas right now and no inkling at all about what's going to be released if they're going to be released and the players who are ostensibly involved in trying to secure that freedom Qatar, meetings in Russia break down for us your sense of what the situation looks like and how it could likely unfold so we've seen now four women that were taken hostage released in two stages over the past week essentially it was done unilaterally by Hamas through Qatar so the Egyptians are involved just physically because the border crossing is where these women went through and then back into Israel but really it's the Qatari track and so there are back room, back channel negotiations going on between Qatar, Hamas and we presume the Israeli government as to what a future and further and perhaps wider hostage release deal would look like we've seen sketchy reports now over the past few days but again this is very very difficult for one primary reason Hamas has to choose to actually release hostages and again how many it's up to them and also Israel for its part has to decide whether it's willing to give Hamas ostensibly what it's demanding not just humanitarian aid but primarily fuel which the Israeli military has not allowed into Gaza now for three weeks and also a potential prison release on the Israeli side perhaps women and minors held in Israeli prisons, Palestinians held in Israeli prisons it's potentially doable but again what is the mood inside Israel right now is the wider public ready to perhaps release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli hostages Israel has done that in the past but under very very different very different circumstances something that is definitely going to be unpacked in the coming days no doubt as the situation unfolds stay with us Neri we want to go right now though to the north and our correspondent Hamdi Sahut joins us again from northern Israel and we now know that Hezbollah says 47 of its operatives have been killed in IDF bombing so far what is the latest fires could be seen earlier inside southern Lebanon what update can you share right Benita well those fires actually still burning now in southern Lebanon they're a little bit in the distance behind me but you can't really see them because of the smoke in the haze that has engulfed the area over the last 24 hours from the fires that the Lebanese civil defense still haven't been able to get under control after continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah positions inside of Lebanese territory now there is a lot still left on the table whether Hezbollah is going to be fully involved in this conflict we've seen this kind of tit for tat small exchanges of fire here and there a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians dead on this side and on the other side 47 Hezbollah combatants four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad there is a lot of interesting information still coming out that will really shift the conflict remember the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is one of them but as of this morning the Israeli police and the government are reportedly voting on measures to allow Israeli police to use live ammunition at protesters in several parts of the country now this will also if this move is approved will likely to shift things that have been going on because we do know that force used against Palestinian demonstrations is something that the factions including Hezbollah are heavily against so just aggression from all sides here that will continue to really light the match that will ignite the flames of a larger escalation on the northern front remember the Americans have been pressuring all sides to really urge calm and restrain telling the Israelis publicly and privately not to have a larger strike in Lebanese territory against any Hezbollah targets because they don't want a semi-regional conflict to break out in the region in exchange though they're offering them assurances militarily via air land and sea to assist them in their fight with Hezbollah should it get to that next level but here along the border while it is quite calm for now the situation is constantly developing the situation is constantly evolving so the fire are expected to continue the number of deaths expected to rise as those exchanges of fire continue here along the border Benita and keeping us posted on all the evolving developments as you put it correspondent Khamdeh from northern Israel thank you Khamdeh and still in studio Neri I want to get to the developments in Egypt earlier this morning but first I want to pick up on what we were just talking about in the north and obviously this major concern about Hezbollah potentially getting fully involved we know what is transpired in the last three weeks but the concern is a full onslaught out of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah that's right and it is a major concern if not the primary concern just given Hezbollah's strength and firepower over 100,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel and Israeli population centers so it would be a very different dynamic a very different dynamic a very different dynamic if you will if Hezbollah actually decided to get fully involved but as you say they are already involved over the past three weeks cross-border fire Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile teams and also sporadic mortar fire again those are within what's called here the rules of the game certain parameters known to both Hezbollah and Israel who for its part doesn't want a wider escalation Israel has made very clear that if Hezbollah escalates further then it will have no choice but to retaliate very strongly but again Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is said to give a speech at some point in the coming days it will be very interesting to see what he says he hasn't said anything publicly since October 7th certainly we'll be watching to see what comes out of Hassan Nasrallah and what his future plans are obviously huge risks involved and what our future plans will be depending on what Nasrallah decides no doubt about that many people would have been surprised to hear Egypt mentioned in reports earlier on this day because of what appears to have been a drone that landed in Taba mixed reports about exactly where it emanated from talk to us about exactly what is going down right now so this war is not just being fought in southern Israel on the Gaza front Lebanon in the north there's also been rocket fires from Syria in the northeast and also the south via the Red Sea this likely emanated from Yemen the Houthi militia closely allied with Iran they fired several cruise missiles and drones at Israel or in the direction of Israel last week it was intercepted by American naval assets in the Red Sea we don't quite know where this drone came from it was a Houthi drone strike that got intercepted or failed right before by the way Taba it's on the border with Elat Israel's southern most city and many suggesting that perhaps it was something intended for Elat the reach that could come that far from Yemen yes absolutely we've seen the Houthi militia in Yemen fire missiles and drones kilometers away hundreds of kilometers away into Saudi Arabia into the United Arab Emirates they have the capabilities they have the range thanks to Iran and they've also shown that they're at least an active participant in this war hopefully they also do not get involved because that would be a further complication but again America has deployed various assets all across the region so this would not be just an Israel versus Iran and its proxies fight the idea would be that if his Bala and other Iranian proxies did get involved that Biden the Biden administration military would also get involved so much to unpack so many developments happening at the same time across the region always appreciate your insight and breaking down what the significance is the dynamics involved in all these players at once. Neri Zilber journalist and a junked fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy thank you very much for being here once again and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition. I'm Bernice Levin in Tel Aviv our rolling coverage continues shortly stay tuned thank you for watching officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking more than a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped help us we don't want to do we just don't know anything entire families including babies and children and elderly were butchered in their beds awaken the giant we are ready and we are strong everyone is showing up this is the unity news news news news news bring news news news Copacuando. Y recargas que ya sabes hacia donde van. En día recargas internacionales, Altiz, a tu gente NRD. Accede a nuestra página web, recargas.altiz.com.b. Selecciona recargas y digita el número al que deseas colocarle la recarga. Además, ellos reciben el doble de balance en recargas de 8 dólares o más. Altiz, la red global de los dominicanos. Making news edition. I'm Benita Levine, coming to you live from Tel Aviv. We start with news just in. The IDF has just confirmed that the number of known hostages being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza is at 229. That's higher than was initially thought. Their fate remains unclear on day 21 of the war with a Hamas delegation in Moscow, announcing that no hostages will be freed without a ceasefire. The message follows a meeting in the Russian capital between Hamas representatives. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani. This all happening as Qatar says it's working to secure a deal. Now the hostages come from 25 different countries. They range in age from a nine month old baby to an 89 year old man. They were abducted on Saturday the 7th of October during the Hamas killing rampage in southern Israel which saw more than 1,400 people shot, tortured and butchered at a music festival and at several kibbutzim, Moshevin and bases. Meanwhile, questions remain about the pending full scale response by Israel and when that will happen. IDF troops conducting a limited land incursion into the Gaza Strip overnight seen as laying the groundwork for future moves. Meanwhile, the latest out of the Red Sea, the IDF suggesting that an aerial threat that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area. Cairo says it was a drone. Six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba. Here's more from IDF spokesman Daniel Higari. In the last few hours, an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. Fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation. In our understanding, the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat. Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the Red Sea area. So for the latest on the ground we go to our correspondent, Robert Swift. He joins us from southern Israel. So Rob, let's start with the latest, this curious development out of the Red Sea area. Cairo says it's a drone that hit Egypt this morning. Six people injured when it hit a medical facility in Taba. The IDF says the aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. What is known right now? What confirmation can you share? So this explosion that took place in the city of Taba, it's understood that that happened at an ambulance spot where medical facilities were based. Now the Egyptian authorities have said through a local media outlet that they reserve the right to respond with military force if required when they have determined the origins of this explosion. Israel obviously hinting that they believe it came from Yemen. The Egyptians have not so far commented on that. And just in the last hour or so it's been confirmed that there has been a second explosion possibly taking place at around about the same time. It's understood that the two are likely to have occurred at the same point. And this took place further south along the coastline in the Egyptian city of Noeba or just on the edge of the city, I should say. Now just to remind our viewers, last week there was a launch of cruise missiles and drones from Yemen understood to have been launched by the Houthi group. That's another armed group to operate there and is yet another proxy of Iran. Those weapons were intercepted by a US ship that was based in the area. It's air defense systems taking it down. So the main suspicion is that this is yet another launch originating in Yemen and most likely being aimed towards the southern Israeli city of Elat. And it's a situation we are going to unpack a little bit later on in this broadcast. Thank you for now, though. Our correspondent, Robert Swift, in Southern Israel. Thanks, Rob. And now for more. We welcome Major General in the Reserves, Yair Golan, former Deputy Chief of Staff. He joins us from Moshev Meftahim in Southern Israel. Thank you so much for joining us on this day. A retired Major General in the IDF, a former Deputy Chief of the IDF. Talk to us, though, about the 7th of October, how you first heard about the unfolding terror attack and how you personally responded on that day. Well, I think that as far as I remember, rumors about the situation in the south started around 6.30. I was awake at that time. And after about two hours or three hours, I understood that something really unusual is happening in the south. And therefore I put on my uniforms and went straight away to the Homefront Command headquarters, located in Uramla. And then I asked the commanding officer of the Homefront Command to give personal envoy to the south. Here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escapes from the Nova Festival. And they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival. And I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area. And that's what I did for about three times, taking out six persons out of the bushes. And all in all, in three intervals. And that's it. In fact, the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. Enormous courage. Enormous courage. Indeed. But you personally... This is the true story. I was not involved in the fighting. So, again, those who fought in the Kibbutzim, in the Moshevin, those who fought in Sderot and the Fakim, those who managed to save their friends and their beloved family, these people are the true heroes of October 7th. A horrific day for the state of Israel. No doubt. Probably the most horrific one in our history. And I think that right now, we need to recover. Right. To fight back. To change the situation in the Gaza Strip entirely. It should be a demilitarized zone. Right. And we should bring back all our hostages and students possible. Yeah, I want to get to that, but I don't know what to do. Yeah, I want to get to that. But first, you're being incredibly modest about what happened on the ground on that day. You're getting phone calls from people saying, please help my child. You're getting messages. What is going through your mind? Did you have any idea of the scale of what was happening? You went and risked your own life to go and save other people, not really knowing exactly what was unfolding on the ground. Take us back if you can to what was going through your thoughts at that moment. Look, I'm a well-experienced soldier. I fought a lot in my life. So what I see was new in the scale, but not in nature. So I managed to understand where is more dangerous, where is less dangerous. And I found my way through the fields and the orchards in order to reach those people who managed to escape. And again, from my perspective, it was really my modest contribution to do overall chaos that was in the south at that terrible day. Well, you certainly are being hailed as a hero and as some parents have said as an angel. So we appreciate your modesty in describing exactly what unfolded a true story of survival. You made mention of the future. Your thoughts, given your credentials on the ground, you know the region well. This ground invasion said to be imminent. It could be happening soon. Does Israel need to wait? Your take on what should be happening on the ground? Well, I have no intention to go into, you know, operational considerations. I think that the most important thing right now is to well define the goals of this war. It's going to be a long war. It will take years to clean the Gaza Strip. It's not then only a military effort, it's also a civilian effort, diplomatic effort, a regional effort, and the international effort. So therefore I would say it's really hard to define whether we see, we will see any kind of, you know, major operation inside the Gaza Strip. I would say that this is not the right discussion right now. Not Israel, not in Israel and not elsewhere. The most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel, the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages. I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip. We need to bring them back. And all the rest, it's a matter of time. And stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens, no matter where, need to feel secure in the state of Israel. And we're just hearing a short while ago the IDF confirming it's actually 229 people being held hostage now inside Gaza. Very worrying. It's more than was initially thought and it could be even higher, more and more information emerging on a daily basis. How does the hostage situation impact the way Israel will conduct itself when it does go into Gaza? Your thoughts? Well, I think no doubt it's kind of a limitation. But it's hard to predict. It's all about the way it must really act. So it's not a matter of my personal prediction. It's a matter of handling this conflict in the most, I would say, rational and well-deliberated manner. As I mentioned, the war for years and therefore we need, you know, here and there to hold our horses and to be to think about their current situation, not just from the military perspective and we need to as a nation, we need to decide that we are going to destroy Hamas. But it's a matter of time and we need to make priorities. And the most important thing right now is to make the right priorities. And when Israel says it is going to eradicate Hamas and make sure, obviously, that an attack like the one that happened on the 7th of October never, ever happens again, we hear the Defence Minister Joav Galan saying Israel will win and that the next 75 years in the country depends on a victory. What does a victory look like? What is a win?  It's about providing all citizens of Israel the same level of security, no matter where they live. And it's about by the end of the day promoting as much as possible peace with all possible nations in the region. And it's about initiative. We need to take an initiative, no matter what is the situation. And I think that in the last 14 years we did almost nothing in order to solve the conflict, in order to secure our citizens, in order to make sure that from here to eternity we will be able to provide the right level of security in the enveloping settlements of Gaza. And I think this is the issue. Now we need to work hard to combine together diplomatic efforts, economical efforts, regional efforts and military efforts. And that's what I'm looking for. Up to now, I didn't hear from the Israeli government what is the right policy, what are the goals of this war. How? In what way? Rather than, you know, military, both military efforts, we are going to implement our goals in on the ground. And this is a practical issue, the most important one. Major general in the reserves, Yair Golan, former deputy chief of staff, speaking to us from Osha Miftahim in southern Israel. Thank you for your time and thank you again a hero in the country. Thank you. And come to and please come to the south and help the leaders here who work so hard to renew all inhabitants locations here around the Gaza Strait. And I think it's really moving to see those farmers who are just superb and I salute them. Really salute them. Thank you. The country salutes them too. Thank you so much and thank you again for your time. And now, for more, Yair Golan, a young fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. What a story. Your thoughts? Yair Golan, remarkable, remarkable. And by the way, not just him as a retired general, former politician, but also several other retired generals on the day on October 7th, who actually got in their cars, either armed or not, and went down south and either saved people actively or helped rescue people. And a lot of these people we should mention were very prominent critics of the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, either Yair Golan, an actual left-wing parliamentarian or others in a personal capacity. And these people were the first to go down and really get in the line of fire and actually rescue civilians. So it just shows you that the way and the conversation that has been going on in Israel now for the past year and really even before that in terms of trying to tar people like Yair Golan disloyal or traitorous to the nation, to the state was completely removed from reality and they showed that on a personal level through their courage on October 7th. Incredible. One thing that is so abundantly clear right now in the country is that the divisions that existed three weeks ago aren't there right now because right now there is an existential threat and people are uniting to make sure that the whole country can be safe. That's right. If there is one silver lining in a very dark, dark time in Israel's history, it's that that after October 7th really politics were put aside. I mean, it's Israel so there's still politics. But really the deep divisions that we've seen now for the past several months and several years were put aside for the overall effort, the overall effort in the war against Hamas and also to heal and to help inside Israel, whether it's survivors from southern Israel, whether it's families the hostages taken into Gaza whether it's families of reservists now on the front line whether it's donations or actual time like picking agriculture in the fields of southern Israel everyone is coming together. It's a entire full country full nation effort and also by the way not just inside Israel but also amongst the American Jewish and other diaspora communities all over the world and other friends of Israel. Really it's a full conversation again in a very dark time but it is a sign of solidarity and unity and I think that should be embraced and remain whenever this war will end and eventually the war will end. Something Yair Golan said and many people obviously around the country have a heavy heart right now worrying about the fate of what we now know is 229 hostages being held by Hamas right now and no inkling at all about when they're going to be released if they're going to be released and the players who are ostensibly involved in trying to secure that freedom. Qatar meetings in Russia break down for us your sense of what this situation looks like and how it could likely unfold. So we've seen now four women that were taken hostage released in two stages over the past week essentially it was done unilaterally by Hamas through Qatari mediation where the Egyptians are involved just physically because the border crossing is where these women went through and then back into Israel but really it's the Qatari track and so there are back room, back channel negotiations going on between Qatari, Hamas and we presume the Israeli government as to what a future and further and perhaps wider hostage release deal would look like we've seen sketchy reports now over the past few days but again this is very very difficult Hamas has to choose to actually release hostages and again how many it's up to them and also Israel for its part has to decide whether it's willing to give Hamas ostensibly what it's demanding not just humanitarian aid but primarily fuel which the Israeli military has not allowed into Gaza now for three weeks and also a potential prison release on the Israeli side perhaps women and minors held in Israeli prisons, Palestinians held in Israeli prisons it's potentially doable but again what is the mood inside Israel right now is the wider public ready to perhaps release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli hostages Israel has done that in the past but under very very different very different circumstances something that is definitely going to be unpacked in the coming days no doubt as the situation unfolds stay with us Neri we want to go right now though to the north and our correspondent Hamdi Sahud joins us again from northern Israel and we now know that Hezbollah says 47 of its operatives have been killed in IDF bombing so far what is the latest fires could be seen earlier inside southern Lebanon what update can you share right Benita well those fires actually still burning now in southern Lebanon they're a little bit in the distance behind me but you can't really see them because of the smoke in the haze that has engulfed the area over the last 24 hours from the fires the Lebanese civil defense still haven't been able to get under control after continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah positions inside of Lebanese territory now there is a lot still left on the table whether Hezbollah is going to be fully involved in this conflict we've seen this kind of tit for tat small exchanges of fire here and there a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians dead on this side and on the other side 47 Hezbollah combatants four from Hamas and four from Palestinian Islamic Jihad there is a lot of interesting information still coming out that will really shift the conflict remember the ground invasion inside of the Gaza Strip is one of them but as of this morning the Israeli police and the government are reportedly voting on measures to allow Israeli police to use live ammunition at protesters in several parts of the country now this will also if this move is approved will likely to shift things that have been going on because we do know that force used against Palestinian demonstrations is something that the factions including Hezbollah are heavily against so just aggression from all sides here that will continue to really light the match that will ignite the flames of a larger escalation on the northern front remember the Americans have been pressuring all sides to really urge calm and restrain telling the Israelis publicly and privately not to have a larger strike in Lebanese territory against any Hezbollah targets because they don't want a semi regional conflict to break out in the region in exchange though they're offering them assurances militarily via air land and sea to assist them in their fight with Hezbollah should it get to that next level but here along the border while it is quite calm for now the situation is constantly developing the situation is constantly evolving so the fire are expected to continue the number of deaths expected to rise as those exchanges of fire continue here along the border Benita and keeping us posted on all the evolving developments as you put it correspondent Khamdeh Sahut live from northern Israel thank you Khamdeh and still in studio Neri Silva I want to get to the developments in Egypt earlier this morning but first I want to pick up on what we were just talking about obviously this major concern about Hezbollah potentially getting fully involved we know what is transpired in the last three weeks but the concern is a full onslaught out of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah that's right and it is a major concern if not the primary concern just given Hezbollah's strength and firepower over 100,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel and Israeli population centers so it would be a very different dynamic a very different ball game if you will if Hezbollah actually decided to get fully involved but as you say they are already involved over the past three weeks cross-border fire Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile teams and also sporadic mortar fire again those are within what's called here the rules of the game certain parameters known to both Hezbollah and Israel who for its part doesn't want a wider escalation Israel has made very clear its focus is on Gaza not Hezbollah and not Lebanon both as a country and a state Israel would rather avoid having to fight a two front war but Israel has also made clear that if Hezbollah escalates further then it will have no choice but to retaliate very strongly but again Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to give a speech at some point in the coming days it will be very interesting to see what he says he hasn't said anything publicly since October 7th certainly we'll be watching to see what comes out of Hassan Nasrallah and what his future plans are obviously huge risks involved and what our future plans will be depending on what Nasrallah decides no doubt about that many people would have been surprised to hear each have mentioned in reports earlier on this day because of what appears to have been a drone that landed in Taba mixed reports about exactly where it emanated from talk to us about exactly what is going down right now so this war is not just being fought in southern Israel on the Gaza front Lebanon in the north has also been rocket-fired from Syria in the northeast and also the south the southeast via the Red Sea this likely emanated from Yemen the Houthi militia closely allied with Iran they fired several cruise missiles and drones at Israel or in the direction of Israel last week it was intercepted by American naval assets in the Red Sea we don't quite know where this drone came from but it wouldn't surprise me the Houthi drone strike that got intercepted or failed right before by the way Taba it's on the border with Elat Israel's southern most city and many suggesting that perhaps it was something intended for Elat the reach that could come that far from Yemen yes absolutely we've seen the Houthi militia in Yemen fire missiles and drones kilometers away hundreds of kilometers away into Saudi Arabia into the United Arab Emirates they have the capabilities they have the range thanks to Iran and they've also shown that they're at least an active participant in this war hopefully they also do not get involved because that would be a further complication but again America has deployed various assets all across the region so this would not be just in Israel versus Iran in its proxies fight the idea would be that if his Bala and other Iranian proxies did get involved that Biden the Biden administration would also get involved so much to unpack so many developments happening at the same time across the region always appreciate your insight and breaking down what the significance is the dynamics involved in all these players at once Neri Zilber journalist and a junked fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy thank you very much for being here once again and that is where we wrap up this breaking news edition I'm Denise Elavine Tel Aviv our road and coverage continues shortly stay tuned thank you for watching 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you firsthand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 news coming watching I-24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border over the past hour Egypt says a drone in the Red Sea resort town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Tel Neweba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen and Israel has revised upwards to the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7th that number does not include the four hostages who have already been released the IDF says it conducted further targeted raids into Gaza last night for a second straight night the defence minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war well major general in the reserve is the former deputy chief of staff and while the terrorist attack was unfolding last week the former left wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova music festival where dozens of people were murdered he managed to save lives he told us about his own personal experiences of October 7th and about what he considers to be the main goals of this war here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get the phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times and taking out six persons out of the bushes all in all in three intervals and that's it in fact the real heroes are those who managed to escape and show much much courage and managed to save the life of their friends the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel Well a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the terrorist group had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's federal bureau said that he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian-backed terrorist group let's find out what is happening at Israel's northern border we're joined now by our correspondent Hamza Sahut Hamda what is the latest this hour Right Laura so while the exchange of fire is in a lull right now their fire is still burning across southern Lebanon and experts are saying that the Israeli military started these fires because Hezbollah uses the trees uses the mountainous terrain to move around and kind of launch surprise attacks on Israeli surveillance sites and military positions now the smoke is still in the air behind me those fires still burning as Lebanese civil defense is trying to get them under control but still can't seem to do so the last explosions we heard here were around 1 a.m. local time in that tit for tat exchanges that don't seem to be letting up so far Hezbollah says around 47 combatants from their side have been killed and the exchange is a fire and this is not even an indication that Hezbollah has fully entered the realm of this war this is just the beginning stages we've heard from Hezbollah officials over the last several weeks saying that this is just a warning to Israel and this is not the full extent of their capabilities now people inside of Hamas inside the political bureau are hoping to see more from Hezbollah hoping to see more from their allies in order to assist with their fight with the Israeli military and saying that if Hezbollah were to launch a larger scale attack they will be met with full force Thank you very much indeed She's at Israel's northern border well let's head to the south now where much of the action has been this morning and last night our correspondent Robert Swift is at the border with Gaza Rob give us the latest developments this morning then So just a few minutes ago there were launches of rockets or mortar fire from Gaza to communities in the very south close to the Egyptian border that appeared to be a limited launch throughout the morning there's been heavy Israeli air attacks started around about 3-4 hours ago and this escalated to the point where there was essentially airstrikes occurring once every minute or so at some point that has quieted down a little bit I can still hear drones overhead what sounded like an airstrike about five minutes ago but it's not at the same frequency with which it was earlier in the day Rob there was a limited ground incursion into Gaza overnight the second such raid by the IDF can you tell us a bit about what happened Yeah so the Israeli military went in with tanks and infantry and also with some engineering assets these were backed up by drones and Israeli aircraft and they went in essentially to prepare the ground for upcoming operations there and to attack targets inside Gaza Strip this is essentially aimed at degrading Hamas' defensive capabilities attacking their tactical level command and control and essentially seeding the ground for potentially larger scale incursions in the future Right the IDF says it's preparing for the second stage of the war Rob I mean three weeks on what kind of terrain well obviously everybody's aware that Gaza is a very heavy populated urban area it's also worth bearing in mind that there are some areas of open fields immediately between the border fence before the Israeli forces will come to the urban interface those areas the open areas Israel's likely to be able to move through them very quickly it has the advantage of range, fire power and mobility when it gets into the urban areas itself that's when Israel's likely to find that it's a more difficult terrain to deal with many of the advantages that Israel has as a significant military force many of them will be negated by the dense terrain and that's where Hamas will start to find that the battlefield is a little bit more even and that's when it will be dangerous for the Israeli military Rob thank you very much Robert Swift there he's down at the border with Gaza well with me in the studio Lieutenant Colonel Don Abital is the former commander of the Special Forces in the idea thank you very much for being with us a word first of all then on the limited raids into Gaza last night what do you think the idea is trying to achieve there those moves and I hope also other moves that we are not of course familiar with preparation for a bigger move in the future we have to understand that an army when it prepares it also prepares behind the borders and I think those important moves and they have to make all those preparations and I think it brings us closer to the possibility of a ground offensive right and do you think this is also linked to trying to locate the hostages perhaps but maybe those kind of operation we will know very little about and underneath the surface and when nobody would let us know nothing about them of course but I hope and I'm sure the Special Forces are operating on the borders trying to locate intelligence in order to get a clear picture about this issue it's important to know that what crystallizes is lately in the Israeli public and in the decision maker's mind is that the hostages in many respect come first or at least we have to open a window to any possible way of releasing at least the sick, the elderly and infants so this changes a little bit the way we move forward in terms of the ground offensive and of course support from the United States has been solid we heard another US official John Kirby last night really siding with Israel when it comes to what's going on inside Gaza but there is pressure isn't there because there is a large civilian population that is suffering we're hearing that 10 more aid trucks have entered Gaza this is the UN agency UNRAS says that food is running low in the strip I think from the beginning, from the offset I said that we don't play with humanitarian aid of course we have to monitor it carefully and we do this is not the issue, this is not the way we'll win the war we ask the population to go soft of course and we do know that Hamas is trying to block this movement to the south and we make all this preparation but humanitarian aid is something that we have to allow even if on the margin it might be used against it by Hamas because clearly there's no, we don't want the population to suffer in a magnitude that doesn't serve our interest and also is not humane. All right Doha I'll stay with this for now Doha and Amitabh thank you. Well joining us now on the line Mohamed Khabia is a reservist in the Israeli Air Force thank you very much for being with us Mohamed, first of all if I could ask you about the situation in the south and the north Hamas saying it's disappointed that Hezbollah has not joined the fighting so far in your view do you think this is in some ways a defeat Iran Hamas had hoped for a multi thronged attack on Israel and do you see signs that that hasn't materialized yet? I think, first of all thank you so much for having me and about your question but today Hezbollah they understood that they will get a massive attack by the IDF if they will help they try to help the Hamas to organization because they saw what happened to Gaza Strip and we already wanted to attack Gaza Strip sorry and we still in the first steps then we still in the first steps and we didn't invade to Gaza and Hezbollah they say that Hezbollah is in a country that destroyed economy they hiding behind civilian civilian people and inside a country that have big problems then I think that Hezbollah will think too much before they doing any step to attack Israel and to go with Israel to other steps with the Israeli IDF then I think that what Hezbollah doing today to shoot antitank missiles they want to show their people that we doing something to help the Hamas but they want to still in this in this limit to between Israel between the IDF and between Hezbollah Mohammad I mean you are in Arab you are a Muslim you are a member of the IDF I think it's fair to say that you offer a pretty unique perspective on this conflict people outside Israel might find it hard to understand but can you talk us through some of the complexities for you in your position for me it's very basically because I feel that I am Arab Israeli and Bedouin and I served in the IDF and like all my family members all of my family members they served and they are combat soldiers and all units in the IDF and my family and my tribe and my village built a blood alliance with the Jewish people before the state was established since 1936 until nowadays we are together with the Jewish people and Israel is my country the Torah nations can't separate between us Muslims Jewish and then we are we have to defend our country and we saw that the Hamas ISIS tourists they slaughtered and killed and murdered Bedouin Muslims in the south October 7th they didn't separate between the Jews and the Arabs then Hamas it is a Torah nations and our duty is to fight against this Torah nations and I think that many Arabs like me the majority the majority of the Arabs in Israel they are feeling like me that they have Israel and they support Israel they support the IDF Israel and our IDF have to destroy Hamas have to destroy the Torah infrastructure of Hamas and to release the hostages by the Hamas and the Jadik Islam and we know of course that members of your community the Bedouin community were also murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th and we know that the whole country Muslims, Christians, Jews are all affected by the Hamas rockets that are flying at us every day are you worried Mohammed that this terrible war might cause divisions in Israeli society? No, no, many people they not many people, some people they spoke about it will be like Shomar Homo operation like what's happened before two years that today all of the Israelis from all parties of the Israeli society they know that this war is war to defend the home, to defend our life here in Israel and we have to be the victories, we have to be the winners in this war because if not we will not be here we will not be in our homes because the homes will control and the Turks are innocent and the proxies of Iran will destroy everything in this country and I think that today and we saw it, we saw people from Bedouin villages that donating to the army and donating to the villages in the south and the towns in the south we saw that the Haridim, the Orthodox, Jewish Orthodox they joined to the IDF and we saw it that the all Israelis the all Israelis also the people that they protested against each other before one month today all of them in the front line and they fighting shoulder to shoulder to defend our country Mohammad I mean before you go, what about across the Arab world in Egypt, in Jordan, in other countries, I mean we see very very strong support not only for the Palestinian cause but in some cases for Hamas, I mean how do we how do we reach people, how do we tell people there about what's going on and do you think that they think differently privately perhaps? It's very complicated in the Arab world but if we going to if we looking to Gulf countries, we will find that the majority there, they support Israel and because they they know what it is Hamas and we have to remember that the Hamas and the Palestinian Turks, the United Nations, they kicked out from the all Arab countries because in the Black September and the 17th the PLO and Ashraf they tried to kill the King of Jordan and after that they went to Lebanon and they destroyed Lebanon because Lebanon had a war between Israel and between the Palestinian Turkish groups in their land and after that they went to Tunis and the Tunis had problems. I think that today the Arab world, not all of the Arab world but many people in the Arab world they understood that Hamas is a big problem and a big danger to the Arab countries also because Hamas is a Turkish nation before I think before 6 or 7 years Saudi Arabia they create rules against Hamas and against the brotherhood movement and they kicked out there that the Hamas leaders from the Saudi Arabia and because they know that Hamas is the brotherhood movement the brotherhood movement it's all of the Arab countries and the Muslim countries they know that is an extreme movement that is a big danger to their government but in the last of the day they have to show their peoples their communities that they want to help the Palestinian people and the Arab countries the Arab governments they want to help the Palestinian peoples and not Hamas because they know that Hamas is the problem. Thank you so much Thank you so much Thank you so much Alright we're going to head back to the border with Gaza What's happening? Yeah so we've just had another four airstrikes taking place here I'll step to my side so you can see some of the dust which has been thrown up into the air after back of that one of the airstrikes in particular was particularly strong you can probably still see smoke and dust which is above the buildings to our front this is not the first Israeli airstrikes we've seen here today but it is the first in maybe about 20 minutes half an hour I think and we're also starting to hear some Israeli artillery firing there has been some of that intermittently throughout the day on top of that we've also seen a little bit of movement of Israeli vehicles we're not sure quite what that's related to but there is a bit of movement here on the ground and that is all off the back of the earlier actions that we've seen as I said earlier there's been airstrikes here for at least the last three four hours with a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Air Force Alright Rob, thank you very much for bringing us up to date there Robert Swift he's in southern Israel Alright well let's take a closer look at the news that's coming out of Egypt overnight the IDF says two projectiles hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the Red Sea area Cairo says it was a drone six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba we can take a listen to the IDF spokesman now In the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation in our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defence in the region against threats from the Red Sea area Diane, if we could talk a bit about what's happened in Egypt overnight Egypt said it was a drone not a missile and Israel saying that it looks like it came from Yemen Yeah, I mean we had it before for sure this is Iranian hand and we have to think long term for Hezbollah may not join now to the battlefield and Iran is playing its hand on the margins but this is a long term campaign and the alliances are clear and they're coming from different angles also from the Syrian front we know that there's some kind of a Gershiyat militia we have to be prepared to all fronts and we know who is behind it and we have to play our hands very smartly and wisely, so and Egypt says it may respond I think it's important and I keep emphasizing it that we have allies in this game and Egypt is like it or not a disagreement statements the Egyptian public in the end it's our ally in this campaign and of course being heard by those by those attacks Egypt should play its hand with us I'm sure in terms of the intelligence there's a very firm coordination us the Egyptian and the Americans and we have to work it out fully and see how we block this kind of attacks I mean do you think Iran is trying to draw Egypt into this? What do you think Iran is trying to do? I don't think they were aiming Egypt I think they were aiming a lot and we know that in a lot many of the people that were evacuated are there so I think it was a very nasty and cynical attempt to hurt a lot and like in this battlefield it never goes as they wish I don't think they want to draw Egypt but they actually want to wear us out in the end and to play their hands when we are weaker so we have to be very careful and understand that it's a long campaign and Iran's big plan of course was to attack Israel on three fronts from the north and from the east how was that disappointed? I would say yeah of course but I think they want to wear us out it's not like they have a plan that goes hand by hand and then they conquer Israel I don't think they're smarter than that I don't think they want to wear us out in a society to isolate it to cause it to lose its alliances in the Sunni in the Sunni world and outside so it's a long campaign and we have to work it in all fronts including not only the battlefield but only the diplomatic front. Right and part of that we just heard from Muhammad there he's a Muslim in a bedroom he describes himself as an Israeli Arab and those general that evacuated so they were Bedouins one of them is really a heroic Bedouin leader that actually succeeded to save 30 or so party girls very impressive and I think the cohesiveness of the Israeli society is right now a test and I want to remind also as the Israelis that 20% Arabs the Druze that fought with us sold to shoulder in all the campaigns we have to understand that this is one Israeli society that has to stand to the challenge that is coming. This would also be a victory for Hamas and for sure. I think this would be for the greatest move they succeeded to separate us from our Bedouin friends because that was there in 2021 wasn't it? Exactly, exactly so this we have to be very careful there. I must say that the police and even the police testimony the head of the police said that the Arab population behaves very respectfully and it is less worried from riots within Israel and I think it's encouraging to and we have had near daily raids by security forces in the West Bank I think over a thousand people that are arrested. This is a preventive move that have to be taken because we have to not forget the year before those events where this campaign with Hamas operative and Islamic Jihad operative in northern Samaria they are there we have to do the preventive moves we have to as long as the campaign continues and of course hand those terrorists because we don't want the West Bank to wake up so it's important for the Palestinian Authority to keep it in power and not to see it weakened by those terrorists. Where is Muhammad Abbas in all of this? In the end it's a very problematic scenario we have to admit it it does see Palestinian civilians unfortunately dying but of course Hamas is his enemy he was chased off the Gaza Strip and I think in the long run we have to see Hamas diminished and we have to see a different new middleist. Do you see a greater role for him in any future post Hamas I'm not sure he is an elderly leader but I'm sure that the Palestinian Authority and the young leaders that might come out they have to be partner in any arrangement of the future Right of course and the most agonizing dilemma for Israel of course is the hostages that numbers have been revised upwards Exactly and this is really this we came to the Israeli public and to the decision makers crystal clear lately and this is why the window opens up in terms of trying to find some solution at least for the civilians before any major grand offensive starts of course things can change we have to see whether the Hamas is here so that Qatar can really pull its hand and really create a real deal we'll have to wait and see Alright Doron Abital thank you very much indeed we're going to take a short break do stay with us our live coverage continues here on I24 news for now though goodbye 1300 people murdered and more than 3000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on I24 news on international charges your people in rd access our website www.recargas.altis.com.co select charges and type the number you want to place the charge they also receive the double balance in charges of 8 dollars or more Altis, the global network of the Dominicans I24 news we're coming to you live from the Israeli war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza Israeli's this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border over the past hour while Egypt says a drone not a missile struck the Red Sea Resort Town of Tabba overnight a second projectile struck to Nwaba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children and taken to Gaza on October 7th. That number does not include the four hostages who have already been released. The IDF says it conducted further targeted raids into Gaza last night for a second straight night. The Defense Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war. Well, Major General in the reserve, Yair Golan, is the former Deputy Chief of Staff. And while the terrorist attack was unfolding last week, the former left-wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova Music Festival where dozens of people were murdered. He managed to save lives. And earlier, he told us about his own personal experiences of October 7th and about what he considers to be the main goals of this war. Here and there, I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova Festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival. And I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area. And that's what I did for about three times, taking out six persons out of the bushes, all in all, in three intervals. And that's it. In fact, the real heroes are those who manage to escape and show much courage and manage to save the life of their friends. The most important thing, I think, for all citizens of Israel, the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages. I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 persons inside the Gaza Strip. We need to bring them back. And all the rest is a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely. And all our citizens, no matter where, need to feel secure in the state of Israel. Well, a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the terrorist group had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel. Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said that he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian-backed terrorist group. Well, let's find out what is happening at Israel's northern border. We're joined now by our correspondent Hamda Sahut. And Hamda, what is the latest this hour?  And experts are saying that the Israeli military started these fires because Hezbollah uses the trees, uses the mountainous terrain to move around and kind of launch surprise attacks on Israeli surveillance sites and military positions. Now, the smoke is still in the air behind me. Those fires still burning as Lebanese civil defense is trying to get them under control, but still can't seem to do so. The last explosions we heard here were around 1 a.m. local time in that tit for tat exchanges that don't seem to be letting up. So far, Hezbollah says around 47 combatants from their side have been killed in the exchanges of fire, and this is not even an indication that Hezbollah has fully entered the realm of this war. This is just the beginning stages we've heard from Hezbollah officials over the last several weeks saying that this is just a warning to Israel, that they have a full extent of their capabilities. Now, people inside of Hamas, inside the political bureau are hoping to see more from Hezbollah, hoping to see more from their allies in order to assist with their fight with the Israeli military, and the Americans have been saying that if Hezbollah were to launch a larger scale attack, they will be met with full force. Laura. Hamza, thank you very much indeed. Hamza Salahud there, she's at Israel's northern border. Well, let's head to the south now where much of the action has been this morning and last night. Our correspondent Robert Swift is at the border with Gaza. Rob, give us the latest developments this morning then. So just a few minutes ago there was launches of rockets or mortar fire from Gaza to communities in the very south close to the Egyptian border. That appeared to be a limited launch. Throughout the morning there's been heavy Israeli air attacks started around about three or four hours ago and this escalated to the point where there was essentially airstrikes occurring once every minute or so at some point. That has quieted down a little bit. I can still hear drones overhead and there was what sounded like an airstrike about five minutes ago, but it's not at the same frequency with which it was earlier in the day. And Rob, there was a limited ground incursion into Gaza overnight. The second such raid by the IDF can you tell us a bit about what happened? Yeah, so the Israeli military went in with tanks and with infantry and also with some engineering assets. These were backed up by drones and Israeli aircraft and they went in essentially to prepare the ground for upcoming operations there and to attack targets inside Gaza Strip. This is essentially aimed at degrading Hamas's defensive capabilities attacking their tactical level command and control and essentially seeding the ground for potentially larger scale incursions in the future. Right, the IDF says it's preparing for the second stage of the war, Rob.  Well, obviously everybody's aware that Gaza is a very heavy populated urban area. It's also worth bearing in mind that there are some areas of open fields immediately between the border fence before the Israeli forces will come to the urban interface. Those areas, the open areas Israel's likely to be able to move through them very quickly. It has the advantage of range, fire power and mobility. When it gets into the urban areas itself, that's when Israel's likely to find that it's more difficult to deal with. Many of the advantages that Israel has as a significant military force, many of them will be negated by the dense terrain, and that's where Hamas will start to find that the battlefield is a little bit more even, and that's when it will be dangerous for the Israeli military. Rob, thank you very much. Robert Swift there, he's down at the border with Gaza. Well, with me in the studio, Lieutenant Colonel Dohan Abital is the former commander of the Special Forces in the IDF. Thank you very much for being with us. A word, first of all, then on the limited raids into Gaza last night. What do you think those moves, and I hope also other moves that we don't we are not, of course, familiar with are preparation for a bigger move in the future. We have to understand that an army, when it prepares, it also prepares behind the borders and I think those important moves and they have to make all those preparations, and I think it brings us closer to the possibility of a ground offensive. Right, and do you think this is also linked to trying to locate the hostages? Perhaps, but maybe those kind of operation we will know very little about and then leave the surface and when nobody would let us know nothing about them, of course, but I hope and I'm sure that Special Forces are operating on the borders, trying to locate intelligence in order to get a clear picture about this issue. It's important to know that what crystallizes is lately in the Israeli public and decision maker's mind is that the hostages in many respect come first or at least we have to open a window to any possible way of releasing at least the sick, the elderly and the infants, so this changes a little bit the way we move forward in terms of the ground offensive. And of course support from the United States has been solid. We heard another U.S. official John Kirby last night really siding with Israel when it comes to what's going on inside Gaza, but there is pressure, isn't there, because there is a large civilian population that is suffering. We're hearing that 10 more aid trucks have entered Gaza. This is the U.N. agency UNRAS says that food is running low in the strip. I think from the beginning, from the offset I said that we don't play with humanitarian aid. Of course, we have to monitor it carefully and we do it. This is not the issue. This is not the way we'll win the war. We ask the population to go soft, of course, and we do know that Hamas is trying to block this movement to the south and we make all this preparation, but humanitarian aid is something that we have to allow, even if on the margin it might be used against it by Hamas because clearly there's no, we don't want the population to suffer in a magnitude that doesn't serve our interests and also is not humane. All right, Doran, stay with us and thank you. Well, joining us now on the line, Mohammed Khabib is a reservist in the Israeli Air Force. Thank you very much for being with us, Mohammed. First of all, if I could ask you about the situation in the south and the north, Hamas saying it's disappointed that Hezbollah has not joined the fighting so far. In your view, do you think this is, in some ways, a defeat? Iran, Hamas had hoped for a multi thronged attack on Israel and do you see signs that that hasn't materialized yet? I think, first of all, thank you so much for having me and about your question. I think that today, Hezbollah they understood that they will get a massive attack by the IDF if they will help, they try to help the Hamas to organization, because they saw what happened to Gaza Strip and we already wanted to attack Gaza Strip, sorry, and we still in the first steps, then we still in the first steps and we didn't invade Gaza and Hezbollah, they say that Hezbollah is a country that destroyed the economy with the hiding behind civilian civilian people and inside a country that have big problems then I think that Hezbollah will think too much before they doing any step to attack Israel and to go with Israel to other other steps with the Israeli IDF then I think that what Hezbollah doing today to shoot anti-tank missiles as they want to show their people that we doing something to help the Hamas, but they want to still in this limit between the IDF and between Hezbollah.  For me, it's very basically because I feel that I'm Arab Israeli and Bedouin and I served in the IDF and I like all my family members all of my family members they served and they are combat combat soldiers and all units in the IDF and my family and my tribe built a blood alliance with the Jewish people before when the state was established since 1936 until nowadays we are together with the Jewish people and Israel is my country that all the nations can't separate between us Muslims between us Jewish and then we are we have to defend our country so that the Hamas ISIS they slaughtered and killed and murdered Bedouin Muslims in the south in the October 7th they didn't separate between the Jews and the Arabs then Hamas it is our duty is to fight against this towards the nations that many Arabs like me the majority of the Arabs in Israel they are feeling like me that they have Israel and they support Israel they support the IDF and Israel and our IDF have to destroy Hamas have to destroy the entire infrastructure of Hamas and to release the hostages by the Hamas and we know of course that members of your community the Bedouin community were also murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th and we know that the whole country Muslims, Christians, Jews are all affected by the Hamas rockets that are flying at us every day are you worried Mohammed that this terrible war might cause divisions in Israeli society no many people not many people some people they spoke about it will be like operation like what's happened before two years but I think that today all of the Israelis from the all parties of the Israeli society they know that this war is war to defend the home our our life here in Israel and we have to be the victories we have to be the winners in this war because if not we will not be here we will not be in our homes because the host will control and the Turks are innocent and the proxies of Iran will destroy everything in this country and I think that today and we saw it we saw people from Bedouin villages that donating to the army and donating to the villages in the south and the towns in the south we saw that the Haridim the Orthodox Jewish Orthodox they joined to the idea and we saw it that the all Israelis the all Israelis also the people that they protested protested against each other before one month today all of them in the front line and they fighting shoulder to shoulder to defend our country and Muhammad I mean before you go what about you know across the Arab world in Egypt in Jordan in other countries I mean we see very very strong support not only for the Palestinian cause but in some cases for Hamas I mean how do we reach people how do we tell people there about what's going on do you think that they think differently privately perhaps you know it's very complicated in the Arab world but if we going to the if we looking to the Gulf countries we will find that the majority there they support Israel and because they know what it is Hamas and we have to remember that the Hamas and the Palestinian organization they kicked out from the all Arab countries because in the black September and in the 17th the Pelo and Ashraf they tried to kill the king of Jordan and after that they went to Lebanon and they destroyed Lebanon because Lebanon had a war between Israel and between the Palestinian tour groups in their land and after that they went to Tunis and the Tunis had problems I think that today in the Arab world not all of the Arab world but many people in the Arab world they they understand that Hamas is a big problem and a big danger to the Arab countries also because Hamas is a tour organizations I before I think before six or seven years Saudi Arabia they create a law against Hamas and against the brotherhood movement and they kicked out the Hamas leaders from the Saudi Arabia and because they know that Hamas is the brotherhood movement and the brotherhood movement it's all of the Arab countries and the muslim countries they know that is an extreme movement that is a big danger to their government but you know in the last of the day they have to show that their peoples their communities that they want to help the Palestinian people and the Arab countries the Arab government they want to help the Palestinian peoples and not Hamas because they know that Hamas is the problem. Mohammad thank you so much. Thank you so much. Alright we're going to head back to the border with Gaza our Robert Swift is there Rob what's happening? Yeah so we've just had another four airstrikes taking place here I'll step to my side so you can see some of the dust which is being thrown up into the air after back of that one of the airstrikes in particular was particularly strong you can probably still see the cloud of smoke and dust which is above the buildings to our front this is not the first Israeli airstrikes we've seen here today but it is the first in maybe about 20 minutes half an hour I think and we're also starting to hear some Israeli firing there has been some of that intermittently throughout the day on top of that we've also seen a little bit of movement of Israeli vehicles we're not sure quite what that's related to but there is a bit of movement here on the ground and that is all off the back of the earlier actions that we've seen as I said earlier there's been airstrikes here for at least the last three four hours with a heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli force all right Rob thank you very much for bringing us up to date there Robert Swift he's in southern Israel all right well let's take a closer look at the news that's coming out of Egypt overnight the IDF says two projectiles that hit Egypt in the early hours of Friday morning came from the red sea area Cairo says it was a drone six people were injured when it hit a medical facility in the resort town of Taba we can take a listen to the IDF spokesman now in the last few hours an aerial threat was detected in the red sea area fighter jets were dispatched towards the threat and the subject is currently under investigation in our understanding the missile impact that happened in Egypt originates from this threat Israel will work together with Egypt and the US and will tighten the defense in the region against threats from the red sea area we could talk a bit about what's happened Egypt overnight Egypt said it was a drone not a missile and Israel saying that it looks like it came from Yemen yeah I mean we had it before for sure this is Iranian hand and we have to think long-term Hezbollah may not join now to the battlefield and Iran is playing its hand on the margins but this is a long-term campaign and the alliances are clear and they're coming from different angles also from Syrian front we know that there's some kind of organized militia we have to be prepared to all fronts and we know who is behind it and we have to play our hands very smartly and wisely so and Egypt says it may respond what kind of I think it's important and I keep emphasizing it that we have allies in this game and Egypt is like it or not disagreement statements the part the Egyptian public in the end it's our ally in this campaign and of course being heard by those by those attacks Egypt should play its hand with us I'm sure in terms of the intelligence there's a very firm coordination us the Egyptian and the Americans and we have to work it out fully and see how we block this kind of attacks I mean do you think Iran is trying to draw Egypt into this what do you think I don't think they were aiming Egypt I think they were aiming a lot and we know that in a lot many of the people that were evacuated are there so I think it was a very nasty and cynical attempt to hurt a lot and like in this battlefield it never goes as they wished but I don't think they want to draw Egypt but they actually want to wear us out in the end and to play their hands when we are weaker so we have to be very careful and understand that it's a long campaign and Iran's big plan of course was to attack Israel on three fronts from the north and from the east how much is it disappointed I would say yeah of course but I think they want to wear us out it's not like they have a plan that goes hand by hand and then they conquer Israel I don't think they're smarter than that just to wear the Israeli society to isolate it to cause it to lose its alliances in the Sunni in the Sunni world and outside so it's a long campaign and we have to work it in all fronts including not only the battlefield but only the diplomatic front. Right and part of that I mean we just heard from Muhammad he's a Muslim and a Bedouin he describes himself as an Israeli Arab it's a very interesting comment and I want to emphasize you mentioned the Ayur Golan and those generals that evacuated so there were Bedouins one of them is really a heroic Bedouin leader that actually succeeded to save 30 or so party girls very impressive and I think the cohesiveness of the Israeli society is right now a test and I want to remind also us the Israelis that 20% Arabs the Druze that fought with us sold to shoulder in all the campaigns we have to understand that this is one Israeli society that has to stand to the challenge that is coming. That would also be a victory for Hamas and for sure. I think this would be the greatest move they succeeded to separate us from our Bedouin friends. That was here in 2021 wasn't it? Exactly so this we have to be very careful there I must say that the police and even the police testimony the head of the police said that the Arab population behaves very respectfully and it is less worried from riots within Israel and I think it's encouraging to hear this. And we have had near daily raids by security forces in the West Bank I think over 1000 people are arrested This is a preventive move that have to be taken because we have to not forget the year before those events where this campaign with Hamas operative and Islamic Jihad operative in Northern Samaria they are there we have to do the preventive moves we have to as long as the campaign continues and of course hand those terrorists because we don't want the West Bank to wake up. It's also important in terms of the Palestinian Authority to keep it in power and not to see it weakened by those terrorists. Where is Muhammad Abbas in all of this? In the end it's a very problematic scenario we have to admit it it does see Palestinian civilians definitely dying but of course Hamas is his enemy he was chased off the Gaza Strip I think in the long run we have to see Hamas diminished and we have to see a different new Middle East. Do you see a greater role for him in any future post Hamas Gaza? I'm not sure he's an elderly leader but I'm sure that the Palestinian Authority and young leaders that might come out they have to be a partner in any arrangement of the future. Right of course and the most important for Israel of course is the hostages that numbers have been revised upwards. Exactly and this is really this we came to the Israeli public and to the decision makers crystal clear lately and this is why the window opens up in terms of trying to find some solution at least for the civilians. Before any major grand offensive starts of course things can change we have to see whether the Hamas is serious whether Qatar can really pull its hand and really create a real deal we'll have to wait and see. Alright Doreen Abital thank you very much indeed we're going to take a short break do stay with us our live coverage continues here on i24 news for now though goodbye. Officially in a state of war this is a very active scene and we need to get in the car as we're talking More than a hundred soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped We just don't know anything. Entire families including babies children and elderly were butchered in their beds. Awaken the giant and we are ready and we are strong. Everyone is showing up this is the unity. We are watching i24 news we're coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza has resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border and more recently in the city of Ashdod. Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7th that does not include the four women who were released last week. The IDF says it hit around 250 Hamas targets overnight and also conducted further targeted raids inside Gaza last night for the second straight night. The Defence Minister says Israel is preparing for the next stage of war. Egypt says a drone not a missile struck the Red Sea Resort town of Taba overnight a second projectile struck Nwaba in Egypt's Sinai province Israel has indicated that the launch likely came from Yemen Egypt has said it may respond and in the latest diplomatic pressure brought to bear on Israel the United Nations Israel may be guilty of war crimes accusing it of imposing collective punishment on civilians in Gaza. Well let's head south our correspondent Robert Swift is at the southern border he joins us now. Rob the IDF says it hit dozens of Hamas targets overnight and there has been a lot more rocket fire from Gaza this morning. That's right there's been the rocket fire that you mentioned primarily onto the city of Ashdod that was about 20 minutes ago but that's not the only incidents taking place here on the Gaza border there's been additional airstrikes in the last I'd say 40 minutes some pretty heavy bombardments from Israeli jets taking place behind us as well as there's been some machine gun fire and also rifle or marksman's fire that we can hear over there to sort of the north of Gaza now if you look towards the buildings you might notice that they're less clear they're less visible than they were previously and that's because of the intensity of the bombardment we're standing over a mile away from these buildings where the Israeli ordnance landed and we could taste and smell the gunpowder in the air you could feel the dust in your eyes so you can imagine so in fact we're just now going over our heads what appears to be intercepts or missiles I think that looks like it might be an iron dome firing over our head if that is the case and that likely indicates that there's a rocket being fired but we're just waiting for confirmation and you could and also to our front we're staying Rob alright we have rocket sirens blaring here in Jaffa as well Central Tel Aviv being targeted with rockets right now as well Rob you're still with us we've lost Rob just to bring you up to date Sirens blaring here in Central Tel Aviv we're in Jaffa right now and we've just had the sirens going off so that was Rob Avi Melamed is here with us in the studio he is a security expert the founder of Inside the Middle East Institute so here we are 21 days in and there are still very much firing rockets Yes and there is a lot more to come unfortunately We had a similar barrage of rockets fired at Tel Aviv around the same time yesterday didn't we getting into some kind of routine I don't exactly remember that but obviously as we know they are kind of like from time to time particularly Friday is a day where we know they are trying to target the center Tel Aviv area and other places let's talk there we go I think we just heard the interception two interceptions overhead this is becoming this is the part of the lunatic reality yeah it's not nice but you can hear those rockets exploding quite closely but let's continue with our broadcast because we are not going to be taking off air because of that let's talk about what is going on inside Gaza then 250 targets hit overnight what is your assessment of how the IDF is degrading the military capabilities of Hamas at this point well look for the last 21 day the Israeli Air Force is spawning Hamas infrastructure targets you know commanding rooms, militants, activists the tactical command chain of Hamas is severely beaten so we are looking at the continuing and constant grinding of Hamas military capacities this is for itself cannot achieve the final objective that Israeli government say meaning to eliminate Hamas ruling power in Gaza Strip but it is definitely something that is preparing the ground for the next move and there is a lot of pressure on Israel we just heard that statement from the UN that's following a UN General Assembly vote we know that none of the UN Security Council motions have managed to pass they've been blocked either by the United States or by Russia and China but part of the pressure on Israel right now is to allow fuel supplies into Gaza the age group say that they need that fuel for the hospitals and all the rest of it Israel has said no Hamas has fuel capabilities it is up to Hamas whether they want to share that with the civilian population or not well we see now a vicious game look Hamas holding the hostages and Hamas is using the hostages as a shield as an insurance policy Hamas would like as much as possible to exhaust that card called the hostages in order in the end of the day to stop the upcoming Israeli military Israel has currently two major pressure powers a card in its possession to put pressure on Hamas one is the aerial attacks on Hamas and the escalating of the attacks on Hamas and the other thing is the fuel and this is a vicious game because Hamas is desperately going to need more and more of that fuel because they need air conditioning and the tunnels among other things many of their commanding systems and the launching system which is basically remotely activated are based upon the ability to produce this electricity that they generated so they need this fuel that's the reason why they insist to have this fuel so we are looking at a kind of like a vicious power game here but Israel has to try to exhaust all the cards that it has in its possession to basically force Hamas to move on to finalize the saga of the hostages and bring them back home How long can Israel hold out on the fuel issue do you think we're coming up to three weeks now look I mean I don't think that we should stand up with a watch you know watching the every minute that goes by I think that the right approach would be to say this is a long term project this is a long term process this is something that is going to take a long period of time it has to be done in phases and it has to be done in a way that will match the intermin objectives that Israeli government sets and the Israeli military sets Are you of the opinion that it's better to that there is a window of opportunity for when that ground offensive should go in or do you think Israel can take as long as it needs a hostage situation apart obviously well I don't know to say about window for opportunity there are different opinions about it some are saying that the more Israel is prolonging the attack it's not good some are saying no it's the opposite because for the time being the Israeli Air Force is surrounding Hamas its diminishing Hamas military capacity so when the time come to move in full force ahead that will be the right time to do that I don't know to say if there is the right window of opportunity but I do think that when we look at the whole picture generally we see that the combination of the Israeli military air strikes and the preparation and seemingly the last couple of days this small scale Israeli on the ground military operation that basically sets the ground for the upcoming stage which hopefully would be a much more powerful in the sense of like putting more pressure on Hamas let's talk about another element of this there were US strikes against Iranian proxies inside Syria in response presumably to Iranian proxy attacks on US assets in the region do you see the US gradually getting more and more involved? that is yes by the way there has been report coming from Syria that following the US attack on the Iranian militias in eastern part of Syria and according to one of my sources one of the place that was hit directly was a place of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards themselves in the eastern part of Syria it's a place called Mazare next to the Syrian-Iraqi border and what happened after the American attack is that there was some sort of like apparently retaliation by Iranian back militias who fired at an oil field called the Amir in the northeast part of Syria and following that apparently there is a gradual process of like exchange of punches sort of speaking between the United States and Iranian back militias in Syria it seems like the Iranian are raising the stakes gradually all right well I hold that to what Aviv Melamed because it's talking about trying to spark a more broader regional conflict as the senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that they had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel that Sakhazi Hamad a member of the Hamas political bureau he said he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian back terrorist group Hamda Salhouti is up at the northern border and she's with us now Hamda just give us an update of what's been going on where you are Well Laura look fires continue to burn from strikes by the Israeli military yesterday and just moments ago an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah operatives apparently at an Israeli military base along the border causing a fire there there are smoke plumes behind me but because of the haze you can't really see them this is not the haze just because of the weather it's also from the fires that have been burning for the last 24 hours now experts are saying that Israel is setting fires to these areas because Hezbollah can move freely and secretively among the trees among the forest and among the mountainous terrain so if they're able to burn some of the acres and acres of land they're not able to move as freely and then surprise attack Israel with attacks on its security infrastructure or other military capabilities now while this is all ongoing there are meetings going on between Hamas officials Iranian officials and Russian officials as well all of this with the hopes that Hamas will garner more support for his cause hoping that Hezbollah will have more of a hand in this war so that Israel can really what they're hoping is over stretch itself to the northern and southern front where all the focus won't just be on the south inside of the Gaza Strip now there's also a few other things to take into consideration the Israeli police and the government are looking to approve measures that will allow the use of live fire against Palestinian demonstrators this is something that will be seen as extremely provocative and unacceptable to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah so perhaps once more measures by the Israeli military and the government are taken we can expect to see more of a response but as of now those tit for tat exchanges of fire still continuing combat instead on both sides on the Israeli side civilians included in that exchange I'll remind you a lot of these communities evacuated by the defense ministry along with the Israeli military trying to just get civilians out of harm's way and the same thing on the other side of the border the Lebanese are also evacuating around a hundred kilometers of the southern border so that people can go more central and north but the Lebanese government doesn't really have the means to do so so at this time the situation still developing as we can expect to see more of these escalations Hamda thank you very much indeed Hamda Sahud there at the northern border where she says the IDF has been lighting fires to literally create a smoke screen which makes it more difficult for Hezbollah the terrorist group on the other side of the border and there are fears of course that it will join the conflict Israel is on high alert there we've had rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last 15 minutes we have heard reports of one casualty if I could get details on that one person lightly injured in southern Tel Aviv so that is the situation now we just heard the booms from the studio right here is the iron dome intercepted some of those rockets but apparently one person lightly injured in the south of Tel Aviv will try and get you more details on that the IDF meanwhile has made public the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7 between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities committed against civilians and his commander back in Gaza and we can listen to part of it now right so as the UN is accusing Israel of committing war crimes there we heard yet more evidence that Hamas terrorists directly targeted civilians in southern Israel but now let's talk about what happened just a few moments ago rocket fire a large barrage of rockets and one of those rockets hit Tel Aviv we're hearing from Israeli media from channel 12 news that one of those rockets hit a building in Tel Aviv one person was injured intercepted there we are you can see the building that was hit fire in an apartment in Tel Aviv three people have been injured I'm now hearing three people injured can we get those pictures back up three people injured after a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv you can see flames and smoke from the building that was hit a reminder that Hamas is and Palestine in Islamic jihad and other groups are firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas here in Israel and then you can see the result of one of those rockets it has just hit a building in Tel Aviv in the south of the city and three people have been injured Avi I think this is one of the rocket attacks that we've seen so far would you agree with that? I don't know we've seen many rocket attacks I want to say something about something that you mentioned before which is very significant one of the senior leaders of Hamas basically expressed what we already noticed there is a growing discontent within Hamas because of the fact that the Hezbollah is not full steam ahead joining the war why is it so significant because one of the major concepts that Hamas was marketing to the people in Gaza Strip when they come and there is a war with Israel Hezbollah the big brother of Hamas all of speaking will join into the war Hezbollah up until now has not joined full steam to the war there is a reason for that the Iranian and Hezbollah are hesitant to do that because the Iranians the Iranians are facing a dilemma if they are going to throw Hezbollah to the war in order to save their base in Gaza Strip meaning Hamas and Islamic jihad they may jeopardize both of them they are not full of Hamas and Islamic jihad and also severe damage to the Hezbollah so the Iranian regime and the Hezbollah for the time being are applying a tactic of a very gradual escalation of the situation but not crossing some specific lines in Hamas and Islamic jihad every day that goes by and the Hezbollah is not joining in basically increase the pressure upon Hamas and Islamic jihad because already they are facing a significant criticism in the Arab world in the Muslim world for the havoc and disaster they have inflicted upon Gaza Strip and the people of Gaza Strip so right now we see these tensions between Hamas and the Hezbollah but the Hezbollah in the end of the day is tuned to the Hezbollah and Iranian orders not necessary to the needs of the Hamas and Islamic jihad if by the end of this story Hamas is crushed and losing its power in Gaza Strip Islamic jihad is crushed and at the same time Hezbollah being out of the wall that will be yet another nail in Hamas political coffin and I mean there seems to be an effort as well on the part of many of the Hamas spokespeople to really distance themselves from that ISIS tag that seems to be something particularly sensitive we saw one of the Hamas officials interviewed on the Al Arabiya Saudi news channel and it appeared to become very angry at the comparison with Daesh ISIS. That is correct the Hamas are very sensitive with that look they are trying to do some sort of like a damage control but it has to be clear even though Hamas and ISIS are different organizations they have couple of things in common they are both advocating and advancing a genocidal agenda they both boast to eliminate the state of Israel they both want to establish a caliphate not a Palestinian state and they both express none compromising animosity towards Jews and towards infidels meaning Christians so in that regards Hamas and ISIS have a lot of common denominators and for them as well and by the way there are people in the world who are saying no but ISIS and Hamas are two different organizations that is correct but as I said before these are the common denominators and this is why it's accurate to say Hamas is ISIS the same way that people are saying ISIS and Al Qaeda are different organizations that's correct they are different organizations but they have lots in common denominators exactly the same picture when it comes to Hamas and ISIS, Hamas is ISIS alright okay well let's talk more about what happened on that dreadful day almost three weeks ago a major general in the reserve Ziaia Golan is the former deputy chief of staff while the terrorist attack was unfolding on October 7th the former left-wing lawmaker jumped into his car and drove towards the Supernova music festival where dozens of young people were murdered he managed to save lives he told us about his only personal experiences of October 7th and also about what he considers to be the main goal of this war here and there I got more and more messages about people who were escaped from the Nova festival and they asked for refuge in the bushes around the location of the festival and I started to get phone calls whether I can take them out of these bushes in the combating area and that's what I did for about three times taking out six persons out of the bushes and all in all in three intervals and that's it in fact the real heroes are those who managed to escape and show much courage and managed to save the life of their friends the most important thing I think for all citizens of Israel the goals of the war and the first one is to free all our hostages I think it's unacceptable to leave these 220 citizens inside the Gaza Strip we need to bring them back and all the rest it's a matter of time and stamina and our willingness to live here safely and all our citizens no matter where need to feel secure in the state of Israel that was Major General Yair Golan now a national hero I believe the channel earlier Avi Melamed is still with us Avi, we heard Yair Golan talking about the goals of the war there the Israeli leadership have said time and again that destroying Hamas is the number one goal there is also the goal of course more important than anything to bring back the hostages are those two goals mutually exclusive can they both be achieved? I think that what the Israeli government is doing is moving in parallel in those two trajectories fighting the war as if there is no issue of the hostages and dealing with the issue of the hostages as if there is no war I want to say something about the objective of the final objective of this war in the end of this war the purpose is that Hamas will stop to be a relevant player Hamas views itself as a regional player and he wants to dictate its agenda not only on the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also on the region as whole and in the end of this war what has to happen is that Hamas will be irrelevant that he will be no longer able to dictate its agenda and the Iranian agenda it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to hunt every last person of Hamas or to eliminate every last rocket of Hamas that is not the story the story is basically in the end of the day to make sure that Hamas will be no longer a relevant player and he will basically taken out of the equation that is enormously significant it's an Israeli interest, it's a Palestinian interest, it's a regional interest it's an international interest and the other most significant outcome of something like that, hopefully that will be the case, it is totally destabilizing and taking out of balance the Iranian master plan and it's totally disrupting the Iranian ability to continue to play the flames of the conflict as they wish therefore that should be the objective toppling down Hamas will in Gaza Strip and basically Hamas an irrelevant player in the region alright, thank you Avimele Ahmed and just a reminder of what has happened in the last 20 minutes a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza and there has been a direct hit on an apartment building in Tel Aviv there you can see footage coming from Israeli media an apartment was seen in flames I'm not sure if this is live or is this just a few moments ago, there we go this is the apartment that's been hit three people injured we're not sure how badly injured we will of course keep you updated on that but a stark reminder of just how dangerous these rockets and missiles that are being fired at Israel constantly are, we'll keep you up so that is something that Israelis millions of Israelis are having to deal with on a daily basis it used to be, didn't it, Avimele Ahmed we're dealing with this now of course the whole country very much affected by rocket fire out of Gaza yes, this is something that the world must understand, there is no one single inch in the state of Israel that could not be hit by rockets or missiles either fired from Gaza Strip or fired from Lebanon or flying through Syria this is something that the world has to be aware of alright, Avimele, thank you very much indeed well, we will keep you updated rockets or not here at I-24 news from Tel Aviv, we continue our coverage do stay tuned all the very latest developments for you here in English, don't go anywhere, goodbye 1,300 people murdered and more than 3,000 injured and the war with Hamas continues we bring you first-hand testimonies from the front lines from those who survived and all the records of the atrocities by Hamas follow us as Israel fights terror from the south and north get the inside scoop on what's going on only on I-24 news the American Red Wolf is the most endangered wolf in the entire world and the American Red Wolf is the only wolf that is only native to the United States and in that regards they should be a national treasure so it is a privilege to be able to provide their medical care and it's very important for people to be aware of the species and want to understand them so that they can understand what's going on in the world so that they can understand the species and want to understand them so that they can be protected in the wild and not go extinct we are watching I-24 news we are coming to you live from Tel Aviv on this day 21 of Israel's war with Hamas after 10 hours of quiet rocket fire from Gaza has resumed this morning sirens have been blaring in the communities close to the border and more recently in the city of Ashdod Israel has revised upwards the number of hostages who are being held in Gaza it says 229 men women and children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza on October 7 and that does not include the four women who were released last week the IDF about what's going on inside Gaza then 250 targets hit overnight what is your assessment of how the IDF is degrading the military capabilities of Hamas at this point well look for the last 21 day the Israeli officers bounding Hamas infrastructure targets commanding rooms, militants the tactical command chain of Hamas is severely beaten so we are looking at the continuing and constant grinding of Hamas military capacities this is for itself cannot achieve the final objective that Israeli government say meaning to eliminate Hamas as a ruling power in Gaza Strip but it is definitely something that is preparing the ground for the next move and there is a lot of pressure on Israel we just heard that statement from the UN following a UN General Assembly vote we know that none of the UN Security Council motions have managed to pass they've been blocked either by the United States or by Russia and China but part of the pressure on Israel right now is to allow fuel supplies into Gaza the age group say that they need that fuel for the hospitals and all the rest of it Israel has said no Hamas has fuel capabilities it is up to Hamas whether they want to share that with the civilian population or not Hamas holding the hostages and Hamas is using the hostages as a shield as an insurance policy Hamas would like as much as possible to exhaust that card called the hostages in order in the end of the day to stop the upcoming Israeli military Israel has currently two major pressure powers a card in its possession to put pressure on Hamas one is the aerial attacks on Hamas and the escalating of the attacks on Hamas and the other thing is the fuel and this is a vicious game because Hamas is desperately going to need more and more of that fuel they need air conditioning don't they and the tunnels they could among other things many of their commanding systems and the launching system which is basically remotely activated are based upon the ability to produce this electricity that generated so they need this fuel they need this fuel that's the reason why they insist to have this fuel so we are looking at a kind of like a vicious power game here but Israel has to try and exhaust all the cards that it has in his possession to basically force Hamas to move on and to finalize the saga of the hostages and bring them back home How long can Israel hold out on the fuel issue do you think we're coming up to three weeks now look I mean I don't think that we should stand up with a watch you know watching the every minute that goes by I think that the right approach would be to say this is a long term project this is a long-term process this is something that is going to take a long period of time it has to be done in phases and it has to be done in a way that will match the intermin objectives that Israeli government sets and the Israeli military sets Are you of the opinion that it's better to that there is a window of opportunity for when the ground offensive should go in or do you think Israel can take as long as it needs a hostage situation apart obviously well I don't know to say about window of opportunity I know there are different opinions about it some are saying that the more Israel is prolonging the attack it's not good some are saying no it's the opposite because for the time being the Israeli air force is pounding Hamas it's limited it's diminishing Hamas military capacity so when the time come to move in full force ahead that will be the right time to do that I don't want to say if there is the right window of opportunity but I do think that when we look at the whole picture generally we see that the combination of the Israeli military air strikes and the preparation and seemingly the last couple of days this small scale Israeli on the ground military operation that basically sets the ground for the upcoming stage which hopefully would be a much more powerful in the sense of like putting a more pressure on Hamas let's talk about another element of this there were US strikes against Iranian proxies inside Syria in response presumably to Iranian proxy attacks on US assets in the region do you see the US gradually getting more and more involved? Yes the bottom line for that is yes by the way there has been report coming from Syria that following the US attack on the Iranian militias baked in eastern part of Syria and according to one of my sources one of the place that was hid directly was a place of the Iranian revolutionary guards themselves in the eastern part of Syria it's a place called Mazare next to the Syrian-Iraqi border and what happened after the American attack is that there was some sort of like apparently retaliation by Iranian back militias who fired at an oil field called the Amir in the northeast part of Syria and following that apparently there is a gradual process of like exchange of exchanges sort of speaking between the United States and Iranian back militias in Syria it seems like the Iranian are raising the stakes gradually. All right well hold that thought Aviv Melamed because it's talking about trying to spark a more broader regional conflict a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that they had expected a stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel that Sakhazi Hamad was a member of the Hamas political bureau he said he expected more from the Lebanese-based Iranian back terrorist group Hamda Salhouti is up at the northern border and she's with us now Hamda just give us an update of what's been going on where you are. Well Laura look fires continue to burn in Lebanese territory from strikes by the Israeli military yesterday and just moments ago an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah operatives apparently at an Israeli military base they're causing a fire there. There are smoke plumes behind me but because of the haze you can't really see them this is not the haze just because of the weather it's also from the fires that have been burning for the last 24 hours now experts are saying that Israel is setting fires to these areas because Hezbollah can move quite freely and secretively among the trees, among the forest and among the mountainous terrain so if they're able to burn some of the acres and acres of land they're not able to move as freely and then surprise attack Israel with attacks on its security infrastructure or other military capabilities now while this is all ongoing there are meetings going on between Hamas officials Iranian officials and Russian officials as well all of this with the hopes that Hamas will garner more support for his cause hoping that Hezbollah will have more of a hand in this war so that Israel can really what they're hoping is overstretch itself to the northern and southern front where all the focus won't just be on the south inside of the Gaza Strip now there's also a few other things to take into consideration the Israeli police and the government are looking to approve measures that will allow the use of live fire against Palestinian demonstrators this is something that will be seen as extremely provocative and unacceptable to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah so perhaps once more measures by the Israeli military and the government are taking we can expect to see more of a response but as of now those tit for tat exchanges of fire still continuing combat instead on both sides on the Israeli side civilians included in that exchange I'll remind you a lot of these communities have already been evacuated by the defense ministry along with the Israeli military trying to just get civilians out of harm's way and the same thing on the other side of the border the Lebanese are also evacuating around a hundred kilometers of the southern border so that people can go more central and north but the Lebanese government doesn't really have the means to do so so at this time the situation is still developing as we can expect to see more of these escalations Thank you very much indeed at the northern border where she says the IDF has been lighting fires to literally create a smoke screen which makes it more difficult for Hezbollah the terrorist group on the other side of the border and there are fears of course that it will join the conflict Israel is on high alert there we've had rockets fired at Tel Aviv in the last 15 minutes we have heard reports of one casualty if I could get details on that one person lightly injured in southern Tel Aviv so that is the situation now we just heard the booms from the studio right here as the Iron Dome intercepted some of those rockets but apparently one person lightly injured in the south of Tel Aviv we'll try and get you more details on that well the IDF meanwhile has made public the audio of a phone call that took place on October 7 between one of the Hamas terrorists who participated in the atrocities committed against civilians and his commander back in Gaza we can listen to part of it now as the UN is accusing Israel of committing war crimes there we heard yet more evidence that Hamas terrorists directly targeted civilians in southern Israel but now let's talk about what happened just a few moments ago rocket fire and one of those rockets hit Tel Aviv we're hearing from Israeli media from Channel 12 news that one of those rockets hit a building in Tel Aviv and one person was injured eight other rockets at least were intercepted there we are you can see the building that was hit fire in an apartment in Tel Aviv three people have been injured can we get those pictures back up three people injured after a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv you can see flames and smoke from the building that was hit so a reminder that Hamas is and Palestine in Islamic Jihad and other groups are firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas here in Israel and there you can see the result of these rockets it has just hit a building in Tel Aviv in the south of the city and three people have been injured Avi I think this is one of the worst rocket attacks that we've seen so far would you agree with that? I don't know we've seen many rocket attacks I want to say something about something that you mentioned before which is very significant that's what we already noticed there is a growing discontent within Hamas because of the fact that the Hezbollah is not full steam ahead joining the war why is it so significant? because one of the major concepts that Hamas was marketing to the people in Gaza Strip and the Arab world was that when the time come and there is a war with Israel Hezbollah the big brother of Hamas all of speaking will join into the war Hezbollah up until now has not joined full steam to the war there is a reason for that the Iranian are facing a dilemma if they are going to throw Hezbollah to the war in order to save their base in Gaza Strip meaning Hamas and Islamic jihad they may jeopardize both of them meaning both the downfall of Hamas and Islamic jihad and also severe damage to the Hezbollah so the Iranian regime and the Hezbollah for the time being are applying a tactic of like a very gradual escalation of the situation but not crossing some specific lines in Hamas and Islamic jihad every day that goes by and the Hezbollah is not joining in basically increase the pressure upon Hamas and Islamic jihad because already they are facing a significant criticism in the Arab world in the Muslim world and in the Palestinian street for the havoc and disaster they have inflicted upon Gaza Strip and the people of Gaza Strip so right now we see this tensions between Hamas and the Hezbollah but the Hezbollah in the end of the day is tuned to the Hezbollah and Iranian orders not necessary to the needs of Hamas and Islamic jihad if by the end of this story Hamas is crushed and losing its power in Gaza Strip Islamic jihad is crushed and at the same time Hezbollah in the end of the day is staying out of the world that will be yet another nail in Hamas political coffin and I mean there seems to be an effort as well on the part of many of the Hamas spokespeople to really distance themselves from that ISIS tag that seems to be something particularly sensitive we saw one of the Hamas officials interviewed on the Al Arabiya Saudi news channel and it appeared to become very angry at the comparison with Daesh with ISIS that is correct the Hamas are very sensitive with that look they are trying to do some sort of like a damage control but it has to be clear even though Hamas and ISIS are different organizations they have couple of things in common they are both advocating and advancing a genocidal agenda they both both to eliminate the state of Israel they both want to establish a caliphate not a palestini