♪ hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the u.s. and all around the world, i'm max foster joining you live from london, 9:00 a.m. in london, 11:00 a.m. in gaza, where the war is about to start the second month. with pushes under way to prevent wider conflict in the region, secretary of state antony blinken is in turkey right now meeting with his turkish counterpart. u.s. officials say he will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives during that meeting on sunday, blinken made an announced visit to iraq to discuss the hamas conflict. in gaza, communications are down, and there was a complete interruption on sunday. the telecom network services aid agencies say they lost contact with its workers the third communications blackout. it comes as the head of 18 aid agencies including usaid agencies called for a human taken cease-fire in both israel and the palestinian territories. the search continues for survivors of a deadly blast in the refugee camp in gaza. witnesses and others at a hospital tell cnn the blast killed dozens and wounded many others on saturday night. he said it was the result of an israeli air strike. and the idf said it's looking at the circumstances around the explosion. residents say the strike took them completely by surprise, leaving many to search for the bodies of their loved ones in the aftermath. >> translator: i saw a red light, we were shaking on the sofa. i saw all of my sisters screaming, then i saw my father. when i found myself alive, i looked to see who was alive. we turned on the posh and my siblings were alive. i did not find my father. i finally found him next to me, i moved him, i moved his face, he did not respond. >> meanwhile, an idf spokesperson refused to confirm that they were behind the strike. here's what he told rosemary church. >> with the activities south of gaza, precision-based, i can't share at the time, specifics of this incident, but it is indeed heartbreaking the images we're seeing. we're going to extreme efforts to minimize casualties of this war, unfortunately, it's a war nevertheless, and these are the images of warfare. >> so israel was behind this attack is what you're saying? but what was it? >> i never said, i said we are conducting strike also in the south against specific targets when there are strikes in the south, it's against specific targets, i can't confirm it regarding this incident. it's a nature of modern warfare, specifically in areas like terrorist organizations like hamas, specifically this organization has become a terrorist entity, an entity with a terrorist army, a terrorist entity with aerial capabilities an entity with subterranean capabilities. all of their efforts are to put hospitals in harm's way. all of their efforts are to utilize fuel that could go to hospitals for anybody sur terranean tunnels. all of their efforts are to exert maximum casualties, maximum deaths. on israelis, but also on their own people and this is the trial we are facing, we are, i say, committed but also determined to limit the civilian casualty, but it is a huge challenge for anyone to take. >> joining me is jonas elliott, it's heartbreaking but images of war. >> he said these are the images of war, but also said we're going to see images like these in the coming days saying there no alternative for the war with israel with hamas. in to terminate to take out its infrastructure, rocket launcher, anti-tank posts, all of the infrastructure and hamas itself. the idf is saying there is no alternative and that these images which are heartbreaking are set to continue. what the idf is also doing, at the same time, is trying to show the international community is that hamas really does operate out of these civilian infrastructures showing videos which show hamas tunnel shots going underneath hospitals, for example. and they like to show that is the reason sometimes, the infrastructure is kind of -- you know, suffers from air strikes in the vicinity or on itself, because that is where hamas is operating out of. >> antony blinken, u.s. secretary of state, says this is escalating but also keeps calling for a pause in the fighting. traveling the region quite aggressively, including unannounced visits but doesn't seem to be making any progress at all? >> the u.s. certainly is calling for a humanitarian pause. and we've got much of the international community calling including u.n. aid agencies and aid groups, are putting out this joint letter calling for an immediate human tahuman taken cease-fire. but israel's position there can be no cease-fire in the hostages abducted october 7th, in those hostages, men, women, babies, ed determine are returned to israel. as you say antony blinken, u.s. secretary of state, meeting with his counterpart in turkey, met with the prime minister of iraq and also the head of the palestinian authority mahmoud abbas in an often announced visit which is not a common thing for him to do, to try to talk about improving the situation, the idf saying more than 100 trucks should be going into rafah for humanitarian aid and trying to ensure there's no escalation. indeed, while he was in iraq, he said it's important to send a message who might seem to take advantage of the conflict in gaza to threaten here or anywhere else in the region, and that is simply don't. >> unfortunately, reporting in gaza, this has been this blackout yet again, is that an indication that escalation -- where we've seen it previously, there's been a series of particularly violent attacks and it's coordinated with the common blackout. >> israel isn't say it's responsible for the comes black out, we do understand the communications are now slowly returning to the gaza strip. but as you can imagine, it adds to the anxiety inside the strip that people can't communicate with their loved ones inside and outside of the strip. indeed, we have the world health organization chiming in and saying this kind of communication blackout needs to be reversioned, and that communication needs to be restored immediately. because he says without connectivity, people who need immediate attention cannot contact hospitals and ambulances. now, we have in the past seen the blackouts happen. we do know over the past 24 hours, idf is saying they struck more than 450 targets, with saw that in two over the weekend, splitting the coast, reaching it in two. and it's more than gaza, south gaza and encircled gaza city which is describes as a fortress of hamas activities in the words of the idf. communications do appear to be returning, that's pattern we've been seeing since october 7th. which would suggest that this was the idf's handiwork, although as i say, it won't -- it's not said that that it was the idf. >> elliott, thank you so much. in a matter of hours, former president donald trump set to take the stand in a trial in new york. it will be a high-stakes day of testimony to determine the outcome of his business. trump could be ordered to sell off his properties after he admitted he and his companies committed fraud for years. we spoke to the law professor at loyola marrymont university what to expect when trump takes the stand. >> we know that the judge in his case found that there was fraud committed by trump and his organization. the question, legally, for his testimony is the other six counts of liability, they're still on the table. and the potential remedy in this case, and how closely the judge will draw a line between actions that trump took and the financial statements that he's already found to be fraudulent, now, of course what we're also looking at is to see how he answers the questions, whether or not he becomes agitated. and of course, key is whether or not he makes admissions that hurt him. because we've seen him do that in other cases, like the e. jean carroll case. >> well, with a year to go before the next u.s. election, trump seems to hold an edge over president biden in key states, it's got trump leading in some states where trump won the vote in 2020. our priscilla alvarez has more. >> reporter: a newly released poll shows a grim outlook for the biden campaign a year before the election. a cnn college poll, the president is trailing former president trump in four key states, nevada, arizona and michigan. and former president donald trump faces a series of criminal charges. now the biden campaign is downplaying this, saying in a statement, president biden's campaign is part of that work, reaching the diverse coalition of voters one year out between the choice of a winning popular agenda and maga republicans unpopular extremism, goes on to say, we're winning 2024 by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting over a poll. and in the 2022 elections, democrat has a grim outlook there and did better than expected but there's still a long road ahead. the president sending out his economic message to voters those dissatisfied with the economy. and we they still have doubts about his age and ability to the steer the country. and the president is facing rifts in his own party about the israel/hamas war. and as the president goes into next year going into november of 2024. priscilla alvarez, cnn, traveling with the president. , our cnn reporter harry enten, the biggest problem mr. biden is facing as he tries to win re-election. >> reporter: his age, voters think he's too old, just too old to be an effective president. 70% of likely voters across the six battleground states say that joe biden is too old to be an effective president. donald trump, that number is 39%. if you look back at the 2020 numbers, joe biden's numbers didn't come anywhere close to approaching them. this, to me, is the big problem. i'm not particularly sure how you solve that problem if jury joe biden. perhaps you go out and show you can campaign. perhaps you try to bring donald trump's numbers up a little bit. >> trump's only three years younger. >> reporter: yeah, he's only three years younger. it's not a great difference. the fact is it's all abouter is ception, jim, it's not about the numbers, it's about perception, and perception is that voters believe that joe biden is too old. the u.s. secretary of state is on a whirlwind tour as we were discussing earlier. we'll have details on the surprise visit to iran and what they're hoping to achieve in the current stop which is turkey. plus, tensions flaring along the israel border with lebanon. and telling the lelebanese governmement it's upup to them to p provoke a war. we're hehear from hihim in just miminute. ♪ well, we are keeping track of developments out of gaza. witnesses say dozens of people were killed in a blast at the al maghazi refugee camp. this comes as a communications blackout reported in gaza, the third since the war began. several agencies said they lost contact with their teams inside. as a result, the u.n. agency in gaza says sunshine of its employees have been killed in gaza. this since the start of the war. the group commissioner says it's the highest number of u.n. aid workers killed in a conflict anywhere in the world in such a short period of time. secretary of state antony blinken is meeting with turkish officials in ankara right now as he wraps up the middle east leg of the windchill wind diplomatic tour before heading to turkey. blinken met with iraq with the foreign minister and called for a cease-fire and reopening of the border crossings, to keep the humanitarian crisis from worsening. cnn reporter jennifer hanslow joins us from ankara. how would you describe the success of this, jennifer? >> reporter: well, good morning, max, we have yet to see if there's any success of this meeting, secretary of state blinken arrives in an hour or so. and we expect blinken to bring up some of the key priorities of this broader visit to the region, mainly increasing humanitarian assistance into gaza for those who are in critically in need and stopping this conflict from spreading, that has been the through-line throughout his trip, first in tel aviv on friday where he met with officials including prime minister netanyahu, he also called on the israeli government to do whatever they could to protect civilians and to protect what the u.s. is calling humanitarian pauses. and we saw netanyahu within hours reject that entirely saying there would be no pause. so hamas releases hostages on saturday with counterparts in oman. there's been a sharp divide for those in the region for the need for a cease-fire. they've been very critical, outspoken about israel's owe against in gaza. yesterday, we saw blinken again sharing this message of the need to stop the conflict from spreading to ramallah, working with the palestinian authority president and then to iraq last night where he met with the prime minister. this is what he said about the commitment that is needed to keep this from happening. take a listen. >> we're working very hard to make sure that the conflict in gaza does not escalate does not spread to other places. whether it's here, whether it's elsewhere in the region. this is the very vital and urgent work of american diplomacy, and that's what we've been engaged in as well throughout this trip. >> reporter: so, there a lot at stake here, max, for his meeting with the turkish foreign minister, this is a relationship very complicated between turkey and united states. turkey plays host to some of hamas leadership. and it's unclear whether blinken will ask them to expel those leaders, also saying there could not be a return to the status quo after the october 7th attack. we'll be waiting to see what the secretary of state says about the meeting when it raps up in ankara later today. thank you. the u.s. says william burns will visit several countries to meet with intelligence leaders to expect to discuss mutual areas of concern in gaza, the latest on the hostage negotiations and continuing efforts to keep the hamas war from spreading in the region. a u.s. missile submarine has arrived in the middle east, sharing those picture, appears to show the sub passings under the soyuz canal under the bridge. since messages like these are seen, it seems to show a clear message. usually, the submarines are brought in secret, this carries two u.s. carrier groups already in. the defense forces chief says the military is ready to shift into, quote, defensive mode in the north. there have been exchanges of fire among israel's northern border of lebanon. on sunday, lebanon state-run news said an israeli strike on a vehicle killed four civilians, three of whom were children. the idf said troops engaged a suspicious vehicle and says they're looking into lebanon's claims that there were civilians inside. meanwhile, israel says one of its citizens was killed by a hezbollah strike in northern israel. earlier, cnn's becky anderson spoke with i the foreign minist abdallah bou habib. >> the government had negotiations with hezbollah and others that are in the front in southern lebanon. and we -- we're under the impression, and they did tell us, but we are under the impression that there wouldn't be any big war coming unless israel attacks lebanon. or the situation gets very, very bad in gaza. now what hezbollah said yesterday does not change from the beginning but explained it very well yesterday to all concerned. so, we are not -- i don't know what's going to happen now. you know, you can never tell in such circumstances what will happen. because once one incident can start a war, you know. hopefully, not, lebanese do not want war. i don't think hezbollah wants war. but as they say, they didn't know about the attack that hamas did. it doesn't mean that they have no relation with hamas, but they didn't know why they started it. we don't want the war in lebanon. hopefully, they will not start that war. >> hassan described this as a 100% palestinian war. i have to ask you, what is the atmosphere like in lebanon at present? this is a country that's so fragile economically, nobody ever needs a war, nobody needs a conflict. but lebanon needs it, you know, less than most. what's the atmosphere like? and what was the prime minister's message to u.s. secretary of state? >> well, that we do not want a war. that we are working with hezbollah and other palestinian organizations here, to prevent a war. and we'd like that the u.s. pressure also israel not to start a war. because all -- you know, hezbollah yesterday, or the day before, the significant general of hezbollah made the first speech. usually he does no speeches in such circumstances. but it is daily threatening lebanon. you know, daily saying a lot of things that will return lebanon to the stone age. that is inciting feelings here. we ask the americans not to say that they should not -- they should not to say such things if they do not want a war. but, you know, it was important in american press, in "the new york times," that israelis were thinking of a preemptive attack on hezbollah, or on lebanon. so, the pressure should be on -- it is more than on hezbollah. still ahead, families of hostages held by hamas have been desperate for answers since they were kidnapped over a month ago, the sister of one hostage joins us next. a hate crime investigation after an israeli student was struck in a hit-and-run at stanford university. stay with us. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm max foster, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken now in turkey. the latest stop on his tour. he's not expected to see turkish president recip tayyip erdogan. erdogan has condemned israel's actions in gaza saying they're crimes against humanity. israel denies targets civilians but hospital officials and eyewitnesses in central gaza say a blast in a heavily populated refugee camp on saturday kills dozens of people and many more. those officials blame israel. the idf is looking is he circumstances surroundings the blast. the idf says now 240 hostages are held by hamas. they say the numbers can fluctuate based on updated intelligence. that comes as prime minister benjamin netanyahu tells air force members there will be no cease-fire unless all hostages are released, adding, quote, we will continue in we beat them. she believes her brother and sister were kidnapped along with their two young sons. she said she's seen a video of her sister-in-law and two children taken. she joins us from golan heights, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> it's hard enough to imagine relatives being kidnapped, but you've got this added worry which is you're not sure where they are, or whether the israelis know where they are. >> no. to my knowledge, they are being held, and since they've been taken, since we lost contact with them. and we know nothing about where they are. are they alive, are they dead? are they getting food? and my nephew is 9 months old, he's a baby, i don't know if he's getting his formula. and my brother was taken injured. i don't know if he was taken care for his injuries. we basically know nothing about what's going on with them. >> what then do you make of these images you see of gaza and, you know, the ground and air campaign ongoing there? >> i think after the brutal attack of hamas on saturday a month ago, israel has to do whatever she can to defend itself. and my hope is during the invasion to gaza, i hope they will get information about the hostages, about the families. and any kind of information that will help to bring them home as soon as possible. >> you speak now if israel has to do what israel has to do, obviously that creates a risk for the hostages, doesn't it? how do you balance those two things? >> i'm really worried for my family. of course, they are -- there is a chance that they will get hurt as well, during the attacks during the israeli army. i know they are probably somewhere on the ground hearing all of the fighting, not knowing exactly what's going on and must be terrified. and it's a really complicated situation. and i'm not sure what the right way to solve this. i just know that israel has to defend itself and bring the hostages back. and this is the determination she has in front of our eyes right now. but, yes, it's a really complicated situation, bringing both of the things together. >> i can't imagine what it's like, you know, with the worry of your relatives combined with seeing these images of gaza so destroyed. but you're effectively saying that you do accept that there will be a risk to relatives in order for the idf to try to resolve this situation as you see it? >> sorry, again? >> do you accept that -- do you accept the risk to hostages, your relatives with this campaign, if the country has to do that? >> obviously, if there was any other way to be get them back safe, i would prefer it, but i have to trust our government. that they are taking care of our families over there. and doing whatever they can to prevent them from getting hurt during the attacks. and just the feelings i have to live with at the moment. and unfortunately, there's no other way at the moment. and we are and the families are trying to push for limited sign of cease-fire which will be only in order to negotiate releasing all of the hostages. and israel goes to any kind of cease-fire, it's only for this purpose. that's what the families want. we don't want israel to go into a cease-fireful it's not, in order to bring our families back. >> antony blinken, obviously traveling the region, also pushing for not a cease-fire, but a pause in the fighting to allow aid to get in, but also for hostages to get out. is there frustration amongst families who have hostages there, that israel isn't allowing the pause to allow, you know, potentially some negotiation around hostages? >> at the moment, our biggest frustration is israel has done several humanitarian steps towards the gaza residents, civilians there. and at the moment, hamas is using those humanitarian aid that israel is trying to do. they are being -- they were hiding inside the ambulances supposed to take injured people out. they shot at israeli army defending a gaza civilians from evacuating to the south. and israel is still doing all of the steps, while we know nothing about our family. while the red cross still hasn't visited them. and we don't know where they are. we don't know their condition. and, so, this is the most frustrating thing for us. i think that israel is doing the best she can in this very complicated situation. and i think -- i think that other critic and the protest against israel is really -- i don't know what to call it -- i think people yelling in the streets hamas and people saying they don't understand what they're supporting, hamas is a terrorist organization. i'm 37, i be've been my whole l under terrorist threats, it was bombing, it was blaming people in the cities, i've been in this atmosphere my whole life. and israel has to defend itself. and people yelling hamas in the streets, they're not yelling any good for their palestinian people. hamas has done nothing good for the palestinian people, ever since they went inside gaza. >> okay. >> so, it's just hearing all of those protests is really hard for us. >> okay. >> because i think israel is really trying to -- trying to do the best for our country, in a valley complicated and difficult situation. and against an unhuman and un -- against a terrorist organization, against i.s.i.s., it's the same same. and i never heard anyone screaming i.s.i.s. in the streets. >> ofri, thank you so much. people protesting for a free palestinian is not necessarily for hamas as well. they're two separate things. >> i've heard them screaming hamas, jihad. they have to understand that hamas to be engdiminished. >> yes, supporting palestinians not necessarily hamas. thank you so much for joining us today. >> thank you. the government of thailand say there's photographic evidence that hostages are taken alive. he didn't say how many hostages were shown. 24 citizens were taken hostage by hamas' attack last night. california law enforcement officials say they're investigating a hit-and-run incident of a muslim student as a hate crime. stanford university is also investigating four other potential hate crimes that occurred on campus after the october 7th attack of hamas on israel. cnn's camila bernal has more. >> i've been feeling sad, i been feeling anxious. i've been feeling worried. >> reporter: this is how bad he and others are feeling as americans, as muslims and as students at stanford university. >> it's scary this kind of hate can happen at a place where i'm supposed to feel at home. >> reporter: fear of what he believes are hate crime. the university department of public safety now investigating five incidents since the onset of the israel/hamas war. four appear to have targeted arab students while one was reported as anti-semitic vandalism. the most recent happening friday. the university says it was an apparent hit and run crash. >> it's not only that it could take place but a reality we have to live with. >> reporter: in a statement the university saying that stanford considers anti-terror event of acts. and the driver is appeared to have made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and hit the victim and driving ware by shouting f-u and your people at the people. >> it's so risky and that magnitude again is scary. >> reporter: a group of students being shoved, a student being spat on and someone running over a tote bag which contained a computer and other valuables. >> what's going on abroad shouldn't have the impact on the health and lives of students on a campus in a country thousands of miles away. >> reporter: and the anti-semitic incident reported, a methusa on the door of a student. overall, groups representing students on both sides say they're concerned about the incidents and students like adeer say they worry about the future. >> we have to be constantly alert, constantly on edge, it's costing watching over your shoulder 24/7. >> reporter: authorities are searching for the suspect in the hit and run, he's believed to be driving a toyota 4runner. in terms of the victim, he's still at the hospital, not ready for an on-camera interview, he wants to advocate for love and inclusivivity. the other students agree and support that message but are also extremely concerned. still to come, queen rania of jordan explains her support and what she believes are the root causes of the conflict. is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. ♪ the heads of 18 international humanitarian groups including several with the u.n. have signed a joint statement calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in israel and the palestinian territories. the recent past has been 30 days, enough is enough, this must stop now. they say an entire population is besieged and under attack and denied essentials for survival calling it unacceptable. the group also described the attack on israel had kills 1500 people and displaced thousands horrific and outraged. queen rania supports a cease-fire in the war, and she spoke with our becky anderson on sunday on what she believes are the root causes of the conflict. >> there has to be a collective call for the cease-fire. i know some against the cease-fire argue it will help hamas. however, i feel in that argument, they are apparently dismissing the death -- in fact, even endorsing and justifying the death of thousands of civilians, and that is just morally reprehensible, it's short-sighted and not entirely rational. because as i've said before, you know, if you manage to eliminate all of hamas, what next? the root cause of the conflict is an illegal occupation. it is human rights abuses. illegal settlements, disregards to u.n. revolutions and international law. if we do not address these root causes, then you can kill the combatant, but you cannot kill the cause. so on the rubble of these destroyed buildings will emerge another group more determined and more motivated to do what hamas did. well, just ahead, india's residents, tourists and even world cup athletes are struggling to cope with the country's toxic air. and officials warn it could last for weeks. ♪ welcome back. with a look at some of the other top stories we're following today, ukraine and president volodymyr zelenskyy expected to say that the israel/hamas war is taking the impact of battle against his own country. with the military chief saying the conflict with russia is a stalemate. president zelenskyy insist that is not the case. take a listen. >> translator: i don't think this is a stalemate. they thought they would check-mate us, but this didn't help it. in the country, we take it into our hands, and now warsaw wants to attack us, they are attacking us in the east of our country. while losing thousands of people and hundreds of units, pieces of weaponry. >> well, mr. zelenskyy also said that ukraine forces have inflicted damage shows that ukraine can win the war. parts of india again dealing with hazardous smoke. schools in new delhi will remain closed this week as the country continues to grapple with toxic air quality. residents and tourists are all suffering from pollution which government officials warn could stick around for a while. >> reporter: india's iconic monument, almost lost in the smog in the city of agri. it's not the sight that tourist or the businesses that depend on them want to see. >> translator: we're facing pictures of the taj mahal due to pollution. the taj mahal is not physically visible. >> reporter: every year when conditions drop and farmers burn their fields, the air turns toxic in many cities. delhi is notorious ranked among the world's most polluted cities. and the air quality there has once again reached hazardous conditions, forcing primary schools to temporarily closed. and many people to work from home. or just stay indoors altogether. >> translator: the situation is very bad here. there is a lot of coughing, colds and burning sensation in the eyes. kids are also sick. we cannot sake the kids out. and we also accept out far left than we used to because of this pollution. >> reporter: the problem is so serious, a recent air quality index report says poor air quality should shorten the average indian's life expectancy by more than five years. if world health organization guidelines on curbing pollution aren't met. and it's even affecting one of the country's paste pastimes. india is currently hosting the cricket world cup with bangladesh set to play sri lanka in a match in delhi. but the air quality is so poor, some players are wearing masks and both teams have cancelled training sessions. the coach of bangladesh's team says the conditions have not been ideal. >> for people, even for practice, we consciously train what we have to train and they go back into the dressing room. >> reporter: unfortunately for cricket fans and delhi residents alike, officials say pollution levels are expected to be high for the next two to three weeks. well, it was a reportsetting finish on sunday with new york city marathon. tomic tola of ethiopia won the men's race 2 thundershowers, 4 minutes, 15 seconds. in the women's race it was a sprint to the finish. the run from kenya crossed first. now, a moment on the pitch here in uk for football player, his father is being held by kidnappers. he came off the bench to score a key goal. he helped the reds secure a 1-1 draw. his father is being held captive by colombian rebel group. after celebrating the group, he raised his shirt to reveal a message which reads freedom for dad. i'm max foster, "early start" with kasie up next. is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities.