Advice to help you live your life. Life well planned. Narrator funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. And by judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. Announcer and now, bbc news. Christian hello, im christian fraser. You are wching the context on bbc news. We are enforcing a total blockade on gaza. No electricity, no food, water, or gas. It is all closed. Is really are flying overhead and israeli airstrikes continue since last night. Gaza has never seen this scale and intensity of shelling and airstrikes i think ever. This is inhuman. We need help to stop that. We need help to bring them back home. There is a huge garage going on overhead at the moment. We have taken cover. We have to find someplace that is slightly safer. I recognize the legitimate grievances of the palestinian people, but nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming, and abduction of civilians. Christian the israeli Prime Minister has tonight mourned his country that the fight back will not be quick or easy. 48 hours after hamas militants killed 900 israelis. Today over 2500 hamas targets were destroyed. Reports in the last armor that hamas is open to negotiating a truce. A spokesperson of the armed wing of hamas morans hostages will be executed if israel continues to bombard civilian areas in gaza. The European Union says it is reviewed all of its funding for the palestinian territories. No confirmation from the Israeli Government that a ground offensive is imminent, but the israelis are amassing heavy machinery at the border. Good evening, welcome to the program. Israeli government describes it as their 9 11 moment, a attack that requires an unprecedented response. Today, the defense minister ordered a complete siege of the gaza strip while the israeli tanks and howitzers began to hit the northern border. He said there would be no power, food, no fuel, nothing until the military has rooted out those who would seek israels destruction. On top of the blockade, the European Commission announced an immediate review of all aid to the palestinians. Military Officials Say israel struck more than 2500 targets in gaza so far, more than 680 palestinians declared dead. A hamas spokesperson said four hostages taken were killed in the airstrikes, a claim that we have yet to independently verify. Hamas is firing back, shooting missiles toward the airport. The iron dome Defense System is doing its job, intercepting many of the rockets, but some have gotten through. All the while, israelis recounting the dead. At least 900 this weekend, including 260 at this Music Festival. Beyond that, hundreds are still being held inside gaza. Their fate, unknown. In the last half hour, we heard from the Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, who compared hamas to isis, and warned that the strikes are just the beginning of israels retaliation. We will have reaction from the region and look at the failings of intelligence in israel and complacency of allies in washington. Lets start with anna foster who just got back to the hotel. Quite a day. What have you seen while you have been out and about . Anna it might seem strange to see me here in helmet and body armor but a lot of what we have seen today is a constant barrage of missiles coming across from gaza. Last night, the sound was just extraordinary. Today, we have been in the bomb shelter twice. I say bomb shelter but you are often looking at a stairway, someplace to get underground. It is not just happening here, right around the fence on gaza, but in different communities heading toward israel. Bengurion airport, tel aviv, this is happening regularly. We also hear the continuing sound of the idf targeting gaza as well, airstrikes happening through the night and day. They say they have been targeting hamas command posts. They say they have also targeted a Palestinian Islamic jihad post command. I want to take you back to where we were earlier in the day. This was around lunchtime. [sirens] [explosions] there is a huge garage going on overhead at the moment. We have taken cover. This is actually a memorial building. You can see that we are all here. We are going to move. Get down. When the siren started, i was talking to gilad. He was at the Music Festival where more than 250 people were massacred as hamas launched their attack. Shrapnel tore past his head. He was looking to survive. The bullet went through here. You can see it went in and out. People living here know these moments of fear well. Gilad and his mother didnt need words. We followed the smoke. We think this is where one of the missiles hit. Look, here in the ground. The building doesnt have a bomb shelter, so the family hid in the stairwell. They told the children the explosions were thunder. We need to be strong for them, he told me, but who will take care of us . Christian so difficult for families on both sides. You were trapped in the midst of this fighting. They say they have secured the border towns today, the Israeli Defense force, but i know there were pictures of more militants coming through the fence overnight. Is there a concern in that area that may be hamas fighters are still in southern israel, could reappear . Anna there is. There is a big concern. Certainly yesterday, when i was still in ashkelon, there is a point where you can get to where the army has sealed off the highway, a sealed off military zone beyond that and you cannot go further. Beyond on the road there was a body there, believed to be a hamas militant shot dead. When we went back today, that body was still in the road, just being recovered. A lot of people are concerned. There have been reports of something happening in this community. Have you heard that people have gotten as far as jerusalem . People are generally concerned. This is something they have not seen here for such a long time. You are looking at the younger poor w y yo kippur war. They are not used to seeing this infiltration by hamas Militants Attack in people where they stood. This massacre that we saw at the Music Festival where more than to hunt or 50 people were killed, saying how terrifying the situation s. All of this taken together, it gives you a sense of a population that is shocked, stunned, in some ways is disbelieving that the Israeli Intelligence services didnt spot this with their partners in the u. S. Israels most important ally didnt stop this or prevent it. It is one of the things that people are talking about right now. Christian we just watched benjamin netanyahu. No confirmation there will be a ground offensive. Are you seeing down there the amassing of heavy machinery, doesnt look like the preparation for a Ground Defense . Anna i saw that today. Altogether, the guns trained on gaza information ready to go. We saw the delivery of big diesel tanks there to fuel the military vehicles. From that point of view, it looked like they were putting everything in place for potential ground offensive, but it is really difficult. It is delicate for a few reasons. One, we know there are at least 100 is really hostages inside gaza. It is one of the most densely populated places on earth. Any kind of ground offensive there would have an enormous impact on the civilian communities. You are looking at palestinian civilians, women, children who live there who have nowhere to go. They cannot leave gaza because the perimeter is controlled by the israelis. There is nowhere for them to go if there is a ground offensive. The prospect of civilian casualties will be high. Also the prospect of injury to these is really hostages. While israel wants to show a strength of force, there are a lot of very fine, delicate things that need to be taken into account while they decide what they want to do next. Christian the Prime Minister naming a minister for hostages who will be in charge of negotiating and planning their rescue from the gaza strip. Thank you very much. Stay safe. Thank you for joining us at the end of a long day. Let speak to a nonresident scholar with the middle east institute. We have been talking about the repeated cycles of violence. This is the fourth conflict since 2005 since the israelis withdrew from the gaza strip. How does this operation compare . The escalation shows the scale of crisis, a result of a failure to break the cycle, systematic double standards. It could be seen as a reaction. Particularly the latest escalation marks the most significant event in the past 50 years, intelligence failure. A change in engagement. It reflects the enduring complexity of protracted and deepening grievances particularly of the palestinians. While the laws of human lives and indiscriminate targeting is very alarming and tragic, this latest escalation does not operate in a vacuum. It is part of a conflict that has gone beyond the failure to reach a two state solution based on the human resolution. The latest triggers may have contributed like during the violence during ramadan, expansion of settlements, displacement of palestinians, continuing the siege of gaza, eroding space for life necessities and opportunities. I think it is a state of war. It has been for so long, but there must be a change. The formulas for peace and the dividends that it brings. That is the only way forward. The cycle of conflict must be frozen. That requires acknowledgment of some of the grievances, including the potential formation of a palestinian state. The status quo that we have seen is not sustainable. Christian that also requires a partner for peace, a partner that does not want the destruction of israel as a state. That is what hamas talks of. Can i ask you whether this actually stems from hamas isolation . We had the abraham accords, Bilateral Agreements between israel, morocco, the uae. One in the offing with saudi arabia that they were positive about, but the palace got little back in terms of concessions. Was hamas try to put the brakes on that, even if that may lead to the eventual destruction of the group . Ibrahim i think you bring a very important point. What has attempted to be done here, with the palestinian clause, as you mention, the wave of normalization, which has put maybe less concessions for the palestinians. That had been driven by, as u said, overlooking the palestinians, engaged actors. That sense of isolation included primary stakeholders but also the prioritization of normalization, thinking that that would be the way forward. It may have complicated matters in a sense that we saw this escalation take place. The other point you mentioned about potential partner of peace. There is a peace process, from the netanyahu regime to palestinian stakeholders. What they actually want to see as a final product. That is a lengthy process. It requires constant engagement, direct engagement. The palestinian cause and grievances, the quest for peace for everyone is behind. That is the part of the challenge. Christian we have to leave it there. Thank you very much. There has been and extort a new level of deception here. Hamas was able to mislead israel for months, and this attack, which was timed to coincide with the jewish holiday was a secret within even gaza. Many were unaware with the plans, even thousands of them deployed in the assault, didnt know what they were being trained for. The operation divided into four parts. The first of that was the barrage of 3000 rockets fired from gaza. That coincided with these incursions from fighters who flew in with hang gliders or motorized paragliders. Bulldozers widened the gaps. More fighters entered in vehicles. A Commando Unit attacked the Southern Gaza headquarters and jammed the communications. Dont underestimate how this will be playing within israel. The one job the israeli people has is to protect its people. How did they not see this coming . Lets speak to richard. Are you there . You served with the idf, have advised the Israeli Government in the past. You are wellplaced to tell us how this camebout, how this was such an intelligence failure on the part of the israelis. Richard before that, we need to understand the situation israel was in with hamas just up to a week ago. The motors up around the for the last three years has been a misconception that hamas were actually interested in governance, interested in improving the economy and the lives of gazans. Therefore israel was in intimate dialogue, mostly facilitated by egypt. On the agenda until a week ago was the idea of expanding work permits for gazans, improving imports, exports, expanding the fishing zones. Even though hamas has an agenda, they have some pragmatism to it. That has blown up literally in israels faces. They thought there was a dialogue with that completely failed. In terms of the intelligence failure, this will go into an inquiry after the event. There was also an operational failure. As you mentioned in your opening, the sophistication of the attack, the fact that they sent in drones to attack the camera surveillance, antenna responsible for the committee kitchen system, able to enter the base, open the gates that allow the vehicles to come in, was a very sophisticated, complicated attack. Also criticism on the level of deployment of israeli forces. Was it enough to reflect the potential of this . They did not see this coming. Christian having worked in gaza, on the egyptian side, there is still an awful lot of stuff coming through the tunnels and the border. One suspect that is coming from iran. We know they are financially supportive of hamas. Do we know that they have the kind of equipment that was used on saturday . Richard a lot of it took israel by surprise. There is smuggling through the tunnels network. Gaza also has a border with egypt. That is where there is smuggling. There is also the sea route, but the israeli navy patrols the sea. Some incidents there. The third route, they take advantage of the humanitarian corridor that israel supplies, the three way crossing between egypt, israel, and the gaza strip. Its possible some of the technology could have been smuggled in through goods that were going into help service the civili population. Hamas has used that loophole to gain access to such technology. Christian a very densely tight, narrow streets. There are young men and women now amassed on the northern border. You served in a mechanized brigade, what is going through their minds. Put us through the position of the young israelis tonight, what they might be facing. Richard from my own experience in the israeli military, the training is so intense and comprehensive, thankfully when it comes to combat, i would describe it as controlled aggression. Everyone knows their job. There is a set protocol of demand that people have been drilled through. People will be ready for this. I will also say about the senior commanders because there is speculation on whether we are on the cusp of a land invasion, as well. They have waited 48 hours since the initial operation. I believe cooler heads will prevail and they will only launch that operation if it has very meetable targets, demilitarized leadership. Christian how do you do that . We are going to talk to the family of one of the hostages in a second. How do you do that while reassuring the family that you are doing everything to protect the hostages . Richard its a good question, the same question we are asking amongst ourselves. One hopes and the combination of intelligence planning, the assessment is for these hostages to be spread out across the gaza strip. It is likely they are there as human shields, protecting precious strategic strong points for hamas. This will be a difficult operation which is why israel will not rush into it. The other aspect is israel faces a threat on multiple fronts. We saw minimal engagement from hezbollah this morning from lebanon. That is a theater that we also need to monitor very carefully in the days ahead. Christian richard, good to get your insight. Thank you for coming on the program. What about the hostages . A morning from hamas that they would begin killing and televising the hostages. Dreadful for the families watching these pictures, thinking about those who are missing. This was a photo posted over the weekend. This is a 25yearold, kidnapped by fighters on a motorbike, screaming for help as she is taken away. The video then goes to another group of militants holding her boyfriend. You can see, his arms are pinned behind his back. Lets speak to a friend of the family. Thank you for coming on the program tonight. Our sympathies for you and everyone that you know going through Something Like this. Any information from the Israeli Government . Have they told you how they might intend to rescue your friends . There has not been any official contact. You need to understand the governments has a lot of issues on their mind. If they have any plans of rescuing or issuing any negotiation, it is not something that civilians would know or should know. I think confidentiality is very important here about these measurements. They have their ways. The only thing that we can do is talk to the press, to get support about saving them. Christian you know them very well. How will they process this, deal with an immensely pressured situation . They are strong people. We in israel suffer a lot. It is not like anything that any of us have been through. This is the largest event i can remember. Something that has not happened, i think, ever in the history of israel. This is pretty horrifying, but we are strong people. We see and feel things about stuff that happens. I am pretty sure that the army will handle it well. We know they will do everything to get them back. Christian you may have just heard richard, there is pressure on the Israeli Government to deconstruct hamas, demolish military sites. Hamas said four hostages have been killed. No independent verification, and of course they would say that. What is your message to the Israeli Government about how they plot this, carry out the operation, in a way that may preserve the lives of the hostages . I will say it again. The government has more information about everything than we can even consider. I dont ink there should be any civilian thoughts about this because we cannot really know the full picture of what happens. I am pretty sure they dont want anyone to be killed. We support the government to make the right decisions for them and for us. Christian narrator funding for this presentation of this program is provided by. Narrator Financial Services firm, Raymond James. Narrator funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. And by judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. Narrator funding for this presentation of this program is provided by. Woman architect. Bee keeper. Mentor. A Raymond JamesFinancial Advisor tailors