We watch and wait to see how the war evolves now in its third day. Dont go anywhere. Cnn this morning starts right now. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Breaking news this morning, sirens going off in jerusalem and tel aviv warning of incoming rockets. [ sirens ] this comes as the Israeli Military says it has regained control of all towns near gaza. You can see people taking cover on the side of the road there. And this all comes some 48 hours after hamas militants launched an unprecedented Surprise Attack by land, sea and air overnight. Israeli air strikes pummelled hundreds of targets across gaza. The death toll this morning rising on both sides with more than 700 people confirmed dead in israel and nearly 500 palestinians killed. Video shows the horror on the ground at a Music Festival where 260 people have been found dead. This youre watching right now is a drone video of burned out cars at the site. A dash camera captured a gunman taking man hostage. Right now hamas claims it has more than 100 hostages currently. Israel says that includes americans. We have Team Coverage on the conflict from all angles from washington and The Middle East. Day three of intense fighting, becky. You just had to take cover. Whats happening right now . Reporter yep. You come to us amidst sirens here in tel aviv. We also are reporting sirens in jerusalem as hamas confirms this morning that it is has been and may continue to fire rockets towards both of these cities. We had to evacuate this space. Getting to the stairwell, which is one of the shelters here in the building im in, just in the past hour. It is absolutely clear now that we are in completely uncharted territory and this is very much Ratcheting Up. You have been showing images of the israeli strikes on gaza, on the hamas side. Confirmation that they have fired more than 4,000 rockets. And that is more than the total number of rockets that have been fired on israel by hamas in the last conflict. So, that just gives you a sense of the enormity of whats is going on. Youre right to report that the dir df says the communities on the Southern Side of gaza border are being secured. Thats been a really big effort over the last 36 hours or so to ensure that those communities that, of course, had been breached by mahamas militants a evacuated. That is in the wake of this devastating picture on the ground that has emerged just other the last three days. 260 people, youngsters, killed at a music event in the desert in Southern Israel. So many hostages taken from that site. Hamas says theyre holding now more than 100 hostages. Islamic jihad suggesting they are holding 30 themselves. So the strikes by israel continue on what they describe as the military targets in gaza as the palestinians there, of course, and israelis on this side of the border simply wait this out and consider what happens next. And that is very unclear. Ive just spoken to an Opposition Member who says grounding caution is not off the table. But this is complicated given what is going on on the ground particularly with the hostages on the israeli side. Absolutely, becky. Thank you. Stand by. Nic, to you, now. Israel says they have recaptured the border towns right along gaza. There is no current fighting. Thats a real change from what the Idf Spokesperson told our Anderson Cooper last night. What are you seeing on the ground . Reporter yeah, it is a real change. Were trying to get into that area right now. We were last night in that area a couple of miles from the border with gaza in the town of stirat. Quite literal hundred few yards. There was an active search for two or three hamas militants on the loose. Those loose ends seem to be wrapped up. Also last night we saw more heavy Military Equipment coming in. Heavy armored personnel carriers, big mobile points as they look like tanks but theyre really long artillery guns. Very heavy pieces of mechanized Military Equipment being maneuvered in. And this is exactly along with the tanks that we have seen moved in exactly what the military needs to secure the border. So it does appear that those holes in the border fence are now getting secured. The picture of the incoming Rocket Attacks we have had a view on that this morning as well. We just when the intercepted fired out incoming rockets on this Sea Coastal Town thats about halfway between tel aviv and gaza. The town also just south of that on the coast also targeted. Now, we can see from our Vantage Point we can see the intercepters taking out the incoming missiles. But we also saw impacts on the ground. We were just looking at ashdard from a short distance. You can see two plumes of dark smoke rising up from the city itself. It appears that there were at least a couple of strikes getting through the iron dome difs system, getting through an and impacting ashdard. Get to be confirmed the situation that we know was hit last night, we dont have details precisely whats happened there. We do know that has also been targeted in the past 30 minutes as well. Thank you, nic, becky. Stay close buy. We want to go straight to christiane amanpour. We are learning that the Israeli Defense minister has ordered a, quote, complete Siege Of Gaza that would blockaid entry of food and fuel into the region. What is your sense of what this means Going Forward . Reporter thats a major Ratcheting Up what they want to do. We are fighting barbaric terrorists. They do label hamas a Terrorist Organization. All the europeans and all the allies stood very, very firmly in support of israels right to defend itself. This obviously being the worst single day in israels history since 1948, the founding of the state. Thats what happened on saturday. The 700 plus dead are mostly civilians, we understand. They include, you know, men, women, young people, old people, children and so too amongst them are the hostages. We understand from hamas that there are more than 100. We have yet to hear from israel the precise number of hostages. And this closure, this full blockade will have an impact inside gaza which is already locked down. How hamas breached that is still going to be a cause for investigation. But essentially gaza is completely locked down. Its got a wall, a barrier into israel but also into egypt on the other side. Now the Israeli Defense minister says they are going to stop, as you said, electricity, fuel, water and food. And that, of course, is going to exacerbate the humanitarian situation. Theyre already, according to the palestinians, more than 400 dead there. We dont know mostly militants. We just dont know who they are. But this is clearly a Ratcheting Up, potentially before israel, as has been hinted by israeli officials, potentially conducts a Ground Invasion. Christiane, stand by. Thank you very much for that. That is a development that just came in. While you stand by, lets go to the pentagon. Natasha bertrand joins us there as well because the pentagon is saying sending Military Equipment to israel, moving warships closer to the region we know. What else do we have to know on that front this morning . Reporter yeah, poppy. The u. S. Is Ratcheting Up, of course, its support for israel. Theyre moving assets to the region. Theyre sending israel munitions and showing, of course, the country that they are supporting them in every sense of the word. They are trying to replenish, of course, their Iron Dome Intercepters and potentially other forms of support that have not yet been announced. They are doing this very quickly. Now, one of the Big Questions that u. S. Officials have been asking, of course, is whether there is a link between this attack by hamas and iran. That is one of the biggest questions at this point because of the implications that it might have for the broader conflict. If iran was supporting hamas, then what does that mean for the possibility that israel also feels the need to retaliate against iran . Thats exactly what the administration has been trying to avoid for this to escalate into a broader regional conflict. Now u. S. Officials say at this point there is no smoking gun that links iran to hamass operation here. But there are a lot of questions, including among lawmakers, about how hamas would have been able to pull this off without one of its biggest financial and operational backers, which is iran. Now, at this point, you know, the u. S. Has a lot of questions about the broader Intelligence Failure here, if iran was involved in any way, then why wasnt that spotted . What does it mean that hamas, if there was no support from iran at all, was able to carry out such a large and sophisticated attack . Are they a more, you know, sophisticated and capable adversary than was previously understood . Just a lot of questions here as the u. S. Figures out how best to support israel in this fight against hamas. It does appear at this point that the idf has said is broadly in control of the entire country and of those pockets where they saw hamas fighting. But at this point, the u. S. Basically is telling the israelis we will give you whatever you need at this point, including sending, of course, those assets to the region as a show of force and to potentially deter any other would be attackers and would be threats from escalating the situation even further, guys. Natasha bertrand for us. Thank you very much for that reporting. Of course, the world this morning watching as this war unfolds in israel and gaza. That Significant Development about a full blockcade of gaza. Much of that ahead. This video shows rockets fired from gaza into israel. We will discuss the potential of a global escalation. Disturbing new images surface where 260 bodies have been discovered at a Music Festival. More of our breaking News Coverage ahead. Stay with us. We now have new video this morning what shows what the supernova Music Festival looks like before the deadly attack. This was before the rockets and gunfire. Then horror. People running for their lives. Party goers say as they were trying to get away, jeeps full of gunmen shot at the cars. And this is what the Festival Site looks like now. Abandoned cars lining the streets, some burned out. At least 260 bodies were found at the site. And hamas kidnapped dozens of people, including seani lock. Her mother was watching when she realized her daughter had been taken. We identified our daughter on a pickup truck in the back lying on the floor with militant men around her. And pushing her down. They were driving into the gaza strip with her. So we saw that they were in the gaza strip already. We saw that somebody tried to use her credit card in the gaza strip multiple times. And thats all we have. No other clue. I dont understand really how such a brutal thing can just happen the middle of the day. It was complete surprise. I mean, we got used to the rockets. We live here with the rockets. We have a kind of routine. Go to the safe room and to take care of ourself, but this was completely different attack that nobody was prepared for and nobody can ever be prepared for such a thing, i guess. Take a look at this now. This video shows her Daughter Seani who is a german citizen, we should note, unconscious in the back of a pickup truck as gaza militants cheer and some also spit on her. We have that video as well. What youre also looking there is drone video. She says shes not gotten any news yet from israeli authorities. Cnn does not know seanis wh where whereabouts. You spoke with the father of a young girl who has been taken hostage. What did he tell you . Reporter she was dancing at the Music Festival in the desert in Southern Israel a couple of days ago. She is now a hostage in gaza. Imagine being the father who lost contact with her for her only to emerge in a video posted on social media petrified and screaming for her life. I talked to her father about exactly what he is going through. Have a listen. Reporter the unspeakable anguish of a father describing the moment he saw a video posted on social media of his daughter pleading for her life. It was noah frightened and threatened he says. Im so sorry. Im so, so sorry. Its okay. Reporter you dont want to believe it, even though you can clearly see its your daughter. He now wants this video to be seen widely. 25yearold noah seen here on the back of a Motorcycle Being driven away. Her boyfriend is seen here with two men holding his hands behind his back. A dark plume of smoke can be seen in the background. They had been among the more than 1,000 people partying at an all night Music Festival in Southern Israel near the gaza border. And it was raided by armed hamas militants early on saturday morning. Her father says noah and abi were kidnapped. Their whereabouts are unknown but are assumed to be held in gaza. Im so sad at this moment. Shes my only daughter. And his pain mirrored by so many others. Parents, family members, wives, husbands filled with horror and dispair thinking about the fate of their loved ones. In this video thats been circulating widely online, a woman is seen in the back of a truck as a militant puts a scarf over her head. Cnn has not been able to independently verify it. But a resident of the Sharon Region told cnn his wife and two daughters, aged 5 and 3, were visiting their grandmother near the gaza border. He lost contact with them on saturday morning and suspected they may have been abducted. Later that day, his suspicions confirmed when he saw the video. The woman was his wife. He told cnn he wants the video to be shown in the hopes of getting them home safely. There was no doubt in my mind they recognized them surely. My wife, my two daughters, my two little daughters, that were on this car. So i know for sure they were taken. Reporter the Israel Defense forces told cnn its taking pains to establish the exact number of hostages taken. Emphasizing the complicated nature of the situation. So far they estimate there are dozens, possibly more in captivity. Jakob has a message to whoever is holding his daughter. You have casualties just like we do. This is an opportunity to connect between the two nations, to reach an honest peace. For now, he sits at home and waits for news. Taking comfort from his family and noahs friends. Translator shes a very special kid. So loving. So giving. I miss her so much. Its only been two and a half days. I cannot believe she is gone, he says. She made this house so alive. Felt like this house is empty without her. Poppy, phil, so often we talk about numbers, dont we, when we are covering conflicts. And the numbers on this occasion are getting higher and higher. But its so important we pause to consider families, friends, those who are, you know, squarely in the crosshairs of what is a conflict that we have been reporting is clearly Ratcheting Up at this point. And there is no clear indication from the israelis at this point as to what they can do next in order to try and get the release of those hostages as we have been reporting. It may be over 100 at this point. There are reports of Mediation EffortsBehind The Scenes as we get more of that, of course, we will bring it to you. But this is uncharted territory as we have been reporting. Yeah. And such a significant Information Vacuum for so many families dealing with this horror. Becky, thank you so much. I want to go back to david sanger and bring in christiane amanpour. Moments ago, cnn obtained a statement from irans mission to the u. N. , which said we emphatically stand in unflinching support of palestine, however were not involved in palestines response as it was taken solely by palestine itself. Denying direct involvement, which has been one of the Big Questions u. S. Officials have been trying to figure out, and yet this was the statement from irans president yesterday. Take a listen. Translator it is a manifestation of resistance in standing up against the fake regime. Palestinian people, palestinian soldiers, all palestinian groups. And the islamic uma really should be congratulated for this victory. This is not an academic question in terms of the amount or direct involvement of iran here. The implications of the answer to that could be dramatic geopolitically. Whats your sense of things when you pair these two statements together . Well, first of all, the u. S. Obviously as you say is trying to find the smoking gun which they say they havent yet. The hard line president of iran has given that statement they congr congratulate. Whatever they deny, the u. S. Moigs will stand in contrast what the president is actually saying. We know in the past whether it was over the Nuclear Program in iran that israel has taken undeclared action but nonetheless action against nuclear scientists, against nuclear facilities, centrifuges, that kind of thing inside iran whether by hacking or by actual agents that take revenge. So were waiting to see what happens. And this plays into the whole fear of a wider regional war. If iran backed hezbollah and theres no question about that, right . Iran, syria backs hezbollah, there in lebanon, everybody is waiting to see whether they actually get into this fight. And then what happens on the west bank . If indeed th