Government, all huge questions looming over the biden House Republican conference, as they struggle with a way forward. Thanks very much. Ac 360 with Anderson Cooper live from israel starts right live from israel starts right now. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com it is 3 00 a. M. In gaza, and you may not be able to pick it up from the microphone im wearing, but you can hear the steady booms of shells being fired into gaza by israeli forces. Weve also throughout the day seen rocket fire coming to ashkelon to our south, hamas saying they have fired 120 rockets into the two cities today. Israeli war planes have been pounding numerous locations in the territory, hitting targets the israeli officials describe as strategic to hamas. The cause also appears to be widespread destruction in densely populated neighborhoods. Israels Defense Minister ordered the military to put gaza under what he called complete siege. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to his people tonight, warning that what weve just seen is the beginning of his campaign against hamas, just the beginning. Hamas, for its part, warned it will begin killing hostages that they have taken and broadcasting those killings if israel targets people in gaza without warning. It is here sh as we did last night, when we have to warn you about some of the images youll see in the hour ahead. Because again today new stories and new video ves have Emerged T Show the sheer barbarity of hamas Gunmen Unleashing and what they unleashed on innocent civilians up close, slaughtering hundreds. There is so much sorrow here, shrouded in the waking nightmare for those who are missing loved ones, or worse who have witnessed their abduction in person or on social media. People like a woman named who saw the video of her cousin and her Young Children taken by hamas militants. Institutions of the world to help kidnapped civilians. Please do something to force hamas to release them alive. Nothing like this happened before. We need everyones help. We need the president of turkey. We need the everyone to help us. Please. Again, hamas claims it is holding more than 100 men, women, and children, including Young Children, as weve just shown you, captive and is threatening to kill them. Islamic jihad says they have 30. Israel has cut off gaza. Israeli forces are building near the border, ahead perhaps of a potential invasion. More than 900 israelis have been killed that we know about, more than 700 palestinians in gaza. Clarissa ward joins me now from ashkelon, a city just south of here. She spent some of the Daylight Hours running for cover with her team in a roadside embankment, taking cover from rocket fire nearby. This is video of that moment that youre looking at. Now clarissa is with me. Talk just a little bit about where you were because you were very close to the Border Crossing where the initial some of the initial invasion took place. Reporter thats right anderson. We had gone right down down to the gaza border to link up with the idf. They wanted to show us the first area where those hamas militants were able to breach the border and storm in, guns blazing in these pickup trucks. And there was just this line of cars that had been shot up, abandoned. Many People Killed. One of about 80 breaches in that border. While we were gathering some of our footage, the sirens started to alert. We heard a large number of missiles being fired off from gaza. We obviously tried to get down and get cover as soon as possible. I think really the major take away here is that we experienced a small sample of what life is like for so many people on both sides of this border, anderson, as the tempo just continues to ratchet up and up with No End In Sight and no clarity as to where this is going, anderson. Clarissa, the strikes from both sides have obviously been continues today. Have you seen really changes in the tempo of the rockets in recent hours . So, its been a little bit of a mixed picture, i will say. After 24 hours of relentless bombardment, we had a few hours this evening where it was a lot quieter. That has changed in the last hour or so, as you noted at the beginning of your show, weve been hearing a lot of jets in the skies. Weve been hearing quite a few strikes in gaza, which is in that direction behind me. We havent heard so many of those Rocket Attacks, which we had been hearing on a pretty consistent basis throughout the day. And i think the real question now is, sort of, you know, where does this go next . Obviously the focus is on the hostages, which you mentioned and talked about at the beginning of your show. But Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu gave a speech for the israeli people. He talked about the importance of coming together, of unity, and how this is not going to be quick, not going to be easy. But he didnt answer the question that so many are speculating now about as to whether or not were going to see some kind of a Ground Offensive or incursion inside of gaza, anderson. Israels Defense Minister today said hes given an order for gazas, quote, complete siege. Talk a little bit about what that might actually look like. Reporter well, the Blockade Of Gaza has been in effect for well over a decade now, 16 years. But what he was talking about today was a real tightening of that. I believe the expression he used was no food, no fuel, no electricity. And you can imagine, for ordinary civilians in the gaza strip, there are 2 Million People who live there. About a million of them are 18 or younger. The fear that they are experiencing right now, the voracity of the bombardment that has been going on throughout the day, the lack of any real place for them to seek refuge or to leave the gaza strip because it is blocked off on the israeli side but also on the egyptian side. And the images that we have been seeing that have been coming out from social media from some of our colleagues on the ground, just showing the scale of some of the destruction that we are seeing inside. Benjamin netanyahu said today, or late today, that the idf is going on the offensive against hamas, quote, like never before. I mean, this region has obviously been in conflict for years. I mean, what does that escalation potentially look like . Obviously a Ground Incursion would be the most obvious. Reporter i think the Ground Offensive is what everyone has been anticipating. Weve already crossed the rubicon, anderson, in terps of being in uncharted territory, never having seen anything like this, certainly in the 20 or something years that ive been covering this story. But people who have been living here for a lot longer say theyve never seen anything like this. Weve seen a huge amount of armor, weaponry, manpower, Personnel Being moved down from israel alongside that border. Primarily initially it seemed to be a response to dealing with the hamas militants who were continuing to run amuck in areas along that border. There were hundreds of them who infiltrated, and it took a couple of days before the israeli army felt they had a decrept grip on that. Now the question is, as they remain poised there, do they push further in . And frankly, to what end . What would it look like . What would it mean for the haas tanls who are inside the gaza strip . And would it potentially really put an end to this bloody cycle of violence that has been many decades in the making, anderson . Clarissa, i appreciate you and your teams effort tonight. Thank you. A short time ago i spoked with a woman. Her friend and neighbor is missing. The story of her kidnapping is sickening, and its also unique in that her Young Children were also taken, forced to walk to gaza with gunmen, with hamas gunmen. Then they were, for reasons still unknown, released. We spoke just a short time ago. Can you just walk us through what happened when your home was attacked . Yes. We were hiding in the shelter, a friend of mine living next to me, and me. We were hiding in the closet. And then the terrorists came and they bombed the door. The bullets and they all entered into his body. So, i was saved thanks to him. And then they pulled me out of the closet. They told me to cover myself, so i just took three skirts and put them on me, one on my legs, on on my shoulders, and one on my head. They took me to my living room so, wait, the person you were with in the closet was shot. He was murdered, yes. And you were shot as well . I wasnt. I wasnt. I was saved because he was next to the door, and they shot him, and they saved i dont know why. They just took me out of there and i was saved. He absorbed all the bullets into his body. And when i went out, i saw him dead. They took you to The Living Room. They took me to The Living Room and then came more terrorists with the children of my friend. She is still missing. They gave me his four and a half month old and almost four year old, both traumatized. And they just gave them to me. And from there, they took me to another home. And it was a family in the shelter. And they tried to convince them to go out of the shelter. And they told me what to tell them in order to come out. Thankfully they did not listen, not to me, not to the terrorists, obviously. And these children, they must have been terrified. Were they crying . Were they silent . I mean, this is they were traumatized. They were shocked. He had a bullet that crossed his foot, and the baby, he was breathing so much gunfire and his lungs were absorbing so much they were traumatized and they were just quiet. They kept gazing at the terrorists with terrified eyes. From there a five year old child and a four and a half month old child . An almost four years old child and a four and a half month, almost five month, baby, who is still breast feeding. His mother is missing. How many terrorists were there . About eight. And they burned the neighborhood they burned the kibbutz. They burned everything they could, the cars, everything. They broke everything. Everything is ruined. Where did they take you then . They just moved me from one house to the other. And then at a certain point, they just took us through the fence. They created a hole in the fence. We started walking to gaza. More terrorists came with us. I was with the boys. He was on the shoulders of one of the terrorists, and i was carrying the baby. We just walked. They kept on saying, quick, quick, and they shouted. He just cried, the whole situation, wanted to go down. The baby was on me, just fell asleep. I think it was just a survival mode, i guess, just a baby. Just a baby. What was going through your mind . I was sure that i knew that theyre kidnapping us. I just kept on saying to myself that maybe some women over there will take care of us and maybe they will be a little bit human to us. I also realized that they will probably be more people from israel that they kidnapped and that i have to be with the kids. Theyre gorgeous kids of my dear friend, who is still missing. I knew that my life is going to change, but i didnt care. I just looked at the kids all the time to see whats going on with them. Thats it. And then we crossed the border and we were, like, about kilometers from gaza. I already saw the houses, and then they told me to go. They released us. Do you know why . I dont know why. Everyone is asking me that. I really dont know why. I dont know. I thank god for that, but i dont know why they saved the kids life and my life. They just told me to go. And then we started walking back. I wasnt sure where was i. And then we entered the gate and there was more terrorists there. They saw us and then i took the kids to, like, little hill of sindh and they didnt do anything to us. They just kept going to gaza. From there, we continued walking. You have to realize that the 4yearold, he was wounded. So, he couldnt walk. He was crawling. He was crying. It was a traumatizing experience. You said he was wounded. Was it in his foot . You said a bullet had grazed his foot . Yes. Yes, yes. I bullet crossed his foot. Yeah. What happened then . I mean, you arrived back. You see more terrorists leaving. What do you do . They didnt do anything to us. They just they saw me. I took the kids aside and they let us just go. They went back to gaza, and then we just continued walking through fields. I saw tents and i heard lots of bombs that were shooting. We just kept on going. I knew that we have to come back before it would be dark. And then we entered the fence of the kibbutz. I had to bend the fence in order to get in, back to the kibbutz because they already fixed the fence that was broken. Probably the army did that. And then we entered this house of one of the neighbors. And thats it. And we called the father of the kids, who was sure that his family, his whole family, was gone. And what about audi, their mother . I know i understand she was taken alive. Have there been any pictures of her, videos, or anything . They didnt send anything. We have pictures from before the kidnapping, but we dont know whats going on with her. We dont know. Shes missing. I dont know. I hope she was taken alive. I hope so. We are all hoping that. But we dont know. We dont know anything. The situation here is israel is so chaotic right now. Theres so many missing people, and theres so many murdered and everything is ruined. So many people are traumatized. We dont know whats happening. Were praying that she comes back, really hope that she comes back. But we dont know. How are you holding up . I mean, i cannot imagine how do you cope with Something Like this . Its a very difficult question to answer. Its just been two days. I feel its been two months of my life. I dont know. Were just hanging in there for each other and hoping that this situation will be over. Were overwhelmed, all of us. No one is expecting the worst, and this is the worst of, like the worst scenario that we i just you see . Im not coping yet. The Healing Process is not it will take time. The two kids, how are they doing . I know theyre with their father. Theyre safe, as safe as anybody is in israel. But how have you seen them . How are they doing . Yeah. Yesterday we came to jerusalem, and they got medical care. And today i saw them, and they were released, and they are better. Theyre better. Theyre much better. Im so sorry for what you have been through. Can you tell us about your neighbor, who was murdered . What was he like . He was a wonderful person. He was a talented person. He was a funny person. He was a he was someone who wanted to live. His name is hime. Hime in hebrew is life. Thats the meaning of his name. And he gave life to this present. He saved me and i was able to save two kids. He just got back from a journey in india. He was a deejay. He was a professor for philosophy. He was a brilliant person, so beautiful and so gorgeous. He was a good friend. He was a good soul in this world. Were just shocked. Im not able to understand that hes not with us. The picture of him dead is in my head, and, yeah. He was a wonderful person. He had a very good heart. And he was shot to death in a closet. Yes. Well, im so sorry for what youve been through. And i wish you strength and peace in the days ahead. Thank you. Thank you so much. And i hope that things will be a bit more clear here. Its chaotic right now. What do you want people to know about audi, your friend, the mother of your children . That shes brave and she has such a good heart. She wouldnt hurt a sole. She always shes always smiling. Shes always giving. And shes so kind and gentle. Shes such a good mother. I mean, she just had haa baby. Hes four and a half months. Shes just a beautiful sole really, such a good friend, such a good mother. He needs her. He needs her. They both need her. They ask the big one is asking. She just needs to come back. She needs to come back home. I hope she comes back home. Abtal la, thank you. Thank you. We are back. We have clarissa ward. Clarissa, lets talk about the chaos here, which is the thing that adds to it is hamas threat to kill hostages in the event israel attacks targets without warning. In addition to that threat, hamas is saying they will not negotiate the fate of their hostages while under israeli fire. It would seem that theyre looking to hold those people right now, a, as Human Shields to try to prevent a large scale israeli attack, and also as perhaps Bargaining Chips that they can use for palestinian prisoners later on. Thats right, anderson. I think the anticipation has been that there would be some kind, potentially, of a deal, visavis prisoner release. We know from our colleagues in d. C. , Natasha Bertrand and alex mar marquardt, that the companies have been actively engaged in this and trying to help facilitate or broker some kind of an agreement. But whenever youre in these situations and youre trying to make very, very difficult agreements against the backdrop of continuous bombardment and rocket fire, it becomes exponentially more dangerous for those people who are being held. And you watch that clip, and your heart just breaks for these families, who really very few of them have any idea whats going on, where their loved ones are, if their loved ones are even alive. Weve spoken to Family Members who have said that theyve been learning about this stuff from social media because there is such chaos around the events of saturday still and who was taken and who was killed and where they may be held and whether theyre still alive. And the agony of these families that are going through this protracted state of horror, of not knowing, it really has such a powerful effect on the sigh ki not just of those families, although of course primarily with them, but really of the entire country. And for obvious reasons for israelis, the issue of Hostage Taking is deeply emotional. So, one can only imagine what it is like for people to sit and wait through these days hearing that bombardment, knowing that every strike could be potentially on one of their loved ones, anderson. Clarissa, thank you. Next, a closer look at how hamas functions, how it came to power, and who support