Announcer this is cnn breaking news. And welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Thousands of american citizens could soon be on their way out of israel. The Biden Administration now arranging Charter Flights in the midst of a war zone as fighting between israel and hamas continues to escalate. The urgency for a safe exit is underscored by a rising american death toll. 27 americans killed by hamas according to the white house. More than 1,200 in total have been killed in israel. And in gaza, where hamas embeds with the civilian population, israeli airstrikes are constant, and hundreds of innocents are feeling the punishment. Israeli Energy Ministry today announcing that gaza will have no power, no water, no fuel until hamas agrees to release the hostages it took over the weekend. Senator bernie sanders, independent of vermont, called that a violation of international law. The latest war prompted by hamas terrorism saturday, unspeakable attacks killing hundreds of israeli, most of them civilians, babies, grandparents, children, young people at a music festival. U. S. Secretary of state Antony Blinken saw the aftermath of much of the devastation in israel for himself today, and he summed it up in one word. Overwhelming. He met with both families of americans killed and taken hostage by hamas. Next hes going to visit multiple countries in the region, all in an effort to try to secure the release of people still being held by hamas as hostages. At least 14 americans remain unaccounted for. Secretary blinken pledging full u. S. Support for israel after the devastating attack by hamas, a group that he compares to isis. One photograph which was shown to blinken by Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu clearly explains that comparison. Were going to show it to you in just a moment. I want to warn you that its incredibly graphic. Im giving you this warning now so that you can choose to look away. The photograph is a baby. A baby whose body is stained with blood. A baby murdered by hamas. A baby. According to Prime Minister netanyahu. I know its difficult to see, but i want you to consider not looking away. Secretary blinken said this image might be worth a million words. In some ways its impossible to find any words. Cnns erin burnett is in tel aviv. And erin, as you travel around israel, what are you hearing from the civilians, the innocent men and women and children stuck in the middle of this war . Reporter jake, in many ways it does remind me of those horrific and unspeakable days after 9 11 here, that there is just this hole in peoples heart, the grief. They greet each other with a sigh. The world has changed. Theres not much traffic on the road. Plenty of stores are closed. Not all of them, of course. But it is a palpable shift. It is a change. It is a nation in shock and grief. And there is no question about that. I mean, today along a checkpoint near the gaza border, jake, we were actually stopped because there was small arms fire, an operation going on between militants and idf on the other side. So we were waiting. And as we were waiting there, listening to the artillery in the distance, where that festival was was a few miles away. We ran into a young woman who had been a bartender at the festival. Shes fled 10 kilometers. She survived. One of her friends were killed. And i asked her what is the one thing you want the world to know . As of course shes still crying, as everyone is when they begin to tell their story who touched this in any way. She said, i just want them to know, the world to know, that these are terrorists and its a horrible thing. And her father was there with her, jake, because they had been bringing food to give some of the idf Special Forces who were coming through this checkpoint. And he said and jumped in with his daughter, he said no, their devils sons. Devils sons. And i think that sort of captures it, jake, just that theres a rage and theres an anger, theres a feeling here that what happened was inhuman and you cant respond to it with humanity. You hear that of course from Prime Minister netanyahu but you also hear it from citizens, just this deep, deep frustration. A general here with the idf, hed been a general for many decades. He told me today that what he saw when he went through settlement after settlement on saturday, he has his pistol and a group of men and they were Fighting Hamas militants in these settlements. He said he had never seen anything in his entire life. Hes seen bodies dead in war. Hes seen bodies desecrated. He has never seen anything like he saw that day. And this person, former general of the idf, was crying. And i think that is how it is. That is how they feel. And right now its safe to say just like when you were silent looking at that picture of the baby there are not really words to describe yet how people are truly going to react to this as these days go by. Horrible things happen in war, and innocent people tragically are killed in war. The willful slaughter of innocents, targeted at close range like this, is something that is really i dont even i do not have the words. Erin burnett in tel aviv. Thank you so much. Well, the back and forth Hamas Rocket Fire and israeli air and artillery strikes continue. Israels buildup for an expected Ground Incursion into gaza continues. Cnns Nic Robertson is live for us in sderot, israel. Nic, what are you seeing happening right now around what will be no doubt front lines . Reporter yeah, i think, you know, what erin is talking about, that sense of anger, that hole, that sense of loss, that sense of bitterness, the dumfounded shock that such barbarity could happen to people, the response to that is beginning to take shape in the form of the idf and in the form of their increased readiness here along the border. Weve been hearing a lot more outgoing Artillery Shells today, and we went to one of the locations where the idf had literally just dug in in the past 24 hours. A whole array of these very heavy howitzer guns. And were beginning to send shells into gaza. Israels newly emerging front line in the war with hamas. Heavy howitzers just dug in. Firing on the terror group a few miles away in gaza. Part of israels massive military buildup since hamass attacks saturday. Many of the 300,000 reservists called up already deployed ahead of a highly anticipated Ground Offensive into gaza. These are exactly the same gun positions the Israeli Defense forces used in their last major confrontation with the hamas back in 2021. The question now, will this confrontation be different . Will israel actually be able to crush hamas . As the Prime Minister says he wants to do. Military offensives have beaten them before and wont be easy now. The Palestinian Death toll and unintended consequence of israeli shelling and missile strikes is climbing. Thursday the u. S. Cautioning care. The Prime Minister and i discussed how israel does this matters. We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard, even when its difficult. Reporter and it will be difficult. Israel is still reeling from the dead deadliest, most barbaric attack on its citizens since the state was founded. Anger at hamas is high. So too pressure on the Prime Minister to act decisively. Hes calling for more International Support as he plans his offensive. Hamas should be treated exactly the way isis was treated. They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leader should meet them. No country should harbor them. And those that do should be sanctioned. Reporter in the meantime, hamas is still getting into israel. This gun battle with them late wednesday. There were multiple incursions by Hamas Terrorists yesterday. I drove right through sderot during the time when three terrorists were out, again, looking for civilians to kill. Reporter the tempo of fire here far higher than in 2021. A drumbeat that seems to signal a Ground Offensive all but inevitable. Even so, its outcome far from certain. And this is what essentially faces those troops right now, firing the howitzers. Were hearing them landing in gaza at the moment. The thumps are huge and heavy. No doubt theres good Battle Damage assessment of the impact that theyre having. How theyre shaping the ground for the offensive, how successful that will be, what the offensive will be, what the objectives of that offensive will be, these are the sorts of questions that the troops that are arriving at the border right now have in their minds. They want to know what the missions going to be. They want to know how their commanders are going to be asking them to execute it. But everyone has that passion that erin was talking about inside them. This is something that was done to them. And there needs to be a response. And it needs to be within that humane framework as Secretary Blinken said. Nic robertson, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Drone video taken today shows parts of gaza city as it smolders in ruins after being hammered by israeli airstrikes. The Palestinian Ministry of health says that more than 1,500 people have been killed in gaza since the airstrikes began. 500 of those killed are believed to be children. A warning now that some of the images youre about to see in our next report are graphic and heartbreaking including one of a baby girl who was rushed through the streets to a Waiting Ambulance by her uncle but ultimately did not make it. The stories and images are gutwrenching but important to hear and important to see. Heres cnns nada bashir. Reporter gripped by grief, a loss of unfathomable scale. Gazas death toll and the number of civilians wounded is rising with each and every airstrike. In the El Shateh Refugee Camp men dig with their bare hands, desperate to rescue loved ones from beneath the rubble of what once were their homes. Saad begins to list the names of the children killed in this latest strike. Among them his niece. She was just a few months old. Now she is one of more than 440 children Gazas Health Ministry says has been killed by israeli airstrikes so far. Israel says it is striking hamas targets. But authorities here say medical facilities, schools and residential areas have been impacted. Our neighbor said that the israelis had called and told them to evacuate the area around our home. So we came to stay with relatives here in el shateh, nabil says. But the next morning when we woke up to pray at dawn the airstrike happened. There was no warning. The densely populated gaza strip, which has been under an israeli land, sea and air blockade since 2007 is home to more than 2 Million People. Around 47 of them are children. So far at least 340,000 people have been displaced within gaza. Many are now forced to take shelter in u. N. Run schools like this one. But civilians here are also now facing what the Israeli Government has described as a complete siege on gaza. Theres no water for us to drink, no water for us to wash ourselves with so that we can pray, maram says. Theyve bombed our schools. Many people have been killed. Its not fair for children like us. Why is this happening to us . Life under a blockade is all that the children of gaza have ever known. For some like 13yearold nadeen, it is hard to imagine a future beyond this relentless conflict. The last couple of nights have been the worst couple of nights ive ever lived in my life. This is not living. This is existing. Were not were not planning our futures anymore. Were just trying to survive. Reporter but survival in gaza is becoming more and more difficult by the day. The humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating. And while the u. N. Has condemned what it has described as israels unlawful blockade on gaza and the indiscriminate nature of israels airstrikes, there is little hope that the blood will end here. Nada bashir, cnn. Nada bashir, thank you so much. As youve just seen israel has ordered a, quote, complete siege of gaza. But whats the plan if israel succeeds in that dismantling plan . Well talk about that next. Palestinian officials in gaza say more than 1,500 people have been killed in gaza since saturday in retaliation for the Terrorist Attack by hamas. Many of those 1,500 are Hamas Terrorists, but hundreds of others were innocent civilians. As hamas continues to embed among them. And now israel has ordered a, quote, complete siege of the area in response to hamass barbaric terrorism. As a result the 2. 3 million residents of gaza are right now cut off by israel from food, from fuel, from electricity. Half of the 2. 3 million are children according to the united nations. Resources in the densely populated 25mile strip of land along the mediterranean have been largely controlled by israel and egypt to a degree for the last 16 years. Israel occupied gaza for decades, since 1967, then withdrew in 2005. The israeli blockade came after hamas, which both the u. S. And e. U. Consider a terrorist group, was elected to control gaza in 2007. Since hamas took over there have been no elections in gaza. Rival factions have been eliminated. Today nearly 80 of gazans live in abject poverty according to the u. N. And aid groups warn its about to get a lot worse. So how can israel control gazas infrastructure . Well, look at this map. First theres the fence. A 37milelong Concrete Barrier covered in barbed wire and protected by watch towers. Just inside theres another 1,000 feet of land only access ebel by farmers. There are only two crossings for people to get in and out, one on the northern side, one on the egyptian side, and a Third Crossing just for goods. Then there is only one power plant. That can only generate 16 of gazas electricity. The rest comes from israel. Until now. Until after the Terrorist Attack on saturday. Joining us now, Cnn National Security analyst and former Deputy Director of National Intelligence beth saner. So first of all, israel i mean, i think the Western World would agree that israel has a right if not an obligation to get rid of hamas after what they did saturday. But is that what theyre doing . I mean, do they have a plan to get rid of hamas . I dont i dont know. Maybe they are. Maybe they know where they all are. I dont know. Well, i think that the problem is is that it is incredibly hard to separate out, you know, what youre bombing. Gaza is a place thats just filled with tunnels. Right . So and hamas puts their operations centers, their command centers, places where they hide munitions under public buildings, under, you know, mosques. And so you know, as were seeing this destruction, because the only instrument that the israelis have right now is this very blunt instrument of just bombing, they are taking out buildings where, you know, civilians live or theyre taking out buildings next to them. And right now i think i read a little while ago that 450 children have been killed in gaza. Those are innocent people. And you know, most of people who live in gaza do not support hamas and their tactics. They dont. Theres polling on this. Theres polling on that. You know, about half of them polled in august said that hamas should stop supporting this idea of the destruction of israel. Thats in their charter. I mean, thats what they stand for, hamas. Exactly. So half the people say no. And 70 of the people there polled and i think this would tend to go the other way. I think people would lie the other direction. So 70 said you know, we like this proposal of the idea of the Palestinian Authority coming in with officials and security people to take over and hamas should stop having these separate armed groups. So i find that very interesting because, you know, the p. A. Is not popular. Its not about them wanting the p. A. Its that they have no other option and the kind of life under hamas is just horrible. So whats so lets assume that israel and i dont even know how you figure this out. But lets assume they bomb and then theres some sort of Ground Incursion and they think that okay, we have gotten the leadership of hamas. Lets say that theres 100 top leaders and theyve killed them all or theyve escaped or whatever. Then what . I mean, they got out of occupying gaza because it was so awful to occupy it in 2005. Right. And there was two years where they were not blockading it. What then . I think that this is exactly why we havent seen the Ground Incursion yet. Because its just incredibly complicated. I dont think that israel has the capacity to go in and kill all the fighters. Just killing the leadership is not going to solve the problem. I think we just saw you have an interview with someone that said that, you know, theres still terrorists going over the line and conducting operations inside israel. So youve got to kill much more than the leadership. And right now israels saying were not just killing the militant wing, were going to kill the whole governing and political apparatus too. So that is a lot of people. And there is no way you can go into this densely populated area and occupy it. Being the Hostile Force that israel is. I mean, think what theyre doing right now. Think about the picture of the father coming down the street with his baby in his hands. Theyre not going to be welcoming israel even though its so awful what happened to the israelis. Obviously. I mean, so ive been asking since saturday, literally since saturday, what about the innocent palestinians .