Transcripts For CNNW Israel 20240703

Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Im jim acosta In Washington alongside erin burnett in tel aviv with our coverage. Several developments this evening. Today Israeli Defense forces raising the death toll to more than 1400 Israeli Armored vehicles are now staging near the border why gaza in anticipation of what they call significant Ground Operations. That invasion expected to happen at any moment. The idf confirms hamas has more than 150 hostages eight days their after attack. And israeli air strikes continue to pound Northern Gaza and idf shelled 250 targets today. Tens of thousands in gaza are still scrambling to find safe passage to the south. But the raffa Border Crossing in egypt is closed. Waiting for authorities to open the gate for days now. Today tony blinken promised that the border will open as the u. S. Appointed a new Special Envoy to coordinate aid into the gaza enclave. Let me go to erin burnett live on the ground in tel aviv. I understand you were able to catch up with a bipartisan u. S. Delegation that was on the ground in tel aviv with you. What did they encounter and what did you find out . Reporter well, jim, yes, absolutely and it was bipartisan. Senator romney here and Senator Schumer and Senator Cassidy and Senator Kelly and rosen. So it was a bipartisan group. They met with the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and they said, one of them told me they were shown pictures, weve own shared one at this point with our viewers, but they were shown pictures of a group of children that they say were burned alive. Sort of they had no words to describe what they were actually confronted with and what they saw today. But they did have those meetings today. And in addition, as you mentioned, the Secretary Of State is going to be coming here to israel again tomorrow and sort of a desperate effort of diplomacy to try to get some of the other players involved. I had a chance to speak with Senator Schumer about what happened here and what is next and that u. S. Carrier strike group and here is what we just talked about just a few moments ago. Leader schumer, thank you sop for your time. In tel aviv youve been meeting throughout the day with the Prime Minister netanyahu and others. What did you learn here . Well, first, we came with a simple message to the israeli people, we have your back. We feel your pain. We ache and america will stick with you in this most difficult time. We had three missions. One, to let israel know were for them. Two, to find out what israels needs are, and we had extensive discussions of the military, diplomatic and intelligence and humanitarian needs that israel had. But third we wanted to show that this was bipartisan. So i went with two democrats and two republicans. Senator cassidy and senator romney and Senator Kelly. Yes. And senator rosen. And senator rosen. And in this time of such partisanship, this is one area where the congress is united and i believe were going to pass very soon, were going to put together a very strong package. We will pass it soon. Were not going to wait for the house. Were hopeful that if we pass a strong package with bipartisan majority, it will put pressure on house to act one way or another however the heck they figure it out. So, Secretary Blinken is coming tomorrow, coming back. No one had known that this is happening, obviously, hes coming from other places in the middle east, just met with the saudi crown prince. What is his goal . Do you know . Is he trying to have netanyahu delay this . No. I think his goal is to try and keep the triapartheid negotiations going on between saudi arabia and israel on track. Many suspect that hamas and iran did this dastardly horrible terrorist action to make sure that that didnt happen. And he feels very strongly as do most of us, that we should keep it on track. And the viciousness of hamas, in one instance cutting the throats of little children, having their parents watch. Hamas is trying to say, were going to intimidate you from doing the things you want to do including this triapartheid attack and think i theyre saying were not going to be intimidated. John kirby said there is no plans, no intention for u. S. Troops to be involved but he wouldnt rule it out. So im not going to rule anything out. Do you think that should be on the table israel has never asked for troops. Theyve asked for aid. Theyve always asked for help. But i mean for the american hostages . No, right now our country and weve met and talked to Secretary Blinken about this, we met with some of the of the families of american hostages, and the best way to go is to pursue some serious diplomatic channels to put pressure on hamas through other countries. Cant mention the countries because it might mess the whole thing up. But that is the plan. So, as you were on your way here, there was the announcement that there is a second Carrier Strike group coming from the United States. And incredibly high Military Posture off the coast of israel. Yeah. Youve got the war in ukraine going on as well. When you take a step back, senator, do you think the u. S. Is closer to war itself than it has been in a long time . I think sending the two carriers here will make us less likely to have a war because it is a strong message to hezbollah and lebanon and to iran, dont mess around here because we have a lot of might in the area. What is the status of u. S. Knowledge of irans involvement right now in ongoing conflict as well as it still sorry. It is still unclear whether iran knew all of the details and pushed hamas at this time. But there would be no hamas without iran. So iran will be culpable one way or the other. Here in tel aviv, you had to take shelters from rockets and that is the daily life here. Did that give you a different sense. Yes, when youre here, you see it. I asked five or six random people, the driver of our car to people in the hotel, several waitresses at restaurants we were at, every single one of them has a relative or close friend who died. It is unbelievable. Look, i think about 9 11 every day. Yes. And ill think about this every day and im sure every israeli will for the rest of their lives. But theyre a strong people and a res olute people and hamas trying to intimidate them with terrorism is not going to succeed. Senator schumer, thank youch. Good to see you. Thank you. Reporter and i want to go now to cnn diplomatic editor Nic Robertson live in sderot, israel, a mile east of the gaza border. Now, Israel Forces have been Staging Ground for several days, right . Weve all witnesses the incredible build up and the pace of the buildup, which is the situation there where you are at this hour . Jets overhead. Not usual. Missiles being fired into gaza. Weve heard several of those. About an hour ago we had a round of incoming missiles coming from coming from gaza into here. The iron dome intercepted them. Really low over our heads. That was another Missile Landing in gaza. We heard the jet there. That is the missile. But were been down along the border area today to see some of the training that is going on. And were with a unit that was tanks, and it was infantry, it was mechanical engineers, Combat Mechanical Engineers who were getting ready to training to line up their vehicles in a field and practicing for moving off together when they get the order to go into gaza. Another unit of troops were in this mockup big concrete palestinian town, it had mosques and it had stores and civilian housing. And these troops were going through combat training, training to fight in a combat environment. So what were seeing here is not only the deemployment of the troops close to the border but what looks like some of the lastminute training before theyre going in. We talked to some of the commanders who will be some of the first to go into gaza and i said, looking we know that the idf has told civilians to head south. We know that hamas has told them not to. We know that in the past, you know, there will be when you go in, as soldiers and in 2014 incursion into gaza that hamas is hiding out behind civilians, you could do this without civilian casualties and the commander said were a professional force. Were fighting terrorists not civilians but if hamas does that, it will make our job very difficult. And this is what were hearing from the spokesperson here as well. I was asking them the same question. And they said quite distinctly, were asking the civilians to leave. Hamas is telling them to stay. If the civilians that is hamass responsibility, not our responsibility. So i think everyone here is getting ready for the potential of Crossing Into Gaza and also the difficulty and knowledge of what they may find when they get in there. Bup as you heard from that missile strike, again, it is a very, very active night tonight, erin. I mean, it has been days. We hear this day after day. At some point the distinction between the next steps an the current steps becomes cloudier. You heard the Majority Leader schumer say that he thought that the Secretary Of State Antony Blinkens report trip to israel to meet with the Prime Minister was about keeping peace talks on track, the normalization of relations with saudi arabia and israel talks on track. Obviously those at this point are not to state the obvious. Is that what you think it is about . Hes saying it is not about the u. S. Trying to have netanyahu pull back or slow down or stall, anything like that. What do you see . Look, i think the importance of keeping the saudi discussion on track is a big one for the saudis, for israel, for the United States. And i think it is interesting that on it trip, Secretary Blinken has been twice to see Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and trying to play a diplomatic role in the region and he will be appreciating the egyptian president to take a softer role about the possibility of opening that raffa Border Crossing to allow palestinian out of gaza into there. Yes, it is a contentious issue and there is a lot of historical baggage with palestinians but i think there will be a lot of and lets not forget, the hostages behindthescenes efforts will be made, a lot of efforts to get the hostages released. And we could believe that some leaders like crown prince in saudi arabia and others in the region will be making their best efforts to help that happen. So i think Secretary Blinken being in the region it signals not ome to iran or hezbollah that the United States is here, it is behind israel, but it tries to sort of keep that diplomatic behind the Scenes Movement on all fronts, on broader stability and on the longterm goals and the possibility of hostages and trying to keep those alive. But as you and i both know, and Senator Schumer was hearing from people, there is a will here to settle the score and really reduce the risk from hamas at the moment. There is. It is an overwhelming will at this point for sure. And of course it comes as the u. S. Has the two Carrier Strike groups in the region. Nic robertson, thank you very much. And still to come, the white house is not ruling out sending u. S. Troops to help free americans held hostage by hamas in gaza. More on that as we talk about this escalating conflict with congressman adam smith with jim next. This just floor cnn, the american death toll in israel has risen to 30. 30 americans who have died since this war began. The State Department is also aware of 13 american nationals who are unaccounted for after last weeks Terror Attack as the u. S. Is bolstering its defenses in the region by sending a second Aircraft Carrier, the Uss Eisenhower and the white house is not ruling out sending troops to rescue hostages held by hamas. There is no plans or intentions to put u. S. Troops onp ground to fight in this fight between israel and hamas. But the americans we are actively trying to find out exactly where they are and i mean, shannon, we dont even know how many exactly. We saw a small handful that we know but there could be more than we know. What i wont do is rule anything in or out when it comes to being our hostages home. Were working on this by the hour. And joining us now to discuss is democratic congressman adam smith of washington state. Hes the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services committee. Congressman, great to see you, appreciate you coming on. Let me ask you, what john kirby was abobeing asked a few moment ago, should the u. S. Contemplate sending troops no gaza to help free americans being held hostage, presumably Special Forces type of troops, but what are your thoughts . Two things about that. First of all, if we had a situation where we knew where our hostages were and we felt there was a plausible plan for Special Forces to go in and get them out. We would do it. It is just highly unlikely given how hamas has built the system of tunnels and hiding places throughout gaza. I forget the name of the israeli soldier but they held him for years without israel being able to know where he was and rescue him. So if that situation presented itself, if our troops could get in an out, clearly we would do that. It is under the circumstances it highly unlikely that we could do that successfully. And were showing our viewers live pikes of gaza. It is 12 19 and it is quiet and similar to what we showed viewers yesterday. What is your sense as to what is happening right now, and i suppose there was some expectation that this was going to start as some point this weekend and it hasnt. Do you know what might be behind that . What are your thoughts . I think there is deep concern, by israel and by the u. S. As well, for the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in gaza. And for the civilians that are in harms way. And this is part of hamas plan. They put civilians in harms way. They take supply away from humanitarian aid for civilians and keep it for themselves. They want the civilians there. Theyre blocking civilians who are trying to leave. So israel, the u. S. , and a lot of people in the region are trying to figure out how can we, you know, deal with the threat from hamas and protect civilians an trying to open up humanitarian corridors. Certainly the one in egypt is being talked about. They are still hopeful that they could potentially have one into israel. But how could do we do that safely and what will hamas do to block it . Look, and i know this is an incredibly emotional issue, people are suffering horribly on both sides of this fight. But there was one thing i hope people will keep in mind, hamas literally does not care about human rights or civilians or about protecting life. Israel at least cares. They dont always do everything we would like them to do. But they are fighting a determined enemy and an enemy determined to wipe israel off the face of the map. It is a very difficult situation. But i think what is happening is people are trying to wrestle with that conflict. How do you stop hamas, while stopping the humanitarian catastrophe going on in gaza right now. And i guess what are your thoughts on the second Aircraft Carrier being sent to the region . I suppose to deter folks like hezbollah and iran, i guess presumably from sticking their fingers in this. Should they take this as a serious threat of the use of force by the United States . Yes. Absolutely. That is the second big thing that is going on. Is try to stop the con flick from spreading as has been reported. There is concern about what hezbollah will do in lebanon and other places in like syria and iraq and in some cases the groups could threaten u. S. Military personnel. We have troops in syria and in iraq. If they are targeted by iran, we will defend them and it is all part of the effort to deter this conflict from spreading. And the Secretary Of State tony blinken promised today that the crossing, the raffa crossing between gaza and egypt will be open. What do you know about why this is becoming a problem . American citizens in gaza say theyre still stranded at the border. What is being done to get them out and what is going on with this crossing . Is this the egyptians or hamas . What is happening. I think it is a number of different groups. Hamas is trying to prevent people from leaving. That, you know, helps slow down the process. And then, you know, both israel and egypt want to make sure that their security is protected within this corridor. And israels case theyre worried about weapons and supplies getting in to strengthen hamas within gaza and egypt is worried about hamas ill tants or other extremists coming out of gaza and into egypt. And i think both egypt and israel are aware of the fact that theyre going to have to take some degree of risk. There is no guarantee if you open up this corridor that either of those bad things that i just outlined might not happen to egypt and israel. But it is a risk theyre going to have to take if were going to contain the humanitarian crisis that the people in gaza are facing right now. All right. Congressman adam smith, thank you very much for your time. A lot to keep our eyes on this evening. We appreciate it. Thanks, jim. All right. And coming up next, a closer look at the deteriorating conditions in gaza as Tens Of Thousands of palestinians try to flee, possibly a larger number than that. Our Special Coverage continues. Stay with us. Breaking news out of gaza right now. Civilians are rushing toward the southern border. After they were given another safe window to move this morning. Were seeing a strong flow of people going south which is actually a good thing. Gaza is facing a full blown humanitarian crisis as isreal said it is gearing up for what they clearly call the next stage of what already is and we have all seen a war with hamas. This includes widespread air strikes and significant Ground Operations could be added within gaza in the next stage. Here is cnns scott mcclain. Reporter this is the frantic scene outside of a hospital in the city of deir al balah. Constant wail of sirens and a steady stream of children carried desperately inside. Some bandaged. And some alert and others not moving at all. As this is a target for israel. Reporter on Sunday People in that same city gathered to pray over bodies wrapped if white and loaded on to a flatbed truck. Darrell balla located south of the Evacuation Line declared by israel and gaza was hit again on sunday. Afterwards Heavy Machine shifted slabs of concrete hoping in vain to find survivors. There were women and children. Children, children. Reporter akcross gaza they hit more than 100 military targets overnight and more on sunday and in the aftermath of each, people rush to find victims, never far from danger. This video from gaza city shows the sheer chaos as distraught men and women and children trying to figure out what to do and where go next. It is, as you could see, destruction. Destruction. They are destroying us. Translator even hops like this Childrens Hospital have been told to evacuate from Northern Gaza. But with newborn babies an children on ventilators, doctors say they cant. Where will these children go . Their on ven lators and it is not possible to move them. Reporter the World Health Organization said it strongly condemns israelez repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2,000 inpatients in Northern Gaza saying forcing the vaccination of patients south could be tant amount to and the u. N. Said most people already lack access to water. Foreign aid is being sent by the plane load and the truckload to egypt in hopes of getting it into gaza. But egypt and palestinians on theed ground say the roads near the border are too badly damages from air strikes for trucks to pass and on cnn asked the idf whether it was coordinating with aid groups to ensure that supplies get in. The idf and Defense Ministry are engaged with the International Community to try to facilitate various different things. The idf is deeply involved in the combat. We are the warriors. We need to leave the diplomacy for the diplomats. Reporter in just eight days, the death toll in gaza has already surpassed the number of People Killed in the 2014 conflict which lasted 51 days. And with an Israeli Ground inv invasion looming and supplies running low, there is little hope that things will get better for the people of gaza. Scott mcclain, cnn. Scott joining us through. And the pictures are heartbreaking, jim. No matter how you look at this. Some of the scenes are impossible not to touch you. Absolutely. When that doctor was saying a few moments ago that we have children on ventilators, how do we move them. If there is an incursion that is happening, it is just absolutely devastating an the footage of all of that rubble, it is just heartbreaking to watch. Erin, thank you so much. And joining me now is ben wedeman who is on the ground in south lebanon. But wyouve spent years reportig on what is going on Inside Of Gaza and we were watching scotts piece and there were doctors saying we cant shut down hospitals and move kids theyre on ventilators an that is the level of desperation and it is going to get worse as time goes on once this incursion happens. Yeah, jim, keep in mind, as scott mentioned in that report, that the number of dead so far just a week into this conflict is more than died in the 2014 war which i covered. And that war also involved an Israeli Ground incursion into gaza. So it is this the death toll at this point, i dont even want to imagine what the death toll is going to be whenn israeli troops come in. The u. N. Said around 600,000 people have left the northern part of gaza to the south. That leaves about 500,000 people still in gaza. Many of them unable to move because of illness, or they dont have the wherewithal to get to the southern part of gaza. So they are going to be in the city which in in gaza city which we assume is the epicenter of israels efforts, if and when i think just when it invades gaza. And of course, for instance, gaza city is composed of a lot of things. S some of it modern neighborhoods and perhaps now in rubble and others are like the refugee camp which is right on the beach, on the sea. And that refugee camp, it has alleys that are a meter and a half wide. This is the poorest people in the most compact, most densely populated part of gaza. And of course, that is also where many of hamass leadership are. So you could imagine the death toll when israeli troops enter that area. Not only death toll among palestinian, there is going to be a lot of resistance by the palestinians as well. So so i think were looking at when the dust settles in the house and the american citizens goodet out and perhaps some of the supplies get in. But when this invasion comes, it is going to be a blood bath, jim. Absolutely. It already is. In so many ways. Ben wedeman in Southern Lebanon for us. Ben, thank you so much. For more information about how you could help humanitarian efforts in israel and gaza, go to cnn. Com impact or use your Mobile Device to scan the qr code on your screen right now. Just ahead, well speeng with a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense forces cwho wil join erin and as isreal prepares for the next stages of war. Our Special Coverage continues in just a moment. Welcome back to our Special Coverage of israel at war. Youre looking at live pictures of gaza, again quiet at 12 39 a. M. Local time and i want to bring back my colleague erin burnett to talk about what may be coming next. Erin, this looks similar to what we saw 24 hours ago. And i suppose this entire region is just on the edge of its seat at this point. And i wonder if the question has to be raised, you know, how much longer can the israelis wait if theyre going through Something Like this, because obviously as images start flooding in to peoples living rooms around the world of what is now taking place in gaza, those images we just saw a few moments ago from scott mcclain, we talked about it with ben wedeman, and this is going on. And it ernl is. And youre already in a situation where israel is turning the water back on to gaza and hamas said they are not and hamas is firing on them and not allowing them to do it. And when youre in a situation where that is the conversation that youre having, that is not the situation they want to be in. But when you talk about the timing, jim, i last night there was an incredible storm here. Your weather would have said it was clear. It was a monsoon. It was tents were blowing and extremely severe thunderstorms. I mention it because the Weather Forecast right now where we are is for similar storms really over the evening hours now. All the way through tomorrow. Very, very heavy storms that the meteorologists say to impact aircraft as well as marine vessels. So things like that, when all of a sudden youre talking about a Ground Invasion and 360,000 troops on the gaza border matter. And by the way, the forecast is for half an inch or maybe a little bit more of rain around gaza. A lot of that is desert. So these sorts of things may start to matter. But today, jim, it was 250 targets in gaza. The idf said that they struck and they do say they took out another hamas commander. So they have said several have been taken out in the past few days and these are in the onslaught of strikes, i mean 250 in a day, right. Yeah. That they have been carrying on before the technical Ground Invasion, if there is one, even starts. Yeah, i mean, the ground incursion hasnt started but the air strikes continue. We look we are looking at footage, it looks like an earthquake struck there in gaza. It is just devastating what has taken place. Yeah. It is absolutely devastating. And there is only going to be more of it, because you talk about, again, conveys and how many people are being moved. A lot of people are moving but you have 1. 1 million people. You could have hundreds of thousands people and still it is the vast majority of people moving. Right. Were about to see is going to be hard to watch. Absolutely. Erin, thank you so much, well keep checking back with you. You have a lot to bring over the coming hours. But you want to go to Prescilla Alvarez as the Biden Administration is informing us that the death toll of americans is now up to 30 since the attack carried out by hamas. But awhwhat is latest over here talks are ongoing and diplomacy is on going as evidence by blinkens visit throughout the region and talking to his counterparts. But those conversations are also happening here at the white house. Just yesterday, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and were now learning that in that call, the Prime Minister invited President Biden to come to israel. Now, the two sides are discussing that possibility. Now it is not clear how active these discussions are or when they may happen and when asked by cnn, the white house said that they have no new travel to announce. But all of this so say, jim, that this diplomacy is very much ongoing as the focus has been from the administration, not to have this conflict widen or spread any further. And there are a number of pressing issues that blinken and biden will be working through the next few days. All right, and priscilla, knowing covering the white house, theyre not going to the folks over at the white house are not going to confirm the president s travel and his movements and so on. So the fact that the Prime Minister is inviting the president over there definitely raises the prospect that we may see the president heading over there when it is safe. We saw the president Visiting Ukraine as that war has been going on there. So that is a very interesting development. Priscil priscilla alvarez, thank you very much. More on the Breaking News when we come back. Lieutenant colonel jonathan of the israel Defense Forces joins me now. Im here in tel aviv on this sunday night and here it is officially monday morning. And colonel, i appreciate your time. And i want to ask you about developments where we are, we understand that you had about 250 strikes on gaza today. I want to ask you about those but about one of them. Commander of the hamas southern district, you say, was killed. How many hamas commanders have you killed in the Military Operation so far . Thank you for having me. We are hunting hamas commanders. Everybody from the butcher of han unan, the political leader and everybody down from him are Dead Men Walking and we will they will receive their day of justice for the attack that they launched against israel. Weve been able to kill quite a few. When weve been able to kill quite a few hamas commanders. Some of them senior, some of them Tactical Commanders and that is a priority in our Targeting Campaign as we speak. When you look at the situation and i know and i have spoken about how youve been trying to use intelligence to find out the name of every hamas member and commander who was involved in the attacks on israel. Do you know how many of them you have been able to kill . Even as a general sense, have you gotten half of them . A quarter of them . Are you truly not sure . No, there are many, many more left. Weve killed i think around 10 senior, that is a ball park figure. And there are many, many more left. What makes it difficult is the fact that their hiding underground. Theyre hiding in tunnels that theyve built under gaza which the civilians are not allowed to use. That is where hamas is hiding. And that is also why the next stage of Military Activities, i think, will find a better solution to the fact that they are hiding underground. Colonel, could you tell us where the what you understand about the Hostage Situation right now . I know that you and your colleagues have told me that at least the belief was that they were being held underground as well in scattered locations. Do you know where any of them are . Do you know if any of them for sure, could you say if they are all alive or if you know some of them are dead . Do you know . The only thing i can say about this very sensitive topic is that we presume that some of them, either were not taken alive, or perhaps died on the way. But it is very sensitive. And most things are left best left unsaid, i would say. I could only say and reiterate that our purpose and our priority is to bring them back home. I want to ask you about where we are right now. Youve been talking about next stages. 250 strikes on gaza today as you pointed out. Right, so this has been ongoing. But this next stage, weve been told to expect it at any moment. And the Weather Forecast tonight is for severe storms. You and i both saw the storm here last night. That was severe. And there could be many more like that over the next day. According to the forecast, does that impact at all israels decision of when to go in . Weather does, weather it a factor. And when you conduct Military Operations you take into account a multitude of factors. Weather is one of them. And we also take into account the state of readiness, our level of supplies, the access to good intelligence, and about the enemy, their locations. Our capacity, the enemys capacity and of course also the much spoken about humanitarian situation. So everything is taken into consideration when we choose our timing, of course, International Diplomacy as well. On the the humanitarian situation, i know there was a lot of stress about the water and the water being turned on. Now were hearing from Inside Of Gaza that if israel turns the water on, because they stopped the power, the water cant be distributed so the power needs to go back on. Is that going to happen . I dont know what going to happen and when it is going to happen. When i can say is that we do know hamas has stockpiles of fuel that theyre saving for their Military Activities to run their Command Centers and to generate electricity for themselves. For their military purposes. And it is a clear indication of their priorities, that theyre not using that fuel in order to, for instance, supply water to gaza. Important to emphasize, even before the war started, israel supplied only about 9 of the water in gaza. The rest was produced by pumping water from the ground. So electricity is important and hamas still has an ability to generate electricity. But they prioritize differently and they prefer to fight against israel instead of providing water to their civilians. Colonel, thank you very much. I appreciate your time and our coverage continues with more Breaking News right after this break. Thank you. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. Good evening, im jim acosta In Washington with our continuing coverage of israel at war. There are new updates from the battlefield at this hour. Israeli Defense Forces now claim they have killed a hamas commander, amid a barrage of 250 strikes in gaza today. It comes eight days after Hamas Terrorists slaughter and Kidnapped Hundreds of innocent israeli citizens. The death toll has grown