Join the millions of people taking back their privacy by Downloading Duckduckgo On Mobile and desktop today. Im Anderson Cooper in tel aviv with my colleague, jim acosta, in washington, d. C. This evening we begin this hour with the latest escalation of israels war with hamas. Israels military is ramping up its bombardment of gaza. A short time ago, israels military reported its conducted dozens of strikes on hamas in gaza in recent hours. They say theyve destroyed two hezbollah cells in lebanon according to an idf post. Israel carried out rare air strike in the west bank. They say they were targeting a Tunnel System under a mosque. The idf says it thwarted what they called an imminent Terror Attack. The Palestinian Authority called it a dangerous escalation. Anderson, israels military now confirms that its troops clashed with hamas fighters inside gaza earlier today. Its just the second time Israeli Forces have confirmed Operating Inside Gaza since the hamas Terror Attack two weeks ago. A cnn journalist has witnessed at least 14 trucks, meanwhile, crossing from egypt into gaza, delivering desperately needed humanitarian aid. Officials say much more is needed. An official at gazas main hospital says the deteriorating conditions are catastrophic, and other hospitals say theyre overwhelmed by the number of dead and wounded from israels intensifying bombardment. Just a few minutes ago, we learned that an Israeli American idf soldier from rockville, maryland, has died in a Missile Attack near israels northern border with lebanon. Omer balva, were told, was just 22 years old. Anderson. I want to begin in the israeli city of sderot. Nic robertson is there. Nic, israels air campaign over gaza continues. What are you seeing . Reporter yeah, i think this evening were witnessing the most heavy and sustained air strikes and artillery strikes on gaza, on this northern end of gaza, i think than weve witnessed over the past two weeks. Just in the last ten minutes, there have been about ten huge Missile Strikes going into the northern part of gaza. Some of them quite loud enough and Strong Enough to rattle the doors and windows on this building and other buildings in the street here. And theyre probably landing about three or four miles away from us judging the time lapse between the huge illuminations on the skyline that were seeing and the big bangs that were hearing here. So if were feeling it here, three or four miles away, you can only begin to imagine the scale of the detonations there. And there were reports a few hours ago from jabalia refugee camp, which is about six miles from where were standing here, that there were casualties as a result of these strikes, strikes that the idf say are targeting hamas leaders. And theyre describing this stepup in bombardment as a way to make it safer for when troops go in for an expected incursion, anderson. Nic, weve been seeing over the last several days and hearing from the idf as well that there have been a number of operations, some of them going on for many hours, in the west bank, targeting what they say are hamas operatives or even others. The mosque tunnel, they said was to join a hamas Islamic Jihad cell. Reporter yes. Some of the operations weve seen have involved units of idf going in and police making arrests. But the one early this morning in jenin was different, and it was different because it was an air strike. The idf say they had timely and active intelligence that there were two militants in a mosque. There were tunnels in the mosque where there could be weapons stored, and that these militants were going to perpetrate an attack. Its unusual, very unusual actually, for an air strike of this kind. It was in jenin in a mosque there. There have been two incursions by the Israeli Military into jenin to take out militants earlier this year. After one of those operations, i went in. The firefight that was described to us by residents there was very intense firefight. A number of israeli troops injured. So by the air strike today, perhaps reducing the footprint on the ground and therefore the possibility of casualties. And theres another big detonation behind me in gaza there, anderson. And well probably hear the jet flying away overhead. This has just been repeat and repeat and repeat. Theres another detonation there. Through this evening, really another flash, you were probably able to see that behind me there. If you count to about ten, youll probably hear the detonation. Just before the detonation, you can actually hear the sound of the missile going in. You hear it there. That, i think, is what the idf is describing as their rampup in the air strikes at the moment, anderson. Nic, cnn is learning that the Biden Administration has been pressing israel to delay a possible fullscale Ground Operation in gaza. The goal would be allowing more time perhaps for the release of more hostages, more humanitarian aid into the south of gaza. What is israel saying about that . Has anyone commented on that . Reporter yeah. Israeli officials are saying, look, they want to see hostages and get hostages released. And theyre sensitive to what President Biden is saying. But the calculation on the israeli side is once aid begins to go into gaza, particularly if its more than the 20 trucks on saturday, the 14 trucks sunday, if it becomes more than that, theres a real concern that that gets into the hands of hamas, makes hamas stronger. This sort of siege, if you will, the closing of borders into gaza, is a tool that israel is using to weaken hamas and weaken its resolve. That becomes leverage, if you will, against getting hostages released, and of course this pressure is being felt by Prime Minister netanyahu. Ive talked to a number of israeli analysts here, you know, who study the situation closely, and say Prime Minister netanyahu finds it very difficult to say no to President Biden because the United States is supplying a lot of the weapons, particularly the very heavy munitions and the defensive missiles for taking out incoming rockets that israel needs. There was another flash. You probably caught it there, and well probably get another detonation. But israel needs u. S. Support, so it cant deny requests coming from the United States. But then theres this upward pressure in the country, from the military, from many people here, who still feel a sense of danger because of hamas barbaric attack two weeks ago and really want to see action going after hamas. So there are competing and difficult pressures on the Prime Minister right now, anderson. Yeah, nic robertson, thanks very much. Joining us now is israels former ambassador to the United Nations, also a member of israels parliament, ca nece knesset. Weve saying this may be imminent now for two weeks. It does certainly feel like theres been a rampup. What are your expectations for the coming days . Were taking our time. We know it will happen. We will not sit idly by after the atrocities committed. So we take the time. We dont care how long it will take, but were going to go into gaza. Were going to hand down the terrorists, and we urge the population to move south. About 70 already moved south, and we want to encourage more people to move south because its going to be a war zone. Its not going to be pleasant in the area once we step in. It seems obviously one way to motivate people to move south is to have more food, water, medicine stationed in the south, more of those tents weve seen being put up. Are you in favor of a more steady supply of trucks going in as long as theyre inspected from the rafah Border Crossing . First of all, the northern part will be a war zone. We know that hamas is waiting for us. For more than a decade, they build operations to wait for a Ground Operation in Northern Gaza. So civilians who will be there will be hurt by hamas explosives or by our troops. So we ask them to move south. In the south, we have the u. N. And other ngos waiting for them with water, with medicine. They have been saying they need more. Are you in support of the idea of a more steady flow of just trucks going across every day . It was 20 two days ago, 14 on sunday. Today 20 trucks moved in. I think we have to speak about our humanitarian needs. We have more than 200 kidnapped israelis. I understand that. But you just said you want people going south. Im just saying wouldnt that entice more people to come to the south if they knew there are more supplies . Weve heard reports that there are some people who have come south and are choosing to go back north because its you know, theyre having trouble finding a place or finding any kind of things in the south. The fact that you have water in the south and you have ngos active there, and they will stay there. So i think they will allow to pri more stuff into gaza, but we have to make it clear. Its not going to be safe to be in the northern part of gaza. Right. What happens theres been a debate in israel for quite a while about the Rules Of Engagement . Are the Rules Of Engagement clear in Northern Gaza when you go in . Obviously you have been very clear for weeks saying, everybody move south. If youre a civilian, move south. We dont want you up in the north. If there are people who have stayed in gaza city, are they, in the Rules Of Engagement, what do israeli troops do . Thats one of the confusions in any kind of combat in a city. So we fight according to international law. The morality of the idf is proven. But once you fight a Terrorist Organization that have more than 30,000 terrorists there, they will fight with us. So its not going to be safe for anyone being there. So we will try to minimize the civilian casualties, but hamas will do exactly the opposite. They will find ways to bring more civilians, maybe around their headquarters. I think today civilians should take their stuff and move out. In terms of what the idf forces have been doing in this interim period as reservists were called up, i assume theres been a Training Component or just a Refresh Component for Reservist Troops who havent been in uniform for a while. Has that been part of what we havent been seeing over the past couple of weeks . All reserves need training once a year. So they are in good shape. But, yes, we took the 12 days, 14 days to train them again, to explain them what to expect. And we have to understand its not a war when you fight the enemy. Its going to be very hard to locate the enemy. Theyre going to be in tunnels beneath gaza. You know, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the tunnels. This Tunnel Network is said to be, i mean, miles and miles long, incredibly extensive. Its bigger than the metro system in new york city. Imagine how much money they put into it, the technology. They took the aid from the community, and they put it in the ground for the tunnels. In terms of fighting that, israel has made advances in tunnel technology. Correct me if im wrong. I think the Israeli Government has advised u. S. Customs and border on detecting tunnels on the Southern Border in the United States. Do you have to actually go into the tunnels . How do you fight in a tunnel complex . Well, it depends, anderson, because its so complicated. You have so many kinds of tunnels in so many locations. But you have to imagine beneath gaza city, you have another city of tunnels. Thats where theyre hiding, not the head of the hamas. They are cowards. They left already to hahn yoonis, to the south. We know that. You believe leadership of hamas has left south . We know theyre cowards. The main leadership is outside, and the leaders in gaza, they left already to the southern part, but we will find them. We will hunt them, and we will kill them. Obviously its impossible to know. But given past operations on the ground, what time frame are you preparing people for here . So i discussed this with my colleagues in the military, and we realized its going to be a long operation. And the people in israel are ready for that. You know, more than 100,000 israelis moved out from their homes from the south and the north. The economy is not in the best shape today, but we are ready to pay that price. So were getting ready for a long operation. It can be weeks. It can be months. As long as it takes to eradicate hamas, we are ready to do that. Appreciate your time tonight. Thank you. Were going to have much more coming up from here in israel. Weve been hearing a barrage of explosions near the israeligaza border. Back in a moment. A senior israeli official tells cnn there will be no ceasefire in gaza amid u. S. Efforts to free more hostages held there by hamas. This comes as tensions continue to grow in the middle east with protests calling for an end to israeli air strikes. The pentagon says its sending more Military Assistance to the region and ordering u. S. Troops to prepare for deployment. Joining me now, cnn military analyst mark hertling. General hertling, great to see you as always. What do you think is happening right now . Weve been talking about an imminent incursion for a couple of weeks now. Your sense of things as to why this might be taking a little bit longer than a lot of us thought . Well, ive never talked about an imminent incursion, jim. Truthfully i knew it was going to take a long time. Were talking about, number one, israel mobilizing 300,000 soldiers. The last time they went into gaza, they only mobilized 70,000, which was a huge amount. But also they have not been focused on gaza. So theyre gathering intel on an area that they havent watched closely for years. Theyre planning an extremely large operation in an urban environment that has highrise buildings, tunnels, narrow streeted that are rubbled, where there are millions of civilians on the battlefield caught between the warring party. Plus, add to that, hundreds of hostages. If you have that kind of a scenario, a situation, youve got to plan for a long time. Youve got to take what you have, understand what youre facing, and then develop plans that will cause the least amount of civilian casualties while at the same time accomplishing the mission. You dont do that in just a couple of days, especially when you dont have intelligence on the region. And israel truthfully has somewhat ignored gaza in the buildup of whats been happening there for the last several years. Israel says theyre not going to do a ceasefire even as these hostages remain held captive by hamas in gaza. I suppose thats what the israelis have to say at this point. But what do you think of hamas releasing these hostages a few days ago, just a couple of them . Are we perhaps looking at the prospect that they may just trickle them out slowly over time to try to drag this out and prevent this largescale incursion . I dont personally, jim, from a military perspective, that theyre going to trickle them out. They released two to give people hope. But they have 200. So what is the two saying . That makes we in the west start saying things like, oh, gee, theyve released two. Im sure if we waited a little bit longer, theyll release more. And all that time that weve waited for more releases, hamas continues to fire rockets into israel. So, to me, it just doesnt make a whole lot of sense, and especially when you understand the political strategy and the objectives of hamas. They go by a doctrine which that everything goes wrong, the failure of israel to do one thing, the potential bombing of a hospital which didnt prove to be true, or the fact that theyre not giving a ceasefire all puts israel on the wrong side. Thats what hamas wants. They want israel to be drawn into this so they can make them more of a bad guy. What did you think of the defense secretary lloyd austin saying earlier today that the u. S. Is concerned about potential escalation in the region . Are you worried about that, that theres a lot of Spillover Potential . Yeah, most assuredly im worried about it. Knowing the middle east, jim, what youre talking about is what weve seen over the last several weeks, with other organizations, terrorist units, and even citizens getting involved and saying israel cant do this after israel has had over a thousand of their citizens killed. So when you hear people like the secretary of defense, someone i know very well, say that hes concerned, so am i because this is a powder keg. You know, if you study history, this is similar to sarajevo in the early 1900s that started world war i. Unless people are calm and make sure that the right things are done and i think this is where youre getting the influence of President Biden toward Prime Minister netanyahu is take it slow. Make sure you do the right things. Lets make sure we keep civilians safe, the palestinians safe, or at least as safe as possible. But we also know that you have to go after key hamas targets that have as their number one objective, kill jews and destroy the israeli state. So with all those considerations, this is very complex, and certainly it could turn into something much uglier, and im hoping thats what we can defuse. We were talking about this with Fareed Zakaria in the previous hour. That is what does a victory look like for the israelis . If you go in there with a large ground incursion, you know, it gets complicated getting to that point where you can say, okay, we achieved our objectives here. It does. And ive been listening to f