headlines, right? if they say georgia one, that is boring. so put ohio state there and get people talking. >> andy, thank you so much. i'm kasie hunt. don't go anywhere. "cnn this morning" starts right now. we begin with breaking news. i'm poppy harlow with phil mattingly in new york. breaking this morning, americans and hundreds of other foreign nationals who have been trapped in gaza could be getting out. the same with injured civilians. you're looking at live picture this morning. >> ambulances have been rushing there after qatar brokered a deal with hamas, egypt to allow 500 foreign nationals to leave gaza. we're told the deal does not include hostages held by hamas. we have team coverage from tel aviv to the white house. let's start with selma in london. what are we learn ing about thi actual deal? who can get out and when? >> we understand this is a deal that has been mediated by qatar in coordination with egypt and the united states. this is a deal that people have been hoping, wishing and praying for week nous. we're into the fourth week of the conflict. we have seen days and days of people sitting at the crossing hoping for it to open. now we understand it will open. we don't have a clear timeline, but we could see up to 500 foreign nationals cross today. we also could potentially see several injured people. some 80 injured palestinians potentially could be part of this deal as well. these would be the first palestinians allowed to leave the gaza strip since the conflict began just after october 7th. we did have images of ambulances. i thus you're playing those now. ambulances just waiting at that crossing. this is a major breakthrough, one that president biden had been working on, one that the white house had been working on. one that, again, these families have been desperate to see, but you have to remember there's still 2 million people who are trapped in gaz sa who do not have the option. potentially up to 500 nationals do have to come through, but it is a sign of a diplomatic breakthrough. i'm sure for those immemediator hope that negotiations could move further along with hostages and other issues. >> it's really important that you point out also that this is not about the hostages being held and how they are going to make the distinction between those 80 or so that are injured and not to be able to leave and all the others is impossible task. talk about the rafah crossing. there are two check points they would have to go through. >> yes, so the rafah crossing is extremely important because you have to remember that the gaza strip has been blockaded for more than 15 years. it's closed off on the israeli side. it's closed off on the egyptian side. very few palestinians would have the permissions to leave the gaza strip. but the crossing is one of those few class and now because the israeli side being closed and that complete siege announced right after october 7th, it is the one and only crossing. what we have seen over the course of the last few weeks is sort of chaos at that crossing, to be frank. we have seen families lines up day after day, including our own cnn producer among those families time and time again going to that crossing, hoping it open. there were explosions, airstrikes near the crossing. aid groups were warning that the roads were also damaged. so there has been a the great deal of contention, if you will, and tension around that rafah border crossing. for many of these family that have been waiting for more than three weeks, the question will be why did it take so long to get us out. and yes, they are going to have to cross through the territory that has been damaged according to egyptian officials in the course of the last few weeks they have to go through multiple check points to get across to the other side. the select number of wounded, we are hearing only 80 wounded. there are thousands of wounded people inside the gaza strip. the 80 wounded will also go through intense security checks. the ambulances are waiting on the other side. it's a very active border in the last few days because you have aid going in that very small trickle of aid, but this will be important to see these mechanisms take place torks see these wheels start to turn. and again for mediators, a sign of hope for progress in the future. >> a real sign of hope. thank you for that breaking news. >> joining us now is military analyst colonel leighton. this has been the center point of intensive diplomatic discussions and a place of hopes and hopes dashed over the course of the last few weeks. americans being told they might be able to leave and then never actually finding an open border. how does this actually work in terms of getting out of gaza and into egypt? >> good morning. the big area here is really that right here at the rafah crossing, this is the area where they have to go through. as cselma was mentioning, there are multiple check points here. what they are going to be doing is looking for to make sure no hamas fighters get over this way because the key thing here is security. so what they are trying to do is move tricing to move the foreign national asks trying to also move the wounded people that will be in those ambulances that we saw earlier. so this is the kind of thing that's going to make a big difference. and when you look at the way this is going to go, it's going to be a test for the diplomatic efforts that have been going on between the white house, the egyptians, hamas and qatar. so these are the kinds of things that will make a difference on the ground for a select few people. but the misery in gaza will continue. >> how significant that qatar appears was able to brokeer this? we're not talking about a handful of people. they are reporting some 500 foreign nationals and also about 80 pretty severely injured palestinians. >> that's going to be a really big thing because what the foreign ministry was able to do was work with people that the really don't want to talk to each other. and that's the key thing. when you lock at hamas and israel, two parties in this particular thing, and you are looking at really an ability to get people who need to get out, out of a very intense conflict zone. with this crossing not being open, this is an open air prison still for these 500 people and the 80 injured, this is going to be, i think, a major break for them. hopefully, it will allow them to achieve safety and get out of the danger zone. >> colonel leighton, thank you. the israeli military revealing new details about the extent of its bombardment in gaza. the idf is saying 11,000 targets have been hit since the start of the war. that includes the recent bombing of gaza's largest refugee camp, which has triggered concern from around the world. look at that. eyewitnesss are describing a horrific scene. a warning the images are very hard to watch. >> one witness tells cnn it felt like the end of the world with seven to eight huge craters filled with dead people and body parts. another witness saw children carrying other injured children. the the military is defending the strike and saying it killed a top hamas commander. joining us is correspondent raphael romo. how is the idf responding to very, very unequivocal backlash against this attack on a refugee camp? >> good morning. first and foremost, the defense forces say it was not an attack against the civilian population. the intended target was a senior hamas commander was hiding in that location as well as numerous militants with the islamic organization. hamas denies that the commander was even there at the time. idf spokesman told cnn earlier that they hit a tunnel buried underground where the commander was hiding. later the idf claimed that fighter jets acting on intelligence killed the commander of hamas central battalion and one of the leaders responsible for the october 7th terrorist attacks in israel adding that numerous militants were also hit in the strike. this is how the israel defense forces responded to the criticism about the civilian casualties. let's take a listen. >> in this specific attack, we were targeting a military command er. there could be no warning before. we struck the target. what we did hear was to strike with the the acquired amount of fire power in order to get to where he was hiding in order to achieve a military achievement of support. the overall aim of the war. that's why this was struck. it is both legitimate and an important military strike to do. i understand that the pictures are difficult. i understand that our human feelings when seeing something like this. >> reporter: he went on to say that trying to use civilians as human shields when it is a common practice. he said just as much as not allowing to evacuate from a combat area, which they have also done. back to you. >> has the idf presented evidence that they indeed were able to take out that hamas target? and have there been an actual number given on all of the civilian deaths from this? >> reporter: no evidence so far. that's one of the questions that we have been asking. the evidence that actually the commander was there. so far they haven't been able to do that. but in the past couple weeks, they have also claimed that they hunted down and killed and published the list of 32 alleged members of hamas leadership. it is very difficult to verify their claims. also we have to talk about the fact that because it is a zone, it's impossible to verify for us. there's nothing we can tell you to verify that information. >> thank you for the reporting for us live from tel aviv this morning. a student at cornell has been charged in connection to really severe online threats made against a jewish community there. those details, ahead. and secretary of state antony blinken about to head back to israel. protesters interrupted his testimony before a senate committee yesterday as they called for a cease-fire in the war between israel and hamas. more just ahead. we are continuing to follow the breaking news that a deal was reached to release foreign nationals and critically injured civilians. stay with us. you're looking at live pictures of the rafah crossing in southern gaz that's been impassable for so many desperate to leave gaz is a. sources tell cnn that qatar has brokered a deal between israel and hamas for the release of potentially hundreds of foreign nationals and critically injured civilians. we will keep you posted as we learn more. secretary of state, who has been integral in negotiations is going to meet with government officials. it will mark his third visit since the war against hamas began after the october 7th terrorist attack. it comes as president biden and top national security officials are inkrcreasingly facing tough questions about israel's commitment to minimizing civilian casualties despite the mounting death toll and the bloody scenes we're seeing out of gaza. blinken also testified before senators yesterday in defense of the white house's $105 billion aid package for israel and ukraine. a tight rope walk supporting israel the while casualties grow, it's evident they are interrupted by angry protesters demanding a cease-fire. watch. >> cease-fire now. cease-fire now. >> secretary blinken, you may continue. >> president biden has so far resist ed calls for a cease-fir and refuses to denounce the tactics making clear his views has responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism. priscilla alvarez is live with more. in the wake of the refugee camp, this underscores that impossible balancing act. what's the white house saying right now? >> reporter: it does. it vividly caps the tight rope you were mentioning that u.s. officials maintain that israel is trying to protect civilian lives, but at the same time, these images and this destruction in gaza is fueling that public outrage. that weighs heavy here at the white house among senior officials. and that also goes from the president all the way on down. this was something that had come up over the weekend in a phone call between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu, which was reiterating that israel has a right to defend itself, but it also has to do all it can to follow the rules of war and protect innocent civilians. we often see from u.s. officials is that demonstrating empathy with images while also making it clear that israel has the right to defend itself particularly after the attacks in october to get a glimpse of that, take a listen to what john kirby had to just yesterday. >> unlike russia and ukraine, unlike what hamas did on the 7th of october, the killing of civilians is not a warning of israel. i'm notdenying it's happening. we have indications they are trying. i'm not predicting that on any given day they aren't going to fail to meet their own expectations about killing civilians. sadly, our own experience as a military over the last 20 years has shown us that even with our best intentions and the efforts we put in to avoiding civilian casualties, we still cause them. it's tragic each and every time. >> they believe the warnings are delivered in tougher conversations and private than they are publicly, but all the same, the reality that the white house is facing here is that there are risks within the president's own party about the response and that a road that the public support for israel could erode in time. all of that weighing heavy here at the white house. >> that's weighing heavy on the diplomatic side of thirngs but at home on the domestic front, there's a battle over the president's $105 billion emergency aid request. $60 billion for ukraine, $14 billion for israel. the white house has issued a veto threat of the republican proposal. >> that's right. so republican rules doesn't include ukraine. it's only israel. it was set up for a collision course within the senate and now here at at the white house. the white house coming out just last night saying that it's bad for israel and the middle east region and for our national security. if it gets to the president's desk, he will veto ta it the president delivers marks in october about this supplemental making clear to americans that these conflicts that are playing out abroad are not just far away conflicts. they affect national security here in the u.s. and the white house has had to rash et up their own support for this supplemental. so this veto would be for this bill that only includes aid to israel. just making clear again the stance needs to include aid to israel and ukraine for matters of national security. >> priscilla alvarez, thank you. a significant update for you on the breaking news this morning. a western official confirming to cnn americans are not expected to be among the first batch of people allowed to leave gaza today. it was unclear when they would be allowed to leave. it's expected americans will be allowed to leave later this week according to the official. we just don't know when. we'll continue to follow it very closely. >> as we do continue to follow that breaking news at the rafah crossing, we're watching it closely. there's also domestic news as well here in new york. this morning donald trump jr. is expected to kick off a trump family testimony in that civil fraud trial. what to expect. that's ahead. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. we're showing you live p picturesover the rafah border crossing. it's been a critical point of discussion, often frustration over the course of the last several weeks as american citizens, palestinians are being told to evacuate or move from the northern part of gaza. they have been looking to get out and have been unable to do so. now we understand there is a deal brokered by qatar officials that would allow for up to 400 or 500 foreign nationals to exit along with 80 or so wounded gaza residents. we are keeping you posted on the latest as we continue to learn more on this breaking news. donald trump jr. is expected to take the stand and testify today. the former president's eldest son will testify in the $250 million civil fraud trial. don jr., the new york attorney general accuses them of inf infraudulently inflating their father's net worth. what are prosecutors trying to get from him? >> reporter: good morning. remember the judge in this case has already ruled that donald trump jr., his brother eric, donald trump, the former president, they are all liable for fraud. but they are also trying to prove they all work together to create this fraudulent scheme over decades. so they are going to have to answer questions to that. so what you just said, donald trump jr. and his brother eric took on expanded roles at trump org when their father took on the presidency. so there's going to be a lot of questions about what role did they play, what did they know about the preparation of these financial documents. in a former deposition done by donald trump jr., by the attorney general's office, i went to business school, by didn't prepare these documents. i just relied on my legal departments, the accounting departments to prepare these documents. i would sign off on them. we'll see how he expands on that. certainly, we're going to see the documents being put into evidence today that they are going to have to answer to. they will behoove them to answer those questions because in the civil trial, saying take ing th fifth or not answering questions could look to the judge as if they are basically just not wanting to be truth ful about this testimony. we are expecting don jr. to take the stand some time this afternoon. trump likely will happen tomorrow, but it's important to note that the former president isn't expected to be in the courtroom for his son's testimony both today and tomorrow. so we'll see how this shakes out in the coming days. >> thank you for following it. appreciate it. we are continuing to follow that breaking news. multiple sources saying qatar brokered a deal to get foreign nationals out of gaza. this is separate from the hostage negotiations. western officials tell us that americans will not be among the first group released, but they are expected to be able to leave in the coming days. israel this morning defending its bombard mment as that deadly strike on the crowded refugee camp saying they were targeting a key hamas leader. we are following breaking news this morning. you're look at the rafah border crossing where foreign national who is have been trapped in gaza could soon have a pathway out. same with critically injured civilians. you're looking at live pictures, ambulances have been rushing there and crowds of people have been gathering after sources tell cnn qatar brokered a deal to allow up to 500 foreign nationals to leave gaza and enter egypt. we're told the deal does not uncollude actual hostages held by hamas. joining us is colonel leighton. we have talked so much about this border crossing and the frustrations reted to its closure. how will this work for those foreign nationals who have been waiting for weeks? >> yeah, so a big deal for them here is actually when they move down to this area and get a green light to come into egypt through the rafah crossing, these people have actually had to come from northern gaza all the way down through the area down into the rafah area where they have been waiting. they were told by the israelis to evacuate this area and move down into the southern part right here. so how they are going to do sha that is go through on foot through the border crossing. there will hopefully be buss or other form transcription. those buss maybe