right now. an extraordinary new israeli offensive in the skies of gaza -- >> you're probably going to see a significant reenforcement of israeli ground forces did occur. >> israeli officials saying that they have encircled gaza city. >> cut the north off from the south. >> fears of a second war along israel's northern border intensifying, the leader of hezbollah is expected to break his silence. >> hezbollah fighters saying their fingers are on the trigger. >> you have secretary of state antony blinken back in israel. >> can the united states tell its ally how to fight a war? >> how we can set the conditions for a durable, sustainable peace for israelis and palestinians alike. >> there are just weeks before the public calls for a cease-fire becomes untenable. >> we can get the hostages out, we can get humanitarian aid in. >> this hospital will turn into a mass grave. there's nothing for this place other than a place to come and die. ♪ good morning, welcome, i'm phil mattingly with erica hill in new york, poppy is off today. right now secretary of state antony blinken is back in a war zone in israel as civilian deaths and destruction mount in gaza. he's already met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, has been meeting with israel's war cabinet this morning. >> blinken's trip comes after one of the most intense nights we have seen yet in gaza. we actually watched israeli rockets and missiles rain down live here on cnn as flares lit up the night sky. cnn is learning that blinken, president biden and his top advisers are all warning israel that the human suffering in gaza is eroding public support for the war, that outcry for a cease-fire could reach a tipping point. >> all as the israeli military skies troops and tanks completely encircled gaza city. this is the latest video you're sewing from the ground and those ground operations. casualties are rising on both sides. the idf says 23 israeli soldiers have now been killed since they launched the ground assault into gaza. ed lavandera is live for us this morning in tel aviv. the secretary of state on the ground meeting with the war cabinet amid real u.s. concerns. what are the outcomes we expect today? >> reporter: well, we're still waiting to see exactly what those outcomes are going to be heading into these meetings the secretary of state did not commit to any kind of specifics other than saying that they would be making concrete requests of the israeli government to show restraint in the military offensive there inside of gaza as you mentioned here off the top, the israeli response has been quite controversial around the world, as you've seen the toll that it has taken on civilians there inside of gaza. there's also a great deal of concern for the 242 hostages that are there as well on the ground, and who presumably could very well be in danger of all of this. that is why today's visit by the secretary of state extremely crucial, the secretary of state is expected to meet with reporters in about an hour, so perhaps we learn more details about how these meetings went this morning, but the secretary of state met for about an hour with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, and as you mentioned is wrapping up a meeting at this point with the israeli war cabinet. but erica and phil, also a crucial day because later today the leader of hezbollah in lebanon is expected to make his first remarks since the october 7th attacks, so this is very crucial, exactly what kind of message that the hezbollah leader is going to take because the u.s. is also very concerned that this is a conflict that could widen, and hezbollah has much more military capability than hamas. so this could be a very, you know, unfold into a much more treacherous situation than it already is. >> yes, certainly a lot of eyes on that speech later today, waiting to see what, in fact, will be said, when we talk about, and we had spoken with one of the idf spokes people, how gaza -- there has been face-to-face combat, no specific numbers how widespread it is. as we noted off the top, there's also increasing concern about civilian casualties. what are you hearing from the israeli government this morning? >> reporter: look, the israeli government as they have been talking about the offensive and the ground operation inside of gaza, they don't appear to be sending any signals that they're going to change what they're doing on the ground there. they insist that the hamas military operation is operating from tunnels that exist under the civilian operation and the elaborate tunnel system, dozens of miles of tunnel systems that is giving the hamas military fighters the chance to fire off rockets towards israel, that is their concern. netanyahu said yesterday that nothing will stop us, and military officials are also saying that they will continue to put maximum pressure on hamas military officials there on the ground to stop those missiles from coming toward israel, and, you know, those tunnels are their main concern. hezbollah has put out some propaganda video showing how crucial those tunnel systems have been to their military operations. >> the hamas soldier stalking an israeli tank running up next to it and placing an explosive device on the machinery, then running away, seconds later the device detonates. the hamas fighter then disappears into the ground through a trap door. >> reporter: so israeli military officials really bent on trying to limit the capability of those fighters operating underground, and that requires, in their view, going on the ground and trying to dismantle all of that. so clearly all that has come at a great cost for the civilian population in gaza but it's sparked a great deal of protest and criticism of israel around the world. >> ed lavandera, thank you for the latest. it's the protests and the criticism that has been driving the u.s. to shift its posture, recognizing they need the support of allies in the region for really to continue actually just have some reporting, u.s. secretary of state will push israel for a pause on air strikes in gaza to allow for mediation, according to a diplomatic source to our becky anderson. we will keep an eye on that and see what, if anything, the secretary of state is able to secure. >> as we watch this situation evolving overnight cnn cameras did capture the intense bombardments over northern gaza, some of that here, flares and explosions illuminating the skies in the region. all of this as the israeli military announced it was surrounding gaza city from several directions. cedric leighton is with us now, we have those videos, we saw some of this happening live on the air last night. walk us through what you're seeing over the last 24 hours and it tells you, colonel, about israel's strategy at this point. >> yeah, care erica, good morning, there are a lot of things going on here, obviously, so just to orient everybody, this is israel, this is gaza right here. the very fact that we have all of these different areas here in the northern part of gaza, this is where we saw all those videos, especially around the town of bet anun in northeastern gaza, this is the area of main concentration that the israelis were working on in this particular moment in time, and then they're moving south into gaza city. so this is where they'll be going, and this is where that grand encirclement is taking place right here. so that's where that is. and so you have all these troops that have come in from the north around beit hanoun, jabalia, and gaza city. they're using this territory to maneuver and also coming in, in a way that it will allow them to stop, gain, hold territory, and then move forward into different areas. so that's the kind of thing that we're seeing, and this is the kind of movement that we can expect the israelis to do as they try to gain as much territory as possible before there's any type of diplomatic pause. >> colonel, we've been seeing new video of some of israel's ground forces in the midst of the operation coming from the idf, and it said that some of the combat has been face-to-face, expected for an urban operation and yet that still underscores the significance here. what does it tell you? >> it tells me right here as you look at this video, phil, that these kinds of things that are happening are really quite intense, you see the firing of the tanks as they move in, you see the soldiers moving into areas that are pretty narrow, and bringing in dogs as well to do some searches throughout tunnel areas, you see the bulldozers working right in front of the infantry troops and you see them blowing up different areas. what it tells me is intense combat in very narrow areas. this type of thing, phil and erica, is going to really characterize the israeli operation as it moves forward in the next 24, 48 hours, and maybe even 72 hours. >> if we look further north at the border there, a spokesman for the idf warned hezbollah yesterday that israel will respond with actions, not words. should there be an escalation at the northern border. we have, of course, waiting to hear from hezbollah's leader later today. how likely do you think an escalation is at this point? >> i think it's not unlikely. so i think there is a chance that the northern border area you could see some of the hezbollah fighters trying to make more incursions into israel right along this area right here. what that does then is that gives israel the possibility of a two-front war because they'll be active in this area, of course, around gaza, and then with hezbollah here, that could potentially create some trouble for the israelis. however, they're preparing for a two-front war, but they also have to consider what might possibly be happening on the west bank as well. >> a lot happening, just across the region, and colonel leighton, appreciate your insight. >> we're continuing to follow the secretary of state's high-stakes trip in israel, pushing for humanitarian pause as civilian deaths and destruction mount in gaza. pressure from 13 lawmakers in the senate, calling for a short-term cessation of hostiles, their words, to allow for more aid. secretary of state antony blinken is in israel right now, and he's actually expected to speak with the president. blinken will reportedly push israel for a pause in air strikes to allow for mediation, that's according to a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations. joining us now as we wait for those remarks, the former u.s. ambassador to israel as well as to egypt. mr. ambassador, good to have you with us this morning. this sort of, i guess, uptick in some ways in the language -- oh, actually, let's listen in. >> welcome, mr. secretary, you're a great friend and we appreciate it, and we respect it, and i want to commend you on behalf of the people of israel for your moral character, for your incredible speeches, especially the one in the senate, which gave the clear picture and the real truth as to the fate of the hostages, as to the tragedy that has befallen on our people. and the inherent right of the israelis to defend themselves. we are hearing from the outside demonstration on the families our heart goes out to them. we understand it, we want their immediate release. and finally, i want to say something with respect to the humanitarian and the international law-abiding by the state of israel. so this is a leaflet, which we are sending over 1,000,200 leaflets to the citizens of gaza. we've carried out 6 million text messages, and 4 million phone calls to the citizens of gaza. according to the rules of international law where we alert the citizens in advance, including the jabalia attack, please move out. we have the right to self-defense, we want you to go out of the premises from where missiles and guns and bombs and mortars are shelled at our people, and from where the horrendous atrocious attacks went out, so you move out so we can go in, according to international law, and defend our people. 6 million text messages, and 4 million phone calls, and 1.2 million pamphlets, and phone calls in addition to all of that speaks for itself as we protect the civilians moving out, giving them the right to necessary humanitarian aid, and enabling ourselves to defend ourselves, thank you, mr. secretary. >> thank you, mr. president, and it's always good to be back in israel. these are difficult days, but we're here as we've been, as we'll remain, in solidarity with israel. we stand strongly for the proposition that israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself and to do everything possible to make sure that this october 7th can never happen again. at the same time, as you've just made clear -- matters it's very important that when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of hamas's making that everything be done to protect them and bring assistance to those who so desperately need it. we're not in any way responsible for what happened on october 7th. we're working on all of that together. but we have a shared determination, and that determination will not wane, we also are thinking every single moment about our hostages, so many israelis, americans, other nationals, and we are determined to do everything that we can to bring them back safely, to bring them back to be with their families. thank you. >> thank you. >> can we have a handshake? >> you have just been watching the secretary of state antony blinken, and the israeli president herzog speaking in the midst of blinken's visit to tel aviv, expected to give a press conference after he's done with meetings, already met with the prime minister. it was very notable wheyou watc the israelis there, where u.s. officials are, talking about the number of text messages, calls and pamphlets warning the civilians about incoming attacks, saying those should speak for itself, a clear recognition, i think, to some degree of an understating of what blinken's message was going to be, and is going to be throughout the course of these meetings. i want to bring in ambassador daniel kirzer. when you watch these sprays they are meant for public consumption, behind the scenes what did what you just saw tell you about what's happening? >> well, since the start of this crisis the president and the secretary have tried to ghaift a very challenging diplomatic and political course. on the one hand indicating publicly our support for israel, its right of self-defense, and our concern over the rise in terrorism. but the private messages clearly are getting a bit tougher. the president from the outset made clear that he expected some degree of caution on the part of what israel was going to do, and you can see from his words and from the way secretary blinken is now handling this in the field that we want to see israel moderate what it is doing in order to prevent more humanitarian distress, more the hostages. lties and to >> what are the chances that will happen, that, in fact, israel will listen intently to what they are hearing from u.s. officials and others and, in fact, take some sort of a pause? >> well, they have to pay attention to what the united states is saying since the number of countries supporting what they're doing is rather minimal. on the other hand, it's a race against time. they're trying as colonel leighton indicated to encircle gaza city as much as possible, and i think if they can accomplish that purpose in the next few days they will be more amenable to these humanitarian pauses to allow more supplies to come in. they're in a conundrum. how quickly can they achieve their military objectives while under the gun, both of the international community, but now some increasing private pressure from the united states? >> how much does where regional, i guess you could say historical allies, the public commentaries, a little bit difficult to divine at this point, but you have the jordanian foreign minister saying they're making clear to blinken when he goes there the war should end and that should be a message he should pass on to the israelis, i understand there's a difference between what's said publicly by those regional leaders and their allies than what's said privately, but where are they right now on this? how much longer can they continue their current posture? >> well, the region is shivering right now because many leaders are probably sending private messages to israel saying we don't like hamas anymore than you do, but you look at the public demonstrations about what's happening, and that raises internal stability concerns in various countries and so the leadership in surrounding arab countries and others are really quite concerned that this war will spill over into challenges to their own regimes, the jordanians, in fact, have suggested that the israeli ambassador will not be welcome back to amman, and they have pulled their ambassador from israel. now, that's short of breaking diplomatic relations, but it sends a very important signal that time, diplomatic time is running out for israel's operation. >> there's also a lot of attention on what will or will not be said later today by the leader of hezbollah. really quickly, you wrote an op-ed for foreign policy magazine and what struck me is you talk about these diplomatic relations, is you noted the war in gaza will end eventually, but when it does, you write, israelis and palestinians will have no political horizon to look for, no peace process to rekindle, little hope for a better future. how much do you think israel at this point is weighing what comes after? >> well, today i think there's probably little attention being paid to that, but they ought to be paying attention to it. because at some point the guns will fall silent, and then people will focus on the reconstruction of gaza, but that will only get us back to a status quo ante at a very high price and we will be fated to run into a problem again in a couple of years, there have been several very significant wars since 2006, the last time there was an israel-hezbollah war. so, you know, it's shortsighted to think that even if you can deal hamas a significant blow that that solves the problem, and it's quite extraordinary that while this war in gaza is going on there are some ministers in israel that are punishing the palestinian authority in the west bank by withholding funding. i think there has to be some consideration in israel given to what happens on the day after, and that means empowering the palestinian authority even as it weakens hamas. >> ambassador daniel kurtzer, we appreciate your time, thank you. >> thank you. >> just a short time from now the leader of hezbollah will speak for the first time since hamas's attack on israel. those anticipated remarks also come as the group is exchanging fire with israel on its northern border. and later today president biden and the first lady on a domestic front will travel to lewiston, maine to pay their respects to the families of 18 people killed in last week's mass shootings. 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. cnn's john king has been talking to voters in battleground states around the country about the issues that really matter to them ahead of next year's presidential race. this time around he traveled to milwaukee, wisconsin where high turnout is critical for democrats in the state's largest city. >> nearly 40% of milwaukee's population is black, a crucial voting bloc, but voter frustration could be a real problem for the biden camp. john king is with us now, could be a big problem or is a big problem. >> a huge problem, we