And end of an icon. The maker of twinkies, wonder bread and ding dongs says goodbye. Im Viktor Blackwell in for randi kaye. I want to start this hour with something we heard from israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu this morning. We are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation. He is talking about the possibility of Ground Troops going in behind the air strikes on gaza. Israeli war planes have been hammering gaza city for the past few days. Ham whereas militants inside gaza have been pirg back matching israel bomb for bomb with their rockets. That has sent civilians scrambling for cover. Our frederick plankin is live in southern israel, and i can see that you are standing there with something over your shoulder, a part of israels iron dome Missile Defense battery. How active has that been today . Well, viktor, its been very active. Its actually right over there. What this system consists of, its obviously got a battery of rockets, and i also got a very sophisticated radar system. What that radar system does is it constantly scans the horizons and constantly scans the skies. When it sees something come up like a rocket welcome back a fraction of a second it makes a decision whether or not to launch a kill. I can tell you the iron dome heats in the field behind us has been very active since weve gotten here a couple of hours ago. We have seen several missiles launch just less than an hour ago. A lot of those were intercepted. One landed only about 300 yards next to our position, so that was quite a close call. Especially today the iron dome has been in action a lot simply because there have been so many rockets launched out of gaza. Not just in this area, but this is also very significant, into the area of tel aviv, which, of course, is the largest city. A rocket was intercepted there by an iron dome battery, but that shows that the people that are launching in gaza still have the capabilities to reach very, very far and to reach very large israeli population centers. Viktor. Were going to go to gaza city in a moment to check on that side of the story, but how are the israelis coping with this constant threat of the rocket attacks . Well, its obviously very difficult. It takes a big toll on your regular life. What the people here do is they try to stay inside most of the time. Its interesting, you know, places that are around the gaza strip, they have somewhat of a routine of dealing with all this. They take these alarms very seriously when they come. They get hit by rockets even m best of times, so they certainly do take this very seriously. They go inside, and every time they go outside they really plan their route in a way that they are always very close to a hardened shelter somewhere where they can take cover. If theyre not, then they stop their cars and get out and hit the deck just in preparation for an impact that could come. Right now, yes, it is taking a big toll. Taking a big toll also on commercial life, and this always needs to be said, it is taking a very big toll on the children here m towns outside of gauze wra and the israeli towns. A lot of the kids very traumatized. We went to a family the other day, and the children there have been to be inside for such a long period of time. Of course, that gets on their nerves. At the same time they are very afraid of hearing these sirens constantly throughout the day really, viktor. Fred plankon. Well go to gaza city in a moment. But right now lets go to the middle east news desk monitoring the latest developments between israel and gaza. Flick has been with us all morning. Were seeing palestinian groups are ready now for a ceasefire. What are you hearing on that front, nick . There are efforts underway right now. Good morning, viktor, whether or not its realistic in being flagged as realistic, thats mother story. I want to show you something here. Were at the International Desk. This is the hub for the news gathering information. Wrerl we heard from sarah seidner who is in gaza, and she was telling us about al acksah tv. It was hit by an idf air strike. Ali, play that video here. New video coming in from the idf. Now, theyre saying they surgically targeted a Hamas Communications facility in gaza, Palestinian Militants seeing it a little differently. Theyre saying the idf is deliberately targeting journalists. As cmn reported earlier, there were some journalists injured in this attack, ms air strike, so just appreciate video coming in, and thats exactly what were monitoring here. We get the latest manufacturings, the latest editorial information, the latest video. We heard a while ago that the French Foreign minister is on his way to israel. He will meet later on today with israeli leaders, including the president , the Prime Minister, and the foreign minister. He might meet with the Palestinian Authority as well. Again, a ceasefire. He will try to push that forward, but right now we dont know whether or not thats being flagged as realistic by both sides. Mick, were hearing from some of these people. I understand you had some sound come in this morning that you want to share with us. Tell us about that. Earlier the u. K. British foreign secretary, William Hague, he spoke to sky muse about the potential for a Ground Invasion and actually how catastrophic it could be. Take a listen to this. The Prime Minister and i have both stressed to our israeli counterparts that a Ground Invasion of gaza would lose israel. A lot of the International Support and sympathy that they have in this situation, but, of course, its much more difficult restrict and avoid a large ground presentation in the conflict. That was a u. K. Foreign secretary William Hague speaking to sky news earlier. Now, casualties have mounted on both sides, not just in israel, but also in gaza, with more than 50 dead in gaza. At least three killed in israel. Hundreds of rockets finding their way from gaza into israel. This is an ongoing situation, and the war between the warring situation between israel and Palestinian Militants is definitely taking its toll. Were keeping an eye on it, vick orror. Nick valencia covering the International Desk for us. Were going from the middle east to the far east now, and thats where president obama spoke about the middle east. Just a few moments ago the conflict there while holding a News Conference in thailand. Our White House Correspondent dan lothian is in bangkok. What are we hearing from the president . We had it live. He talked more about burma and thailand and the trade there. What are we hearing his views as it relates to whats happening in israel with gaza. Well, you know, are you so right. The main purpose of the president s trip here is to focus on this region and what this means for future expansion, for u. S. Many terms of business, for military cooperation, but while advisors had been telling us about the sentiments within the white house, about the ongoing conflict between the palestinians and israelis, and weve gotten statements from the president , this is the first time weve heard the president weigh many. When he was asked a question about the violence there at the press conference. Take a listen. Theres no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders, so we are fully supportive of israels right to defend itself from missiles landing on peoples homes and workplaces and potentially killing civilians. So the president said that the administration is working to find a way to prevent those missiles from raining down to keep this violence from escalating. The president pointing out that he has been speaking by phone with Prime Minister benjamin met hue, also the president of egypt morsi, and the president of turkey. This is all part of an ongoing effort, as i pointed out to keep the violence escalating. There are positive indications of some movement there, but still, this violence ongoing there, viktor. Theres a lot, dan, to discuss about the trip and this asia summit. It was really telling, and i truly sent it out through a tweet when someone asked about burma, and the president said this is not an endorsement. Its an acknowledgment of the reform. Tell us more about the message for this trip. The president is responding to some criticism from some corners saying this visit is too soon. The administration did send secretary of state Hillary Rodham clinton healthing there last year, and they have an ambassador there, and many believe thats enough because it is the beginning of a long journey, the administration says, essentially the first few miles of a long journey. What the president the point the president was trying to make and others inside the administration is if you were to sit back and wait for there to be a perfect democracy in that country before you actively start engaging with them, then you would be sitting around waiting for a long time. The president pointing out that he is not going there to sort of celebrate that they have finally achieved great democracy there, but, rather, that theyre on this long road. They have taken some actions, and now the United States is responding with some action as well, and thats a president ial visit. Dan lothian live traveling with the president many bangkok. Were going to go to sar gentleman seidner in just a moment. Live to gaza city. Well show you the side of the conflict. Were now going to go across that border and show you whats happening in gauze wra. Stay with us. As part of a heart healthy diet. Thats true. But you still have to go to the gym. The one and only, cheerios. But you still have to go to the gym. The wheels of progress havent been very active lately. But because of Business People like you, things are beginning to get rolling. And regions is here to help. Making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. From Business Loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. So switch to regions. And lets get going. Together. Can your moisturizer do that . [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. Thats healthy skin for life. Only from aveeno. Monarch of marketing analysis. With the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. And you. 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Israels war planes and navy ships have been pounding targets in gaza. Those attacks have killed dozens of people so far. Cmn Senior International correspondent sarah seidner is live in gaza city. We heard those sirens, and we know that thats the warning that something is coming. Whats the frequency that were hearing those now that those warnings to civilian that is the air strikes are coming . Well, here in gaza they dont have sirens. What they have are the sounds of planes above, and that usually means people know that usually means that there will likely be an air strike coming sometime after that. Youre also hearing the buzzing sounds of drones above. Usually throughout the day yesterday. We heard them the entire 24hour period that we were up and listening to the sounds of whats going on here in gaza. I can tell you this. Usually here what you are seeing in the streets are a few more people and there have been over the past few days. Weve seen a few neighborhoods where buildings have been levelled by air strikes. We also talked to people who lived in some of those apartments there and lived many the homes nearby, and they were told that there was going to be an air strike. They were given some warning to evacuate, and they did. In one particular building it was three stories high. Flattened like a pancake. However, there are 15 people injured. No one killed, surprise leg whsh you look at the pictures, it seems impossible. Many of the families were left because they were given warning. Just behind me there is a building there that is hamass official television station, and that building was hit. They were also warned, the journalists inside, that there was going to be a streak at some point. Many of the journalists evacuated, but the strike didnt happen for several hours, so some of the journalists returned, as one of the journalists told us as we looked at the damage. Some of those were injured. Its one of those situations. There arent the sirens here. The sirens are in israel when the rockets are coming from here and going over the border to israel, but here its really the sound of planes m sky that makes everybody worried. Viktor. Well, the rocket launching sites, we know that israel has targeted those. You talked about al aksa behind you. What else are they targeting . Sarah, i dont know if youre able to hear me. I asked you about what else theyre targeting in gaza city. Do we still have sarah . Seems like weve lost sarah. Reporting live before us in gaza city. Well check back, of course. Millions of syrians, lets go to that crisis. The homeless because of the ongoing civil war there. A New York Times columnist shares their plight and the growing humanitarian crisis after seeing it firsthand. 100 greek. 100 mmm. Oh wow, that is mmm. In fact its so mmm you might not believe its a hundred calories. Well ok then, new yoplait greek 100. It is so good. It is so good. With two times the points on dining in restaurants, . You may find yourself asking why not, a lot. Chase sapphire preferred. Theres more to enjoy. Music is a universal language. But when i was in an accident. I was worried the Health Care System spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. Information on my phone. Connection to doctors who get where im from. And tools to estimate what my care may cost. So i never missed a beat. Were more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. For your information were two of a kind two of a kind its my observation were two of a kind like peas in a pod and birds of a feather alone or together youll find that we are twooooo, oooooo, oooooo, of a kind syrias opposition is getting more organized. Theyve named an official Coalition Ambassador to france. Its a move seen as critical to garnering more International Support for their battle against syrian president bashar al awes yad. The op sfwligs group says more than 250 people have been killed and fighting in syria over just the past couple of days. New york times columnist Nicolas Krzysztof just returned from an assignment in syria and cmns randikay e asked him how civil war is affecting the people and the people of neighboring countries. The humanitarian situation is getting worse. You already have 2. 5 Million People who have been kicked out of their homes, and, you know, winter is coming, and just the stories are just so heart breaking, randi. First her home was destroyed by a bomb, and then her husband disappeared, maybe shot by a sniper or arrested. Nobody knows. So now shes gone from, you know, this nice, normal, middle class existence like you or me to living in a tent with her kids as presumptivetive widow, and you just see that over and over and over. It sounds heart breaking. Why were you there . I was trying to figure out the situation in syria, and what we can do about it, and, you know, it does seem to me that weve kind of dropped the ball on this, and that we were reluctant to get engaged. We meaning the u. S. And the administration . We meaning the u. S. And really the whole western world. I mean, i think lrp some really good reasons to be cautious about getting involved in syria, but i think that the very reasons that we were cautious that those consequences have come to pass in a sense because of our passivity that radical elements have been strengthened, the whole region has been destabilized, and there is a risk at this point that syria is just going to turn into another somalia right in the heart of the middle east in ways that could haunt the region for many, many years to come. I know youve been critical of the Obama Administrations policy towards syria. Youre not suggest