good morning, to our viewers in the usa and around the world. i m john avlon. it is monday, december 18th. it s 5:00 a.m. here in new york, noon in tel aviv, where the u.s. defense secretary is scheduled to meet now with his israeli counterpart. secretary lloyd austin s mission is to press israeli officials on specific milestones for progress in israel s war against hamas, as civilian casualties climb. here s democratic senator chris van hollen talking to abc this sunday. we do have unacceptable levels of casualties. we see loose rules of engagement, way looser than anything that the united states would exercise. we would not drop a 2,000-pound bomb on a refugee camp to target a hamas commander. a senior defense official tells cnn that austin will, quote, want to hear very clear articulation of the israeli self-assessment today. that same official has confidence in the israeli military and so he s there to ask questions and learn more about their plan. elliott gotkine
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hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states, around the world and streaming us on cnn max. i m rosemary church. just ahead, israel warns more gazans to evacuate as the idf expands its ground operations to all of gaza. finding refuge in gaza is getting harder by the day. we will hear from a woman whose sister is being held hostage by hamas, as efforts to free her and others hit an impasse. doing dangerous work in a dangerous city. we ll show you how south africa s urban surfers are making a difference for the environment. thanks for joining us. the war between israel and hamas is expanding in gaza and leaving devastation inside the enclave, as israel pursues those that carried out the attacks on october 7th. israel defense forces now say that ground operations are expanding to include all of gaza, including southern areas, where many have taken shelter. the idf is warning civilians to evacuate large areas within the enc enclave. but it s unclear h
since the october 7th terror attack in israel there has been a spike in antisemitic attacks around the world, including in the united states. the fbi recently warned anti-semitism is reaching historic levels. its data shows jewish americans make up 2.4 of the public, but they re the targets of more than 60% of religious hate crimes recorded in this country. since october, jewish day schools have closed or had to hire extra security, synagogues have gone into lockdown, and college campuses in particular have seen a surge in antisemitic incidents, including some assaults. over the next hour, cnn s dana bash explores the roots of anti-semitism in america and how they ve spread. you ll also hear from some who have personally experienced threats and attatacks in the pa months and have started hiding their jewish identity in public out of fear for their safety. sunday, october 29th in southern russia. barely three weeks after the october 7th attack on israel by hamas, the deadlie