CBC News- The National - Israel cuts off Gaza, Hamas threatens hostages
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00:00 could get worse.
00:02 [Gunfire]
00:04 Israel strikes back.
00:06 Ordering a complete siege of Gaza.
00:09 Cutting off food, water and electricity.
00:12 As Hamas threatens to kill those taken in its weekend attack.
00:17 We break down the complicated and dangerous next phase of this crisis.
00:22 Stories of Canadians caught up in the attack.
00:29 The missing and the loved ones left behind.
00:32 And I speak with witnesses to this weekend's bloody and vicious assault.
00:41 This spot right here on the ground, in the middle of the pavement, that's where the missile hit.
00:51 CBC News teams are on the ground with extensive coverage.
00:57 This is The National with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault.
01:02 Thank you for joining us.
01:04 Tonight we're in Tel Aviv, where a typically frenetically busy city is incredibly quiet,
01:09 save for occasional air raid sirens and the thump of the Iron Dome intercepting rockets.
01:15 Israel is shifting from defending against an unprecedented assault by the Palestinian militant group Hamas
01:22 to launching a potentially unprecedented siege in Gaza.
01:27 [Gunfire]
01:30 The death toll, at least 680 so far in the densely populated Palestinian territory,
01:37 as Israeli airstrikes hit again and again.
01:40 Gaza is completely sealed off from food and supplies.
01:44 Israeli forces massing at its border.
01:47 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that what comes next for his country's enemies
01:53 will resonate for generations.
01:55 Israel's death toll has risen to roughly 900 since Hamas' surprise attack began.
02:01 The vast majority civilians in the country's south.
02:04 Israel says it has regained full control of the communities that militants attacked over the weekend,
02:10 including Ashkelon, where Chris Brown spent the day.
02:13 So Chris, can you give us a sense of what you saw in the south?
02:17 Well Ashkelon is, as you know Adrienne, very close to Gaza
02:21 and we experienced firsthand the kind of rocket strikes that Israelis have been dealing with continuously.
02:27 But from that position we could also see from a distance and also feel the terrible price
02:33 that Gazans are paying for Hamas' attack.
02:36 The might of Israel's arsenal thundered down on Gaza's cities.
02:42 Turning vast swathes of the Palestinian enclave to rubble in retaliation for Hamas' unprecedented attack.
02:51 Israel's military told people to leave but many either could not or did not and perished.
02:56 Not even schools were sanctuaries said this man.
03:00 There is no safe place in Gaza.
03:04 Israel confirmed its goal is to cut the Gaza Strip off from the rest of the world.
03:09 There is no electricity, there is no entry to Gaza.
03:13 Gaza is under siege said the Israeli army general.
03:17 But Hamas has Israeli hostages.
03:20 Dozens, perhaps more than a hundred.
03:22 A spokesman for the group's armed wing issued a chilling threat
03:26 that they would begin executing captives publicly if the bombing continued without warnings ahead of time.
03:34 Israel has mobilized more than 300,000 soldiers and an invasion of Gaza could be next.
03:43 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the threat from militants is not over
03:48 as some remain at large in Israel.
03:51 Hamas' missile barrage also continues.
03:55 Several people were injured in Ashkelon when a rocket smashed into a residential area.
04:00 Our CBC News crew had to hit the dirt after Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system
04:06 detected an incoming Hamas rocket.
04:10 At least a portion of it struck very close to our location.
04:14 At a hospital in Ashkelon, roughly 12 kilometers from Gaza,
04:18 we met a survivor of the horrific executions at the nearby outdoor music festival.
04:24 Raz Cohen lost two close friends and was visiting two others who were injured.
04:29 It was something like 200 people that ran away in the open area and they shoot at all of us.
04:37 I saw people get shot in the head, in the leg, in the shoulder.
04:41 Died in my eyes. I see a lot of bodies.
04:45 Orthopedic surgeon Tomer Aronson has treated many of the wounded
04:49 and he struggles to express the horror he's witnessed.
04:52 Never in this magnitude. I've never seen such brutality.
04:58 Like entire families were butchered in their homes.
05:04 Family after family after family. It's insane.
05:07 And Chris, there are some really serious signals from Israeli officials about what might be coming.
05:13 Well, Benjamin Netanyahu in that statement tonight said that his government would do everything
05:20 to help those Israelis that are held captive now.
05:23 But he didn't say exactly what, nor does he appear to have that many options.
05:27 He also said that the airstrikes that we're witnessing in Gaza are only just the beginning.
05:33 Adrienne.
05:34 All right, Chris Brown in Jerusalem tonight. Thank you, Chris.
05:38 As Israel secures the area that Hamas militants invaded,
05:43 they continue to find mass killings.
05:45 At that music festival that Chris mentioned, officials say they have found 260 bodies.
05:50 Canadian Alexander Look was there when the militants arrived.
05:54 In just a few moments, you'll hear from his parents in Montreal who believe he is among the dead.
06:01 His family is joined by another Canadian family waiting for news as rescue crews find fresh horrors.
06:08 Vivian Silver's small community was attacked by militants where late tonight,
06:12 officials say they have found a hundred bodies.
06:15 Earlier this evening, we spoke with her son who just wants to know what happened to his mother.
06:20 Canadian Vivian Silver smiles so broadly in almost every photo.
06:26 Especially when doing what she's worked on for decades.
06:29 Advocating for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
06:32 I live on the border of the Gaza Strip.
06:35 This was just a few years ago.
06:37 That's why I have a personal stake in resolving the conflict.
06:43 Where is she now? That is what haunts her son, Yonatan.
06:47 I don't think she's missing.
06:50 I think she's either dead in her house or being held in Gaza.
06:58 Saturday morning, his mom was at home alone on Kibbutz Beri.
07:03 A place that by the end of the day would be brutalized.
07:07 When the rockets started, she and Yonatan got on the phone.
07:11 I was on the phone with her until I heard shots outside of her window from in the room she was hiding.
07:21 So we decided to stop talking on the phone so they don't hear her.
07:25 And we moved to corresponding via WhatsApp.
07:31 She wrote me that they're in the house.
07:34 And that was it.
07:37 Just expressed love for each other.
07:44 And that was it.
07:48 He tracked her cell phone. It hasn't left the Kibbutz. Has she?
07:54 For 48 hours, Israeli forces have tried to secure communities near Gaza.
07:58 It's not safe enough for him to go.
08:00 Imagine that helplessness.
08:02 The first thing I want is information.
08:04 To know that she's there and alive.
08:07 Then I would want efforts to be made to make contact with her.
08:15 To know that she's well, not just alive.
08:18 That she knows how much we -- our efforts and how much she means to us.
08:26 A moment about where we're sitting.
08:32 A Tel Aviv street that would normally throb with life on a fall night.
08:36 Not now.
08:37 A few hundred meters away, the remains of a rocket attack on that fateful Saturday.
08:41 Yonatan heard that happen too.
08:43 He lives meters away.
08:45 No time to take any of this in.
08:48 He is focused on his mom.
08:50 I call on the Israeli government in regards to the captive people.
08:55 They use diplomacy.
08:57 Not go in by force.
08:59 Because I think that would endanger the --
09:03 I want them to negotiate.
09:05 And I hope the Canadians won't lose interest and be involved.
09:09 Vivian's whole family, he says, is in Canada.
09:13 Which must feel so very far away.
09:16 While Vivian Silver's family waits for the truth,
09:19 Ottawa has confirmed that in total, it's received reports of one Canadian dead and three others missing.
09:26 Inside Gaza, many Palestinians are caught in the middle tonight as Israel's siege tightens.
09:33 David Common now with the growing concerns of a deepening crisis.
09:41 Israel's retaliation by air is by its own estimates already among the largest ever against Gaza.
09:47 Adding agony to the existing misery of life inside.
09:52 As deaths and injuries mount, supplies are already dangerously low.
09:58 The amount we need is just not available, says this doctor.
10:03 While there has long been smuggling of weapons, for instance,
10:07 virtually everything else needed for daily life in Gaza passes through Israel.
10:12 Now in response to Hamas's deadly attack, Israel has imposed what it calls a complete siege.
10:19 There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, nothing, says Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
10:28 We are fighting human animals, he says, and we are acting accordingly.
10:35 It is language Nihal Al-Tahouni is not surprised hearing.
10:39 Unless you think that other person is less worthy of humanity than you.
10:45 Gaza has been governed by Hamas since 2007.
10:49 Home to 2.3 million people, nearly half of them are children.
10:53 80% rely on aid, but now none of that will get through.
10:58 There is nowhere to flee, no escape.
11:02 So those like Salah Hanuneh can only gather kids and grandkids when told to leave home.
11:07 We've taken water bottles and bread from the bakery and bought falafel to eat, he says.
11:14 Asking what should we do now?
11:17 Relief and entry of essential supplies into Gaza must be facilitated.
11:22 Though that seems unlikely, at least right now.
11:26 As Gazans brace for an end to food, water, fuel.
11:31 And the certainty of more attacks.
11:33 David Common, CBC News, Toronto.
11:36 There's also rising violence on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
11:41 Israel says one of its deputy commanders was killed after a small group of militants attacked from Lebanon.
11:47 This has spiraled into back and forth shelling with Hezbollah.
11:51 The militant group says three of its fighters died in the exchange so far.
11:57 Now the U.S. president will address the situation here tomorrow.
12:00 This as the White House confirms several Americans are among the dead.
12:04 Katie Simpson now with reaction from the U.S. and around the world.
12:08 Supporters and mourners gathered by the thousands.
12:13 The Eiffel Tower turned into a symbol of solidarity.
12:16 Westminster Palace in London draped in the colors of the Israeli flag.
12:22 A similar display lighting up the White House.
12:25 The attack on Israel deeply affecting senior members of the Biden administration.
12:30 Breaking down on live TV.
12:33 Sorry, it's very, excuse me, very difficult to look at these images.
12:40 The president spent another day on the phone.
12:43 Coordinating a joint statement with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
12:47 Condemning Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.
12:51 Emphasizing this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks.
12:57 What I've said to the Israeli prime minister is that we will provide all the support that they need.
13:02 As fear intensifies that this conflict will expand.
13:06 Iran is publicly denying direct involvement.
13:09 A senior foreign ministry official said any accusations are politically motivated.
13:16 The U.S. says there's no direct link to Iran yet but
13:20 Iran is broadly complicit in these attacks.
13:23 Iran has been Hamas's primary backer for decades.
13:27 Israel's response to the attack also drawing condemnation.
13:32 Triggering another day of international protests.
13:36 With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urging the United Nations to intervene.
13:41 But additional military support is en route to Israel including U.S. warships.
13:47 This conflict adding a new layer of strain to global alliances.
13:52 Ukraine's president delivering an urgent warning that what's happening in the Middle East cannot chip away at global unity.
14:01 U.S. President Joe Biden will speak to these challenges Tuesday in a public address from the White House.
14:07 Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington.
14:10 We'll be back in just a few minutes with the stories of those who witnessed the attacks by Hamas.
14:16 First though, it's over to Ian in Vancouver.
14:19 Thanks Adrienne. Across Canada tonight, emotional scenes of support for both Israel and for Palestinians.
14:25 The Prime Minister spoke at a vigil in Ottawa this evening standing firmly with Israel.
14:31 Hamas terrorists aren't a resistance.
14:35 They're not freedom fighters.
14:38 They are terrorists.
14:40 And no one in Canada should be supporting them much less celebrating them.
14:47 There were several rallies condemning the Hamas attacks including in Halifax and tonight in Toronto.
14:54 It's unimaginable terror. It's tragedy upon tragedy.
15:00 A big crowd turned out to show solidarity with Israel and to protest the attacks by Hamas.
15:06 Earlier in the day there was a rally in the city supporting the Palestinian cause.
15:11 Free, free Palestine.
15:15 It was one of several pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country.
15:19 Here in Vancouver the rally was peaceful but there were a few moments of tension when protesters supporting Israel arrived.
15:26 Let's turn now to what more we know about a Canadian believed to have been killed when Hamas attacked that music festival.
15:33 Alexander Look's family says he died a hero.
15:36 Kwabena Oduro has their story along with the eyewitness account of another Canadian who got out alive.
15:43 This is the phone call Alexander Look's parents got after they say their son was killed.
15:50 During the attack they were on the phone with Alexander and heard everything.
15:59 I felt those gunshots in my...
16:04 I just remember screaming they're killing my son right now.
16:09 Look was among thousands at an outdoor techno music festival Saturday near the Gaza border.
16:14 He was one of more than 250 people who were killed.
16:18 Look's father says he's doing everything he can to get his son's body home.
16:22 It's a Jewish tradition. Until he's buried we cannot be in mourning.
16:27 So I think it's even harder now knowing that he's over there and we're here in waiting.
16:35 Global Affairs Canada has not confirmed Look's death but said Sunday it's working to confirm the reports.
16:41 Another Canadian who was at the music festival narrowly escaped.
16:45 I think I hear gunfire really faint in the distance really fast really far but I'm not sure.
16:49 And then just as we're about to leave we all start hearing gunfire and then I'm like we have to go now.
16:56 Shai Klein Weinstein says he and the people he was with managed to flee by car.
17:00 I thought if we waited too long for anything we would die.
17:04 There was no fear during the whole thing. It was just get out, get out, get out, get out.
17:09 Be afraid when you're back home.
17:11 Weinstein says all the people he was with are okay but...
17:14 There's a lot of people I made friends with who were there who were not as lucky.
17:20 Some who got wounded and some who went with friends who didn't make it.
17:25 Hundreds from Montreal's Jewish community gathered tonight for a vigil.
17:28 Many here say they'll be at a rally tomorrow in support of Israel as they continue to mourn.
17:34 Koubino Douro, CBC News, Montreal.
17:37 There is another crisis unfolding in Afghanistan where there's a desperate search for survivors after a powerful earthquake.
17:46 The burden of this is adding more pressure on the most vulnerable groups inside Afghanistan.
17:53 The dire situation in a country already facing a humanitarian crisis. Next.
17:59 And I'll be back from Tel Aviv with the story of some who were trapped for hours as those terrifying attacks by Hamas unfolded.
18:08 Then I opened the door and I started to cry.
18:12 And what could happen next?
18:15 The human lives, the human trauma, the way it haunts a whole society is going to be something that makes it difficult militarily.
18:25 We're back in two.
18:27 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dropping out of the Democratic primary race and instead says he'll run as an independent in the next U.S. presidential election.
18:42 Kennedy has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories and several of his siblings issued a statement denouncing his candidacy.
18:51 In Afghanistan, survivors of a powerful earthquake spent another night sleeping amid the rubble of their homes.
18:58 More than 2,000 people have been confirmed dead, hundreds more still missing.
19:03 The epicenter of Saturday's quake was about 40 kilometers from the city of Herat.
19:08 And as Baris Djor shows us, people need help urgently.
19:13 With simple shovels, residents tried to dig through their crumbled villages flattened by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
19:22 This area of western Afghanistan is both remote and poor.
19:27 Years of war followed by drought made life harsh even before this.
19:36 At the very first shake, all of the houses collapsed.
19:39 Not at the second or third, says this man.
19:41 Those who were inside the houses were buried.
19:45 Taliban officials say the death toll is expected to rise.
19:49 The World Health Organization says the majority of the victims are women and children.
19:54 They were at home at the time while the men were out of the house.
19:58 The burden of this is adding more pressure on women, adding more pressure on children
20:04 who are the most vulnerable groups inside Afghanistan.
20:09 As the men work to bury the dead, many of the women and children sit and sleep in the harsh wind with no shelter.
20:18 Hospitals are overwhelmed with the injured.
20:22 Afghanistan's health care system was already struggling.
20:25 Most of the foreign aid to the country was halted after the Taliban took over in 2021.
20:32 The UN has committed five million dollars in response to the quake
20:37 but aid officials say it's nowhere near enough.
20:40 With most of the world's attention diverted to the Middle East,
20:44 aid workers say there isn't enough thought or money for Afghanistan where the need is great.
20:50 We are also concerned about their well-being, access to water, access to food, access to health services
20:56 and access to education in the near future because most of the infrastructure most likely is destroyed.
21:02 And with entire communities now gone, thousands have been left without a home.
21:08 Briar Stewart, CBC News, London.
21:12 Israel and this entire region is in deep shock after the deadly assault by Hamas.
21:17 I didn't know what is happening outside, okay.
21:21 I just could hear the voices of the bullets.
21:26 Coming up, first-hand accounts of some who lived through the attacks.
21:30 Plus, will there be a ground invasion of Gaza?
21:35 A closer look at the history and how it's brought us to this point.
21:41 The National breaks down the stories shaping our world, next.
21:46 [♪♪]
21:48 On such a difficult night, we want to take a moment to focus on a Canadian
21:56 who brought joy to an entire generation.
21:59 Ernie Coombs was the man behind Mr. Dress-Up.
22:02 Eli Glasner now with a new documentary that explores his life and his legacy.
22:07 [♪♪]
22:10 Maybe you remember the music or the tickle truck.
22:14 That was an interesting one.
22:15 If you're Canadian and a certain age,
22:17 there's a good chance you spent a good part of your childhood with this guy.
22:21 Oh, would you like to have an airplane ride with me?
22:24 [Growling]
22:26 He was Ernie Coombs to his family, but for over 30 years,
22:29 Mr. Dress-Up taught us how to make crafts and care.
22:33 Coombs died in 2001, but a new documentary has him back on our screens
22:38 with some surprising revelations.
22:40 Most people don't even realize that they were very close friends.
22:43 ♪ It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood ♪
22:46 Coombs first met Fred Rogers working on his kids' show in the U.S.
22:49 When the CDC hired Rogers to create a Mr. Rogers prototype,
22:53 there was only one man who shared his vision.
22:56 It was a philosophy they shared.
22:57 Fred Rogers chose Ernie very specifically to come to Canada.
23:01 I remember Dad telling us that--
23:03 Coombs' daughter says Fred Rogers inspired Dress-Up's direct style.
23:07 Fred told him to look at the camera as a child.
23:12 That's the child that you're speaking to.
23:14 It's not an audience; it's a child.
23:16 That was an amazing gift.
23:18 Thank you very much, Granny.
23:19 Oh, you're welcome, Mr. Dress-Up.
23:21 Like many, the puppeteer for Granny was starstruck when they met.
23:25 I just remember staring at him.
23:27 She says as families are feeling this squeeze, she misses his approach.
23:31 Hey, you got some tape and a piece of paper, which, you know, most people do have,
23:37 that you can create whole worlds with something that is not really elaborate.
23:42 I like to save these, you know.
23:44 Turn on a kid's show today, and it's more animation than arts and crafts.
23:48 It's cheaper to make and easier to sell around the world and dub in other languages,
23:52 but then you also have something that isn't grounded in anything real.
23:56 More than just an outpouring of affection,
23:58 the documentary is a reminder of what Ernie Coombs left behind.
24:02 We can all choose to slow down, take the time, build something simple, just be present.
24:13 Now, you know, we've got to be going along, so--
24:15 Eli Glasner, CBC News, Toronto.
24:17 It's bye-bye from--
24:19 Mr. Dress-Up!
24:20 Bye!
24:21 ♪ ♪
24:23 Harvard professor Claudia Golden has won the Nobel Prize in Economics
24:30 for her research exploring the role of women in the labour market.
24:34 She's only the third woman among 93 winners to receive the Nobel in Economics.
24:40 Here in Israel, escalating tensions and more deadly retaliation against Hamas
24:45 will show you a quick history of the conflict in Gaza to help understand where things are going,
24:50 and you'll hear first-hand accounts of what sparked a war.
24:54 This is The Breakdown.
24:56 Survivors on an Israeli kibbutz haunted by an extraordinary assault.
25:01 They killed people in the beach.
25:03 And still not free from fear of sudden attack.
25:07 Well, now we are on the run.
25:09 A community built on shared values struggles to reclaim a sense of home.
25:14 It was excruciating for them to live through that horror,
25:18 and it's hard to talk about it, but they want people to know.
25:21 Let's break down what they went through and what happened.
25:25 To questions about how it staged its vicious surprise attack,
25:30 Hamas taped it all.
25:32 A video Israeli military analysts will study for years.
25:35 Rocket fire, attackers flying below it and motorized paragliders.
25:40 The fence blown and breached.
25:42 There's more.
25:43 It gets more graphic, but the coordination of this is brutally clear.
25:47 They just exploded.
25:49 Especially if you're watching them descend on your home.
25:52 They launch rockets and then you can see a parachute here.
25:58 This is our community.
26:00 This is our community.
26:02 Ifat Ben Shishun lives so close to Gaza she says she saw the rockets launch.
26:07 I didn't know what is happening outside.
26:10 I just could hear the voices of the bullets.
26:16 That's all.
26:17 I could guess that they are coming into houses because that's the goal.
26:26 This is the goal of Hamas.
26:30 How long were you in that shelter for?
26:33 11 hours with no water, no food.
26:38 And no idea how to know if it was safe to come out.
26:41 When Israeli soldiers finally came to the door of the shelter
26:44 she needed them to prove who they were.
26:46 I asked and asked and asked in Hebrew to hear that the Hebrew is clear
26:55 and that they are not doing it by force.
26:59 And then I opened the door and I started to cry.
27:05 The dead and missing from her community still unclear.
27:09 It's not easy to talk about this but she wants the extent of it understood.
27:14 [crowd noise]
27:17 And few understand it more than the people in the midst of what could
27:20 to an outsider look like lovely chaos.
27:23 Kids and crafts and food, all kind distractions.
27:27 Because every person here was evacuated from communities in southern Israel
27:32 that had come under attack.
27:34 [crowd noise]
27:36 Rocket fire in central Israel sent them scrambling into shelters today
27:40 even here so there's no real rest.
27:43 [crowd noise]
27:45 Notice the TVs are either off or playing sports.
27:48 The news for them right now doesn't help.
27:50 [music]
27:52 Which is not to say they can totally turn away.
27:54 Sivan Katsir can't seem to.
27:56 [music]
27:59 Her text message groups are filled with images of the dead so grotesque it's dizzying.
28:04 This is from Saturday morning.
28:06 That's what they did.
28:08 She says she can't believe she's here.
28:10 Calls it lucky.
28:12 Those listening interject.
28:14 It's crazy to say that after you've been in your house for so many hours
28:18 scared for your life and the life of your family
28:20 you're saying I'm the lucky one.
28:22 That's the craziest thing about it.
28:24 I'm alive, you know.
28:26 I'm lucky I'm alive.
28:28 What could have been rattles around.
28:31 There's another video.
28:33 This one she says was taken by her husband and sons in their home.
28:36 I just heard the shooting.
28:38 I didn't know what's going on.
28:42 See that white van in the distance?
28:48 She thought they were neighbors pulling up until people burst out shooting.
28:52 She later learned the van's owners had been dragged out of their car and killed.
28:56 The Hamas fighters using it to go kill more.
28:59 The bullet casings on her balcony from where Kibbutz security officers
29:04 fired back from her home.
29:06 She's okay.
29:07 Her family's okay.
29:08 Her country isn't.
29:10 So Ian you just saw a little bit of that conversation
29:14 when we spoke with those women today.
29:16 We spoke with them for much longer.
29:18 Talked to them about their fears and their hopes
29:21 and their thoughts about what might happen next.
29:25 You're actually pretty thoughtful and at times very compassionate.
29:29 And in terms of the compassion, what do they want to see happen?
29:34 It's complicated.
29:37 They want the hostages obviously released.
29:41 There was lots of talk of negotiating for the hostages.
29:45 Diplomacy.
29:46 There's fear about what happens if there's a very hard strike.
29:50 But Savannah also spoke to us about concerns for Palestinians in Gaza
29:56 in particular saying that I want them to live a good life
30:00 because this is my characterization of her words,
30:05 that I want them to live a good life because if they live a good life
30:08 then maybe we will live a good life as well and that there won't be so much
30:12 anger and won't be so much desire on the parts of some to kill.
30:18 So she's wrapping her head around everything that has happened to her
30:22 but also trying to look forward because she says I just don't see a way through here.
30:27 We have to talk. We have to talk.
30:30 You've covered a lot of ground today.
30:32 You began your day in Jerusalem.
30:34 Tell us some of the things you saw there.
30:38 Sure. So we did start in Jerusalem and it's interesting because
30:44 there were a lot of sirens today in Jerusalem.
30:46 There were a lot of rocket strikes and it's--
30:48 I lived here for many years and that's not something you necessarily heard in Jerusalem.
30:52 There was always this perception that the rockets couldn't quite go that far.
30:55 Well, they can.
30:57 Lots of people to and fro within the shelters.
31:01 And then as we drove from Jerusalem here to Tel Aviv, again, more rocket strikes,
31:07 more interceptions by the Iron Dome.
31:09 And as you encounter people here in stores, this store is closed
31:12 because all the workers have been called up as reservists.
31:16 This car rental agency can't open because no one is left to work anymore.
31:20 The biggest mobilization of reservists Israel has ever had is happening right now
31:25 and this place feels emptied out.
31:27 Well, great work, of course, today and we'll see you again on The National tomorrow night.
31:32 Thanks, Adrienne.
31:34 You bet. Take care.
31:36 We will have more on the attacks on Israel and what might happen next.
31:41 [explosion]
31:45 How we got here and why the conflict could get much worse.
31:48 That is next.
31:50 Gaza under fire from Israel, possibly a prelude to a ground invasion.
32:05 In one neighborhood, people fled their homes, warned by Israel to get out.
32:14 Israel has threatened unprecedented retribution but there's a complicating reality.
32:19 Israeli hostages are being held captive in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian militants.
32:25 In a moment, we'll take a look at that.
32:27 But first, Ellen Morrow breaks down how years of conflict in Gaza has led to this dramatic moment.
32:33 Retaliatory Israeli airstrikes pummel the Gaza Strip,
32:40 long an epicenter of the brutal conflict between Israel and Hamas.
32:45 Gaza is just 41 kilometers long and 10 wide, wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
32:54 The small sliver of land was occupied by Egypt when Israel was created in 1948.
33:01 Then came the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel taking control of Gaza and the West Bank.
33:09 Israel kept a military presence in Gaza for nearly 40 years.
33:14 Decades of tension spurring the first and second intifadas or Palestinian uprisings,
33:20 protests, riots and deadly attacks over the Israeli occupation.
33:25 In 2005, under pressure, Israel withdrew its troops and settlers.
33:30 A year later, Hamas, a militant organization, scored a shock election win,
33:36 eventually taking power in Gaza.
33:39 Backed by Iran and designated a terrorist group by Canada, the U.S. and others,
33:44 Hamas' aim? To destroy the Israeli state.
33:48 Instead of prioritizing jobs and work and education,
33:53 they've prioritized building tunnels and militancy and attacks.
33:57 And so I think, frankly, there's a lot of folks in Gaza, a lot of Palestinians, who have needlessly suffered.
34:05 Citing security fears, Israel began to blockade Gaza after Hamas took over.
34:10 To this day, controlling Gaza's airspace, its shoreline,
34:14 who and what can get in or out through two of its three border crossings.
34:18 Aid agencies call it an open-air prison.
34:22 The vast majority of Gaza's population, 2 million people, live in poverty.
34:27 Most rely on outside food assistance.
34:31 95% of Gaza's water is undrinkable.
34:34 Gaza suffers from regular power outages, massive unemployment.
34:38 It's a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
34:41 The Hamas consolidation of power and Israeli response ushered in a new era of fighting.
34:47 In 2008, Israeli forces launched a three-week military operation in Gaza,
34:53 killing more than 1,300 Palestinians.
34:56 The ground operation came after Palestinian militants fired more than 2,000 rockets
35:01 at Israeli targets in the two years prior, according to the UN,
35:05 along with a spate of suicide bombings in Israel.
35:08 The last Israeli ground invasion into Gaza was in 2014,
35:14 triggered by the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank
35:20 by Hamas-linked militants.
35:22 The fighting raged for weeks.
35:24 Major rocket barrages fired at Israel.
35:27 Israeli forces invading Gaza to destroy Hamas' tunnel system.
35:32 More than 1,400 Palestinians believed to be civilians were killed, the UN says,
35:37 accusing both sides of possible war crimes.
35:41 After Saturday's devastation, more than 800 Israelis killed, many others abducted,
35:47 there's growing speculation another ground invasion is coming.
35:52 "All the places which Hamas is operating in, we will turn into ruins,"
35:57 says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
36:00 "I am telling Gaza's people to leave those places."
36:03 But where can they go?
36:06 Gaza is home to 2.3 million people,
36:09 one of the most densely populated places in the world.
36:13 Israel must also consider the dozens of Israeli civilians being held hostage there.
36:20 Hamas now threatening to execute a hostage every time Israel hits a civilian target in Gaza
36:26 without warning.
36:27 "The human lives, the human trauma makes it difficult militarily,
36:32 makes it very difficult diplomatically,
36:34 and gives Hamas even more leverage than it has with its arsenal."
36:41 So much suffering here for decades.
36:44 And what's coming after the carnage inflicted in Israel could be much deadlier.
36:50 Now that El Amoro has laid out how the conflict got to this point,
36:53 let's take a look at the immediate threat to Israeli hostages in Gaza
36:57 and how their fate is closely tied to what happens next.
37:00 Khaled El Gindi is a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute.
37:03 He's in Arlington, Virginia.
37:05 And our senior correspondent Paul Hunter is in Jerusalem tonight.
37:08 And Paul, I'm going to begin with you.
37:10 The images showing the horrific treatment of hostages held in Gaza have been seen by millions.
37:15 What kind of pressure do you think that is putting on the Israeli government?
37:19 Exponential pressure, Ian.
37:22 I mean, it ratchets things up psychologically a thousand percent.
37:28 I mean, people get kidnapped all the time, unfortunately, in this world.
37:33 Rarely is that captured on video.
37:39 It forces you to confront the horror of what these people went through.
37:46 You know, if you want to inflict terror, bring a video camera.
37:49 The poor woman on the motorcycle with audio and hearing her plead for her life.
37:56 I almost can't describe how that makes me feel, let alone people in this country,
38:07 let alone the families of those people, let alone the people that run this country.
38:12 It ratchets everything up, as I say, exponentially, Ian.
38:16 And speaking of which, Hamas has sent out an ominous and disturbing message this evening
38:21 that they are threatening to begin killing hostages one by one.
38:25 Paul, what should we make of that threat?
38:28 Yeah, there's a lot of ways this could go.
38:33 You know, that certainly is a grotesque possibility that was raised today.
38:40 You know, earlier today there was talk of prisoner swaps, potentially.
38:44 Qatar was suggesting that maybe it could mediate something.
38:48 Both Hamas and Israel have sort of put, sort of said, "No, that's not on."
38:54 To your point about this latest threat from Hamas, yeah.
38:59 The suggestion from Hamas today is that if Israel keeps up its airstrikes
39:05 and continues to kill Palestinians in so doing,
39:09 that they will begin to execute the hostages one by one.
39:15 And they will, again, videotape it, and they will publish that videotape.
39:21 It is descending into a complete horror show.
39:25 Khaled, give us some context here.
39:28 The strategy we're seeing by Hamas to, first of all, just to take hostages.
39:33 Did it surprise you? What's behind it?
39:36 I mean, I think the entire operation came as a surprise to just about everyone.
39:42 I certainly hadn't anticipated that Hamas had the operational capabilities
39:49 to carry out such a multi-pronged, sophisticated attack
39:54 that completely caught the Israelis off guard.
39:57 Much less to do so and then be able to abduct people and bring them back to Gaza.
40:03 I'm not entirely clear what their overall endgame is.
40:07 But as far as abducting people and holding them in captivity in Gaza,
40:13 I think it's pretty clear that they're trying to use that as leverage.
40:18 Either as some sort of insurance policy against Israeli bombing of civilian areas in Gaza.
40:28 That's something that they've laid out, as you said,
40:31 that if Israel continues to bomb civilian neighborhoods,
40:35 then they will execute these hostages.
40:39 Or is it something bigger, some sort of large-scale prisoner release,
40:46 something like 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners are currently being held by Israel,
40:53 with more and more every day, as the Israeli army cracks down on any and all forms of resistance
41:01 in the occupied territories.
41:05 A thousand of those individuals are being held indefinitely without any charge at all.
41:11 So maybe they're after some sort of prisoner swap.
41:16 Is it something bigger?
41:18 Are they trying to push for some other kind of political demands?
41:22 Or maybe something related to the blockade in Gaza.
41:27 We still don't know.
41:29 Khaled, any sense of what it will take to ease the emotions and the destruction that's going on
41:37 and bring these two sides at least to the point where they're willing to talk?
41:41 Well, I think what's absolutely needed now and that isn't happening
41:46 is some sort of robust international intervention.
41:50 At the moment, we're not seeing the Europeans and the Americans and others
41:55 really calling for an end to the violence.
42:00 We haven't seen any attempts to kind of put guardrails or red lines on the Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
42:08 There's no real expressions of concern for Palestinian civilians.
42:12 More than 500 have already been killed in Gaza.
42:16 And so I think that's what's needed.
42:18 All right. Thanks to both of you for helping us with this fast-moving story.
42:23 Appreciate it.
42:24 Thank you.
42:29 And this story does keep developing and we're working to keep you on top of it all.
42:33 Our coverage from the Middle East will continue over the coming days.
42:36 But coming up right now, a reunion just in time for Thanksgiving.
42:41 The moment this family waited 11 long years for is our moment.
42:53 [♪♪]
42:55 This is the Batiola family having Thanksgiving dinner all together again
43:03 for the first time in more than a decade.
43:05 Originally from the Philippines, Mylene Batiola left her three children in 2012
43:10 to move to Canada with the hope of making a better life and bringing them here.
43:15 She never expected that process would take so long, but after 11 years,
43:19 she finally secured the paperwork and tonight their reunion,
43:23 just in time for the holiday weekend, makes our moment.
43:26 [♪♪]
43:29 [knocking]
43:31 It's 11 years of waiting for my children.
43:36 It's like a roller coaster and it's very, very exciting.
43:40 I'm so speechless.
43:46 I'm excited to see how they age because I can see them on the Internet,
43:51 but it's different when you see them actually.
43:54 I'm very, very, very excited to see Mom.
43:57 My heart is filled. That's what I feel.
44:00 One big happy family.
44:02 Moms would like to sit down as a full family for the first time.
44:05 It was actually--it made me happy because we always eat separate.
44:10 It's very, very noisy, but then I enjoy the noise
44:15 because these are my siblings.
44:18 I'm overwhelmed with emotions.
44:20 I'm grateful for those people who helped me throughout the years.
44:24 Non-stop, God answered my prayer.
44:28 I spent about the last week looking through old family videotapes
44:33 and seeing my two sons when they were little, and that made me nostalgic enough.
44:37 To be away from your kids that long is incredible.
44:40 If you're wondering why there's so much great video of that moment,
44:43 it's because she's used to live streaming all the big moments in her life
44:47 so that people back in the Philippines can see it.
44:50 For all of us here at The National, thank you very much for being with us.
44:53 You can watch anywhere, anytime on the free CBC News app
44:56 and subscribe to The National's YouTube channel.
44:59 I'm Ian Hanemansee. See you tomorrow night.
45:02 ♪♪♪
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