yasmin. thank you, everyone, for watching. wolf live from jerusalem starts now. hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from jerusalem. i'd like to welcome viewers from the united states and around the world. new this hour, the underground war between israel and hamas. i'll take you inside one of the elaborate tunnels that israel says are the main target of its gaza offensive. this is a u.s. tv exclusive you won't want to miss what i saw earlier today. up first, the latest headlines. we're standing by for a statement any minute now from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's getting ready to address the israeli people. we're also getting conflicting accounts right now about the striking that hit a hospital and a refugee camp in gaza earlier today.

aloksa tv, run by hamas, says the hospital was hit by an israeli drone. but israel says failed hamas rockets hit the hospital and the camp. israel says its forces were not responsible for any deaths at that u.n. school in gaza last week. according to the idf, the israel defense forces, this video shows an errant israeli mortar hit the courtyard of this school but israel says there was no one there. palestinian officials, on the other hand, say 16 people were killed by israel. u.n. security council members held an emergency meeting overnight. the council called for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. we want to get more, first of all, on the strike that hit the hospital and the refugee camp in gaza earlier today. let's go there. cnn's ian lee is on the scene for us in gaza city. it sounds obviously like israel and hamas they're pointing fingers at each other. tell us what you know.

>> well, wolf, there's a lot of finger-pointing, like you said, going back and forth. first, hamas came out and said that this was an israeli drone strike, both at the hospital and the refugee camp. israel denied that, saying these were two errant rockets that hit both places. hamas then responded by saying this is just a cover-up by the israelis and that they have evidence. they say they have the rockets, proof, these were israeli strikes. what we're hearing from the ministry of health is eight children were killed, two adults, and over 40 people were injured in these attacks. i'm going to bring karl penhaul in right now. he was just at the scene. and he just arrived to kind of describe what he saw at the camp. >> well, we went, ian, down to the beach area, i believe that neighborhood is called, and talked to eyewitnesses there. were were pools of blood on the

street. it's a narrow residential street. the buildings go up three and four stories. the whole area is pot marked with shrapnel. i managed to put my fist in a shrapnel hole that went through a car door. just imagine the damage that has done to children. there were children there playing in that street. there was a little super market there, a little store apparently according to eyewitnesses. the children had gone to the store there. others were in the street playing with plastic guns. it's a game here. i talked to a young girl, with the permission of her father. she was 12 years old. she said, along with other eyewitnesses, both adults and children that they heard a drone, a drone they call in arabic zanana. even if you don't speak arabic, you hear these kids say zanana, it's quite clear. and then a strike going in. a 8-year-old boy said, i came

outside, a saw a body part there. one of the bodies had now been brought back to his neighborhood so his mother could say a final good-bye before the member of the household took him off for burial. and i think we must take time now not to find out so much about the dead but to find out a little more about the living. i said to the 12-year-old, tell me the good things about mohamm mohammed. she said, mohammed, he was great at math and he holoved playing d he loved sport. i said, what kind of sport? she said, football, of course. i said, a favorite team? barcelona football team, she says, messie was his hero, messi was an amazing player. these are the kind of kids who are dying, kids who have name, kids who are football fans like everybody else, like other young kids of their age, leonel messi

is their hero. >> especially at shifa hospital and this camp, there's a lot of children around. i was at shifa hospital just yesterday and i noticed a lot of people were taking shelter there. they had their tents up. they had their mattresses in corridors. a lot of people thought this was a safe area. so there will be an investigation most likely by an independent body to very much verify what happened what took place. as you know, hospitals are not legitimate targets. civilians are not legitimate targets in war. so there will likely be an investigation to figure out what exactly happened, wolf. >> i'm sure there will be a thorough investigation. hamas blames israel. the idf put out a statement saying this was an errant hamas rocket that hit those facilities earlier today, but there will be forensic evidence and a full investigation, i'm sure, will go forward and eventually we'll learn who was responsible for that attack. all right, guys, thanks very much. ian lee, karl penhaul,

reporting. now to a cnn exclusive that we have for you. i want to take you 45 feet underground, inside an elaborate hamas tunnel that was running from hun yunis in gaza to southern israel. israel says its main goal is to destroy these tunnels used to smuggle weapons, launch attacks. here's our entry into the tunnel, watch this. >> let's go. no, i'm not scared. all right. all right. all right. okay. all right. ah, i guess the tunnel was built for relatively short people because if you stand up, you're going to hit your head.

i'm not that tall. but you see, it's pretty -- pretty secure, this concrete. they spent a lot of effort building this tunnel. and they say it's 14 meters or so under the ground. underground. maybe close to three kilometers. once inside, i spoke with an israeli military officer who said hamas has used concrete they got actually from israel to build this tunnel. here's part of my interview about where the tunnel goes what it involves, how it was built. take a listen. all right, we're here in this tunnel with lieutenant colonel azuli. you know this tunnel well. tell me about the tunnel. >> okay. this tunnel can come from gaza, as you say, from khan younis. it comes very close to the kibutz, it's like 600 meters.

this tunnel, we found it before the terrorists, hamas, and the operation, and the tunnel, and found after a few weeks of checking this place, this area, you can see the tunnel, the concourse -- >> the concrete? >> the concrete came from israel. and electricity because the truck -- they dig and they put the sand in the truck and they -- >> and they wheel it out. >> yes, wheel it out to khan

younis. >> how long do you think it took to build a tunnel like this? >> two years to dig. it's one meter a day. a few meters a day. they need a lot of time to do it. >> so it's a slow process but they obviously spent a lot of time. you say this concrete came from israel. how do you know it came from israel? >> because we found -- we found the bags. >> the bags? >> the bags. the bags were -- the sandbags in the station. >> so basically the concrete was provided by israel to palestinians in gaza to build schools, hospitals, stores, apartments, but they used it, you say, to build this tunnel? >> yes. for example, electricity, it came from israel.

israel give electricity -- >> the electrical power for gaza? >> yes, the power to gaza. and the people in gaza can't use the electricity. like a few hours a day. and all this stuff to build the tunnels. >> how many tunnels like this are there that you've found so far? >> i can't say exactly the number. we have many tunnels. >> i've heard 30 already. >> something like this, yes. >> something like that, similar, the same length, the same height. and from what you know, what was the purpose of this tunnel? >> attack soldiers and attack people. regular people. in israel. like people in the kibbutz.

we're very close to the area over here. we don't have a base -- soldiers near to -- this way. the fence is nine meters from here -- 900 meters from here -- >> the border, the border. >> the border. and in the border is soldiers. if they want to attack us, it's okay for us to be in the battle, but they want to attack regular people, children, women, men. it's very close to -- >> so they wanted to go and attack, kill israelis but also kidnap israelis. >> yes. >> that was one of the rationales that israelis have suggested was one of the purposes of these tunnels? >> yes. >> we'll have a lot more, this conversation, other details, when i spent a few hours down there in the south along the border with gaza earlier today. this tunnel, the lieutenant colonel says, about 1.5

kilometers under gaza. another 1.3 kilometers under israel. they actually found this tunnel before this current operation, a couple weeks before. they sealed off the part going from gaza and sealed off the other part as well. but it's very, very close quarters, but very sophisticated. when you walk through the tunnel, you actually -- you feel pretty secure down there because it's cool, it's not hot, very hot outside, but it's much cooler down there when you're about 45 feet orb 15 meters below the surface of the earth. we're going to have a lot more on this tour that the idf, the israel defense force, provided me later, coming up later in "the situation room" as well. let's bring in and get some palestinian perspective on ways going on. joining us is mr. erakat, the head of the delegation. thank you for joining us. the quick question about the

tunnels going from gaza into israel that hamas built, what was the purpose building, spending all that money, all that time, the purpose of building the tunnels from gaza into israel? >> it's clearly an effort by a besieged population to use these tunnels instead of using the normal crossing points. now, i don't what to underestimate the significance of these tunnels and that factions in gaza are utilizing them to target the israeli military, especially at times of conflict. so this is i think something that has been uselized in past conflicts throughout history. therefore, it's a response to a besiege, a blockade. they want to be creative about how to respond to any attacks. and probably also take initiative. i'm not saying they are building them not to take initiative, but this is besides the point here.

my question is what is the israeli objective? they started with stopping the rockets. now they want to destroy the tunnels. we heard the prime minister two days ago or yesterday saying the disarmament of factions in gaza, can anyone please tell us in the israeli government what is the objectives of this operation, which is only increasing the death toll on the palestinian side. this recent attack that took the lives of eight children playing on their holy feast and too the hospital. how many palestinians need to lose their lives in order for this israeli government to understand that killing more palestinian civilians is not going to contribute to a political resolution to this conflict? >> ambassador, we have a lot more to discuss. we have to take a quick break. what the israelis say their primary purpose is right now is to destroy the tub, get rid of the hams rockets launched into

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we're back with maen eraket. he's joining us from washington. as far as you know right now, is hamas and the palestinian authority, led by president mahmoud abbas, on the same page when it companiy comes to the requirements to achieve a cease fire even a humanitarian pause, if you will, or is there still some differences between hamas and it is palestinian authority? >> the plo's position, the palestinian position in general, is definitely in favor of an immediate cessation to, you know, the hostilities and to stop more palestinian, innocent palestinians from getting killed. at the same time, we said repeatedly, i think this is an opinion shared by the u.s., by the international community, that unless we also do something

in parallel to resolve the underlying causes of this conflict in gaza, the lifting of the blockade, allowing palestinians to live in dignity, freedom, in that part of the world, there is not going to be any solution. so israel recently refused the proposal submitted by secretary kerry to put an end to -- to start the cease-fire there. they are scuttling the efforts of the united states, which is the strongest supporter of the israeli militarily, economically and politically, and they are underlying efforts by other international players to have a cease-fire in the gaza strip. >> do you believe hamas would stop launching rockets and missiles if there were cease-fire? because israel says its priority, as you know, is to destroy those tunnels first and foremost? >> yes, but that was their priority in 2012, wolf, that was their priority in 2008, ''09. i think it's time for this israeli government to understand

that if they continue to repeat doing what they have done in the past and prove to have failed, you know, without achieving any results, there will not be a way out of this conflict. i think if there is a cease-fire, if israel stops its campaign against the gaza strip, if there is hope for the palestinian population in the gaza strip to somehow live in dignity, be able to move around, end the blockade and the siege, and then immediately move to the larger picture, which is ending this palestinian israeli conflict, i think the statement that was made by the white house yesterday, in which president obama expressed the need to resolve the conflict, the palestinian/israeli conflict, before we talk about this disashment and disarming and demilemilitarizing is a very cot

policy. israel cannot be the occupier and expect palestinians to watch them carry out this campaign against the people. >> on this issue of u.s./israeli disagreement on the requirements for a cease-fire, you're right, there's a serious disagreement now between the government of prime minister netanyahu and the obama administration, we're going to have more on that coming up later this hour. maen areikat, ambassador, thank you very much for joining us. up next, he was second in command for the israel defense ministry. we're going to hear from him about why his views of the military operation in gaza actually got him fired from that job by the prime minister. he's standing by live. this is holly. her long day of outdoor adventure starts with knee pain. and a choice. take 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. onward! dust irritating your eye? (singing) ♪

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we just heard from the palestinian delegate to the united states about the latest crisis here in the middle east. now we want an israeli perspective. joining us is a likud member of the knesset until recently, fired because of his strong views on what's going on. thank you very much for joining us. the prime minister of israel, netanyahu, he fired you because of comments you made specifically when you suggested that the prime minister was proving he was irresponsible, that the prime minister was irresponsible in going along with the cease-fire. you opposed the cease-fire. why? >> wolf, i have a reputation of being a straight shooter. when the prime minister accepted the matter, i told him it is not responsible. we cannot have a cease-fire with

tunnels underneath us, with rockets firing us at. he fired me. now i suppose the prime minister. the people of israel telling netanyahu, keep going, do whatever you need to do, but bring stability, bring tranquility to the region. we know we have to continue to fight with hamas. >> since you were firedminister government accepted a few cease-fires, hamas did not. if they accepted cease-fire right now, would that be appropriate? >> i think that would be a mistake. you do not negotiate with hamas. i think what secretary kerry did in the last week was a mistake. it put israel and hamas on the same level. it's like i will tell you that the u.s. and al qaeda are on the same level. we should -- >> why do you say the secretary of state of the united states put israel and hamas -- hamas isn't even recognized by the united states, it's considered a terrorist organization. why would you say kerry, the secretary of state of the united states, israel's major

supporter, would put hamas in the same category as israel? >> secretary kerry's proposal was an insult for us. >> why was it an insult? >> because when you say a cease-fire between hamas and israel and you don't address the main issues of the rockets, of the tunnels. last night, we said, let's talk -- we cannot talk with a terrorist organization -- >> my understanding was the proposal, which israel didn't like and the cabinet rejected it, we reported that first right here on cnn, they didn't like it, because it didn't necessarily allow israel to finish destroying those tunnels and getting rid of those rockets. the israelis weren't happy about that. but kerry says that israel can do that now. >> look what happened only four hours ago. five terrorists tried to get into a kibutz in israel to kidnap kids, to commit a massacre in israel. we cannot finish the operation as long as there are tunnels against us. imagine you had tunnels coming from mexico into arizona with al qaeda forces.

what secretary kerry would have done in that would have happened. we need to fight with hamas as long as it takes, a week, a month, a year. we're backing netanyahu to do the right thing. >> if he accepts the cease-fire, you will -- >> it's not only me, the people of israel, the majority within the likud party, which i'm a senior member, will tell him you cannot finish the job in the middle. we started. we have to finish with hamas. >> the outgoing head of the defense intelligence agency of the united states, the pentagon, the dia, as it's called, michael, lieutenant general michael flynn, was at a conference in aspen, colorado, over the weekend. i want to play this clip for you. listen to this. >> if hamas were completely destroyed, you know, and gone, we would probably end up with something much worse. so the region would end up with something much worse. there would be a worse threat that could come in to sort of the ecosystem there --

>> something very -- >> something like an isis or isil or, you know, other of these groups that are in that region right now. so we really have to be careful -- >> he says, you heard hill, he's the head of intelligence at the department of defense at the pentagon, he's outgoing now, but he says be careful what you wish for. you get rid of hamas, what could emerge afterwards might even be worse. >> i beg to differ with this opinion. what can be worse than hamas? what they will do? they will dig tunnels? send rockets? every night, i have to take my two daughters to sleep in the shelter. so what can be worse than that? we are not afraid from what will be after the hamas. yes, we think about isis and hezbollah. and they're watching this conflict. if the outcome would be that we are weak, then hezbollah and isis will come after us. that's why we need to smash hamas. we need to go against the hamas and to do it militarily, not negotiation. you don't talk with al qaeda, you fight with al qaeda. president obama, he did the

right thing when he hunted osama bin laden. we need to treat hamas like you, the people in the u.s., treated osama bin laden. >> danny danon, the former deputy defense minute there are in israel. a strong perspective. plenty of israelis continue to support. there's a big debate going on in israel right now, what to do about a cease-fire what to do about hamas. more on that coming up. up next, israel is not backing down. neither is hamas at least for now. we'll speak to the united nations special envoy involved in trying to get a cease-fire. stay with us. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes?

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we're just getting this into cnn. this according to an initial report just coming into cnn. i want to be precise in what we're learning. there was, according to the israeli military, some sort of infiltration through one of these tunnels, the southern part of israel, from gaza, into israel. hamas militants apparently trying to get through. it was intercepted by israel it they opened fire. the hamas militants according to the israeli military, and idf force, idf searches are now being conducted following the incide incident. i was down there a little while ago, you saw the video from another tunnel we saw in the area. clearly, the israelis are searching right now. we're going to be speaking with lieutenant colonel peter learn, the spokesman for the idf, he's

coming in to brief us on what they know. there may be, may be, repeating, we don't know for sure some hamas militants who may have emerged from that tunnel in israel right now. idf searching. they may have gone back in the tunnel and escaped. we'll get more from lieutenant colonel learner once he gets here to our cnn studio. in the meantime, the u.n. security council is calling for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in gaza. the council met in emergency session overnight but the call for cease-fire seems to be falling on deaf ears. both hamas and israel launched new attacks today. robert serry is the coordinator for the peace process. mr. serry, thank you for joining us. i know you are working so hard right now to get a cease-fire. we spoke yesterday, we spoke the day before. tell us what the latest is. how close are you, if at all, to a humanitarian pause, as you like to call it? >> well, i wish i could say we

were close. but events now are proving that, yet again, parties are on the brink of -- a major escalation. when we spoke yesterday, actually, it could have happened already, a major escalation. it didn't happen. the guns fell silent on the eve of eid, the very important muslim holiday. >> the end of ramadan. >> yes, the end of ramadan. so the situation was relatively calm. i did work with both sides to have a humanitarian pause. not by one party or the other party. i was -- until let's say 3:00, 4:00, hopeful that could happen. >> what happened? >> what happened is suddenly we have seen a flare-up again. when you have a calm which is based on -- if you don't shoot, we don't shoot either, you know, if anything goes wrong, like, for instance, i don't know

precisely what happens and who is responsible for, between, the very tragic loss of life, children in the hospital, that is what we heard first, and then we had rockets coming out again. attacks in southern israel, i just learned from you, that maybe there was an attack -- >> through the tunnels. i was in one of those tunnels today. as i was coming here, back to jerusalem, there were several rockets and missiles from gaza that landed way up towards haifa, northern galilee. they have that range to get up there. you know what that's going to do in israel, the impacts. you just heard danny danon, the former defense minister, he doesn't want a cease-fire at all. that will continue that trend. >> still, i will appeal to both sides. what will happen is all of this is inevitable. hundreds of lives, most of them civilians, going to be

pointlessly killed again. i will certainly continue my efforts. i call on both sides to still consider what the security council has been calling for today, after hearing an appeal from my secretary-general, which is to accept an unconditional humanitarian pause. >> for 24 hours? >> for 24 hours, yes. this is, you know, we have to stop this fighting and then of course the pause has to be used to build on for talks, which is only one revenue, for cairo, for parties to go there and talk about the underlying issues. >> the israelis clearly trust the new egyptian government as a mediator. does hamas? >> there's a new development here which i think is important. president abbas is heading towards cairo. who has a joint delegation including hamas for talks with the egyptians. so what you see is the new government, which is a government of national consensus, which should also assume responsibility now for gaza, is actually starting to

assume this responsibility. >> as the special u.n. envoy, you talked to obviously the israelis, the palestinian authority. >> yes. >> do you talk to hamas as well? >> let me put it this way, we are in gaza. we also for the safety of our people, we do have contacts. i prefer not to comment on these contacts, wolf, but i would not be able to do my job without having some contacts. >> can you update us on the latest horrible situation on the hospital, this hospital that was hit today in gaza, the israelis say it was an errant palestinian hamas rocket. hamas blames israel. >> of course each side blaming each other again. i know both starts. i have no independent confirmation. >> but you're not giving up? >> absolutely not. i think this is so important. that we stop this fighting now. i don't see the point of another major escalation. more than that actually destruction of gaza will be even -- even more, even worse.

this is my third war, wolf. i've been here six years. >> we spoke a few weeks ago when you were kidnapped in ukraine. that's a whole different story. >> i seem to attract some trouble. >> yes, you've got a tough job that you're doing. but good luck, be careful, mr. serry, thank you for joining us. we'll stay in close touch with you. if there's a breakthrough on the cease-fire, you'll let us know. call us right away. we'll put you on television. don't go away yet. anti-semitism rearing its ugly head in parts of europe over the israeli military actions in gaza. the palestinian response. we'll speak with our guest from the anti-defamation league in new york about this latest troubling development. also, disturbing now out of africa, a second american becomes infected with the deadly ebola virus. we'll speak with our medical correspondent later this hour. ♪

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and tunnels, impossible to live under the threat. he says israel has to be ready, in his words, for a prolonged campaign. he says, we will continue acting with judgment and force. joining us, the spokesman, lieutenant colonel peter learner. several issues. first, this report that hamas militants got into southern israel today through a tunnel and they emerged, they exchanged fire with israeli troops, and they're now on the loose, israel is looking for them. what is the information you have? >> hamas clearly spent the entire day just preparing more and more attacks. indeed, in this evening, we have seen an infiltration again through a tunnel much like the one you visited earlier today into israeli territory and they carried out attack. they shot at some of our forces. and we are in pursuit of them. indeed, this is the exact problem we have with these tunnels. they serve only one purpose. and because of our forces on the

ground, we were actually able to prevent them from striking our cities. >> how many hamas militants do you think may be in large in southern israel? >> early for me to indicate specifics. when we do, we'll make that announcement. >> do you have any reason to believe they may have gotten back into the tunnel? >> that's a possibility. we'll have to confirm that or see what we have on the ground. >> what can you tell us about this destruction, this shelling that hit the hospital in gaza today? horrible casualties, children, a lot of sick people. we know hamas blames israel. you're blaming hamas. but tell us why. >> that's just preposterous. we did not target the hospital. >> could it have been an earant israeli market or missile or shell? >> absolutely not. we have indications and the chief of staff just presented photograph of the launch of the palestinian rockets from gaza this afternoon around 5:00 p.m. that struck those positions. now, since the beginning of this

operation, we have noted 200 cases of rockets that have fallen short within gaza. >> rockets fired by hamas? >> by hamas, at israel, that have fallen short in the gaza strip. this is just another case. it's unfortunate that it lands in the gaza hospital, but it has absolutely nothing to do with israel. >> one of our reporters told us he interviewed people there who heard an israeli drone that makes a unique sound flying overhead before that incident occurred. >> in the last three weeks, through your reporters, almost every time you can hear the drones, the air force in the background, there is extensive presence because they're carrying out these attacks, these rocket assaults against our civilians. so we have capabilities in the air at any given time. we have nothing to do with this attack against the hospital, which was originated in gaza and struck gazans. >> just last hour or so, sirens were going off as far north as

haifa in the galilee area. hamas has capability of launching rockets from gaza and reaching that far north? we knew they could hit tel aviv but i wasn't aware they could go all the way to haifa. >> wolf, we've been telling you over the last three weeks that israel is under a threat by this ruthless organization that has rock rockets that holds three quarters of our country under threat. they have over 5 million israelis in their sights. they will do anything and everything they can to strike us. this is the reality we are living. this is a reality we're not willing to accept. that is why we're operating in gaza. we will strike these terrorists. we will not let them -- we will not permit them to continue this onslaught against us. >> what's the maximum range of the hamas missiles, and where did they get these longer range missiles that can go up to haifa and northern galilee?

>> they have a 200-kilometer radius -- >> 200-kill almoometer range? >> yes. basically almost awful the state of israel -- >> that's 120 miles? >> yes, all of the state of israel, except for the corners -- >> where did they get these longer-range missiles? >> we saw earlier in march an attempt by iran to import these rockets. we said then it was iran shipping rockets to gaza and, indeed, we knew that they had already had some of these rockets in the strip. so we know that they have these longer-range capabilities. they've been striving to utilize them. striving to strike our cities, our towns, from haifa in the northern, down to the south, further north. they are trying to strike us from the air, from beneath the ground, from over the ground. they're constantly trying to

attack our civilians. >> no indication of a humanitarian cease-fire right now? >> i think safe to say we are combating a terrorist organization and as such we will continue to do so. >> lieutenant colonel peter learner of the idf, thank you for joining us. doesn't look like there's going to be a cease-fire any time soon. more of the breaking news right after this. i make a lot of purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. celebrate your love of crab with gthis year's largest variety!. 'cause it's crabfest at red lobster! dig into a succulent selection of crab entrées. like new crab lover's trio!

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on this day in history, july 28th, 1868, the 14th amendment

of the constitution was ratified, extending liberties and rights granted by the bill of rights to former slaves. one of three amendments part of the reconstruction program to guarantee equal rights and legal rights to african-american citizens. on this day in history. three weeks of fighting between israel and hamas and gaza certainly has led to a large pro-palestinian, anti-israel protest, especially in europe. riot police responded with tear gas in paris over the weekend. but it's also stoked disturbing number of violent incidents against jews. once again, especially in europe. a jewish-owned business in suburban paris, for example, attacked and looted with some protesters yelling and i'm quoting now, jews to the gas chamber. it's always a sensitive subject, ayd, is this simply anti israel

demonstrating against israel, but another step to say it's anti semetic. you say? >> it is both. amongst the people demonstrating against israel, there are many who want to harm jews. they're using the demonstrations and support of gaza as a vehicle to express their anti-semitism. we have witnessed in the last several months anti semetic inci incitement, violence, as you indicated, especially in france, germany, italy. synagogues have been attacked, jewish stores attacked. jewish institutions, one in tolousse, even closed a museum because of the threats. unfortunately, anti-semitism is on the rise in europe, and we found that the worst of anti-semitism globally is in the middle east and north africa. and many of those have made

their way to europe. to paris, to london, to rome. and they are expressing not only their opposition to israel, but also their deep-seated anti-semitism. >> but is it fair to say that this anti semetic element that's protesting out there is a relatively small portion of the demonstrators who simply disagree strongly with what israel is doing as a state as a military in gaza? >> well, number one, it's growing, unfortunately. this is not the first demonstration we have seen anti-semitism. we have seen them in previous wars emanating from the middle east in europe. we have not seen it with that intensity, with that -- with so many numbers. we have not seen marching in defense of palestinians going on synagogues. we have not seen them going to jewish neighborhoods. we have not seen them attack jews and have not heard some of

the epithets, gas the jews. it is a new dimension. maybe the internet has something to do with it, maybe the frustration with some of the fundamental muslims. you have i am mans in europe preaching death to the jews, not just opposition to israel. it is a new dimension. i need to add, the european governments are responding. france, germany, italy, the prime ministers, the foreign ministers, have publicly condemned it. and some of the demonstrations this weekend, there were more police than demonstrators, jewish institutions are being protected. but it is, wolf -- it's a very, very dangerous increasing phenomena. >> abe, thanks very much. another quick break. much more news, right after this. this is bill. his doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain...

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later in "the situation room." much more of my visit earlier in the day. i went down do the gaza border. actually, went into a tunnel that hamas had built from gaza into israel. the idf israel defense forces allowed me in, spoke with the lieutenant colonel, explained what was going on in there. much more of this unique opportunity to see one of these underground tunnels from gaza

into israel. that's coming up later in "the situation room." until then, thanks for watching. 5:00 p.m., special two hour edition of "the situation room." for our viewers in the united states and north america, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. >> wolf blitzer, thank you so much. hi there, i'm brooke baldwin. let's begin where wolf left off. this knew outbreak of mid east violence has claimed more young victims. gaza's health ministry today says ten people died in this explosion at a refugee camp. eight of the ten children. the idf israel defense forces say the blast and a near simultaneous explosion at a gaza hospital that wounded two people were both caused by misfired rockets launched by hamas militan militants. and witnesses inside the refugee camp disagree and blame israel for the blasts. and you have these ongoing diat