>> wherever you are around the, world cnn ongoing coverage of israel's war with hamas, i'm john vause in atlanta where it is now one a.m., and seven a.m. in gaza, which is now divided into by israeli ground forces battling hamas militants in the north. for weeks, israeli officials urged palestinians to evacuate relative safety in the, south ahead of a major ground incursion. and as dawn now, breaks the israeli troops have gaza city completely surrounded according to senior idf commanders. in the past few hours, cnn crews reported flares and explosions, lighting up the night sky over northern gaza around the -- not far from the israeli border. so far, 23 israeli soldiers have beeeen killed dururing this military o offensive, whwhich is fofocused on locatating and destroying hamas t tunnel netwo, as well as senior hamas

leaders. >> our soldiers have been operating in gaza city for the past few, days surrounding it from several directions, deepening the operation. our forces are in significant areas of gaza city. >> on thursday, more than -- you and schools were killed in israeli airstrikes. according to united nations officials. and the inconsistency is really offensive began 73 has now passed 9000. that is according to the palestinian health ministry -- hamas controlled gaza. well the u.s. president has cast doubt on the accuracy of those numbers, he has won israel that it search in civilian that rules will mean a lot of international support. secretary of state antony blinken has now been sent back to the region to discuss u.s. concerns directly with israeli officials. cnn's scott mclain joining us live again this hour from london for the very latest on this ground offensive that the israelis said was coming and -- said it would happen, and it is

happening right now it seems. this is just the beginning it is an escalating ground offensive. so what to expect? >> hey, john, yes, the bombing campaign continues to rock gaza, south, central, north. the troops on the ground, the tanks you are seeing, those at least based on what we know exclusively in the northern part of gaza. as you mentioned the idf says that they now have gaza city completely surrounded. and we've got some new video last night from our teams on the ground, on the israeli side of the border, looking into gaza towards the town of -- you can see flares lighting up the sky, also see what looks like a smokescreen on the ground, perhaps suggesting israeli troop movement in that area, that the idf of course is saying little about the precise location of any of their tanks or troops. but at least according to the palestinian quest and we know that some troops have bid in the area of the hospital of the

second largest hospital in gaza. the red crescent says that from a distance of about one kilometer it figures, idf troops fired if indiscriminately towards the hospital wounding a child and a young man who had been standing outside and also piercing the walls of the sixth floor of the building. it also has accused israel of firing on an ambulance, one of its ambulances as well. now we put those accusations to the idf previously, they have said look, hospitals including -- continue to shelter amongst militants, that is something that -- has previously strongly denied. that same hospital earlier this, week, john you might remember, caught warnings specific telephone calls from the israelis warning them to evacuate ahead of a possible bombing. the hospital says, look, it cannot evacuate. there are hundreds of wounded patients, there are, children

babies, incubators, thousands of civilians taking refuge there as well. we know that there is already international outrage mounting at the increasing civilian death toll. when you count just children alone according to the red crescent, there are more than 3700 kids who have been killed, and there are reports of more than 1100 who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble right now. for comparison sake, there are more than 500 children killed in ukraine since the beginning of that conflict, which is about a year and a half ago. now we did get a statement yesterday from hamas political leader -- who suggested a comprehensive vision to end the war, which included an immediate, cease-fire but that is a nonstarter for the israeli issues insist this war and only one hamas is destroyed. but you mention, anthony blinken, u.s. decorative stay on the ground in israel today, and the challenge for him is going to be convincing the

israelis to try and lessen the civilian death toll. privately, the americans have been telling the israelis there is a limited window to try to actually take out hamas, or the public outrage over the civilian death toll reaches a tipping point. we have seen pressure starting to work perhaps when it comes to aid, more than 100 trucks able to get in yesterday. the question is whether or not the same pressure will work when it comes to israel's military tactics, john? >> scott, thank you. scott mclain in london with the very latest. appreciate. it for a third time in as many days, at the biggest refugee camp in gaza was hit by an israeli airstrike. the idf said the targets were hamas leaders, as well as totals build under the camp. cnn's salma abdulaziz has the very latest. the images in her report on graphic and disturbing. >> the victims of the camp, victimized yet again. some of the survivors from the

bombardment took shelter here, a you and school. only to be cut down. desperate moments after an israeli strike nearby shown on social media. this is one of four schools in gaza impacted by strikes in a 24-hour period, the u.n. said. in total, housing some 20,000 displaced people. many of them frightening young children. what did we do, this boy cries, we did nothing wrong. the living conditions in these shelters are unbearable. but families come here for safety. that also is gone. bring me my son, bring me my son this father screams. it is unclear if his child is dead, or alive. three straight days of airstrikes have brought horror and bloodshed. cnn has reached out to the idf for comment on the latest attacks. israel says, it is targeting

hamas infrastructure in this densely populated residential area. it says, it killed a senior hamas commander with a strike on tuesday. but with scores of civilians believed killed, the u.n. human rights council warns what you see here are disproportionate attacks that could amount to a war crime. gazans do not understand why the world can't stop this. >> we keep pulling out bodies, small children, women, it is a catastrophe, this man says. the countries of the w world had any shame, w we would not be inn the situation. and more suffering i is all but cecertain. israeli troops are inching close, and as ground f forces backed by near constant air raids move towards centrtral ga, the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians hang in the balance. the idf has warned all residents north of this trip to leave, in order deemed inhumane an impossible by the united

nations. so many remain in the crossfire. where is the world, this woman screams. our children are being torn up before our eyes. and with the death toll mounting, pressure is growing on the u.s. and israel to stem the violence. some abdelaziz, cnn, london. >> for more now on the rules of war, we are joined by -- a distinguished professor and interim director of the center for public health and human rights at the john thompson school of public health. professor, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so let's just start with the saying there is no doubt at this point in the conflict, hamas is repeatedly guilty of war crimes of indiscriminate rocket fire into israel, hostage taking, civilians, using civilians as human shields. but as you noted in your report, one side violates the rules, does not permit the other side to deviate from them. there are many would argue that means israel is being held to a

higher standard than groups like hamas which are listed as terrorist organizations, and is not the case? is that how it should be? >> new rules of war apply to everyone equally whether you are an armed group will or misstate military neuro supply to everyone. >> the u.s. decorative state anthony blinken said, he would raise the high civilian death toll in gaza with the israeli government. here he is. listen to this. >> we will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women, and children in gaza. and, this is something the united states is -- we will focus well on the steps that need to be taken to protect civilians who are in cross fire from hamas is making. >> at the minimum here, what is

israel's legal responsibility to the safety of civilians in gaza? >> there is some fundamental principles. one is, you only attack military objects. you may not attack civilians. you may not use indiscriminate attacks. you do not target -- fire throughout a whole area. the secretary also used the word minimized, because that is -- legal as well as more obligation. even if an object is civilian facilities such as a hospital is used to fire weapons store weapons or other military innocent obligation even though you attack to minimize harm to civilians there. that is the fundamental rule the idf cautions to make sure civilians are not undo harmed. >> so to your report, the high number of airstrikes, around 7019, days you added this. the sheer number of airstrikes

in such a period and dense area, the high death, will cast serious doubt whether israel implied its obligations. that would be on us obligations to minimize the impact of civilians when it comes to targeting the facilities like hospitals. >> yes. we don't have all the information at all about what kind of targeted israel did, and what steps they tried to take to minimize harm for civilians. it is just that when the casualties are so high, and the airstrikes are so many. it is hard to grasp how those precautions could have been put in place. >> -- was the chief of high value targeting on the joint chief -- u.s. invasion of iraq. i want you to listen to what he told cnn about what was considered acceptable in terms of civilian deaths relative to the target. here he is. >> when we were targeting during the iraq war in 2003, we had a number. that number was 30 civilians

killed in any strike that we were going to have against saddam hussein. so the leader of the iraqi military and government was worth 30 civilians. as my cabazon, that was the calculus that was made. >> is that part of the rules of war, was that an unofficial munchick of what is acceptable -- >> there is no quantitative number, like 30, in the rules of war. that was a decision by the u.s. military. and i don't think that can of standard is -- because you look at the circumstances of the attack, if there are ten people there, and you could save nine of them. that would be the precaution required. so i think putting a number is not the proper way to approach the problem minimizing harm to civilians. it is very difficult, but the idea that you could choose a number, is unacceptable.

>> there is this argument that because israel has a military, and abides by national, law or says it, does that it is at a disadvantage, because almost does not care about those issues. in fact, one civilian died in gaza, it basically plays into hamas's hands. they want the civilians to, diet least according to this release of many other countries around the world. >> there is no doubt that hamas is firing indiscriminately, which is a war crime. it is murdering civilians. taking hostages which is war crimes. as we said at the beginning, it does not give israel its responsibilities. you cannot retaliate the one crime by committing another. in fact, that leads to barbarism. it goes down and down into a spiral where it is left. we have to look at whether israel is committing crimes, and there is some evidence that

it is for example collective punishment, but cutting off water, fuel, electricity, true residents of gaza which is of course a separate issue from a humanitarian relief professor robinson thank you so much for your time. we appreciate your. insights >> thanks for having. me >> across the united states interface groups are calling for an immediate cease fire from gaza. philadelphia's busy trying so, brought to a standstill by hundreds of protesters from judas voice for peace, the palestine coalition, and other faith leaders. all demanding cease-fire from the israeli airstrikes, and ground oscar. in miami, muslims and other protests station 48 hours students across the city, the event name 48 hours and solidarity is a reference to the 1948 arab israeli war. this didn't begin concluded

with a candlelight vigil, thursday night. >> we'll head to lebanon, in a moment in the highly anticipated high from the leaderer of hezbollalah, a regin already on edge with fears of a widening clumps, like you're watching cnn. back in a moment.

welcome back 19 minutes past the hour, according to u.s. intelligence around and its proxies of publicly supporting hamas, while the same time trying to avoid a direct conflictct with israelel, or the u.s.. at least for now. iran-backed militant fires arere carried out combat drills, on israeli targets, the u.s. official tells cnn, tehran is well aware that hezbolollah escalates conflict and would likely but counterattacks between iran, that would be devastating. iran does not maintain perfect control over all of its proxies across the region. >> the level we've activity, indicates to me that hezbollah wants to do just enough to demonstrate hall solidarity with hamas, without actually getting themselves in a war. >> hezbollah has a lot to lose here but, lebanon but in a total state of chaos, it's a failed. state hezbollah has a lot to do

about that. the one good thing in recent months, that is happened because in lebanon, is the offshore gas deal. hezbollah had an option to try to google that, or take some credit for it. and chose the latter. they understand they're being held responsible, if lebanon goes to a terrible throw as a result of their actions. >> at the same time, the idf is reported escalation in cross border attacks in the north, with increased rocket fire from hezbollah militants, in lebanon on thursday. israeli military ramping up airstrikes, in response. the exchange of fire is now at the highest level since the -- baha'i hand hostilities began shortly after the october 7th hamas attack on israel. israeli's strikes and ground occasion and gaza. >> in the coming hours, the heads of hezbollah is expected to make its first public remarks since the israel-hamas war began. it will be closely watched across the region, for any intention of what the militant

groups may be. >> has both silence to this point has been, unsteadily and ben wedeman explains why. >> >> the message on clips circulating on social media, ambiguous. but ominous. they are stoking anticipation for a televised speech by hezbollah leader, hassan nasrallah, scheduled for friday afternoon. daily, since the 8th of october, hezbollah and israel have been exchanging fire across the border. it's not a full blown war, yet. >> i feel a sense of doom in lebanon. >> professor -- has lived through all his countries travails. >> some of them are afraid that we might be on the verge of the apocalypse. so i've never seen this much tension in this country.

>> hezbollah's leader has been unusually quiet since the war broke out in gaza. but his allies in iran have made it clear, if israel crosses, red lines in its operations against hamas, new fronts could open. >> and what are those red lines? >> these red lines for hezbollah, hamas leadership, hamas remaining intact as an organization, and of course, the palestinian people themselves preventing another -- from occurring, are hezbollah's red lines. they are also iran's red lines, they are hamas and islamic jihad's red lines. they are everyone's red lines in the resistance act. >> -- in 1948, hundreds of thousands of palestinians fled or were

expelled from their homes, in what is now israel. as the fighting in gaza intensifies, and the civilian death toll soars, the prospect of regional war looms. and that could spell disaster for lebanon. a country already in a state of economic collapse and political paralysis. >> a war with israel would literally send the country back, not to the stone ages, but pre-stone ages, probably, unfortunately. it's not something that the country, it would take ages to recover from. >> on beirut's cornish, 70 -year-old retired bank employee, -- , waits for the fish to bite. >> nobody knows what's going to happen, he tells me, everyone is worried. the situation is not reassuring. >> the sea appears calm, but a storm may be coming. ben wedeman, cnn, beirut. for a second a few hundred foreign nationals manila add to we'd gotten in a moment we'll hear from an american doctor who's just arrived in egypt, as well as the head of the aid group she volunteered to work

for.

you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project.

we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ welcome back, 27 minutes past the hour. in past few hours night sky over northern gaza has been lit up by a barrage of flares and explosions, cnn crews reporting what appears to be an escalating israeli air offensive, intense since israel attacked hamas last month. gaza city is completely surrounded by israeli forces, according to idf commanders. we have more details now from cnn's ed lavandera. >> but >> the firefight on the ground has intensified for days, now israeli mimilitary leaders say its foforces have enterered gaza city. israeli defense forces,

released these video images of soldiers m moving through h ther ravaged streets of gaza. >> [speaking in a non-english language] >> translator: >> our soldiers have been operating gaza city from the past few, days surrounding from several directions, deepening operations. our forces are significant areas of gaza city. >> israeli forces made their way into the northern and central areas of gaza as well. this is where it says, hamas military leaders are big leave to be opoperating fromom a sophisisticated system of ununderground tunnels. >> i israel defense forces officials, say more ththan 10,00 munitions have been fired into gaza, striking thousands of targets. >> but [speaking in a non-english language] >> translator: fighters of the idf continue to probe have and gaza, holding battles face to face with hamas terrorist deepening the combat. >> hamas released this video of what it says arts fighters are merging from underground tunnels, attacking israeli soldiers inside gaza. the video does capture the

dangerous nature of this ground fire. >> the military wing of hamas also says it released this video showing the moment, of an aerial drone dropping munitions on a gathering of israeli forces in northeast gaza. the >> fighting has taking a deadly toll across the gaza strip since october 7th, over 9000 have been killed here, according to palestinian health officials in the mosque controlled enclave. >> israeli aerial strikes have led massive craters, in residential refugee urges as the military says it's trying to dismantle hamas military operations underground. this really military says 20 idf soldiers have been killed in the gaza operation. one of those was 20 year old, -- >> [speaking in a non-english language] his funeral service brought out hundreds of mourners, near jerusalem on thursday. but >> we have an update now

from the idf which of course increase in number of israeli soldiers killed in gaza, that death toll now stands at 23. >> last hour spoke with john spencer, an army major chair of urban war studies a west palm's modern warfare institute, about the possibility of destroying hamas's infrastructure, as well of its leadership without a painfully high number of civilians casualties. now how to beta -- >> unfortunately that is modern warfare, all the laws of war that we created since world war ii, i can't point you to a seamless battle, not the battle pollution, not the battle of school, where you could say there was zero civilian casualties. you do everything you can to get all the civilians out, and like you said, that will be a long bloody destructive battle. into gaza city, it will look like the indiscriminately leveled the city, when actually

they didn't. it's unfortunate the nature of urban warfare. even the civilian casualties that we are seeing now, and we believe the reporting, is not unlike badly we seen supported by the u.s.. >> for second day, hundreds of foreign nationals have arrived in egypt from gaza. egyptian officials in the southern rafah crossing say more than 340 were over the border on thursday, as part of a deal brokered by qatar. 74 americans were among. them as well to doctors with the pellston children fund, they arrived in egypt on wednesday. doctor barbara said the arrived in gaza that day before the swiss october 7th attack on israel. she is mixed emotions about leaving. >> i'm doing pretty well. i'm in a halo of relief to be here, i feel awful for the devastation that the cause of people are going through right now. there's really no safe place, that gaza people. >> steve's founder and

president of the palestinian children's refund he's with us now from kent ohio, thank you for being with us. we appreciate your time. >> right now there is a sense of relief with both doctors is it difficult to describe this >> it's good news for barb, and ramona. they deserve it. they suffered a lot during the several weeks they were in gaza, but of course they're two out of 2.2 million people that, there are stalls dillon gaza living under this terrible circumstance or situation and bombings, food shortages in the lack of clean water. that includes over 40 members of our staff, who are all trying to survive. there are no safe places in gaza right now. the conditions on the ground are getting worse every single day, we are actually on the phone with our cancer department, we built up pediatric oncology in gaza, the

first and only department that serves children, they were bombed. you can imagine the terror for those children, the number of casualties are being inflicted every single day there. over 100 children being killed, every single day. from bombs dropping on their homes, on hospitals, on churches, on mosques, on schools, and we are quite concerned with the people, and the welfare of the people of the ground there. you >> mentioned the conditions, that they were living under a we spoke to cnn about those conditions and essentially what she had been dealing with for almost a month now here she is. >>, it's been scary in the last two weeks here, when we kept running out of water, and the water to flush the toilet, we're fortunate to have drinking water, which is not true of the gazans that were just outside the fence from us. they were running out of drinking water. >> she told cnn the situation in ghana, what was your

frustration? and the anxiety knowing doctors were in danger? they were in a parking lot. it wasn't a lot you could do, and there wasn't a lot to state department can do? >> i think the state department could've done more. we give egypt an adrenal billions of dollars every year, i'm sure there's some leverage that could've been exercised to get them out. but i won't talk about that right now. i will say on your first point, it was very frustrating for us because, we care very much about barbara and ramona, were responsible for them. they were in a very difficult situation, not only with the lack of food and clean water, as barr mentioned in a place to sleep. but also they were constant explosions and bombings around them. in addition to that, there are thousands of people who are desperate to get in to the u.n. compound and to find at least some sense of security being around foreigners that maybe they were safe, as there are no other safe places in gaza. we were quite concerned, i'm very fortunate they take it out. >> you mentioned, the death toll among children, regarding

civilian casualties in gaza, more than 8000 palestinians have been killed including 3400 children. over 6300 children injured. this means that more than 420 children are being killed or injured every day. a number which should shake each of us to our core. as someone who founded an organization to help children in gaza, how do you process that? are you hoping, is there any recent hope that israel will agree to some kind of humanitarian pause soon? >> that's very hard to process as a human being, let alone someone who's worked in gaza for over 30 years. i know the people there, and have great admiration for the people of gaza. i've never been treated with anything but kindness and hospitality by the people of gaza. despite their circumstances for so many years, we've treated thousands of children, who suffered these kind of casualties and trauma injuries over the years. we've never seen quite like this. it is extremely concerning for

us as an organization, to remain to see the conical joel tees and suffering that's been imposed on the innocent children in gaza. you mentioned 3500, or 3400 been killed so far. that's not including over 1000 children who are buried under rubble, from these bombings of homes and residences, and churches and so on. schools, and mosques and so. those children, many of them buried alive. they are slowly dying, it's just a place where we mention the word medieval it's not even an accurate description, we are not in medieval times, there is no excuse for civil life countries or anyone on the planet dropping bombs on the homes and residences of families within innocent children. in my hopeful, is there a sense of hope. no not at this point there is not. we've seen images of kids being pulled out, and kids who have had these horrific injuries, by the thousands. there is no effort by anyone to put a stop to, not the least of which is the united states government. we are hoping there will be

some four of cease-fire, there will be a chance for at least the civilian population to get some kind of protection in. humanitarian aid, which is desperately needed. >> it's never been this bad before. as you see. there's still reason to hope. it does seem slim. steve, thank you for being with us. we're relieved that those two doctors are out. >> thank you. >> family members hostages in gaza, say no news is good news. in a moment here from three israelis explain why they still have hope, that their loved ones will be set free, and be allowed to return home.

hamas isn't suddenly going to develop a humanitarian backbone and release the children into decked it out of the kindness of its own heart where moving in only to physically free the hostages we've got that pressure on hamas to, release unconditionally. in the united states a very clear there's no excuse for abducting children innocent people and holding them hostage in the gaza strip. >> the families of the hostages up in about four weeks about absolute desperation. cnn sat down with three israelis, and have a more of a dozen family members currently being held by militant groups in gaza. all of them say they're peaceful people who want their family back. >> thank you so much for joining us, i am so sorry for what you're dealing with benign

family members were taken by hamas to have been released three killed how are you coping? >> coping is a big word i think each and every day i wake up, and just start doing everything i can walk, everything in my power to try to bring them back any means necessary. >> two of your family members, our own lists, judith and her teenage daughter natalie was. describe the moment, when you saw those two family members walk across the border, from gaza? >> they've been through. but they got back in the same clothes that they were kidnapped in. we were relieved by their release, and thankful for the

american administration and president joe biden for the efforts to bring them back. it gave us a lot of hope, for returning the other family members, and all the other hostages. >> have they spoken to you about those weeks in captivity? >> we spoke a lot. what has been said in these conversations are between us, we are just happy to have them back. with that one, we don't have the privilege to celebrate what as well but as the privilege to mourn our dead family members, which was buried through these days. i can't allow myself, to really will open myself to feel something, because but it can break me down. and i really need to to keep quote going. every second. until they are all back.

>> of all the family members that have been taken, hostage by hamas, the youngest is just three years old. what are your hopes for the coming days, the coming weeks in terms of getting news for your loved ones? >> when you see the innocence of someone who has her literally her whole life ahead of her, and then you you try to imagine where she is now, under a tunnel, at gunpoint. she is three years old. we are at a point that any news is good news. we hope for any sign of life. >> your cousin and her husband or captured by hamas.

>> my cousin got into a safe room at seven in the morning she started to say she saw terrorist outside her window and the kibbutzes built line by line houses are line by line. so she saw the moving line by line using explosives, yelling, shooting, so at 8:25 in the morning, she texted her mom and said, mom they are shooting at us. the window is shattered. she then left her mom a voice message at 8:30 in the morning, she told her that she loves her, she loves her dearly, and she is sorry she is not there with her. that was it. and at 3:30 when the army controlled thickets, they found a house, glass shattered, bullet holes, signs of struggle,

some blood and they were gone. >> and -- hamas has released a video of your cousin pleading for a cease-fire. we are not going to show that video, but i would like to gauge your reaction upon seeing that and hearing what she said. >> so first and foremost thank you for not showing it. secondly, -- when i saw the video my first reaction was -- to smile because she is alive. just imagine for three weeks not knowing. over three weeks now. not knowing if she is alive, not knowing if she is well. >> several hostages have been released or rescued. does that give you hope? >> it is a very tricky question.

because i have hope. i have had hope for the past three and a half weeks. but we are dealing with a terror organization. >> the israeli prime minister has rejected calls for a cease-fire, saying now is the time for war. qatar which is negotiating hostage releases has said it would jeopardize negotiations. what do you think about that risk? >> i plead and even demand that anyone who has any influence on this matter, put the hostages on the first priority. >> the community that was affected on october 7th was a community that fought at the most for coexistence, and believed in peace. in everything and their power to push for it. we are peaceful people, we want this, we did want revenge. >> if i could turn to you, your

sister and mom, and her husband aged in their 60s, grandparents, taken hostage by hamas. what can you tell us about them? >> -- has dedicated her life to kindergarten, to caretaker. she takes care of babies. her life's family, and my wife says all the time, that if she is in gaza, and if she is taking care of babies, she will be okay. that is her life. she is just one of these very friendly comes to any place that comes super friendly both just gentle people. and it's the last thing i would never imagine from them. >> thank you so much for

sharing your stories and i really hope that you are reunited with your loved ones very soon. thank you. >> thank you for having us. >>

>> welcome back, 53 minutes past the hour. -- in the world of cryptocurrency, but now a jury has found former billionaire sam bankman-fried guilty of fraud and conspiracy after the collapse of his crypto exchange ftx. make them freedoms found guilty on seven counts including stealing billions of dollars from accounts blowing into customers of ftx, defrauding lenders to the company alameda research which helped ftx customer funds and a bank account. the collapse of ftx field a panic in the crypto industry, after an estimated 1 million customers facing potential losses. sentencing of bankman-fried now set for march of next year. mexico's popular resort town of acapulco has been left devastated and struggling to recover days after hurricane otis made landfall. mexican authorities report dozens have died, dozens more remain unaccounted for. cnn espanol's gabrielle freest has our report.

>> this is acapulco looks like eight days after hurricane otis hit as a powerful category five storm. devastating acapulco, and the community of -- authorities reportedly's 46 people, dead and 55 unaccounted for. the president of mexico has said the month of december as a target date to have and his words, packable go back on his feet. to make that happen, there is a very long way to go. access to drinkable water is a challenge. only 30% of the electricity has been restored. telecommunications and internet are still a problem. residents and the business community have three key priorities for authorities. guaranteeing access to drinkable water, security, and the removal of garbage and debris. the smell of garbage snows that noticeable. increasing the risk of infections, and what i want diseases. there is some more hopeful reality in the midst of this

dire situation. local residents, those who, can and citizens from other parts of mexico are here lending a hand to those at thousands of families in need. even international tourists who were caught by surprised by the storm have decided to stay and volunteer. we found two of them won from columbia and one from peru in one of the community centers of the foundation that by -- even local workers and the restaurant industry are lending a hand alongside international chefs, like jimmy mcdonald from connecticut. take a listen. >> i've been volunteering with world central kitchen since the war broke out in ukraine so a couple years now. when i saw on the news that what happened here i had to come help because this was just horrible. but i'm glad that you all are here doing this work because back home in the states you really don't see a lot of what is going on here. so i make sure to try and share

as much as i can on social media, that way people can see that the whole city is just devastated. >> these meals are also reaching isolated communities only reachable by air and helicopter. gabriella freest, cnn acapulco, mexico. >> thank you for being with us for the past two hours. i'm john vause, please stay with, us kim brunhuber will have the real latest on the israel war with hamas after a very short break. we will see right back here next week.

nice footwork. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network.