i'm fredericka witfield.

we'll get to you in a moment, wolf. we're watching several new developments across the middle east as israel pushes through hamas. secretary of state antony blinken met with arab foreign ministers in georgia for a summit. blinken made it clear that now is not the right time for israel to enter a ceasefire. >> it's our view that a ceasefire now simply would leave hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on october 7th. you don't have to take my word for it. just a few days ago a senior hamas official said it was their intent to do october 7th again and again and again. >> we're seeing more air strikes across gaza today as israeli forces close in on gaza city. and significant developments at the rafah border crossing

between scriegypt and gaza. the u.s. official says israel is blocking until it guarantees ambulances can make the crossing. we're continuing to watch major developments on the ground here in the region. cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson is joining us. he's right near the israel/gaza border. today there was an explosion at a u.n.-run school in gaza which was serving as a shelter in a refugee camp in northern gaza. so far the idf has not responded to cnn for comment. what more are you learning about that blast at the u.n. school? >> reporter: wolf, the u.n. agency relief and humanitarian agency that runs it inside of gaza say that it was sheltering

about 16,000 civilians. people often go to these u.n. schools in gaza to get away from the possibility of being hit by missiles because they think the schools are safe because they're u.n. run. the u.n. is saying that in the sort of courtyard area where people had their tents pitched, that's where the missiles struck, according to the u.n. they say that 15 civilians were killed 70 wounded. this school is in the jabalia refugee camp. of course, in the past couple of days there have been strikes there where the idf was targetitarget ing hamas control and command center and just yesterday targeted a convoy of ambulances that the icrc said the international committee for the red cross said was getting ready to be a humanitarian convoy to go to the south of gaza.

but the idf said inside one of those balambulances there was hs operatives or hamas weapons. that said, that attack caused 15 civilian deaths and 80 civilian casualties. so to have something like this at a u.n.-run school in the jabalia refugee camp gets to the center of what secretary of state antony blinken is talking about with counterparts from the region. we've heard from the egyptian foreign minister saying that israel's strikes at the moment are not a legitimate form of defense. of course, this is part of the conversation with secretary blinken. when you get a situation like that, again, in this school in gaza today, again, it highlights the civilian casualty toll at a time when there is so much pressure increasing on israel to

call for a ceasefire, wolf. >> as you noted, israel has claimed responsibility for that strike on an ambulance convoy near gaza's largest hospital which caused several civilian casualties. we also saw a strike near a hospital in northern gaza. what is the idf saying about those two incidents? >> reporter: about this strike near the al quds hospital, there was video from there and the palestinian officials in gaza who give all the figures that we have that come from gaza say that there were 21 civilian casualties around the impact that was just outside the al quds hospital. again, palestinians talk about how they used the hospitals as a place to go that they think will be safer. and we heard from another

hospital today in the northern part of gaza, they say there was an idf strike there on their main generator. they say they have 70 patients they're treating in that hospital that they're now essentially unable to treat because they don't have power from their main generator. the idf hasn't responded specifically to these incidents. what the idf has drawn attention to today is the humanitarian corridor they've opened from the north of gaza to the south. they've told civilians to leave the north of gaza. according to u.n. figures, between 800,000 and a million people have moved from the north of gaza to the south. but this corridor on the main highway runs north/south in gaza. between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. today, the idf said it would be safe to travel. the idf now says while their soldiers were patrolling that

route, they were targeted by mortars and rocket fire by hamas, which shows you how tenuous and potentially dangerous not just for the idf but also for the civilians on these humanitarian corridors. it's a very, very dangerous and precarious situation, continues to be that way in gaza, hamas targeting idf troops as they're trying to hold open a humanitarian corridor. >> nic robertson, thank you very much. stay safe over there in sderot. hundreds of foreigners, including many americans, are so decesperate to get out of gaza. the the white house says the u.s. embassy in cairo has helped more than 100 u.s. citizens and families out of gaza since

wednesday. cnn's melissa bell is joining us from cairo. >> reporter: the 700 or so people, including 400 americans that had been due to get out today that were on that list, they simply haven't been able to get out. no one has gotten out of rafah today after the ability to get out was linked to the safe passage of ambulances to get out. both the palestinian health authorities and the red cross say a convoy had been heading down to rafah to take the wounded. very difficult to see how this can get unblocked. from the start the question of whether the rafah crossing would be open to civilians was linked

in negotiations by hamas to the exiting of wounded palestinians. initially hamas wanted some of their wounded to be included there that deal. that fell through has unacceptable to israel. it was all unblocked tuesday because hamas backed down and said, fine, they won't be hamas fighters, but they need to be wounded palestinians. since then, several dozen have gotten out. now that appears to have stopped. we've been hearing today from david satter field, the u.n. special envoy to the middle east talking about the importance to open rafah and actually to see more points in the south open given the humanitarian needs that are involved in the south of gaza. a fairly catastrophic situation for the civilians there. >> i want to bring in retired u.s. army brigadier general mark

k kimmet for analysis. secretary of state antony blinken met with authorities in jordan. he said israel should not enter a ceasefire because that would only allow hamas to regroup. would a ceasefire only hurt israel's goal of destroying hamas? >> well, wolf, it's good to see that the administration did this flip-flop. of course, when secretary of state antony blinken came in, he was calling for humanitarian pause. i think after consultation with both the israelis and the arab leaders, he recognized this is not the time to do that. you're absolutely right, this would give hamas a chance to reorganize particularly since so many of their facilities have been bombed. it would give them a chance to repair their communications, probably build new headquarters, probably get some of their fighters out on these ambulances that they're demanding, allow

them to continue firing on that humanitarian corridor to kill their own people. so this is not the time for a ceasefire, but if they do agree, it would likely be a ground ceasefire since the forces have already encircled gaza city. i don't see the idf stopping their air campaign. >> the israelis here are making it abundantly clear they're not going to accept any ceasefire at all because that would give hamas an opportunity to regroup and potentially come back and do what they did on october 7th, come into israel and kill 1400 people at those various communities along the border with gaza and capture and bring back to gaza 241 or 242 hostages. the israeli military again called on gaza residents to move south today as it focuses its offensive against hamas on gaza

city and northern parts of the enclave. in your view, is the israeli military doing enough to ensure civilians are allowed to escape the war zone? >> i think the important thing is -- i'm not on the ground, so i can't really make a judgment. but we do have david satter field, one of our finest diplomats. i'm going to defer to his view. if he doesn't believe the idf is doing enough, the united states ought to be putting pressure on the israelis to allow that to happen. >> israeli ground forces are closing in on gaza city. what challenges will israel likely face as they try to root out hamas terrorists around that area? >> this is the toughest kind of fighting for ground forces to do. all the advantages that they have, tanks, long-range

artillery, long-range anti-tank weapons, to a great extent those capabilities are neutralized. this is door to door, house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood, sniignificant numr of casualties and all of this done with civilians in the area. i've never seen it done quickly. fallujah took about nine weeks, mosul took about nine months. i would not expect the israelis to do it any quicker. >> i was in fallujah and mosul. i remember vividly what was going on then. one of the major complications the israelis have are all these underground tunnels hamas has bu built. presumably some of those hostages are being held in those tunnels. back in 2014, i was allowed to go in one of the tunnels from gaza into israel. it's a real complicating factor.

>> it certainly is. we talk about our times in vietnam when we sent specialized american troops into these tunnels set up by the vietcong. we called them tunnel rats. what it took to clear those tunnels was enormous compared to regular ground combat. the israelis will have to get into these opportunities where the storage of supplies is and where the troops are. unfortunately it may well be that's where the hostages are. they've made urban fighting far more complicated by the presence of these tunnels. that's why this is, as prime minister netanyahu says, this is going to be a long war if they're going to fight it. >> that's what i was told the other day at a briefing with the senior israeli military officer who said not days, not weeks, but months this is going to go on. thanks so much for joining us.

appreciate it. >> you stay safe, wolf. >> fred, back to you. happening right now in washington, d.c. pro palestinian demonstrators are holding a rally in support of a ceasefire in the israel/hamas war. organizers expect thousands to join in a march later on today as well which ends with a vigil across the street from the white house. gabe cohen joins us live from freedom plaza in washington, d.c. gabe, tell us what's happening. >> reporter: i have to admit, i can't hear you particularly well. the crowd has grown rapidly here in the last few minutes. you can see here freedom plaza now filled with these protesters. it even extends out into the streets behind me, shutting down several blocks here in washington, d.c. we just heard the speaker say

there are buses that haven't been able to get into this area with even more people who are coming. we expect this crowd is going to grow even more. organizers said it would be the largest free palestine rally in u.s. history. that remains to be seen. we are going to see speeches starting in the next few minutes until 4:00 p.m. eastern. then demonstrators are going to march to the white house, where they're going to demonstrate there. what we expect to hear in these speeches is more political pressure on president biden to call for a ceasefire and break that unequivocal support that he and u.s. leaders have offered israel up to this point. we have heard not just from people here, but congressional leaders like rashida tlaib who said if the president doesn't call for a ceasefire, potentially she and others would

urge voters not to vote for him in 2024. again, we're expecting more of that political pressure from speakers here today, fred. >> gabe cohen, appreciate it. up next, from protests to threats, american college campuses are being challenged on how to handle today's social activism as the conflict between israel and hamas escalates.

cornell university officials announced classes will resume on monday. cnn's danny freeman is on the campus of the university of pennsylvania, which has also seen a major controversial surrounding the israel/hamas war. danny. >> reporter: fred, listen, it's so secret that college campuses have really had a challenging few weeks. as you said, penn and cornell

have been at the center of a lot of it. cornell cancelled classes on friday after a student was arrested for making anti-semitic threats toward other students. here at penn, there's been a backlash from donors over an argument that the school has not done enough to fight back against anti-semitism. both schools are here in philadelphia. they're on the football field today because it's university of pennsylvania's homecoming weekend. there's clearly an effort to make a cheerful atmosphere. but this conflict and tense is still very much on people's mind. take a listen to one student we spoke with and also one alum just moments ago. >> do students feel safe? >> i want to tell you they don't. right now i think people are unsafe emotionally at the pain of other people, watching it, feeling it and seeing it is absolute trauma. >> i'm very uncomfortable with the anti-semitism and basically

racism in any way is horrible. it's based on ignorance. people are very uncomfortable. >> reporter: here at penn just few days ago the president of the university announced an action plan to combat anti-semitism, saying in a message to this large university of pennsylvania community, we must find and build common ground and be a community that sees, hears and supports all of its members. again, an effort this weekend definitely to put on a cheerful atmosphere for homecoming, but these two universities playing on the football field have been through it the past few weeks. >> thank you so much. i'm joined ed by the ceo of research for common ground. we're talking about a

21-year-old cornell university junior who was arrested and faces federal charges now in connection with online posts and threats against jewish students. so college campuses have long been a place to host and even foster social justice movements. is what we're seeing on campus today different or in step with historical conflicts on campus, in your view? >> thanks for having me, fred. yes, at search for common ground we've had a lot of experience with youth activism for social change. whenever fundamental or radical change is needed on almost any social or political issue, young adults are almost always the ones to initiate it. this is why they're often times

the big heros of driving these kind of changes. martin liuther king and nelson mandela were young when they lead. gandhi was only 24 when he established the indian congress in south africa. you're right. there's not only a tradition, but it's almost always started by young adults. unfortunately, what's happening on college campuses today in the u.s. is reflective of what's happening in our society more broadly. young adults who are arriving on college campus today who are growing up with an incredibly adversarial and political discourse, popular culture and social media that all of this generation has grown up with doesn't prepare them particularly well for what is

the most diverse community they've ever been a part of. so, yes, you have on the one hand the horrible incidences you talked about, outright violence, swastikas on walls on the campus, an anonymous death threat against a palestinian administration member. so we are sigeeing that. it is gratifying that most of what we're seeing is not only nonviolent but is not engaged in threatening behavior. >> from civil rights ms movemeno the vietnam war to lgbtq issues, these movements are expressed on campus. but now as we highlight the case out of cornell with a federal hate crime, is this just the beginning as this conflict in the middle east seems far from over? is it your worry or concern

there will be other incidents that rise to that level? >> i mean, this war has been obscene from the very start from the attacks, the slaughters committed by hamas on october 7th, unspeakable attacks that were entirely unjustified to 2,000 bombs being dropped this week on a refugee camp, a densely populated urban center. as a result we're not going to have peace made in the antiseptic halls in the back rooms in geneva or whatever, it's also made by people deeply traumatized by the violence coming together and figuring out a way forward. i'm absolutely concerned we'll see more extremist violence, threats, anti-semitism, islam

phobia. unfortunately as i think you know, long before this war we were already seeing years of increases in this kind of hate-filled rhetoric. so this is only fuelling that. i think it's very important to highlight those incidences which are actually in the majority where not only have campuses done the right thing, but where often times the campus and even the students have taken the lead in reaching out across dividing lines. muslim and christian students reaching out to escort jewish students. and a lot of activism that isn't reported on as much as the hate-filled actions that we really need to support and amplify. >> is there something different that you think leadership on college campuses should be doing

to get ahead of what is likely to be more conflict of opinion? >> yeah. i think there are two things campuses have to do. the fact that we quickly set up a resource center for anyone who wants to help address this you at campusunite.org. on one hand they have to do everything to prevent the violence, intimidation, vandalism intended to threaten or intimidate and when those things do happen, to respond to them in a way that takes care of the vulnerable communities and students. in addition to that, you're en having to give students the experience and train them to engage in civil discourse.

the campuses that have done that and some of the tools they've used are at the campus.org website. you're not seeing the same kind of vitriol. one of the things we've seen with college students everywhere is that the single most important experience for them to have in order to embrace being a constructive member of their diverse campus is not the experience of being agreed with all the time. it's actually the experience of being heard and respected. what people do when they don't feel heard and respected is they double down all the more. if you can give students the experience and skills to facilitate those kinds of conversations, they can actually lead the way and drive some of the fundamental change that on this conflict is really needed. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is meeting with arab leaders from jordan and

egypt today avenue meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu on friday. what those leaders are saying, next.

cnn was part of the first group of foreign press granted access to israeli forces inside gaza. journalists embedded with the idf in gaza operate under the observation of israeli commanders in the field and are not permitted to move unaccompanied within the gaza strip. as condition to enter, outlets have to submit all footage to the idf for review prior to publication. here's cnn's jeremy diamond from inside gaza.

>> reporter: we're right now at an israeli military post inside the gaza strip about one kilometer inside of gaza. gaza city is just this way. as you can hear behind me, there is a lot of ongoing fighting between israeli forces and hamas militants. they're trying to flank the hamas positions. that's what the battalion commander just told me. all of this intended to try and cut off gaza city from the southern part of the strip as israeli forces also move in from the north. >> we're going to have much more of jeremy's reporting from inside gaza in the hours ahead, including in the next hour right at the top. meantime today secretary of state antony blinken met with officials from several arab countries in amman, jordan, to discuss the situation inside gaza. jennifer hansler is joining us live. the arab foreign ministers are calling for an immediate

ceasefire in gaza. what has secretary blinken said? >> reporter: secretary blinken continues to maintain his opposition to a ceasefire in gaza at this time. he says the u.s. assesses this will give hamas time to regroup and potentially attack israel yet again. it puts him at odds with almost everyone who sat at that table with him today. you heard from foreign ministers from jordan and egypt. egypt has called for a humanitarian ceasefire citing the toll on the ground in gaza. it's important to note that blinken did try to down pplay t differences between the u.s. and their partners saying they agreed ultimately that they have the same objectives but not the same means of getting there. he also said they did agree to

try to stem any further escalation of this war. this is what he said at a press conference after that summit. >> throughout this conflict, countries across the middle east and beyond have played an essential role in preventing its spread. today, we all agreed on the importance of using our respective influence and capabilities to deter any state or nonstate actor of opening another front in this conflict or taking other destabilizing actions. >> reporter: we also saw blinken this morning meet with the acting prime minister of lebanon and emphasized concern about the skirmishes we've seen between southern lebanon and northern israel. we saw the head of hezbollah take a medium stance here on the conflict and didn't necessarily commit to getting involved here. so the u.s. is trying to take

advantage of this window to keep any conflict from spreading here, wolf. >> jennifer hansler from amman, jordan, thank you very much. israel's blood supply has certainly become a critical resource, especially during wartime. it can help determine if a person lives or dies. i visited what is believed to be the only shielded underground blood bank in the world right here in israel where the country's entire blood supply is tested and processed. on the surface, it looks like an ordinary office building, but it's what lies beneath that makes this fa scility one of a kind. >> you can't live without blood. >> reporter: just outside of tel aviv, nearly 50 feet below ground lies what is believed to be the world's only shielded underground blood bank. israel's entire blood supply is processed and tested here at the marcus national blood services

center. >> the whole idea of this place is because we built it in a shelter. we are now in a shelter. >> deep below the ground. >> yes. >> because this presumably would be a major target for israel's enemies. >> absolutely. and we were very concerned a bt t about the people and the blood pres >> reporter: it is now more vital than ever in a country at war. >> we distribute blood to all the hospitals and to the army. when we evacuate a patient, either the civilian or the military ambulances or helicopters, they get blood on the way to the hospital already provided by us. >> reporter: there are three levels underground, each more secure than the next and all designed to operate even if there is a direct attack. they sort, label and test the

blood. >> we are in the testing laboratory, which we call the mega lab. we put all the tubes in here and everything is automated. >> so this is state of the art technology? >> absolutely. then the results are transmitted to the main computer system. here you can see they're waiting fir theirfor their turn. >> reporter: the center handles more than blood. they also handle plasma. it is stored frozen. >> minus 30 degrees. >> reporter: running all of this requires electricity. where are we going now? >> now we're going to the mainu 3. >> so deep underground. if rockets or bombs hit on the

top, people in this building would be safe? >> absolutely. everything that we do will be safe. >> reporter: the power for the whole operation is protected by enormous blast doors that are some of the largest in israel. >> in emergency when we get an alert from the idf, we close the blast doors. >> reporter: this facility is et up deep underground and protects blood for a country at war. >> we're very deep underground. it's very secure. >> absolutely. we talked about windows. the outer window is a shelter window, which we close. in peacetime we can open it so daylight can come in. >> this is not peacetime now. >> absolutely. >> no. very impressive facility indeed.

happening right now, gop candidates are speaking to voteters at t the flororida fre susummit.. we'r're going toto go therere f report whehen we come e back.

gop presidential candidates are in kissimmee, florida, today at the freedom summit. and already fireworks with chris christie responding to boos saying their anger against the truth is reprehensible. christie is among the most vocal of opponents against former president trump. other notable speakers at the summit today, florida governor ron desantis, lawmakers matt gaetz and byron donalds. joining me is cnn reporter elena treen who is at the summit. christie did not back down at all, did he? >> reporter: no, fred, he did not. i have to say today is really an opportunity for all of the republican primary candidates to make their case to florida

voters. we've heard from many of them already today. governor hutchinson from arkansas, chris christie repeatedly and loudly booed for speaking negatively about donald trump. i think that shows you how pro-trump this crowd is. they really did not want to hear much of what they had to say, particularly when it was negative about the former president. let's listen to what they said and the response from the crowd. >> what a shock you're for trump. i'm going to fall over dead. the problem is you fear the truth. the problem is you want to shout down any voice that says anything different than what you want to hear. >> i can say that there is a significant likelihood that donald trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year.

>> reporter: now, fred, we are currently hearing from casey desantis, the first lady of florida and the governor ron desantis is going to be speaking here shortly. then later today we will hear from former president trump, who will be headlining this summit. i have to say this crowd, again, even though they're hearing from all of these different candidates, they're really focused on desantis and donald trump, the two candidates from florida. i think when desantis takes the stage shortly, he has a challenge ahead of him. he needs to try to draw support away from donald trump, especially away from donors who in recent weeks have been flocking to the former president. i think you're going to hear him really hammer in on his record here in florida and try to make the case for why he is a better candidate than the former president. but of course he has to thread a very careful needle, because a lot of people in this room are fans of donald trump.

they do not want to hear desantis speaking negatively about them or he could be booed like some of the other candidates today. we're going to hear him shortly after casey desantis leaves this stage. i think you're going to hear a big call for them to rally around him and his record in florida. i think you're going to see some cheers. we've heard many cheers from desantis supporters in the room. a lot more to come, fred. >> keep us posted. we'll be right back.

the palestinian american family in morning after 42 of

their relatives were killed by airstrikes in gaza. in one day's time, three generation of this family work on. the youngest just 3 months old. some images you're about to see are disturbing. isabel rosales brings us the story. >> reporter: a crowd of neighbors and survivors working together to bury loved ones. wrapped in white burials roads, bodies are carried and lined up inside a mass grave. they belong to one family. thousands of miles away in the u.s., family members across three states are united in grief. >> i am in this nightmare. >> reporter: in florida, they cannot bear the unimaginable loss. three generations gone in a single day. back to back airstrikes of families in gaza killing 42 relatives that, the youngest is

3-month-old. a video shot by a neighbor shows charred ruins and rubble, all that is left of the family compound. >> we have never seen in this day and age where the whole world is watching, innocent people are being torn apart. families wiped off the map. >> reporter: the family lames the deaths on is really airstrikes. cnn cannot independently confirm it. israel has launched numerous airstrikes since the terror attacks on october 7 including multiple strikes in the area that today. the israel defense forces did not comment on the purported airstrikes. >> in my family, there are no hamas members. they are ordinary people. grandmothers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles and children. if you want to exterminate

hamas, you should go to the source. >> reporter: and the brothers will doctors. family members say they operated the largest network of independent eye networks. survivors pulled body after body from beneath the rubble including his uncle, his wife, and some. they had recently left her home in a different part of the city to stay at the compound. >> previously where they were before, they were told to evacuate and they assumed they would be safe and went to a safe house, basically. >> reporter: watching from afar in ohio, she is pleading not only for a cease-fire, but long- term action. >> we cannot say that it is over. you have to give them dignity. you have to give palestinians a place to call home. >> reporter: in minnesota, committee members philip and islamic center, praying on behalf of the family.

in the face of so much loss, the family has no time to properly mourn. >> there is a sense of helplessness. the only thing we can do is pray.