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IDF: Missing Israeli Soldier Is Dead; Israel Soldiers Redeployed; First U.S. Ebola Patient Stateside

Aired August 02, 2014 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause reporting from Gaza.

HARLOW: At this hour, more rocket fire today from Gaza into Israel, more airstrikes and artillery from Israel into Gaza. Just today alone, officials in Gaza say 50 people were killed in the same period of time Israel reports hitting what they call hundreds of terror targets. More than 1,600 people have now died in Gaza in this recent military offensive, 61 Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting.

This is what Israel has been focusing on. The tunnels that they say allow those Hamas militants to enter Israel and attack Israeli troops and go back into Gaza.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a short time go that destroying the tunnels remains a top priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our forces are accomplishing the work on the tunnels. Up until now, tens of tunnels were destroyed. We managed to hurt severely the strategic system that Hamas actually built for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. I want to go straight to our John Vause who is in Gaza.

John, you are on the ground there. Tell us a little bit about your situation at this hour.

VAUSE: Well, Poppy, the military operations in Gaza continue, even though some of these troops have withdrawn, especially in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli tank fire and artillery continues to hit the southern part of Rafah. That is where Israeli soldiers are searching for one of their own, captured -- missing rather, and believed captured.

And the death toll on Saturday, the Palestinian civilians hit 112 in one day alone. Here in Gaza City, we can still hear the drones above. There has been artillery fire throughout this evening. And also, there was a drone strike not far from our office.

This is what it sounded like.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

VAUSE: It was pretty close. It was the closest it has come so far. As you say, these operations continue. There is still the sound of explosions and fire here to the east of Gaza City.

Matthew Chance now is standing by live for us in Jerusalem. He has more reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu's speech.

And, Matthew, the prime minister there is really defying international calls for him to end this operation because of the high casualties. He's saying this operation will be done when it is done.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, that speech by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a very emotional press conference by the family of that missing Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, believed to have been captured by Hamas militants within the past few seconds, John, as were you talking to me.

We had confirmation from the Israeli military, the IDF, that Lieutenant Hadar has been confirmed as killed in action. There has been meetings with the family members of Lieutenant Hadar, Lieutenant Goldin, rather, near Tel Aviv at their family home. They have been meeting with the defense minister, with the chief rabbi of the Israeli military, with other senior military officials in Israel talking them through the process which has led the military to conclude this.

From the statement that I just have been reading, there doesn't appear any indication of what evidence they have of this. It doesn't say, whether or not, for instance, there is a body that the Israelis have. But, clearly, they are saying at this point, they believe that this soldier, this 23-year-old Hadar Goldin, second lieutenant in the elite force that was exploring and trying to destroy tunnels from various locations in the southern Gaza Strip has now been confirmed dead.

That is terrible news, of course, for the family of Lieutenant Hadar. It brings to 64 now confirmed, the number of Israeli soldiers that have been killed in this conflict since it began on July 8th, which is, of course, an enormous toll from an Israeli point of view. It pales in significance in numerical terms, compared to the 1,700 or so Palestinians that have been killed. But it means that in Israeli terms, attitudes are hardened.

That's why the Israeli prime minister addressed tonight said that military operation will continue until quiet has been restored in the Gaza Strip and security has been guaranteed for the people of Israel -- John.

VAUSE: Matthew, I realize this is early. This information coming this is a developing story right now, but what we're being told is that there has been this intensive search down south, there were Israeli tanks in the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Rafah, area controlled by Israel under international law, sealing off that border into Egypt.

We're also told that the IDF has sealed off all the roads to the north, essentially if Lieutenant Goldin was captured, the militants who were holding couldn't get out of that region. They are shelling it. There have been airstrikes.

What is the latest if you know on that operation in southern Rafah? Presumably if they believe that he is now dead, that operation will be wrapping up and those soldiers presumably again will be leaving.

CHANCE: Well, that's right. Of course, Hamas that had been accused of capturing Hadar Goldin, this Israeli soldier, had from the outset denied they had an Israeli soldier in their custody, that they seized this lieutenant, saying that they lost contact with their fighters in the southern Gaza strip, where that military operation has been taking place. And where if he had been captured by their fighters, they believe he could have been killed. They lost contact with those fighters.

It was a ferocious airstrike or series of airstrikes following the capture of the Israeli soldier. You know, Hamas militants saying they believe their fighters, along with any Israeli soldier may have been killed in those airstrikes that followed the incident.

And so, yes, there has been a huge upsurge. You will be able to tell us better than anyone in the military operations taking place in that southern Gaza Strip. Dozens of people killed in the immediate aftermath of that incident.

But, obviously, this confirmation now coming to us from the Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli military, that as far as they are concerned, Hadar Goldin has been confirmed dead, killed in action, the family have now been notified, just a few hours after the family had gone out on television here in Israel and spoke to CNN.

CNN spoke to the brother of Lieutenant Goldin, appealing to Hamas militants for the safe return of their family member, of his brother. Obviously, that's not going to be a possibility now. Again, we don't know the status of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin's body at this stage. Hopefully, we get some clarity in the coming hours, in the coming days about the situation regarding that, John.

VAUSE: And, Matthew, from a political point of view, without sounding gruesome here, because someone has died, as many people have died throughout this conflict. We're talking about the fact -- we should say, we're talking about between Palestinian death toll of around 1,700. But the reason why we are focusing on this soldier because he was missing, he was captured, and now that he is confirmed dead, at least according to the IDF. That, in a way, makes it a lot easier at least politically for the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

CHANCE: I think there is a lot of truth in that. It's one of the big strengths, but it's also one of the big weaknesses of the Israeli military that they do deals and they have done deals in the past with militants regarding the return of captured soldiers, back in 2006, of course, with Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in the same area actually of the Gaza Strip by militants there.

He was held captive for five years. No one saw him for the period. The Red Cross did not get access to him in captivity. He was exchanged five years later for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. And so, that was a very difficult national trauma for Israelis. And, you know, at the same time, it is a kind of commitment that Israeli military have, if there's a soldier that's captured, they do everything they can, they say, to get that soldier back.

So, while I won't say the prime minister of Israel will be relieved of this, I think you are right. It does make the job that he has ahead of him a little easier from a political point of view, press ahead with the offensive. He wants to do that, and he says that he does in Gaza without the consideration that the Israeli life at stake in the hands of Hamas militants, and without consideration that at some point in the future, this soldier may be used as a bargaining chip. That's not something that will not be able to happen obviously.

VAUSE: OK. Matthew, we'd like you to stay with us, of course, there is breaking news right now that Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin who was missing, believed captured, according to the IDF now confirmed dead. We'll have much more on this. We'll have a short break right now.

But we'll be back with Matthew Chance and a panel of experts to talk about the implications of this and that speech which was delivered by Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in Israel.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back to CNN.

We have breaking news to you from this region. We are being told by the Israeli Defense Forces that the missing Israeli soldier, Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, is now dead. They are not saying how they arrived to that conclusion, and they have not said if they found a body at this stage. But they are confirming after intensive search of the Rafah area, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, this soldier from the elite Givati Brigade is in fact confirmed dead. We are told his parents and family have now been informed.

Matthew Chance once again with us in Jerusalem.

So, Matthew, in some ways they know that Second Lieutenant Goldin is dead, how does that change the equation here?

CHANCE: Well, as we were discussing a few moments ago, I think it simplifies the equation somewhat from the Israeli point of view. You know, in the past, when Hamas militants, militants in the Gaza Strip, have captured Israeli soldiers, it's led to enormously complicated national trauma here in Israel. I mentioned the 2006 capture of Gilad Shalit by militants in Gaza, by Hamas in Gaza.

It took five years before the Israelis were able to get him to return to his family. It cost them a huge price in negotiations. They had to return 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. It was seen as a huge propaganda victory for the militants in Hamas.

And I think the Israelis were very keen to avoid a similar scenario taking place over this soldier who they believe to be captured as well. So, on one hand, it simplifies the equation for the Israeli government. They can now press ahead unhindered as it were in their offensive in the Gaza Strip. And, indeed, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has indicated in a national television address that that's exactly what he wants to do.

At the same time, of course, it adds yet another casualty to the growing number of Israeli dead. It's now, what is it, 64 soldiers plus a number of civilians. Two civilians, Israeli civilians, one migrant worker here and Thai national. So, 67 people all together in Israel confirmed dead since the start of this military action at the beginning of July, on the 8th of July.

Of course, that pales in significant numerically compared to the 1,700 or more Palestinians that have been killed by this. But, nevertheless, from the political point of view in Israel, it is an extraordinarily high death toll. And that will add to pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu for a sort of speedy end or speedy conclusion to this military operation that he is still conducting now, as you know very well, in the Gaza Strip, John.

VAUSE: OK. Matthew, we thank you for that. Matthew Chance live for us in Jerusalem.

We will continue on for more on the implications of this now that this missing Israeli soldier has been found.

Bob Baer, a former CIA operative, also a CNN contributor, is with us in Los Angeles, and Kimberly Dozier, former CBS correspondent, and old colleague of mine from time in Jerusalem, and our global affairs analyst in Washington, I believe.

So, Bob, I want to start with you. What we have seen over the last 24 hours or so I think is something which is called the Hannibal directive that the Israelis carry out. Can you explain what that is?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I mean, you know if they had a prisoner that they knew was captured, it would be enormous distraction for the IDF. We are there to go on and they have to look for him. They'd have to -- all intelligence has to stand down, commit thousands of troops, and prolong this. What we are seeing is they're going to be able to get on with the destruction of the tunnels and other operations going after the militant wing. So, you know, this is obviously a personal tragedy, but it also does simplify it for the IDF.

VAUSE: And, Kimberly, you and I both reported on the extremely high price the Israelis will pay not just to get captured soldiers back, but to get the bodies of dead IDF soldiers back. So, I guess, a couple of questions -- if Hamas or another militant group has the body of the second lieutenant, it could still be a bargaining chip here. KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Oh, that is a grim point.

You are right. It could be. Let's hope that it gets resolved without that sort of horrible horse trading.

What this does do on the positive side, though, is everything was frozen in amber in terms of negotiations for a cease-fire until the soldier was found and his fate was known. Now that the Israeli military seems to believe he has passed away and there is no reason to keep searching for a possible kidnap victim, this means that the behind the scenes negotiations that are going on between the Secretary of State John Kerry and various regional actors including Israel, might result in another cease-fire that could bring in some of the humanitarian aid that we've been talking about is so necessary for the citizens who have been trapped by the fighting inside Gaza.

VAUSE: Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis, do you think that their assessment that essentially now that this dealt away, that these parties can all sit down and try to resolve this?

LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I would think that is possible. Keep in mind our own experience with Bowe Bergdahl. We just tore the country apart looking for him for a long period of time. We had posters along the CentCom command for the five years he was captive.

So, yes, the Israeli, just like the American forces, don't leave anyone behind, body or whatever. In this particular case, I'm sure the word got out across the IDF that one of their own may have been taken captive and there was, I think, grudgingly, some relief when they found out that he had died. Now, I do believe that the Hamas just like Hezbollah over a decade ago, held bodies of Israeli soldiers for ransom to a certain degree. So, that's quite possible.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has to kind of deal with all those uncertainties. I think this is a load off his mind as he moves forward.

VAUSE: OK. We thank you all. Stay with us

Let's go back to Poppy who is now with Colonel Francona there in New York for more on this -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And, John, just to reset this breaking news for our viewers. We are just learning within the last 15 minutes or so that Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old IDF soldier, is dead, confirmed by Israel defense forces. As you will recall early yesterday morning, the news broke that Israel said he had been captured by Hamas. Hamas said they did not have him. Israel confirming the 23-year-old Lieutenant Hadar Goldin is now dead.

To Colonel Francona, with your experience here, it is a tragedy, all of the deaths in this situation. It is also something that is looked at politically in terms of what this means for the equation, right, for Israel. What does Israel do next? Do you think this is indeed a game changer? LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY: Oh, yes. As was the

capture -- the suspected capture of the soldier was a game changer for the Israelis. As Colonel Maginnis just said, everything would have stopped, the IDF would have changed mode, begun and to try and find this guy, just like we would have done with our soldiers in the past. Israelis do that with theirs.

And what this does is finally stops that operation and now, they can go back to destroying the tunnels and continue their offensive operations. Politically, this frees up the Israeli government to do what they want to do without having to worry about leaving someone behind. Now, the Hezbollah and Hamas have both held human remains.

HARLOW: And we do not know where the body is at this point in time.

FRANCONA: We don't know, but that's different than having a live captive. And the Israelis have waited over a decade at times to negotiate for the return of those remains. So, this really frees up the Israeli politically. I know that's a grim calculation.

HARLOW: It is.

FRANCONA: But it frees them up to do what they need to do both on the offensive side, but also to make some sort of a cease-fire agreement now that they don't have to worry about leaving someone behind. That's a big deal for the Israelis.

HARLOW: And, of course, you look at this and what does this mean for the broader fight. But again, a tragedy when anyone dies in the situation. A 23-year-old Israeli soldier, we know now thought to be captive and missing is now dead.

We'll be back with more on this breaking news, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause in Gaza with breaking news.

The body of that missing Israel soldier has now been found. He is confirmed -- sorry, he's not being found rather, but he has confirmed dead coming from the Israeli Defense Forces.

For more on this, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona joins us now.

Colonel, explain to me the Israeli strategy. Once they knew that the Israeli soldier was missing, I saw it down in Rafah yesterday, the Israelis sealed off the area, but then they also pounded and tank fire. Explain the results for all of that.

FRANCONA: Well, they want to stop everything in place, hopefully to prevent the Hamas or whoever took him, we're not even sure was Hamas, took him from moving. If the can isolate the area, then they can go through house by house and search that area. Because once he is moved to a safe area, then there is very little chance of ever finding him in that rabbit maze that is Gaza.

VAUSE: OK. One question, though, when I was down there, there was a lot of civilian casualties. We are hearing from Palestinian officials the death toll, I think in Rafah on Friday, alone, was well over 100. They eventually were caught in the crossfire.

FRANCONA: Yes. It is -- as you know, this place is so densely populated. Anytime you put any kind of weaponry in this area, and once you move into this kind of a rescue and search operation, you're going to take more casualties because you are no longer going against a pre- planned set of targets. You're going for targets of opportunity. You're going to start sealing off areas of escape. You're going to start isolating areas.

And those targets have not been fully reconnoitered, so you don't have a lot of target folders, you don't have a lot of intelligence on what you're doing. And that just leads to an enormous amount of collateral damage, civilian casualties.

VAUSE: This is what we saw on Friday.

Kimberly Dozier, if you are still with us.

DOZIER: Yes.

VAUSE: Colonel Francona raised a very interesting point there, in a sense that, you know, we don't know if Hamas was responsible. They denied actually having him. They're kind of, they admitted that they tried to get him.

Just talk to us about the commands structure in Hamas. Have they got control over their soldiers? Could this have been another group which may have -- a rogue group within Hamas?

DOZIER: Well, there are a number of small Hamas teams on the ground. They are not in direct contact with their command structure. Remember, these fighters are either hiding in tunnels that are deep below ground or they are afraid to turn on their cell phones because they know that the Israelis are listening to everything that moves there and could target them through the signals.

So, they have very intermittent communication with each other. So, small group could be acting on say a previous command. One U.S. official told me that the way they analyze it, these individual bands of Hamas fighters are essentially interpreting their commander's intent they heard over the television from a spokesman statement from Qatar from the Hamas leadership is based.

There's also another group, the Palestinian Islamist jihad, smaller but equally committed to attacking the Israeli defense forces. So, you do have those groups vying back and forth for power and presenting a threat to Israeli soldiers -- John.

VAUSE: And Israel, this is a powerful issue, as we heard, they vow not to leave any soldier behind. This was a hallmark of the former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, when he was a general here. He went to great lengths to get injured and dead soldiers from the battlefield.

This evening in Jerusalem, I believe, when Benjamin Netanyahu made that statement about the ongoing operation here, he also talked about the fate of the Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I would like to strengthen and encourage the family of Lt. Hadar Goldin who was abducted yesterday. Understand the feeling. The state of Israel will continue doing everything in order to bring our kidnapped soldiers home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So Kimberly, we have been talking about this for Benjamin Netanyahu. It is a little easier. But does it really change what he was actually doing? We heard that announcement earlier. He said he was pulling troops out. Essentially redeploying them. The ground troops are going to be leaving once the tunnel operations were over. We were told by the IDF that would happen within 24 hours. So in some ways, this military operation continues on business as normal, doesn't it?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL MILITARY ANALYST: I think we have seen a significant change. It happened with the failure of the latest cease- fire and the attack that we now know killed three Israeli soldiers. The suicide attack by militants who, we understand came up from a tunnel, saw Israeli soldiers and opened fire and then the suicide bomber blew himself up.

From then on, it seems to have changed the Israeli calculus from one of degrading Hamas' militant capability to possibly destroying much of it. The Israeli officials I was speaking to in the middle of the week were talking about hey, we know that they have 3,000 to 4,000 rockets left. We know they probably still have tunnels in place, but we can leave that as it is and go to a cease-fire and then rely on a deal with the Egyptians to better monitor the area as a mechanism to keep Hamas from threatening Israel.

That seems to have now changed. Before they didn't want to keep on with the onslaught that we have seen in the past couple of days. Now they seem to be moving and positioning so they can cover more territory. It is riskier for the Israeli soldiers, but it is also a much greater risk to the Palestinians and the Israeli officials I spoken to earlier this week had said that was something they did not want to risk. They did not want more civilian casualties. Now they seem to be heading in that direction. John.

VAUSE: OK, Kimberly. We will take a short break here on CNN. But again, breaking news. Confirmed that that missing Israeli soldier has now been confirmed dead. No other word on where his body may be or how they have come to that conclusion. A lot more on this story and of course, the statement by the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that this mission is ongoing. Soldiers are redeploying and the ground operation on the tunnels may soon come to an end. More details on that after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. The breaking news in the Middle East. The Israeli soldier thought to be captured is now confirmed dead. The Israel Defense Forces identifying him as Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin. He was 23 years old.

The IDF had previously said yesterday morning that he was captured following an attack by Hamas militants right in southern Gaza. Now we know that Goldin was killed in battle. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to do any thing and everything to bring Goldin home back safely. Netanyahu was set to meet with Goldin's parents tonight. Now he will certainly mourn with them.

I'm joined now by CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill and also Ben Ferguson. To you both, it is important I think we all think that we honor this soldier's life and all of the lives that have been lost. Remember at the same time, over 1,600 Palestinian lives lost in this battle. Now 64 Israeli soldier lives and three Israelis civilians. When you look at this Marc, to you first, how does this soldier's death, or do you think that it changes the equation for the Israeli strategy moving forward? Because we know what Israel does to bring their soldiers home.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. First, I want to echo your sentiments here. This young man - his death is tragic. And we can never allow the political discourse or the political kind of maneuvering everyone engages in to obstruct the fact that this is a life, a valuable life. My heart goes out to him and his family.

I think moving forward, though, we have to also remember that all lives matter and the 64 Israeli deaths are not more or less valuable than the hundreds and thousands Palestinian lives that have been lost. I think moving forward what Israel plans to do now because they don't have the same empathy politically to have to look for him, they will be much more direct and unobstructed in destroying the tunnels on their side. They'd be much more direct in continuing to wage a siege in Gaza. We may see unfortunately more violence if there is not another intervention likely by Egypt in order to make it happen.

HARLOW: And Ben, to you, when you look at this from Hamas' perspective, what we have seen is they do not have the support of many, many Arab states. They got Qatar and that is about it. We've also got some reports, Kimberly Dozier reporting and others that they may be running low in terms of supplies and on rockets. When you look at Hamas and their strategy moving forward, what is your assessment?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think certainly the people around them are also, have to be putting pressure on them because they are the ones that are hurting the most. I mean many of the Palestinians around them, I'm sure are not wanting this to continue much longer. The tunnels are going to be destroyed. Israel made that very clear. And they're going to do everything they can to make sure that Hamas does not have the ability to operate the way that they have.

But I think there is also a disconnect. I mean, a lot of these Hamas groups are even independent of one another. And so there does not to be a big chain of command here. That is one of the issues that I think you're going to see have with and how it plays out.

But again, Israel is in a position where this has gone longer than the other wars they had in the last decade. But part of the reason why is because the sophistication of these tunnels were much deeper and much broader in many more places than they ever have been before. I think that is why you see Israel saying we are not going to stop until we feel as if we are in a safe position again.

HARLOW: At the same point -

HILL: And that is dangerous.

HARLOW: Interesting analysis by Aaron David Miller from the Woodrow Wilson Institute talking bout the fact that it has been so protracted now. Longer than in 2008, 2009 and longer, far longer than in 2012. You have such high casualties on the Palestinian side. You have high casualties in the terms of the 64 Israelis soldiers. Both sides feel like well what == we cannot back down. But how far does this go? We have seen this time and time again. To you, Ben, then you Marc, violence does not solve this.

FERGUSON: Well, here is the thing. This is an issue of the security for the Israeli people. I also think it is an issue of at what point do the people around - the Palestinian people start to say we've had enough of Hamas putting us in this situation. Remember all of the cease-fires have been broken by Hamas. They didn't even last 90 minutes, the last one. They did not agree to one of the cease-fire that Egypt put together with the United Nations.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: To be fair.

HILL: that is not true.

HARLOW: Marc, let me - before I get to you, and I will, to be fair here - Hamas leaders and Hamas came out yesterday and said, it was not our understanding that it was part of this cease-fire arranged by the U.N. and U.S. that Israel could be in and destroy the tunnels. So whether there was miscommunication or not, Hamas saying that was not our understanding.

FERGUSON: Well, I would say 90 minutes in and looking at the way they reacted to it, they are still acting as if they are terrorists in this situation. Which person's, you know, I would say this - which side am I going to trust more? A terrorist organization that uses suicide bombers or am I going to trust Israel who has offered up and not been the ones continuing firing rockets during the cease-fires we've had over the last four weeks.

HARLOW: Let me let Marc get in. I promise I would. HILL: Yes, there is so much there that is untrue. But I mean, while Ben may be reluctant to trust Hamas. There's plenty of reason not to trust Hamas. I don't know anyone in the moderate realm who is pro- Hamas or who trusts Hamas.

HARLOW: Right.

HILL: A U.N. security center was blown up by Israel. The U.N. -

FERGUSON: Where they were holding weapons though. Where they were holding weapons and warn them to not do that.

HILL: Please allow me to finish. I did not interrupt you, Ben. There is plenty of reason to have concern on both sides. War crimes committed on both sides. To say that the Palestinian people are in the position that they are in because of Hamas is simply untrue.

When Hamas was elected in 2006, Gaza was occupied and there was a blockade. Gaza was completely under siege. Right now, 2014, Palestinian people in Gaza remains an open air prison and it remains under siege, remains occupied by Israel.

And part of the reason Hamas has resisted the so-called cease-fires is not because simply Hamas is recalcitrant, it is because they don't - it's because Israel has not agreed to a reasonable set of terms which included moving back the borders which include ending the occupation, which include allowing free flow of people. So Israel essentially said we'll create peace but their idea of peace is to continue the blockade and to continue the occupation. That's the problem here.

FERGUSON: Marc, I would say this -

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: Israel is in a situation where you don't trust terrorists because they have consistently showed that you cannot trust them. Hamas has used schools.

HILL: You address no point that I just said.

FERGUSON: Let me finish. Let me finish. They've used schools. They have used mosques and they used hospitals as weapon depots and put tunnels into people's homes. That is the reality of a territory organization does -

HARLOW: Guys. We got -

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: I have to go here. We have to go.

HILL: (INAUDIBLE). Israel has done everything you mentioned that Palestinian has done.

HARLOW: We have to get to a break. I appreciate the insight from you both, also Weighing in on the breaking news again here on CNN. We just learned in the last 45 minutes or so that that Israeli soldier thought to be captured yesterday morning has now been confirmed dead by the IDF. 23-year-old Hadar Goldin. We will be back with more straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: We are back with two major stories in this conflict with Israel and Hamas. The first being is that missing Israeli soldier is now confirmed dead by the Israeli military. And also earlier tonight, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on nationally televised address saying that this military operation is not going to end.

Troops were redeployed. It is now heading into a new phase. But it is not over by a long shot. Bob Baer is still with us. Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis is also standing by. But to you, Bob Baer, first up, listening to Netanyahu tonight, it sounded different. It sounder like there is a new reality here. This is already the longest military offensive the Israelis have waged to get militants in Gaza. And it's going to go on for a while yet. What's changed here?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think it has taken a lot longer, obviously, than Israelis expected. I thought they probably thought they would get in and take these tunnels out and move a couple of positions. Their intelligence though did not turn out to be all that good. Hamas militants have gone off the telephone. They are not on e-mail. They have been hard to run down. They have broken down into small units.

But more than that, the Israelis have lost more people than they expected to. 64 Israelis is a huge number for the IDF. I think Netanyahu feels now he is in there, he has got to finish the job for military reasons as well as political.

VAUSE: Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis, do you agree with that or do you think there's harder resolve coming from the Israeli side? We've seen Netanyahu has overwhelming support from the Israeli public. So politically there's no problem. Internationally there's been condemnation but nothing like we saw in the previous campaigns. Seems Netanyahu almost has a free hand.

LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Yes, John, this is of course the third war with Hamas, and Netanyahu recognizes that, yes, it could be much longer. You know, asymmetric warfare has always been complex but the dimension here, the subterranean dimension as you indicated just a moment ago, the lack of intelligence, they just missed a lot of the different types and links to these tunnels.

Some of these tunnels were almost two miles long and they were rather sophisticated in terms of their land lines that were connecting one another for communications. So they didn't rely on cell phones and VHF and so forth. The complexity of the battlefield has really set the IDFs back somewhat, and now, of course, you know, right at the very beginning of this 26-day battle, you know, we had words from their own ministers and the cabinet says no, we think this has got to do away with Hamas. So it may be after all the failed cease-fires that we're seeing and movement by Israel to say, not only rockets, not only tunnels, but Hamas might be in the cross hairs here and they may be really trying to not only demilitarize the Gaza but completely remove Hamas. That's a major effort and see if that's, indeed, what their going to do.

VAUSE: Bob Baer, if they do go after Hamas, if they do topple Hamas, this has been debated in the Israeli cabinet. What comes next? Who fills that power vacuum, or do you end with up, you know, Somalia at your doorstep?

BAER: Exactly. That's what the Israelis, John, don't want, would not want to happen is have a Somalia-like situation where Al Qaeda-like groups come in. They're going to have to come in as soon as it's done and let international humanitarian aid in. Stand up some sort of Palestinian government whether it's Fatar, somebody else. They have to show the Palestinians, yes, Hamas is gone but we're not going to let the place slip into chaos like Somalia. That's very important for the international as well as Israeli follow-up.

VAUSE: Very quickly, Bob Maginnis, how long from a military point of view can the Israelis keep this up? They've already called up 86,000 reservists. It's been going on for a long time, especially by Israeli standards.

MAGINNIS: Yes, well the Israelis, of course, pulled back some of their forces into the outside of the fence, outside of Gaza. They've indicated, and I think in what Netanyahu said today, some window of opportunity for them to shift around and do this strategically. So I really think that over the next maybe 72 hours we'll find this somewhat calming down, but then you'll have spurts of great violence where they find new targets.

But I don't think the long-term objective is going to change. They're going to destroy all the tunnels, even those that happen to be in densely populated areas. They're going to try to destroy Hamas. And, of course, they want their hands and all the rockets before Hamas rearms, and, of course, they'll do that given the help they get from Qatar, as well as Tehran.

VAUSE: OK. We will leave it there. Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis, thank you for being with us. Bob Baer, former CIA operative, one of our national security analyst as well. We appreciate both of your insights.

And so Poppy, that's where we stand right now. We have the situation that the Israelis seem to be redeploying. But of course, this is not going to end soon. That's just the worst news for 1.7 million Palestinians. Has to be said, they're still supporting Hamas. Many of them out there. We spoke to them tonight when they found out that this operation is not going to end. They said we support Hamas. We want something to show for all of the death and all the destruction.

HARLOW: Yes, it's interesting to see increasingly as the death toll rises on both sides the support from the Palestinians for Hamas and for the Israelis for the IDF is increasing. John, stay safe. Incredible reporting out there. I know it's dangerous. Please, you and your team keep safe. Thank you for being live for us this evening. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Here in the United States, an American doctor infected with the Ebola virus was able to visit with his family today, also his wife. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us how this all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fight to keep American, Dr. Kent Brantly alive is now in the hands of infectious disease experts at Atlanta's Emory Hospital. The 33-year- old Brantly, a missionary with Samaritan's First made the long journey from Liberia to the United States in a specially equipped jet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm worried about him. I am. He'll be OK regardless.

GUPTA: After nearly 6,000 miles, 14 hours in the air, Brantly touched down Saturday morning in Atlanta but not before a brief refueling in Bangor, Maine. He is the first known Ebola patient on U.S. soil.

I spoke with Dr. Bruce Ribner, one of the leading physicians overseeing Brantly's care. He said there was never a question of bringing the two Americans who contracted Ebola to Emory. They were ready for them.

(on camera): Why take the risk at all?

DR. BRUCE RIBNER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE DIRECTOR, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: You've been in that part of the world and you know the level of care that can be delivered. These are Americans who went over there to supply humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals. And our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get.

GUPTA (voice-over): By early Saturday afternoon, Brantly was transferred from his isolation onboard the plane to an ambulance on the tarmac. The caravan took to the streets of Atlanta where his every move was tracked by air and ground. Awaiting him at the hospital, a especially outfitted containment unit, one of only several in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What sort of message do you have for folks at home, general public, that were concern about having an American with the Ebola virus here in their backyard?

DR. JAY VARKEY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I think that's the key point. That this is not a virus. This is a patient. This is one of our neighbors. This is a parent. This is a child. This is a spouse. This is a sibling. This is a sick person who needs our help.

GUPTA: The other American missionary, Nancy Wrightball (ph), is awaiting her trip back to the United States as well. Around 12:30 Saturday afternoon, about an hour after the plane landed at Dobbins Air Force Base, it was back in the air. She's expected to join her colleague at Emory early next week.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Our thanks to Sanjay Gupta for that. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Get all the news from the conflict in Israel and Gaza on NEW DAY, starting early tomorrow morning, 5 a.m. Eastern.

THE SIXTIES starts right now.