CNN reporter Nic Robertson became visibly emotional during a live broadcast from Israel on Sunday while discussing the harrowing situation of hostages held in Gaza.
Hamas initiated a shocking attack on Israel over the weekend, prompting Israel to declare war and retaliate. Israeli authorities have reported dozens of captives held hostage in Gaza, although precise numbers remain unconfirmed. Hamas, on the other hand, claimed on Sunday that it was holding more than 100 hostages.
Reporting from Sderot, a town in western Israel near the Gaza Strip, CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, relayed a conversation he had with a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Robertson's voice quavered as he shared specifics about the conversation with anchor Abby Phillip:
“I asked him, ‘How are you going these hostages back?'”
You can watch the moment in the video below,
Robertson took a brief pause before continuing:
“I’m sorry, Abby. [The IDF spokesperson] told me that they were going to do everything in their power to get them back. No one would be left behind, he said."
"But I think I picked up from him the extreme difficulty that is presented here. Because Hamas won’t give them up.”
"And where they’re scattered, where they’re being held, underground tunnels, bunkers scattered across Gaza, it is an almost impossible task.”
Many displayed similar emotions after the video of Robertson's reaction went viral.
Hamas insurgents breached Israeli territory on Saturday, ushering in street warfare not seen for decades.
The human cost has been staggering, with more than 1,800 lives lost on both sides and the possibility of hundreds more casualties. Israeli authorities assert that Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza are detaining more than 150 soldiers and civilians as hostages.
Tensions are on an alarming ascent, marked by Israel's expansion of mobilized reservists to 360,000. On Tuesday morning, Israel's military announced a successful restoration of control over the areas in the southern regions targeted by Hamas, as well as the security of the Gaza border.
It is still not known whether Israel will initiate a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, which is home to 2.3 million people and has been under the governance of Hamas since 2007.
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