(NewsNation) — NewsNation host Chris Cuomo is on the ground in Israel, reporting from Tel Aviv. As violence rages on, Cuomo says the streets are unusually quiet.
“This is a nation at war. The most obvious aspect of that, in a big city like Tel Aviv, which is where we are right now, is the quiet,” Cuomo said. “This is a very, very busy city. … The streets are very empty, the traffic is very light, because people are inside. They’ve been told to stay inside.”
He continued: “In Israel, people should know, this is a people that is marked by resilience. When there have been attacks in the past, bombs or things that would shut down any American city, they’re usually out within hours after it happened to show that the markets are open, the streets are open, that the terror aspect didn’t work. They’re not afraid. This is a little different because they’re actively at war.”
Cuomo explained Israel has a very sophisticated alert system that has become habituated as part of the culture there.
“People are listening to music on the radio, in the car, and then all of a sudden, there’s an alert that areas have bombs coming and then people have to find their safe areas,” Cuomo said during a live report for “NewsNation Now.”
As the chaos unfolds, Cuomo says the critical questions seem to be: “Where are the missing? What’s happening with the hostages?”
Reports say Hamas is holding more than 150 Israelis as hostages. President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday that U.S. citizens are among the hostages and that at least 20 Americans remain unaccounted for.
“This is the unique aspect to this situation. Hostages are (usually) a non-event in Israel. The terrorists, whether it’s Hezbollah or Hamas or any of the inimical agencies, have not had an Israeli soldier in over a decade, let alone having dozens and dozens of the elderly, infants, people who are innocents in the conflict,” Cuomo said. “It’s a real X-factor about what to do here. And I know it has the Israeli forces perplexed and has America perplexed.”
Since Saturday’s surprise attack, the Israeli military said more than 1,000 people have died there. Authorities in Gaza say more than 900 have been killed there.
