move mountains, you'll make waves ♪ ♪ you'll be fearless, you'll be brave, there will be nothing you can't face ♪ ♪ hope you always know your worth ♪ ♪ though i know that life can hurt ♪ ♪ hope you know that you can turn to each other ♪ ♪ hope the road ahead is clear and i hope you know when i'm not here ♪ ♪ that you'll always have the love of your mother ♪ ♪ margaret brennan in washington and this week on "face the nation," america's relations with israel face a serious stress test amid acquisitions that they likely

violated international law in its war with hamas. israel has issued additional vacci evacuation orders for the refugees from the north now living in southern gaza. hundreds of thousands have fled the region in the last week as israeli defense forces step up their ground campaign against hamas in the city of rafah. plus, the strain between america and one ofity closest allies intensifies. as president biden takes drastic measures to head off a full blown israeli invasion of rafah. prime minister netanyahu said if they have to, israel will go alone. we'll talk to antony blinken and two key senators, tom cotton and maryland's chris van hollen. finally saving a mother. a story about howa group of special operations veterans helped a fellow serviceman's family get their mother out of

war-torn gaza. it is all ahead on "face the nation." ♪ good morning and welcome to "face the nation." we are learning more about the dire humanitarian situation in gaza as thousands are fleeing what was once a safe zone. the southern city of rafah. the challenges facing the biden administration from a diplomatic standpoint continue to grow, too. although the u.s. supports israel's right to retaliation against hamas for the brutal october 7th attack that killed more than 1200 people, there are deep concerns about the palestinian death toll as prime minister netanyahu concedes that his forces have, in fact, killed more civilians than members of hamas. we begin this morning with sect of state antony blinken who joins us from the state

department. good morning, mr. secretary. i know military experts say gaza is as complicated and challenging a battlefield as any modern warfare has seen. but back in december, president biden said israel conducted indiscriminate bombing, in february he said israel's offensive was over the top and then this past week he was asked on cnn about pausing the delivery of 3500 bombs. here is what he said. >> civilians have been killed in gaza as a result of the bombs and the other ways in which they go after population centers. i made it clear if they go into rafah, i'm not going to supply the weapons that have been used historically to deal with rafah. to deal with the problem. >> mr. secretary, is israel living up tonight humanitarian law standards? >> well first, margaret, good morning. the report that we put out lays out some of the concerns that

we've had throughout this period when it comes to humanitarian assistance, particularly the early months after october 7th and when it comes to the use of weapons concerns about incidents where given the totality of the damage that has been done to children, women, men, it is reasonable to assess that in certain instances israel acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law. it is also critical to note that israel itself has accountability processes to get at this. there are hundreds of ongoing inquiries looking at different incidents that have taken place since october 7th. there are criminal investigations going forward. israel has the ability, the mean, and the actions to self-creck. but we've on this every single day. >> so you have been able then to

conclude that israel has violated us laws and weapon sharing agreements. >> no, we've concluded, in the case of the use of weapons, as you said, this is an extraordinarily complex military environment in which you have an enemy, hamas, that committed the most atrocious terrorist attacks on israel on october 7th and then retreated to gaza, hides behind and underneath civilians and hospitals, schools, mosques, apartment buildings, and that makes it very difficult to determine particularly in the midst of war exactly what happened and to draw any final conclusions from any one incident. so we have a number of incidents that we continue to look at to try to get the best possible assessment. the israelis are going to do the same thing. our assessments are ob going. but given the totality in terms of civilian suffers and women, children and men caught in the cross fire from hamas's making,

it is reasonable to assess israel has not acted in connection with humanitarian law. >> but you're still collecting evidence. >> that is right. >> on the policy, you could clarify. because even the lead democrat on house armed services said, it is not clear. is the u.s. slowing down the delivery of any weapons to israel at this point beyond the 3500 so-called dumb bombs? >> as you know, margaret, most of the population from gaza displaced from the north and from central gaza has gone to rafah. there are about 1.4 million people there and we said to israel we will not support a operation in rafah, in the absence of a credible plan to protect civilians. >> and they still haven't delivered it. >> we have not seen that plan. >> so have you slowed the delivery of any weapons beyond the 3500 bombs? are you pausing for example, precision munitions as some republicans have -- >> the answer to that is no. what the president said and what

he's been clear about in private conversations with the israelis which unfortunately leaked to the press, so the president answered when he was asked about it. but what we've been clear about it, if israel launched this operation in rafah, there are certain systems that we're not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation. but at present, the only thing that we've delayed are the high pay load bombs because we're in an ongoing conversation with israel begin the impact those weapons could have when used in densely populated areas including an area like rafah. >> so you're in -- >> we're in an active conversation about that. we have real concerns about the way they're used. but here is something else that is critically important, margaret. we believe two things. one, you have two of -- you have to have a clear credible plan and we need to see a plan for

what happens after this conflict in gaza is over and we still haven't seen that. because what are we seeing right now? we're seeing parts of gaza that israel has cleared of hamas. where hamas is coming back. including in the north. including in khan yunis. rafah may have some initial success but potentially at a incredibly high cost to civilians. but one that is not durable and sustainable and they will be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency or if they leave and get out of gaza as we believe they need to do, then you're going to have a vacuum and likely to be filled by kayas and anarchy and by hamas again. so we've been working for developing plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding. we haven't seen that come from israel. we've been working with arab countries and others on that plan.

we have the same objective as israel. we want to make sure that hamas cannot governor gaza again, and we want to make sure it is demilitarized and we have a different way and we think a more effective durable way to get that done and remain in conversation with israel about that. >> your national security memorandum that you signed said israeli civil harm mitigation efforts are inconsistent and inadequate. the prime minister said israel assesses the idf killed 14,000 terrorists and 16,000 civilians. does the u.s. share the israeli assessment that more civilians have been killed than actual terrorists? >> yes, we do. and i think the report makes clear that wild israel has processes, procedures and rules and regulations, to try to minimize civilian harm given the impact that this operation, this war in gaza has had on the

civilian population. >> and yet you're still -- >> those have not been applied consistently and effectively. there is a gap between the stated intent and some of the results that we've seen. but because it is so complicated in the midst of a war and particularly in the midst of a war where you have an enemy that behinds behind civilians, to make final determinations on the individual incidentsm. we're looking at the totality. we think it is reasonable to assess that there have been act acted inconsistent with law. we need to pursue the investigations just as israel is doing itself. >> mr. secretary, thank you for your time this morning. >> thanks, margaret. >> "face the nation" will be back in one minute. stay with us. but instead remade over and over... into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer,

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>> thank you. >> you just heard secretary blinken explain the administration's policy. he said hamas does not abide by international law. israel is in consistent with humanitarian law but topped short of saying they're violating weapons sharing agreements, does this make sense to you. >> no it doesn't. it sounds like a lot of weazy millie mouth politics. it is like he was coached to say that as if it was a magic tal isman between the prohamas wing and the majority of the american people. the report that they put out friday night after news deadlines past was very clear. there was no evidence that israel violating international law. all civilian casualties in gaza are solely the responsible of hamas. israel is probably doing more than any military in history to avoid civilian casualties. >> well, actually, it said the

u.s. intelligence community notes security forces in israel havin flicked harm on civilians potentially using u.s.-provided equipment. u.s. assessed israel could do more to avoid civilian harm. so it doesn't say they aren't doing it -- >> secretary linken's own record said they can't reach that conclusion. ben carden, from the senate foreign relations committee, agreed that it said no evidence and said that joe biden was wrong to impose this defact or arms embargo on israel. they are doing more than any military in history to prevent civilian casualties. if hamas did not hide behind under civilians, but for that matter if hamas surrendered and pulling over the hostages, there would be no more suffering in gaza. >> you went to army law and you

deployed to iraq and afghanistan. it has to trouble you when the israeli prime minister said himself that they killed more civilians than terrorists. thousands more civilians thar tastes. >> it troubles me deeply that hamas is using them as human shields because that is their strategy. >> so should -- but to that point, because the united states provides billions of dollars in weapons to israel, should it have a say in how those weapons are used? because the needle blinken seemed to be trying to thread here was to say it was very specifically tailored in terms of with holding these large bombs. the 3500 bombs. >> well the reason israel needs these larger bombs is because hamas has buried tunnels where their holding hostages and where the leaders are holed up deeply underground. they're also potentially delaying the kits that allowed the so-called dumb bombs that

become smart precision bombs and based on report this is morning the administration is with holding intelligence about the location of senior leaders and potential hostages from israel to try to force israel not to go into rafah. >> the white house denies that and john kirby briefed the other way that the u.s. sharing intelligence including the location of sinwar who hos nat been killed in the seven months. >> it was in "the washington post." the wo"the washington post" is the message for the democratic party. >> you believe that -- >> i believe that joe biden is willing to do that. >> do you have any evidence of that. >> he's imposed a de facto -- >> they are sending arms this weekend -- >> we have have no idea what he's going to withhold. >> that was, as we just exchanged with secretary blinken, not a very clear

statement in that cnn interview. democrats have said that. but what blinken said there was it was jut that one single shipment. you're saying you do not believe the secretary of state when he said that? >> margaret, in march of 2022, antony blinken came on your show, this very show and said the united states would be perfectly fine to see fighter jets sent to ukraine. joe biden immediately reversed antony blinken's statement on this show. so what antony blinken said on this show could not be credited when joe biden is imposing a de facto arms embargo and at the same time he's letting arms embargoes expire. >> and you know $26 billion in emergency funding was just approved by the president and there is not an arms embargo on israel and not a block on intelligence sharing with israel. you know that? >> joe biden said last week that he's going to stop supplying offensive weapons that could be used in a urban setting. >> if they go into rafah.

>> that is the only setting into gaza. they have to go into rafah. israel's goal is to destroy hamas which committed the worse atrocity against jews. if israel does not go into rafah and destroy hamas, they will survive. >> well the biden administration said they could go into rafah, but i want to ask you more broadly because people like senator van hollen who will be on here will talk about the principle and the spirit and meaning of u.s. law. and you know that past presidents have withhold military aid to israel to force changes in behavior. president reagan did that. president bush did that. why do you have a problem with president biden doing it? >> well, first off, when you talk about the principle and the spirit of u.s. law, they're not talking about the letter of u.s. law because antony blinken's

report concluded they did not violate u.s. law. ronald reagan's decision to pause the delivery of fighter jets in the 1980s is totally different from what happened here. israel is fighting a war of survival against a terrorist group that committed the worst atrocity against jews. ronald reagan knew that the pause of fighter jets would not interfere with israel's fighting because they had plenty of fighters. did he not pause munitions. joe biden is not sending munitions in the middle of a shooting war that is a war of survival and look at the broader context. israel knew that ronald reagan had its back in the region. he sank half of iran's navy. joe biden has consistently given irans hundreds of billion dollars of dollars that -- >> and you know they dispute that and they are still sending weapons. but last month donald trump told "time magazine" bibi has been rightfully criticized by what took place on october 7th.

do you agree with that are you comfortable with any criticism of prime minister? >> i think they have acknowledged they have responsibility for the failures on october 7th and they have said as it the israeli custom, when this war is over, there will be a commission to figure out exactly what went wrong to ensure it didn't happen again. but president trump said just last night that he would provide israel with the weapons they need to finish the job. this would have never happened on president trump's watch, it didn't happen on his watch. and if he were president, this war would have probably already have been over with much less civilian suffering in gaza because he would have backed israel to the hilt from the beginning. >> well that is a debate on counter factuals for another day. but it is good to have you here in person. thank you for your time. we'll be right back.

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but as you've heard the secretary of state say, they're narrowing this to hold specific kind of munitions. does this policy and the administration's explanation of it make sense to you? >> well, margaret, it is good to be with you and happy mother's day. and let me just say, that senator cotton totally misrepresented the position of president biden and the biden administration. so, i think the president is absolutely right to withhold these big, big bombs that could be used in rafah. remember, the president of the united states warned prime minister netanyahu prepeatedly, if there was an invasion in rafah, that the united states would make policy changes and prime minister netanyahu has ignored the president of the united states, ignored the president's efforts to reduce civilian casualties, ignored our

efforts to try to get more humanitarian assistance into gaza and ignored the priority of trying to bring back the hostages. so, yes, i support the president's actions here. i thought that they were very important to take. >> you, though, were part of this national security memorandum that we talked about with the secretary. you had helped tailor it and said the expertise and analysis of the state department has been swept aside to facilitate a predetermined policy outcome based on political convenience. are you saying that secretary of state's inability to conclude anything in this report is a political choice, not based on fact? >> well, i believe the facts and the law show what a lot of independent groups that the administration often relies on shows. so, amnesty international, human

rights watch, ox fam, an if independent task force established to review the facts and the law concludes that when you look at some of the ins dens, that these clearly were violations of international humanitarian law. so while i appreciate the fact that as secretary blinken said, the administration determined that it was reasonable to conclude that violations of international law had happened, i think there is enough on the books to be able to point to specifically cases and make specific determinations. and on that score, the administration did duck the hard questions. >> well, specifically, do you fear that this report helped essentially give political cover to prime minister netanyahu to continue to do what he's doing? >> well, i fear that by not

providing an unvarnished accounting of the facts and law, we have essentially stated that what is happening in gaza, so, for example, with the respect to the delivery of humanitarian existence and the total restriction of deliver of humanitarian assistance, by not calling that out flatly and saying that there had been arbitrary restrictions put on it, i fear that we have set a very, very low bar. a very low standard for what is acceptable. and i think that will come back to haunt us. so, yes, margaret, i worry that we didn't call out very clearly the fact that those restrictions on humanitarian assistance which is leading to hundreds of thousands of people on the verge of starvation, over 25 people already starved to death including kids. i do worry that that has essentially allowed a low bar to

go without pointing it out very clearly. >> this week, the former chair of the joint chiefs mark milley said before we get self-righteous about what israel is doing we shouldn't forget that the u.s. killed a lot of innocent people in iraq and syria. they killed 12,000 innocent french civilians and bombed hiroshima and nagasaki and 69 jpts cities. prime minister netanyahu said something very similar. >> well, margaret, there is no doubt that the united states is not been perfect, far from perfect. but since world war ii we've adopted many more measures to prestrict civilian harm and we try to improve it all the time. and of course, after world war ii, the world adopted the fourth article of the geneva convention whi which is designed to protect civilians in war. so millie could talk about the things that happened but the

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with chris van hollen. we've been talking about the biden administration but i want to refer to what is happening in our own domestic politis right now related to gaza. former secretary of state hillary clinton said on another network this week that the failed diplomacy of her husband's operation was the best missed operation for a palestinian state but student protesters don't know very much about the history of the middle east or frankly about history in many areas of the world including in our own country. what do you make of the characterization and the concerns right now among so many young voters? >> well, i thought, margaret, that secretary clinton's comments were quite dismissive of student's concerns about the awful humanitarian crisis and high civilian death toll in gaza. and i should point out that we should be held to keep two ideas in our head at the same time.

one is the right of americans to peacefully protest. but also the need to make sure that students feel safe on campus. and, of course, we also need to make sure that we stamp out anti-semitism and hate wherever we see it. but i believe that the great majority of the students who are protesting are following very closely what is happening in gaza. they see what is very high civilian death toll. and so we could certainly revisit history and past negotiations, but i believe that overwhelming majority of the students, not all, and there are some very bad elements that are involved, as well as on the counter-protest side, but i believe that the students do understand what is happening in gaza with respect to the civilian casualties. >> senator van hollen, thank you very much for your insight today

and your react. and we'll be back with more "face the nation" and a very special mother's day story. plan

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crest saves the day. crest. . on this mother's day, we have a story from gaza that is unlike any we've heard before. zara skak, a 44-year-old palestinian woman living in gaza city escaped the war thanks to her american sons. one of whom is an army specialist. some of the things zara has to say about how hamas and the israelis have been treating civilians have harder to hear and harder to confirm as the fighting continues and journalists are largely barred from the area. but a story like so many that we're learning about from this region does have a somewhat happy ending. we sat down with her last month and zara told us she left gaza in late december with nothing but a small backpack and the same clothes she had been wearing since the war began.

>> you didn't bring anything from your home with you? >> no, it is, you know, it is not damaged, it burned. >> and there was -- you can't salvage anything? >> i mean, if you go a life, it is like, big thing for you yeah. >> in 1998 zara skak and her husband moved from gaza to the u.s. where her three sons were born. ten years later, the family returned to gaza city. as their sons grew from little boys to young men, all three decided to live in the u.s. while zara and abdalla remained in gaza city. after hamas's brutal attack on israel on october 7th, israel struck back. and ordered over a million palestinians in northern gaza to head south as it prepared for a ground invasion. >> why didn't you leave? >> there is no place to go there. we could just live on the street, you know.

we don't have anything to do with the hamas. so we'll be safe. we know that every war, it comes and passes, just a period of time. we didn't know that this is going to be different. >> israeli forces invaded gaza if late october. by mid-november, they were getting close to zara's home. one day from the woindow of her building, she saw four pedestrians and two cars carrying families blown up without warning as they tried to cross the street. >> and we tried to scream from the wind window, no, don't pass this line. he didn't even hear us. he just passed and right away, blow up. and all of the body, like that, it was full in the car. and it had a lot of mattress and they're moving. and the woman just came like with all of her -- like her body full of blood. she's the only one alive between her kids and the driver and

that. she starts screaming and telling everybody, kill me. i could hear, kill me with my family. >> just to be clear because intentionally firing on civilians could be a war crime. >> right. >> do you believe that was deliberate? is that what you are saying? >> yeah. because i mean it pretty much happened in front of me like that. >> is it possible it was a mistake? >> how come? if it is a mistake from like one part, what about the others? civilians just walking, a woman just walking by. one boy, come on, like, you know, there is something wrong about it. >> when asked about zara's account, the israel defense forces replied, quote, the idf is not a war with civilians in gaza. the idf is at war with hamas. hamas has embedded itself in civilian infrastructure. the area referred to as an active combat zone and in order

to mitigate harm to civilians, an evacuation was carried out. at her home that evening, gunfire shattered the windows and shells hit the building. >> with all of this noise and with the shells starting one after one like that, we just started to crawl down, downstairs and just go down to the first floor and hid somewhere. >> you and your husband? >> yes. while we were crawling down, the shooting didn't stop and the shells like one after one like that. and you feel your -- start to burn. everything is hot around you and you can't touch anything. the bomb kept going until the second day in the morning. my husband started to fade because i mean he's diabetic and his sugar was low and things like that. so you know something is going to happen to him if i didn't get him out. that is -- that is the main thing. i can't get out.

you know. because i mean, all of the rocks, like that, they covered the exit where we were hidden. so that is what took me like a while, like, to get out. and it was three days past. >> you were there days under the rubble? >> yes. and it is like miracle, i swear, you know. what happened to us, it feels like -- like you died and you just went back to life again. >> with help from a neighbor, abdalla walked to had building hone owned by his family. in the lower level of a weightlifting center called the super gym, dozens of other relatives were taken shelter in a space with to electricity or running water and one bathroom. it was here that zara discovered abdalla's foot had been injured and he was shivering from what appeared to be an infection. due to fighting it was days before she could get to the

hospital. >> at the hospital, there were no antibiotics. >> nothing. >> no pain killers? >> no. >> they gave you nothing? >> no. >> because they had nothing. >> yes. >> the hospital was overwhelmed with patients. >> while we're waiting to get to him, and to the operation, he passed away like while he was sitting down. >> waiting for the surgery. >> yes. >> i can't believe it at first. the doctors kept talking and he told me, you should be happy and i said, like, why? why are you saying all that. because he passed here in the hospital, not in the street like others. so, you should be happy. i didn't like understand that he's gone or -- you know. because i mean, he's the only one for me in gaza. and i felt that loneliness it just like, like what is going to happen to me. so i started to hit him.

i swear like that. >> you hit the doctor? >> yeah. >> because of what he was saying. >> yeah. >> because he was telling you, you were lucky? >> yeah, but i couldn't let go. i kept holding him. and everybody said, let go. and i can't that easy like that. i don't know. >> at that point, zara's eldest son fadi has living in california and struggling to stay in touch with liz parents. >> when you think about that last time you were able to speak to your father, do you remember a lot of it? >> i don't think i'll ever forget it. he was, you know, screaming on the phone, you know, begging for mercy. >> did you ever say good-bye to your father? >> fadi had been in touch with

the u.s. embassy in jerusalem to help get his parents out of gaza. he was told that the u.s. would try to get permission to leave the rafah crossing in the south but could not help them travel through the war zone to get there. >> that is a frustrate thing to be told by the most powerful government in the world, i can't help you. >> yeah. >> as money american citizens? >> yes. >> his father's death made him more determined to help his mother. >> after he passed, i knew nothing matters more to me than savering my mother from there. because honestly, she did not deserve to go through that. i should have been the one there. >> back at the super gym, just a week after her husband died. two armed men from hamas killed three civilian women when they died the men's orders to leave. >> everybody was like, didn't believe what happened exactly.

like how did -- even if it happened in front of you, they said if there are israeli people, yeah, we can believe it, like that. but they're one of us, like you know. they're like us. >> in an interview, the owner of the super gym denied that the incident happened there. so did a hamas spokesperson who told us, quote, hamas has never attacked civilians. >> hamas said it is fighting for the palestinian people. islamic jihad say their fighting for the palestinian people. did you see from what you witnessed, any help being given by these groups to the palestinian people? >> not at all. i swear. it is like they're careless about the people. >> increasingly desperate to get his mother out of gaza.

>> our calls and our emails are the most incredibly sad stories that are talking about their family that are in war. >> one of their attorneys first learned about zara's case in mid-december. >> how many palestinian americans that you know of are in a position like fadi, where they're trying to get loved ones out? now? >> there are thousands right now that are -- >> still? >> yes. what struck me about fadi's case is that it said his brother was an active u.s. military member and i thought at that moment there was a possibility that something impossible could happen. which is we could get someone from northern gaza. >> why do you think that the fact that his brother was active duty army made a difference? >> because i had experience in a previous conflict where i was introduced to military veterans that were demonstrating a willingness and a capability to

extract people from active conflict zones and i knew this was a time to make a call to the veterans that i knew to see if there was any way they could help in this situation. >> when we come back. how a team of special operations veterans got zara skak out of gaza.

attorney elsa neves connected with the special operation of america an organization made up of former intelligence professionals who have expense volunteering to help civilians get out of con flick zones including afghanistan and ukraine. but gaza posed sp unusual challenges, especially the part of gaza city where zara skak was d struggling to survive. and fadi got through to his mother to tell her help is on the way. >> in december, zara skak sent this foet photo to her son who her they needed to identify her and rescue here from gaza city.

>> you must this-v thought that is impossible. >> yeah. when i saw the first message from brian, yeah, this is one of the team, and in that minute, i start the to believe. >> alex is a member of the special operation association team that took on zara's case. >> so what was the situation on the ground when you begin planning this escape? how intense was it? >> it was extremely intense. athat point, zara was trapped behind hamas lines in an enclave in northern gaza. >> an army combat veteran and former counter-terrorism official at the pentagon and worked with former green berets and a marine fluent in arabic all of whom who were eager to help the middle son. rajai skak, who was serving in korea while his mother was in gaza. >> for us it felt personal.

>> so why can't the u.s. government do what you're doing? >> there are no u.s. government employees either military or on ground in gaza. having had experience in this type of work in government and understanding what the legalities are, we're able to step into the void and try to set it up the right way. >> the group of special operators came together quickly in december. >> my mother, she's just afraid. >> just days before fadi skak had made a public plea for his mother on u.s. television. >> every waking second it is hard to imagine losing here. >> things started to fall into place around christmas. top officials reached out to israeli and egyptian officials to secure their support for the special operations team to carry out the mission. >> the israeli military just to be clear had to help you get zara out of gaza? is that correct? >> we did need help from the israeli government for approval to move inside of north gaza,

because it could be incredibly dangerous when you try to operate as an independent actor in a war zone. >> so could you tell us some of the options you considered? >> everything was on the table in terms of options to get them out. hamas still had shoulder fired rpgs or small arms fire like ak-47s and helicopters and that type of rescue wasn't feasible and then you look at maritime options and you realize, you have to eliminate some of the options that are not realistic. >> in this case, was someone driving up a car, a vehicle of some sort to move her around? >> that was the only realistic option. but you could imagine trying to get cars an fuel in gaza is difficult. >> using satellite imagery and coordinating with multiple governments, the team of operators carefully planned the mission. >> i was operating from a encrypted chat platform in my living room in connecticut and my other teammates were around the u.s. but we worked our government contacts and they stepped in and helped. >> but they called off the rescue twice because conditions on the ground weren't right.

>> this is crazy making. >> yeah. i know. >> you're gettin all excited and nervous and then nothing happened? >> right. but they kept me like really strong like that. just telling you that i'm going to take care of you, like, just don't panic. i believed it from the first time that they will do something. they care about you. >> these are people you never met? >> exactly, yeah. >> thousands of miles away. >> yeah. >> who are trying to help get you out? >> yeah. you see, it is like words can express how much i need to thank them. >> when people hear the term special operators, they think of some out of the movie action scene. is that what we should be picturing here in north gaza? >> people he seen too many movies and thinking you're going to see gi joe showing up in a large truck. but you need local national

palestinians who speak with a gaza accent is what you need to be quiet. that is at the heart of the operation. >> a network of trusted drivers got zara and her brother-in-law out of gaza city and all the way to rafah. >> what are you seeing as your driving through north gaza? >> you don't know if this is gaza or somewhere else. like, you know. there is no street. there is no buildings. it is like all ground. >> destroyed? >> yeah. gaza was not gaza any more. >> on december 31st, she made it through the rafah crossing into egypt where they expedited a green card for her. fadi met her in cairo. >> you could just tell by looking at her, she's been through hell. like, i could literally see her bones and it was very visible. and i was just -- you know, i

didn't know what to say. but it was very happy moment for me just to be able to be next to her and to know that she's safe. >> by february, zara skak and her sons were reunited in the u.s. this is the first mother's day in ten years that she'll spend with all three of them. >> so if zara's son hadn't been in the u.s. army, what would have happened to zara? >> she would be stuck in north gaza with other folks with no means of getting south and no food or water or access to medicine and whether she coud be alive, i couldn't tell you. >> we were able to confirm aspects of her story through relatives and photos and published accounts. but with the war still raging, we could not find a second witness to the incidents in which she described sounded like

war crimes against civilians committed by the israeli harmy and hamas. >> there are parts that were shared to us that are very hard to confirm. do you think she's telling us the truth? >> i find zara to be a wonderful human being. i think she's a person of integrity and for me to second-guess here or the israelis or hamas or any of them, i would be speculating because i wasn't there. but i don't find her to be someone that is less than truthful. >> what do you hope people at home who hear your story understand about gaza? >> we're not just a number. you know. we're like a human being like that. i mean, we deserve better life. people over in gaza, i mean, it is not their choice to go through this war. >> state department officials say that so far they've helped get 1800 people out of gaza. most of them u.s. citizens or legal permanent residents.

u.s. officials tell cbs news that there are, quote, active inner agency conversations about what more the u.s. can do to help the palestinian people caught in the cross fire like zara skak. thank to of our 60 minutes colleagues andy court and anabel hanig. and we also want to thank "face the nation" producer richard and editor matt jeffries. that is it for us today. we want to wish all of the mothers out there a happy mother's day. including my mom and my mother-in-law. and all of the moms who work on this broadcast. thank you all for watching. until next week. for "face the nation," i'm margaret brennan. the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients - no sulfates, silicones or dyes and packaged with 45% less plastic - giving you outstanding dandruff protection

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