Hey, it's David. It's been just over a week since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel.

Over a thousand people have been killed in both Israel and Gaza as Israel responds with rocket fire. And CNN audio has been

covering this conflict on a daily basis on our podcast tug of war. I've been talking to our teams on the ground every day

to fully understand what is going on there. The developments are really fast moving,

but I want to just step back and give you a sense of what they've been seeing as they cover this conflict up close

So today we have a special edition of one thing as we unpack a week of war in Israel. On Monday, just days after the attack, I called up CNN International Diplomatic

editor Nick Robertson, who was checking out the initial phase of the military response.

I'm quite literally in a car at the side of the road about a couple of miles from Gaza listening to the explosions at the edge of a town of

Surut.

It's been just about three days now since Hamas launched its assault. So what did the streets look like now?

What have you seen?

It is really deserted. And most of the neighborhoods here still have electricity. Some of them are dark because they don't.

But what you're seeing here is a lot of troop movement.

We just drove into the town here, into the town center.

We spent the past couple of days here. You drive into the town center we spent the past couple of days here you drive into the town

center you see Israeli troops patrolling and they're nervous because this is one of

those towns that Hamas took over at the weekend and until last night when we

were here last night they were still Hamas militants on the loose in the town

they were being hunted down so there are really very serious patrols out there, but they're genuinely concerned.

I mean, they're so close to the border, part of the town is only a mile from the border.

They're very concerned about infiltration.

But, and that's why the streets are deserted because most people have left.

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