Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Sources: Israel-Hamas Hostage Deal Imminent; Family Members Of Those Held By Hamas Speak Out Amid Potential Hostage Deal; Israeli Cabinet Meeting Now To Consider Hostage Release Deal; Pentagon: Iranian-Backed Militants Used "Close-Range" Ballistic Missile Attack U.S. Forces At Iraq Airbase; Significant Storms Threaten Holiday Travel; Largest Crypto Exchange Fined $4.3 Billion Over Money Laundering. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 21, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:40]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga, in for Jake Tapper.

We start with the breaking news. At any moment, a deal could be reached to release some hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on October 7th. Now, right now, the full Israeli cabinet is meeting to give what is believed to be a final approval of the deal.

Just moments ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the cabinet to support the deal, but reminded cabinet members and the world, quote, we are at war and we will continue the war.

As of now, here is what we know about the deal framework. Out of roughly 240 people kidnapped by Hamas, 50 would be released. Hostages who remain in Gaza under negotiations will be visited by the Red Cross. Three Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed for every civilian hostage released. And it also calls for a 4 to 5-day pause in fighting.

CNN is learning that the majority of hostages who would be released in this deal are children. One of the children's three year old Abigail Idan. The youngest American held hostage whose parents were killed by Hamas.

Abigail's great aunt spoke to CNN today, and was understandably emotional at the prospect of seeing her niece come home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ HIRSH NAFTALI, GREAT AUNT OF 3-YEAR-OLD HOSTAGE AVIGAIL IDAN: When I think about that on Friday, it is Abigail's fourth birthday. And she should be home with her family, and with her sister and brother. And she isn't right now. It's just -- it's just like you get your emotions, you have to keep them in check.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: THE LEAD has this covered across the globe. CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Washington. Becky Anderson is in Doha.

But let's start with CNN's Oren Liebermann who is in Tel Aviv.

Oren, so a deal is said to be imminent, one more do we know about the potential framework?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: As you pointed out, Bianna, the main points here are the exchange of hostages for prisoners, 50 Israeli hostages, women and children. Mostly children, in exchange at a 3 to 1 ratio over 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, once again, women and children.

Now, the release of hostages wouldn't be all at once. It would be about ten a day playing out over the 4 to 5-day pause in the fighting. It's unclear for Palestinian prisoners, if they would be released, or if that would happen all at once.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is right now leading a cabinet meeting to try to get this over the line. There is a long legal and political process that they have to go to, first, the war cabinet, which is a very small group around Netanyahu, that's done already. Then the security cabinet which is slightly larger, that, too, is done.

But now, it's the full cabinet where some of Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners have already come out and said that they oppose this deal. Still, Netanyahu made the argument that even with the pause in the fighting, it is the right decision here to bring home that first group of hostages. He promises that the fighting will continue.

According to his office, which released a statement a short time ago, part of this agreement is that the Red Cross would be able to visit and provide medicine to the hostages who remain in Gaza. That was a big demand of the families of the hostages who have repeatedly said, look, international law requires a Red Cross visit and any negotiation make sure this happens. So Netanyahu's office is saying that they have delivered on this.

Bianna, there is one other part here. There's a 24-hour window in which you could file appeals to the Supreme Court to try to stop this deal. But right now, Netanyahu is pushing us forward quickly.

GOLODRYGA: Oren, can you tell us more about the temporary pause in fighting? Because as you know, there are legitimate concerns that Hamas might use this as an opportunity.

LIEBERMANN: Of course. This was a big issue. Israel promised to continue the war until it defeated Hamas but Hamas made it clear that there would be no release of hostages unless there was a pause in fighting.

The key question here, what does each side get out of that? Netanyahu says that Israel security officials have supported the deal here, and they say they are okay with the pause in the fighting. Meanwhile, what Hamas got out of this, six hours a day Israel won't fly its surveillance drones over Gaza. First, it allows it to move around the hostages and get them to the point where they could be brought out of Gaza, it also lets them relocate their forces and prepare for the day when the pause in fighting is over.

Now, it is worth noting, if this works out, if this goes well, it is potential for a longer pause in exchange for more hostages released.

[16:05:00]

But at the moment, that is still quite far down the road. The ongoing debate in the full cabinet right now, Israeli officials said it could go to 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. So, that's another 3 to 4 hours from now until we have a final answer from there.

GOLODRYGA: You will be following it all for us. Oren Liebermann, thank you.

Let's go now to CNN's Becky Anderson who is in Qatar.

Becky, Qatar is playing a large role in negotiations here. They have already improved this deal. So, if Israel signs off on it, then is it complete?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ABU DHABI MANAGING EDITOR: Well, that is understanding. I have a statement from the mediation chain just a little earlier today, just about an hour or so ago. Let me just read out what it said, because I think that this will speak very much to your question.

The proposal for a humanitarian pause, and the release of hostages was delivered to the Israeli side in the early hours of this morning. It is now midnight. This came after weeks of continuous negotiations, the state of Qatar is awaiting the result of the Israeli governments vote on the proposal.

I was told, by a diplomatic source very close to the talks, that it is with the Israeli side that Hamas has signed off on this, and that once they get this greenlight by the Israelis, they can announce this deal. So the understanding is that this point they need to have the green light from the Israeli side, Hamas has signed off on this, and then they will -- assuming there is no detailed change, one assumes, this is the -- what the Israelis agree -- will be discussing at present, and they hope that there will be an agreement on it, is a proposal.

If that has changed, of course, then all bets are off, I guess. No deal is done until it is done. But this proposal now sits with the Israelis. Once that announcement comes, that will trigger the process which, as Oren described it, is this period of pause, this four-day period of pause which 50 hostages, mostly children, we are told, there are 40 children, according to the IDF being held in Gaza by Hamas.

Mostly children will be announced -- released, and as we have heard from the prime minister's office, the Red Cross will be able to get ground to those hostages currently being held by Hamas, as we understand it. That's the 50 that we are talking about, who are being released in batches, as a tour. Then, as Hamas gathers more, so the Red Cross will be able to get to see those hostages as well.

But at this point, it is only 50 to be released in this first four-day window. Those are the details as we understand them today.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Israel has been pushing for weeks for the Red Cross to go in and check in on these hostages. Becky Anderson, thank you.

Well, let's go now to CNN chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt.

So, Alex, part of the framework for a potential deal involves this, for every Hamas held hostage that's released, three Palestinian prisoners will also be released. What specifics do we know about those Palestinian prisoners?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, that's absolutely right. This is not just a hostage release, this is a prisoner swap. This is one of Hamas's major demands, that if they are going to be releasing hostages, that they also need to get Palestinian prisoners out of Israeli prisons.

So if this deal goes according to plan, and there's some 50 hostages released over the coming days, we would expect 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and children, just like those hostages inside of Gaza, to be released from Israeli prisons.

Now, if this deal were to continue to be extended and more hostages were able to be rounded up by the Red Cross, by Hamas, and released we could imagine that we would also see more of these Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons.

The ratio, again, one for -- three for every one Hamas hostage. So you are talking about at least 150 Palestinian prisoners at the beginning. That could go up to as high as 300, say, if another 50 hostages were to be released.

Now, overall, in Israeli prisons, there are 8,300 Palestinian prisoners. That's in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, and in Israel proper. The vast majority of them are men.

Again, we are only talking about the release of women and children of which there are just over 460 that could be released by Israel. That's 460 women and teens under the age of 18 years old. Bianna, one of the major questions also about the presence of Israeli soldiers among those hostages that Hamas is holding, to what extent down the line Hamas will try to trade them, and for how many Palestinian prisoners? No one can forget the 2011 exchange of the Gilad Shalit, Israeli soldier.

[16:10:02]

One Israeli soldier for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including the head of Hamas in Gaza -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: That took years to get that deal done back then.

Meantime, today, the White House outlined what will happen to the hostages once they are released. What more do we know?

MARQUARDT: We have the broad strokes. Obviously, there's a lot to be filled in here, but according to the White House's John Kirby, once the agreement is in place and these hostages are on their way out of Gaza, they will get safe passage into Israel. So they could cross into Israel through Egypt, through the Rafah Crossing, or through one of those crossings that go directly into Israel.

Now, we don't expect Hamas and Israel to come face to face to do this exchange, there will probably be at least one middle man, that could be the Red Cross, which we saw being used in previous hostage releases. It could also be Egypt, so these prisoners could go into Egypt, before going into Israel.

Once they are in Israel, we understand that they would immediately get medical attention. Remember, these hostages have been held for about six and a half weeks on what the White House called abhorrent conditions. So they will get immediate medical conditions. Some could get long term medical needs.

And then, because many of them, we understand our dual nationals, the question then becomes how to get them home if they want to get other countries, and the White House is saying that the State Department would help. American citizens get back to the United States -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Alex Marquardt for us, thank you.

We turn now to retired Major General Spider Marks and Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist and Middle East expert for "Axios".

Welcome both of you.

So, Barak, what do you know about how this deal will ultimately play out? Will we learn the names of the Israelis to be released ahead of time?

BARAK RAVID, POLITICAL & FOREIGN POLICY REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, I don't know if we are going to learn them but definitely the Israeli government is going to know them ahead of time, at least ahead of every day of pause. It's going to work like that.

In the evening, before they are released, the Israeli government will receive a list of something like 12 hostages that are going to be released on the next day, and this will happen again and again and again until all of the 50 hostages will be released. I'm not sure the Israeli public or the world at large will know their identities ahead of their release.

GOLODRYGA: Do you know if their families will be told by the government?

RAVID: I don't know. I suspect that once the Israeli government knows what exactly is going to be released they will notify their families because there is a whole process that you have to have happen again, as Alex said, they will be taken to several hospitals that would designated. And I guess the families will be informed that they should meet them there, so I think that that's sort of what we're going to see. They're going to notify the families and then maybe those things will leak out.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, especially given that so many of them will be children getting the families involved as soon as possible. It is paramount.

Also, what about the Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons? Is this a list provided by Hamas with Israel having a final say? I mean, we know that they cannot include anyone who has been charged with murdering an Israeli. We also know they include women and children. Any other details or insights that you are hearing from your sources?

RAVID: No. I think that is it. And we are going to know who are those prisoners that will be released, because according to Israeli law, the Israeli government needs to publicize those names to the public so that people will be able to appeal to court if they feel like they were harmed by this prisoner or that prisoner being released. So I think that once the cabinet, the Israeli cabinet meeting ends and the Israeli cabinet approves the release, those lists will be made public, and 24 hours later, the deal can go ahead and be implemented.

GOLODRYGA: And the 24-hour period they can appeal to the Supreme Court per Israeli law.

RAVID: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Spider, we saw earlier today that multiple large explosions over northern Gaza took place. Is this part of his real strategy to step up its military campaign before any potential pause in fighting as part of the hostage negotiations?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I wouldn't characterize it as stepping up the campaign, I would say that this is primarily an acceleration. So maybe that is the distinction without a difference. So they are trying to accelerate as many objectives, accomplished before they move into this inevitable pause, for a number of days. So this is not unexpected.

GOLODRYGA: Barak, do these latest military actions it seems like we will show you now are these strikes and more injured civilians in northern Gaza to hospitals that are paralyzed, could complicate any potential negotiations to free these hostages and potentially, hopefully future hostages?

[16:15:07]

RAVID: Yeah. Honestly, I think we are in a very sensitive 24 hours now because the pause will only start in 24 hours, maybe even more, 30 hours. This is quite a long period of time, where a lot of bad things can happen on the ground and scuttled the whole deal. You know, I can't see a scenario where Israel bombs something in Gaza, and Hamas says, oh, you know what? You did that, the deal is off.

I mean, I can't see such a scenario. So I think that Israel will be or try to be pretty careful with the targets that it's going to strike in the next 30 hours, or 24 hours after this deal is implemented.

GOLODRYGA: Spider, part of this hostage deal appears to include a pause in fighting as we've been reporting. Do you even think that that is feasible? I mean, take for example, what would happen if two Israeli forces on the ground in Gaza, do they remain there and they just freeze their activities? I mean, how would this work?

MARKS: Yeah, it is very difficult. This is going to be, if it happens, this is going to be a cease-fire that is not going to have a third party of peacekeeping type of third-party that is -- you know, involved to ensure that both sides follow the rules, if it were.

The challenge that you have in this particular case, number one, there is zero trust between IDF and Hamas. You don't anticipate that that's going to happen.

And you also have 18 and 19 year old soldiers on the ground that have to make split-second decisions., and they have the right of self defense. So they're going to continue to conduct patrols, they're going to continue to protect themselves, and suddenly you are in a circumstance, you know what is going on, something comes rushing by you, and all of a sudden, you have an engagement. That has the real potential of escalating, and it has been indicated, it could scuttle the deal.

I mean -- during the pause, you know, during the pause -- the hostage and prisoner transfer could be stopped as well if something were to occur that's an increased risk and exposure of both the IDF and harm to Hamas.

GOLODRYGA: Barak, you know, something stood out that you said a couple of days ago as we were leading up to this, this exact scenario right now, and hopefully, we are closer than we have been in the past. But that was that you cannot really rely on the head of Hamas's military operations, Yahya Sinwar, and that he could change his mind at any moment in time. He's not a very stable person as we have come to find out.

Is there concern that perhaps in this next 4 to 5-day period of pausing that could indeed happen?

RAVID: I think that there certainly such a concern. And you need to go back to 2014, when Israel has added one of the previous wars in Gaza, when Israel agreed to a cease-fire, it did not include the release of prisoners, but there was a humanitarian cease-fire, as they called it back then. And during that cease-fire, Hamas just decided to violated and attack Israeli forces in Rafah and kidnap a soldier.

So I think that this lesson from 2014 is not only in the head of IDF commanders, it's also in the head of Benjamin Netanyahu who is in the prime minister also. So I think that every day now is very sensitive and the fact that we have here a deal and we might have a pause in the fighting, doesn't mean that everything is going to be calm, and there's not going to be any problems.

GOLODRYGA: Spider, quickly, what do you make of this deal to pause for six hours at least, any overhead drone surveillance on the part of the Israelis over Gaza?

MARKS: I find it hard to believe that Israel, which has an incredible intelligence collection capability would agree to that. But I got it. We could also conduct operations flying over Israeli airspace and slow your cameras. Angle your cameras, and hopefully be able to get some imagery intelligence which is what you are getting from the drone with the direct overhead look.

But you might be able to continue to gather that intelligence and cover that gap. But the key thing about the pause is the intelligence that the IDF has been able to gain over the course of operations is now going to dilute over the course of time. What was targetable intelligence will no longer be targetable. So, in many cases, they are going to have to regenerate operations in order to get to the same level of confidence or at least intelligence collection that they knew exactly where they were going next.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, this is just a pause and the war will continue.

General Spider Marks, Barak Ravid, thank you so much.

Well, families of kidnapped judges are anxiously waiting for word on how this will play out. We'll hear from some of them ahead.

Plus, two days before Thanksgiving the travel rush disrupted by storms hitting major East Coast travel hubs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:24:08]

GOLODRYGA: And we are back with the world lead and what sources call an imminent deal to get some of the hostages held by Hamas released. Anxious families of hostages are, of course, also closely watching negotiations, one include Abbey Onn. Last month, the IDF found the bodies of two of her family members kidnapped by Hamas, Carmella and Noya Dan. Three others in her family, Erez, Ofer and Sahar Calderon are still missing.

And Abbey joins us now.

Abbey, I wonder how you feel, given the parameters of this deal and that they largely will encompass women and children. Erez is 12, Sahar is 16 -- meaning that they fall into the parameters.

ABBEY ONN, AMERICAN IN ISRAEL: Right.

GOLODRYGA: Does that give you hope that maybe you will see one, or God willing both of them?

ONN: It does. I mean, I think we have had hope along the way and deals have not come through, but this feels like this is -- it's come the closest. It's getting to be the most concrete.

[16:25:09] And so, o you kind of want to not pay attention to it and just hope that something good happens. But yeah, we are paying attention and we are hoping for the best.

GOLODRYGA: During today's Israeli war cabinet meeting, we know that two far right parties rejected this potential deal, calling instead for one that releases everyone.

Would you have preferred that or even just the possibility of this limited deal?

ONN: I think based on what I understand and it's far above my pay grade that if we got to this limited deal than this is what was feasible or possible at this point, I think there are a lot of parties negotiating. I'm sure that Qatar and the United States and Israel and Hamas and whoever else is at the people -- I mean, at this point there's also talk of Thai nationals being let go. So, you know, there's even additional parties at the table.

So, this wasn't -- this wasn't a simple thing to get to. And I feel like the one thing that we should all be able to agree on is that children are not a part of war. And if we are able to get them home as soon as possible, I think that is a good thing for all of us.

GOLODRYGA: What is your reaction to the news that as part of this deal, the Red Cross, I believe will be able to at least visit the first 50 of these hostages that have been agreed to in this deal. Does not give you some comfort in knowing that maybe even if your family is not part of this deal, that if this goes well, perhaps the next deal will include the Red Cross checking on them as well.

ONN: Look, I would love for the Red Cross to be involved at any level. I feel like it is shocking that they haven't been to this point. And I don't know why. I don't know why the world isn't screaming for, you know world health or global organizations to be allowed to see the hostages. So, at this point, any movement is positive.

GOLODRYGA: I was struck by an interview I did earlier today with Hersh Goldberg's family. And, obviously, he does not fall into this list of hostages being released today. His mother told me that she is waiting for news because she will be so thrilled, and happy for these families who do get their loved ones back. I just think that speaks volumes about families like yours and his that have room in their heart to feel happiness for other families that don't include their own.

Talk about the community that this horrible club that no one wants to be in but that you have been able to comfort each other with.

ONN: Yeah. I know Rachel and John well, and they are heavy on my heart tonight knowing that Hersh wouldn't be in this proposed group. And I think how hard it must be for her to watch.

And I also know that what she said is truly authentic to who she is. I think that for all of us every single person who gets released is a win for -- for the entire group. But at the same time, if these 50 come out and they include my family, I will rejoice. If they don't, I will still rejoice because it is 50 people out of captivity, out of an awful, awful situation.

And to speak also, if Sahar and Erez will be part of this group, it's not their father, we will not stop fighting until every single one of them is home. And that includes Ofer and it includes Hersh, and it includes so many of them. It's close to 200 names that wouldn't be on this list. And so, there's hope but there is still fight.

GOLODRYGA: Well, we want you to know that we will continue to cover your fight and tell everyone is home.

Abbey Onn, thank you.

ONN: Thank you so much.

GOLODRYGA: And we are really hoping that this time, we will actually see these hostages come back. Thank you.

ONN: Thank you. Bye.

GOLODRYGA: Well, what about hostages who are not women and children, as we just heard? I'll be speaking with the father of one American man who's being held, and will likely not be on the list to be released. How is he feeling? That's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:44]

GOLODRYGA: We are back with our world lead and the Israeli cabinet now meeting to consider what could be the final stages of a potential hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. While the exact details are fluid, we know not all hostages will be released by Hamas. In fact, it still leaves about 80 percent of the hostages in Gaza.

Well, joining us now is Jonathan Dekel-Chen. His son Sagui is one of the Americans believed to be held hostage.

Jonathan, thank you for joining us.

As you know, this proposed deal we've been hearing about calls for the release of 50 women and children. That would exclude Sagui. What was your reaction when you heard of this deal?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, SON HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: Well, first, thank you for having me on. And I don't think the contours of the deal are very surprising. I hope that it is approved by our cabinet. I hope Hamas is able to deliver on its terms.

I personally would be absolutely thrilled for the children and their moms to come home. I am from kibbutz Nir Oz. We have 75 hostages just from our kibbutz alone. Among them, the children that you are speaking about just a few minutes ago, Erez and Sahar.

[16:35:03]

They are -- their family are personal friends of mine, and their grandmother and a cousin of theirs was murdered on October 7th.

So I would be overjoyed. I don't know what it means for the rest of the hostages, the vast majority of them, but getting these children home with their mothers is -- would be a wonderful thing.

GOLODRYGA: It is so inspiring and heartwarming and selfless to hear that from every single parent that we have been talking to today. It just speaks volumes about your characters, and the community that you have built in this tragedy. We do know, Jonathan, the two far-right parties rejected today's potential deal we are talking about during the Israeli war cabinet meeting, calling instead for one that would release everyone. Of course, that's what everyone wants, but that deal clearly was not attainable.

Do you believe that it is better to have waited for one that would include everyone, perhaps even Sagui? Or take this one if this is the one that they could give right away?

DEKEL-CHEN: Well, in a perfect world all of the hostages, the 240, including Sagui, of course, would have been released yesterday. And a perfect world, they would've never been taken by a terrorist organization to begin with. But we live in the real world, and we are dealing with a brutal terrorist organization about the nature of Hamas, and we know now, I prefer not to get into the nitty-gritty of the negotiations and I think that that is something that our government is going to have to work through.

But clearly, clearly, and not just the families of these 240 hostages, but the vast, vast majority of Israelis want the fate of these hostages to be foremost in the minds of all of our government officials from the far-right, near right center so to speak. And I certainly hope that our prime minister, at the very least, will honor that demand by all Israelis, that all the hostages come home.

GOLODRYGA: Well, speaking of Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said the outline of an agreement would include visits by the Red Cross for hostages not yet released. Now, it is our interpretation that that means that the first tranche, these 50 hostages, this is something Israel has been pushing for four weeks to get that Red Cross to come in and check on these hostages.

Does that at least give you some solids that hopefully weather now or later this allows for the opportunity for Sagui to have a visit from the Red Cross as well?

DEKEL-CHEN: Well, you know, that's been -- if we are able to demand anything, the 240 hostage families would be a demand to the degree that we can from the Red Cross that they do absolutely everything in their power to visit with all of the hostages. Not just this first tranche, but all of them, to at least in some measure give us signs of life, signs of health, because we have had the majority of us have had absolutely no implication of what condition they are in.

And I think that this is a clear sign of who we are dealing with. A terrorist organization that will not even allow the Red Cross to perform its most basic functions. And so, what we've been asking for, for now, over seven weeks is for that to happen and for all of the hostages.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, you are right, it does give you a clear sign of the evil on the other side that you are dealing with Hamas.

Jonathan Dekel-Hand, thank you. We appreciate your time and your fight for your son's release.

DEKEL-HAND: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: We are also monitoring a significant attack on U.S. forces. A close range ballistic missile used according to the U.S. military. What we are hearing from the Pentagon today, that's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:17]

GOLODRYGA: We're back with our world lead. The Pentagon says Iranian- backed militants used close range ballistic missiles to attack U.S. forces on an airbase in Iraq last night, and a U.S. military aircraft retaliated.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is with me now for more on this.

So, what do we know about these developments, Natasha?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, this was an attack by Iran-backed proxy militias on U.S. and coalition forces at Al Asad airbase in Iraq. And this was a very significant escalation by these Iranian proxy groups which to date have launched roughly 64 attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, because they used a ballistic missile.

Now, ballistic missiles -- they can travel a far greater length than the rockets and drones that these Iraq, Iran-backed groups have been using in the past. They can carry much larger warheads. It is a generally a pretty significant escalation that the use this ballistic missile to launch this attack and U.S. military actually responded to this attack and they launched their own strike when a vehicle inside Iraq that they say was being used to carry some of those militants responsible for carrying out this strike on this airbase. Now importantly, the U.S. military says that there were no significant injuries to U.S. forces from this attack and no significant damage.

But, look, I mean, this is really, you know, over 60 times now, this is happened where this Iran-backed militias have attacked U.S. forces and it has resulted in scores of injuries among U.S. members, including more than two dozen service members who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. So, the question now is whether these retaliatory strikes by the U.S. are actually working -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, I'm just curious, has the U.S. communicated with Iran at all to try to get these groups to back down?

[16:45:05] BERTRAND: Yeah. So, the Pentagon did reveal to us recently that they have communicated directly with the Iranians telling them that they expect the Iranians to rein in these proxy groups because the U.S. is prepared to continue responding in force if these attacks do not stop. However, these strikes that these Iran-backed proxy groups have been launching, they have not stopped. They only continue.

And more than 50 so far U.S. service members have suffered injuries ranging from traumatic brain injury to more serious brain injuries. So, it's clearly a big concern for the Pentagon, Brianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and continuing.

Natasha Bertrand, thank you.

Up next, severe storms pushing across the U.S., just as the holiday rush picks up.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:18]

GOLODRYGA: In Colorado right now, an intense search for this man, 45- year-old Hanme Clark. Police believe that he shot and killed three people and injured a fourth last night in a dispute over property lines.

This was in Custer County, Colorado, about 70 miles south of Colorado Springs. Investigators say Clark took off in a white pick up truck. The person injured is a woman and she is expected to survive.

And in another mass shooting in Ohio, today, police say they don't know why a gunman opened fire in a Walmart. It happened just after 8:30 last night, when the story was busy ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The gunman shot three women and a man at various parts of the store and then killed himself. Each victim is alive, one still in critical condition. The shooting happened in Beavercreek, Ohio, just east of Dayton.

Well, a powerful storm could deal a significant blow to Thanksgiving travelers this week with rain, snow, and even severe thunderstorms across the United States.

Let's bring in CNN's Pete Muntean and meteorologist Chad Myers in the weather center.

Chad, you first. So, what can those of us going away this weekend expect?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, at least for today, and tomorrow morning, a wet commute for sure. If you are headed on to New England, a white commute, if you are headed to New England, you want that, because that is natural snow that you will be skiing in this weekend. It is already snowing in the Cascades and the Adirondacks but down to the south, pounding on the roadways from some very heavy rainfall.

Now, we had five tornadoes on the ground yesterday that we know of right now. We don't have any for today and not expecting any, but the forecast is for the low to head up the East Coast and maybe slow down the road travel without a doubt. FlightRadar24 has so many planes on this map, thousands and thousands of planes from the East Coast to the West Coast, going all different directions, and our Pete Muntean is going to tell us how this is doing.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you know, Chad, the cancellations and delays keep going up as the day goes, and the FAA just imposed a ground delay for all the flights leaving Charlotte. A huge hub for American Airlines, the average delay there, more than an hour and a half which is why we are seeing the delays nationwide go up, 3,155 delays nationwide, but the latest numbers were 45 cancellations.

It has been a really tough day for airlines, though, especially for the ground crews. They've been out here on the ramps and airports on the East Coast through this cold rain and this wind. This is really coming at an improbable time for the airlines, especially given the fact that so many people are traveling. The FAA anticipating 48,000 flights in total, when the day is done, 2.6 million people screened at airports nationwide.

And TSA Administrator David Pekoske just told me that it is really imperative for you to get to the airport early and make sure you are on your game going through the TSA checkpoint as to not build on those delays.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PEKOSKE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Taking more time. So, arrive at the airport a little bit earlier. Think through the process steps you're going to go through, through screening because you don't want to be that passenger that holds everybody else up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: I was just at United Airlines Operation Center at its hub in Washington Dulles. They have 50 people on staff in their operation center they're trying to work through things like the weather, planes, connections, and bags.

One interesting stat from American Airlines, they scheduled 23,000 flights from Thursday to Sunday. They only cancelled (VIDEO GAP) landing, as the storm systems moves up the East Coast and airlines (VIDEO GAP) and try to get back to normal for tomorrow, a huge day for air travel ahead.

GOLODRYGA: That is promising, that only two have been canceled, and I concur, PSA to everyone at home, do not be that passenger going through security that delays everyone behind you. We've all been there. Chad and Pete, thank you both. Happy Thanksgiving.

MYERS: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, up next, one of the largest crackdowns on the crypto market that played out just moments ago.

Also, this cross platform play action. The NBA on TNT and Max, 30 teams compete, eight advance, but there will only be one champion. Catch coverage of the NBA and season tournament tonight at 7:00 Eastern again on TNT and Max. And we'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:12]

GOLODRYGA: The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, now has a distinction of having one of the largest fines levied by the U.S. government, a whopping $4.3 billion. Now, it comes as the company and its billionaire CEO pleaded guilty to money laundering. Attorney General Garland and Treasury Secretary Yellen made the announcement this afternoon.

At the heart of the complaint, Binance failed to prevent money laundering by terrorists on its exchange, and allowed individuals in countries like Russia and Iran under U.S. sanctions to trade money with Americans on the digital exchange.

Well, if you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Our coverage continues now in THE SITUATION ROOM.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urges his cabinet to approve a tentative deal to free some of the hostages held by Hamas.