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IDF: Conducted Raids In Gaza Over Past 24 Hours; Israel Tells 1.1M People To Evacuate Gaza, U.N. Warns It's Impossible "Without Devastating Humanitarian Consequences"; Hamas Trained For Attacks At Camps Near Israel's Most Fortified Border With Gaza; House GOP Conference Meeting Now On Speaker Nominees; Rep. Scott: Dysfunction "Makes Us Look Like A Bunch Of Idiots"; U.S. Cities Step Up Security After Ex-Hamas Chief Calls For Protests. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 13, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:55]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Right now, we're monitoring fast-moving developments in the Middle East. Israel saying that its forces have raided Gaza over the past 24 news in a search for hostages.

We're also seeing Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon. Also, large- scale strikes continuing in Gaza. Israeli tanks are on the move near the Gaza border. That is coming ahead of an expected ground incursion.

The Israeli military has told more than a million people to leave northern Gaza. The U.N. says that's impossible, and the Red Cross warns it would be, in their words, "catastrophic."

I want to turn to CNN's Becky Anderson, who is joining us now from Jerusalem.

So the IDF says the troops have carried out local raids in Gaza. What more do we know about that?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, it is interesting. We do know that the border is "saturated," in the words of the IDF, with some 200 to 300,000 troops. It is an enormous buildup of ground troops and artillery on the ground around that border with Gaza.

And now as we understand it, the IDF has conducted raids, in the plural, into Gaza Strip as they continue the air assault.

It is interesting. I'm looking for the full IDF statement. We only just received this to CNN.

First of all, they don't say when the raids were conducted. I think that's important. And we'll work more on our sources to get that.

It says, and I quote here, "IDF soldiers thwarted terror cells and infrastructure located in the area."

And, Anderson, it says, "Including a Hamas cell that fired antitank missiles towards Israeli territory."

But it also says, "This is all in an effort to eliminate the threat of terrorists and weapons in the area and locate hostages."

So, we know what they're describing they did. We don't know whether they have or were able to locate the area or areas where these hostages are being held.

But we do know -- of course, you and I have been discussing this for some days -- it is as many as 150 hostages being held there.

COOPER: Yes.

ANDERSON: So these are raids, as they describe them. I don't think we should be suggesting this is the beginning of the ground incursion. Certainly, the idea seems to be indicted. But that is some 24 hours away.

It has been dropping pamphlets on Gaza today warning residents to get out of northern Gaza into southern Gaza. We're talking about displacing more than a million people, by the way.

And the U.N. is saying, how on earth is that supposed to be affected within 24 hours? Be that as it may, they seem to be indicating there is a window of opportunity for residents to move out.

Meantime, these raids now being reported have been conducted across that Gaza border, by ground, in order to try to denigrate the infrastructure.

But absolutely critical for the Israelis to try and locate where these hostages are being held -- Anderson?

[13:35:01]

COOPER: Yes. Becky Anderson in Jerusalem. Becky, thanks so much.

Now to a CNN exclusive investigation that looks at and analyzes two years of Hamas propaganda training videos. In the videos, you can see the terror group and its affiliates training for a major attack at six open-air training camps in Gaza itself.

In the investigation, CNN's Clarissa Ward looks at years of satellite images and social media videos, adding to the question, how did Israel and perhaps the U.S. intelligence miss this?

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Propaganda videos put out by Hamas reveal chilling details about the years of preparations that went into Saturday's bloody attacks right under Israel's nose. (GUNFIRE)

WARD: Analyzing metadata from the videos, a CNN investigation can reveal the presence of at least six training sites inside Gaza, one just 720 meters from the most heavily fortified and patrolled part of Israel's border.

In that camp, Hamas recreated an Israeli compound, elements of the nearby border crossing, including an insignia of the area's battalion.

The videos show they even practiced taking prisoners and zip-tying their hands at the camp.

Satellite imagery indicates the camp was constructed within the last year and a half.

At two other locations in the Southern part of Gaza, Hamas trained for their audacious paraglider assault, rehearsing takeoffs and landings.

At all six sites, two years of satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows no indication of offensive Israeli military action.

The imagery, instead, shows that in the last two years, some camps even expanded into surrounding farmland, and that there was activity in the last several months at the camps.

The stunning revelations raise questions as to how Hamas was able to train so openly, so close to the border for so long. And why Israeli officials were unable to pick up on and prevent the October 7th attack.

Clarissa Ward, CNN

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Our thanks to Clarissa Ward.

As we head to a break, there is new video of Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving in Bahrain as he continues his tour across the Middle East.

Stay with CNN. More ahead.

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[13:41:52]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Happening right now, at least two Republican congressmen are running to be the next speaker of the House.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Georgia Congressman Austin Scott are lobbying members in a closed-door meeting right now, competing for the speaker's gavel.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And Scott has been very critical of his Republican colleagues who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy and reject their last candidate, Steve Scalise, who dropped out of the race last night.

We have CNN chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, who is on Capitol Hill following every twist and turn and yet somehow kind of ending up back at the same place.

Manu, I know you spoke to Congressman Scott before the meeting. What did he tell you?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's been sharply critical of everything that transpired over the last week. He has a lot of people who align themselves with that view.

Last week, he called those members of eight Republicans, who sided with Democrats, called them chaos agents.

And yesterday, leaving the closed-door meeting after Steve Scalise, who was the House majority leader, was the speaker nominee for this party to replace Kevin McCarthy after the historic vote pushing him aside, when Scalise stepped aside amid opposition from a number of members.

When I talked to Austin Scott about that, he did not hold back.

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REP. AUSTIN SCOTT (R-GA): We've got a very strong group of people that they have to have everything their way. And, you know, we had a group that sabotaged Speaker McCarthy. And now we've got a group that sabotaged Steve Scalise, both of them great people.

RAJU: How does that make you look?

AUSTIN: It makes us look like a bunch of idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So yesterday, in that closed-door meeting, Scott, in fact, said he was opposed to Jim Jordan's candidacy.

And he was not expected to run, so his decision to do so today was a bit of a surprise here. The question was, how many votes will he peel away from Jim Jordan?

And if Jim Jordan still wins the Republican nomination, which is a simple majority threshold of the 221 members, but if he peels away enough support, what will happen then? And will Jim Jordan decide to step aside?

Because Jordan has insisted that he must have 217 votes of the 221 Republican conference to go to the floor.

If he does not have that today, this afternoon, will he step aside? And then what will happen then? Will there be another speaker candidate?

All so many questions still, guys, after more than a week of this disarray, dysfunction and inability to do anything here in the House because of this leadership crisis on the Republican side.

At the moment, they're trying to resolve it. Still major questions about whether they can resolve that sometime today -- Guys?

SANCHEZ: Deja vu all over again.

Manu Raju, on Capitol Hill.

Please, stand by, Manu.

Also joining us, CNN chief international affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, if they can't agree on a speaker, they can't get consensus on a speaker, how do they fund the government? How do they keep the government open? How are they going to agree on aiding Ukraine? All these legislative priorities that are hanging in the balance.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And aid for Israel. Look, all of those are good questions for which there are few answers.

Because what this is showing, as Manu was saying, the House isn't able to govern. But it is more than that. One of our major political parties is in a state of paralysis.

[13:45:03]

The country is watching. The world is watching.

And starting next week, there are real consequences of this. Why? Because the Senate is back from its recess next week.

There will be real discussions in the upper chamber about funding for Israel, funding for Ukraine, other matters. If the House still does not have itself in order, they will not be able to go forward.

SANCHEZ: But say Jim Jordan does become speaker. Then what?

ZELENY: He has been a central player in the shutdown back in 2013. We remember that --

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY -- covering the House. The shutdown in 2018, 2019, for which he got nothing during the Trump administration.

I think when you step back, it is bigger than just the speaker's race here at this moment. It is that one of our political parties is just in gridlock, unable to work.

And Donald Trump has been at the center of all of this. He supported Jim Jordan. And people are defying him. That may be one of the big takeaways 10 days after McCarthy was ousted. So many House Republicans are not following his lead. KEILAR: You bring up a good point. You talk about the world watching

here. You hear Scott saying, we look -- it makes us look like a bunch of idiots. Ron DeSantis is saying this looks like a clown show.

What does this do on a -- in a broader scale of how it makes America look?

ZELENY: It makes it look like the government is not fully functioning. And it is something we have, I guess, known for a while. We have seen it sort of in chapter by chapter, from the Tea Party through different stages.

But look, this is a moment and inflection point where perhaps, you know, there will be an impetus to come together. That has not been the case so far.

Steve Scalise, likely was that person if there was a unifying figure. There was no appetite for that.

So how bad would it have to get? Talking to a couple of members this morning, they think it has to go several more days for there to be a true unifying government, for Democrats to have to get involved, and maybe some moderate Republican.

It is hard to even get your mind around how that could happen in today's Washington. That speaker would be thrown out immediately as well.

SANCHEZ: Yes, you mentioned that Scalise would have been that consensus figure. But there was something -- somewhere between a dozen to two dozen Republicans that were hardnosed on him.

As we look at this poll, this is how Republican leaders in Congress are handling their jobs, according to different political persuasions. Fewer than 50 percent of Republicans approve of how their own party is handling the situation on Capitol Hill.

Is there any doubt this is going to have an impact in the next election?

ZELENY: Surprising it is that high, actually, because Republicans are so divided.

Look, of course it is going to have an impact in the next election.

But the point is Republicans are supposed to be going after the incumbent administration, the Democrats. Republicans are supposed to be the party out of power, at least in terms of the majority showing that they can govern.

And that is what actually worries some Republicans in terms of trying to maintain their House majority. Very difficult when some of those swing members here are being sort of, you know, dragged through all of this.

KEILAR: Yes. They're certainly worried. Jeff, thank you so much.

Our thanks to Manu Raju as well.

Heightened security concerns all across the globe as protesters take to the streets. Here in the U.S., there are major cities that are taking precautions. We'll have details on that next.

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[13:53:05]

COOPER: Security is being ramped up in major U.S. cities today after a former Hamas leader called for the Muslim world to, quote, "show anger on Friday."

Overnight, fencing and barriers went up around the U.S. capitol in Washington. In New York, added security is visible in the city's massive subway system.

The NYPD tweeted that there are currently no credible threats. Adding that they're increasing the number of uniformed officers, in their words, "out of an abundance of caution."

I want to bring in CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller. He's a former NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.

So, John, where else are we seeing ramped up security?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: We're seeing it at major Jewish organizations, for instance, the Museum of Jewish Heritage. You're seeing it at major religious institutions, such as Temple Emanuel on 5th Avenue, an iconic location.

But you're also seeing it, Anderson, in public schools in Brooklyn and Jewish and/or Arab neighborhoods, at mosques and predominantly Muslim neighborhoods.

What New York is doing is trying to create a sense of visibility, a blanket of security at over 400 locations, so that people understand, yes, there is no credible specific threat.

But they also understand that, in the threat stream on the Internet and in the airways, they're hearing concerns, and want that visibility out there to reassure people and also to ensure timely response.

COOPER: What are you seeing in other places around the country?

MILLER: We're seeing similar efforts. Candidly, because the New York City Police Department, even down 3,000 officers, even with cuts in the Counterterrorism Bureau, has a force where they can stretch to cover this many places.

In Los Angeles, they have canceled days off. They extended tours. They have put everybody in uniform. They put more people out on the street. In San Francisco, they've increased security.

[13:55:00]

In small places, like Indian River County, Florida, or in Palm Beach, where they have a large Jewish population as well, they have increased patrols.

They have also increased outreach, giving people access to apps where they can push information out from the sheriff's office and get tips in from people who see suspicious activity.

A lot of engagement.

COOPER: All right, John Miller, appreciate it. Thank you.

Stay with CNN's live special coverage. We'll be right back.

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[14:00:09]

SANCHEZ: This hour, we're following major breaking news as Israel's --