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Hamas Releases Israeli Soldier; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Holds Press Conference; Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Escalates. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 30, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:47]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. I'm Boris Sanchez, with Brianna Keilar in Washington, and Wolf Blitzer is live for us in Tel Aviv.

In just a few moments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to reporters as Israel enters what they're describing as the second stage of their war on Hamas, Israeli Defense Forces, as you can see on your screen, intensifying airstrikes and expanding operations on the ground in Gaza, where the IDF says dozens of militants were killed over the weekend.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Today, the terror group Hamas released a short video that shows three women it's believed taken hostage on October 7, when Hamas murdered more than 1,400 people.

CNN is not showing this footage, but, in it, one of the captives, who obviously may have been under duress, speaks to Netanyahu, pleading for freedom -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: In Gaza, civil order is beginning to collapse right now in the southern and central region, according to U.N. officials.

They say -- and I'm quoting now -- thousands of people broke into warehouses and distribution centers, taking wheat, flour and hygiene supplies. It's a sign of the growing despair as the very few aid trucks continue to trickle in, very few.

It's nowhere near meeting the need of the more than two million people trapped there right now, more than half of them children.

CNN's Melissa Bell is joining us from Cairo right now. She's covering the humanitarian crisis that's unfolding.

But I want to start with CNN's Nic Robertson, who's joining us from Sderot in Israel, not far from Gaza.

Nic, as we wait for Prime Minister Netanyahu to take the podium, I want to start with the breaking news we're following, that a female Israeli soldier has just been released in Gaza. What can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Private Ori Megidish has been released.

This is absolutely remarkable and incredible news, Wolf, because I think a lot of people had really felt, once the ground operation began in Gaza, this sort of thing would be unlikely, that the hostages would be in deep tunnels and very hard to find.

Now, the IDF is saying that she was released during a ground operation, that she has been taken and given medical checks and appears to be fine. In fact, she's met with her family, again, quite remarkable.

So, this seems to indicate that the IDF -- I say indicate because the IDF's not saying -- that they will likely have had active, timely intelligence about where she was. Of course, they may have part of their operations, they're now -- because they're now on the ground in Gaza, that they may have stumbled across her.

But the fact that she is released, has had medical checks and is with her family is quite a stunning turn of development. It's the first time that the IDF has been able to release any of the hostages, and this is one of their own.

And this must give some comfort and some hope to all those other families who are waiting for news about their loved ones, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very important. That's major breaking news. Another Israeli female soldier has just been released.

The Israelis say they're in Gaza for the long haul, Nic. And the fighting is clearly intensifying, even as we speak right now, especially on and under the ground. What more do we have on that?

ROBERTSON: Yes, the IDF is saying they're putting in additional forces, that they're increasing the tempo with infantry, with armor. They have been dropping leaflets to the citizens of Gaza, telling them that the area is now a battlefield.

In the north of Gaza, the center of Gaza, they are telling residents to move to the south to a humanitarian area in the south of Gaza at the moment, because the north is a battlefield. We have seen video shot by a journalist in Gaza today that appeared to show an IDF tank firing on what appeared to be a civilian vehicle at close range.

The IDF has said that the -- that it's -- was impossible, is impossible to know whether it was terrorists or civilians in that vehicle. But the message to residents in Gaza is, in the north, at least, that the area is a battlefield.

[13:05:11]

And the way the IDF is working there, they're saying they're using the ground troops to identify terrorist targets -- this is their language -- and then they're calling in airstrikes on those targets. And we have been hearing throughout the day occasional missile explosions from munitions dropped by jets. We're hearing the jets even now circling in the sky. And, earlier on we, could see the contrails in the sky of the jets flying sort of lazy loops outside of Gaza, waiting to get the call from the troops on the ground, as the fight inside of Gaza on the ground intensifies Wolf.

BLITZER: Nic, I want to turn to the Hamas videos that have been released showing apparent Israeli hostages. Give us more details on what they show.

And we should tell our viewers CNN is not -- repeat -- not airing this video.

ROBERTSON: Yes, there were three female hostages.

One of the female hostages speaks. Again, we don't know if she's speaking under duress, but she makes it clear that they -- that they have been held since October the 7th. She clearly identifies that. She also says -- and this will be information that apparently she will have been told by her captors -- that there was supposed to be a cease-fire.

And she's been told, because she says this, that the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, didn't go along with the cease-fire, and that's why they're still hostages. She becomes very determined in her delivery, telling the prime minister that he and his government is responsible for security failings and the fact that they were taken hostage, that there wasn't a speedy enough military response.

So, again, you begin to get the picture that this is the sort of language that Hamas wants to spread, and this unfortunate hostage may not have a great deal of choice about what she's saying. But she closes with an incredibly emotional appeal, essentially: Help free us. Don't allow us to be killed.

BLITZER: Yes, it's all so, so intense and so disturbing.

Nic, thank you very much. Stay safe where you are in Sderot.

I want to go to Melissa Bell, who's in Cairo right now.

Melissa, I know you're following what's going on in Gaza. Has there been any progress in getting more important supplies into Gaza?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a painfully slow trickle, Wolf, that continues to make its way through the Rafah Crossing.

We have just heard that an extra 26 aid trucks had made it through carrying those needed medical supplies, a bit of food. That is up from the 118 trucks that we saw earlier today. But, look, we're hearing also there are a couple dozen extra waiting for inspection.

Even, if by the end of today or tomorrow, we get towards 200 trucks or just above, that will be all that's gone through since the start of this conflict. Bear in mind, Wolf, that the U.N. estimates you need 100 trucks a day minimum to meet the very basic needs of the population.

We have just been speaking to the World Food Program. They say that, even before this war began, 80 percent of Gazans were dependent on some kind of food aid. And, at the time, there could be up to 400 trucks a day that went in.

So it gives you an idea of how little there is now for people to survive on. And I think what you mentioned a moment ago, those images we have seen over the course of the last few days of U.N. warehouses being swarmed by desperate civilians in search of those most basic supplies speaks to that.

The World Food Program says their very own staff now is sheltering in some of those parts of Southern and Central Gaza, people unable to get water, unable to get food, unable to get to toilets, the hygiene situation extremely concerning.

And it is really only a cease-fire that would allow the kind of change in the amount of trucks going through that would allow that to change. The problem is, the bottleneck at the Rafah Or crossing is very unlikely to get any better as long as the fighting continues, Wolf.

BLITZER: Melissa Bell in Cairo for us.

Melissa, thank you very much. We will get back to you.

But, right now, I want to get back to the breaking news, major breaking news. The IDF says a female Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped by Hamas has just been freed during ground operations in Gaza.

We're expecting to hear, by the way, from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, very soon. We will have live coverage of that.

But, right now I want to bring in our special guests who are here with me in Tel Aviv, Sharon and Eyal Eshel.

To both of you, thank you very much for joining us.

I know you're the parents of a 19-year-old missing IDF soldier, your daughter Roni. There's a picture...

EYAL ESHEL, FATHER OF MISSING ISRAELI SOLDIER: Roni.

BLITZER: Roni Eshel.

I understand you just heard from your daughter during a brief text while she was stationed at a military base near the Gaza border. That was the last time you heard from her.

[13:10:00]

E. ESHEL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: And here's another picture that you're showing.

Tell us about that last conversation, that last exchange, text message you had with your daughter.

E. ESHEL: It was Saturday, the black Shabbat for us.

It was actually when we heard the missiles and the whole siren in Israel. And then I started to call her. And she didn't answer for me. And then, in 9:27, she made a text message to Sharon and told her: "Hi, mom. I'm OK. I'm in duty. I feel OK" and four...

SHARON ESHEL, MOTHER OF MISSING ISRAELI SOLDIER: Red hot emojis.

E. ESHEL: The red emojis.

S. ESHEL: Saying: "I love you." And I texted her back: "I love you too. Take care."

That was it.

BLITZER: You heard -- both of you just heard the breaking news...

E. ESHEL: Oh, yes.

BLITZER: ... that a female Israeli soldier has just been freed...

S. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: ... just been released, according to the IDF.

S. ESHEL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

E. ESHEL: We are so happy.

S. ESHEL: We are very happy. And she's one of Roni's friends. She's one of her -- she's one of the team. And we are so excited.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: They were friends in the army?

E. ESHEL: Oh, yes, sure.

S. ESHEL: Yes. They are friends in the army. And they were both in the same team.

BLITZER: The same team.

S. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: So this is encouraging to you that maybe, God willing...

S. ESHEL: Very.

BLITZER: ... your daughter will be released as well, we hope.

S. ESHEL: I hope. And I hope it will be soon.

BLITZER: Yes.

And I'm sure you want to speak to this -- her friend who has just been released and get a sense of what...

(CROSSTALK)

S. ESHEL: Yes. Yes, she needs to recover from what she has been through. But I'm positive that we are going to talk with her very soon.

BLITZER: Were they kidnapped together, do you know?

(CROSSTALK)

E. ESHEL: We don't know nothing about the details about the duty, the last black Sabbath, you know, black Saturday.

But all we know, it's like a puzzle that we are making together, all of us. Exactly what happened there, we don't know. We don't know nothing, actually, what time it was, how it was, nothing.

S. ESHEL: We know she was in the communication room the last message.

BLITZER: Your daughter was?

S. ESHEL: Yes.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

S. ESHEL: Yes. And the last message was on 9:27 a.m.

BLITZER: Even though the bombs started coming in about 6:30 in the morning.

S. ESHEL: Yes. Yes, she was -- we think that she was on her shift from 4:00 to 8:00 a.m. And then she stayed there because the bombing started, and the communication room was supposed to be the safest place in the base...

E. ESHEL: Right.

S. ESHEL: ... until they set it on fire.

BLITZER: Sharon, you told me before, before we went on the air, that you would like to say a few words to your daughter if -- I don't know if she's watching, but you think seem to think that's a possibility.

S. ESHEL: Yes, I think -- I think she's watching.

And I would like to say to her, Roni, you have to stay strong. We are going to get you back.

E. ESHEL: I promise to you.

S. ESHEL: We are going to get you back. The IDF will get you back. You have to stay strong. Everyone is looking for you.

And you have to believe that we are coming. We are coming to save you.

BLITZER: Do you want to say something to her in Hebrew too?

S. ESHEL: Oh, she understands English very well, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Maybe it would be nice if you want to say something, if you want. You don't have to.

E. ESHEL: No, it's OK.

BLITZER: Of course it's OK.

E. ESHEL: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BLITZER: Let's hope and pray that what he just said happens, that you are reunited with your beautiful daughter.

And here she -- here's a picture of her.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: A very special young lady.

S. ESHEL: Yes. She...

BLITZER: She's only 19 years old, right?

S. ESHEL: She's 19 years old. She's very beautiful...

BLITZER: Yes.

S. ESHEL: ... as you can see. And she's very talented. She loved cooking. She loved music. She loved to hear Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.

And we just been to a concert of Maroon 5 when they were here in Israel, and we danced, and we sang. And I want to take her again. I want to take her again.

E. ESHEL: Actually, this is the picture from the first day in the army.

BLITZER: Really?

S. ESHEL: Yes.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

It was one year and four months ago. BLITZER: It's hard to believe that this has actually happened in

Israel.

S. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: I have been to Israel many times, reported on a lot of news here.

It's hard to believe that terrorists would be able to come in to Israel, not just kidnap and take away your beautiful daughter, but so many other people, just including children, including grandmothers and grandfathers.

[13:15:10]

S. ESHEL: Yes. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

S. ESHEL: We call it, it's the black Sabbath. And they butchered and they killed. It was a massacre, actually. You should say it.

It's a massacre, because they killed babies, women, children, elderly, and much more horrible thing that I won't speak about them now. And what I would really like is to ask the help of the international community to help us. Please, help us. Help us bring my Roni back home, and help us bring all the kidnapped people.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

S. ESHEL: Because there are so much civilian and children and babies, and babies. Do you know that there was a woman, pregnant woman, who gave birth in captivity?

We don't know if she's alive, if the baby is alive. And they should all be back home.

BLITZER: They should be.

E. ESHEL: Yes.

S. ESHEL: Yes.

And I'm speaking to you as a mom, as a parent. Please, please help me. Help me bring her back home and all the other kidnapped people.

BLITZER: Well, let's hope that happens.

And thank you so much for coming in. Thank you for your story. And when you are reunited, God willing, with Roni, we'd like to continue this conversation.

E. ESHEL: Oh, yes, sure. I promise to you.

BLITZER: I'd like to meet her.

E. ESHEL: I promise to you.

BLITZER: Thank you so much.

S. ESHEL: Thank you for having us.

BLITZER: Thank you.

E. ESHEL: Thank you so much.

BLITZER: As we say (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

E. ESHEL: For all of us.

BLITZER: Yes.

S. ESHEL: Yes.

BLITZER: Boris, back to you.

SANCHEZ: More than 230 hostages still being held by Hamas.

We do want to get a military perspective on Israel's ground operations in Gaza.

So, for that, we have retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt with us. He's also a former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.

General, great to be with you.

Obviously, overnight, Israel conducted these exercises in the Gaza Strip. They said they killed dozens of Hamas terrorists. Walk us through what you're seeing in this early part of what they describe as the second phase of their operation.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FORMER U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PLANS AND STRATEGY: Yes, first of all, we wouldn't call this an exercise. We call this an operation.

What they're trying to do is a little more than what is known as a reconnaissance in force. They have probably got a pretty good idea of what's in front of them. They're sending some preliminary forces in there to get a sense of how hard they're going to fight. They're meant to be a shield before the main elements come in for this ground invasion.

SANCHEZ: And so our reporting indicates that they are roughly now two miles into the Gaza Strip.

KIMMITT: Yes.

SANCHEZ: When you consider that this is urban warfare, that this is people barricaded in buildings, and that there are also, again, some 230 hostages being held by Hamas in tunnels and other places, how does that sort of complicate the situation as we take a look at this map of where evacuation routes have been laid out? KIMMITT: Yes, what I'd say is, first of all, this is exactly the

opposite from Ukraine.

Ukraine is flat and open. They're not fighting inside the cities there. Once they get inside the city, they will be fighting off a significant number of terrorists, and they will be obstructed by the buildings. There will be snipers in those buildings. There will be tunnels.

This is the toughest type of mission for a military unit, which is exactly why Hamas chose to fight in this manner.

SANCHEZ: I do want to play some sound for you. This is what the White House is saying about the potential for a broader regional conflict in the Middle East. Let's go ahead and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We also take our national security interests, writ large, in the region very seriously, which is why the president has now employed two aircraft carrier strike groups.

One will stay in the Eastern Med. One will go on down to the Gulf region. We have got to make sure we send a signal to all actors, not just Iran, but all actors, certainly Iran included, that we will take our national security interests very seriously. We will protect and defend our troops, and we will do it at a time in a manner of our choosing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I quickly want to point out the U.S. is sending multiple assets to the region.

So what would it really take for the United States in that area to deter some of the other actors from getting involved?

KIMMITT: Well, I think the first thing you have got to recognize is that we have in-place forces already set. We have U.S. military forces, ground forces here in Kuwait.

You have got a very, very large air element in Qatar. We're bringing in Naval assets here into the Persian Gulf. As John Kirby just said, we have forces here in the Eastern Med. We have forces transversing here. So it ought to be a very clear sign that not only does the United States have the willingness, but the capability in place to be able to defend American soldiers, embassy officials, critical U.S. allies in the region.

[13:20:08]

That is a large force that has got to be sending a clear message to Iran that, if they do something, we have the capability to respond.

SANCHEZ: And quickly, General, you're just returning from the region. What were your impressions? What stood out to you?

KIMMITT: Well, I think the headline is, the street is back, in the sense that the Palestinian cause, which has sort of lied dormant for about the last five or six years, is now -- resonates through the streets.

It's pretty calm, but it's clear, if this war gets bigger, they will be forcing the politicians in their countries to back away some of the most significant diplomatic efforts that have been made over the past five years. My view is, this is going to cause all of those diplomatic efforts we have made, those advances, to go away.

SANCHEZ: Well, General Mark Kimmitt, appreciate your expertise. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

Still to come on NEWS CENTRAL: missed warning signs, new information obtained by CNN showing that police were made aware of the Maine mass shooter's mental condition prior to the shooting.

We will tell you what we're learning when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Breaking news, we have been listening to Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, speaking right now. Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

QUESTION (through translator): ... when the Gaza war is going on?

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): It's the government only -- it's the government only that can operate powers.

The IDF, Shin Bet, the police, they are the ones that should operate. I would like to say, in a very confirmed way, 99 percent of the time and an additional percent, most of the citizens of the Judea and Samaria are volunteers -- and are doing loyal citizens.

It's coming from other places. I advise everybody to keep being united and not to look at a particular phenomenon.

QUESTION (through translator): You're showing the different fronts regarding potential fronts. Is there an option for air attack with the U.S., combined forces with the U.S.?

GALLANT (through translator): I'm very glad regarding our relationship with the U.S. and the Americans.

It's showing with the partnership with the Americans and the war rooms and the headquarters with the Americans and the defense support. And it's our -- and I would like to thank the president of the U.S. and General Austin, the head of the defense -- defense secretary for doing such a great job and assisting us in anything.

I would say, additional thing, there's no need to get into the details. It's not going to help us. It's clear that the U.S. is standing behind us.

[13:25:11]

QUESTION (through translator): We have seen additional attacks of Hezbollah in the north. Is the IDF going to abolish the threat of Hezbollah?

GALLANT (through translator): We are at war in the south. That's the definition. I think that Hezbollah is Hamas' fault, because we have defense forces in the north.

And I'm hoping that we're going to keep the quiet in this front.

QUESTION (through translator): They deserve a different government, you said. What do you think the government responsibility regarding the -- your quotes from the past?

GALLANT (through translator): The events that happened that didn't -- shouldn't have happened, I said, and I would say again, I was a defense minister when the events occurred.

I'm responsible for the defense forces and defense system, and I will bring them for victory against the Hamas, that I'm going to act.

QUESTION (through translator): Defense Minister, did you know when you started the job, did you know that they decided not to listen to the Hamas anymore? That was (INAUDIBLE) said.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Until recently, many believed that the promise of progress in the 21st century would enable us to move beyond the barbaric horrors of the past towards a better and brilliant future.

Many believed that we could go about our comfortable lives and that evil will simply pass us by. It will not. The horrors that Hamas perpetrated on October 7 remind us that we will not realize the promise of a better future unless we, the civilized world, are willing to fight the barbarians, because the barbarians are willing to fight us.

And their goal is clear, shatter that promising future, destroy all that we cherish, and usher in a world of fear and darkness. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a turning point, a turning point for leaders and nations. It is time for all of us to decide if we are willing to fight for a future of hope and promise or surrender to tyranny and terror.

Now, rest assured, Israel will fight. Since October 7, Israel has been at war. Israel did not start this war. Israel did not want this war. But Israel will win this war. Hamas launched this war by perpetrating the worst savagery our people have seen since the Holocaust.

Hamas murdered children in front of their parents, murdered parents in front of their children. They burned people alive. They raped women. They beheaded men. They tortured Holocaust survivors. They kidnapped babies. They committed the most horrific crimes imaginable. And they're part of the axis of evil that Iran has formed. An axis of

terror that works by arming, training and financing Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other terror proxies throughout the Middle East and beyond the Middle East.

In fighting Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror, Israel is fighting the enemies of civilization itself. Victory over these enemies begins with moral clarity. It begins with knowing the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong.

It means making a moral distinction between the deliberate murder of the innocent and the unintentional casualties that accompany.