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Israel: Dozens Of Hamas Fighters Killed In Gaza Tunnels And Buildings; IDF: Female Israeli Soldier Kidnapped By Hamas Has Been Released; Maine's Governor Gives Update On Shooting Investigation; FBI Is Now Working With Cornell University After Antisemetic Threats. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 30, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:53]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Boris Sanchez alongside Brianna Keilar in Washington.

And just a short time ago, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, unequivocally rejected growing international calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas. Israel says its military campaign against Hamas has entered its second stage now, not only with more intense airstrikes, but also an expanding ground operation on the ground in Gaza. The IDF says that dozens of militants have been killed, but now the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws from sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave, says more than 8,200 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Hamas' terror attack began on October 7th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7th. Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Here in the last hour, the Israeli defense forces confirmed that one of their soldiers who was abducted on October 7th has been released during IDF ground operations. Private Ori Megidish, seen here, is said to be doing well and she has been reunited with her family. Her friend and fellow soldier, Roni Eshel, is still being held. And her parents - Roni's parents just spoke to CNN with this message to their daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARON ESHEL, MOTHER OF 19-YEAR-OLD MISSING IDF SOLDIER RONI ESHEL: Roni, you have to stay strong. We are going to get you back. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise to you.

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's go now to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. He is in Ashkelon, Israel.

So Jeremy, what more do you know about the release of this IDF soldier?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the first captive taken hostage by Hamas who was freed as a result of an IDF operation. The Israel Defense Force is confirming in a statement that Private Megidish was freed in a ground operation, what they're characterizing as a ground operation overnight. They say that the private had been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th and was subsequently freed overnight in this operation.

They say that Private Megidish has been medically checked and appears to be doing well. And, of course, we see these pictures now of her meeting with her family. It is a remarkable situation to see this unfold.

And Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, are using it as evidence that this ground operation that is being conducted, they say, is one way of trying to get some of these hostages freed.

[15:05:01]

Of course, this is the first and only instance thus far that we have seen of this ground operation successfully resulting in the freedom of at least one of these captives. But this is also a point that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made, which is that it's not only these specific ground operations to try and free hostages. He has said that it is only under pressure, only by increasing Israeli leverage, by carrying out these operations that Hamas at the negotiating table will also agree to free more captives.

Of course, we know those negotiations are complex and they are ongoing.

KEILAR: Jeremy, talk to us a little bit about this video released today of these three hostages. We're not showing it. This kind of thing is tricky. Hamas is using it for its purposes, but at the same time, it does give us hope these hostages are alive and their families are obviously looking at this.

DIAMOND: Yes. And in terms of that proof of life, sometimes it's difficult to tell when exactly these videos were filmed. But in it, one of the hostages actually references a speech that the Israeli Prime Minister gave just this weekend. So it is at least recent from a timestamp basis.

Now, again, as you noted, Brianna, these videos are typically released by Hamas for propaganda value. That is one of the reasons why we are not showing this video. But in it, it shows three female hostages identified by their families as Elena Trupanov, Daniel Aloni and Ramon Kirsht.

Aloni is the only one who actually speaks in the video. And in it, she addresses the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, directly urging him to do everything that he can to free them. She says, you promised to release us all. And towards the end of the video, she actually screams, now, now, now.

Again, it is very emotional, very - there appears to be some anger in her voice. Now, we don't know the conditions under which she was directed to speak in the way that she was, but the Israeli prime minister's office acknowledging the video and saying that they - the Prime Minister turns to these three hostages who were kidnapped and says, I hug you. Our hearts go out to you and the other abductees. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's dig deeper now with CNN Military Analyst retired four- star general, Wesley Clark. He served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander and founded the group Renew America Together.

General, great to have you this afternoon.

I'm curious to get your perspective on what Israel is describing as the second wave of this ground attack against Hamas in Gaza. What have you seen so far that has stood out to you?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So Israel's in on the ground. They're going to stay in on the ground. The question is what's the rate at which their occupation advances.

So what I see is more forces come in and they're apparently two miles inside Gaza. It looks like from the northwest as well as the northeast. My guess is they seal off an area, then work from all directions in it to clear it, search it room by room, get on the rooftops, go into the tunnel network underneath it and make it secure before they go - continue to go deep.

Now, they may, as they advance, they're going to run into resistance, they're going to stir things up, they're going to get communications intercepts, they're going to go into tunnels, they're going to tap phone lines, they're going to get information, and they may well conduct raids beyond that perimeter. But they have to, to meet the Prime Minister's guidance, essentially go into every room and eliminate Hamas in every tunnel.

SANCHEZ: And that is especially complicated when you're talking about that tunnel system. It's been described as an underground spider's web. And significantly complicating that is the fact that there are civilians there, hostages as well, we believe. What does it look like to fight a war inside a tunnel system like that?

CLARK: Well, I think, first of all, they know something about the tunnels. The - not all the tunnels are new. They do have some maps of the tunnels. One of the things they're doing on the ground is making comparisons between the maps and what they know to see what's new. They've probably got some informants on the inside who've given them current information on the status.

They're going to go into the tunnels. They may go in on foot. They may go in with robotic vehicles first. They may fly drones through some of the tunnels if they can control the drones down the tunnels and they're going to move through there until they hit resistance. They're going to know where they are in relation to the rest of the city. They may then bring ordnance in on the tunnel if there's nobody in there.

[15:10:02]

They may back out and blow it with demolitions.

Everything's going to be decided on a case-by-case basis based on the overall picture of where the hostages are, where the enemy is, what the future operations are and what it takes to finish the job in Gaza.

That's why the Prime Minister said it's going to be a long war. This can't be done overnight. It is step-by-step, and the Israelis have to do it in a way where they don't get bogged down in the city, where they've got freedom of maneuver, where they keep the initiative, and they still have to watch the back door up in the north in Lebanon and Syria.

SANCHEZ: And to that point about there being a back door, it's not just Lebanon and Syria. It's the potential for even Houthis to get involved in Yemen. Iran's backing of terror groups in the region plays a significant role in all of this. And officials in Iran describe Israel as having crossed a red line here, in response, the U.S. is sending additional forces to sort of deter those groups. How likely is it, General, that this is going to escalate into a broader regional conflict?

CLARK: I think there's a lot of posturing right now. I think certainly Vladimir Putin would be willing to fight to the last Hezbollah soldier to distract the United States and Israel and the West from what he's doing in Ukraine.

But the Iranians are very clever. They're very nuanced. They can draw and suggest red line after red line after red line without moving forward. They're watching the situation. Right now Israel has the initiative, Israel has the ability to protect itself fully and Iran is not going to commit itself. Iran is not going to commit itself until Israel doesn't have those capabilities and the United States is distracted somewhere else.

So the mullahs in Tehran, they're not about to give up the safety and security of Iran because of Hamas. They're willing to use Hamas and especially use the Palestinian civilians there to distract, to advance their own agenda in the region. They're willing to have Hezbollah take some hits, but they're not going to commit Hezbollah unless they think they're close to a decisive phase of the battle and they're nowhere near close yet.

So yes, there's a risk of escalation, but it's still a ways off. The United States needs to continue to do everything it can to make sure that all those in the region and outside the region understand why our ships are there and what we would do in the event of escalation.

SANCHEZ: General Wesley Clark, thanks so much for the perspective.

CLARK: Thank you.

KEILAR: And as we learn of one hostage being released, we're also learning new details about the more than 200 who are still held captive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that 33 of those hostages are children.

I'm joined now by Daniel O'Shea. He is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL commander and coordinator for the hostage working group in Iraq.

Daniel, thank you so much for being with us.

I do want to ask you about the children, but first I just want to ask you more generally about what Israel is facing here as they are trying to recover hostages, what the challenges are on the ground.

DANIEL O'SHEA, RETIRED NAVY SEAL COMMANDER: Well, I mean, right there, 33 children, people as old well into their 80s, women, noncombatants, there has been nothing on this scale in history beyond the Beslan school crisis and the Moscow theater in terms of the size and scope and scale of noncombatants in this. But they're not in all one area. They're out that spider web network tunneling system underneath the streets of Gaza.

So the challenges for planning a hostage rescue mission are very formidable. Nothing like it in my 20 years of tracking jihadi groups that have done these kidnappings in the past. So this is the only playing card that Hamas has and they're playing it out because it complicates everything the IDF is doing in terms of their stated mission to wipe out Hamas, because every time they go anywhere, the concern would be that the hostages are also being held as human shields with - what they're targeting, Hamas fighters.

KEILAR: That's right. And obviously that's a huge challenge for the IDF. They're not all in one place, as you point out. And so there's this IDF soldier, private Ori Megidish, who had been abducted, now freed.

Can you talk a little bit about what kind of intel she might be able to provide, what kind of intel the elderly Israeli hostages will be able to provide, considering they were being held maybe in smaller groups in different places?

O'SHEA: Well, there was information revealed. Obviously, the older women that were released, they were being fed. They're being "given - administered medicine." [15:15:04]

Again, Hamas, these are important bargaining chips. So they were keeping - they're going to keep those hostages alive until it doesn't serve their purpose. So the female soldier is going to be probably more trained in observations. She probably played a role on her rescue. She may have escaped and then was found - heard soldiers nearby.

And again, how she got rescued, we may never know the details. But she will play a critical role in the debriefing process. So she's been medically checked out first and foremost. I think she's been with her family, but believe me, she's being debriefed right now on everything she can share in terms of where the hostages are held, how many, what conditions, so every hostage will bring added intelligence to help as they're trying to determine how they're going to pull off this wide scale hostage rescue mission, which won't be one operation, it will be multiple.

KEILAR: Hamas released another hostage video today. They're not showing it. I think the families will welcome seeing their loved ones in this video, but clearly these are people who are being held, they are under duress, they do not have control of what they get to say. What does the release of the video though tell you?

O'SHEA: Well, this is straight up hostage terrorism via propaganda video. These women were pleading - the one woman on screen was pleading with Prime Minister Netanyahu demanding that they do the hostage exchange for Hamas prisoners being held in Israel.

And that's - she - they're - Hamas is basically having these Israeli hostages who - it's got to be terrifying for the family. They're thankful to see their sisters, mothers, daughters alive, but it just, it just raises the scale. And we're going to see more proof of life hostages - hostage videos just like this in the future because every time a hostage video comes out, it complicates everything all the way up to the prime minister level and certainly the senior ranks of the IDF.

KEILAR: Well, Daniel, it's so important to talk to you. You are someone in a rare position of having dealt with hostage situations and hearing you talk about just how extraordinarily difficult and unique this situation is really drives it home for us.

Daniel O'Shea, thank you.

So New York state authorities are increasing security at Cornell University following antisemitic threats against Jewish students. The rabbi and the president of Cornell Center for Jewish Living will be joining us live next.

And then later, tributes pouring in for Friends star, Matthew Perry, as the Los Angeles County medical examiner says the cause of death will require additional investigative steps. That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:21:53]

SANCHEZ: We want to take you straight to Maine where Gov. Janet Mills is giving an update on her state's response to the mass shooting in Lewiston over the weekend, let's listen.

GOV. JANET MILLS (D) MAINE: I'll take a few questions.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Governor? Governor? Governor?

MILLS: My glasses. Excuse me. Hi.

PROKUPECZ: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you? Thank you for (inaudible), Shimon Prokupecz from CNN.

MILLS: Uh-huh.

PROKUPECZ: I need to get your reaction to our reporting that the sheriff there where the shooter lived had investigated him into his home, appears on several occasions, at one point the deputies there (inaudible) appears he was inside the home, but they took no further action despite knowing, receiving information that he was a threat. What is your reaction to that? I know you talk a lot about investigation, but if law enforcement doesn't use the tools that are available to them, how are people supposed to feel safe?

MILLS: You're reporting on reports and I know a second ...

PROKUPECZ: (Inaudible) ...

MILLS: ... excuse me, excuse me, you're reporting on something that has not been finally determined and I think that determining and understanding all the facts surrounding this event is crucial. All of the facts. The Maine State Police is, as I said, undergoing a thorough investigation of every aspect of the case. Facts are important and it's an important question that you ask.

There are many other important questions that will be determined in the coming weeks and months. The Maine people deserve an answer to these questions, all of them, and that will happen in due course.

PROKUPECZ: Are you concerned (inaudible) ...

MILLS: I'm sorry, next question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor. can you (inaudible) ...

(CROSSTALK)

MILLS: Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor?

MILLS: Yes. Somebody had their hand up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.

MILLS: Yes. Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you please describe what police did to find Mr. Card after the statewide alert and (inaudible) why he wasn't found at that time?

MILLS: I couldn't hear you, the first part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you please tell us what police did in September after the statewide alert to find Mr. Card (inaudible) and why he wasn't found at that time?

MILLS: Again, you're asking a law enforcement investigative question and I think those questions are important, but I can assure you those questions will be answered in due course as the police conduct all appropriate interviews and determine the facts of this case.

I trust the Maine State Police to determine - to undergo a thorough investigation of all aspects of the case.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: That is Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, answering questions from reporters after indications that deputies near Lewiston were informed that the shooter that killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar last week had told people that he was eager to hurt others. Someone close to him reported to law enforcement that he might snap and commit a mass shooting.

The governor there not giving any direct answers when asked about those reports specifically by CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. Though she says, "The people of Maine deserve an answer." She says that investigators will continue working to get those answers as soon as possible.

[15:25:07]

Brianna, obviously a lot of questions about that investigation given what we've learned recently about the shooter and his mental state in the months leading up to his actions.

KEILAR: Yes. So many red flags and eventually those questions will have to be answered. That's not going to stand, so we'll see there.

In the meantime, the FBI is working with Cornell University after Jewish students were targeted in a series of antisemitic threats in an online forum over the weekend. Now New York governor, Kathy Hochul, is speaking out after meeting with students earlier today, saying we will not tolerate threats or hatred or antisemitism or any kind of hatred that makes people feel vulnerable. Joining me now, we have Rabbi Ari Weiss, who is the CEO of Cornell Hillel, and Molly Goldstein, who is a Cornell student. She's also the co-president of the Cornell Center for Jewish Living.

Molly, just - if you could talk to us a little bit first how things have been for you, how they have been for other Jewish students on campus. This is an incredibly scary time. Tell us what you're hearing.

MOLLY GOLDSTEIN, CO-PRESIDENT, CORNELL CENTER FOR JEWISH LIVING: Absolutely. Thank you, Brianna, for giving me the opportunity to speak with everyone today.

Jewish students on campus right now are unbelievably terrified for their lives. It is not okay to have antisemitic attacks on campus or in any place in this world. We are scared to go back to our home. We are scared to be in the kosher dining hall, but we are remaining strong as much as we can.

KEILAR: Rabbi, what are you hearing?

RABBI ARI WEISS, CEO, CORNELL HILLEL: So I would just add to what Molly said and I'll just say for the last three weeks, Jewish students at Cornell, as they have around the country, are in mourning. This is a really difficult time. Everyone knows someone who was taken hostage or who was murdered on October 7th. And then over the last three weeks, as students have returned to campus, there's been one incident after another and this is happening nationwide, and unfortunately, it's happening at Cornell as well, where a professor said some really horrific things.

There was anti-Zionist and antisemitic graffiti last week. And then on Sunday, we saw this horrible and vile post that appeared around campus. And it's really shooken (ph) us to the core to see that. At the same time, we were just deeply appreciative of Cornell University Police Department, who are out en masse to support Jewish students and Jewish life at Cornell, as they are for all students at Cornell.

KEILAR: Yes. I mean, the fact is, you're to that point where many students, they need that. They need that as a precaution. And Molly, you spoke with the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, I just read some of her words. Do you feel that school officials, do you feel that elected officials are doing everything they need to do to protect you and other students?

GOLDSTEIN: Yes. Gov. Hochul and President Pollack of Cornell University ensure that they are doing everything they can. And we have every type of police outside of our building 24/7 to make sure that we are safe. And we cannot express our appreciation anymore.

KEILAR: Molly, have you been surprised in the wake of the attack on October 7th and what has transpired since then, the war between Israel and Hamas? Have you been surprised by the level of antisemitism that it has displayed, that it has revealed?

GOLDSTEIN: Unfortunately, we've been in a world where Jewish students on campuses have been under attack for many, many decades and have been feeling extremely unsafe. But I never would have expected this to happen on my own campus, to happen in my own home and I am sending strength to all of my other students who are going through this extremely difficult time and this unprecedented time. And I hope that this can be over soon for everyone.

KEILAR: Rabbi, I wonder, we talk so much about the discourse on campuses. Do you think there is room for people to talk about - do you think there is room for an opinion where people think, yes, what happened on October 7th is atrocious; yes, they are concerned about the hostages, just this extraordinary horrific situation with hostages in Gaza. But also they don't like what's happening to civilians in Gaza, to children in Gaza, that they think that's atrocious as well. Why isn't that taking up more of the conversation?

WEISS: So first, it - just to say, the loss of any innocent life is tragic and I think that's an important thing to say. The loss of any individual life is tragic, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian. I think at the same time, it's important to say that Israel's war today is a defensive war.