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American Doctor Infected with Ebola Now in Atlanta; At Least 10 Deaths Near U.N.-Run School; 329 Children Killed in Israel-Hamas Battle; New Poll: Americans Under 30 More Likely to Blame Israel for Conflict

Aired August 03, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and all starts right now.

Welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Fredericka Whitfield in Atlanta.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jake Tapper in Jerusalem.

These stories are topping our news this hour.

WHITFIELD: Another U.N. run shelter is attacked in Gaza and that is drawing condemnation from the United Nations and the U.S. We are also learning new details surrounding the death of an Israeli soldier. We're live in the Middle East with the latest.

Plus, an American doctor infected with Ebola has been in an Atlanta hospital for a day after being flown from Liberia. We'll have the latest on his condition.

And hundreds of thousands of people in Toledo, Ohio still have no safe drinking water. How did the city's water become contaminated? And when will it be safe to drink again?

Let's start today in the Middle East where Gaza is rocked by another blast near a school.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least ten people died today near the United Nations-run school. U.N. officials say the school has been sheltering nearly 3,000 people. U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-Moon calls the attack a quote, "moral outrage and a criminal," end quote. The U.S. state department calls the shelling attack, quote, "disgraceful."

The Israeli military says its forces were targeting Islamic jihad militants in the vicinity of the school and it's reviewing what happened. This is the third time in the past few weeks we have seen blasts around U.N. schools in Gaza.

The rockets keep flying toward Israel, as well. The Israeli military reports at least 80 rockets have been fired into Israel since midnight. Also today, the funeral for an Israeli soldier who originally was thought to have been captured by Hamas. The Israeli military now says lieutenant Hadar Goldin was killed by a suicide bomber.

Jake Tapper is live for us in Jerusalem today.

So Jake, the big news in Gaza is the shelling of that U.N. school. What kind of reaction has come from that region?

TAPPER: Well, as you mentioned, the Israeli military stated that while they're going to look into what happened at that school, they did note that there were three members of an organization, a terrorists group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad who are in that area on a motorcycle who were being targeted.

But a really -- the biggest news, I think, about the reaction to the attack on the school or the shelling of the school comes from the U.S. state department really blistering statement from the spokeswoman, Jen Psaki who says, quote, "the United States is appalled by today's disgraceful shelling outside the U.N. school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons in which at least ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed. The coordinates of the school, like all U.N. facilities have been repeatedly communicated to the Israel defense forces. We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties. U.N. facilities, especially, though sheltering civilians must be protected and must not be used as bases from which to launch attacks."

That's apparently a comment to the Palestinians. But then this blistering statement to the Israelis, quote, "the suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians. This is a statement that is not going to go over well with the Israeli government, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said just yesterday that the military will continue its operation to destroy Hamas tunnels. And they said they would also be regrouping their plan. Any word on what that has meant in the past 24 hours?

TAPPER: No. There's a lot of buzz on the streets here in Israel and, of course, this is a country with conscription where almost everyone has to serve in the military. It's not as though people are as separated from the military in this country as they are in the United States.

But there's a lot of buzz about ground forces, the ground operations pulling back. But Netanyahu and others have really pushed back against that saying there's going to be continued operations, continued destruction of the tunnels and that Hamas targets are going to continue to be the focus of the Israeli military, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And I also know you have another colleague in the region you're going to talk to, as well.

TAPPER: That's right. Gaza is home to nearly two million people, 1.8 million to be precise. Right now, of course, the Gaza Strip is in the middle of a war zone. There is no real easy way in. No easy way out. And it's hell living through it all. Especially in the last three or four weeks.

CNN's Martin Savidge is there on the ground in Gaza city.

Martin, it's night right now. What does that mean? Does that mean a lull? Or does it mean more rockets from Hamas, shelling from Israel, tell us what's going on where you are.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's that kind of eerie quiet, you know. This is such a very large city by day, we know that. At night though, you wouldn't know when it all because it's plunged almost into total darkness. That's because the power plant in Gaza was damaged. And then on of that, the power lines that are connected to Israel have also been damaged. So power is almost completely out for all of Gaza. Any light you may see behind us, that's an indication of somebody with a private generator.

Let's show you the illumination of that was in the sky just a short while ago lasted for about half an hour. And it was just one series after another of flares. These were presumably fired by the Israelis. They are probably coming from mortars. And they were over in the area, of this giant area. And that's an area, actually, the beginning of the ground offensive that pounded for several days.

We have no idea exactly what may be going on or why those flares were used. But again, they went on for half an hour. Then we'll show you another thing that illuminated the evening sky. This one was earlier just after sunset. And it was only several hundred yards away from our position. And that was a very bright flash of light and sort of off to the left-hand side of the camera. And then there came the sound of thunder. And that is the signature of a rocket launch. We believe it was a couple of rockets that were launched. And they were sent in the direction of Israel. And we know that that short time later, there were sirens sounded there.

Now, what this shows you is that, of course, these are rockets. We don't know if it was Hamas rockets. There are other Islamic groups that fire rockets as well. But they are not afraid to embed those rockets within the civilian population, within a major city. And that, of course, is the problem both for the Palestinian population because they can be often been targeted as a result, it's a problem for the Israelis, as well, because they want to start this threat against them. How do you pinpoint into such a crowded area is always the controversy here. And the Palestinians, unfortunately, are the ones that have seen the highest death tolls. So, it's just another example how nighttime here, even though it may look quiet is definitely not. We have heard of more strikes to the north and it killed at least five people and we can hear the drones, Israeli circling overhead -- Jake.

TAPPER: Martin Savidge in Gaza city. Stay safe.

Fredericka, back to you in the CNN center.

WHITFIELD: Well, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been underway for decades, we all know that. But our next guest says there are a few things that make this latest round unique. Joining, Jake and I, now from Washington is Aaron David Miller, a veteran Middle East negotiator and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International center.

So Aaron, in your new opinion column on CNN.com, you write, quote, "by now it should be painfully obvious that the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in Gaza is fundamentally different than its predecessors," end quote. So in your view, what is different this time?

AARON DAVID MILLER, Well, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: it's gone on longer, Fredericka, for sure, and there's no sense. While it may slow down, there's no sense that there's a determined who would end to it, number one.

Number two, it's more costly. In operation cast-led, even if you combined the civilian casualties in Gaza, took the two previous Israeli operations, we're now well in excess of 1,800. The Israelis may dispute that. They may say that a significant number of those are Hamas fighters. But the reality is, the pictures from Gaza are extraordinarily painful to watch.

There's no sense that -- I don't care how precise the Israeli artillery and air strikes are, leaflets knocking on the roofs. The reality is you operate in these sorts of areas, you respond Hamas fire, no matter how compelling the talking points, the reality is you're going to kill a lot of innocents. So that is the second reality. The humanitarian catastrophe, much larger, frankly, than 2008 and 2009.

And finally, I think this is the real problem. The expectations on both sides, that is to say Hamas and Israel are much greater. Hamas went for broke. They couldn't achieve through negotiations with the Palestinian authority, with the Egyptians, the economic freedom for Gaza. So they went for broke in an effort to force the Israelis to lift the blockade and create a new reality there.

The Israelis are determined to deal with Hamas' high trajectory weapons, destroy their deterrence. And fundamentally, your rogue and destroy not only the tunnels, but Hamas' rockets. And both will likely insist on some qualitatively different outcome. And this is really the problem.

Hamas really at this stage may be weak, but it still has the capacity to launch out trajectory weapons. And the Israelis may deescalate, may regroup, redeploy their grounds forces, but they'll continue to use our artillery air strikes in response to Hamas' high-trajectory fire.

And in the middle of all of this, of course, you have a number of deviators would be well-intentioned mediators that simply cannot, that includes the United States, which has now tried twice with no result, the Egyptians are invested to some degree, but frankly, they want to see Hamas cut down to size and they share Israel's goals.

The Qataris and the Turks are viewed as far too supportive of Hamas' goal. So you have no real diplomatic focus. And you have two parties, frankly, who have insufficient urgency right now to stand down. And that's, in my judgment, that's what makes this conflict so incredibly elusive in terms of immediate resolution.

TAPPER: Aaron, the national security adviser for president George W. Bush Steven Hadley told me a few days ago, that he thought what Israel was doing was recreating what happened in 2006 in the war in southern Lebanon. That is takes a public relations hit for many, many civilian casualties, but hope for the same kind of deterrence that proved to be in effect to a degree after 2006 Hezbollah, according to Hadley, really was relatively quiet after 2006. The deaths so far so many civilians and others, Hezbollah fighters proving effective.

Do you think that's true? And do you also buy what a lot of Palestinians and even Americans in Israel are telling me these days, which is it can -- the deterrence cannot work anymore because people in Gaza are so desperate, they don't see -- they're not able to be deterred. They don't see a bright light. So the only thing they think they can do is fight.

MILLER: Well, first of all, the people of Gaza are one thing. And to a degree, maybe they reflect or generally supportive of Hamas which continues to resist the Israeli occupation and perhaps stand for some symbol of military confrontation against the Israelis.

But I think the military wing of Hamas, frankly, the boys in these bunkers, basically are determined, frankly to continue the fight. And they believe, Jake, in a way they're winning. They've now killed six times the number of IDF forces that in the two previous operations. They still have a deep repository of high trajectory weapons. Even the Israelis readily admit that they may have gotten to some of the tunnels in the southern part of Gaza around Rafah. But that doesn't mean they've nearly eliminated most of them.

And Hamas' reach even though they've caused very few casualties, civilian casualties, three to be exact, essentially have gotten Israel's attention. The FAA suspends flights to Ben Gurion airport. That's a stunning psychological and practical reality for a country that feels itself connected to the world.

So I don't think there's a whole lot of urgency on the part of the military wing. And they are driving the train in Gaza to stand downright now. And that leaves the Israelis in an impossible situation. You know, I thought coming over here, why don't the Israelis stand down for 12 hours? Essentially, no artillery or air strikes into Gaza for 12 hours to test the proposition that in effect such a stand down might elicit something from the other side. I mean, whether that's practical or not from the standpoint of this Israeli prime minister, should Israelis be killed, civilians, because of the stand down, even with the effects of iron dome, there would be a huge political price to pay. But that is to me the basic problem here. Neither side feels the kind of urgency that is required to literally call for a dramatic de-escalation.

WHITFIELD: Aaron David Miller.

TAPPER: Aaron David Miller, thanks so much. Fredericka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jake.

MILLER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, a long weekend for people in Toledo, Ohio. They've been told not to use tap water to drink or cook. What's wrong with the water and when will it be safe again to drink? I'll ask the mayor's office next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now to Ohio where a toxin from algae bloom is contaminating Toledo's water supply. All right, weekend, people have been told not to drink or cook with tap water even if it's been boiled. A water advisory is still in effect this afternoon.

Lisa Ward joins us now on the phone. She is the public information officer for the mayor of Toledo.

So Lisa, How long will it take to finish testing the water so this advisory could be lifted.

LISA WARD, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE FOR THE MAYOR (via phone): Well, we're actually hopeful that with the -- continue to run because an actual four to six-hour cycle from start to finish that will have additional positive news tonight so we will be in a better position to know when we can lift the do not drink advisory.

WHITFIELD: So we've seen the long lines, is there enough bottled water there for everyone?

WARD: There were some long lines yesterday, but some of the main reasons we had long lines was people there has gone through distribution center prior to the water arriving, the water was delayed. We've been able to have a much better distribution access system today and actually late yesterday, even the lines started to go away.

But we're in a situation now where we're able to provide water for those who are in need. And we've also had retailers doing a great job restocking their stores. There's been a flow of bottled water into the city of Toledo.

WHITFIELD: And as you wait for those test results that you speak, what are you telling people as to how long they may have to, you know, just use bottled water?

WARD: Well, you know, we don't want to give people any false promises. And one of the things, we were concerned about is we want to make sure when we give the order to lift the do not consume that we don't have to go back into a situation where we have people that can't consume. We want to make sure all the different experts agree on the level of chemicals in the water and what needed to be done before we issued it's OK to consume. WHITFIELD: OK. All the best. Lisa Ward, thanks so much.

All right. Back now to the Middle East where the conditions in Gaza are already getting worse and worse.

Next, how one group is trying to protect the children caught in the middle of all of this fighting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Jake Tapper in Jerusalem.

The violence in Gaza is taking a huge toll on the civilians living there. Earlier today, the Palestinian health ministry reported that at least 1,839 people had been killed in Gaza since the fighting began on July 8th. Then later today, they revised that figure downward to 1,803. But even though the number was revised downward, it's still depressing, the reason for the higher number was gruesome. It was because body parts of victims had been taken to different hospitals which made the body count difficult.

Palestinians say they don't have enough water. Medical supplies are running out. And surgeons are working 20-hour shifts just to keep up with the influx of injured people.

Today, another blast near United Nations-run school where thousands of people were taking shelter. The United States state department called the shelling presumably by the Israeli military disgraceful.

I'm joined now by Ivan Karakashian, the advocacy unit coordinator at defense for children international Palestine.

Ivan, what's your reaction to the news of the shelling at this school turn shelter?

IVAN KARAKASHIAN, ADVOCACY UNIT COORDINATOR, DEFENSE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL PALESTINE: My reaction is that for the children of Gaza and for all the civilian population, there are no safe places for them to hide. They're besieged in a tiny strip of land. And there's no place to keep them protected and safe.

TAPPER: It's a difficult situation and very depressing. There's footage from Martin Savidge, one of our reporters in Gaza City showing some organization, presumably to Hamas, but we don't know, firing a rocket right into the center of population and then it becomes this viral Israel retaliates. I know your organization is just looking out for the kids, but it does seem as though the organization firing from the population centers bears some responsibility for this, as well.

KARAKASHIAN: Well, you know, if Hamas and other Palestinian groups are violating the laws of war, then certainly, they should be investigated and held accountable. But does that not, in any way, of solve Israel of its obligations under international humanitarian law.

And what's important here to realize is whatever the other parties conduct, it doesn't change or shift the obligation for Israel under international humanitarian law. And we've seen a lot of Israel targeting, you know, civilian structures, we have seen them targeting protected structures like the U.N. school. And those really constitute war crimes if they're judged to be unlawful attacks.

TAPPER: Right. Well, the United States is always very careful to say that their schools, their shelters were hit, not necessarily targeted but I take your point. The toll on the children of Gaza is almost too much to bear. How many children do you estimate have been killed at this point? And what can be done to prevent future deaths of these innocents?

KARAKASHIAN: So the U.N. says 329 children have been killed. Defense for children international Palestine has verified on the ground independently, 181 children killed so far.

What can be done is very little. Really, the only way to protect children at this point is for there to be an immediate cease-fire and end to violence. Anything short of that and you'll have children really continuing to suffer the brunt of this offensive on Gaza.

And it's just important here to also realize the trauma that's facing all these children. The U.N. estimates that at around 329,000 children will require some form of psychological help to get through this offensive. And also, it's important to realize for a lot of these children, this is the third offensive they live through. And for all of us looking for a lasting peace in the region, we have to wonder, you know, these children in Gaza will carry the scars into adulthood and potentially shape the trajectory of the conflict for time to come.

TAPPER: I know a friend of yours was killed in this conflict. Tell us about him.

KARAKASHIAN: So (INAUDIBLE) had been working at the defense for children international Palestine since 1999. Had joined a protest in March, outside of (INAUDIBLE) in solidarity with the people of Gaza. He was not at all participating in any clashes. He had never picked up a stone. And at the time that he was shot, he was shot from a distance of 100 meters by a sniper with live ammunition. The bullet penetrated his chest and exited in the back. And a human rights watch statement that came out today said that they believe this killing was both unlawful and deliberate. And they called on the Israeli authorities to investigate.

TAPPER: For the people out there who want to help, what is the name of the organization again? So they can Google it?

KARAKASHIAN: It's Defense for Children International Palestine. You can find us at www.dci-palestine.org.

TAPPER: All right, Ivan Karakashian. Thank you for the work.

KARAKASHIAN: Thank you very much.

TAPPER: Fredericka, back to you in the CNN center. WHITFIELD: All right. Heartbreaking. Thanks so much, Jake.

Coming up, as we continue our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, usually Arab nations stick together when there's a fight with Israel. But this time Hamas is finding little help from its Arab neighbors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour now. Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And here are the top stories crossing the CNN news desk right now.

Nearly 400 people are dead and 1600 are injured after an earthquake in southwest China. That's according to state media. The 6.1 quake destroyed 12,000 homes, 180 people are still missing. Power and phones are out and crews are trying to rescue people still trapped in debris.

And a terrifying scene out of Istanbul, Turkey. A rare tornado ripping through right there. Weather experts say hot temperatures triggered the twister. Flash flooding forced road closures across the city and left some cities submerged. So far, there are no reports of injuries.

And here in the states, a big wedding this weekend at the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts. Robert Kennedy Jr. married Cheryl Hines. The groom is the son of late U.S. attorney general Robert Kennedy. And Hines is best known for her role on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

And if you haven't seen the new transformers movie, well, you're in the minority. Transformers age of extinction is the first movie of 2014 to earn $1 billion worldwide. The number one movie this weekend is the super hero thriller guardians of the galaxy. It earned 94 million, it's the number one August release ever.

TAPPER: A blast near a school turned shelter in Gaza today killed at least ten people according to Palestinian officials. United Nations secretary Ban Ki-Moon calls the attack a moral outrage. The U.S. state department in its harsh comments against Israel yet called the shelling disgraceful. Israel's military says it was targeting Islamic jihad terrorists in the vicinity. And they are looking into what happened in Israel today. Sirens played throughout the day as more rockets rained in from Gaza. The Israeli military says at least 80 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza.

Mourners, meanwhile, attended a funeral for an Israeli soldier originally said to have been captured by Hamas, the Israeli military now saying he was killed in a suicide bombing attack.

Hamas, of course, has a political wing and a military wing. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson sat down for an exclusive interview with Khaled Meshaal. He is the political leader who runs Hamas, not from Gaza, but the country of Qatar because, he says, he fears for his safety here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KHALED MESHAAL, HAMAS LEADER (through translator): Hamas is a movement of institutions. It has respected leadership, all the members of Hamas whether in the political or armed wing are disciplined. The Israelis, the Egyptians and the American administration know this. Otherwise, John Kerry would not have intervened this time.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Obama says it's irresponsible of Hamas to fire their rockets from civilian neighborhoods. That's what you're doing. Why do you do that when you know civilians will end up dying?

MESHAAL (through translator): Look at the results. How many Israeli civilians were killed? Israel know the number while how many Palestinian civilians Israel has killed. They killed up to minute 1700 martyr while we killed Israel by admission, 63 soldiers. We kill soldiers while they kill Palestinian civilians.

ROBERTSON: But because -- because you're firing your rockets from civilian neighborhoods. That's where you're firing your rockets from. Your rockets are fired indiscriminately to civilian areas, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem. President Obama says you're firing your rockets from civilian neighborhoods. And you know what that means, that you will have high civilian casualties. Critics are saying the only reason you're doing this is so you get the international outpouring of international sympathy because of the high civilian casualties.

MESHAAL (through translator): It is unfortunate that the U.S. administration and the President Obama have adopted the Israeli narrative which is a lie. Hamas sacrifices itself for its people and does not use its people as a human shield to protect its soldiers. These are lies and Hamas does not seek international sympathy through its own victims.

ROBERTSON: What are you prepared to do to get a cease-fire? Are you prepared to destroy your tunnels? Are you prepared to stop firing rockets at Israel? Are you prepared to accept the right of Israel as a state to exist?

MESHAAL (through translator): We are ready for a cease-fire. We don't want war. We want the war to end today. We did not attack anyone. It was Netanyahu who transferred the crisis that took place in the West Bank on June 12th to Gaza. He is responsible for this. We are ready to stop this war and we want a cease-fire.

ROBERTSON: Well, are you ready to stop building rockets, are you ready to stop firing rockets?

MESHAAL (through translator): I will answer you. I will answer you. Why are there demands only on the Palestinian people to get rid of their modest and simple weapons, but not similar demands on Israel? That we found distinct. We are ready to discuss the removal of weapons.

ROBERTSON: But the Israelis say you're firing them indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. That's where you use the weapons for. When they're not firing at you, you're firing at them.

MESHAAL (through translator): Israel is the one who started the aggression, and it is Israel killing civilians. I explained to you in details what Israel is doing in Gaza in killing civilians.

ROBERTSON: There was stability there. There was stability.

MESHAAL (through translator): Unfortunately, states and the west and the western media have adopted the Israeli narrative.

ROBERTSON: Are you winning this war?

MESHAAL (through translator): Our steadfastness is itself a victory. For us to kill their soldiers while they kill our civilians is also a victory for the Palestinian cause and for Hamas.

ROBERTSON: How are you having a victory for your resistance for the cause when so many Palestinians are dying. How is that a victory? Your rockets aren't striking the Israelis. You've killed a handful of Israeli soldiers. How are you winning? How is this a strategic victory?

MESHAAL (through translator): Our people are convinced today that the only way to get through occupation and established there is through resistance like all of the people of the world have done, just like what the American people did when they got rid of the British occupation. And as the French did when they got rid of the Nazi occupation.

ROBERTSON: President Obama asked you to be more responsible to not fire rockets from civilian neighborhoods. What concessions are you willing to make to get this blockade lifted?

MESHAAL (through translator): We are ready to take all the positive steps. And we have done it before. Let me say, let the aggression end.

ROBERTSON: Get rid of the tunnels? Stop firing rockets?

MESHAAL (through translator): I'll tell you, let the aggression ends and the siege lifted and Hamas and the resistance will not fire rockets on anybody. We are defending ourselves here, end of the line.

ROBERTSON: You will stop the rockets.

MESHAAL (through translator): When the Israel aggression ends, we'll stop responding to them.

ROBERTSON: So let's define. What is the aggression that has to stop? Let's be precise and clear.

MESHAAL (through translator): Israel has to stop all forms of aggression, missiles, fighter jets, attacks by air, land and sea. They must open the border crossings and lift the siege. Beyond that, the main issue is to end the occupation and end the building of settlements because that's the true root causes of this conflict. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Fredericka, back to you in the CNN center.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jake.

Meantime, a new poll says Americans under the age of 30 are more likely to blame Israel for the conflict in Gaza.

So what's behind the generation gap? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As violence between Israel and Hamas spirals out of control, many wonder if both sides will ever be able to agree on a solution. If you live in the U.S., how you feel about the conflict may depend on your age.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When a peaceful sit-in protesting Jewish groups ended in handcuffs this week, what bothered young people like Max Berger was not the arrests, so much as the older generation's response.

MAX BERGER, ACTIVIST: I was more upset after the fact when they described us as being, quote, "insignificant."

FEYERICK: When it comes to Israel and Gaza, if you're over age 30, chances are you support Israel. But if you're 30 or younger, chances are you're more sympathetic to the Palestinians, says a new poll by the Pew research center.

How many of you have been to Israel?

Jonah Webermen (ph), Kara Segal and Max Berger are peace activists with the group, If Not Now, When.

Is your support of Israel different from your parents' support of Israel?

KARA SEGAL, ACTIVIST: Certainly. I think my parents feel that the violence is more justified than I do.

FEYERICK: Among Americans 65 or older, 53 percent blame the militant group Hamas for the violence in Gaza. That's compared to 21 percent of Americans under 30. Fifteen percent of Americans over 65 blame Israel compared to 29 percent of Americans under 30. A divide reflected between children and their parents.

JONAH WEBERMEN (ph), ACTIVIST: I understand where my dad is coming from, but I don't agree with it.

FEYERICK: Doctor Alon Ben-Mier with the NYU center for global affairs, he says the holocaust and World War II directly influenced many older people's unyielding support of Israel.

DOCTOR ALON BEN-MIER, PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: They say Israel as the final refuge, the only refuge for Jews. And regardless of even sometimes their own doing, they feel it justifies.

FEYERICK: 65-year-old Jerry Ostrov believes young people who question the military's actions do so because they lack context.

JERRY OSTROV, 65-YEAR-OLD: When they turn on the TV and the news media tells them about, you know, 85 percent negative. As the result, 85 percent negative, that's the way to react.

FEYERICK: Many young people, the so-called millennials, people born from the 1980s to the early 2000s are more influenced by what they see on social media and news alternatives like the "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: As last Thursday I saw the start of the new ground offensive launched by Israel --

FEYERICK: Do you believe that the state of Israel, its existence is at risk if they don't do what they're doing?

BERGER: I would say the state of Israel is at risk if it continues doing what it's doing.

SEGAL: Yes.

FEYERICK: A dilemma pitting old against young and even those in the Jewish community against each other.

SEGAL: I think this is tearing a hole in the Jewish soul.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick. CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Also, still ahead, what do you do when the people overseeing the CIA are being hacked by the CIA? One senator says maybe it's time to spy on the spies?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An inspector general report confirms that CIA hacked into some U.S. Senate computers while the intelligence committee was investigating the CIA's interrogation tactics after the 9/11 terror attacks.

On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" earlier today, our Candy Crowley spoke with members of the house and Senate intelligence committees. One says it's time to spy on the spies, the other says this may not be as bad as it sounds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I don't think an apology is enough. I mean, and particularly because this had happened several times before. I think we've really got to have some serious discussions with John Brennan, find out what he knew about this when he was making those statements and what he knew about it at the time. I'm not calling for his resignation, but I'm pretty skeptical right now. Because it really has undermined the trust between the committee.

And if you go back to the report itself, Candy, one of the key findings of the report is they weren't honest with us. They weren't honest with the Congress. They weren't honest with the president, the secretary of state. They were misrepresenting this program. And what it did and how effective it was. And, you know, that's this is serious stuff. Again, because we're the only people that are overseeing this outfit. And if we can't trust what they're telling us, we've got to talk seriously about what our other options are.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so what are your other options? You have a director that either didn't know what was going on in the agency as it relates to the hacking of the computer system or he didn't tell the truth. So at some point, as you know, a number of your colleagues, Republican and Democrat have called for his resignation. What's the alternative here?

KING: Well, I think the bigger question is how do we do our oversight more effectively? And we may have to embed people in the agency or have create an office of oversight in the agency because it's just essential. The American people are relying on us to watch what's going on. And there's a bigger question, of course, which is a relatively small committee with a small staff overseeing a $50 billion a year enterprise. The overall scope of the intelligence services. And I think it's -- I think it's something we in the committee will have to discuss seriously, and we're going to have to have a really straightforward discussion with the White House.

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's a bit complicated. But the story when briefed by the I.G., it makes you stop and pause and say somebody needs to be held accountable. This is very serious but I don't think this is some conspiracy notion that they wanted to spy on either of our committees. That would be, of course, be in (INAUDIBLE) would be a crime.

This says that somebody overstepped their bounds by trying to figure out what the coding was on who had access to CIA computers and CIA spaces. That's a little bit different than spying on Congress in my mind. Still serious breach. It's a very serious breach of trust. But I don't think this should be taken and extrapolated that every CIA officer out there is operating under this culture of lawlessness. As a matter of fact, I argue they go the extra mile. They're absolutely concerned about making sure they follow the law. Especially when they're operating overseas and trying to do some really difficult work to keep America safe.

CROWLEY: In the end, though, they're responsible for the actions of their employees. And I think that in some ways, as you've heard, there have been Democrats and Republicans calling for the resignation of John Brennan at the CIA. Fairly or not, he's at the top. And the question here is -- does the -- there's the NSA and all the things that it's been accused of doing and sort of overstepping its bounds into the privacy of Americans. Now the CIA and they overstepped their bounds, looking at the very committee supposed to be watching over the CIA. And it gives you this impression that after 9/11, we just went way too far. And that we have given up too much in exchange for the safety.

ROGERS: And that's why it's so important that the narrative be right. And it be based on the same set of facts. If we can all agree on the same set of facts, we'll have an honest dialogue about what should the intelligence would be look like and what should they be doing on behalf of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can see "STATE OF THE UNION" each Sunday Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern time.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a short break.

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