Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Rocket Barrage Fired From Gaza Toward Israel; PM And Defense Minister Conduct Security Assessments; IDF Declares "State Of War Alert," Mobilizing Troops; Hamas Claims 5,000 Rockets Fired In "Al- Aqsa Storm"; Russian Strikes Leave Two Dead, 30 Wounded In Kharkiv; Ukrainian Village Tries To Cope After Devastating Strike; Ukraine Aid Uncertain Amid U.S. Congressional Divisions; Drone Attack On Syria Military College Kills At Least 89; Turkey Strikes Kurdish Targets In Syria; Amazon Launches Satellites In Race To Add Internet Access; 16 Migrants Killed In Bus Crash In Southern Mexico; Indian Government To Give $5m Aid For Flash Flood Victims. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 07, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:27]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Laila Harrak. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, infiltrators enter Israel as militants fire thousands of rockets from Gaza. We'll go live to Jerusalem as Israeli troops mobilize in response to what Hamas is calling Al-Aqsa Storm.

And another deadly strike on Ukraine just a day after a devastating attack on a village killed dozens and cause for sanctions against Azerbaijan over allegations of ethnic cleansing as Armenia gets ready to take its demand for an emergency order before the Hague.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: The Israeli military is declaring a state of war alert and mobilizing its forces following this morning's unprecedented rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Starting at about 6:30 a.m. local time when most Israelis were asleep, Hamas militants fired wave after wave of rockets. Perhaps thousands of them.

Israeli officials say there are multiple injuries, some of them serious and at least one fatality. In addition, the Israeli military is warning that a number of militants have infiltrated Israeli territory from Gaza, and issued this statement.

Civilians in the southern and central areas are required to stay next to shelters and in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip inside shelters. It goes on, "The Hamas terrorist organization is the sovereign in the Gaza Strip and is responsible for this attack. It will face the consequences and responsibility for these events".

All right, CNN's Hadas Gold joins us now live from Jerusalem. Hadas, tell us what's happening right now.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm in standing in the stairwell of just outside where CNN studios are in our building because there are air raid sirens going off in Jerusalem. This is probably the third red alert siren we've received in Jerusalem since this morning.

We've been hearing explosions overhead that could be interceptions that could be impacts from rockets. I have not seen anything like this in my time here, because even in 2021, when there were sirens and rockets fired towards Jerusalem, it was sort of a one or two time thing.

We have now gotten -- we've now had several minutes of continuous sirens going off in Jerusalem, and that's why we had to leave the studio, which is right by a window and come into the safety of a stairwell. We have a protected space in case of rockets landing near us. This has been going on since 6:30 in the morning, a just massive barrage of rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel.

Laila, this is unprecedented and this is war. That is what's being made very clear by the Israeli military who says they are in a state of war alert and that they are calling up now reserves. That's what the defense minister has called for.

We don't have an exact number of the number of rockets that have been fired from Gaza into Israel. Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, says it's been 5,000. We don't have a specific number yet from the Israelis. But what is new and unprecedented about this situation today is not only the intensity, but the fact that there have been infiltrations of Palestinian militants into Israeli settlements in the south.

We are getting reports, this has been confirmed by the Israeli military, just heard another explosion overhead that there have been infiltrations. We've seen videos of what appear to be militants in the backs of pickup trucks in Israeli cities in the south, shooting, firing randomly.

In terms of injuries and fatalities, what we know so far is at least one woman in her 60s has been killed. There may be more. We know of several other injuries, including several who are severely injured. In terms of an Israeli military response, I think we should expect a big one.

We know that the reserves are being called up. We know that the Israeli military says they are mobilizing, and we should expect a massive response, because this is -- I mean, honestly, I think it took the Israelis off guard. I don't think they were expecting this.

There wasn't any sort of clear trigger like we've had in previous conflicts that maybe got people understanding that something would be happening. Came as rather bit of a surprise at 6:30 this morning, and it seems that it was quite clearly coordinated.

Now, as you noted, the Hamas militant group has released a recorded statement from one of their leaders calling this the Al-Aqsa storm, saying that they've fired more than 5,000 rockets. They're connecting this directly to what's been happening at Al-Aqsa recently.

But what's been interesting it's what's been happening at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound recently, which is also known as Temple Mount, a place so holy for both Jews and Muslims, hasn't been, you know, police raids, police big arrests, or any sort of major clashes at the compound.

[02:05:07]

It's been the visits of hundreds of Jews to the compound over this past week, which is also a Jewish holiday. Now, non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound, but there are so many sensitivities about what happens there, who's allowed to be there, what they're allowed to do, if they pray, if they don't pray.

The Hamas organization is also connecting this directly to what's been happening in the West Bank for the past year and a half or so. We've seen increased level of clashes of Israeli military incursions and raids into Palestinian towns, targeting militants, increased number of Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

But this is something we have not seen before. The intensity of this rocket attacks, these infiltrations we are continuing to hear reports that there might still be militants in Israeli towns near the border. All Israeli residents are being advised right now to stay close to their shelters, to not go out, to not take to the streets, to not go to the beach.

This is a state of war that I don't think Israelis have seen in years, if not decades. Laila?

HARRAK: And Hadas, there will be some very difficult questions to answer by the Israeli intelligence, because, as you noted, I mean, they seem really to have been caught by surprise by this very orchestrated operation.

GOLD: Yes, that is a major question is sort of how did this happen in a way that the Israeli military didn't seem more prepared for? Because in previous rounds where we've seen rockets fired from Israel, I don't want to say that people were expecting it, but there was a clear trigger.

There were clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. There was maybe a major Israeli military incursion or raid into the West Bank that perhaps captured or killed some high ranking militant. But this was not -- I don't want to say it was a normal level of tension, but the last few weeks, we've seen rising levels of tension. There has been some, you know, some concern over what's happening in Jerusalem.

There were some protests along the separation fence between Gaza and Israel, but nothing that raised to the level of what we had seen in the past, and that's why this is so surprising. I do think that we need to keep in mind. Not just what's been happening specifically here within Israel and the Palestinian territories, but also what's happening broader on the regional level.

And this is, of course, the normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia. And so I have to wonder whether this is somewhat connected to those talks that are increasing and talks about what the Palestinians could potentially get in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia. Perhaps this is some sort of message being sent to the broader Arab world.

Of course, that is all just speculation right now. All we know right now is that Israel has declared essentially a state of war alert. This is a major, major escalation, the types of which we have not seen in years. Many, many rockets being fired across all of Israel, including here in Jerusalem.

That's why we're standing here in the stairwell right now, as well as something which is new, which is these infiltrations. We still don't have a clear picture on how many infiltration reports there have been in southern Israel and whether those will be expanding to other parts of Israel as well.

HARRAK: And Hadas, can you talk to us a little bit about the timing of this? Is there a significance?

GOLD: Well, today is Saturday, it is Shabbat, it's the holy day for the Jews. It is also another holiday, it's the end of the Sukkot holiday, the beginning of Simchat Torah. So it is a significant day in terms of it being a holiday. This whole week has been the holiday of Sukkot.

And the holidays do tend to bring an extra level of tension, and that's because often you'll have some Jews who want to go to the Temple Mount, which is also known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. And like I said, so many sensitivities about non-Muslims going there, specifically Jews, specifically Jewish extremists and settlers.

So that is a concern, and also I do think it is significant that it is also happening on the anniversary, or very close to the anniversary, of the Yom Kippur War. And this was another time when Israel was caught off guard and completely surprised by an attack.

Now, obviously, that war had very significant impacts on Israeli history and the continuation of it. But that was another time that they were caught off guard. So you have to wonder whether there is some connection to all of that happened to this happening on a holiday, on a Saturday and so close to this anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.

HARRAK: And we do expect Israel's response to be huge to this.

GOLD: I think with that question, I mean, they're calling up reserves right now. They're declaring something that I haven't heard even I think in 2021 during that 11 day conflict between Hamas militants and Israel, which is the state of war alert, calling up reserves.

I think we should expect a massive Israeli response, a massive Israeli response towards Hamas, towards Gaza, the likes of which we probably haven't seen in a decade, if not more.

HARRAK: All right, Hadas, I'm going to let you catch your breath and get to safety. I'll check in with you in a little bit. For now, thank you so much for your reporting.

I'm going to turn our attention now to Ukraine, where one city and one village are reeling from Russian strikes that left scores of people dead and wounded. The city is Kharkiv, where two people are dead after Russian missiles slammed into apartment buildings on Friday. Well, the victims include a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother, while at least 30 other people were wounded.

[02:10:11]

Southeast of Kharkiv funerals have begun in the village of Hroza, which lost one-sixth of its pre-war population in a single Russian strike. At least 52 people were killed on Thursday, which prompted the U.N. to send its human rights investigators to the site of the attack. Well, a U.N. human rights coordinator said the strike amounted to a war crime.

Let's get you more on this. Barbie Nadeau joins us now live from Rome. Barbie, what more have you learned about the Russian strike in the Kharkiv region?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, these are just devastating numbers. These are numbers of injuries and casualties that we haven't seen since the beginning of the war almost a year and a half ago. And, you know, this is especially worrying because there's so much hesitancy now on the part of the people who are supporting at this war effort, supporting Ukraine, especially in the United States and even here in Europe.

But what's especially bothersome right now is just trying to understand the dynamics of this latest attack. Let's listen to what the U.N. Commissioner had to say on her visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH THROSSELL, SPOKESWOMAN, U.N. OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: At this stage, it's obviously very difficult to establish with absolute certainty what happened. But given the location, given the fact that the cafe was struck, the indications are that it was a Russian missile, but must underscore, as we've said previously, that this needs to be looked at further.

But the absolutely clear thing is that there was horrible loss of life. And of course, that is to be deployed in all circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, you're talking about war crimes in a war that is completely, you know, filled with these sorts of atrocities and crime. And like I was saying, you know, the support is waning and there are a lot of hesitancy right now about continuing support here in Italy, here across Europe, and especially in the United States. And that's got to be worrying to the military in Ukraine. Laila?

HARRAK: All right, Barbie Nadeau, thank you so much.

For more on this, I'm joined by John Deni, he's a research professor at the U.S. Army War College. Sir, a warm welcome. So glad you could join us. I want to start our conversation by asking you about that terrible attack in Hroza, which has had a devastating effect on that community.

And then, of course, we saw this latest strike on Kharkiv which targeted residential buildings. Does seeing, you know, the horrifying consequences of assaults like that galvanize support for Ukraine? Does it make any difference?

JOHN DENI, RESEARCH PROFESSOR, U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE: Well, Laila, let me begin by noting the views I express are mine and don't necessarily reflect those of the U.S. government. I think they do make some difference. I mean, as a father myself, when I read about or see this news of children as young as six years old dying in tragedies like this, it reminds us of, frankly, the moral depravity of the criminal and leadership that leadership can't be trusted.

The military directs lacks a moral compass and really they need to be held accountable for what are frankly war crimes. They've got a history of doing this of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Now, whether it moves the needle on public opinion, I think it may be limited, frankly, because many of us have been -- become somewhat used to this, to seeing Russian attacks on civilians. Now, that said, it could still move the needle with regard to political support for aid to Ukraine.

HARRAK: All right, let's talk about that. I want to ask you about the future of Ukraine security assistance. What are you most concerned about right now?

DENI: Well, I think there are really two things. I think in the short run, of course, we're most concerned with getting the Ukrainians, the armaments, and especially the ammunition they need. In terms of artillery shells and air defense weapons to sustain their counteroffensive over the short run. That is really over the next month or so before the weather begins to play a significant role.

Beyond that. I think we're also concerned with what happens after the winter and into the spring. If the Russians decide to launch a counteroffensive at that time, the Ukrainians are going to need additional injections of equipment and material.

Now, in the U.S. I think we've got the ability to sustain that level of effort for the next month or so, given current funding and what the administration has told us. But beyond that, there are serious questions. And we already know that many of our European allies have reached the bottom of the barrel. At least in the short run, regarding their own stockpiles. Over time, that could change though.

HARRAK: That could change. I mean, let's talk about that. I mean, how reliable is U.S. support if there is a change in administration or if you are, you know, one of the E.U. partners and European policymakers watching now the dynamics that are playing out in Washington at this moment. What conclusions should they draw about the role America is still prepared to play as a guarantor of European security?

[02:15:02]

DENI: Well, you know, this is a situation in which, Laila, there's really a good news, burden sharing story to be told. The Europeans are actually supplying more assistance, more -- they've committed to supply more assistance in terms of economics, financial, military and humanitarian support. And even if we just look at the military aid, they've committed to supply more than even the Americans have.

Now, that said, when they look across the ocean to see the political situation here, they've got some doubts. At least two-thirds of GOP senators support the same. The House, the GOP is a bit more divided there, so there's some questions. But I think that in the end, we are going to see a renewal of that assistance once we get past the political storm that is currently unfolding in Washington.

HARRAK: A final thought from you, what are the challenges you see for Europe and NATO the longer this war lasts?

DENI: Well, as I mentioned, the Europeans have committed to supply a great number of military assistance, humanitarian assistance, economic aid, et cetera. In terms of that military aid, though, they are slowly bringing online more defense capacity production, more defense contracts. That will take time.

We need to see that come online faster. The Europeans have committed, for example, to providing a billion euros to fund new contracts for ammunition, as well as another billion euros to replenish the stocks of those European allies that are donating. But again, this is going to take months to unfold, not weeks.

HARRAK: And do the Ukrainians have that much time?

DENI: I think for their counteroffensive, they probably do not. However, we know the Russians are under the same constraints regarding materiel, their equipment, their manpower. And so I think most analysts, at least in the U.S., believe the Russians are not capable of launching any kind of large scale offensive anytime soon.

HARRAK: John Deni, thank you so much for joining us.

DENI: My pleasure, Laila. Thank you.

HARRAK: A growing number of migrants try to reach the Canary Islands, rather, by boat. Ahead, how the influx is affecting local services and how residents are stepping up to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:42]

HARRAK: Let's get back to our breaking news this hour. The Israeli military has declared a state of war alert after a surprise attack from Gaza. Hamas militants are claiming to have fired some 5,000 rockets targeting airports and military positions.

Israeli officials say at least one person has died and several people have been wounded. Israel's military also says it is mobilizing soldiers, claiming that a number of militants from Gaza have entered Israeli territory.

In Israel, at least seven people were reportedly killed Friday in a wave of strikes on rebel held areas. That's according to the volunteer group known as the White Helmets, which is blaming the Syrian government and Russian forces. The strikes happened a day after a drone attack killed at least 89 people at a Syrian military college.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Friday, the death toll from a drone strike on the graduation ceremony at the Homs Military Academy reached almost 90, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency, including 31 women and five children.

The agency claimed nearly 300 others were injured. The U.K. based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll exceeded 120. But CNN can't independently confirm any of these claims.

No one has actually claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Syrian government blamed foreign-backed terrorists for the attack, which usually refers to the myriad of armed opposition groups operating in the country's northwest, and that's where regime forces struck back.

The White Helmets civil defense group, which operates in rebel controlled areas, claimed more than a dozen people were killed and more than 50 injured as a result of government bombardment. While in the eastern part of the country, Turkish drones and warplanes have been hitting Kurdish targets. Kurdish security forces said at least 11 people were killed in those Turkish strikes.

More than half a million Syrians have been killed in the last 12 years of violence. Almost 13 million others have either been internally displaced or fled abroad. Syria is a minefield of competing foreign forces. Russian, American, Turkish, Iranian, and Lebanese Hezbollah troops operate on Syrian soil, and Israel's air force regularly strikes suspected Iranian military targets there.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome.

HARRAK: Next week, the World Court will hear Armenia's demand for an emergency order requiring the withdrawal of Azerbaijan's military from civilian areas in Nagorno-Karabakh. The International Court of Justice is expected to hear the case on Thursday.

120,000 ethnic Armenians once lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, but most fled after Azerbaijan seized control last month. Many are still in shock and coping with the fact that they may not see their homes again.

And some shared their traumatic experiences with CNN's Matthew Chance. And I want to warn you, what you're about to see may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where the most desperate from Nagorno-Karabakh are surviving, abandoning their livelihoods and homes for the safety of these refugee beds. Entire families have come, like the Vanians (ph), who say their remote village was bombarded relentlessly by Azeri guns, forcing them to flee.

"It was so painful to leave, especially for my children," Anaida (ph) tells me. "We were farmers. We have everything. But it was a massive war and we had no choice," she says.

ARMEN AVAKLAN, BRUNTSK 2020 NGO: These people are the most vulnerable.

CHANCE (on-camera): The most vulnerable.

AVAKLAN: They would be on the street or in their car if they weren't here.

CHANCE (voice-over): This emergency charity's co-founder from Boston has witnessed the physical and emotional impact of the evacuation firsthand.

[02:25:01]

(on-camera): Try and give us a sense of the trauma that people have endured?

AVAKLAN: It's mass exodus. I mean, these people, some of the people that are here, they -- third day, fourth day, they are still in shock. They don't know where they. There are families here that are still saying, I'm waiting for the bus to take me back home.

CHANCE (on-camera): Well, the road from Nagorno-Karabakh is very long. It's very mountainous and at times it's very winding as well. It's also very empty. As all the settlements across the border in Azerbaijan that we've managed to have a glimpse of, because all 120,000 people who once lived there have now evacuated those settlements, they've come to Armenia, where they are living in hotels and refugee centers or with family.

(voice-over): In border towns like Goris, where local authorities are distributing basic supplies to evacuees, some have spent a lifetime fighting for a homeland that is now lost.

(on-camera): Azerbaijani government says that if you live in Nagorno- Karabakh, Stepanakert or one of those villages, they will protect your rights. Do you believe them?

(voice-over): "They will never protect us. They are lying," Susanna (ph) insists. "I will never forgive them for what they did to us," she adds.

There are some with far more than emotional scars. We visited one hospital filled with victims of a makeshift gas station blast in Nagorno-Karabakh, where people have been frantically gathering fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE (voice-over): As the doctor described the carnage, you can hear the screams of agony from the wards.

(on-camera): OK, can we go and see that now? Can we go see it now?

(Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE (voice-over): In almost every room here, there's a horrific story of pain and loss. Twenty-five-year-old Viktor (ph) asked us to hide the burns on his face.

"It was like hell," he told me, "and now I don't want anyone to see."

His friend, Mikhail (ph), says he lost five members of his family in the chaotic evacuation from Nagorno-Karabakh.

"But no one seems to care," he told me.

"When it comes to us, I think the world must be blind."

Matthew Chance, CNN, Armenia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Spanish authorities say they have encountered hundreds of migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands by boat over the past few days. Many have been rescued and taken to the region's westernmost island, which has received around 1,200 people in the past week alone. Emergency teams say they're getting overwhelmed by the growing number of arrivals.

In some cases, local residents have stepped up to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESA TORRES, VOLUNTEER (through translator): It's basically about having a bit of empathy for these people who are arriving here without anything. As our ancestors did before, they emigrated as they needed to work, and there weren't the aids that perhaps we can have now under our law in the Spanish Constitution.

But we remain human beings, and we need to empathize with them. So we have contributed some money and food to some of them. Because it's true, there are lots of them arriving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Almost 15,000 migrants have reached the Canaries so far this year. More than 3,000 of them arrived just last month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:53] HARRAK: Back to our breaking news. The Israeli military has declared a state of war alert and is mobilizing its forces following this morning's unprecedented rocket attacks from Gaza, starting at about 6:30 a.m. local time when most Israelis were asleep. Hamas militants fired wave after wave of rockets, perhaps thousands of them.

Israeli officials say there are multiple injuries, some of them serious and at least one fatality. In addition, the IDF says a number of militants have infiltrated Israel, and it's warning Israelis near Gaza to stay in or near their shelters. A live report from Jerusalem is coming up in just a few moments.

Now, the U.S. labor market is moving full steam ahead into the fourth quarter, adding some 336,000 jobs in September. That's nearly twice the number most economists were expecting. There were gains across all major sectors, but hospitality and leisure were particularly strong.

Well, average hourly earnings rose slightly to 4.2 percent, but had been expected to rise a bit more. Still, President Joe Biden celebrated the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the highest share of working age Americans in the workforce in 20 years. And it's no accident, it's Bidenomics. We're growing the economy from the middle out, the bottom up, not the top down. And inflation is coming down at the same time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: The resilience at U.S. labor market has helped keep consumer spending strong, but Federal Reserve officials are still concerned about infiltration.

Amazon has officially joined the space race to blanket the globe with internet access from satellites.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying the proto flight mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Amazon set up -- sent up rather its first two satellites on a rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday. Long range plans call for more than 3,200 Amazon satellites to beam internet connectivity to the ground.

[02:35:07]

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Starlink already have more than 4,500 satellites providing Internet to most of the Americas, Europe and Australia. And Amazon's launch wasn't the only recent liftoff. A Spanish company successfully launched the country's first reusable rocket on Saturday after two previously scrubbed attempts.

Well, the spacecraft rose 46 kilometers above the Gulf of Cadiz. After five minutes of flight, the rocket landed in the Atlantic Ocean to be retrieved by the company.

Well, this was the scene inside Mission Control with engineers cheering and congratulating each other as a rocket took off.

Well, much more on the breaking news from the Middle East ahead. We'll get the latest from Hadas Gold in Jerusalem as Hamas calls for an uprising against Israel and the IDF declares a state of war alert. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:18]

HARRAK: Welcome back to all of our viewers around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN Newsroom. We begin with breaking news. The Israeli military declaring a state of war alert and mobilizing its forces.

An unprecedented attack against Israel has been unfolding over the past couple of hours, beginning with wave after wave of rockets fired from Gaza, starting at about 6:30 a.m. local time this morning when most Israelis were asleep. Well, Israeli officials say there are multiple injuries, some of them serious and at least one fatality.

And the Israeli military is warning that a number of militants have infiltrated Israeli territory from Gaza. Israelis living near Gaza are being warned to stay close to their shelters.

I want to go back now to CNN's Hadas Gold. She's joining us live from Jerusalem. Hadas, what is the situation right now?

GOLD: Well, over just the past few hours, it's been a nonstop sirens going off across Israel, rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel, including towards here in Jerusalem. We've had at least four air raid sirens going off for us here, meaning that we need to go to seek shelter. If it happens while we're live on air, we'll take you with us.

And we've heard several explosions overhead, including in Jerusalem. That could mean -- I just heard another one just now -- that could mean interceptions. That could mean impacts right now. This is a very unprecedented, intense situation, Laila.

This is war. This is something that Israel has not seen in ages. This sort of coordinated surprise attack. It started at 6:30 in the morning with rockets being fired from Gaza towards Israel. And then something really unheard of is infiltrations. The Israeli military has confirmed the Palestinian militants have infiltrated Israel, mostly in southern Israel, the community surrounding the Gaza Strip.

We have seen alarming video of militants on the back of pickup trucks firing towards Israeli communities. We know of fatalities. We know of at least one woman who was killed in her 60s. Several other injured -- several others have been injured. There are reports of other fatalities and other injuries, and it's not clear whether those are from rockets, from shrapnel or from the militants firing.

And it seems as though the militant infiltration situation is continuing as we speak. We're seeing live images from Israeli media from communities in southern Israel, where you're seeing a large security response to the militants going essentially house by house, car by car, trying to get what they can, trying to extract these militants out of these communities.

Israelis in the south have all been advised not only to stay in their bomb shelters, but also to completely lock their doors. Israelis across the country have been advised to stay near their protected spaces because sirens have been going off from Tel Aviv to the south here in Jerusalem as well, including over by the airport.

As far as we understand, the airport, Ben Gurion Airport, is still open, but it is a question whether it will stay open depending on how these rockets continue.

Now the Israeli military has declared a state of war alert. The defense minister has approved calling up extensive recruitment of reserves, they say. And they are saying that the Hamas organization is completely responsible for this, and it will face the consequences, they say, as well.

Now Hamas, for their part, they are calling this the Al-Aqsa storm, and it was clearly, you know, somewhat planned or coordinated to start at 6:30 a.m. this morning, along with these rockets, along with these infiltrations. Now, the Hamas organization claims that they have fired more than 5,000 rockets since this morning. We don't have a specific number from the Israeli military yet, but we know that it has to be quite a bit because of just the number of sirens going off all morning long.

I have an app on my phone that tells me when there are air raid sirens going off across the country, and it has just been vibrating my phone nonstop. It just does not stop the number of sirens going off across the country and the combination of these rocket attacks combined with this infiltration, combined with this sort of surprise attack. This is something Israel has not seen in decades, Laila?

HARRAK: All right, unprecedented. Hadas Gold reporting from Jerusalem. Thank you so much.

And we can go now to Avi Issacharoff, he is a reporter for the Haaretz newspaper covering Palestinian affairs. Avi, unprecedented events that we see unfold now for the last couple of hours. What could be the objective of this operation?

AVI ISSACHAROFF, REPORTER, HAARETZ: I can only estimate, of course, that, you know, I'm covering the Palestinian arena for Yedioth Ahronoth in Ynet. And for years I've been covering the Hamas leadership, and I can only assume that the aim of this war, I would call it maybe an operation, but it's not an operation anymore, it's a declaration of war.

[02:45:01]

The aim was to take some hostages, to kidnap Israeli citizens and soldiers, in order to do some kind of an agreement with Israel in the future to release hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinian prisoners from the Israeli jails.

This is usually what Hamas has in mind in these kinds of operations. And we see we know already that they did manage to kidnap some Israelis. I'm not sure if they were soldiers or civilians in the outskirts of the Gaza Street, inside Israeli towns and villages, but they did manage to do it.

We saw terrible pictures of the massacres that took place in those towns and villages. We're talking about tens of casualties on the Israeli side in a surprise attack that there's no other definition but to call it a declaration of war.

And I'm really sorry to say it, but in the next few weeks, we'll probably see the outcome of this, meaning the retaliation from the Israeli side, and there will be many casualties on the Palestinian side in Gaza. And I can only say how sorry I am for what Hamas leadership decided to do on behalf of all the residents of Gaza Street.

HARRAK: Avi, I just want to make sure that I understood you correctly. Are you saying that these men who infiltrated Israel proper have taken hostages?

ISSACHAROFF: According to what I know, yes, they did. We're not sure if they were alive or dead, but we do know that they managed to take some hostages into the Gaza Strip. Yes.

HARRAK: So we understand that Hamas is leading these concerted attacks. Are there any other groups involved?

ISSACHAROFF: Right now, it's under Hamas' leadership. Shortly after the war started, meaning around an hour and a half ago, there was a live declaration of the commander in chief or the chief of staff of Hamas armed wing, Mohammed Deif. A man that we don't know how his face looked like, but he did make a declaration in the media outlets saying that he calls it -- he named the operation.

And he said that this was a response for the attack, the Israeli attack, so called, on Al-Aqsa Mosque, et cetera, et cetera. And he swore that this operation will continue. So there's no doubt that Hamas took the leadership and is now leading the effort. Islamic Jihad did join and said that they are part of this operation.

But everything that we had seen, this is a very planned operation that managed to surprise the Israeli intelligence. Very reminding of 50 years ago exactly, meaning October 6, 1973, when the Egyptian and the Syrian army managed to surprise the Israeli army in what was called the Yom Kippur War. So that was 50 years ago. The same now Hamas in a holiday vacation. Everyone here are on vacation in Israel. And in the first hours of Shabbat morning, when everyone are going to the synagogues or resting in their houses, this is when they pull this operation.

HARRAK: Avi, a final thought from you, you know, if it is confirmed that these men who infiltrated Israel have managed to take hostages, how would that influence Israel's response when it comes to retaliating?

ISSACHAROFF: I don't doubt for a second that the retaliation will be very hard. We already know about recruiting all the reserves, all Israeli reserves to service. Meaning, we're going to see this country going into a war and getting into Gaza. This is not going to be like a small scale bomb here or bomb there from the air force or from whatever. We're going to see a war on Gaza, inside Gaza, and again, with many, many casualties on both sides.

HARRAK: Avi Issacharoff, thank you for joining us.

ISSACHAROFF: Thank you.

HARRAK: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:53:31]

HARRAK: The Israeli military is declaring a states of war alert and mobilizing its forces. An unprecedented attack against Israel has been unfolding over the past couple of hours, beginning with wave after wave of rockets fired from Gaza, starting at about 6:30: this morning, local time when most Israelis were asleep.

Israeli officials say there are multiple injuries, some of them serious and at least one fatality. And the Israeli military is warning that a number of militants have infiltrated Israeli territory from Gaza. Israelis living near Gaza are being warned to stay close to their shelters.

Authorities in southern Mexico are investigating what caused a bus carrying migrants to crash. It overturned on the curve of a mountainous road Friday, killing 16 people and injuring at least 27 others.

Officials say women and children are among the dead and that all of the victims are from Venezuela and Haiti. Thousands of migrants are from those countries have been traveling northward in recent months fleeing insecurity and economic crises at home.

The union government is set to provide more than $5 million to help victims of the flash floods that devastated a northeastern region this week. The money is earmarked for relief efforts and to rebuild damaged infrastructure while the floods killed at least 26 people and more than 140 people are missing. The government is also advising all tourists to postpone travel to the area. [02:55:03]

The Indian Army says it can account for about half of the 3,000 tourists who were stranded in the region on Thursday because of the flash floods. 68 people stranded for three days have been rescued.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Laila Harrak. We'll be back with more on our breaking story after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)