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IDF Confirms "Significant Number" Of Israelis Captured; U.S. Officials New Aid For Israel Could Be Announced Today; Netanyahu: Israel Faces "Long And Difficult war"; E.U. Offers "Full Support" To Israel After Hamas Attacks; U.S. Secretary Of State Calls Counterparts In Wake Of Hamas Attack; CNN Witnesses Israeli Tanks On The Move Near Gaza; World landmarks Lit Up In Support Of Israel. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 08, 2023 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:35]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN HOST: Hello, and welcome to our viewer joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.

It's now 8:00 A.M. in Israel, where that country is more than 24 hours into the most serious threat to its security in modern memory. Perhaps ever.

You are looking now at live pictures of Ashkelon as the sun comes up. It's widely expected that a massive Israeli military operation will soon engulf this Palestinian enclave. Hamas video shows a group of militants storming the Gaza border at Erez, crossing on Saturday. One of the most fortified places on the border.

Israel confirms a significant number of Israelis, including at least one soldier have been captured by Hamas militants. The image you're about to see is deeply disturbing, while it shows the motionless body of a hostage being paraded in Gaza in the back of a vehicle. The person's whereabouts and condition are currently unknown.

And the Israeli military's warning Palestinian civilians in Gaza to leave their homes immediately because of the military reprisals to come. It's unclear, however, where two million civilians are supposed to flee to.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to find Hamas militants wherever they are hiding. He also says Hamas is responsible for the well-being of Israeli hostages, and that Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): What happened today has never been seen in Israel. And I will make sure that it does not happen again. The entire government is behind this decision. The IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas' capabilities, and we will take mighty vengeance for this black day that they have forced on the state of Israel and its citizens. All of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating it, that wicked city, we will turn it into an island of ruins. I am telling Gaza's people to leave those places now because we will take action everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: For more, Nada Bashir joins us now live from London. Nada, where do we think stand this very hour?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Laila, of course, the focus at this current point in time for the Israel Defense Forces, for the Israeli government, is on regaining control of those areas where Hamas infiltrated yesterday, and of course, on rescuing those who have captured civilians as well as soldiers and held captive in hostage within Gaza.

Now, overnight and into the early hours of this morning, we have seen a continued exchange of rocket fire. Thousands of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Many of them, of course, intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system, but some, of course, also making landfall.

We have seen multiple areas hit particularly across southern Israel and across Tel Aviv. And in response, there has been fierce fighting or fierce striking. While across Gaza, we have seen fighter jets in the early hours of this morning once again targeting Gaza.

The IDF says some 400 targets were struck overnight by the IDF in Gaza. They say these are Hamas positions that they are targeting. But, of course, as you mentioned there, we had that warning yesterday from the IDF telling citizens of Gaza to evacuate these areas.

This is, of course, almost impossible for Palestinians living in Gaza. This is a tiny enclave which has been under a land, sea, and air blockade, enforced by Israel since 2007.

Now, we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking yesterday describing this as what is said to be a long and difficult war. But he also announced that Israel would be cutting off electricity, fuel and other good supplies to Gaza.

The goal here, according to the IDF, to stifle the operations of Hamas. But as you can imagine, this is expected to have severe humanitarian consequences for Palestinians living in Gaza.

At this stage, the death toll on both sides is still climbing. At least 300 Israelis killed across this ongoing fighting. At least 200 Palestinians also killed.

HARRAK: And, Nada, do we know if there are still areas within Israel where they are still experiencing fighting?

[01:05:04]

BASHIR: Well, look, Laila, we have seen gun battles going on continuing overnight. Of course, as we mentioned there, the focus continues to be on trying to regain control of territories where Hamas has infiltrated. We had a briefing from the IDF just a few hours ago. They say that some 29 areas infiltrated by Hamas have been now taking control back by the IDF, by Israeli forces, including in Sderot, where we saw the Israeli police that regained in control of an area which was captured or temporarily taken control of by Hamas fighters.

They also say that hundreds of Hamas fighters have now been killed according to the IDF. This is, of course, the primary focus for the IDF. At this current point in time we heard from Benjamin Netanyahu describing this as the first phase, the first focus for the IDF. What is said to be the next phase which according to the Prime Minister will be taking hold over the coming hours will be the military response

According to Netanyahu, they are already working on their offensive preparations and that is said to be the upcoming focus for the IDF for Israeli government.

HARRAK: And a final question for you, Nada, before I let you go. The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the crisis. Are there any diplomatic efforts underway that we know of?

BASHIR: Absolutely. Certainly on the regional front, we have seen messages, statements coming out from allies on both sides who have put forward their hand to support in efforts to de-escalate tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We've seen Turkey coming out to say that they are in intensive talks with both sides of the conflict and are ready to help with any efforts to de-escalate the conflict.

Egypt, of course, a crucial player in this conflict has been for decades now. We've heard from the Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, who has said he is holding talks continually with officials on both sides, particularly on the Palestinian side as well, again, ready to support in efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Of course, on the U.S. side, we've heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He has been speaking to officials on the Israeli's side continuously but also has spoken to the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the King of Jordan, King Abdullah II, another key player in this conflict all in efforts to try and de- escalate tensions before they get any worse.

Now, of course, we are expecting that U.N. Security Council meeting to be held today. This will be the primary and so focus of that meeting.

Across the globe, we have seen statements from world leaders not only condemning the violence but also, of course, calling for an urgent de- escalation of the violence that we are seeing on both sides.

HARRAK: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that update. We'll check in with you a little later this hour. For now, thank you.

And we're just now receiving reports that Israeli artillery has fired on positions inside Lebanon. The Israeli military says it was in response to a shooting from across the border. It is unclear what was fired from Lebanon towards Israel. It marks the first time since this crisis unfolded 24 hours ago that it has spread now beyond Israel's border.

All right. I want to welcome now Yohanan Plesner, the President of the Israel Democracy Institute. He's a former member of the -- of Israel's Knesset for the Kadima Party. Good day, sir.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned that the war against Hamas will take time and it will be hard.

Is the Prime Minister preparing the Israeli people for a prolonged conflict?

YOHANAN PLESNER, PRESIDENT, ISRAEL DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE: Yes, it will take time. Israel just experienced yesterday a horrific day. This is the Israeli equivalent of our 9/11.

In the early morning, Saturday, barbaric Hamas terrorists attacked dozens of Israeli villages and towns and killed mothers and kids and grandmothers and has taken dozens of them hostages. Israel now needs to, first of all, defend its population and exact a very dear price from Hamas.

The extremists, throughout the region, are observing very closely and want to understand what will transpire. And Israel, alongside with its ally, obviously the United States, needs to demonstrate that those who kill innocent civilians, unprovoked, are going to pay a dear price for that.

And, of course, this will take time. Hamas is perpetrating war crimes and situating all its capabilities within its own civilian population. So, there will be civilian casualties in order to erode, undermine, and destroy the Hamas' capabilities and it's going to be tough and long.

[01:10:11]

But Israelis, across the spectrum, are united and understand that it's absolutely essential if we want to remain strong and powerful in this region.

HARRAK: Strong and powerful, but, you know, I mean, is it worth all the collateral damage in terms of -- are you prepared to accept all the civilian casualties that come with such a protracted conflict? Is that acceptable?

PLESNER: No, there's no other option. Israelis were stormed and with hundreds of terrorists attacking all of our towns and villages brutally assassinating Israelis, taking dozens of captives, including torturing young girls, young boys, grandmothers, Holocaust survivors.

I mean, this is a brutal attack. We were surprised and now we have to take the initiative. We have to obviously ensure that our hostages are being released and that the Hamas capabilities are eroded in a way that they won't be able to perpetrate such violent and barbaric acts for many years.

HARRAK: Do Israelis still have confidence in their governments and in its ability to keep them safe?

PLESNER: Look, no doubt that now Israel needs a national unity government. We had our own internal differences. I've been on CNN speaking about our differences around Israeli democracy. But on Israeli security and on the fact that Hamas, Hamas has a clear goal of annihilating and destroying the state of Israel.

And on that, we're all united. And I wouldn't be surprised if this is also a scheme. Hamas is obviously strongly supported by Iran. It wants to undermine the American Saudi deal in the region by leading to escalation between Israel and Hamas and making such a deal impossible. So this is probably with Iranian support and part of a broader Iranian scheme. And this needs to be pushed back very strongly with much confidence to make it very clear that the moderate forces in the region will overcome.

HARRAK: OK. Now, a final question for you. You know, this is obviously a major massive security challenge for Israel and everyone. Obviously still in the thick of it. And it's too early to tell how all of this will evolve.

But let's look long term if we can. Can you envisage an alternative future, however difficult and incredibly hard things are right now? Because this situation is simply unsustainable.

PLESNER: Yes, you're absolutely right. We have to look into the, you know, describe a future vision and then try to work towards it.

A future vision cannot include a barbaric murderous Hamas regime just on Israel's back door. It's not, you know, somewhere on the other side of the ocean. It's just on our backyard, a barbaric regime that has a clear, defined, explicit goal of annihilating the state of Israel.

And yesterday, they actually tried to implement it de facto. So any future vision includes a leadership of the Palestinians in Gaza, about two million Palestinians. That is not a leadership that wants to murder Jews and Israelis, but a leadership that has some kind of a vision of coexistence. And then, of course, we can live in peace together.

HARRAK: All right. Coexistence. Sir Yohanan Plesner, thank you so much for joining us.

PLESNER: Thanks for having me.

HARRAK: And an Israeli mother who says she was on the phone with her children when militants broke into her -- into their home, rather, kidnap them, describe the terrorizing moments. Here's what she told our Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On 6:30 in the morning, we all woke up to the red alert. We're all, unfortunately, used to. Since I was away, they were alone on the security room. And unfortunately, they used to that as well. They were with me on the phone. And by about eight o'clock in the morning, they said they are starting to be shootings -- gun shooting outside.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: They heard gunshots outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And I started getting messages text from other people telling us that terrorists are walking around free and trying to break in and get into houses. And about 8:30, they heard the door break. They said someone was breaking the door, someone was breaking the door. They were scared to death. I can't even imagine what they felt. And I wasn't there to help.

[01:15:27]

I was on the phone and I said, just be quiet, stay quiet in the same security room. They locked the door, but the doors don't really lock. They're not meant to -- they're not meant to give a solution because that's kind of situation, no one else thought terrorists would walk down free in our places.

About quarter nine, I had one line on the phone, the door break. I had terrorists speaking in Arabic to my teenagers and the youngest they (inaudible) one or two young to go there. They're 16 and 12, so it was very, very hard to hear.

And someone else (inaudible) that was the last time I heard from them. It was a very, very hard day. Many, many people from our place and from our places were taken.

They took babies. They took 2-year-olds, five-year-olds, mothers, just innocent (inaudible). They did nothing wrong. They were just sleeping in their bed. I mean, even war have rules. They just don't have (inaudible) They just -- it's something that you don't do.

TAPPER: I can't imagine what I would doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) what I'm going through. You know, what I'm worried about is what they're going through.

TAPPER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if they eat, I don't know if they have to make the drink. I don't know if they're together. I don't know if they're apart. I don't know if they're dressed. I don't know if they're tortured. I don't know anything.

TAPPER: Has anyone from the military or the government come by to say anything, talk to any of you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

TAPPER: Well, no, but I can't really blame anyone. It was a very, very difficult day in Israel. Hundreds died, thousands wounded, and probably hundreds taken kidnapped to Gaza Strip. We don't know how many. It's a very, very hard day.

It's going to take -- it's obviously taking time to get to all the people and (inaudible) it has everything. We all deny it in some way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: An Israeli mother there speaking with our Jake Tapper, describing the moments that militants kidnapped her children.

Still to come, the U.S. vowing unwavering support for Israel as the country grapples with the unprecedented surprise attack from Hamas. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:59]

HARRAK: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to destroy the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, after its fighters invaded Israel from Gaza and killed hundreds of Israelis. The IDF says it has already struck 426 targets inside Gaza, including 10 towers used by Hamas. And it says tens of thousands of soldiers are operating on the ground around Gaza.

Israeli sources say up to 1,000 Hamas militants breach the barrier, separating Gaza from Israel Saturday morning and began attacking Israeli towns.

And the IDF says fighting to get them out is still going on in eight locations. And we're now seeing disturbing video of one of those attacks. You can see people here trying to escape apparently from Hamas fighters and hear the sound of gunfire.

Well, meanwhile, Washington could announce new assistance for Israel as early as Sunday. That's according to U.S. officials who say the two countries are already talking about what kind of aid Israel needs.

Military aid was a subject of a phone call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.

Kayla Tausche has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House is working around the clock to understand the scope of Israel's needs as it responds to these attacks, which the U.S. is calling, appalling and unprecedented.

A senior administration official says the focus of the U.S. is in assisting to keep the violence contained at this stage and that there are conversations happening up and down the military chain to deliver direct support to Israel, which I'm told by sources, Prime Minister Netanyahu directly asked President Biden for in a phone call that the two leaders held on Saturday. Officials have acknowledged that the lack of a Speaker of the House of Representatives in the U.S. and a permanent U.S. ambassador to Israel are unique challenges at this moment as the U.S. tries to get support in a timely and fulsome manner to Israel. But President Biden says that support from the U.S. is rock solid and unwavering.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back. We'll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.

In the street and their homes, innocent people murdered, wounded, entire families taken hostage by Hamas just days after Israel marked the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar. It's unconscionable.

You know, when I spoke of Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning, I told him the United States stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop.

TAUSCHE: Well, Biden did not specify the target of that particular message. U.S. officials have been clear in Iran's role as a longtime sponsor of Hamas. But when asked whether they believed that Iran was behind the Hamas attacks in recent days, the U.S. said that they could not yet draw that conclusion.

[01:25:09]

Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: So much more to come on the dramatic escalation of violence in the Mideast. How America's top diplomat is trying to rally international support behind Israel in a time of war?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRAK: Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is embarking on a long and difficult war to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.

His remarks come after militants from Gaza launched a surprise attack on Israel Saturday, hitting multiple targets with a barrage of rockets. Israeli officials say up to 1,000 Hamas fighters stormed into communities near Gaza and captured a significant number of civilians.

This video appears to show one woman being forced into the backseats of a car with her hands tied behind her back.

While European leaders and others around the world are reacting to the Hamas attack on Israel, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke on the phone to Israeli President, Isaac Herzog. She offered the EU's full support and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the E.U. mourns the victims and stands by Israel's right to defend itself. [01:30:06]

Nada Bashir is standing by in London. Good to have you back with us, Nada. A message of support from the European Union. What have been the regional reactions?

BASHIR: Look, we have seen across the board in the region condemnation of violence across both sides. We have seen efforts by the likes of Turkey and Egypt or offers rather to help mediate and also to de- escalate the tensions between both sides.

The Turkish government says it is holding intensive talks with both Palestinian and Israeli side. It is standing ready to help to de- escalate those tensions.

Meanwhile in Egypt, a key regional player, and a key player, in this conflict has been for decades now. The foreign minister there, Sameh Shoukry, has said that he is again holding talks with both sides, speaking to the Palestinian Authority and is ready to offer support when it comes to trying to de-escalate the tensions there.

But, of course, we have also heard some criticism, some condemnation from regional players when it comes to Israel's actions.

Let me just read you a quick bit from this statement from Qatar. They say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its continuous violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, including the recent repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of the Israeli police.

Now, of course, this continues to be a huge concern for the international community. As you mentioned, we have had strong condemnation from E.U. leaders. We've heard from the E.U.'s Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, reaffirming the E.U.'s support for Israel and condemning the violence that we have seen.

We know, of course, that this will be a key focus today for the U.N. Security Council, where we are expecting to hear. Of course, those condemnations of violence we have seen overnight. The continued use of rockets being launched into Israeli territory as well as rockets being launched by Israel into Gaza.

Now, of course, the concern is really shifting to how this will play out on the military front. We know, of course, that Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to have a strong military response. He spoke of the first phase of this response from Israel being focused on trying to regain and recapture control of territories infiltrated by Hamas and trying to rescue those held captive by Hamas in Gaza, including civilians and soldiers.

But the next phase which he has said will set to begin in the coming hours will be focused on that military response. And in his words, they are preparing their offensive positions at this current point in time. So it is anticipated that there will be a strong military response in Gaza. Netanyahu has also said that the Israeli cabinet has now decided to cut off electricity, fuel, and other goods supply to Gaza. The aim, the goal here and the intention to stifle the operations of Hamas. But this is, of course, going to have a severe humanitarian consequence for those Palestinians living in Gaza, particularly as Gaza has been in under a land, air, and sea blockade enforced by Israel since 2007. Laila.

HARRAK: And so there are a lot of uncertainty and insecurity for both Israelis and people in Gaza in the coming hours, days, and potentially months.

BASHIR: Absolutely. And the focus really for the international community will be on trying to de-escalate those tensions in order to ensure that this does not get any worse.

But we've heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing this as a long and difficult war ahead for Israel. And it is anticipated that that response will be fierce.

Overnight and into the early hours of this morning, we have seen Israeli fighter jets continuing to strike targets in Gaza. They say some 400 targets have been struck by the IDF in Gaza. And we heard that warning yesterday from IDF officials telling citizens in Gaza to evacuate. But, of course, that is almost impossible for many of them given the ongoing blockade.

This is a tiny enclave densely populated. So that is almost impossible for many Palestinians there. But, of course, we are still seeing gun battles taking place across territories in Israel, as well, particularly in the southern areas where we have seen that intense fighting continuing overnight.

Israeli officials have said that sadly dozens of lives have already been lost. And, of course, there is a huge amount of concern for those Israeli citizens who have been held captive and taken hostage in Gaza. That continues to be a priority for the Israeli government.

But as we continue to see this exchange of rocket fire, both from within Gaza into Israel, many of them intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. But, of course, many also making a land for hitting targets and infecting a civilian casualty.

We also seeing the response, continued targeting of areas in Gaza. We saw several high rises targeted on Saturday. And that is expected to continue today.

[01:35:00]

The death toll at this current point in time is still continuing to rise. At least 300 Israelis killed and more than 200 Palestinians killed. Laila.

HARRAK: Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that update. We'll check in with you a little later again. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been speaking to counterparts in Europe and also in the Middle East, demanding that Hamas, quote, immediately halts its attack on Israel.

According to a spokesperson, Blinken reached out to foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, and European allies. Foreign ministers of those European countries have condemned the Hamas attack.

And as for the Qatari government, it's said Israel is solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its continuous violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.

Michael Moran is a lecturer in political risk at the Korbel School of International Affairs at the University of Denver. And he joins me now from Denver, Colorado. Thank you so much for staying up for us. Greatly appreciated, Michael.

The U.S., you know, has been trying to pivot away from the region, from the Mideast now for years. And this crisis, what kind of test does it present to the Biden administration?

MICHAEL MORAN, LECTURER, KORBEL SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: Well, it's a pretty stern test. You know, the payback for getting deeply involved in the Israeli Palestinian conflict in terms of being a mediator has been pretty minimal. There's been stop-start opportunities for every president to get involved. Some of them, Bill Clinton, for instance, kind of put a great deal of, you know, energy into it.

At the end of the day, these things tend to come to naught. Right now, what we're seeing, I think, is absolute frustration on the part of the Palestinians. Hamas has taken advantage of that. And basically trying to send the message that you cannot talk about Middle East issues without paying attention to the Palestinian issue.

Of course, we've been seeing conversations between Washington, Israel, and Saudi Arabia about the possibility of Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel. That would be a huge breakthrough. But the Saudis have been very cautious about it even before this, saying that some kind of progress in the Palestinian issue needed to be made.

This is Hamas saying, this isn't going to happen, essentially. Hamas is kind of trying to play a trump card here and say, this is not a -- you know, we're not going to be left out. This is something -- and, you know, in some ways, it harkens back to the way the Palestinian Liberation Organization tried to get its issue on the agenda in the '70s through these really horrible and spectacular terrorist attacks around the world.

So, ultimately, you're seeing the result of this issue being ignored for years. Israel kind of feeling like they could get away with ignoring it. And now this has come back to haunt them.

HARRAK: Yes. I want to talk to you a little bit more about that. You know, the U.S., by putting the focus on the so-called Abraham Accords. I mean -- and also trying to get this normalization deal through with Saudi and Israel.

Well, at the same time, completely disengaging from the core issue that intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has U.S. diplomacy failed in the region?

MORAN: Well, yes. I think there's been a, you know, assessment that -- and this goes back really to the Obama administration, every administration since George W. Bush, that there's really no payback here. It's a -- it's a dead end that you can waste a lot of time in political capital trying to get these two sides to talk to each other, but at the end of the day, neither side really acts in good faith.

And that the each side is so divided over its own stance that it just turns out to be impossible to get them to the table and then to commit to something. You know, you'll remember the Oslo Accords in the late '90s were destroyed by a series of terrorist attacks, essentially, that just destroyed the, you know, the political will on the Israeli side to continue. And the Palestinians who had a chance to grasp statehood at that point just really mishandled their stance as well.

So the leadership on both sides has been really self-interested, overly cautious, and not willing to take risks and stand and really kind of stick into it for the long run through the difficulties that are inevitable. There are going to be people who try to destroy any effort for peace here.

HARRAK: Well, you know, this -- you know, we're at the beginning of this deepening crisis that is, you know, unfolding as we speak. Who can broker a ceasefire?

[01:40:09]

MORAN: You know, it's interesting, and it goes back to the question of whether the United States has kind of dropped the ball here. The U.S. influence in the Middle East has drastically diminished since the Iraq War and the kind of sad end of the Afghan war that just essentially looks like futility, decades of futility, especially from the standpoint of the Middle East.

They don't have the leverage they used to. Happily, the Russians are otherwise engaged. I think this kind of benefits the Russians because it takes a little bit of attention off of what they're doing in Ukraine right now.

But the -- who the likely mediators here, Turkey is a really good example of a country that could step in, has relations to some extent with both sides. The Israelis aren't particularly happy to think that the -- that the Turks would be the, you know, mediator. The Chinese are inevitably going to put themselves forward because it's the way they see themselves going right now, that they are becoming a major player globally.

But the problem is there really is no player that has the credibility, the military capability, the diplomatic leverage that the U.S. had prior to the Iraq War and the distraction that created from this issue. HARRAK: All right. Michael, Moran, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for your perspectives.

MORAN: Thank you, Laila.

Harrak: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:45:25]

HARRAK: Israel says it's conducting airstrikes in Gaza as it tries to end a massive incursion by Hamas militants. Israeli military says it has conducted more than 400 strikes, including some that toppled multi-story buildings. Well, Israeli artillery is now pounding targets in Lebanon after alleged shootings across the border.

While Israel says fighting is underway in at least eight areas in the South where Israeli troops are trying to push the remaining militants out. Former Israeli Prime Minister and opposition leader, Yair Lapid, is urging Mr. Netanyahu to put aside their political differences and form an emergency government.

In a statement he said, "Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that with the current extreme and dysfunctional security cabinet, he cannot manage a war. Israel needs to be led by a professional, experienced, and responsible government. We need to put politics to one side for the sake of an emergency government which will manage this situation with determination and won't deal with anything else until we achieve victory over our enemies."

CNN's Nic Robertson is just a few miles from the Gaza border and has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: What we're witnessing here, the first time that we've seen it tonight, is Israeli heavy armor being transported in towards Gaza. That's the road to Gaza, about two and a half miles, three kilometers that way.

And these are Israeli battle tanks. I've counted at least five. There are more trucks transporting them coming around the corner. The night has been very active.

Beyond that checkpoint there, that is the area where the Israeli Defense Forces have been contesting with Hamas militants who are still inside Israel. Where we are, this is the area that Israel controls proper. Beyond that, it is still an active military zone.

These tanks are being moved into that zone. We've heard helicopter gunships attacking positions on the ground. We've seen Special Forces moving in and out of the area around here. And we've seen a lot of missiles fired coming out of Gaza by Hamas militants and others potentially fired out of Gaza and intercepted by Iron Dome defensive missile systems. The Iron Dome has been firing up from over here. The intercept is literally happening overhead. And that has happened on multiple occasions.

We've been hearing as well Israeli jets flying towards Gaza. And then we've heard explosions, heavy explosions at times, flashes on the horizon through the night. So this is a very dynamic and fluid situation.

But this is the first time we are seeing heavy Israeli battle armor moving towards Gaza, perhaps the first steps of future deployments.

Nic Robertson, Zikim, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: And with that, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:20]

HARRAK: Israel's Defense Forces say they have launched strikes into Lebanon after the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, targeted three Israeli sites near the border, while this comes as Israel continues to fight off militants from Gaza, who stormed Israeli towns in a surprise attack.

The IDF says eight points of engagements remain with the militants inside Israel. Earlier, Israeli authorities said they regained control of a police station in Sderot.

Israel has also carried out a wave of strikes in Gaza, killing at least 230 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. An Israeli official says the attacks by Hamas have so far killed at least 300 Israelis.

An American originally from New Jersey who has now lived in Tel Aviv for years described to CNN's Jake Tapper what it was like when they realized they were under attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI GOLDBERG, AMERICAN LIVING IN TEL-AVIV: I've been here for nine years, and it's by far the worst situation I've ever seen in my life. Just this morning, I'm sure as you heard, it was a Jewish holiday. I'm an Orthodox Jew, so I didn't have my phone on me. I went to the synagogue this morning to go pray, and we were in the middle of dancing, and then all of a sudden, the air raid siren came on. Sorry, a rocket siren.

And someone shouted, like, siren, everyone gets to the floor. We all crowded down on the floor. There are a bunch of little kids next to me that were borderline crying, they're hysterical.

And then one of the fathers next to me is like, OK, guys, let's start singing. Let's sing together and try to cheer up us a little bit, just to try and help them a little bit. Only then, since most of us didn't have our phones on us, we didn't really understand what was going on. And then people started telling us, they told us there was a situation down south, and there's like a war starting.

So we went home just to go be in your bomb shelters. And then later in the afternoon, a friend of mine came knocking out the door frantically and told me that they called him out for reserves and they called everybody out for reserves.

So I got in my car, drove him over to his base. On the way, I saw tons of a -- of a road blockings of checkpoints where they're searching every single car looking for terrorists. I saw thousands of reservists lined up trying to go back to base. It was horrible.

And then I got home only late tonight after being stuck in all the traffic. And I checked Twitter. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff you see on the news is not the worst of it. On Twitter, a lot of it's not censored. And if you look at it, there's videos going around of people harassing in Gaza, a kidnapped little boy. He must be like 5 years old.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yes.

GOLDBERG: I saw parading around of an almost naked woman who her corpse, like, she's covered in blood and clearly dead and parading her around and celebrating and giving out candy and fireworks.

[01:55:08]

The pictures also of old -- elderly people at bus stops. Sorry, I'm getting very emotional. Elderly people.

TAPPER: I would say, elderly people who were just shot at a bus stop. Yes. I mean, the images are absolutely horrific.

GOLDBERG: Terrifying.

TAPPER: Young people who are at a peace festival who are kidnapped and shot.

GOLDBERG: Horrible, to be honest.

TAPPER: I've heard people compare this to Israel's 9/11. And I think people don't -- people watching around the world maybe don't understand because Israel is at war quite a bit relative to other countries. But this -- I think this the targeting of civilians so specifically is what -- is what so shocking and the kidnapping of so many hundreds of civilians.

GOLDBERG: No, it's horrible. I mean, I didn't really get to read the news so much, but from the headlines I saw kind of compared to a typical war that happens in Israel, but this is by far beyond worse than anything that has ever happened in recent history. It is beyond -- like there's no words to describe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: A number of countries around the world are lighting up some of their most famous landmarks in support of Israel. In Berlin, the Israeli flag is now projected on the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on social media in solidarity with Israel. Italy is also showing a support, the Israeli flag projected onto the official residence of the prime minister. And in New York, the Freedom Tower lit up in the blue and white of the Israeli flag. I'm Laila Harrak. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stick around.

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