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CNN's Continuing Coverage on the War in Israel. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 10, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world as we continue our breaking news coverage of Israel at war. I'm Rosemary Church.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promising his country will go after Hamas like never before following the militant group's unprecedented attack over the weekend. Israeli airstrikes have been pounding Gaza and overnight the military says more than 200 targets were hit.

The Israeli Defense Minister has ordered the complete siege of Gaza and will halt the supply of food, fuel and electricity. Rockets are also being launched from Gaza as Hamas warns it would begin killing civilian hostages and broadcasting it if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning.

The death toll on both sides continues to climb, including at least 900 people killed in Israel following the assault by Hamas, and nearly 700 killed in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes there. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency says emergency shelters in Gaza are at 90 percent capacity, with more than 137,000 people taking cover.

All this, as Israel says, it's adding tens of thousands of additional troops along the border with Lebanon, where an IDF spokesperson describes the situation as volatile.

Journalist Elliot Gotkine is following developments for us from London. He joins us now. So Elliot, what is the latest information that you have on this ongoing war?

ELLIOT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, We heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night talking about how effectively an unprecedented attack on Israel, perhaps the darkest day in Israel's history, will ultimately require or demand an unprecedented response. And that's what Prime Minister Netanyahu said last night, that Israel will be unleashing on the militants of Hamas inside the Gaza Strip, taking to the airwaves last night to try to rally international support, comparing Hamas to Islamic State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The savage attacks that Hamas perpetrated against innocent Israelis are mind-boggling. Slaughtering families in their homes, massacring hundreds of young people at an outdoor festival, kidnapping scores of women, children and elderly, even Holocaust survivors. Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages. Hamas is ISIS. And just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE: And as you say, Rosemary, hundreds more airstrikes by Israel against Hamas targets, militant targets inside the Gaza Strip, including command posts, it says, and weapon storage facilities located inside of mosques.

On top of that, as you mentioned, there is this total blockade, total siege of the Gaza Strip by Israel announced by the defense minister yesterday. No food, no fuel, no water, no electricity going from Israel into the Gaza Strip. And I suppose the idea there is to get the civilian population there to put pressure onto the militants of Hamas to try to release the hostages.

Now a couple of things on that note, of course, if Hamas is able to get weaponry, smuggle weapons, bulldozers and all sorts of other equipment into the Gaza Strip, one can only assume that they'll be able to get, you know, fuel and other supplies in there, though clearly not to offset the kind of supplies that they usually get.

And it also seems unlikely, certainly at this stage, that there is going to be anything that is going to sway Hamas from its current position, and of course holding on to those hostages, at least dozens of them, according to the Israeli defense forces, and of course using those hostages as leverage to extract concessions, release of Palestinian prisoners. We don't actually have a list of any demands just yet, but clearly they will be making the most of what they will see as incredibly valuable assets. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And Elliot, as you've been speaking, we've been watching these live pictures out of Gaza. It's just after 10 in the morning. Of course, the big question now is what happens next?

GOTKINE: I suppose there are three main things to watch out for. First of all, is the much expected ground incursion by Israel. That is expected to happen at some point, even though Israel knows that the militants are expecting them. They know that the streets are likely to be booby-trapped, that there will be improvised explosive devices, and that there's a very real risk of more soldiers being kidnapped or taken prisoner as well.

[03:05:04]

There is also, of course, the diplomatic track. That clearly is not going to go into overdrive any time soon, but there may well be conversations, perhaps, to deal with, for want of a better phrase, low-hanging fruit, in other words, trying to perhaps get elderly women and or children released by Hamas for some kind of, you know, first step prisoner exchange.

And of course that will be one of the main things that Israel will be concerned about and that of course links in with this expected ground incursion because it would be complicated at the best of times for the reasons that I outlined but even more complicated this time around because of those hostages. Israel will not want to harm the hostages itself and of course will not want to provide further excuses to Hamas to perhaps start executing hostages, something that it threatened to do if Israel doesn't provide warnings to the civilian population when it is carrying out attacks on the Gaza Strip.

So those three tracks, hostages, diplomacy, and likely ground incursion are likely to be the main three things to be keeping an eye on right now, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Elliot Gotkine with that live report from London, many thanks.

Well, the head of the United Nations is calling on Hamas to release its hostages and cease all attacks so the U.N. can deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli ambassador to the U.N. estimates up to 150 hostages have been captured by Hamas fighters. Some of them were captured at a music festival over the weekend, others are soldiers, and some are children.

A Hamas spokesperson announced on Monday in a video message, they will not negotiate hostage release while under Israeli fire.

And I spoke just a few minutes ago Major Libby Weiss, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. And I began by asking her, what are the latest updates now, three days after the Hamas incursion into Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. LIBBY WEISS, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We are now in the third day of this national tragedy following the Hamas massacre on Saturday morning. The situation is a very dynamic one that is changing constantly. We right now are at more than 900 Israeli casualties from the attack on Saturday.

Thousands of injured and of course the dozens of hostages who were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. The situation along the border with Gaza in those civilian communities appears to be more controlled than in previous days. But of course, the IDF is working constantly to make sure that there are no Hamas terrorists still operating within Israeli territory.

CHURCH: And of course, Israel faces a hostage crisis right now, doesn't it? With the public calling on the government to get those hostages safely returned home. But how can that happen if Israel is ordering a complete siege of Gaza while Hamas threatens to kill the hostages if Israel continues to bombard the Palestinian territory without warning? How can you reconcile that? WEISS: Well, first and foremost, everyone in this country, military,

non-military, we are all devastated by this hostage situation. Our thoughts are with the families and with the innocent civilians who are kidnapped and who knows what is happening to them right now in Gaza. And we are thinking about them constantly.

The situation is a very, very complex one. But the IDF strikes are on Hamas military targets. That is the purpose of those strikes. The situation is a complex one much because of what Hamas has done in the Gaza Strip over the last decade and what they continue to do but the situation is a is certainly a very challenging one and our Focus and thoughts are always with those hostages with those civilians' children, women, the elderly, people who have nothing to do with this kind of conflict and our thoughts are with them constantly.

CHURCH: The IDF's mission is to ensure Hamas has no military capabilities at the end of this war. So again, what does that potentially mean for the hostages?

WEISS: Again, these are issues that we are all dealing with right now and of course having to balance in our approach. But I think it makes a lot of sense and seems reasonable in fact that by the end of this, Hamas will have no military capability. This is not a reality in which we can live with. I would not be able to imagine that anywhere in the world would be able to live with this kind of reality. Hamas is a terror organization that committed a massacre of historic proportions against Israeli civilians. And of course, as the military, our responsibility is to make sure that this never happens again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The United Nations says emergency shelters in Gaza are at 90 percent capacity right now, with more than 137,000 people taking cover from Israeli attacks.

[03:10:06]

Israel's defense minister has given the order for a complete siege of the region, as we mentioned, cutting off all utilities and aid to Gaza.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has more on what Palestinians there are enduring, but we must warn you some of the image you're about to see are graphic.

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BEN WEDEMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moments after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, desperate calls for help, the dead, the dying and the injured covered in dust and blood.

Israel's wrath is now unleashed upon Gaza.

The Israelis say Ahmed Shamalakh hit the building without warning. They didn't ask us to evacuate. They didn't say anything. Suddenly we heard the airstrike and we ran to the building and found it had completely collapsed.

Around 75,000 people in Gaza have already been displaced, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which deals with Palestinian refugees.

In this cramped strip of land along the Mediterranean, two million Palestinians are now in the crosshairs of an enemy bent on revenge for Hamas' surprise attack, which left hundreds of Israelis dead and thousands wounded, and dozens now in Hamas captivity.

By evening, the death toll in Gaza was approaching 700, with almost 4,000 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Monday evening, the spokesman for Hamas issued a grim warning. They'll start executing their civilian hostages and broadcasting those executions, if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning.

Gaza and Israel have gone to war many times before since Hamas took control. This will not be yet another brief outbreak of attack and counterattack before a return to the status quo. Israel is massing troops and armor on the outskirts of Gaza, preparing in all likelihood for a ground invasion on a scale not seen before.

And now Israel's defense minister, Yoav Galant, has ordered what he called a complete siege of Gaza, cutting off all food, fuel and electricity.

That in a place where, according to the World Food Program, 63 percent of the population was food insecure before this war began.

So much has happened since Saturday morning in Israel and Gaza, and it's only the beginning.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And coming up, the Israeli military is going on the offensive against Hamas with a force like never before. A look at the years of animosity between Israel and Hamas and what could be next in this conflict.

Plus, the U.S. steps up support for Israel and rushes to provide air defense and munitions. We'll have details after a short break.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, new video obtained by CNN appears to show what happened when Hamas militants arrived near the site of a music festival where more than 260 people were killed over the weekend. And we do want to warn you, the video you're about to see is disturbing. This dash cam video from a parked car shows militants near a bomb

shelter screaming at a shirtless man. Now it's unclear what's being said, but the man squats on the ground and they begin kicking him. The man's fate is unknown. Later, a militant throws a grenade into the bomb shelter. CNN visited that shelter on Monday. Its interior was covered in blood.

And CNN's Sam Kiley has more now on the animosity between Israel and Hamas over the years and how Hamas' military training is now more sophisticated than ever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sleek propaganda a blatant threat and published last year Hamas gunmen training on motorized paragliders. They also showed meticulous planning for fighting in built-up areas, all an historic failure of Israeli intelligence.

Hamas videos of the start of their assaults from Gaza were published within hours of its launch. Malevolently bold in execution, Hamas targeted Israeli machine gun nests and command posts. They knocked out Israeli military communications and crippled command and control. They swept into Israeli territory and launched a wave of atrocities, killing at least 900 people in the worst Israeli setback in 50 years.

Once a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, a Sunni movement, won Palestinian elections in 2006 on a platform of social reform and resistance to Israel. Riven by corruption and incompetence, rivals Fatah launched attacks immediately against the movement, which denies the right of Israel to exist at all.

In the end, Hamas won control of Gaza, and its grip on the enclave of around 2 million people tightened, as Israel and Egypt largely sealed it off, causing intense humanitarian problems.

Hamas responded with waves of rocket attacks against Israel that got worse as the years went by. Israel counter-attacked from the air and with ground assaults that left thousands dead. And Hamas still in charge. But Iran's influence has been key to Hamas' military power.

[03:20:08]

FABIAN HINZ, IISS: The Iranians have trained Palestinian engineers in how to establish rocket manufacturing in Gaza. We know that the Iranians have provided certain production equipment which you need for the production of solid propellant rockets. to Gaza and to other places as well.

KILEY (voice-over): In the past, infiltrations were limited to attacks from tunnels. Hamas successfully hid its bigger plans for months. Meanwhile, Israel's right-wing government focused its efforts on growing Palestinian violence on the West Bank.

UNKNOWN (through translator): There are extensive meetings with the resistance factions in Gaza and the West Bank and with our brothers abroad about starting that fire.

KILEY (voice-over): This spokesman also told me that he'd recently been training forces in Lebanon, most likely alongside Iran-backed Hezbollah. The next phase that Hamas and its allies will have planned for is Israel's almost inevitable ground invasion. The last in 2014 was chaotic.

HINZ: Hamas had a long time to prepare for exactly this kind of scenario. There is a chance that Hamas, Palestine, Islamic Jihad might reveal a new capability that could have a tremendous impact on the strategic balance as well.

KILEY (voice-over): Israel knows it must battle Hamas on its own turf, in urban areas latticed with explosive traps and riddled with secret tunnels. And Hamas will draw on the experience of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which ravaged Israel's armor in 2006, all the while trying to protect the lives of at least 130 hostages that Hamas says they will kill if Israel's attacks continue.

Dealing with violent groups, backed by Iran, a country that's bent on destroying Israel and building a nuclear weapon that could do just that.

Sam Kiley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Hamas officials say two journalists have been killed and a third has been wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Video of one of the killed reporters has been released and we want to warn you, some viewers may find it disturbing.

It shows the journalist on a stretcher wearing a blue bulletproof vest labeled clearly PRESS. According to the Hamas-controlled government media office, the reporters were covering the evacuation of a residential building in Gaza when they died in the airstrike. Officials say the third journalist who was with them sustained unspecified injuries and is currently receiving treatment.

The European Union says aid for Palestinians will not be suspended following comments by one of its officials that funds will be halted, however the agency says it is launching an urgent review of the assistance being sent to Palestinians

For more, we want to go to CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins us live from London. Good morning to you again, Nada. So the E.U. backtracking on suspending Palestinian aid, what more are you learning about this?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, from the outset of Saturday's attack by Hamas on Israel, the E.U. and European leaders across the board have been vocal in condemning that attack, but also expressing their support and solidarity with Israel and with the Israeli government. And we heard yesterday initially from a European Commission official saying that funds aid towards -- going towards Palestinians would be suspended in response to the Saturday's attack by Hamas on Israel. But as you said mentioned there, this has since been walked back by the European Union. We've heard from European Union officials in a statement saying that humanitarian funds for Palestinians will not be suspended. Now there is a review ongoing into the overall program of E.U. support and E.U. funding for Palestinians but crucial aid that Palestinians, many of them across the board, particularly those in Gaza are so dependent on will continue according to the European Union as long as it is needed.

And this will come as a relief of course for many given the fact that we heard yesterday from the Israeli defense minister who announced a complete siege on Gaza meaning no food, no fuel and no electricity going into Gaza and that of course has been condemned by the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: I am deeply distressed by today's announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in, no electricity, food or fuel. The Mediterranean situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now it will only deteriorate exponentially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Of course you heard that warning from the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. There is significant concern around the humanitarian situation overall in Gaza, particularly as Israel has vowed to intensify its military bombardment and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

[03:25:05]

The IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, says it is targeting Hamas positions inside Gaza. But of course it is important to look at the context here when we talk about the Gaza Strip. This is a densely populated small enclave that has been under a total blockade enforced by Israel since 2007. We're talking about an area home to some two million people. And as we have seen in past instances of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, it is almost impossible to avoid civilian casualties.

And the IDF has issued a warning telling civilians inside Gaza to evacuate those areas. But because Gaza is still under a blockade, there is almost nowhere safe for Palestinians to turn. We've heard from the U.N. Refugee Agency for Palestinians, which has said that more than 137,000 Palestinians in Gaza are now displaced, many of them taking shelter across U.N. schools, but many of those UN schools are now said to be reaching capacity. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And now the U.S., meantime, is increasing military support for Israel and doing it very quickly. What is the latest on this?

BASHIR: Much like the European Union, the U.S. has from the outset been vocal in its support, staunch support for Israel, its solidarity and of course in condemning Saturday's attack by Hamas on Israel. Now CNN is learning from senior defense officials that the Biden administration will surge support with a particular focus on air defenses and ammunition.

Now as we understand it from U.S. officials there are still discussions ongoing around the particular needs of Israel when it comes to air defenses. Unclear where those talks stand at this current stage but it was previously understood that Israel had requested interceptors for its Iron Dome air defense system.

Now of course that Iron Dome air defense system has proven crucial in defending Israel against rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza for many years now.

But it's not just on the military front that the U.S. has pledged support. We've also heard from defense officials who have said that the U.S. will be providing crucial support with ongoing efforts by Israel to locate and rescue Israeli citizens held hostage and captive by Hamas inside Gaza.

Now according to officials, that support will not come in the form of U.S. boots on the ground, but rather will be in the form of surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence support by U.S. agencies and of course while it is unclear at this stage according to the IDF just how many Israeli citizens have been taken hostage.

We have heard from the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations who said it is believed that between 100 and 150 Israeli citizens are currently being held hostage in Gaza and there is real concern for their safety. Not only their safety in terms of being caught up in the crossfire of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza but of course their fate at the hands of their Hamas captors.

We've heard those warnings yesterday from Hamas saying that if Israel continues to strike civilian areas in Gaza without warning, Hamas will begin executing Israeli citizens held hostage and that they will not engage in any negotiations or talks around the hostage situation while Gaza is still under fire.

CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Nada Bashir joining us live from London there.

Still to come, taken by Hamas militants, how one man is keeping hope alive after his sister was captured by militants at a music festival in Israel.

Plus how doctors in Israel are dealing with the influx of wounded civilians after the attack on Israel.

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[03:30:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: More now on our top story this hour as Israel launches new strikes in Gaza after a weekend of deadly surprise assaults. Human Rights Watch is criticizing both Israel and Hamas for their attacks over the weekend.

The group's director has specifically called Israel's plan for a complete siege of Gaza quote "abhorrent." Israeli officials estimate between 100 and 150 people have been taken hostage by Hamas fighters since the attacks began.

One of those people is Lion Yanai's sister, Moran. And earlier I spoke with him about trying to get information on his sister from authorities and his own calls for help from the international community. Here is part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LION YANAI, BROTHER OF MISSING WOMAN: Well, my sister, she's a jewelry designer. She had the stander in the music festival, in the peaceful music festival. Then the attack happened. She ran away with her friends. She managed to call my father, and my parents managed to call her.

And she told them that she's being shot at, and that there are many people running away, and she's losing her battery. The last time we heard from her it was at half past eight in the morning.

Later on, me, my friends and family, we discovered that she ran away with friends. They split up during that time because they were shot from all directions and they had to split up. And the last time she split up from someone, that's the last time we know where she was. He got saved and he called us and gave us all the information regarding what happened.

[03:35:02]

And that's it. That's the last content that we know about my sister, my baby sister.

CHURCH: And how difficult has it been to get information about your sister? Have Israeli authorities been keeping you abreast of what's happening here with the hostages?

YANAI: Well, we went to the authorities, we gave them everything we had. We tried to be as helpful as we could. They were also operative and were glad to take all the information and start to do something with it, but we didn't get response since. But we and my friends tried to search the internet and find as many clues as we can. And we found two movies that shows that they had a few terrorists, show my sister with a few terrorists in the fields. And that's actually the last thing we know about her. Since then, we have no more information about her.

CHURCH: That is such a nightmare for you and your family, I know. What would you like to tell us about your sister, Moran?

YANAI: Well, she was a very happy person, a loving person. She always loved to help other peoples, loved to have animals, she was working in the rescue as a volunteer, of course. And she always say, you know, very peaceful, very peaceful person, very loving person, lots of friends, lots of family, everybody loves her. She's a great, great person indeed. So which makes it even harder.

CHURCH: Of course. And how much faith do you have that your government and the IDF will be able to bring your sister and all the other hostages out of Gaza safely?

YANAI: I trust them, I hope they manage to bring them back home alive. I think that we are demanding from, I'm asking and demanding from the international community to help us bring back all these people, all these innocent people that were captured and took as prisoners to bring them back as safe as possible, as soon as possible.

And that's the only thing that I'm focusing on right now trying to tell the story and try to make people understand and help us bring them back home alive. Because we are worrying, but we're not losing faith. We want to bring them back and we bring all these actions to help as much as we can to do that.

CHURCH: I think for all of us watching, it's hard to understand how you and your family can hold it together in the midst of this. It is a nightmare, clearly. How do you do that?

YANAI: Because we're not because we saw her in the movie. We know that the last time we heard about the she's alive. We still got hope and not all of us are so optimistic, but my parents have a having a rough time all the imagination all the thoughts and everything and time goes by. It's become even harder, but we still have faith that she will come back to us hopefully soon and we're still trying to make actions to help bring their back.

That's all we have. There's no point to being crushed. We just want to do the best we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The hospitals in Israel are busy carrying out the overwhelming work of treating those wounded in Hamas' attacks. But some worry the situation could worsen. CNN's Becky Anderson has the details. But we must warn you some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD (voice-over): The sound becoming ever more present for so many families caught in the crosshairs of war.

Families like the Schindler's, praying that their beloved Amichai survives. The 33-year-old was at home with his wife and six kids when militants attacked the area around his house.

As he tried to fight back, he sustained heavy injuries and is now in critical condition. He lives in a Kibbutz called Kerim Shalom in southern Israel, right next to the border with Gaza. The location mere steps away from where Hamas militants bulldozed through the border, tearing down a section of the fence. An image that has come to define this historic moment in the decades-long conflict. They threw a grenade on the door in front of him. He flew on his back.

I thought he died, so I didn't even cry for help, his wife told me. His face badly beaten, one arm amputated, the other left with only two fingers on his hand.

He's being treated here in Sheba Medical Centre, the largest in Israel. It's been taking him victims with the most severe injuries.

[03:40:07]

So far, the hospital says, over 150 of the nearly 3000 wounded have arrived here since the fighting began on Saturday morning.

Yoel Har Even, a director at the hospital, says the types of injuries he's seen are mostly gunshot or shrapnel wounds and blast injuries. There are currently 42 patients like Amichai in critical condition, and the situation, he says, could get much worse.

(on-camera: We are looking at the potential for a ground incursion. Should that happen? What sort of numbers can you expect here and what sort of injuries?

YOEL HAR EVEN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL DIVISION AND RESOURCE DEPARTMENT: Unforeseen but it probably will be triple or quadruple numbers. It can get worse, but we are ready and this is what we are training ourselves for many, many years.

ANDERSON (on-camera): Sadly this is not the first conflict. How are things different?

HAR EVEN: It's the combination of civilians and military. So usually in the last conflict most of the casualties were army soldiers.

ANDERSON (voice-over): And for Amechai's family, this isn't the first time they're going through this pain. Over a decade ago, they lost Amechai's 24-year-old brother after he was shot by militants during a flare-up of tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.

He had his whole life ahead of him, his mother says. Such wickedness, such cruelty. It takes me back 13 years coping with this massacre, this monstrosity. It's so difficult. But despite the horror, they remain positive. They have no other choice.

We believe Amechai will get out of this alive and everyone else who was injured will too. We want peace. This is all we want, his wife says.

A desperate plea for hope echoed by so many other innocent families on both sides of this conflict.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Coming up on "CNN Newsroom," we will take a look at the global economic impact of Israel's war on Hamas from air travel to oil prices.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: American aviation officials are warning airlines to watch for airspace developments around Israel. This special security notice comes as more carriers are changing routes and canceling flights to Tel Aviv. United Airlines flights heading to Dubai from Newark are shifting their usual routes to avoid Israeli skies.

Oil prices are fluctuating in response to the violence in Israel, but not as dramatically as you might expect. The price of U.S. WTI Crude finished 4 percent higher on Monday, but has dropped slightly in after-hours trading. Brent Crude futures are now around $88 a barrel.

Live now from London is CNN's Clare Sebastian. Good to see you, Clare. What more are you learning about the impact of this Middle East conflict on the global economy and specifically on oil prices?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary look we're seeing the reverberations the ripple effect of this conflict of this conflict across multiple markets and asset classes I think it's clear that the verdict is still out on how bad it will be and what the economic impact will be. In terms of oil the prices are stabilizing a little bit this morning coming down slightly that is to be expected since what we saw on Monday was in large part a knee-jerk reaction to the potential for a conflict in a broader area of the Middle East.

We're not seeing an immediate supply issue since Israel is not a producer of oil, so that is something to watch. It has not reversed Monday's gains, though, so I think you can say that there's still a bit of a premium on the price because of this risk.

We're also watching natural gas because Chevron said on Monday that the Israeli authorities had asked it to shut down one of its gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, supplying some 70 percent of the gas that Israel uses for power generation. That sent European gas prices up some 12 percent on Monday. They're up again this morning some 5 percent. So we're keeping an eye on that. Chevron says it is still able to supply its Israeli customers through another gas field.

And finally, Rosemary, the Israeli currency, the Shekel, also not reversing its losses. It's down slightly this morning. against the dollar. That comes despite unprecedented action by the central bank coming in with a 45 billion dollar program to try to stabilize the currency. It has not yet, as I said, reversed those losses. There's still a huge amount of uncertainty over how this is going to play out economically. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Appreciate you keeping a close eye on that. Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London.

Still to come, demonstrators converge on major cities worldwide to protest both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Police in London arrested three protesters involved in demonstrations in the heart of the city Monday night. Both pro- Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters took part. Officers say the arrests were for an assault on an emergency worker, racially motivated criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon. They say they are looking to arrest those suspected of damaging a building in Kensington High Street.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

And in Sydney, Australia, hundreds marched in a pro-Palestinian demonstration while the famous Opera House there is lit up in blue and white in support of Israel. The crowd began gathering outside of Sydney Town Hall before moving toward the Opera House. People carried Palestinian flags, wearing black, white, red and green, and carrying banners with the message, Free Palestine.

[03:55:01]

(VIDEO PLAYING)

And in Madrid, hundreds of Palestinian supporters converged on Spain's capital to show solidarity with the people in Gaza. They condemned what they call Israeli crimes and accused Israel of holding thousands of Palestinian prisoners under inhumane conditions.

And I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Our coverage continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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