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CNN International: Israeli Tanks, Troops Massing Near Gaza Border; How Shelters Became Traps During Hamas Attack; Conflict in Middle East Impacting Global Economy. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 10, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

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KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today, a rare and remarkable joint statement from the Quint allies, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, saying that they have unequivocal condemnation for Hamas, and saying that their countries will offer support to Israel as it seeks to defend itself.

To that end, the National Security Council here in the U.S. telling reporters that the U.S. has existing authority and funding to assist Israel and its ability to defend itself, but that the U.S. would go back to Congress to ask for more if needed.

NSC Spokesman John Kirby also saying it is not the U.S.'s intention to put American boots on the ground, and also saying that there is so far no smoking gun in his words to directly tie Iran to these attacks.

All that to say, it is a fluid and evolving situation, and the White House acknowledges that new information is being obtained every single minute.

Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come, more on our breaking news coverage of the fighting in the Middle East, including Israel's next steps in its offensive against Hamas.

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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

The Israeli military says it has hit more than 200 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning this is just the beginning.

NOBILO: Israeli tanks and troops are massing near the border with Gaza, as many anticipate a ground invasion. Meanwhile, Hamas is threatening to kill civilian hostages if Israeli air strikes in Gaza continue without warning.

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Joining us now is Dalia Dassa Kaye, a senior fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

DALIA DASSA KAYE, SR. FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Thank you.

NOBILO: The world is. Watching closely and one of the primary concerns is the potential for this conflict to continue to escalate and also spill over. What does the regional reaction tell you about the likelihood of that at this stage?

KAYE: Well, this is such a dramatic unfolding of events. It's very hard to know. There is some reason for cautious optimism that it will not spread further. Hezbollah seems to be maintaining a limited response, of course, showing sympathy as Iran is. Iran is denying involvement directly in these attacks. Israel doesn't look like it would want to open -- it's certainly prepared -- but open another front when it has this pending conflict that is unfolding in Gaza. So there's a number of reasons for restraint.

On the other hand, this -- these set of events in Gaza have completely surprised everyone. So a lot of assumptions are really turned upside down. So I think anything is possible now. And of course, Israel and Iran have been engaged in a shadow war for years, not to mention the uptick in violence in the West Bank over the past nine months. So I think there's a lot of room for worry about this escalation. Especially and depending on how events on the ground in Gaza do unfold.

FOSTER: A lot of people talking about Iran, its role here, how it may react to this. This is one of the key dynamics we've got, isn't it? Looking ahead to any sort of escalation of tensions.

KAYE: Yes, absolutely. There's a lot of controversy about this. What -- it's hard to know. I think anybody saying anything definitively at this early stages is probably doesn't have full information. It -- what is interesting is Iran is denying a role. IDF spokesperson does not believe Iran had a direct role. And the U.S. is kind of playing down a direct Iranian role. So whether or not, no question the Iranians are strong supporters militarily, politically, ideologically, especially with Palestinian Islamic Jihad but growing ties with Hamas. But the role, direct role, I think, is uncertain.

If there are reasons to believe Iran would not want a big shake up and have a confrontation with Israel. And for that matter, it would be the United States under these circumstances, the U.S. is strongly backing Israel. U.S. citizens were among those killed and likely held hostage. So this is a -- you know, Iran was doing actually pretty well in the region on its own terms. It had suppressed domestic unrest, it had been normalizing ties with the broader Arab region, and it had cut some deals with the United States to get its own prisoners out, some frozen funds released. So the idea that I'd want to shake things up and have a direct conflict I think does not seem logical.

But again, I think in this new landscape we're in, we all need to test our previous assumptions. It is not clear and again depending on how events unfold, there could be tremendous pressure for engagement even if the logic suggests that actors would not want this kind of conflict.

NOBILO: Just drawing our viewers' attention, Dalia, to the right of you on the screen you are seeing live pictures there of the skyline in Gaza. Clearly, a heavier artillery or explosion than we were just witnessing about 10 minutes ago when things looked a lot clearer than that. So, we're going to keep an eye on that for you. That is what you're looking at.

Dalia, just finally back to you. It goes without saying that in Western liberal democracies at least, the leaders depend on the publics either approval or indifference to whatever decisions or stances that they take. And though plenty of leaders are denouncing these pro-Palestinian rallies and reaffirming their support for Israel, they are still happening. What more would you say about the world's response to the conflict occurring right now?

KAYE: Well, these were absolutely horrific events. It was, you know, a mass murder. It was a catastrophic failure within Israel itself. I think you're seeing mixed results. We have a very mixed responses in a very divided world. Pretty predictable in the Arab world, Muslim world are very predictable, sympathy with the Palestinians.

This conflict didn't come out of a vacuum. You've had 16 years of blockade of Gaza. You've had some of the worst violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank than we've seen in decades. So there is a lot of anger. Leaders have been making normalization deals with the Israelis. But it's not popular in the public. And so it's not surprising you're seeing this.

And of course, on the Israeli side, a tremendous amount of sympathy pouring out. This is a dark, dark day -- darkest day in Israel's history. These kinds of casualties are unprecedented.

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So I think unfortunately, you're going to see a digging in. This conflict wasn't very close to resolution before this horrific set of events, but I think we're probably farther than we've ever been.

NOBILO: Dalia Dassa Kaye, thank you so much for joining us this morning and for sharing your insights on what is a deeply complex and ever deepening situation. Thank you.

KAYE: Thank you.

NOBILO: When siren sound, Israelis run to shelters. But during Saturday's surprise attack, those shelters were anything but safe. CNN takes you to one of these deadly sites next. Plus --

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There was silence for a few minutes and the policewoman who was there with us simply screamed. Whoever wanted to be alive needs to leave now.

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FOSTER: The first-hand accounts for the festival attack. This one ran for her life and she considers her survival a miracle.

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FOSTER: New video obtained by CNN appears to show what happened when Hamas militants arrived near the site of a music festival where more 260 people were killed over the weekend. We want to warn you, the video you're about to see is disturbing.

A dashcam video from a parked car shows militants near a bomb shelter screaming at that shirtless man. 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.

NOBILO: CNN's Nic Robertson visited the shelter on Monday and has this report.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They're brightly painted. People understand that this is where to go to get safe. But outside of here, smash water bottles, broken shoes.

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And as I step inside here, you're over found by the smell. And what is clear that happened here, people came in here to get shelter. There's gunshots and impacts all over the wall. I don't think we'll go in too far. John, if I just if we just step out and let me describe what we're seeing. Because it is a very horrific testimony to the absolute carnage, rampage and utter, utter brutality of Hamas that people were hiding in there. And it's absolutely clear from the blood on the walls, the bullet holes in the walls that they just went in there and shot these innocent people cowering and hiding away from them inside this concrete place of safety, this shelter.

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FOSTER: At least 260 bodies were found at the site of music festival that came under attack near the Gaza border on Saturday CNN's Jeremy Diamond spoke to one woman who managed to survive. Again, a warning some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): How do you think that you came out of this alive?

MICHAL OHANA, SURVIVED ATTACK ON MUSIC FESTIVAL (through translator): I really don't know. It's a miracle. It's a miracle -- a miracle because people who were next to me did not get out alive.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a bullet in her leg and shrapnel in her stomach, 27-year-old Michal Ohana considers herself one of the lucky ones. But when rocket sirens sounded at the Nova Music Festival in Southern Israel and Hamas militants began killing and kidnapping hundreds of festival goers, Michal's fate was far from sealed.

OHANA (through translator): It was just shooting and shooting, whoever that could run ran, and then others got killed.

DIAMOND (voice-over): After bullets pierced the windows of the car she and her boyfriend were trying to escape in, Michal soon found refuge in a small shed, crammed in with at least 50 other people.

OHANA (through translator): There were already people who were injured. Some in their legs, some on their backside, some in their heads. I had a scarf on me and somebody next to me was bleeding, so I gave her a tourniquet on her leg.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Minutes later, shots rang out.

OHANA (through translator): There was silence for a few minutes and the police woman who was there with us simply screamed. Whoever wanted to be alive needs to leave now. Those who could leave, left. Those who couldn't, I don't know what happened with them.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Michal and her boyfriend took off running. But Michal panicked, but her legs buckled, her boyfriend dragged her across the ground and managed to shove her into the window of passing vehicle. But at every turn, more Hamas fighters.

OHANA (voice-over): They just went with white pick-up trucks. On each pick-up truck there were at least 20 terrorists with Kalashnikov grenade guns, shotguns, machine guns. I've never seen anything like this in my life.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Seemingly encircled, Michal once again jumped out of the car and began running before finding an abandoned army tank on the side of the road. Bullets reached her there too. Hiding under the tank, Michal was shot in the leg. Shrapnel from a grenade pierced her stomach.

OHANA (through translator): And in that time, we didn't see, we couldn't see anything, and they were taken, some people were taken.

DIAMOND (voice-over): For six more hours, Michal lay lying underneath that the tank until Israeli soldiers rescued her and evacuated her to Hadasa hospital, where she was one of more than 60 victims treated.

OHANA: I noticed my side and I think I was going to die.

DIAMOND: You thought you were going to die?

OHANA: Yes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

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FOSTER: After days of intense fighting, Israeli Defense Forces say they have more or less regained full control of the border with Gaza. The IDF spokesperson says all communities around the border have been secured and nearly all civilians evacuated. And Israeli officials say they've added 10s of thousands of troops along the border with Lebanon to prepare for any possible attack from Hezbollah.

NOBILO: Repercussions of the violence will be felt well beyond the region. So let's talk more about the impact of this war globally. Clare Sebastian joins us live. Clare, obviously, a lot of your time you've spent covering business and markets. What does what we're seeing in the markets reveal to us about anxieties and how this is being interpreted by the world in the region?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, we're seeing ripple effects across a number of markets, a number of asset classes. I think what we're seeing is that there was initial -- an initial shock, which in some areas has subsided, but now I think it's just a waiting game and watching to see how this plays out. If it spreads through the region, that will be critical, for example, for the oil markets. We saw oil, of course, surge on Monday. It's pretty flat today, it's just slightly higher. You see there, it's actually very flat right now.

I think the question is of course, if this spreads for oil, right? Israel is not a supplier of oil. So this is not an immediate supplier risk. But of course, if we see any issues with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz that it would be the worst-case scenario if that was affected. That's what people are watching for there.

We're also monitoring natural gas futures, particularly in Europe this morning. Because Chevron said on Monday that the Israeli authorities had told them to shut down one of their gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean. That was a gas field that supplied some 70 percent of the gas that Israel used for power generation, that has been shut down.

Natural gas futures went up 12 percent on Monday. They're up again some 4 or 5 percent this morning.

Israel can still get gas from another gas field in the eastern Mediterranean, but that is something certainly the markets are watching. And the other thing that we're paying close attention to is the

currency, the shekel. Because that has been -- well, it's been falling pretty steadily throughout this year. It fell again on this conflict. It's now slightly higher, again, pretty flat even with unprecedented central bank intervention by Israel on Monday to try to stabilize that currency. I think that reflects the level of uncertainty out there right now over how this. Is going to play out.

FOSTER: There won't be many people dashing to Israel currently, but there are people that need to get in and out. So what's the latest flight situation?

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SEBASTIAN: So I mean, we're seeing the number of flights obviously trending down when it comes to in particular Ben Gurion Airport, which is a major International Airport servicing some 20 million plus passengers last year. We've seen more airlines reporting cancellations on Monday. Ryanair through Wednesday, Norwegian through Friday, American Airlines also through Friday, Delta has extended its cancellation through the end of the month. There was a warning from the FAA, the U.S. regulator, to pilots, saying that while they're not putting in restrictions that this is a potentially hazardous situation, which seems a bit of an understatement, under the circumstances.

Look, this is not like we saw with Ukraine, where the airspace was shut down literally on day one of the war. There are still flights coming in. A spokesperson for the Israeli flag carrier El Al told Reuters that they're actually adding flights to try and bring in reservists who of course have been called up by the Israeli Government. But obviously it's heavily disrupted air travel right now.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you very much indeed. Before we leave you this hour, let's return briefly to one of the focal points of this crisis. And these are live pictures of Gaza City and the skyline there. A skyline that's coming under bombardment as Israeli. military prosecute this war.

NOBILO: And that's just before noon in Gaza, 11:55. The middle of a difficult day as thousands seek relative safety in UN shelters. But it's a very difficult day in Israel, too. Where hundreds of families are waiting for news of their kidnapped loved ones. People who Hamas has threatened to execute.

FOSTER: However, this story develops in the coming days and hours, it's sure to put many more lives at risk across that region. We're going to bring you all the updates as they continue. But for now, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

NOBILO: I'm Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" picks up this story. It's next right here on CNN.

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