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Israel: At Least 1200 Killed In Hamas Attacks As Israel Claims To Hit Terrorist Target In Gaza; Israeli Defense Minister Vows Ground War In Gaza; Biden Calls Hamas Attacks An Act Of Sheer Evil; IDF: 450+ Targets Hits In Gaza In The Past 24 Hours; Israel: At Least 1200 Killed In Hamas Attacks; Foreigners Among The Dead Or Missing From Hamas Attacks; Latin American Nationals Among Casualties After Attacks; EU Warns "X" About Hosting Misinformation. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 11, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:43]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL 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. It is 9:00 a.m. in Israel where the military now reports the death toll from the Hamas terror attacks has jumped to more than 1200. Israel is stepping up its response with punishing airstrikes on Gaza.

You're taking a look now at the aftermath of an explosion just moments ago. The IDF says it hit more than 70 targets Tuesday in one area where a large number of attacks against Israel are directed. Israel is getting ready for the next phase of retaliation. It has called up more than 300,000 reservists and evacuated civilians from near the Gaza border. The defense ministers there's the offensive against Hamas may have started from the air but it will also come on the ground.

Meanwhile, Israel Channel 12 has released a new video showing the devastation of the side of a music festival where at least 260 people were killed. U.S. President Joe Biden condemning the attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's an act of sheer evil. More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered and just go slaughtered. Stomach churning reports of babies being killed. Entire family slain, young people massacred. The brutality of Hamas, this blood thirstiness brings to mind the worst -- the worst rampages of ISIS. This is terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean and the first plane carrying U.S. ammunition has landed in Israel. So, we're going to go live now to London where journalist Elliott Gotkine is following developments for us. He joins us now. So, Elliot, what is the latest on Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket firing and of course, the fallout from that exchange. And any news on a hostage situation at all?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, Israeli airstrikes are continuing in the last few minutes. We've heard from the IDF saying that it is striking in the Gaza Strip and also saying that it has destroyed one of Hamas' aerial detection systems which was enabling the militant group to see or to monitor Israeli Aircraft. So, Israel says it's destroyed that. As you say, you know, every day now we are seeing the death toll in Israel rising now more than 1200 killed inside of Israel.

And we're also seeing the death toll rising in the Gaza Strip after Israeli airstrikes -- retaliatory airstrikes began in the wake of that surprise and unprecedented attack by Hamas which began on Saturday morning. So, the death toll in the Gaza Strip now above 950. And of course, everyone now is expecting a ground invasion -- ground from Israel. Hamas is not only expecting it, but presumably welcoming it as well because it will give the opportunity to kill more Israelis and also perhaps potentially take more captive.

Now we know that there are between 100 to 150 hostages inside the Gaza Strip. We don't have a breakdown in terms of civilians and how many were soldiers. We do know that more than 20 U.S. citizens are missing and that more than 14 or at least 14 have been killed as well. So, it's not just Israelis that are being held captive by Hamas inside the Gaza Strip but people of other nationalities as well.

And what we heard from Israel's defense minister Yoav Gallant really is that the gloves are essentially off now. And this is in particular in the wake of some of these atrocities that were discovered at Kfar Aza just to the east of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, the IDF saying that women, children, toddlers, the elderly were in his words brutally butchered in an ISIS way of action.

And as we just heard President Biden alluding to as well and also confirmed by the Israeli Defense Minister the that some of those victims in Israel were beheaded. Rosemary?

[02:05:05]

CHURCH: Now, Elliot, you touched on this. The big question of course everyone's asking what comes next. And with Israeli troops massing out the Gaza border, that ground incursion doesn't look likely. We don't know when that would happen. But certainly, getting every indication, it is the next move. Talk to us about what you're learning about that. And of course, the risks involved in going into Gaza.

GOTKINE: Rosemary, I think everyone would be surprised if a ground incursion by Israel didn't happen. As I say there are of course risks at the best of times, in terms of fatalities on the Israeli side and also the risk of Israeli soldiers being taken captive as well. And no doubt, Hamas will have laid booby traps, will have improvised explosive devices at the ready for the -- for the moment when Israel does go in.

And of course, this whole situation is complicated, somewhat by the presence of these 100 to 150 hostages that Hamas has taken and is holding inside of Gaza. So, a really complex situation. Of course, Israel at the same time monitoring what's going on in the north. We saw rockets fired from Syria into Israel over the Golan Heights yesterday. And of course, we've seen both rockets fired from Southern Lebanon and also infiltrations from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.

So, Israel monitoring the border. They've called up hundreds of thousands of reserves. We're talking about the equivalent of something like three percent of the entire Israeli population has now been called up. And also, to put the death toll into context as it stands more than 1200 in Israel killed in the Yom Kippur War which began almost 50 years ago to the day in the English calendar.

The death toll was only about double that amount. So, no doubt future historians will look back upon what's been happening these past few days in the same kind of bracket as previous wars that Israel has fought such as the Yom Kippur War, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Elliot Gotkine joining us live from London with that report.

Well, Palestinian officials say dozens of buildings including homes, schools and medical institutions have been flattened as a result of Israeli strikes on Gaza. The death toll is rising by the hour and hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of wounded. CNN's Ben Wedeman has more on the devastation in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The Gaza City neighborhood once known as Rimal, the sands reduced to ashes. Its residents retrieve what they can, which isn't much. Israel continues to pound the strip targeting it says Hamas infrastructure. Residents in shock are asking why.

I got married this year says, Yahya Al-Ahwal. What did I do? What have we done? You destroyed an entire neighborhood. He says, he never fired a rocket.

In this one of the most densely populated patches of land on Earth. Bombs crashing into crowded neighborhoods, rarely differentiate between fighter and civilian. The death toll rises by the hour. While Gaza's hospitals are overwhelmed with the wounded including infants.

Around 40 percent of the population of Gaza is under the age of 15, according to the CIA. The information ministry in Gaza reports that nearly 170 buildings have been destroyed and more than 12,000 residences damaged. Tens of thousands have fled their homes seeking refuge and U.N. schools converted into shelters.

An oven in this bakery in Gaza City is shut down. Many of the shelves empty. Life here was already difficult. And now the future looks bleaker than ever.

Gaza will take five years to raise its head after this, says Wahiba Sirswai. And after five years there will be two or three more wars. It's a catastrophe.

And amidst all this somewhere in Gaza, Hamas knows where are more than 100 Israeli captive's fates unknown. Tuesday afternoon, Israel struck Gaza is only port used principally by fishermen. While at the same time Hamas unleashed a massive volley of rockets toward Ashkelon. The abyss approaches.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Meantime, the United Nations is calling for an immediate deescalation of the situation between Israel and Hamas. The agency's Human Rights Commissioner issued an urgent plea to all states with influence to take steps to defuse the situation.

[02:10:00]

He stressed that international humanitarian law and human rights law must be respected in all circumstances. The agency also urged all parties to immediately cease attacks targeting civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASANI, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS SPOKESPERSON: We are faced with an explosive powder keg situation. And we know how this plays out. Time and again, the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and incalculable suffering inflicted on both communities. All parties must respect international humanitarian law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is Liz Trostle. Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She joins us from Geneva, Switzerland. Thank you so much for being with us.

ELIZABETH THROSSELL, SPOKESPERSON, OFFICE OF THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Goods morning.

CHURCH: So, like most wars, it's civilians who pay the highest price and we're seeing that on both sides of this conflict. And now in response to Hamas' brutal and deadly attacks, Israel's defense minister is ordering a complete siege of the Gaza Strip which includes cutting off food, water and power to more than two million residents, half of them children. What will be the likely humanitarian consequences of such a move in the midst of ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the territory and is it legal?

THROSSELL: Well, I think the consequences are really going to be dramatic. I mean, already the humanitarian situation in Gaza was precarious. We're really concerned about this announced siege by the Israeli authorities which means that the essential supplies are food, fuel, water, and likely to be cut off making life intolerable for the civilian population there.

I mean, it's important to really stress that imposition of a siege that does endanger the lives of (INAUDIBLE) national humanitarian law, which is why we're really concerned about the situation. We would really sort of urge as you heard my colleagues saying there that all parties should end this violence now, should stop it. And we should really deescalate, not escalate. Because -- I mean, civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian are the ones that always end up paying the price.

And I think in that report by your correspondent, there was a woman there saying, you know, what comes after this? Another war and another war and another war? And that is really the cycle of vengeance that is so concerning. And that's why our High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk made this appeal yesterday. And he's calling for an end to this total warfare, because really that is not the solution.

CHURCH: And has there been any reaction or any response to that call for a deescalation in this conflict? Are you seeing any efforts in that and what steps need to be taken? What would that mean?

THROSSELL: Well, I think there are two things. I think the policy is involved clearly caught up in that. We can see from the reports that you talked about the impact on Israeli civilians, what happened, people being killed in their homes. We are very concerned about that. I mean, clearly what happened there is likely a war crime. Summary executions by Hamas militants of Israeli civilians.

But we're also seeing that the barrage of rockets coming from Hamas. That also likely being indiscriminate, will be affecting civilians. And maybe a possible war crime. We're also concerned about the airstrikes that have been conducted on Gaza and the destruction of civilian buildings. So, really, we understand that we're in the midst of this. But that is why there are calls that there really needs to be a stepping back.

I would expect that there are multiple efforts being made on diplomatic and political channels to try to do this. But as the High Commissioner said, this really this total warfare has to stop now. We have to really focus on respect for international humanitarian law, basically, that the rules of warfare and international human rights law.

CHURCH: And aid organizations that are pleading for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get aid into Gaza. What's being done about that any progress made at all?

THROSSELL: Well, I mean, the U.N. humanitarian organizations as well as others, they do have preposition supplies but they are concerned that these will run out. So, it is essential that there is a means to get into this the civilian population of Gaza. Don't forget this is a territory that has been under a CLM blockade for 16 years. So, it really is going forward in the coming days that all efforts are made to get essential relief supplies in.

CHURCH: Liz Throssell in Geneva, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it. And time for short break now. When we come back. Scenes of brutality in southern Israel. Why one general wanted to make sure the media was there to document it.

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[02:18:44]

CHURCH: Each passing day brings another horrific example of the brutality of the Hamas attacks. Israel reports more than 100 bodies have been found in a kibbutz near Gaza. And CNN's Nic Robertson saw the carnage in another nearby village. A warning, his report contains graphic content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): A drive into Kfar Aza a is chilling. Evidence of Hamas' butchery everywhere. This Israel Defense Force General shocked at what he found.

MAJ. GEN. ITAI VERUV, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: I thought about General Eisenhower that come to the Deaf camp in Europe and the first thing that he said is brings the press.

Young children.

ROBERTSON (voiceover): He did the same inviting about 50 journalists.

VERUV: You will see. It's a -- it's a big massacre, big disaster.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Have you ever seen anything like this in your career before?

VERUV: Never, never.

ROBERTSON (voiceover): Less than a mile from Gaza, 70 Hamas fighters stormed in here early Saturday. Some even flying.

ROBERTSON: They're telling us this is one of the paragliders that flew in here. You can see the engine here. The propellers here made of carbon fiber. The fuel tank up here and the frame of it and the seat at the front.

[02:20:06]

ROBERTSON (voiceover): The IDF in control now after a two-day battle. Hamas lie where they fell. Only now the extremes of their barbarity becoming apparent. 700 plus civilians lived here. How many were killed, still unclear. How they died, brutally apparent. Some decapitated, they say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kill babies in the front of the parents and then kill the parents. They kill parents and we found babies between the dogs and the -- and the family that killed before him. They cut head of the people. ROBERTSON (voiceover): Each body bag, silence sentinel to the intelligence failure that allowed Kfar Aza and other communities near Gaza to be overrun. And motivation for troops too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wait to the switch -- to switch also from the defense to that (INAUDIBLE) because, you know, we defend our people and until we collect --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: And when you're going to attack, will you be going into Gaza. So we can see it here. Look. It's --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look to the next 100 yard. This is my --

ROBERTSON: You take care of the next 100 yards.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next 100 yards and I fight for the next 100 yards and then look forward.

ROBERTSON (voiceover): Forward to a possible showdown with Hamas. How and when still to be determined.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kfar Aza, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We continue to hear more about the atrocities from people who survived the assault by Hamas. CNN spoke with one woman who lives in a kibbutz near the Israel Gaza border. She survived by barricading herself and her daughter in a safe room in her house for nearly 12 hours. She says she first heard about the attack from a neighbor who texted about armed Hamas militants entering the kibbutz then she heard automatic weapons being fired.

After she ran into her safe room, she realized she didn't know how to lock the door. Her brother sent a picture showing how his door was locked with broomsticks. So, shaking with fear, she used a stick and her vacuum cleaner to secure the door and waited for the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRIT LAHAV, SURVIVED HAMAS ATTACK: You know that you're just going to die if they break in. And I was just tying these things to the door. And they -- large men's voices, screaming Arabic, banging everything, large bangs and shouting, and just the whole -- just fear, fear, and fear.

And they sort of large, you know, men's large voices, screaming in Arabic, banging everything but large bangs and shouting and just the whole -- just fear, fear, and fear. And they -- and after they broke everything, they reach the door and I was still hoping that they would pass that door, or and not go in, but they did. And they -- ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: They come to the door?

LAHAV: They came to the door. And they started trying to open and trying to open, and banging it and shouting and banging it. And there is nothing we could do, except, you know, we were hugging, my daughter and I under the table hiding in the dark.

BURNETT: And you are just sitting, they're trying to be silent? Thinking --

LAHAV: Yes. Like trying to --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: At this moment -- at this moment you thinking seconds until you are dead?

LAHAV: Until our death. So, we started saying to each other, I love you, my daughter says mom, I love you. I really appreciate everything you did for me. And I told her how much I love her. We thought we were just going to die, and they kept banging the door, trying to open, trying to open.

And I was sure that whatever I did, this, you know, the vacuum cleaner and the rolling stick wouldn't hold. But it did and, after eight -- sort of eight or ten minutes of trying and screaming, and shooting everything. And they finally moved on. Breaking more things in the house, and move to the next neighbors and shooting there and trying probably to break their doors and terrible, terrible.

They just moved from door to door, from house to house, banging each and every house in the kibbutz. And I heard my neighbor's daughters, the ones who live right in front of me. She -- they have three years old and five years old. They were screaming, screaming while this automatic weapon shooting. And --

BURNETT: Did they survive?

LAHAV: They did.

BURNETT: They did?

(CROSSTALK)

LAHAV: They did. Btu the other side neighbors, they killed the whole family. A grandmother, her son and his wife and three little children. So many people died. I think a third -- 30 percent, one out of three people, either died or got kidnapped.

And we are small community. We are just less than 400 people, including children.

[02:25:00]

I hope everybody is getting -- they will be released and will be alive. I don't know if they will come back alive from this. I hope so. I hope they will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: She says the militants came into her house three separate times in what seemed like an endless nightmare.

Well, still to come. The families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas are pleading for help and bringing their loved ones home. Their stories when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Day five of the war between Israel and Hamas is dawning. Overnight, Iron Dome Air Defense Missiles rose above the Israeli city of Ashkelon, just north of Gaza, as barrages of Hamas rockets threatened the city.

And the Israelis are furiously firing back in one area of Gaza. The IDF says waves of Israeli warplanes hit 82 targets Tuesday destroying Hamas is ability to detect aircraft over the territory.

[02:30:06]

And these are satellite images of the damage in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes. And Israel's defense minister seemed to suggest Tuesday that a ground incursion may be coming.

White House officials say they are in active conversations with Israel to try to bring Americans being held hostage in Gaza home. CNN's Becky Anderson spoke with the relatives of some of those hostages who are pleading with their governments to do whatever they can. Some of the video you're about to see may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A massacre, as it unfolded. Video of armed fighters rampaging through Be'eri kibbutz in southern Israel, close to the Gaza border. Towards the end, four bodies lying lifeless on the ground. And more, this video showing some of the bodies being removed. Be'eri was home to 66-year-old Adrienne Neta, last seen Saturday morning.

Adrienne, a nurse, now missing, presumed captured by Hamas. Distraught, her son Nahar, who grew up on the kibbutz, flew from his home in California as soon as he heard the news, along with the relatives of three other missing Americans, Nahar pleading for the US and Israel to do everything possible to get their loved ones released.

NAHAR NETA, SON OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: The Israeli government has to bring back all the hostages. I want, also, to speak about the responsibility that the US administration, President Biden, and the secretary of state Blinken, has for the lives of every US citizen that is out there.

ANDERSON (voice-over): For these families, the frustration is palpable. As the fighting intensifies, talk of an imminent ground incursion into Gaza. The fate of the hostages, a terrifying prospect. In another kibbutz, Nahal Oz, more carnage. This was home to 35-year- old Sagui , now missing, presumed captured by Hamas militants. His father, Jonathan, also pleading for action from the US administration, as he tries to come to terms with what has happened and what happens next.

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, FATHER OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: My children and grandchildren who were on the kibbutz, so Sagui's young family and another young family experienced a living hell for the better part of 20 hours. These were young children and young men and women who cannot be anything other than traumatized by what they witnessed. My job now as a parent is to try to put the pieces back together.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Four families experiencing a living hell, unable to process how this happened and how it will end.

NETA: Give our hope, which is a little bit ridiculous at the stage to say, but the optimistic scenario here is that she's held hostage in Gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Becky Anderson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Tel Aviv, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Major Jerome Spielman. Appreciate you talking with us. So, Israel is now fighting on three fronts, the primary one of course being Gaza, but now also Syria and Lebanon. Bring us up to date on the very latest on Gaza, and of course, targets hit there, but also those rocket launches from Syria, and what that may signal.

MAJ. ADORNO SPIELMAN, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: So, as we know on the south of Israel, this is the major front, as this was the location that Hamas did in fact incur into Israel, and commit the massacre four days ago. I will say that even myself, who's been in the army for 22 years, very recently visited Kfar Aza yesterday.

And even for me to see the carnage of the men, women and children, the strollers that have blood dripping down them, even for me and all my soldiers, the entire country is still enormously affected. And to answer your question, this has caused an absolute outpouring of support and in the army we're having 150 percent voluntary rates in the army right now. I'm serving in a unit. There are men and women in my unit that are husbands and wives and their children are in other units.

[02:35:04]

You literally have entire families right now who have answered the call, who are now spread out along our border. Again three hundred thousand people to call up for Israel, which is a country of just under 10 million people, it's a massive, massive call up. Overnight, we struck a number of senior Hamas targets in the Gaza strip. We found that they had surveillance cameras. We took out their surveillance cameras from the sky. We eliminated two of their top political staff, one dealing with their

economic, bringing in all those funds that are used to buy the weapons that committed this carnage. Their internal security relations. We hit ports that are being used. There were an incursion from the sea. We found a scuba diver that came in from the sea. There are constant attempts by Hamas to continue to penetrate the south, but we've managed to keep them out.

And we have a strong handle on this though I cautiously say this is a constant, constant attempt. In the north, as you mentioned, there had been rocket attacks, there've been border attacks, there's even been infiltration's. A number of our soldiers unfortunately were killed there when there is an attack made on one of our military outposts. But we are spread all along the north. We are absolutely ready for every scenario. And so you really have this, we're spread out on the border, and yet, there are families at home that are still counting their dead.

CHURCH: And of course, tens of thousands of Israeli troops have been added along the border with Lebanon. And tanks and troops amassing now at the Gaza border. Can you tell us how many reservists have reported for duty? And there are also of course suggestions of this likely ground incursion into Gaza, talk about the risks of that.

SPIELMAN: So, I'll tell you, we have around three hundred thousand. The call up has been over three hundred thousand, which some reports have said this is a call up that places this on the scale of a major country that would have, you know, like the US, of two hundred, three hundred million people, we just have 10 million people.

There is not a family that does not have somebody that's either been called up, or, unfortunately, because we're such a small country, a family that does not have friends or loved ones that are still missing. We're kind of trapped in this nightmare, really, which we have the mourning on one side, and at the same time, people are taking these positions and standing at the border. There are a number of ground forces that have been delayed along the southern border.

As the chief of staff said, we are preparing for any scenario. We know, one thing that's clear, Hamas did us one favor in this nightmare, they helped us to realize that there is no choice but for Israel to succeed in defeating them because if we do not defeat Hamas, God forbid, we cannot absorb another massacre on this scale.

CHURCH: And what happens to the hostages if a ground offensive is launched, and that looks likely as we say, and what about the residents of Gaza who are not part of Hamas? Israel says they should evacuate. But that's not possible, of course, they can't get out. Egypt doesn't want them to cross its borders. So what happens to non- combatants? Will Israel work with Egypt to open up that border perhaps, to let some of those people through?

SPIELMAN: The hostage situation is one of the most absolute horrific. As you mentioned, again, I know people who are missing. We all know people. There were grandmothers that were taken there, there were women, unfortunately, who were raped. And we know that they were being held. There is a video of a four-year-old Israeli kid wandering around Gaza.

Obviously, the video was taken very cynically, he doesn't understand, he's speaking Hebrew, they're answering in Arabic, they're smacking him on the face. The situation of the hostages is beyond -- I mean, really, Hamas, any shred of humanity they may have pretended to have, they shed. What they did and are doing is absolutely inhuman.

And this makes obviously our job much more difficult, because they are not only inhuman, according to the Israelis that they've taken hostage, they're hiding underneath the Gazans. There are children, how can a father hide beneath his family and leave his family on the top of a building, when he knows that the IDF has to eliminate him so this doesn't happen again. I really think we need to take a step back.

And everyone watching is either a father, a mother, or a child. At this point in time, and ask yourselves, who possibly could do this? I will tell you from our perspective, the success of eliminating Hamas is absolutely critical to the survival of Israel. And I believe these questions have to be directed towards Hamas. But we have to really ask ourselves, have we seen anything like this since ISIS, anything this evil?

[02:40:07]

CHURCH: Just want to just follow up on that, what will happen to the hostages if there is a ground incursion?

SPIELMAN: Again, we've appointed two major generals right now to deal with this on an operational level, to try to answer this. Obviously, the best situation would be if Hamas was to release those hostages and send them back to their loved ones. We're waiting here in Israel. For us, it puts us in an incredibly difficult situation.

But I will say very clearly, if Hamas thinks that by killing innocent Israelis and taking hostages is going to help them, they're absolutely wrong. Israel is absolutely dedicated for our survival, like any country. And we know that that means that their military capabilities have to be completely eliminated.

CHURCH: IDF spokesperson Major Doron Spielman, thank you so much for joining us, appreciate it.

SPIELMAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come, instead of condemning Hamas for its attacks on Israel, Russia's Vladimir Putin is blaming what he calls a failed US policy in the Middle East. More on his response, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:24]

CHURCH: At least four Russian citizens were reportedly among those killed by Hamas in Israel, but the Russian president has so far chosen not to condemn Hamas for the attack. The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin is concerned about the number of civilian casualties, but he's largely blaming US policy for what's happening in the Middle East. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has our report and a warning, some of the video is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered by Hamas near Gaza, condemnation and condolences poured in from around the world, but not from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Now in his first comments, instead of empathy, Putin blasting the US.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is a clear example of the failure of the United States policy in the Middle East, which tried to monopolize any settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Kremlin controlled TV following suit, mocking both America and Israel for allegedly being caught off-guard by Hamas' attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Mossad and its famous counter intelligence, as well as the US and its CIA, slept through Hamas' invasion. It's the biggest Israeli failure in security since 1973.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia has long been allied with Israel's staunchest adversaries and Hamas' most important backers, bombing Syrian rebels in support of pro-Iranian fighters battling on the side of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during Syria's civil war. But Russia also maintained strong ties and security arrangements with Israel. Putin meeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on many occasions.

SERGEI RYABKOV, RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: We in no way underestimate the importance of measures that would ensure very strong security of the state of Israel.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But since Putin launched his full scale war against Ukraine, Tehran has become a key ally for Moscow at Israel's expense, fostering economic and military ties with Iran while Tehran provides the Russian army with scores of Shahed drones the Russians used to hit Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, Kyiv says, even though Tehran denies it. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming Moscow's allegiance in the Middle East has shifted towards Tehran.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We see how Russian propagandists are gloating. We witnessed how Moscow's Iranian allies openly lend support to those who attacked Israel.

PLEITGEN: Now, the Kremlin has denied allegations by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that it's trying to inflame the situation between Israelis and Palestinians. However, the former chief rabbi of Moscow who of course fled that country two weeks after the full-on invasion of Ukraine, he said that he believes that the lack of a show of support of Russia for Israel is an ominous sign of deteriorating relations between those countries. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The Hamas attacks are impacting countries far beyond Israel. These 12 countries say their nationals are among the dead or missing. Many of the foreigners who were murdered or missing were expatriates living in southern Israeli towns or kibbutzes. This list may grow longer, as many of those killed have yet to be identified, and these are the countries that are sending planes to Israel or making other arrangements to evacuate their citizens who want to get home.

With many commercial airlines curtailing or canceling flights from Tel Aviv, some nations are scrambling military aircraft or arranging special flights with their national air carriers to take people out. Well Latin American nationals also among the dead and missing following Hamas' deadly onslaught on Israel over the weekend. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has details.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Multiple people from Latin America are confirmed to have been killed or believed to be missing following Hamas's attack on Israel, according to governments from across this region. The largest group comes from Argentina, at least seven Argentines were killed, according to the Argentine government. Another 15 are believed to be missing. Two Peruvians were killed, according to their government. And then one Brazilian man was killed, his girlfriend said in an interview with CNN Brazil.

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They were at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas terrorists attacked that festival. They sought refuge in a nearby bunker, but then assailants threw smoke grenades into that bunker. They were separated. And according to this woman, also a Brazilian citizen, her boyfriend was killed.

Governments from across the region, including Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, have sent or will be sending planes to evacuate their citizens. Hundreds of Latin Americans are now awaiting evacuation from Israel, to be brought back home and to safety. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

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CHURCH: Coming up, Europe is warning Elon Musk to keep misinformation and lies off of the platform formerly known as Twitter, especially with war raging in the Middle East. We'll explain.

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CHURCH: European Union officials are warning X, the company formerly known as Twitter, against hosting misinformation and illegal content about Israel's war against Hamas. A top European commissioner sent a letter to X's owner Elon Musk, saying the platform appears to be dangerously close to breaking EU law regarding content moderation.

Since he bought the company, Musk has laid off much of its content moderation and policy teams, and has lowered its standards for verifying accounts. If X is found to have violated Europe's Digital Services Act, it could face billions of dollars in fines. I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stay with us.

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