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Americans In Gaza Warned To Be Ready For Potential Evacuation; Gazans Brace For Potential Large-Scale Israeli Ground Invasion; Half Of Gaza Under Israeli Evacuation Order As IDF Masses Troops; IDF: Forces Are "Increasing Operations Readiness For The Next Stages Of The War"; First U.S. Charter Flight Departs From Israel With American Citizens On Board; U.S. Intel Warned Of Risk For Hamas Violence Days Before Attack; 72-Year-Old Man Battles Hamas Fighters With Severe Wounds. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 14, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: There are other shelters like this, other tragedies still to be discovered. The full horror of what happened here is just starting to come to light.

Anderson Cooper, Alumim, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And you can see a new episode of Anderson Cooper's The Whole Story. Terror in Israel tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. If you're just joining us, this is CNN's live coverage of Israel at war. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington, along with Sara Sidner in Tel Aviv. There's breaking news we're following this hour. Americans and other stuck in war ravaged Gaza are on alert to evacuate potentially at any moment. The State Department is urging U.S. citizens to move closer and closer to the Rafah border, the southern part of Gaza crossing from Gaza into Egypt in case it opens up with little notice.

Local media reported earlier that Egypt was not, repeat, not allowing American citizens through the crossing. More than one million civilians in the northern part of Gaza are under Israeli orders to flee to the south. And evacuation the United Nations is calling impossible. The humanitarian crisis escalating right now amid widespread destruction and a mounting death toll in Gaza now rising above 2200.

It's been a full week of punishing Israeli airstrikes in response to the horrific and very deadly Hamas terror attack on Israel. Last weekend that killed some 1300 people. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaling a ground invasion of Gaza could in fact be imminent, as he met with frontline Israeli troops and declared they're ready for the next phase. I'll bring in my colleague Sara Sidner who's joining us from Tel Aviv right now.

Sara, Israeli leaders have warned this war is only just beginning.

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you can feel the tension. You can feel the anticipation that there will likely be the ground war that everyone has been waiting to see whether it was going to happen. We have been watching the troops amass on the border. We're talking some 300,000 reservists who have come into Israel, come to the border in preparation.

We've watched those preparations. We've also seen here in Tel Aviv. A city that is bursting with activity normally, even on the Shabbat. This place has beaches and people are usually having great fun on a Saturday. It is absolutely quiet. That is not normal. Places are close, people are in their homes for the most part. A very different scene than we're used to. And also, thousands of Palestinian civilians are moving to southern Gaza after the Israeli military warned them to leave northern Gaza for their own safety.

The U.S. told American citizens also to move closer to the Gaza border with Egypt. The U.N. has said the evacuation though of a million people in one of the most densely populated areas on Earth is impossible. And today, the U.N. condemned the evacuation order as a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. The U.N. is also saying that food and fresh water is running extremely low and quickly will run out.

Salma Abdelaziz is following all of these developments. Salma, the U.N. chief says look, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was already critical. Now it is and this is a quote here, "fast becoming untenable." What are you hearing from people experiencing all of this inside Gaza?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, it was just a few hours ago that this evacuation advisory by the Israeli military expired and what is clear is that there are still hundreds of thousands of people who are absolutely trapped in the crosshairs. You mentioned the condemnation there from the United Nations. The U.N. is going so far as to say there are no safe places in Gaza.

The fear from rights group -- rights group says that many families will be left out essentially in the open without shelter as bombs rain down on them. Here's the situation in Gaza. And I warn you, this report does have graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: This is what running for your life looks like in Gaza. An ambulance with a young girl and wounded woman inside rocked by explosions as they attempt to flee. It is unclear what happened to the pair but they're among the tens of thousands of people on the move after Israel's military called on nearly half of Gaza's population, some 1.1 million people to get south in a matter of hours.

But along the safe passages specified by the IDF, utter horror. You're looking at the carnage and chaos on Salah al-Din Street. One of the designated evacuation routes.

[13:05:03]

In the aftermath of explosions, families killed amid their belongings. CNN has geolocated this video and four other clips from the horrifying scene. The U.N. calls Israel's evacuation advisory impossible and a violation of the rules of war. And Palestinian officials accused the IDF of bombing civilians even as they fled. Dozens of evacuees were killed or wounded by Israeli airstrikes, according to Hamas.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. The victims are flooding into Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals. And again, it's the youngest caught in the crossfire. Nearly half of Gaza's population is children.

What did the children do to deserve this? This woman says. Did they fight you? Did they fire rockets? My niece and her whole family are dead. The only survivor is a two-year-old girl.

The healthcare system is on the brink. A complete siege making it impossible to get aid into the enclave. And already, there's a shortage of everything. Even space in the morgue.

Keeping the dead in ice cream trucks so the bodies, this doctor says. Gaza is in crisis. Gaza needs help.

For those still able to move south, this is one of the neighborhoods families are expected to flee towards (INAUDIBLE) where Israeli airstrikes have wreaked havoc.

This is a genocide, not a war. It's genocide, this man says. And it's an attempt to force all Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

Finding refuge is proving dangerous and deadly. And for the many families desperate for shelter, the fear is there may be no safe places left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: What is so alarming as you look at those images and as you look at that humanitarian crisis unfolding on the ground is that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that this is only the beginning of this offensive. There are hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops sitting on that Gaza-Israel border potentially preparing for a ground incursion. Rights groups are warning this is going to be an absolute catastrophe for the two million Gazans still trapped inside that enclave.

SIDNER: Salma Abdelaziz. Those are truly disturbing pictures and hearing from people indeed, as they are concerned for their lives and the lives of their families. Thank you so much for that report.

We now have some breaking news to share with you that we're just getting into CNN. We have just heard from the IDF, the Israeli Military that says its forces are -- and I'm quoting here, "Increasingly operational readiness for the next stages of the war." When you hear that, it really gives you a sense that this is about to happen. The ground war that everyone has been wondering about whether it is going forward and whether when it's going to happen.

We are getting closer and closer with these words from the Israeli Defense Forces. I want to go to Ben Wedeman who has worked and lived in this region for such a long time. You are back here. I think you are on the border with Lebanon, in southern Lebanon. What can you tell us --what do you think this means when you hear that the Israeli Defense Forces, the military saying that it's increasing operational readiness for the next stages of the war? What does that mean to you?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard the same sort of talk back in January 2009 and 2014 when Israel in both instances, did launch ground invasions into Gaza. And really, this is a prelude for another bloody stage in this war, because what we know is that when Israeli troops go in, and there are still as Salma pointed out, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza City where the Israelis perhaps believe some of those captives are being kept aware -- they believe perhaps many of the leaders of Hamas are hiding out.

That's going to be the target. And this as yourself know, Sara. If they go into, for instance, refugee camps, in Shati Refugee Camp. One of the most crowded areas, in a strip of land, it's already very crowded. The alleys are maybe a meter and a half wide. So, getting in there and conducting military operations among these breeze block houses is going to be a bloodbath. And as much as the Israelis say they're going to try to avoid civilian casualties.

In that environment, it is inevitable. There will be large numbers of civilian casualties in such an operation. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes. Ben, you and I both have lived in this region, both of us living in Jerusalem, for some time you live in Lebanon. And as you watch this happen, you can really see that this is going to be something perhaps like we have never seen before. Although we have seen plenty of incursions and operations in Gaza by Israel. I do want to ask you as well that you're on the Lebanese border with Israel.

We have been seeing a bit of fighting coming from that border. Can you give us some sense of what is happening and what you've been seeing over the past couple of days?

WEDEMAN: Yes, Sara. In particular, today, about five hours ago, we started to hear distant thuds from the Shebaa farms region. That's a disputed area between Israel and Lebanon. It went on for about two hours, eventually petering out. We did also hear volleys of rockets being fired from Lebanon into Israel. Now, according to the Israeli military, 30 mortar rounds were fired into Israel.

Initially, the Israelis responded and this set off a back and forth of fire. The likes of which we haven't seen since we got to South Lebanon. Now according to the Israeli military, in the process of this exchange, there was an attempt to infiltrate into Israel. They say they conducted an airstrike to neutralize those infiltrators. Hezbollah for its part put out a statement stating that it is struck with precision weapons, targets within -- Israeli targets in the Shebee farms area.

Now local Lebanese media are reporting that to an elderly couple in the town of Shebaa, the Lebanese town of Shebaa was -- were killed when their house was hit. That's today. Yesterday, we saw other action around the town of Metula and outside of Aalma Chaab in Lebanon on the Lebanese side. In that instance, group of journalists was struck by Israeli missiles. One of them, a friend and colleague of many of us, Issam Abdullah from Reuters.

A cameraman with much experience in the region was killed and six other journalists were injured. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes. Our hearts go out to the civilians killed. And, of course, our colleagues, the journalist who have been killed there in the region. Ben Wedeman, you are such a wealth of information. Thank you so much for your reporting there on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Let's go ahead and send it back to my colleague Wolf Blitzer. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Sara. Our special coverage of Israel at war will continue right after a quick break. The former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will join us live. My conversation with him, that's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:57}

BLITZER: Joining us now, the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Prime Minister, thanks very much for joining us. As you know, it's been a week since that truly heinous Hamas terror attack on the people of Israel. First of all, what's your assessment of how the government and the military have handled the response?

EHUD OLMERT, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Well, I think the real response hasn't started yet, Wolf. It's about -- and it will be gradual. I don't think that there will be one massive operation on ground right away. It takes time. It needs to be done in a very careful manner, careful both in order to -- target -- to try and avoid that.

BLITZER: I think our connection is not that necessarily all that good right now. We're going to try to strengthen and get back to the former Israeli prime minister. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:17]

BLITZER: There are growing signs right now that Israeli troops are about to move. About to move on Gaza. We are watching this very closely. We're also trying to reestablish our connection with the former -- with the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. We'll get that reconnection going. Our interview with him is coming up. But there's other important developments we're following right now, including Anderson Cooper, who has gone inside that music festival that was attacked by Hamas.

And it's a very, very powerful report. We'll have more on that coming up as well. Meanwhile, CNN is learning new details about that music festival where some 260 people, young people were killed in that Hamas terror attack. As questions about over all of this, the question remains, how was Hamas able to launch its surprise invasion of Israel last week with such perfection? They were moving very quickly, very decisively.

CNN is now learning U.S. intelligence warned of the potential for violence days before that Hamas attack against Israel by land, air and sea. CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen is joining us right now. Peter, you know a lot about this subject. Peter was also the Vice President for Global Studies and fellows over at The New School. Peter, are you there? Unfortunately, we have lost our connection with Peter Bergen as well. We'll reconnect with him.

We'll reconnect with the former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert. Let's get our act together. We'll fix all of this. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:01]

SIDNER: All right. We are back with more breaking news. There are growing signs that Israeli troops are nearing a potential ground invasion into Gaza. The very latest just moments ago. Israel's military says its forces are -- and I'm quoting here, increasing operational readiness for the next stages of the war. We have already seen the war raining down on Gaza from the sky. Now it appears the next stage may be a ground offensive.

The statement comes as Israeli forces continue pounding targets as I mentioned, from the air as tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza rush to flee their homes after Israel ordered more than a million civilians, half the population to evacuate to the south. A new window given by Israelis for safe passage expired just a short time ago. I am joined now by retired Army General Wesley Clark. He is a CNN military analyst and the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

General, I'm so glad you're here to talk with us because we've gotten some new information. Let me -- I just want to read once again, the exact wording of what the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces is saying at this hour. They're saying and I'm quoting here, if I can get it. "There is an increasing operational readiness for the next stages of war." What does that mean to you specifically?

WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It means they're going through their troop leading procedures prior to crossing the line of departure. So, what this means is they'd be issuing rations and they'd be giving their objectives for the various subordinate units. So we'll go down from the brigade to the battalion to the company, to the platoon. They'd be working on their radio communications and changing frequencies, alternate frequencies. They talk about where the logistics is coming from. They talk about how they're going to move from your current assembly area to an attack decision before crossing the line of departure. All standard troop leading procedures.

[13:30:09]

SIDNER: General, I'm curious, this is such a difficult spot for the civilians to be in, in Gaza.

You had this surprise attack that happened to Israel that no one saw coming, intelligence-wise at least here in Israel and from the U.S.

And now you know an attack is imminent. You know a potential ground invasion is coming after there have been multiple strikes from the air.

How do you deal with this on the ground if ground? If you're a civilian? What does this mean in a place that is perhaps one of the most populated, densely populated areas in the world?

There's no doubt in your mind that --

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: -- civilians are going to face.

CLARK: Sure. You have to understand that Hamas knew all of this. Hamas planned at least a two-phase, maybe a three-phase operation here.

The first phase was going to Israel, kill as many people as you can, make them as mad as possible and invite them to attack on the ground.

Second phase, let them come in, keep your civilian population in place, use the civilians as human shields, get the world's press attention on it, show how inhumane the Israelis are, use world opinion against the Israelis.

If it takes three weeks, four weeks, five weeks and the Israelis get really bogged down, maybe Hezbollah will even come in from the north and maybe even Iran.

But at the minimum, what you've done is you've shown up in front of world opinion the Israelis.

Hamas is deliberately doing this. They're deliberately putting two million people at risk. They're deliberately using the civilians as human hostages.

And when I see the United Nations secretary-general talking about crimes against humanity, it's Hamas that's starting the crimes against humanity.

This was a terrorist act. It was a slaughter last Saturday. It was done deliberately to provoke what the Israelis have no choice but to do. They can't live with this. They can't let this threat persist on the border of their country.

So everybody knew what was are going to happen, especially Hamas knew. So I think the condemnation starts with the condemnation of Hamas.

This is an organization that was created with the express purpose of eliminating Israel. So the people that voted for Hamas knew what they were voting for. Maybe some of them were coerced into it.

But Hamas is a militant terrorist organization. It's not an alternative government. It's not the Palestinian Authority. It's not someone you can reason with.

I think we have to understand this is a war not only on the ground in Gaza, but a war of global opinion.

And right now, on CNN, on of the battlefields, this is what it's about. It's the American public, the global public watching this and saying, oh, what's happening, why, and who's right, who's wrong and what can be done on this?

The simple fact is it began with Hamas. Israel is going to do what it has to do to survive as a state. Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, using its own civilian population as hostages and weapons in this war.

It's a totally immoral, terrible approach. I hope it will receive the global condemnation that it warrants.

SIDNER: I do want just to mention, just quickly, before I ask you another question, as we look at live pictures of Gaza City or Gaza itself, you can see it is completely dark with the exception of just a few lights there.

Because Israel had a blockade. They have cut off electricity, water, food to the area. Israel says, look, we have cut off the electricity, in particular, to try and stop Hamas from being able to operate at its normal operations trying to build things, rockets, sending them over.

I'm curious from you, this ground incursion, if it happens or when it happens, as a lot of people believe, what are the goals for Israel as they go into this?

One of the things I have heard, having lived here for a while in years past, is that Israel doesn't want to rule or be the ruler of Gaza. They don't want to have to deal with ruling Gaza.

So what is the end goal here? What do you see having to happen if there is this ground offensive?

CLARK: Well, I think, when they go in, the objective is going to be to eliminate the military potential of Hamas.

[13:35:03]

That's both the weapons factories, the tunnels and any Hamas fighters. And there are probably 20,000 of them who will remain in Gaza. So it's going to be a tough fight.

I think the Israelis will do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties. They know the world is watching. They've been talked to by various governments.

But they're going to do what they have to do to survive as a state. They're going to try to apply the laws of land warfare to this.

When they finish, what they're going to hope is they've eliminated Hamas and its ability to come back into power.

They are going to hope that the Palestinian Authority, with backing from Jordan, from Saudi Arabia, from other gulf states, will be able to step into the positions in Gaza.

With global assistance on rebuilding and so forth and create a viable entity there that can engage in peaceful talks and hopefully move toward a two-state solution.

SIDNER: I've been in Gaza myself during an incursion or an operation, as the Israeli military calls it, where there were air strikes happening after rockets had come over from Hamas.

But this is a whole different thing. Because Israel has declared officially a war, which has completely changed the tone and tenor of what is about to happen.

You have that happening on the south on the southern border with Israel, but you have something else happening now on the northern border with Israel.

How concerned are you about this war potentially expanding beyond Israel and Hamas and including potentially Hezbollah, who are in Lebanon?

CLARK: There's certainly a potential for it to expand. This is why the United States has moved its aircraft carriers in there as a warning to Iran not to pull a trigger on this.

But it will depend really on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

If it's relatively smooth, relatively quick and goes in, accomplishes its mission, has support from the international community in terms of next steps of replacing the governance and so forth, it's no problem.

If it gets bogged down, if reinforcements have to be sent in, if it drags on and drags on, maybe the mullahs in Iran make a mistake and decide this is their moment.

You know, we say it's terrible that Israel has declared war on Hamas, but Iran has declared war on Israel for years, and at every step, declares it's committed to the total destruction of Israel.

Vladimir Putin has declared war on NATO. His people say, you know, this is a fight by Russia against NATO. We don't say that, because we don't want that to be the case.

But in the case of Israel here, they're in a battle for their survival. They know it. It was a horrific attack that was perpetrated last Saturday.

They're in a battlefield that, as Americans, we have a hard time appreciating. They're going to do what they have to do to survive.

SIDNER: There is a long history, General Clark, Israel has a long history of this fight between particularly Hamas and Israel.

And after the attack, that we haven't seen the likes of in 75 years, on Israel, the response, everyone knew, was going to be a very, very strong response.

There are so many people worried about what's going to happen both in this country, in Israel and in Gaza itself, as well as the West Bank.

Thank you so much for explaining to us and bringing us through both the history and what this may mean militarily. I really appreciate your time, General Clark.

CLARK: Thank you.

SIDNER: I'm going to toss it back to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Sara, good work. Thank you very much.

Right now, the United States is ramping up efforts to bring Americans in Israel home. The State Department chartering his first flight out of Israel yesterday with American citizens. And more flights, we're told, are expected.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us from the White House.

Priscilla, what is the coordination like to try to bring these Americans home?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This is an effort, Wolf, being led by the State Department. And what it looks like behind the scenes is officials working with airlines and international partners to provide assistance to American citizens who may want to get back to the United States.

[13:40:01]

Now as you mentioned, just yesterday, the White House confirmed the first charter flight had departed and it arrived in Athens.

This ongoing effort includes these flights going to destinations in Europe and then using U.S.-based carriers to ferry these people back home.

National security spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters just yesterday there are more flights anticipated in the coming days, but they are also looking at other capacities they may be able to use, either by land or sea.

So that is what he said. We're still waiting for more details on that.

But we have heard from the State Department that there are more than 20,000 citizens who have reached out to the State Department since last Saturday.

Not all of those people looking for transportation or assistance to get out of Israel. But it goes to show that there is a demand here and a need for the State Department to step in as airlines have provided limited flights to the region.

All of this is ongoing. What has been very clear from the National Security Council is that, as there is demand, these flights are expected to continue and the State Department is taking a critical role in the coordinating of all of that -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Priscilla, thank you. Priscilla Alvarez, at the White House for us.

This important note to our viewers. For more information about how can help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza, go to CNN.com/impact or use your mobile device to scan the Q.R. code on your screen. We'll show that.

And we'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:53]

BLITZER: As questions mount over how Hamas was able to launch its surprise terror invasion of Israel last week, CNN is now learning that U.S. intelligence warned of the potential for violence days before the Hamas attack against Israel by land, air and sea.

CNN national security analyst, Peter Bergen, is joining us now to discuss. He's the vice president for global studies and fellows at New America. He's also the author of the important book, the classic, "The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden."

Peter, thanks so much for joining us.

We know of at least two intelligence assessments warning of potential violence and unusual activity by Hamas just before the attack, but those assessments didn't mention the scope and the sophistication behind Hamas' brutality.

What do you make of that?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Wolf, I think we've been here before. You go back to the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, there was intelligence of the possibility that Egypt and Syria might attack Israel at the time.

But the assumption from Israel policymakers is Egypt and Syria would not do something, wouldn't launch a war that they may well lose.

So I think there's some parallels to what's going on today, which is there were certain assumptions made by Hamas that Hamas was sort of quiescent because they were getting aid from Qatar, from Egypt, that Gazans were working inside Israel and that Hamas wouldn't do anything this big.

So I think there were these intelligence warnings apparently also from the Egyptians, but I think they were sort of ignored because they didn't fit with the assumptions the policymakers had about what Hamas might be capable of, Wolf.

BLITZER: U.S. officials, Peter, as you know, are still weighing to what are extent Iran was involved in the Hamas attack against Israel. What will it take for the U.S. intelligence community to make a formal, a complete determination on this very, very sensitive matter?

BERGEN: That is a very good question.

I imagine that what would be the most useful would be signals intercepts that NSA goes back over periods of the last several weeks and see if there's any kind of signals intercepts that exist that indicate some kinds of heads-up or bank transfers or anything of that nature.

So far, despite a week out from this terrible tragedy, we keep sort of hearing the same thing.

Other than a report in the "Wall Street Journal" relatively early on, there doesn't seem to be the smoking gun other than the fact that Iran, in a general sense, has supplied weapons, intelligence and support to Hamas in the past.

BLITZER: I want your analysis, Peter, on the hostage situation inside Gaza right now. A lot of Israelis are being held hostage, Americans, other nationalities as well.

You argue the lowest risk option is to negotiate for the hostages' release. What would it take for that to happen?

And how dangerous are the alternatives, including the Israeli military having to try to rescue the hostages directly inside Gaza?

BERGEN: Let's start with the most dangerous thing that can happen to hostages in a rescue operation. Obviously, if it goes successfully, it's great. But often, the hostage takers will kill the hostage. Or even something as skilled as U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six can inadvertently kill a hostage.

So the hope, in Doha, the Qataris, which have had a long record of helping Americans gets Americans out when held by Iran or by al Qaeda or by others.

Also, they do have some leverage with Hamas. They've been giving hundreds of millions of dollars a year to poor Gazans in recent years. So the hope is they could negotiate some kind of release. Will that happen in the present context? I have no idea. But

certainly, that would be the safest approach to get the hostages out, if possible.

[13:50:04]

BLITZER: You're an expert on terrorism, as all of our viewers know. We've been talking to you about these issues for so many years.

As Israeli forces, Peter, prepare for their likely ground invasion into Gaza to take out Hamas terrorists, what will they be up against?

BERGEN: They'll be up against the fact that the tunnel system, which we've discussed a lot. They'll be up against the fact that hostages are being held. They'll be up against the fact that there are effectively human shields in this area.

They'll be up against the fact that Hamas has had a long time to plan for this, not just for this moment, but in general. It's not the first time that the Israelis have gone into Gaza.

We've got a group of people who are clearly prepared to die in Hamas, particularly the kind of main unit that carried out this attack. These are fanatical fighters.

And of course, you're fighting in very confined spaces in urban warfare. We saw that in Fallujah, we saw that in Mosul in the fight against ISIS. It can be tough and it can take months.

BLITZER: Good points, indeed.

Peter Bergen, thank you very, very much.

Meanwhile, stories of heroism are emerging as we learn how Israeli citizens put up fierce resistance against the Hamas intruders as they invaded their homes.

In one such story, a 72-year-old Israeli paratrooper led local residents in a revolt when the invaders approached their kibbutz near Gaza last weekend.

CNN's Matthew Chance has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

(GUNFIRE)

(SHOUTING)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The attacks by Hamas were a bloodbath. Israelis slaughtered or taken hostage.

UM: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) CHANCE: But at the Kibbutz Magen near Gaza, militants met their match.

BARUCH COHEN, SURVIVED HAMAS TERROR ATTACK: As I always was, I thought you should never catch me with my underwear in my end.

CHANCE: Never catch you with your pants down?

B. COHEN: Never.

CHANCE: He suffered shrapnel wounds and an amputated leg. But when dozens of Hamas fighters tried to breach his kibbutz fence last weekend, this 72-year-old former paratrooper and war veteran swung into action.

B. COHEN: I decide to take my car. I take a few magazines with me. And I decided to enter as much as soon as I can to shoot them over the window of my car.

CHANCE (on camera): So you drove towards the attackers and you started shooting at them?

B. COHEN: I try -- I shoot them.

CHANCE: Before they came through the fence?

B. COHEN: Before. In my head, that was the only way to stop them.

(GUNFIRE)

CHANCE (voice-over): In nearby Jewish communities, or kibbutzim, Hamas attackers ran amok in a vile killing and kidnapping spree.

But in Kibbutz Magen, home to more than 400 Israelis, the small team of armed volunteers, trained and led by Baruch, kept the militants at bay.

His wife, Mina, at his bedside, told me she has no doubt why.

MINA COHEN, SURVIVED HAMAS TERROR ATTACK: The difference is Baruch because --

CHANCE (on camera): Your husband?

M. COHEN: My husband, Baruch, 20 years that he's in this position. And every time that the lot of young people coming, have made the same position that Baruch in the other kibbutzim, they laugh at him.

They said that he's crazy. They said that he's speaking nonsense. Nobody will come. And Baruch defended the kibbutz year by year. And all the people laugh at him. And he was --

CHANCE: They laugh at him. They said he was paranoid.

M. COHEN: Yes. He's paranoid.

CHANCE: They said it's not going to happen. M. COHEN: It's not, it never will happen, because we have the army.

(GUNFIRE)

CHANCE (voice-over): In fact, the Israeli army came under attack by Hamas, too. Leaving Baruch and his team to fight alone --

(GUNFIRE)

CHANCE: -- for more than six hours, way longer than expected.

(GUNFIRE)

B. COHEN: Where is the army? They teach us that if something happens, I always say to my friends, that we've got 35 minutes, minutes that belong to us.

After 35 minutes, the army should be here. The best units should be here, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

CHANCE (on camera): But they didn't come.

B. COHEN: It didn't work.

CHANCE (voice-over): As Israelis elsewhere were taken hostage, the communities overrun, Baruch fought on. Severely injured and out of ammo, armed with just a blade.

[13:55:02]

B. COHEN: I take it in my hand. If they should come, they should find me with a knife.

CHANCE: A stubborn determination, his friends and neighbors say helped save them from the grim fate of others nearby.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Our special thanks to CNN's Matthew Chance for that report. What an amazing 72-year-old former Israeli paratrooper.

Our special coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas will continue just ahead. We'll be right back after a quick break.

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