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Israel Warns That "New Phase" In Hamas War Is Coming; U.S. Sends 2nd Aircraft Carrier Strike Group To Region; IDF Hezbollah Exchange Fire Near Lebanese Border; Videos Show Hamas Trained For A Attacks Near Israel Border; Fears Grow that Hamas-Israel Conflict Will Spread; Jim Jordan Spends Weekend Courting Holdouts In Speaker Bid. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired October 14, 2023 - 22:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN special coverage of "Israel at War." I'm John Berman in New York. It is a new day in Israel as that nation promises a new phase in its war on Hamas. That phase is looking like a Military ground operation as more troops amassed near the border with Gaza.

Israeli airpower hit more targets on Saturday. Officials say, a Hamas commander who played a major role in last Saturday's deadly terror attacks was killed. Meantime civilians in Gaza are heading Samar. The IDF's warning to leave the northern end of the territory and head south. But United Nations officials and other agencies warn such a large scale evacuation, more than a million people, could lead to disaster. Hospitals in Gaza already say they are on the brink.

Also today, an important development from the Pentagon. It has sent a second U.S. carrier strike group to the Mediterranean in a show of support for Israel and deter others, including the militant group Hezbollah from getting involved.

CNN's, Oren Lieberman at the Pentagon for us tonight. Talk about this new U.S. carrier strike group, what it will be doing and why?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, we now know a second carrier strike group is headed to the Eastern Mediterranean. The first one, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as the accompanying destroyers and cruisers arrived earlier this week. Now a second one led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, deployed from Naval Station Norfolk and other bases on Friday, it'll take about two weeks to get there.

But right now we learned from defense secretary Lloyd Austin, a statement he put out just a couple of hours ago, and from U.S. officials, that the Ike will head to the Eastern Med. This is not intended to get involved with Israel's fight with Hamas in Gaza in any way. Won't be taking part in those operations. That's something neither the Israelis nor the Americans want. But it is supposed to send a message of deterrence to others who might look at this and see a moment of weakness in Israel and try to get involved, specifically Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Iranian backed Shiite groups in Syria that might try to take the opportunity to fire into Israel. This is a warning to them with two carrier strike groups operating in Eastern Med. So this is a direct warning, essentially.

And there are also other U.S. Military assets in the region. Some fighter squadrons were plussed up over the course of the last several days with more fighters, that to a message to Iran. And there's also an amphibious ready group that hasn't been ordered to Israel yet or are off the coast of Israel, but that's another option the Pentagon has, should it choose to continue bolstering its presence right in that region.

BERMAN: And Oren, you have new information on the latest U.S. efforts to try to get Americans out of Gaza. What are you learning?

LIEBERMANN: This is a tough one, a very tough one for the State Department, which is in touch with American citizens in Gaza, trying to get out. And the problem is, the State Department can't give a definitive answer saying go to the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt at this time and the gate will be open.

The message from what we've learned simply says get as close to Rafah as you can, because if the border crossing opens, it may not be open very long. And the challenge here, John, is that you need to get coordination from the Egyptians, some sort of coordination with Hamas in Gaza, and then at least a tacit understanding with Israel that there won't be any strikes in that area.

But the problem from the reporting in the region is that Egypt doesn't want to open that gate without any promise of Israel sending in humanitarian aid, that something Israel has to this point refused to do. And then Hamas is just a wildcard here, do they open they're part of the border crossing? All of those challenges, as the U.S. tries to get American citizens out of Gaza. But as of right now they have nowhere to go John.

BERMAN: Nowhere to go. All right. Oren Lieberman at the Pentagon. Oren, keep us up to date on any new information.

In the meantime, I want to turn to Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for the State Department. Aaron, very good to see you. We have heard that U.S. -- I'm sorry -- that Israeli troops are amassing at the Gaza border, the next stage, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying. What does that mean if Israeli ground forces do go into northern Gaza? What would they do for how long?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPT. MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Based on what the Israeli press spokespeople are saying and former intelligence and military officials, it seems to me that given the context of the Hamas terror surge and rage begin October 7. That the Israelis appear to want to change quote "the reality" in Gaza. Create a new political reality, a kind of post Hamas reality. At a minimum, we're talking, John, about eradication of Hamas' military capacity. That includes all command and control be destroyed, all rocket laboratories destroyed, ammunitions, any tech technology that Hamas is using. And of course, the Israelis have directly to more than suggested that they're also out to eliminate the leadership.

[10:05:00]

Yahya Sinwar, in particular, the Hamas Military Chief, Mohammed Deif who the Israelis tried to assassinate once before. That's the aspiration. And do they have enough military power to do it? The question is, what's the cost going to be? What's the cost going to be to their own soldiers, and of course, to the civilian population.

And then John, the reality of the day after, seems to me that without figuring out a way to basically create a new reality some new security presence in in Gaza, where there's the Arabs, the UN Palestinian Authority, combination of all these elements, that takes time. It takes a huge international effort to coordinate this. So I suspect we're not talking about an operation lasting days, but weeks.

BERMAN: Israeli troops in Gaza for weeks creates a whole different situation. If we can put up a map so people can see the situation in Gaza, the one way out of Gaza would be in the south, Rafah -- the Rafah crossing into Egypt. Explain -- and I know this is hard, I think, for some of Americans to understand, from Egypt's perspective, why wouldn't they just open it up? What does Egypt have in this?

MILLER: If you're talking about opening it up, meaning thousands upon thousands of Palestinians, who are seeking safety and shelter. Egyptians have made it unmistakably clear for a number of reasons. They do not want to get me involved in Gaza. Hamas is a Islamist faction within the Palestinian national movement. It originally began as an offshoot from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sisi government has no interest whatsoever in creating new refugee problem that they're going to take care of, or having infiltration from Hamas operatives into Egypt property. So I think the Egyptians are pretty hard over on this.

What concerns me and what stuns me, actually, is that the Egyptians appear to be using the Rafah crossing as a form of leverage in order to get Americans out. They seem to be saying that the United States needs to lean on the Israelis in order to allow humanitarian aid before -- into Gaza before they'll allow Americans and other third country nationals to leave.

I mean, Egypt is an ally, hundreds of millions of dollars a year, you have 400 Americans. Not to minimize the problem that faces Palestinians, hundreds of thousands who need medical attention, food shelter. That's a very, very worrisome form of behavior from our putative Egyptian allies.

BERMAN: Aaron, can you explain what Hamas wants in terms of the movement of civilians. inside Gaza. What they've said is they've told people not to leave their homes. But what do they get out of this? MILLER: But they get -- in the reality they upped the challenges for Israelis operating militarily in and around Gaza City. Collateral damage, civilians colocated with Hamas Military targets, all of this, it seems to me simply increases the odds that the Israelis operating in a densely packed environment 20,000 people per square mile, making Gaza one of the densest populated areas on Earth. It all plays to Hamas as advantage. The tunnel system, what the Israelis called the Gaza Metro, all of these things will create tremendous challenges for the Israelis.

Fewer civilians will lead to fewer civilian casualties, and create -- at least extending the legitimacy that the Israelis have for operating in the wake of this terror outrage that began in October 7 in southern Israel. So I think Hamas has no interest frankly in the wellbeing and the welfare of Palestinians who are faced with a excruciating choice.

You can't move 1.1 million people in 24 hours, let alone in 24 days. Not to mention, moving the infirmed, sick. It's a humanitarian disaster, John, and the Israeli ground campaign hasn't even started.

BERMAN: Aaron David Miller, as always, thank you for being with us tonight.

MILLER: Thank you, John.

[10:10:00]

BERMAN: So the IDF over the last 24 hours has exchanged fire with Hezbollah on a disputed piece of territory near the Lebanese border. CNN's Matthew Chance is in northern Israel. Matthew, you did spend some time with Israeli soldiers who have deployed there, what have they told you?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm still with them, actually. I'm with a battalion of Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese border up here in northern Israel. There's been, you know, quite a few forces concentrated up here, because Israel is determined to make sure that if a second front opens up here in the north of Israel, if Hezbollah, for instance, in southern Lebanon, starts lobbing missiles across the border, into the north of the country, they're going to be ready for it. And not just ready, but also ready to strike back.

Israeli officials are saying that if Hezbollah crosses that red line, it could lead to the destruction of Lebanon. And so that's the kind of overt threat that the Israeli Military commanders and politicians are also putting out there to try and deter Hezbollah and its Iranian backers from entering the war inside Israel.

Also, there's those American ships that the world's biggest aircraft carrier off the coast of Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean from the United States. U.S. saying they're sending now another aircraft carrier group as well to bolster that deterrence, but also to double the amount of firepower the United States has in the region, if it chooses to intervene in support of Israel, if, for instance, other countries get involved, if Hezbollah gets involved. So that's the threat that's been broadcast by both Israel and the United States to everybody in the region to stay out of this this course, as Israel prepares for that much anticipated ground offensive -- well air, land and sea, in fact, as they call it, into the Gaza Strip.

That's something that we don't know when that's going to happen, but it's obviously going to be quite soon. And that's why tensions up here in the north are also very high, because it's when that ground offensive begins when that attack on the Gaza Strip really gets underway that we'll know, whether Hezbollah with other countries, or know how they're going to respond. And so, you know, we're waiting with some anticipation for that, John.

BERMAN: Matthew, in 2006, when Israel was at war with Hezbollah, I was on the Lebanese side of the border for that. And I do think it's important to point out that everyone in that region, including Israel, considers Hezbollah to be a much more formidable fighting force than Hamas. Always seen as a much stronger threat, why?

CHANCE: Yes, you were on the Lebanese side, I was over here, more or less, where I am now on the Israeli side. And yes, back then. Hezbollah was a significant Military threat. It had a big arsenal of weapons, of rockets, of which it did not hesitate to lob over the border, as you will remember very well.

The difference this time, I think, first of all, is that Israel's arsenal -- sorry, Hezbollah's arsenal is believed to be much, much stronger. They've got more weapons than they had before. They've got more powerful weapons than they have before. There's also things like drones, which really didn't exist as a battlefield weapon in any real way back in 2006, and now it's a really prominent way that attacks can be carried out.

At the same time, Israel has different technology as well. It's Iron Dome anti-missile system that wasn't really operational, as far as I remember back in 2006. But now it's very operational, as we've seen in the south. And those missile systems -- anti-missile systems are out here at strategic locations in the north in some considerable force. Because the Israeli army may not have been ready for the attack incredibly, but ready for the assault down in the south. But they're saying they're definitely going to be ready for anything that takes place up here in the North, John.

BERMAN: No, it is a serious deployment where you are right now. Up until this point, I've heard you say, Matthew, that neither side sees this as an escalation over the last few days. But I think both sides waiting in anticipation that there could be some escalation soon. Matthew Chance, stay safe. Thank you very much.

As Israel prepares for the possible ground assault on Gaza, there is still question of how their intelligence missed the Hamas terror attack in the first place. And is back on track at this point. We're going to speak to a former CIA analyst who worked in the Middle East.

And fears in Europe that the conflict in the Middle East could lead to an increase in hate crimes. What police are doing to increase security? Our live coverage continues ahead.

[10:15:00]

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BERMAN: As Israel prepares for what it calls the new phase and its war on Hamas, it will also need to figure out how to fill the holes in its intelligence gathering. Shocking propaganda video show Hamas militants training for their deadly attack, not really in secrecy but in plain sight, less than a mile from the Israeli border.

The IDF says it will investigate how this happened. And Friday, reported that the Biden Administration was warned by both its own intelligence community and Middle Eastern allies about the potential for violence by Hamas, just days before the attacks.

Bob Baer is a former CIA operative and joins us now. Bob, how should Israel have seen this coming?

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Well, the problem with For Israel, it didn't have any sources inside Hamas, the military wing. As you know, Hamas, the military wing, did not tell the political wing about the attack. It came as a complete surprise to everybody else. So without having human sources inside Hamas, they're pretty much blind. It's just like the Israelis have no idea where the tunnels run inside Gaza or for that matter where the leadership is.

Now the head of the Military wing, Mohammed Deif, has been in hiding for two decades. They don't even have a current picture of him. So This is an organization that literally went underground. Yes, they came up to do some training but that wasn't enough for the Israelis, because they didn't have the complete plan

And as far as the Egyptians and the Americans predicting violence in Gaza, well, they do that every couple of months predict violence, but nothing was enough for the Israelis to act on the intelligence and move armor, move troops to the border. It just wasn't there.

[10:20:00]

BERMAN: What about the technology that they're supposed to have in place to detect movement?

BAER: Well, the Palestinians apparently beat it. They hit their intelligence center. They hit the cameras. They got around the detectors along the wall. The Palestinians are very, very sophisticated when it comes to technology, and they always have been, and they knew exactly what they were doing.

I think really the biggest failure is this plan was being attacked -- was being planned by Hezbollah back in 2007. And so it just they couldn't -- it was a failure of imagination on the Israelis' part, and it's biggest problem for them and has setback Israel just incredibly.

BERMAN: What are the limits of Israeli human intelligence? You said they had no eyes on the military wing of Hamas. What assets, you know -- look, I don't want you to reveal secrets here. But what assets if any do they have inside Gaza?

BAER: Virtually none. Look, when the Israelis were up against the PLO and Fatah and Arafat, they had a completely wired. They knew they had sources all through the leadership. But once Hamas came along and only true believers reached the top, they were unlikely to become Israeli sources, and that's the problem. They just couldn't and plus they couldn't get into Gaza to recruit people. And Hamas has figured this all out and got a leadership that kept its mouth shut, kept off phones and put together a remarkable attack on Israel that we haven't seen since 1973.

BERMAN: So what happens now? Or how does that deficiency limit or shape Israel's capabilities in finding and saving whatever hostages there might be in Gaza?

BAER: John, if you want the truth? They can't. They cannot find them in the short time. They cannot find the leadership. And the only alternative for Israel, if it's going to crush Hamas, is to go in force with artillery, with airplanes, and tragically, it's going to kill a lot of people. It's already started, they hit a convoy today of people leaving. They just -- they have no alternative other than send 300,000 or 400,000 people into Gaza, and a lot of civilians are going to die.

BERMAN: And once they're in there, from an intelligence perspective, what can they do? I mean, if there are ground troops, tens of thousands in northern Gaza, what can they do?

BAER: They're going to have to flood the tunnels, they're going to have to go down in the tunnels, they're going to have to fight building by building. Anything that moves they got to shoot at. I mean, Netanyahu said this is going to be a long war, and indeed, he's right.

BERMAN: Bob Baer, a grim assessment, but as always, we appreciate your expertise.

BAER: Thanks.

BERMAN: All right. We've seen at least three explosions in Gaza over the last hour as we wait for what is expected to be this ground incursion, maybe even invasion by Israeli troops. Retired U.S. Army General joins us to discuss what the challenges for this operation will be.

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[10:25:00]

BERMAN: Earlier today, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rallied his troops near the southern border with Gaza, asking quote, are you ready for what is coming? More is coming, he told them. A ground incursion into northern Gaza appears to be what is coming. The big question is what would that look like?

With me now is retired U.S. Army Major General Dana Pittard. He is the author of "Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell." General, thank you so much for being with us. When Israeli troops, when and if they cross into Gaza, this ground invasion, what will they do in northern Gaza?

MAJ. GEN. DANA PITTARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, good evening, John. In fact, the overall operation really has probably already begun. What the many members of the press and others in the world are looking at are just the ground elements and the tanks, armored vehicles and infantry men that are standing by, ready to attack on the ground.

But in fact, other things have occurred. The bombing that have been taking place, the bombardment of Gaza, which has been the largest bombardment of Gaza ever, with jets with artillery, has already begun. The process of trying to cut off the head of Hamas has already begun and trying to kill the leadership. The cyber-attacks against Gaza have already begun. The special operations attacks and operations are already taking place.

So with that as a backdrop, the actual ground invasion will be multipronged from the north, and from elements even into the east. And we should expect some kind of amphibious or some elements coming from the sea. And the attacks that will go into Gaza City will be very, very tough fighting. It's an urban environment. Urban fights are always tough.

Hamas has had some time to prepare. Booby traps can be expected all throughout, you know street by street, block by block, building by building. There'll be some tough fighting. There will be casualties on both sides. And with all that, there will be civilians who will be caught in the crossfire.

Now Israel has warned Gaza civilians to leave the northern Gaza, some are complying, others may want to comply but are being stopped by Hamas. But there will be civilians in that crossfire, probably for sure as this initial ground attack occurs.

[10:30:00]

BERMAN: They've said -- the Israelis have said their stated goal is to crush Hamas. But again, what does that mean in terms of a ground incursion? Does that mean to take in whole territory, does that mean lightning strikes in and out? Do they have specific goals, once they roll over that border?

PITTARD: Of course, they probably have multiple objectives. Not dissimilar to ISIS, Hamas has got to be eradicated. I know there are political element also as a part of Gaza, and they [ph] have been elected to office by the people. But Hamas as a terrorist organization, must be destroyed.

And so, to do that, you've got to go where they are. And where they are is in the middle of Gaza City, amongst the people. So it'll be a very block by block kind of operation. There'll be some precision strikes. But there will also be some tough fighting just to root out Hamas. And then the tough thing is that that, old Pottery Barn rule that Colin Powell talked about, and that is, once you break it, you own it. So then Israel must work to what's the next government look like? What does post Hamas Gaza Strip look like? And that's what Israel must think through.

BERMAN: I got to let you go in just a second. But this second U.S. carrier group is headed to the Mediterranean. Part of the goal there is to send a message to others, including Hezbollah and Iran, not to get involved. But what -- why a second group? What message does the second group send that the first, the USS Gerald Ford, didn't already sent?

PITTARD: Well, John, in many ways, it's more than just a message. It gives the U.S. options, options from everything from evacuation of American citizens to making sure that Syria, others Iran, are placed in check. That they are -- that they know that there's a U.S. presence -- a large US presidents just off of their coasts -- also the Hezbollah, even though Israel has not asked for any help against Hezbollah, so it gives the U.S. options depending on the situation.

BERMAN: Retired U.S. Army Major General Dana Pittard, thank you for being with us tonight. Appreciate your insight.

PITTARD: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: So there are concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread beyond the Middle East. There have been protests and cities around the world.

Today in Paris, The Louvre closed its doors unexpectedly, because of what they call security reasons. Friday, France raised a security alert to the highest level possible. France is home to Europe's largest Jewish population. It also has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. CNN's Melissa Bell, standing by in Paris. What's been going on there, Melissa?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we've seen over the course of the last week was heightened security around Jewish schools, John, Synagogues as well. But it was the horrific attack on Friday in northern France, where a young man went on the rampage in his former school, killing his former teacher and wounding two other members of staff that led to a further heightening of security. Patrols also on the streets of France.

Now, to show how seriously the security is being taken even as this rise in anti-Semitic acts and speech has been noted, not just here in France, but across Europe.

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BELL (voice-over): Far from the front lines of the Israel-Hamas war, many European Jews say they're not just feeling the pain of what's happening there, but also fearing the potential ramifications much closer to home. In France, at the Great Synagogue in Marais, a prayer is held for the people of Israel. It's a fervent prayer after reports of anti-Semitic incidents in parts of Europe, after Hamas launched its assault on Israel more than a week ago, and Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza.

MARC MEIMOUN, WORSHIPPER: First, it's important to first of all, it's important to be present whenever the Jewish people are in danger. Unfortunately, we're used to this kind of gathering, this kind of prayer. We're tired of it all. Nevertheless, we have to respond in unity.

BELL (voice-over): France is home to Europe's largest Jewish population, as well as the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his citizens to remain united. Though, French Police used water cannon and tear gas to break up a recent rally in support of the Palestinian people, which had been banned by French officials citing concerns about public order.

But there are fears of further unrest in France. 10,000 police officers have been deployed to protect synagogues and Jewish schools.

[10:35:00]

And on Friday, France raised its security alert to the highest level after a knife attack at a school, the French interior minister says was linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The U.K. is also stepping up security after reports of increased anti- Semitic incidents. The Community Security Trust, a British nonprofit organization that monitors anti-Semitism, says the number of incidents reported to them and past week has increased by more than 300 percent compared to the same period last year.

Tensions, at times spilling out onto the streets of London were flyers of Israelis reportedly kidnapped by Hamas were torn down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is for Palestine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are not mutually exclusive, it's children. It's children, its innocent people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What about the children in Palestine?

BELL (voice-over): Germany, meanwhile, says it has a zero tolerance policy towards anti-Semitic acts and will ban all activities supporting Hamas, which is on the EU's list of terror groups. German officials say they can do no less.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protecting Jewish life in Germany as part of the identity of our democracy. The security of Jews in Germany is our democracy at its core. Only if our Jewish citizens live in peace and security, can a country as a whole do so.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BELL: And yet, John, for all the precautions being taken here on the European continent there has been this rise in anti-Semitic acts and speech. In fact, the anti-Defamation League says that its data suggests a very clear link between what's happening on the ground and the fact that it says extremists here in Europe feel emboldened to make threats or carry out attacks against Jewish people. John?

BERMAN: A concerning development to say the least. Melissa Bell, thank you very much. We're going to go back to Israel live in just a moment.

Also ahead, a Republican member of Congress joins me as her party struggles to find a new Speaker of the House.

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[10:40:00]

BERMAN: So as America's closest ally in the Middle East goes to war with Hamas, the U.S. House still sits paralyzed, unable to show official support because of the speakership vacancy.

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan may have thought he was close to ending the stalemate when he earned the GOP nomination, a majority of Republicans in the Conference, but he still has work to do, because he's well short of the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel completely on the House floor. Now, Jordan is spending the weekend trying to flip holdouts.

I'm joined now by Republican Congresswoman Rhea Elvira Salazar of Florida. She is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congresswoman what are the chances that Jim Jordan becomes the next Speaker of the House?

REP. RHEA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): Well, only God All Mighty knows about that. But I'm sure that he is working the phones over the weekend. And I really wish he could get the 50 or 60 votes that he needs, so we can I have a speaker on Monday or Tuesday and continue the American people's business, continue legislating, passing the appropriation bills and helping Israel.

We need to emit a resolution saying that we are -- that we stand with Israel, specifically the Republicans in Congress. So that's what we need to do. Next week, hopefully, we will have a Speaker.

BERMAN: Do you support Jim Jordan?

SALAZAR: Of course, I support anyone who has the majority. I supported Kevin McCarthy who did a fantastic job and should have never been kicked out. I supported Scalise and now I support Jordan, because they are good people, they know what they're doing, and they have the capacity to be in the speakership. So let's hope that Jordan gets it. And if not, we'll find somebody else.

BERMAN: 55 of your colleagues in the Conference said they would not support Jordan on the House floor when it went to that second ballot. Why not do you think? What is their issue? SALAZAR: Well, because people have different issues. But there's a sense of urgency within our Conference, the 221 -- 212 members of the GOP. And there's a sense of urgency that by next week we need to solve this problem, because there are too many things happening in the world. And you were reporting a fantastic coverage. I was listening to the show, what's happening in in Israel.

And we need as a united front -- the Republican Congress and the White House, we need to send a message to our enemies, that we stand with Israel. That we are going to resupply any type of weapons that they need. And that specifically sent a very strong message to Iran that they cannot touch American lives, that they cannot kill any of the hostages -- American hostages. And if they touch American personnel, they will pay a very, very big price for doing that. And that's the message we got to send to from Washington.

BERMAN: You talk about having a united voice in support of Israel, in this case working with the White House, in this case to show that united front. Is it worth it working with Democrats in your mind to get a House Speaker so that you can do anything to support Israel, whether it be funds, whether it be a resolution, anything at all?

SALAZAR: Listen, I have never had a problem negotiating or being a bipartisan member of Congress. I would say that I'm one of the most bipartisan members. We need to see what the Democrats want in exchange. I don't have any problems negotiating with a moderate Dems. I will never negotiate with "The Squad" or with the most democratic socialist members.

But that is up to whomever is -- right now whomever is going to desire to be the speaker. If they bring that that solution or that possibility to the Conference, then we will ponder upon it and try to figure out what if what they're offering -- what the Dems are offering is something that we the Republicans can accept.

[10:45:00]

Remember, Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill, that was the model to follow. And if that is what we need to do now, let's see what the Dems want. But in the meantime, I think that the GOP has the possibility, just like we did with Kevin McCarthy, in picking a speaker. And we're only talking about 96 percent of the Conference was with McCarthy, only 4 percent kicked him out.

So we got to change the rules, I think. But we need -- before that we need to find a new speaker next week.

BERMAN: What about you trying to get an extension on your homework here? What about maybe empowering the Speaker Pro Tem, Patrick McHenry to get stuff done until Republicans -- the Republican Conference can get its act together?

SALAZAR: Well, I think that you have very good sources, because I am one of the members who is sponsoring with other members within leadership to empower Patrick McHenry. I've been telling McHenry, that he should consider that possibility. He says that the Constitution does not necessarily grant those powers. But it's -- everything is subject to interpretation.

There are two lines, and the first line says that the speaker -- the temporary speaker, can conduct business. So I think that that's exactly what we should do. If the Conference does not come to an agreement to who should be the next speaker, then Patrick McHenry should open the floor.

We should start legislating. We have to fund the government. We have to, like I said, we have to do a resolution standing by -- with Israel during this this conflict. And I think that McHenry would be a fantastic temporary speaker to do what I just explained to, while we decide who is going to be the next leader.

Some other people are saying why don't we bring Kevin back? That's also another possibility. He got 96 percent of the votes. So everything is possible in democracy.

BERMAN: Everything is possible. We've seen it all happen in the last few weeks, I think, when it comes to the House of Representatives, who knows what we'll see over the next seven days.

Congresswoman Rhea Elvira Salazar --

SALAZAR: Yes. You know, I always --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

SALAZAR: I just want to say the last thing. I represent the city of Miami where you have a lot of Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans. And although, this is very messy, I can tell you that this still the best system on Earth, because the Cubans and the Venezuelans would love to have this type of problems. So everything is the perspective that you look at things from. So it's a good problem to have, because that means that democracy is at work.

BERMAN: And this is sort of the glass half full perspective on not having a speaker --

SALAZAR: Of Course. Of course.

BERMAN: Congresswoman, thank you very much.

SALAZAR: To you.

BERMAN: Ahead, we're going to hear from Israeli woman still waiting for any word about her sister who went missing from the music festival. Much more coming up.

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[10:50:00]

BERMAN: Tonight, Israeli families are desperate for the safe return of loved ones taken hostage by Hamas. CNN has spoken to many anguished family members throughout the week, each with just a horrifying story. This evening, Anderson Cooper spoke with Dr. Adva Gutman, sharing her story of her beloved sister Tamar [ph] Gutman, who was at the SuperNova Music Festival last Saturday when the terrorists struck. And she is now believed to be a hostage in Gaza.

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DR. ADVA GUTMAN, SISTER MISSING FROM SUPERNOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL: At the beginning, we were starting, looking for her. And because I'm a doctor, I was talking to every hospital in Israel, and to all my friends. And when I saw that, it's not enough. I went to the hospitals. I want to Soroka that is the main hospital that -- all the wounded came in. And I just went from patient to patient and ask if they saw her. And what -- and if they know where she is.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: That's one of the things -- there's so little information that -- I mean, it's up to families in the last week to really go around and just talk to as many people and look at awful videos, looking for people.

GUTMAN: Yes, I couldn't do that. My husband did it for me, because I saw one video and --

COOPER: People are looking literally jihadist videos to see if they can find their loved ones.

GUTMAN: Yes. It was so hard to watch. It's sickening.

COOPER: You talked to her when she was at the festival for about an hour on the phone. The attack started at 6:30. I think you were saying you talked to her until about 7:30?

GUTMAN: 7:30, yes. I -- we actually woke up to an alarm -- whistle alarm and went to the safe room in our house. And then the first thing that I thought about is to send her message on WhatsApp, what is going on with you, and are you going home? And she said that she cannot go home because there are terror attack on the road, and they told her -- they told everybody at the festival to stay in place.

COOPER: Stay there.

GUTMAN: Yes. And they told her, OK, but you have to check where you going, you have to open them up in your phone and see where you are and where you can go if a terror forward in their festival.

COOPER: We now know that Hamas attacked from the west and the north and the south and your sister, you believe, was able to get into a vehicle and drive a little bit. But that's where the last you heard.

GUTMAN: Yes. That was the last we heard of her. And her phone was found near the road. So we believe that she probably went out of their car and the phone fell down. And since then we don't know what happened. She actually wrote a message that didn't get.

COOPER: That wasn't -- she wasn't able to send. GUTMAN: She wasn't -- yes.

COOPER: What did it say?

GUTMAN: She said that she's heading home.

COOPER: But you want people to know what's tomorrow like. She was studying to be a lawyer, she is.

GUTMAN: Yes, she started her second year in law school. She actually was a very caring person. She was the family --

COOPER: She was the family caregiver?

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GUTMAN: Yes. caregiver. She always thought about others. Day before the festival happened, it was a holiday in Israel, and my mother was -- my mother and two sister was bored. And she was angry about them because he said, you left her alone and, and she went to my father and cook him a meal. And then I was at home, studying to my board exams. And she came to my place and gave me a meal.

COOPER: She is everybody.

GUTMAN: Yes, she likes to cook and she likes to bake. And then she went to the festival. She was such a caring person. She had a dog that she's loved so much, and now she's seeking for her all the time. And --

COOPER: Is there anything else you want people to know or -- ?

GUTMAN: I want people to know that, that the people that were murdered there and -- was civilians, was good civilian, were peaceful people. And it was it was a massacre. And they did such a horrible things that people cannot put in words. It's -- I want the world to know that this is -- I think it's one of the hard -- I don't have word for that -- terrible terror attack that I think that 21 Century have saw.

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BERMAN: There are as many as 150 people now missing who could be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza at this moment.

Our special coverage continues after a quick break.

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