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Netanyahu Visits Israel Soldiers Near Gaza Border; Israel Pounds Gaza With Airstrikes Overnight; Israel Warns Gaza Civilians To Evacuate; Thousands Flee Northern Gaza Ahead Of Assault; Families Demanding Safe Return Of Hostages Held By Hamas; Interview With Palestine Red Crescent Society Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh; Mourners Gather For Funeral Of Journalist; Death Toll In Palestine Passes 2,200; Israel Faces Threats On Multiple Fronts; Hezbollah Launches Attack Near Israeli-Lebanon Border; Mourners Attend Funeral Of Slain Journalist; Blinken On Multi-Stop Diplomatic Mission; Rafah Crossing On Gaza Side Inoperable Due To Airstrikes; Egypt Will Help Foreigners Fleeing Gaza; Egypt Calls For Greater Protection For Civilians; U.S. President And Palestinian Authority President Speak By Phone; Interview With Daughter Of Surgeon In Gaza Mira Hammad. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 14, 2023 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a very warm welcome to the show. I'm Isa Soares coming to you from London. We'll be joined by my colleague Becky Anderson in Tel Aviv in just a moment.
We are preparing to deliver a decisive blow to Hamas, those words come from an Israeli Defense Force spokesman in the last hour. This amid growing signs that Israeli troops are nearing a potential ground invasion into Gaza. We are following breaking news on the Israel Hamas war this very hour.
And let me bring you up to date on what we have been learning in the last hour. The IDF says its troops are "increasing operational readiness" for the next stages of war. Troops and tanks have been massing near Gaza now for days, as you can see there.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met soldiers on the front lines offering words of support, telling them to be ready.
Well, the IDF is calling for Hamas to release its hostages as it continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes after those devastating terror attacks by Hamas last weekend.
Israel has called for 1.1 million civilians, that's half of the population, to leave their homes and move southwards. And tens of thousands of Palestinians are already fleeing. Hamas, however, is telling those in Gaza to stay put.
Israel Hospitals can't and won't leave because doing so would be a death sentence for their patients. Doctors Without Borders is calling for the establishment of secure zones in the north as well as periodic ceasefires.
We want to take a closer look at the dire situation in Gaza now, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing after Israel's calls to evacuate. Our Salma Abdelaziz has more. We want to warn you that some of the images in her report are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): 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 Salahuddin Street, one of the designated evacuation routes. 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 accuse 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 health care 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.
We're keeping the dead in ice cream trucks so the bodies don't rot, 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, Hanus (ph), 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.
Salma Abdulaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:05:00]
SOARES: A very dire situation indeed. I want to go to our Becky Anderson who joins from Tel Aviv. And, Becky, I was just telling our viewers in the top of the hour, the IDF saying its forces are increasing operational readiness for the next stages of war. What is the sense you're getting on the ground to how soon, how this -- how imminent this may be?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we spoke to the IDF first spokesman, a lieutenant colonel, just in the past hour, and he was not prepared clearly to divulge plans about exactly when that offensive might start, but all indications were earlier. And now, certainly by talking to him that this really is close at this point.
Remember, there have been a window of opportunity advertised by the IDF for the 1.1 million Gazans that they had warned should evacuate from Northern Gaza. That window closed at 4:00 p.m. local time here Saturday. It is now 11:00 at night. And there was a sense that once that window was closed that -- and this was for safe passage, that the operation would be, you know, pretty much in play.
But certainly, we would -- we got no operational plans per se from the IDF spokesman. But clearly, you know, we are in a position where they are absolutely readying themselves for an attack by land or an assault by land, air and sea. And he continued, and I think this is important to point out, in that interview when pressed about when this operation might start, for the benefit of those who are still trying to get out, as warned by the Israelis, that it's -- that he was, you know, quick to point out that they should still continue to try and evacuate those who haven't done so already.
So, difficult to say when this is going to be, but certainly, the IDF suggesting that Gazans should continue to evacuate Northern Gaza down into the Gaza Valley towards that Rafah Crossing if they haven't already done so.
Here in Tel Aviv earlier, dozens of people, including the families of those still missing demonstrated outside Israel's defense ministry on Saturday, demanding the safe return of hostages still held by Hamas. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVICHAI BRODTZ, WIFE AND CHILDREN ARE MISSING: My children are missing along with another girl that came running to us. I'm here because I want the Israeli government along with the Hamas organization, both, I have to say it sounds not so out of context right now, but overall, we're religious countries. Israel is Jewish and Hamas are Muslim, both peaceful, loving religions. I think over the past years, you know, we got into a situation we don't know how to get out of and it led to what has happened right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ANDERSON: The safety of hostages being held by Hamas, and we do know again, let's just be quite clear, 150 at this point as we understand it, are uppermost in the IDF's mind, and that is what is complicating the -- any further assault on Gaza, clearly complicating what will happen next.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now from Jerusalem.
And when I spoke to the IDF spokesman, Jeremy, just in the past hour, I asked him what evidence they had collected on these hostages during the raids that they conducted yesterday, and we were reporting those raids, short raids, quick raids from where the 300,000 troops are amassed around that border with Gaza trying to effect some sort of information about where these hostages may be and get more information, of course, about the military setup of Hamas and where these Hamas operatives might be.
Jeremy, he told me that it was useful the information that they had gleaned, didn't go any further as to, you know, whether they'd actually been able to locate the whereabouts of those hostages. Just explain what you're hearing about preparations on the ground and the next phase of this conflict.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. IDF officials are being increasingly clear, Becky, that ground invasion that we have been suspecting is coming, that everybody here in Israel expects is going to come next, that that is indeed most likely the order of events here. They did so in the clearest terms tonight when they talked about the fact that the next phase of this military campaign by Israel will involve "coordinated strikes from air, sea and land," and also saying that this next phase will have a "emphasis on significant ground operations."
[16:10:00]
That is perhaps the clearest indication yet that we have gotten from IDF officials that a ground invasion is indeed the direction in which they are moving, and that we are getting increasingly close to that point. We have other indicators as well, you know, driving up and down the Gaza Strip over the last several days. I've been able to see tank formations. I've been able to see artillery being positioned towards the Gaza Strip and actually firing into the Gaza Strip. And we are also seeing, of course, that massing of troops, including 300,000 reservists who have been called up, some of whom the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited today to -- in a kind of rally the troops moment.
And what we are also hearing beyond that, Becky, is not only that they are planning to widen this campaign very soon but also what the goals of this campaign will be. We heard from Tzachi Hanegbi, the national security advisor here in Israel, and he said that by the end of this military operation "Hamas will not be the ruler, the sovereign in Gaza after the combat."
ANDERSON: Jeremy, thank you. Well, Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, joins me now. She's in Ramallah in the West Bank, but has been in close contact with her colleagues in Gaza.
And I do actually want to close this conversation with just getting a sense of what is going on in the West Bank, because that is also important. But let's concentrate firstly on Gaza. What are your colleagues telling you on the ground?
NEBAL FARSAKH, SPOKESPERSON, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: The situation is devastated -- devastating. It's horrible. PRCS Al Quds Hospital and our emergency medical service center are still under the threat of being bombed at any moment.
Today, we have received the third warning from the Israeli occupation forces to evacuate Al Quds Hospital. We have not evacuated. We are not willing to evacuate it because we don't have the means to evacuate our patients, injured people, and people with disabilities and elderly people. We have around 300 patients at the hospital, some of them are treated in the intensive care unit. We have children in incubator. We can't evacuate them.
On top of that, we have hundreds of people who have sought refuge at the hospital. The decision have been made. We will continue providing our life saving health care services. Our medical team are still on top of their work, taking care of their patients. We also, as for our EMS center, we can't leave the people under the threat of being attacked if the ground invasion is going to be implemented.
Plus, we're going to have hundreds of thousands --
ANDERSON: Nebal, let me ask you, at this point, when you say that you've made a decision not to evacuate the hospital, let me just ask you, there is a siege, a total siege, which means no electricity, fuel, food and clean water is very, very low at this point. How does that complicate keeping a facility open like the one that you are describing, given that the decision has been made not to evacuate staff and patients?
FARSAKH: Let me just add from what we want. We have published two appeals to humanity. We call on the International Community for immediate action to stop a catastrophic, to stop a humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding if Israel is going to implement the ground incursion and will -- because we're not evacuated, as I said, because simply we can't evacuate.
We have paramedics who are working on the ground trying to save people as much as they can. You should know that there is hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are still in the Gaza and in the north because they couldn't make it because there is no safer place in Gaza to go because they don't know how to go since there is a great destruction of the infrastructures and roads, no transportation. So, they have left alone in their homes.
We as a humanitarian organization --
ANDERSON: Understood.
FARSAKH: -- we can't turn our back and leave the people die in their homes without providing our life saving services. That's why the decision have been made, we will continue providing our care, our life saving services until the last minute.
[16:15:00]
As for the situation you just highlighted, as you mentioned, the hospitals are in a catastrophic situation too, they are lacking medical supplies, medicines. On top of that, they are in full capacity, working in full capacity due to the very large number of casualties that they are dealing with. That's why we also called the International Community to pressure Israel to open a humanitarian corridor to allow the entry of medical supplies, essential supplies as well.
The fuel have run out. We even -- as a medical service provider we have a few and that could last only a couple of days ahead. Let's say two days maximum. At that moment, we will not be able to continue providing our emergency medical care services or even run our hospital because, really, with no electricity, we are completely depend on backup generators. The situation is really dangerous. Before even the announcement of the evacuation process, the situation was catastrophe.
ANDERSON: Understood.
FARSAKH: And adding to all of this, this --
ANDERSON: Let me just -- yes. We -- and thank you. And you've made it absolutely clear. I mean, you were talking about, you know, a couple of days of being able to continue to function if you don't get those medical supplies in. We do know that WHO, for example, has got medical supplies sitting on the Egypt's side of the Rafah Crossing, and there are calls around this region to ensure that those supplies aid from the UAE and other places, which is all sitting there, is actually accessed in, is allowed in through that border crossing. But I'm assuming you're talking about other borders as well, you know, getting aid and medical supplies in to Gaza as quickly as possible. There is really no option to do that at this point.
Before I let you go, I do very briefly want you to describe what is going on in the West Bank, because there are real concerns that there is a possibility that this conflict in, in Gaza could escalate. And we are already seeing deaths and injuries in the West Bank. Very briefly, what -- just describe what's going on where you are.
FARSAKH: Since the beginning of the escalation, confrontations have been taking place in different Palestinian cities. And we, as a medical service provider, we have witnessed a large number of injuries and fatalities too due to this escalation.
So, whether in the West Bank or in the Gaza Strip, situation is really hard. The hardest is in Gaza due to this ongoing escalation, ongoing bombardments all day long. On top of that, the lack of everything, food, electricity, no water and the displacement process have added a lot to the suffering off people.
And now, we're heading towards a humanitarian catastrophe since hundreds of people are still waiting in their homes, living in fear and horror because they are simply just thinking about their destiny if they're going to be killed because they have not been able to evacuate themselves.
ANDERSON: Understood, understood. It's good to have you on. Thank you very much indeed. It's really important we get the perspective of the Red Crescent, and we appreciate your time tonight. I know that your time is limited and you have much to do. Thank you.
Well, I'll be back a little later this hour with more from Tel Aviv. Right now, let me hand you back to my colleague, Isa Soares in London. Isa.
SOARES: Thanks very much, Becky.
Well, still to come this hour, mourners gather for the funeral of a journalist killed covering clashes on the border in Southern Lebanon. We'll bring you a live report from the region with our Ben Weideman. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:00]
SOARES: Our top story this hour, tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south through the battered streets of Gaza after the Israeli military told them to leave ahead of a planned ground offensive against Hamas. About 1.1 million civilians, that's half the population, are being impacted. Health workers say they can't and won't leave because doing so would be a death sentence for their patients.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 2,200 civilians, including 724 children, have been killed in Gaza over the past week. Gaza has been pounded by relentless airstrikes since Hamas militants launched a full-scale attack on Israel last Saturday.
And now to growing concerns, really, that Israel may have to fight a war on multiple fronts. Israel says it returned fire earlier today after the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, launched an attack on Shebaa Farms near the Israel Lebanon border. That area is claimed by both Lebanon and Israel.
For more on this, I want to bring in our Ben Wedeman who is joining us now from Southern Lebanon. And. Ben, talk to us for about this artillery, these rocket attacks near your position earlier today. What -- talk us through what you saw and what situation on the ground right now.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we heard for the space of about two hours, Isa, was an intense exchange of fire between Lebanon and Israel in the area of the Shebaa Farms, that's a disputed area between Lebanon and Israel. Went on for about two hours and eventually petered out. But it certainly was, as far as we can tell, the most intense exchange of fire since the outbreak of fighting down in Gaza. Now, the Israelis said that 30 mortar rounds were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah said that they hit five Israeli positions on the other side of the line separating the two. But just now, we have seen video put out by Hezbollah and indeed, what you see is very precise hits with guided missiles on what appears to be the communications and surveillance equipment at these five positions, a level of accuracy I don't think we have seen here in Lebanon used by Hezbollah.
Now, in the course of these exchanges of fire between the two sides, an elderly Lebanese couple was killed when their home was struck by an Israeli round of some sort and Hezbollah itself acknowledged that one of its fighters was killed.
Now, most recently, we've been hearing some distant explosions to the south of here, near the border between the two countries, and we've seen reports from our colleagues in Israel that many of the communities on the other side of the border have -- there have been sirens going off in those areas.
Now, one interesting new development we've just gotten is that apparently there was a briefing by the head of Israel's National Security Council, and he gave us really the clearest idea of how Israel is looking at the situation on the Lebanese border. He said that Israel is hoping to avoid a two-front war. And he said that the current level of exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel is, in his words, below the escalation threshold. He went on to say that he hopes that Hezbollah won't bring the destruction of Lebanon.
In the past, Israeli officials have said, prior to this war, that in the event of the next war between Hezbollah and Israel, that Israel could, and I'm paraphrasing here, send Lebanon back to the Stone Age.
[16:25:00]
He concluded by saying that all eyes are on the north. And then said -- and not just eyes, and we know that Israel has deployed tens of thousands of additional troops along its border with Lebanon. Isa.
SOARES: Yes. A clear warning there from the head of Israel's National Security Council. Ben, I know you're also keeping a close eye on the evacuation efforts in Gaza and the huge roadblocks to getting civilians out. Just explain to our viewers right around the world why Egypt won't open its border? Why are they being so cautious here?
WEDEMAN: Egypt is very hesitant to sort of open its borders wide to perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps as many as a million Egyptians simply flooding into the Egyptian Sinai. They fear they don't have the facilities. They don't have the supplies to take care of those people. It's a bit of a security problem when you have suddenly a million people flowing into that area along the Gaza border.
So, I think they're trying to sort of establish certain routines whereby they can allow limited numbers, for instance, foreign nationals who have gathered at the Rafah Border Crossing but have not been allowed out. And also, they want to be able to get aid into Gaza, but with guarantees that the Israelis won't strike any aid convoys.
And the Egyptians have actually come out and said, I believe, Sameh Hassan Shoukry, the foreign minister, has said one of the problems is that the roads in Gaza as a result of the Israeli bombardment are barely passable. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, indeed. Egyptian foreign minister saying, I'm just seeing that the roads in Gaza are inoperable due to aerial bombardment. Ben, appreciate it. Thank you very much there for us in Southern Lebanon.
While hundreds gathered in Lebanon to say goodbye to a journalist killed while covering clashes on the border between Israel and Southern Lebanon, Issam Abdallah was killed when Israeli forces fired artillery into the area where he was gathered with colleagues. Six other journalists were also injured in the incident. They were all wearing jackets clearly labeled press.
The Israeli -- the Israel Defense Forces said that it fired in response to an explosion near a kibbutz, but it has not acknowledged responsibility for striking the journalists. I want to go back to our Becky Anderson who joins us now from Tel Aviv. Becky.
ANDERSON: Isa, thank you. Fears growing that this conflict between Israel and Hamas could spread far beyond this region. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday after meeting with the Saudi foreign minister in Riyadh. He is on a whirlwind diplomatic mission calling on Washington's Arab allies to help.
Now, both countries, Saudi and the UAE, stressing to the U.S. secretary of state the immediate need to open humanitarian corridors, to allow medical supplies into Gaza, and both calling for an immediate ceasefire in hostilities. The U.S. secretary of state also turned to China, asking Beijing to throw its weight behind efforts to de- escalate the conflict.
Well, CNN's Melissa Bell joining us now from Paris with the very latest. This is a real effort on the part of the U.S. secretary of state to try and get the Arab allies on board. In the first instance, clearly, in the hours to come fully focused on what happens next and whether pressure on the U.S. to pressure Israel to sort of ensure that there is safe passage for those who are trying to evacuate before any assault starts is front and center here, but they are also looking at these wider stories, opening humanitarian corridors, ensuring that medical supplies can get in and, indeed, what happens next, how to ensure that this conflict doesn't spread beyond where it is very much directed at present. Melissa, what are you hearing?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: And, Becky, striking that very delicate balance between, on one hand, what has been an American reluctance to call for a ceasefire or urge de-escalation, very strong words of support there for Israel, both from the American defense secretary and from Antony Blinken when he was in Tel Aviv, full throated, unequivocal support for Israel and trying to balance that with what is actually going on behind the scenes which is some fairly frantic talks, as you suggested, Becky to try and gather minds together and to do precisely that, prevent this from spreading any further.
[16:30:00] ?
In fact, it was the term shuttle diplomacy, Becky, was born in back in 1973 when Henry Kissinger was doing exactly what Antony Blinken is trying to do now, going from capital to capital to try and help focus minds.
What we do know is it was an hour-long conversation that he had with his Chinese counterpart while he was in Riyadh. And this, of course, Becky, is because of China's proximity to Tehran, the war and relationship between the two, and the Americans hope China's ability to weigh in on any choices Iran might make, specifically after the very explicit threat that we heard from Iran's foreign minister speaking from Beirut only yesterday about what this prolongment of what's going on in Gaza by Israelis could mean in terms of and new opening up of different fronts in this war. All that, very much out front and center of this phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart.
But it is probably this next leg, Becky, in Egypt, that is the most significant, not only because Egypt has always played historically this mediation role, but also because of the very real possibility that the Rafah Crossing might be opened, and the importance that would have, of course, in getting the civilians out.
ANDERSON: I want to be quite clear about that, because our colleague, Wolf Blitzer, spoke to Sameh Shoukry, who is the Egyptian foreign minister early on. And he insists that the border, so far as the Egyptians is concerned on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Border, is actually open.
What he is telling CNN is that the access on the Gaza side is impossible or very, very difficult at the moment because it has taken strikes and because there's a lot of destruction on that side of the border. And we are also hearing reports that those U.S. citizens, and Canadians and others who have moved down to the Rafah Border, hoping to get through today, are finding that the gate on the Gaza side is shut.
We know that there are a lot of humanitarian supplies, medical supplies, food aid on the Egyptian side of the border. So, it's a little bit unclear as to who's got the responsibility to get that open for humanitarian aid, of course, going in, and then, you know, at some point, foreign nationals coming out. And we know those conversations also going on behind the scenes.
I think it's really important that you pointed out that the calls made to China from Riyadh, there is no coincidence there, as we know that the Saudi Iran sort of detente has been mediated by the Chinese, of course, and we saw the first call between the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and the Iranian president just a couple of days ago. So clearly, the U.S. seeing China as an opportunity here to work closely with the Iranians who they, of course, don't have direct talks with. Thank you, it's good to have you, Melissa. Thank you for everything. We're going to take a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:35:00]
SOARES: We are following -- if you're just joining us, a warm welcome, everyone. We are following breaking news for you this hour, because there are growing signs that Israeli troops are nearing a potential ground invasion into Gaza. Just a short time ago, an Israeli Defense Force spokesman told our Becky Anderson they're "preparing to deliver a decisive blow to Hamas." Those words just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his own warning as to what may come. After he met with soldiers near the Gaza border, he posted this, on the frontline, we are all ready.
Well, CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke earlier with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. They discussed the potential to let Gaza evacuees enter Egyptian territory. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And joining us now, the foreign minister of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, who was the Egyptian ambassador here in the United States a few years ago, that's when I first got to meet him. Foreign Minister, thank you very much for taking a few moments out and updating our viewers on what's going on.
What exactly is going on at the Rafah Border Crossing in Southern Gaza, between Gaza and Egypt right now? There's a lot of controversy over what's going on, Egypt's position on allowing Palestinian Americans, dual citizens, U.S. citizens, who are trying to get out of Gaza to cross that border into Egypt.
SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, thank you very much for having me, Wolf. I wanted to clarify some of the inaccuracies in your piece before. Rafah Crossing officially is open on the Egyptian side, has been open all along, and the problem that arose was that it's been subject to aerial bombardment. And thereby, on the Gaza side, the roads are not in a state that can receive the transit of vehicles and as well is that -- those operating the other side (INAUDIBLE) is necessary if third nationals come out so that humanitarian goods could come in.
And we've not been able to get any authorization to send humanitarian supplies to relieve the pressures of -- on the Palestine of Gaza up to now. The crossing -- as far as we're concerned, we have a multitude of requests (INAUDIBLE) we are processing and have indicated that we would provide every facility and assistance. We're in close cooperation with our American friends, recognizing the importance of this issue, not only to Americans, to Canadians, to internationals from the Netherlands, from Austria. So, there's quite a large number. They have to gain permission on the Gaza side to cross. And as I mentioned the crossing itself on the Gaza side is inoperable because of the aerial bombardment. BLITZER: So, basically, what I hear you saying, Foreign Minister, is that if U.S. citizens or other citizens of other countries can get to that Rafah Border Crossing from Gaza into Egypt, you will let them enter Egypt. Is that right?
SHOUKRY: If all of the procedure has been duly taken, that they've been verifying their documents for the (INAUDIBLE) government side to cross and they are announced to do so, we will provide them all the facilities within cooperation with their embassies to get them to a departure point so that they can return to their countries of origin.
BLITZER: So, if assuming that U.S. citizens can get through the Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt and Sinai, where do they go from there? Will there be vehicles, buses, cars that can take them across Northern Sinai?
SHOUKRY: There will be coordination with their embassies to provide them transportation, and that they will presumably be -- they would find flights to go home on. So --
BLITZER: So, will they go to Cairo? Will they go Sharm El-Sheikh? Where will they go in Sinai?
[16:40:00]
SHOUKRY: Probably it would be a transport by road to Cairo, and from Cairo Airport onwards to their final destination.
BLITZER: But as of right now, what you're saying, and I just want to be precise, Foreign Minister, you're saying the border -- the crossing is open as far as Egypt is concerned, you're willing to accept these U.S. citizens and these other citizens if they can get there, but you're saying that near that border crossing in Rafah, because of bombing that's going on, presumably by the Israelis, they can't get there? Is that what you're saying?
SHOUKRY: I'm saying that the border crossing on the Gaza side is inoperable because of the damage that has been afflicted, and the procedure for those managing the border on the Gaza side to verify the documents and the list of third nationals that have been provided has not been fulfilled.
So, as far as we're concerned, we have indicated once and again that we will facilitate. We are in coordination with the embassies in Cairo as to receive their list of nationals. And certainly, as they come out and as it is fulfilled, the entry of the assistance and the humanitarian supplies we'll be very happy to continue to facilitate the return to their countries of origin.
BLITZER: Are humanitarian supplies that are in Egypt right now able to get through the Rafah Border Crossing into Gaza to help those Palestinians who are there?
SHOUKRY: No, unfortunately not. We are coordinating with the United Nations, with the UNRWA, to applying for permission to have these supplies transit through the Rafah Crossing and be deposited with the United Nations for disbursement, but we have not received authorization to do so.
So, we are in a -- I think, a very dire circumstance with -- I was just speaking to the director of the UNRWA who tells me that there is no water, there is no electricity, there are no supplies and there are no dwellings for the multitudes of Palestinians, those who have been displaced from the north of Gaza, which is very critical situation.
And we would very much like to disperse all the supplies that have arrived to Arish as soon as possible, to meet the needs of those vulnerable Palestinians who are in these very difficult circumstances.
BLITZER: As you know, Foreign Minister, the U.S. State Department has advised all American citizens who are still in Gaza right now, if they want to get out, to go to that, as close to the Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt, to get as close as they can right now, to leave elsewhere in Gaza and try to head south towards the Rafah Border Crossing. Is that a good idea?
SHOUKRY: I really don't -- can't comment on what the conditions are and what is the U.S. assessment of the degree of safety that can be provided for a large compilation of foreign nationals that the border crossing, if it hasn't been finalized their procedures to actually cross. So, I'll leave that to those who might have more information on the actual status on the ground.
BLITZER: Foreign Minister, in your conversations with your U.S. counterpart, the U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, what's your bottom line, Egypt's bottom-line message to the U.S. right now?
SHOUKRY: Well, I wouldn't put it in terms of a bottom-line. We've been in communications. I spoke to Secretary Blinken Saturday very early on, and we have had constant communications between the two State Department and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other competent Egyptian authorities.
We are advocating for the need to respect international humanitarian law, the need to address the concerns and the very difficult circumstances that the Palestinian civilians are under. We need greater protection for civilians not to come under fire. And certainly, the numbers of rising casualties and injuries with more than 500 children who have perished during this conflict, we need to contain this and hopefully, see a way out of this quagmire and return to dealing with the issue of resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the end of the occupation.
[16:45:00]
BLITZER: Do you see any peaceful resolution emerging anytime soon from what's going on in Gaza right now? Because clearly, the Israelis are bracing for a massive ground invasion to try to destroy Hamas in Gaza.
SHOUKRY: Well, we are always optimistic and we are always calling for peace to be prevalent in the area, to find a solution based on the international legitimacy and the international consensus on a two- state solution. The current conditions, of course, are not very conducive to addressing that, and thereby, we're concentrating now on the protection of civilians and their needs. And hope to contain this and be able to work more effectively in cooperation with the United States to find a definitive resolution to the conflict. It's hard to do so when the military activity is underway, but we believe that we have to deal with all of the various aspects.
BLITZER: Has Egypt condemned the Hamas terror attack on Israel that occurred a week ago?
SOARES: We have been very clear that we do not accept any form of targeting of innocent civilians. We have said so in our public statements. We have said so in the resolution issued by the Arab League. It was one of the issues upon which we insisted. And we continue to believe that all concerns must conform to international humanitarian law and avoid any grave violations or what could be deemed as crimes against humanity.
BLITZER: The foreign minister of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry. Thank you so much for joining us. I know it's an incredibly busy time. We appreciate it very much.
SHOUKRY: Thank you, Wolf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Our Wolf Blitzer there speaking to Egypt's foreign minister.
We are learning that U.S. Intelligence actually warned of the potential for increased violence by Hamas. This just days before last Saturday's deadly attack by the terrorist group. The intel assessments were provided to the Biden administration, and this is raising new questions about whether the U.S. and Israel were fully heeding the risks. More now from CNN's Alex Marquardt.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Sources familiar with U.S. intelligence tell CNN that there were warnings and indications about possible attacks by Hamas from Gaza that could happen, but nothing on the level of what we ended up seeing last weekend.
There were at least three intelligence reports to American one Israeli in the days leading up to the horrific events of October 7th.
On September 28th and October 5th, the U.S. Intelligence Community issued warnings of potential cross border strikes by Hamas with rocket fire and then, the growing possibility of violence around Gaza. Then on October 6th, there was a third report from Israel, that was the day before the attacks, saying that there was unusual activity by Hamas.
Sources are now telling CNN that these reports looked nothing like what ended up unfolding in terms of the scope and the barbarity. A Biden administration official tells CNN, "There was no information warning about the terrorist attack in advance." Instead, sources tell us that the sense was that if something happened that it would look more like it had in the past, perhaps rocket fire from Gaza. Interceptions then by the Israeli Iron Dome and possible responses into Gaza by Israel.
But more profoundly, U.S. sources say, there was a general complacency that had taken hold in Israel, underestimating what Hamas could pull off. And given that Gaza and Hamas are in Israel's backyard, American sources say, the onus is primarily on Israeli intelligence to have detected the looming plot. Still with regular warnings from the U.S. Intelligence community and Middle Eastern allies as well about a buildup of Hamas weapons and growing Palestinian anger, this is also raising questions about whether the Biden administration was taking the Hamas threat seriously enough.
Alex Marquardt, CNN Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Some breaking news just to bring you up to date with. We have learned that President Biden -- President -- U.S. President Joe Biden has had a call this Saturday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas where he emphasized that peace and security in the region could only be achieved through the implementation of the two- state solution.
Now, according to the Palestinian official news agency, Abbas called, and I'm going to read it here, for an immediate halt to all attacks, as well as adherence to international humanitarian law in Gaza. He also stressed the need for urgent humanitarian corridors provide essential supplies and utilities to Gaza while rejecting the eviction of Palestinians.
[16:50:00]
So, Palestinian President -- Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaking, having a phone call with President Biden. Of course, as you've seen, we've heard from the IDF calling on those in the north of the country and the north of Gaza to move south, of course. But hearing, of course, that the Rafah Border has been blocked with Egyptian foreign minister saying that has been subject to aerial bombardment on the Gaza side. We'll bring you much more after this very short break.
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SOARES: And an update on our breaking news this hour. Israeli troops appear to be getting ready for a potential ground invasion into Gaza. The IDF says its troops are "increasing operational readiness for the next stages of war." Soldiers and tanks have been massing near Gaza for days now. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are already fleeing southwards. Hamas, however, is telling people to stay where they are. Doctors Without Borders is calling for Israel to establish safe zones and a ceasefire for civilians.
Well, just days ago, we spoke to a surgeon who was trapped in Gaza. Speaking on Wednesday, Dr. Abdel Hammad told CNN that the situation there was a medical disaster and that while fuel was still running, lives for many in Gaza, direct has now been lost with Dr. Hammad.
His daughter, Mira Hammad joins us now from Liverpool. Mira, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us. Give me a sense first of what you've been hearing about your dad making that journey south. Has he been able to move south? How is he doing?
MIRA HAMMAD, DAUGHTER OF SURGEON IN GAZA: Thank you. Yes, we think that he has been able to move south and lines of communications are pretty much blocked for ordinary people at the moment in Gaza. We believe that the internet has been turned off and signal isn't getting through. So, communication, not just for my dad, but we think for nearly everybody in Gaza, there's almost a communications blackout at the moment.
But there are -- there is still the ability to communicate, we believe, through UNICEF and UNRWA. And from that, we know somebody who has spoken to my dad. So, we believe that he's been able to get there. But is at somewhere around that Rafah Border.
SOARES: And just remind us, Mira, when did you last speak to him? What do you tell you critically about leaving? Because he was there in this capacity, of course, as a doctor. That may have been incredibly hard for him.
HAMMAD: Yes, it was. And in fact, the last conversation that, we'd called him and asked him how the situation was, where he was, if it was safe, if he thought there was going to be more bombing. And what he told us was the neighborhood has already been leveled. He told us, I think it's got to be safe now here because I don't see what else there is left to bomb, where he was.
And he was in a civilian neighborhood, and he said, everything is gone. I'm looking outside, he was in a U.N. compound. The windows had been shattered of that compound, but everything around it was leveled, apartments, everything.
[16:55:00]
And so, he said, it like an earthquake has happened here. I don't see what else there is left to bomb. And that was on Thursday night, I believe. And then he, along with everybody else in Northern Gaza, got this order to leave the north of Gaza. And I think for everybody, there was a really difficult decision to make, because for ordinary Gazans, they've had no guarantee that they can go back to their homes.
SOARES: Yes.
HAMMAD: So, this is like, you know, being pushed out in population transfer where you have -- your, in essence, choosing do you live as an eternal refugee --
SOARES: Yes.
HAMMAD: -- and with no real guarantee of safety, or do you die where you are? So, that was the choice for ordinary Gazans. And for my dad as well, there's the choice of, do you stay there having been warned or do you move south? So, we've not actually been able to talk to him. We have not been able to contact him and talk to him about that choice and what happened.
But I think for everybody there, there's a real fear that they are being pushed out of Gaza into the Sinai Desert.
SOARES: And, Mira, correct me if I'm wrong, your father is a British citizen. I'm guessing that you're a national. Have you heard from the British government regarding efforts to get him out at all? Have you had any sort of communication?
HAMMAD: So, we've had communications, but the situation seems to be pretty much the same as what I believe I heard early on your program, the Egyptian foreign minister explained, which is that foreign nationals aren't able to leave at the moment, for two reasons, because Israel isn't allowing humanitarian assistance in, and that seems to be an issue between Egypt and Israel in terms of allowing humanitarian assistance in. And also, because they are still bombing at that border.
And, you know, for my part, even though we are really, really worried about my dad, obviously, and I am imagine, you know, U.S. citizens are in the same position, I do think it's really important to allow humanitarian assistance in. So, I understand that it's not just a question of, well, what's going to happen to the foreign nationals? As much as it's hurting us, and it's important to us, but the whole reason my dad went is because Gaza is blockaded, to help the people of Gaza.
SOARES: Mira, do keep us posted on his journey and how he's doing. We really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Mira Hammad there.
HAMMAD: Thank you.
SOARES: That's it for this hour of "CNN Special Coverage." But do stay right here, we'll be back with more news after this very short break.
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