Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
IDF: Increasing Readiness For The Next Stages Of War; Israel Warns Half Of Gaza's Population To Leave; Egypt's Foreign Minister Insists Rafah Crossing Is Open; Half Of Gaza's Population Under Israel Evacuation Order; Iran Warns Of "Far-Reaching Consequences" From Gaza Attacks; Israel Says It Hopes Hezbollah Will Not Enter Conflict; Jews Fear Rise In Antisemitism Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict; Pentagon Orders 2nd Carrier Strike Group To Mediterranean; Families Demand Safe Return Of Hostages Held By Hamas. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired October 14, 2023 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:16]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to everyone watching us around the world. I'm Julia Chatterley in New York. Israel says it's preparing to conduct coordinated strikes from air, sea and land on Hamas controlled Gaza a week after those devastating terror attacks by the Palestinian militant group. We're following breaking news on the Israel-Hamas war for you this hour.
And there are growing signs that Israeli troops are nearing a potential ground invasion into Gaza. The IDF says its troops are preparing for the next stages of war. Troops and tanks have been massing near Gaza now for days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We are getting ready in order to fulfill the goals of the war. IDF's role is to fulfill with all the tools and all the ways that we have. Everything we are going to operate, we will do it with full power. We are going to be extremely ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met soldiers on the front lines, offering words of support, telling them to be prepared. IDF international spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, joins us now from Tel Aviv.
Lieutenant Colonel Conricus, thank you for joining us on the show and for your time. I appreciate. You're incredibly busy. Can I start there, please, sir --
LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, IDF INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Good to be with you.
CHATTERLEY: -- and ask you about the mindset of your soldiers. Many of them reservists. They're trained, but I don't know how you train someone emotionally for what's been seen and witnessed over the past week and what's to come in Gaza.
CONRICUS: Yes. Hello. Thank you for having me. You know, this is a story, a tragedy that I think has touched every home in Israel. I don't think that there's a single Israeli that hasn't been touched by the tragedy that doesn't have a close relative, a friend either killed, missing or abducted, sadly.
So when our soldiers now are in the reserves and getting ready for combat, I think that they are galvanized and supported by the fact that this is an act of barbarism that they will have the ability to rectify and to positively change the future for next generations by dismantling Hamas. That is what we are going to do.
CHATTERLEY: Lieutenant Colonel, I know it's meant personal loss for you too, and I'm sorry for what you've suffered along with all those in the country that have. But to your point about -- and you use the word rectify, how do you ensure, particularly as those watch from outside and those that are in Gaza at this moment, that this doesn't shift from something that is the targeting of Hamas militants of their weaponry to something that looks like revenge, retribution, vengeance? How do you prevent that?
CONRICUS: Yes, you're very right. And it's, of course, it's not the first war in the world where emotions are involved. And I would say that, you know, we have been in very difficult situations. Israel has been in difficult situations. We have fought many wars. And even though, you know, we have many critics calling us vengeful and, you know, having soldiers cross the line to barbarism, that's not usually, that's not a criticism that has been fielded towards us.
And I think that our soldiers, as emotional as the situation is, I trust on them to keep a cool and professional mindset and to focus on the job. And we have already shown that we are not targeting the civilians. Currently, it's airstrikes. We're not targeting the civilians. We're targeting Hamas operatives, their infrastructure, their leaders, their logistics, et cetera.
Unfortunately, there are civilians in the battlefield. We are doing everything we can not to have them injured or hurt or killed. But, unfortunately, they're there, then they are at risk. By the way, we have called on these civilians to evacuate the northern part of the Gaza Strip to be out of the area which is going to be -- where we are going to conduct more intense combat operations.
CHATTERLEY: Aid agencies are saying that there's simply not enough time that they can't evacuate certain individuals. The healthcare authorities in Gaza are saying that it was going to put more lives at risk trying to move people. What efforts will be made to protect those civilians that simply can't move, irrespective of your calls for an evacuation because it complicates your mission there too?
CONRICUS: It definitely does. And that's why we call on civilians to leave the area. I'm happy to say that hundreds of thousands have heeded our warnings, despite the efforts of Hamas to stop them from leaving, which I think is taking cynicism and brutality to a whole different level. [20:05:12]
Hamas governs the Gaza Strip and they're telling people don't evacuate. They want them to stay put because they want them to be killed. And regarding what you asked, I think that more efforts can be made by the different international organizations, by the authorities in Gaza, by civil society in Gaza to evacuate people or those that are suffering and those that aren't able to evacuate by themselves.
I'll tell you that on the reverse, on the mirror image in Israel, we have evacuated all of the communities around the Gaza Strip. And we did that within two days after the monstrous terror attack on -- a week ago, on Saturday. Why did we evacuate? Because civilians should be as far as possible from combat zones.
Now, not everyone had the perfect way of traveling by themselves, but civil society organized itself, got together, and people found solutions, whether it's hotels or living with relatives or finding temporary housing.
In war, horrible things happen, but those who want to live find solutions. And what we are offering the Palestinians is a better chance of survival. And if they take it, they are -- they're doing the right and responsible thing, getting out of a combat zone.
CHATTERLEY: And if they don't take it, they're at their own risk. That's a tough message.
CONRICUS: That's not what I said. If they don't take it, it is very unfortunate. And I think that the only organization that will try to benefit from it will be Hamas. They will try to leverage Palestinian blood in international politics, and they will try to exasperate the humanitarian situation.
I've heard reports that they have also restricted the ability of people to move from southern Gaza towards Rafah, towards Egypt. There was supposed to be a humanitarian crossing today. Internationals were supposed to have been let out, but that was, according to reports I have, thwarted by Hamas. So this is an organization that has no boundaries, no respect for human life.
We are trying to do the right thing here. Unfortunately, Hamas is cynically abusing the civilians there.
CHATTERLEY: Can I ask about the hostages as you prepare for a ground invasion in Gaza? Perhaps as many as 150, according to different reports, I'm sure. And I know you're limited in what you can share at this stage, but can I ask if their retrieval and rescue is a separate operation, perhaps the first operation. Because clearly the moment that you are in any sizable way physically on the ground in Gaza to Hamas, surely they go from being leveraged to being a burden.
CONRICUS: Yes, we've already seen that Hamas threatened to execute civilians and to show it on video about five days ago as we started our aerial campaign. So we are definitely aware of the fact that Hamas being the cowards that they are, would may be able to do that. The operation regarding our hostages, the women, children or small babies and elderly persons and even a Holocaust survivor, I know are among those held by Hamas. That operation is unprecedented. We're talking about the situation that we've never ever dealt with before.
We have a special task force which pools together all of the different intelligence gathering capabilities of the state of Israel and focuses those capabilities on understanding who's being held, where they are, and most importantly, how we can get these people out.
Now, at this stage, I cannot say what will come before what for obvious reasons. I can only say and reiterate the words of our chief of staff, Lieutenant General Halevi. But we will not rest until all of them are brought home.
CHATTERLEY: Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, sir, thank you for your time. We appreciate your efforts.
CONRICUS: Thank you very much.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
CONRICUS: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: It's a desperate waiting game right now in southern Gaza at the Rafah crossing into Egypt. That's the only viable way out of the enclave, but huge crowds of people are stuck at the crossing. Some have been there for hours, even days.
Egypt's foreign minister insisted to CNN the crossing is open, but aerial bombings by Israel have made the roads on the Gaza side at least inoperable. The minister told CNN that if foreign nationals can get through the Rafah crossing, Egypt will help them get on flights back to their home countries. But right now, that's unclear when it's likely to happen.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Rafael Romo in Tel Aviv, Israel. The key here is, Rafael, as far as these crossings are concerned, I know that the individuals involved have been told that they may not get very little warning of when they will be able to pass.
[20:10:05]
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's correct, Julia. And we're hearing from a local Palestinian official that as these people were getting close to the Rafah crossing, border crossing point, the Egyptian authorities dropped slabs of concrete there to stop them from doing so.
And apparently, what the Egyptian government is trying to do there is trying to get assurances that there will be a way to send humanitarian aid into Gaza before they allow those Palestinians and other people and many foreigners among them to cross into their territory.
And let me tell you, Julia, Israel had urged people in northern Gaza to evacuate on Friday, and we just heard the lieutenant colonel, what he said. They're still doing so. They're still urging people to leave. Gaza residents are caught between a rock and a hard place, Julia, as Hamas militants are stopping civilians from moving south in Gaza. And then the IDF says that anyone coming near the border will be shot.
So Palestinians are trapped, they cannot cross into Israel. And Egypt has barricaded the gates at the Rafah border crossing, the only one leading into Egyptian territory. Egyptian officials, as I said, were trying to apparently bargain trying to make sure that nobody crossed before they got the word that yes, they can send aid to the north.
And among the people trapped are many Palestinian-Americans and other foreigners who, according to a local Palestinian officials, are just sitting on the streets waiting for an opportunity to flee Gaza.
And let me tell you also, Julia, that after airstrikes and shelling that have lasted for a week, Israel appears on the verge of taking the next step against Hamas. It will be very likely a ground incursion to hunt down Hamas militants hiding in Gaza on Saturday. And we have reported this before.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the troops at the front line near the Gaza border. He told soldiers that the next stage is coming. Julia?
CHATTERLEY: Rafael Romo there. Thank you so much for that.
Now just watch this. Let's hone in on the challenges of that crossing point, though, through Egypt. Joining us now is a young, a Palestinian-American who's been trying to get her mother and sister safely out of Gaza.
Mai Abushaaban lives in Houston. Her mother and sister are at the border with Egypt, but they're stuck on the Gaza side. Mai, good to have you with us. Thank you so much. I know this is a deeply worrying and challenging moment for you and for your family. Just talk to me about when you last spoke to your mother and your sister. I know you've been trying every hour.
MAI ABUSHAABAN, MOTHER & SISTER ARE STUCK AT THE GAZA/EGYPT BORDER: Hi, Julia. So thank you so much for having me on your show. Before we begin, I just want to say that my heart aches for all the Palestinians that are currently suffering those with family members in Gaza, those with friends and it's just devastating to see this humanitarian crisis unfold.
The last I spoke to my family in Gaza was probably a couple hours ago. They do not have a WiFi at the moment and we have to call them via international calling and sometimes it's really unstable and it takes anywhere between two to 10 attempts just to get on the line. So it's really terrifying and a lot of times we don't know what's going on. Everything is up in the air and we're just praying for their safe return.
CHATTERLEY: Did they have any sense, Mai -- and I'm glad that you actually managed to get through to them because I know I was speaking to you earlier and this has been a big challenge. Do they have any sense of when they may be able to make that crossing? Who's helping them there? Who's taking care of them?
ABUSHAABAN: So we have reached out to the state department and U.S. embassies. They have let us know that they are working on trying to get Palestinian-Americans out of causa, but like I said, the situation has been really unstable. Just earlier today, they were informed that the border would be open hundreds of people with dual citizenship went to the border.
It was not open. No one was allowed in or out and they had to make the journey back to their homes, which, you know, it is really dangerous and it's risky making that journey to begin with. And just kind of having that false sense of hope wondering, worrying when they're going to leave is not only terrifying and scary for them, but for us as their family members.
CHATTERLEY: Of course, for everyone worried about family members wherever they are in this region. Your sister's 20. I believe you're 22. Obviously, she was born --
ABUSHAABAN: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: -- in the United States. Your mother, though, she grew up there. She moved to the United States at 19.
[20:15:08]
But the reason that they were there was because they were visiting family. Your grandfather, I believe, has been unwell. Your grandmother, too. Just talk to me about the situation with them, because I know they're in Gaza City, or at least they were, but they've now evacuated.
ABUSHAABAN: Right. So they did evacuate to the south per the instructions by the IDF and local government and they were able to get in contact with us before that happened, but it was a very difficult moment for us. I mean, we said our goodbyes over the phone because we didn't know if there would be another moment where we could connect with one another.
Whether they would even make it to the South safely and my grandparents are both ill and just that journey for them alone was very tiring. I, thankfully, they don't need access to any medical care right now. But if they were to, you know, hospitals are flooded. They have been getting threats from the IDF and Israel that -- the Israeli government that they need to leave and evacuate.
However, you know, if the hospital gets bombed, what it, you know, there's -- it's essentially a mass grave, you know. And, you know, the people on the ground are really suffering some -- like I told you earlier when we spoke, it is a major humanitarian crisis. And the people in Gaza are concerned for their welfare, and they are worried about their future and the future of their children.
CHATTERLEY: You played and sent me a message that your uncle had sent, and we're not going to play it, but it was very poignant to listen to. He said, among many things, that for him Gaza is no more, and that he wouldn't be leaving if it weren't to protect his elderly relatives, to protect his children, and that was the choice to evacuate.
Mai, what did you think when he sent that message, and why do people stay? Is it a choice -- a reason because they simply have nowhere else to go, because you got that sense from him, I got that sense from listening to him?
ABUSHAABAN: Right. So, a lot of people are not familiar with the size of the Gaza Strip. It's actually really small, 25 miles long, 7 miles wide at its widest point and it is one of the most densely populated regions on earth. So you already have 2 million people, half of them being children, living and this region where there is a -- there's limited access to health care, limited access to resources.
On top of that, they have a war going on. There's a blockade and you're asking 1.1 million people to evacuate into a area that is already overly and densely populated. It's really scary because, a, will they be able to find shelter and, b, will they be able to safely evacuate.
Just this morning, I was talking to my family. They mentioned that there were people evacuating on the safe route that the IDF designated for Gaza residents and more than 70 people were died or were either injured as a result of the bombing on that road. So, evacuating for Palestinians in Gaza doesn't necessarily mean that you are going towards safety, you know.
And I think for so many people, they -- we -- in the West, we just can't really comprehend that reality and of what they're going through. And I'm, like I said, I'm just devastated that this is happening and, you know, my main concern is getting humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, making sure that their basic needs are met and that their children, men and women are taken care of.
CHATTERLEY: Mai, you used a very important word, I think, which is devastation, and you have a different viewpoint from the people there, because you've seen what's happened, too, in the past week. The devastation, I think, that was caused in Israel by Hamas terrorists, too.
Can I ask your opinion on that, as well, as you call for greater protection for people in Gaza? What your heart says about what's created this situation, and for the loss in Israel, too.
ABUSHAABAN: Sure. So I think it's important. We approach the situation from a broader historical context and really try and understand that Palestinians have been subject to brutal and inhumane living conditions for almost three quarters of a century, you know.
[20:20:03]
And, you know, what the Palestinians have been experiencing this past week is a continuation of human rights violations that have been escalating for decades. I mean, regardless of Hamas' leadership status, I believe that if we have a moral responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Israel, then we also have a moral responsibility to protect innocent Palestinian civilians.
CHATTERLEY: And that was Mai Abushaaban, a young Palestinian-American in Houston who's been trying to get her mother and sister safely out of Gaza.
Now, tens of thousands of people in Gaza flee southwards. CNN is seeing images of families killed along the safe passages that had been specified by the IDF. The order to evacuate is prompting an outcry from rights groups, a warning, too, that Salma Abdelaziz's report contains graphic and also disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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. 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 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, Khan Yunis, 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 Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And you just saw images in Salma's report there of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. It's where many people are now headed, despite the area already having been bombed earlier on Saturday by Israeli forces. Doctors Without Borders is calling for Israel to establish safe zones and a ceasefire for civilians.
As we've been reporting, many of those on the move are young children, like five-year-old Jenna, whose mother shared this video of what they as a family have been experiencing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNA, FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN GAZA: In the morning, in the night, there's lots of bombing. And we have to worry about the house shaking. If we shake, it's like a slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, fully. And you hear some loud noise, they get scared, then mommy hug everybody, so we'll be protected.
We as children, it's not right to do that to children. And we are families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Meanwhile, Iran is warning of far-reaching consequences if Israel does not stop its attack on Gaza. Iran's mission to the U.N. issued those remarks on social media on Saturday as Tehran's foreign minister meets with the leader of Hamas in Doha, Qatar.
It's reportedly the first official meeting between Iranian officials and Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh since last Saturday's attack. While Iran and Hamas are long-time allies, U.S. intelligence suggests Tehran was surprised by Saturday's attack.
[20:25:13]
And a rise in antisemitism around Europe has Jewish communities worried. Fears of unrest in France have caused the government to raise its security level to the highest possible. That story and more just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Now to growing concerns that Israel may face a war on multiple fronts, Israel says it's returned fire Saturday after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched an attack on a disputed area near the Israeli-Lebanese border. CNN's Ben Wedeman has this report from southern Lebanon.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: South Lebanon remains in a state of high tension as fire continues to be exchanged between Israel and militants in Lebanon. Saturday afternoon, artillery, rocket, and small arms fire echoed across the mountains in the disputed Shebaa Farms area between Lebanon and Israel in the most prolonged exchange yet.
The Israeli military said 30 mortar rounds were fired from Lebanon into Israel, while Hezbollah put out a statement claiming its fighters had used precision weapons to target five Israeli positions, including an Israeli surveillance post.
Late Saturday, the group's media wing put out video showing precise hits on communications and surveillance equipment at those positions. The official Lebanese news agency reported that an elderly couple was killed when an Israeli round struck their house in the Lebanese town of Shebaa. Hezbollah said one of its fighters was killed in confrontations with Israeli forces.
Earlier in the day, residents of the southern Lebanese town of El Hayyam (ph) came out to mourn the killing of Reuters' cameraman Issam Abdallah, well known in the Middle East press corps for his work in conflict zones around Lebanon.
Friday afternoon, Abdallah was filming an exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah when their position was struck with rockets fired, witnesses told CNN from the Israeli side of the border. Six other journalists were injured. All were wearing protective gear with press markings. An Israeli spokesman described Abdallah's death as tragic, but didn't concede it was caused by an Israeli strike.
Now also Saturday evening, the head of Israel's National Security Council, in a televised briefing with journalists, said Israel hopes to avoid a two-front war involving Lebanon. He said the current level of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah is, in his words, below the escalation threshold.
[20:30:04]
He also said, we hope Hezbollah won't bring about the destruction of Lebanon. Now, in the past, Israeli leaders have warned, among other things, that if Hezbollah goes to war with Israel again, Israel will send Lebanon back to the Stone Age.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from southern Lebanon.
CHATTERLEY: And a rise in anti-Semitism in parts of Europe is worrying the Jewish community. French police say they've detained 65 people for dozens of anti-Semitic acts since the Israeli-Hamas conflict began and the United Kingdom also increasing security after they say there was an uptick in anti-Semitic activity there too.
CNN's Melissa Bell has more from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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 Marseille, 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 (through translator): 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. 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 non-profit organization that monitors anti-Semitism, says the number of incidents reported to them in the 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 where flyers of Israelis reportedly kidnapped by Hamas were torn down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is for Palestine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're not mutually exclusive, it's children. It's children, it's 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 E.U.'s list of terror groups. German officials say they can do no less.
FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, GERMAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Protecting Jewish life in Germany is 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 our country as a whole do so.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And still to come, tanks on the border, troops at the ready. The latest on Israel's imminent ground invasion into Gaza, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:21]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. It's a signal of deterrents. Israel prepares to expand its operations in Gaza. Officials tell CNN that the Pentagon has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean. The first one of course arrived off the coast of Israel earlier this week.
The U.S. warships are not intended to join the fighting in Gaza or take part in Israel's operations. In addition, officials say a rapid reaction force capable of special operations is also making preparations. The Israeli military now says its forces are preparing for what it calls the next stages of war.
Israeli tanks and troops have been gathering near the border with Gaza now for days. An Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was at that border just hours ago. He met soldiers before posting this video online, alongside the words, "On the front line, we are all ready", quote.
Gaza, meanwhile, has been pounded by a relentless airstrike since Hamas militants launched a full scale attack on Israel. Last Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 2,200 civilians, including 724 children have been killed in Gaza over the past week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Speaking Foreign Language)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And one week after the Hamas attack on Israel, the anger spilling out onto the streets of Tel Aviv. This process happened earlier outside the Israeli Defense Ministry. They're demanding the safe return of the hostages still being held by Hamas.
(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 a 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)
CHATTERLEY: And joining us now is Dale Buckner, he's a retired U.S. Army Colonel and is now CEO of Global Guardian, which helps extract people from conflict zones all around the world. Dale, great to chat to you and to have you on.
I know you've been involved in getting people out of Israel over the past week, but you're also at the same time always collecting intel from your agents on the ground around the world. Just give me a sense of what you're hearing from Israel specifically and what we're likely to see in the coming hours and days.
DALE BUCKNER, CEO, GLOBAL GUARDIAN: Yes, Julia, I think if I had one word to summarize the current situation, we're in going into day 8 of the conflict, it's escalation. It's escalation of military activity, both in the U.S., European side throughout the Middle East. It's escalation in the humanitarian crisis, and it's escalation of political activities.
You see political officials meeting at a rapid rate right now, lots of discussions, lots of planning. So when you think about the escalation at a strategic level between a political timeline, a humanitarian timeline, and a military timeline, they don't match, and hence, there's going to be a lot of friction.
When you think about tactically, I think everyone across the region is now very alarmed and watching and escalating their activities on the intelligence side. And I think it's not of the region, but as you just described across Europe and across the United States.
[20:40:01]
CHATTERLEY: There's the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold and will escalate as we do see some kind of ground incursion by the Israel forces. But this whole situation is complicated by the hostages. Dale, in your assessment, both in your former career in the Army, but also now as you assess the situation in terms of what's involved in trying to rescue hostages and the complications of the geography that we know exists in Gaza, what are your prospects and thinking with regards to the hostages at this moment?
BUCKNER: Yes, if you're paying attention, there are tell signs in open source that are kind of indicating what's happening. So as you watch the tactical strikes from air by Israel, there are raids going on right now. Those raids are special operations forces. Those raids are looking for those hostages and they are gathering intelligence on these rates.
They are trying to buy enough time where they can at least save who they can save, gather enough information, direct those strikes on the ground to avoid areas where there might be 120 to 150 hostages. And then once they've get to a point where they've exhausted that, then you can imagine the trigger to cross the line into Gaza will be tripped. It doesn't mean that the hostage rescue mission is over by any means, but it certainly changes the terrain and it makes it much more difficult.
CHATTERLEY: I just spoke to an IDF spokesperson and I asked him exactly this, whether actually there is a prioritization and the first operation is taking place, which is the retrieval, the rescue of hostages and then the ground offensive begins and actually that's exactly what you're describing to me.
What's taking place now is the major effort to retrieve those hostages. Can we therefore assume that once this ground offensive starts that then Hamas individuals weaponry becomes the priority versus hostages, even if they hope to still find them.
BUCKNER It's exactly right, Julia. And it is unfortunate to say, but I do believe that is the reality. You're not going to hold up the crossing into Gaza forever. You can't. So they are on a tight timeline. There is an absolute surge of intelligence gathering going on right now.
If you think of this as a light switch, that light switch around the world of intelligence gathering agencies and everything you can imagine and the humans, the human collection, that Israel is known for, if you will, all of those things are on steroids right now.
Everyone is going to do everything they can. But, unfortunately, the clock will run out and they're going to have to go in sooner than later. And it will disrupt some of those efforts to find those hostages.
CHATTERLEY: We've also been speaking to those that are trying to get their family across the border into Egypt. We've obviously been showing our viewers stories of the individuals that are caught up now in those raids and will likely suffer extensively when we do see this ground operation begin.
Dale, just from a practical point of view, if people see this interview on social media, what can people who aren't able to evacuate do in Gaza in these circumstances to best protect themselves and their families?
BUCKNER Yes. I think obviously, you're seeing is your previous guest from Houston who has family there. The movement to the south has been chaotic. It's very difficult. As she described, it is 2 million people in an incredibly small portion of terrain.
The best you can do is go where the IDF is directing you to safe zone. Follow those instructions. Know that it's going to be incredibly crowded, incredibly confusing and that you have to find and navigate your way through and find the safest place you can.
We do believe that Egypt in some capacity will offer safe patch passage. That has not occurred yet. Now, we don't know the criteria and I know there's a lot of political pressure on President Sisi right now. I -- we do believe there'll be some level of evacuation, cross border into Egypt.
I do think it's going to be limited though. I don't believe Egypt is ready to take on 1 million refugees and stand up camps, even if the West was to support that financially. I don't think they're ready for that. So there is a good news, bad news story, and only Egypt can make that determination.
CHATTERLEY: And Dale, can I ask you about the global protests that we've seen in light of the violence? The threat level, of course, has been raised in France, the United Kingdom clearly cautious about risks surrounding there. What are you hearing about the potential for risk events outside of Israel and Gaza?
BUCKNER Yes. We've put this out, Julia, to all of our clients. We do believe that if this escalates and it will, we're in the beginning of -- this is a sports game, not to use a sports analogy, but we're at the very beginning. We're in the first quarter. We're in the first few minutes.
[20:45:09]
This is going to go on for months, if not years, there will be effects that go on for years. In the next several months, though, to answer your question very directly, we do believe that this is so visceral and so deep seated that you've already seen violence. You've seen a teacher killed. You've seen other people killed in Asia and Europe. That's it started.
So we are in that zone where if there was to be a soft target terrorist attack, it could be in the United States, it could be in Europe, it could be in the Middle East, it can be in Asia. At this point, we're in that window that -- now that might not happen this week or next week, but it certainly could be triggered over the next few months. And we think about the visceral emotion of this issue.
On multiple levels, as I described between a humanitarian issue, a political issue and a military campaign, this is going to create an enormous amount of friction and hate and just the desire to act out. So when you think about these protests, they will probably get much bigger and much more intense before they get smaller.
CHATTERLEY: And authorities need to be prepared. Dale, good to have you with us. Thank you for your wisdom, sir. And thank you for spending your Saturday evening with us.
Dale Buckner there. Sir, thank you.
All right, coming up, how is Hamas able to build up its massive arsenal of deadly weapons? New insights into the group's battlefield strategy coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. CNN has analyzed images and videos of Hamas' deadly assault on Israel last week to identify what weapons the militant group used and how it was able to acquire them. CNN's Oren Liebermann has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An entire arsenal on display. Weapons fashioned in Hamas's homegrown facilities, but no less deadly. CNN analyzed dozens of photos and videos of Hamas militants during the surprise assault to identify the weapons used to kill at least 1,200 people in Israel. MAJ. MIKE LYONS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): The most important characteristic of the military equipment they have is that it's easily interchangeable, it's reliable, dependable and you can get parts for it.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Many like this soviet bill 50 caliber machine gun appear to be Russian or Chinese firearms relics from previous wars that made their way into the hands of Hamas. Ubiquitous among many of the photos and videos, the Avtomat Kalashnikova, the AK-47, the preferred weapon for militant groups, capable of spewing automatic fire with horrific results.
The assault rifles, along with the grenades carried by Hamas militants, made them deadly when they reached Israeli towns and villages near Gaza.
[20:50:01]
LYONS: All they're trying to do is provide the shock effects, provide dependability, their weapons have to work, so they're very rudimentary. But based on their training, based on how they operate them, they are successful with them.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Hamas' main weapon has long been their supply of rockets from short range to long range. The terror attack on Saturday morning began with a barrage of rocket fire. Smoke screen for the imminent attack. Thousands of rockets overwhelmed Israel's Iron Dome air defense system, a tactic Hamas has refined over the years.
LYONS: That's the capability for the enemy, for Hamas, to fire them up against potentially commercial aircrafts. And that, I think, is one of the major issues of these terrorist groups, if they have those kinds of weapons in their hands.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Hamas used paragliders to cross the Gaza border. The recreational vehicles are barely maneuverable and easy to target in the air. But in the chaos of the moment, the plan worked. Some of the weapons and equipment were decidedly more low tech.
Israel built a complex underground barrier to stop tunnels from crossing the Gaza border, so Hamas used a bulldozer to tear down the above ground fence.
LYONS: They are just looking to create chaos with the kind of equipment they have, and the equipment has got to be reliable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: The weapons we just looked at are only what we've seen so far in the attack that came out of Gaza. But we know Hamas has other weapons. We have seen them use anti-tank or anti-armor missiles in the past, and its weapons like that that make an Israeli ground incursion such a difficult proposition.
CHATTERLEY: Oren Liebermann reporting there. Now coming up here on Newsroom, a look inside the tidal wave of disinformation about this conflict and how tech firms are tackling it. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. The European Union has sent Google and its subsidiary YouTube a warning over how they handle fake or graphic content linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Since the conflict began, fake videos claiming to show the fighting have gone viral with worrying results.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT CONWAY: One video shows a rocket purportedly fired by Hamas. Another video claims to show Israeli jets bombing Gaza. But neither is real. This video is actually footage from a video game called Arma 3. And this is actually video of soccer celebrations in Algeria. It's all part of a tidal wave of viral mis and disinformation circulating around the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Adi Cohen works with Memetica, an online threat intelligence service. He's been monitoring misinformation like this, a fake BBC News report that falsely claimed Ukraine had provided weapons to Hamas.
(on-camera): This is relatively sophisticated stuff. I mean, it's got even the same kind of graphics set as the BBC News normally would have.
ADI COHEN, COO, MEMETICA: Right. And I think what happened over recent years, that it becomes very easy, affordable to mimic those graphics visualization.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In response to the false news report, the BBC told CNN in a statement, "In a world of increasing disinformation, we urge everyone to ensure they are getting news from a trusted source".
Just hours after the Hamas attack began on Saturday, this began circulating on social media. A fake White House memo falsely claiming the U.S. was immediately sending billions of dollars in new aid to Israel.
[20:55:07]
(on-camera): This is like some more old school disinformation, a fake White House document circulated pretty widely online.
COHEN: Right. I do want to point out though, it is an old school tactic that we've seen, you know, for multiple years by now. But with the current tools, you can also create it very quickly and make it more believable.
GRAHAM BROOKIE, DIGITAL FORENSIC RESEARCH LAB, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: There's new information every second, every minute, every hour. And so there's a lot of room for error as things develop on the ground.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Graham Brookie tracks disinformation with the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab.
BROOKIE: And this conflict is hyper connected. Israel is a very, very connected country. And so we're seeing an enormous amount of misleading content coming out of this conflict as the world's eyes are watching.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Twitter, now known as X, is a major source of misinformation, in part because of the changes Elon Musk made to the platform since he took it over, including laying off key employees.
On Thursday, the European Commission announced it was opening an investigation into disinformation on X about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
COHEN: Another component of it, I would say, is that because several platforms have scaled back on moderation, it's much easier to spread rumors, unsubstantiated rumors, false information very quick.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But this isn't just an information war, it's a real war, and false information can be fatal.
BROOKIE: And that disinformation is extraordinarily harmful, including putting folks' lives at risks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN: Now, X, formerly Twitter, says that it is moving resources around at the company after, of course, it had all those layoffs under Musk, to try and address some of these issues. But look, this is not a problem that is exclusive to X. It is happening on other platforms as well, but right now, it's quite pronounced on X.
You can see, false videos, misleading videos, getting hundreds of thousands, millions of views on the platform before anything is really done about them. And of course, the real tragedy is here. You know, there is no need to post these fake videos and images.
We have seen the tragic footage, the real footage from Israel and Gaza. And of course it is upsetting enough. These fake videos and images really just adding to the chaos, confusion and concern.
Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, New York.
CHATTERLEY: And that wraps up the news this hour. I'm Julia Chatterley. Thank you for watching and we'll be back with more on the Israeli-Hamas war in just a few moments time. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
