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CNN International: Israel: Preparing For Combined, Co-Ordinated Strikes; IDF Seeing "Strong Flow" Of People Out Of Northern Gaza; Palestinians: More Than 2,600 Killed In Attacks On Gaza; Israel Gears Up For "Significant Ground Operations" In Gaza; Blinken: Key Gaza- Egypt Crossing Will Be Open For Aid; Aid Groups Warn Of "Complete Catastrophe" In Gaza; Rising Violence In The Occupied West Bank. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 15, 2023 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:00:41]
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATINOAL HOST: Hello, and welcome to our continuing coverage of the war in Israel. I'm Isa Soares in London.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I'm Becky Anderson in Tel Aviv.
Ready for the next stages of war, Israel's military says it's preparing for combining coordinated strikes from air, sea and land in response to the terror attacks by Hamas just over a week ago. The IDF now says more than 1,400 people were killed in those attacks.
But while we wait on a potential ground incursion into Gaza, Israel has given no indication of when that might begin. Already, though. aid workers say the situation in Gaza has descended into complete catastrophe, as tens of thousands of people flee from terrifying airstrikes.
SOARES: While Israel has told more than 1 million Palestinians living in northern Gaza to keep moving south. That is despite the pressing dangers. In a new statement, the EU says it supports Israel's right to defend itself in line with humanitarian as well as international law. We'll take a look at the situation in Gaza in just a few moments.
On the global stage, America's top diplomat has been meeting regional leaders including those from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. He insists the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will open for a to be delivered. As he announced the appointment of a former U.S. ambassador to coordinate relief efforts.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I had very good conversations both with the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, and here in Egypt with President El-Sisi. And also heard I think, a lot of good ideas about some of the things we need to do moving forward, including practical ideas on getting assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who are in need, but also good and important conversations about the future and where we hope ultimately, together we can, we can bring this in a much more positive way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Becky, so we heard there from Secretary of State that there are so many conflicts as we just outlined for our viewers humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the expected incursion, the threat of Hezbollah in the north. Behind the scenes critically, the diplomacy with Secretary Blinken.
You've got tremendous sources in the region. As you look at this shuttle diplomacy, Arab leaders are looking at this and thinking what, what are they telling you?
ANDERSON: Well, they are saying out loud what they're thinking and they are saying it in a very coordinated fashion. This has been a listening tour by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he was here on Thursday in Tel Aviv, deployed here by the President Joe Biden. And then from here, he left for Jordan, got into the Gulf, went to Bahrain, went to Qatar, went to Saudi Arabia, went to the UAE and has been in Egypt. He is, as we understand it possibly do back here again. And it's become very clear in the last three or four days, that this absolute intention to almost immediately start, it's offensive, the IDF's offensive on Hamas has been sort of pulled back somewhat from -- our after the discussions that the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has had with these leaders around the region.
And the message has been very, very clear, de-escalate this. They are absolutely determined that the forced displacement of people is absolutely not, cannot be allowed to happen. They want to see humanitarian aid allowed to get into Gaza. They are massively concerned about a second front in this opening up in Lebanon, for example. We had warnings for months, if not years, about the potential for a conflict here, getting out of hand.
I mean, I was with the King of Jordan just in December last year who was warning that what was going on in in Israel at the time was really beginning to get out of hand. We've heard these warnings again and again and again and this was when the Israeli government seemed to have sort of Hamas managed to a certain extent, the conflict with Hamas managed. And this is what happens, you see these cycles all the time. And then they get managed back into a box. And this time, it just does feel like you can't you, can't go back to the status quo.
[16:05:18]
So, these regional leaders being very outspoken in a very coordinated fashion and saying to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, you need to put pressure on the Israelis to pause on this. You know, military action is not the way out of this, they are saying. The forced displacement of people is not what should we should be seeing here, get this humanitarian aid flowing. You know, the, the situation of the Rafah crossing is really complicated. The U.S. want to get its citizens out in the first instance, they also want to see Palestinians in Gaza are allowed to temporarily flee into Egypt, well Egypt and indeed Jordan say we cannot accommodate, we cannot host you know, potentially a million people coming out of Gaza, you can't forcibly displace these people. They want to see that border open for the aid that is sitting on the Egypt side of the border, which is medical supplies, which is fuel, which is food.
I mean, there is, there is an enormous amount of aid from the UAE for example, sitting on the other side of the border, that WHO has medical supplies sitting on the other side of that border, the Egyptians, it seems want to see that open so that people -- so we can get this aid in, but they don't want to see this flow of people out. So that's his thing stand present.
The IDF tell CNN, it is seeing a strong flow as they describe it of people out of Northern Gaza, into the south. So, from Northern Gaza, into the Gaza Valley and that it says, the IDF says it will only start significant military operations once civilians have left the area.
I want to bring in Jonathan Conricus, the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.
So just bring us up to date on where your plans stand as much as possible at this point. You know, we've heard talk of this incursion by land, sea and air as you have described it. What's the status at this point?
LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Yes, hi, thank you for having me. The biggest challenge at this time is that Hamas is actively undermining our efforts to evacuate Gazan civilians from the main combat area. That's the biggest challenge we're dealing with now. And it is very unfortunate that Hamas is being allowed to do this. It's sad for the civilians. We are still patient, we gave a -- we've given now I think more than 48 hours of a time window for people to evacuate. But Hamas appears very committed to keep these civilians as their human shields in Northern Gaza. And hopefully that will be settled in the coming few hours.
ANDERSON: From your perspective, you say they are preventing civilians from leaving. Can you explain what it is that you have seen, what your intelligence is telling you? What you -- what's been described in the ground, which suggest to you that they are forcing people to stay in Northern Gaza? What's the evidence there?
CONRICUS: Yes, it's actually a very, very clear and compelling. We have voice recordings of the Gazan civilians that save on the record. Yes, Hamas officials are stopping us on the streets and taking away the car keys. Hamas has erected blocked checkpoints, and they have blocked the main escape route. The main evacuation route has been stopped in various locations by Hamas. We have showed pictures of it. We have disseminated it.
I spoke about it on Twitter live yesterday morning. And it's very, very clear what they're doing. And there's also non-IDF sources of information, international media and other organizations that are saying, despite the fact that they are, you know, intimidated by Hamas in Gaza, they're saying that Hamas is stopping people from evacuating.
ANDERSON: Jonathan, I'm not telling you anything new when I say that there is an enormous pressure at present building from the region, from NGOs. We are hearing it across the board with leadership around this region, for example, saying with forcible displacement of people is tantamount to a war crime or will be a war crime. What's your response to that?
CONRICUS: I won't say anything harsh, but I think that is utter nonsense. That (ph) trying to do is the right thing here. I would like to remind those people that we didn't start this war, we didn't want it, we are responding to the most brutal, gruesome terrorist attack in our history. And despite the fact that that is how this war started, we are humanitarian enough to evacuate civilians from the combat zone in concern of their safety.
[16:10:25]
So, these so-called humanitarians should back up their name and credentials by actually caring about humans. And their criticism should be to walk Hamas. Hamas governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas it prevents civilians from evacuating, Hamas is using them as human shields.
ANDERSON: Jonathan, you have described the IDF as currently being patient. Can you hear me? You've described Israel's position --
CONRICUS: Yes, I can.
ANDERSON: -- as present as being patient. How patient? How long does this last?
CONRICUS: Well, you know, the important thing here is, you know, I look at things from a military perspective, we need the battlespace to be conducive for military operations. We want to minimize civilian casualties. But we have a goal to implement. We're not just you know, firing at Gaza for no reason. We are attacking Hamas and its military infrastructure. We are hunting their commanders and we are systematically degrading their military capabilities. That's what we've been doing for the last almost week, the next stage will be more intense. And because we know that it also includes risk to civilians, we have asked them to evacuate.
Now, I want to say another thing. Do you know that all of southern Israel, basically all around the Gaza Strip, Sderot, Ashkelon and many other towns are empty of Israeli civilians, that they are now displaced persons in Israel, hundreds of thousands of them?
ANDERSON: I do.
CONRICUS: Do you hear humanitarian organization --
ANDERSON: And we've been reporting that, Jonathan. CONRICUS: -- speaking of it?
ANDERSON: No, we've been --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: We've got people on the border. Yes.
Can I, can I just ask you this? Obviously, you are -- you -- Israel has just announced that there are 155 confirmed either missing or held hostage in Gaza? Clearly, you are very focused on trying to avoid the death of those hostages as you build for what happens next.
Can you give us any update on evidence you have for where these hostages are? Or what kind of state of health they are in? Or whether they are alive at this point?
CONRICUS: The only update is that the confirmed number of hostages whose families have been informed to the best of my knowledge is 126. And yes, there are still more than 20 that are either missing or held hostage.
It is very sensitive. Many efforts are ongoing to collect intelligence from various sources in order to understand where they're being held, at what condition? Who is alive and who isn't? And most importantly, how to get them out. But I cannot elaborate further.
ANDERSON: Jonathan, just before I go briefly. As far as the IDF is concerned, what is your perspective on the rougher border crossing? Is it being shelled? Is it safe? Is it safe to be opened?
CONRICUS: Yes, you know, we tried a day and a half ago in coordination with the Americans, and with the Egyptians, we tried to facilitate a -- an evacuation of Americans and a few other internationals that was stopped by Hamas, they refuse to open the gate on the Palestinian side. And that, again, fits the same pattern of Hamas taking civilians as their hostages, using them as human shields. They're doing it to the Palestinians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and they're preventing the exit of Americans and other internationals in the South.
ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. I know you are extremely busy, very much appreciate you coming on and sharing that update with us. Jonathan Conricus, from the --
CONRICUS: Thank you.
ANDERSON: -- Israel Defense Forces. Thank you. And you and I spoke at this time last night. It's enormously useful to get that update. Thank you.
Well, let's take a look a closer look at that situation inside Gaza, described by one aid official this weekend as a complete catastrophe. UNICEF has described it as a matter of life and death at this point.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says the death toll there has now passed 2,600 people, with almost 10,000 injured. The Ministry says it is appealing to the world to send medical teams as it accuses Israel of directly targeting medical staff and their families. One of the most critical issues right now is access to water, after Israel closed off access to clean water in response to the Hamas attack. So, Israel says -- has certainly told CNN, water has now been restored to Southern Gaza. But the director of the water authority there said he could not be sure it was true because the electricity remains off.
[16:15:41]
We're speaking to the British Prime Minister on Sunday. Jordan's King Abdullah said denying food, water and electricity to innocent civilians in Gaza is a war crime. Israel insists it is now working with the UN to establish a humanitarian zone in Gaza.
Now as thousands of people in Gaza flee south, I want to bring in regional emergency director Rick Brennan, who is in Cairo.
Sir, it's good to have you. As I understand it, there is an awful lot of a building up on the Egyptian side of the wrath of border we are talking medical supplies, fuel, food aid. What is your understanding at this point today, as we speak about the opportunity for getting in through the rougher border crossing and getting those supplies into Gaza?
I've lost everything
RICK BRENNAN, REGIONAL EMERGENCY DIRECTOR, HEALTH EMERGENCY PROGRAMME: Yes, thanks, Becky. Unfortunately, the connection actually is a bit weak. But I understand you're asking about getting the supplies in through Rafah. Yes, we've had 20 tons of --
ANDERSON: Correct.
BRENNA: -- lifesaving medical equipment pre-positioned just Gaza for the last few days. We've been waiting for the, for the crossing to open. And we've been doing a lot of advocacy on this. We understand there's an opportunity for it to open in the coming hours, perhaps within the next 24 hours. And we are ready to go, provided that access is available.
Of course, like other agencies, we've been advocating for a humanitarian corridor, it means not just getting the supplies into Gaza, but it's making sure that they are appropriately distributed to the health facilities, to the people that that need them but most. This will just be the start. This is not a spring, this is going to be a marathon and hopefully be the first step.
ANDERSON: Can you just give me a sense of the sort of scope of aid built up on the Egypt side of the border at this point?
BRENNAN: Well, I don't have full details. I do know that agencies such as ourselves, (INAUDIBLE) World Food Program from the United Nations, were brought in supplies at moderate volume, we still need to scale up. I understand also that there's been governments such as the Government of Jordan and hoarding supplies, it's logistically, very, very difficult age to bring in supplies into Northern Sinai part of Egypt. It's been difficult logistically lights in. We are working on that we've done a huge amount of advocacy with the Egyptian Government. We're working with our UN partners and so on.
So, we've got a vital amount of supplies right now, the supplies that we are bringing in could meet basic needs for around 300,000 people as well as determinates, around 200 injured patients. So -- but we've got a there's a lot of pressure to scale up. We'll have another flight arrive in the next two days. And then from there, we'll continue to scale up.
ANDERSON: I mean you talked about the logistical concerns, which will of course, include security to those who are efforting this huge humanitarian mission here and we've just spoken to the IDF spokesman who has insisted that they are not shelling that area, that area is safe on the Gaza side of the border, but it is Hamas who is not prepared to open the gate. I don't know whether you have any more insight into what's going on there.
And then I think it's important for you just to explain, you know, once that border crossing is open because it is the only way to get this stuff in. You know, what's your understanding of the needs on the ground both, of course in the north where we can only describe the situations can catastrophic, but in the south where we've seen this you know half a million people as we understand it, flee south at present, to go where and for what and how they are accommodated, how they're fed and watered, you know, is very unclear at this point.
[16:20:18]
BRENNAN: Yes, I mean, I think catastrophic is an apt term. Yes, I think fairly early on in your program was you mentioned 2,700 deaths, 9,700 injuries, hundreds of thousands of people acutely displaced, crammed into overcrowded settings, poor sanitation, poor access to water. Psychologically, that's an enormous strain, ongoing shelling. Now, there may not be -- the shelling may not be striking these collective centers, but it's landing not too far away. And the mother of a colleague of mine who stuck there at the crossing, said it was just the most horrific night of her life last night. Just the constant chilling, chilling nearby.
Of course, the other big concern we have is just the major disruption of health care, hospitals and health facilities. For example, in the north of the 22 hospitals, three of them are non-functional at all. All of them are working well under capacity, lack of electricity, lack of water, as you've mentioned, lack of fuel, loss of staff, and soon to run out of medical supplies. They are -- haven't -- they have a huge patients, not only from the trauma, but, you know, women are still having babies. UN estimates there are 200 babies being born a day in Gaza, people still need their insulin. I was talking to my (INAUDIBLE) colleague, Dr. Seto (ph) just earlier this evening, and he said they're running out of insulin in the next two weeks.
So, a health system that is clearly on the brink at a time where the needs are increasing and enormous. It is catastrophic. ANDERSON: Thank you for joining us. It's very valuable to get the -- your update and your insight at this point. And we wish you well with the with the plans. I know that you'll be working night and day to ensure that as much as done as possible to get these supplies to people who need the most. Thank you very much indeed.
We'll be back after this short break with more coverage of the war in Israel.
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SOARES: Welcome back everyone. Earlier CNN Wolf Blitzer spoke with Israel's President Isaac Herzog. I want you to listen to the message he had to the nation. I have to warn you that there is graphic content.
Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:25:00]
ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: I think so entire humanity, you know, I just got back from Kibbutz Be'eri, the Be'eri Kibbutz, the Kibbutz as you know it's an optimization of socialism, equality, very pro peace place. You should know that in that Kibbutz, they lost 10 percent of their members, from young to old. I saw the most horrific scenes. I saw the scar -- the scallop (ph) of the woman in which house I visited the house totally destroyed, totally destroyed, and they just cut a head of -- I saw a pool of blood in that house where the picture of the children is hanging and the grandchildren hanging on the wall. With the knives and the hatchets, which they went in. I saw the most horrific scenes possible, I saw bloodshed.
And I was thinking to myself, because in Kibbutz Be'eri, there was a special fund to help their neighbors from Gaza. For years, they've been paying money to help their friends and neighbors in Gaza, because they advocated peace. And all of a sudden, life was shattered and the same life was shattered for the Israeli nation. My nation is bleeding, my nation is in pain, my nation is in sorrow. And we are faced with a an extremely cruel, inhumane enemy which we have to uproot, with no mercy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And that was Isaac Herzog, Israel's President speaking to our Wolf Blitzer earlier.
I want to bring in our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, who is in Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Clarissa, just give me a sense of what is happening, what you're seeing on the ground, it's almost 11:30 where you are.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Isa. It had been relatively quiet for a few hours. We had a couple of barrages of rockets, we've just been hearing some jets overhead. And of course, the focus now, though very much is really on the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which you've already been discussing this hour. The UN Commissioner for the Relief and Works Agency coming out and saying the world has lost its humanity, calling it unprecedented. Reminding people that some 60 percent of Gaza's population rely on food aid in order to survive because of the blockade that's been in place there for 17 years. He went on to say that not a drop of water, no electricity, no food, no medical aid has been able to enter Gaza for eight days now. And there is a sense that the situation is quickly spiraling completely out of control.
We spoke to a young dentistry student, 22 years old in Northern Gaza, which has been given an order to evacuate, but she told us that her family hasn't been able to evacuate because they have no place to go. There is no place where they know that there is electricity, there is real fear about the roots to move towards the south. And so really, I would say an all-round state of chaos and confusion.
Now, Israel's Defense Forces have said that water has now been turned on again to southern Gaza. We have not been able to confirm this yet. But I did want to just pull up a tweet here for a moment, if you will. This is actually from October in 2022, and it's from Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the EU Commission, she's talking about Russia with regards to Ukraine, she says, cutting off men, women, children of water, electricity. And then she goes to say heat (ph) as well, these are pure acts of terror. And we have to call it as such. I think it's no secret that there has been a huge amount of anger not just from Palestinians, but from others as well at a perceived double standard in terms of the language coming from U.S. and Western leaders.
Now, I will say that we have seen something of a recalibration of that language. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasizing today that while the U.S. is in lockstep with Israel and supports it every step of the way that Israel really must abide by international humanitarian law. But for now, Isa, from what we are seeing and hearing on the ground in Gaza, there is very little in terms of relief or refuge coming their way. Isa.
SOARES: And what we have been hearing, what I've been hearing, Clarissa speaking to families of those inside Gaza, trying to get out so sense of hopelessness, of helplessness, lack of communication, what relates not just to where do they stay, where do they sleep, there's no water, there's no way of communication. But also mixed messaging when it comes to the Rafah crossing. Just explained why is this so much -- there's a lack of clarity here.
[16:30:10]
WARD: Well, because there's multiple pieces to this. Originally, the Egyptians had said that they would allow for Americans, Canadian, some other nationalities who were trapped inside Gaza to leave Gaza through that Rafah crossing, that did not end up materializing. But basically, the Egyptians are really trying to avert having this humanitarian catastrophe spill in to the Sinai Peninsula and into Egypt.
What that means is it becomes all the more complex to try to come up with some kind of a mechanism that all parties can agree upon, to at the very least get aid into Southern Gaza. You played some of that interview that Wolf Blitzer did with President Herzog, in a different part of the interview, he also talks about how they're trying to create a kind of refuge center that would be safe, where there would be relief handed out, he says that it would have capacity for hundreds of thousands of people. But in order to make that happen, realistically, you have to have a huge amount of relief aid workers and infrastructure allowed to go into Southern Gaza through that Rafah border crossing, and there are a number of security considerations to be taken into account.
We know that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, those meetings continue, there is a sense of urgency to them. But so far, no clear timing as to when this purported or putative, I should say, refuge center would be established in Southern Gaza. And so, for the moment, the existing shelters there are completely overrun, and undersupplied.
SOARES: Indeed, completely overwhelmed as I heard in the last hour. In the meantime, we've heard from the Israeli ambassador to the United States is in the process of establishing a humanitarian zone in the southern part of Gaza with the UN. I'll be speaking in the next few minutes to Save The Children to get some more clarity exactly what is happening on the ground.
Clarissa, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
We're going to take a short break. We'll have much more coverage of the war in Israel after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back.
Just to recap what is a fast-moving story here of course from Israel and Gaza for you. Israel's military says it is preparing for combined and coordinated strikes from (INAUDIBLE) but we still have no word on when. It's in response to the surprise attacks, of course, the monstrous attacks by Hamas on October the 7th in which Israel now says more than 1,400 people were killed. The Palestinian health authorities are accusing Israel of directly targeting medical staff and their families in Gaza as aid groups run out of food and medical supplies on the ground. They say the death toll there has now passed 2,600 people. Israel says it's working with the UN to set up a humanitarian zone in Gaza.
[16:35:35]
SOARES: Well, let's get much more than on the situation in Gaza as Becky was loading out there for us. Gabriella Waaijman is the Global Humanitarian director for Save the Children and joins us now from London.
Gabriella, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Just give us a sense of what you and your teams, what they've been telling you, what they've been seeing on the ground. GABRIELLA WAAIJMAN, GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Thousands and thousands of people on the move, of course, the order has been given by Israeli Defense Forces for people in the north of Gaza to move to the south. Many are doing this, but it's not easy, they have to move with all their belongings, their votes are clogged, not everybody is able to move. There's a lot of people who are sick, the elderly, women that are literally giving birth, children and incubators. So not everybody is able to move.
But a lot of people have been on the move, where they're going to in the south is not enough shelter available for people. There's not enough water available. There's not enough food available. So, the situation is incredibly dire at the moment in in Gaza.
SOARES: Let me ask, you know, Gabriella bit more about the conditions that that what you're hearing. In particular water, because Israel says water has been restored in southern Gaza? What are you hearing in terms of water? Do they have water?
WAAIJMAN: So, we've heard the same that Israel said that water has been restored, we do not yet have confirmation of that from people on the ground. And I've heard the same from other NGOs. We don't have confirmation on that.
SOARES: Right. So, no confirmation as of yet whether is water. But can I just then check where the majority of people staying? Then those who are moving south have been told to move south. Those who can and are moving Gabriella, where are they staying?
WAAIJMAN: So, they're staying in schools, they're staying in around the hospitals, the main hospital is in north, but they're staying around the hospitals. There are supposedly designated zones, which are meant to be what we call deconflict, which means that, you know, the parties to the conference are not meant to attack those areas.
But let me be very clear, there are no deconflict areas in Gaza. Everywhere, people are at risk at the moment. So, the designated areas are absolutely full to the brim. But even those designated areas are not safe.
SOARES: Of those designated areas, have they been hit by any sort of strikes?
WAAIJMAN: Yes, we have seen strikes on schools, which were meant to be deconflict in those areas. So, there is no safe area in Gaza. There is no safe area.
SOARES: I'm not sure if you heard of it my conversation with our chief international correspondent last few minutes, Clarissa Ward of saying that the Israeli ambassador to the United States says they're in the process of establishing a humanitarian zone in the southern part of Gaza with UN. How critical will this be? And does it go far enough in your view?
WAAIJMAN: Forcing people to move from north to the south without sufficient water, without sufficient food, without any shelter, and without the guarantee to return is tantamount to forced relocation, which is not in accordance to international humanitarian law.
SOARES: So, more needs to be done. There needs to be more than just humanitarian corridor.
WAAIJMAN: Well, there's a difference between creating safe zones and humanitarian corridor. So (INAUDIBLE) agencies, what we're calling for is restraint. A ceasefire, and indeed, the opening of humanitarian corridor, and opening the humanitarian corridor means that goods need to be able to come in either from Egypt or from the border, on the Israeli side. (INAUDIBLE) it goes to be able to reach the people in Gaza. We have (INAUDIBLE) aid agencies, like the aid agencies put many, many trucks ready at the border, in Egypt, with water, with food, with blankets, with everything that people need, medical supplies, everything that people need to survive, because this is absolutely life threatening.
SOARES: Yes. And right now, like you said, it's a humanitarian zone in the process of establishing a corridor.
[16:40:00]
In terms of those trucks, we've seen pictures, we've seen images Gabriella, of trucks waiting in Egypt, waiting to get in. What are you hearing about the Rafah border crossing? What is the latest you're hearing in your side?
WAAIJMAN: So, what we've heard is that Rafah border crossing is not yet open. We hear that there are negotiations apparently ongoing, but what we've also known of course, is that the border crossing has been bombed, and that therefore the road is actually not passable. We stand ready, we are ready as soon as the Egyptian authorities and Israeli authorities and any other authorities (INAUDIBLE) get to go ahead, we are ready to go if that was responsible.
SOARES: Gabriella, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you very much.
WAAIJMAN: Thank you.
SOARES: While U.S. diplomacy is central as Gabriella was pointing out in regards to the Rafah crossing to trying to de-escalate the war between Israel and Hamas and the world is watching America's top diplomat.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said repeatedly, Israel has a right to defend itself. But that's not all he's saying.
Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The way that Israel does these matters needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have, for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, for its part, Cairo is facing pressure to open the humanitarian corridor and Antony Blinken is promising the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be open. It's seen as the only feasible route to get aid in and people out of Gaza. And that includes Americans.
Hadas Gold is live for us in Washington. And I imagine Hadas that the Rafah crossing will be a huge part of that conversation, not just to allow dual nationals out but to let aid in. Talk to the diplomatic strategy here, and what Secretary Blinken is trying to achieve.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rafah will be the major issue just because it's one of the only if not the only crossing that's available right now, to be able to get people in or out of this situation. There's a lot of questions of course about Egypt, them allowing people -- them allowing the border to be opened for Hamas to allow the border to be open. Now there has been a flurry of reporting that this could be open, this could be happening within the next even potentially few hours. But we can't believe anything until we actually see people leaving Gaza and those aid convoys entering Gaza at the same time because of course we are in such a desperate situation.
Now, Antony Blinken has literally been hopscotching around the region. And ironically, Isa, he was actually already supposed to be in this region for visits in Israel, in the Palestinian Authority with Saudi Arabia. This was pre-scheduled actually, before this war broke out and ostensibly that was mostly about Saudi-Israel normalization. Now, of course, he's hopscotching around the region for a very different reason trying to establish not only these humanitarian quarters to try and establish, get Americans out, get this aid in, but also to try to keep a lid on the situation keep the north from blowing up, keep Hezbollah from trying to get even more involved.
So, it's been interesting to hear his -- it's been most interesting for me to hear what that -- the soundbite that you play just than from Antony Blinken, because I do think that the pressure is ratcheting up on the Israelis about this humanitarian situation, about the water, about the electricity about the field. The Israelis turn this off in the opening hours days of this conflict, essentially, because of the barbarism that they saw from Hamas, saying that they will not be turning these things back on until the hostages are freed.
But now we're in a situation where the civilians are running out of the -- of running out of water, when situation where hospitals are running out of power. And I think that the pressure is mounting hour by hour, day by day for Israel to turn this back on for the civilian population.
Now from Israel's point of view, they want to keep the pressure on Hamas. So, they will bring the hostages out. They also don't want to provide electricity and other things for Hamas, the -- that Hamas could then use in their attacks on Israel. But I do think that what we're hearing from Antony Blinken, that's the beginning of that sort of clock ticking down for Israel saying, listen, we understand that the Americans support what you're doing support what you're doing against Hamas, but for the civilian population for their sake, you have to turn these things back on.
SOARES: Yes, and of course, Antony Blinken, and from what I understand, correct me if I'm wrong, Hadas, is traveling back to Tel Aviv, I think tomorrow. Just -- what is he going back with? I mean, what can you show here? I know Rafah crossing potentially he's saying the Rafah crossing will be open. But what will the Israelis want to hear?
GOLD: I think the Israelis would, of course want to hear some sort of assurances about security, about what will happen, who will be getting out, what will be coming in, because that's a big concern from them, who will be coming out of Gaza and into Egypt? You know, who will there potentially be Hamas people involved in there? Also, what kind of aid will be coming in? And part of the reason that Israel says that they put such restrictions on what can be imported into Gaza, is because Hamas will use that for their benefit. You know, how are all those tunnels constructed under Gaza? How's that Gaza Metro as they call it the tunnel system constructed? It's from concrete, it's from other items.
[16:45:05]
Now Israel says that Hamas should be using this aid is -- this aid items instead for the civilian population instead of for their own uses. And so that's going to be a lot of the concern from the Israelis, is where is this aid going? Who is going to be also in charge of it? And who is going to be in charge of this humanitarian situation? We know millions of people will be gathered in one spot.
And so, Israel will have a lot of concerns of exactly what will be happening in those places because they're, they're wanting to go into the Hamas stronghold. They don't want to see another Hamas stronghold kind of pop up somewhere else.
SOARES: Hadas Gold for us with the very latest there from Washington. Thanks very much., Hadas. Good to see.
ANDERSON: Well, we're hearing from the United Nations, it says no one was hurt after a rocket hit its peacekeepers headquarters in Southern Lebanon. UN officials say they are still trying to determine where the rocket was launched from. But there was an intense exchange of fire on Lebanon's border with Israel earlier.
Also getting an update from the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF says its fighter jets hit Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon earlier Sunday and up taking clashes with Hezbollah raising fears that this conflict will spread.
Here's what the Jordanian Foreign Minister told me on Friday.
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AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We're extremely concerned about this conflict spreading. Up top priority for us is the West Bank. Then we have Lebanon because if the conflict of the level of violence and war we see there, spread into those territories then the whole region is going to be engulfed. Popular reaction is going to be more aggressive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And we'll have a live report from Southern Lebanon and a discussion about what is going on in the West Bank. It has been a deadly nine days there. I was in the West Bank earlier more on that, after this.
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SOARES: And welcome back. We'll bring you more on what's happening Israel and Gaza in just a few moments. Right now, let me bring you up to date some of the headlines that we have me monitoring from around the world.
Voting closed just a few hours ago in a bitten nationwide election in Poland. And it appears the populace ruling party's reign may be over. An exit poll shows the Law and Justice Party will lose its majority in parliament despite winning the biggest vote share. A coalition will need to be formed between the Law and Justice Party and another party if they are to retain power.
The election is expected to have major ramifications for opponents' direction, the balance of power in the European Unio, and of course EU support for the war in Ukraine.
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Sunday morning. And it comes just over a week after another deadly quake hit the same region near the city of Herat, that's in the west of the country. Taliban officials, government officials estimate more than 2,000 people were killed in their first tremor on October 7th. Most of them women and children.
[16:50:19]
We're going to take a short break. Be back with more -- much more of our coverage of the "War in Israel."
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SOARES: And returning now to the Middle East. There has been an uptick in violence in the occupied West Bank. More than 50 Palestinians were killed there in East Jerusalem by Israeli forces and settlements on Friday. That is according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
And Becky, I'm keen to get your thoughts on this because I know you have been speaking, I believe to the mayor there in the West Bank. As we see this spiraling humanitarian catastrophic or humanitarian situation in Gaza as we await for this incursion by the IDF. What is the mood of the ground? What is the -- what are the fears right now in the West Bank?
ANDERSON: Yes. And the fears have been that this conflict will further exacerbate what is an already very, very tense West Bank. We've had months of violent clashes there. The numbers of those who have died since the beginning of the year, are absolutely remarkable. These are clashes between settlers and Palestinians. Remember, at the beginning of the year, ministers in Israel's most right-wing government ever denied the very existence of Palestinian people said, there are no Palestinian people. And it's comments like that from this very, very right-wing government, which is just, you know, really put a fire under what was already a really difficult situation in the occupied West Bank. We've had -- as I say, months of deadly clashes just this past week, more than 50 Palestinians have lost their lives, many shot at point blank range.
I was in the West Bank earlier today. And we spoke to a family who were fleeing their home driven out after it was attacked last week by settlers. They were throwing stones and then gunfire. I was in the house, I witnessed the debris all around from broken windows and talking to a 19-year-old girl who by the way, lost her father six years ago, in the conflict. She had a 12-year-old brother with her who was just too frightened to stay in that house and they were being -- well they've been driven out.
What happened in that attack was that four young Palestinians came to help them out. And they were shot at point blank range. The funeral procession for those four Palestinians just two days ago, was attacked by settlers and two other locals were killed in that. And I talked to the man about these attacks, this most recent attacks and, you know, what is going on in the area and how much concern he has about this violence escalating as we see this conflict escalating in Gaza and this is what happened while I was talking to the mayor about this uptick in violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:55:11]
ANDERSON (on-camera): While you and I have been talking, I'm just getting an urgent update on my phone here, local sources, settlers' storm, Mt. el-Ormeh (ph), in the town of (INAUDIBLE) protected by the occupation forces. I mean how do you respond to that? Does this surprise you?
HANI ODEH, MAYOR, QUSRA, WEST BANK (through translation): This policy is clear. It's no secret. They want to displace this area. What is there to comment on? We just have to defend ourselves and defend our lands, we will die here. We will die here, where else will we go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And that is what we heard across the communities that we spent time with today. That's a small community Isa, there are about 4,000 people in (INAUDIBLE), which is the small village where those six people, from where those six people were attacked and killed this week, and it just sort of underscores just what's going on in the West Bank. And as I say, this family that we met, who were fleeing, who just been just decided it's just not safe enough to stay, the young girl there told me that they'd had about 40 acres of land in the past and before her father was killed, that land was taken away from them, and they can't go back to that land now. And now they are fleeing their home driven out of their home today by this violence, and is going on this deadly violence that's going on around them.
Everybody I speak to around this region, and I'm in contact with people around this region all the time. We're based in Abu Dhabi. And we speak to sources around the region. When you talk about the Palestinian conflict, people have been concerned for months and months and months about what is happening in the West Bank to the extent that many people will say, and this is what sources are telling us that the Israeli military had their eye off the ball to a certain extent, on Gaza, on the Gaza conflict. You know, and we've talked about the colossal failure of intelligence to have actually, you know, seen what was coming last week because they've got so many soldiers now deployed in the West Bank to try and ensure that that doesn't just blow up. And at the moment, I'm afraid, we are seeing that happen in real time. Isa?
SOARES: And of course, everyone will be able to say that -- see that full report your full report back from the West Bank tomorrow right here on CNN.
And that's it for this hour of CNN special coverage, but do stay right here, Becky and I'll be back after this.
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