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IDF Appears on Verge of Significant Ground Operations; Half of Gaza's Population Under Israeli Evacuation Order; U.S. Sending Second Aircraft Carrier Near Israel. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 15, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade with CNN's breaking news coverage of Israel at war.

Take your belongings and go south. That's the message from Israel to the residents of Northern Gaza as it prepares to launch a military ground operation at any moment.

The U.S. is now sending a second carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as additional fighter jets. The move is intended to deter Iran, Hezbollah and others from entering the conflict.

On Saturday, Israel declared it's ready to open a new phase in the war with a focus on significant ground operations. The IDF says it struck more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight.

A CNN team close to the Northern Gaza has been hearing heavy machine gunfire near the border fence as well as loud explosions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met soldiers on the frontlines offering words of support and telling them to be prepared.

Palestinian authorities in Gaza say the death toll from the Israeli airstrikes is now more than 2,300 people with more than 9,000 injured. According to the Health Ministry, 300 of those deaths were in just the past 24 hours, most of them women and children.

Israel claims it has already killed two senior Hamas leaders who were behind last weekend's massacres. Earlier, I interviewed a spokesperson from the IDF about one such operation in the past several hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, SPOKESPERSON, IDF: I can inform you that over the night, we attacked and killed one of the nukhba commanders, leaders from Khan Yunis. His name is Bilal al-Kidra. He was the leader that conducted butcher and attack in the nearing kibbutz.

And this just goes to exemplify that we have the intelligence in order to take out Hamas' leadership from (INAUDIBLE), the mastermind of the massacre all the way down to the terrorists that breached, penetrated, and butchered our babies in their bedrooms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Elliott Gotkine is covering all the developments for us and joins us now live from London. Good to have you with us, Elliott.

So, Israel has continued to strike Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas terror attacks. It has also carried out some ground raids. What can you tell us about this second stage in their offensive?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN REPORTER: It seems like it's imminent, Lynda. We've been talking about the possibility, indeed the likelihood of a ground invasion since Hamas launched that terrorist attack more than a week, just over a week ago, killing more than 1,300 people inside of Israel. We really do seem like we are getting very, very close to this actually happening.

And, of course, the evacuation call from the Israeli Defense Forces to Gazans living especially in Gaza City, but in the northern part of the strip, to tell them to grab their belongings and move south, is designed to get the civilian population out of harm's way and to minimize civilian casualties for this expected ground invasion.

But it's much more complicated than previous one, not least because of the more than 100 hostages that Hamas grabbed when it launched that attack into Israel. They are believed by the IDF to be being kept underground. And, of course, Hamas also has this kind of labyrinth of tunnels, almost like an underground city underneath the surface of Gaza, which will also provide them with problems and would allow Hamas militants both additional defensive and offensive capabilities.

And, of course, all the while, we are also seeing the death toll in the Gaza Strip rising, as you just said. And, of course, there are concerns that the northern border could become an additional front. And, in fact, just as we were coming on air, the IDF sending out a report saying there was fire towards a community in Northern Israel called Shtula, and that Israel is, as we speak, striking the origins, the source of that fire in Southern Lebanon.

Now, it hasn't turned into an additional front just yet, but if it does, Israel has warned that it will bring destruction on Lebanon.

[03:05:06]

Lynda?

KINKADE: And, of course, we know, Elliott, that the U.S. is sending a second aircraft carrier and fighter jets to the region. Just how involved will the U.S. get?

GOTKINE: Well, the U.S. involvement is relatively rare deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically to try to deter this additional front from opening and to deter Hezbollah, which is, of course, the Shia militia backed by Iran, from getting involved in the war. It's a kind of a warning to both Hezbollah and to Iran and, to a lesser extent, to Syria, where we've also seen rockets being fired towards Israel.

I think it's pretty clear the U.S. is not going to have boots on the ground at any stage here. It's providing additional military aid to Israel since this particular war began, and perhaps it may increase that involvement at some point. But no one really is expecting boots on the ground.

For now, it is support, both in terms of political support and in terms of military aid and the presence of those two aircraft carriers really designed to send a clear message to Hezbollah and its backers in Tehran that they should not get involved if they don't want to suffer the consequences. Lynda

KINKADE: And, Elliott, just speak to us big picture about the reaction we are seeing around the world and how it's changed over the course of the past week.

GOTKINE: I think to begin with, there was quite a lot of support rallying around Israel from the international community, really shocks at the barbarity and savagery of this terrorist attack by Hamas in the early hours of last Saturday morning. But, of course, as the civilian death toll has risen in Gaza, which was inevitable, sadly, given how embedded in the civilian population Hamas is, that has generally been a sense this has generally been shift, that there's been more calls naturally for concern for Israel to take greater care with civilian lives.

And, of course, we've seen this play out in the past, that when there are wars in Gaza and the civilian death toll rises, that this kind of -- calls for more care to be taken with civilians kind of moves over into potential condemnation of Israel, whether it's the United Nations or by international bodies.

Now, we've heard from other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, calling for Israel to take more care with civilians. And there are, of course, discussions under way to try to get some kind of safe passage for American civilians and also for other citizens of Gaza out of the Rafah in the south of the strip.

But, for now, aid is not able to get in and it seems that, for now, people are not able to get out either. So, I think that we will, over the coming days, see more criticism of Israel and perhaps leading to some kind of condemnation in various bodies of the United Nations.

I think Israel knows that that is likely to happen at some point. But I think given the gravity of this terrorist attack on Israel, which has been described by the president of Israel as the darkest day, the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust in a single day, that Israel is perhaps less concerned about the optics now than it has been in the past. Lynda?

KINKADE: All right. Elliott Gotkine, we'll leave it there for now, joining us live from London, thanks so much. Well, aid convoys are now arriving in Egypt in preparation to enter Gaza. The Egyptian foreign minister says the Rafah crossing with Gaza is open but roads on the Gaza side cannot be used because of the aerial bombardment by Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Border crossing on the Gaza side is inoperable because of the damage that has been afflicted and the procedure for those managing the border on the Gaza side to verify the documents and lists of third nationals that are provided have not been fulfilled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Salma Abdelaziz has more now in the plight of the people in Gaza and what they're facing. I need to warn you, her report does contain some graphic and disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (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 passage specified by the IDF, utter horror. You're looking at the carnage and chaos on Salah al-Din, one of the evacuation routes. In the aftermath of explosions, families killed amid their belongings.

[03:10:00]

CNN has geolocated this video and four other clips from the horrifying scene. The U.N. calls Israel's evacuation advisory impossible and a violation of the rules of war. And Palestinian officials accuse the IDF of bombing civilians, even as they fled.

Dozens of evacuees were killed or wounded by Israeli airstrikes, according to Hamas. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

The victims are flooding into Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals. And, again, it's the youngest caught in the crossfire. Nearly half of Gaza's population is children.

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

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

KINKADE: Well, joining me from Cairo, Egypt, is Corinne Fleischer, regional director for the World Food Program. Good to have you with us.

CORINNE FLEISCHER, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Hey, good morning, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, we know that essentially Israel has cut off any entry of food, of clean water, of fuel, electricity, into Gaza. What can you tell us about the reserves that are left in Gaza right now?

FLEISCHER: So far, the World Food program has reached 520,000 people in Gaza. We are providing canned food and bread, and we also provide cash for people to redeem in the shops. We still are distributing despite the absolute chaos and our staff being themselves in shelters with no food, no mattresses, no water and no bathrooms, no electricity, but they are there distributing. Yesterday, we distributed more than 36,000 people. Today, we're distributing to 224,000 people, food and what they need. But we are running out of stocks and we need to replenish.

KINKADE: And, Corinne, given you've got a team on the ground in Gaza, you have been able to distribute what food is left. Have they told you what is the shelter situation for those that have fled from North Gaza to the south?

FLEISCHER: Well, they're all together in these shelters and all are facing the same catastrophic situation. And for us, some also stayed home. It's not that everybody is in the shelter. So, it's very difficult for us to reach everybody right now. And we do need unimpeded, safe humanitarian access to reach all people in Gaza, and, of course, again, it's no time left.

We need to bring food through the borders. We have food for 1.3 million people for two weeks piled up at the borders into Gaza to continue to provide what is absolutely required. People are really getting hungry. Of course, they also need water, medicine, and so forth. But they are getting hungry, and we need to reach them. KINKADE: So, we know that additional flights of aid has arrived in Egypt, that it is along the border with Gaza. Talk to us about the barriers to get that aid into Gaza.

FLEISCHER: We also right now actually have flights in the air to bring high-energy biscuits. This is the easiest thing to distribute and put across the border. We're talking to all parties to be able to move in. Unfortunately, we have not received that okay yet and we are running out of time. So, please, everybody who can help us to get in with humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

KINKADE: So, you said you're waiting to get the okay to take that aid in. Who are you waiting to get the okay from?

FLEISCHER: We're waiting to get the okay from all parties.

[03:15:01]

We need to be able to cross the border. We need to have safe supply corridors to go to the shelters to distribute the food. And so we are talking to all parties to get that.

KINKADE: So, Egypt says on their side, the border is open but that the roads have been destroyed by the bombing or the bombardment, means that they can't let the trucks through. Is that your understanding of the situation at the Rafah border?

FLEISCHER: Look, we will always find a way to get our trucks through, how difficult it is. But as long as we have safe corridors, but we need those safe corridors to move in and we need the okay to pass the border.

KINKADE: Corinne, before this war, most people in Gaza, half the population were already in poverty, a third in extreme poverty. What are your concerns for the population in Gaza? Just how dire could the situation become?

FLEISCHER: Well, right now, I mean, it is war in there. Now, we have to go over this period to ensure that they actually survive. But even before this conflict broke out, WFP had a big funding crisis in our operation there. We had the hand to mouth operation. We already had to cut 60 percent of the 350,000 people we were reaching every month, we had to cut off our lists because of lack of funds.

So, we really, really need funding now. We need $74 million for three months to be able to support about 800,000 people. That's our estimate right now. But that may, of course, go up and higher. And so we need money to support the people, we need access to bring our food in and we need our ability and humanitarian access inside Gaza.

KINKADE: Corinne Fleischer of the World Food Program, we appreciate what you and your team are doing. Thank you for your time. And we will direct our viewers to our website where you can find their details if they want to help with humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and Israel. They can go to cnn.com/impact. We have a list of vetted organizations responding on the ground. That's cnn.com/impact. When we come back, U.S. President Joe Biden shares a message about ending all forms of hatred at a human rights event. His remarks plus what his administration is focusing on as the Israel-Hamas war enters a second week.

Plus, we'll have an inside look at the deadly training that went into the Hamas attack on Israel. How did this go unnoticed for so long?

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[03:20:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. The U.S. State Department now says the number of Americans killed in the Hamas attacks has risen to 29. Officials say 15 American citizens remain unaccounted for after those attacks.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the first evacuation flight bringing Florida residents home from Israel should arrive later Sunday.

Well, for the first time in more than four decades, Israel's national airline, El Al, flew on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, bringing Israeli fighters to Tel Aviv from New York and Bangkok. And CNN was at the Los Angeles airport Saturday morning when a nonprofit-chartered flight to the Middle East for Israeli reservists and American volunteers looking to join the fight against Hamas.

U.S. President Joe Biden is continuing talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the Hamas attack. Mr. Biden also called attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza at a human rights event Saturday night as the Israeli-Hamas war enters a second week.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has the details from the White House.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden on Saturday spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the fifth time the two leaders have talked since the attacks on Israel last Saturday.

Now, in that discussion, is two talked about U.S. military support as well as protecting innocent civilians as this conflict unfolds.

Now, in a second call, the president also spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas. In that call, they talked about humanitarian supplies reaching Gaza, which is facing water shortages and food shortages.

Now, the president also spoke at a human rights campaign dinner. In his remarks he too talked about the terror attacks in Israel, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: A week ago, we saw hate manifested another way in the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. More than 1,300 innocent lives lost in Israel, including at least 27 Americans. Children and grandparents alike kidnapped, held hostage by Hamas.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza, innocent Palestinian families, and the vast majority have nothing to do with Hamas, they're being used as human shields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: The focus for officials at the White House continues to be that this conflict not widen in the region, but they are sending a message of deterrence in the region as well and focusing their efforts, too, on bringing those Americans who are held hostage by Hamas home.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, the White House.

KINKADE: But as Mr. Biden pursues diplomacy, he's also flexing U.S. military muscle in the region. The Pentagon is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean, the USS Eisenhower.

As our Oren Liebermann reports, the deployment is meant to be a message to those who may want to get involved in the conflict.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon has ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Med as a deterrence message to Iran and Iranian proxies in the region as we U.S. military here bolster up its forces in the Middle East as Israel's war prepares to enter what officials there have called a bigger stage, the next stage here.

[03:25:10]

So, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, which is the carrier, several destroyers and a cruiser, is already in the Eastern Med and arrived there earlier this week. That will now be joined by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group. Elements of that group, including the carrier, left Naval Station Norfolk on Friday. So, that will arrive in the region in a couple of weeks.

It is a very significant statement for the U.S. to send two carrier strike groups, all the force and power that entails, to the Eastern Med.

Now, in doing so, the White House and the Pentagon had made clear it is not the role of the aircraft on this deck or the warships here to get involved in the fighting with Israel. Israel doesn't want that the U.S. doesn't want that. The Biden administration, Israel and the region are watching closely and watching the fight play out in Gaza, trying to make sure it doesn't spread beyond Israel's borders to other areas.

And the key message there is to Iran. And that's to the point is of sending these forces to the region, a warning to Iran not to get involved, a warning to Iranian proxies not to get involved, Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Iranian-backed Shia proxies in Syria that could open fire on Israel. So, that's who the recipient of this message is.

The U.S. also has other forces in the region. It has plussed-up some fighter squadrons, F-15s arriving just a couple of days ago here, and perhaps more fighters expected. And there's also the USS Baton, part of an amphibious ready group, that's also in the region and could be ordered closer to Israel in case -- essentially, as a message in Iran, and in case this escalates.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.

KINKADE: Well, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with CNN's Erin Burnett about the war and said the buildup of U.S. forces in the mediterranean is sending a strong signal to Israel's adversaries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NAFTALI BENNETT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's basically a signal to Hezbollah and Iran, don't have any thoughts of entering this battle because you're going to get hit hard not only by Israel, but by others.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: When you make this move in these next few days, that everyone knows you're going to do, you've said you're going to do, what is your intelligence about Iran's response?

BENNETT: You see, that's also a good question. Iran is sort of the head of this octopus and it has various arms. It has Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has Islamic jihad and Hamas down in Gaza, it has Syria. And it knows that we will allow ourselves to hit it on the head in certain circumstances.

And they are very vulnerable. They have an economy, they have many power centers. I think it would be a grave mistake for them to enter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Israel warns Iran to stay out of the conflict. There are big questions about how last week's attack by Hamas was able to happen without Israeli or western intelligence picking up on the warning signs. A CNN exclusive investigation found at least six Hamas training camps inside Gaza, one of them close to Israel's border.

CNN's Clarissa Ward has more on that investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Propaganda videos put out by Hamas reveal chilling details about the years of preparations that went into Saturday's bloody attacks right under Israel's nose.

Analyzing metadata from the videos, a CNN investigation can reveal the presence of at least six training sites inside Gaza, one just 720 meters from the most heavily fortified and patrolled part of Israel's border. In that camp, Hamas recreated an Israeli compound with elements of the nearby border crossing, including an insignia of the Erez battalion. The videos show they practiced taking prisoners and zip-tying their hands at the camp. Satellite imagery indicates the camp was constructed within the last year-and-a-half.

At two other locations in the southern part of Gaza, Hamas trained for their audacious paraglider assault, rehearsing take offs and landings. At all six sites, two years of satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows no indication of offensive Israeli military action. The imagery instead shows that in the last two years, some camps even expanded into surrounding farmland and that there was activity in the last several months at the camps.

The stunning revelations raise questions as to how Hamas was able to train so openly, so close to the border, for so long, and why Israeli officials were unable to pick up on and prevent the October 7th attack.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Re'im, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:30:02]

KINKADE: Well, still to come, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians feel the violence, a key crossing between Gaza and Egypt is inoperable. We'll have the details ahead.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade and this is CNN newsroom.

I want to bring you up to speed with the latest on the war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel says it's carried out more than 100 air strikes in Gaza overnight, reportedly killing a commander responsible for some of the Hamas atrocities in Israel last weekend. The Palestinians say the strikes are taking a devastating toll on Gaza civilian residents. They say about 300 people were killed in a 24-hour period ending Sunday morning. More than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since the crisis began with over 9,000 wounded.

Palestinian officials also say Gaza is running out of water, now receiving about 5 percent of what it did before the conflict. The U.N. warns some people are drinking water from agricultural wells, which could lead to outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are moving south, and the Egyptian foreign minister says the Rafah crossing border is open but Egypt is not letting foreigners in until aid is allowed into Gaza.

Earlier, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told CNN that Israel is not responsible for Gaza's civilians.

[03:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNETT: At the end of the day, we're not out to hurt the Gaza people but we're also not responsible for them. We have no responsibility for an enemy state or any state. So, whoever really cares can come and help, can come and allow them in or whatever. It's simply not our problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: And joining me now from Cairo, Egypt, is H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute. Good to have you with us.

H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Good morning.

KINKADE: So, peace in the Middle East seems more elusive than ever as Israel seems poised to launch a land and sea incursion on Gaza to take out Hamas. What are your concerns as this war seems likely to escalate?

HELLYER: So, your last clip mentioned Naftali Bennett saying that it's not Israel's problem, the civilians of Gaza. Actually, that's entirely the opposite of what is the case. Israel is responsible for Gaza as the occupying power since it took Gaza in 1967 and continues a blockade for the past sort of 15 years. But it is responsible, actually.

So, as we see the impending ground, sea, and air invasion of Gaza and we see calls for 1.1 million Palestinians, most of whom have absolutely nothing to do with Hamas, move from one part of this incredibly densely populated area, one of the most densely populated areas in the world down south, it's quite extraordinary.

The U.N., the E.U., international rights groups, Israeli rights groups, have all expressed tremendous concern for the civilian casualties that are already ongoing. We've already seen hundreds, perhaps almost thousands of Palestinian civilians killed over the last week and we're likely to see many more than that.

That's just, you know, at the moment. I'm very concerned about how this spills over into wider regional conflicts and what this means for broader regional stability and security and peace. None of this is good news.

KINKADE: I do want to ask you more about that in a moment, but you did reference the 1.1 million people in the north of Gaza that have been asked by Israel to flee, to evacuate to the south of Gaza. What awaits them?

HELLYER: Nowhere. I mean, there is nowhere for them to go. Again, Gaza is, as many Israeli rights groups have called, an open-air prison. And it's a tiny piece of territory. I mean, just to give you a little bit of context here, over the past week, Israeli civilians have been leaving the south of Israel, going north, because they're concerned about security as a result of Hamas' horrific attack last Saturday.

Over the past week, it's been around 400,000 that have managed to go and 400,000 having no shortage of space to move upwards, right? It's a much more -- it's a much easier sort of route to traverse. They're not being bombed by one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world as they try to flee. And only 400,000 in a whole week, right?

By the way, they shouldn't have to leave, of course. That goes without saying. But we're asking 1.1 million people to leave within 24, 30 hours to a territory that there is nowhere to go. There are no shelters. U.N.'s shelters have been actually closed down or bombed, as well as hospitals and others. This is simply not tenable. As, again, the international community, in terms of the U.N. and the E.U., they're saying this is not feasible and it's wrong, but it's also just not feasible.

KINKADE: Yes. And, of course, we know over 2 million people live in Gaza, about half are children under the age of 18. And they can't even leave Gaza to seek refuge. Since the Hamas terror attacks, Israel has stopped the supplies of clean water, food, fuel, medical supplies. The only viable way out is the southern border crossing with Egypt, and that's not open. Egypt says it's open on their side, but because of the bombardment, no one can come out, no aid can go in.

But speak to us about the mindset in Gaza if there are concerns some would never be allowed to return if they did indeed leave?

HELLYER: So, two things here. One, the only viable option isn't actually the southern border. The southern border is the southern border, the Rafah crossing with Egypt. There's another place that these people could go, and that's Israel, okay? The border crossings along the border with Israel are closed, but they don't need to be closed.

And I really want to challenge this idea that they have to go just in one direction. They should be able to go wherever they can seek refuge, safety and security. And, again, the responsibility for Gaza is reserved for Israel as the occupying power since 1967.

The second point is, indeed, Palestinians and also many Arab neighbors are very concerned that if the borders were to be opened with Egypt, that the Palestinians would cross the border and then never be allowed to come back.

Israel's current defense minister, Israel's current national security adviser, Israel's agricultural minister, all members of Benjamin Netanyahu's center-right Likud Party, have all talked about removing Palestinians from the country during the past few years. You can see them in Peter Beinart's excellent essay for Jewish Currents entitled, Could Israel Carry Out Another Nakba? That was written six months before any of this took place, okay.

You have people like Smotrich, who is a senior member of the Israel Knesset, tell his own Palestinian-Israeli colleagues in the Knesset, in the Israeli parliament, that they were there by mistake because the founder of Israel didn't finish the job and throw them out in 1948 when the state was founded.

So, yes, there are serious concerns about whether or not Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return when the dust settles.

KINKADE: We will have to leave it there for now, but we appreciate your insight and knowledge on this issue, H.A. Hellyer at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, thank you.

HELLYER: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, I spoke last hour with a lieutenant colonel, Peter Lerner, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, and he had a warning for Hezbollah and Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LERNER: I would caution Hezbollah, look very closely how we are dismantling Hamas. They need to be very, very cautious. With regard to Iran, I would say they have invested extensively in the network of terrorism, their proxies here on our border. So, of course, they're concerned. I would also caution them from getting involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Israel has assembled a considerable force along its border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah is positioned just to the north. Israeli troops are there watching for any incursions or other attacks by militants.

CNN's Matthew Chance spoke with an Israeli commander near the Lebanese border about their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR (RESERVE) DOR, 205TH ARMORED BRIGADE: We have mobilized our troops here, reserves, to be prepared for any scenario that might open on the northern borders.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: But when you say, any scenario, you mean whether this area is hit by rockets from Hezbollah? Is that what you're worried about?

DOR: That is one scenario.

CHANCE: Yes.

DOR: It could be a similar scenario to what happened to the Gaza Strip. It could happen here as well. So, we are here, could be joint, could be a very direct, specific event, we don't know. We're here prepared. We'll be ready with our troops. We've mobilized and we're here.

CHANCE: It seems the Israeli military down south near Gaza were not ready. Are you going to make the same mistake here?

DOR: We're here now, so we're not making the same mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, just a few minutes ago, the IDF says it is responding right now to fire from Lebanon.

One week ago, a powerful earthquake hit the Herat region of Afghanistan, and now it's happened again. We'll have details on the latest quake that hit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

We are following a developing story out of Afghanistan where a 5.4- magnitude aftershock has hit the north of Herat. The latest tremor came just a few hours after a new 6.3 earthquake and that quake centered northwest of the city of Herat coming one week after another week the exact same magnitude. Authorities say at least 50 people were injured in Sunday's quakes.

Scores of people were displaced by last week's earthquakes, which Taliban officials say killed more than 2,000 people.

Anna Coren shows us the aftermath and the chilling reason why 90 percent of the victims were women and children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Beneath the crystal blue skies on the outskirts of Herat in Western Afghanistan, the sound of vanished hope fills the air. Under mounds of earth lie countless bodies. There are no survivors here, only evidence of Mother Nature's wrath and fury unleashing further misery on a traumatized country.

Last Saturday, around 11:00 A.M., a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the district of Zinda Jan, completely flattening 11 villages.

You can see the state of my home, it's now in ruins, says 56-year-old Zaher. There is no need for words.

Zaher wasn't home when the earth violently shook for only a few seconds. But when he returned, he found 13 family members crushed to death, including his daughters, sons and multiple grandchildren.

Simple mud brick structures supported by wooden poles were the homes of villagers on these dusty plains. They have all reduced to rubble. Aid agency tents are now their new homes.

32-year-old Shah Bibi lost two daughters when her house collapsed. The only reason she survived is because she was standing under the door frame. My children were buried under the wall, she explains. Everything is gone, nothing remains for us.

The Taliban government and international organizations estimate more than 2,000 people were killed across the region during Saturday's earthquake. And according to UNICEF, more than 90 percent of the victims were women and children.

U.S. charity, Too Young to Wed, part of the humanitarian relief effort on the ground, says there is a clear reason for this staggering statistic. It's because women and girls are forced to stay at home under Taliban rule, denied their basic rights, banned from education, work and being part of society.

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STEPHANIE SINCLAIR, CO-FOUNDER, TOO YOUNG TO WED: They have been systematically stripped off their rights over the last two years. So, instead of being at school and at work on a Saturday, which is when they have their school week and their workweek, they were home, confined to their homes, imprisoned in their homes. I mean, it's a country where half the population is under house arrest.

COREN: At this hospital in Herat, makeshift boards have been erect erected in the courtyard to cater for all the injured. Lying on a bed, 35-year-old Fatima, who was knocked unconscious when her home collapsed on top of her.

While being rescued from the rubble, she woke to discover her seven children, aged 4 months to 14 years, were all dead.

I've experienced a great deal of pain and sorrow, she says. We've lost everything in our life. Nothing remains.

With the world firmly focused on the war in Israel, aid organizations are pleading for the international community not to forget the earthquake victims in Afghanistan.

SIDDIG IBRAHIM, CHIEF OF FIELD OFFICE, UNICEF AFGHANISTAN: The children in Afghanistan deserve equally, as all children in the world. Things happening in the world are not going to stop. It doesn't mean we abandon them.

COREN: Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

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KINKADE: We're going to take a short break. We'll get back to our coverage of the war in Israel in just a moment.

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[03:55:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. A ground incursion into Gaza by Israel's military seems all but certain, perhaps within hours. Heavy gunfire and explosions have been heard this morning near the fence with Northern Gaza. The IDF says it struck more than 100 Hamas targets inside Gaza overnight.

Well, the longtime U.S. skit comedy show Saturday Night Live started on a serious and personal note last night. Guest Host Pete Davidson shared a poignant message about the war.

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PETE DAVIDSON, ACTOR, COMEDIAN, GUEST HOST, SNL: This week, we saw the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza. And I know what you're thinking, who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson?

Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it, because when I was seven years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. So, I know something about what that's like.

I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, Israeli children and Palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place.

And, you know, no one in this world deserves to suffer like that, you know, especially not kids.

I don't understand it. I really don't and I never will, but sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy. My heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight, I'm going to do what I've always done in the face of tragedy, and that's try to be funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, SNL returned Saturday with Davidson as host after the Hollywood writers' strike came to an end.

I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks so much for joining us this hour of CNN Newsroom.

Kim Brunhuber picks up breaking news on Israel and Gaza after a very short break.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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