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American Woman and Her Teenage Daughter Free after Being Held as Hostages in Gaza by Hamas; Twenty Trucks with Humanitarian Aid Allowed into Gaza Strip; International Organizations Say More Aid Must be Allowed into Gaza to Address Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis; Biden Administration Asks Congress for More than $100 Billion of Foreign Aid to Provide Security Assistance to Ukraine and Israel. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 21, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:00:40]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Saturday, October 21st. I'm Amara Walker.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. You are in the CNN Newsroom.
And for the first time two weeks, much-needed aid has now been delivered to Gaza, but international groups warn that those supplies are not enough. This morning 20 trucks loaded with medical supplies and food and water passed through the Rafah border crossing that's between Egypt and Gaza. A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces says none of the trucks carried fuel.
WALKER: In Gaza, the Al-Quds Hospital says Israel has demanded the immediate evacuation of the building ahead of a possible airstrike. The World Health Organization says such a demand would be impossible to carry out. The hospital currently houses around 12,000 displaced people plus hundreds of patients.
And an American woman and her teenage daughter are free following their surprise release late last night. They were visiting family in a kibbutz close to Gaza when they were taken hostage on October 7th. The IDF says today it believes 210 people are being held hostage in Gaza. The group says the current priority is the return of all hostages.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is joining us now with the latest. Salma, Gaza's hospitals there, they're facing severe shortages, and of course, there's no fuel on these aid trucks. What more can you tell us about the aid that's coming in and how that is going to play out?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I think it's crucial we put this aid into context. We understand from local officials that these 20 trucks are three percent, just three percent of what was normally coming in on a single day in Gaza before this crisis even began. And these trucks have to distribute this aid as airstrikes continue to rain down, without fuel to put into these trucks. And they are filling this huge gap this huge deficit. Hospitals are running out of medicine. Kids are drinking sea water because there's no clean drinking water. The humanitarian crisis is just huge.
I want you to take a look the at the situation on the ground. I do warn you, these images are graphic as these aid convoys enter Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Hospitals in Gaza are crumbling. Everything is running out from surgical equipment to medicine. And the tiniest lives are left hanging in the balance. "We need power. We need access to clean water," this doctor says. "Without basic services, this will be a humanitarian catastrophe."
Already seven hospitals and 21 primary health care facilities here are out of service, according to Palestinian officials, because of shortages. After intense diplomatic efforts, prayers of relief at the Rafah border crossing as a trickle of aid was allowed in from Egypt. But the 20-truck convoy is only a drop in the ocean of need here, equivalent to just three percent of what entered this enclave daily prior to the conflict.
More than 200 additional trucks of assistance remain stalled on the Egyptian side according to the U.N., and every hour costs lives. And so far, no civilians can leave the enclave. Ten-year-old Palestinian American Aiden (ph) is among those trapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no place to go. All the streets are bombed. They're literally gone. How are we supposed to go out, how? It's all closed.
ABDELAZIZ: Even if people are allowed out, it will be a limited number, most likely only those with foreign passports. Sealing some 2 million others, half of them children, into this hellscape. But some refuse to go, even if they could, fearing Israel intends to bomb and besiege them out of their homes never to return. Even as Mahmoud (ph) buries his children, he says he will keep fighting just to exist here. "We will still be patient. As long as we are alive on this earth, we will be patient," he says. "We will never leave this land."
[10:05:01]
After the October 7th terror attacks when Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel in a brutal surprise incursion, Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas. But with hundreds of airstrikes pounding the densely populated enclave a day, innocent blood is being spilled. "Innocent children were struck down while they were sleeping," this woman shouts. "What did they do? Did they carry weapons? These are innocent children who know nothing. Tell us, when will this end?"
There are calls for a ceasefire to get civilians out of the warzone and allow more aid into Gaza, but the pleas fall on deaf ears so far. Israel is preparing for the next phase of its operations, a potential ground incursion that can only bring more suffering.
(END VIDEO TAPE) ABDELAZIZ: We talk about this trickle of aid, I also want you to think about just how much it required to get such a small amount of help into the enclave. President Biden was directly involved in these negotiations. There was intense diplomatic efforts, a flurry between Egypt and Israel and the United States to just bring in this tiny amount of help that, again, aid workers say is going to be used up immediately.
And we're looking at a humanitarian crisis that isn't just unfolding on the ground but is actually being expanded, added to, intensified hour by hour by those airstrikes that continue to push wounded people, displaced people into places where shelters are overwhelmed, hospitals are overwhelmed. That's the fear here is that this is simply not enough, and there could not be enough coming in the days ahead.
BLACKWELL: Salma Abdelaziz with the reporting for us, thank you so much.
Joining us now is Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program and former ambassador to the U.N. agencies for food and agriculture. Ambassador McCain, thank you for your time. I want to fill out the picture of perspective. What was sent in on these first 20 trucks compared to what is needed. So fill that out for us, if you could.
AMBASSADOR CINDY MCCAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Thank you for having me and thank you for talking about this issue. Contained in all the trucks were medical supplies. Of course, we took in food, water was taken in. And as was said, it was a very small amount, 20 trucks only.
And what we need now is for this convoy, convoys like this, to be sustained and to be safe and continue to run and continue to go into the country. This is a catastrophe going on on the ground there. People are starving to death. There's no water, as you know. There's no electricity. There's no fuel. This is ripe for disease and much, much more. So I'm really pleading with the world community to please get in here and help.
WALKER: Ambassador, as you've heard from some of our reporters, especially Clarissa Ward, who has been there on the ground near the crossing, she's been saying this is just a drop in the ocean because you have 20 aid trucks coming in. Compare that to 450 trucks that have been coming in every single day into Gaza. What is the World Food Program? What are you doing, I guess, what kind of conversations are you having to open a sustained humanitarian corridor?
MCCAIN: I have talked to everybody involved that I can find, and that includes the secretary general as well as our other folks from our various partner agencies around. This is something that has got to be sustained and safe and, of course, there has to be much more of it. This cannot be the only or the last convoy, it simply can't be. So I'm looking to, I'm hoping the leadership in various countries that surround this can help us remind the world that we need to get in there to help those who cannot help themselves and are about to starve to death. BLACKWELL: What are you hearing from your partners there in Gaza? I
understand that there were dozens of bakeries that the World Food Program partnered with, and now there are just a couple that are operational. Give us some context on the capabilities once supplies reach people there, what they can do with them.
MCCAIN: Right. Well, first of all, WFP was already in Palestine, we were already in the area. And so our people are still there. So what does this mean? We have the capability and the logistics ability to bring in large quantities of food, et cetera. But right now, what's left on the ground, as you know, many of the bakeries were bombed. Many of them just don't have supplied, and the ones that are operational have very minimal ability to do just that.
[10:10:04]
We are bringing in emergency food rations right now. This is food that people can eat immediately and do not have to cook. They can sustain themselves a little bit longer until we get the longer lasting items that they need in there. But once again, 20 trucks will not do it. We need, as Clarissa said, there were 400 and some trucks going every day. We need those 400 and some trucks filled with food to go in every day.
WALKER: All right, and in terms of your message to the people on the ground, because logistically, I wonder how this is going to work, right, 20 aid trucks coming in. There's way more need than that. Do you know how the people on the ground are going to prioritize who gets what?
MCCAIN: Well, in the case of the World Food Program, that's what we do. We prioritize where it needs to go. We know where the people are also staying with regard to hospitals and community centers where they have been fled to. So we're going to make sure that the food gets right where it's supposed to go and that it makes it to the correct people. Let's be very clear about that. We have the kind of capabilities to track and trace our food.
And more importantly, we are able to, on the ground, make sure that our beneficiaries are the real beneficiaries that should be getting food. So we're going to do everything we can to make sure it goes right where it's supposed to go. And that's what WFP is good at. We're good at logistics. We're good at this. And so that's why we're the largest organization, that's why we continue to do that kind of work that we do.
BLACKWELL: Most Americans first met you when your late husband, Senator John McCain, was running for president as the Republican nominee in 2008. One of the candidates for the nomination this time around, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has said that not a single dollar of U.S. aid should go into Gaza. I wonder what your reaction to that is.
MCCAIN: Listen, it's not just Gaza. This problem is worldwide. We have the Sahel, we have Sudan, we have hundreds of thousands of refugees, millions fleeing into Chad. This is not a problem that's solely in Gaza. This is worldwide. So to say somehow you're not going to give aid to anybody is just cruel. There are people starving to death. And the United States always steps up, is always the first, and we're always the largest because that's who we are as Americans. So I would challenge Mr. DeSantis on that topic.
WALKER: Thank you for taking time out on a very busy day, appreciate the work you do. Ambassador Cindy McCain, thank you.
The Israel Defense Forces say they believe 210 people are now being held hostage in Gaza.
BLACKWELL: Hamas has released two American women, a mother and daughter, nearly two weeks after they were abducted in Israel near the Gaza border. The father of 17-year-old Natalie Raanan and ex-husband of Judith Raanan spoke about how they're both doing. This was last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URI RAANAN, FATHER OF RELEASED HOSTAGE: I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, for two weeks. I haven't been sleeping for two weeks. Tonight, I'm going to sleep good. I spoke with my daughter earlier today. She sounds very good. She looks very good. She was very happy. And she's waiting to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: CNN's Whitney Wild is with us now. Whitney, is there any clarity yet on when they will be able to come home?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: The thinking at this point is that they will be home in the next few days, which is perfect timing because Natalie's 18th birthday is October 24th. Uri Raanan told us last night that that will be the best day of his life. They'll have a big party. He'll give her a big hug because the last two weeks have simply been agonizing.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILD: The walk to freedom in a snapshot, 59-year-old Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Nataile are finally safe after two weeks as Hamas hostages.
(SINGING)
WILD: They're headed home after prayers and tears. A community's fear now replaced by joy.
RABBI MEIR HECHT, CO-DIRECTOR, CHABAD OF EVANSTON: Our prayers have been heard for Judith and Natalie, and we are so overjoyed.
WILD: Judith and Natalie travelled to Israel from Evanston, Illinois, and have been missing since the Hamas attacks on October 7th. They were visiting a kibbutz in Israel for Judith's mother's 85th birthday. Judtih's sister told CNN she had no idea if they'd ever return. SARAY COHEN, JUDITH RAANAN'S SISTER: I'm very worried about my sister and my niece. My niece, she is not even 18. She's supposed to be celebrating her birthday on the 24th of this month. We know that young women are being raped and injured. And Judith is, she is not very, very healthy.
[10:15:02]
WILD: She says Hamas kidnapped 11 other family members from another kibbutz and they are still missing, though CNN cannot independently verify that information.
COHEN: As you can imagine, we are devastated, and we are having a hard time.
WILD: Natalie's brother told CNN he's looking forward to hugging his younger sister again and helping however he can as she recovers from the trauma.
BEN RAANAN, NATALIE RAANAN'S BROTHER: At least from my father, Natalie is doing well. She's composed. We are ready to start this incredible journey of healing and trauma relief for her.
HECHT: Both Judith and Natalie are artists, kind, giving, generous souls.
WILD: The office of the Israeli prime minister says the Israel Defense Forces met Judith at the Gaza border Friday along with the International Committee of the Red Cross, transferring them to a military base in the center of Israel to meet family members. As one family readies to embrace their loved ones, the families and friends of hundreds more are left to wait and wonder.
HECHT: They have gone through the most evil period of their life, and by people that inflicted just terror and horror to them and to so many others. And our job is to be there for them.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WILD (on camera): And the experiences of those other families is still weighing heavily on the hearts and minds of this community today. Uri Raanan had a message for the family members of other people who remain in Hamas hands, and it's simply, don't give up hope. Victor, Amara?
WALKER: Really a bittersweet moment. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for your reporting.
Still ahead, the Biden administration is requesting more than $100 billion from Congress in part to provide security assistance to Israel. We're going to break down what that includes.
BLACKWELL: Plus House Republicans have no clear path forward after Jim Jordan failed to get enough GOP voters to win the House speakership on his third vote. What's next?
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WALKER: The Biden administration is asking for more than $100 billion from Congress as a part of the foreign aid package that will provide security assistance for the wars in Ukraine and Israel.
BLACKWELL: Biden faces several challenges in passing that aid bill. For one, the House still does not have a speaker, so they can't get a vote on anything. But also, he faces a lack of support among Americans and some Republican lawmakers in continuing to provide aid specifically for Ukraine, which he has tied now to the aid for Israel.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us now from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. And that's in large part why we saw the president Thursday night taking his case to the American people.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Victor. That was a direct appeal to Americans to shore up support for these ongoing conflicts in Israel and in Ukraine. And that address came just before the official request to Congress from the White House for more than $105 billion. Now here's what that includes. That's $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, over $9 billion for humanitarian aid, and then there's also funding for the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the Indo-Pacific region.
The White House has confidence that there's bipartisan support in Congress for a funding package like the one that they presented here, but the reality is that still face an uphill battle, particularly in the House of Representatives, which still remains without a speaker. Just this week House Republicans scrambling again after voting to push out Republican Representative Jim Jordan.
Now, in the coming days, new speaker hopefuls will emerge, but the question still remains, can they put someone in the position, because without that happening, all of this remains in limbo. And the White House is keenly aware of that and monitoring each of these developments. And in a statement just yesterday, they called what's unfolding on Capitol Hill, quote, chaotic infighting. But the reality for the White House is, though, while they want to show continued support, while they are in discussions with their counterparts around the world to get this aid through, there nodes to be a speaker of the House.
Now, again, President Biden delivered that address this week to shore up support. Just yesterday, he also spoke with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue their dialogue about support and also about the hostages being held in Hamas. But Victor and Amara, there is still a long road ahead when it comes to this funding package.
BLACKWELL: Priscilla Alvarez for us there in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Thank you.
Joining me now is the editor and foreign affairs columnist for "Bloomberg" Bobby Ghosh. Bobby, hello to you. Can you hear me, Bobby. OK, good.
BOBBY GHOSH, COLUMNIST ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, "BLOOMBERG": Yes, I can hear you fine.
BLACKWELL: I want to start with these two American hostages, who now have been released. They will be coming back to the U.S. There are beyond the Americans, other foreign nationals who were in Israel who were abducted. What do you think the pressure will be on Israel to hold off potentially on a ground incursion to give them the opportunity potentially to engage the Qataris to try to broker a release?
GHOSH: I think they'll be a lot of pressure on the Israelis. I'm sure that is one of the many reasons why that ground offensive has not yet begun. Judging by previous instance, I would have expected that offensive to have begun by now. The big difference from previous instances is the presence of all these hostages. And the fact that these hostages come from so many different countries means Israel is hearing from different countries, different governments, pleading on behalf of those hostages to hold off the ground offensive. So I'm sure it's an important factor.
But in the end, Israel will make its calculation based on, mostly on security considerations rather than hostage considerations. So it has held off until now, but I wouldn't bet on this going on forever.
[10:25:02]
BLACKWELL: There is Israeli precedent, Netanyahu precedent, on negotiating with Hamas, indirectly, of course, to free an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in 2011 trading more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to get that Israeli soldier back. Do you think that there is any entertainment, despite what we've heard on record from Israel to negotiate for their own hostages?
GHOSH: I think the Netanyahu administration will now face two different pressures. Excuse me. On the one hand, you have the families off the Israeli hostages who will be pleading for more time and for negotiations and for the release of their families. On the other hand, the vast majority of the country is still reeling from the incidents of two weeks ago, the horrific terror attack by Hamas. And there is a very strong desire for vengeance, for revenge, and for ending the threat of Hamas once and for all, if such a thing is even possible.
So the Netanyahu government has to weigh these two different kinds of pressures. Right now, I think the latter is probably stronger than the former.
BLACKWELL: When we started our show today, the biggest development was those 20 trucks allowed into the Rafah crossing to take aid into Gaza, far short of what's needed, but what do the talks between this convoy and potentially the next one, what does Israel need to see, what needs to be assured so that more can go in?
GHOSH: On the one hand, the wider world wants these convoys to continue, and bigger convoys with more humanitarian supplies. Twenty trucks is not going to cut it. It's very much a small gesture. Egypt says that it's ready and willing to send in more trucks. The question for Israel on their side is whether these -- first of all, to make sure that only humanitarian supplies go through, and secondly to make sure those supplies reach the right people, reach the civilians of Gaza rather than the terrorists who may take advantage of this.
So you have on the one hand on the Egyptian and Arab, and more generally the wider world, want to see humanitarian support, but on the other hand, you have the Israelis who are concerned, not without reason, about the security implications. And somewhere between these two concerns, they have to find a means by which water, food, medicine, fuel can reach the people who need it most.
BLACKWELL: Bobby Ghosh, always good to have you. Thank you.
WALKER: Congress needs to vote on President Biden's request for more aid to Israel, but they need to figure out who their next speaker will be first. A look at the Republicans running so far after multiple failed votes. That's next.
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[10:32:09]
WALKER: Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are on high alert this morning amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. A joint bulletin warns of the threat of lone offender attacks.
BLACKWELL: In New York thousands of plain-clothes police detectives and high-ranking officials have been told to show up in uniform until further notice. Mayor Eric Adams has said that there is no known, I should say, specific credible threat, but the situation is fluid.
WALKER: We are going on, how many is it now, 18 days without a speaker of the House. Congressman Jim Jordan is out of the race losing three straight votes on the floor and then dropped by his fellow Republicans in a secret ballot.
BLACKWELL: Monday, the House GOP will try again with a candidate forum. CNN's Melanie Zanona has the latest from Capitol Hill.
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MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: The Republicans are back at square one. For the succeed time in two weeks, their GOP nominee for speaker has failed to win enough support within the party. Jim Jordan tried to take another vote to the floor on Friday. He failed to win enough support to win the speakership gavel. In fact, he bled even more support. And so after that vote, Republicans huddled behind closed doors and took a secret ballot vote where they essentially voted to dump him as their speaker nominee.
But there are serious questions about who, if anyone, can get the 217 votes it's going to require in order to win the speakership. A lot of members are really upset about the situation that they find themselves in. One of those members includes Dusty Johnson. He is a more moderate leaning member. Our Manu Raju caught up with him after that conference meeting. Let's hear what he had to say. REP. DUSTY JOHNSON, (R-SD): America has got real problems. And this is
a time where we need people interested in problem solving, not self- aggrandizement. It is time for big boys and big girls to stop with the nonsense and get back to work for the United States.
ZANONA: So now lawmakers will go home for the weekend. They will have another candidate forum on Monday with an internal speakership election on Tuesday. So that is the earliest we could potentially see a new candida emerge.
And already there are half a dozen Republican who have jumped into the race. That includes Tom Emmer, he's the majority whip and the third ranking highest Republican, Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who is also a member of the far right Freedom Caucus, and Kevin Hern, who leads the Republican Study Committee, which is largest conservative caucus in the House.
But as of right now, it is shaping up to be a messy competitive race. These candidates have not had a head start, so it's going to be awhile before anyone is able to unify around a candidate in the party. But as of right now, no speaker, no consensus, and no ability to govern.
Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALKER: That's just dizzying to follow all of this, isn't it? Joining us now to analyze what could happen next, former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent. First off, I just want to get your reaction. Do you recognize this House of Representatives?
[10:35:00]
CHARLIE DENT, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: No. Sadly, the House Republican Conference is deeply fractured. And with you're seeing play out in real time is a real battle between what I would call the pragmatic and institutionalists, moderate centrists, versus, I'll say, the Trump populist wing of the party. And obviously, the Trump populist wing of the party has greater numbers, but it seems like for the first time the fight has actually been engaged.
And what I see happening right now is that the two camps, for example, I'll say the institutionalists, said absolutely no to Jim Jordan. They would not accept him under any circumstances. They were immoveable. At the same time, you have these other members on the right, the populist right, led by Matt Gaetz and others, who won't accept anybody who is establishment oriented.
So what we're going to be faced with, right now, say Tom Emmer or Kevin Hern may be the two leading candidates, the next Republican speaker, should they get 270 votes, will have to strike a deal to fund the government by November 17th and require a bipartisan consensus. So I don't envy them.
I suspect what will happen is that Hakeem Jefferies will be called on to pull their chestnuts out of the fire, so to speak. They are going to need some Democratic votes to elect a speaker. They don't want to acknowledge that right now, but that is the harsh reality. The Patrick McHenry option, using him, empowering him, I still think is on the table. That would also require some level of a bipartisan cooperation. I have a campaign slogan for Patrick McHenry -- "Give me McLiberty or give me McDeath."
WALKER: OK, well, let's talk about then --
(LAUGHTER)
DENT: You didn't like that one?
WALKER: This guy over here is tickled.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: It took a minute, but it's good. It's good. It's good.
WALKER: So then, Charlie, what is your sense of, I guess, the timeline then? Clearly, there are huge ideological differences within the Republican Party. Right now, the rightwing faction, they are furious, and then they pressed the reset button for Monday. And then what?
DENT: Look, that far rightwing that took down Kevin McCarthy can yell and scream all they want, but the other side is pushing back. And I think this is actually healthy for the Republican conference, that they have this fight. They should have had this fight years ago. It's part of the reason I left Congress, but those of us who are part of that governing wing, that pragmatic wing, who actually wanted to have a policy-based agenda and didn't like this populist, angry, grievance based, noisemaking wing that really didn't have a policy agenda, they really didn't want to do anything except yell and scream.
Now we're having this fight. And again, I don't know how it resolving itself, but again, I do think that Democrats will need to come in and provide some help. They don't want to do this, and a lot of Republicans don't want them involved. I don't see a way out. Look how this year has progressed. We needed Democrats, Republican needed Democrats in the House to pass the budget debt ceiling agreement back around Memorial Day. They needed them in big numbers. They needed them to pass this most recent issue to fund the government. They need the Democrats to help them just bring up rules. So they are going to need their help to get a speaker. Unless there's some Republican candidate who can get 217 vote, I don't see the way out. Probably this McHenry issue of putting McHenry, empowering McHenry, is probably the most viable option at the moment. Unless they get white smoke out of the meeting on Monday, but I doubt it. Call me skeptical.
WALKER: I think most people feel that way who have been watching the disorderly drama happening there in the House. There's got to be consequences to what many see as really an inane exercise in these multiple votes that we have been seeing. How do you expect voters to, especially the Republican voters to vote in 2024 as a result of all of this?
DENT: Well, this level of dysfunction, they have taken the "fun" out of "dysfunction." This level of dysfunction is clearly upsetting to people around the country. When they see their government unable to function, at least half of the Congress, the House, there's no good political benefit to Republicans because of this level of acrimony and chaos. And you can see that from members. They are all saying it. They're saying it themselves.
And so they know they have to get this resolved because there could be political consequences. Clearly, it's a presidential election year in 2024. A lot of things will affect that election. Donald Trump may be the candidate, Joe Biden, that will be the center. But this is not something Republicans are going to be able to run on. Democrats will be able to point and say, see, that's why you needed us. We at least can get our act together and do what needs to be done. And Republicans don't have a good answer right now, obviously.
WALKER: Charlie Dent, appreciate your time. Thank you so much for the conversation this morning.
And we did just learn this just into CNN. We have learned that Republican Congressman Mike Johnson has now announced that he is going to run for speaker. Of course, that adds to the half a dozen or so who have announced their bids. We'll see where it all goes. Victor?
[10:40:07]
BLACKWELL: Still ahead, Israel's warning to its citizens in Jordan and Egypt as protests break out in several countries amid the war on Hamas.
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BLACKWELL: Israel is warning its citizens to leave Jordan and Egypt immediately as the tensions are high. In the past week, there have been several protests in Egypt and Jordan against Israel's missile attacks on Gaza.
WALKER: The announcement recommended that Israelis avoid visiting all I Middle Eastern or Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Morocco where anti-Israel protests have been taking place, this one in Cairo. CNN's Nada Bashir joining us now from Amman, Jordan. What's the latest?
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: We have seen these protests spreading across the Middle East, certainly here in Jordan.
[10:45:02]
No huge protests scheduled for today, although we are expecting a sit- in outside the European Union office in Amman, the Jordanian capital. This is set to be a peaceful sit-in. And as you can imagine, this is a cause which is deeply personal to many here in Jordan where there are, according to data and statistics, more than half of the population are either Palestinian or of Palestinian descent.
But look, we have seen protests from the outset of this war. And what we saw yesterday was yet another enormous protest. This was a march which saw thousands running through the streets, walking through the streets, in support of Palestinian cause. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BASHIR: In downtown Amman, worshippers gather for Friday prayers. But it's not just the call to prayer that has drawn these crowds today, but a call to action and solidarity for the Palestinian people. "This protest is a pledge," they chant, "that the people of Jordan will not leave Gaza alone." Thousands of men, women and children, entire families draped in the traditional Palestinian scarf, a symbol, for many, of Palestinian resistance.
You can hear how loud the crowds are here for yet another day in Amman. Thousands of people have taken to the streets protesting against Israel's continue aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip, protesting in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): "We are doing this for our families who are dying in Gaza because we are unable to do anything. So the least we can do is stand here in solidarity with them to support them so that they know that we are with them with our hearts and everything."
BASHIR: There is palpable outrage here in Jordan of Israel's ongoing bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, and deep-seated anger directed toward Israel and Israel's western allies. Many here even calling on the Jordanian government to close down the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Amman. For days now, protests have taken place not only across Jordan, but also across the wide wider region. In Cairo, the state has long clamped down mass demonstrations, hundreds gathered in Tahrir Square.
CROWD: We need justice! We need justice!
BASHIR: Hours earlier, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres was forced to cut his visit short after protests erupted there. Gaza has faced relentless Israeli airstrikes for almost two weeks now. And protests across the Arab world and the wider region are at a boiling point. Iraq, Tunisia, Yemen, and Turkey, and even further afield. And with Gaza on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, this protest movement is only growing stronger.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BASHIR (on camera): And look, these protests are taking place today as the current peace summit is underway. King Abdullah of Jordan is in attendance. He spoke earlier describing Israel's aerial bombardment as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
WALKER: Nada Bashir, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Right now, there's a search for a suspected killer. A judge in Maryland killed in what police call a targeted attack. What we're learning about this suspect and the reward being offered.
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WALKER: Donald Trump has been dealt a big legal blow. Ken Chesebro, an attorney who helped orchestrate the Trump campaign's 2020 fake electors plot, flipped and took a plea deal Friday. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to file false documents. Six other charges were dropped.
BLACKWELL: Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis charged Trump and 18 others in the sprawling Georgia election subversion case. As part of his deal Chesebro must serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 in fines. On Thursday former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, she also pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The former president now faces the prospect of both Powell and Chesebro taking the witness stand against him.
In Maryland, police are searching for the man they say shot and killed a judge outside his home.
WALKER: Authorities believe he targeted the judge over a custody battle. A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to his capture. CNN's Danny Freeman is in Hagerstown, Maryland, with more.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, Amara, a really challenging and difficult end of week here in Hagerstown, Maryland, as that all out manhunt continues for the person who shot and killed a state circuit court judge in his driveway right behind me. Law enforcement emphatically saying that this was a targeted killing specifically because of a ruling this judge had made earlier in the week.
So here's what we do know at this point. On Thursday there was a divorce hearing here in Hagerstown, Maryland. Judge Andrew Wilkinson, he was presiding. He's 52 years old. He had been a judge for nearly four years in this area, and he ruled on a custody battle in between Pedro Argote and his wife. He ultimately gave custody to the wife. Then later around 8:00 p.m., as Judge Wilkinson was coming home, he was shot and killed right here in this driveway. He was killed while his wife and son were actually inside the home at the time. And police believe that specifically because of his ruling in that custody battle that he was killed.
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Now this whole community here, they really have been shocked and shaken by this incident. Take a listen to what the sheriff had to say about all of this on Friday.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're a small community here, closeknit. So we pull together when something like this happens. So it was a concerted effort last night. We had more resources than we needed, but that's always a good thing.
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FREEMAN: Victor, Amara, law enforcement said they are sparing no resource when it comes to finding this judge's killer. They say that Pedro Argote might have been driving a silver Mercedes. They are using federal, state, and local law enforcement to try and track him down. They say at this point, he's considered armed and dangerous. Victor, Amara?
WALKER: Danny Freeman, thank you.
And thank you for watching.
BLACKWELL: There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. You can hear it starting already.
WALKER: There is excitement.
BLACKWELL: Let's hand it over to Fredricka Whitfield in just a moment. Thanks for watching.
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