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Hamas Believed to Be Holding about 200 Hostages; Israeli Military Poised for Ground Incursion of Gaza; Palestinian PM on Diplomatic Fallout after Hospital Attack; Hamas Frees American Woman and Daughter. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 21, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM's continuing coverage of Israel at war. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company.
It is 1 am in Atlanta, 8 am in Gaza, where an estimated 1 million people, more than that, have now been displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a major news break regarding the hostages.
An American woman and her teenage daughter are undergoing medical evaluations in Israel after they were released by Hamas on Friday. Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie, were visiting family at a kibbutz near Gaza, when they were taken hostage by Hamas two weeks ago.
Hamas is still believed to be holding about 200 hostages. An IDF spokesperson had this to say after the women were released.
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MAJ. DORON SPIELMAN, IDF SPOKESPERSON: These are the first two and what we see and know is Hamas is trying to paint itself as a human rights organization now, by having given back two of the hostages. The real face of evil is still there. Rockets are raining down on Israel as I'm speaking to you. And let's get back all the hostages. And then we can speak with them.
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HOLMES: CNN's Katie Polglase joins me now live from London with more on what was a surprising development.
Katie, tell us more about how it all came about and what, if anything, we know about what Hamas might have wanted in return.
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCHER: Well, Michael, as always, hostage negotiations are incredibly complicated, delicate. And there are many parts of it that are probably not disclosed for the safety of those involved.
But clearly, this was a diplomatic success. And this is something that really the family had been hoping, praying for throughout this horrendous 14-day ordeal. Have a listen to what Natalie's father said about her release.
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URI RAANAN, NATALIE'S FATHER: I've 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.
I'm going to hug her and kiss her and it's going to be the best day of my life.
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POLGLASE: Now clearly, as to why this has happened, why these particular hostages were released, there are still many questions. Now Israel is saying it is because of military pressure they have put on Hamas. Hamas are obviously offering a very different narrative.
They are saying it is because of humanitarian reasons, that the mother had ill health and that is the reason for their release. The IDF, Israeli forces saying there is no humanitarianism in Hamas, and they wouldn't do this for humanitarian reasons. They are calling them monsters.
Again, this back and forth we are seeing throughout this conflict. But clearly it is a sign of hope that this is possible.
Now we noticed as well that Qatar, the country, had been a key role in mediating and allowing this to happen. The U.S. say they have also been involved. We heard from John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesperson, saying they were very involved. But they did mention Qatar as a key player in making these negotiations happen.
In terms of the rest of the hostages, really, that is going to be in priority for the U.S. administration and, of course, the Israeli administration next.
HOLMES: Yes, as you pointed out. At the beginning, there are a lot of cards close to chests during situations like this.
But what do we know about the interlocutors who are doing the negotiations and the status of negotiations for the other hostages?
POLGLASE: There's a lot probably happening behind closed doors that we are not going to be aware of. We know that Hamas had put out a statement, saying they're talking with what they term friendly countries, Egypt and Qatar, to discuss the release of further foreign nationals. We know, of course, there are U.S. officials on the ground in Israel,
helping to make these negotiations, that are part of these negotiations. We have one diplomatic source saying that they are hoping that the release of these two may lead to the release of others.
They also noted that nothing was exchanged for these two with Hamas, which is quite notable. But in terms of what happens to the rest of these 200 hostages, it's a huge number of people. And it's also worth noting that over 20 of those are under 18. They are children.
What happens next is really unclear. Not only are there negotiations happening but the actual environment around them is incredibly fluid. We are seeing a dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza. And so what is happening to these hostages, where they are.
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POLGLASE: Whether they are getting enough food, water, all the rest of it while they wait and hope for their release is also very unclear at the state.
HOLMES: Great reporting, thank you, Katie.
Katie Polglase in London for us.
Hostilities still threatening to spill over in both the West Bank and Lebanon. In many ways that has already happened. Palestinian authorities report more than a dozen people, including five children, were killed by Israeli airstrikes during a raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank.
The IDF says Israel's northern border has been under pressure from militants in Lebanon since the war started. Residents of an Israeli city near the border are being advised to evacuate. Israel says about 100,000 Israeli citizens have been evacuated from their homes over the past two weeks.
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HOLMES: And with me now from Seoul, South Korea, is military analyst Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute to talk about the military side of things.
Good to see you, Malcolm.
What will be the Israeli military calculus for when, many would say perhaps even if, they go in on the ground?
What are the military considerations and how is it complicated by the hostages that remain?
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Thanks Michael. Look, I think things are probably being delayed while we try this hostage negotiation approach, to see if more hostages can be released. But ultimately, I don't think it's going to be a case of the Israelis
choosing not to go in on the ground. I think for the Israelis to achieve their goal of the destruction of Hamas and to remove the threat that it poses to Israel, they have to go in on the ground.
But the challenges, I think, are, in terms of when they do it, will be dictated initially by these diplomatic negotiations and, secondly, when is the operational battle space, the environment, really ready for an Israeli advance?
And that is what the focus, I think probably now, is that the Israelis are preparing and shaping the battle space. But they cannot remain poised forever. They have to be able to be unleashed at some point, once it becomes clear that there is nothing else to be gained through negotiations.
HOLMES: Are there risks of an incursion being an emotional response to what was a brutal terror attack rather than a strategic move with defined and achievable goals?
What are the risks in that?
DAVIS: I think every Israeli, including every Israeli soldier, probably feels a sense of outrage and determination to fight back against Hamas after what happened on October the 7th. No one is doubting that.
But the Israeli military are a highly professional, highly trained military. They will undertake military operations to achieve strategic operational and tactical outcomes that are in the interests of the Israeli government.
And they will do it in a way that, as much as possible, follows the laws of armed conflict. So it won't be a case of going in and slaughtering Palestinians. It will be a case of the Israelis, as much as possible, trying to distinguish between Hamas fighters, Hamas terrorists on the one hand and innocent Palestinian civilians on the other.
And the environment on the ground, the nature of the terrain, including a dense, urban terrain, will make that exceedingly difficult. And you've seen Israeli airstrikes going into attack Hamas targets but, unfortunately, they are collocated with civilian areas.
And so, it's going to be very difficult for the Israelis to do this without causing further civilian casualties. But I don't see the Israelis going in for revenge. I see them going in for clear, military strategic goals, which is the destruction of Hamas and its removal from power in Gaza and the end of the threat that it poses to Israel.
HOLMES: How would Hamas have prepared in anticipation of an Israeli operation?
I mean they would have known that this was coming after what they perpetrated.
Advantages for the home force in this kind of scenario, what are they and what tactics might Hamas employ and what preparations made?
DAVIS: As you say, Hamas are on the defensive. And it's quite often stronger to defend than go on the offensive. And in particular in a dense urban environment, some of the advantages are with Hamas. They can essentially lie in wait.
They can establish large numbers of booby traps, IEDs, mines; they can establish positions from which snipers can be deployed to best effect. But the most is disturbing thing of all is that they can utilize Palestinian civilians as human shields.
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DAVIS: And they can utilize hostages as hostage shields. So what I'm saying is that Hamas can hide behind Palestinian civilians and hostages to try to avoid Israeli attack.
And if anything, the Hamas people want as many civilian casualties as possible. So I think the challenge for the Israelis is going street to street, house to house, in a very dense urban environment, all at the time trying to avoid running into these traps that the Hamas group have set, trying to avoid killing civilians needlessly.
And that's going to be a real challenge. And the Hamas people, I think, will try to extract every possible tactical advantage from the terrain and the environment.
HOLMES: Yes. Malcolm, always good to see you. Thanks so much.
Malcolm Davis there.
DAVIS: Thank you.
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HOLMES: Israel says it's prepared for the possibility of its war against Hamas becoming a broader conflict. An IDF spokesperson told CNN that Israel has called up around 300,000 reservists to be ready in case wider regional tensions flare.
The IDF has also reinforced its troops along the northern border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah has increasingly clashed with the Israeli military over the past week.
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SPIELMAN: The government of Lebanon, anything that happens on their sovereign territory, they are responsible for and they will be held accountable for.
This is a sovereign state. It has control over its borders. They have the responsibility to make sure that terrorists like Hezbollah, a terrorist army, does not launch attacks against Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: The Palestinian Authority prime minister has told CNN that blind support for Israel has become a license for killing. Mohammad Shtayyeh says that Israel's mood for revenge after the October 7th terror attacks could result in the deaths of thousands more Palestinian civilians.
He told CNN's Becky Anderson that he is particularly fearful as Israel prepares to launch a potential ground invasion of Gaza.
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MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORUTY PRIME MINISTER: The condemnation should be of killing every civilian, every human being that does not deserve to die, we should condemn that.
More than 1,600 children have been slaughtered in Gaza, more than 700 women. The general mood in Israel today is a mood of revenge. And I think this appetite for killing should be stopped. Under any circumstances, not one single human being would like to see innocent people killed.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: You are unwilling to say that you condemn the attacks, though, on October the 7th.
Why?
SHTAYYEH: Well, because, you see, Palestinian story does not start on October 7th. Palestinian catastrophe has been there for 75 years and we have been crying loud and we have been shouting loud and clear.
We need a solution. And what has happened yesterday is yesterday. The mood of revenge and the preparation for a ground operation, which is going to cost 10,000 Palestinian lives, this is where the focus should be and that is what we should stop.
ANDERSON: Were you shocked, surprised by the ferocity of the attack on October the 7th?
SHTAYYEH: Everybody were. Everybody was shocked. This is something that has been unprecedented by all means. The Israeli government policy has to be held responsible for all what has happened.
The Israeli strategy was to keep Gaza isolated. The people in Gaza were very angry, were displaced, were depressed. The people of Gaza were unemployed under (INAUDIBLE) lines.
We have to make to provide meaningful life to the people. That was not there. Gaza was a zone that was shrinking every single day. The situation was shocking to everybody. But the magnitude of destruction that we have seen today in Gaza is something that is a criminal act.
ANDERSON: Israel's defense minister has said his troops "will soon see the inside of Gaza," and I quote him on that.
As Israel's military readies itself for the next stage. Just how concerned are you? SHTAYYEH: Very concerned. If the Israeli army goes into Gaza with a ground operation, then our anticipation that thousands, additional thousands, maybe 10,000, 15,000 Palestinians will be killed. So we are more than concerned.
ANDERSON: Why did President Abbas walk out on what was scheduled to be a summit in Jordan with the U.S. president?
SHTAYYEH: What's happened at Al-Ahli hospital was a horrific scene. We asked one single question.
Is the United States ready to say to the Israelis, stop the incursion, stop the attacks?
We were not assured on that and, therefore, any meeting became meaningless.
We, the Jordanians and the Egyptians -- and by the way, and the Americans --
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SHTAYYEH: -- they did fully understand that President Abbas had to walk away. And they also made condolences to the losses of lives in the Al-Ahli hospital.
ANDERSON: The U.S. has been absolutely clear that Israel has a right to defend itself and that it will support Israel in its efforts to destroy Hamas, whatever it takes. Your thoughts on that.
SHTAYYEH: The support of Israel blindly is a license for killing. And I hope that United States does not go into that direction. Israel is not under existential threat. The White House, the president should call for the parties to sit down and work together a peaceful solution.
Encouraging Israel to destroy the people of Gaza, that is not going to bring a solution. Look at the pictures, look at the pictures.
Who has been killed in Gaza?
Children, women, old men, churches, mosques, this is not a war on Hamas. This is a war on the Palestinian people, wherever they are, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem.
ANDERSON: Prime Minister, what is the role of the United States in securing a fair and just future for the Palestinian people?
SHTAYYEH: If they have the will, they can do it. But, very unfortunately, I'm very frank with you to say that I don't think that the current American administration has the political will to end the conflict. They're managing it without them. Without them, there is no solution. With them only, there is no solution.
So what you need is a collective international effort. Those who have landed in Tel Aviv to show support for Israel, unfortunately, have been given the greenest of the green lights for Israel to continue its attack on Gaza. International support should be for peace. International support should not be for aggression.
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HOLMES: When we come back here on the program, more demonstrations in the Middle East. We're on the ground as people protest Israel's strikes on Gaza and the Palestinians caught in the middle.
Also to come, Israeli forces say they are worried about a possible hot spot for Hamas in the West Bank. We will be right back.
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HOLMES: The Israel Defense Forces warning about a hot spot for Hamas in the West Bank, the Nour Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarm. Israeli forces say they have left the area now after more than 12 people were killed in a raid and 20 arrested. They say it was part of an operation to get more information on hostages taken by Hamas.
The Palestinian health ministry says 13 people were killed, including five children. Protesters meanwhile, out in full force against Israel's recent attacks on Gaza.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Now this is at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, where humanitarian aid bound for Gaza has been held up for days. U.S. President Joe Biden says it is finally expected to reach Gaza this weekend -- or some of it.
As conditions worsen, resources in Gaza dry up and Israel continues its airstrikes against Hamas. More and more protests are happening across the Middle East. CNN's senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, is in Beirut with a closer look.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Death to America, death to Israel," shouts the master of ceremonies at the rally in the elite southern suburbs.
To a crowd of a few hundred supporters of Hezbollah and its Shia ally, the Amal movement, who don't want to be passing bystanders to the bloodshed in Gaza.
"We want the resistance to liberate Palestine," Aranda Mohammed (ph) tells me.
Words and slogans like these are not new. And as the death toll in Gaza soars, passions are reaching the boiling point.
Earlier this week twice, protesters north of Beirut tried to reach the American embassy, stopped only by riot police, firing tear gas and water cannons.
In Egypt, a rare, unauthorized demonstration demands Arab regimes act to stop Israel's war on Hamas and Gaza.
In Jordan, a country where many trace their roots back to historic Palestine, they call on the government to shut the American and Israeli embassies.
But in Lebanon, it's not only protests on the border with Israel; it's just a notch below war.
WEDEMAN: In south Lebanon, every day, Hezbollah is striking Israeli targets, four, five, six times a day. Here in Beirut, they're holding rallies, talking about doing more. But so far, it's just talk.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Hezbollah's main backer, Iran, has threatened to open a new front. Notably silent is Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who hasn't uttered a word since the war began.
I asked Hezbollah parliament member Ali Amar (ph) if his group is ready to go to war with Israel.
"The answer to that will come later," he replies.
The daily Hezbollah attacks on the border are a hint of what that answer could be -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
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HOLMES: Still to come on the program, U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with the two American hostages freed by Hamas. More on how the White House is reacting to their release. That is when we come back.
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HOLMES: The brother of one of the two American hostages freed by Hamas says his sister may be headed home to the Chicago area early next week. He spoke to CNN about the moment he learned about the release.
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BEN RAANAN, NATALIE'S BROTHER: It was just a surreal thing. I was taking the first two hours of the day, before I jumped on all of these things that I've been doing for Natalie, just for myself. And I was playing a video game. And all of a sudden, I'm getting all these texts, that they are coming back. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Natalie Raanan and her mother, Judith, were released on Friday, in an agreement brokered by Qatar. They had been held captive in Gaza by Hamas for nearly two weeks. The handover of the two American hostages is a political win of sorts of the Biden administration. CNN's Kayla Tausche has more on that from the White House.
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KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden speaking by phone with the two hostages freed by Hamas, Judith and Natalie Raanan. He said that he was overjoyed at their release and told reporters that the call went well.
In a statement, he said that he pledged the full support of the U.S. government and said, "Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ideal these past 14 days and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been racked with fear.
"These individuals and their family will have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover and heal. And we should all respect their privacy in this moment."
It's a rare triumph for the administration after two weeks of violence and tensions in the Middle East. And while there is relief that these two hostages have been freed, there are still 10 American hostages --
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TAUSCHE: -- who remain, according to the administration. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the work to free them will continue.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We share in the relief that their families, friends and loved ones are feeling. But there are still 10 additional Americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in Gaza.
They include men, women, young boys, young girls, elderly people from many nations. Every single one of them should be released.
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TAUSCHE: Secretary Blinken thanked the Qatari government for its help in brokering this deal to free the hostages. In Qatar, several members of Hamas leadership are based there, which is why the country is a critical intermediary.
The administration has not been willing to share any more details about its involvement or its conversations to free the other hostages, saying that that work continues.
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HOLMES: That was CNN senior White House correspondent, Kayla Tausche, reporting for us.
The World Health Organization expressing concern over reports that Israel ordered the evacuation of a major hospital in Gaza. The administration of the Al Quds hospital in Gaza said the Israeli army has contacted them, demanding immediate evacuation of the hospital in preparation for a nighttime strike.
Asked to comment, the IDF said it requested residents in the northern area of Gaza to evacuate, quote, "in order to mitigate civilian harm."
The WHO says such a demand on the hospital would be impossible to carry out, given the hospital currently houses around 12,000 displaced people plus hundreds of patients.
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MARWAN JILANI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT: Where to?
Should they walk on the street where the bombardments are around the hospital are ongoing?
Should they walk kilometers to the south?
Or should they walk to the north?
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HOLMES: My next guest is with Medecins sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors without Borders. Simon Eccleshall is the group's head of programs in Australia. He joins me now.
Good to see you. There is talk of 20 trucks perhaps going in with supplies.
But that is tiny, isn't it, versus the need?
I think by way of comparison, 400 or so trucks would go into Gaza every day before this conflict.
SIMON ECCLESHALL, HEAD OF PROGRAMS, AUSTRALIA, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: Yes, Michael, MSF really welcome any progress at all in opening the borders to allow in humanitarian supplies. As we know, it's critical at this point that we get in lifesaving medical supplies.
But as you say, 20 trucks is really a very inadequate number for the -- more than 2 million Palestinians who are in urgent need of basic essentials like water, shelter, food, medical supplies.
So we hope that this 20 is really just the start of that, hundreds of trucks can follow in the coming days on the provision, of course, that we have the security to enable that humanitarian convoy to enter.
HOLMES: Yes, because if they go into Rafah, it's got to get further past there. It's got to get up into the mid and northern areas as well.
What are you hearing from MSF staff and civilians inside?
It's no doubt it's a desperate humanitarian crisis. But speak to the scale of it for civilians.
ECCLESHALL: Yes, indeed. It is a relentless, indiscriminate bombing that's being described to us by the 300 staff that MSF has in Gaza.
We have 300 local staff, plus about 20 international staff that is inside Gaza although, because of the security situation, we have largely had to suspend our coordinated medical activities.
Regardless, we know that many of our doctors and nurses continue to go to work, to work in hospitals where they are uncertain about their own personal safety. But they're also torn. They're not prepared to abandon those patients that are in those hospitals.
As we know and as you just mentioned, being asked to evacuate a hospital in a situation like this is really a death sentence for those patients.
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ECCLESHALL: And doctors are --
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HOLMES: No, go ahead, finish your thought.
ECCLESHALL: I was going to say that our doctors are telling us that they have seen between 800 and 1,000 each day in need of urgent emergency support. These are mainly women and children, who are presenting with trauma injuries, shrapnel wounds, burns and, in some cases, crushed limbs.
And that is just the ones who can make it to a hospital. So the picture being painted for us of the civilian casualties in this crisis are enormous.
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ECCLESHALL: They are unprecedented.
HOLMES: Yes. And you mentioned the staff and the work that they are doing, which is admirable work. Of course, a lot of them are worried about their own families as well.
When it comes to the medical situation, 50, I think it's 50 women a day are giving birth in Gaza. I think 200 are meant to give birth this month. There is no medicine and reportedly not even painkillers going in. What is the situation with that?
That's almost unimaginable, no painkillers but also the ability to sterilize equipment, even if an operating theater is able to operate.
ECCLESHALL: Exactly. So what we are presented with are hospitals that are unable to operate due to lack of fuel to generate electricity. The medical supplies have been fully depleted. They don't have access to drinking water.
And as you say, we are hearing stories of surgeons having to perform operations without the use of painkillers; truly, inhumane conditions, unimaginable just a couple of weeks ago.
HOLMES: Yes, we're talking about the very basics of life. Water, as you said, which was shut off by Israel at the very beginning of the conflict. And even if it's turned on, electricity is needed for it to pump.
The U.N. is estimating 1.4 million people have been displaced, forced from their homes and their lives.
Where have they gone?
What, if any, resources do they have to access when they get to wherever it is that they are going?
ECCLESHALL: Yes, we are hearing similar numbers. Roughly 60 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip is currently displaced. Many of them sleeping rough, outdoors, without shelter, without access to food and water.
Where are they going?
Really good question. Many of them feel unsafe to be able to evacuate to the south of Gaza, particularly as the south itself continues to be bombed. So we have no safe passage, no safe haven for people. Yet they are being asked to evacuate. They are being asked to evacuate hospitals.
So it is really a humanitarian dilemma that speaks to the need of a cease-fire if any progress is going to be made.
HOLMES: It's chilling to here some of the doctors having to perform or treat patients without painkillers or perhaps anesthetic.
But I want to ask you, lost in that broader, dire humanitarian situation, that I was thinking about is the plight of those with chronic illness, needing lifesaving medications or dialysis or other critical treatments.
ECCLESHALL: Exactly. MSF has been working in Gaza for more than 30 years. And typically, we provide that special support in hospitals to be able to treat people who have chronic needs as well.
We are really concerned that those people who require that support are not getting it. And that without that sustained medical assistance, it really is a life and death situation. The families, the friends, the colleagues, for them this is a very distressing time.
And we really recognize the incredible work that is being done by health workers on the ground, despite the risk to their own personal safety and security at this time.
HOLMES: Simon Eccleshall with MSF, thank you for your time and thank you for the work that your organization and others are doing, truly lifesaving work. Thanks, Simon.
ECCLESHALL: Thanks, Michael.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, quick break here. When we come back we will take you inside a settlement not far from Gaza that was attacked by Hamas. For the first time, journalists were allowed to go in there. Our special report is coming up.
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HOLMES: An Israeli airstrike aimed at hitting Hamas ends with the fallout from the blast killing people who sought shelter inside a church in Gaza.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Have a look at the damage left behind at a Greek orthodox church campus in Gaza City. The Israeli airstrike rained down next to this compound on Thursday, causing one of the church buildings to collapse, according to a CNN analysis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They came here to escape the airstrikes and the destruction. They thought they were safe here. The destruction followed them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The Palestinian ministry of health earlier said 17 people were killed following an Israeli airstrike. CNN cannot independently confirm the casualty numbers, of course.
Now it is a settlement near Gaza that was hit when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel 14 days ago. Journalists were not able to go inside the kibbutz in southern Israel for security reasons until now. CNN's Anderson Cooper went to Nir Oz, signs of the attack still all around. That's why this warning: some of this video is tough to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Nir Oz was one of the first kibbutzim attacked on October 7th by Hamas gunmen. Security cameras recorded some of them entering, armed with automatic weapons and RPGs.
When we visited Nir Oz this week, the carnage was clear. No family, no home here was untouched by terror.
People's possessions are strewn all around, left behind by men who looted and killed for more than seven hours. The silence now sounds sickening. A breeze blows through broken windows. Flies buzz in the debris.
The residents who survived are gone. Only some cats have returned. Every home, it seems, has been defiled. Family photos remain on the fridge. The people who lived here hid in their safe room. Lucky for them, the door held strong.
COOPER: You can tell gunmen tried to pry this door open. This handle has nearly been pulled off from tugging it. They weren't able. The lock held. It looks like they tried to pry open the door as well. You can fit your hand through here. They could just maybe look in but they couldn't actually break through this door.
COOPER (voice-over): Around back, we check the window of the safe room. Inside, the bed and sheets are soaked with blood. One member of the family who hid here was wounded but he and they survived.
But according to the IDF, about a quarter of the 400 people who lived in Nir Oz are dead or missing.
COOPER: In another house in this kibbutz, gunmen broke in and murdered a woman named Bracha Levinson. They not only killed her, they got access to her Facebook account and they livestreamed an image of her lying in a pool of blood on the ground so that her friends and family could see.
COOPER (voice-over): This is Bracha Levinson. She was 74 years old.
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COOPER (voice-over): Her neighbors, Adina and David Moshe, were also in their 70s. They'd lived in Nir Oz for more than 50 years.
We found their home completely torched. Dishes were still in the dishwasher. They hid in their safe room when the gunman came. Her granddaughter, Analyst, says Adina messaged her family they were OK.
ANAT MOSHE SHOSHANY, ADINA'S GRANDDAUGHTEER: My grandmother was a very, very strong. She didn't want us to be panicked. Everyone --
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COOPER: They're very much worried about you in that --
SHOSHANY: -- yes. She's this kind of woman. She always take care of us. COOPER (voice-over): But inside the safe room, there was reason to panic. A pool of dried blood evidence of what happened. David Moshe was shot and killed here, holding onto the door handle to prevent the gunman from getting in.
SHOSHANY: He was a hero. He was shot. So there are three gunshots on the door that succeeded to break through the door.
COOPER (voice-over): Their attackers dragged Adina Moshe out through the safe room window. She later appeared in this video posted online, sandwiched between gunmen on a motorbike in Gaza.
Some of the missing have been found. The bodies of 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her 13-year-old granddaughter, Noya, were identified this week.
Her former son in law, Ofer Calderon, is still missing, as are two of his children, Sahar and Erez.
This video shows Erez being dragged away by gunmen, one of whom appears to have blood on his hand. We geolocated where the video was shot.
COOPER: This is the last known location of Erez Calderon. He was 12 years old. He was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and he was videotaped as they were dragging him away in this direction. This is the fence to the kibbutz. And Gaza is only about 1.5 miles away.
You can see an explosion that's just taking place in Gaza off in the distance. So the gunman didn't have far to take him in order to get him back into Gaza.
COOPER (voice-over): There's video of Shirib Babas (ph) being kidnapped as well, clutching her two children, Ariel (ph) and Kafar (ph). Her husband is missing, too. We talked to her cousin last week.
YIFAT ZAILER, SHIRIB BABAS' (PH) COUSIN: I want my family back. I want my family back. I'm trying to be strong and stoic and speak clearly. But I'm devastated.
COOPER (voice-over): All of the families of Nir Oz are devastated. David Moshe was buried there this week. His granddaughter, Analyst, wanted us to see a video that was played at his funeral from a celebration at the kibbutz earlier this year.
That's David singing. He's then joined by other members of the kibbutz.
SHOSHANY: He's singing the first sentence. This is what the song means.
"The time will fix all that breaks." That's the message. And you're allowed to be afraid and you're allowed to be sad. But tomorrow, we can rebuild and recover.
COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Nir Oz. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And we will be right back.
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HOLMES: U.S. House Republicans have no clear path forward after Jim Jordan once again failed to get enough support to secure the speakership in a floor vote and in a secret GOP caucus ballot. Several Republicans have now jumped into the race. But it is unclear if any can get the 217 votes needed to win. CNN's Manu Raju reports.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nearly three weeks since Kevin McCarthy's ouster as Speaker of the House, Republicans have been unable to figure out how to move forward. And as a result, everything in the House is paralyzed.
No legislation can be acted upon until the Speaker is named. That means aid to Israel and aid to Ukraine, taking steps to avoid a mid- November government shutdown, none of that can happen because Republicans are battling with each other.
They're divided over their strategy, angry about everything that has transpired over the last two weeks and making very clear that they are on much different pages on how they should pick up the pieces and figure out what their strategy is in the aftermath of the unprecedented ouster of a sitting speaker at the hands of his own colleagues.
Jim Jordan, who was a speaker candidate, dropped out on Friday after a third ballot showed that he was hemorrhaging Republican support. He lost 25 Republicans at a public vote on the third bout for him to be Speaker of the House. On the first two, he lost 20 on the first one, 22 on the second one.
He could only afford to lose four in order to be elected speaker. And when he went behind closed doors, the verdict was pretty clear. A majority of his members voted in a secret ballot election to say that Jordan should drop out.
As a result, Jordan dropped out. Now Republicans are trying to figure out who can lead this badly divided Republican conference.
And members who came out of that closed-door meeting made clear that they were flustered, angry and they need to figure out a way forward or they could be in the minority, come 2025.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 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.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): The biggest mistake to our Republican conference is just walk away from arguably the most popular Republican in the Republican Party. So we should not have done that; we just did. So now we go back --
RAJU: Who's going to be the -- ?
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RAJU: Now Sunday at noon Eastern, that is the deadline for new candidates to put their hats in the ring to decide whether or not they are actually going to run for speaker. And it is a free-for-all at the moment.
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RAJU: The list is seven members now and growing about who may actually run for Speaker of the House. We will see who ultimately decides to run. Some may bow out, some more members may come and decide they want to run.
The process is this: on Monday, there will be a meeting of the full Republican conference. Members will be making their pitch about why they should be the next Speaker of the House.
Then on Tuesday, there will be a closed-door meeting in the morning, a secret ballot election. That will decide who should get the nomination to be Speaker. That would require a majority of the Republican conference but not a majority of the full House.
Therefore, the person who ultimately gets the nomination may run into the same problems that Jim Jordan ran into. As Steve Scalise, who was nominated to be speaker after Kevin McCarthy was pushed out, that Scalise also ran into.
Winning a majority of support from the conference but not the full House, that is going to be the real challenge for these candidates over the next several days. We'll see who ultimately emerges.
Kevin McCarthy himself put his name behind and his endorsement behind Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, who is running for the job. But there are several others in the race as well. Unclear how this will ultimately shake out or whether it will lead to more days of chaos and paralysis in the House GOP -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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HOLMES: An attorney accused of helping the Trump campaign with its 2020 fake electors plot, has struck a plea detail with prosecutors. Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy. He must serve five years of probation, pay $5,000 in restitution and he testify in future cases.
A plea deal for another defendant, Sydney Powell, was announced on Thursday. No trial date has been set for Trump or the other 16 defendants in the case.
Thanks for spending part of your day with, me I am Michael Holmes, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. My friend and colleague, Lynda Kinkade, has more coverage on the war in Israel after the break.
