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Israel at War; 15 Aid Trucks Enter Crossing Area Between Egypt And Gaza; Detroit Synagogue President Stabbed To Death Outside Her Home; Nine Republicans Enter The Speaker's Race; Cheney: "Trump Is The Single Most Dangerous Threat We Face"; Hamas And Israeli Troops Clash Inside Gaza. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 22, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:39]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington alongside Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

We're watching all the breaking news. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

We begin with our special coverage with the quickly escalating developments in both Israel and Gaza. And warning: some of what you're about to see is graphic.

Israel Defense Forces now confirm that their groups clashed with Hamas fighters inside Gaza today, marking just the second time Israeli forces have admitted to operating in the enclave since the Hamas terror attack took place some two weeks ago.

It is yet another bloody day in central Gaza where a new barrage of Israeli air strikes hit targets overnight. Israel also launched -- launching a rare aerial attack at a mosque in the West Bank. The IDF says it thwarted an imminent terror attack from inside the mosque. But the Palestinian Authority calls it a dangerous escalation.

The IDF is vowing to increase its aerial bombardment of Gaza just ahead of a potential ground incursion by Israel against Hamas in Gaza.

This is the grim reality for so many in the Gaza Strip. These are the lifeless bodies of a toddler and three children killed in overnight strikes -- air strikes. Their parents have written the children's names on their legs to identify them.

With the bloodshed and humanitarian crisis right now clearly growing, much more needed relief appears to be on its way into Southern Gaza. 15 aid trucks from Egypt are being inspected right now in the Rafah border crossing area just one day after the first convoy of about 20 trucks was allowed into Gaza.

For more on all the late breaking developments in the Middle East, I want to go to CNN's Matthew Chance. He's joining us live from northern Israel. Matthey we're learning of a clash today first of all between Israeli

and Hamas forces inside Gaza. What appears to be one of the first skirmishes on the ground between the two sides since the war broke out some two weeks ago.

So what are you hearing? What's the latest?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right. I mean this isn't necessarily the start of the much-anticipated ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces where tens of thousands of troops have gathered near the frontier with Gaza in preparation for that.

But clearly, Israel has been conducting sort of, you know -- pinpoint operations into the Gaza Strip to try and collect evidence of the whereabouts for instance of the 200 or more hostages believed to still be held by Hamas inside Gaza.

And this was I think the first time we've heard about there was an actual confrontation on the ground between Hamas fighters in Gaza and Israeli forces going in. The Israeli military say at least one soldier was killed and a few others injured as well in that confrontation.

But it just gives you a small indication of how difficult it is going to be and how bloody it's going to be as well if and when that ground invasion takes place.

Gaza is an extraordinarily difficult place to rein -- to occupy. It's got narrow streets. It's got, you know, flattened concrete buildings everywhere to provide all sorts of cover for snipers. Don't forget the network of tunnels that runs underneath it as well which Hamas and other militant groups know very well, and of course, dug themselves for their use. That poses a massive threat to Israeli forces. And what we've seen today is a very early indication of that, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good point. Matthew, the IDF also says they launched an air strike in the West Bank. Tell us what we know about that. What happened there?

CHANCE: Yes. The West Bank town of Jenin which is right, you know, right there in the middle of Palestinian-controlled territory. It was a mosque in Jenin that was struck by the Israeli Defense Forces.

[14:05:00]

CHANCE: The IDF says that it has intercepted intelligence essentially that indicated there was an attack being planned from beneath the mosque, from the basement of the mosque by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, two prominent, of course, Palestinian militant groups. And it acted to prevent that terrorist attack from taking place.

Of course, Palestinians have been absolutely -- you know, they condemned this attack. The Palestinian leadership saying it is an escalation. But it all adds to the sense of hostility and violence and tension that is really gripping this region, Wolf. BLITZER: As if that were not enough, the IDF also says, Matthew,

there's an escalating situation right where you are in northern Israel not far from the southern Lebanese border as Hezbollah militants in south Lebanon have been attacking Israeli positions.

What are you seeing where you are? Tell our viewers what you're seeing and what you're hearing.

CHANCE: Yes. Well, I mean it's dark now, but it's very tense here up in northern Israel. The entire -- you know, virtually the entire population of this town of Kiryat Shmona and dozens of other towns and villages across this region have been evacuated to areas where it's more safe -- out of the range of Hezbollah rockets. Hezbollah, of course, the Iranian-backed militia inside southern Lebanon.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have essentially been displaced from their homes because of the threat of Hezbollah attack. That threat, according to the IDF, has been growing over the past week or so with more rocket attacks aimed at the Israeli border and cross border attacks, drones flying in the skies above Kiryat Shmona, even penetrations by militants from inside Lebanon, either Hezbollah or Palestinian militia factions coming across the border and carrying out attacks inside Israel as well.

They've been responded to, of course, by the Israeli Defense Forces but what Israelis say -- what Israeli government says is that their patience won't last forever. And if there is, you know, sufficient escalation on the part of the Lebanese side, on the part of Hezbollah, they will strike back in force.

And they have been issuing very overt warnings that Hezbollah may be dragging Lebanon into a war that it will lose, Wolf.

BLITZER: And very quickly Matthew, that town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, not far from Lebanon, it's a town of about 20,000 people. I take it the Israeli military told everyone in Kiryat Shmona to evacuate. Have they done so? Is the town pretty much empty right now?

CHANCE: Yes. Most of them have evacuated. It wasn't a mandatory evacuation. It's not mandatory for any of these communities, in fact. They're just being strongly advised, because of the security situation, to get out and they're being helped to do so and putting guesthouses if they haven't got anywhere else to stay.

Most people I would say in Kiryat Shmona at least have taken that advice and they have left. But you are seeing people coming back sort of in the daytime to check on their houses and to cook meals for the army and things like that. So it's not entirely empty at the moment.

BLITZER: Matthew Chance in northern Israel for us. Stay safe over there, Matthew. Thank you very much. We'll check back with you soon.

CNN is also learning about a new push from the Biden administration to try to delay a possible full-scale Israeli ground incursion into Gaza. Our chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is joining us

and our CNN White House reporter Priscilla Alvarez is monitoring all these developments as well.

Priscilla, let me start with you. You're in Rehoboth Beach. That's where the president is right now. We just learned that President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a little while ago. Tell us what you're hearing about that call.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Wolf. And they've been speaking multiple times since that attack on October 7. In fact the last time they spoke was on Friday.

Now, we have not yet received a readout of what exactly was said in the call. But we know that in these conversations, President Biden has talked about the ongoing support that the U.S. is providing to Israel as well as discussing the hostages that are still being held by Hamas.

And also generally the U.S. position, when it comes to this conflict, being that innocent civilians should be protected and the importance of getting humanitarian aid to Gaza, some of which we saw some progress on over the course of the weekend.

Now, the president just yesterday here in Rehoboth was asked about whether the administration is trying to delay an invasion by Israel. Take a listen to what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you encouraging the Israelis to delay invasion?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm talking to the Israelis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, this is a working weekend for the president who was also briefed today by his national security team. So all White House officials and the president himself carefully watching the developments in Israel and Gaza, Wolf.

[14:10:00]

BLITZER: Extremely tense moment right now.

Alex, you've got some news. I take it a senior Israeli official is denying that the Biden administration is pressing for a delay of an Israeli incursion into Gaza.

What exactly are you hearing from the U.S. side and the Israeli side as far as the U.S. asking Israel to delay their incursion?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, the Israelis are denying this. You did hear just there that the president, when he was asked whether they're pressing the Israelis to delay any kind of incursion into Gaza, he didn't say no. He just said he's speaking with the Israelis and we heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier today who essentially said that is a decision that Israel has to make.

The U.S. certainly doesn't want to be seen telling Israel what to do. But Wolf, what I've been told by two different sources is that the Biden administration has been pressing the Israelis to allow for a bit more time to allow for progress on both the hostages and on the humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.

We have seen today aid successfully getting into Gaza. We've also seen on Friday those two American hostages who were released.

There's still some 200 hostages that the U.S. and many other countries desperately want to get out that Qatar is working on with Hamas to try to negotiate their release.

So these sources are telling me that the Biden administration would like more time before Israel launches that ground invasion into Gaza.

Now, the Israelis are saying that the Biden administration is not pressing for that. But it is clear, as Priscilla was just mentioning that while the U.S. is showing ore really speaking to their full- throated support for Israel, both militarily and politically, there are major concerns about that aid for Gazans and about getting those hostages out, Wolf.

BLITZER: Certainly -- I understand, Alex, and this is very curious and I want your explanation -- that the State Department has ordered all non-emergency U.S. government personnel to leave Iraq. Tell us about that.

MARQUARDT: Non-emergency personnel as well as family members to leave Iraq. This comes as the State Department has issued what they call a level four travel advisory which is essentially telling Americans not to go to Iraq.

And it really speaks to the growing fear of a broadening conflict and how American citizens may be targeted.

Wolf, we've seen a series of attacks against U.S. forces, against U.S. interests over the past week in Iraq and elsewhere. As recently as Friday, we saw a rocket attack near Baghdad airport that was targeting a U.S. diplomatic facility.

So now the State Department is telling Americans not to go. They are announcing that non-essential personnel, family members can leave Baghdad. Iraq is home to a number of proxy groups that are backed by Iran. And there is significant concern that Iran will press those proxy groups to target U.S. personnel around the region.

This is a warning that we heard from the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier today, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's interesting because it comes at the same time that the State Department has just issued a worldwide alert for all Americans traveling abroad to use, quote, "increased caution".

Tell us about this worldwide alert. It's pretty extraordinary.

MARQUARDT: It's pretty extraordinary. It's quite dramatic. And that does reflect the concern, again, to American citizens not just in the region, around the world. It's not something that happens very often. The last time we saw this was last summer after the killing -- the killing of Ayman Al Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaeda. He was in Afghanistan.

And so that this does is tell Americans around the world to be on alert. And Wolf what I really It speaks to is a lot more anger that is being directed these days at the American government and as a result at American citizens because of the support for Israel.

Since the horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7th, the U.S. has said that they will stand, of course, with Israel. And now we're hearing about billions of dollars in aid that the Biden administration is asking for to give Israel more military aid.

And that has resulted in a real spike in anger against the U.S. and against its citizens. So here you have the State Department issuing this rare warning to tell citizens globally to remain alert, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very alert indeed. Alex Marquardt, thank you. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to you as well.

Joining us now, Tom Nides. He's the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. He served in the post under the Biden administration until July of this year. We also want to mention that the ambassador's wife Virginia Moseley is a senior executive here at CNN.

Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, what's your reaction to our latest CNN reporting that the U.S. government is pressing Israel to delay its ground operations of Gaza, to allow for more time for Hamas to release more hostages potentially? Do you think this is the right move?

TOM NIDES, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: First of all, Wolf, I think it's clear by the president's words and actions that he has sent three very clear messages.

One, we've got Israel's back, without question.

[14:15:00]

NIDES: Second, sending a very stark warning to those forces, especially Lebanon and Hezbollah and obviously Iran. You know, as Biden likes to say, you know, superpowers don't bluff, so stay out of this.

And third is the humanitarian crisis which is already enormous and I think the president has expressed enormous sympathy. The war we're in is not a war with the Palestinian people. It's a war with Hamas.

Israel is in a war with Hamas who did and started this and that's what we're focused on. But to be clear, it's imperative that we provide the ability for those suffering, those Palestinians who are down south and in Gaza get the ability to be able to live as well as they can under the circumstances.

So the president is pushing every day to make sure that that's the case. And that's something I think this White House is very much focused on.

BLITZER: Why do you think, Ambassador, that Hamas released those two American hostages, a mother and daughter? What did they expect to get in exchange?

NIDES: listen, I can't imagine. My heart just breaks for these families for what they're going through. I'm so pleased that, you know, this mother and daughter were able to be freed. I think they're from Chicago.

But there are almost 200 other families that Hamas has grabbed. I mean children and mothers and fathers and sick people and injured people. What barbaric behavior would create this?

So I don't know what they're doing. I just hope they release more. I hope between the United States and Qatar and our allies we can reunite these families. It's barbaric, it's torturous. There's no reason for it.

So my hope is that through the work of the United States, through our allies, we can get more families released in the hours and days ahead.

BLITZER: Let's hope. That would be so great.

Does Israel have a coherent strategy, ambassador, for what comes next in Gaza if it were to remove Hamas, if Israel were to go in, and destroy Hamas? What comes next in Gaza?

NIDES: You know, Wolf, you've studied Israel for a long time and I've obviously spent time there. I don't know. I think that they're very much focused on eliminating the threat to the state of Israel.

Hamas' only goal, to be clear, is not a goal about taking care of the Palestinian people or a two-state solution or making Palestinians live in a better situation. It's about the destruction of the state of Israel.

And as President Biden have said and the vice president have said, we stand by Israel to help eliminate that threat to Israel. What comes next will take a lot of work among our allies, among the Gulf countries to try to figure out how that is going to sustain.

I think you know, I think the president has articulated this. I don't think anyone believes that Israel will occupy Gaza. But they're going to have to try to figure this out. And it's clearly not something that there's a game plan for this.

As you know, President Abbas in the West Bank, he hates Hamas. So the combination of this complication is -- first things first. They've got to eliminate the threat to the state of Israel, and they need to eliminate the threat of Hamas to the men and women who are going through a torturous time right now in the state of Israel.

BLITZER: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Hezbollah in south Lebanon, that if it joins this war, it will be devastating for the areas it controls in southern Lebanon.

How concerned are you, Ambassador, about this conflict right now between Israel and Hamas expanding into a much wider regional war?

NIDES: I'm concerned. I think we're all concerned which is why the president has been very clear and Secretary Blinken has been very clear on the region. You know, don't screw around on this. You know.

Be careful, Hezbollah. Be careful, Iran. There's a reason why two very large ships with a lot of soldiers are in the Mediterranean. Again, I have to repeat this. The president likes to say superpowers don't bluff.

I think they need to take a quick step back to make sure we understand, they understand the United States has Israel's back, and we're not going to stand by and let them do a two-front war between Hamas trying to destroy the state of Israel and then ultimately having Hezbollah and Iran's proxy join in.

BLITZER: Ambassador Tom Nides, thanks so much for joining us.

NIDES: Wolf, thank you for having me.

BLITZER: Still to come, a journalist inside Gaza now says the al-Aqsa hospital is overwhelmed following overnight Israeli air strikes as some parents are writing names on the legs of children in an effort to help identify them.

We'll take a deeper look at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza when we come back.

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[14:23:41]

BLITZER: Today 15 aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing area between Egypt and Gaza. A security official now tells CNN the trucks are being prepared for further security checks before they can move into the Gaza Strip.

And we're watching that very closely.

20 trucks made their way into Gaza yesterday dropping off much-needed supplies including food, water and medicine, but aid groups and Palestinian officials say they need a consistent stream of aid. That's the only solution to what they already described as a great humanitarian crisis.

CNN's Scott McLean is following all these developments for us. Scott, is the aid that's making it into the Gaza Strip right now enough to really meet the needs of the population there?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Palestinians will tell you, Wolf, that it is a drop in the bucket compared to what is actually needed. I should tell you as well that those 15 trucks that you mentioned earlier that have entered the border crossing were caught up for most of the day in border checks. The Israelis demanding more info on what they were actually carrying.

We now understand from our colleague on the ground at the border crossing that those trucks are now preparing to move into Gaza itself if they haven't moved already.

[14:25:00]

MCLEAN: None of those trucks, though, are actually carrying fuel. There were some images that we saw earlier today of fuel trucks around the border area. The U.N. though says that they were simply taking fuel from a depot inside Gaza to distribute to hospitals. And they also say that that fuel will be gone in a matter of days.

Most of the health care facilities inside Gaza have shut already. The ones that are remaining open are operating because of generators. And they are having to ration.

One hospital for instance, the main hospital in northern Gaza says that it is having to cut short dialysis sessions for kidney failure patients in order to save energy.

Another hospital in Central Gaza says that it is simply overwhelmed by the number of bodies showing up after overnight air strikes. And I should warn you that some of the images that you're about to see are extremely hard to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: Those who arrived at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in central Gaza alive are the lucky ones. There were five air strikes this morning near the hospital. This video shows the smoke from one rising nearby.

Some 110 bodies were brought here overnight and this morning, one medical source tells CNN. The morgue is now full. The rest of the bodies wrapped in white sheets now lay outside in the heat of the day. Relatives try to identify their loved ones. Finding them confirms their worst fear.

Inside the hospital, children including a toddler are among the dead. Several of these victims were found with their names written in Arabic on their legs -- an increasingly common marking as parents try to make identification easier if they or their kids are killed.

This hospital is located outside of the area of northern Gaza that Israel has been trying to get civilians to evacuate.

On Saturday the IDF dropped leaflets telling people that everyone who chose to not evacuate from the north of the Strip to the south of Wadi, Gaza might be considered aa partner for the terrorist organization.

In a statement, the IDF confirmed it dropped the leaflets but said it has no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group. Even those who have managed to avoid the bombs are not out of danger.

A trickle of aid, 20 trucks, were allowed to cross the Rafah border crossing from Egypt on Saturday. But that's a tiny fraction of what is needed.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE: 20 trucks of aid to Gaza will not change much. Gaza needs at least 500 trucks daily of fuel, food, medicines and water.

As a matter of fact, for 14 days Gaza got nothing under the Israeli siege, and its immediate need now is 7,000 trucks.

MCLEAN: Satellite images show dozens of trucks waiting at the border and dozens more a quarter mile down the road all unable to get in. Aid groups say that the death toll can skyrocket because of disease and hospitals that are overwhelmed and undersupplied.

With no electricity or generator this shop keeper in Central Gaza is keeping the store open by candlelight. The shelves look increasingly bare.

The World Food Programme says the shortage of basic supplies is pushing Gaza to the edge of catastrophe.

The IDF says it killed dozens of terrorists overnight, but vows that the number of air strikes will only increase ahead of an expected ground operation.

Meanwhile, conditions for the people of Gaza worsen by the hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: And Wolf, Israel for its part says that those five air strikes in and around that hospital that you saw there in central Gaza, Israel says, were intelligence-led and resulted in the killing of a high- ranking Hamas official whom it claims had ordered strikes on Israel just the day before.

The Israelis also stressed that none of those strikes were targeting or actually hit the hospital itself, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Scott McLean reporting for us from London. Thank you very much.

Up next, investigators are looking for a motive after the president of a Detroit, Michigan synagogue was found stabbed to death outside her home. We'll have the latest on the investigation right after a quick break.

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[14:33:20]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: We'll get back to our Israel-Hamas coverage in a moment.

Back here in the United States, investigators are looking for a motive in the death of a synagogue president. Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home. Police say they found a trail of blood leading to her home where they believe the crime happened. The FBI is now assisting in the investigation.

I want to bring in now, CNN's Omar Jimenez who is in Detroit.

Omar, so considering the anti-tensions, investigators are urging people not to draw conclusions about Woll's death. What are you learning?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred. I think just from the headline alone, Detroit synagogue head found stabbed to death makes people maybe jump to conclusions quickly. But right now, we just don't have those conclusions. And it's why police are cautioning against people jumping to any.

And specifically the Detroit police chief said in a statement that, understandably this crime leaves many unanswered questions. This matter is under investigation. And I'm asking that everyone remain patient while investigators carefully examine every aspect of the available evidence. It's important that no conclusions be drawn until all the available facts are reviewed.

Now, that statement also said they would be giving an update today. We haven't heard anything from police so far. What we do know is where I am right now, just outside or just next to downtown Detroit, Samantha Woll -- 40-year-old Samantha Woll, her body was found just behind me here on this particular block. It's why detectives are on the scene right now. We've seen them going in and out of a home on that particular block, likely trying to piece together why this happened.

[14:35:03]

The bottom line, though, this did happen. And she's being remembered by the people that knew her best, a memorial service is about to get under way in the next hour or so. She was 40 years old. We know she was politically active. Officials from the state attorney general, Dana Nessel, talked about how she was one of the kindest people that she knew.

Also, another state senator said that she had actually been with Woll at a wedding Friday night which was the night before Woll's body was found. And so, a lot of still unanswered questions at this point. You mentioned some of the details, her body was found outside of her home on this block behind me. Police followed that trail of blood to her residence. No suspect is in custody. Most importantly police say, right now they don't have any motivation.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very sad. Omar Jimenez in Detroit, thank you so much. Next, Republican lawmakers have until noon today to declare if they

were running for speaker of the House. We'll find out who made the list. And what's next in the race to replace Kevin McCarthy after a quick break.

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[14:40:13]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The deadline to enter the U.S. House of Representatives' speaker's race is now closed. Nine House Republicans will make their case before the Republican Congress tomorrow. The House has been paralyzed without a speaker for nearly three weeks now which former Speaker Kevin McCarthy calls, quote, embarrassing.

CNN anchor and chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has the latest on the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: House Republicans remain in turmoil almost three weeks after the unprecedented ouster of a sitting speaker. Kevin McCarthy was pushed out after eight Republicans joined with Democrats and voted out Kevin McCarthy as speaker. This was initiated by House Republicans, and they have not been able to coalesce around anyone to replace McCarthy as of yet.

And the House can't do any business, no legislating at all until a speaker is elected. And they have been unable to unite behind any candidate. First, they nominated Steve Scalise, the House Republican majority leader. He was unable to get the votes to be elected speaker. He bowed out before going to the floor.

Jim Jordan, house judiciary committee chair was nominated then to be the next speaker of the House. He did go to the floor, three times, and he failed to win over enough support. He could only afford to lose four Republican votes on this party vote. He lost 25 on his third ballot.

Ultimately, he bowed to reality and stepped aside. Now nine Republican candidates have filed to run for speaker. Unclear which of those nine will ultimately get the Republican nomination and, more importantly, who can get the 217 votes they would need on the floor of the House to be elected speaker. It is unclear if any of them can given the sharp divisions within the ranks.

REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): It is the biggest F You to Republican I've ever seen.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): This conference is absolutely broken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Americans are sick of it, and I know most members of the House are sick of it. It is time for big boys and big girls to stop with the nonsense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As swampy as swamp gets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to get over it and we need to move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't have an entire branch of government off- line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to get our act together because I'm getting calls from my constituents in saying what the hell is going on with you Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think history will assign blame in the right places.

RAJU: Now, a bit here about the timing. On Monday evening, that's when the House Republicans will meet behind closed doors yet again. Those candidates will try to make their pitch to conference. They'll answer questions from their members. They'll do that one by one, and we'll see how that ultimately goes.

And Tuesday morning is the significant vote. Behind closed doors, Republicans will have a secret ballot leadership election. That means a majority of their conference will vote to nominate the next speaker candidate. That person -- it will be a secret ballot election. It's unclear exactly who's the front-runner and who might emerge here, but we'll see how close that person who gets the nomination is to the magic number on the House floor, 217 votes to be elected speaker.

This is challenging for any Republican candidate because in the nearly divided house, with only 221 Republicans, Democrats are going to vote for Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, that means that person, the candidate, the Republican nominee must limit defections in the ranks. And it's unclear if any of them will be able to do that after we've seen Republicans going after each other after McCarthy was pushed out, unable to get behind anyone, unable to do the nation's business, and much business is waiting given aid to Israel, calls for aid to Ukraine, avoiding a government shutdown by mid-November.

None of it can be dealt with. The Republican agenda is completely stalled amid this GOP leadership infighting. Can they get it resolved this coming week? That remains a huge question, but a possibility it could still be unresolved and slip into another week if they can't get their act together behind a nominee.

Manu Raju, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Manu, thank you so much.

All right. The former number three House Republican, Liz Cheney, is tying the House speaker chaos to former President Trump.

Here is what she told Jake Tapper when asked what a second Donald Trump term would look like. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ CHENEY (R-WY), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: He cannot be the next president, because if he is, all of the things that he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people around him at the Department of Justice, at the White House counsel's office, all of those things he will do. There will be no guardrails, and everyone has been warned.

I think Donald Trump is the single most dangerous threat we face. I imagine there will be a number of other candidates in the race.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: Would you be one of them?

CHENEY: I'll tell you what I'm definitely going to do. I'm going to spend the next year between now and the election certainly helping to elect serious people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:02]

WHITFIELD: All right. Cheney didn't directly answer the question of whether she would enter the presidential race. She also says decisions made by Kevin McCarthy after the 2020 election and January 6th helped elevate some members who were, quote, white supremacists and antisemitic.

All right. Coming up, Hamas fighters and Israeli troops clashing inside Gaza in what appears to be one of the first skirmishes between the two sides since the Hamas attacks October 7th. Details next.

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BLITZER: Hamas fighters clashing with Israeli troops earlier today, this time inside Gaza.

[14:50:02]

It appears to be one of the first skirmishes between both sides from inside the Gaza Strip since Hamas unleashed its deadly terror attacks on October 7th. The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded by voicing deep concerns over a possible escalation, his words, of the conflict. The U.S. is now urging its ally Israel to delay a ground incursion into Gaza so hostages may get out and aid can come in.

I'm joined now by retired U.S. Army Colonel Peter Mansoor for his analysis. He served as former top aide to General David Petraeus.

Colonel, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for all your service.

What do you make of the clash today between Hamas and Israeli forces inside on the ground in Gaza? What does that tell you?

COL. PETER MANSOOR, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, before a ground invasion begins, first action would be reconnaissance. That goes in ahead of the main body and after that, there would be shaping operations, certain combat actions to make it possible for the main body to enter Gaza and succeed in destroying Hamas.

So I think what we're seeing now are the first actions of ground reconnaissance that are crossing the border and making it possible, shaping the battlefield and getting ready for the main invasion which probably is a matter of days away.

BLITZER: Yeah, I suspect you're right. Why do you believe the U.S. is pressing Israel right now to delay a full-scale ground invasion into Gaza?

MANSOOR: I think we're seeing the impact of world opinion which is turning against Israel after be about a backing Israel once they learned of the tragedy of the attacks by Hamas.

But now given the number of deaths that the Palestinians are suffering at the hands of Israeli airstrikes, that opinion is shifting and the United States wants to make sure that humanitarian aid gets in to Gaza and the diplomatic efforts to release the hostages can proceed because once a ground invasion occurs, I think all diplomatic efforts to release the hostages will be for naught until the ground invasion ceases.

BLITZER: So should Israel delay its ground invasion in order to try to get more of those hostages out?

MANSOOR: You know, this is up to the Israelis and the calculation they have to make. I doubt that Hamas will give up the 200 or so hostages at least not all at once until it receives some significant political benefits. So my guess is that Israel will make the calculation that the hostages can't be released through diplomatic means at least in the short term and that they will go ahead with the ground invasion.

BLITZER: Earlier today, your former boss, retired General David Petraeus called potential full-scale Israeli ground assault into Gaza, and I'm quoting him now, exceedingly difficult.

What do you see as the main challenges the IDF would face?

MANSOOR: Well, there are many. First is its mission which would be to destroy Hamas. That's a tall order given the urban environment in Gaza, the depth of the tunnel system there, the ability of Hamas fighters to blend in to the civilian population. This is going to be almost an impossible order for he Israeli troops to succeed in carrying out.

Beyond that, there will be a lot of civilian casualties. The infrastructure will take a beating. We've seen this in previous urban battles in Fallujah in 2004 and Mosul in 2017. And so, this is an exceedingly tough mission. I'm afraid that the Israeli government has given its defense forces a mission that they can't succeed in carrying out. At least to the full benefit of what the Israeli government wants, which is the destruction of Hamas and its military capabilities. BLITZER: So, let's say the Israelis succeeded in that mission to destroy Hamas, to destroy their infrastructure, their weapons, who would be in charge of Gaza after Hamas?

MANSOOR: Well, this is precisely the point. After 9/11, we invaded Afghanistan in an act of revenge with no thought as to what government would follow the collapse of the Taliban. And I think right now, the worry is that Israel is doing the same thing here in Gaza. If Hamas goes, who will replace it. Will they have the support of the Palestinian people? Will they be able to maintain security over this enclave?

And what the Israeli government really needs to do now is start thinking long term. If they want the Palestinians to stop these incursions on to Israeli soil, they need to think about a long term solution to the Palestinian people and give them some sort of sovereignty that can make them stop these attacks on Israel.

[14:55:11]

BLITZER: On top of all of this as you know, the IDF now says Hezbollah in south Lebanon is playing what they call a very dangerous game and could drag Lebanon into a full-scale war. What are your concerns about Israel's northern front? Because it's very tense up there right now.

MANSOOR: Well, first it would be a tragedy for the Lebanese people. I mean, their state is near collapse anyway and a war with Israel would further that process. But in terms of Israel's defense, Hezbollah's capabilities dwarf those of Hamas. They have 130,000 plus rockets trained on Israel and this would be a very, very deadly attack if Hezbollah joins Hamas in attacking Israel.

Israel would respond and would be fighting a war on two fronts. It is very difficult to do that. And there would be a lot of death and deconstruction in southern Lebanon to go with that. That's now being rained down on Hamas.

BLITZER: And those Hezbollah rockets and missiles in South Lebanon, they have extensive range. Many could not only reach Haifa in northern Israel, but Tel Aviv and maybe even Jerusalem. So this is a really serious problem that we all have to watch for right now.

Colonel Peter Mansoor, thanks so much for joining us.

MANSOOR: Thank you.

BLITZER: President Biden speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu just moments ago. We have new details.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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