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CNN International: Video Shows Wounded American Israeli Abducted by Hamas; Eight U.S. House Republicans Now Vying for Speaker Role; Israeli American IDF Soldier Killed in Missile Attack. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 24, 2023 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: More on the top stories we're following this out of the Middle East. And Israel's military is preparing for their next phase of war. Officials say IDF soldiers are taking part in training exercises ahead of a potential ground incursion into Gaza. All this as conditions in the enclave get worse by the day.
A doctor working at the largest hospital in Gaza told CNN, it'll become a mass grave if they lose power. Aid groups are desperately trying to get supplies like food and medicine into Gaza, but they say it's not enough to fix the problem.
Meanwhile, two Israeli women have been released from Hamas captivity and have now been reunited with their families. Hamas says they were released for humanitarian and health reason.
Now we're going to bring you a story of one American Israeli victim of the mass attack 2 weeks ago. These are photos of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He is believed to be a hostage in Gaza. CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed his parents last week on live TV.
They told Anderson that Hersh's arm had been partially blown off by Hamas gunman who threw grenades into a bomb shelter where he was hiding. Anderson realized he'd seen video of their son and had it on his phone. He waited until after the live interview to tell the couple about it. They just spoke with Anderson again. They say they want the world to see what Hamas has done to their son. A warning, the video you're about to see is extremely graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): "God is great," the gunman shouts, recording on his phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Hurry, come! We have a prisoner. A prisoner!
COOPER (voice-over): He checks a car, looking for anyone else hiding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): You mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED). COOPER (voice-over): Other gunmen shout as they bring survivors from the shelter. "Come, come," they yell. "Load them."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Load, load, load them. Come on!
[04:35:00]
COOPER (voice-over): That's Hersh on the right with another hostage. His left hand and part of his arm is blown off. The bone sticks out. The other hostage appears wounded, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Bring them from within. Yalla, keep loading them. Load them. Load, load.
COOPER (voice-over): Another wounded hostage is dragged by his hair and tossed into the truck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Keep loading, we'll show you!
COOPER (voice-over): A fourth man is thrown on top of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Bring them. Come on, bring the one from there.
COOPER: When I sent the video to you, what was your initial --?
JON POLIN, SON ABDUCTED BY HAMAS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL: First of all, it's a crazy sequence of events that we talked to you through a computer screen, and then get a phone call from you saying, I have a video of your son.
COOPER: I didn't want to say it on live television.
RACHEL GOLDBERG, SON ABDUCTED BY HAMAS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL: Which we so appreciated.
COOPER: Of course.
GOLDBERG: The way everything that has unfolded, the gentleness that you used, because at the end of the day, you're a journalist, and journalists want a story. And that could have been dealt with in many other ways that were not kind and gentle.
POLIN: So first, seeing that video, in general, gave us a dose of optimism. And as horrible as it is as a parent, to see your kid under gunpoint, being pushed, with one arm. The composure with which he's walking on his own legs, pulling himself with his one weak hand. He's a lefty, and his left arm was blown off. Pulling himself with his one weak hand onto the truck gave me a real dose of strength that he's handling a horrible situation, and he's doing it with composure.
GOLDBERG: We're seeing him walk out calmly, which he did, but I think it was from shock.
COOPER (voice-over): They have this photo taken inside the shelter, before Hamas gunmen throwing grenades inside. Rachel says as many as 29 people were crammed together. That's Hersh, and this is his friend Aner Shapira.
GOLDBERG: So Hersh and Aner went to the festival together. They've known each other since they were kids.
Aner was by the door, and Aner, by everyone's account who we spoke to, as they were throwing in grenades, he would keep picking them up and throwing them out. Picking them up and throwing them out. All these witnesses said there were 11 grenades thrown in. He threw out eight.
COOPER (voice-over): Rachel says eight people survived and avoided capture by hiding under the blown-up bodies of the dead, but Aner Shapira didn't make it out alive.
GOLDBERG: His parents, they just came to her house on Friday, and the people who are identifying bodies actually let them know that they identified him with DNA, but in his hand, he was holding a grenade. His dead body had a grenade in it, in his hand.
COOPER: That's incredible.
GOLDBERG: He's the real hero. Those eight people, and even the people who walked out and are now in Gaza, it's because of Aner.
COOPER: How are you able to get through each day?
GOLDBERG: I personally feel like we have to keep running to the end of the earth to save him. And we have to try to go, believing that somehow, he got treatment and he's there. And he's in pain, and he's suffering, but he's alive, and he's there.
And there are also the moments in this universe that we now live, where you say maybe he died on the truck. Maybe he bled out in that truck. Maybe he died yesterday. Maybe he died five minutes ago. And there are those moments where you think, how are these thoughts even -- I don't understand these thoughts. But they're real thoughts.
COOPER (voice-over): They often go down to see their son's room.
COOPER: This is Hersh's room?
GOLDBERG: This is Hersh's room. This is also our -- it's a steel door because it's our --
COOPER: Safe room.
GOLDBERG: -- bomb shelter, yes.
COOPER (voice-over): You can feel him here, close, his globe, his books and mementos. It's all just as he left them. Rachel did make his bed, however. She wants it ready for when he returns.
GOLDBERG: We have a porch that's facing south. And I went out Friday night and I was, like, screaming to him and hoping. Because Friday night, you know, we bless our children traditionally and traditionally you bless your children on Friday night. So I was screaming -- it's a traditional blessing from the Bible. And so I was screaming the blessing to him with my hands up. I usually put my hands on his head when he's home. So --
COOPER: What does the blessing say?
GOLDBERG: It says, may God bless you and keep you. May God -- may God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God's countenance be lifted up towards you and give you peace.
COOPER: What do you want people to know about Hersh?
[04:40:00]
GOLDBERG: He's just a super-curious kid, and this wanderlust that he developed when he was, you know, six or seven years old, has been his life, you know, obsession. Always asking for maps, and globes, and atlases for his bar mitzvah.
Really, you know, these last few years, he's saved every penny to go on this trip that he has a ticket for on December 27. He was going to go to India and then all points East.
COOPER (voice-over): Rachel and Jon were just on the cover of "TIME" magazine. They're trying to get the world to pay attention to the plight of the hostages, particularly those like Hersh who have serious wounds or medical issues.
POLIN: As American Israelis, we've been embraced by the U.S. government. The support is there. The empathy is there from the U.S. We're obviously hungering for more than that. We want action. We want results.
There are hostages from somewhere around 30 countries. Why have we not yet seen prime ministers, foreign ministers, global leaders screaming to get the wounded help?
COOPER (voice-over): Rachel also got to be on a call with other American families and President Biden.
POLIN: And he stayed for 90 minutes, and he listened to us, and he cried with us.
GOLDBERG: I know loss. I've lost two children. I lost my wife, and I'm telling you that you need to go through this. But you also need to remember that you will be strong again for your family.
You know, and he said things that, because he knows loss. So it wasn't platitudes. It was someone speaking who had -- who has lost children, speaking to a mother who lost her two children. And it was -- it was a real moment of coming together, just as people who know what pain is. You know, this very excruciating part of pain.
COOPER: This is a particular kind of pain.
GOLDBERG: Correct. There's no playbook for this, that we know of, of the game daily, is he alive? Is he getting treatment? Did he die 15 days ago? Like, we're on the head of a pin. And every direction you fall is a bad direction. So a lot of how we get through the day, when you asked that before, is we're trying to balance on the head of the pin and just get everything done with the hope that he'll come home to us alive. And he'll go on that trip with one hand.
COOPER: Anderson Cooper, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: What a story.
Still to come, now three weeks without a speaker. U.S. House Republicans still can't agree on who should lead the chamber with another critical round of votes later today. We'll have the latest on what's at stake for the party and their votes.
Also to come, an off-duty pilot is accused of trying to kill more than 80 people by shutting down a plane's engines. How the flight crew saved everyone on board? That's just ahead.
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: We'll continue our coverage of Israel's war against Hamas in just a few moments.
First though, we'll look at some other stories that are making headlines today. U.S. House Republicans will try again in the coming hours to settle on a nominee for speaker. Three weeks after Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster from the post. But with eight candidates now vying for the gavel, deep divisions remain over who should be McCarthy's replacement. CNN's Manu Raju has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans emerged from closed doors tonight, still divided about the way forward. Uncertain about whether their eventual speaker nominee can get the votes he will need on the House floor to be elected speaker.
Even though we are about three weeks now since Kevin McCarthy was ousted in an unprecedented fashion. The first time a sitting speaker was pushed out by his colleagues and unable to act, completely paralyzed in the House because of that effort that successfully ousted Kevin McCarthy.
Still no closer to getting a speaker, even though there are eight candidates now in the race. Everything from Republican Whip Tom Emmer, including some more junior members, including Byron Donalds a member of the House Freedom Caucus. All down the line, making with their pitch to their colleagues behind closed doors.
But members have emerged, making it very clear that their constituents are frustrated, and that they are concerned that this dysfunction could cost them the House majority next November.
RAJU: How does this effect on the GOP?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it reflects on our governing.
REP. VERN BUCHANAN (R-FL): People are very angry, upset. I just got back from back in the district in Sarasota, Florida and people are very worked up down there about that, and they think all of us are incapable.
REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): We're going to have to figure out how to get our act together. I mean, big boys and big girls have got to quit making excuses, and we've just got to go get it done.
RAJU: Now on Tuesday will be a leadership election in which the winner, who would be the speaker nominee, must get a majority of the conference vote. But that is different than a majority of the full House. There are 221 members of the House Republican conference. In order to be elected speaker, you need to get 217 votes on the House floor, meaning you cannot lose more than four Republican votes. And at the moment, it's uncertain whether any of these candidates can do just that. If they can't, then it could take some time to actually get to a floor vote.
Or we could see this stalemate persist, and others talking about other avenues to try to reopen the House as this moves onto its fourth week as those paralyzed chamber, with members uncertain about how to resolve this crisis at this moment and none of these candidates can get there. And key issues like funding the government, aid to Israel, aid to Ukraine, all awaiting action as the House remains completely stalled amid this GOP leadership crisis.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: An off-duty pilot is facing 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines flight. The flight crew subdued the off-duty pilot, Joseph D. Emerson, who was flying in the cockpit jump seat. Alaska Airlines says he tried to activate fire extinguishers that would cut off the fuel to the engines. The flight was bound for San Francisco from Everett, Washington. The crew diverted the plane to Portland, Oregon, where Emerson was arrested. A law enforcement source says authorities do not believe there are any links to terrorism.
Well, still ahead, a 22-year-old IDF soldier killed in a missile strike is being remembered as a selfless person who was proud of his service. He's just one of many Americans who rushed to help Israel.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Israel's national carrier El Al Airlines is paying tribute to the hundreds of hostages held in Gaza with a symbolic gesture. They put photos of the hostages and missing persons on the seats of a special cargo flight from New York. The airline says it's a symbol of hope for their return to Israel. And they say the special cargo flight carried tactical and medical equipment to Israel for fighters on the front.
An Israeli American soldier who was killed in a missile attack near the Lebanon border has just -- just days after he was called to duty today -- called to duty, rather. CNN's Brian Todd, went to his hometown in Maryland, where family and friends are still trying to grapple with his death.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-two-year-old Omer Balva was always drawn to Israel -- according to his friends. They say Balva who grew up in Rockville, Maryland, chose to serve in the Israel Defense Forces right out of high school, instead of going to college right away. Balva, a dual U.S. Israeli citizen was on vacation in the U.S. when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th.
After being called up as a reservist, he packed in hurried back to Israel. Within a few days he was dead. Killed last Friday, by an anti- tank missile along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
RABBI MITCHEL MALKUS, HEAD OF CHARLES E. SMITH JEWISH DAY SCHOOL: It is really devastating for our community. He was a lovely kid. He's the kind of kid who comes into a room and when he smiles, everyone notices it. It lights up the entire room.
[04:55:00]
TODD (voice-over): Rabbi Mitchel Malkus is the head of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School where Omer Balva graduated in 2019.
MALKUS: He was passionate about his commitment to Israel. I know that inside, he felt like he needed to be there, that he needed to defend the state of Israel. It's obvious to me why he would choose to go even though he knew it was going to be dangerous.
TODD (voice-over): Friends say he was a selfless person, who was proud of the service.
ETHAN MISSNER, FRIEND OF OMER BALVA: He really is the best. He is the sweetest kid in the world.
TODD (voice-over): Balva is not the only Americans serving in Israel's military. Even as thousands of Americans have been rushing to evacuate from Israel, some are traveling in the opposite direction, called up as reservists or even just volunteering.
MATTHEW VONENDE, VOLUNTEERING FOR ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Today is the day.
TODD (voice-over): Matthew Vonende, a former IDF paratrooper from Kansas City, says he will take any job the Israeli military will give him. VONENDE: Everything is squared away here and I can finally go over there and focus on what I need to do, whatever that's going to be.
TODD: Others volunteering as aid workers, or medics.
KINARET LEVIN, MEDIC TRAVELING TO ISRAEL: I am a licensed nurse, and I have a capability to come and help.
TODD: Twenty-seven-year-old Kinaret Levin from California is headed to Israel with the help of an organization called Bulletproof Israel.
LEVIN: This is doing my part, and this is my values, and who I am as a person, and who I am as a nurse.
TODD (voice-over): But for every young volunteer or reservists, there are parents like Mildwurfs of North Carolina, whose daughter is serving in the IDF. Supportive but anxious.
LINDA MILDWURF, DAUGHTER SERVING IN ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: We worry a lot and we cry a lot.
BRUCE MILDWURF, DAUGHTER SERVING IN ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: And we recognize that right now in Israel, no one is safe. And that is tough for us to process.
TODD: As for Omer Balva, he is survived by his parents, three siblings and a longtime girlfriend who he had planned to marry. His funeral took place on Sunday at a military cemetery in Israel. We are told about 3,000 people came to pay their respects.
Brian Todd, CNN, Rockville, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thanks for joining me here on the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "EARLY START" is next with Kasie right here on CNN.
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