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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, And Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz Hold Press Conference On Israel Defense Forces Launching Ground Invasion of Gaza; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Meets With Families Of Hostages Being Held In Gaza By Hamas; Woman Whose Family Members Currently Held Hostage In Gaza By Hamas Interviewed; Former Vice President Mike Pence Suspends His Presidential Campaign; Reporting Indicates Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza Increasing As Israel Begins Ground Invasion. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired October 28, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

BENNY GANTZ, FORMER ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The ground maneuver alongside other stages could progress the return of the abductees home. All of us, the prime minister, defense minister, cabinet of the war management, and the big cabinet, and all the rest of the commanders understand the responsibility of the moment, the responsibility that's ahead of us.

We also feel the pain and expectations of our citizens. I personally met the abductees' families, and they can approach me any time. I promise, there's no step we're going to take, in order to return them -- no possible stage.

Murderers, an organization that's using babies, they are conducting a psychological war. They're trying to tear us apart, the Israeli society, and they're going to fail. We're going to make sure that all of them are going to pay the price. Murderers, they are mortals.

I would like to thank the USA for their support alongside the world should know this war, there's no clock, but operational clock. We're going to listen to our friends, but we're going to do whatever is right for us. We are calling the world to call for the release of our abductees. They are war criminals that are sacrificing the residents of Gaza. Hamas brought them disaster even though they pretend they represent them.

This picture is clear. It's pure evil against pure justice, and justice should prevail. I know it's going to win, and I see the IDF commanders and the rest of the defense forces from the chief general to the fighters, from the defense forces, and they're all focused on the operational activities. I have full faith, although they have such burden, they are going to bring victory.

All of us, the leadership and the Israeli society, are standing behind them and supporting them. Churchill said we are going to protect our country, and it doesn't matter what's the price. We're going to fight in the sea, in the hills, we are not going to give up. It's true regarding the people of Israel. It's the second independence war. We are going to fight anywhere we need and any time we need. We're going to be stronger and definitely united. We're not going to give up. There's no winning phase. There's a process that we're going to win, multiple stages that we're going to pay heavy prices. The operational stages are going to take a long time, and the rehabilitation of the western Negev is going to take time. Our unity is our strength during the war and after. And when the people of Israel are ready, and when we are together, nobody can win against us.

With the help of God, we're going to fight and we are going to win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prime Minister, can I ask a question?

[14:05:00]

Can you say specifically, can you say that you have a responsibility for the disaster on the 7th of --

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I'm going to say again, after the war all of us will have to give answers to tough questions, including me. There was a terrible failure. It's going to be investigated. We're going to turn each stone in order. My top mission is to save the country and to bring us to complete victory over Hamas and evil forces, and another mission. And the defense minister Ben Gantz told us again. I just came from the meeting with the abductees' families. It's breaking my heart. We are all united in their pain. We are committed to do everything to bring them home. It's not an easy task, but this task is standing and important, and it's going to be part of the consideration for the stages that we are doing now. As Gantz said, it certainly can happen that the ground operation that we expended, it's going to help us in this holy mission. That's what we're doing now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime Minister, we're going to wish you success in the war. You said in the Knesset, in my government, my responsibility is mine. The security is on the shoulders of the government. Why can't you say anything regarding responsibility?

NETANYAHU: I'm not changing any words that I said now or before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the last 10 months, it was the biggest terror in the Israeli society. We were not focused on the security. Do you think that's what made our enemies to surprise us and attack us on the 7th? Are you regretting the Gilad Shalit deal and that you released prisoners?

NETANYAHU (through translator): The legal reform is not standing on the agenda. We have no -- we have unity, we're standing together. All the differences between us are gone. We're working around the clock as a time, together with the chief general and the generals, and the rest of the security forces, knowing one thing, our enemies would like to murder us all. If you support the legal reform or not, they don't need excuses.

If you remember, at the height of this conversation that our enemies, there shouldn't be any refusal to serve. And I would like to say there's 150 degrees of people that are working toward our victory.

Regarding the Shalit deal, there are very hard things in this deal. I'm not going to ignore it. There were other considerations. We're going to discuss it in the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Prime Minister, there are voices that we should bring our abductees and enterprise. There is tension between destroying Hamas and bringing the abductees.

NETANYAHU (through translator): We are not going to change the goal of destroying Hamas.

[14:10:00]

It's a tension I'm going to say to you without giving you details, there's no tension. Our consideration to move to the next stage, to expand the ground operation doesn't clash in our will, in our ability to bring the abductees. I'm not going to tell more than that. We have two goals. One is to destroy the operational military abilities of the Hamas, and the second is to bring back the abductees. We'll do everything possible we can in order to fulfill the two goals. And I'm sure that we're going to be successful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Prime Minister, you received documents from the intelligence that are going to be -- there are going to be documents indicating the war.

NETANYAHU (through translator): The goal I drafted for the IDF is to destroy the Hamas. Your descriptions of what happened before, it's not true. I heard that I was going to strengthen the Hamas. I did not to strengthen Hamas. I led three batteries against it. The guardian of the world, many operations, Islamic Jihad, all these operations were important and they made them weaker. They could have been stronger in regard to these operations, but it wasn't enough. We are determined to complete this mission, and we're going to complete it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Prime Minister, does Israel have, Iran has knowledge regarding the massacre of the 7th of October, and what about the budget regarding the Gaza envelope?

NETANYAHU (through translator): Iran is supporting Hamas, 90 percent of the military budget of Hamas came from Iran supporting, funding, guiding. I can't tell you exactly. In this specific action, in this specific moment, there were allies, but they're backing the Hamas war mission. Without this foundation, there's no Hamas, no Hezbollah without Iran. They are conducting a war against us, but against the free world, and also our allies in the western world.

We have to win against Hamas because it's our existence, but it's affecting all the western civilization. Everyone wants to see the 21st century moving somewhere, or if you want to bring us back to the Middle Ages. Iran is the axis of evil, but I can't tell you they were involved in the micro-operation of this operation on the 7th of October. I support to expand the budget, put your hands in the pockets. The only economy I care about, as I said to the defense minister, it's the economy of making sure that we are -- we have a great economy, we can absorb it. We put money, the reestablishment law is going to come. They need it, they deserve it. It's true for the economy, what we did in COVID, and we managed COVID, and we managed it financially better than the rest of the economies around the world. We put our hands in our pockets and helped, helped the citizens, businesses, to the people that were vacated, to the citizens of Israel.

[14:15:02]

And then it's going to get sorted. If we're not going to do it, not going to fight hard, the problem is not going to be only economical. The economy needs great effort.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Regarding the abductees, the families were protesting opposite this meeting. They want you to see the prisoners of Hamas to be released against the abductees.

NETANYAHU (through translator): Other negotiations regarding releasing the abductees are going to continue after the ground operation. Regarding the second question, it's true, yes. Regarding the first question, we discussed it. I think to give the details is not going to help achieve it.

By the way, I have to say another thing. When I was in this meeting, the second one, with the families of the abductees, you stand there, emotionally you are helpless. Everyone fears what would happen, what would happen if it was mine. I feel it in my guts, in my soul. But I can't give the details of the intelligence, the considerations. It's what I'm saying to you now, we are dealing with it not as a side mission. It's an integral part of the aims of this war, and we cannot give the details of all the actions that we take in order to achieve this goal. It's a holy goal.

Thank you. We are going to the rest of our activity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Defense Minister, you said you have full faith in the Shin Bet and the chief general. You didn't say the name of the prime minister. There were reports regarding tensions between you and the prime minister.

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): First of all, I spoke about what I'm responsible for. The defense system is my responsibility. I have faith in the defense forces, and they're going to bring us to victory. And they're going to prevail. The aims are clear and the challenges are clear. The prime minister and Gantz and the cabinet, the war cabinet, are conducting a relationship that is professional and united behind one goal, to bring victory. The people of Israel should know it, the subject of achieving victory, that we have no conflict, and all the rest is just gossip that I don't want to deal with.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: So there you have it, an important news conference. The prime minister of Israel, the defense minister of Israel, and the former defense minister of Israel, who is now a member of what's called the war cabinet here in Israel, making very strong statements. The prime minister saying the second stage of the operation against Hamas has now begun. That means the ground war has begun. He made that official right now. Two objectives right now, he said that the Israeli military has. The first objective, in his words, to destroy Hamas, to destroy their infrastructure, and to make sure the leadership of Hamas pays the price Israel is demanding. The second objective, of course, is to free those more than 200 hostages, most of them Israelis, but there are hostages from the United States, several European countries, several Asian countries as well.

[14:20:00]

Very, very strong words from the prime minister of Israel and the defense minister of Israel, making it clear this war, for all practical purposes, is only just beginning right now.

I want to bring in Sara Sidner. She has been here shortly, you arrived shortly after October 7th when the hostages were taken, when Hamas attacked the kibbutzim in southern Israel near Gaza. But go ahead, give us your thought.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interest, I think the one thing that we heard over and over from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also from Benny Gantz, who was an opposition leader but then joined this coalition, and then from the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, all of them said this is going to be a long war. We heard that over and over again.

BLITZER: They said it will be Israel's second independence war.

SIDNER: That's right, you heard that.

BLITZER: 1948 was the first independence war right after the establishment of Israel, and this will be the second independence war, basically suggesting that Israel's own existence is at stake right now.

SIDNER: Yes, and that's the line that Netanyahu sort of first said, this is our second independence. He's said, and we've heard this before, we're going to fight from the air, the ground, the sea.

But then you also heard from Benny Gantz, who was the former defense minister but now a part of this coalition, and I thought what he said was particularly interesting to pay attention to, because, as he said, this war is going to be had in several phases, that they're going to pay a heavy casualty price. He's talking about the soldiers that are going in, as you heard, in that ground incursion, as well as the civilians, potentially, as this fight goes on and on. And he said, look, you're going to have to be patient, you're going to have to be patient, because this is going to go on for a long time. It's about the operations, it is not about the time. This is the operational war is how we will judge how long this goes, and it will go for a very long time.

BLITZER: They all said this is going to be a long war. And that's why I said this war is only just beginning right now. It's going to be a long and brutal war with a lot of casualties on both sides. He's making that clear right now. Aaron David Miller, you're there in Washington, you're a former state

department Middle East negotiator. What was your reaction?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: I thought the prime minister, as is his wont, framed this in very, very dire and yet lofty terms. Two references to the second war of independence, another reference to winning the freedom of the western Negev, presumably from a possibility of other attacks by Hamas.

I thought Gallant's statement, though, Wolf, in some respects carried the most interest for me, he talked about the fact that the only clock was the operational clock. And that while we will listen to, quote, our friend, unquote, we will do what is right for and by us. And I think that was an effort to sort of navigate between the advice that the administration is providing and Israeli goals and objectives. The only clock is the operational clock means basically that Israelis will take -- they won't be rushed, and this is going to be, as Gallant said, a war of phases with no single necessarily winning phase, but a collection of phases to destroy, and he reaffirmed it again, to destroy Hamas' capacity to govern and its military capabilities.

BLITZER: Good point. They all basically said the same thing, this is going to be a long war.

Jeremy Diamond, you've joining us from Ashkelon right now. You were in Ashdod, you were in Sderot. You've been watching all of this right near Gaza. What are your main takeaways from what we just heard from these three men?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we need to be really clear about the moment that we just witnessed here. This is the first time in these three weeks of war that we have seen the leaders of this war cabinet, the prime minister, the defense minister, you have Gallant, as well as a former member of the opposition, former defense minister Benny Gantz, all standing together and making very clear that this is a moment that they wanted to mark, that they wanted to show that this is a new phase of this war that is now beginning.

And while we may not have seen an overwhelming ground force go into Gaza last night, what we did see with this expansion of operations makes clear that this is a new phase of this war. And it seems unlikely, based on the statements that we heard from these three leaders, that these forces will be coming out of Gaza any time soon before their task is completed. They have made clear time and again that this is going to be a long war, a costly war, but one that the Israeli prime minister in particular framed really in existential terms, making clear this is an existential question, to be or not to be, he said, and he vowed that we are going to win it.

[14:25:03]

He also made clear that this is, as you just mentioned, a second independence war, which is also something that Benny Gantz, a new member of this emergency government, also reiterated himself. And so I think as we have been listening to the sights and sounds of this expanded ground operation of these intensified strikes over the last 24 hours, this statement, this symbolism of seeing these three leaders stand together, make these statements and take questions from the press, all of this making very clear that the sights and sounds we have heard over the past 24 hours, we are going to continue to hear until they achieve the objectives that they have set out, which they made clear are to destroy Hamas, remove it from power in Gaza, and also to try and free those hostages.

BLITZER: Yes, it was a very strong statement from the prime minister, to destroy this enemy, he said, to make sure the existence of our country is never in question. And then he said something I thought was pretty significant and potentially very powerful. He said this is an issue of never again, never again, never again. Usually, people refer to never again following the holocaust, and now he's suggesting that the existence of Israel right now is at stake. And I thought, Jeremy, that was pretty significant.

DIAMOND: No doubt about it, Wolf. And we have heard already previously from the Israeli prime minister and other Israeli leaders, they have noted the fact that October 7th was the deadliest day for Jews since the holocaust, and that is very much a sentiment that was echoed throughout Israel over these last three weeks as this country has really been stocked by the violence and the brutality and also the surprise nature of that sophisticated attack that Hamas carried out, sophisticated, of course, in terms of the planning of the attack that they were able to carry out.

What I also think is interesting is the extent to which this issue of the hostages was very much hanging over this moment. And all of these three leaders took pains to make clear that even as this ground operation expands, it will not be at the expense of trying to free the hostages. You have Gallant, the defense minister, in fact said that he believed it would strengthen Israel's hand at the negotiating table in order to get Hamas to release some of those hostages. Whether or not that is actually the case is an entirely different matter.

But that just speaks to the politics of this moment inside of Israel as well. The Israeli prime minister made these remarks just hours after he sat down with the families of hostages who are currently being held inside of Gaza. And so it is a balancing act that he really has to try and manage as he tries to not only maintain support in Israel for this ground operation, but also make clear that he is not forgetting about those hostages, who we need to be clear, Wolf, are at much greater risk because of the intensification of these operations. The Israeli military has been targeting those tunnels under Gaza, and we know that most, if not all of those hostages, are being held in those tunnels as well.

BLITZER: Yes, that's why this is so, so painful, so, so complicated.

Melissa Bell is joining us from Cairo right now as well. Melissa, you had a chance to listen to what these men were saying. What was your reaction?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we've gone into this, after seeing those pictures of Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with the families of the hostages, and what this day started with was great concern expressed by him about the fate of the hostages. One of the groups had said, first of all, we haven't heard anything from the war cabinet, no one contacted us since the ground operation got under way on Friday night. A lot of anger coming from the families of hostages initially. And I think that meeting was about diffusing that.

One of the groups had said that they wanted to meet the members of the war cabinet to hear them say eye to eye the launch of this ground operation is not putting your loved ones in greater danger. Was that Benjamin Netanyahu's message to them earlier on? Certainly he sought to reassure. And he was very much at the center of what we heard from both he and the defense minister, and I thought the defense minister taking it one step further, Wolf, but saying that, actually, it is extra pressure on Hamas that will allow the return of the hostages, was interesting.

But of course, from everyone watching outside and as Jeremy was just saying, it is clear that they are in graver danger than they were before. We heard from that last of the four hostages to be released, the 85-year-old woman was released on Monday, about the extensive tunnels in which so many of these hostages are being kept, miles and miles of them where they're being kept, she said, in relatively good conditions. But still, these are the very tunnels being targeted.

So for the families of the hostages here, these are extremely trying times whatever Israeli government officials are saying about the aims, and their hopes behind this ground offensive. You heard also the Israeli prime minister saying, look, we can't share operational details, but know that fate of the hostages and getting them out is very much at the heart of our operational strategy.

[14:30:08]

There is, of course, the question then of the talks. You heard the Israeli prime minister say that those talks continue, even though this new phase of the war has begun. But let's be clear. Not only do they become more urgent, they also become more fraught, not only because Israeli and American officials are having to go through Egyptian and Qatari channels to speak to Hamas, but of course you have to bear in mind that for those who support the Palestinian cause, the idea of all of the hostages being removed does raise the question of what restraint could be possibly be brought to bear on the Israeli military afterwards, Wolf.

BLITZER: Melissa, stand by. We're going to get back to you as well.

Sara, you're listening to all of this and you're thinking about what you've seen over these past few weeks. You've been on the ground here in Israel, and what goes through your mind as you're trying to digest what we just heard from the prime minister, the defense minister, and the former defense minister?

SIDNER: And the former defense minister who is now part of the government. There is one thing that stands out that we haven't talked about, and that is one of the reporters asked a question to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and she said, look, do you bear any of the responsibility of this intelligence failure as the prime minister of the country? And he said, and we haven't heard this before, he said there is a terrible failure, it has to be investigated.

But then he said, look, this is something that we will do later. Right now, we are in a war to save the country, and he went on talking about the amount of time it was going to take and that it was like another independence war. But you did hear that one thing that a lot of people in this country have been discussing, have been worried about, that there was too much distraction from their fight with Hamas and that there is an intelligence failure here that was huge. We even heard that from one of the hostages when she was released.

BLITZER: And it was significant, one of those Israeli journalists asking that question, do you bear any responsibility, prime minister, for this enormous failure that the Israeli military, the intelligence community here in Israel was not aware of what was precisely about to unfold, the disaster that was about to unfold at those kibbutzim near Gaza right now. And he said we'll all have a time to digest that and the inquiries will begin, but first, Israel has to win this war and destroy Hamas. That's the goal.

SIDNER: The meat of it. The meat of it. But he admitted there was a terrible failure.

BLITZER: Yes, he did.

SIDNER: And so we will have to see how that plays out after sort of the war is coming to its end.

BLITZER: I think everyone agrees there was an enormous failure on the part of the military and the Israeli intelligence community. Totally unexpected, which had enormous reputations, and they failed big time in this particular operation.

I want to go back to Hadas Kalderon right now. We were speaking to her before the Prime Minister began the news conference. She has five family members who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7th, and it's believed they are now all being held hostage in Gaza. Hadas, first of all, apologies for interrupting our conversation. I know you understand why we wanted to hear what prime minister and those two defense ministers had to say. We appreciate your patience. First of all, Hadas, what's your reaction to Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments?

HADAS KALDERON, FIVE FAMILY MEMBERS MISSING IN ISRAEL: Look, I think the Israeli government do their best to make sure our children and hostages come back safely home. But I think we have to -- I'm asking all governments in the whole world, the Israeli government and all the other countries, you must get an agreement as soon as possible. You must make negotiation and get a solution. You can't keep this war when there's 229 citizens, innocent citizens still there. It's unbelievable. It's a war crime against humanity. Children and babies are still there. You mustn't forget this.

And I'm calling Hamas and Israeli government to sit down and to get an agreement. If they need to make a -- how you call it, ceasefire and the exchanging of prisoners, whatever. I can't give you the solution. They have to make it. They must understand, it's not possible to make wars on expense of children and babies. It's really, we are the mothers.

[14:35:00]

We are already so terrified, terrified from what's happening, really. And I think Bibi doing his best and the government do the best, they're doing what they think can help and the things that can help to release our children and the hostage. But the whole world must be involved. We must talk to Qatar and talk to Egypt and United States and France, you must make pressure. It's not possible, it's like three weeks already, three weeks, small children without their mom. It's a real disaster. It's a tragedy. The world must wake up. We must ask for agreement immediately. It's the main thing now.

I really, I don't have any words left because we feel so helpless and terrified and frustration, because, you see, they just were talking about a long period war. You can't make a long period war while small children and babies are still there. You must send them home. I'm talking to the Hamas, you must understand that. It's not --

BLITZER: Of course. Hadas, thank you.

KALDERON: Yes.

BLITZER: Hadas, thank you so much for your patience. Thank you so much for joining us. And we, of course, wish that your whole family will be home very, very soon, healthy and strong, and with you. Thank you so much for joining us, Hadas Kalderon. Five members of her family are being held hostage in Gaza right now.

KALDERON: Two have been murdered, already. Two have been murdered. I have three now left. Tow have been kidnapped and murdered, my mom, 80 years old, and my niece.

BLITZER: Well, our hearts go out to you. We wish only, only that you're reunited with the remaining members of your family. Thank you so much, Hadas, for joining us.

KALDERON: Thank you.

BLITZER: And we're going to have much more of our live special coverage from here in the Middle East right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We're following breaking news in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Former Vice President Mike Pence has just announced he is suspending his presidential campaign. He made that announcement while speaking at the Republican Jewish conference in Las Vegas. CNN's Kristen Holmes is there in Las Vegas. So Kristen, tell us how the news was delivered.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this was a huge surprise to everyone in the room. I'm told it was kept a very close hold among his advisers that Pence had decided to do this. They didn't even let the event planners know that he would be making this announcement. And you could hear in his voice, he walked through why it was exactly that he was suspending his campaign, probably about halfway through his speech. I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, (R) FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Traveling across the country over the past six months, I came here to stay it's become clear to me, this is not my time. So, after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today. Now, I'm leaving this campaign, but let me promise you, I will never leave the fight for conservative values, and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land, so help me God.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, of course, this comes as Pence's campaign was struggling. He had not yet qualified for that third Republican debate, which was in two weeks. Sources tell Jeff Zeleny that this was a key reason to why he made this announcement, why he decided to withdraw from the primary, because he hadn't qualified, because there just weren't simply enough donors to get there, despite the fact that Pence had been holding these back-to-back fundraisers.

I'm also told by an adviser that Pence simply saw the writing on the wall, that it just became incredibly clear that this was not going to happen this cycle.

Now, the one thing I must point out here is just how far we have come to look at where we were in 2016 versus where we are now. Pence was brought on to Trump's campaign as vice president essentially to secure the votes of the Republican establishment, of those evangelical voters. Now flash forward to this election two cycles later, and there is no room for Mike Pence in the Republican Party. He has essentially been cast to the side.

Now, of course, it will be a big question to see if he comes out and supports one of these other 2024 GOP contenders, unclear at this point. But this is really a remarkable moment, having him suspend his career here. And I will note to you, I saw some of his top advisers in the room here, I was wondering why they had decided to come to this event on a Saturday. Now, obviously, that is clear. But we are still trying to report this out, trying to get behind his thinking and to this moment. But, again, this is significant timing here.

WHITFIELD: It is significant, indeed. Will Hurd saying he's now out of the race, throwing his support behind Nikki Haley. And now Mike Pence, again, he said he will continue to support principled leaders, but like you say, Kristen, we don't know who that is, who will fill in that blank for him.

[14:45:07]

Kristen Holmes, thank you so much there in Las Vegas.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is continuing to worsen by the hour as Israel expands its ground and air operations. The World Health Organization now says health workers, patients, and civilians in Gaza spent last night in darkness and fear due to a communications and electrical blackout across the Gaza Strip. The territory is also facing massive shortages of food, water, and fuel.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is joining us right now. Jomana, you've been doing a lot of reporting on the situation in Gaza right now. What's the latest? What are you seeing, what are you hearing?

[14:50:00]

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, by all accounts, it is a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and a lot of fears. We're hearing from the United Nations, from many members of the international community and aid agencies, who are calling for an immediate ceasefire, a humanitarian pause, because they fear, they say, that this is going to deteriorate to unimaginable suffering inside Gaza.

And we have to mention, Wolf, we don't really know the real extent of the crisis right now in Gaza because very little information is trickling out, very little pictures are coming out of Gaza because of the near communications blackout that started more than 24 hours ago right now. You have some people who have got international phone lines who are still able to get some of that information, some of those images out. But they're already telling us that they are starting to lose connectivity, the Internet is getting weaker and weaker.

And the impact of that communications disruption that is going on there, Wolf, we cannot even begin to imagine what it has done on the ground to the first responders, the emergency services, the ambulances. We are hearing that they were not able, after the night of the most intense bombardment in Gaza since the start of the war, to try to reach those who need them the most, to coordinate, to communicate with each other. Accounts coming from a journalist on the ground telling us that people had to carry their injured, have to put them on carts and push them to these overwhelmed hospitals that are on the verge of collapse.

And people inside Gaza, Wolf, are unable to reach their loved ones. They don't know if they survived the bombardment last night, an absolutely devastating situation. And even before this intensification that we're seeing right now, people in Gaza, Wolf, were telling us that they have gotten to a point where it's no longer a case of if they survive. They have now -- they've gone to a point where it is how are they going to die and when are they going to die. Mothers telling us that they were praying that if they die, they die together with their children so they don't end up injured on their own in hospitals. Israel says it is targeting Hamas, it doesn't target civilians, that

it is Hamas that is using people as human shields. But Wolf, as you know, the reality on the ground, this is one of the most densely populated places in the world, a besieged territory where you have more than 2 million people, about half of them children. And what we are seeing is they are the ones who are paying the heaviest price, Wolf.

BLITZER: An important point, indeed. Jomana Karadsheh, thank you for that update. We appreciate it very much.

Amidst all of this, an Israeli aid organization tells CNN there are around 100 Palestinian children from Gaza currently receiving cardiac treatment in various Israeli hospitals. Their treatment is being aided by an organization called Save a Child's Heart, a global network of doctors and volunteers who provide cardiac care to children who need it.

Dr. Lior Sasson is the head of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Department at the Sylvan Adams Children's Hospital, and the lead surgeon for Save a Child's Heart. Dr. Sasson, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for all you're doing. Tell us about the kids who are being treated right now.

DR. LIOR SASSON, LEAD SURGEON, SAVE A CHILD'S HEART: Before I answer your question, I would like to say that I'm here to call for the immediate release of all the Israeli children taken hostage, starting with the babies and children and infants that were ripped from their homes in their pajamas. And the horrifying fact is that we still don't know how many children are out there. We know about four years of age, or three, nine, 10, 16. And, you know, Wolf, we know about the nine- month-old, nine month, crying out. Who takes a baby nine months of age as a hostage? Who is taking care of him? Who is changing his diapers? Who nurses him, who gives him hugs? I mean, this is insane. This cannot be. We know about Abigail (ph), three years of age, and her parents were brutally murdered in front of her. And she managed to escape and probably the neighbors took her, and they all were taken hostages together. It seems that her parents before they were brutally murdered managed to stuff their two children, nine and six years of age, into a closet, saving their live by this. I mean, this is insane. And there are still --

BLITZER: Let me get back to your organization, Save a Child's Heart, Dr. Sasson.

SASSON: Yes.

[14:55:01]

BLITZER: How do you identify those Palestinian children in Gaza who need your organization's help, and how do you get them out of Gaza?

SASSON: For the last 28 years we treated over 3,500 children from the Palestinian Authority, and the majority from Gaza. We worked with our colleague doctors in Gaza who presented the children to us, and together we saved their lives. And they came to Israel, and we treated them with the utmost fairness and compassion and dignity and respect.

And I think that I'm in a position to demand that our children in Gaza will receive the same dedicated treatment and attitude that we provide to their children. For many years we followed those children, we followed the families, and we are very sensitive to the situation. Just imagine, Wolf, that a mother, sometimes she's 19 years of age, has a child suffering from cardiac disease, and none of the neighboring countries or whatever will treat her child. And the only place that would manage or agree to do something for her is in Israel. And when she comes, you can see the anxiety on her face. You can see that she needs a friend. She's totally afraid. But --

BLITZER: Dr. Sasson, you and your fellow doctors and nurses are doing really important work, and we're grateful to you for what you are doing. Dr. Lior Sasson, thank you very much for joining us.

SASSON: OK, thank you.

BLITZER: We're going to have much more coverage, special coverage here on CNN of the conflict in the Middle East. That's coming up. I'll be back later today, 5:00 p.m. eastern, with much more of our special coverage as well.

To all of our viewers in the United States and around the world, thanks very much for joining us. CNN Newsroom continues with Jim Acosta right after a quick break.

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