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IDF Strikes Intensify as Ground Operations Expand; Hundreds of Foreign Nationals Stranded in Gaza; Comms Blackout Grips Gaza; U.S. and Gaza Officials Spar over Death Toll; Maine Mass Shooter Found Dead; White House Rushing to Free Hostages in Gaza; Israel "Beefing Up" Pressure on Hamas; Military in North Israel on Alert from Hezbollah Threat; Thai Government Calls for Release of 18 Hostages. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 28, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world, I am Paula Newton with the very latest on the Israel-Hamas war.

Exactly three weeks after Hamas murdered more than 1,400 men, women and children Israel on Friday began ratcheting up the military pressure with expanded ground operations in Gaza.

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NEWTON (voice-over): As you can hear for yourself, Gaza residents did report the Israeli airstrikes. They report that they have become more intense than ever. On top of all of it, nearly all communications in and out of the enclave appear to be severed.

The mounting death toll in Gaza led the U.N. General Assembly to vote for an immediate cease-fire. The Israeli ambassador angrily denounced it as "despicable" in light of the October 7th massacres. Listen as a senior adviser to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spelled out Israel's objectives to Jake Tapper.

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MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: We will not live like that any longer. We saw what they're capable of doing. We saw the sort of gruesome, terrible, horrific violence they inflicted upon us.

We refuse to live with that anymore -- sort of neighbor anymore. And we are now going to create a new reality in Gaza.

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NEWTON: So the civilian death toll, in the meantime, in Gaza continues to be absolutely staggering. That includes dozens of aid workers, medical staff and journalists.

Hamas leaders have been defiant and continue to fire rockets into Israel. Israeli authorities say people were wounded when a rocket hit a four-story building in Tel Aviv.

With us now is Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

It's really good to have you on board here as we try and parse exactly what is going on on the ground. There is a continued debate at this hour, as to whether this is a full-scale ground invasion that Israel has always promised or maybe something smaller, still significant but smaller in scope.

What are your thoughts as you see this unfolding?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, if I listen to what the prime minister, said he is going to do and the Israeli ministry spokesperson about destroying Hamas, it is going to be a very large, long and sustained operation.

Now whether this incursion, that started at dark in Israel is going to be the first part of that or if it's just going to be another larger raid, we do not know yet. We will have to see if the Israeli troops hang in there or come out. And we will have to find out what else is happening in the area.

Is there another incursion somewhere else that is not being reported, for example. Those matters need to be revealed. We just don't know right now.

NEWTON: The fate of the hostages as we continue to try and figure out what is going on on the ground, the fate of the hostages becomes so central now to the military strategy.

Do you believe that Israel has essentially forsaken their fate with this kind of ground invasion?

CLARK: No, I think it is the opposite. What we have seen, for 70 years really, since the Korean War, in which the United States and Britain were engaged, is the use of diplomacy, hostages, negotiations to stall, frustrate and degrade combat operations.

That is certainly part of the game Hamas is playing with these hostages. I think the best way to get the hostages out -- and this is my personal opinion -- is to strike hard and keep the pressure on Hamas.

I think -- what I have experienced, in my time in uniform and afterwards, watching these is that when the pressure is off, there is no change. We know Hamas is capable of keeping prisoners there for a year or two, so it is just not feasible.

Not knowing what's happening in the negotiations, that would be my impression.

[00:05:00] CLARK: It does not mean that we should not try to continue to negotiate to try to get the hostages out; it may happen, we may learn something, it may help us get the hostages out another way.

But in general, if these operations are not pursued and there is a pause and it's delayed and it's a week and two weeks and three weeks and four weeks, it gives Hamas more time. It puts more pressure on Israel.

And it degrades the alternative of going in to get those hostages. So I do not think it is incompatible to do this operation and also seek to bring the hostages out.

NEWTON: I know; unfortunately, that kind of equivocation, whatever it is, is really hurting the families right now, the families of those hostages that are waiting to see just what Israel's policy will be, what their plan is.

I want to get to what's going on on the ground, at a tactical level. You said yourself it is going to be a long, difficult war.

Are we talking months or years?

When we look at one of the other conflicts on the globe, Russia and Ukraine, we are far into that, farther than perhaps we imagined we would be.

Is that what's going on here as well?

CLARK: I think the two conflicts are really not comparable. In the case of Russia-Ukraine, you have a major Russian force fighting a conventional war against a major Ukrainian force backed by the West.

Here what you have is a terrorist group that has taken over 2 million Palestinians. It has used the Palestinians to feed its organization. It is using them now as hostages. Its intent is to stay in place, build up its power and eventually try to destroy Israel.

So it is an existential threat to Israel and it may take two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks, months; we do not know. But as long as Israel sees this as an existential threat, I think they are going to take action against it until they finish as much as they can with this operation.

NEWTON: Given what you are saying, what do you make of U.S. and E.U. efforts right now, trying to engineer some kind of humanitarian pause and at the same time trying to temper that with Israel, saying, are you sure this kind of a ground invasion is the best strategy, for what your goals, your mission is?

CLARK: I think the United States and Israel see eye to eye. But I also think there is concern in the United States about the potential of it spreading to the region. The United States is talking to all the actors in the region, Israelis or not.

The U.S. also has its own concerns for our own people that are hostages as well as Americans who are there, caught up; American Palestinians in Gaza, trying to get out. So the two countries have slightly different interests on this, maybe substantially different interests.

But fundamentally the United States is behind and supports Israel.

NEWTON: In terms of what the U.S. does right now geopolitically -- I do not have to remind you it is a very tense and dangerous time.

This more aggressive posture toward Iran and its proxies, do you think that will have the desired deterrent effect for the United States?

CLARK: I do not think the policy is yet aggressive toward Iran. It is reacting to Iran, not aggressive. The two aircraft carrier battle groups -- one is there, the other is arriving -- those are forces that were meant to send a signal to Iran to back off.

Iran did not listen to that signal. Iran is juking and teasing and having its proxies snipe and send out missiles and rockets and so forth, not a full effort by Iran but an effort to claim its emblem as a resistant force against Israel and the United States.

So the United States' strikes that have been conducted against these Iranian arsenals in Syria, after our troops have been hit -- some 30 Americans have been taken off with injuries, many with traumatic brain injuries from concussion -- I think it is an appropriate response, not an aggressive response but a response that warns Iran, back off, stay out of this.

NEWTON: We will see if that has the desired impact on Iran. General Wesley Clark, as we continue to see the bombardments in Gaza, it's important to have your perspective, really appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now as we were saying, Gaza is largely under a communications blackout at this hour still.

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NEWTON: With a looming threat of an Israeli ground offensive as they continue to target Hamas, a local service provider says most of the phone and internet links have been decimated as Israeli airstrikes pounded the enclave.

As a result, communications inside Gaza and with the outside world are severely disrupted, if not impossible. Multiple humanitarian groups say they cannot get in touch with their teams on the ground.

Some Palestinians who have managed to maintain connection, reached by CNN, say they have split their families, so at least some members would survive in case of an Israeli strike.

Others talk about hearing explosions. But without stable communications, they cannot check on their families to see if they are OK. The leader of a U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees sent a dramatic message about the humanitarian situation. Listen.

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PHILLIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY: As we speak, people in Gaza are dying. They are not only dying from bombs and strike, soon many more will die from the consequences of siege import on the Gaza Strip. Basic services are crumbling. Medicine is running out.

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NEWTON: Now the health ministry is Hamas controlled in Gaza. And now they have in fact responded to U.S. President Joe Biden's public questioning of the reliability of Palestinian casualty figures in the conflict with Israel.

By publishing the names of what it says are thousands killed in the conflict. In the wake of the October 7th attacks by Hamas that killed 1,400 people in Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces have launched an air campaign against the militant group and imposed a complete siege.

Israel says the strikes will continue until all, the more than 200 hostages, are released. Salma Abdelaziz reports on the controversy around the death toll.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Families are mourning and counting their dead. Near endless stream of funerals echoes throughout Gaza. And as Palestinians bury their loved ones, doubt is cast by the U.S. and Israel on the death toll being released by Hamas.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, no elections have been held since. The militant group is the political military power here. It controls the government and, therefore, all ministries including the health ministry.

President Biden says that's why he has no confidence in the reported Gaza death toll.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I'm sure innocents have been killed and it's the price of waging a war.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): This is how the Hamas-run health ministry responded, publishing this document, a 212-page report listing the ID numbers, names, sex and age of more than 6,700 Palestinians it says have been killed since October 7th. Among them, nearly 3,000 children.

The total figure is expected to be even higher because of hundreds of unidentified bodies, it says. The ministry says it is committed to accuracy and accused some of dehumanizing Palestinian victims.

"Our people are not anonymous entities that can be ignored," it said.

The Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, also hit back.

MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRIME MINISTER: There are certain leaders who don't want to see reality. The numbers are correct. They are our numbers. These numbers are fed to us from the hospitals of Gaza every single day that are received by our ministry of health.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Skepticism over the death toll spiked after the explosion at Gaza City's Al Ahli Hospital. Within hours, the Hamas run health ministry said at least 471 were killed. The U.S. gave the more conservative estimate of 100 to 300 killed.

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: It was least a couple of hundred. And that's terrible and atrocious and sad and we all grieve with the families and loved ones who are affected by that. But the numbers are not reliable.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): News outlets, U.N. agencies, rights groups and even the U.S. State Department have cited the Hamas-run ministry of health in the past. But the U.S. now says recent statements and figures from Hamas are unreliable.

Human Rights Watch, an independent body, responded.

OMAR SHAKIR, PALESTINE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: We've done research during multiple rounds of escalations and we've always found the ministry of health data to be generally reliable.

The conversation should focus on how world leaders can stop further mass atrocities and not nitpicking whether a number that's generally proven to be accurate may be a little bit off.

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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): And access is limited. Foreign media has been denied entry into Gaza. And for local journalists, conditions on the ground make reporting difficult. CNN and other news outlets cannot independently verify the figures. And while some argue over the death toll, bodies keep piling up -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

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NEWTON: And now to another big story we have been following very closely with new developments. The governor of Maine confirmed a short time ago that the suspected gunman in Wednesday's deadly mass shootings is dead, ending a two-day manhunt leaving communities on edge.

The body of Robert Card was found at 7:45 pm local time Friday night 48 hours after Card went on a rampage, killing 18 people and wounding 13 at two locations. It is unclear how long the suspect's body had been there and when exactly he died.

Authorities say the community can now breathe a sigh of relief, now that the threat is in fact over. Listen.

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CHIEF DAVID ST. PIERRE, LEWISTON POLICE: Our work, again, is not done here. I was very elated tonight when I got the call from Commissioner Sauschuck advising me of the revelation of what took place and that Mr. Card is deceased and no longer a threat to our community or any other community.

I just don't want to forget the families that are grieving and will continue to grieve. I don't want to forget the law enforcement officials that have worked tirelessly throughout this whole event to come to a good conclusion.

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NEWTON: Officials say Card's body was found with an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound, in a wooded area about eight miles from where the shooting took place in a neighboring town. We do expect to learn more details when authorities hold a press conference at 10 am Eastern time Saturday morning.

Of course, now begins the long road to healing and mourning the loss of these 18 people, the 18 souls that you see there.

U.S. Senator Angus King who represents Maine says, quote, "It will take a long, long time to process this pain. We will come together through this difficult grieving period and hope for brighter, calmer days."

I want to bring in Daniel Brunner now, who is a retired FBI supervisory special agent.

It's good to see you, when there is relief in the community. We are no longer following a manhunt. And yet, there is a bit of frustration and police have not disclosed very much in the press conference.

What is your take on how all of this unfolded?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Well, it is curious as to why they are keeping certain details from the public and not releasing it just yet. But there is a reason.

They have trained for this type of scenario. They have trained for these types of press conferences. The FBI, in dealing and leading with other law enforcement agencies, have vast experience in identifying how to deal with these situations.

Unfortunately, here in the United States, we often have these mass casualty type of incidents. And it is very well documented as to how to proceed through these events -- have a press conference, as soon as possible, following the event.

We learned about these things from the mistakes we made in the past, when maybe a press conference was not held or where certain information was not kept, wasn't released to the public just yet. But the investigators are nonstop, they are working the various

scenes, as to collecting the evidence. The FBI ERT, the Evidence Response Teams, the computer analysts are analyzing the phone, they are looking over all the data.

Fortunately, the fugitive is no longer in play so now they can focus, as you say, on the long road for healing. The healing will begin when everybody comes together. The victim specialists at the FBI are some of the best in the country. They are coming out from Quantico and talking to the people and being there to provide assistance for not only the victims' families but others who are injured or traumatized by the situation, who lost a friend, lost a neighbor. They are all going to need help.

That is where this healing will began, which will go alongside of the investigative team in putting the pieces together as to why this individual conducted the attack, how he planned it out.

How did he purchase the weapons?

Where did he purchase the weapons?

And why there were not certain red flags that were brought up early enough that could have prevented the incident?

All of this will be lessons learned, which we will help process in moving forward.

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NEWTON: You make a good point, though, in terms of everyone having to come together, not being able to have a vigil even, to be locked down instead of coming together to support everyone has obviously hurt a lot of those suffering right now.

I do want to point out to the fact that it is rather chilling to hear that he may not have died within minutes or even hours after the attack. It is possible that he was alive for perhaps as long as a 1.5 days before he killed himself.

What do you make of that?

BRUNNER: Listen, at this point, we are all theorizing. Anything is possible. He could have died immediately. He could've died 1.5 days later. We do not know that.

If that is what the medical examiners, working alongside the authorities there in Maine and Lewiston, they're going to determine the time of death. And clearly we know the method of death.

At that point, once we know approximately what time of death was, then they will go back and talk to the search teams that looked in that area and determine why he was not found.

If he had been, say, dead since right after the incident, why was the body not found? Or if he had died only hours before the body was found, then we will understand where he was going for those two days.

So there are a lot of answers that need to be answered -- excuse me -- a lot of questions that need to be answered and then at which point we will be able to start putting other pieces together.

NEWTON: You know the gun debate is front and center again. I am not asking for anything political here.

What I am asking is, materially, keeping this kind of a man from having access to any kind of firearm, let alone an assault weapon, do you think we have learned anything new in how to prevent that through this incident?

BRUNNER: I think this always, an incident like this, always brings forth the conversation. That is the point that has to be had. We have to have a conversation. There are two sides of this aisle, two sides of the argument. Both sides feel that they are in the best position to say that I am always right.

So the conversation should be had as to how do we prevent guns from getting into the hands of those who should not have guns because of maybe a problem with mental stability or other reasons.

Listen, like I said, I'm not going to get into a position of what could've happened or Monday morning quarterback this situation, because I am not familiar with the entire case. I am not going to be able to give you the best opinion on it without knowing all of the facts.

But what we can do is continue to have a conversation. That is the most important part, is being able to talk about gun control or gun rights and people having their firearms with them.

Clearly Maine is a very gun friendly state. A lot of people in that first day, on coverage on CNN, they were being interviewed. They were clearly saying, hey, I went inside, loaded my guns and I was prepared.

That is an important part, being able to protect oneself, in your own home. So the conversation could be had, in the future but at this time I think the most important part is getting together, as you are saying, is healing.

Finding out what happened and getting that community. Healed Screaming from the top of the mountains for the type of gun control or anything along those lines I don't think is really the best position right now. But we will begin to heal.

NEWTON: Daniel Brunner, good to have your expertise on all of this, with at least some relief for the community there, appreciate it.

BRUNNER: Thank you, Paula.

NEWTON: Israel accuses one of Gaza's largest hospitals of literally sitting on top of the command and control center for Hamas. Still ahead, the allegations and what it could signify for Israel's next move, as it expands its war in Hamas.

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NEWTON: Back to our ongoing coverage of Israel's war with Hamas, the Israeli military on Friday signaled a significant escalation of its ground operations in Gaza three weeks after Hamas killed over 1,400 people in southern Israel.

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NEWTON (voice-over): Gaza residents report the Israeli airstrikes have become more intense than ever. Nearly all communications in and out of the enclave appeared to be down. But Hamas leaders have been defiant and continue to fire rockets into Israel.

Israeli authorities say three people were wounded when a rocket hit a four story building in Tel Aviv late Friday.

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NEWTON: The White House says it is still working to try and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, after Israel has announced it is expanding ground operations there. Alex Marquardt has more details.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Efforts to get Hamas to release the almost 230 hostages being held captive in the Gaza Strip took a blow on Friday when Israel significantly stepped up its operations in Gaza.

Sources tell CNN that talks to release hostages, which have been led by Qatar, had been going well and that they, were nearing the release of a large number of hostages. Then after Israel launched the expansion of their operations, U.S. officials insisted that the talks will continue.

One U.S. official telling CNN quite firmly, that there is no scenario in which, until these hostages are free, that the U.S. would stop pursuing talks. The White House is saying they are having active conversations with Israel about humanitarian pauses, as they call them, because the U.S. believes those pauses could help get hostages out.

Israel, on the other hand, have argued that more military pressure is what helps free hostages. The growing Israeli campaign will also make many people more desperate to get out of Gaza, including hundreds of foreign nationals that have been trapped in Gaza and are trying to escape. [00:30:00]

MARQUARDT: The U.S. and Israel have accused of not opening the gate at the crossing into Egypt, called Rafah. Egypt has also shown some reluctance at letting people, out and allowing foreign officials to be on the Egyptian side of the border in order to process the people coming out.

There is little doubt that, as Israel ramps up, this further complicates the situation for both those hostages and those trying to flee -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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NEWTON: Israel is claiming the largest hospital in Gaza is the site of a major Hamas command center. It appears to be a significant attempt to prepare public opinion ahead of a major ground offensive inside Gaza.

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REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: The red buildings, as I mentioned, are building that Hamas is using, meaning he does his command and control in different departments of the hospital.

Like the rengen (ph) room and others, he uses these places in order to do command and control for terror activities, launching rockets, et cetera, et cetera. It is here in Al-Shifa hospital where Hamas operates some of its command and control centers.

This is where they direct rocket attacks, command Hamas forces. Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Al-Shifa hospital, in other hospitals in Gaza, with network of terror tunnels.

Hamas also has an entrance to those terror tunnels from inside the hospital wards, meaning, from different places of the hospital, you can go into an underground tunnel that will provide you shelter.

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NEWTON: Now the Palestinians reject Israel's claim. The director general of the Hamas controlled Gaza health ministry tells CNN hospitals are used to treat patients only and they are not hiding anyone.

Hamas also rejected the allegation and called on the U.N., Arab and Islamic countries to immediately intervene to, quote, "stop the madness" of bombing and destroying the medical system.

And we will be right back with more news in a moment.

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NEWTON: Recapping the latest developments in Israel's war with Hamas --

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NEWTON (voice-over): Gaza residents are reporting the strongest Israeli fire since the current crisis began. They spoke after Israel announced it is expanding its military operations there.

It is still unclear if that means the beginning of an expected ground offensive. But Hamas says it is ready to take on Israeli troops if they go in. Now that is happening as most phone and internet connections are down in Gaza, that is according to a local service provider.

The Palestinian Authority prime minister is accusing Israel of cutting communications to hide what he called its crimes. Israel says it's taking aim at terrorists.

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HAGARI (through translator): The IDF is attacking infrastructure of terror. According to our attacks in the last few days, the infantry is extending their activity. The IDF is acting in a powerful way, only to fulfill the aims of the war.

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NEWTON: For more now we want to bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos.

What more are we learning about Israel's incursion into Gaza in the last few hours?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has certainly intensified overnight. I want to give you a sense of what our teams in Sderot have seen and heard -- gunfire, incessant strikes as well, something they have not witnessed before.

We know the IDF has been going into Gaza for raids over the last few days and then exiting again. We just don't know if this is the full-on ground incursion or invasion. In fact, we spoke to the Israeli government spokesperson, Eylon Levy, last night.

And he said Israel is expanding its ground operations, is not going to speculate or comment on whether this is the invasion or the incursion. But it is important to understand what is coming up.

He says, the days ahead are long and going to be difficult. The general messaging has been that the IDF is ready for a full-on invasion. The people within Gaza saying they hadn't seen such intense fire into various regions since the start of this conflict. And it is ramping up. The IDF is also alleging that Hamas is waging

war from hospitals, and I quote, "using hospitals in a systemic manner."

Of course, it's putting at risk hospitals which have been a safe haven and a refuge for many people. I spoke to one doctor last night and he was explaining just how miserable the situation is in these hospitals. And now facing potential bombardments.

NEWTON: Eleni Giokos, appreciate it.

Now the attack by Hamas on southern Israel has put the Israeli military on high alert in the northern region as well. Details on the increasing tensions with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

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NEWTON: A top Israeli official tells CNN that the country is, quote, "beefing up" pressure on Hamas.

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NEWTON (voice-over): The comments come as Israel says it is expanding ground operations in Gaza. Intense airstrikes, as you just saw, there rocked Gaza with communication links now down in much of the enclave.

Now meantime, air raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv Friday as rockets were seen in the sky.

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NEWTON: A northern Israeli town right next to the border with Lebanon has now become a ghost town. Civilians have been replaced by Israeli soldiers, as the town faces increased risks of attack from Hezbollah militants to the north. CNN's Jim Sciutto reports now from northern Israel.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Main street, Metula, Israel: normally the busy center of town, now abandoned. Metula's 2,000 residents fled in the wake of the October 7th attacks, part of a mandatory evacuation of communities too close to Israel's border with Lebanon and too close to Hezbollah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem here is that, for man, from too many windows, we are under (INAUDIBLE).

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Now based here are hundreds of IDF soldiers. We don't identify them due to security. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every few hours, we were under attack here or in

other places in the area. So we need to keep ourselves undercover to make sure that we won't be exposed.

SCIUTTO: Metula is surrendered on three sides by Lebanon, by territory controlled by Hezbollah. And that is why the town has been evacuated because of that threat. And soldiers based here now say they face three threats from Hezbollah: sniper fire, rocket fire but also the possibility of ground incursions.

One happened here several days ago and they're on constant alert for the possibility of the next one.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): The town's mayor has the job now of relocating residents to safer areas further south and keeping Metula ready for residents to return. The when is far from clear. What is clear is that the old status quo is no longer sustainable for those living this far north, not with Hezbollah fighters on their doorsteps.

MAYOR DAVID AZULI, METULA (through translator): We don't want a war, we just want to end the current status quo and move Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon. We can either make a peace deal through the Americans and Iranians or, if not, we will have war.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): The Israeli military does not comment on its plans for the north. For now, this is an operation designed to defend and deter. And the threat is real. We were advised not to linger too long in Hezbollah's line of fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can find more than 400 soldiers looking at you.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): For the soldiers, their job now is to make sure that, someday, Metula can come alive again.

SCIUTTO: Do you believe people will be able to come back to a town like Metula again?

Or is it just too close to Lebanon, to Hezbollah?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that we will do everything to make them feel protected, to make them feel safe. There was someone who packed his last luggage with tears in his eyes. I asked him why.

And he told me, "I don't know if I will return here."

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SCIUTTO: That is the new reality here in northern Israel but also in the south. Communities emptied by the threat from Hamas, in Gaza and Hezbollah here in the north.

Many people demanding increased military action across the border. But that portends costly exercises and operations for Israeli forces with an uncertain military outcome -- Jim Sciutto, CNN, in northern Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the war, despite strong objections from the United States and Israel.

Now 120 countries voted in favor of a resolution, introduced by Jordan Friday. It calls for an immediate, durable and sustained truce, humanitarian access and a reversal of Israel's order to evacuate northern Gaza.

It also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians being held captive but does not name Hamas as the captors. The Canadian amendment that including language denouncing Hamas was rejected earlier in the day.

Now hundreds of people from a group called Jewish Voice for Peace gathered in Grand Central Station terminal, that is in New York Friday night, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

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NEWTON (voice-over): The demonstration remained peaceful. It did to have a knock-on effect, though, for travelers, with some passengers being delayed. Protests in fact of this size and scale in Grand Central is quite unusual and it is certain to disrupt things for several hours.

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NEWTON: Now the Israeli government is moving ahead with plans to rebuild the towns near Gaza that were savagely assaulted on October 7th. More than 1,400 people were murdered in those attacks, many of them in their own homes.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the newly formed authority this week that has been tasked with the rebuilding, saying security would be the top priority as the communities are made whole again.

Meantime, volunteers were at the site of one of the many massacres, cleaning up the terrible aftermath. And I want to warn you, the video does contain graphic content.

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NEWTON (voice-over): The location is Kibbutz Holit near the Egyptian border. The cleaners are volunteers with ZAKA, a group that gathers the bodies of Israelis who died from unnatural causes. Some of the volunteers described what they found.

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SIMCHA GRAINAMAN, ZAKA VOLUNTEER: We were cleaning a bedroom from a little kid, a baby, that was maybe 3 years old. We saw her shoes, we saw her blanket, everything was full of blood. And you could see the bullets coming through the main door over there in that bedroom.

ELI HAZEN, ZAKA VOLUNTEER: He survived the Holocaust, the first Holocaust. He did not describe this Holocaust.

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NEWTON: At least 10 people were killed when Hamas attacked that town.

Now Thailand suffered some of the highest foreign casualties in the Hamas terror attack. We will go there to hear from survivors and from families that don't even know if their loved ones are still alive.

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NEWTON: A quick update on Israel's war on Hamas. Witnesses in Gaza say the enclave has been taking heavy fire from Israeli forces in recent hours.

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NEWTON (voice-over): This is video that you're watching of IDF troops firing from southern Israel on Friday. And that's after Israel announced it is expanding its ground operations in Gaza.

Now it is still unclear if that means its expected ground offensive is about to get underway. An adviser to Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the expansion means the IDF is beefing up pressure on Hamas. Hamas says it is ready to fight if Israeli forces go into Gaza.

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NEWTON: Now Thailand is calling for the release of 18 of its citizens believed to be held hostage in Gaza; 33 other Thai nationals were killed during the Hamas attack on October 7th. CNN's Ivan Watson traveled to remote villages in Thailand to meet with families of some of the victims.

A warning, his report includes graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The empty back roads of northeastern Thailand feel a world away from the raging war in Israel and Gaza. But even here, in one of the country's poorest provinces, there are victims, scarred by the violence in the Middle East.

WATSON: Do you think this man wanted to kill you?

WITHAWAT KUNWONG, HAMAS ATTACK SURVIVOR (through translator): He tried to cut my throat after I passed out. But because the knife was broken, he couldn't finish the job. WATSON (voice-over): Thirty-year-old Withawat Kunwong spent years

working as a migrant labor at this turkey farm in Israel. In Kibbutz Holit, located within sight of the security fence that encircles Gaza.

On the morning of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, he streamed this video live from the turkey farm. He says he hid for hours but was discovered by a Palestinian man in civilian clothes, armed with what looked like a kitchen knife. Kunwong says he refused to surrender; they got into a savage fight.

WATSON: He bit you?

KUNWONG (through translator): When we were fighting, he bit my arm.

WATSON (voice-over): Kunwong says he was left for dead and later cared for by other Thai migrant workers.

Now after more than four years working in Israel, he is reunited with his family in Thailand, recovering from deep physical and psychological wounds. At the start of the latest hostilities, there were nearly 30,000 Thai citizens working in Israel, many of them from poor farming villages in this region.

WATSON: Families here say their men signed minimum five year contracts to work in Israel, a period during which most would not come home to visit their loved ones.

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WATSON: But they say the sacrifice is worth it, because the salaries you could earn in the Middle East dwarf the money that you could make in the rice paddies of northern Thailand.

WATSON (voice-over): A proud father shows me the house his son's Israeli wages built. His 29 year old son, Mani Jiruchat (ph), was expected to come home next year after half a decade of work in Israel.

WATSON: This is the bunker?

WATSON (voice-over): This video shows Jiruchat (ph) and other Thai workers on the morning of the October 7th Hamas attack, taking shelter in a bunker. It is the last they heard from their son.

WATSON: This is Mani (ph) right here.

WATSON (voice-over): Until this image emerged on social media, Mani Jiruchat (ph) and several other men held hostage by armed militants. His father and mother now desperate for their son's safe return.

"I have no words," he says. "I want my son back."

In a statement to CNN, Thailand's deputy prime minister called for the release of all hostages, adding, quote, "Our Thai nationals, who have been killed and kidnapped, are mostly farmers, earning a living to support their families in Thailand and really have no involvement in the conflict." As Israel continues its deadly bombardment of Gaza, these parents

anxiously watch and wait, praying for their son's freedom -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Gunthami (ph), Thailand.

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NEWTON: Such chilling survival stories there and still such grief.

I'm Paula Newton, we will have the very latest on the Israel-Hamas war after a short break.