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IDF Strikes Intensify As Ground Operations Expand; Communications Down Amid Ongoing IDF Strikes; U.S., Gaza Officials Spar Over Death Toll; Suspect Found Dead 48 Hours After Killing 18, Wounding 13; U.S. Has Been Rushing to Negotiate Release of Hostages. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 28, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:01:24]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Max Foster with our ongoing coverage of Israel at War. It is Saturday, October the 28th, 10:00 am here in London, noon in Israel, where the Israel military saying they struck 150 underground targets in Gaza overnight.

After what Israel called to targeted raids over the previous two days, the IDF now says that it's expanding ground operations into Gaza. One hospital in Gaza city received 22 bodies through the intense overnight bombardment, along with hundreds of people injured. The Israeli strikes came exactly three weeks after Hamas mastered more than 1,400 people in southern Israel. More than 200 hostages are still being held by Hamas and Gaza.

As you can see, in this new video, the strikes have continued into the daylight hours. Nearly all communication networks and Gaza, are reportedly out of service, and have been for many hours.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us from Tel Aviv.

So, several things going on here, the immense amount of strikes, unprecedented probably, but also this communication blackout.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a combination of different things that is making the complication -- the situation here much more complicated, Max. You were mentioning a moment ago, those Israeli warplanes that hit 150 underground targets overnight. Let me also tell you that we have learned, the Israeli defense forces say that they have to that they've killed the head of Hamas aerial operations. The Israel defense forces that struck what it called a terror tunnels, and underground combat spaces, during a period of very heavy airstrikes on the north of the Gaza Strip, which explains some of the loud booms, we have heard for hours overnight here in Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military says that Asem Abu Rakaba, who was in charge of Hamas aerial assets, was among several operatives killed. And as Israel Defense Forces announced the expansion of ground operations in Gaza, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, reiterated the importance of protecting civilians in a call Friday with the Israeli minister of defense, Yoav Gallant.

And, Max, during the call, Austin also stressed the importance of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza, and for Hamas to release all hostages. Even after two weeks of airstrikes, Max, and artillery fire on Gaza, even after several targeted raids into the enclave, it appears Hamas still has the capability to launch rocket attacks against Israel.

Our team here in Tel Aviv had to go to a shelter Friday afternoon when the air raid sirens went off. Once again, we heard several loud booms. Later the authorities here said that several people were injured, after a residential building was struck by a missile, including a 20 year old man who suffered head and limb injuries.

And then as night fell, Gaza residents do not see an end, they were witnessing some of the most intense airstrikes since the war began. There was widespread power, Internet and cell phone service outages across the strip. The Palestinian telecom company that provides mobile service to Gaza says that the intense bombardment resulted in the destruction of all remaining international routes connecting Gaza with the outside world, leading to a complete interruption of telecommunications services -- Max.

[05:05:10]

FOSTER: What specifically was the purpose of this round of attacks?

ROMO: Yeah, I had an opportunity to talk to a spokesman with the idea of when he told me that it was, even though they cannot disclose their tactics, the overall goal here was to soften the ground, meaning to get rid of any possible traps that their forces can encounter, should a ground incursion happen in the next few hours or days. They were not very specific as to when this was happening.

But it appears based on all the signs that we have seen here, that that is the purpose, getting ready for what would be the large ground operation, that not only Prime Minister Netanyahu, but also his defense minister. Yoav Gallant, have been talking about for more than a week now, Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Rafael, thank you for that update.

About an hour ago, I spoke with Peter Layton. He's a visiting fellow at the Griffeth Asia Institute. And he said the timeframe for Israel's expected ground offensive is getting shorter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER LAYTON, VISITING FELLOW, GRIFFITH ASIA INSTITUTE: Certainly feeling like a large scale attack. How I'm looking at it is I think time is running out. The Israelis need to get a move on, if you like. So I suspect that this is the start of the large-scale of assault. But I don't think they have very long for it.

What surprises me most, I suppose, is that the Israeli air force are dropping, reported to have dropped more than 7,000 or 8,000 bombs over the last few, few weeks. That has caused significant damage to the buildings in the Gaza city, and north Gaza.

So I would think about now, is about the right time for an idea of ground incursion. I would also ask, what is left now? Hamas is a fairly small organization, and that is an awful lot of bombs.

There are issues about the war expanding from the north, and that would be tying up various ground forces in the north, as well, and economically speaking, the war is certainly damaging Israel. But the Israelis seem to be losing, or I wouldn't say losing interest, but becoming more, and more concerned about the possible casualties here.

Hamas is assumed to be ready and waiting and wants the Israelis to advance and be attacked. Hamas cannot -- attack Israel very well apart from some relatively small warhead rockets. So they need the Israeli army to come forward, if you like, so they can score some pyrrhic victories, and die in some sort of hero -- some hero manner. The Israelis are mounting these raids, which are getting more intense, and the bombing last night, was very intense.

It looks as though this is the prelude to the ground invasion. And as he just, said the domestic situation in Israel is turning against a full-scale invasion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Okay, well, 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: The red buildings as I mentioned are buildings that Hamas is using. Meaning, he does his command and control in different departments of the hospital, like the re/gen 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 cells. This is where they direct rocket attacks, command Hamas forces, Hamas terrorist operate inside and under al- Shifa hospital, and other hospitals in Gaza with a 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Palestinians reject Israel's claim. The director general of the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry tells CNN that the hospital is used to treat patients only and they're not hiding anyone. Hamas also rejected the allegation calling on the U.N., and Arab, and Islamic countries to immediately intervene and stop the madness of bombing and destroying the medical system. [05:10:05]

Live now to Cairo, Dr. Mads Gilbert, the clinical director of emergency medicine at the University Hospital of North Norway.

Thank you so much for joining us.

What do you make of that briefing that we heard from the IDF suggesting that Al Shifa hospital, that you know is being used as a command center?

DR. MADS GILBERT, CLINICAL DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY: Well, it's really yesterday's news, we have heard there since 2009. They had the same claims that, and also during the attacks in 2014. Same claims were raised by the Israeli army.

I have been working in al Shifa since 2006, on and off, and during all of the latest incursions. I have been able to walk freely wherever I want in the hospital. I have been filming, picturing patients and staff. My camera has never been controlled. I have never, ever seen any signs, or any proofs, or any people belonging to political leadership in al-Shifa.

So, these claims are reiterated again, and again, in order to validate, or justify attacks on the hospitals. We have seen a large number of hospital attacks, and primary health care clinics during the last three weeks.

So the total capacity of the medical system is largely diminished, due to the bombing. They've also killed 101 medical staff. So these claims are, you know, not substantiated. As a medical doctor, I would never work in a hospital that was used for military purpose. The international organizations, like the International Red Cross, the UNRWA, all have stakes in al-Shifa hospital, the new medical complex that has been built has been checked, and controlled by international agencies.

So, you know, I challenge the Israelis, show the proof. Currently the situation in al-Shifa is extremely precarious. They have hundreds of patients, and around actually, around 40,000 to 50,000 refugees have taken shelter in the hospital. In addition to the thousands of wounded and their families. They are lacking electricity, they're lacking water, they are lacking everything you need to run a hospital.

So I don't know which word we are going to use now, because it is no longer a catastrophe it is a massive civilian, historical disaster what is going on now. And for the last three weeks, more than 3,000 Palestinian children have been killed during the bombardment. That is 1,000 Palestinian children a week. Imagine that some military organization would kill 1,000 U.S. kids a week? I mean there would be a reaction.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Can I just ask you as well, you talk about the challenges about doing any medical work at the hospital. We now know that internet and phone lines have been cut off in Gaza. I don't know if you have managed to reach anyone there but, what sort of challenges are going to add to their work?

GILBERT: Well, I tried this morning to call and to text 15 different contacts, medical contacts in different hospitals in Gaza. I have received absolutely no reply. There are no reports coming out, and, of course, the coordination of whatever medical relieved that there will be, coordination of international efforts, whatever they will be will be largely impossible without the communication system.

Also, bear in mind, that the Palestinian health care system tries to distribute the word wounded between the hospitals, according to capacity. Also their supplies, to the extent that they house of lies.

So losing your communication system, your mobile phone, your texting system is of course an extremely difficult thing, during such a massive patient -- as the Palestinian health care workers are facing now. That adds to the lack of fuel, the lack of electricity, the lack of water, and the lack of food.

We know that the medical supplies are running short, running dry. They do not have anesthetic, they don't have suturing materials, bandages and so on. So it is impossible to even try to treat the thousands of wounded. And the last number was 19,000 more wounded, among them 6,400 Palestinian children were wounded in Gaza.

FOSTER: Dr. Mads Gilbert, clinical director of emergency medicine of Hospital of North Norway, really appreciate your time and thoughts about your colleagues you can't speak to at the moment.

Still ahead, the U.S. president questions the death toll in Gaza, as reported by the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

[05:15:03]

Salma will have details for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Gaza is largely under a communications blackout right now, with the looming threat of an Israeli ground offensive as they continue targeting Hamas. A local service provider says most of the phone and internet links have been decimated at Israeli airstrikes pounded the enclave. As a result communications inside Gaza, and with the rest of the outside world are severely disrupted.

Multiple humanitarian groups say they cannot get in touch with their ground teams, on the ground. All the while, according to a U.N. official, the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER GENERAL, UNRWA: As we speak, people in Gaza are dying. They are not only dying from bombs and strikes. Soon, many more will die from the consequences of siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. Basic services are crumbling, medicine is running out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:20:06]

FOSTER: Well, for more, I am joined by Salma Abdelaziz.

I mean, if things were bad enough in Gaza not having comms is going to be a challenge for all the agencies involved. Just struggling to get the information out of there right now, and we are talking about death tolls as well.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. I mean, just to give you one anecdote about how difficult the situation is on the ground right now, since last night, ambulances have no way of communicating with people who were hits in airstrikes. They have no way of knowing which directions to head, so they just start driving essentially towards where explosions are to try to help pull people out. We have a very difficult situation on the ground, before last night's intensification.

And there was a debate that was sparked by President Biden when he doubted, and he cast doubt on the death toll coming out of Gaza. Now, always, in any conflict, there is a, let's say, war for information, as well as the war that is actually occurring on the ground, before I show you this report before I show you how this controversy unfolded, before Biden's comments it is important to note that thousands of Palestinians have been killed. That is something that the United Nations, rights groups, and the U.S. agree on.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (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: This is how the Hamas-run health ministry responded, publishing this document, 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: Skepticism over the death toll spiked after the explosion the 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.

JOHN KIRBY, NSC SPOKESMAN: It was least a couple of hundred, and that's terrible, and atrocious and sad and all grieve with the families and loved ones who are affected by that. But the numbers are not reliable.

ABDELAZIZ: 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.

ABDELAZIZ: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Now, Max, the United Nations and rights groups say quite simply, Palestinians are dying at an alarming rate. Many of them children. The United Nations last estimate, about a week ago was more than 60 percent of those killed are children.

[05:25:01]

We reached out to Save the Children, the UK charity earlier this week, they said on average every ten minutes, one child is killed in Gaza. So, when you're talking about those 2 million people trapped in the war zone, and, again, half of them children, 1 million children trapped, there is very considerable fear that this bloodshed only increases, only intensifies with Israel's growing attacks.

Of course, last night, there was an intensification of those airstrikes. Very difficult to get a picture of what's happening on the ground, and absolute fears that this is an unprecedented level of bloodshed in Gaza.

FOSTER: Could we just talk quickly about al-Shifa hospital, I know that you have been there. These rallies are saying that it's not just a hospital it is a command center with rooms that literally go in town into tunnels, with access from wards. We just spoke to a doctor who knows the hospital very well and he says he has never seen any evidence of this sort of thing going on.

Just describe it, how it's affected, and how concerned you might be that it's going to -- you know, the Israelis are talking about it in this way?

ABDELAZIZ: Al-Shifa Hospital is more than a hospital, Max. I just know from the conflict during 2014, it was essentially the nerve center of Gaza City. You had hundreds of refugees, you're right now you have hundreds of refugees displaced people hoping, praying that it is a safe place.

You'll have thousands of wounded people, who cannot be moved, and cannot be evacuated. You'll have the doctors, you'll have aid agencies, you'll have journalists who will be camped out at the hospital as well, hoping to get some electricity, some power so that they can continue to film, continue to work.

And what's important to note about Israel's claims, is that there is very little proof, if you will, that Israel has provided for these claims. The Israeli military spokesperson provided what he called evidence, which was one phone call. He said that there is more evidence but that they cannot be revealed to the world at this time, because of operational, the operational situation on the ground.

But that is contradicted. The Israeli military's claims are contradicted by those on the ground, by U.N. agencies, by rights groups, by doctors, by nurses who say, look, this is a hospital, and not just a hospital, but a very important city center for Gaza to continue to provide that help and assistance to those wounded, to those displaced from their homes. It is deeply concerning to see it spoken about as a potential target for the Israeli military.

I will hear, quote, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres who said, even in war, there are rules -- Max.

FOSTER: Salma, thank you so much for joining us.

Still to come what the White House is saying about delicate hostage negotiations in Gaza, after Israel ramped up its military operation.

Plus, the attack by Hamas on southern Israel's party's military on high alert in the northern region as well. Details on the increasing tensions with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:30]

FOSTER: Welcome back to our viewers in the U.S., and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London.

A top Israeli official tells CNN that the country is, quote, beefing up pressure on Hamas. As Israel says it is expanding ground operations in Gaza. This is new video, showing the aftermath of new airstrikes in Gaza City. As you can see, buildings are decimated, people are surveying the damage, some are digging through the rubble.

Israel says its warplanes hit 150 underground targets in the Palestinian enclave overnight.

As you can see in this video, those strikes have continued into the daylight hours. Smoke plumes rising in northern Gaza. Communication links are down in much of Gaza.

Meanwhile air raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv on Friday night, as rockets were seen there in the sky. The White House says it is still working to release the hostages in Gaza, after Israel announces expanding those ground operations. A source told CNN that negotiations led by Qatar went very well, but that was before Israel's announced its expanded ground operation in Gaza on Friday.

The White House says it is having active conversations with Israel, about a potential humanitarian pause to help get hostages out. More than 200 hostages are being held by Hamas.

Let's go to Eleni Giokos in Dubai, because a lot of people within Gaza, and around the world, we'll be watching all over reporting here and just keep thinking about the hostages. What does all of this mean for them?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, I mean this intensified ground operation that we saw overnight into Gaza raises so many questions about the safety of the hostages. And then the impact that will have on the negotiations, as well as the mediation talks that have been predominantly led by Qatar.

Now diplomatic sources, told us yesterday, that there was an important breakthrough, creating quite a bit of optimism that could be a number of hostages released. If there was a momentum that was built, what we saw was conversations that have been happening behind closed doors, to get more hostages out.

Over the past week, we saw two American nationals, and then two elderly Israeli women that was also released, and then basically coincided with a bit more calm on the ground as well. You will remember that the U.S. had requested the Israeli forces to hold off on ground invasion, while these negotiations were occurring, and also for a sense of readiness. Now, the IDF said yesterday that we should ignore the rumors that

there could be a number of hostages released, saying that they put them down to his psychological terror. The intensity of the ground operations, we just don't know what that will look like in the next few days, as you said, you know, communications are down in Gaza. It is difficult to get information out.

But, also we are seeing a lot more impacts on the ground where the strikes into Gaza have damaged a lot more infrastructure. Also the IDF have confirmed that they targeted underground tunnels.

Now the U.N. passed an important resolution yesterday, that was led by the Jordanians, calling for an immediate sustained humanitarian truce. That by the way also includes the release of hostages. That was 120 countries voted for this, and 14 voted against the resolution, which includes the U.S. and Israel.

[05:35:02]

Intensified ground operations, you've got the hostage question currently on the go, and what this basically means for mediation talks, Max, after the hope we had yesterday, is that has now dissipated. That is some of the information that we will see in the next few days, and we will watch very closely what happens in the ground operation front.

I mean, when we talk about 229 hostages, currently in Gaza, that's the latest number by the IDF, this includes foreign nationals as well.

FOSTER: Eleni, thank you.

A source telling CNN that there has been significant progress in the negotiations to release hostages by Hamas, but there are still issues remaining.

Here is CNN's Becky Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clearly, this expanded operation, as the Israelis have described it in Gaza, until the dust settles on that, and we see how long it lasts, and what happens on the back end of it. Difficult to say that the same momentum still exists for these talks. What appeared we were looking at was a significant number of civilian hostages, on the verge of possibly being released.

But, Jake, at this stage, I mean, clearly, we will just have to wait and see what happens and the hours to come overnight, certainly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Speaking to Jake earlier on now, an Israeli man whose sister was kidnapped but from a kibbutz by Hamas militants says he's consumed by concern for her.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked if he was worried that Israel's airstrikes on Gaza will make it tougher to get his sister home alive. This was his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILL ROMAN, SISTER KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Worry is mostly what I do, this is my main occupation and every day we have significant worries. Every day can be a day sorry about the image, can be de raped, can be a day of torture, can be a day of dying, dead or illness. Every day is a worry.

So, most of my worries come from the treatment of Hamas, and the disrespect, I don't know which stronger word to use to what I think the Hamas might be using. So, I have more, let's say, respect to what our military is doing, and I hope that they are very calculative in their actions. Of course, it also worries me, but I have much more trust in them, in what they are doing and how they are trying to operate then whatever happens inside of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now a northern Israeli town, right next to the border with Lebanon has become a ghost town civilians have been replaced by Israeli soldiers, as the town faces increased risk of attacks from Hezbollah militants.

CNN's Jim Sciutto reports now from northern Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (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 is that there's for many -- from too many windows, we are under threat.

SCIUTTO: Now based here are hundreds of IDF soldiers. We don't identify them due to security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were attacked here and 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 surrounded 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. What happened here several days ago, and they're on constant alert for the possibility of the next one.

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, ISRAEL (translated): We don't want a war. We just want to end the current status quo and move Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon. You can either make a pace deal through the Iranians and Americans, or if not, we will have war.

SCIUTTO: The Israeli military does not comment on it plans for the north. For now, this is an operation designed to defend and deter. And the threat is real. We are 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: For the soldiers, their job now is to make sure that someday, Metula can come alive again.

[05:40:02]

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. Someone who packed his luggage, with tears in his eyes and asking why, and he told me, I don't know if I will -- if I will return here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (on camera): That is a 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 operation for Israeli forces with an uncertain military outcome.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, in northern Israel.

FOSTER: The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the war, calling for strong objections from the U.S. and Israel. A hundred twenty countries voted in favor of a resolution introduced by Jordan on Friday, calls for an immediate, durable and sustained truce, humanitarian access, and a reversal of Israel's order to evacuate northern Gaza, and it also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians being held captive, but does not name Hamas as the captors.

A Canadian amendment that include language denouncing Hamas was rejected earlier in the day.

Israel's foreign minister is calling the U.N.'s call for a cease-fire despicable in a social media post. He said, Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS. Still to come, a Maine senator says it will take, quote, a long, long

time to process the shootings there, even after the suspect in the attack was found dead. We'll bring you the very latest on what happened there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back.

[05:45:00]

We want to return to our top story Israel's expanded ground operations in Gaza in just a moment. But, first, some other news that we are following for you this hour.

Iranian state media says a teenage girl who was allegedly assaulted by the country's morality police has died. Armita Geravand fell into a coma after activists say she was assaulted in a Tehran metro station, for not wearing a head scarf. Report says the 16-year-old died today, after being declared brain dead earlier in the week. The alleged assault happened just weeks after Iran passed legislation imposing much harsher penalties on women who breached the already strict hijab rules. Iranian authorities denied the assault allegations, saying she was hospitalized due to an injury caused by low blood pressure.

A tight-knit community in Maine is beginning the long road to healing, mourning the loss of 18 people killed in Wednesday's mass shootings. For two days, residents sheltered in place, while hundreds of law enforcement officers carried out a massive manhunt for the suspected gunman.

Now, the people of Lewiston make him breathe a sigh of relief, as the threat is over. Officials say they found the body of the suspected gunman.

CNN's Omar Jimenez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a more than 48-hour manhunt, the suspect in the mass shooting of both of these locations in Lewiston, Maine, has been found dead by apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement. Now, look, this is the end of what has been a very tense chapter for many in this community, wondering where this person may be, especially given the violent nature of what he was accused and what police believe he did.

Now, to give people an idea of where this body was found we are outside the bar and grill, which was the second location of the mass shootings that happened on Wednesday night. This body was found just about ten minutes away from here in the town over from Lewiston, which is where we are, in Lisbon, Maine. And it was found near it recycling plant where, as we understand from law enforcement sources, a plant where he was fired from recently.

And so, at this point, this now begins the next phase of the investigation for officers to figure out, okay, what led up to the actions that they say he carried out over the course of Wednesday night and why did this happen? So, that is one aspect of the investigation that continues. However, the main priority that everybody has been looking for of trying to locate this person is now over, it is a sigh of relief for many in this community, it's a sigh of relief for many of the leaders in this community as they laid out in their latest press conference.

We also learned that they found the body at to 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time Friday night. It wasn't until hours later that they announced, what they said they were doing in the meantime was they were notifying the families of victims. They also said they notified the family of the suspect as well, the family, they said, had on the whole been cooperative throughout this entire process.

And, while there are still more investigative work ahead, there is a lot more grieving ahead for many of the families here affected. At least 18 killed in total, but so many more lives shattered based on the lives that they touched and, as one resident told us, they are not just numbers, they are people. And it is those people that are going to live on in this community for much longer than this 48-hour manhunt.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Lewiston, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: When we come back, protests in New York's Grand Central terminal, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. We'll have more on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:34]

FOSTER: Thailand is calling for the release of 18 of its citizens believed to be held hostage in Gaza. Thirty-three other Thai nationals were killed during the Hamas attack on October the 7th.

CNN's Ivan Watson traveled to remote villages in Thailand to meet with the families of some of the victims. And a warning, his report does include graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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.

Do you think this man wanted to kill you?

WITHAWAT KUNWONG, SURVIVED OCT. 7 HAMAS ATTACK (through translator): He tried to cut my throat after I passed out. But, because the knife is broken, he couldn't finish the job. WATSON: Thirty-year-old Withawat Kunwong spent years working as a

migrant laborer 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, Kunwong streamed this video live from the turkey farm. Kunwong 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.

He bit you?

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

WATSON: 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.

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

A proud father shows me the house his son's Israeli wages built.

[05:55:02]

His 29-year-old son Mani Jirajat (ph) was expected to come home next year after half a decade of work in Israel.

This is the bunker?

This video shows Jirajat and other Thai workers on the morning of the October 7th Hamas attack, taking shelter in a bunker. It's the last they heard from their son.

This is Mani right here.

Until this image emerged on social media. Mani Jirajat (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, Udon Thani, Thailand.

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FOSTER: Now, this is probably not what you'd expect to see during rush hour in New York. Hundreds of people from a group called Jewish Voice for Peace gathered in grand central terminal on Friday evening, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The demonstration remained peaceful, though there were reports of dozens of arrests. The terminal was closed for a time today and commuters say protests are unusual for grand central.

The new U.S. House speaker said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. Mike Johnson posted a photo of himself on the phone calling it a privilege. He wrote: The House of Representatives stands with Israel and I reaffirmed our strong support. The congressman from Louisiana was just elected speaker on Wednesday after weeks of Republican Party infighting left the House in chaos.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London.

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