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IDF Says It Hit More Than 450 Hamas Targets; 10 Aid Trucks Pass from Egypt into Gaza Through Rafah Crossing; "Friends" Actor Matthew Perry Dead at 54; Growing Concern of a Wider Regional Conflict from the U.S.; Iranian FM Downplays Questions about Threatening U.S.; Shooting at Chicago Halloween Party Injures 15. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 29, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:01:05]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, alongside Jim Sciutto in Northern Israel. Jim we'll get to in a minute.

We're tracking new developments in Gaza. Just moments ago, Israeli military officials said they now believe there are 239 hostages held captive by Hamas. That update comes as Israeli forces enter an expanded second phase of the war against Hamas.

Gunfire and explosions heard across Gaza as Israeli troops continue their advance. The IDF says airstrikes hit more than 450 Hamas targets in just the last day including command centers, observation posts and missile launch sites.

We're also seeing dramatic scenes from Gaza's second large hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent said nearby Israeli shelling has caused extensive damage even as 12,000 Gaza civilians are currently sheltering there.

Today President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu. It was their first conversation since Israel launched its ground operation in Gaza and it comes as U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warns there is an elevated risk of the conflict expanding into other parts of the region. Sources tell CNN the U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow about Israel's ongoing ground invasion.

Meanwhile, more humanitarian aid is slowly making its way into Gaza. Today another 10 aid trucks were able to pass through the Rafah Border Crossing, while communications in Gaza had been partially restored.

Our Jim Sciutto is watching the developments play out from Northern Israel.

Jim, to you.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Fred, in one measure of how this war is being felt across the country of Israel, just in the last hour we heard the sound of artillery fire just to the north of us here. We have since learned from the IDF that there was fire coming into Israel or attempting to come into Israel from Syria. That's just to the northeast of here. And that Israel responded, Israeli forces responded to that with their own strikes.

That is the back and forth we've witnessed all day today and throughout the day, the last several days. Crossfire from Lebanon into Israel, Israel into Lebanon, and also back and forth in and to and from Syria. A sign as to how this war could expand into another front.

We're watching it closely up here as my colleague Jeremy Diamond is watching things closely from Southern Israel, in Ashkelon with a view into those Israeli operations inside Gaza.

What are you seeing and hearing tonight there, Jeremy? We're hearing reports of additional airstrikes.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, there certainly has been ongoing fighting inside the Gaza Strip in Northern Gaza. Infantry as well as tank divisions engaging in active fighting with Hamas fighters inside the Gaza Strip. But actually, this evening, Jim, whereas the last two nights we heard perhaps the most intense, the most sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip of these three weeks of war, this evening has been much, much quieter.

In terms of, again, in terms of aerial bombardment at least, we do know that there is still active fighting on the ground but that's just a data point to note in all of this. But this evening the IDF is making clear that it will continue to expand those ground operations inside the Gaza Strip just one day after the Israeli prime minister made clear that this war, three weeks in, is now entering a new phase as he tried to frame this war in existential terms, calling this Israel's second war of independence.

Over the last 24 hours Israeli troops have targeted more than 450 targets inside the Gaza Strip.

[16:05:03]

That includes Hamas operational centers, fighters, antitank missile posts, as well as those underground tunnels. Miles of which stretch underneath Gaza and present a significant risk to Israeli troops entering that city. I think one thing that is becoming increasingly clear in listening to the IDF spokesman this evening and other Israeli military analysts is that Israeli troops are proceeding very cautiously as they enter the Gaza Strip.

They are not going in and rolling into city after city. But rather trying to take out some of those reinforced Hamas positions at the entrance to some of these cities inside Northern Gaza. A very deliberate approach that reflects what we have been hearing for weeks now, which is that if Hamas prepared for this operation, this surprise attack on Israel three weeks ago, as carefully as they did, then they certainly prepared for the possibility of an Israeli ground invasion as well.

Now amid all of this, of course, we know that civilians inside of Gaza are so often caught in the crossfire and the death toll inside Gaza has risen to nearly 8,000, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. That includes combatants and noncombatants. But one thing that is becoming clear as we try and get a better sense of how many of those are civilians. The Palestinian Ministry of Health saying that nearly three quarters of those killed inside Gaza are vulnerable populations, women, children, and the elderly -- Jim. SCIUTTO: We're going to be taking a closer look at the plight of

civilians inside Gaza in just a couple of moments.

Jeremy Diamond, in Ashkelon, thanks so much.

Before we get on to the humanitarian side of this, I want to ask retired Colonel Cedrick Leighton to join me now, former Air Force intelligence officer, to discuss what we know about the progress of military operations on the ground in Gaza.

Colonel Leighton, when the Israeli prime minister says that this has now entered a new phase, what does he mean exactly?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So, Jim, what he's talking about is the different types of military forces that are being brought to bear at this particular moment in time. So with phase one, it was basically an air campaign. And it was designed to soften up targets along with artillery that then would be prosecuted by IDF ground forces. And so once that phase is completed and they figured out, the Israelis figure out that they have taken out many of the targets that they thought they would need to eliminate, they have move to phase two which is what the prime minister announced yesterday.

And that, in essence, involved those ground forces that are moving in with their tanks, on the personnel carriers, and their other infantry fighting vehicles. That element then is bringing the ground forces into the fight. It is still combined with air power and in this particular case, it is also apparently using naval power. They're using naval gunfire, potentially naval special operations forces, from the Israeli military coming in on the coastal area. But primarily it's a land effort that is centered on the north and the northeast part of the Gaza Strip.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you, Colonel Leighton, because Israeli officials, military officials, they will use that term eliminate. They will say the goal is now to end Hamas. I have watched multiple military campaigns in Gaza through the years, and there are similar language used. The thing is that those centers, whether they be tunnels, command centers, rocket-making factories, they may be eliminated, but then they're built again. And those leaders might be killed but then they're replaced.

And I wonder, as described, is the Israeli military objective a credible one?

LEIGHTON: Actually it isn't. And you bring up a very valid point, Jim, because it is absolutely impossible to eliminate every single facet of Hamas's military power. The reason for that is redundancy basically. They are redundant in terms of the tunnels that they've created. Those tunnels have within them the capacity to regenerate rocket building factories like you mentioned. Command and control nodes.

All the different supply elements that a military force, whether it's a guerilla force or a standing army, all of those elements that that kind of (INAUDIBLE) would need. And so what we're seeing is the capability to generate makes it almost impossible for these forces or these elements of Hamas's military power to be actually eliminated, and so the military objective that the Israelis have is frankly speaking unrealistic.

What they could say is neutralize, in other words render impossible for them to use at least for a certain period of time. And that would be a much more workable, I would argue at this point in time.

[16:10:05]

SCIUTTO: Listen, I'm going back years, I went into Gaza when Israel had killed one Hamas leader, met the new Hamas leader, and then a week after I left, that new Hamas leader was killed, then of course another one followed and many more after. I mean, this is a problem that the U.S. saw with its own action against, for instance, ISIS. Kill one leader and then another replaces them. That said, U.S. Military operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria did significantly degrade the group for some time.

So I wonder, by what measures will we know if these Israeli military operations, which by all accounts will be bigger, and it seems more lasting, by what measures will we know if they've achieved something new, something different?

LEIGHTON: I think we'll know if they've achieved something new or different when the types of actions that we've repeatedly associated with Hamas don't occur or don't occur with the frequency that they had in the past. And not just the spectacular raid on October 7th but also things like the rocket attacks that Hamas has been able to do for years now against Israel. So when that kind of thing stops, when those kinds of actions stop or at least become far less frequent, that is a measure of success.

The other thing, of course, if the political leadership of Hamas were to change or if that political leadership were to be eliminated, to borrow the Israeli phrase, that would of course change the calculus on the ground as well. But I believe, you know, as you said earlier, that is something that is basically unrealistic because once you eliminate one leader, another one will pop up. The bench is pretty deep in Hamas' ranks and that is something that the Israelis have to take into account.

So the measure of success will be a degree of security, a heightened security for the southern part of Israel and really for the entire country, and in order to achieve that, we may not know that they've achieved that success for some time. Things will be quiet for a while, and then if they don't ramp up again, that might be a way to measure that success but it's certainly won't be helpful from a political standpoint for any of the political leadership in Israel or frankly even in the (INAUDIBLE). SCIUTTO: Right. Hezbollah has been showing its presence at least by

firing across the border with regularity. Many times a day. Sometimes striking targets. There are also missiles coming into this country from the north and from the south that somehow get through Iron Dome.

When you look at Hezbollah, how do you judge their calculations here as to why they haven't come in more forcefully, opened up northern front, or what might trigger them to do so? Because the thinking had been, if Israel goes into Gaza in numbers, then Hezbollah might open up a new front.

LEIGHTON: Yes, this is going to be a very interesting to watch, Jim, because Hezbollah is taking a look at what's going on with Hamas, and Hamas interestingly enough sent a message to Hezbollah begging them to open that second front. It appears that Hezbollah, at least for the moment, is content with just sending a few rockets into Israel at certain moments where they think they can be somewhat supportive of Hamas.

They don't want Hamas to fall. They don't want it to disappear because it's a useful counterbalance to what they're doing. But it is also something where Hezbollah believes that at a moment in time, they might feel it's advantageous for them to move forward more aggressively. What we don't know is exactly when that moment in time is. And Hezbollah itself may not know. But between Iran and Hezbollah, they will probably make a decision saying that at this point they will make some specific attacks, they will conduct some specific attacks against Israeli towns or perhaps Israeli military installations. That might be the kind of thing to watch for.

The other thing of course to watch for is attacks or continued attacks on U.S. installations or at least installations within our U.S. troops presence in the Middle East. If that continues, then that opens up a whole another series of questions and potentially forces of actions where we really don't know what the end result will be. But they could -- they want to make clear that they don't go into something that results in a reaction that is worse than their action, and something that they can't recover from. They want to avoid that.

SCIUTTO: Right. And those proxies in Iran -- Iraq, rather, and Syria that have been attacking U.S. forces, they also are Iranian proxies taking their calls from Tehran.

Cedric Leighton, thanks so much as always.

Well, we said earlier this hour that we would take a look to the other side of this conflict and look at the continuing plight of civilians inside Gaza, what is being done to try to help them, try to keep them safe, but also what can't be done now given the difficulty of getting aid in there.

[16:15:05]

Our Melissa Bell, she took a look at the continuing aid efforts and she filed this story from Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): A catastrophic failing according to the president of the International Red Cross, that is how he was speaking about the situation for civilians inside the Gaza Strip. Even as desperate efforts were made to try and get more aid trucks in. So far, the Palestinian Red Crescent says there have been 94 trucks that have managed to get through, an extra 10 went through on Sunday.

That is a tiny proportion of what they should be getting through. We've also been hearing and seeing from inside the Gaza Strip those images of people desperately trying to get their hands on U.N. supplies inside U.N. warehouses of wheat, flour, hygiene supplies, giving you an indication of three weeks after the tightening of the siege and the bombardments of the Gaza Strip, not to mention over the last couple of days, the ground operation that has now gone and went just how desperate the situation is now for the civilians trapped inside.

Terrible images coming overnight as well from a refugee camp inside Gaza where overnight bombing saw the destruction of a mosque where many Gazans from the north of the strip had been seeking refuge over the course of the last days. 13 dead, many injured, and a dire situation with Antonio Guterres warning on Saturday from Doha that the clock is ticking, and that history will judge us.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Yes, raising questions there about, is there any safe place in Gaza for those residents to flee to in the midst of this ongoing military campaign. We'll continue to watch this more from that side of the border as well.

I'm Jim Sciutto in Northern Israel and we'll be back after a short break.

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[16:21:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Today fans and friends of Matthew Perry are paying tribute to the actor who died yesterday at the age of 54. His career included numerous TV shows and movies, but it's his unforgettable role as Chandler Bing on the hit show "Friends" that made him a household name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR, "FRIENDS": No, I didn't read the box before I opened it, and you can't return a box after you've opened the box.

JENNIFER ANISTON, ACTRESS, "FRIENDS": Why not? PERRY: Because it's too delicious.

ANISTON: Chandler, you stole this cheesecake. That is wrong.

PERRY: No, no, no. It is going to be OK because Mrs. Braverman is going to send away for a free one, and that way we all win. The only losers are the big cheesecake conglomerate, Momma's Little Bakery. I feel terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "Friends" co-creators are remembering Perry saying in a joint statement, "We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew's passing. It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives."

The "L.A. Times" says Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub. An autopsy is pending.

Let's bring in now Camila Bernal who is covering this story for us.

Camila, what are you learning?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. So we know that his body is now with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office. And as you mentioned, that autopsy is pending. This is an investigation being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department. But a source telling CNN that there is no foul play suspected here. The 911 call came in at 4:07 p.m. yesterday and it was for a water rescue emergency, then at 4:10 p.m. it was LAPD who responded and then characterized it as a death investigation.

You mentioned the "L.A. Times," they are reporting that he was found unresponsive in his hot tub. But no official cause of death has been released and normally a complete autopsy and toxicology report could take several weeks.

Now his family did release a statement to "People" magazine saying they are heartbroken by the tragic loss of their beloved brother and son. And then they went on to say in that statement that he brought joy to the world, not just with his acting, but as a friend. And look, Matthew Perry was someone who wanted to be remembered as someone who helped people. He said he shared a lot of these struggles he had with addiction in order to help others.

He detailed them in his memoir that was released in November of 2022 but he was also openly talking about it in interviews as he was emotional and discussing that he was willing to share these things to help others. He also said in interviews that he wanted to be remembered as someone who lived well, someone who loved well, who was a seeker but of course many of us remember him by his acting career.

He started out with small roles then landed more prominent roles, and really it was Chandler in "Friends" that made him famous, who he was when he died. And so it was that very funny charismatic character and his facial expressions and the way he made people laugh that many are remembering today. The cast of "Friends" very close on and off the screen. We have yet to hear from any of the cast members.

But there are others in Hollywood who are reacting saying they are devastating, that they are heartbroken. It really was shocking for a lot of people because this is not the news they were expecting, so you're seeing many of the fans paying their tributes and posting them online and really saying that he will be missed. Not just in Hollywood, but by so many who often laughed as they watch "Friends," and you know they're still watching it today because the replays are available. So many, many are able to still laugh with the work that he has left behind -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Very, very sad. All right, Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Coming up, Israel says its fighter jets hit Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon as fears mount of a widening conflict in the Middle East.

[16:25:06]

More on that straight ahead.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in Northern Israel.

We learned a short time ago that a U.S. Marine Rapid Response Force is headed to the Eastern Mediterranean. This as the U.S. continues to warn its citizens to leave Lebanon, Lebanon, the home base of Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been firing rockets and artillery into Northern Israel.

Concern among U.S. officials about an expansion of this war on to Israel's northern border perhaps involving Hezbollah which is of course backed by Iran.

Our Ben Wedeman is in Beirut.

I wonder, Ben, as this warning has gone out for a number of days now to U.S. citizens there, are they heeding that warning and what is the level of concern among U.S. officials for the safety of U.S. citizens in that country?

[16:30:00]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the immediate concern is that, in the event there is an escalation of the situation and Israel does a repeat of what it did in the beginning of the 2006 war, the airport will be struck by Israeli aircraft.

And it will be out of action. And that's what happened in 2006. The U.S. as a result had to deal with evacuating thousands of Americans. Keep in mind that Lebanon has many dual Lebanese-U.S. nationals; tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of them, many living in south Lebanon. Now we know there have been people moving from the border area toward

the northern part of the country, which is believed to be safer. But the concern is there and among people here, obviously, there is concern. Several airlines have stopped -- have canceled all of their flights to Beirut.

I flew in today so it is still possible to come and go. But the worry is that that might not last longer if the situation deteriorates.

What we've seen, since the 8th of October, the day after that surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, is that there has been this daily back and forth between Israel and Hezbollah and other groups as well operating in southern Lebanon.

The Israelis have warned multiple times Hezbollah and its allies not to cross what they call the threshold of escalation. It hasn't been crossed yet.

But every day, as today we've seen and you saw yourself, there is cross-border fire. Hezbollah concedes it has lost nearly 50 of its fighters so far. There have been casualties, combatants and civilians on the Israeli side so far.

But neither side seems willing to go beyond this low level amount of cross border fire to a wider conflict yet -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. You mentioned the dual nationals in Lebanon. That is a factor we see in so many countries here, certainly true in the country of Israel, also true in Gaza. There are U.S. citizens there and that has been one struggle for U.S. officials, is getting them safe passage out of Gaza.

It hasn't happened yet. We heard Jake Sullivan speaking about it today.

But in Lebanon, do you find that many, most or only a small percentage of American passport holders are heeding this call to leave the country?

WEDEMAN: Well, we don't see any statistics being put out. But the airport today didn't seem any busier than it normally is. Normally there is an influx of Lebanese with other passports in the summer. Now is the season where most have left who aren't living here permanently.

So I think that the number would be reflected in the broader number of Lebanese who have decided perhaps it is time to leave the country for a while. But at this point, it is not altogether clear.

Now the U.S. embassy just the other day did put out this message to American citizens to leave now. Before, there was somewhat more cautious wording. But now they're saying leave now. But there is no indication that there is some sort of mass exodus of either Lebanese or Lebanese Americans from this country -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: And it does, as you mentioned, raise the possibility, if things were to escalate and quickly, the possibility of a sea evacuation. That one that took place in 2006 was a massive, massive operation. Difficult to imagine once again. Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thank you so much.

Well, as we cover the war here, there are concerns about increasing levels of hate at home back in the U.S. Coming up, we're going to speak with the head of the ADL, that is right after this break. Please do stay with us.

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[16:35:00]

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SCIUTTO: As war rages here in Israel, there are concerns about rising hate, anti-Jewish hate and anti-Semitic hate, as well as Islamophobia. President Biden referred to both of them in his speech to the nation a number of days ago. I'm joined by Oren Segal, the vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism.

Oren, thank you for joining us tonight.

OREN SEGAL, VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER ON EXTREMISM, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Prior to this war, the FBI reported a 37 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, that in 2022. Now we're in a whole new phase of this. And at least anecdotally, we're seeing a number of incidents, threats around the country, specifically of anti-Semitic hate and speech.

I wonder, could you tell us what your level of concern is?

And do you have any way to quantify at this point the increase in that kind of incident?

SEGAL: Yes, so we're very concerned about the significant spike in anti-Semitic incidents that we've been tracking since October 7th. Now I should note that, already, we were at all-time highs in this country.

You mentioned the FBI hate crime data; also ADL's audit of anti- Semitic incidents revealed a 36 percent increase in 2022; over 3,700 incidents of vandalism, harassment and assault, which was an all-time high.

So it is in that sort of timeframe and with the vulnerability of the Jewish community already at an all-time high that we've seen a 388 percent increase just since October 7th in comparison to the previous year.

[16:40:00]

SCIUTTO: There has been increased security at synagogues, at Jewish schools; of course, there are so many of them in the U.S,. that that is a mammoth task to imagine. You cannot secure every location.

Does it provide some comfort?

Are those measures at all effective?

SEGAL: So the Jewish community is used to having police cars in front of their institutions. This is not something that is new in this timeframe.

I think it is important to have that show of strength because we are seeing the normalization not only of anti-Semitism but of the messages that we know animate violence.

So over 400 rallies have occurred in the United States that have featured the glorification, celebration and legitimatization of the type of violence that we saw against children and the elderly and the innocent in Israel.

When you have people who are promoting those types of ideas -- and we already have this level of anti-Semitic animus animating real-world activity here, this is why it is important for law enforcement and other allies, frankly, to say, "We stand with you."

SCIUTTO: Yes. Speaking of allies, as you know, there has been a rise in anti-Islamic hate as well. President Biden spoke of this in his address to the nation.

Has there been any work between the groups?

Have you had any cooperation to try to fight these two forms of hatred together in some way?

SEGAL: So the sad fact is, when we see a rise in anti-Semitism, rises in Islamophobia, racism, misogyny and other types of hate are not far behind. And in order to fight other forms of hatred, we have to come together and fight anti-Semitism.

At the end of the day, while so much of the public discussion, especially online, is focused on dividing communities, we know that the only way to protect any community is for people to come together and reject hatred because it is that hatred that, actually, at the end of the day, does not discriminate.

And we need to do a much better job working together to fight that.

SCIUTTO: And you're right; so often they come together, right. They're interwoven, those forms of hatred. Oren Segal, we appreciate the work you do and we appreciate you joining us tonight.

SEGAL: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, Iran has been looming over this crisis since the beginning, of course, in its long-term financial and military support for Hamas but also its ties to other proxies in the region, Hezbollah to the north, proxies in Iran and in Iraq and Syria that have attacked U.S. forces as well. Iran's president has said that Israel has now crossed red lines in

Gaza. Coming up, we'll hear from Bianna Golodryga's interview with the Iranian foreign minister. Please stay with us.

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[16:45:00]

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SCIUTTO: Iran's hand has been visible throughout this conflict. Of course, its long-term support military and financial for Hamas, who carried out the horrible attacks on October 7th, but also its deep influence with other proxies in the region.

Hezbollah to the north, which has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces multiple times a day over the last several days, really since the October 7th attacks, as well as Iranian backed proxies that have taken shots at U.S. forces in Iraq and in Syria.

And Iran-backed Houthi rebels that launched missiles which the U.S. said were attempting to go to Israel, intercepted by a U.S. destroyer offer the coast of Yemen.

In the midst of this, Bianna Golodryga sat down with the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, to ask him about his country's role in all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: I want to talk about your time in New York, because you spoke at the U.N. and I want to quote what you said for our viewers.

You said, "I say frankly to the American statesman, we do not welcome expansion of the war in the region. But I warn, if genocide and Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire."

Is that a threat?

Is Iran prepared really, to go to war against the United States?

HOSSEIN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We don't want this war to spread out.

GOLODRYGA: But with all due respect, your actions don't seem to match your words. You say that you are playing a constructive role in helping peace and security.

But according to the Pentagon, groups affiliated with Iran have targeted U.S. forces or bases in the region at least 15 times now, since October 17th, injuring at least 20 U.S. military personnel.

A U.S. carrier strike group shot down 15 drones, four cruise missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen that was aimed toward Israel. President Biden said this yesterday. He said --

(CROSSTALK)

AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN (through translator): Any attack that is carried out in the region and if the U.S. interests are targeted by any group, linking it to the -- to Iraq without offering any piece of proof is totally wrong.

You see, two weeks ago I was in Iraq.

[16:50:00]

AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN (through translator): Also in Syria and Lebanon. I could see up close and personal that the people of the region, they are very sensitive about the developments in the Palestine. They were angry. They are not receiving orders from us. They act according to their own interest.

Also, what happened what was carried out by Hamas, it was totally Palestinian. They decided to take responsibility for that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The Iranian foreign minister saying that it does not control those groups which it has long backed in the region, those Iranian proxies, as they get involved to some degree in what appears to be an expanding conflict or at least has the danger to be so on so many fronts here.

We'll continue to watch this front here in northern Israel, where Hezbollah has been launching artillery across the border into Israel.

And we've witnessed fire tonight from Syria into Israel as well. Please do stay with us. I'm Jim Sciutto in northern Israel and we'll be right back after a short break.

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[16:55:00]

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WHITFIELD: Communities in Illinois and Florida are reeling today after a pair of shootings at separate Halloween events left two dead and more than 30 injured.

In Chicago, 15 people were shot at a Halloween party on the city's west side. Two are in critical condition.

And in Tampa, Florida, police say a fight between two groups during Halloween festivities resulted in two deaths and 16 people hospitalized early this morning. Police say at least two gunman opened fire as hundreds of people were out in the streets in that area. Just moments ago, police announced they arrested a 22-year-old suspect

in the shooting. Tyrell Steven Phillips has been charged with second- degree murder and police say that they continue to look for more suspects.

And in the wake of this week's deadly shooting in Lewiston, Maine, the White House is dispatching an official within the Gun Violence Prevention Office to that state. The serene community is in mourning after 18 lives were lost in a mass shooting on Wednesday.

And tonight a vigil will be held to honor the victims, following Saturday's candlelight vigil in nearby Lisbon, another community in southern Maine impacted by the terrifying ordeal. They were finally able to gather after a manhunt for the gunman ended when his body was found Friday night with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEN LEDNUM, PRESIDENT, POSITIVE CHANGE LISBON: Our community has been under lockdown for a few days now, helicopters -- and it felt like every police agency in the world was here.

Last night, after the press conference and then letting us know there was a start to some closure, the amount of relief that I felt, I knew everyone in the community and our sister community of Lewiston felt.

And I decided at that moment, listen, we need to do something because I'm not the only one feeling this. I needed that sense of community, of family, now that this shared event was over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Last Wednesday, for the victims, it was an ordinary night out, some enjoying a meal, others playing in a cornhole tournament and, among those killed, a married couple, a father and son and members of the deaf community.

And now that they are able to grieve together, the communities can return to the focus being on their lost loved ones. CNN's Jason Carroll shares more about the lives they led before that tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moments after the shooting began Schemengees Bar and Grill restaurant, there were those who sprang into action, putting themselves into harm's way to try and save others and stop the gunman.

Leroy Walker Sr. says his son, Joey, grabbed a butcher's knife and went after the gunman when he was shot and killed.

LEROY WALKER SR., JOEY'S FATHER: Loved by many, loved by myself and he would love back to everybody. So I know you would do such a thing to try to save lives and not let somebody hurt. The people that he loved.

CARROLL: Also killed at the bar, Artie Strout. He leaves behind five children.

Brian McFarlane was there, too. He and other members of the deaf community had gathered at the bar for a cornhole tournament. His sister, who is also deaf, told me the shooting has left her family and the deaf community with a deep sense of loss.

KERI BROOKS, BRIAN MCFARLANE'S SISTER: You know, I want people to know how big this is impacting the deaf community; that, you know, we've lost four community members, not only just Brian but we've lost three other friends as well from this tragedy. And this community, it is a huge loss.

CARROLL: Another tournament participant, 39-year-old Peyton Brewer- Ross, was killed. He leaves behind a daughter, who had just turned 2.

Joshua Seal was there for the tournament as well.

GOV. JANET MILLS (D-ME): Our state has been largely successful in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

CARROLL: He gained attention as an interpreter for Maine's governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[17:00:00]