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Israel Continues to Advance Into Gaza, Hamas Hostages Now 239, Palestinian Death Toll at 8,000; Risk of War Expanding in Middle East is Real; Ten Aid Trucks Arrived in Gaza; Matthew Perry Dead at 54; President Biden Spoke with Primi Minister Netanyahu; Mike Pence Drops Out, Trump Wraps Up Campaign in Iowa. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 29, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- said in a statement, "He was a husband, a father of four, and a tireless advocate for the deaf community." A few miles away from the bar at the bowling alley, more victims and more reports of heroic acts like that of Michael Deslaurier II. His father says his son and his son's friends since childhood tried to protect women and children. He says they made sure their wives and several young children were undercover when they charged the shooter. Both men were killed.

Tricia Asselin worked part-time at the bowling alley and tried to call 911 when she was killed. Eighteen lives, now gone. Leroy Walker says his way forward is through faith and forgiveness.

LEROY WALKER, SR., SON KILLED IN SHOOTING: I can't hate this person. I've been taught different than that, I hope, anyways. And I believe in the Lord and I have to feel that way. You can't run around this world hating people. If you do, these kinds of things will happen more and more.

CARROLL (voice-over): Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Thanks so much, Jason. Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we're monitoring several new developments in Israel's war against Hamas. A short time ago Israeli military officials updated the number of hostages held in Gaza. They now say there are 239 people who are being held captive from the Hamas terror attacks three weeks ago.

With the safety of those hostages a top priority, today Israeli forces continue their advancement into Gaza admitting new expanded phase of this war.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Gunfire and explosions were heard across Gaza today. The IDF says airstrikes hit more than 450 Hamas targets in just the last day, including command centers, observation posts and missile launch sites. There are also -- they are also rather seeing dramatic developments at Gaza's second largest hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent says nearby Israeli shelling caused extensive damage, even as 12,000 Gaza civilians are currently sheltering there.

And today, President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the need to protect civilians and to provide humanitarian assistance. Their conversations come as U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned 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.

Meantime, more humanitarian aid is slowly making its way into Gaza. Today, another 10 aid trucks were able to pass through the Rafah border crossing. Let's go now to CNN's Jeremy Diamond live in Ashkelon, Israel. Jeremy, what more do we know about Israel's military advance inside of Gaza?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, more than 48 hours after Israel launched this expanded ground operation inside the Gaza Strip, fighting is still ongoing between Hamas's militants and Israeli troops in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. What has become clear over the last day is that Israeli forces are proceeding quite cautiously.

They are not bulldozing into town after town, but rather they appear to be focusing on trying to take out some of these hardened Hamas positions at the entrance to some of these towns and cities in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, recognizing the fact that if Hamas planned those terrorist attacks more than three weeks ago with such careful planning and sophistication in order to surprise the Israeli military, that they also prepared for the entrance of ground forces inside of Gaza.

And so, while the last two nights we heard very intense aerial bombardments of the Gaza Strip, the most intense and sustained air campaign the we have heard in these three weeks of war, tonight, we have been hearing less intense aerial bombardments. Still some sporadic airstrikes taking place, but the focus right now, it appears, is on tank fire and ground battles between Israeli forces and Hamas's militants inside the Gaza Strip.

[17:04:57]

More than 450 targets have been targeted by Israeli forces over the last day. And as we prepare to head into this -- the fourth day of operations inside the Gaza Strip by these Israeli forces, we are also learning of the toll that this war is taking on Palestinians inside of Gaza. Nearly 8,000 have now been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and about three-quarters of those are believed to be vulnerable populations, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. That includes the elderly, women and children. At the same time, we are learning of more humanitarian aid starting to

make its way into the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continuing to encourage civilians to leave northern Gaza and head for the south. But what we do know, Fred, is that even in the south, Israel has continued to conduct some airstrikes, but they are insisting that more food and water will be allowed into the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Telecommunication services appear to start to be restored in parts of Gaza after they were shut off in the early hours of that Israeli ground offensive inside of Gaza, but still a very tenuous situation, and this ground operation that we have been watching over these last 48 hours, only set to expand from here. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond in Ashkelon, Israel. Thank you so much. As Israel launches hundreds of airstrikes, it says, are aimed at Hamas targets, civilians say they are being caught in the middle. Scott McLean has more on the impact of the airstrikes on Gaza.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There isn't much left of the Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque in central Gaza. The building was flattened by an overnight Israeli airstrike. People inside the neighboring apartment blocks weren't spared either. Roofs were ripped right off, everything now covered in a pale shade of gray. More than a dozen were killed and more injured, according to medical staff at the local hospital, where outside the bodies of those killed are wrapped in white sheets and marked with their names.

Both the IDF and the Israeli prime minister have renewed calls for civilians to urgently evacuate northern Gaza. The apartment buildings next to the mosque were filled with people who had heeded those warnings, believing central Gaza would be safer.

There were no warnings at all, this survivor says. We have seen the entire thing collapsing on us. We didn't know exactly where the hit was. We started running to get our children out. It's a miracle they survived.

This man said there were no warnings. It was a strong airstrike. The people pulled us from underneath the rubble and took us to the hospital. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment. Israel said that overnight some 450 terror targets were hit and say that some strikes were directed by troops now on the ground inside Gaza.

This was the aftermath of one of those strikes on a family home in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A desperate scramble to move slabs of concrete, hoping to find survivors. Instead, they found at least one body. By daybreak, the urgency has gone. A pile of rubble is all that's left.

Hospitals already at the breaking point are only getting more overwhelmed. In Deir al-Balah Saturday, doctors operated on this boy on the floor. The Palestinian Red Crescent now says that Israeli authorities called al-Quds hospital in Gaza City twice with a clear and direct threat that the hospital must be evacuated at once. Otherwise, the Red Crescent holds full responsibility for the lives of everyone inside.

That amounts to hundreds of patients and thousands more people taking shelter. Israel says it called more than twice since the war began and says that Hamas is shielding themselves inside hospitals. Foreign aid is entering Gaza at a trickle. For desperation, apparent in this video of people ransacking a U.N. warehouse carrying out bags of food.

Maybe a temporary lifeline for those people, but the U.N. calls it a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down as the situation in Gaza only gets worse. Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Scott. Coming up in the "CNN Newsroom," Hollywood is saying goodbye to a longtime friend, Matthew Perry. What the "Friend's" creators were saying about his sudden passing, next.

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WHITFIELD: 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)

JENNIFESTR ANISTON, ACTOR: Okay, Chandler, Mon, there's only one banana nut muffin left.

COURTENEY COX, ACTOR: Oh, order mine first.

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: Yeah, but I'm so much faster.

COX: Give it to me.

PERRY: No.

COX: Give it to me!

PERRY: Okay, you can have it.

COX: There you go. Enjoy your coffee.

PERRY: That was there when I got here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The "LA Times" says Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub. His body is now at the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office and an autopsy is pending. Let's bring in now Camila Bernal who has been covering this story. Camila, what have you learned?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fred. So, LAPD saying through sources that no foul play is suspected here, but this is obviously now in the hands of the LAPD. They are the ones that are investigating his death. The 911 call yesterday came in at 4:07 p.m. and it was for water rescue emergency.

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At 4:10, it was the LAPD who got to his house and then characterized it as a death investigation. As you mentioned, the "LA Times" reporting that he was found on responsive in the bathtub, but no cause of death has been reported at the moment.

And normally a complete autopsy and toxicology report could take several weeks. Now, the family did release a statement saying that they were heartbroken and I want to read part of that statement where they said, "Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and as a friend. You all meant so much to him, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love."

This is someone who wanted to be remembered as a person who helped others. And it's part of the reason why he shared his struggles with addiction. He made it so public through his memoir that was released in November of 2022, and he was candid on interviews. He was emotional and specifically said that he was doing this in part to be relatable to help other people who were going through these same struggles.

He also said in interviews that he wanted to be remembered as someone who lived well, someone who loved well and also as a seeker. Of course, many of us remember his acting career. He started out with small roles and then got more prominent roles, but really it was Chandler in "Friends" that made him famous.

This was a cast that was all very close, off screen and on screen, and we still have not heard from the cast members, but we are hearing from so many others here in Hollywood who say this is a huge loss for the industry, who have said they are heartbroken, shocked, because no one was expecting his death at just 54, and so people are, of course, mourning his loss and remembering the many moments that he left behind on T.V. and on "Friends" as he made us laugh with his of course very funny, very sarcastic character that so many of us can still watch today, thanks to the replays and of course the movies and other shows that he was on, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Alright, Camila Bernal, thank you so much. Let's bring in entertainment reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister. Elizabeth, I mean, this is tough now. You've got the creators who have come out with a statement, you know, about Matthew Perry. And I mean, they're heartbroken.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: They are this was a very tight-knit group the cast of course, but also the creators It is a rare victory in television to even get on the air Let alone to be on for 10 seasons and to be one of the most successful shows. So, this really was a family, and the creators they are saying they are heartbroken in their statement.

They say that once they met Matthew Perry, there was nobody else who could play Chandler Bing. They knew that it was him and only him and I think that millions of viewers around the world would agree with that having watched the show and being longtime fans of the show.

Now the creators, they have released a statement today but the main cast has not said anything yet. We have not heard from Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer. I do anticipate that we will hear from them possibly in a joint statement since they are so close, but we've heard from some other cast members. Morgan Fairchild, who played Matthew Perry's onscreen mom, released a statement, as did Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice on the show.

WHITFIELD: And again Elizabeth, we still don't know the cause of death, but you know people, you know, feel a real connection with him because he has talked openly, you know, about his struggles with addiction. He did so in his recent memoir. And Billy Bush, host and managing editor of "Extra," spoke to CNN last night after news of Perry's death and take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILLY BUSH, EXTRA HOST & MANAGING EDITOR: Instantly I thought, oh no, how horrible. And then I started thinking about what a difficult life he led. He struggled so much off camera. For a guy who was so effortless on camera, his timing and his, you know, his good nature, always just upbeat and quick, and then you realize it's the exact opposite when he's not. I mean, he just struggled, struggled so hard with painkillers and addiction. And I think, you know, we're hearing there's no foul play, but immediately you think what -- wear and tear that poor heart of his took.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Elizabeth, I mean, he was very open about his struggles with variations of substance abuse since he was a teenage kid. I mean, he talked about it openly. Why did he feel that he needed to share that with people and how he might be able to make a difference for others?

WAGMEISTER: This is one of the most heartbreaking pieces of how Matthew Perry's story ultimately came to an end. It was just a year ago and Fred, almost a year ago to the date, Matthew Perry's memoir was released on November 1st of last year, we're of course almost at November.

[17:20:04]

He released this memoir because he said he wanted to help people and he really did just that. He helped so many. We're seeing a lot of outreach and outpouring from Hollywood. Viola Davis is one of the people whose released a statement. And in her statement, she referenced how many people he helped through his book. And he did not hold anything back. He spoke in detail about what he went through, even saying that when he looks back at "Friends," he can tell what he was on, whether he was abusing alcohol, whether he was abusing pills based on his weight in the show.

WHITFIELD: And while you know, he has allowed people to have dialogue and perhaps even get help themselves because of his personal story, really what resonates too is the character that he helped bring to life on "Friends." I mean, talk to us about how that resonated and connected with people.

WAGMEISTER: Absolutely. You are absolutely right that he -- his legacy is going to be for helping people, but also for the work and the character on this show. "Friends" is one of the most highly viewed shows around the world. People are just discovering it. There are kids and teenagers who are just watching "Friends" for the first time today because they're watching it streaming on Max.

So, his character, his talent is going to be around for years and years to come. And when you watch him, of course that whole cast was incredible, but he really was the heart and soul of the show. I remember a few years ago, I was covering a panel with the creators, the ones who released that heartbreaking statement today.

And they actually shared a story, which I'm going to let you in on a little tidbit here. They released a story that said, originally in the script, Monica, who's played by Courtney Cox and Chandler, of course, Matthew Perry's character, they were supposed to be a one-night stand. This was not written as a couple, but people loved this couple and gravitated towards them so much, obviously very much in part to Matthew Perry's character that they realized that this couple had to be there to stay.

WHITFIELD: So, what do you suppose, you know, how are his fellow cast members, you know, handling this when they do decide, you know, to share, you know, their thoughts on how they're feeling? Do you believe it will be collectively, you know, through a kind of statement thing, or do you think they'll present themselves about how touched they are by Matthew Perry and how devastated they are about his passing?

WAGMEISTER: I think they absolutely are devastated. You know, these are real friends, and it's not just somebody that they worked with for a moment in time. This was like a family, and we know that the family of the cast of "Friends" was really there to help Matthew Perry. So, for all of us at home, where we had no idea what was going on until he came forward with this in his memoir, they knew all along.

There's a story that Jennifer Aniston went to Matthew Perry's trailer and said, we all smell the alcohol, we all know what's going on. What is going on here? Let us help you. So, you can imagine to put yourself in their shoes. They were trying to help him for all these years. Now, of course, we do not know the cause of death at all, but this is a man who was not in the best of health, who was very open about his struggles and to be gone at the young age of 54 is sudden. It is shocking. I can only imagine how devastated they are.

WHITFIELD: Right. Very stunning. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much.

WAGMEISTER: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. The White House says President Biden stressed

the need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and protecting civilians during a call today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More on that straight ahead.

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[17:25:00]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. It's the first call between the two leaders since Israel expanded its war against Hamas. This comes as some lawmakers in Biden's own party today are criticizing the United States position in this conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We have to recognize that our credibility and our authority on the moral stage is greatly diminished if we do not also call out these -- this siege that Israel is launching on Gaza as violations of international law. The president and the United States are absolutely responsible because we also have been the largest military backer of aid to Israel. We need to be able to question where U.S. taxpayer dollars are going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Wilmington, Delaware, where the president is spending the weekend. Kevin, so White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan today refused to say the administration supports the way Israel is going about this war. So, what does that mean?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I mean, this is all indicative of this fine line that the White House, that President Biden have been walking throughout this conflict, really demonstrating this staunch support for Israel's right to defend itself, but behind the scenes asking what they call are very tough questions of how they are approaching this, what their objectives of an expanded ground offensive would be, trying to ascertain what they hope to achieve. And you did hear some of that in Jake Sullivan's interview today.

[17:29:53]

He said that even though Hamas is using civilians as human shields, that does not negate the responsibility of Israel to protect civilian lives as it goes about this expanded ground invasion to uphold international humanitarian law.

And you did see some of that buzz behind the scenes earlier today, over the past several days, I should say as well, as the U.S., I'm told applied pressure on Israel to restore connectivity in Gaza after cell connections went out, after the internet was out. That was an important priority for the United States as they worked to work with Israel in this conflict going forward, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for that. All right. While the Republican field of presidential candidates continues to shrink, the front runner just held a campaign rally in Iowa. Hear what he has to say about the dwindling field of challengers when we come right back.

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[17:34:54]

WHITFIELD: All right, just moments ago, Donald Trump wrapped up a campaign rally in Iowa. Today's event comes one day after his former vice president, Mike Pence, dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race. Trump's campaign event also happens as the former president is mired in multiple legal battles and is taking heat for his criticism of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the midst of war with Hamas. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at that Trump rally. So, Jeff, what is Trump focusing on today there?

JEFF ZELENY, CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the former president just finished his remarks here and largely a similar recitation to what he does through really what have been about eight consecutive rallies throughout the month of October in Iowa, trying to make the case that yes, he has a commanding lead in this race, but clearly going after his rivals as well.

Interesting though, the crowd barely responded when he delivered some mocking criticism of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He's like a wounded bird falling from the sky. Oh, there he is. It's Ron DeSanctimonious. He's falling, falling beautifully from the sky. It's a beautiful thing to watch because I got him elected. Does anybody know who Bert Brenner is? He said -- you can have him. I will never run against our president. He's one of the greatest presidents we've ever had. I will not run against our president under any circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELETNY: So even though Mr. Trump has a commanding lead in this race, it is clear which candidates are now on his mind. And that tells you a lot about the state of the race here with a little more than two months before the Iowa caucuses open this Republican presidential nominating contest.

The crowd did respond and applaud and cheer when the former president went after President Joe Biden talking about inflation, talking about his handling of immigration at the border and events around the world. But it was interesting, Fredricka, on those Republican rivals, the crowd was largely silent. Some told me it's out of respect for them, and some are quite frankly still shopping around potentially to other candidates as well.

But the former president, I would say, to use one of his words, a fairly low energy speech here today in Sioux City coming after a weekend of campaigning for him. Of course, he also talked about his indictments and saying they're not coming after me, they're coming after you. That of course has been a familiar refrain we've heard from him throughout the course of this campaign year. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And did he have much to say about the fact that his former vice president is dropping out?

ZELENY: In fact, he didn't mention that at all. And that was sort of interesting as well, because we are seeing this Republican field reshaping at least a bit. But the former president made zero reference to Mike Pence, who of course was serving alongside of him for four years and now has been running against him. But he did talk about him briefly yesterday in Las Vegas, but he made zero mention of him here in Iowa, which certainly was a choice and it seemed to be an interesting one to me, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

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[17:40:00]

WHITFIELD: Small communities near the Gaza border are arming themselves to ensure the October 7th attacks don't happen again. CNN's Rafael Romo spoke with a father and daughter who say they used to be advocates for peace with the Palestinians, but now they aren't so sure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For several long and agonizing hours, Eli Tzur and his family hunkered down in their home shelter built to protect them from air missile attacks. Afraid and unknowing that atrocities were being committed outside on the ground by hordes of attacking terrorists.

ELI TZUR, SURVIVED TERROR ATTACK: If you close it.

ROMO (voice-over): The emergency door meant to be life-saving for families can be deadly when holding it closed against militants.

TZUR: And they shot with the AK-47.

ROMO (on camera): They shot through the door?

TZUR: Yeah, through the door. So it was, you know, people got hurt, got killed because they hold the handle like this.

ROMO (voice-over): A problem that he has since solved with a two by four.

TZUR: You put it like this and the Hamas cannot come inside.

ROMO (voice-over): The IDF says the response to the attacks was a military failure.

JONATHAN CONRICUS, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: It's a military failure that we will have to look into, but it's a military failure that will create the possibility for a much better future.

ROMO (voice-over): Now communities are taking the future into their own hands. Tzur says he was one of five men who organized themselves to protect their Moshav, or Jewish settlement, of about 700 people located just a few kilometers from the border with Gaza after police and soldiers in his community were called to the front lines.

(On camera): So that was it, five men in charge of security for this community?

TZUR: Yeah.

ROMO: With pistols?

TZUR: With pistols. We cannot do nothing against AK-47, but that's what we had.

ROMO (voice-over): The entire Tzur family survived the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, but the emotional wounds are extensive.

GAYA TZUR, ELI TZUR'S DAUGHTER: I don't know if I can deal with this situation anymore.

ROMO (voice-over): Eli Tzur's 27-year-old daughter, Gaya, says she always believed peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians was possible.

G. TZUR: I was always talking about peace and to be okay with them, to live with them.

[17:45:00]

But after that, I learned that maybe there is no people there that want peace with us.

ROMO (voice-over): Gaya has friends who were killed by Hamas. She can't begin to understand the hatred behind the brutal attacks, but she also finds no hope in trading an eye for an eye.

G. TZUR: I don't know. This is not our culture. This is not what my parents taught me, to be happy that Palestinians dead. Never, never.

ROMO (voice-over): Missiles being fired by Hamas right above their heads doesn't help.

(On camera): And this is a situation the families who live here near the border with Gaza face on a daily basis sometimes hour by hour. This is the way it has been. CONRICUS: And at the end of this war, all of those deserted

communities around Gaza, the kibbutzim that have been burned and ruined, they will flourish again and there will again be the sound of Israeli kids playing in their backyards.

ROMO (voice-over): The Tzur's say the terrorist attacks have shattered any hope they had for peace.

(On camera): Can you make a distinction in your mind between the Palestinian people and Hamas?

E. TZUR: I was one of the people that said that the Arabs want to -- not all Arabs are bad, they want to live with us. Now, I'm not so sure about it.

ROMO: Do you want to still live here? Do you want to stay after everything that has happened?

E. TZUR: I'm going to die here. I'm going to die here. I have a great -- a lovely plot in the cemetery.

ROMO (voice-over): For some Jewish families who live along the border with Gaza, the October 7 terrorist attacks mark a before and an after. But they say the hard lessons they learned that tragic day about protecting themselves will only make them stronger and ensure their survival. Rafael Romo, CNN, at the Israeli border with Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And nearly 8,000 people have now been killed inside Gaza. That's according to the Palestinian Health Ministry drawing on sources inside the Hamas controlled enclave. The region has been pummeled by Israeli airstrikes after Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 on October 7th.

The main United Nations relief agency inside Gaza today saying recent lootings of its aid supplies are evidence of growing hunger and desperation in the enclave. And this morning, CNN's Jake Tapper pressed White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Israel's decision to send troops inside the Gaza Strip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We can go back however many years people want, if whether they want to start. in the Hashemite Kingdom or the Ottoman Empire or 1948 or 1968 or 1973 or 2000 or 2008, whenever they want to start the conversation, we can start. But if we want to start on October 7th, we can start on October 7th.

And the bottom line is, as long as far as the IDF is concerned, the government of the country next door invaded, killed 1,400 of their citizens and went back, and they have a right to take out that government. That's how the IDF sees it. And I get that the Biden administration is on board. My question is, is the IDF going about this the right way? Do you think they are going about this the right way? JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: What we believe

is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the IDF, the Israeli government, should be taking every possible means available to them to distinguish between Hamas --

TAPPER: And are they?

SULLIVAN: -- terrorists who are legitimate military targets and civilians who are not. And I'm not going to react to every strike, every move that they make. What I'm going to say is that is our principle, that is our advice to them, that is what we are communicating. And we continue to do that at the highest levels. The president will speak again with the prime minister in a few hours' time today and he will continue to reiterate the United States' position on this issue. It is clear, it is straightforward, and we believe that it is rooted in the fundamental laws of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more on the brutality of life for civilians inside Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to believe this was Gaza just a few weeks ago. Little Noor (ph) dressed in his finest, dancing with his brother at a wedding. His mother, Wasal, (ph) still can't believe her boy is gone. He was holding my hand as I took him to make him a sandwich, she says. He didn't get to eat it. Shrapnel cut through his neck. He's now in heaven. God give me strength to deal with this.

[17:50:00]

The airstrikes that took 6-year-old Noor (ph) and other relatives left her with injuries all over her body and the unbearable pain so many Palestinian mothers are having to endure. There's a void in my heart. I can't even cry, she says. I really want to cry. But the tears are not coming out. Why can't I get it out? I want to cry for my little boy.

Recovering at a hospital, she just wants to get back to her three other children, now homeless, sheltering at a school. Hell is raining down on Gaza. Israel says it's going after Hamas and doing what it can to spare the innocent, but it is the innocent who are paying the heaviest price. In the few hospitals still barely standing, the pictures are too graphic for us to show, but faces here tell of the horrors they've survived and this living nightmare they can't escape.

Three-year-old Judy (ph) hasn't uttered a word in 16 days. She won't eat or drink, her father says. Still in shock with a piece of shrapnel lodged in her head. What did these children do? We have nothing to do with the resistance, he says. They're just targeting Palestinians. They're killing children because they're Palestinian. To them, we're not humans. They don't know if she'll be able to walk again. Judy (ph) is one of the lucky ones if one can call them that, she

still has her father by her side. Baby Orwa (ph) keeps asking for her mom. She's too young to understand, her uncle says. Orwa has (ph) lost her mother, her brother, and her sister too. She shows the camera her ouch (ph).

Every corner of every hospital, so many heart-wrenching stories of loss so hard to comprehend. Dereen (ph) only wakes up to cry, her aunt says, in a room with her seven-year-old brother, Kinan (ph). The two were the only ones to survive an airstrike that killed their mother, father, brother and dozens of their extended family. Kinan (ph) doesn't say much these days. He asks me if we have internet here. He says I want to call mommy and daddy, his aunt says.

Doctors in these overwhelmed hospitals say every day brings a constant stream of children with no parents and a flood of injured they just don't have enough to treat. With the little they have, they do what they can. But how do you begin to deal with so many going through so much? Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Beirut.

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[17:55:00]

WHITFIELD: Alright, this just into CNN. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner is indicating additional investigation is required in "Friends" star Matthew Perry's death. Let's bring in Camila Bernal, who is joining us now from Los Angeles. So, what do they mean?

BERNAL: Hey Fred, so the online record now shows deferred as the cause of death. And so according to the guidelines here, if there is no conclusion when they have an autopsy, then what this means is that additional studies are completed. And so, what this essentially means is that we'll likely have to wait more time -- for more time as they continue these investigative steps and studies.

We do know that the "LA Times" is reporting this as an accident. They said his body was found unresponsive in his hot tub. But of course, we are waiting for the L.A. Police Department to give us details on their investigation and their findings of exactly what happened. So, we'll both have to wait for the L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office, which appears to be saying that they need just more work in terms of their investigation here to let us know exactly what the cause of death was.

And usually, to get a complete autopsy and toxicology report, it takes a couple of weeks here. So, we will likely by waiting a few more days, maybe weeks before we get answers to exactly what happened after this 911 call was made yesterday around 4:07 p.m. It was for a water rescue and it was LAPD who responded at 4:10 and indicated that this was now a death investigation. So, there's a lot of steps here, a lot of questions to be answered and we continue to press LAPD and of course, continue to ask the medical examiner's office to give us updates on exactly what is happening here.

But at the moment, his death is being labeled as deferred, which again means that more investigation here is needed, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila Bernal, thank you so much in Los Angeles. And thank you so much for -- all right. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jim Acosta and Wolf Blitzer right now.

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