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CNN International: Israel Forces Pushing Further Into Gaza; Strikes Near Gaza Hospital After Israel Evacuation Warning; Internet Cell Service Being Restored In Gaza. 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.
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[17:00:58]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Becky Anderson in Doha. You are watching Breaking coverage of the Israel Hamas war.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. I'll be back a little later in the show with a roundup of other news from around the world.
ANDERSON: We begin this hour in Gaza where fighting is intensifying and so is the frustration. Israel says it launched more than 450 airstrikes at Hamas targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours. The aerial pounding comes as Israeli forces push into Gaza CNN and seen evidence of Israeli troops at least two miles into the north of Gaza. And the frustration over the rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis, the Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli airstrikes are causing damage to the outputs hospital one of the biggest in Gaza. Israel has told the Red Crescent to evacuate the facility and has warned that Hamas fighters are hiding in and around the facility. Where thousands of Gazans raided U.N. warehouses on Sunday. They took bags of flour and other essential items. It's a sign of how desperate things have become.
Some aid trucks have made their way through the roof or crossing from Egypt today on Sunday and internet and cell phone services that were cut off on Saturday appear to be coming back online and Nic Robertson is in set on just a short distance from the Israel Gaza -- Gaza border. Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON: Yes, Becky. There have been reports of clashes between the IDF and Hamas fighters around the arrows crossing. The IDF says that they found and discovered an underground tunnel that Hamas was using close to that. One of the principal border crossings in and out of is in and out of Gaza. Of course that has been shut since October the 7th. But in that firefight that ensued, the IDF say that they killed a couple of Hamas operatives wounded others. Now Hamas has made counterclaims and said that it has hit in that area, a couple of Israeli tanks and injured -- injured soldiers there. The IDF says that that's not true.
What we do know to be accurate is that the IDF does now have troops a couple of miles inside of Gaza. And judging by the images we've been able to look at it does appear as if those troops are close to the sea and their route in from the north, or from the southern end of Israel into the northern part of Gaza would seem to take them on a route that would avoid dense civilian neighborhoods in densely populated neighborhoods. And certainly that's been an important point that President Biden has belabored again, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a phone call talking about the importance of avoiding civilian casualties.
It's been relatively quiet here today in terms of artillery strikes, tank fire, all the sounds of war that we've heard over the past few days much quieter. But I have to say over the past half an hour or so maybe our there's been an uptick in the number of fighter jets flying over the northern end of Gaza here. We've seen a number of red and orange flashes coming up. Not the sound of explosions, not as big as we've witnessed over recent days. But it does feel as if into the night now there's a slight pickup in tempo of some military activity. But again, nothing compared to what we've witnessed over the past few days. Becky.
ANDERSON: Is it clear at this point? I'm trying to get to the bottom of -- of what the tactics are here, and how successful the Israelis believe they have been. We know what the objectives are. They were clearly laid out by the Prime Minister and the defense minister last night. The dismantling of Hamas is military and government political infrastructure and also the release of these hostages. The numbers now some 230 hostages being held in Gaza. Not all of those hostages, as we understand it are being held by Hamas.
[17:05:12]
What about the tactics? What -- what is the IDF revealed as far as its successes and its challenges on the ground.
ROBERTSON: It's trying to position itself to achieve both of those goals. It's trying to position itself where it can have a bigger incursion. That's what appears to be underway. But I think the question that's being asked is also a pressure point on Hamas to -- is this a pressure point on Hamas to try to get them to negotiate better, give better terms for the release of hostages? Are they pausing for that? Because the pause, that sort of, of the downscaling of the intensity of the fighting that we've heard today, sort of has been symptomatic of other moments since October 7, when there has been greater levels of, let's say, behind the scenes diplomacy, which has resulted in the release of four hostages up until now.
Is that what we're witnessing? Is this a big moment of pressure on Hamas rather than the intent to go pushing ahead with a full scale incursion? It isn't clear, but in military terms, it would seem unlikely that the IDF is going to pause stuck inside Gaza for a long time without -- without either reinforcing or, or pulling back.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the border. Thank you, Nic. Diplomatic sources tell CNN the U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at the request of the United Arab Emirates regarding Israel's ground invasion of Gaza. Now the UAE which represents the Arab bloc, that's 15. Nations at the U.N. will seek a binding resolution from UNSC members for an immediate humanitarian pause. We understand from our sources that the draft text calls for an immediate humanitarian truce and further calls for humanitarian pauses.
Now it comes after 120 countries voted for a U.N. General Assembly Resolution on Friday. That is largely symbolic, of course, that call for a sustained humanitarian truce. The U.S. was one of 14 countries that voted against the resolution with 45 abstaining.
Well, Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Sunday their first conversation since Israeli troops began their incursion into northern Gaza. U.S. officials say they are telling the Israeli leadership it is important to protect civilian lives even as Israel tries to root out Hamas terrorists who accuses of using civilian areas and facilities for cover. The U.S. President also spoke to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday. They discussed efforts to ensure that the conflict in Gaza does not spread to other parts of the region. And that is a really big concern.
As I speak to sources around this region, or I mean, Doha and Qatar tonight by speak to people around this region. There is a real concern that this latest round incursion in Gaza could spark a wider regional conflict. One of the reasons, one has to assume why the UAE as the leader of the Arab bloc at the U.N. is pushing for a binding resolution for a humanitarian pause. The U.S. President spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. That is where CNN's Kevin Liptak is tonight.
My sources telling me that this was this binding resolution UAE is pushing for in an emergency meeting on Monday would be an opportunity, if the language is sufficient for the U.S. to actually vote for that resolution. Of course, it vetoed a resolution a week and a half ago, which called for an immediate ceasefire. Is there any indication that the U.S. has got to the point at which it might be ready to work with the rest of the world on a humanitarian truce? Or pause at least?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think you've right Well, I think when it comes to this resolution itself, it's all going to be what is included in the language because the reason the U.S. objected to the previous attempts at the U.N., was that it didn't wasn't strong enough on language about Hamas, and it wasn't strong enough on the language about the hostages. So I think it remains to be seen whether this particular resolution will meet muster for the United States. But the idea of a humanitarian pause is something that the White House supports and it is something that President Biden has spoken about with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. He has talked about it more vocally over the last week or so, in the context of getting those hostages out, in particular, with the you know, assumption that it would be very difficult to release a large number of hostages.
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If Gaza is coming under bombardment from the Israelis, what the U.S. hasn't done necessarily so far is expand on the scope of that pause. How long it would last? What exactly it would consist of, but this is all elements of the discussions with the Israelis, including earlier today. And that telephone call that President Biden held with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Head of that call, we did get a little glimpse of what the two men would be discussing from the American national security adviser Jake Sullivan. He spoke to our colleague, Jake Tapper, listen to a little bit of what he said.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. 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 darkness, 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 principal. 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 his position on this issue. It is clear. It is straightforward, and we believe that it is rooted in the fundamental laws of war.
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LIPTAK: Now we did get a summary of that phone call from the White House just in the last hour or so. The two men also discussed this issue of hostages, Jake Sullivan saying today that the U.S. remains in hourly contact with its regional partners to try and get those hostages released. And even despite this escalation in the Israeli conflict, he still says that they believe there's a pathway forward for that to happen. Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Kevin. Thank you. Well, Israel says it's soldiers confronted terrorists who are exiting a tunnel near Gaza ziggurats crossing on Sunday injuring and killing several of them. The IETF says the incident took place as its troops carried out operations in the area. Now (inaudible) is one of the two main crossings in and out of Gaza for civilians.
Colin P. Clarke is director of research at the Soufan Group, a Global Intelligence and Security Consultancy, and he joins me now live from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sir, you will be aware of, you know, where the IDF says it is at what its objectives are in this ground incursion, and further, further military action from the air and sea. Is it clear to you what its tactics are and whether it can be successful in dismantling Hamas, its military and political infrastructure at this point.
COLIN P. CLARKE, DIR. OF RESEARCH, THE SOUFAN GROUP: Yes, thanks for having me. It's a -- it's a tall task even for the IDF which is one of the most elite fighting units in the world. So what we're seeing right now is combined arms maneuvers. We're seeing elite tank and engineering units clearing the way for what's likely to come and the days and weeks ahead, soldiers and more armor. This is counterinsurgency preparation. This is entering, clearing and
attempting to ultimately hold territory. And there's a focus on the tunnels. There's a focus on the underground infrastructure. And there's a focus right now on targeting underground combat spaces.
ANDERSON: What happens next?
CLARKE: It's really difficult to say. I think we're going to see, you know, continued assaults by Hamas to attempt to penetrate into Israel. We're likely going to see continued bombardment of Northern Gaza. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Hezbollah step up on the Northern Front attempting to draw away IDF resources to make it more of a drain on personnel on Israeli armor and, you know, other assets the Israelis have.
ANDERSON: And it was that Northern Front as well as the West Bank where the IDF had had its focus until October the 7th of course. What do you make of what -- what does seem to have been an enormous intelligence failure, one that Benjamin Netanyahu pinned on the security and intelligence forces earlier on today and then retracted that apologize for doing so, you know, the sense being sort of, you know, the fog of war here. But there's clearly a lot of domestic pressure building to work out what went wrong. I mean what do you make of -- of what we've witnessed?
CLARKE: I think it's one of the reasons we've seen the pause and the IDF ground invasion. Part of its diplomatic pressure from the United States and U.S. allies. The other is a legitimate concern on the Israelis part that if they missed October 7, and all the signs that led up to it, what else are they missing? What else don't they know about this underground network or labyrinth of tunnels? What awaits them, you know, in Gaza? And I think there's real hesitancy there's real trepidation for what -- what can be ahead, including, you know, the lives of hostages that Hamas and other groups are holding right now. So to me, those are some of the reasons why we've -- we've seen almost this very slow build up to what's about to happen.
ANDERSON: It's clear that the Israeli see this incursion in this fight this war, as declared the state of war through the lens of self- defense and counterterrorism. Is that to your mind, the correct lens, because that lens was created after 911 of course.
CLARKE: Look, it's just a piece of the puzzle. And you know, I've spent my life studying insurgencies and terrorist groups, and none of these, these groups are ever going to go away. Just, you know, on warfare alone, just on combat. There's got to be a political solution at the end of the day. And that's something else that I think the United States and its allies are talking to the Israelis about what comes next the day after the military operation stops? What's the plans to prevent Hamas 2.0, from growing right back in Gaza, and continuing to threaten Israel?
And I think that's a heavy lift, it's going to take, you know, a lot of diplomatic effort, a lot of strategic planning. And that's, that's likely going on behind the scenes right now as we speak. ANDERSON: Well, let's talk about that. Because that is clearly what is
going on behind the scenes. Much talk that that Israel hasn't, hasn't come up with a concrete plan as of yet very focused on, you know, the next. So this this current phase, but it's important, the day after tomorrow, as it were. What are you -- given your experience, what do you make of what that plan should look like?
CLARKE: Well, at a certain point, you've got to give people living in Gaza dignity. You've got to give them an opportunity to, to live their life. And so if you look at the demographics there, you look at unemployment, all of these things factor into, you know, a willingness to join a group like Hamas. If there's a legitimate path forward to a political solution, or a political settlement, that's going to draw away people that would otherwise be drawn to militancy. So there's got to be some kind of future politically, for Palestinian people. There's got to be some kind of future Palestinian state. The Israelis refer to this as mowing the grass. And that gives you a sense of you know, that there's been very limited, you know, political options, right? Grass always grows back, right? And so they've got to get beyond just mowing the grass, otherwise, we're going to be here in 6, 12, 18 months.
ANDERSON: Mowing the grass, of course, a term that's used to maintain the sort of status quo, and what have been these cycles of violence sort of putting Hamas back into a box as far as Israelis are concerned. I don't think there's many people who will say, including Israel at this point, that that is a satisfactory strategy going forward. And as you rightly point out, what is -- how do you prevent that grass growing from the Israeli perspective going forward? And what -- what will that plan look like? What will the will Gaza look like and who will live there going forward? And how will it be run? Incredibly important questions, which we will continue to press for answers on. Thank you, sir.
CLARKE: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Bianca would back with the rest of the news after this short break.
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NOBILO: In the next hour, the devastated community of loosen in the U.S. state of Maine is set to hold a vigil. Mourners want to honor the 18 people killed in Wednesday's mass shootings. On Saturday night a candle that tribute was held in Lisbon, another community in Southern Maine impacted by the terrifying ordeal. The White House says an official from its Gun Violence Prevention Office is heading to the state to try and support the grieving communities.
Mexican authorities say 43 People are now known to have died as a result of Hurricane Otis. The category five hurricane hit Mexico (inaudible) out of state on Wednesday, causing widespread destruction. Officials say more than 200,000 homes were impacted and 80% of hotels in the area were damaged. Also in the U.S., the United Auto Workers Union has reached a tentative contract agreement with Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler. The union hammered out a new contract with Ford last week, more than 14,000 UAW workers will soon be back on the job as the ratification process -- processes at Stellantis begins. The UAW meantime is expanding its ongoing strike against General Motors.
Ukraine has issued evacuation orders for children in 10 settlements in the hockey region in the country's northeast. It's due to what the region's military administration is calling constant hostile shelling 275 children are being told to move along with their family or at least one guardian. It follows similar measures in Donetsk and (inaudible).
Two passenger trains collided in India Sunday. A government official tells Reuters at least 10 people were killed in the collision in eastern Andhra Pradesh state. Railways official says one of the trains stopped after an overhead cable broke and an oncoming train slammed into it, derailing several carriages of the stop train. Rescue workers want desperately to bring the injured passengers to safety. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences in a message on X.
While the violence between Israel and Hamas rages on by following new signs that the war may escalate into a wider conflict in the Middle East. A live report from Lebanon coming up next.
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ANDERSON: Explosions have been ringing out across Gaza. The IDF says it conducted more than 450 airstrikes in the past day targeting Hamas command centers and missile launch sites. The strikes in con unis to the South were conducted just hours ago. Meantime, the U.N. warning that civil order is starting to break down in Gaza. It says thousands of people broke into some of its warehouses and distribution centers and took wheat flour and other essential items over the weekend. Gazans growing desperate as the humanitarian crisis there worsens.
And we are following growing fears the war between Israel and Hamas could escalate into a wider conflict in the Middle East. Israel says its fighter jet struck Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon on Sunday in response to shelling from quote a terrorist cell towards Northern Israel. CNNs Ben Wedeman joins us now for more from Beirut in Lebanon. Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's been another day Becky of cross border strikes between Hezbollah and Israel and not only Hezbollah, we also know that this group is Jamal Islamia, which is a Sunni militant group based here in Lebanon, claims to fire rockets in the direction of the Israeli community of Qiryat Shemona, which is just over the border. Israel responded, striking what it's called Hezbollah's military infrastructure. But this is really pretty much along the pattern of what we've seen, since essentially the 8th of October, the day after, I must is a surprise attack on Israel. Since then, on a daily basis, Hezbollah and other groups have been firing across the border, and Israel has fired back. Now, so far, they haven't crossed what the Israelis are calling the
threshold of escalation, but it is increasing tensions over the weekend. The U.S. Embassy or rather, on Friday, the U.S. Embassy here in Lebanon advised all American nationals to leave the country now. Now that there are still flights available out of the country, keeping in mind that the beginning of the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, the airport was one of the first targets Israel struck, knocking it completely out of operation. Becky.
ANDERSON: Then the U.N. sorry, the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about us strikes on Iranian proxies in the region. He said that he believes Iran understands the message, the U.S. is sending this just have a listen to specifically what he said.
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SULLIVAN: We, of course, are taking every measure necessary to protect our forces to increase our vigilance and to work with other countries in the region to try to keep this conflict that is currently in Israel and Gaza from spinning out into a regional conflict, but the risk is real and therefore vigilance is high.
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ANDERSON: What has Iran been saying, Ben?
WEDEMAN: What well, we heard actually from Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian President today on social media, and he said that the U.S. has sent messages to the Axis of Resistance, which of course, is led by Iran, but includes Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, various groups in Syria, rather the regime in Syria, as well as groups in Iraq. And he said that they had the but resistant word received a clear message on the battlefield. So the U.S. received a clear message on the battlefield according to Raisi. Now the question is, what battlefield is he referring to? There have been strikes on U.N. -- U.S. forces in Iraq and in Syria, and perhaps the Iranians view this conflict broader than just what's going on in Gaza at the moment and certainly they've been sending mixed messages the Iranians.
[17:30:10]
We've heard on the one hand the foreign minister has on a recent tour of regional capitals. Here in Beirut, he said, priority for Iran is common Lebanon. But then in other places, he talked about the possibility of other fronts opening in the war. And the President Raisi also did say, on social media today that Israel has crossed the red lines, and that may force everyone to take action. What action? We don't know.
Certainly, Hezbollah, for instance, the strongest non-state actor in the region, perhaps the world, an ally of Iran, doesn't necessarily want to get into a full blown war with Israel. It's perhaps doing just enough to show its support for Hamas in Gaza. But at the same time, trying to keep Lebanon from going through a repeat of the 2006 War, which it had with Israel where we saw large parts of the southern suburbs of Beirut, and many towns and cities in southern Lebanon severely damaged in the fighting. So it's a very thin line that they seem to be walking. So far, however, it hasn't gone so far as to precipitate anything larger than what we're seeing already. Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes. It's some very worrying rhetoric at this point. Ben, always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed, sir. Well, the lead prosecutor at the International Criminal Court tells CNN that Israel will need to justify striking civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Karim Khan said and I quote here, "There should be no doubt that every decision maker from head of government to military advisors, to lawyers that have targeting making decisions should be unclear notice that they will be required to justify every strike against every civilian object." What I can say clearly is the willful killing and hostage taking are great breaches of the Geneva Conventions. He also warn that denying humanitarian assistance to civilians is a crime that from the ICC. But it's still unclear exactly what the endgame is by the Israelis.
Our next guest has extensively studied aerial bombardment as a military strategy. In a recent interview, author and professor Robert Pape is doubtful that Israel's tactics so far will separate the civilian population and Hamas. He says, the only way for that to happen is through a political process saying, quote, "There is no other way to separate over 2 million people from the group, telling Gaza's civilian population to move south for their safety is simply not meaningful. History shows that mass bombing campaigns never break the enemy's will. It does the opposite." Robert Pape is the author of -- is bombing to win air power and coercion in war and is a political -- is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and he joins us now.
I was really interested to -- to read -- to read your, you know, your -- your, your thoughts today. And just -- just explain a little more the conceit of your argument, if you will.
ROBERT PAPE, AUTHOR, "BOMBING TO WIN: AIR POWER AND CORRECTION IN WAR: Yes, thank you, Becky. I think it's unlikely that Israel is going to achieve its military objectives and is likely already producing more terrorists than its killing. In order to defeat terrorist groups like Hamas, we know that it's important to separate the terrorists from the local population because otherwise, you can kill terrorists. But they will be replaced by others, sometimes many, many others, and they will take their place. Well, what's happening right now in Gaza is not the separation of Hamas in the local population but actually the integration of Hamas and the local population. And in fact, as we already see, a thousand civilians in Gaza have been killed. They will have family members. They will have cousins, who are likely already being recruited by Hamas in large numbers.
The order is to ask a million people, the entire population of Northern Gaza to move south are just unlikely to be meaningful. Hundreds of thousands cannot move in a meaningful way. They're too young, too old. They're in hospitals. This is just not possible. And even if they did, Hamas -- many of the Hamas can Simply go with them.
[17:35:00] What we have learned is that in order to defeat terrorist groups, you need long campaign, sustained selective pressure over years, not just simply a month or two or three. And the very effort to try to finish off the group in a month or two ends up producing more terrorists than it kills.
ANDERSON: What's Israel's alternative at this point? It says it has two objectives, to dismantle Hamas and at the same time, and there are many who are suggesting this is -- this is contradictory but at the same time, get the release of these hostages, 230 men, women, children, both civilian and military soldiers or people of reservist age, released from Gaza. What do you make of that?
PAPE: Well, I think Israel means an alternative strategic vision for defeating Hamas. Right now, the vision is going heavy militarily, first, figure out the political process later. I think there's an alternative, which is now, not later, start the political process toward a pathway to a Palestinian state to create a viable alternative for Palestinians to Hamas. That is the crucial way to drive a wedge between the population in Gaza. And I would also say, the West Bank, and Hamas. And without doing that are going through that political process now, what's going to happen instead, and it's already happening is the civilian Palestinians are being intertwined, even more and more and more with Hamas, because they really have no meaningful alternative. And at a minimum, one for many, many, many months, if they ever do. There's -- there's crucial thing that I just want to --
ANDERSON: Robert, Benjamin Netanyahu has been -- been Prime Minister on and off for, yeah, Netanyahu -- Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu has been Prime Minister on and off since 1996. And that has never been his clear policy. His clear policy has been what is known as mowing the grass, you know, managing the cycles of conflict back into a box, managing Hamas to a certain extent, whilst many will argue, depleting, you know, the assets and -- and efficiency and effectiveness of the Palestinian authority so that there -- so that there isn't a path, necessarily to a political horizon or political solution for the Palestinians. See, what you're saying is there needs to be a significant gear change at this point from a Prime Minister who has not shown willing over the past, what? 25 years and that gear change needs to happen now, like today.
PAPE: Exactly, Becky. And what's important is to see there is an alternative strategic conception that would be far more likely to defeat Hamas. And the crucial change is that today, Israel is adopting a strategy of military first go in heavy bash, dot, dot, dot, political process later, if ever. This is likely to fuse Hamas in the local population. The alternative, as I said, is to do the political process simultaneously with a sustained selective military operation against Hamas. This over time is likely to really produce some success, and in fact, is in line with how we have seen success against terrorist groups by the United States and others over time.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
PAPE: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Incredibly important analysis as we watch what is going all on the ground in Gaza at present and look to what may happen next. Bianca will be back with other news after this short break.
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[17:41:46]
NOBILO: Friends and family are continuing to express shock and sadness at the death of the much loved actor Matthew Perry. The American- Canadian star made his name with his witty portrayal of Chandler Bing on Friends, the sitcom that you probably know became a massive TV phenomenon. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL GREEN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, FRIENDS: There's only one banana nut muffin left.
MONICA GELLER, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, FRIENDS: Oh, I wanted mine first.
CHANDLER BING, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, FRIENDS: Yeah, but I'm -- I'm so much faster.
GELLAR: Give it to me.
BING: No.
GELLAR: Give it to me.
BING: Okay, you can have it.
GELLAR: There you go. Enjoy your coffee.
BING: That was there when I got here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Perry was found dead this weekend at his Los Angeles home. He was 54 Authorities say there was no foul play and sources quoted in the L.A. Times said that he died in an apparent drowning accident. CNNs Camila Bernal is standing by for us in Los Angeles. Camila, we have an actor who is as famous as Matthew Perry was particularly in the late 90s and the early 90 or early 90s. But today as well, many people can feel like they know them on some level but what to his family and friends and also he himself wants to communicate about his legacy.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think that the one thing he wanted people to know about him was that he wanted to help people and he wanted to help people with addiction because that was his struggle. And he said he wanted to share what he went through because he wanted others to relate to him, to be able to learn from his experience, to see that someone else was going through that as well. But it is really important to point out that our sources are telling us that no foul play is suspected. We are waiting for details on his death.
But just moments ago into CNN, the new record with the medical examiner's office, his body is now with the ME's office. But the new record in terms of cause of death shows deferred, which means that there are more investigative steps needed to confirm that cause of death. So we will have to wait for authorities to do these exams.
Now, we know that normally to get a complete report to when it comes to the autopsy and toxicology, it normally takes a few weeks. So it may take some time here, which is also part of the reason why now what people are saying is that they are just shocked to hear about the news. They were not expecting his death at just 54 years old. He had shared a lot of his struggles in his memoir that was released in November of 2022 and in those interviews that he did to promote his memoir. He had spoken out and said that he wanted to be remembered as someone who lived well, someone who loved well, who was a seeker.
Of course, many of us know him from his acting career he started out with smaller roles and landed more prominent roles and eventually got that role of Chandler in Friends and that really was what made famous. This group, the cast was extremely close both on and off screen, and they famously negotiated their contracts together being -- becoming some of the highest paid TV actors at the time. And so we are waiting to hear from the cast of Friends. We've not heard from them yet. But there are others in Hollywood who are saying just how sad they are and how much joy Matthew Perry brought to them through his work, of course, work that will live on not just with Friends. But the many other movies and TV shows that he was on, Bianca.
NOBILO: We do keep seeing these outpours of sadness but then also people thanking him for all the joy and humor that he brought to their lives and help them get through difficult moments when obviously we know about the personal demons that he struggled with for so many years. Camila Bernal, thank you very much for joining us today. And that is all from London. But my colleague Becky Anderson will be back after this break with more news for you from the Middle East. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: Tens of thousands of people turned out in cities across Europe this weekend to protest at rallies in support of the Palestinians and to protest Israel-Hamas war and the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza. In Rome, marches is carrying the flag of Palestine rallied near the Coliseum. In Berlin and protesters filled the streets demanding a ceasefire in the conflict. London saw its third straight weekend of protests marches there criticizing the Sunak government's stance on the war. It has stopped short of calling for a formal ceasefire. The Prime Minister says he is in favor of specific pauses to allow more aid to get into Gaza.
Well, I'm joined now by one of the organizers of Saturday's rally in London. Kamel Hawwash is the Chair of the U.K. based Palestine Solidarity campaign. And I just wonder, can you explain the sort of atmosphere within which this demonstration or -- or rally in support of the Palestinian people was held? KAMEL HAWWASH, CHAIR, PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN: Yes, I mean, this is -- as you said, this was the third demonstration. The numbers have been getting larger rather than smaller. The call is for a free Palestine. It is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people. People have been watching the pictures on -- on Al Jazeera on CNN and other channel coming out of Gaza. And they've been completely horrified by the terror that Israel is heaping on the Palestinian people on the civilians. They call this a -- a war between Israel and Hamas. But it's clearly a war between Israel and the Palestinian people. And that is what is bringing people onto the street to say, first of all, that they stand with the Palestinian people, that they find the position of the British government shameful, and they want the ceasefire now. Unless there's a ceasefire, people will continue to die. And therefore, that is what Rishi Sunak here in the U.K. supporting the death of more people on both sides. Because let's be clear, Israel is bombing Gaza, and there are rockets flying out of Gaza that could injure Israelis. So he is -- in -- in this case, he thinks he's supporting Israel's right to self-defense. But the best way of ending the killing, the pictures we are seeing on our television screens, is to say no, we must insist on a ceasefire and aid must go in, in huge amounts not in five or ten trucks, what they used to get
ANDERSON: Right.
HAWWASH: You know, 600 trucks a day.
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ANDERSON: Let's -- let's -- let's talk about where we are at because there was a -- there was a non-binding vote. You know, it's -- it's a sort of moral vote in the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, which the U.K. supported. That was for a sustained immediate, durable ceasefire or humanitarian pause, at least. And there is an opportunity on Monday at the U.N. Security Council and Britain, of course, is a permanent member of that security council for a resolution, a text of which I have seen which at least in principle is calling for humanitarian -- humanitarian pause immediately and then for humanitarian pauses going forward. That at least to your mind, would it be a step in the right direction?
HAWWASH: Well, first of all, I think the U.K. abstained but I -- I genuinely have forgotten. I think they abstained rather than support it. But at the end of the day, the U.K., yes, isn't the Security Council, but Israel used its veto. And I mean, that the Americans are the people who put their hands up to support Israel's veto. That is the place where the whole world should have taken responsibility for what it's happened and for -- for stopping the killing. And it is there and under Chapter 7, that they should have said, no more killings. We must have a ceasefire.
We are more than three weeks now, since the really unfortunate events of the seventh of October happen. And the focus should now be on saving lives. It is clear from the numbers we hear, approaching 10,000 Palestinians and we have 1,400 or so Israeli Israeli's killed, that the numbers are likely to keep escalating, because there are still people under the rubble. And the only way that we can, you know, support the Palestinians and the Israelis now and for people who feel -- well, you know, what do we do, because that's the question is to say, yes, there was a lead from the General Assembly. Well, at -- but it doesn't have any -- any powers. And therefore, it is for governments to say, no, we must insist on a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire because that is the only way we will save the children, we will save women, and we will make sure that people can to pick up the pieces because as -- as I'm sure Becky, you've seen. We have to ask where will people return to when there's a ceasefire. For many there are no homes to return to because Israel has demolished them out of spite and revenge. No other reason.
ANDERSON: Well, they say it's out of self-defense so that they actions that they are, you know, engaged in at the moment, and I'm going to stand corrected and thank you for for making the point. The U.K. did abstain in that Friday, UNGA vote on a immediate sustained and -- and durable ceasefire. There was another opportunity as I -- as I pointed out, possibly on Monday at an emergency Security Council meeting when there will be a text.
I know in draft at present, a text presented, which in principle, as we understand it will call for a humanitarian pause. Let's see how the U.K. respond at that meeting. They will certainly hear the words of -- of Martin Griffiths who is the head of Archer and the words of Philip Lazzarini who -- Philip loves really is the head of the UNRWA organization, the U.N.'s organization on the ground, which has lost many, many colleagues in Palestine. And -- and is really struggling to provide the sort of support that a Gazans need at present.
It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Look, we came to Doha on Friday, and our sources here in Qatar had told us that they had made significant progress towards a deal to get the civilian hostages held by Hamas out. Hours later, Israel launched its second phase of this war as we've been reporting the civilian toll is massive. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at the behest of the UAE tomorrow about Israel's ground invasion in Gaza. The UAE which represents the Arab bloc will seek a binding resolution from UNSC members for an immediate humanitarian pause. We understand from our sources that the draft text calls for an immediate humanitarian truce and further calls for humanitarian pauses, same for the hostages were measured.
Al Ansari, the adviser to the Prime Minister here in Qatar tells me they are still in touch with both Hamas and Israeli officials and are continuing negotiations. But given the escalation, it has he said become much more difficult. Well, we are keeping a close eye on the situation. And of course, bringing you updates as we get them. For now, that is it from us here in Doha. I'm Becky Anderson more news after this short break.
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