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Israel: "New Phase Of War" As Gaza Ground Operations Expand; World Health Org.: Health Workers, Patients And Civilians In Gaza Spent Night "In Darkness And Fear"; "Friends" Actor Matthew Perry Dead At 54; Netanyahu: Goal Is To Destroy Hamas And Return Hostages; 'Kidnapped From Israel' Posters Being Vandalized; Death Toll In Mexico Reaches 39 After Landfall This Week. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 29, 2023 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:42]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber with the very latest on Israel at war. It's 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning in Gaza. The start of another day filled with dread and uncertainty for 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

All around them, Israel's warplanes and artillery continue to pound the landscape. Israel says it's been hitting Hamas targets including tunnels and underground combat spaces. The IDF is again urging people to head south as it expands ground operations inside Gaza. Now all this as hundreds of thousands of Israeli forces prepare for an expected incursion into the enclave in response to the Hamas massacre as of October 7th. Here's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our heroic fighters have one supreme goal to destroy this murderous enemy and ensure the existence of our country. We always said never again, never again is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Inside Gaza, reports indicate cellular and internet communications have been partially restored. But hospitals are a capacity if they're functioning at all. There isn't enough food, water, medicine or fuel to go around. The president of the Palestinian Authority which controls the West Bank offered this dire assessment of the situation in Gaza. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT: Our people in the Gaza Strip are facing a war of genocide and massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces in full view of the entire world. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN crews near the Gaza border had been observing the heightened military activity throughout the past day and night. Our Nic Robertson has the latest from Sderot, Israel.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, it's only when the intense artillery barrages the tank fire, the heavy machine gun fire, the missile strikes, it's only when they ease off that you can actually hear what's happening on the battlefield. Right now, we can just about hear, well, that was another artillery strike. We can just about hear the tracks on some of the tanks and armored fighting vehicles that are down there right at the border, right at the Gaza fence.

They're less than a mile from where we are right now. But through the night, it has been very, very intense at times, multiple missile strikes lighting up the sky, huge detonations. We've heard helicopters come in close heavy machine gunfire from those helicopters in a way that we haven't heard before along the front line here. We've heard heavy tank fire being fired out from close to here, so heavy so sustained going on for long periods of time that this building was shaking as well.

We've heard multiple artillery rounds going in from artillery batteries to the north and to the south of where we are. Huge detonations from those. Flares we've seen in the sky as well. The whole indication of the whole tempo here through the night is one of continued military confrontation of this buildup of what the Prime Minister has talked about, has talked about more commanders and warfighters being inside enemy territory, that this is going to the next phase to another phase of the operation.

And that's what we've been witnessing play out here through the night. Intense, very intense at times. And that the sound of the impacts, the sounds of the -- of some of the artillery and tanks firing out so strong here, it's hard to imagine just how intense that could be on the ground in Gaza.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Sderot, Israel.

BRUNHUBER: On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with some of the family members of the hostages taken by Hamas. They gathered in Tel Aviv where people held up photos of the missing and wrote messages on a giant banner joining together to call for a comprehensive deal from the government to ensure the safe return of their loved ones.

But there's also a sense of growing frustration with some saying they feel left in the dark about whether a ground operation in Gaza could endanger the wellbeing of the hostages. Netanyahu has declared a new phase in the war with Hamas. He also promised that every effort would be made to retrieve the more than 200 hostages, while the ground offensive will complicate further efforts to negotiate their release.

[01:05:13] So for more on all that joining me now is Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., thank you so much for joining us here. So I just want to start with what we're seeing now. Is this do you think that the start of the ground incursion? I mean, what is this next phase that we're seeing right now?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good to be with you. Yes, it certainly is the ground incursion. It may not look at the way similar incursion has occurred in the past, say, 2014, when the army went in sort of a massive offensive. We're talking here about the American model, interestingly enough, the American model of having forces take over a neighborhood or a village and then using that neighborhood and village as a springboard for the next village and the next neighborhood.

This is as the advantage of reducing the casualties on our side. Keep in mind, this is a citizens army, we're sending our children out there, our fathers, our -- in some cases, our mothers too, to fight. And we understand there's going to be a price to be paid. We want to keep that price as low as humanly possible. It also has the advantage of ramping up pressure on Hamas.

And, though, you know, there's a sense that I've heard in recent days that by in launching the ground initiative, Israel would be forfeiting some of its leverage on Hamas to release the hostages. The sense tears, it's just the opposite, that if Hamas is surrounded and in desperate straits, it will keep the hostages in good shape, it will not harm them, and use them as a last bargaining chip to get out of Gaza. But at the same time --

BRUNHUBER: But on that, can I just ask you, Mr. Ambassador, CNN was told by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the negotiations for the hostages are ongoing. But I want to quote, the escalation makes it considerably more difficult. How would you respond to that?

OREN: Well, of course, well, Qatar speaking -- basically a spokesman for Hamas, of course, he's going to say that. I think it's just logical as the incursion increases and Hamas finds itself increasingly isolated and surrounded, then its terms for releasing the hostages will become, I think, more lenient.

And the initial terms than what they initially said was they wanted an open ended ceasefire, as well as the release of all Hamas prisoners from Israeli jails. And we're talking about terrorists who have the blood of many, many hundreds of Israelis on their hands. And that would be unacceptable to Israeli society.

And a ceasefire would basically being that Hamas wins, we'd get away with mass murder, and Israel would lose its deterrence power. We wouldn't be able to return our population to the south or be anywhere. We have 300,000 evacuees right now. So a ceasefire was a non-starter. So there was nothing really to negotiate in the first round.

Let's see what Hamas position will be as Israeli forces increasingly or advance and surround Hamas headquarters, for example, which is located beneath the biggest hospital in Gaza. BRUNHUBER: Yes. I understand that they're saying no to a ceasefire, but there has been growing international criticism about the growing death toll of civilians in Gaza, as you say, Israel and the U.S. voted against a ceasefire. But now the U.S. calling for humanitarian pauses to allow aid in and U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals out, can the U.S. convince Israel that a pause is necessary?

OREN: It can. But I think there has to be some kind of quid pro quo. And I'm going to be very specific here than and say that I'm not a spokesman for the Israeli government. I'm a citizen now. And I would think that a pause would be possible. But I think that they also have -- Hamas would have to give something. And the thing that Hamas would have to give would be to allow the Red Cross to visit the hostages.

I'm visiting hostage families every day, the great pain is they have no idea many of them, whether the loved ones are actually in captivity, or what their situations if they know. And we're talking about 222 families here. So that would be certainly a quid pro quo. Let's -- let us learn the identities of the hostages and their physical wellbeing that they're OK.

BRUNHUBER: We've seen the conflict expand in different directions, the north from Lebanon, along Egypt's border as well. And we heard Egypt's President yesterday say that the conflict, the expansion of the conflict risks, turning the region into, quote, a ticking time bomb that harms us all. Is he right?

OREN: I certainly think the Middle East is always very unstable. And we have to prepare for any eventuality. Go back to this American model of taking a Gaza, you know, neighborhood by neighborhood, village by village rather than sending say 200,000 Israeli troops in a frontal offensive. Perhaps that will reduce the chances of Hezbollah feeling enhanced to enter the fray.

Hezbollah is a force that's maybe 15, 20 times more powerful than Hamas, 150,000 rockets that are much bigger, longer range, more accurate than the missiles in the hands of Hamas and a very bigger fighting force, bigger terrorist force that's been massacring Syrians for the last decade. So we want to keep Hezbollah out of it. I think that is a common interest we have not just with the United States, but with other governments throughout the region.

[01:10:22]

What it keep this conflict right now isolated to and contained in Gaza, and I think agree with me, it's sufficiently severe in Gaza alone.

BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate your time. Thank you so much, Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.

Elon Musk is offering to beef up communication services for aid groups. The owner of X, formerly known as Twitter offered his Starlink service to support connectivity of internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza. Starlink provides internet service through satellites. But Israel is resisting the idea. It's communications minister posted that Hamas would use the service for terrorist activities. It also suggests that Musk should condition his offer with the release of hostages held by Hamas.

And the director general of the Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry tells CNN that hospitals there are used to treat patients only now that's in response to Israeli claims that Hamas has set up a command and control center in bunkers underneath Gaza's biggest hospital. Nada Bashir has more on the situation inside Gaza and how civilians are increasingly paying the ultimate price. And we just want to warn you that her report does contain images that might be distressing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice-over): A flash of light over the chilling imposed darkness that engulfed Gaza every night. A glaring promise of more death and destruction. The ongoing siege and a communications blackout, plunging Gaza into eerie silence. What little video has emerged so far, paints a picture of the devastation wrought by Israel's relentless bombardment. Scenes of incomprehensible loss, shrouded bodies, the latest amongst thousands of victims.

Israel says it is targeted Hamas now also expanding its ground operations. A retaliation they say to the Hamas terror attacks of October 7th, which left at least 1,400 dead and more than 200 others held hostage inside Gaza. But in the besieged strip of land, the number of Palestinians killed also rises with each and every airstrike.

The situation here is dire. Our homes were destroyed in the airstrikes. Six of our family members were killed. What can we do? We are all living through this.

This was the scene on Friday at the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza. Now not only a lifeline to thousands of patients, but a sanctuary to tens of thousands including children displaced by the war.

We're not even asking for food. We're not asking for water. We're asking for safety, for security. Our men, women, our children, they've all been killed.

Many have come in the hope that hospitals will remain a safe haven. But this safe haven is now being characterized by Israel with no verifiable evidence as a potential target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The red buildings, as I mentioned, are building that Hamas is using.

BASHIR (voice-over): It is a claim rejected by Palestinian officials in Gaza, who accused Israel of falsifying intelligence and say the hospital is only used to treat patients. But the consequence of such allegations is feared by many. Any suggestion that this hospital could be viewed as a legitimate target by Israel, for doctors who knew the hospital well, is a warning of unimaginable bloodshed.

DR. MADS GILBERT, PROFESSOR, CLINIC OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY: I've been walking in all parts of Shifa, in the basement, in the different clinics, in the different buildings, I've been there night and day, peace time, war time all over. I have never seen anything that could look like or function as some command center.

BASHIR (voice-over): On and on, Israel's airstrikes lay waste to this already ravaged enclave, artillery shelling now adding to the devastation. The people of Gaza gripped by constant cycle of mourning, still struggling to comprehend this endless nightmare. Death now woven into the very fabric of their lives.

Nada Bashir, CNN in Amman, Jordan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And if you'd like information on how to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, please go to cnn.com/impact and you can find a list of vetted organizations that are providing assistance. That's at cnn.com/impacts.

[01:15:15]

All right, our coverage of Israel at war continues throughout the hour. Just ahead, we take a look at the incredible career after Matthew Perry who was found dead Saturday at the age of 54. We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: American-Canadian actor Matthew Perry has died at the age of 54. Warner Brothers Television Group has confirmed his death. "The Los Angeles Times" citing law enforcement sources is reporting the "Friends" star was found dead in a hot tub and his Los Angeles home. "The L.A. Times" reports it sources didn't provide a cause of death but said there was no sign of foul play. Perry appeared in countless T.V. shows but it's best known of course for playing the role of Chandler Bing on "Friends."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: I want to quit the gym.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to quit?

PERRY: I want to quit the gym.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do realize you won't have access to our new full service, sweet spa?

[01:20:04]

PERRY: I want to quit the gym.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The sitcom ran for 10 seasons. Perry appeared in every single episode. The actor's battled with alcohol and drugs, specifically painkillers was well-known. Perry wrote about his addiction in his memoir saying that he went to rehab more than 60 times. Extra's Billy Bush spoke earlier with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY BUSH, HOST AND MANAGING EDITOR, EXTRA: 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, struggled so hard with painkillers and addiction.

And I think, you know, what we're hearing there's no foul play. But immediately you think what, wear and tear that poor heart of his took, you know, over these years. So while I'm crushed and sad, and I've just sent a text over to Lisa Kudrow, with whom I'm friends to be with, you know, send her my condolences. The cast is really tight. There is a part of me that's like, I'm not overly surprised because I thought something was off with him and that he is hurt for too long.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: In a statement, Warner Brothers Television Group said, quote, we are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. And we'll have more on Matthew Perry later this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Traveling across the country over the past six months. I came here to say it's become clear to me. This is not my time. Now I'm leaving this campaign. But let me promise you, I will never leave the fight for conservative values and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land. So help me God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: That's former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday, ending his run for the presidency and speaking at the Republican Jewish coalition's annual conference in Las Vegas. Sources tell CNN, Pence was struggling to secure donors and there's concern that he might not qualify for the third Republican debate next month.

Now recent polls indicate Pence has struggled to break into the top tier of Republican candidates. Have a look at this, an aggregate analysis of polls puts him at 4 percent nationally in the GOP primary race and had 1 percent support in New Hampshire where the first primary will be held.

Now, former President Donald Trump still holds a commanding lead for the Republican nomination in this CNN poll. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is trailing far behind in second place with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in third.

Israel's Prime Minister makes the case to the nation as he announces a new stage of the offensive in Gaza. His bottomline more fighting is not a matter of choice, it's a must. That's ahead. Please stay with us.

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[01:26:40]

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber with the very latest on Israel of war. Gaza remains under siege and under fire, as Israel pushes ahead with the second phase of its war against Hamas.

The ground operations are expanding and airstrikes have intensified. Internet and phone services have been partially restored in the Palestinian enclave but fuel and electricity are in short supply. The World Health Organization says health workers patients and civilians spent another night quote in darkness and fear.

But Israel says this is a fight for its survival and it's vowing to destroy Hamas after the militants attacked Israel and took hostages earlier this month. Here was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our heroic fighters have one supreme goal to destroy this murderous enemy and ensure the existence of our country. We always said never again, never again is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Barely begins to describe the situation inside Gaza as Israel ramps up its strikes on the enclave targeting Hamas. And we want to warn you now, some images you're about to see are graphic. So have a look here, this video that we're going to show you here, it shows ambulances rushing the injured to hospital in central Gaza after Israeli strikes. A local journalist says most of them were hit by artillery fire.

And the footage also shows a little boy being operated on the floors. Hospitals struggle with the influx of new patients. Meanwhile hunger is pushing some people to the edge including a crowd that stormed the U.N. warehouse to take food on Saturday. One man told the AFP News Agency that his children are so hungry they sometimes can't even sleep.

Now up north, Israel says its fighter jets hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday. That was the latest in a series of cross border clashes since the latest crisis began. An IDF statement says the planes hit a military compound and observation posts following rocket and missile fire from Lebanon into Israel. Its top general says its troops are maintaining a high level of readiness to prevent possible future military moves by Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are condemning Israel's latest moves and Gaza saying they threatened to destabilize the entire region. Egypt's president says his country's diplomats are working to resolve the conflict. He claimed some unidentified drones were brought down in Egypt on Friday and warns the conflict but are not spread beyond Gaza. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yesterday, drones entered Egypt and were brought down. Regardless of where they came from, I previously warned that the expansion of the conflict is not in the interest of the region. The region will become a ticking time bomb that harms us all. This is why I'm saying please, Egypt is a sovereign country, and I hope we will respect its sovereignty and status. What I'm saying now is not to brag, but Egypt is a very strong country that shall not be touched.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, for more military analysis, we're joined by Mick Ryan, a retired major general with the Australian Army. Thanks so much for being here with us. So I want to start with the -- this latest phase of the ground incursion. What do you think the aims are here exactly?

MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Well, the expansion that we saw announced overnight obviously kicked off well before that announcement with a massive airstrikes we saw. This latest incursion, most of which is occurring along the coastal part of Northern Gaza, is probably setting the conditions for what will follow next, which would be a multiphase, multi-axis of beings into different parts of Gaza, to destroy Hamas fighters, their infrastructure and their tunnels.

[01:30:30]

BRUNHUBER: So we heard Prime Minister Netanyahu there describing how his job is to, quote, lead the State of Israel and the people to a crushing victory over its enemies. What does victory look like do you think?

RYAN: Well, it's a great question. It's certainly the right one at the moment. I think that he was meaning victory in a military sense. And I don't think anyone can begrudge Israel wanting to destroy Hamas. But destroying Hamas won't just provide a long term enduring solution that we'd see as a victory. So whilst there will be a military outcome here, hopefully that military outcome will also support an enduring political outcome at the end of this war as well.

BRUNHUBER: Now, I spoke a little earlier in the program too former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. And he said the Israelis are using what he called the American strategy, which is basically targeting a certain village, bombing it, moving in and then establishing a bridge to the next village. What do you make of this strategy?

RYAN: Well, I think the Israelis probably a little more sophisticated than that. They're using a whole range of different tactics and strategies. I mean, they are going into Gaza, doing raids. They're also penetrating in and staying there as they are in the north. They're conducting cyber operations and electronic warfare to intercept Hamas operations and to jam them. So that is part of what the Israelis are doing. But it's a far more complex and complicated and sophisticated campaign.

BRUNHUBER: In terms of that sort of American model, I guess, in terms of what the ground forces will be contending with. We know it'll be a huge challenge and urban environment full of civilians, the presence of enemy tunnels, things the U.S. Army has faced in Iraq, for instance, and we know that U.S. advisors have been sharing lessons learned from their experience in Iraq. I mean, you serve there, what do you think Israel could learn from the American experience there?

RYAN: Well, I think the Israelis look around at all the different urban combat scenarios that have occurred over the last 20 years. Certainly, they will have learned from Iraq around more modern technologies, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and some of the more sophisticated sensors for detecting tunnels.

But we should also recall that they've been to Gaza multiple times. They also have a lot of experience in urban operations. So all these things will have gone into the Israeli learning and preparation for the operations they're conducting now.

BRUNHUBER: Now, we heard Prime Minister Netanyahu sort of characterizing this as a second war of independence, you know, after 9/11, President Bush didn't characterize the battle against terrorism in those terms, but there was a lot of hyperbole in terms of the existential threat to America, sort of getting back to your answer about what victory looks like here. Is there a danger that we see a similar military overreaction here that ends up creating more longer term problems than it solves?

RYAN: Well, the military are part of the solution. But the net -- the military is never the entire solution in a war like this one. There are a range of other efforts that will need to be made in the political, in the societal and the economic realms that must accompany this military operation to destroy Hamas. At the end of the day, who is going to replace Hamas's -- the government in Gaza? I mean, that answer alone will need a pretty good one in the coming months.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Always appreciate your analysis. Mick Ryan, retired major general with the Australian Army, thank you so much.

RYAN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: So as Israel steps up its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been rallying in numerous cities around the world. Have a look, they took to the streets in Rome on Saturday marching in front of the Coliseum. Thousands gathered in Berlin calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. And in London, thousands turned out holding Palestinian flags and calling for Israel to stop its military operation in Gaza. A wave of protesters also marched through the heart of New York City on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Now, look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Israel bombs, USA, hey, how many kids did you killed today?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Pro-Palestinian protesters held signs, waved flags and chanted as they marched from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge was closed due to the demonstration.

[01:35:01]

In cities across the world, concerned citizens are putting up posters of kidnapped Israelis to help raise awareness of their plight. But what's happened to those posters in some U.S. cities is part of a worrisome trend that sparking fears about anti-Semitism. Camila Bernal reports from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADVA REICHMAN, SUPPORTER, "KIDNAPPED IN ISRAEL" PROJECT: So we can start on one side and come back on the next.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The goal is to raise awareness to those kidnapped in Israel by showing their faces, names and ages.

REICHMAN: This is a 12-year-old boy who was supposed to have his celebration with his family. And instead, they can't even say happy birthday. They don't know if he's alive. They don't know how they are.

BERNAL (voice-over): But after Adva Reichman puts these up, sometimes in minutes, they're ripped off.

REICHMAN: To see them taken down was another chance to see faces of innocent civilians who were taken from their homes. They don't have a voice right now. And what we're trying to do is give them one. And there have been silenced.

BERNAL (voice-over): And in some cases, it's personal.

NITZAN MINTZ, CREATOR, "KIDNAPPED IN ISRAEL" PROJECT: It's not only that I've seen the people tear down the posters on videos, I actually witnessed it with my own eyes, I struggled myself walking in the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and people were so, so hateful towards me. People curse me, people threatens me on social media, threatening my life.

BERNAL (voice-over): Nitzan Mintz and her partner created the posters. The Israeli citizens were in New York for an art program. But after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that killed 1,400, they felt they had to do something. So they stopped their program and started the "Kidnapped from Israel" project.

MINTZ: And then after we uploaded it to our social media, people just download it. And so for us, it was like a miracle.

BERNAL (voice-over): A miracle and a curse.

MINTZ: The anti-Semitism is rising above any nightmare I ever thought.

BERNAL (voice-over): She feels it in New York and Adva feels it in California.

REICHMAN: We are not foreign to anti-Semitism. This is not a new concept. I've known this, I've experienced this. I felt this for years. But the louder they get, the louder we have to get. It just hurts.

BERNAL (voice-over): But it's not stopping them.

REICHMAN: Ava (ph), let's put another one here.

BERNAL (voice-over): Even when the posters are taken down. They come back and do it again.

REICHMAN: Judaism in Israel is about human life, and we value and cherish human life. So until they're back, you're going to see these posters.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right still to come, an Israeli community bands together to protect themselves from potential further attacks from Hamas. One family is terrifying story of survival. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:41:13]

BRUNHUBER: Israeli communities living near the border with Gaza are banding together to protect themselves from potential further Hamas attacks. It comes after the IDF said the response to the militant group surprise assault on October 7th was a quote, military failure. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELI TZUR, SURVIVED TERROR ATTACK: This is the shelter.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN 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.

E. TZUR: If we close it.

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

E. TZUR: And they shot with the AK-47 --

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

E. TZUR: Yes. Through the door, so it was, you know, people who get help -- get killed because they hold the handle like this.

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

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

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

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: 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 organize 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 hit five men in charge of security for this community --

E. TZUR: Yes, yes.

ROOM: -- with pistols.

E. TZUR: With pistols. You 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 7th, 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 always talking about peace and to be OK with them to live with them. 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 had never, never. ROMO (voice-over): Missiles being fired by Hamas right above their heads doesn't help.

(on camera): And this is a situation that families who live here near the border with Gaza face on a daily basis, sometimes hour by hour. This is a 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 they will again be the sound of Israeli kids playing in their backyards.

ROMO (voice-over): The Tzur 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 Arabs want to, not all Arabs are bad, they want to live with us. Now I'm not so sure about it.

[01:45:06]

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, lovely plot in the cemetery.

ROMO (voice-over): For some Jewish families who live along the border with Gaza, the October 7th terrorist attacks mark up before and then 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)

BRUNHUBER: After the break, we'll take a look at the incredible career of "Friends" star, Matthew Perry, who was found dead on Saturday in Los Angeles. We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: "Friends" star, Matthew Perry, has died. The news has been confirmed by Warner Brothers Television Group. "The Los Angeles Times" quoting law enforcement sources reports he was found dead in a hot tub in his Los Angeles home. And a recent memoir, Perry opened up about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Here's entertainment journalist XiXi Yang with more.

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XIXI YANG, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: He released his memoir last year, friends, lovers and a big terrible thing. And he wrote about his long speculated ups and downs with the drug and alcohol abuse and all the lessons he learned in life. And, you know, the biggest takeaway that I think we have to notice from the book was that this was a man who has overcome tremendous odds he faced, some of the brightest moments in his life during some of the biggest battles, some of the darkest moments.

[01:50:29]

And he was, overall not only grateful to be alive, but he really wanted to show the fans who he truly was behind one of the most iconic characters in sitcom. And I do want to point out that one of the last posts he made on Instagram, the last one was just six days ago, of him in a hot tub, enjoying the beautiful view and night, and it's really eerie to look back on it now and think that this will be the last place he'd be.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, tributes from Perry's friends in Hollywood are pouring in. Maggie Wheeler who paid -- played Perry's on again, off again girlfriend, Janice, on "Friends" wrote, quote, what a loss. The joy you brought to so many in your life, short lifetime will live on. Actress Selma Blair said she's heartbroken sharing on Instagram quote, all of us loved Matthew Perry and I did especially every day. I love him unconditionally. Matthew Perry was known to be a funny man on any set he graced and that includes when he filled in to guest host on Piers Morgan tonight. Here's -- here he is on CNN back in 2013. Have a look.

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PERRY: Hey, this is going to be really fun. It's a new experience for me. It's exciting. It kind of reminds me of -- what, yes, kind of reminds me of when I won my first Emmy. We were -- I'm sorry, what? Oh, right. I haven't won a damn thing. Well, maybe today's today, you know, maybe I guess host this show so well. Huh? What? Not a chance. Who is talking into my ear?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Matthew Perry was 54.

The death toll in Mexico has now climbed to 39, following the devastating landfall Tuesday of Hurricane Otis. The category five storm battered parts of Mexico's pacific coast, including the resort city of Acapulco. Gustavo Valdes reports.

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've made it to Acapulco, but just barely, because once you get into the city, there's some big traffic jam that is preventing us from advancing, but the story you can see is behind me. All these people, the residents, the people you don't usually associate with a tourist town are trying to go and find whatever they can to get by because so far we have not seen any help from the government. We have not seen a centralized location where people might be distributing water or food. And you can see people we're hearing reports of looting. We saw it on Thursday. Now we're seeing all these people. And this is the problem, the cars just come from wherever they came but let's see we can talk to this guy, this gentleman over here.

(Speaking in Foreign Language). What do you have here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

VALDES: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

VALDES: There's no food, there's nothing. (Speaking in Foreign Language). What do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

VALDES: Food and water and some toilet paper and some dishes. They aren't meeting that they went into a store and they got what they needed because they can't find it anywhere. So you see everybody is complaining. They're asking, they need help. They need help. So that destruction is one thing in the tourist part. Now the residency just begging for help.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Acapulco.

BRUNHUBER: Workers for one automaker will be back on the job next week. But they'll stay on the picket line against another company. The United Auto Workers Union reached a tentative agreement with Stellantis, Saturday. The maker of Dodge Ram, Chrysler and Jeep branded vehicles has agreed to pay increase and possibly a cost of living adjustment. The union says has 14,600 members will return to work within days after its 44-day long strike. But the UAW has extended its strike against General Motors, America's largest automaker and the last remaining holdout.

South Africa took home the Rugby World Cup for the second time in a row beating New Zealand on Saturday.

You see them happy fans celebrating the win in Johannesburg. Here's CNN's Patrick Snell with more on the historic final.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: A classic ethic file in Paris on Saturday, amid a truly historic achievement now for South Africa, who are the first country ever to win the Rugby World Cup four times. Two stoic rivals, two powerhouse nations when it comes to international rugby. A clutch moment as New Zealand, Sam Cane in the first half crashing head on into Jesse Kriel initially the Kiwi Skipper getting the yellow card but it's upgraded to red. Kriel now the first man ever to see red in a World Cup final.

[01:55:16]

South Africa's Andre Pretorius is accurate as ever with his kicking for first half penalties from him as his team went up 12 points to six halftime lead. The all blacks though came roaring back and it would be one of the three Barrett brothers, Beauden, who goes over to get his team to within one point, he's now the first man to score in two World Cup finals.

Then with six minutes to go, another Barrett brother Jordie, with a long range penalty to put New Zealand ahead, but he pulls it wide. South Africa led by their inspirational Captain Siya Kolisi, sealing their place in history to win it by one single point just as they did in the quarterfinals, and the semis as well.

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SIYA KOLISI, SOUTH AFRICAN CAPTAIN: There are so many people who come, we all come from more hopeless, but with what we do, and there's so many division in the country, but we show with people from different backgrounds, that it is possible to work together to advocate not just in the rugby field, but in life in general.

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SNELL: And in 2019, Kolisi became the first black captain delete South Africa to World Cup glory. Now he's just a second skipper in history to lift back to back titles. And with that, it's right back to you.

BRUNHUBER: All right, I'm Kim Brunhuber. CNN's coverage of the Israel- Hamas war continues after a quick break. Please do stay with us.

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