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Sources: U.S. Marine Rapid Response Force Heads To Middle East; "Friends" Star Matthew Perry Dead At 54; Trump Mocks Biden, Calls Him "Incompetent"; Israel at War; U.S. Politician Acquitted on Gun Charge in Hong Kong Court; Thousands March in Europe to Protest Israel-Hamas War; Acapulco Hurricane Victims Struggle to Find Food, Fuel. Aired 1- 2a ET

Aired October 30, 2023 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:30]

NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Nick Watt.

Israel's war against Hamas is intensifying. Israeli forces are pushing into Gaza by land and continuing heavy strikes from the air. The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday that it struck more than 450 targets over the past 24 hours including command centers and missile launch sites. According to CNN analysis, a video published by Israeli media, IDF forces have advanced about three kilometers inside Gaza.

But as the ground invasion expands, there's growing concern about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That issue sources say, has prompted the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting in the hours ahead. Sources say the United Arab Emirates is expected to seek a resolution for a quote, immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza. All this as the U.N. Secretary General says the situation there is growing more desperate by the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: The world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes. More than 2 million people with nowhere safe to go are being denied the essentials for life, food, water, shelter, and medical care while being subjected to relentless bombardments. I urge all those with responsibility to step back from the brink.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: CNN Scott McLean is following developments from London and joins us now. Scott?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Nick. Yes, look, the reality is that you can send all of the aid that you want to the border on the Egyptian side, and it's not going to do very much good unless it can actually get into Gaza. Case in point, the French for instance, sent 17 tons. But yesterday, only 10 trucks as of yesterday afternoon, were allowed to cross past security checks and actually get into Gaza.

You have the U.N. You have the World Food Program, saying that their warehouses had been looted in recent days. The World Food Program says that this shows that people are growing more and more hungry, more and more desperate, and then frankly, they're losing hope.

And it's pretty easy to see why. The charity Save the Children says that more kids have died in just the three weeks of this conflict then died in all global armed conflicts in all of last year around the world. And for each of the last three years and there are no signs that the fighting will lead up anytime soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice-over): There isn't much left of the Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque in central Gaza, the building was flattened by an overnight Israeli air strike. People inside the neighboring apartment blocks weren't spared either. Roofs were ripped right off, everything now covered in a pale shade of grey. 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 heated those warnings, believing central Gaza would be safer.

There were no warnings at all, this survivor says. We've 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, there 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. The 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 Darryl Bala (ph) 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.

[01:05:23]

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 the Hamas is shielding themselves inside hospitals. Foreign aid is entering Gaza at a trickle. The desperation apparent in this video of people ransacking a U.N. warehouse, carrying out bags of food, may be a temporary lifeline for those people.

The U.N. calls it a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down. The situation in Gaza only gets worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: So that hospital that got the threats from the Israelis, al- Quds Hospital is the second largest in Gaza, and the Palestinian Red Crescent is calling on the international community to do whatever it can to safeguard it. But the reality is that Israeli strikes have already come dangerously close even yesterday.

You're seeing some of the video here of the aftermath. The Red Crescent says that the strikes were close enough to actually damage the building. You can see sort of dust in the corridors of that hospital as well. The director of the hospital as well says that the vast majority of the people who are sheltering there and there are some 12,000 of them are women and children.

That's in addition, obviously to the injured and the sick and the children who are in incubators in that hospital. He also deny the Israeli accusation that Hamas is taking shelter. They're saying that no one who is armed is even allowed inside the building. The WHO had previously called these Israeli threats or warnings or insistence on the hospitals in northern Gaza, there are 22 of them evacuating.

They said that they were tantamount to a death sentence for the sick and injured who are still there because the hospital director in this case says that look, there is simply no way to move these people or to evacuate them safely, Nick.

WATT: Scott McLean in London, thanks very much.

Now to some disturbing images, evidence of the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreading to other regions.

Seen at an airport in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, video show a large crowd storming the airport, making it onto the tarmac, some of them waving Palestinian flags after a plane arrived from Tel Aviv. Images verified by CNN show people within that crowd holding anti- Semitic signs. The Dagestan Health Ministry says at least 10 people were injured, two critically.

Authorities have closed the airport until Tuesday and are investigating how to ensure it is safe going forward. Earlier on CNN. our Nic Robertson spoke with Wolf Blitzer about why this incident is so alarming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's deeply worrying for anyone from Israel, or for that matter for the Jewish community around the world because this is just it appears to be yet another place where anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish sentiment is being expressed.

What surprises me specifically about this incident today is how in a Russian republic that has a high security presence. So in an area where there is a high and strong Russian security prevalence, how could the airport itself today be stormed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Now Israel said it was working with Russian authorities to secure the wellbeing of Jews and Israelis at the site and the U.S. is calling on Russia to protect Israelis and Jews after this incident.

Sources tell CNN a U.S. Marine rapid response forces moving toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid concerns over the war in Gaza broadening into a regional conflict. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. says he's glad the Pentagon is relocating this unit. And CNN spoke to Ambassador Herzog earlier about the move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HERZOG, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: That I believe it sends a very strong deterrent message to Iran. I think they are listening. And I think this could be very helpful in deterring Iran, Hezbollah and the other Iranian proxies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: But the U.S. isn't sending that Marine rapid response unit just to make the Iranians think twice as Oren Liebermann explains from the Pentagon, it could also be used to help Americans in the region.

[01:10:07]

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: We have been watching very closely as the U.S. has sent considerable forces to the Middle East to U.S. Central Command that includes not only the land forces nearly 1,000 troops, as well as Patriot battalions and a thud battery, those are air defense systems. But of course the naval troops as well.

One carrier strike group with the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is already in the Eastern Med. Another carrier strike group has to the Strait of Gibraltar a couple days ago and it's on its way in that direction. We've also been watching an amphibious ready group, the USS Bataan, which is an amphibious assault ship and a Marine rapid response force, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU for short.

Over the course of the past several weeks, they've been operating in the waters of the Middle East, but according to two U.S. officials, they're now in the Red Sea on their way to the Eastern Med. First, that's a tremendous show of U.S. power in the waters off the coast of Israel and Lebanon, a clear message to Iran and Iranian proxies not to get involved. And that message we've seen sent explicitly from President Joe Biden on down in the U.S. national security chain essentially. But the MEU, that Marine rapid response force, also serves another purpose. It has special operations capable which is certainly notable and worth remembering. But it's also a critical force in a noncombatant evacuation operation or a NEO. That's one of its mission essential tasks.

Now, the U.S. said last week that there was no indication or execution for a NEO an evacuation right now. But John Kirby, the National Security Council's spokesperson said it would be irresponsible and imprudent not to plan for contingency operations, including an evacuation.

Since he said that, the U.S. has said the risk of this conflict spreading wider in the region is growing and remains a serious consideration for the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S State Department, the Embassy in Beirut has advised Americans to leave now before a crisis has begun there. There has been some contact between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanese border. It has not escalated too much.

But any contact, any exchange of fire on that border, which is already volatile as is, is certainly noteworthy. And that's what the U.S. is watching to see if that escalates. If it does, those are the situations in which things can quickly get out of hand and where the conflict in Gaza which the U.S. is trying to keep separate can quickly and violently spread to the rest of the region.

So that perhaps one of the reasons, that Marine rapid response force is there in case the U.S. looks at the situation and looks at the possibility of the necessity for an evacuation if the situation deteriorates.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

WATT: Tensions are also flaring along Israel's northern border. Israel says its fighter jet struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Sunday in response to shelling toward Northern Israel. It's the latest in a series of cross border clashes over the past few weeks. CNN's Jim Sciutto reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Towns like Arab al-Aramshe Israel's border with Lebanon are mostly deserted now, evacuated due to fear of attacks by Hezbollah. Makes is one of the few who stayed behind. And from his roof he shows us where Hezbollah fighters attempted to cross the Israeli border just a few days ago.

(on camera): They broke through the wall.

(voice-over): Minutes after we arrive,. we see the threat is constant. Hezbollah shells fired from across the border land on the hillside just opposite us.

(on camera): We are on a border town between Israel on this side and just beyond the fence is Lebanon. And as we've been standing here if you see the smoke off in the distance, that is the result of Hezbollah artillery fire from Lebanon, Israel. You can see the smoke rising in the distance and speaking to residents here. This is a regular event it's happening every day.

(voice-over): Makes and his twin brothers sent their families south for safety but stayed behind themselves to protect their homes. The question for them and others like them is how long before this area is safe again?

(on camera): Does anybody talk about how long people will have to live here?

MAKES AHMAOD, LIVES IN ARAB AL-ARAMSHE ALONG ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hopes that a month other people think until (inaudible) we don't know.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): As the shelling picks up, we head back south. Minutes later, Israeli soldiers blocked the road warning of more incoming Hezbollah fire.

(on camera): We're very close to the Lebanon border in northern Israel. And soldiers have just blocked the road here in both directions. We can't go either way. You can hear mortar and artillery fire going out that is from Israel towards Lebanon. We've also heard artillery fire coming from Lebanon. And the concern is the soldiers telling us that there are possible infiltrations across the border from Lebanon by presumably Hezbollah fighters and that's why the level of concern is so great.

[01:15:13]

(voice-over): The Israeli military is focused on Gaza, but the Northern Front now faces daily attacks. On Sunday, a rocket fired from Lebanon landed in the city of Qiryat Shemona setting this home ablaze. Hezbollah also claimed this strike on it Israeli tank a few days ago, with the IDF responding by targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. All the while the constant exchange of artillery fire rumbles across the frontier.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Still ahead, Matthew Perry's family releases a statement in the wake of his death. We'll have the latest on the investigation and the actor's untimely passing.

Plus, former President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail, what he's saying about his rivals, and his lawyers just ahead.

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[01:20:01]

WATT: The Los Angeles County medical examiner is releasing the remains of actor Matthew Perry to his next of kin even as the agency continues to investigate his cause of death. The star was found unresponsive in the Jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home and apparent drowning. He was 54. CNN's Camila Bernal has more.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating his death. But a source telling CNN that no foul play is suspected here. The 911 call came in at 4:07 p.m. on Saturday as a water rescue emergency. At 4:10 p.m., LAPD responded and characterized it as a death investigation. "The Los Angeles Times" reporting that he was found unresponsive in his hot tub and citing law enforcement sources, but no official cause of death has been released.

His body is now with the L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office and an autopsy is pending but normally, a complete autopsy and toxicology report takes several weeks. Now, Perry's family released a statement to "People Magazine" saying they're heartbroken by the tragic loss of a beloved son and brother. They went on to say that he brought joy to the world as an actor and also as a friend.

Matthew Perry wanted to be remembered as someone who helped people and it's part of the reason why he shared his addiction struggles in his memoir that was released in November of 2022. He said he wanted to help people individually or as a group and share this in many interviews that he done. He also said that he wanted to be remembered as someone who lived well and someone who loved well, someone who was a seeker.

But many of course remember him by his acting career. He started with small roles and then landed more prominent roles, but it was really his role as Chandler that made him famous. It was that funny, very sarcastic character that many are remembering today. The cast of "Friends" very close on and off the screen, and many here in Hollywood, remembering him and reacting saying they are devastated that they are heartbroken and that they are in shock. And many saying this is a big loss for Hollywood but also for his fans.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

WATT: Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is lashing out about a gag order just reinstated by the judge presiding in the federal case over Trump's alleged attempts to overthrow the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Sunday, Trump posted on his online platform Truth Social, claiming his right to free speech was being infringed and claiming the gag order is quote, not constitutional.

Trump also blamed the Biden administration for this latest ruling by the judge. The gag order was first issued earlier this month, Trump appealed the order was paused. Prosecutors had warned that Trump could intimidate witnesses through his public comments and encourage harm to prosecutors.

Meantime, the former president was also back on the campaign trail this weekend. Donald Trump hit the stage in an event in Sioux City, Iowa. On Sunday, he praised his attorneys, mocked his rivals and did not mention his former number two Mike Pence dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination for president.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more from Sioux City.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: With a little more than two months before the Iowa caucuses open the Republican nominating contest of 2024, the field is once again entering this week in a reshaped fashion. Over the weekend, former Vice President Mike Pence made the decision to leave the race. He said it clearly was not his time. Of course, he has been among the candidates in the non-Trump lane, if you will.

He's been making his argument that Republicans should not return the former president to the Oval Office talking about his criminal indictments. Well as former President Donald Trump campaigned in Iowa on Sunday, he made no mention of his former vice president. He instead spent his time mocking his rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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 because anybody know who Bird Brand is. He said it, yes. You can never. 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)

ZELENY: His supporters inside the theater here barely responded to his criticism of his rivals. They did come alive, however, to his attacks on President Joe Biden, on his handling of the economy, inflation, the border immigration and so much more. So yes it is clear that the former president has a commanding lead of this race. It's also clear he's not taking his foot off the gas at least until those Iowa caucuses on January 15th begin the presidential race.

[01:25:13]

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Sioux City, Iowa.

WATT: Joining us now is Jessica Levinson. She's a professor of law at Loyola Law School and host of the Passing Judgment Podcast. So, this weekend, Pence is out Trump's back on stage, mocking DeSantis, mocking Nikki Haley. Does anybody have a prayer against Trump in this Republican race, Jessica?

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: So at this point, it looks like it is Trump's to lose. And the typical way that you would lose a presidential primary, those typical kind of guardrails and paradigms just don't hold true for the former president. People know him. The base continues to like him. And I don't think any of his rivals have been able to make the case for why they would be better.

And you saw that struggle with Mike Pence, where he was trying to thread this needle of on the one sense kind of running away from the foreign president, by the same token, trying not to alienate his voters. And I think that's exactly the same challenge that Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have had too, which is they want those voters, but they want to tell those voters why they're better than Trump. And those voters are pretty comfortable with Trump.

WATT: You know, he didn't even mention Pence because Pence is irrelevant to him now. He's tends to -- Trump tends to kind of mock people who might have some sort of impact on him. Mocked DeSantis, the Sanctimonious stuff. We also saw him on Saturday, doing a sort of weird impersonation of President Biden as a kind of doddering old man who doesn't know where he's going when he tries to get off stage.

Is that going to be a continued theme for Trump that he will really attack Biden? Is that something that his base responds to? Or do they just want Trump the showman?

LEVINSON: I think both. So this is something that Trump has done and will continue to do. And we saw this in the 2016 election, and that he made fun of disabled people. He made fun of military veterans of gold- star families. He mocks people with various types of disabilities. And this is a continuation of that theme. He also mocks people who don't have disabilities, but he's trying to claim that they do.

Now, will this help? I think, again, he is a known quantity. And the polling indicates that the base is very much behind him. Does it help him to target Joe Biden as opposed to his rivals? Absolutely, because it makes it look like this is a fait accompli, that he is going to be in the general election against Joe Biden. And he really doesn't need to bother with those other rivals, even though we do see he is mentioning them in a way not taking for granted that he'll win the primary, but by the same token, keeping his eyes on the general.

WATT: And so that's the Republican side. In terms of the other side, you know, is this definitely going to be Joe Biden? Are we definitely going to have a rerun of these two older men duking it out again, or, you know, we saw Dean Phillips or other obscure Democratic lawmaker has declared his intention to run. We've also seen our governor here from California Gavin Newsom being attemptedly presidential in his various trips around the world. Is Biden a shoe in?

LEVINSON: I think Biden is a sure shoe in than Trump is at this point, merely by virtue of the fact that he is the sitting president. And I don't think that anybody who is challenging him, or shadow challenging him really poses a true threat.

Now, I think that it is very likely that we will see a rematch as you said, to older white men. But again, for Joe Biden, I think it would be much more shocking if somebody was able to unseat him. That simply doesn't happen, as opposed to Trump who of course, is not running as the incumbent. He's running as the former incumbent. And he obviously has some baggage that we've never seen before.

WATT: Jessica Levinson, thank you very much for your time.

We are taking a quick break, but there's much more to come on CNN. When we return, we'll have the latest in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

[01:29:51]

Plus, U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to Israel's Prime Minister for the first time since Israel ramped up its operating nations in Gaza. What he's urging the Prime Minister to do. That's next.

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WATT: On Sunday Israeli officials said ramped-up operations in Gaza that began this weekend will continue to intensify. Israeli troops have advanced some three kilometers into Gaza according to a CNN analysis and video published by an Israeli media outlet.

Also Sunday, Israel's military said it was increasing the urgency of calls for people in northern Gaza to flee south. Humanitarian groups have criticized the demand citing the difficulty of moving within Gaza while it is under attack.

U.S. President Joe Biden stressed the need for more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza in calls with the leaders of Egypt and Israel.

Here's CNN's Kevin Liptak with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden spoke for the first time today with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Israel expanded its assault on Gaza. In that phone conversation the president reiterated that Israel had a right to defend itself, but he also underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians. And that was from the White House summary of the call.

Of course, this is all illustrative of the fine line that President Biden is walking as he confronts this growing crisis in the Middle East.

[01:34:53]

LIPTAK: On the one hand, he is a staunch defender of Israel and certainly a defender of its right to protect itself, but he is also calling for protection of civilians and calling on Israel to adhere to international humanitarian law and avoid targeting civilians.

And certainly, as the images out of Gaza come to light, there will be pressure on President Biden, certainly from the progressive left in the United States, but also from American Arab partners to do more and to say more to ease the humanitarian suffering.

And in that phone call with Netanyahu, President Biden did say that there was a need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance.

Now, we did learn more from the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan about those negotiations to free hostages who are being held in Gaza, among them potentially Americans. He said that the expanded Israeli effort in Gaza had not stooped those negotiations but that so far, Hamas had not been forthcoming in releasing the hostages.

And he also addressed his efforts to get Americans who are stuck in Gaza, hundreds of them, out across the border into Egypt. He did say that the Egyptians are willing to accept foreign nationals and that the Israelis are also not putting up resistance to the effort. But that so far Hamas is making its own demands and putting up resistance to opening that border.

So President Biden certainly remains focused on the situation in the Middle East. We also learned that he did speak to the Egyptian president. With him, he discussed the humanitarian aid efforts and he also discussed the expanded Gaza offensive.

But interestingly the two men also discussed the importance of ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation.

And so while the Egyptians appear receptive to having foreign nationals cross the border into Egypt, it does not appear as if they are receptive to having Palestinians cross that border.

Kevin Liptak, CNN -- Wilmington, Delaware.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: For more on the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, let's bring in Hiba Tibi, director of CARE in the West Bank and Gaza.

Now, I hear the you'd lost contact with your staff inside Gaza. Have you reconnected with them? do you know how they're doing?

HIBA TIBI, DIRECTOR, CARE-WEST BANK AND GAZA: Unfortunately, we lost the connection with our colleagues for almost 30 hours and these hours were the longest in our lives.

Thank God we were able to reconnect with them. They are all accounted for so far. They are still in the south, still in the same shelters and they are at least for now, they are safe. But as you know there is no safe space in Gaza.

WATT: And what are you hearing from them about the broader situation in Gaza, about the situation that Gazans are living in right now?

TIBI: Unfortunately, now it's almost three weeks that the situation is becoming more and more catastrophic, dire and tough. People are still in the shelters. They are becoming more and more crowded.

As you know, half of the population almost had to be internally displaced, evacuated to the south. Still, there's no consistent water, no drinking water, fuel is -- they lack the access to fuel, and now the cooking gas also.

Bread is being also rationed and the families use it and all the communities they cannot access health services. Now, we started to see people still going back and living in the rubble of their houses on the surface because the shelters cannot host them anymore. There's no space for them.

WATT: And we are seeing footage of people going into warehouses, getting food. We are hearing from people that civil society within Gaza is kind of falling apart. Are you hearing that too? That society is kind of unraveling?

TIBI: Unfortunately, if you can imagine, I can't even put myself in their situation. We at CARE for instance, we receive phone calls from people previously with whom we worked in Gaza. They're asking us to support them with food and water.

Now all of these people in the shelter, they have access to a certain amount through the U.N. agencies like UNRWA and others, and also through the humanitarian organizations. But there are many, many who are out of the shelters, including in the north and the center and in the south.

[01:39:46]

TIBI: And in the beginning, there was some sort of stored food within the families. Then the evacuation, the movement, the destruction of the infrastructure affected their access to food. They lack cash also.

So all of the existing food started to be lacking in the markets. And if I have kids who are hungry and thirsty, I would do anything. I could not put myself in their situation. But now it's three weeks and this is possible. I can't confirm it, but this is possible. They need food and water.

WATT: We have obviously heard a lot of calls on Israel for a cease- fire to help with this humanitarian situation. Is there anything that you would call on Hamas to do to try to keep the civilians under its control safer?

TIBI: So as a humanitarian organization, we request cease-fire by all parties. We request the abidance (ph) of the international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian objects should be out of any war related military actions. This includes hospitals, this includes shelters, all U.N. premises.

So this is what we request for. We request for acceptance of humanitarian ceasefire (ph), for humanitarian assistance to enter into Gaza in a consistent and also in safe manner.

We request for open borders to evacuate those who are in need of medical support that is no longer provided in Gaza, on the support (INAUDIBLE) a long-term cease-fire that would allow us to help save lives. And first our mandate as a humanitarian organization.

WATT: Hiba Tibi, joining us from Ramallah, thank you very much for your time.

There is more to come here on CNN including a live report from Hong Kong where an American politician was forced to appear in court after landing at the city's airport with a gun in his carry-on.

[01:41:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATT: An American politician has been acquitted on a gun charge by a Hong Kong court. Washington State Senator Jeff Wilson was charged with possession of a firearm without a license after flying into Hong Kong International Airport just over a week ago with a gun in his carry-on luggage.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is in Hong Kong and joins us now live to explain what happened, Kristie.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Nick.

A Hong Kong court today has dropped the gun charge against this U.S. politician one week after he was arrested for carrying a gun into the city in his carry-on bag.

Washington State Senator Jeff Wilson, he appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrate's court today. He wore a black suit in court, he appeared tense. And after deliberations his charge was dismissed and this 24- month, what's is called a bind-over order was given. And conditions for that order include abstaining from possessing firearms and ammunition for two years. His gun was also confiscated.

Now it was on October 21st when Wilson was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport after he arrive on a flight from San Francisco.

He was charged with possession of arms without a license, which is a big offense here. It's punishable by up to 40 years in prison, a fine of more than $12,000. Now, the state senator said that he didn't realize that his gun was in his briefcase, while he and his wife were traveling for what was to be a five-week vacation in Asia. And he only discovered the gun, the unloaded gun midflight.

Now we did receive a statement from his office, that was released earlier today. Let's bring it up for you. Wilson said this. Quote, "This was a mistake on my part. And I regret it. I packed quickly, and failed to check the contents of my briefcase.

Over the Pacific, I reach into my briefcase for gum and felt my gun instead. My heart sank. I understood immediately what had happened," unquote.

Now Wilson said as soon as the plane landed in Hong Kong, he immediately alerted customs officials. And now Hong Kong has very strict gun control laws. No one is allowed to possess any arms, ammunition unless they have a police license and licenses are given to only police officers, security guards and shooting range operators.

Today in court, the magistrate said that the state senator should've known that Chinese and Hong Kong laws are very strict because Wilson is a trade delegate. And he's traveled frequently to the region. And the magistrate also raised the question repeatedly, how a firearm

was able to pass through metal detectors in America. And that remains an open question how this happened.

Now the State Senator Wilson says that he's just happy to see this matter resolved and he's looking forward to resuming his vacation with his wife.

Back to you, Nick.

WATT: Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thanks very much.

STOUT: Thank you.

WATT: At least 13 people are dead and 50 are injured after two trains collided in Southeast India on Sunday, that's what police officials tell CNN. A railway official says one of the trains stopped after an overhead cable broke and an oncoming train slammed into that stopped train, derailing at least two of its carriages.

India's railway minister says the early indications are that human error was to blame. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences in a message on X.

Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, the troubles in Acapulco in the wake of Hurricane Otis. Why many residents of the devastated Mexican city say the government and the military have abandoned them to looters.

[01:48:53]

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WATT: Tens of thousands of people turned out in cities across Europe this weekend to demonstrate against the war and show their support for the Palestinian people in Gaza.

In Rome, marchers carrying the Palestinian flag rallied near the Coliseum. In Berlin, protesters filled the streets demanding a cease- fire in the conflict.

London saw its third straight weekend of protests. Marchers there criticizing the Sunak government's stance on the war. It has stopped short of calling for a formal cease-fire. The prime minister says he is in favor of quote, "specific pauses" to allow more aid to get into Gaza.

Large crowds gathered in Toronto, Canada on Sunday as well to protest. Members of the Palestinian Youth Movement rallied outside the U.S. consulate calling for a cease-fire and they were joined by a group called the Independent Jewish Voices. All of them calling for an end to what they call a genocide being carried out by Israel.

Here's more from the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) YARA SHOUFANI, PALESTINIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT TORONTO: We are here to demand an immediate cease-fire, to demand an end to both U.S. and Canadian funding and support of Israel's genocide and also to call on Canadian people to join us to take a stand, to lift Israel's 17-year- long siege on Gaza whereby Israel controls Gaza's air, land and water.

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WATT: Hunger and anger are increasing in the storm-ravaged resort area city of Acapulco, Mexico, five days after Hurricane Otis tore through.

Many have broken into stores to get basic needs but residents say looters are now coming to people's homes and the military is doing nothing to stop them.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes is in Acapulco.

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GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things are slowly improving in Acapulco. As you can see this traffic is moving along in some sections of the city. There is better cell phone reception. There is some fuel in some gas stations and the government says that they are bringing more aid.

However, the residents we have spoken to keep complaining that the aid is not getting to the people that need it most.

This woman says she walked over two miles, five kilometers from a neighborhood up on that mountain. She is not only looking for food or drinks but also medical assistance for her children. She is also upset that the national guard is protecting commercial buildings.

During the first days after Otis passed over Acapulco, there was widespread looting. But now, some say the targets are residences.

This woman asked for the armed forces to go out into the residential areas because she says the looters now are targeting homes, looking for fuel and other items. She says they've had to barricade themselves at home, armed with machetes in case someone tries to break in.

On social media, the federal government claims it is already delivering food and water. But that information is not getting through to everyone.

The strength of the hurricane is clear all over the city, not only on the damage buildings, but also on its iconic beaches, where the erosion has already changed this beautiful place.

The Mexican government is now offering free flights between Acapulco and Mexico City for tourists still stranded in this city.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN -- Acapulco.

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WATT: And that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Nick Watt.

I'll be right back after a short break. Stay with us.

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