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CNN's Continuing Coverage on the ongoing War in Israel. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 02, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and you are watching CNN's continuing coverage of Israel at war.

It is 3 a.m. here in Atlanta, 9 a.m. in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes again lit up the skies overnight. Israel's military says its forces have reached the outskirts of Gaza City. For the second time in as many days, Israel hit the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza with a devastating airstrike on Wednesday. Local hospital officials say at least 80 people were killed. Here's what an IDF spokesperson told CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, IDF SPOKESPERSON: You should have evacuated, you and your family, you shouldn't have been there. That doesn't mean that we wanted to kill anybody, it just means that when we warned Palestinians two weeks ago to evacuate that specific area because there was going to be major combat operations, they should have heeded the warning and they should have left. The sad reality that is unfolding now is that the civilians in Gaza are paying the price for the atrocities of Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: -- also travel to Jordan. In the meantime, we're waiting to see if more foreign nationals are able to cross the border into Egypt today. People have been gathering there in hopes of getting through. Now, for the first time since the war began, the Rafah border crossing opened Wednesday to several hundred foreign nationals, including aid workers who'd been stuck at that border for days.

For more now on the opening of the Rafah crossing, here's CNN's Melissa Bell in Egypt for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tired smile and a wave from one of the lucky few finally allowed to leave Gaza since the war began. These families, just some of the first foreign and dual nationals, finally permitted through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Wednesday. The result of a deal brokered by Qatar between Israel, Hamas, Egypt and the United States that will allow all foreign and dual nationals to leave the besieged enclave.

Also allowed to leave under the deal, the first Palestinians, 81 of the most severely wounded, those desperate enough for urgent surgical intervention taken one by one in a convoy of ambulances to a field hospital set up a few miles away and to other hospitals in northern Egypt.

Large crowds of foreign nationals had been massing at the border after hearing at the start of the conflict that they'd be allowed out. Families desperately checking to see if they were some of those lucky enough, finally, to get through.

ISMAIL ABU SHAABANE, AMERICAN-PALESTINIAN IN GAZA (through translator): I'm an American living in Gaza. We heard that the crossing was open, but unfortunately we discovered that it was open for specific nationalities at the moment and we had to turn back because the cellular network was down and we weren't aware that there was a list. We hope to see our names on the list tomorrow or the next day.

BELL (voice-over): As the only crossing from Gaza to anywhere other than Israel, all eyes had been on Rafah ever since the total siege of the Strip was announced by Israel.

It is the only way in and out now, and what's gone in has been painfully little. A further 20 trucks arriving on Wednesday, a drop in the ocean, say aid organizations given the needs inside.

For some here it's been days or even weeks of waiting and praying. With ever dwindling supplies and under the constant fear of Israeli strikes, even here in the south where civilians had been told by the IDF to evacuate, nowhere in Gaza is safe for a small few a chance to leave and live again.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: CNN's Clare Sebastian is covering all of this for us from London. Grateful to have you following the latest developments, Clare. And when we look at that Rafah crossing, is there any indication that really now, within moments, we could have more of those foreign nationals going into Egypt?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Paula, we're obviously watching these images very closely to see if any signs of movement there. It doesn't seem as if much is happening at the moment, but the expectation is that more people will be able to pass through. The U.S. says that it expects more American passport holders to pass through in the coming days.

[03:05:02] A handful, varied a couple, went through on Wednesday when they weren't expected to, so that just shows how fluid the situation is. We don't know exactly if more injured Palestinians will be let through, but certainly the expectation is when it comes to dual nationals and foreign passport holders, more will come through.

We do understand from sources in Qatar that deal that was brokered by Qatar did include any foreign passport holders in Gaza who wanted to get out and we know from Secretary Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State that Americans and their family's number around 1,000 in Gaza, around 5,000 from other countries in the enclave if you want to get out so a large number are still waiting.

Though, this is obviously a major diplomatic breakthrough it's been, you know, three and a half weeks since the conflict started in no one barred, less than a handle of hostages have managed to get up get out up until this point but it is also worth noting that more than two million Palestinians are not on the table in these negotiations as of yet.

This is just the acutely injured and foreign passport holders and there is also that separate track when it comes to the hostage negotiations. These negotiations also brokered by Qatar to try and get those some 240 hostages still held by Hamas out of the enclave.

There are significant concerns. We know that process is being complicated by the accelerating ground and air offensive. President Biden was interrupted at an event on Wednesday, asked about a ceasefire, and he said that he was in favor of a pause to get those prisoners out.

There is no sign at the moment, though, Paula, that pause is happening. If anything, we see that the IDF is ramping up its operations, especially in the north of Gaza.

NEWTON: Yeah, again, just in the last few hours overnight that happened again. I want to ask you more though about the fallout from that second strike on the Jabalia refugee camp.

SEBASTIAN: Yeah, I mean, I think like what we're seeing certainly is the IDF saying that in both cases in both of those strikes they were targeting significant Hamas commanders, significant operatives. That is how they are justifying it. But we are seeing a surge. in international alarm and that is causing actual diplomatic protests. We've seen Jordan recall its ambassador to Israel along with Chile and Colombia. Bolivia has cut off diplomatic ties.

These are sort of actual actions that are now being taken against Israel. And of course the United Nations humanitarian office has said that it thinks that these actions may be disproportionate and could amount to war crimes.

So you know Israel is sticking to its guns, sticking to its idea that this was about targeting those Hamas operatives. They are going to continue to do that, they say, but they are now grappling with this surge in alarm and in opposition from what were previously allies. NEWTON: Clare Sebastian, for us, thanks so much as we continue to

watch that rafa crossing for any movement. I really appreciate it.

Now sources familiar with the negotiations for the deal allowing foreign nationals to leave Gaza tell CNN it came together after weeks of intensive diplomatic efforts. It is believed to be a critical first step in getting thousands of foreigners out of Gaza.

CNN's MJ Lee has more now from the White House.

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MJ LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden personally confirming that the first group of American citizens had left Gaza and are now in Egypt. He said that the process of getting Americans and other foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians out of Gaza and into Egypt would take place in stages over the course of multiple days.

The State Department has previously said that there are some 400 American citizens in Gaza that are wanting to leave. That is in addition to some 5,000 foreign nationals that are also believed to be in Gaza. The president's saying at an event in Minnesota that the administration has been working nonstop to reach this arrangement. This is what he said.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're in a situation where safe passage for wounded Palestinians and foreign nationals to exit Gaza has started. American citizens are able to exit today as part of the first group of probably over 1,000 will see more of this process going on in the coming days. We're working nonstop to get Americans out of Gaza as soon and as safely as possible.

LEE: And to give you a sense of some of those diplomatic conversations that have been taking place over the course of weeks. What CNN is told is that Hamas had been pushing for wounded Palestinians to be able to leave Gaza, but that notably one thing that they had demanded was for some of their own fighters to be a part of that mix and that was a demand that was denied.

[03:09:48]

We are also told that Egyptian authorities had expressed a lot of concern about the idea of Palestinians coming into their country and settling down there permanently and that -- that's something that U.S. officials had been discussing with their Egyptian counterparts for days and that Egyptian authorities also wanted to make sure that they were able to vet and look into every single person that was crossing over into their country.

The president also saying in Minnesota that he believed that Israel continued to have a right to defend itself but that it needed to do so in a way that adheres to international laws. The president saying, quote, "every innocent life is a tragedy." This is, of course, noteworthy given the airstrikes that have struck a refugee camp in northern Gaza. This has complicated the Biden White House's political standing and

how it has been talking about the ongoing conflict. Of course, we know that Biden White House officials are very concerned about the continuing growing civilian death toll in the region, even as they continue to say that Israel has a right to defend itself.

MJ Lee, CNN, The White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Israeli President Isaac Herzog says Hamas will do whatever it can to incite division and hatred between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens. He's urging Israelis to stay united against psychological attacks. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT (through translator): This monstrous enemy is trying with all its might to wage against us a psychological war with the most nefarious tools. We've seen it this week again and again, and I expect we'll see it in new and different ways. It aims to terrify us with video clips, rumors and lies. It wants to unsettle us psychologically. The enemy seeks to kindle hatred between us, between Jewish citizens and Arab citizens. We have to fight back against this without compromise and single-mindedly. We have to reject every urge toward hatred and racism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Full scope of the devastation at the Jabalia refugee camp remains unclear after those two Israeli airstrikes we were talking about. And it comes as the Israeli military reports advances in ground operations. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has our details.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is all that remains. For the second day in a row, Israeli jets striking the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp, flattening apartment buildings. Hundreds were wounded and at least 80 people were killed, according to the director of the nearby Indonesian hospital.

The IDF said it struck a Hamas command and control complex in Jabalia, killing Hamas militants. But civilians also clearly among the casualties, including children, rushed out of the rubble.

Tonight, the United Nations Human Rights Office raising serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes. Israel blaming Hamas for using civilians as human shields. As it continues its offensive.

A top Israeli commander now says his forces are closing in on Gaza City, Hamas' stronghold in the Gaza Strip.

BRIG. GEN. ITZIK COHEN, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (through translator): Were deepen the strip at the gates of Gaza city. In the last five days we have dismantled a lot of the abilities of Hamas. We have attacked strategic positions, all the explosive abilities, its underground facilities and other systems.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Five days after Israel launched its ground offensive in Gaza, Israeli forces are advancing towards Gaza City from three different directions.

In the north, Israeli armor and infantry have been spotted advancing from both ends of the Strip. Israeli tanks also appear to be closing in from the south. CNN geolocated this tank at the strategic Netzarim junction on the main road into Gaza City. Israel is also moving some of its artillery closer to Gaza.

(on-camera): Until recently, this field was filled with Israeli artillery positions. You can see these mounds where howitzer guns or other types of artillery would dig in. And now, as Israeli forces move closer into Gaza, those artillery positions are also moving closer to support the troops on the ground. Now all that remains are these, boxes of munitions, artillery fuses used by the forces that were here.

(voice-over): The question now is how deep Israeli forces will move into Gaza.

MIRI EISIN, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM, REICHMAN UNIVERSITY: The only way to get to what Hamas has built over a decade inside the Gaza Strip, the only way is through a ground operation.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Ashkelon Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Army Major General James "Spider" Marks joins me now. It is good to have you and your insights weigh in here. I'm really interested in just, you know, your straight, clear-eyed assessment of how you believe Israel's military campaign is progressing so far.

[03:15:02]

MAJ. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Paula, thanks for having me. I would say the IDF has taken a very deliberate step to go after Hamas, preceding any ground operations, certainly with a very thorough and continuous air campaign going after very select key targets.

Clearly, the challenge with that is the segregation, the attempt to segregate civilian populations, the Palestinians away from the Hamas targets but Hamas makes that absolutely impossible because they wrap themselves in their population and they use the Palestinians as their shields and they use them as political bargaining chips and they are really, Hamas is really flaming the, what I would call the global outrage in terms of what the IDF is now in Gaza. Quite effectively, quite effectively.

And what the IDF is doing, having gone after a significant number of command-and-control targets, inventories of where Hamas keeps their weapon systems, trying to deny them access to safe havens, understanding completely that they have about 300 miles worth of subterranean access. They have tunnels that connect buildings and command centers. And the IDF is trying to strike those.

They also have to be very, very conscious of the fact that there are over 200 hostages. So all of these things are wrapped in together. And so the IDF, I think at this point, understands that any effort that they take on the ground in Gaza, which is where they are beginning their operations now, will be very deliberate, will be very slow, and they will exercise extreme what's called tactical patience.

NEWTON: And it is clear that what they're attempting here is completely unprecedented given any other incursions they have made into Gaza in the past. But I have to ask you, they've known for decades about these tunnels. These methods seem quite crude and obviously have a high civilian death toll. Is there a better way? I think in 2023, all of us would have envisioned a better way.

MARKS: What better way is there than to put a knife in somebody's throat who has just put a knife in your brother or sister's throat? Hamas? The challenge with the Israelis.

Look, I'm not going to justify what Hamas did in any particular case. I suffer with and along with the Palestinians because they have been put in a situation that's untenable for them. The leadership of Hamas is bankrupt and they have corrupted the entire population of the Palestinians in Gaza and are holding them hostage.

The Israelis have no other choice other than regardless of this century or the next century. There is very little choice that they have if they want to get rid of Hamas. Now the challenge is, Hamas is the challenge with fighting these kind of wars is that when you kill a terrorist you grow three more terrorists. Hamas is an idea. You don't eradicate an idea. You can eradicate bad behaviors. You can eradicate those that are exercising those bad behaviors.

But there will be a resurgence that will take place over time. And the Israelis know that. That's why there has to be a desired in-state that gets beyond what existed before 7 October.

The Israelis, I think, understand that and have to reconcile that. Is that a two-state system? Is that remove the gates and have Israelis and Palestinians living together? I don't know what those good solutions look like, but I think the bad solutions look like.

NEWTON: And it seems like they're not. many good solutions on the table right now. I don't have a lot of time left, but President Biden seems to have moved his position on this now calling perhaps for a humanitarian pause. Do you think that would be a military liability for Israel?

MARKS: There is certainly, where the IDF is now, there is a legitimate discussion. It would have to be bounded. There would have to be some conditions to have a pause. Israel has gone after a whole host of targets, Hamas targets. They are presently in Gaza. They are approaching Gaza City. They are beginning the mission to go after the leadership.

It would be dangerous to pause military operations while you're in Gaza. You would have to extract them because if you pause military operations when you're in Gaza, you're nothing but a target.

But you can also increase humanitarian support now that Rafah is open. You can also bring humanitarian support in from the sea. but you cannot halt military operations now that the Israelis have already begun those operations and they are not likely to withdraw.

NEWTON: All right, Major General James "Spider" Marks, we will leave it there and we really appreciate your insights.

MARKS: Thank you, Paula.

[03:20:04]

NEWTON: And we have much more ahead on the situation unfolding at this hour in Gaza, but also Donald Trump Jr. The eldest son of the former U.S. president will be back in the hot seat again in the hours ahead, testifying in his family company's fraud trial.

And later, one for the ages, the Texas Rangers details on the incredible final game of the 2023 World Series.

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NEWTON: The elder son of former U.S. President Donald Trump will be back on the witness stand in the coming hours for the Trump Organization fraud trial. Now, Donald Trump Jr. will face more questioning from the New York Attorney General's office. He testified for about 90 minutes on Wednesday denying any involvement in the preparation of his father's financial statements. That's including in 2017 after his father became president and he was appointed trustee of a revocable trust. He said he left that, he says, to the accountants.

[03:25:03]

The Trump defense team is not expected to cross examine him. Now he's the first of Trump's three children scheduled to testify. Eric Trump is expected to take the stand this afternoon as well. Former president Trump himself is scheduled to testify Monday, followed by his daughter Ivanka Trump next Wednesday.

Now a measure to expel embattled Republican congressman George Santos from the House of Representatives has failed. Santos currently faces nearly two dozen charges, including wire fraud and identity theft. He's pleaded not guilty to all of them and says the result of the vote is a victory for due process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): People might not be happy with the process, but they do not have a right to create a predetermined outcome. There is a process in place. I am fighting to clear my name. I am fighting for due process. That is all I'm asking for. The fact that we had today more Democrats than Republicans vote and believe in that tells you everything we need to know. This country is divided. This body is divided, but it still showed today the morality that we are able to understand what is right from wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Santos still faces a house ethics investigation. The committee is expected to reveal its findings in the coming weeks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has announced it will not raise interest rates, holding them steady for the second time in a row. Now, the Fed touted the strong pace of economic activity last quarter. That's despite inflation staying above the central bank's target rate of 2 percent.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the Monetary Policy Committee is not thinking about rate cuts, and here's the thing, right now. Wall Street cheered the Fed's decision on Wednesday with the Dow rising 221 points. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also closed higher for that day.

Up next, a closer look at the devastation left behind in Gaza's Dubai refugee camp where Palestinians say entire families have been wiped out in the blink of an eye.

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[03:30:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and you are watching "CNN Newsroom."

Live images now of the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt where a group of people have gathered hoping that they will make it through again today. On Wednesday we saw a brief opening of the gate from Gaza to the outside world, letting some Palestinians leave the enclave for the first time since Israel declared war on Hamas. Egyptian officials say at least 361 people with foreign passports left Gaza.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders says all 22 of its remaining staff in Gaza left, including a specialized medical team. And ambulances from Egypt were able to take dozens of wounded Palestinians out. Egyptian officials say at least 45 injured people are now being treated in hospitals across the country.

In the meantime, Israel has confirmed both of the airstrikes that struck the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza over the past two days. The IDF says it was targeting Hamas commander and a command and control complex hidden amongst the civilians in the densely populated camp. But what's still unknown is the full extent of the devastation and just how many people were killed in those attacks.

CNN's Nada Bashir has more now reporting from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Chaos and horror at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp. Wounded children rushed to nearby ambulances the latest casualties of Israel's relentless aerial bombardment.

This densely populated neighborhood gripped by panic and sheer disbelief, a second Israeli airstrike in less than 24 hours.

I lost my whole family, Abdulkarim says, holding a list of those killed just today.

My sister's house was struck with her children inside. My brother's house too, with all of his children. There is no one left except for me and my younger brother. They were innocent. What did they do to deserve this?

Israel's Defense Force says it was targeting a Hamas command and control complex in Jabalia. Hamas fighters said to be among those killed, but Jabalia is home to more than 100,000 civilians, according to the U.N.

And while the full extent of the civilian death toll remains unclear at this stage, Gaza's civil defense authority has described this latest disaster as a massacre, with more casualties and more fatalities added to the list of hundreds said to have been killed or wounded in Tuesday's airstrike.

This situation is beyond belief. Many have been killed, bodies have been left burned and charred by the airstrike, this doctor says. There isn't a hospital in the world that could cope with this kind of situation. We're having to treat patients on the floor and in corridors.

The scale of the destruction at Jabalia is difficult to grasp. Many residents are still buried beneath the blackened rubble. Rescue workers and civilians dig side by side, desperate to find survivors.

This house had 15 people in it, but we still haven't been able to find any of them, Hasan Ahmed says. We have no equipment. We are digging alone.

Northern Gaza continues to come under heavy bombardment. Its residents warned by Israel to evacuate southwards.

But airstrikes continue to rain down across both central and southern Gaza too. And for the more than two million Palestinians living under an Israeli blockade, the fear is that there is nowhere safe to turn.

[03:35:10]

Nada Bashir, CNN in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan is a pediatric intensive care and humanitarian doctor with MSF, or Doctors Without Borders. Last hour, I asked her what she's hearing from her colleagues on the ground in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TANYA HAJ-HASSAN, PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE AND HUMANITARIAN DOCTOR, MSF: We're having children come in with the majority of their body and faces burned, some of their digits melted away, limbs missing. I mean, just catastrophic injuries, just really horrifying injuries. And the doctors are left to treat them with limited pain control, running out of anesthetic drugs, too many patients requiring the operating room, so we're not able to get the patients in -- in this speed that they need to go in and not enough postoperative space to care for them.

We don't have enough antibiotics, we don't treat wound infections, we don't have enough dressings. And I wanna give you sort of a picture of what that means for a child, for example, who's coming in with the majority of their body burned.

That is a very extremely exquisitely painful injury. And if you don't have adequate pain control for it, that child is gonna suffer. If you don't have adequate dressings, you cannot appropriately clean for those wounds so that they remain clean.

And if you don't have appropriate anesthetics, every single time you do the dressing changes, the child is gonna wail in pain and is gonna experience levels of pain that are completely inhumane. And I'm using the words of the doctors that are describing what they're having to do having been completely stripped of all the tools of modern medicine to take care of these horrific injuries. They are saying it is humane, it is unbearable, it is intolerable, and we feel like the entire world is watching us being massacred live on T.V., and they are silent to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: If you would like information on how to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, please go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find a list of vetted organizations providing assistance. That's at cnn.com/impact.

Coming up for us, one of the top universities in the U.S. announced it will cancel Friday classes following the arrest of a student who allegedly threatened to, quote, "shoot up a kosher dining hall."

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[03:40:00]

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NEWTON: Cornell University in upstate New York is canceling classes Friday. The Ivy League school says the decision is quote, "in recognition of the extraordinary stress of the past two weeks."

On Wednesday a court ordered a Cornell University student to remain in jail for now. He's under arrest for allegedly posting threats online to kill and injure members of the school's Jewish community. Prosecutors say his threats including shooting up the university's kosher dining hall. In the weeks since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab American communities right across the United States have surged.

CNN's Brian Todd brings us the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After several days of fear gripping the Cornell University campus in upstate New York and arrest. A 21-year-old junior at Cornell, Patrick Day, charged in connection with threatening to kill Jewish students. Prosecutors say in online posts, Day threatened to bring an assault rifle to campus, to shoot up a mainly kosher dining hall, to stab Jewish students, to throw them off cliffs.

LEVI SCHUMUEL, JEWISH STUDENT AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY: I can't imagine what would go through the mind of someone like that. Just, first of all, you're making threats on like this, like this random website. Like, why would you do that?

SAM FRIEDMAN, JEWISH STUDENT AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY: I mean, I've seen general anti-Semitic sentiment and things like that, but to have not only a direct threat, but a direct threat to a building that I personally go to and eat at and see friends at, like, that was really scary and that was really, it was bad.

TODD (voice-over): Patrick Day has not entered a plea. His parents told the "New York Post" they believe their son is innocent. They say he struggles with depression and never had a history of violence. But in this climate, New York's governor is in no mood for lenience.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): I want to make an example and say, as I said on Monday when I told those students, if you do this, you will be caught and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

TODD (voice-over): Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7th, tensions have boiled across the U.S. on college campuses, at private homes, businesses. A dramatic spike, officials say, in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents, including assaults, acts of harassment, and vandalism.

And one group says, in cases of harassment against Muslims in America.

DINA SAYEDAHAMED, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, NEW JERSEY: Many cases do go unreported for fear of retaliation or backlash. The actual number is likely much higher.

TODD (voice-over): Why have incidents spiked on college campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas War?

LA'NITA JOHNSON, EXPERT ON EXTREMISM, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: College campuses is where students are using their voices for the first time. They're politically active, often they're ready to vote. And so this comes with the territory of university campuses. What we can say about this particular incident is folks are feeling touched on both sides due to their identities.

TODD (voice-over): But it's seemingly everywhere. A swastika was spray painted on a high school football field in Virginia. In Minnesota and New York State, displays of pictures of Israelis taken hostage have been damaged or torn down. A top Muslim advocacy group in New Jersey says the atmosphere for Muslims there is reminiscent of the post-9/11 era.

[03:45:06]

SELAEDIN MAKSUT, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, NEW JERSEY: Muslims have been fired from their jobs, posting about Palestine. Hijabs have been pulled off in broad daylight here in New Jersey. Students have been called terrorists by public school teachers and parents.

TODD (on-camera): As federal officials scrambled to combat the spikes of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, FBI Director Christopher Wray has stressed this is not a time for panic. He says no one should stop going to school or to houses of worship. But everyone, he says, should stay vigilant.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now Europe as well is seeing an increase in anti-Semitism. In Vienna, a ceremonial hall at a Jewish cemetery was defaced with swastikas and set on fire. A police investigation is now underway with Austria's chancellor denouncing the attack, saying anti-Semitism has no place in society and will be fought with all political and legal means.

The mayor of Rome says two commemorative cobblestones honoring Auschwitz survivors have been damaged, and in his words, desecrated. He called for solidarity with the city's Jewish community.

Hundreds of people marked All Saints Day in Madrid Wednesday with a candlelight vigil in memory of the Palestinians killed in Gaza since Israel declared war on Hamas. Demonstrators lit candles and held signs accusing Israel of genocide and of targeting civilians. Israel denies that, saying Hamas is the only target of its airstrikes.

Just ahead for us, the death of a sports legend, Bobby Knight, known for his talent and his temper, has died. The highlights and lowlights of his remarkable career when we come back.

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[03:50:00]

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NEWTON: U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are set to visit Lewiston, Maine on Friday after 18 people were killed there in a pair of mass shootings last week. The White House released a statement saying the Bidens will pay their respects to the victims and grieve with families and community members. The youngest victim was just 14 years old. The eldest was 76. At least 13 others were wounded in the shootings at a bowling alley and a restaurant.

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla toured some natural habitats on the second day of the four-day visit to Kenya. The royals met a baby rhino, learned about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and visited an elephant sanctuary at Nairobi National Park on Wednesday. The queen wore a traditional gown gifted by local women who danced alongside her. She also received a painting from children at a local donkey club and met with vendors at a farmer's market.

From the world of sports, the passing Wednesday of a legend, both for his success and his temper. Bobby Knight, the Hall of Fame U.S. college basketball coach, has died at his Indiana home at the age of 83. Knight was one of the winningest coaches ever in U.S. college basketball and led Indiana to three national championships and an undefeated season. He told CNN's Larry King he grew up loving the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY KNIGHT, HALL OF FAME U.S. BASKETBALL COACH: I really liked the game. I grew up in a town, a great town in Ohio, Orrville, the home of Smucker's. And it was a football-baseball town, basically. But for some reason, I just kind of fell in love with basketball as a game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, but Knight also was famous for his rage, and that got him fired from Indiana in the year 2000.

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CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: An iconic career I had Indiana I could be the men's basketball team there the last team by the way the men's team to go undefeated, 32 and 0, last team won Division 1 Men's, that was back in '75 and '76. But also the temper, the players and emotion were legendary and a lot of his fans love that when he proved it fair across the floor in his career back in 1985.

They cheered him on for his iconic temper and the way he handled things, you know, a cult figure in every way, Indiana and the big pen wolf. But then things got serious. There was a video of him choking a player, and then he allegedly grabbed a student on campus in the fall of 2000, he was fired.

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NEWTON: One sportscaster called Knight college basketball's raging bull, but Bobby Knight was also one of the most successful ever to coach the game.

Now, an incredible pitching performance by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Zach Galen was not enough. Can you believe it? As the Texas Rangers pumped out four runs in the final inning to win baseball's 2023 World Series. Take a look at this.

It was Bedlam as Texas pitch relief pitcher Josh Spores struck out the final batter to seal the victory. Arizona's Galen had thrown a no- hitter. Think about that, a no-hitter through six innings, but a towering two-run homer by Texas Marcus Simeon.

In the ninth, yeah, it was more than enough for the Rangers, wow, they really did go nuts here. The final score, 5-0. It is, in fact, Texas' first World Series Championship in the club's 63-year history.

Another World Series in the books. I'm Paula Newton. I wanna thank you for your company. Bianca Nobilo is up next from London and I will leave you with live images at this hour of the Rafah crossing in Gaza, where you can see people are gathered, hoping, hoping to make it to Egypt today.

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