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Dozens Reported Dead After Blast At Refugee Camp in Central Gaza; IDF: Evacuation Route to South Gaza to Open Sunday; CNN Reports on IDF Operations from Inside Gaza; Pro-Palestinian Protesters March to White House; U.S. Warns Israel: Global Outcry Will Intensify. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 05, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:38]

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 CNN's continuing coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

We're following reports of a deadly explosion at a crowded refugee camp in central Gaza within the past couple of hours. The densely packed al Maghazi camp lies to the south of Gaza and past the line the IDF has repeatedly told Palestinians to go. A local hospital official says at least 33 were killed, mostly women and children, and there are far too many wounded to treat. The cause of the blast is still unknown. The IDF hasn't commented on whether it was targeting the area.

Meanwhile, in just few hours, the Israeli military is expected to open the road corridor so people in Gaza City can flee south. The IDF is offering what it calls safe passage during a four-hour period beginning 10:00 a.m. local time. The IDF released video of its chief of staff just inside Gaza on Saturday, more than a week into the ground operation. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERZI HALEVI, IDF CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF (through translator): Keep everyone strong. Strengthen the spirit. I know personally that it's very strong. I am really proud of people and I'm really proud of you. Pass this to others. We will take and get updates. Well done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Ivan Watson joins us from Hong Kong with more.

So, Ivan, let's start with that explosion in the Gaza refugee camp. What more are we learning?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it does sound as if the death toll is substantial there with the head of the nursing department at a nearby hospital telling CNN at least 30 people were killed, that the number of wounded far exceeds the hospital beds that they have at that hospital. We've seen scenes of bodies shrouded in white outside at the hospital that have been brought there. Other images that we can't show you because they're simply too graphic, and they reveal badly wounded or killed children.

Let's take a listen to what one of the survivors of this blast had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAST SURVIVOR (through translator): I saw a red light. Then we were shaking on the sofa. I saw all my sisters screaming. Then I saw my father.

When I found myself alive, I looked to see who was still alive. We turned on the torch, and my siblings were alive, but I did not find my father. I finally found him next to me.

I moved him. I moved his hands. I moved his face. He did not respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: This woman said her father was killed in the blast. Another survivor described his two children dying in that blast. We've reached out to the Israeli Defense Force for comment on what could have taken place there and have not heard a response yet.

This is not the first time that one of Gaza's refugee camps has been struck. The Israeli military did claim responsibility for some huge attacks, at least two days of huge attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp. In the case of this specific camp, the United Nations says that it has a population prewar of at least 33,000 people living in a concentrated area of just 0.6 square kilometers -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it's important, again, to reiterate this camp was further south of the line the IDF people said to go to be safe. So, despite the clear danger that still exists south of that line, that's where the IDF says those in the north of Gaza should flee and they're opening another window to allow them to leave?

WATSON: That's right. The Israeli military issued this warning to civilians in Gaza coming from an Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli military, urging people, civilians, to move south in Gaza and saying that between 10:00 a.m. local time and 2:00 p.m., that is when one particular road, the Salah al-Deen street, would be open for people to move south, and urging them to move south of the blue line on that map, Wadi Gaza, which is this kind of waterworks, a stream that cuts across the Gaza Strip.

But the al-Maghazi camp is south of that line, and as have other places like the Jabalia refugee camp been. And so, what that tells us is that even if you move south as the military -- Israeli military is urging the civilian population, that does not mean that a civilian is safe.

[02:05:00]

And the death tolls that we're hearing reflect that with the Palestinian ministry, health ministry based out of Ramallah in the West Bank, saying the death toll now stands at more than 9,400 people killed, more than 20,000 people wounded, and that more than 70 percent of the fatalities come from vulnerable groups including the elderly, children, women as well.

And there's another element here that's very important, Kim. The warning that's coming to Gazans was issued on social media. There is very little electricity currently being supplied in Gaza since the start of this war more than four weeks ago, huge telecommunications outages. So how can people get that information?

A secondary factor is we have reports of attacks on that very same road that the Israeli military is urging civilians to escape down, to evacuate down. Just last week, we had the head of a hospital telling CNN that ambulances were targeted with Israeli artillery as they were trying to move south on the very same road that the Israeli military is urging Gazan civilians to move down today.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, good point. All right, thanks for the update. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, appreciate it.

CNN was part of the first group of foreign press granted access to Israeli forces inside Gaza. Those that are embedded with the IDF in Gaza operate under the observation of Israeli commanders in the field and aren't permitted to move unaccompanied within the strip. So, we should note, as the conditions to enter Gaza under IDF escort, outlets had to submit all materials and footage to the Israeli military for review prior to publication.

Now, CNN did agree to those terms in order to provide a limited window into Israel's operations in Gaza.

And CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this Israeli military post on the outskirts of Gaza City, the fighting is fierce.

IDF SOLDIER: It's okay. It's us.

DIAMOND: Okay.

LT. COL. GILAD PASTEMAK, 828TH BRIGADE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: In the center of the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers are fighting against militants that are using all the houses that they can in order to harm and to get to the IDF soldiers.

DIAMOND: One week into its ground offensive, Israel's military says it has encircled Gaza City from posts like this.

We're right now in an Israeli military post inside the Gaza Strip, about one kilometer inside of Gaza. Gaza City is just this way, and as you can hear behind me, there was a lot of ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. What they are trying to do right now is to flank the Hamas positions. That's what the battalion commander just told me. And all of this intended to try and cut off Gaza City from the

southern part of the strip as Israeli forces also move in from the north.

CNN was part of a small group of reporters given access to Israeli forces inside Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the war. Entering Gaza using the same roads Hamas militants use to carry out their brutal attack on October 7th.

LT. COL. RAN CNAAN, 828TH BRIGADE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: And today, we're going on the exact same roads to the same neighborhoods to their area, to their trucks, you know, to go there and be able to get them pay the price and to eliminate Hamas organization that held this attack on the state of Israel.

DIAMOND: The Israeli military is taking us into Gaza. We are in the armored personnel carrier right now. We're off into Gaza, to the southern point of Gaza City.

But still, Israeli forces face the danger of ambush from underground tunnels.

IDF SOLDIER: And over there, over there and inside the, the neighborhood, also --

DIAMOND: So in address this area, there are at least three tunnels.

IDF SOLDIER: I believe, I believe at least, yeah.

DIAMOND: Israel says many of those tunnels lie below residential buildings, and for weeks, it has relentlessly bombed those targets, killing and injuring thousands of civilians in the process.

The forces here say they are now working to secure a humanitarian corridor to help civilians flee the heaviest fighting.

PASTEMAK: This is justice for the brigade, the battalion right here. The population will be able to go from the north to the south surely and freely, in order to get the IDF to what it has to do, north to the murderous Hamas.

DIAMOND: For these soldiers, achieving that goal may see them deployed deep into Gaza City, where the prospect of deadly urban combat awaits.

PASTEMAK: Well, the IDF will be here as long as it takes, weeks, months, years, until he makes sure that Israel is safe and secure for the long time period. If you need to get inside Gaza house by house, it's exactly what's going to happen.

DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, with Israeli forces in Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Israeli strikes that have killed civilians and destroyed civilian buildings are shocking many in the international community. [02:10:06]

But Israel says those places have been masking Hamas facilities, including command posts and tunnels, and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

CNN's Scott McLean looks at what international law says about targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly hospitals, when they may be providing havens for terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hospitals across Gaza are overwhelmed, short on supplies and fuel. Some are also being warned to evacuate because they could be targets. So far Israel insists it has not targeted a hospital, but under international law, could it?

The laws of war are mostly based on the Geneva Conventions which both Israel and the minutes have Palestinians have signed and under those conventions, hospitals have special protections. So, Article 18 says civilian hospitals may in no circumstances be the object of attack.

Now, thousands of people are currently taking shelter inside Gaza's hospitals in addition to the sick and the wounded.

But Israel says that hospitals are being used to shelter Hamas militants. In fact, it believes that a Hamas command and control center is located under Gaza's largest hospital, al Shifa.

Now, the hospital denies this, but here's the IDF.

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: When medical facilities are used for terror purposes, they are liable to lose their protection from attack in accordance with international law.

MCLEAN: That is true in theory. Article 19 of the convention says that the protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit acts harmful to the enemy. It goes on to say that protection may only cease after due warning has been given.

Now, Noam Lubell, an expert on this subject at the University of Essex, says this requires Israel to send the equivalent of a cease- and-desist letter. They have to warn, give the hospital time to comply with that warning, or to actually evacuate.

Israel has dropped leaflets on northern Gaza telling people to leave immediately, and it says it has called the Al Quds hospital here multiple times warning them to evacuate already.

There is no clear public evidence hospitals are being used for military purposes, but even if they were, Lubell says you still have to consider a range of factors including proportionality, which isn't always straight forward.

NOAM LUBELL, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT, UNIV. OF ESSEX: It's like if I were asking you what's higher, the volume of my voice or the ceiling, right? Because comparing things that are measured in completely different units.

MCLEAN: You can't say X number of weapons is worth X number of civilian lives?

LUBELL: No. At the same time, there are things that are obviously proportionate and things that are obviously disproportionate. That's why this rule is useful, right? That's why -- you know, there are things where most people would agree. But anything in the middle, anything that's not extremely disproportionate or obviously proportionate, you're going to have different views.

MCLEAN: So, precisely what is proportional is not spelled out clearly in the convention, and the top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court also had a warning for both sides of the conflict.

KARIM KHAN, PROSECUTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: There should be no doubt that every decision-maker from head of government to military advisers to lawyers that are making targeting decisions should be on clear notice that they will be required to justify every strike against every civilian object, whether it's a drilling house or a school or a hospital.

MCLEAN: Now, he says justifying each strike requires analysis and information proven that the target is no longer protected. But the trouble for Karim Khan and the International Criminal Court, though, is that when you look at the countries who have signed on to the court's jurisdiction, you will find the Palestinians in this list, but you will not find Israel.

Now, the ICC believes it does have jurisdiction to investigate what's happening in Gaza, though Israel may never recognize the findings. So, it is entirely possible that the case of whether Israel can legally target hospitals maybe for now heard only in the court of public opinion.

Scott McLean, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Just ahead, thousands are turning to makeshift shelters like this hospital in northern Gaza to stay safe from airstrikes. Our exclusive look inside and what the people who fled there say they're going through.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:18:21]

BRUNHUBER: U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues David Satterfield says the U.S. is looking into establishing field hospitals in southern Gaza. He says it depends on whether guarantees can be made that staff would be able to enter and exit the area safely. The official also shared that Israel is in conversations to bring hospital ships off the coast of Gaza.

Now, all this comes a day after a blast outside al Shifa hospital, and as the Palestinian death toll continues to climb. The IDF has repeatedly called on civilians to evacuate Gaza city and northern Gaza and move south. Many are on the move seeking shelter anywhere they can find.

CNN obtained exclusive footage of one such makeshift shelter, Al Quds Hospital in northern Gaza, where thousands of misplaced people are camped out.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports on their flights. And we just want to warn you, there are images in her report which are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Where do you go when the bombs won't stop? Where do you shelter your family when the shelters are full?

For many Gazans, the answer is a hospital. The head doctor shows us around.

All that separates these families in the ICU is this door, he explains. These are not proper sterile conditions.

Some 12,000 displaced people are camped out in Al Quds Hospital in northern Gaza. And every single person you see here has been told by Israel's army to leave and move south, an evacuation order the U.N. previously called inhumane.

This is not a place for children to play, this is a disaster, the doctor says. Look, these are sick people. How can a man on a walker be evacuated?

Hospitals are protected under international law, but Israel claims Hamas uses medical facilities as command centers. Aid groups and Palestinian officials deny these allegations.

Either way, this is still not a safe place. Step outside the doors and this is what you face, nonstop Israeli artillery and airstrikes. Everyone here fears the explosions will only get closer, but there's nowhere else to run.

Across the street, desperate people steal basic supplies. The war and a suffocating siege is causing civil order to break down, the U.N. says. Families cannot be expected to flee into this chaos, this father says.

This is a war against our children. See how scared he is from the bombs? Now we are alive, but tomorrow we could be dead. Please save us, he pleads.

Less than a quarter mile away from the hospital, this is the aftermath of one of those strikes. Residents pull people out of the rubble of their homes. They can depend only on each other. Comms are down, no one calling an ambulance.

Just try and carry him out on your shoulder, someone shouts. "Are my mom and dad alive?" the wounded man asks.

ABDELAZIZ: The sound of war never ceases. You could die trying to help the living. This is one neighborhood during one hour in Gaza, a tiny glimpse into the horror. The humanity and dignity of more than 2 million people that live here, a casualty of a war so many did not choose.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: More than 240 people were taken hostage in Israel on October 7th according to the IDF. One of them, Yarden Roman-Gat, handed her 3-year-old daughter to her husband hoping he could run faster as they tried to flee Hamas gunman. Her husband and child were able to escape, but Yarden has been missing ever since. Her cousin Maya has been in Washington this week advocating for Yarden's safe return.

She spoke with our Jim Acosta. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA ROMAN, COUSIN BELIEVED HELD BY HAMAS: She has been kidnapped herself. She had to hide with her father for 12 hours, with no food or water, and then make their way back to the kibbutz. And she has been doing amazing. The one thing she told her father when they were hiding was, it's too bad we didn't bring any water on the trip. And since then, she's also been coping amazingly. She is our strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says its air force carried out successful airstrikes targeting a shipyard in the eastern port city of Kursk, in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula Saturday. Russia claims its air defenses shot down the missiles. CNN hasn't been able to independently confirm either claim.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is concerned the Israel/Hamas war is taking focus off the war in Ukraine. He thinks that's exactly what Russia wants. Zelenskyy adds his country has been in this situation about of and will, quote, overcome this challenge.

Rescuers are scrambling to get food, tents, and other supplies to remote region of Nepal after a powerful earthquake. The 5.6-magnitude quake struck while people slept Friday night. Some villages were almost completely leveled. Authorities say at least 157 have been killed, 200 injured. Searchers say more victims could be found.

The Hamburg, Germany, airport remains at a complete standstill. All flights in and out have been halted for hours because of a family hostage situation. Police say a 35-year-old man smashed through security and drove his car onto the tarmac and underneath a plane Saturday. At last report, he was reportedly still inside the car along with his 4-year-old daughter. Officials say a substantial amount of special forces are on the ground trying to resolve the situation. We'll bring you more updates as we get them.

More than 700 migrants are recovering after being rescued off the coast of Spain's Canary Islands. Spanish officials say they were traveling on four boats. Two people were dead when they were discovered, two others died in hospital. Twelve migrants remain hospitalized.

According to Spain's interior ministry, more than 30,000 migrants have arrived by boat in the Canary Islands so far this year, more than double the number that arrived last year in the same time frame.

Europe is still dealing with the aftermath of Storm Ciaran and its record-breaking rains. Meanwhile, Storm Domingo is closing in and expected to hit the region today.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar tells us what's in store.

[02:25:01]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Many people are still cleaning up after storm Ciaran brought record-breaking winds and very heavy rainfall to portions of France, British Isles, and Spain just to name a few. But even though this system has moved out, we've got another system on the heels of it.

And again, when you take a look at some of these rainfall totals, you're looking at over 200 millimeters in portions of Italy, but also Spain and the U.K. looking at some pretty impressive rainfall totals. Wind speeds also record-breaking in a few locations. Look at this, 170, 180 kilometers per hour across numerous locations in France.

But even the jersey airport in the U.K. topping out at 150 kilometers per hour. For conversion, that's about 95 miles per hour here in the states. So, again, you take a look, the next storm already starting to impact. It moved through on Saturday across portions of the British Isles and France now starting to focus more on central Europe as we finish out the rest of the day on Sunday.

Now, another focus for this storm is also going to be very strong winds, but also some very heavy rainfall. The thing is, it's going to come in waves. So you're going to have one section of the rain coming after another. So for a city like Paris, for example, it's going to be raining not just the rest of Sunday but really for the next seven days. You're going to have those really decent rainfall chances.

It's also going to keep the temperatures a little bit below average for the remainder of the upcoming week. And those winds we talked about, looking at this, Paris, even down through portions of northern Spain, you're going to be looking at those winds of around that 50 to 60 kilometer-per-hour range. Now, once we slide through the rest of Sunday and get into Monday,

we'll start to see those numbers coming back down and eventually by the time we get to Tuesday, most locations looking at just about 20 to 30 kilometer-per-hour winds at best.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll take a break. For our viewers here in North America, we'll have more news in just a moment. For international viewers, "BOLD PURSUITS" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:40]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all you watching here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

President Biden says progress has been made on a humanitarian pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. He didn't provide any details. As Priscilla Alvarez reports, the president and his team have warned Israel it doesn't have long before support for its military offensive erodes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden and his top advisers are warning Israel that it will be more difficult for them to achieve their military goals as global outcry intensifies over the situation in Gaza. U.S. senior officials have been keenly aware of the scenes of destruction and dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and just last week, President Biden was confronted at a campaign fund- raiser by a protester calling for a cease-fire.

And the president acknowledging that protester, saying that he thinks there should a pause. That pause being a humanitarian pause, an extension of what U.S. officials have been calling for that would allow aid to go into Gaza as well as the release of hostages from Gaza. Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is taking that call to the region, meeting with Israeli officials as well as foreign ministers, also calling for a humanitarian pause and pushing for that as the scenes of destruction continue to fuel outrage.

Now, the president's closest advisers believe it is a matter of weeks, not months, that the United States can continue rebuffing the pressure to publicly call for a cease-fire. All of this underscoring the complicated political landscape the White House is trying to navigate.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, traveling with the president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meeting with Arab foreign ministers didn't go well. As Becky Anderson reports from Doha, America's opposition to a Gaza cease-fire isn't what any of those ministers wanted to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with key Arab allies in Amman on Saturday, the message from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt -- clear and consistent.

AYMAN SAFAD, JORDANIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND EXPATRIATES (through translator): In Arab countries, we demand an immediate cease-fire.

ANDERSON: The response from America's top diplomat, also consistent.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's our view that a cease- fire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7th.

ANDERSON: Sharing a stage with Blinken, the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers said Israel has gone beyond a justified response.

SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Israel targeting innocent civilians and facilities, medical facilities, paramedics, in addition to trying to force immigration for Palestinians to leave their lands -- this cannot be legitimate self- defense at all.

ANDERSON: While he was in Amman, Antony Blinken made a point of stressing that the U.S. and its Arab partners share the, quote, same fundamental interests and objectives to end this war. But if he arrived in Amman hoping to share plans and build consensus for a postwar future for Gaza, he likely left disappointed.

SAFAD: What happens next? How can we even entertain what will happen in Gaza when we do not know what will be left as this war stops?

ANDERSON: The message from Arab leaders, no talk about what happens the day after this conflict ends until all parties agree on what happens today.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The people in Gaza are running out of critical supplies because of the slow pace the humanitarian aid is trickling in. The Palestinian Red Crescent says 47 aid trucks made it through the Rafah crossing Friday, bringing fresh food, water, and medical supplies. That means over 400 trucks have now crossed successfully from Egypt into Gaza, but it's nowhere near enough. The Palestinian Red Crescent points out Israel still isn't allowing fuel in.

[02:35:01]

All right. Let's go to Cindy McCain in Cairo. She's the executive director of the World Food Programme.

Thank you so much for being here with us. CINDY MCCAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: So the Biden administration is joining the chorus of countries as well as many aid groups who are asking for a humanitarian pause in Israel's war on Hamas. Why is that so necessary right now?

MCCAIN: Well, most of what we need to do and I'll speak on behalf, of course, of the WFP, is we need safe, unfettered access that's sustainable to get in there, to not only get our trucks in, but get a volume of our trucks in.

Your story is correct. It's a dribble right now. It's not enough to sustain the population that's in there. So, we are asking everyone to please consider allowing us to get more trucks in, a faster pace, a better way to get the trucks in terms of the way they process them, so that we can get in and feed people. We fed -- so far we fed about 600,000 people, but we need more.

So we're asking -- I met with obviously the Egyptian officials here, and that was my exact ask of them.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, let me ask you about that. You met with the president of Egypt, as well as Egyptian officials. In your discussions specifically on the situation in Gaza, what came out of your talks?

MCCAIN: Well, just exactly what I said. We need to be able to get in there. And have access, safe access, so that we can do our job in feeding people. But we also need a logistics center to be able to palletize and do this in an organized way so that we can support the Egyptian Red Crescent and get more trucks in by doing that.

BRUNHUBER: So you have those trucks that are presumably waiting. I mean, what is the situation now? Do you have trucks waiting with supplies that are just waiting for access to cross over?

MCCAIN: That's true, but it's not nearly what it was. I can say that the volume of trucks that are waiting is down quite a lot, a lot less than it was. But the point, the whole point that is we need to be able to get in, there needs to be a sustainable way we can do that.

More importantly, this is about saving lives. This is about saving children, women who are always the brunt of these situations. And so, that's what we do and why we're here.

And I want to -- I want to remind everybody, the teams that do these things here in this country or any country that's in conflict like this, they're amazing. Our WFP team and all the U.N. teams are simply amazing at doing this job.

BRUNHUBER: Well, let me ask you about that. I mean, I know there have been some 70 U.N. staff killed, according to the U.N., the highest number of its workers killed in a conflict anywhere in the world in such a short period. I know you're staff are facing tough conditions, the loss of loved ones. I mean, what are they telling you about the situation they're facing as well? MCCAIN: Well, they're facing the same situation as people that are

affected by this. There's not enough food, there's no water, there's no fuel, as we all know. And so, they're asking the same things. These people are still continuing to do their jobs, which says a great deal about the kind of people who work for WFP.

BRUNHUBER: The need is so great. I know some of your supplies in Gaza were looted, I guess a sign of the desperation there?

MCCAIN: Yes. I think there is some desperation there. So that is another reason that we need to get these trucks in there, so that this does not happen, so that we can be able to feed people sustainably and safely for the long-term.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, you mentioned fuel. When it comes to allowing fuel in, the IDF fears it will be taken and use the by Hamas for its war on Israel. When it comes to the aid that's coming into Gaza, how can you be sure that it's going to the right places?

MCCAIN: Well, in a case of WFP, we've been in there for a long time. And so we have those tracking/tracing measures. Our people are on the ground, they're entrenched in these communities.

And so, they know a lot of the players. Plus, they -- they're trained to look for problems. I'm not going to say 100 percent that we can stop anything from being -- from falling into the wrong hands, but we will do absolutely everything we can to make sure none of it happens.

BRUNHUBER: Back to what we were talking about off the top. I mean, you're asking for more access. You want those trucks to get through. You've been talking to all the different officials. Are people listening? Do you have hope that this will happen?

MCCAIN: Yes, people are listening. The world is listening. I've seen a great deal of movement within the Egyptian government now to help solve this problem and make sure that we can get these trucks in.

[02:40:08]

So I'm grateful -- we are grateful for that. We're grateful on behalf of the people who are our recipients of the food. We just need more and we need it quicker.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll leave it there. Really appreciate having you on.

Cindy McCain, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.

MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come after a quick break, a Palestinian American family shares their story of loss with CNN. Dozens of their relatives were killed in Gaza in just one day. That's ahead.

Plus, an 11-year-old American girl's journey out of Gaza, one of some 100 Americans who got out last week.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: A Palestinian American family is in mourning after dozens of their relatives were killed in Gaza. In just 24 hours, three generations of the family were gone. The youngest just 3 months old.

CNN's Isabel Rosales brings us their story.

And we just want to let you know, some of the images you're about to see may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A crowd of neighbors and survivors working together to bury loved ones.

Wrapped in white burial shrouds, their bodies are carried and lined up inside a mass grave. They belong to one family.

Thousands of miles away in the U.S., family members across three states are united in grief.

EYAD ABU SHABAN, 42 RELATIVES KILLED IN GAZA: I'm still in this nightmare. I'm still not -- I haven't woke up yet.

ROSALES: In Florida, Eyad Abu Shaban can't bear the unimaginable loss.

E. ABU SHABAN: That's my cousin and his son.

ROSALES: Three generations gone in a single day. Back-to-back airstrikes the family says, in Gaza, killing 42 relatives, the youngest just 3 months old, Abu Shaban tells CNN.

A video shot by a neighbor shows charred ruins and rubble, all that's left of. Sakalah (ph) family compound.

[02:45:05]

E. ABU SHABAN: We've never seen in this day and age what the whole world is watching, innocent people just being torn apart. Families, whole families just wiped off the map.

ROSALES: The family blames the deaths on Israeli airstrikes. CNN cannot independently confirm that.

Israel has launched numerous airstrikes on Gaza city since the terror attacks on October 7th, including multiple strikes in the area that day. The Israel defense forces did not comment on the purported airstrikes.

E. ABU SHABAN: In my family members, we have no Hamas members. They're just ordinary people, doctors and grandmothers and grandfathers and uncles and aunts and children. I mean, if you want to exterminate Hamas, you should go to the source.

ROSALES: Among the dead, four brothers, all doctors. Family members say they operated Gaza's largest network of family-owned eye clinics. An independent journalist on the ground captured the aftermath and the moment survivors pulled body after body from beneath the rubble, including Mona Abu Shaban's uncle, his wife, and son. The three had recently left their home in a different part of the city to stay at the Sakalah compound, Mona says.

MONA ABU SHABAN, 42 RELATIVES KILLED IN GAZA: Their previous home where they were at before, they were told to evacuate. So they assumed they were going to be safe. So they went to a safe area, a safe house, basically.

ROSALES: Watching from afar in Ohio, Mona is pleading not only for a cease-fire but long-term action.

M. ABU SHABAN: We can't just say, okay, we're going to stop bombing and then it's over. You have to give them, you know, their dignity. You have to give the Palestinians a place to call home.

ROSALES: In Minnesota, community members fill up an Islamic center, praying in support of the Sakalah family. In the face of so much loss, their family has no time to properly mourn. Overcome by constant worry for the more than 2 million palestinians in Gaza caught in the crossfire.

E. ABU SHABAN: There's a sense of helplessness. There's no -- the only thing we can do is pray.

ROSALES: Two family members survived, including a woman who was on her balcony when the air strikes hit. That's according to relatives in Minnesota. The family is extremely worried about them. Communication with relatives in Gaza is not easy right now.

Mona tells me that they are essentially hunkering down, but are unable to leave because the only official way out so far is available only to foreign nationals and injured Palestinians, according to officials and Egyptian media.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The intermittent opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt this past week allowed some wounded Palestinians and foreign nationals to exit. Eleven-year-old American Farah Salouha said she was relieved her name was on the list of those who could leave Gaza, but she also had to leave people behind, including her father. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARAH SALOUHA, 11-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN LEFT GAZA: He told me to be safe. He hugged me, and he kissed my forehead, because he's very worried about me. And he told me that he loves me, and stay safe, and always remember. I'm very sad because I left all of my friends, especially in school because they -- I was always happy with them. And I miss being that happy instead of worrying all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The Biden administration says the U.S. embassy in Cairo has helped more than 100 U.S. citizens leave Gaza since Wednesday.

All right. Still ahead, thousands of protesters joined a pro- Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., and they warn President Biden not to take their political support for granted next November.

Stay with us.

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[02:52:45]

BRUNHUBER: In Tel Aviv, hundreds of family members of Israeli hostages held a rally near the military headquarters, demanding greater action by the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government opposes any temporary cease-fire unless all the hostages are freed.

Britain's Prime Minister came under pressure from a massive rally in central London Saturday. Have a look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BRUNHUBER: Test of thousands gathering there to demand an end to the violence in the war between Israel and Hamas. This is the third straight weekend of demonstrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a bloodshed. And the Israelis are targeting hospitals, schools, and you can't -- we can't stand by and just watch this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can only hope. We just have to keep going until they do. There is power in people. There is so many people here, and we just have to keep going until they do listen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Police report making 29 arrests for inciting racial hatred, other racially motivated crimes, violence, and assaulting a police officer. It wasn't just London. In addition to the thousands you see gathered here in Berlin, demonstrations took place in capital cities such as Paris, Santiago, Chile, and Caracas, Venezuela.

And in Washington, protesters marched to the White House carrying Palestinian flags and signs that read "stop the massacre, let Gaza live".

CNN's Gabe Cohen spoke to some people who are calling out U.S. President Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thousands of protesters marched through Washington and ended up here at the White House after that huge rally just a few blocks away at Freedom Plaza. Hours of speakers who called for an end to the bombings and the ground operations in Gaza, but also demanding that the White House and President Joe Biden call for a cease-fire and end its unequivocal support for Israel, saying that it could be a serious political issue for the president in 2024 if he does not call for that cease-fire.

Here's what some of those protesters told me.

AAMINA ALIZAI, PROTESTER: My message to President Biden is, I voted for you and I regret it.

COHEN: Will you vote for him in 2024?

[02:55:01]

ALIZAI: Absolutely not.

RIBHI, PROTESTER: I'm not going to vote for him. I'm not going to vote for him, because he's supporting Israel. He's asking for $14 billion to do more killing of the Palestinian people.

COHEN: And the organizers told me they had hoped this would be the largest free Palestine rally in U.S. history. And while I can't confirm that I can tell you, it is by far the largest we have seen here in Washington since the war began last month.

Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Former President Donald Trump is expected to take the witness stand Monday in his New York civil fraud trial. The case centers on why the Trump Organization inflated the value of his assets when he was trying to secure loans. Donald Trump denies any wrongdoing and says the various legal actions against him are all part of an effort to keep him from the White House.

His son Eric says the former president is fired up to testify. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP/CO-DEFENDANT IN FRAUD TRIAL: My father's going to be here and fired up to be here. He thinks this is one of the most incredible injustices that he's ever seen, and it truly is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The civil fraud trial carries no risk of jail time, but it could cost him some of his most prized possessions, including Trump Tower.

Negotiators for striking Hollywood film and television actors are reviewing what's being described as a best and final offer from the major Hollywood studios. Now, it's not clear that a deal will be reached. The union and studio executives have been meeting on and off since the SAG-AFTRA actors went on strike July 14th. They're asking for higher pay, better benefits, and restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence. Now, once a deal is reached it would need to be ratified by members of the 160,000-member union.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back for our continuing coverage of the Israeli-Hamas war in just a moment. Please do stay with us.

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