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CNN International: Blinken Meets with Turkish Foreign Minister in Ankara; Dozens Killed in Blast at Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in Gaza; New Polling Has Trump Leading Biden in Four Key Swing States; Lebanese Foreign Minister Says We Do Not Want a War in Lebanon. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 06, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. It's 9:00 a.m. in London, 11 a.m. in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas is about to enter its second month.

It comes as an intense diplomatic push is underway to prevent wider conflict in the region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Turkey right now, meeting with his Turkish counterpart. U.S. officials say he will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives during that meeting. On Sunday, Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq and met with the country's Prime Minister to discuss the Israel Hamas conflict.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, communications are down again. A local operator says there was a complete interruption on Sunday of its telecom and network services. Aid agencies say they lost contact with their workers as the besieged enclave faced its third communications blackout.

It comes as the heads of 18 aid organizations, including UN agencies, issued a rare joint statement earlier calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The search continues for survivors of a deadly blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. Witnesses and an official at a nearby hospital tell CNN that the blast killed dozens and wounded many others on Saturday -- on Saturday night. He says it was the result of an Israeli air strike. And the IDF says it's looking into the circumstances around the explosion. Residents say the strike took them completely by surprise, leaving many to search for the bodies of their loved ones in the aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (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 is 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)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, an IDF spokesperson refused to confirm if Israel was behind the attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. Here's what he told my colleague, Rosemary Church.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, IDF SPOKESPERSON: Regarding the strike on Al- Maghazi, we are conducting activities in the south of Gaza, which are precision based, based on intelligence. I can't share at this time the specifics of this incident, but is indeed heartbreaking the images that we are seeing. We are going to extreme efforts in order to limit the civilian casualties of this war. Unfortunately, it is a war nevertheless, and it is -- these are the images of warfare.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: So Israel was behind this attack, is what you're saying. But what was achieved?

LERNER: No, I never said that. I said that we are conducting strikes also in the south against specific targets. Now when there are strikes in the south it is against specific targets. I can't confirm that regarding this incident. You know this is the nature of warfare in modern age and specifically in urban areas where the terrorist organizations like Hamas and specifically this terrorist organization that has become a terrorist entity. An entity with a terrorist army, an entity -- a terrorist entity with aerial capabilities and entity with subterranean capabilities.

All of their efforts are to put hospitals in in harm's way. All of their efforts are to utilize fuel that could go to hospitals for their subterranean tunnels. All of their efforts are to exert maximum casualties, maximum deaths on Israelis, but also on their own people. And this is the challenge we are facing. We are I'd say committed but also determined to limit the civilian casualties. But it is a huge challenge for any military.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Joining me is journalist Elliot. Even the IDF, describing those images as heartbreaking. But you know, these are the images of war, he said.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Well, he didn't. Yes, and the rest of that conversation not only saying that these are the images of war, but also saying that we are going to see images like these in the coming days and saying that there is really no alternatives for Israel in its war with Hamas. In order to exterminate Hamas, to take out its infrastructure, rocket launchers, anti-tank posts, observation posts, all of the infrastructure and Hamas itself that the IDF is saying that there is no alternative and that these images which even the IDF is describing as heartbreaking are set to continue.

[04:05:00] And what the IDF is also doing kind of at the same time is trying to show the international community that Hamas really does operate out of these civilian infrastructure. Showing videos which it says show that Hamas tunnel shafts going underneath hospitals, for example, and the like to show that that is the reason why sometimes civilian infrastructure is kind of, you know, suffers from air strikes or in the vicinity, or on them itself, because that is where Hamas is operating out of.

FOSTER: Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, clearly very concerned about this escalating, but also keeps calling for a pause in the fighting, travelling the region quite aggressively, including unannounced visits. But it doesn't seem to be making any progress at all.

GOTKINE: Not at the moment. The U.S. has certainly been calling for a humanitarian pause. And we've got much of the international community calling, including, you know, UN aid -- UN agencies and aid groups are putting out this joint letter calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. But Israel's position remains that there can be no ceasefire until these 240 or so hostages that Hamas abducted on October the 7th. When, of course, it also killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. Until those hostages, men, women, children, babies, the elderly are returned to Israel.

And as you say, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, meeting with his counterpart in Turkey. Met with those -- with the Prime Minister of Iraq and also the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in those unannounced visits, which is, you know, not a very common thing for him to do. Trying to talk about, you know, improving the humanitarian situation. And the IDF saying this morning that more than 100 trucks should be going in through Rafah this morning, with humanitarian aid for the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.

But also, as you say, trying to ensure there's no escalation, and indeed he had -- he put a -- when he was in Iraq, he said, you know, it was important to send a very clear message to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the conflict in Gaza to threaten our personnel here or anywhere else in the region, and that message simply was don't.

FOSTER: Unfortunately, we're not able to report fully what's happening on -- in Gaza. This has been this comms blackout yet again. Is that an indication of, you know, an escalation in the -- when we've seen it previously, there's been series of particularly violent attacks, and it's coordinated with a comms blackout because they're linked.

GOTKINE: Israel isn't saying that it's responsible for this comms blackout. We do actually understand that communications are now slowly returning to the Gaza Strip. But as you can imagine, it's adds to the anxiety and fear inside the Strip, when people can't communicate with their loved ones, either inside or outside the Strip. And indeed the head of the World Health Organization chiming in and saying that, you know, this kind of communication blackout needs to be reversed and that communication needs to be restored immediately. Because he says without connectivity, people who need immediate medical attention cannot contact hospitals and ambulances.

Now we have in the past seen these blackouts happen and we do know that over the past 24 hours, the IDF saying that it struck more than 450 targets. We've seen it bisecting the Gaza Strip in two over the weekend, reaching the coast, splitting the Gaza Strip in two, saying that now effectively there's a north Gaza and a south Gaza. And it's also encircled Gaza City, which it describes as a fortress of Hamas terrorist activities, in the words of the IDF.

So communications now do appear to be returning. That has been the pattern that we've seen on the previous two occasions that it's happened since October the 7th without any apparent need for repairs, which would suggest that this was the IDF's handy work. Although, as I say, it won't -- it's not said that that it was the IDF that imposed this blackout.

FOSTER: OK, Elliot, Thank you much.

Now in a matter of hours, former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to take the stand in his civil fraud trial in New York. It'll be a high stakes day of testimony that could determine the fate of his New York business endeavors. Trump could ultimately be forced to sell off his properties after a judge ruled that he and his company committed fraud for years, whilst building his real estate empire. We spoke earlier with Jessica Levinson, the law professor at Loyola Marymount University, and asked what we could expect to see when Donald Trump does take the stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA LEVINSON, HOST OF "PASSING JUDGMENT" PODCAST: We know that the judge in this case has already found that there was fraud, that it was committed by Trump and the Trump Organization. And so the question legally for his testimony is the other six counts of liability that are still on the table and the potential remedy in this case. And how closely the judge will draw a line between actions that Trump took and those financial statements that he's already found to be fraudulent.

Now, of course, what we're also looking at is to see how he answers the questions, whether or not he becomes agitated.

[04:10:00]

And of course, key is whether or not he makes admissions that hurt him, because we've seen him do that in other cases, like the E. Jean Carroll case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, with a year to go before the next U.S. election, Trump seems to hold an edge over President Biden in several key swing states. New polling has got Trump leading in some states where Biden won the vote in 2020. Our White House reporter, Priscilla Alvarez, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: A newly released poll is painting a grim outlook for the Biden campaign a year before the election. In a New York Times and Siena College poll, the president is trailing former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical match in four key swing states that includes Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan. It's notable because President Biden won those states in 2020. And striking because former President Donald Trump faces a series of criminal charges.

Now, the Biden campaign is downplaying this poll saying in statement, quote:

President Biden's campaign is hard at work reaching and mobilizing our diverse, winning coalition of voters one year out on the choice between our winning popular agenda and MAGA Republicans' unpopular extremism. The campaign goes on to say: We'll win in 2024 by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting about a poll.

Now, the campaign also cited the 2022 midterm elections, where Democrats had a grim outlook there and did better than was expected. But there is still a long road ahead, and the president fanning out across the country to sell his economic message to voters who are still dissatisfied with the economy and who still have doubts about the President's age and his ability to steer the country. And the President too, is facing risks within his own party about the handling of the Israel Hamas war. So several headwinds to hail on the domestic and international front, as the president goes into the next year going into November of 2024.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, traveling with the president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, our Jim Acosta and our CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten about the biggest problem Mr. Biden is facing as he tries to win reelection.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: It's age. Voters think he's too old, is just too old to be an effective president. 70 percent of likely voters across these six battleground states say that Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president. Donald Trump, that number is 39 percent. If you look back at the 2020 numbers, Joe Biden's numbers didn't come anywhere close to approaching this. This to me is the big problem. And I'm just not particularly sure how you solved that problem if you're Joe Biden. Perhaps you've gone to show that you can campaign. Perhaps you try and bring Donald Trump's numbers up a little bit, but --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Right. I mean, Trump's only three years young.

ENTEN: -- the fact is --. Yes, he's only three years younger. It's not like he's, you know, this isn't a great difference, but the fact is, it's all about perception, Jim. It's not about the numbers in this particular case. It's about perception and the perception is, is that voters believe that Joe Biden is just too old at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, the U.S. Secretary of State is on a whirlwind diplomatic tour through the Middle East -- as we were discussing there with Elliot. We'll have details of his surprise visit to Iraq and what he's hoping to achieve on his current stop, which is in Turkey.

Plus, tensions flaring along Israel's border with Lebanon. The Lebanese Foreign Minister tells CNN it's up to Israel not to provoke war with Hezbollah. I will hear from him just ahead.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Well, we are keeping a track of developments out of Gaza where witnesses say dozens of people were killed in a blast at the Al- Maghazi refugee camp late on Saturday. A hospital officials tell CNN, it was an Israeli strike. The Israeli military says it's looking into the circumstances around the blast.

This comes as another communications backout has been reported in Gaza, the third since the war began. Several aid agencies say they lost contact with their teams inside the enclave as a result. The UN's main relief agency in Gaza says 79 of its employees have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. The group's commissioner says it's the highest number of UN aid workers killed in the conflict anywhere in the world in such a short period of time.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Turkish officials in Ankara right now to discuss Israel's war with Hamas. As he wraps up the Middle East leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour. Before heading to Turkey, Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq, where he met with the country's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. He called for a ceasefire and the reopening of the border crossings to keep the humanitarian crisis from worsening.

CNN State Department reporter Jennifer Hansler is travelling with the Secretary of State, joins us now by phone from Ankara. How would you describe the success of this visit, Jennifer?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER (via phone): Well, good morning, Max. It's hard to say yet whether there is any success out of this meeting. Secretary Blinken arrived at the Foreign Ministry a little over an hour ago to meet with the Turkish Foreign Minister. They are still meeting at this time.

We expect Blinken to bring up some of the key priorities of this broader visit to the region, namely increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza for those who are critically in need and stopping this conflict from spreading. That has been the through line throughout his trip. First in Tel Aviv on Friday, where he met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also called on the Israeli government to do everything they could to protect civilians and institute what the U.S. is calling these humanitarian pauses.

We saw Netanyahu just hours after that meeting ended, reject this entirely. He said there would be no pause, no ceasefire until Hamas releases those hostages.

On Saturday, Blinken met with his Arab counterparts in Amman. There has been a sharp divide between the U.S. and his partners in the region on the need for a ceasefire. Ministers he met with on Saturday had been very, very critical, very outspoken about Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Yesterday, we saw Blinken again, carrying this message of the need to get humanitarian assistance in and stopping this conflict from spreading to Ramallah, where he met with the Palestinian Authority president.

[04:20:00]

And then to Iraq last night, where he met with the Prime Minister. And this is what he said about the commitment that is needed to stop this regional conflagration from happening. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're working very hard to make sure that the conflict in Gaza does not escalate, does not spread to other places. Whether it's here, whether it's elsewhere in the region, this is the very vital and urgent work of American diplomacy, and that's what we've been engaged in as well throughout this trip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So there is a lot at stake here, Max, for this meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister. This is a relationship that is very complicated between Turkey and the United States. Turkey also, of course, plays host to some of Hamas's leadership. It's unclear if Blinken will explicitly ask them to expel those leaders. However, he has said there cannot be a return to the status quo with Hamas after this October 7th attack. So we will be waiting to see what the Secretary says about this meeting when it wraps up here in Ankara later today -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Jennifer Hansler, appreciate it. Thank you.

The head of the CIA also travelling to the Middle East. U.S. official says William Burns will visit several countries to meet with political and intelligence leaders. They're expected to discuss mutual areas of concern in Gaza, the latest on hostage negotiations and the continuing efforts to keep the Israel Hamas war from spreading in the region.

The U.S. military says a guided missile submarine has arrived in the Middle East, sharing this picture, which appears to show the sub in the Suez Canal passing under the Al Salam Bridge. Since announcements like these are so rare, it seems to send a clear message that the U.S. doesn't want the Israel Hamas war to expand.

Usually these submarines operate in secret. This one joins two U.S. carrier strike groups that are already in the Med.

The Israel Defense Forces Chiefs says the military is ready to shift into, quote, an offensive mode in the north any moment. Since October of the 8th, there have been nearly daily exchanges of fire between IDF forces and Hezbollah militants along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

On Sunday, Lebanese state run news said an Israeli strike on a vehicle killed four civilians, three of whom were children. The IDF says troops engaged in suspicious --engaged a suspicious vehicle. And says they're looking into Lebanon's claims that there were civilians inside. Meanwhile, Israel says one of its citizens was killed by a Hezbollah strike in northern Israel.

Earlier CNN's Becky Anderson spoke with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, he says his government is working with Hezbollah to deescalate the conflict and avert war with Israel. Here's part of his conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: From the beginning, we've had, the government had a lot of negotiation with Hezbollah and others that are on -- in the front in southern Lebanon. And the -- we are under the impression -- and they didn't tell us -- but we are under the impression that there wouldn't be any big war coming unless Israel attacks Lebanon or the situation gets very, very, very bad in Gaza.

Now what -- what say Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday did not change from the beginning. But he explained it very well yesterday to all concerned. So we are not -- but I don't know what's going to happen now. You know, you can never tell in such circumstances what would happen. Because one small incident can start a war, you know, hopefully not. Lebanese do not want war. I don't think Hezbollah wants the war. But, and as they said, they didn't know about the attack that Hamas did. It doesn't mean that they have no relation with Hamas, but they didn't know what they started it. We don't want the war in Lebanon and hopefully the Israelis would not start with us a war.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hassan Nasrallah and describe this as a 100 percent Palestinian war. I have to ask you, what is the atmosphere like in Lebanon at present? This is a country that is so fragile economically, it doesn't -- nobody ever needs a war. Nobody needs a conflict. But Lebanon needs it, you know, less than -- less than most. What's the atmosphere like? And what was the Prime minister's message to the U.S. Secretary of State?

BOU HABIB: That we do not want a war and that we are working with Hezbollah and other Palestinian organizations here, so to prevent the war. And we'd like that U.S. pressure also is real, not to start a war.

[04:25:00]

Because all, you know, Hezbollah yesterday or the day before the Secretary General of Hezbollah made the first speech. Usually he does more speeches in such circumstances. But the Israelis are daily threatening Lebanon. Daily, you know, is saying a lot of bad things that will return Lebanon to the Stone Age. That that's inciting feelings here. We ask the Americans not to say that they should not -- they should ask the Israelis not to say such things, because -- if they don't want a war. But you know. it was reported in American press in "New York Times" that the Israelis were thinking of a preemptive attack on Hezbollah or on Lebanon. So the pressure should be on the Israelis more than on Hezbollah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still ahead, families of hostages held by Hamas have been desperate for answers since they were kidnapped nearly a month ago. The sister of one hostage joins us next.

Still come, law enforcement opens a hate crime investigation after an Arab Muslim student was struck in a hit and run at Stanford University. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, now in Turkey, the latest stop on his tour of the Middle East. He's meeting with the country's foreign minister.

[04:30:00]