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CNN International: Israel Resumes Gaza Military Operations; Hamas Blames U.S. and International Community for Resumption of Fighting; Hamas Frees Eight More Israeli Hostages Thursday; U.S. GOP Congressman Faces Expulsion Vote; GOP Congressman George Santos Refuses to Resign; Trump Gag Order; Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in Utah; California and Iowa Governors Face Off in a 90- Minute Debate; U.S. Migrant Crisis. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 01, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: CNN Breaking News.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. It's Friday, December the 1st, 9:00 a.m. here in London, at 11:00 a.m. in Gaza where Israel has resumed combat operations against Hamas as their week-long truce has come to an end.
The Israeli military says Hamas violated the agreement by firing a rocket towards Israel, which was intercepted. The IDF says more rockets were fired after the deadline passed, but no injuries so far reported. The Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry says at least 32 people have been killed in the latest Israeli strikes.
NOBILO: Israel says it's dropping leaflets in the Southern Gaza City of Khan Yunis calling it a fighting zone and telling people to evacuate immediately. CNN asked IDF Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner about Israel's objectives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. (RES.) PETER LERNER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We are currently mobilizing. We are making -- taking the fight to Hamas we are engaging them on the ground. I won't go into specifics, but indeed we are utilizing all of the forces in our capability from ground forces to naval forces and air forces. And Hamas, they made a big mistake by not fulfilling the side -- their side of the agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, sources tell CNN negotiations over hostages continue despite the resumption of fighting. The pause had been extended on Thursday when Hamas agreed to release additional captives. Two women were freed early in the day, followed by a group of six people.
NOBILO: CNN's Scott McLean is following developments and joins us now live from Istanbul. Scott, the U.S. has quite profoundly shifted its rhetoric in terms of what its expectations of Israel are now that this truce has expired when it comes to protecting civilian life and infrastructure. Is that likely to have an impact on what Israel decides to do going forward?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think that's one of the big questions here. You had U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday giving Israel very clear instructions about what the U.S. expects.
Today, we heard from the Gaza media office that said that, look, this is the United States' fault that, at least in part, that this is continuing, and specifically, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, it said, gave Israel the green light to go ahead without any regard for international law.
For the record, that is precisely the opposite of what Antony Blinken actually said during his visit to Israel yesterday. He said that the United States very clearly expects Israel to follow the law, and before anything restarts, it expects Israel to have a plan to minimize civilian casualties, including designating safe zones.
It does not want to see a repeat of the mass destruction and the very high casualty count that have happened in the first phase of this war repeated in the second phase, and particularly in the southern part of Gaza, which Israel has telegraphed that it is going to go into.
Now, we have also seen Israel at least taking some steps that perhaps are satisfying Blinken's requirements. It has dropped leaflets. We know from the IDF, in some areas, including Khan Younis, telling people to go to safer places like a shelter in the Rafah area. They have also said that they started a website in Arabic for people to be able to better track the safe parts of Gaza.
Obviously, there are difficulties with that given the communications issues, given the connectivity issues, electricity, et cetera, et cetera. But at least Israel is taking some steps in that regards. Whether they're effective, we don't know.
But I also think it's worth considering what an IDF spokesperson said earlier today when it comes to the issue of civilian casualties, and I just want to read you a quick quote of it. He said, we don't want to see Gaza civilians die, but Hamas is operating directly from within those areas. And we have to ask ourselves, what is the alternative if we do nothing, and then he goes on to say that he expects a repeat of October the 7th to be able to happen. Max, Bianca.
FOSTER: Presumably, this means the aid convoys have stopped going in as well. Do we know anything about how that is factored into the latest round of fighting?
MCLEAN: Yes. So, the IDF says that aid will still continue to get into Gaza. How and when and how much, those are questions that we still don't know. Obviously, over the past seven days, we have seen the highest volumes of aid getting into Gaza, though officials have said that that is clearly still not enough.
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And the scenes that we're seeing today are quite chaotic with some of these airstrikes that have been reported in places like Khan Younis, Rafah, other areas as well, people picking through the rubble, trying to trying to save survivors who may be actually under there.
I also just wanted to point out, Max, you know, why this truce actually fell apart in the first place. You have the Israeli prime minister's office saying, "Hamas violated the outline, did not live up to its duty to release all the kidnapped women today and launched rockets at the citizens of Israel."
The IDF spokesperson last hour was more specific. He said that Israel believes that Hamas is still holding 17 women and two children hostage. And even yesterday we saw Israel reluctantly agree to accept just eight hostages rather than the expected number of 10.
And so, perhaps we are reaching the point where Hamas no longer has the women and children hostages that it is willing to hand over or perhaps able to hand over because, of course, there are other militant groups, which sources believe are holding other hostages as well.
And so, Israel says that it is still willing to talk. You had a member of the Knesset yesterday saying that, look, if Hamas is willing to hand over hostages, we are willing to talk. But he also stressed that Israel believes that military action to put pressure on Hamas is also going to help Israel's position because they know that the price that they will have to pay for men, civilian men and Israeli soldiers is going to be higher than the price that they've had to pay for women and children. How much higher? We don't know, but they think that they can bring that price down with the military action that they're carrying out right now in Gaza. Max, Bianca.
FOSTER: Yes, Scott in Istanbul. Thank you.
NOBILO: "The New York Times" is reporting that Israel obtained Hamas' attack plan more than a year ago, but dismissed it as aspirational and too difficult for Hamas to carry out.
FOSTER: According to "The Times" the document called for a barrage of rockets at the onset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders on motorcycles and on foot, all of which happened on October the 7th.
NOBILO: CNN spoke earlier with staff writer Ronan Bergman who shares a byline on this time story.
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RONEN BERGMAN, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORK TIMES AND AUTHOR, "RISE AND KILL FIRST": Israel didn't believe that Hamas has the ability to send teams throughout the border, not as some kind of a raid on one or two villages, this is something they took into account, but to invade Israel. And even after they obtained this plan, this is a detailed plan.
We spoke with few professionals. My colleague, Adam Golan (ph) and myself, were the same two things about operations. This is a detailed, meticulous plan, and one cannot be not impressed by the extent of knowledge of the Hamas about Israel. All the preparations, all the surveillance devices on the border, they are all -- and the automatic submachine guns, they are all strictly mapped.
And the plan, the Jericho war plan also understand and explain to the government of Hamas, how to destroy all the fortification on the border.
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FOSTER: Well, a spokesperson refused to comment on whether the Israeli prime minister had seen the report. Here's what she told CNN.
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TAL HEINRICH, SPOKESPERSON FOR ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The October 7th massacre was a failure on our behalf. Of course, it was a failure. And we are a country that, as you know, in the past we conducted thorough inquiries. We will do it again. And we are drawing lessons as we go because we must. There is no other choice.
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NOBILO: Hamas only released eight Israeli hostages on Thursday, short of the Israeli demand that at least 10 Israelis be released on each day of the pause.
FOSTER: As negotiations continue over further hostage release is CNN's Matthew Chance in Tel Aviv with more on the Israelis set free on Thursday.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The latest group of Israelis being handed to the Red Cross includes 40-year-old Amit Soussana and 21-year-old Mia Schem, an Israeli French dual national, who appeared earlier in this Hamas propaganda video, being treated for an injured arm.
Please get us out of here as soon as possible, she pleads to the camera.
And now, finally, the moment Mia's family, separated since October the 7th, were reunited. A glimmer of joy amid Israel's horror.
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But the horror continues. Tonight, Hamas posting a video of an Israeli hostage whose wife and two children, it says, were killed by Israeli strikes. The Israeli military says it's investigating, but in a video message, which CNN isn't airing, Yarden Bibas calls on the Israeli government to bring his family home so they can be buried in Israel.
And now, there are growing concerns at what comes next. The U.S. secretary of state has been meeting Israeli officials to discuss the next steps. As one Israeli government legislator tell CNN, we are close to the end of this deal, at least this phase of it. This phase being the release of three Palestinian prisoners for the release of every Israeli woman or child.
When it comes to the men and the Israeli soldiers being held, Hamas wants to set new terms. They want a different equation, the legislator says. And as long as they can provide hostages, we are willing to talk.
Indeed, there's broad interest in keeping some kind of deal in place. Not least in Gaza, where residents are receiving crucial food supplies, as well as medicine and fuel during the pause in Israeli strikes.
We wish this was the last day of the war and that we can be done with all this chaos, says Mohammed al Basher (ph). Enough people have died or suffered, he says.
It's a sentiment being voiced on both sides of this bitter divide. In Tel Aviv, Israeli protesters are calling for efforts to bring the hostages home to be stepped up. And for the Israeli government, to avoid returning to a war that may put more lives at risk.
Matthew Chance, CNN Tel Aviv.
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NOBILO: 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, and that is at cnn.com/impact.
Still to come for you, in just a matter of hours, a Republican congressman could be expelled from Congress after a damning House ethics investigation and a slew of federal fraud charges.
FOSTER: Plus, immigration, one of the key issues in the presidential race. We're in Chicago where the city is struggling to cope with the influx of migrants there.
NOBILO: Also, ahead, a court reinstates a gag order on Donald Trump in the civil fraud trial. More on what the judge has to say about that.
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FOSTER: Let's get you up to date on our breaking news this hour. Israel has resumed combat operations in Gaza after it says Hamas violated the terms of their temporary truce. The Hamas controlled Gaza Interior Ministry reports Israeli jets in the air, military vehicles on the ground, and strikes in the southern part of Gaza near Khan Younis and Rafah.
Meanwhile, sources tell CNN negotiations over hostages continue despite that resumption in fighting.
NOBILO: In battle for Republican Congressman George Santos' political career could come to an end in a few hours' time as the U.S. is set to vote on expelling him from Congress.
FOSTER: Santos has survived two previous attempts to remove him from the House, but this vote comes on the heels of a scathing House Ethics Committee report into his use of campaign funds. CNN's Manu Raju reports.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Since he was sworn in, George Santos has been at the center of the storm, now about to meet his fate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a dedicated, committed con man who is in the halls of Congress and access to government secrets, to a lot of things that could be damaging to this country. He has to go.
RAJU (voiceover): With the House set to vote Friday and whether to expel Santos --
REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): I will not stand by quietly.
RAJU (voiceover): -- it remains uncertain how many Republicans will vote to remove him, which would require two-thirds support in the chamber.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Santos is a liar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, sir, are a crook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A total fraud, and a serial liar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got to go.
RAJU (voiceover): So far, Santos has survived two attempts at his expulsion amid his 23 federal criminal charges and the widespread lies he's told about his past.
But the scathing bipartisan ethics report has led to growing GOP calls for his ouster after it alleged he sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.
REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): Having him here is unbecoming of the House. And, and frankly, if Republicans aren't willing to police their own, how can we possibly look the American people in the eye and tell them that we're willing to police folks on the other side of the aisle as well.
RAJU (voiceover): Santos will be just the sixth House member ever expelled. The first since James Traficant 21 years ago. And the first ever to be kicked out before being convicted of a crime or being a member of the confederacy.
SANTOS: Good morning, everybody.
RAJU (voiceover): A defiant Santos said he would not resign.
SANTOS: Now, if the House wants to start different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body, because this will haunt them in the future, where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office.
RAJU (voiceover): Some of Santos' biggest foes are fellow New York GOP freshmen.
REP. MARCUS MOLINARO (R-NY): George Santos is doing what every con man and four-year-old does, which is to ignore the truth, take no responsibility, and point at others and suggest they're worse.
RAJU (voiceover): Yet many are wary about setting a new precedent, including Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Republicans.
RAJU: Are you concerned about the allegations in the Ethics Committee report about campaign?
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): I think we're all concerned about, you know, those things, but I'm -- that's a call for the voters. I'm not going to support that.
RAJU (voiceover): Expelling Santos would narrow the GOP's already razor thin majority, and give Democrats a pickup opportunity in a swing district.
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REP. DARRELL ISSA (R-CA): Removing him prematurely is a very tough decision. Notwithstanding that he certainly is not on a stay.
RAJU (voiceover): In a recent CNN interview, Santos admitting to some of his lies.
RAJU: But can you just answer me, but why? But why?
SANTOS: I've already told you this. It's insecurity, stupidity. I don't know. Look, I'm human. We make mistakes.
RAJU: Now, amid George Santos' defiance, he has refused to answer any questions about the allegations, the specifics within that bipartisan Ethics Committee report that found that he used campaign donor money on his own personal items. I asked him about that, he pushed back. He said, you're a lot smarter than to ask that question, as he walked away from reporters. Now, this comes as Republican leaders seem to be siding with Santos on this, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who said he has real reservations about it, as well as his top allies, indicating that this vote on Friday could be close.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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FOSTER: A New York appellate court has reinstated a gag order prohibiting Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his attorneys from publicly criticizing courtroom staff in the ongoing $250 million civil fraud trial.
The appeals court paused the gag order earlier this month. But on Thursday, it said it should be restored whilst the official appealing -- appeal is pending.
NOBILO: The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial says that he intends to enforce the gag order "rigorously and vigorously." An attorney for Trump says it was a tragic day for the rule of law.
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. held a rally in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday. He's working to get enough signatures to get his name on the state's ballot by the deadline of January 8th.
FOSTER: Kennedy made his pitch to voters expressing support for Israel's military efforts against Hamas but opposing Ukraine's efforts against Russia. And he appealed to nostalgia over his generation's ideas about the American dream.
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ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., INDEPENDENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American dream for my generation, the central proposition of -- the fundamental proposition of the American dream was that if you worked hard, if you played by the rules, that you would be able to finance a home, you'd be able to take a summer vacation, you could raise a family, you could pay for your retirement on one job. There's nobody in that generation who believes that that promise is going to be kept to them.
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NOBILO: CNN's Lucy Kavanaugh was there at the rally and spoke with some of Kennedy's supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready for Kennedy 24.
LUCY KAVANAUGH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hitting the campaign trail in Utah as part of his long shot bid to win the presidency.
KENNEDY, JR.: I'm here to declare myself an independent candidate. KAVANAUGH (voiceover): A scion of the country's most famous democratic dynasty. now setting his sights on the White House as an independent.
KENNEDY, JR.: The Democrats are frightened that I'm going to spoil the election for President Biden and the Republicans are frightened that I'm going to spoil it for President Trump.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): For some Utah voters, it's a message that has appeal.
JERRY GARCIA, UTAH VOTER: I'm planning on voting for RFK just because we need a little bit of diversity in this political climate nowadays. I think it's just gotten a little too much, you know, red and blue. World's not black and white.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): The campaign is hoping to gain traction with young voters.
KENNEDY, JR.: So, we have a whole generation of kids who -- you know, for whom the American dream is just a broken promise.
REDD OWEN, UTAH VOTER: I was hesitant to want to vote for another lesser of two evils and all of a sudden RFK, Jr. popped up on my feed.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): Redd Owen, a student at Brigham Young University, voted for Donald Trump in the last election. But when Kennedy began appearing on some of his favorite podcasts, he says he was won over by his antiestablishment message.
OWEN: He approaches issues with understanding of the grievances that both sides of the antiestablishment movement feel. President Trump and President Biden are motivated in their candidacies against one another by grievance and vengeance and spite.
KENNEDY, JR.: People can disagree and still respect each other.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): Kennedy is a controversial candidate known for amplifying baseless conspiracy theories, particularly about vaccines.
KENNEDY, JR.: If you got vaccinated, you're more likely to get sick. You're more likely to get severe illness, and you're more likely to die than if you were unvaccinated.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): But some supporters are willing to overlook that.
BERNIE GARCIA, UTAH VOTER: The Kennedys are really royalty in this country because they do the right thing.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): Bernie Garcia, a self-described liberal who's voted for Democrats in the past, says he likes how Kennedy takes on corporations and environmental causes.
B. GARCIA: It's something that both the left and the right, I think, can find common ground on. KAVANAUGH: And you don't feel like Robert Kennedy is too far outside of the mainstream?
B. GARCIA: I think we need someone far outside of the mainstream.
JOE COOK, CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: He's offering things that I think appeal to many Americans without necessarily falling into a strict ideology.
KAVANAUGH (voiceover): Kennedy faces an uphill climb. Joe Cook is a volunteer helping the campaign gather signatures for ballot access in Utah.
COOK: He's not going to appeal to everyone. But he is speaking to everyone.
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KAVANAUGH: Some of Kennedy's own siblings have denounced his presidential bid as "dangerous," but his supporters aren't fazed. They like his name, they like his antiestablishment and anti-corporation message. And frankly, many of the ones that we've spoken to aren't getting their information about him through traditional news sources.
Lucy Kavanaugh, CNN, Salt Lake City in Utah.
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NOBILO: Meantime, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was in Iowa on Thursday. The state's Republican presidential caucus is just over six weeks away.
FOSTER: Ramaswamy said he supported House Republicans investigations of President Biden, but called the Republican National Committee a joke. He also said he supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but called it a longer-term goal.
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VIVEK RAMASWAMY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not a year one priority, it's a year two priority. Year one for me is driving change through the executive branch, gutting the deep state and the shadow government, the regulatory state. Those are quick wins we could score, fix the border crisis, keep us out of World War III. Do that in year one. Year two then I drive my legislative agenda. That's what I do.
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FOSTER: It was an event happening -- that seemed to be happening in a parallel universe, one in which Joe Biden and Donald Trump were not on course for a 2024 rematch of the 2020 election.
NOBILO: California Governor and Democrat Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, faced off in a 90-minute debate on Fox News on Thursday night, billed as the Great Red State versus Blue State Debate.
FOSTER: The two men haggled over issues from COVID responses to abortion to immigration. And Republican challenger DeSantis took aim at Newsom as a stand in for President Biden as well, a role Newsom seems more than happy to play.
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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He thinks Biden and Harris have done a great job. He thinks the economy is working because of their policies for Americans and they are not. And so, what California represents is the Biden Harris agenda on steroids.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Here's a guy who celebrated Bidenomics just this week. Celebrating $28 million that came into your state because of the Chips in Science Act, one of the most significant economic plans since FDR. I'm proud of the work Biden and Harris have done.
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NOBILO: At one point, Newsom told DeSantis they both had one thing in common, saying, "Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024."
FOSTER: What's the point?
NOBILO: Yes.
FOSTER: One of the top issues for presidential candidates this election is immigration. In Chicago, nearly 3,000 migrants are sleeping on floors of police stations and airports. And as the temperature drops to freezing, there are concerns for the health and wellbeing of the city's new arrivals who are left out on the streets. CNN's Whitney Wilde reports.
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): As temperatures dipped into the low teens with wind chills of around zero this week, many migrants living on the street found Chicago's unfamiliar climate unforgiving. This man said he has been living in a tent and now feels sick.
Lately, I've been having pain in my chest, he says, and I need medicine to help me with a fever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Good. Ninety-nine-point-one.
WILD (voiceover): With help from a translator, Dr. Amanda Bradke offers care to migrants awaiting placement at a shelter.
DR. AMANDA BRADKE, RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: So, a lot of what we're seeing is upper respiratory infections, whether that be a different virus or we're seeing a lot of strep throat. Also seeing some pneumonia. WILD (voiceover): More than 900 migrants are still living at police stations and airports, down from more than 3,000 earlier this fall. The pace of new arrivals has slowed but not stopped. We were there as a bus dropped off dozens of migrants at an already-crowded police station.
More than 23,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, much of the influx driven by Texas Governor Greg Abbott who says northern cities should take on more migrants to ease the strain at the border.
ANDRE VASQUEZ, CHICAGO ALDERPERSON: We've never been in a situation like this, right? All of this is unprecedented.
WILD (voiceover): Alderperson Andre Vasquez heads the City Council's Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
WILD: What is your biggest fear?
VASQUEZ: I mean, my biggest fear, thinking about it right now, wintertime is the most immediate. The snow is going to hit. If we don't find decompression and really find other spaces for folks to live in and get to work, it's really concerning.
WILD (voiceover): City officials are opening more shelters and phasing in a 60-day limit on stays. Mayor Brandon Johnson says the city is partnering with more than a dozen faith groups to take migrants off the street.
MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON, (D) CHICAGO: We cannot abandon families and asylum seekers and let them go through Chicago's winter alone.
WILD (voiceover): Now, the state is funding a massive military-grade tent in the Brighton Park neighborhood to house migrants despite fierce opposition from some residents and questions about whether the area, a former industrial site, is safe.
Alderwoman Julia Ramirez represents Brighton Park.
JULIA RAMIREZ, CHICAGO ALDERWOMAN: When we're thinking about the most vulnerable, whether it's the residents of Brighton Park or asylum seekers, they deserve to have a humane and dignified process to make sure they get shelter.
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