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Defense Official: U.S. Warship Destroys Houthi Drones In Red Sea; White House: U.S. Trying To Get Truce Negotiations Back On Track; NYPD: 4 Killed, 3 Injured In Queens Stabbing, Suspect Dead; Israel Says Talks Are Over With Hamas; Civilian Casualties Mounting In Gaza As Israel Renews Military Operations; Arnold Schwarzenegger Hosts Families Of The Israeli Hostages Held By Hamas; College Football Playoff Is Now Set. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 03, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:40]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi everyone. And thanks for joining me. I'm Jessica Dean in for Fredricka Whitfield today.

And we begin with a lot of new developments out of the Middle East. A U.S. Defense official saying an American warship shot down two drones in the Red Sea and also responded after a ballistic missile attack on a commercial vessel.

CNN's Zach Cohen and Ivan Watson are following the latest on this situation.

Zach, let's start first with you and this attack. What more can you tell us?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, a U.S. Defense official telling us that a U.S. destroyer operating in the southern Red Sea did have to shoot down two more drones today. They were controlled by the Houthi group that operates out of Yemen. This is an Iranian-backed group that has voiced support for Gaza and for Hamas in their war against Israel.

Now U.S. forces in the region, including these two carrier strike groups that this destroyer was operating as part of, have come under a steady drum beat of attacks since they were deployed in the aftermath of the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel.

U.S. officials have maintained that this is not a sign that the war has spilled over and has expanded more broadly. But that is a concern and this, you know, again, the steady drum beat of attacks that we've seen from not only Iranian-backed groups in the Red Sea but also across the Middle East in Syria and Iraq have raised questions about whether the Biden administration's response to these attacks on U.S. forces has been aggressive enough.

DEAN: All right. Thanks so much. And let's go to Ivan now. He's in southern Lebanon where we've seen,

as we just talked about, more fight there between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

Ivan, does this latest incident exacerbate, as Zach was just saying, these fears that war could spread around the region?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, that's one of the concerns. But at the same time what we're seeing is that these various Iranian-backed groups, they're finding ways to pressure the U.S. and Israel and its ally, the U.S. and perhaps distract and irritate.

So we've got the attacks on shipping going through these vital shipping lanes that the U.S. Navy is involved in helping protect ships. But also here on Israel's northern border that is with Lebanon, you have had a simmering conflict over the border, basically for the past month and a half.

It died down during the seven-day truce when Israel stopped -- paused its offensive in Gaza, but it has since restarted. So the militant group based here in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah, it has claimed responsibility for a number of cross-border attacks just today, saying that they were, quote, "in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance.

The Israeli military has confirmed that an anti-tank missile was fired at one of its vehicles and that several of its soldiers were likely injured and the vehicle was damaged.

Where I am here, not far from the Israeli border, I can see some Israeli positions, mountaintops from where I am here. This afternoon we were hearing the thud of incoming Israeli artillery, a strike nearby here that shook the building I'm standing in, too.

The conflict here has been deadly, not of the intensity that we've seen in Gaza, but at least 100 people have been killed over the past month and a half on the Lebanese side of the border.

The majority of these casualties are Hezbollah fighters, but also more than a dozen civilians including several journalists, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Ivan Watson for us in southern Lebanon. Our thanks to you and Zach Cohen who is in D.C. for that reporting.

Let's get a little analysis on this now and joining me now is Retired Air Force Colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton. Colonel, great to see you as always.

I want to talk first about these attacks, Zach was just walking us through that involved that U.S. ship. Does it appear these attacks were trying to do damage, or was this about trying to test the U.S. and just be provocative in a way?

[14:04:55] COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it might be both actually. You know, my understanding from the reporting that we've seen is that the missiles that the Houthis sent in the direction of the civilian ship, that came pretty close.

And so that, you know, would indicate that there was a deliberate attempt to do some damage.

The ship in question, called the MV Unity Explorer, that is a Bahamian-flagged vessel. And it is also owned, in part, by an Israeli entity. So the Houthis are clearly looking at this as a possibility for doing some economic damage to the Israelis.

And of course, as far as they're concerned, it doesn't hurt from their perspective to put at risk U.S. naval forces. So I think that's what we're seeing there. They want to send a message that shipping, especially shipping tied to Israel in one way or another is not safe.

And the other part, Jessica, is that they want to make sure that the U.S. keeps its distance from what they're doing in Yemen and possibly what the Iranians might be doing in the Persian Gulf.

DEAN: And do you think today's attack escalates the chance of this kind of second front opening up in the war? If that's the case, does it increase the chances of further U.S. Involvement? Help us understand more broadly what this might mean.

LEIGHTON: Yes. So it's definitely -- it could potentially increase the risk. I mean the fact that these incidents are occurring at a fairly frequent pace, yesterday there was another incident in the Persian Gulf involving the other carrier strike group associated with the Eisenhower carrier strike group. And that involved shooting down a drone from Iran that was moving in an unprofessional manner, according to the U.S. Navy.

So that kind of activity indicates that there is the potential at least for them to ramp things up. The Iranians have a long history of engaging us in the Persian Gulf and in the areas around there, like the Gulf of Aden and places like, of course, the Red Sea as well.

Usually for those parts they use proxies like the Houthis to handle things there. Generally speaking, this could ramp things up a bit and it is certainly -- it puts us at risk -- at greater risk of having these kinds of events potentially go out of control. But I think at this point in time, things are under control and this is kind of par for the course.

No one was injured in either of these incidents, and that's also a key indicator right here that this is a message as opposed to an actual attack.

DEAN: And getting to the resumed fighting in Gaza, the U.S. and Secretary of State Tony Blinken has urged Israel to avoid the number of civilian deaths that we saw when they attacked northern Gaza -- a lot of children that were killed. How able is the IDF though, to be more surgical in who it is targeting with these strikes when we also know that Hamas does use human shields?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's I very difficult for the IDF or any military force to do this, to be more surgical in their strike capabilities. So what the Israelis can do is they can use smaller ordnance. For example, you know, some of the weapons that they used in northern Gaza during the pre-truce hostilities were 2,000-pound bombs. They can switch to 250- pound bombs or other smaller ordnance to minimize some damage to civilian entities.

However, the problem that they run into is, you know, 250 pounds is still a pretty big bomb when you're on the receiving end of something like that. And coupled with artillery, it can really create a major, you know, decimation of some of the areas that are around there.

So what you're looking at is an attempt by the Israelis to try to minimize things but they're really going to have to depend on precise intelligence to enable precise targeting.

And the other thing they have to watch out for is that Hamas has GPS jammers that they got from the Russians indirectly, and that will certainly cause some problems for some of the precision munitions that the Israelis have. And that's another complicating factor in all of this.

DEAN: And I also want to ask you about -- there are these comments that the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday. He warned about the dangers of alienating the civilian population in Gaza.

That sparked this sharp reaction from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on CNN earlier which I'll play, and then we can talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You see in this kind of fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.

[14:10:00]

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): He's so naive. I mean I've just lost all confidence in this guy. It's like this is a tranquil population only inflamed after Israel goes in to defend itself is really naive.

This is a radicalized population. I don't want to kill innocent people but Israel is fighting not just Hamas, but the infrastructure around Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So Colonel, what is the risk to Israel that its ally, the U.S., its leaders are divided a bit on this in how they see this should all play out? What's the risk when it comes to the civilian population in Gaza?

LEIGHTON: Yes, Jessica. There's interesting aspects to this. First of all, what Secretary Austin said is correct. The fact that your center of gravity, the thing that you're really worried about in warfare is, in this particular case, the civilian population. Now we used to call it hearts and minds.

Basically what we're looking at here is trying to convince the civilian population not to support Hamas over the long term. It is not naive of the secretary to think this. He has a lot of experience in the Middle East and in the region.

But you know, having said that, there are certain aspects of this where it is absolutely true that the civilian population in Gaza has for a long time been subjected to Hamas propaganda, subjected to attitudes that are taught in their schools against Israel.

So it would take a long time to win over the trust of the civilian population. And I think the big thing that the U.S. leadership is focused on here as they talk to their Israeli counterparts is the idea that they actually need to work a strategic solution which would involve finding a better way to dealing with the Hamas population -- or the Gazan population and eliminate Hamas politically.

That's a very, very difficult thing to do, especially with constraints placed on Israel not only by international and U.S. public opinion, but also the laws that Israel has sworn to follow as well.

So it is, you know, a very difficult situation for the Israelis. It's also a difficult situation for the U.S. leadership because there is that division that we see here between in this case Graham and the Secretary of Defense.

But the key thing is this, the center of gravity, the thing that you're worried about, is that civilian population. And it's really in Israel's interest to try to minimize their attitudes of hostility against Israel (SIC). That would be something that would serve them very well for the future.

DEAN: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. We sure do appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Jessica.

DEAN: As the fighting resumes in Gaza, U.S. officials say they're working to get truce negotiations back on track. This is coming after Israeli officials recalled its negotiation team from Qatar saying those talks had reached what they called a dead-end.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is there at the White House for us. And Arlette, how is the Biden administration working to get these two sides talking again? It seems like a tall order right now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly does, Jessica. But a senior administration official says that the U.S. will continue to pursue every effort they can to try to get these American hostages back home. But it remains unclear whether that's even possible in the immediate

near future as these talks between Israel and Hamas have completely broken down.

One of the key concerns -- sticking points in those talks, has been about the release of women. Israel insisting that Hamas has more women to release. Hamas arguing that some of these women are considered IDF soldiers. They did not want to see them released.

The U.S.' point of view in this is that the onus is on Hamas to live up to the terms of the deal and release these women.

But it does come as U.S. officials have continued to meet and speak with their counterparts about the release of hostages. You have the U.S. special envoy for hostages there, Roger Carstens who met with his Israeli counterpart in Israel just yesterday, and Vice President Harris, while she was in Dubai this weekend, held meetings and phone calls with Arab leaders including the Emir of Qatar as well as the Egyptian president. In both of those conversations she stressed the need to try to get more American hostages back home.

Take a listen to spokesperson for the National Security Council John Kirby insisting that the U.S. is going to try to get these talks on track, even as the talks are at a standstill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESPEROSN, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Well, there are no official negotiations going on right now, Kristen. And that's because of Hamas. Hamas failed to come up with yet another list of women and children that could be released.

And we know they're holding additional women and children. Not combatants, not female IDF soldiers, but innocent civilians, women and children that they have that they couldn't put on a list and turn that in.

[14:15:00]

KIRBY: So unfortunately, the negotiations have stopped. That said, what hasn't stopped is our own involvement trying to get those back on track and trying to discuss with those partners and all those interlocutors to see if we can't get it back in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the U.S. has been able to secure the release of four American hostages since this conflict began, but there are eight American hostages still being held in captivity in Gaza. That includes one woman who the U.S. had initially believed would be part of that initial deal to secure the release of 50 women and children being held by Hamas.

There are another seven men, three of which are considered to be IDF reservist soldiers. So the U.S. has insisted that they will work around the clock to try to ensure that they get these hostages back home with their families. It remains unclear if that will be able to happen, especially as these talks have broken down.

DEAN: All right. Arlette Saenz for us at the White House this afternoon. Thanks so much for that update.

And still to come this hour, police in New York have now identified the suspect in a brutal stabbing that left four family members dead. We're going to have details on that next.

Plus, the situation is growing more dire for civilians in Gaza as the IDF orders people to evacuate more areas in southern Gaza. A UNICEF spokesperson will join us live from Gaza coming up.

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[14:20:25]

DEAN: A horrific mass stabbing attack early this morning in the New York borough of Queens. Police saying officers received a 9-1-1 call from a young female, saying her cousin was killing her family. When officers responded at scene, they were attacked by that suspect and injured. Authorities later found multiple family members dead.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the story for us.

And Polo, the suspect is dead. What else do we know about what happened here?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The NYPD basically summarizing this morning's horrific scene as one in which they found multiple victims, a house on fire, and who they described as a madman on a rampage and on a mission.

Now, that that mission was is still unclear, though police did say that all of those affected are family. So there's early indication here that this could have been a family dispute gone horribly wrong.

Here is what we know about what transpired. It was just after 5:00 in the morning when a young person reached out to 9-1-1 dispatchers telling police that her cousin was killing her family.

Now, two officers initially arrived and they encountered a knife- wielding suspect and in a few seconds, you'll hear directly from police how that confrontation went down.

Initially, approached those officers -- those officers sustained non- life-threatening injuries before police officers shot and killed the suspect identified as Courtney Gordon, a 38-year-old from the Bronx.

Now again, before you hear from investigators, I can tell you that authorities eventually found an 11-year-old little girl who was dead at the scene and that the house was on fire.

Once they were able to extinguish the flames, investigators went inside that home and that's when they found another three victims who had been killed, including a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old female and a man in his 30s found inside the house.

A fifth victim survived the attack and they're in critical condition at this hour.

DEAN: All right. Polo Sandoval for us --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JEFFREY MADDREY, NYPD: Officers they pull up to the driveway. As they get to the driveway, they see a male walking out, he's carrying luggage. Our officers asked the male a question or two, an encounter that lasted about ten seconds where the male draws a knife on our officers, he stabbed one officer in the neck/chest area. He strikes the second officer in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Again, those officers are going to be ok, Jessica. Investigators believe that this suspect, again, a 38-year-old from the Bronx was likely there at that home visiting family. A lot we don't know, but at least we know enough to paint just an awful, disturbing picture of what transpired in Queens this morning.

DEAN: Yes. No doubt about that. Polo Sandoval for us. Thanks for the update.

A suspect connected to the killings of three homeless men in the Los Angeles area has been arrested. Police say 33-year-old Jerrid Joseph Powell was already in custody for allegedly killing another person during a robbery.

All four of those murders took place within days of each other. Police recovered a handgun from Powell's car that they believe is the same weapon he used to kill the homeless men. So far though no motive has been determined.

Coming up, as Israel continues its combat operations in Gaza, the U.S. Is stressing the importance of protecting civilians. I'll discuss the humanitarian crisis with the global spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund.

Stay with us.

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[14:27:57]

DEAN: Israeli Defense Forces are ordering people to evacuate more areas in southern Gaza as troops expand their ground operations inside the enclave. The Israeli military saying it's destroyed at least 500 tunnel shafts during its offensive in Gaza. And IDF officials claim many of the tunnels were in civilian areas and structures.

Fighting also heating up on the Israeli/Lebanon border today. Iran- backed paramilitary group Hezbollah says it targeted several sites in northern Israel. The IDF saying several soldiers were injured by an anti-tank missile there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel's forces will not stop in Gaza until Hamas is eradicated. But Hamas says there will be no negotiations for the remaining 136 hostages they hold until Israel agrees to a ceasefire.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Jerusalem. And Ben, Israel's attacks in Gaza have returned to full force following this seven-day truce.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. What we're seeing, Jessica, is that there have been some very intense air strikes, not just in the south, but in the north as well.

In fact, yesterday and today we saw massive strikes in the Jabalya refugee camp which is right north of Gaza City. And this -- you know, I've covered every war in Gaza since Israel pulled out in 2005, and I have never seen this level of destruction before.

This doesn't appear to be precision bombing. It appears that they're taking multiple apartment blocks out, just completely turning them into dust. And of course, in the process, many women and children are being killed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: Look around. This is Gaza City's Ahli (ph) Baptist Hospital where the wounded are treated in the open on wooden pallets. The emergency ward is already jammed.

[14:30:02]

The courtyard is full of body bags. Dozens were killed in a series of Israeli strikes Saturday, many more still under the rubble.

(EXPLOSION)

WEDEMAN: Israel claims one of those strikes killed a senior Hamas commander, who helped plan the 7th October attacks. He was, perhaps, one dead among many, many others.

This woman lost her daughter and grandchildren, and names them all.

(SPEAKING ARABIC)

WEDEMAN: And may God judge those watching us die, she cries.

It's a similar scene in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza -- more wounded, many of them children. More dead, many of them children.

They bombed an entire street, says Saad. He pulled his brother Mohammad (ph) from the rubble. But his brother Mohammad was dead. Says Saad, let me say goodbye to him.

My father's been killed, cries this boy after a strike on the Jabalia refugee camp, Sunday, the seven-day truce seems like the distant past.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (on camera): Now, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 100 trucks were able to get into Gaza today from Egypt, through the Rafah border crossing. They brought food, medicine, medical aid, and what we know yesterday, there were also 100 trucks coming through. They brought body bags -- Jessica.

DEAN: Ben, the IDF is telling people to move further south. They had already been pushed south to begin with.

You've been inside Gaza, what kind of impact do you think it's going to have on the humanitarian crisis there?

WEDEMAN: Look, the things are bad enough as it is, we heard from one U.N. spokesman saying for instance, because of the poor sanitation, that the rates of intestinal diseases has gone up four times, that skin diseases have gone up four times, people are already crammed well over 1 million into a variety of U.N. schools and other shelters.

These are so crowded that there is a danger of disease breaking out. Now, where do they go if they have to leave? You have to keep in mind just how crowded Gaza is under normal circumstances. But now we know well over a million people have been displaced from the north, they're crammed into the shelters in the south, and many of those shelters are in places like Khan Younis, which seem to be also the brunt of Israeli military operations at the moment -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Ben Wedeman for us in Jerusalem, we appreciate that reporting.

And we're going to talk more about what's happening on the ground. James Elder is the global spokesman for UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's fund. He's in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, which Ben was just talking about there.

James, thanks for making time, and being here.

Walk us through what you are seeing just first on the ground right now.

JAMES ELDER, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Well, fear, Jessica. I mean, first, it's the sound, even though we've only had two minutes of listening to your correspondent, three or four massive blasts -- I don't know what you can see there, but this place is just got smoke -- consistently smoke and dust.

And there's so many people on the move, walking, carrying what they can, there's not enough transport anyway. They don't know where to go. There's a -- there's a lot of confusion, and now, there's panic -- now there's panic, Jessica, that the attacks have been so sustained, and so vicious, this idea that was sold to the world that what would happen in the north would not be repeated in the south. I can bear witness that it is very much very much being repeated here right now.

DEAN: And can you give us, I think I know the answer to this based on what you're describing, but obviously there are a lot of people that need -- a lot of civilians, children, which what you are focused on, they need access to medical care. Are they able to get that at this moment? What is available to them?

ELDER: No. I mean, I spend a lot of time in the hospital here, I was at the hospital this morning, that's when I first sense not having been there for 24 hours, it was a different world, many more people, it's wall-to-wall people, a lot of people with the wounds of war, the panic again, Jessica. Families who I'm seeing days after day, who are now holding my shirt, holding my arm, and just saying, please take us somewhere safe, take us somewhere safe.

There is nowhere safe. There really is not.

[14:35:01]

Throughout that hospital, children with the wounds of war, many children came as I was there. You would hear blast, and then the ambulances, hundreds of meters, not far from the hospital.

And then children would come in with horrendous injuries to the head, with shrapnel, with burns. The burns, Jessica, are utterly heartbreaking. Mothers crying over babies who looked like they wouldn't make it.

And then as your correspondent so aptly said, Jessica, the diseased threats are very real. They're taking people to places with one toilet for 400 people, as they've had, but no toilets. There are absolutely no toilets here, there's no water, it's getting cold, there's no blankets, there's no nothing.

So, children get sick from diarrheal diseases, which is happening a lot now. You can't go to the hospital, the hospital can barely treat someone, a child who's going to need a limb amputated.

It's a war zone, and it's utterly extraordinary that, despite all the warnings, it's been allowed where there's been an acquiescence, a green light for the war on children to continue.

DEAN: And I want to ask you, the IDF is urging civilians to leave Khan Younis and go to certain shelters. It's been dropping leaflets. It's been trying to get that message out online.

Are people doing that? Is that a feasible thing to do?

ELDER: It's not, Jessica. It's a great question, and it's a very dangerous narrative that has been spun by those in power.

Some of it was a leaflet coming to people. Remember, let's go back a step, these are people who had their homes bombed. Their homes, sitting on the couch, seeing their mother, or grandmother, or daughter died.

They've moved, that's often been attacked. They've been forced to the south in humiliating -- in a humiliating way, in a grossly overcrowded camp again, and then they're asked again to move with a leaflet that say scan a QR code for a place that hasn't had an electricity for 50 days, this is a generator, and there's no 4G.

Now, if someone does want to move, apart from there being no transport, and the place as I say, you go to, there's no water, no sanitation. So it's not scientific. It's not rational. It's not possible.

The only thing I think it is, are calculated, and cruel. I think this is a game of chess, moving people from place to place. But of course is not a game, it's utterly deathly for the people here.

It doesn't mean people aren't seeking to move. They just don't know where to go. They are bewildered, they are scared. And they have very good reason. The bombardments are utterly relentless.

DEAN: And then, I, lastly, just want to ask you about aid. We know that some aid was getting in during that seven-day truce, and obviously, things have changed dramatically since that expired. What is the current status of that, as you see it, where you are right now?

ELDER: Lifesaving. Utterly lifesaving. A doctor has told me that these safe zones will become disease zones, and now becomes zones of death, because disease will take root, and aid is the essential thing that can possibly break that for anyone, anywhere, not a safe zones because on the real thing, but just for the people, spread in centers, or be there in hospitals.

But it's not a meaningful amount. There is no way the enormity of what was needed here, the devastation, and that's been allowed drip, drip, drip, nothing to the north, some to the north, it a little bit coming into people here in the south. Nothing like the amount, Jessica.

When I was at the hospital today, I was trying to move around and, like pandemonium from people. Just children screaming as they came in, and blood on the floor. And a little girl was following me, six or seven years old, was following me, tugging on my shirt, so I stopped and got down.

She had two water bottles, they were empty. She was just looking for water for them, in a hospital. The only water there is brackish, that's not an option. Her story is repeated with brutality in callousness across the Gaza Strip.

DEAN: And I just -- before we let you go, it sounded like there was an explosion or something off to the side just a minute ago?

ELDER: Yeah. Some, yes, it's been four or five in the last ten minutes. They're consistent last night. It's a sleepless night for people, you're under beds, you're under tables. And now again, as you hear this, the smoke in the dust will pour in.

We were driving back from doing the supply run earlier this evening, and there was a bomb may be, I don't know, 70, 80 yards away, and it's a second strike that's very fearful, because they might be getting more precision, so you don't know if you're in the line of fire. A hundred United Nations workers have died in this war. The most we've ever been killed in any conflict since the United

Nations has been there. So, it's -- it's a never -- it's a never present threat, and it goes at that point that nowhere is safe. It's not a cliche. There are no bunkers, nowhere is safe for the boys and girls in this -- in this place right now.

DEAN: What about the fact that Hamas is wrapped up in so many of these civilian populations?

[14:40:02]

Even around children, or families. What -- you know, what do you do about that?

ELDER: Well, I think proportionality. When you understand that, you know, by killing large numbers of children, and destroying Gaza, you will not possibly bring peace. And understand the immense levels of frustration that are here for people, that in terms of being captive -- being, you know, captive in one sense, and bombed by another, it's difficult for me on the ground, there enough security risks to go into detail. But people feel trapped across the board.

To paraphrase a Palestinian, how can we be trapped by one people here, embalmed by another. That's what's happening.

So, the discussions here need to be a little bit more nuanced, from those leaders who have control, and to start with empathy. And, of course, to understand that the mass bombardment, the mass killing of children, which I'm sorry, is exactly what it is, and potentially to those Israeli children who need to get out, end that torments.

So, all said, the only people who seem to want more here, Jessica, are the parties fighting it. And to think that the devastation of Gaza and killing more children will bring peace, it will bring polarization, it will bring anger, it will bring frustration. My goodness, it is bringing so much heartache.

DEAN: All right, James Elder for us, in Gaza tonight, thank you so much for taking time. We appreciate it.

ELDER: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger meeting family members of the Israeli hostages who are being held by Hamas in Gaza. We'll give you that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:55]

DEAN: Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hosted family members of some of the Israelis killed or kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th. That roundtable discussion was held at his office in Santa Monica, California.

And joining me now is CNN correspondent Camila Bernal, who is there at that event.

Camila, I imagine it was pretty emotional. What did the family members have to say? What was the former governor's message?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Jessica, the former governor said these are the stories that people need to hear, and not just once, but as many times as possible, as we're hearing from the people that are directly impacted by the war.

You know, among the family members that were there, was a 14-year-old girl, and she described what it was like being there on October 7th, hiding with her mother and others, and saying that she heard the screams, the good shots, the explosions, and she hid for hours until she was rescued by the IDF. And then she says that even after coming out of hiding, it was seeing the blood, the bodies, the destruction she describes it as the smell of war. And said that it is something she's never going to forget.

It's obviously a traumatic experience for her and her family, and then days later she found out that her father had been killed by Hamas. So, going through that grieving process, well then also learning that her cousin had been kidnapped. So, she described just how difficult it was to go through this period of time, and then eventually finding out that her cousin was released as part of the truce. So, she said obviously it was a joyful moment, but then there's also the fact that many others are still suffering, that are still kidnapped.

And among those it is believed to be the father of a 27-year-old man, who we also heard from, who told me how difficult it is to see other families, or other family members being released, we'll also knowing that he doesn't know where his father's. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAR RUDAEFF, FAMILY MEMBER OF ISRAELKI HOSTAGE: We know nothing about his situation, or where he's at. He is without his glasses, without his medication, including blood thinners. He is someone who had a heart attack a few years ago, and we just want him back. That's all we want, all the families we, just one or loved ones back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: This is all organized by the Museum of Tolerance, Jerusalem. The goal here is to have Americans learn about the stories as well, and the people that I stop to said that they're holding on to hope and hoping that his family members return -- Jessica.

DEAN: It is absolutely agonizing an unimaginable what those families would still be going through. It is -- our hearts go out to them.

All right. Camila Bernal, thanks so much for that update.

And coming up, the college football playoff is now set, who's in, who's out, and why one undefeated team didn't make it? That's up next.

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[14:53:14]

DEAN: The hot college football playoff now set. Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl, followed by Washington and Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Undefeated Florida State is out, so is 2-time defending national champion Georgia.

CNN's Carolyn Manno is joining us now.

An entire conversation about this. Did the playoff committee get it right? I think that's did the debate among a lot of people right now.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's a great question, it's the question. I think this makes the most sense, unless your Florida State or a Georgia fan, then you're really disappointed by this. But the playoff selection committee really had the toughest job that they've ever had. We knew that Michigan and Washington were the top two teams, so this really came down to four teams for the final twp2 spots. It was a tough decision.

I mean, the Texas players couldn't contain their excitement after they earned the 3rd spot, and a lot of people thought that might happen. The Longhorns rolled past Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, and beating Alabama earlier in the season gave them an edge to. The Crimson Tide recovered from that early defeat to win the SEC title, and earn the 4th seed, knocking 2-time defending champion Georgia out of the playoffs.

This is where the decision was difficult, do you choose a team with a loss that is a better team at this moment, over a team with a perfect record, and unfortunately for Florida State, who is now without their starting quarterback, they are now the first Power 5 conference team to go undefeated and still missed out on the playoff. They looked very disappointed afterwards, as you might expect.

And as you can see, they lost quarterback Jordan Travis to a devastating leg injury two weeks ago, Jessica, and committee chair Bob Corrigan says that that loss definitely factored in to this decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB CORRIGAN, COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Florida state is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks. Coach Norvell, their players, their fans, you know, an incredible season, but as you look at who they are as team right now without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are different team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:55:09]

MANNO: Jordan Travis, expressing how he's feeling in this moment, tweeting after the decision, devastated, heartbreaking, and so much disbelief right now. I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y'all can see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter, I am so sorry. Go Noles.

So, the semifinals are set for New Year's Day. Top seed Michigan against Alabama in the Rose Bowl 5:00 p.m. Eastern. That's followed by Washington in Texas, in the Sugar Bowl. Florida State and Georgia are going to face each other in the Orange Bowl on the 30th in Miami and seventh seeded Ohio State going to face Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Next year, this playoff moves to 12 teams, Jessica.

So, this is really the final year where you might have this kind of confusion. And what a way to go out, with so many teams really deserving that spot. It's tough to pinned it all on the quarterback who's injured, of course you can imagine he's feeling some kind of way right now. But we move on, and it is what it is, as they say.

DEAN: That's right.

All right. Carolyn Manno for us, thanks so much.

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