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Israel Expanding Ground Operations To Whole Gaza Strip; More Civilians Dying As Israel Intensifies Fighting In Gaza; Trump Accuses Biden Of Attacking Democracy; Unbeaten Florida State Left Out Of Playoff; 2024 Election Race; President Biden And First Lady Host Kennedy Center Honorees; AI And The Future Of Humanity. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired December 03, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:10]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening.

We begin with more devastation inside Gaza, as Israel's military pushes further into the south, expanding its ground fight against Hamas. The Israeli Defense Forces are now telling civilians in parts of southern and northern Gaza to evacuate as it carries out hundreds of air strikes. The U.N. estimates that more than 1.8 million people, nearly 80 percent of the population of Gaza, have had to leave their homes for safety since October 7th.

CNN's Matthew Chance is on the ground in Tel Aviv and has the latest on the fighting inside Gaza.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Israel is continuing to carry out strikes across Gaza, hitting what it says are Hamas targets, up and down the densely populated territory. There are dramatic images of another Israeli strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza after strikes there on Saturday killed dozens, according to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel, which is, of course, vowing to destroy Hamas and secure the release of more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza, says that it's identified and destroyed hundreds of Hamas tunnels. It's also started focusing its strikes on southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people have fled in recent weeks to escape the intensive military operation in the north.

In a bid to limit the mounting civilian casualties, estimated at more than 15,000 people by Palestinian officials so far, Israel has issued these maps dividing the Gaza Strip into what it calls evacuation sectors, multiple blocks, each assigned a number from which Palestinian civilians are ordered to leave ahead of an Israeli military action. But poor internet and communications in Gaza means it is unclear frankly if the warnings are getting through.

Amid international concern, Israel has also been allowing aid trucks carrying humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip with essential supplies of food and water and medicine. But the Israeli military is vowing to keep up its pressure on Hamas, saying it will wage its campaign as strongly and as thoroughly in southern Gaza as it did in the north.

Back to you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And our thanks to Matthew Chance for that report.

As the fighting inside Gaza intensifies, the death toll among the Palestinian people is mounting. CNN's Bill Wedeman gives us inside look at the devastation there. We have to warn you, this report contains disturbing and graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look around, this is Gaza City's Ahli Baptist Hospital, where the wounded are treated in the open, on wooden pallets. The emergency ward is already jammed.

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

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

This woman lost her daughter and grandchildren and names them all. 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. And more dead. Many of them children.

They bombed an entire street, says Saad. He pulled his brother Mohamed (PH) from under the rubble. But his brother, Mohamed (PH), was dead, says Saad, let me say good-bye to him.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And that was our Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem. Thank you, Ben, for that report.

Tonight, the U.S. is keeping a close eye on its naval fleet in the Middle East after an incident in the Red Sea. A U.S. Defense official says an American warship shot down at least three drones from the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The USS Carney also responded to a distress call from a cargo ship that was attacked by a ballistic missile.

[19:05:01]

Joining us now to talk about this is CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

General Hertling, as these types of attacks keep occurring from these Iranian proxy groups, do you think we could see a more forceful response from the U.S. to get these groups to knock it off? LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: We certainly will, Jim.

I expect that will be coming. You know, those ships, and both the Ford and the Eisenhower groups were put in specific locations as part of the preliminary operations to do exactly what they're doing. Intercepting missiles from other countries. But it certainly puts the crews in danger, even though they have a great deal of air defense capability on each one of those ships, multiple capabilities on the Carney, for example.

So they are -- they can self-defend. But what they're also doing is protecting Israel and making sure this doesn't expand. But I think we're going to see, to answer your question, additional strikes, probably on the Houthi rebel groups and other groups in the near future.

ACOSTA: And how difficult is that going to be to carry out? Does the United States know where they are? Do they have targets? Is that possible?

HERTLING: Well, you know -- yes, any kind of targeting operation requires intelligence to say, hey, we're with the point of origin from these launches. What kind of signals intelligence or human intelligence or (INAUDIBLE) do we have in the location? You know, on this war by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has been going on with Saudi Arabia for several years. So there's a pretty good overview.

And as you know, Jim, we've had forces, we've had special operators in Yemen in that area for the last several years. They left about a year ago. But I'm sure there are some pretty good targeting data, and also, our capability to do signals intelligence, and overhead imagery to find where some of these launches are coming from, and there will be strikes against proportional targets, as we always do, to send the message to try and get them to stop.

But this is going to be very difficult because those Iranian-backed rebels will continue to try and harass shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf and in several other areas in that area.

ACOSTA: And General, I want to ask you about what's going on between Israel and Hamas. The IDF says it's expanding this fight against Hamas. We seem to be seeing a new ground offensive moving into targets in the south. But do you think we're going to see a similar situation that was unfolding all of that devastation prior to that truce? Do you think things might be a bit more surgical this time around?

We were just watching, and I'm sure you picked up on some of Ben Wedeman's report a few moments ago, already the toll on the civilian population appears to be fairly significant and, yes, the Israelis will say Hamas is hiding behind these folks, they're the reason why these civilians are getting hurt. But your sense of it now because it does appear that the Israelis are moving forward with something rather significant here.

HERTLING: Yes, Jim, what I'd say is, what we're talking about is an operation by Israel that they've done in the past, actually, in Gaza. But you have a constricted battlefield, if you will, and there's no relief valve, there's no capability for the civilians to leave. So Israel is trying to do the best they can to get Palestinians into those so-called safe zones.

But as Ben reported, you know, it's hard when the internet is out, when there's not the capability to communicate, to push them into different sectors. But from the very beginning of this campaign, you know, it started in the north because those were the tunnels that Hamas was using to launch missiles. Those are the ones with the closest ranges to places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

But there are certainly tunnels throughout the country. And what you're going to see, we've been talking about Gaza City in the north. Below that is a city called -- an urban area called Deir Al-Balah, below that is Khan Younis, below that is Rafah. And Israel has portrayed in each one of those four urban areas the amount of underground tunnels, the subterranean activities. And as the Palestinian population move from north to south to get out of the way, guess what, so do the Hamas terrorists.

You know, they blend in with the people and it's a different phase of their campaign to go to these three other cities. So, yes, I believe and I believe from the very beginning, we're going to see Israel go into those three other urban areas because there are tunnels underneath, they've confirmed that, and they know there's terrorists and perhaps the hostages are in underground tunnels beneath those cities as well.

ACOSTA: But it sounds as though, based on what you're saying and what the Israelis have in store is that it may be some time before we see all of these parties get back to the negotiating table to try to get more hostages out.

[19:10:07]

HERTLING: Yes, it's going to be very difficult. I know the Biden administration is pushing continued negotiations, but you know, it's from the very beginning, Israel has said that time is their enemy. They've got to continue because they know that the world public relations is going to go against them. It always has in these operations. But I just go back to what you said at the very beginning, Hamas is the organization that's using these Palestinians as shields.

And Hamas is the one that attacked over a thousand Israelis and brutally murdered and raped and used sexual assault as a weapon, so it is a requirement, I think, for the Israeli government and that's their strategic objective to rid themselves from Hamas. It's not going to be easy. It's a battlefield that's constricted and there's not any way out for the citizens of Palestine.

ACOSTA: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Coming up, former President Donald Trump's latest political attack. President Biden, not him, is the threat the democracy. Our David Axelrod joins us next to talk about that. There he is.

And later on, college football chaos. There are three undefeated teams at the top of college football right now, but one of them will not be in the championship playoff. Of course, we're talking about Florida State right there. Was this decision fair? We'll discuss that.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:51]

ACOSTA: As the calendar gets closer to 2024, President Biden has been sharpening his attacks on his likely opponent, former President Donald Trump. He's called Trump and his allies a threat to democracy, likening Trump's recent campaign rhetoric to Nazi Germany. In response, Trump is accusing Biden of being a threat to democracy, passing out signs this past weekend that read, "Biden attacks democracy" at an event in Iowa.

I want to bring in CNN senior political commentator, David Axelrod.

David, I was wondering if you saw these signs that they were handing out at this Trump rally that says "Biden attacks democracy," and then you heard Trump this weekend saying that Biden is the destroyer and all these things. What do you think of all that?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first, the fact that they had signs reflects some premeditation. This wasn't just a spontaneous comment on his part.

ACOSTA: Right.

AXELROD: And, look, Jim, you know this better than anyone. You followed the man for his entire eight-year political career. His go-to play is when he is --

ACOSTA: Uh-oh. Did we lose David there? David's back? Go ahead, David. Lost you for a second.

AXELROD: Yes, I'm sorry. This is his go-to play. When he's suspected of corruption, he accuses his opponents of corruption. When he loses an election, he fabricates a story about the corruption of the election.

And, Jim, he's good at this. We should all acknowledge that he has a feral genius for this kind of branding. When you look at the fact that 70 percent of Republicans believe that the last election was dishonest. Probably the most scrutinized election in the history of this country. And yet they believe it. And a similar number of believe that these charges against him are political.

And what he's doing now is, he's trying to set up a construct in which these trials, which he will have to go through, at least one of them is likely to happen, relative to January 6th. They are going -- he is going to brand it as a political attack on him by Biden. I mean, that's very, very clear.

ACOSTA: Yes.

AXELROD: So it's not surprising. I mean, we all kind of like shake our heads at the audacity of it. But when he does it again and again and again, you know, you can't be surprised by it.

ACOSTA: You know, does the president -- does his campaign, do Democrats need to hit back harder on this? Should the campaign come out with signs that say that Trump attacked democracy?

AXELROD: Well, I don't think that they need signs because I think that story is out there. But I do think that Trump needs to be responded to. He is going to be the nominee of the Republican Party unless something very, very strange happens. I mean, he's got a historic lead in that race. So we're looking at a race between Biden and Trump, and it has to be a comparative race. And Trump has to be very much in that equation.

So when he says these outrageous things, he needs to be called on it. There needs to be an army of surrogates out there responding to him, as a campaign strategy, because in some ways, despite all his bombast, he's been sailing a little bit under the radar so far.

ACOSTA: Yes.

AXELROD: And I don't think Biden can afford that.

ACOSTA: And I remember it was just last month, you and I had a conversation about this. We were putting forward the idea that maybe the president should think about whether or not he should be the nominee next year. But it sounds as though, as much as Biden has been running against Trump, or maybe not as much as Democrats would like them to, Trump is now basically running against Biden. It looks like he's looking past this Republican field.

AXELROD: Well, I think that's very much been his message. Skipping the debates, you know, Biden's been the focus of his attacks. I mean, there's an ancillary benefit here, which is, he's telling Republican voters again and again that primary race is over. The main event is on. So don't pay attention to this sideshow that's going on. So it serves two purposes for him.

[19:20:04]

But, look, just as Biden needs this election to be a choice, Trump really needs this election to be a choice, too, because he's deeply unpopular, he's obviously very flawed. He may be a convicted convict by the time Republicans meet in Milwaukee next summer. And not just convicted of any crime, but of the crime of trying to subvert democracy. So, you know, he needs to -- he needs to make it a comparative race and I expect that he is going to keep this up.

ACOSTA: And, David, I know you and I both covered -- well, you were working for Barack Obama. I covered Barack Obama when Obamacare came forward. And in the last several days, we've seen Trump go after Obamacare. He put out this Truth Social post saying Obamacare sucks. We've heard Ron DeSantis in the last day or so say he's going to have a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Trump vowed to do that. He never came up with a plan to replace Obamacare. I remember back in those days you guys were very worried that Obamacare was not very popular at that time. It has become increasingly much more popular. How do you wage that battle?

AXELROD: Well, yes, it wasn't popular at the time because it was passed, but it wasn't implemented yet. Now it has been implemented and everyone with pre-existing conditions in the country know they can't be denied insurance. People who are between jobs know that they can find insurance. I mean, there are so many benefits that flow from it and people have experienced it.

So, listen, I thought it was interesting that when Trump said that, so many Republicans, as my friends in Texas would say, ran from that like scalded dogs. They didn't want anything to do with it. Because they lost that fight, they got brutalized by it. It's not a popular issue for them. The fact that DeSantis is jumping in reflects his campaign strategy, which is a failed one, trying to be sort of Trump -- you know, Trump A-plus-plus.

And the fact is that people who are for Trump like the Trump they have. They're not looking for a mini-me here. And I think the thing that's really -- one of the things that's really hurt Ron DeSantis in this race. But the Republicans are not going to repeal Obamacare because it is popular, Jim. And it's bad politics.

ACOSTA: All right, David Axelrod, a lot more to discuss. We didn't have enough time tonight. We'll get you back soon. Thanks so much. Good to see you, sir.

AXELROD: See you. Bye.

ACOSTA: Thanks, David.

All right, in the meantime, a new college football controversy after un-defeated conference champs Florida State is left -- did you see this earlier today? They were left out of the four-team championship playoff announcement. Were they snubbed? Was it the right decision? Everybody has a thought on this. We'll talk about it in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:02]

ACOSTA: The college football playoff is set, but not without a lot of controversy. Here are teams that made it. Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl followed by Washington and Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Who's missing? Unbeaten Florida State and their coach is hot happy.

Here's part of a statement he released earlier today saying -- Mike Norvell saying, "I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee's decision. A team that overcame tremendous adversity, found a way to win, doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It's a sad day for college football."

Rachel Nichols, host of "Headliners with Rachel Nichols" on Showtime, joins us now.

Rachel, I mean, do you think the playoff committee got this right? Everybody has an opinion on this today.

RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST, "HEADLINERS WITH RACHEL NICHOLS" ON SHOWTIME: Absolutely. Look, disgusted and infuriated, those are strong words.

ACOSTA: Yes.

NICHOLS: He also said, why even bother to play the games. And you can certainly understand where he's coming from. Florida State beat every single one of the very strong opponents in front of them and the fact that they did it after getting down to their third string quarterback in a lot of people's eyes should work for them, be more impressive, instead of working against them.

ACOSTA: Yes.

NICHOLS: But the College Football Committee really did make it clear even going into all of this that they're not giving these spots to the teams that had the four best records this past season. They're giving them to the four teams who they think can create the most competitive and frankly highest rated games for these upcoming college football playoffs. And there is no doubt that Alabama versus Michigan is going to do bonkers ratings, Jim, and is going to give a more competitive game than FSU probably could have gotten with their third string, true freshman quarterback.

ACOSTA: Yes.

NICHOLS: And I've got to be frank about this. Anyone who expected this process to be fair, about with the teams that would be the most deserving just hasn't been paying attention. This process is about making money. This is not about some honorable calling or cause. This is about a sport that has said from the very beginning, we want to try to milk this cow as much as possible. And if you're not interested in playing that, I don't know, maybe switch to track and field or something that's determined by a stopwatch instead of a dozen people in a room behind closed doors in Texas.

ACOSTA: I hear what you're saying, Rachel. But I mean, you know, Florida State finished the season undefeated. Alabama did not. They played a fairly good Louisville team last night and looked good with, as you said, a third string quarterback. And you know, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here, but it sounds as though Alabama might have gotten some preferential treatment here.

Yes, they did beat the number one team in the country in Georgia, but at the same time, I have to wonder whether the college football playoff gods would have done this had it been just about any other team coming from any other conference. And that this was showing favoritism to Alabama and Coach Nick Saban and the SEC. That ain't fair. NICHOLS: It's a totally reasonable question, totally reasonable

position. Could absolutely be accurate. But you said the key word there, preferential. This is about people's preferences. When you have a system that is determined, again, there's 13 people on this committee, 12 men, one woman, they decide, behind closed doors, in a room, they meet in Grapevine, Texas, right near the airport.

They make the decision, their opinions, their biases come into play. And one of those biases is, who's going to get us the money. Who's going to bring in the ratings when we have these games around New Year's Day and there is no question that Alabama versus Michigan is going to do all of that? It is not fair.

[19:30:12]

However, that's not the game being played here, and I think that's really the stakes we've got to look at.

ACOSTA: That's a very good -- and college football is a business now. I mean, there's just no question about it. I mean, that ship has sailed.

There is another controversy involving college football I wanted to ask you about. "Sports Illustrated" naming its Sportsman of the Year, Deion Sanders, is that correct? Deion Sanders?

I mean, we all love Coach Prime. He started the season with a bang as Colorado's head coach, but then the team kind of flopped. I mean, they just did. You know, what's going on there?

NICHOLS: Yes, I mean --

ACOSTA: It's a business.

NICHOLS: It is an interesting choice. And well, yes, I mean, look, a lot of the same things, right? I mean, he brought in a ton of money, and there is also some bigger, more noble ideas here, too, right? I don't want to discount the fact that he changed the way a lot of people saw not only the college of Colorado, but the approach to higher education.

Applications at that school are up -- not Colorado College, by the way, Colorado University, but the college there, the idea that applications are up 25 percent, Black student applications are up 80 percent, and also really changed the perception of college football, which is run largely by an old boys network.

You have this guy coming in who looks different, acts different than a lot of the standard college coaches, that's going to change who is interviewed for future jobs.

So there is a lot of bigger ideas here, and he did, you know, improve the team's record. But I personally would have loved to have seen someone like Angel Reese be the Sports Person of the Year.

Here is a woman who is not only a reigning national champion, who actually got it done, but she is really the symbol of this name, image, and likeness movement in college sports.

She is making more money in college than she could as a pro, and that was a seismic change, which is in sports as well. Or what about Travis Kelce, Jim? I mean, look --

ACOSTA: Yes.

NICHOLS: Reigning Super Bowl champion, beat his brother in the Super Bowl, leading receiver in the Super Bowl. He is at the start of a media empire. He's been the host of "Saturday Night Live" and I don't know if you've heard this, he is dating Taylor Swift. So maybe "Sports Illustrated" could have, you know, like you're saying earlier, could have picked him.

ACOSTA: Yes, a little heart there. Yes, I guess so.

You know, I think Travis Kelce is a phenomenal athlete and I mean, I love watching him play. Apparently, speaking of Taylor Swift, apparently she has been spotted heading into the game tonight, so a big surprise there. Intrigue continues.

But I don't know, I love seeing Deion Sanders on the sideline coaching for Colorado, there is no question about that.

NICHOLS: Would you have named him Sports Man of the Year?

ACOSTA: I would not have named him Sports Man of the Year. I mean, I think he has to finish better than four and eight. That's just me.

Finally, I do want to ask you about this LeBron James telling reporters, he is not focused on the NBA in season tournament. Let's listen to this and talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I'm going to be honest, I'm not even looking forward to Tuesday right now. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm watching a bunch of football.

My Browns is in town, and I'll be there, that's what I'm looking forward to. And tonight I'm looking forward to drinking a bottle of wine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I think LeBron is just like the rest of us. What do you think, Rachel?

NICHOLS: Absolutely. By the way, I want to make clear he will be ready for the game on Tuesday. They have gone undefeated through the in season tournament so far. They want that prize money.

However, as he pointed out, that's a few days from now. You've got to cut the man a break, right? He is turning 39 at the end of this month. He's got three kids, He works nights and weekends. The man just wants to go home and have a drink. He also made it clear to reporters that I guess, his wife and family

were out of town, so he got the whole house to himself. He was going to play the music loud, watch some sports, you know, have a little wine there and cut loose a little bit, wait for the football to start.

I can relate to this, LeBron. I understand.

ACOSTA: Yes. There's a little part of me that wonders, is he also hinting that you know, there might not be a whole lot of gas left in the tank from a career standpoint?

NICHOLS: Oh, well, I don't know. Not only has he made a big deal for years that he wants to play with his son who will be eligible to play in the NBA next year. His wife upped the ante, Savannah did a few months ago saying well, what about waiting for the younger son, too?

ACOSTA: All right, we'll be watching.

Hey, Rachel, great to talk to you as always. Thanks a lot.

NICHOLS: Always fun. Bye.

ACOSTA: Really appreciate it.

All right, in the meantime, we all know Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, but did he learn any lessons from that? Next, we'll talk with someone who was with the former president after his loss.

Filmmaker, Alex Holder, we will talk to him in just a few moments. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:38:29]

ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump was back on the campaign trail this weekend trying to turn the tables on opponents who say his return to power would threaten democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our opponents, and we have a lot of opponents, but we've been waging an all-out war in American democracy.

You look at what they've been doing, and becoming more and more extreme and repressive. They have just waged an all-out war with each passing day.

You should go into Detroit and you should go into Philadelphia and you should go into some of these places, Atlanta, and you should go into some of these places and we've got to watch those votes when they come in.

Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy, Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now to discuss this, filmmaker Alex Holder, who testified before the January 6 Committee about his experience making a documentary on Trump's re-election campaign.

Alex, welcome back to the program.

We talked about this documentary in the past, so that's why I wanted to get you back on the show.

You were with Trump after his loss in the 2020 election. You witnessed a lot of what was going on behind closed doors. You talked to him. You were hearing what he had to say about all of this.

What do you think? Has he learned any lessons from the 2020 election?

ALEX HOLDER, FILMMAKER: Absolutely. Absolutely.

I mean, I think with Trump, it's the same playbook, right? The rhetoric is going to get worse. It's everyone else's fault. There's absolutely zero introspection whatsoever when it comes to him.

And to be honest, it just -- I mean, when I was with him in the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and Bedminster, there was never a moment where he thought he was wrong, right?

I mean, he constantly maintained this position that the election was stolen and now he is under indictment and he is trying to twist it around and blame others and it is absurd, but it's only going to get worse, and he is incredibly predictable.

[19:40:11]

ACOSTA: But he is -- I mean, they were handing out campaign signs over the weekend at one of his rallies that said, "Biden attacks democracy." He is trying to accuse the president of attacking democracy. It was he who was trying to overturn the election results, it was his supporters, going up to the Capitol, trying to change the election results.

It's pretty rich.

HOLDER: Absolutely. I mean, there is only one person under indictment right now for trying to overturn the 2020 election and that's Donald Trump.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you, let me turn the page, because I know you've been working on a new project on the war between Israel and Hamas. As a matter of fact, as you were telling me before we got started with the segment, you've been working on this project for several years now.

Let's play a clip from that now and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANIEL REISNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN

NETANYAHU: Hamas was born out of the Palestinian Israeli conflict and we are partially to blame for its existence, because it was a reaction to us, and to the failure of the PLO and Fatah to create a strong Palestinian deterrent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, that was a senior adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, being very candid with you, with his opinion that Israel had a hand in the rise of Hamas.

What was your impression when you heard that from him? And what have you been learning as you've been putting together this documentary?

HOLDER: So just some background. We've been working on this for about five years, and we've interviewed both loads of Israelis and Palestinians, over a hundred people actually, and the premise of this documentary is to truly understand this conflict, and to get into the real essence, to understand the history, the passions, the interest that so many people around the world have, but also actually understand where this comes from, from both Israelis and Palestinians.

We've interviewed people who have been prime ministers, presidents, everybody across the discourse in this issue and we were coming towards the end of this project, in fact, and then the tragedy on October took place. And so we've actually extended our post production now to include this, which in some ways was foreshadowed by various people that we had actually interviewed across the board.

With respect to that, I mean, the Hamas-Israel relationship is fascinating, and in some ways, it's -- you know, this conflict is very nuanced and it is very complicated, and it can't really be distilled down into soundbites and I think obviously, it's incredibly emotional as well.

But I can sort of give you some background in terms of this fascinating interaction between how Hamas actually is funded via Israel and Qatar, which is pretty extraordinary. Some of these open secrets.

And so essentially, after Hamas took over in Gaza, in 2007, in the coup, the Palestinian Authority, which was in charge of providing funding to Hamas, essentially to the Gaza Strip, stopped giving that money to Hamas due to this internal conflict between these two political parties, mainly Fatah and Hamas.

And Israel, rather than allowing that to potentially, you know, change and allow for the Palestinian Authority to put pressure on Hamas, they intervened and effectively allowed money to come from Qatar, arrive in suitcases on private planes in Israel. This cash is then counted in Israel, is then repackaged into suitcases, driven down to the border and thrown over in suitcases over to Hamas.

Now, the Israelis will say they did that to avoid any humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians that we've spoken to say that this was just an attempt by Israel to essentially avoid any reconciliation between these parties thus to avoid any potential two- state solution down the line. So, it's pretty complicated.

ACOSTA: And I'm sure during your work on this documentary, you also looked at the Israeli intelligence community, which is very widely respected around the world. It is considered to be one of the strongest intelligence services around the world. And yet, they had this massive intelligence failure.

Most recently talked about this "New York Times" story that said, the Israelis had about a year heads up that there was this blueprint, there was this planning going on for very much what took place on October 7th. What do you make of that?

HOLDER: So I think there's definitely this element of hubris within the Israeli society. I mean, here you have a situation where for basically decades, there was no way of any peace deal with any Arab country whatsoever until the Palestinian issue had been actually resolved.

And then you have the Abraham Accords, which obviously was incredibly successful and it is obviously a good thing in the region. And obviously, the Palestinians felt very much that they, you know, were being ignored.

And I think the Israelis because of the success of doing these deals, specifically the idea of a deal with Saudi Arabia as well, there was this idea that perhaps maybe Hamas are not as impressive militarily, and that this intelligence was more aspirational rather than, in fact, a reality. And obviously, that wasn't the case due to the atrocities that took place only a few months ago.

ACOSTA: Yes, well, Alex, keep us posted on how that documentary develops. We'll be looking for it when it comes out.

In the meantime, Alex Holder, thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it. Thanks for your time tonight.

HOLDER: Thanks.

[19:45:10]

ACOSTA: Thanks so much.

In the meantime, the stars are out in Washington tonight. This year's Kennedy Center Honors happen in just a short time from now. We will talk about who's being honored next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: It's one of Washington's most star-studded annual events and this year, the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony turns 46. This year's honorees include the great Billy Crystal, Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick, among many others.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more from the White House where President Biden kicked off the celebration.

[19:50:04]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the first stop for these Kennedy Center honorees was here at the White House as President Biden paid tribute to their work as those official festivities were set to kick off at the Kennedy Center this evening.

Now, the Kennedy Center Honors is the most prestigious award that artists, musicians, and actors can receive and the President spoke to the contributions that so many of these honorees have made to the country. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As simple as it is profound, the Performing Arts are more than just sound and scene, they reflect who we are, as Americans and as human beings. That's especially true for more than 200 Kennedy Center honorees, over the past 46 years who have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other, and how we see our world.

Honor is not just based on the length of the career or the scope of the work or the height of the fame, but because of their unique place in the conscience and the very soul of our dynamic and diverse nation.

You're an incredible group, you really are. This year's -- this year's class continues that legacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: The president also took some time to speak about each of the honorees, specifically, he talked about how Queen Latifah really paved the way for so many female hip-hop artists. In fact, she's the first female hip-hop artist to receive and become a Kennedy Center honoree.

The president talked about how he was a big fan of the Bee Gees as Barry Gibb was there on stage and talked about the fact that Barry Gibb was in this band with his brother showing the importance of family.

The president also talked about some of the contributions these performers and artists gave beyond just their musical and acting abilities.

He talked about how Billy Crystal helped rebuild New York City after superstorm Sandy and 9/11 and also paid tribute to Dionne Warwick noting that she worked to raise money when the AIDS epidemic was raging in this country.

And then the president also struck a very personal note honoring soprano, Renee Fleming and talked about how she performed at a private mass for him and his family just before his inauguration in 2021.

So the president kicked off the evening with those festivities here trying to honor all of their contributions to this country -- Jim. ACOSTA: Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

The ceremony tonight will be recorded, it airs on December 27th.

Just minutes from now, here on scene, the promise and the danger of artificial intelligence. Our Nick Watt joins us with a preview of "The Whole Story" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:56]

ACOSTA: Will artificial intelligence save humanity? Will it kill us all?

Just minute from now on "The Whole Story," our Nick Watt tries to answer that question. For the story, he talked to a lot of people including a man paralyzed in a bicycle accident who is now walking thanks to AI. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you remember what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, nothing? No.

WATT: You were on your bicycle, and then the next thing --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They found me on the street, so the police picked me up, brought me in hospital. And when I woke up, I didn't feel my legs anymore, so, the doctor told me like I could touch my face with my left or right hand. And he said like, be happy with this. It won't get better.

WATT: How do you deal with that as a person?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always said to my family that I would walk again, like I told them one year, but it apparently needed 10 years, but --

WATT (voice over): Ten years for AI to catch up with the dream, tech that began many years ago as a sci-fi sketch drawn on a napkin in a New York steak house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I drew a brain and a spinal cord and there was a digital bridge to restore working after paralysis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But at this time, it was a dream.

WATT (on camera): Were you imagining this reading the thoughts?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I thought he was crazy.

WATT (voice over): Now reality. The paralyzed man is up and about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Wow, Nick Watt joins us now.

Nick, we've talked about the dark side of AI. This is a bright spot. Healthcare might actually help AI. What can you tell us about that?

WATT: Yes, I mean, I'm not going to stay bright for too long, Jim. I'm going to go straight back to the darkness. Think about it. If you can get inside Gert-Jan's brain, if AI can get inside his brain to make him walk, AI can get inside our brains, and what could bad actors do with that? Listen, it's the same with a lot of this AI tech, it can be used for good or evil.

You know, and AI --

ACOSTA: I don't want it inside my head, Nick, but anyway go ahead.

WATT: People would pay good money for that, Acosta. Listen, you know drones -- AI drones can deliver aid to people, but they can also kill lots of people.

And you know, the job thing is big for me. You know, "Wall-E," that movie where it's all automated and we're just big useless, soda- wielding lumps, you know, I asked one of the godfathers of AI, is that possibility? And his answer, I've got to tell you, it was not reassuring.

You know, I also just got a text from a buddy of mine, who is sitting down to watch and he said, I've been a late adapter of every technology in my lifetime. I'm determined not to let that happen this time.

We can't let that happen. We have to face this. It's in our lives. It's all over our lives. Can't bury your head in the sand.

ACOSTA: And we just have a little bit of time left, but I mean, will it be a while before these really negative scary implications come to the forefront? You see in some cases, AI bumbling along.

WATT: Listen, we've got an election next year that could be totally compromised. We have to think about the here and now. It's not just "Terminator" in the future. It's now, Jim. It's now.

ACOSTA: All right. Speaking of now, your special is coming up just about now. Nick Watt, thank you so much. "AI and the Future of Humanity" is next right here on CNN. Make sure you watch that.

Thank you very much for joining me this evening.

Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. See you next weekend. Goodnight.