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University Of Pennsylvania President Resigns In Antisemitism Uproar; IDF Urging People To Evacuate From Parts Of Khan Younis; Israel-Turkish Relations Severely Strained Over Conflict; Doha Forum Focuses On The Israel-Hamas War; Hamas-Run Health Ministry: Diseases Spreading In Shelters; Biden Shifts Into Attack Mode As Reelection Battle Looms. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 10, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:37]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. A head on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It became clear that President Magill didn't really seem to have a very strong grasp on the situation on the ground on campus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Fallout at the University of Pennsylvania, both the President and the Chair of the Board resigning. We'll have the latest reaction from the college and its students.

Plus, Gaza's shelters are teeming with infectious diseases. I'll speak to a Medecins Sans Frontieres official in Gaza about the rampant spread of diseases among the displaced.

And we'll also take you live to the Doha Forum, where some of the leading global voices are discussing regional diplomacy options for the Israel-Hamas War.

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and the Head of the School's Board of Trustees have resigned. It comes after the intense backlash to the comments made by three U.S. university presidents to Congress about anti-Semitism on their campuses.

Now, this all began amid a wave of protests over the Israel-Hamas War. Many at college campuses, many of them expressing support for the Palestinian cause. But there's a debate over whether phrases, such as, "From The River to the Sea," amount to a call to eradicate Israel.

Magill and the Presidents of Harvard and MIT struggle to answer a Congress member's question about where their universities would draw the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELISE STEFANIK, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment?

LIZ MAGILL, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment.

STEFANIK: So the answer is yes?

MAGILL: It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman.

STEFANIK: It's a context dependent decision, that's your testimony today, calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: That Congress member, Elise Stefanik, had a blunt response to Magill's resignation. One down. Two to go. Magill's resignation also comes after a wealthy alumnus threatened to withdraw a $100 million donation. CNN's Polo Sandoval explains what happened here.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In back-to-back resignations, the president of the University of Pennsylvania announcing that she would step down just moments before the university official who made her announcement announced that he too would be resigning.

Liz Magill announced on Saturday that she would be stepping down from her position as UPenn President. Her university statement, she will remain tenured faculty at the university's law school and also agreed to stay on board while they find an interim replacement. As we've reported before, students, faculty, even donors say that they've lost confidence in Magill after Tuesday's pretty disastrous hearing in which she, along with the Presidents at Harvard and MIT, failed to explicitly say that calls for genocide of Jews would immediately violate the respective university's codes of conduct.

Now, moments after Magill's Saturday evening announcement, Scott Bok said that he too would be stepping down as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the university. In his statement, Bok writing, quote, "Former President Liz Magill last week made a very unfortunate misstep."

Bok eventually writes, "following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit. Bok also defending Magill, calling her a good person, a talented leader, and in his words, not the slightest bit anti-Semitic.

Bok also sharing some perspective about what may have been Magill's state of mind the day of this disastrous hearing on the Hill, saying that Magill was not herself at the time, that she was over-lawyered, that she was over-prepared, and that she provided a legalistic answer to what was a moral question, and that, Bok says, was wrong.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: It is just past noon in Gaza and Israeli airstrikes and ground operations are ongoing across the Strip. Some of the fiercest battles are said to be in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, which the IDF has described as a Hamas stronghold.

[05:05:10]

The Israeli military is now telling people to leave specific areas, although due to poor communications, it really isn't clear if Palestinians are able to receive those warnings. Two large explosions at a building in central Gaza early on Saturday set off a frantic scramble to pull victims from the wreckage. One woman said their situation was unbearable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The people died. We were asleep with the children. The tower was full. Maybe 150 families, 150 families. We woke up to the bombing. Look, none of this is our fault. We are already crushed and oppressed. There is no benefit for us at all. We are ruled by iron and fire. And then the wars. I don't know. People have died. Everyone has died. They might as well kill us collectively and that would be the end of it all. People have died and have been displaced. We are under pressure and we are hungry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claims more than 17,000 people have been killed in Gaza and nearly 49,000 wounded since the war began two months ago. CNN can't verify those figures. Elliott Gotkine is covering all of this for us here in London. Elliott, what is the latest on the ground?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: Bianca, intense fighting continuing. Earlier this morning, Israel saying that it had carried out more than 250 strikes on targets over the previous day, including on a military communications center run by Hamas adjacent to a mosque that was in the southern part of the Strip.

Now, there's also been intense fighting throughout in other cities in the Gaza Strip. We've also heard from, for example, Hamas itself talking about fierce battles from zero distance taking place. Israel also saying that it's closing in on the command-and-control centers, it says Hamas has been maintaining in Jabalia and Shujaya in the northern part of the Strip.

And it also released some striking video footage of its soldiers firing automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades at militants in the streets of the Gaza Strip. And also a raid on a house in Gaza, throwing grenades in there. You see the explosions taking place, and afterwards, the blurred images of the militants. Israel says that it killed in that particular battle.

Now, as you say, Bianca, 17,700 is the Hamas run health ministry's total for the number of people killed. Israel saying that at least 7000 militants have been killed by Israel since it launched its attacks on Hamas in the wake of the militant group's terrorist attack of October the 7th. But as you say, we can't verify either of those figures. Bianca.

NOBILO: Elliott, do you have any updates on the hostages still being held by Hamas?

GOTKINE: The latest is that there are 137 hostages being killed. Israel did say that there was another death of a 25-year-old hostage one Sahar Baruch, who was killed. It also says that in a particular raid, Israel tried to free a hostage. It didn't say that it was specifically Sahar Baruch, but tried to free a hostage unsuccessfully, and that a couple of soldiers were severely wounded in that particular account.

And Israel very much determined to try to release those hostages. There were more demonstrations in Tel Aviv yesterday calling for the Israeli government to do more and the international community to do more. And they heard first person testimonies from people, a 77-year- old woman talking about how when she was held, militants took away her oxygen canister, how they were deprived of sleep, of food, of medications as well. And really just this continues to be very much uppermost in the mind of the government of Israel as it tries to not just destroy Hamas and prevent it from continuing to govern inside the Gaza Strip, but also to try to get those 137 hostages, men, women and children, back home into Israel. Bianca.

NOBILO: Elliott Gotkine, thanks so much for joining us all morning.

The war has left Israel's relations with Turkey severely strained. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gone as far as calling Israel a terrorist state. By the CNN's Scott McLean reports from Istanbul, the two nations still have strong trade ties that could prevent a total diplomatic breakdown.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the voice of Israel's domestic intelligence chief played out in a recording obtained by Israel's Kan TV.

In it, he vows to take out Hamas no matter where they are.

VOICE OF RONEN BAR, HEAD OF SHIN BET: The cabinet set us a goal, in the words of the street, it is to eliminate Hamas, and we are determined to do it everywhere in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar, everywhere.

MCLEAN: In response, Turkey, which has hosted Hamas leaders before, issued a warning. According to officials who spoke with state news agency Anadolu, there will be serious consequences if Israel attempts to carry out assassinations in Turkey.

[05:10:03]

This latest exchange shows how far the relationship between the two countries has fallen since the war began. From this first-ever handshake between President Erdogan and Prime Minister Netanyahu in September to statements like these just weeks later.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a liberation group that struggles to protect his land and citizens. I say very clearly and frankly that Israel is a terrorist state.

Netanyahu, who is the butcher of Gaza, beyond being a war criminal, will certainly be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was.

MCLEAN: Netanyahu said last month that Israel refuses any lectures from Turkey, saying that Erdogan supports the terror state of Hamas and bombed Turkish villages inside Turkey itself, a reference to its decades-long war against Kurdish militants.

SOLI OZEL, POLITICAL SCIENTIST, KADIR HAS UNIVERSITY: They hate one another.

MCLEAN (on camera): How far back has this war set Israeli-Turkish relations?

OZEL: Well, so long as Bibi and Erdogan are in power, I don't think they will meet again.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Relations go back more than 70 years, when Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the newly formed state of Israel. But the Palestinian issue has always been a sore spot.

Ties were derailed in 2010 after nine Turks and an American of Turkish origin were killed by Israeli troops on an aid flotilla on route to Gaza.

Since the war began, Turkey has seen huge pro-Palestinian rallies, one led by the President himself.

(On camera): President Erdogan has officially cut off communications with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Turkey has also recalled its ambassador to Israel.

But there are still billions of dollars in annual trade between Turkey and Israel that hasn't gone away.

OZEL: Trade relations continue, flights continue, oil goes to Israel through the states. So long as Turkey and Israel believe that strategically they need one another, however the political relations might be, this is going to continue. MCLEAN: Some ordinary Turks and institutions have been publicly

boycotting brands with alleged links to Israel. And Turkey says that since the war began, trade has dropped by more than half, driven by consumers and traders, rather than any official sanctions. And despite the growing outrage and fiery rhetoric, Erdogan insists that Turkey can still broker peace.

OZEL: What he seeks is to be a partner to any solution.

MCLEAN: It just doesn't seem like calling Israel a terrorist state is likely to --

OZEL: The things you can or he can walk back from that.

MCLEAN: He hasn't gone too far.

OZEL: I doubt that he thinks that way. Whether or not the others think that way, we'll see when this war is over.

MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Turning now to the U.S., where a state of emergency has been declared in some communities in eastern Tennessee after twisters swept through the area. An eyewitness captured video of this tornado as it moved over Madison, causing electrical flashes and an explosion.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh (bleep). Oh my god.

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NOBILO: At least six people are dead and nearly two dozen are injured. This is the scene in Clarksville on Saturday, where buildings were torn to shreds. The mayor lamented, "Our hearts are broken." Officials say they're still in a search and rescue phase and are trying to see if there are any more casualties.

Authorities are urging residents to stay away from the damaged areas as emergency crews work. Witnesses described what happened.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walls bursted, the windows bursted, everything just like exploded. This is what it really felt like. I feel like everything exploded, like a lot of pressure built up and just popped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Leaders are meeting in Qatar for the Doha Forum, and the Palestinian Prime Minister has just weighed in on whether Israel can achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas. We'll have a live report from CNN's Becky Anderson in Doha coming up next.

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[05:18:15]

NOBILO: Welcome back. The desperate plight of Palestinians in Gaza is the primary focus of an international forum now underway in Doha, Qatar. We'll take you there live in just a moment.

Weeks of Israeli bombardments have left parts of Gaza in shambles. Israel says it is targeting Hamas after the Palestinian militant movement attacked the country on October 7, leaving about 1200 people dead.

Amid the bombing of Gaza, two large explosions at a building in central Gaza early Saturday set off a frantic scramble to pull victims from the wreckage. Residents say many people had taken shelter there.

And in the southern Gaza, City of Khan Younis, the Israeli military is now telling people there to leave specific areas. But due to poor communications, it's simply not clear if Palestinians are able to receive those warnings.

Joining us now is CNN's Becky Anderson. She's just moderated a panel at the Doha Forum where much of the discussion was on the Israel-Hamas war.

Becky, great to have you on the program. What did the world leaders have to tell you about this continuing war in Israel and Gaza?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I sat down with the Qatari Prime Minister, who is also the Foreign Minister here, Jordan's Foreign Minister and the Palestinian Prime Minister, all on the same panel. We started by talking about what is going on, on the ground and getting an assessment of that.

Remember, the Israelis have categorically ruled out a ceasefire and an end to the military operation, they say, which will continue until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages held in Gaza are freed. Look, two months on, there are still 137 hostages being held. And Israel is yet to come up with compelling evidence to support the idea of their goal of eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages without continued catastrophic loss of life.

[05:20:16]

Now, Qatar, of course, has been at the heart of these mediation talks for two months now on trying to get these hostages freed and Palestinian prisoners released in exchange.

Remember, there was a truce for a week when nigh on 100 hostages were freed and three times that Palestinian prisoners released. But that was it. That was a truce, a humanitarian truce which elicited those efforts, which elicited those releases. But then that stopped. Now, Qatar, as I say, has been at the heart of these negotiations,

integral to getting those talks up and running. And the Qatari Foreign Minister and Prime Minister told me just earlier on that he is deeply disappointed that both parties, both Israel and Hamas, are not willing to really properly engage as they were in those talks. They do continue, but at nothing like the pace. He went on to say this, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: For the way forward, we are going to continue. We are committed to have all the hostages being released, but also we are committed to stop this war and to stop the bombardment of the innocent Palestinians.

It always takes two parties to be willing to such an engagement. Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Yeah, and you can hear his frustration and disappointment there. Look, part of the conversation that we had today was also about not just what's happening now, but what happens the day after, as it were. What happens once this conflict ends? What does a post Gaza, post conflict Gaza look like? Who governs it? How is it run and what does a political horizon look like for the Palestinians living inside, you know, if possible, the Israelis going forward? What does peace, security, dignity, self-defense look like in the days, weeks, and years ahead?

The U.S. administration is keenly eager to engage, particularly with regional partners here in the Gulf and around this region of the Middle East, in how they might be involved in what that Gaza and wider Palestinian story would look like going forward.

The region is very reticent to do that, given that they have been calling and these calls are echoed around this region for an immediate ceasefire. And do remember the U.N. resolution which called for exactly that last Friday, led by the UAE, which leads the Arab group. That resolution was vetoed by the United States, which staunchly still stands as a steadfast ally of Israel and says it has a right to defend itself.

I talked to the Palestinian Prime Minister, though, about what these plans for a post conflict Gaza might look like. He is working with the U.S. to develop a plan that the Palestinian Authority would be involved, with in governing Gaza going forward.

Remember, the Palestinian Authority is not involved in the running of Gaza at present. That is the political wing of Hamas. The Palestinian president, Prime Minister has said on record that he believes that Hamas could have a junior role in that governance going forward.

But here's where we stand. Israel is bent on destroying Hamas. So I started by asking Mohammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian Prime Minister, whether the eradication of Hamas was even realistic. We went on to talk about whether it was realistic that Hamas would be involved in governance going forward. But he told me it was absolutely not going to happen, that Israel would destroy Hamas. And he said that that was completely not supportable so far as the Palestinian Authority was concerned. But on the issue of Hamas being involved in a sort of governance story going forward, if they were to sign up to a PLO platform. This is what he told me.

[05:25:02]

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MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think it's very important that we should all realize that Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian political mosaic. And therefore, for Israel to claim that they are going to eradicate, eliminate Hamas, I think this is something that is totally, first of all, is not going to happen and totally is not acceptable to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And that was the Palestinian Prime Minister speaking to me earlier. So, as I say, two months on with a conflict raging, you've just been reporting there on what is going on, on the ground. And as Antonio Guterres described here, the continued catastrophic loss of life he's been talking for weeks about the head of the United Nations, the chief of the United Nations, talking about Gaza being the midst of a catastrophe. He is calling on the United Nations Security Council to do more. There have been draft resolutions on the books that have been pushing for ceasefires, but those haven't even been tabled mostly because of the inevitable vetoing by the United States.

So the Friday story once again that the United Nations is extremely disappointing. The U.N. Chief says he will continue to press the United Nations Security Council for more. But as things stand at present, it does seem there is no end to this crisis. Bianca?

NOBILO: Becky Anderson in Doha, thank you so much for bringing us all the very latest from the key players in the region.

I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. For our viewers in North America, I will have more news for you in just a moment. But for our international viewers, "Tech for Good" is next.

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[05:30:36]

NOBILO: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London and this is CNN Newsroom.

I want to get back to our top story this hour for you. The President of the University of Pennsylvania has resigned following a firestorm of criticism over her comments about anti-Semitism on campus. President Liz Magill's testimony to Congress last Tuesday ignited

widespread criticism and a donor's threat to pull a $100 million donation. She struggled to answer when asked if advocating for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's code of conduct.

The Chairman of the University's Board Of Trustees, Scott Bok, also announced that he's stepping down, minutes after announcing Magill's resignation. The Presidents of Harvard and MIT, who also testified, are under withering criticism for their comments, but they remain on their jobs.

Reaction to Magill's resignation is already coming in from the University of Pennsylvania students and faculty. A Jewish student who is suing the university over alleged anti-Semitism on campus says it is more than incidental. In fact, an endemic part of campus culture.

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EYAL YAKOBY, UPENN STUDENT SUING UNIVERSITY: I think this has been a problem for a long time coming. And I think what the congressional hearing showed the world is what a lot of us have been saying for a while, is that there is an indifference to antisemitism and a culture of hostility that has been brewing on campus for some time now.

And I think if the true cultural change is meant to happen and should happen, then Magill is just one figure that has allowed this to happen. And there are continuous steps that need to be taken in order to safeguard and protect all students on campus for such hatred and hostility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: And a professor at the UPenn Medical School says it was time for Magill to go because she had lost the trust of the campus community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALEX PROEKT, UPENN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I do believe that Liz Magill could not have continued being the president given a number of, I would say, mistakes that she and people who, I guess, maybe, lawyered her up and prepared her need. I think she lost the trust of the community of faculty, donors, students. Of course, people have very complex opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but this is about something completely different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: An international forum underway in Doha, Qatar, aims to keep the plight of Palestinians front and center as Israel's military operations expand across the Strip. Israel says it is targeting Hamas after the Palestinian militant movement attacked the country on October 7, leaving about 1,200 people dead.

The bombing of Gaza, amid the bombing of Gaza, two large explosions occurred at a building in central Gaza early Saturday, setting off a frantic scramble to pull victims from the wreckage. Residents say many people had taken shelter there.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claims more than 17,000 people have been killed there, nearly 49,000 wounded since the war began two months ago. CNN can't independently verify those figures.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza also says more than a dozen infectious diseases are spreading in the shelters there. They say that they found more than 300,000 cases of diseases, like upper respiratory tract infections, scabies, measles and meningitis. There have been no cholera cases, though, according to the ministry.

The U.N. says there are more than a million internally displaced people in Gaza who are struggling just to get basic necessities, fundamentals like water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Look at how much we suffer to bring water. All this water is salty, it's dirty, it's got diseases in it, and we drink it, we wash with it, and the children have got diarrhea from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Let's bring in Leo Cans. He's the Head of Mission for Palestine with Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders and he joins us now live from Jerusalem. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.

The World Health Organization is holding a special session right now to discuss the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory. And the President just said that, quote, "nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza. Would you agree?

[05:35:10]

LEO CANS, MSF HEAD OF MISSION, PALESTINE: Yes, yes, totally agree. You know, I just hang up with the phone call with my team. Some of them were in Khan Younis and they were calling us to know where to go. They were desperate and they asked us, OK, where is the safe place to go? They don't have the information. It's very difficult for them to get the information about which place has to be evacuated and they rely on us. And the communication with them is very challenging because of the breakdown on communication. So, yes, nowhere in safe in Gaza.

NOBILO: And Leo, we just mentioned that the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says it's identified more than 300,000 cases of around 15 infectious diseases in the shelters across Gaza. Most of them upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhea, but other ones too, like meningitis and measles. How acute could things get with the spread of these type of diseases?

CANS: Oh, you know, it's no wonder. Right now you have the perfect recipe for a big epidemic outbreaks. You have crowded people, all shelter are completely crowded, not enough water in term of quantity, and not enough water in term of quality. So you have this triangle, lack of quality, lack of quantity and

overcrowded places with people. So of course, we have been witnessing also increase of barriers and respiratory infection. So it's on the rise, but there is no other solution, there is no other way that this epidemic are coming up for sure.

NOBILO: I just like you and our viewers to take a listen to this displaced father who's in one of the shelters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Living here is very difficult, not even suitable for animals. I can't make food available for him. He is here with me, and God only knows. The diseases, the pain, his health isn't good. He's eating himself out. This isn't milk. This is basically water with a spoon of powder, even less than a spoon. Anything, so it just smells like milk, just so I can trick him into thinking it is milk, so he can drink it. But it isn't healthy. It doesn't give him any nutrition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Of course, he is not the only one with a story like this, far from it. It's difficult to comprehend not just the impact of that kind of living in terms of malnutrition for children, but psychologically and for the rest of their lives.

CANS: Yes, yes, totally. And you know, it's a heartbreaking story. And we have a -- it's challenging for us because of all of our staff, they are displaced people and they are living more or less the same story.

And plus they try to work for their fellow people and to save life, but it's extremely challenging. And on top of this, it's really an attack of dignity because, you know, we have to realize that these people lack of everything. The lack of food, the lack of water, the lack of clothes as well, but just a few kilometers away from their place and literally a few kilometers away, 5 to 10 kilometers away, there is plenty of supply, plenty of food, plenty of water ready for them.

And it's completely unacceptable, this political decision to cut off the humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. There is no justification for that. And I am outraged, as I myself were outraged by the situation. There is no reason why we cannot get medicine in, food in, and water inside the Strip to be delivered to the civilian population. And on top of that, there is no justification, but it's totally illegal and there are international law.

NOBILO: The issue of water supply is becoming increasingly critical and we have been hearing, even from those soundbites that we have recently played, about the increased spread of diseases through water as well. Do you anticipate this becoming a larger issue and what would you ask the international community to do to combat that specifically?

CANS: Yeah, you know, the best way to combat this is to let the supply in, let the fuel in, and let the water in through the borders. There is a Rafah Border, which is not the only border that is open from time to time. But then there is also borders on the Israeli side, like Kerem Shalom. And these borders has been designed to let supply in, unless Rafah Border, which has been designed just to let people inside. So for us, this goal is to open the border, let them in. We cannot do without it. Right now, all is done to impede the humanitarian aid. We prevent this to work. And it's extremely frustrating as Doctors Without Borders.

[05:40:04]

We could do so much more in the Gaza Strip. We should -- we could save so much more life in the Strip. And we are completely prevented to do this without any justification. So it's really unacceptable.

You know, I just talked yesterday with a doctor in the hospital. He told be like 60% of the wounded people have infection because we cannot change dressing. So it's 60% of them. And this infection is starting to be dangerous for their life. And we lose people, we lose patients because they die of infections.

It shouldn't be like this. It's totally unacceptable. And we have this stressful story from all over the place. In Al-Aqsa Hospital where we work, in Nasser Hospital where we work, one psychologist, he was telling me again that he was talking to a five years old child and this child had like suicidal thoughts. At five years old, he was expressing to the psychologist the fact that he wanted to die. And this is the situation in where the situation is being put voluntarily. It's a collective, brutal, collective punishment that is cast under a whole population indiscriminately. And it's a distressful even for us. We are used, you know, to many war zone and difficult situation, but this is more than I've seen ever.

NOBILO: Leo Cans, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us today.

CANS: Thank you.

NOBILO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: President Biden is shifting into attack mode as he goes up for a possible rematch with Donald Trump next year. It's happening after prosecutors filed more charges against the President's son, Hunter Biden, as Kevin Liptak reports that's piling up the political pressure on the White House.

[05:45:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The White House is remaining mostly tight-lipped about these charges filed against Hunter Biden saying that President Biden loves his son and supports him, but not weighing in on the substance of the charges. And certainly this is one of the most sensitive issues inside the West Wing.

There are very few aides who discuss this matter with President Biden. And when you talk to them, there are few who say they have firsthand understanding of how the President is processing all of this. But certainly it is weighing heavily on President Biden, his son's legal issues. These are no different. And some of the personal issues that were raised in that filing will be problematic for President Biden as he gears up for reelection next year.

And certainly this will be a political headache for the President as he enters 2024. And you already hear Republicans trying to conflate Hunter Biden's legal issues with the legal issues facing President Trump. But of course, these are very separate cases. President Trump was in the White House and he was running to be in the White House again. Hunter Biden has never been president and won't be president. But this is still a political headache for President Biden as he enters this reelection year.

And certainly the challenge for him will be making this a contest between him and President Trump and trying to frame the stakes of this election. And you are starting to hear him sharpen his attacks on his predecessor and most likely rival.

And in fact, when he was in Las Vegas on Friday talking about passenger rail investments, he went after President Trump by name. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: Trump just talks to talk. We walk the walk. Look, he likes to say America's a failing nation. Frankly he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: And it's certainly likely that you'll hear that kind of argument in television ads, digital ads. Of course, those will cost a lot of money. And that is why President Biden is out here in Los Angeles this weekend raising campaign cash at a series of fundraisers.

And in fact, behind closed doors at those fundraisers, he is even sharper in his attacks on President Trump. On Friday night, telling donors, literally, I believe the future of American democracy is at stake. The greatest threat Trump poses is to our democracy, because if we lost that, we lose everything. So certainly you see President Biden there fine tuning his attacks on President Trump as he gears up for this election season.

Now, I was talking with Jeffrey Katzenberg. He's the movie mogul, but also a Co-chair of the Biden campaign. And he told me that this 36- hour stretch of fundraising out here in California will be the most successful campaign fundraising stretch that President Biden has engaged in since he announced his reelection effort in the spring.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, Los Angeles.

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NOBILO: In U.S. presidential politics, the first real test for Republican candidates is next month when Iowa holds its caucuses. But between now and then are the holidays, which means that GOP hopefuls have very little time left. And with Trump the clear frontrunner, candidates are telling Iowa voters why they'd be the better choice. Take a listen.

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NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I know is you don't defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. And that's what Donald Trump gives us, rightly or wrongly. I had a great working relationship with him. But rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. You know I'm right. Chaos follows him. And we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and survive this chaos.

GOV. RON DESANTIS, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's important to point out that normally in an Iowa caucus, you've got five or six candidates that are running as conservatives and conservative voters are having to look through. That's not the case this year. I think you have Donald Trump, who's obviously moved left, who's not even really putting in the work to earn people's votes.

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NOBILO: It's a U.S. tradition for more than a century now, still ahead, the annual Army-Navy football game. We'll recap the action in one of America's great rivalries.

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[05:53:26]

NOBILO: We turn to sport now and perhaps the most unique and special match up in all of America, the Army-Navy football game, a rivalry that dates back more than a century. Coy Wire joins us now live from outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Coy, for our viewers around the world who might not know, obviously I'm not one of them, can you explain why this game is different from any other in the calendar to a layperson?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, what's up Bianca? Welcome to Gillette Stadium, home of the six times Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. This 124th Edition of the Army-Navy game. It was historic. It held here in New England for the first time ever. The birthplace of both the U.S. Army and Navy.

And dating back to 1890, Bianca, America's game is loaded with tradition and pageantry, making it one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.

Now, as for the game, Army came in, ranked as the third best defense in the nation at forcing turnovers, and they got two more in the biggest game of the year.

Max DiDomenico had a tremendous interception. But Kalib Fortner scooped up a fumble and took it all the way to the house for the score for Army. But in this defensive slugfest it came down to a goal line stand Navy. They'd have one last shot to punch it in but Army finished his strong final score 17-11 afterwards. Army starting the epic celebrations goosebumps. This is like their Super Bowl. Army has won six out of the last eight now. Absolutely rolling.

We caught up with their leader, head coach Jeff Monken and his team after the game.

[05:55:03]

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JEFF MONKEN, ARMY FOOTBALL COACH: Man, both sides just battle right to the end. Welcome to the Army-Navy game. Down to one yard line at the end of the game.

TYSON RILEY, ARMY RUNNING BACK: This speaks to our culture, our never give up attitude. We've talked a lot in the recent weeks about how we started off and how that's completely different than how we finished. This win is just a culminating event for all the work we've put in and I'm really proud of this team.

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WIRE: Bianca, they say this game is the only game where all the players playing are willing to sacrifice their life for everyone watching. A next year's edition will move to the nation's capital, will be played at Washington, D.C.

NOBILO: And Coy, what other news are you following at the moment? What more sporting excitement can we expect?

WIRE: Well, we had two champions crown. It was a huge day for American sports. And we'll start with some footy. Big congrats to Columbus, your new MLS champions, the crew holding off the defending champion, LAFC 2-1. It was soggy. It was chilly in central Ohio. They won their second title in four years. It's their third in franchise history.

Also, big congrats to those Los Angeles Lakers, winners of the NBA's first ever in-season tournament. It was big night for Anthony Davis, scoring a season high 41 points to go along with 20 rebounds, powering LA to a 123-109 victory over Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas.

Now, speaking of rain, Shohei Ohtani is making it rain cash with a massive new deal. The Angels Star headed to the LA Dodgers for a reported 10-year $700 million. I can't even say it, Bianca, it's that much. That's worth more than six entire NHL franchises, 23 MLS franchises, and before taxes, Bianca, $700 million comes out to making $191,000 every day, every year for the next 10 years. What'd you do with that?

NOBILO: Coy Wire, thank you so much, I will ponder that for the rest of the day. Always good to see you. Thank you.

And that wraps our hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. For viewers in North America, you've got CNN This Morning next. For the rest of the world, it will be Marketplace Asia. See you soon.

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