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Harris Makes Pitch To Voters In Detroit 17 Days Before Election; Trump Urges Supporters To Vote Early In Detroit; More Than 11 Million Pre-Election Ballots Cast; Hamas Leaders: No Peace And No Hostage Return Until Israel Withdraws; Rescues Underway After Israeli Strike On School In Gaza; Netanyahu Vows War In Gaza Will Continue "Until The End"; S Korea: N. Korea Sending Troops To Train In Russia; Israeli Military Drops Leaflets Asking For Help Returning Hostages; Impact Of Hamas Leader's Death On Hostage Deal Unclear. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 19, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cubans are used to living in these very difficult conditions, but the reality is people are starting to get more and more worried because it is not clear when the lights are going to go back on.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much. I'm glad you are able to have that generated power and get by, and kudos to your crew as well.

All right, thank you so much, Patrick Oppmann.

All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague Kaitlan Collins in Tel Aviv.

And we're following the latest developments in the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the intensifying Israeli military operation in northern Gaza. We'll get to you, Kaitlan, in a moment.

But first, we're now entering a critical stretch in the U.S. presidential race, just 17 days now to go, and both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are still trying to lock down votes in some of the most fiercely contested battleground states.

Right now, voters are gathering in Detroit, where Harris is campaigning alongside pop singer Lizzo in a short few minutes, and Harris is actually barnstorming with two superstars today. In fact, later she'll be in Atlanta with Usher. Meantime, Trump is preparing to speak to voters tonight in Pennsylvania.

And in these closing weeks of the election, the margins are razor thin, and both campaigns are looking to build winning coalitions. Voters are taking notice, early voting, smashing records in some states. More than 11 million ballots cast nationwide so far.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Steve Contorno are hitting the trail with the campaigns. Priscilla, you're with the Harris camp. How are they looking to build support at this very pivotal moment in the race?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the focus today is harnessing that support and trying to get people to get out and vote here in Michigan, and especially here in Detroit, where early voting in person is kicking off for the first time. So this is going to be the focus of today for the Vice President, not only here in Michigan, but also in Atlanta.

So part of the strategy here is to do well in the cities of Detroit and Atlanta, with majority non-white cities and their surrounding suburbs to repeat what President Biden did in 2020. And yesterday, the Vice President, as you mentioned, was across the state of Michigan, and it provided a glimpse into what the strategy is among her advisers as she went to three different counties.

One county that Donald Trump won in 2016, but then President Biden flipped in 2020. And then two other counties where he won, President Biden won by wider margins. That is what her team is trying to emulate and build on and also try to make inroads with those white college educated voters in the suburbs.

That is where the officials I've spoken with see real opportunity, especially with issues like reproductive freedoms. But part of the messaging yesterday as well was on labor and making sure that she can lock in union voters.

Much of her messaging yesterday again focused on the former president's anti-labor comments and also casting the difference or drawing the stark contrast between her and former President Donald Trump when it comes to manufacturing and union jobs.

Now, I will also note because this was a notable moment at her rally here in Detroit yesterday is that she spoke directly to the Arab- American community. Of course, Michigan has one of the largest Arab- American populations in the United States.

This has been a difficult moment for the campaign and the party when it comes to trying to harness that support, given the feelings within the Arab-American community about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. So certainly, what we're seeing here in Michigan is the Vice President trying to lock down her coalition and also capitalize on early voting here and then later today in Georgia.

WHITFIELD: All right, Priscilla in Detroit, thank you so much.

All right, Steve Contorno, your turn. In Pennsylvania there where Trump is set to speak there this evening. So how is his campaign handling this moment on the trail?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been cast here in Pennsylvania, and Trump's campaign is trying to coach the residents and their supporters here how to take advantage of those early voting options, which is a task that is made more difficult by the former president's own rhetoric.

He has been someone who has been very critical of early voting, mail- in voting, ballot boxes, all the ways that people can vote weeks ahead of an election. But now heading into this final stretch, he is actually encouraging his supporters to take advantage of those options.

How is he doing that? Well, take a listen to what he told his crowd in Michigan yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[13:05:07]

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Early voting is underway, so get everyone you know and go out and vote. Go tomorrow. It's just starting. Go and vote. Make sure you vote and bring all our friends that want to vote for us. Tell him, Jill, get your fat husband off the couch. Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to go and vote for Trump. He's going to save our country.

Get that guy the hell off. Get him up, Joe. Slap him around. Get him up. Get him up, Joe. We want him off the couch to get out and vote. Bring your friends and get him out.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, Trump delivered that, let's call it colorful message to his supporters. After a 20-minute delay in his rally yesterday, there was actually a technical difficulty with his microphone. This is the second time in a week where we've seen this sort of strange pause in the programming at a Trump rally earlier.

Obviously, last week we had that incident where he halted his events because of a medical episode and stood on the stage and just sort of went through his playlist and directed various songs to be played over the loudspeakers while he swayed on the stage yesterday.

He sort of similarly stood by idly while they waited for the microphone to be fixed. We'll see what happens today when he speaks in front of this crowd in western Pennsylvania. This is a key part of the state. It's a county Westmoreland that he actually won by a 2 to 1 margin four years ago, and they're hoping for a similar outcome here in this election, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Steve Contorno, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to you both. We'll check back with you throughout the day.

All right, let's talk more about all of this. I'm joined now by Lisa Rayam. She is the host of Morning Edition on Atlanta's WABE Radio. All right, so all the talk used to be Florida, Florida, Florida. Thank you. The late Tim Russert. Now it's Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. It's been that way for a couple cycles now.

Harris is coming back here again this evening. This is now what? Her fifth visit to the state of Georgia since becoming the nominee. Is this a feeling about confidence for her, or is she worried that perhaps she's not, you know, doing as strongly as say Biden was in 2020, even though, you know, he ended up winning narrowly over Trump? But is this confidence or is this nerves?

LISA RAYAM, HOST, "MORNING EDITION" ON ATLANTA'S WABE RADIO: Well, as we heard Priscilla say early, this is a trip to band together the coalition. I mean, we're down 17 days and counting now, and it's time to get those voters mobilized yet again. That interest is, you know, it's kind of weighing that enthusiasm and she knows it. And she's here to get the crowd fired up again, particularly African American voters, male voters and Asian voters.

WHITFIELD: Advanced voting. I mean, it's been breaking the records all week long. More than 1 million people have already cast their ballots. What are you hearing about early voters concerns their enthusiasm or worries?

RAYAM: Well, the number showed day one.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RAYAM: The enthusiasm was, you know, out the, you know, out the tank. It just -- it was just high. And, you know, people are getting out there. Mainly females are outnumbering the males. But there is that enthusiasm to get that vote in and get that vote in early. And the majority are, of course, Democrats.

So, we'll see how week two goes. But, you know, as you saw from the numbers week number one was out the roof.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Harris and Lizzo in Detroit. But then when she makes her way, Harris to Atlanta, Usher is, you know, expect -- that kind of star power is expected to appeal to a variety of voters. I mean, young voters, black men in particular. What's the strategy here?

RAYAM: Well, you know, it's just to round up the base. It's just to get everyone involved. She's coming with open arms, as she said. You know, she's inviting the disenchanted, the disenfranchised. You know, she wants those Republican voters who are not decided to come.

You know, Usher, of course, you know, you didn't get that young, that all important young vote 18 to 29 involved and excited again. So, you know, the strategy is clear. She's trying to reach everybody, you know, during this 11th hour.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And in that enthusiasm or that early voter turnout, we're seeing that, you know, largely black voters over the age of 65, the Democratic Party's most loyal voting bloc. They're turning out in very big numbers. We've seen them at the polling locations.

You know, you hear about the enthusiasm of young voters, but it's more than the enthusiasm of knowing what's current, being in touch with their lives, what they, you know, they're aspirational. But then it's another thing to actually get them to the polls. Is the star power of saying Usher, you know, a key ingredient here?

RAYAM: Well, you know, she certainly hopes so. And, you know, messaging is all important. And no matter what age you are in the black community, you know, Barack Obama certainly, you know, peaks your interest, right?

[13:10:08]

So, you know, she's calling out the heavy hitters, you know, and that's what politics is. You know, in the 11th hour, you call out your big gun. So, you know, she's hoping to, again, energize, re-energize that base with 17 days to go until November 5th.

WHITFIELD: OK, I'm going to interrupt you for a moment because you're sharing the screen with Kamala Harris there in Detroit. Let's listen in on what's being said.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's what we should all want, right, in our democracy that people understand it's their civic duty, but also that they can make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we'll go to Nancy at Bloomberg right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wonder what you think of Elon Musk just getting increasingly involved in the election, both through his financial contributions to Trump Super PAC, but also holding campaign events, attending rallies.

HARRIS: I mean, listen, I think that the most important thing that any one of us could do right now is pay attention to the issues that are at stake. And there's a lot at stake. We're looking at, as I say repeatedly, because it is true, two very different visions for our country.

And Donald Trump has proven himself to be increasingly unstable and unfit, and he's trying to take us backward. He is someone who demeans the American people, who has no actual plan for uplifting the middle class, no actual plan that is about any sense of optimism and who the American people are and what we are capable of doing.

And I think that that's really what's most important in these remaining, I believe, it's 17 days of the election, which is focusing on the issues themselves and reminding the American people they not only have a choice, but they have the power to decide the future of our country through this election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we'll go to Andrea right here at Reuters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. So yesterday you called out Assad Turfe (ph), one of the elected --

HARRIS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- officials here in Arab-America, and he's faced a tremendous backlash since you mentioned his name at the rally. And obviously there's a lot of churn and turmoil within the Arab-American and Muslim communities here in Michigan. Do you think you could lose the election because of Gaza? And what, you know, overnight, there were more strikes, 32 more people were killed in Gaza, some in hospitals. You know, how risky is it that that you could lose the election?

HARRIS: Well, it is undeniable that it is something that everyone is aware of what is happening there. I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza. And, of course, the first in this phase of everything that has happened, the first most tragic story is October 7, and what happened that day, and then what has happened since.

And I think what's critically important as we look at this moment is, one, acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians who have been killed, and taking that seriously and speaking truth about that.

In addition, of course, to what I said about what happened on October 7, in terms of 1,200 innocent Israelis being slaughtered, women being horribly raped. And then fast forwarding to today with the killing of Sinwar. This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of, to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it's not working so far.

HARRIS: You know what, listen, as it relates to the issues in the Middle East, and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn't mean we give up. OK? It is always going to be difficult. It does not mean we give up. We can't give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have time for one more from Tamara at NPR.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've been doing some more sort of Trump rapid response. I've described it, you know, responding to him in near real time in recent days. It feels like something slightly different from the way you were handling it before, and I'm wondering why that shift?

HARRIS: He's becoming increasingly unstable and unhinged. And it requires that response. I think the American people are seeing it, witnessing it in real time. And we must take note of the fact that this is an individual who wants to be president of the United States. And I think the American people deserve better than someone who actually seems to be unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Vice President --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, press (ph).

HARRIS: Thank you all. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys.

WHITFIELD: All right, then, rather spontaneous -- spontaneous moments rather with cross talk with the press there out of Detroit and Kamala Harris, really dotting a number of issues there, being prompted by the reporters, everything from the killing of Hamas leader Sinwar.

And she maintains hope that this is a turning point might end to potentially the war in Gaza, as well as help to bring the hostages home. And then she was asked kind of about her pace if there's any change in strategy. And she says, much of it predicated on what she describes Trump as being continuing to be unhinged.

[13:15:12]

All right, back now with me here, Lisa Rayam. So, from Detroit, Harris will be making her way back here in Atlanta. Georgia is an important and pivotal state once again in this election. How about for the Trump camp? We know that he has been turning to many more like younger influencers.

He feels a lot of confidence here in Georgia. Should he continue to feel as confident in Georgia this go round as he did, say, 2016 when he won, and then he narrowly lost in 2020?

RAYAM: Well, they're looking at the polls. The polls are neck and neck. And three out of four that I just looked at have him, you know, with a slight edge. So he is feeling very confident coming next week to speak to Gwinnett County, feeling strong.

Right now, all he has to do is show up. He shows up to campaign rallies and says what, you know, Trump says. They're taking to the airwaves more, the Trump campaign. You see all the commercials, you know, pounding away, pounding away.

So that seems to be their strategy at this point is, you know, the final days of the campaign.

WHITFIELD: And you saw (ph) that negative campaign ad.

RAYAM: Yes. Yes, a lot of negative ad campaign.

WHITFIELD: Taking more (ph).

RAYAM: Yes. And you see Kamala Harris doing more interviews, right? So it's interesting to see how the two will play against each other. She talked a lot about international affairs in that interview there. Here when she comes to Atlanta, she's going to have to talk about the bread and butter issues. And he is too when he comes to Gwinnett County.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, I'll be watching.

Lisa Rayam, glad you could be with --

RAYAM: Thank you again.

WHITFIELD: -- us here. Thank you so much.

RAYAM: Always a pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Vice President Kamala Harris will face voters and take their most pressing questions next week right here on CNN. Anderson Cooper moderates the CNN Presidential Town Hall Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

All right, coming up, we're learning new details about how Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed as Israel's prime minister vows the war in Gaza will move forward until the end, he says. We're live in Tel Aviv after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:44]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Kaitlan Collins live in Tel Aviv tonight. I should note that we're here on the ground as we're still assessing the fallout from the death of Yahya Sinwar, of course, the Hamas mastermind who is behind the October 7th attack. And we're still waiting to see how Israel is going to use this moment and what it could mean.

I should note that the people that have that question first and foremost on their mind are the families of the hostages who were kidnapped into Gaza on that day over a year ago and still very much want their loved ones home.

I went down to Hostage Square, not far from where I'm sitting right now earlier. It's a place that families of these hostages have gathered every Saturday, almost since October 7th. And tonight they were there gathering again after the holiday.

One hostage in particular that they were paying tribute to is Naama Levy. She, of course, was the face of one of the most searing images on that day. Her hair -- she was being dragged by her hair into Gaza. Her hands were zip tied behind her back. Her gray sweat pants were bloodied, seemingly evidence of sexual abuse.

I spoke with her father earlier down in Hostage Square about what Yahya Sinwar's death in this moment means for him and what he wants it to look like. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

YONI LEVY, SON BEING HELD CAPTIVE IN GAZA: I think that maybe now this is the opportunity or maybe this is the time also to the Israeli government, the prime minister to take a better risk and to take the deal. Whatever it fits, some deal or some -- make some agreement that before the death of this man, we did not agree to take.

This is now the time. This is the opportunity. We need to take some, let's say, some diplomacy aspects and some -- even takes maybe some time the risk that we did not agree to take before.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COLLINS: And what Yoni Levy was saying there was this is the moment he believes for Netanyahu to take advantage of this to try to get those hostages home. His concern, of course, was that political calculations could be a play here and that they may wait longer. His argument was three months, six months does not make a difference. I should note this comes as everyone has their eyes on the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Right now, he does not appear to be interested in a deal of the moment. He said after Sinwar's killing, that Israeli forces will continue to fight in Gaza. We're continuing to see Israeli strikes today.

Netanyahu saying that would go on until, quote, "the end." This is Hamas's remaining leaders are also vowing to fight on saying there will be no peace and no hostages will be returned until Israel has withdrawn from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners who were kept in Israel have been set free.

I should note rescuers today were searching for survivors after an Israeli strike hit a school in northern Gaza where people have been sheltering. That is according to Gaza's civil defense officials were expecting a briefing from Israeli officials any moment now.

[13:25:00]

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is here with me in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, obviously, we're very much seeing the fighting continue today. What does that say to you as the U.S. officials are looking for any clue of what it is that the Israeli cabinet is going to decide, ultimately Netanyahu what to do next?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, for now, I mean, you're seeing those images from Gaza. The fighting is continuing unabated. The three separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza today that killed a dozen people. We're seeing 20,000 people fleeing from the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza as well.

And the humanitarian situation there continuing to deteriorate as the Israeli Prime Minister today after facing a drone that targeted his home in Caesarea, not too far from here according to the Israeli Prime Minister's office, it did not -- we don't know it -- that it actually hit the home but we do know that it struck something in that area.

But he released this video after showing his trademark defiance.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime Minister, how is it going?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well two days ago, we took out Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist mastermind whose goons, beheaded our men, raped our women, burnt babies alive. We took him out and we're continuing our battle with Iran's other terrorist proxies. We're going to win this war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So will something deter you?

NETANYAHU: No.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

DIAMOND: So nothing he says will deter him. Obviously, there's some politicking going on there but it does give you some insight into his frame of mind especially as U.S. officials are hoping that this will be an opportunity for him to kind of take the win and move on.

But instead, he's releasing now another statement saying that those who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake. He's vowing that this will not deter me and the state of Israel he says from continuing this war against their enemies.

COLLINS: And he's blaming this on -- since it came from Lebanon, he's blaming this on Hezbollah which ultimately is backed by Iran. This is all happening as, you know, this was a happenstance killing of Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli officials have been focused on what the Israeli response to that Iranian attack on Israel a few weeks ago is going to look like. We still haven't seen that. I mean what's the indication of how Sinwar's death changes that if at all?

DIAMOND: I don't think it necessarily changes Israel's calculus because they feel like they cannot allow this latest Iranian attack to go unresponded to, undeterred. We were told last week that the plans were ready to go for this attack after over a week of discussions between the U.S. and Israel but we haven't actually seen that yet play out.

Our understanding was that the Israelis had agreed to just strike military targets rather than nuclear and oil facilities. But again, we don't really have a clear sense of the timing other than U.S. officials believe that it would come before Election Day which of course is just a couple weeks away.

COLLINS: Yes, two and a half weeks away of all this.

Jeremy Diamond, great reporting. Thank you for that.

I do want to get more insight on these developments and as we're waiting to see what is going to happen next. Joining me now is Avi Mayer, the former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post who has also held roles at the American Jewish Committee and in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Avi, great to have you here. You know, Israel has always had this undertone of the way that they protect themselves is through strength, is through going into Rafah when they are being told by U.S. allies don't go into Rafah very explicitly.

I mean, clearly, there's a bit of swagger in what you just saw in that video from Netanyahu of his thinking. I wonder what you read into that.

AVI MAYER, FORMER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE JERUSALEM POST: Well, Kaitlan, this moment has been likened to the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces. There's the sense that justice has been done. The Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th massacre, the worst mass murder since the Holocaust has finally been eliminated. But this is not a sense of closure for many Israelis. As you mentioned, there are 101 hostages who are still being held in Gaza. We don't know what their fate is at this time. There are tens of thousands of who have yet to return to their homes in both the north and the south of the country due to ongoing rocket attacks by Hezbollah.

And so, there's a sense in Israel that there's still work to be done. And as you said, this could indeed be a pivotal moment. This seems to be an opportunity to, as you said, call it a win, move on and try to figure out how to get those hostages home as quickly as possible.

COLLINS: Well, and what are you hearing about what the other parties in the region that have been such a part of this in Qatar on what the next step is going to look like here because very clearly, the U.S. wants to leverage this moment? What is it that could get Israel to do so in the way they're viewing it, the way the Qataris are viewing it right now?

MAYER: Well, there have been certain suppositions that Khaled Mashal, one of the Hamas leaders currently residents in Doha, Qatar may indeed be the next leader of that movement. That presents an opportunity for the Qataris to apply unrelenting pressure on him to in turn apply pressure on his people in Gaza to end this war and return those hostages.

We hear many voices coming from Israel and elsewhere, saying that's exactly what needs to happen right now. Qatar needs to be applying pressure on Hamas in a way that they hadn't up until this point, and I don't know what more could happen to bring this war to a close at this point.

[13:30:06]

COLLINS: I mean, Netanyahu has been saying repeatedly during the hostage talks is they've been getting closer, and then it seems edging back from the table, that it was Sinwar who was the major obstacle. We heard that echoed by U.S. officials. I mean, what happens now if Sinwar's out of the picture and still no

hostage deal happens?

MAYER: Well, Kaitlan, the president himself said that that Sinwar was an obstacle, the main obstacle to any kind of deal. Now this is an opportunity to actually bring one about.

But there's a great deal of uncertainty. There is, as we understand, a great deal of disarray, in Hamas, in its ranks, who the new leadership is. We understand that they may not even reveal who leader is for fear that this individual may, indeed, be killed in the future.

And so we don't know who calls the shots at this time. As I said, there are certainly hope that if you apply the pressure on those leaders of Hamas in Doha, Qatar, that, in fact, that could generate some kind of momentum towards a deal at this time.

But at this point, it's unclear whether that will be what it actually takes the point at this point. COLLINS: That's really interesting. So you, you've heard that Hamas may not actually name who it is that's going to the Sinwar's successor out of a fear of his safety.

I mean, we've seen this is happening in Iran, with the supreme leader there. Obviously, they we're able to kill high-ranking Hezbollah officials. And so they seem to be concerned about actually naming that successor?

MAYER: Look, it's important to realize that, regardless of who is appointed next head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar was an icon. He's a symbol for the Palestinian terrorist organizations.

And his loss is a crushing blow to those organizations. We have seen indications in Gaza that there is now open opposition to Hamas in ways that there hadn't been just one week ago. And one can hope that will offer the momentum needed to seal a deal and bring those hostages home.

COLLINS: Yes, major questions.

Avi Mayer, as always, thank you so much.

And, of course, for everyone else, stay with us. We have much more news we're covering ahead here on CNN after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:36:17]

WHITFIELD: A stunning development in the war in Ukraine. North Korea may now be giving military support to Russia.

Video provided to CNN by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security appears to show North Korean soldiers receiving Russian uniforms and equipment at a training ground in far east Russia.

South Koreas spy agency says Pyongyang has sent 1,500 North Korean troops to Russia in what seen as the first step in a plan to help bolster Russian troops following significant losses in Ukraine.

CNN's Mike Valerio has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The NIS saying it observed not just one, but seven Russian ships transporting 1,500 North Korean Special Forces troops to Russian military bases.

These troops from North Korea personally inspected by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, the National Intelligence Service says.

And the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warning others, warning fellow world leaders a few days ago that he's anticipating not just these 1,500 troops, but up to 10,000 North Korean troops to help Russia in its invasion.

The North Korean Special Forces troops, according to South Koreas National Intelligence Service, are being disguised with Russian military uniforms equipped with Russian weapons, and also, Seoul says, being given fake Siberian I.D. cards with photos resembling Siberian residents in order to better blend in with the Russian military.

So responding to that, the Kremlin has denied all allegations of North Korean troops helping in its war effort.

Former South Korean Navy Commander Yu Jihoon told us the following, quote, "This subterfuge points to a deliberate effort by both nations to obscure the extent of North Korean involvement in the conflict.

"Such a move could be seen as an attempt by Moscow to avoid further international scrutiny and sanctions while simultaneously bolstering its depleted manpower and ammunition stockpiles."

Now, the commander is right. This is all happening because Russia has gone through manpower, has gone through ammunition so quickly in its invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea desperately needs cash and has a surplus of ammo that it is selling to Russia in order to get cash. So this is the latest sign of how cooperation between Russia and North Korea is deepening.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:39:50]

WHITFIELD: The Israeli military is dropping leaflets in southern Gaza, asking Palestinians to help return Israeli hostages following the death of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar. We'll speak to the father of an American hostage still in Gaza, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:43:44]

COLLINS: As celebrations ring out across Israel following the death of the Hamas leader, the October 7th mastermind, Yahya Sinwar, the families of the American hostages worry about what the implications mean for their loved ones still being held in Gaza came to mind.

U.S. officials are looking at Sinwar's death as a potential game changer, an event that could potentially prompt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare victory and end the war.

But despite the IDF's confirmation of his killing, little has been made clear about what's next.

Joining me now is Ruby Chen, the family, the father of an American hostage, Itay, and who is, of course, in Gaza still being held. When you heard this news that Sinwar had been killed, which, we've now

learned was an intelligence operation, a sophisticated thing that was kind of happenstance almost.

But I just wonder what went through your mind.

RUBY CHEN, FAMILY MEMBER OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: I think the collect feeling that I felt was justice, justice has been served. I'd like to remind the viewers that 46, 46 U.S. citizens we're killed on October 7th by that psychopath that ordered his people to go out and hunt Jewish people to kill, like, burn alive.

[13:45:05]

And those 46 citizens, U.S. citizens wants justice as well as 1,600 people from 20 different nationalities.

COLLINS: When you hear, of course, what happened, you view it as essential some justice, what do you want the prime minister, though, and the Israeli government to do at this moment, that some in the U.S. view it as a moment of leverage, they could take this moment and change the trajectory of what's happening right now.

How do you see it as a parent.

CHEN: Yes. So Itay is one of the seven U.S. hostages and we had a call yesterday with Mr. Blackman (ph) that gave us an update following his conversation with the president and Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken and others.

And I see the U.S. determined to move forward and find -- understand that this is a window of opportunity. We've been told for many, many weeks that Sinwar is an obstacle. He had no intention to move forward with a negotiation.

The last couple of weeks, we saw the series that he had of creating a regional war materializing with Hezbollah, Lebanon, in the north, Iran, the Houthis.

And he had no intention of negotiating. And now with Sinwar gone, he's not an obstacle anymore.

And the U.S. is committed before the elections with this administration to do whatever it can to bring a deal. But at the end, the prime minister of Israel needs to do deliver the goods.

The goods is a ceasefire. The goods is an offer or proposal that could be gracious to a limited period of time with the ceasefire that the prime minister has said multiple times in the past, he has said, to end this war, and release the hostages.

So I would now like to ask the Palestinian people in Gaza, the suffering, the suffering that has happened to build sides.

It's not a competition of who is suffering more. It needs to end. I urge you, the people that are hold these hostages, the new committee that is formed that is leading Hamas, pressure them. Tell them we've had enough. We want a better future for our children. We want this to end.

The way to make it end is a deal and with the hostages coming out.

COLLINS: Did Brett McGurk, who works for President Biden, seem to have any indication -- did they have any insight into what Netanyahu is going to do next or did they seem to be in the dark?

CHEN: I think everyone has signed up to calculate what is happening now, but I do not believe that there's a need now to overthink it. We all understand it's a window of opportunity.

And I think that the United States must do everything possible to get clear answers from the prime minister, as well as from Qatar, that have the ability to pressure the leadership of Hamas, which, in Gaza, does not exist anymore.

So the leadership is now in Qatar.

COLLINS: Yes.

CHEN: So that is the opportunity now to bring the people of Hamas in Qatar to the front to negotiate with and to bring a deal for the benefit of not just the people here, but for the legion, and for the strategic interests of the United States.

COLLINS: When you just mentioned, you're saying time to end the suffering, release the hostages, let them -- let them return home. When the IDF released that video, the drone video showing Yahya's on the second floor of that building, it almost looks like a movie.

It goes in, he's sitting there almost blending in and he's got - he's got-he's got a stick in his hand that he throws at the drone, seemingly in his last moments alive.

Do you think it was a good idea for Israel to release this footage or are you worried that it could it -- it could serve as a rallying cry for Palestinians, for Hamas militant, I should say?

CHEN: I am 100 percent positive that that video being released does not help the hostage families. That video would only give some motivation to the people holding our loved ones to do irrational decisions, which are not in our best interests.

The best thing to do would be to keep it quiet and to just say that Sinwar is not alive anymore and he was killed and justice has been served.

Unfortunately, the releasing that video selves other purposes, domestic purposes of the prime minister. And I condemn that video coming out.

And I think that people that made that decision made a fatal mistake if they think the top priority is what is best for the hostage families and negotiation.

COLLINS: Powerful statement.

Ruby Chen, it's always great to talk to you. Thank you.

CHEN: Thank you for having me.

[13:49:49]

COLLINS: We have much more ahead on NEWSROOM as we continue to monitor developments here in the Middle East and also back home on the 2024 campaign trail. Stay with us.

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WHITFIELD: All right, new pictures, live pictures right now out of Detroit in the battle in the battleground state of Michigan, where Grammy Award-winning artists, Lizzo, is speaking right now at a Harris campaign event right now.

She just told the audience there that she is a big proponent of voting early and she already did and she voted for Kamala Harris. Other live moments in a moment.

All right, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder is now on the run, accused of running a drug trafficking ring in the United States. The FBI has offered we have $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ryan Wedding.

[13:54:58]

Agents say his group moved 60 tons of cocaine a year and also ordered the killings of four people. The 43-year-old is facing murder and drug-related crime charges in the U.S.

Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics which took place in Salt Lake City. The FBI believes he is hiding in Mexico.

And if you're already stressed out about thinking about having to defrost your turkey for Thanksgiving, Butterball says it has just the thing for you.

The company is introducing what it calls a "Cook-from-frozen turkey." Interested? All you have to do is simply remove it from the freezer and then pop it right there in the oven.

Butterball says it created a specially made frozen turkey to pull this off and hopefully make the worst part of a cooking experienced on Thanksgiving Day much easier now.

And paragliders flying high above Egypt's Great Pyramids this week spotted more than just ancient wonders. Around the summit of one of the enormous structures was a dog, shown in this viral video hanging out, seemingly chasing birds.

Now stray dogs are often seen in the area, but not on top of the 135- meter-tall edifice. The next day, the paragliders returned to see if the hound was still there. No luck.

But a fellow adventurer recorded what looked like the same dog safely making its way down.

Much more straight ahead for us.

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