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CNN This Morning

Air Raid Sirens Sound Over Tel Aviv; Desperation In Gaza As Water Runs Low, Invasion Looms; NYT: Senior Israeli Officials Say War Plan Is To Eradicate Hamas, Capture Gaza City; U.S. To Evacuate Americans From Israel By Sea; Conflict In Middle East Testing Biden's Foreign Policy Approach; Blinken Arriving in Egypt; Confusion And Chaos At Egypt's Rafah Border Crossing; Desperation In Gaza; Iran Warns Israel To Stop Gaza Attacks or Risk "Consequences"; Israel Official Says He Won't Negotiate With Hamas Over Hostages; Israeli Soldiers Brace For Ground Assault; Interview With IDF Reserves Andrew Silberman; Jim Jordan's Scramble For Speaker; Israel Nears Ground Assault As Gaza Crisis Worsens. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 15, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:17]

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: And every time you hear a flash, that means that it has made contact with a rocket.

And then about 10 seconds after you see the flash, you hear the booms. And so over and over and over again. This entire city is hearing these thunderous booms from the sky. This is a reality for people living here. And then the response often is airstrikes in Gaza.

Now, though, things seem to be a bit different because as Israel prepares for a ground incursion, it just -- it's has been more quiet in Gaza, though, we have seen, right now, we have seen a bit of black smoke coming from Gaza today. But in the very beginning, I mean, it was fearsome, it was terrifying with the airstrikes that were happening in Gaza for the the residents there. 700 children have already been killed there.

But you remember this all started this time around with Hamas and its surprise attack on civilians just trying to enjoy their lives. I do want to give you some sound of what happened earlier. I think we have a little bit of that for you now. So let's go to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Evelio? Evelio? Evelio?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sara?

SIDNER: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Shit. Can you see this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Evelio is our photographer who is here with us. Lawrence is also with us as well as my fantastic producer, Seb.

So you're hearing in English, now you can go back to normal, the danger is over, and then she says it in Hebrew. That's what happens in a hotel for someone like me who doesn't live here now. I lived here years ago. But for regular people, of course, you don't hear anything like that. You just notice that it has no longer -- the sirens are no longer going off.

But people are in their homes, I mean, nobody has out really in the streets. Normally, on a Sunday in Tel Aviv, I mean, this place is packed with people lying on the beach, riding their bikes, walking their dogs, kissing their babies and eating food. It's, you know, in Jaffa, just down here, it's a beautiful old area, there's a fantastic smorgasbord of Palestinian fairs as well and this place is just -- it's basically a ghost town, you're just not seeing anyone, and it's a bit eerie.

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: And to that point, Sara, you know, do you feel the tense atmosphere? Do you -- are you getting the sense that we are getting much closer to a ground offensive?

SIDNER: You know, for someone who, you know, maybe hasn't experienced war, which hopefully most people have not, it is a real -- what is the word? I mean, it's anxiety provoking. It's fear provoking when there's something over your head that you can't see, but you know is there because you hear the sirens go off. Same thing in Gaza.

The sound of a fighter jet flying over your city. When you know that is going to mean a massive boom, and then extreme devastation, it's terrifying. So you're always a little bit on edge. You're hyper aware of what's going on around you. But again, it's fight or flight. And a lot of people staying here, it's fight. They want to fight to live their lives and try to find some semblance of normal, but it is very hard. There is definitely a heightened sense of fear and anxiety on both sides of this conflict.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yes. I was watching when you were on with Wolf and there were, I think, five or so rockets that were coming --

SIDNER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- into your area from Gaza and the Iron Dome intercepted them. We watched the flashes and then the booms. You, this morning, visited Iron Dome defense system, tell everyone and explain what you saw.

SIDNER: Look the Iron Dome system has been a game changer for Israel. They have it. It does not exist in Gaza. But here, when rockets come over, that system knocks out about 90 percent plus of the rockets. It has a very high rate of completion. That is a picture of it that our photographer Evelio took just about an hour ago. It looks kind of like a not to be sort of childlike, but it looks like a Lego. I loved Legos as kids. It looks like a Lego because it's this sort of rectangular box. But, you see it there, but it's an enormous rectangular box.

But that is, perhaps, one of the most effective and important life- saving instruments that the Israeli army has because it has saved countless lives. Maybe our own from last night when we had the rockets directly over our head and intercepted by the Iron Dome.

[07:05:12]

I want to now go to CNN's Scott McLean. He is live for us in London. Scott, look, you know, and I see you and Victor and Amara there too, along with me. Scott, I know that there are millions of civilians in northern Gaza that Israel has warned to leave, to evacuate. The issue is to where and how, with that many people, that's half the population of one of the most populated, densely populated places on earth.

But the Israeli Defense Forces are saying that they must get out, and clearly that's because there is going to be grave danger there. Hamas has not encouraged this, but you are seeing pictures right now from Gaza City, the place where the campaign is clearly going to be targeted just with everything that they can muster, their children, a little bit of a bag of something, just trying to -- babies, infants, you see the people walking out.

It is -- it's really hard to see these air. These are regular people trying to live their lives as well, but Hamas is being accused of using them as human shields because they're not helping people leave. I want to go now to Scott McLean to give us more information on what is happening there in Gaza.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, yes. To say that things are desperate in Gaza, perhaps even would be an understatement. You have these aid groups warning that food, fuel, water are all in desperately short supply and getting worse. And you have aid that is potentially relief for millions of people sitting at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, unable to actually get into Gaza and help people.

You have the World Food Program saying that people are really getting hungry and that time is running out. And, of course, the more immediate threat, of course, is from the Israeli military strikes, which have now killed more than 2,300 people in Gaza. And that is significant because that means that in just eight days, more people have died in Gaza than died in the entire 2014 conflict, which killed -- which lasted 51 days. And, of course, all of this is expected only to get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice-over): Dozens of Palestinians dig through rubble, desperately searching for survivors in the aftermath of an airstrike. More than half of Gaza's 2 million residents who live in the northern section of the strip were told to evacuate ahead of an anticipated Israeli ground assault on Hamas.

But leaving is also deadly. An apparent explosion Friday along a main evacuation route killed a number of people, including children. The IDF says Hamas was responsible.

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, IDF SPOKESPERSON: It appears that they have physically prevented people from moving -- from north to south. And also, it appears that they have booby-trapped some of the roads.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Even emergency crews are not safe from the constant barrage. The Palestinian government says paramedics were targeted in an Israeli airstrike while trying to rescue a family in northern Gaza. Another disturbing video shows an explosion rocking an ambulance carrying a woman and child. It's unclear what happened to them. Hospitals in the area already struggling are now overwhelmed.

AVRIL BENOIT, EXEC. DIRECTOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: We considered it a humanitarian chronic emergency over many, many years, and now it's a complete catastrophe.

RICK BRENNAN, REGIONAL EMERGENCY DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: There are major gaps in food, water, shelter, sanitation. People now are being forced into these unsanitary overcrowded settings, risks of disease outbreaks.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Lack of electricity along with food and water shortages in both the northern and southern parts of Gaza are becoming very real concerns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am searching under here under the rubble for the remains of lentils and rice.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Many who have taken refuge in an U.N. run school sleep on the ground and try to comfort their families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's a tragedy. There is no water. No electricity. And I have no money. I am standing here and hungry, wondering what's left.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Palestinians who hold foreign passports are also in dire straits. The only remaining route out of Gaza is through Egypt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We waited there for maybe four hours and everyone was calling the embassies and they were telling them that they don't know if they are going to cross today or not.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Egypt's foreign minister says the crossing is open but the roads are so damaged, they are impassable, even for humanitarian aid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: So, look, the U.N. says that most people in Gaza right now do not have access to water. That means that some desperate people are actually drinking brackish water from wells meant for agriculture. That is raising the obvious fear of the spread of waterborne diseases.

[07:10:07]

Also consider this, the U.N. estimates that there are some 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza right now. About 5,000 or so are likely due to give birth in about the next month, and you can imagine giving birth in a place where there is limited access to food, water, hygiene, sanitation, all of that.

And these women remember, Sara, really have no other options. They simply have nowhere to go.

SIDNER: Yes, I can actually not imagine the terror that they feel. Scott, thank you so much.

I want to toss it back to Victor and Amara and I was able to take my helmet off because the danger for right now is past here in Tel Aviv.

WALKER: All right, glad to see that. Thank you so much, Sara.

Of course, the humanitarian crisis will only get worse once this ground incursion, if and when it happens. For more on the evolving military and intelligence situation on the ground, let's bring back retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson and former Director of Communications for U.S. National Intelligence, Shawn Turner. Welcome to you both.

General, let's start with you. And if you can touch on just how risky such a ground operation will be for the IDF, for the civilians, and also for those hostages, because clearly Hamas has been fully expected such a response from Israel.

BRIG. GEN. STEVE ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, thank you, Victor and Amara. Yes, this is very risky. It's going to be a very, very difficult mission to accomplish with all those people there in an urban environment. We just think back about our experiences in places like Fallujah and Ramadi in Iraq. This would be Fallujah on steroids trying to get in there.

So I'm urging the Israelis to exercise restraint. They're being very successful right now in applying pressure to the Palestinians. You know, we just saw from Scott's report, there's a lot of shortages in water and fuel and electricity and whatnot. They're making the Palestinians feel the pain. And this is exactly what they want.

Now, what the Iranians want is they want Israel to go running in there to, you know, to essentially satiate their desire for revenge to do something which I believe would be foolish, which would be to go in there immediately without a proper and appropriate intelligence and support.

They want Israel to get bogged down in Gaza. They want them to run in there like that. And Israel needs to stand back and realize this and show restraint. As Shawn can tell you better than I, the best opportunity to gather intelligence is when the people are feeling the pain like they're feeling right now. BLACKWELL: Shawn, I want to talk about this message that the Iranian foreign minister sent to Israel, that if they continue and, of course, if they continue with this, I guess, expected incursion, the ground incursion that they may have to get involved, how much of that should Israel and the rest of the world take to the bank?

I mean, is this warning their version of an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean? Or is the expectation that if there is a ground incursion, Hezbollah will get involved?

SHAWN TURNER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, U.S. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Yes. You know, Victor, I've been saying from the very beginning that one of my major concerns and the major concerns of the national security community is that this conflict would expand to a larger regional conflict.

Look, I think that we have to take Iran serious when they make these threats. I also think that we know that we've said from the very beginning that there is absolutely no way that Hamas could have planned, executed, resourced this multipronged attack without, if not direct, certainly indirect support from Iran.

So at some point, Israel is going to want accountability for that. So I think that it's not just about what Iran is saying. It's also about the fact that we know that Israel is definitely on high alert with regard to Iran. So, yes, Victor, I think that we can't discount. We can't dismiss these threats.

And certainly, from an intelligence perspective, we'll be watching very closely to see if Iran is sort of putting any force, any resources behind the threat. But I think it's an important threat that we've got to keep our eye on.

WALKER: And General, as we read in the New York Times and with the IDF preparing for this ground assault, the objectives that they were given, number one, was to capture Gaza City. Tell us more about this objective and also -- I mean, this is not going to prevent Hamas militants from moving south and hiding there, right?

ANDERSON: Well, it remains to be seen how they execute it. I mean, there probably is an opportunity for them to cut them off, you know, if they did some kind of an assault that went straight through the middle of the country, I would say towards the Gaza power plant and then most of the population would be north of that.

[07:15:08]

But this is going to be incredibly difficult. We're talking weeks, probably months, you know, and some would argue, you'd never be able to control a city that large, you know, with a small constabulary force.

Again, Iran wants them to get bogged down in there. They want to have a multiple front war. They want to probably have Hezbollah come down from Lebanon and the Syrians come in from Syria. Remember Israel is surrounded by 150 million people that probably would like them to go away, OK? The Iranians certainly most vociferous in that respect. But, you know, they're outnumbered 15 to 1. So they need to be very careful about how they proceed here again.

They need to show restraint. I don't think they need to go running in there willy-nilly into Gaza. They need to stand back, apply the pressure, continue to obtain as much human intelligence as possible because, of course, that was the major failure that occurred in the first place a week ago. And then they're going to get that human intelligence, as Shawn can tell you, by continuing to apply pressure and make the people feel the pain.

BLACKWELL: All right, General Anderson, Shawn Turner, thank you both.

President Biden is making urgent calls to players on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian war now. The war with Hamas, I should say. His American Secretary of State is in the region right now.

WALKER: We also have the very latest from the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:41]

SIDNER: New this morning, the U.S. Embassy says it will evacuate U.S. nationals from Israel by sea starting tomorrow. This comes as the Biden administration is still struggling very much to secure an evacuation plan for Americans who are trapped in Gaza.

CNN's Jasmine Wright is live at the White House for us this morning. What can you tell us about what is a very tricky and difficult situation and truly terrifying?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Sara. Well, the through line behind the President Biden's response to the conflict in Israel now has been basically to embrace Israel while also deterring the conflict from widening.

Now we heard that message yesterday in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the fifth time that they've had a conversation since the attack last Saturday, where the president in a readout, according to the White House, really reaffirmed his support for Israel both morally and militarily.

Now, also, we heard that in his call with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority. The first time that they've talked since the violence has broken out, last Saturday, yesterday, also here at the White House. They spoke, according to a White House readout, and the president also not only supported the Palestinian people in this readout, but also talked about the ongoing diplomacy between the U.S., Jordan, Israel, and Egypt, trying to get humanitarian needs to the unfolding crisis in Gaza.

Now, we also heard this morality argument from the president yesterday in remarks at the human rights campaign dinner yesterday in D.C., where he called for a total end to all forms of hate, but also talked about the human cost of war. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A week ago, we saw hate manifested another way in the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. More than 1,300 innocent lives lost in Israel, including at least 27 Americans.

Children and grandparents alike kidnapped, held hostage by Hamas. A humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Innocent Palestinian families and the vast majority have nothing to do with Hamas.

(APPLAUSE)

They're being used as human shields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, also president, President Biden's message to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It's also this message of deterrence, warring any would be actors from getting in and widening the conflict. That is going to be the line that President Biden continues to tiptoe as he works through this tricky diplomacy as this conflict goes on. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes, we should mention there is a real distinction between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The Palestinian Authority over the West Bank and Hamas, which is in the position of ruling over Gaza.

Jasmine Wright, thank you for all of your reporting there from the White House. Sending it back to you, Victor and Amara.

BLACKWELL: Sara, thank you.

Let's bring in now CNN Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor at The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein. Ron, good morning to you. So your latest piece, Israeli crisis is testing Biden's core foreign-policy claims. So explain what that core foreign-policy claim is and if this first week of the war validates it.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Good morning. Well, look, I mean, this is the job that President Biden says he was hired to do. You know, he argued in 2020 that his more steady approach to international affairs, his willingness and determination to work with allies would produce better results for America and its friends around the world than Trump's erratic and impulsive unilateralism.

And, you know, certainly in this first week, the White House has gotten the personal contrast it wanted to see. I mean, Biden's statements on the war have been, I think, praised really in both parties in the U.S. as both strong and measured. And you saw Trump erupt in a kind of characteristic fit of personal peak, even though he is closer ideologically, certainly inviting to Netanyahu.

You saw Trump, you know, take this moment to praise the autocratic enemies of Israel and to air his personal grievances. The question, Victor, of course, is that this gets harder as it goes. Rallying support for Israel after an attack of this magnitude is not that difficult a diplomatic left.

[07:25:10]

The real hard part will come managing what happens as the war goes on and potentially moves into this ground invasion phase.

WALKER: Yes, let's talk more about that, Ron, because you do talk about this delicate balance, right, that President Biden needs to strike, and he's expressing full-throated solidarity, you know, with Israel, but also, you know, suggesting that Israel needs to practice restraint. How is he going to -- and obviously that's a concern, right, as this war, as you say, drags on.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, you look at all the all the complex goals, right? I mean, this is exactly the kind of puzzle that Biden said he was better suited to manage than Trump. I mean, you're talking about responding to this horrific terrorist attack and degrading or trying to virtually eliminate Hamas' capacity to do it again.

Although, as you saw in your previous segment, that is a very high high bar while also preventing a wider war and keeping on track, Amara. You know, the broader administration goal, which admittedly continues the -- an initiative of the Trump administration of normalizing relations between Israel and many of its Sunni Arab neighbors around their common interest in countering Iran.

That is a lot to keep on your plate. There is only so much restraint I think that any ally can bring to Israel at this moment. Imagine, you know, if allies were telling us not to invade Afghanistan after 9/11, how receptive we would have been to that. But certainly as this goes forward, you know, the Biden administration very much wants to keep an eye on what comes after because there will be an after.

And in charge, steering this conflict in a way that allows for those future possibilities to continue in particular that normalization of relations. I mean, that's going to be -- that is going to be the very difficult diplomatic test.

BLACKWELL: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.

WALKER: Thank you, Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, guys.

WALKER: And this hour, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Cairo.

BLACKWELL: He's traveling around the Middle East as Iran issues an ominous warning to Israel. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:11] WALKER: Moments from now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Cairo to meet with the president of Egypt after his trip to Saudi Arabia. His visit comes as people seeking to escape Gaza are gathering at Egypt's Rafah Border Crossing. It's essentially the only way out of Gaza at this moment, but there's no indication that the crossing has opened yet. The State Department just yesterday advised Americans in Gaza that if it does open, there may be very little notice.

Joining us now is former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Ambassador, thank you so much for your time.

First off, what do you -- have you heard anything about the Rafah Crossing and -- because we're getting, you know, conflicting reports on one side, we're hearing that the Egyptians say that their side is open, but on the other side, on the Gaza side, that the roads and the -- have been, I guess, damaged and hence, there can be no movement of people or goods.

AMB. MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, Amara. Good morning, Victor. Good to be with you. This is an old story. This is not the first time this has happened. This is the fifth round of fighting we've had with Hamas in almost every around. We have an issue with the Rafah Crossing. Egypt is very reluctant to let Palestinians into Sinai, into the Northern Sinai City of El Arish. The Egyptians don't like to create that type of precedent, but here there may be -- may be alternatives.

The civilians have to clear out of Northern Gaza because that is where the fighting has been. And the fight is going to be underground, not just on top of the ground. Hamas has built hundreds of attack tunnels under these cities, under hospitals, under schools. The Israel Defense Forces have no choice but to go into those tunnels, into those bunkers. You can't do this with a million civilians on top.

So, they have to move. The question is where? Southern Gaza is largely agricultural. It's open. There are fields there, but the best possible refuge temporarily for these civilians is in Egypt. Egyptians, the last I heard, and this is only a few minutes ago, we're saying that the Hamas has been shelling the approaches to Rafah with rocket fire. Now, that makes sense because Hamas doesn't want the civilians to flee. Hamas needs the civilians as human shields. I know this is hard to, you know, wrap a civilized head around, but this is this is what Hamas is about. They don't want them to flee. They want to keep them there.

So, there's a delicate balance. I also know from the Israeli side there's been lots of calls for Israel to let food into the Gaza Strip. I was for the Israeli government. I was in government. I was actually in charge of this issue of getting food and supplies into Gaza. We have one major crossing, it's called Kerem Shalom, which is ironically translated as the vineyard of peace. It is no longer been your piece (ph), it has been completely destroyed by Hamas. They killed all the Israelis there.

So, even if we -- even if there was a possibility of getting food into that crossing, it no longer exists because Hamas blew it up. So, it's a very dire situation. I hope there can be a solution on the Egyptian side.

BLACKWELL: So, you're saying that despite the blockade that was ordered by Israel on food and water and fuel, your explanation is that there is no way to get those supplies into civilians in Gaza

OREN: Well, we don't provide water to Gaza. We provide certain desalination processes for Gaza. Hamas simply ruined all of the well system, the aquifer in Gaza. And in the past, during peacetime, we could desalinate some of the water, but that's about it. The electricity, we provide about 50 percent of the electricity in Gaza. The other side is in the charge of Hamas. Hamas has cut off electricity. I guarantee you all the bunkers, all the tunnels have electricity.

[07:35:00]

WALKER: I do want to ask you about this warning from Iran, basically warning Israel that it will intervene if the operation into Gaza continues. Are you concerned about -- you know, what do you think of this warning? And how concerned are you about this becoming a wider regional conflict starting with Hezbollah and, of course, Iran backing Hezbollah?

OREN: We take the warning very, very seriously. Iran is committed to our destruction. Iran is the major financial backer and trainer of Hamas. And Iran is the owner and operator of Islamic jihad, and that's the other terrorist organization in Gaza that participated in the massacres of our people. So, we take it very, very seriously.

Iran has also been trying to transform Syria into an open front against us. And the Israeli Air Force has been operating nightly to prevent that from happening. A very anxious and dangerous situation. The immediate danger is from Hezbollah in the north. Hamas has about 10,000, 15,000 rockets. Some of them hit near where I'm talking to you this morning. You're in my bomb shelter. Ignore the books behind me. It is a bomb shelter. And a building next door was destroyed.

The Hamas has about 50 -- 150,000 rockets. Many of them are accurate. Tens and tens of thousands of them are buried under homes in Southern Lebanon, villages in Southern Lebanon. So, if Israel had to go after them, we have to go village to village, house to house. They have -- Hezbollah has a large trained army of terrorists who have been fighting in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator for about 10 years, a grave threat.

Hezbollah has been firing at us. They've killed four of our soldiers so far. They fired dozens of mortar rounds. They haven't fired all those rockets yet. They haven't begun. But if they do, we have to front war such as Israel has not seen since 1973.

BLACKWELL: Mr. Ambassador, I've got one more for you. The Israeli National Security Council said yesterday that Israel will not hold negotiations with an enemy that we have vowed -- that have vowed to wipe off the face of the earth. This, of course, for the hostages. But there is precedent here.

Do you agree with the decision not to negotiate to release these hostages when Israel has negotiated with Hamas in the past to release an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit?

OREN: Yes. Point -- it's a point of fact that Israel is negotiating with the Egyptians who would negotiate with the Qataris who are negotiating with Hamas.

BLACKWELL: Sure. Intermediary. Yes.

OREN: I know. It's a distinction without a difference. I get that. Listen, I'm not a spokesman for the Israeli government anymore. I'm a civilian here. And I would say that it's kind of an irrelevant decision. I'll tell you why, because Hamas has no intention to negotiate for these hostages. Hamas needs the hostages as human shields. If the civilians clear out, that's their major human shield, their last human shield will be the hostages. And that's what they're interested in.

And right now, you're not going to hear Hamas talking about negotiating and certainly not seriously. They're going to hold on to these people as long as we can. We want to release them. We're going to have to release them the best we can using the military means at our disposal.

WALKER: Yes. Well, still, the U.S. officials are exploring other channels to negotiate, hopefully help with -- from Qatar. We're going to leave it there. Ambassador Michael Oren, thank you very much.

OREN: Thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: 300,000 Israeli reservists called up to battle Hamas. We'll hear from one soldier who left his home in Chicago to fight for Israel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:47]

SIDNER: A ground incursion could be imminent. Israel's military says it is preparing for what it calls the next stages of war against Hamas in Gaza. This could include strikes from the air, sea and land. You are looking at pictures there from the border with Gaza.

There is a significant focus on ground operations. The effort involves hundreds of thousands of drafted reservists, 300,000 at last count, both in the north and for potential battle, of course, in the south.

Joining us now is Sergeant Andrew Silberman. You were born and raised in Chicago, but you have stayed here in Israel to fight for the IDF. Thank you so much for speaking with us right now at this difficult time. What have you heard about the days ahead? Are you being given any information about when there may be a ground incursion?

ANDREW SILBERMAN, IDF RESERVES: I can't speak to any specific ground movements or plans that the army has. All I can say is that we're ready for whatever plan comes from above, and the army is being trained around the clock in order to make sure whatever happens is successful.

SIDNER: What does that training look like? Can you give us some sense of what it is that you have been through to prepare for something like a full-scale war here?

SILBERMAN: I think it really is specific to the theater of war that we're going to be expecting in Gaza and also potentially in Lebanon is that if you're in Gaza, that means lots of urban combat. And so, making sure that troops are well trained and all things are in combat and making sure that they're ready to come up to what's going to be facing.

SIDNER: Yes, as a reporter, I've been through urban, you know, warfare before in Gaza and in other places. It is perhaps the most dangerous, the most difficult for those who are there, the civilians certainly, as well as those fighting against one another.

[07:45:00]

Have you been given any directive as to how to try and mitigate to lessen the number of Palestinians who are just civilians trying to live their life there to keep them as safe as possible?

SILBERMAN: I think that it's everyone's goal in this conflict to minimize civilian casualties. And I think the number one way that the government is trying to minimize civilian casualties is with that evacuation order of Northern Gaza. Unfortunately, we have videos and satellite images of Hamas actively blocking civilians from evacuating to the south. And even further, there's the blockage from Egypt from letting civilians into Egypt.

And so, all of that combined leads to what may end up being a high civilian death count. And that's no one's fault other than Hamas, because Hamas uses these civilians as human shields intentionally in order to give themselves propaganda power in the global media.

SIDNER: Yes. It's really, hard to see people stuck in such a situation. Let me ask you this. You know, as you were here, I think, during the initial surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday, on the Sabbath, what are you going through? What's going through your mind as you prepare for what is an official war declared by Israel?

SILBERMAN: So, I actually wasn't in Israel on Saturday morning. I woke up in Chicago to the news of what had happened. I actually learned early that morning that my partner from the army for my service had been killed in battle. And I think that the real message coming from all Israelis and all Jews worldwide is that every Jew is connected to each other somehow.

And so, while, you know, there are many people around the world, many Jews around the world that may not specifically know people that were killed like me, it struck everyone to their core, and everyone has a responsibility in them to do as much as they can in order to make sure that this can never happen again.

What we saw on Saturday morning was the closest thing to the holocaust that we've seen in 80 years. And so, like I said, it was the closest thing to the holocaust we've seen in 80 years, and that slogan of never again, it wasn't a suggestion, it's something that we intend to act on, that these images of Jews being murdered is something that should not have happened, and it will not happen again.

SIDNER: I got to go back to you because you just, surprised me, Andrew, telling me that one of your partners, one of your colleagues, who you have, I think, fought alongside or trained alongside with ended up being killed. I'm so sorry to hear that. I know that creates a deep pain for you and for the family.

Would you mind sharing a little bit about who that person is? If the family -- if you think the family is OK with it?

SILBERMAN: Yes, my partner was Bin Yamin (ph). He was a lone soldier from France. I'm actually also a lone soldier -- a lone soldier in Israel, someone who comes from outside of Israel in order to serve while their parents live outside of the country.

And he fought bravely against the terrorists, and it was his goal in order to protect the citizens that were -- and the civilians that were living in the south from these terrorists, and I believe that he's proud of, you know, his efforts, and we're all extremely proud of him and everyone that fell on that fateful Saturday morning, because without them -- we understand now that Hamas' plans were to come up into the central of Israel to get into the communities around Tel Aviv and even into Tel Aviv.

And so, without the heroic response of people like Bin Yamin thousands more could have been killed and killed in quite a barbaric fashion, I might add.

SIDNER: I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you so much, Sergeant Andrew Silberman. We appreciate you taking the time as you prepare for the potential ground incursion here in Israel.

Amara and Victor, well, back to you.

WALKER: Wow. Strong interview there. Sara, thank you for bringing that to us.

Now, House Republicans pick Trump ally Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker, but he's still facing an uphill climb for the gavel. We're going to break down all the drama with a live report from D.C., next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:33]

BLACKWELL: A live look at Gaza this morning, where an incursion by Israeli ground forces is now imminent. But as Israel's war against Hamas moves into this next phase, back here on Capitol Hill, the House still has no speaker, and without one, there is virtually nothing the House can do regarding Israel's war with Hamas, including a simple resolution of support for Israel, let alone vote to provide aid.

The vacancy is adding to the urgency for House Republicans who are now considering Jim Jordan, but he does not appear to have the 217 votes that he needs if it comes to the House floor. Let's go now to CNN's Manu Raju in D.C. So, he's been working the phones all weekend. Is it looking any better for him?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At the moment, he does not have the votes. The question is for Jim Jordan, does he decide to go to the House floor by Tuesday and try to force a public vote in order to put pressure on some of those members?

Remember, the 55 Republicans who initially voted behind closed doors, that was done in a secret ballot. Does he try to force this out publicly? That is going to be the challenge for him going forward. And the challenge largely for the Republicans is who can get 217 votes in the aftermath of the historic and unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy almost two weeks ago, it's been very clear, there's no one consensus candidate. And what is the alternative for the GOP?

Now, this all comes as there is just enormous tension. There are a lot of members who don't want to vote for Jim Jordan because they are angry that the eight Republicans who voted to Out Kevin McCarthy are supporting Jordan. They don't want to reward bad behavior in their view.

[07:55:00]

And then there are those who are -- who pushed out Kevin McCarthy who don't regret the position they took, including Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona. When I put the question to him about his decision to push out Kevin McCarthy, he says that was popular in his district.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELI CRANE (R-AZ): I mean, a little bit. But honestly, it's, it's like 80-20. So, I mean, the way my voters feel, they look at the country, they look at the direction that we're going, and they don't think that we get out of this without pain or discomfort, and neither do I. I didn't come up here for status quo, I came up here to try and change the way this town works, and that's what they wanted. So, therefore, they're not too worried about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, the big question is really what is next if Jim Jordan does falter? There potentially could be other candidates who have made some -- their intentions known privately that they could run if Jordan falters or do they decide to prop up the interim speaker, Patrick McHenry, give him more power, things that he does not currently have, at least, it's not clear under the law to allow legislation to move forward in his position, but it just shows you the desperate position Republicans are in as no legislation can be acted upon until they elect a speaker of the house Still so many questions about how Republicans resolve this mess of their own making. Guys.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it certainly is a mess. Manu Raju for us there in D.C. Thank you so much.

And be sure to catch it all new "Inside Politics Sunday with Many Raju" today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

WALKER: Israeli forces preparing up for a major ground assault in Gaza. CNN is live in Israel, next.