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Hamas Attack Survivor Urges Officials To Focus On Saving Hostages; GOP's Jordan Trying To Win Over Holdouts Ahead Of Vote Tomorrow; Chicago-Area Landlord Charged In Stabbing Death Of Muslim Boy. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 16, 2023 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": They say there are many more that they need to but that already, without even going as far as a ground incursion, with the airstrikes that we've seen so far, at least 10 senior commanders have been killed.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And they've been saying that Erin, right, to talk about the big questions about their intelligence and how strong that is or is not Gaza.

Erin, thank you so much. We'll get back to you very, very soon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Israel, as Erin was saying, this morning as the country says Hamas is holding more hostages than previously thought. Israel announced overnight that known number of hostages has increased to 199 people. We know hostages were taken from the Nova Music Festival where Hamas killed at least 260 people.

Lior Gelbaum was at that festival with one of her friends. One of her dear friends, David Newman, was murdered there. Another, Inbar Hyman, was taken hostage by Hamas. You see her there. Lior survived and escaped. And last week, she shared her devastating story with Sec. Blinken when he visited Tel Aviv. You just saw him there with the secretary. She pleaded with him to help rescue her kidnapped friend -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIOR GELBAUM, SURVIVED ISRAEL MUSIC FESTIVAL ATTACK, FRIENDS KIDNAPPED AT ISRAEL MUSIC FESTIVAL, SPOKE WITH SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN LAST WEEK: We managed to escape but there are a lot of friends that didn't. And there are a lot of friends that are kept captive now in Gaza. And we were saved by miracles but there are friends that we love that weren't as lucky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Lior Gelbaum joins me now, along with her father, Eitan. Thank you so much for being here. And as we talk, I want to keep the picture up, as we can, of your friend Inbar so that everyone can see her face. I know you've just been pleading with the United States -- with anyone who will listen to help.

Can you take me back, Lior, to that conversation with the Secretary of State?

L. GELBAUM (via Webex by Cisco): Yes, of course. Good morning.

The meeting actually happened very spontaneously. Me, my boyfriend Khalil (PH), and our mothers went volunteering at the Brothers and Sisters in Arms organization donation center. We were packaging -- helping with the packaging. Then two Embassy representatives came up to us. They found out that we were survivors from the Nova Festival. They asked us if we would be willing to meet with Mr. Blinken.

A couple of hours later, we met him and it was amazing. It was really touching. I was very emotional. I had little time to practice what I wanted to say to him. So eventually, everything that I said came from the bottom of my heart. He was very touched.

I was very excited. I really felt him comforting me. I felt like he was a friend that cared for me and for us, and for my story. He cared and I could tell he was very emotional, too.

HARLOW: I'm so sorry that you lost David -- your dear friend -- as well. May his memory be a blessing, certainly.

I wonder for you, Lior, as you grapple with this -- the loss of your dear friend -- the hope that they will be able to find your dear friend and the fact that you survived it all. How does all of that weigh on you?

L. GELBAUM: It's complicated. It's frustrating. I care so much for Inbar and the almost 200 hostages that are held in Gaza. We don't know their situation. All I ask is they get medical care -- proper medical care. I ask for prayers for them and for us and just bring them home. We need them home. They're parents and children and brothers and sisters that were celebrating life in the Nova Festival.

And other people that were just in their houses. They were taken from their houses. It's really devastating and horrific.

HARLOW: And the way, Eitan, listening to your daughter speaking to Sec. Blinken -- the way she described a day of horror I think are the words that you used in what was supposed to be a joyous celebration across Israel. Certainly, a joyous celebration at the music festival. And Eitan, she talked about being saved by a miracle. Talk to us about what that was like when you got to hold your daughter again.

EITAN GELBAUM, FATHER OF ISRAEL MUSIC FESTIVAL SURVIVOR LIOR GELBAUM (via Webex by Cisco): So, that day we woke up we heard the sirens -- the rocket sirens around 7:00 a.m. and we knew that the daughter -- that the girls were at the party. And -- but this time the rockets -- the sound was a little bit more intense and it felt like this was a little bit different.

[07:35:05]

But the girls immediately texted us. They told us everything was fine and that they were on their way out.

And a few minutes later, we began seeing pictures of what to me looked like ISIS terrorists in the middle of towns in Southern Israel. At that point, I pretty much almost fainted because I understood that this was not just another attack but this was something much more significant. And then it dawned on me that the girls were exactly in that area.

My wife, Edna, was just sitting almost paralyzed. We were tracking them in real time trying to give them directions -- where to go. Trying to piece together some information that could be helpful for them.

And all this time I'm thinking my goodness, this is -- it's going to be a slaughter. It's an open area with thousands of people potentially surrounded by ISIS Hamas terrorists who have just one intention, which is to kill as many people as possible.

Now, for us, 90 minutes later, they called us from the police station where they managed to make it to. I'll say it was luck but a lot of very good decisions that they made. And just the nightmare that we went through for 90 minutes is nothing compared to the nightmare that the friends and families, and the hostages are going through every second and every moment since last Saturday.

HARLOW: Of course. I'm so -- we're all so grateful you have her back.

And Lior, I'll just echo what Sec. Blinken said to you. It is so brave and important that you have shared this story and continue to share this story because the world needs to hear it. Please keep us posted if you hear anything, of course, on Inbar, and thank you.

L. GELBAUM: Thank you.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Israeli soldiers are bracing for a potential deadly second front on the Lebanon border. CNN's Matthew Chance was given exclusive access to the front lines to see how those soldiers are preparing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Are you hopeful still that Hezbollah will stay out of this war?

LT. COLONEL "MK", ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: I hope there will be another front. We need to destroy Hezbollah.

CHANCE: You hope there will be another front?

MK: Yes.

CHANCE: You want the war?

MK: Yes.

CHANCE: Why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

BURNETT: We're live in Israel where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials again today. This is the second meeting in just a few days. Moments from now the two are expected to hold a joint news conference. All eyes around the world will be on that and what they say -- what's different from what was said just a few days ago.

It comes as humanitarian aid deliveries accumulate at Egypt's Rafah border crossing, so at the crossing -- not going into Gaza. That is where, of course, you've got two million people trapped -- so many trying to get out and not able to move in Gaza, including hundreds of Palestinian Americans. People with American citizenship.

[07:40:00]

And confusion continues over when that crossing will open and even if that crossing will open. Because we've been told multiple times that it's opening and it simply never has yet.

While Israel battles Hamas there, of course, are threats from the north where Israel has now built up a massive military presence as well because of threats from the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah coming from both Lebanon and Syria in the north.

Let's go to CNN's Matthew Chance who is live in Northern Israel. And Matthew, you've got this exclusive access to see this buildup -- a front line with Israel Defense Forces. Hundreds of thousands of troops down here. But they are building up a massive force to try to prevent a second front from opening up. It's been incredibly dangerous though where you are.

What have you seen?

CHANCE: Yeah, it is an incredibly dangerous, volatile area because it's here in Northern Israel that this conflict inside the country could really become a regional war if the step is taken by Hezbollah to throw its rockets over here into Israel towns like this one, Qiryat Shemona, not far from the Lebanese border. There's already been quite serious artillery exchanges and rocket fire from Hezbollah positions inside Lebanon.

And within the past few hours, the Israeli military has announced the evacuation of 28 villages -- Israeli settlements close to the Lebanese border because of the very dangerous security situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): They're bracing for a dangerous second front but we gained exclusive access to Israel's tense northern front.

CHANCE (on camera): Well the Israeli army have now sealed off a security zone -- some of the areas close to the Lebanese border -- because of the threat being posed. But they're taking us now to the closest period -- the closest place they can do that they say is safe to see the lay of the land.

CHANCE (voice-over): And that land is hostile. None of the Israeli soldiers here wanted their faces shown to hide their identities from Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militia with a vast arsenal, trained on these positions from across the border.

MK: We're ready. If they choose to come they'll make a huge mistake.

CHANCE (voice-over): "War with Hezbollah would be brutal," said this senior Israeli commander who asked not to be identified. "But is now also necessary," he told me.

CHANCE (on camera): Do you believe there will be a second front open here or are you hopeful still that Hezbollah will stay out of this war?

MK: I hope there will be another front. We need to destroy Hezbollah.

CHANCE (on camera): You hope there will be another front?

MK: Yes.

CHANCE (on camera): You want the war?

MK: Yes.

CHANCE (on camera): Why?

MK: What Hamas did in Gaza, it didn't come from nowhere. It came from Hezbollah. It came from Iran. And in order for us to stop what happened from Hamas we need to stop them also.

CHANCE (on camera): All right. Well, this is as close as the Israeli military say we can go.

Just across there is territory of Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia. And Israeli soldiers in this position in Israel tell us over the past few days there have been multiple attempts by Hezbollah fighters to penetrate the fence and to come into Israel but they've been fought back. If there is going to be a second front in this war in Israel the likelihood is it's going to start here.

CHANCE (voice-over): Already, there have been exchanges of fire forcing local Israelis to flee, terrified what happened in Israel's south could happen here, too.

NOGA, RESIDENT OF KIBBUTZ MISGAV AM: A terrorist attack of this scale has never happened --

CHANCE (on camera): Yeah. NOGA: -- and I'm --

CHANCE (on camera): Yeah.

NOGA: -- scared that -- I live on the border.

CHANCE (on camera): Yeah.

NOGA: What's to stop them from doing it here? And I want to be strong and I want to come back and live here but I need to think about my kids first.

CHANCE (voice-over): Back from the border, Israel is bolstering its forces with some of the 360,000 troops mobilized after the Hamas attacks last week. If war in the north is coming, Israel seems ready -- even bristling to fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Erin, after those brutal attacks from Gaza, I can tell you Israel is in no mood to compromise. Every one of the soldiers, the civilians here, the politicians that we've spoken to say that they will unleash destruction on Lebanon and anywhere else if a second front opens up here.

BURNETT: All right, Matthew Chance. Thank you very much from Northern Israel.

And some breaking developments from the White House at this hour. Priscilla Alvarez is there. And Priscilla, what are you learning right now?

[07:45:01]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Erin, just minutes ago, the White House announced that President Biden is postponing his trip to Colorado today where it was -- he was going to make a stop for his Investing in America tour. Instead, the White House says that President Biden will remain here for national security meetings.

Now, over the weekend, the president had been regularly updated by senior officials about the situation in Israel and Gaza. That will remain the case today.

Now, CNN has also reported, according to sources, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had invited President Biden to visit Israel soon and both countries were discussing the possibility, though it was unclear whether this trip will happen and how advanced those conversations have been. And when I've asked the White House about this they said that they have no new travel plans to announce.

But clearly, Erin, a lot of pressing issues ongoing in the region, be it the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the hostages being held by Hamas, and any -- and the White House hoping that this conflict does not widen or spread any further. We have not received an updated schedule for President Biden today but he will, instead, spend the day getting those national security meetings.

BURNETT: All right. Of course, the world does seem to be a bit on this precipice as we feel it here in Tel Aviv as well.

Priscilla Alvarez from the White House. Thank you so very much -- Phil

MATTINGLY: Thanks, Erin.

A 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in a brutal attack in an act the governor of Illinois calls, quote, "nothing short of evil." We're going to give you the shocking details of this hate crimes investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): My Republican colleagues have a simple choice.

KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, NBC "MEET THE PRESS": Yeah.

JEFFRIES: They can either double or triple down on the chaos, dysfunction, and extremism, or let's have a real conversation about changing the rules of the House.

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): And if the radical, almost just handful of people in the Republican side make it unable -- make is as unable to be able to return to general work on the House, then I think obviously a deal will have to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:50:00]

HARLOW: The House of Representatives still without a speaker. The House expected to vote on a speaker -- a speaker vote tomorrow, but it doesn't appear at this point, at least, like Republican nominee Jim Jordan has the support he needs to secure the gavel.

Republican strategist and former RNC communications director Doug Heye joins us, along with CNN political analyst and host of theGrio Weekly, Natasha Alford. Thanks both very much.

Doug, all -- you're the Republican on the -- you're the Republican strategist. Help us out here. I laugh but it's not funny at all in a moment like this for there to still be no speaker, and Jim Jordan doesn't look close.

Can those votes against him be swayed or is this going to end up in some sort of McHenry gets more power and the Democrats help out?

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I apologize, Poppy. I don't know how helpful I can be because every Republican member I talk to gives me a different answer or a lack of an answer. They just don't know what's going to happen not over the next week but over the next 24 to 36 hours. Obviously, Jim Jordan is pushing for a floor vote -- that does make some sense -- but it's not clear that he's going to get there.

And I can tell you from having worked in House leadership back in 2012 through 2014 when we would have things like defund this and let's shut down this, we would refer to those as "touch the stove" moments. That Republican members needed to touch the stove and learn that they'll get burned if they touch the stove that's hot. The reality is they've been leaning on the stove for a long time and they haven't gotten burned. At this point, they want to take over the oven and the entire kitchen and it's not clear if they will be able to do so yet.

MATTINGLY: Natasha, to that point -- I mean, they are literally pouring gasoline on themselves and just lighting themselves on fire at this point, and don't seem to be dissuaded by the burns at all.

Can you tell people why this matters, like, from a tangible perspective beyond the kind of hilarity of the ineptitude and the ridiculousness of the moment?

NATASHA ALFORD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, VICE PRESIDENT DIGITAL CONTENT AND HOST OF THEGRIO WEEKLY (via Webex by Cisco): I mean, Jim Jordan represents an extreme right-word move of the Republican Party. He is aligned with Donald Trump. This is a person who refused to certify electoral votes, right?

So when we're talking about the stakes for democracy right now this is -- this is the face of anti-Democratic new norms that are being set. And I think that's why there are so many GOP moderates who are not excited about this option. Who are resisting actively and they're saying no, we're not going to reward this move to the extreme. You were able to get McCarthy out. Well, we're going to hold our ground.

And just as Hakeem Jeffries called him an extremist extraordinaire, I think there are a lot of people on both sides who feel that way.

HARLOW: But this was interesting, Doug -- Jake's interview with Dan Crenshaw yesterday, who is a supporter of Jordan in this. He said that the tactic being taken by some of his fellow Republicans in the House is completely the wrong way to go. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): What I -- and what I would really recommend to Jordan's allies, too, is that a lot of them have mounted this high- pressure campaign. They're going to -- they're going to whip up Twitter against the people who are against Jordan. That is the dumbest way to support Jordan, and I'm supporting Jordan. The dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people and entrench them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Very subtle advice there, Doug --

HEYE: Yeah.

HARLOW: -- but is he right?

HEYE: I think to some extent, yes. And look, we've seen in the House Republican Conference over the past few weeks and you could argue over the past year that there's just a lack of trust between members. And we refer to these meetings that they're going to have today and they'll have tomorrow -- and by the way, when the House Republican Conference meets more than once a week or more than once a day, it is by definition bad news. Bad things are happening.

But there's a lack of trust. We call these things family meetings and the reality is what we're seeing play out right now is essentially, in a political way, mom and dad having the fight in front of the kids. And we don't know who is going to win that fight; we just know that it's going to spill out through Thanksgiving dinner and so forth, and it's going to be ugly. It's going to get worse before it gets better.

MATTINGLY: I mean, in my experience, usually the 1-year-old wins that fight regardless of who is actually battling.

HARLOW: I don't know. That's what happens in your house, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Always --

HARLOW: It's not what happens in my house.

MATTINGLY: I always lose regardless.

Natasha, we played some sound from Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader. Democrats have kind of held -- kept their powder dry in this very intentionally and tried to position themselves as this has played out.

Where do you think they go as these days continue to pass along?

ALFORD: Well, again, I mentioned Hakeem Jeffries' eloquent, sort of, description of Jim Jordan as a defender of dysfunction -- extremist extraordinaire.

I think they're sort of reveling in this moment. But at the same time, the fact that there are some moderate Democrats who proposed empowering Patrick McHenry to get things done. To bring certain legislation to the floor so there is aid for Ukraine and Israel. Extending government funding. We have November 17 coming. I mean, there's so -- there's only so long that you can revel in that dysfunction before you have to figure out what is the game plan to get things done.

[07:55:05]

So we're hearing conversation about that. Obviously, Matt Gaetz not happy about that. He just wants to get to a vote for Jim Jordan.

But yes, Democrats eventually have to show that governing is the most important thing, and I think that is what they're trying to figure out right now.

MATTINGLY: I'm sure we will have to talk about this again for many more days.

Doug Heye, Natasha Alford, we appreciate your time as always. Thanks, guys.

HEYE: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. We're also standing by to hear from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He is in Jerusalem. He is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We're going to likely hear from Blinken soon. We're monitoring all of it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL)

MATTINGLY: This morning, investigators in the Chicago area are investigating a horrific attack on a 6-year-old boy and his mother. The local sheriff's office says their landlord, seen here, targeted them because they were Muslims. That landlord is now facing first- degree murder and hate crime charges after he reportedly stabbed the 6-year-old child 26 times, killing him, and seriously injuring his mother.

CNN's Whitney Wild is live for us in Chicago. A 6-year-old child -- I can't put words to it. What's the latest on the investigation?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so true, Phil. I mean, you think of these words -- horrible, tragic, unfair, sad. I mean, these words just seem to not do the horror of this justice. It's just not enough to describe how terrible this is.

Here's what police described happened Saturday. They said they got a call about a stabbing. When they arrived they found the suspect outside near the family's driveway.

And when they walked in, Phil, what they found was just -- I mean, it was just unspeakable. They found the two -- the two victims in a bedroom. The mother had been stabbed more than a dozen times. The little boy had been stabbed 26 times.

They were both rushed to the hospital. The mother is expected to survive. That little boy, sadly, was killed in this incident.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is helping the family through this time, and here is what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED REHAB, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS IN CHICAGO: He was a lovely boy who loved his family, his friends. He loved soccer. He loved basketball. And he paid the price for the atmosphere of hate. He has no clue about these larger issues happening in the world but he was made to pay for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Police are saying that this man is being charged with hate crimes. They did not describe the reasons for that other than to say that through the course of the investigation -- the evidence they reviewed, the interviews they conducted -- led them to believe that those charges were correct.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, though, did release more details, saying that the mother had texted the father from the hospital. Here is how they described what she saw. She -- they say that The landlord who had been angry with what he was seeing in the news

knocked on their door, and when she opened, he tried to choke her and proceeded to attack.