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CNN This Morning

Israel Tanks, Troops Line Gaza Border For Possible Incursion; Egypt's Red Crescent: 17 And Aid Trucks Ready To Cross Into Gaza; Israel Prepares To Send Enormous Force Into Gaza; Gaza Crisis Summit In Egypt Ends With No Agreement; Biden Attributes Aid Entry Into Gaza To Diplomatic Efforts; Calls For More Aid After Trucks Deliver Supplies; House Republicans Scrambling To Appoint New Speaker; Speakership Battle Continues To Paralyze The House; Nearly Three Weeks Ago, Kevin McCarthy Was Fired By House GOP; Israel At War; Danger Grows At Israel's Northern Border; CNN Travels To Kibbutz Near Gaza Targeted By Hamas; IDF: Hezbollah Playing A Dangerous Game With Israel. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 22, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:01:07]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good morning to you and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, October 22. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: And I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

As the war in Israel enters its third week, thousands of Israeli troops and armored vehicles are at the Gaza border ready to strike Hamas at any moment. On Saturday, the Israeli military said its bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza will become even more relentless as they prepare for a ground incursion. Civilians in northern Gaza are being warned by Israel once again to evacuate south or they might be considered, quote, "a partner for the terrorist organization".

BLACKWELL: The U.S. is also stepping up its defenses in the region. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday the U.S. military will deploy additional missile defense systems to the Middle East and place American troops on standby to deploy at a moment's notice.

Now in southern Gaza, Egypt's Red Crescent says 17 aid trucks carrying food and medicine are prepared to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. Humanitarian workers inside Gaza are calling for more aid to be let through. They say the 20 trucks that crossed into Gaza Saturday are just not enough.

CNN's Scott McLean joins us now from London. So we're hearing from the truck drivers on the Egyptian side of that border crossing. What do they say?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, yes, my colleague on the Egyptian side has had a chance to speak to them. And look, they say that they are hopeful that they will be able to get in and be able to deliver the aid that they have in their cargo. But frankly, this is something that is well beyond their control.

You have to have the Israelis and Hamas and the Egyptians all on the same page for anything to get through that border and it has been pretty difficult up to this point. As you mentioned, 20 trucks got through yesterday. But the Palestinians say that, look, there are normally 500 trucks worth of supplies going in to Gaza every single day to supply the essential to the 2 million plus people who actually live there.

And at this point, we know that there are 17 trucks ready to go inside of Gaza. But we have seen no evidence of any movement across the border thus far.

You also have this situation, the U.N. saying that some 60 percent of health facilities in Gaza have shut either because of damage or because they're running out of fuel. And we know that fuel for generators at hospitals is running low according to some of the organizations on the ground.

And yet in the last shipment yesterday, there was food, there was water, there were medical supplies, but fuel was not included. And there's no expectation that it will be included today based on what we know thus far either.

WALKER: And tell us more about these flyers that were sent by the IDF warning civilians in the -- is it this abroad neighborhood of Gaza City to evacuate?

MCLEAN: Yes. So these flyers sent dropped on a northern Gaza is something that the Israelis had been famous for, essentially warning people before they bomb something or telling people to evacuate and they've been dropped several times. Now the most recent one was yesterday.

But the wording of this particular leaflet or flyer is raising a lot of eyebrows and I'll read it to you. It says, "Urgent warning to the residents of Gaza Strip. Your president -- your presence in north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Everyone who chose to not evacuate from the north of the strip to the south of Wadi Gaza might be considered as a part for the terrorist organization".

Now, the IDF has confirmed that it dropped the flyers but it says that it, quote, "has no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the area fighting as a member of the terrorist group." Saying that it does not target civilians.

It also says that the translation of this that it spread online is imprecise, though it didn't clarify what it meant. That translation that I just read you there is CNN's translation, not anything else.

[07:05:01]

It's important to point out that, look, there are many people in the northern part of Gaza that has been told to evacuate because, for instance, perhaps they are in the hospital. Hospitals there have said, look, we don't have the means to safely evacuate some of these critically injured people. You also have civilians who are sheltering in those hospitals.

And frankly, Victor and Amara, even if you were to be able to make your way south of this line that the Israelis have drawn, we are still seeing strikes south of that line on a daily basis. And the consequences as we're seeing people show up the hospitals and morgues fill up are absolutely, you know, the hard to describe. It's pretty terrifying.

BLACKWELL: One more for you, CNN's analysis of the images and the videos that show the bombing of the hospital in northern Gaza, what did they find?

MCLEAN: Yes. So they went through reviewed dozens of videos, live broadcasts from the time of the bombing. They also, you know, went through the footage of our own photographer who went to the aftermath, spoke to weapons and explosives experts to try to get some kind of consensus on what the most likely scenario was.

And the conclusion that they've drawn, though not with any certainty, is that the most likely scenario is that this was, in fact, a rocket launched from inside of Gaza that had broken up midair and then dropped on the hospital.

One of the pieces of evidence that it looked at in particular was actually a live broadcast on Al Jazeera Arabic at the time, which showed something being fired from Gaza exploding in the air and then a subsequent explosion once it actually hits the ground.

Experts also look at the crater on the side of the hospital complex there and say that, look, this was far too small to be from any kind of explosive that would have been dropped from an Israeli aircraft. But, obviously, they can't be certain unless they've been able to examine shrapnel or other things from the site and actually get on the site themselves.

Even if this were true, and the Israelis were not responsible, though, and again, no one can be certain at this point, the reality is that many in the Arab world have already made up their minds. The Jordanian Foreign Minister perhaps summed it up best when he said last week after this happened that, look, good luck trying to find anyone in this part of the world who is -- believes the Israelis at this stage of the game.

BLACKWELL: Scott McLean, thank you so much.

So the Israeli military has prepared an enormous fighting force poised on the border with Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on the pending Israeli operation.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, in case there was any question that Israel intends to go into Gaza strip with troops a ground invasion, those questions are being put to rest this evening by Israel's military chief of staff. The top general saying, quote, "We will enter the Gaza Strip."

What he is also telling his troops is their mission. And he says that it is to, quote, "destroy Hamas operatives and infrastructure". Now these comments add to others by the defense minister, by the Israeli prime minister, all making clear that a ground invasion is certainly approaching.

Now on the ground, what we also see are the signs of a potentially imminent ground invasion as well. As we were driving along the Gaza Strip today, within about 8 kilometers or so of the Gaza Strip, what we found was not one, not two, but four different groupings of dozens of tanks, armored personnel carriers, as well as these D9 bulldozers, which the Israeli military uses ahead of ground troops to try and dig up and set off any potential IEDs as well as any other obstacles that may be in the way of those forces.

Now, put together these four groupings that we saw in just about 1 square mile of an area represented hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as those bulldozers and there were also infantry troops positions along the way.

Now, the only question appears to be exactly when the Israeli military will move forward with this invasion. Certainly Hamas seems to continue to be dangling the possibility of additional hostages being released as one way to try and delay this ground invasion. But Israel's military continues to insist that it will move forward at a time and place of its choosing.

And in line with that, Israeli military officials now say that they are increasing their strikes that they're intensifying those strikes in order to try and minimize the risk to their own troops when they move in on the ground. But the question of what the impact will be on Gaza civilians who have already suffered so much in two weeks of bombardment by Israeli forces, more than 1,600 children are believed to have died according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

That question of civilian casualties still remains going forward. Israel's military has directed civilians to move out of the northern part of the Gaza Strip and to move south. And when I spoke with a Special Forces commander just the other day, this commander said that civilians have been directed out of those areas and he said, quote, "Anyone who has chosen to stay there has chosen aside."

[07:10:14]

Indicating to his troops that any person who remains in that area could potentially be an enemy and could potentially be a target. Now, at the same time, that commander said that his troops will still try and avoid civilian casualties. But those comments and the broader specter of this war and how it has already impacted civilians inside of Gaza certainly raises the possibility of a very bloody time, bloody days, bloody weeks ahead.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Ashkelon.

WALKER: All right. With us now is retired Major General Dana Pittard. He is the author of the book, "Hunting the Caliphate". Good morning to you, Major. Appreciate you -- Major General, appreciate you joining us this morning. I think you say the IDF wants to achieve a tactical surprise against Hamas. And I'm just wondering how much of that surprise element is possible knowing that Hamas has been expecting and preparing for this ground offensive from Israel?

MAJ. GENERAL DANA PITTARD, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning, Amara and Victor. You know, achieving tactical surprise is certainly not going to be easy. Obviously, strategically, not only Hamas and Gaza, but the world knows that Israel is going to be attacking on the ground at some point.

You know, operations have obviously already begun with the fighter bomber attacks, the artillery attacks, the bombardment of Gaza, the largest that we've seen.

And Israel is trying to cut off the head of Hamas, get to the leaders, the command and control nodes. They're using psychological operations, intelligence operations, all sorts of things prior to the actual ground incursion.

So the Israelis are trying to pick the time of their choosing and the place. I mean, they'll tack from the north, from the east and possibly from the sea. And that's how they will attempt to achieve some level of tactical surprise.

WALKER: You know, we've seen so many images of the civilians who have moved to southern Gaza, as they have been warned to do so by the IDF including these latest around flyers that were sent into Gaza City.

And, of course, you know, eyebrows have been raised regarding the warning that, you know, those who do not evacuate might be considered a partner for the terrorist organization, that was according to our translation here at CNN. But for those who have evacuated or intend to evacuate soon, I mean, is the south much safer?

PITTARD: Well, obviously, the North is where the majority of at least initial fighting will take place. The south may, in fact, be safer, especially as Gazan citizens move through the Egyptian checkpoints. But something that you mentioned, as far as the guidance, if that translation is accurate, as a former commander of fighting ISIS, I don't think I like that.

The idea that you will say that the civilians, if they remain there would be considered combatants, is not good. Because what that can do is, is mean that citizens will be killed, and it'd be justified, that well, they stayed there, so they must have been combatants. That is not -- that's not good guidance to our troops.

WALKER: Let me ask you about the hostages. You know, of course, there was a sliver of hope when we saw the mother and daughter from Chicago who were released by Hamas. How will this ground invasion, number one, impact the being -- the state of being for the hostages? And do you expect the IDF troops to go underground into these tunnels to try to extract the hostages?

PITTARD: Well, obviously, the -- trying to rescue the hostages is caused the IAF to pause to an extent because they're trying to find where they are. So that's why the intelligence operations are so, so important. What Hamas has done is really manipulate the world by releasing the two American hostages, which is encouraging and like to see that, the family from Illinois getting their loved ones back.

But there's a couple 100 hostages still remaining. The fight is going to be a tough fight. I've been to Gaza. It is densely populated, teeming with people. The initial incursion, Israeli troops will be fighting in urban conditions. Block by block, street by street, building by building.

[07:15:01]

It'll be subterranean with nearly 300 miles of tunnels that Hamas has built over the last decade or so. It'll be on the ground with booby traps at every turn and ambushes and also clearly, in the high rise buildings too. So it'd be three dimensional on the ground as Israelis fight through to destroy Hamas.

But they still must destroy Hamas. And after Hamas, that's the biggest difficulty is, what is the post-Hamas Gaza look like?

WALKER: And that is the question, isn't it? But as you said, the troops will be facing something quite risky going street to street, building to building, and obviously, rubble to rubble. And I'm sure that will present challenges as well.

Major General Dana Pittard, appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: A Gaza crisis summit in Cairo, Egypt ended on Saturday without an agreement because of differences they say. Arab leaders had gathered to try to stop a growing escalation of the situation in Gaza and to try to protect its civilians.

Now, in his opening remarks, Jordan's King Abdullah railed against Israel's bombing campaign he calls it a war crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: All civilian lives matter. My friends, I am outraged and grieved by those acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, in the West Bank, and Israel. The relentless bombing campaign underway in Gaza, as we speak, is cruel and unconscionable on every level.

It is collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people. It is a flagrant violations of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: There were no Israeli or senior U.S. officials at that summit. Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister said it was unfortunate that some of those attending had difficulty condemning terrorism.

Still to come, President Biden is pressing Congress for a $105 billion package that includes aid for Israel and Ukraine. Coming up, the additional steps being taken by the White House to address the growing crisis.

Plus, CNN goes inside one of the first kibbutzim to be attacked by Hamas more than two weeks ago. The message from those left to bury their loved ones there.

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[07:21:33]

BLACKWELL: Nearly 40 tons of medical aid and disaster relief supplies for Gaza left India for Egypt this morning. This is according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.

WALKER: Despite the Rafah crossing opening for a short time yesterday to allow trucks with a 20 trucks to be exact to pass through, it remains unclear if or when the border will reopen today.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joining us now with how President Biden is responding to the humanitarian efforts. Priscilla?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, in a statement just yesterday, the President attributed this two days of diplomatic engagement at the highest level. Of course, these aid tracks passing through happened on the heels of President Biden's trip to Israel as well as Secretary of State Antony Blinken's high stakes shuttle diplomacy over the last several days.

Now in a statement, the President went on to know that this is a critical and urgent need saying, quote, "I made it clear from the outset of this crisis in both my public statements and private conversations that humanitarian assistance was a critical and urgent need that had to get moving. And I express my deep personal appreciation for the leadership of President Al-Sisi of Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and the United Nations to allow them the resumption of this assistance".

And of course, we should also mention that President Biden did speak with Egypt's president this week where the two agreed for this crossing to be open. But, of course, this remains a challenge. We have heard from aid organizations who have welcomed the aid trucks that have been able to pass into Gaza so far, but they note that this can only be the beginning. They still need so much more.

So the White House still working on trying to facilitate that working with their counterparts in the region while also keeping a focus on getting Palestinian-Americans out of Gaza, which they have still not been able to do. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Priscilla Alvarez for us, thanks so much.

Joining us now is Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Thank you for being with us. Let me start with the 17 trucks in Egypt waiting at the Rafah crossing, hoping to get into Gaza. Our reporters have spoken with those truck drivers say they're optimistic. What can you tell us about what's on the trucks and the probability that they'll get across that border today?

NEBAL FARSAKH, SPOKESPERSON, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: Good evening. Thanks for having me. So yes, as you highlighted, there's dozens of trucks who are still waiting at Rafah crossing border waiting to get into Gaza. What we have received up to now is 20 trucks, hoping this will be a glimpse of hope to the entry of the rest of trucks because 20 trucks is only like a drop in the ocean of needs.

We still need a lot in terms of food, even water. 2 million Palestinian civilians now are with no food or even water besides electricity, as well as not only one hospital. All hospitals in Gaza are witnessing a collapse status, having shortages and medicine, medical supplies, as well as running out of fuel. And, by the way, fuel was not also delivered by the first shipment of the humanitarian aid, which included food, water, medical supply and medicine, but not fuel.

WALKER: Are you getting any indication as to when if at all there will be a sustained delivery of aid into Gaza.

[07:25:09]

FARSAKH: So basically, all international organizations, along with countries have been working view to all the last week long to get the aid. And hopefully now after this aid was already in to continue working and advocating for the entry of a humanitarian aid, this should not be a one time.

We need a humanitarian corridor to allow the entry of medical supplies and the humanitarian aid all the time in a safe way to guarantee to fulfill the needs of the humanitarian situation now in Gaza, because the humanitarian situation is literally catastrophic, whether in terms of extreme shortages of food and water, or even hospitals who are now running out of, if you will.

And without a fuel, simply, we -- all hospitals can't operate. And cutting electricity means killing thousands of Palestinian civilians who were injured and now inside the hospitals. So all of the aid does not include the fuel. That's why we still count on the international community to keep advocating for the entry of the humanitarian aid, not only from Rafah crossing border, but from all borders controlled from the Israelis.

Because Israel, as an occupying power, has a responsibility to ensure to provide the essential needs for civilians in Gaza, as well as hospitals who are implementing their health care, worker services. And this should be not continued healthcare facilities and hospitals along with civilians, should not pay the price and should be protected and respected according to the IHL

BLACKWELL: That the Israelis concern is that the fuel if it gets in will make it to Hamas. Let me ask you about the latest leaflets dropped by IDF that -- and the Israelis contest this CNN translation, but it is that if Palestinians do not move south, they may be seen partners of the terrorist. What can you tell us about your organization's ability to provide aid to Northern Gaza, if the order from the the IDF is to move south? We know that there are still many thousands of Palestinians who are in northern Gaza.

FARSAKH: Yes. Let me clarify something in the target area where Israel threatened to be evacuated. Around 1,200,000 Palestinians who are live in the Gaza and the north, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were still stuck in Gaza, in their homes, or in schools or even hospitals. They couldn't find their way to evacuate themselves, simply because Israel asking people to evacuate themselves under continuous bombardment.

Besides there is no transportation, complete destruction of the roads and infrastructure. So absolutely, they have no way to go to. They don't have an option to choose either. It's the same case for hospitals because Israel not only asking civilians to evacuate themselves under continuous bombardment, evacuation orders from Israeli occupation forces for around 24 hospital in Gaza, in the north to evacuate, which are absolutely impossible to implement.

WHO has announced that evacuation orders for hospitals are impossible to implement and they constitute a death penalty for patients. Our hospital is one of the hospitals that has received the evacuation order. We have 500 patients, some of them in the intensive care unit, and we will not be able --

WALKER: Sure.

FARSAKH: -- and accept to risk the lives of our patients.

WALKER: Yes.

FARSAKH: Most of them are children.

WALKER: Sure. I mean, and possible situation for those hospitals as well.

Nebal Farsakh, thank you very much.

And for more information about how you can help the humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza, go to cnn.com/impact or text relief to 707070 to donate. You will find a list of vetted organizations responding in the region. Again, that's cnn.com/impact.

BLACKWELL: Another week of chaos and confusion on Capitol Hill. Half a dozen House Republicans now looking to be speaker but does any one of them have the support they need to get that gavel. Coming up, we'll look at who's running so far.

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[07:33:39]

BLACKWELL: Republicans have about four and a half hours now to officially declare whether they are going to be candidates for House speaker. More GOP candidates are putting their name in the hat now that Jim Jordan's name is out of it. So far, we have Congressman Mike Johnson, Kevin Hern, Austin Scott, Jack Bergman, Tom Emmer and Byron Donalds.

CNN National Political Reporter Daniel Strauss is joining us from Washington. Daniel, good morning to you. All right. So, the majority whip, Tom Emmer, he has the endorsement from Former Speaker McCarthy. Is he the assumed frontrunner here? And tell us about him. His name is not as recognizable as others.

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: No, and he's a former NRCC chair. But look, the pattern overall here is that none of these -- there is no definitive frontrunner in this race to be speaker. And the feeling on Capitol Hill right now is that if any -- if you want to be speaker, if you have thought about it and you're in the Republican caucus, why not give it a try right now?

I have never seen anything like this. There is no real clear outcome coming out of this, and there is no real clear end to this. We don't know what's going to happen or how -- who could emerge in the end. There is no clear frontrunner or leader.

[07:35:00]

Unlike in the past where you saw with, say, Paul Ryan, that even though he said he wasn't interested, there was -- there were forces pushing him and his ambition was also driving him. It's not the case here.

BLACKWELL: So, the threshold to win the nomination is just a simple majority? And if you have got half a dozen candidates and that could grow before the noon deadline, I guess, you know, you could get the nomination with 45 votes, but I guess it makes more sense now to count the absolute nos. Are there enough absolute nos to an Emmer nomination that this could be an upset again if he gets to the floor for a full vote?

STRAUSS: I mean, that's hard to say right now simply because we saw with Jim Jordan's attempts to become speaker that there are various factions within the Republican Party that are scheming out how to stagger their votes over multiple rounds. And that suggests to any observer that there is sort of a three-dimensional chess going on right now against any candidate who could emerge. And look, Emmer is not the consensus candidate. So, it's really unclear at this moment.

BLACKWELL: Trump ally Byron Donald, he received some votes in several rounds of the 15-vote -- round votes for McCarthy back in January. At least one in the last Jordan round. He is a confirmed candidate for this nomination. What is his viability here?

STRAUSS: His viability is simply that he is considered part of the next generation of Republican leaders and he is, you know, associated with Donald Trump in a real way. That's pretty appealing now. We are not in the era of the '90s or early ATS (ph) Republican Party where the technocrat and then establishment Republican is the clear consensus or strong candidate. It's one who has the support of the grassroots. And someone like Donald's fits right -- very well in that category right now.

BLACKWELL: He worked for Jim Jordan though. I mean, he had Trump's actual endorsement for speaker and couldn't get it. For as much criticism as Kevin McCarthy received for the deal making back in January to eventually win the gavel, it was ultimately one of those deals that led to his demise, giving the power to just one member of the conference to call for that vote to vacate the chair. Is that what's required in this iteration of the conference that you have got to make these deals considering what we saw with Scalise and Jordan and still watching this morning?

STRAUSS: What's pretty clear is that the longer this process goes on, the more untenable some kind of motion to vacate deal is. And if you are a candidate for speaker, what you want is to have the kind of leverage where you can say, I will only take this job if there is no situation like the one that McCarthy inevitably had to come to terms with to become speaker.

So, I -- right now, if the question is, does any candidate, is there a majority in this caucus that is willing to see the power to just get their preferred speaker into office.

BLACKWELL: Daniel Strauss, good to see you. Thank you.

And of course, we will have more on the fight for speaker coming up later this morning on "State of the Union," that's at 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, a warning from Israel after Hezbollah launched attacks from Lebanon. The latest on the growing tensions at Israel's northern border.

And tonight, at 10:00 on CNN, how did Hamas pull off its surprise attack on Israel? "The Whole Story" explores the history of this secretive and dangerous terror group.

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[07:43:11]

BLACKWELL: It's a settlement near Gaza that was hit when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel. Journalists were not able to go inside the kibbutz in Southern Israel for security reasons until now.

WALKER: Signs of the attack are still all around. So, we have to warn you, some of this video is really tough to watch. CNN's Anderson Cooper has a story from Nir Oz.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voiceover): Nir Oz was one of the first kibbutz seen attacked on October 7th by Hamas gunmen. Security cameras recorded some of them entering armed with automatic weapons and RPGs. When we visited Nir Oz this week, the carnage was clear. No family, no home here was untouched by terror. People's possessions are strewn all around, left behind by men who looted and killed for more than seven hours.

The silence now sounds sickening. A breeze blows through broken windows, flies buzz in the debris. The residents who survived are gone. Only some cats have returned. Every home, it seems, has been defiled. Family photos remain on the fridge. The people who lived here hid in their safe room. Lucky for them, the door held strong.

COOPER: You can tell gunmen tried to pry this door open. This handle is nearly been pulled off from tugging it. They weren't able. The lock held. It looks like they tried to pry open the door as well. You can fit your hand through here. They can just maybe look in, but couldn't actually break through this door.

COOPER (voiceover): Around back, we checked the window of the safe room. Inside, the bed and sheets are soaked with blood. One member of the family who hid here was wounded, but he and they survived. But according to the IDF, about a quarter of the 400 people who lived in Nir Oz are dead or missing.

[07:45:00]

COOPER: In another house in this kibbutz, gunmen broke in and murdered a woman named Bracha Levinson. They not only killed her, they got access to her Facebook account and they live streamed an image of her lying in a pool of blood on the ground so that her friends and family to could see.

COOPER (voiceover): This is Bracha Levinson, she was 74 years old. Her neighbors, Adina and David Moshe, were also in their 70s. They had lived in Nir Oz for more than 50 years. We found their home completely torched. Dishes were still in the dishwasher. They hid in their safe room when the gunmen came. Her granddaughter, Anat, says Adina messaged her family they were OK.

ANAT MOSHE SHOSHANY, GRANDMOTHER KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: My grandmother was a very, very strong -- she didn't want us to be panicked. They were --

COOPER: They're worried about you in that moment?

SHOSHANY: Yes, she is this kind of woman. She always take care of us.

COOPER (voiceover): But inside the safe room, there was reason to panic. A pool of dried blood evidence of what happened. David Moshe was shot and killed here, holding onto the door handle to prevent the gunmen from getting in.

SHOSHANY: He was a hero. He was shot. So, there are three gunshots on the door, they had succeeded to break through the door.

COOPER (voiceover): Their attackers dragged Adina Moshe out through the safe room window. She later appeared in this video posted online sandwiched between gunmen on a motorbike in Gaza. Some of the missing have been found, the bodies of 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her 13- year-old granddaughter Noya were identified this week. Her former son- in-law, Affer (ph) Kalderon is still missing, as are two of his children, Sahar and Erez (ph).

This video shows Erez being dragged away by gunmen. One of whom appears to have blood on his hand. We geolocated where the video was shot.

COOPER: This is the last known location of Erez (ph) Kalderon . He was 12 years old. He was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and he was videotaped as they were dragging him away in this direction. This is the fence to the kibbutz, and Gaza is only about a mile and a half away. You can see an explosion that's just taken place in Gaza off in the distance. So, the gunmen didn't have far to take him in order to get him back into Gaza.

There is video of Sheri Babas (ph) being kidnapping as well. Clutching her two children Arielle (ph) and Kafar (ph). Her husband is missing, too. We talked to her cousin last week.

YIFAT ZALLER, COUSIN KIDNAPPED: I want my family back. Please, I want my family back. I try to be strong and stoic and speak clearly, but I am devastated.

COOPER (voiceover): All of the families of Nir Oz are devastated. David Moshe was buried there this week. His granddaughter, Anat, wanted us to see a video that was played at his funeral. It's from a celebration at the kibbutz earlier this year.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COOPER (voiceover): That's David singing. He is then joined by other members of the kibbutz.

SHOSHANY: He is singing the first sentence, this is what the song means. Time will fix all that breaks, that's the message. And you're allowed to be afraid and you're allowed to be sad. But tomorrow we can rebuild and recover.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:08]

WALKER: Turning to the threat on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, The IDF says the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is playing a very dangerous game and could drag Lebanon into a war.

BLACKWELL: IDF spokesperson says that Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli positions near the Lebanese border and is escalating the situation and that there could have been -- or rather have been both civilian and military casualties.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Northern Israel. Matthew, what is the situation there? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well -- hi, Victor. It's very tense and it has been for the past week or so since there's been an Israeli troop buildup. Not just in the south of Israel as preparations continue to possibly enter the Gaza Strip, but also up here in the north of the country where there is a great deal of concern. And that concern is mounting that Hezbollah, the Iranian- backed militia in Lebanon, may decide to intervene in that conflict and really start striking in earnest positions here in Northern Israel.

Already the Israeli military say that Hezbollah attacks over the course of the past week or so have been stepping up. They've been escalating in terms of drone attacks, in terms of anti-tank missiles being fired at the fence, in terms of infiltration of Hezbollah fighters and Palestinian militant fighters as well in areas of Southern Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah, coming across, sort of, striking at Israeli positions.

There have been injuries already, both Israeli military casualties and Israeli civilians as well. Also, I mean, I think this is key, the entire area of Northern Israel now, certain -- vast waves (ph) of it have been evacuated by Israeli civilians to allow for the military to impose a security zone up here. And that's meant that hundreds of thousands of Israelis, if you take into account how many people have left their homes in the south of Israel as well because of the Hamas attacks there have now been displaced.

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And so, that's obviously a matter of urgent concern for the Israeli authorities. What the Israeli military are saying now is that Hezbollah, that militia in Southern Lebanon, is playing a very, "Dangerous game by continuing these attacks." And is basically what they're saying is dragging Lebanon into a war that it is going to lose because Israel has made no secret about the fact that it is ready for a massive Hezbollah strike into Northern Israel, and will strike back in kind. And so, that's a message they're very much wanting to put out there. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Matthew Chance for us in Northern Israel. Thank you, Matthew.

WALKER: Up next, we're going to have more on the trucks loaded with aid now entering Gaza.

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