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Israel Defense Forces Expand Ground Operations in Gaza; Israeli Forces Hit Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon; United Nations Aid Workers in Gaza Say Hunger and Desperation Accelerating and Civil Order Breaking Down. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 30, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The insurrection applies to this January 6th event, and Trump is culpable. Whether or not people choose to discard the Constitution for partisan political purposes, you're right. Could that happen? Absolutely. Should it happen and is that idealistic to point out that it's in the Constitution? No, because laws matter, the Constitution matters, an attempt to overturn our democracy matters, and its runs smack into the 14th Amendment, which says that folks can't hold office if they've tried --

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: I regret to inform you that we are officially out of time. I hope somebody has a GoPro to follow you guys into the green room.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We have a whole other hour.

MATTINGLY: Have them do this for the next hour, it would be good T.V. John, Elie, thanks, guys. To be continued, as always.

CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

Well, good morning, everyone. I'm Phil Mattingly with Poppy Harlow. It is 8:00 a.m. here in New York, 2:00 p.m. in Gaza, where right now Israel is ramping up its ground assault with tanks and infantry pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip. Overnight, Israeli said more troops were sent into Gaza and dozens of Hamas fighters were killed.

HARLOW: This morning we are seeing another round of heavy air strikes and artillery pound Gaza as the fighting rages on the ground. Iran is now accusing Israel of crossing red lines, and the White House is warning there is a real risk of this war spreading into a wider conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: And we, of course, are taking every measure necessary to protect our forces, to increase our vigilance, and to work with other countries in the region to try to keep this conflict that is currently in Israel and Gaza from spinning out into a regional conflict. But the risk is real, and therefore our vigilance is high and the steps that we are taking to deter that and prevent that are serious, systemic, and ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Meanwhile in Gaza, the United Nations' aid workers say hunger and desperation are accelerating and civil order is breaking down. A senior Israeli official says his country has agreed to allowed 100 trucks with humanitarian aid to start crossing into Gaza. That is just a fraction of the over 450 trucks that used to cross into Gaza daily before the war.

Jeremy Diamond starts us off this hour in southern Israel. Jeremy, you are actually seeing some of the damage inside of Gaza. Is that right?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Poppy. Our photojournalist Mattia (ph) Sum (ph) was able to get a closer look from this position where we are at some of the damage in Beit Hanoun, which in the northeastern most city inside of Gaza, where we know that Israeli troops have been operating. And you can see in some of this footage some of the destruction to the buildings in that area.

What we've also been watching over the last several hours is heavy artillery fire directed at the Gaza Strip. We've been seeing flares going up and smoke from the Gaza Strip. And what we've also been hearing over the last several hours includes drones, helicopters, and heavy machine gun fire, indicating active battles between Israeli troops and Hamas militants inside of Gaza. Now, the IDF told us that overnight, they killed dozens of terrorists in buildings and tunnels inside of Gaza as they've been operating now. And this expanded ground operation is entering its fourth day now.

Over the course of these last several of days, the IDF said that they struck over 600 targets in recent days, which includes weapons depots and dozens of anti-tank missile launching points. It's been interesting to watch the way in which they've been operating. We were anticipating the possibility of an overwhelming large ground invasion with hundreds of thousands of troops going into Gaza. That is not what we have seen thus far. Instead, they appear to be methodically going after some of these reinforced positions that Hamas fighters have prepared in anticipation of an Israeli ground offensive inside of Gaza.

But we are learning now that the forces are operating not only in northern Gaza, northeastern Gaza, which is right behind me here, but also south of Gaza City. A video just came out showing an Israeli tank in southern Gaza City on a main road there, apparently firing on passenger vehicles, according to a Palestinian freelance journalist in the city. We can actually see in the video that tank operating and appearing to fire on passenger vehicles. So this is very much an ongoing, very dynamic situation, and the IDF says that they're going to continue to expand these operations, continue to add more troops inside of Gaza and these operations continue. Poppy, Phil?

HARLOW: Jeremy Diamond, thank you for the reporting from Sderot. We appreciate it. Phil? MATTINGLY: Poppy, it's been interesting as, you listen to people like National Security Adviser Hake Sullivan talk about the very real risks of escalation, something the U.S. has moved over the course of the last several weeks to try and prevent with forced posture, with comments both publicly and privately to countries like Iran, if you look around the region what's happening right now, you will understand why that risk is considered to evaluated according to U.S. officials I've been talking to.

[08:05:02]

We talked earlier in the show to Jim Sciutto on the ground near the Lebanon border. Over the course of the last couple of days, IDF says it struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, strikes followed rockets and missile fire from Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah, which is a better-armed, also financed organization by Iran, is a major, major concern of potentially opening up a second front.

What about Syria, which is also a key player in all of this right now? Well, over the course of the last 24 hours, the IDF says it struck military infrastructure in Syrian territory. A U.S. base in the area was attacked in Syria. No injures, no damage.

What you have here is two issues. You have the Syrian military itself, the IDF, hitting infrastructure there. You also have Iranian proxies based in Syria that are now attacking U.S. troops, have done so about a half dozen or more times over the course of the last several weeks.

What about Russia? It's been a little bit of a silent player here? Not exactly. Over the weekend, we had a Hamas delegation actually head into Moscow to have talks with senior Russian and Iranian officials, where Iran is also moving parts, trying to talk to their proxies, playing a huge role here. Russia as well is something U.S. officials are keeping an eye on.

So the regional allies are something that the U.S. officials have been constantly on the phone with, the president, his national security adviser, his top aides. This is also a major, major play, including the fact that Saudi Arabia, their defense minister is actually going to be in Washington to meet with National Security Council, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday, a critical Gulf region player that will have to play a role in any kind of outcome that U.S. officials acknowledge.

What about Egypt? The president has constantly been on the phone with President El Sisi, including yesterday. The two leaders committed to the significant acceleration and increase in assistance flowing into Gaza beginning today, that was yesterday, and then continuously. It's at a critical point you hear from U.S. officials. Their regional allies including Jordan, Egypt, saying humanitarian aid has to come in. And that will be critical to stopping the expansion of the war. The more it looks like a humanitarian crisis and disaster, the more regional players are going to feel like they have to get involved. Regional players like Jordan, one of the strongest allies of the U.S., if not the strongest in the region, now they're asking Washington for another Patriot air defense system. They have been players throughout behind the scenes, making it very clear the instability is real. They're concerned and want more weapons capabilities. Poppy?

HARLOW: Phil, thank you.

Joining us now from the White House, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications there.

Appreciate you being with us, and let's start where -- where Phil left off, and that warning also from Jake Sullivan yesterday about sort of an escalated risk, that this could become a much broader war. We heard Iran's president, as you know, over the weekend, saying that Israel has crossed red lines and this may, quote, "force everyone to take action." CNN's reporting now is that Iran -- Iranian proxies have struck at least 20 times in terms of U.S. interests in the Middle East. What should Iran expect as a -- as a result of that? More strikes, like what the U.S. carried out last week in Syria?

KIRBY: Well, we're certainly going to act if we have to, continue to protect our troops and our facilities. We have proven that we will strike and -- and act to do that, and -- and that's a strong message that Iran needs to take away. We take those responsibilities seriously.

I'll tell you something else: We also take our national security interests writ large in the region very seriously, which is why the president has now employed two aircraft carrier strike groups. One'll stay in the Eastern Med and one'll go on down to the -- to the Gulf region. We -- we've got to make sure we send a signal to all actors, not just Iran, but all actors, certainly, Iran included, that we -- that we will take our -- our national security interests very seriously. We will protect and defend our troops, and we'll do it at a time and a manner of our choosing.

HARLOW: In terms of what's happening at the United Nations, diplomatic sources tell CNN the UAE is going to seek a binding resolution, John, from other nations on the Security Council, and it's going to call for a, quote, "immediate humanitarian pause" in the fighting in Gaza. There have been a number of these resolutions presented, including by the United States. Will the United States vote in support of this resolution this time around after vetoing a different one?

KIRBY: Well, we'll have to see what the language is. I don't want to get ahead of -- of -- of language that we haven't seen yet or had a chance to study and analyze, and then, you know, decide whether we're going to vote on it.

I will tell you though, Poppy, that we absolutely think that the idea of humanitarian pauses, more than one, is something that should be seriously considered. Now, these would be localized. They would be short -- short duration, and there may be a need for multiple of them to get humanitarian aid in, but also to see if we can't negotiate for the release of hostages and find a way to get them out safely. So it's not an idea that we opposed on the face of it; we just have to see what the language is. HARLOW: Sure, you have to see the final language. Let me just read the draft language that we had as of this morning, and it was, quote, "an immediate humanitarian truce", and, quote, "further humanitarian pauses". I understand the U.S. has not supported those that have not included, in the past couple of weeks, the right for Israel to defend itself. But if it were to include that, listen to what Secretary Blinken said about the importance of humanitarian pauses.

[08:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY J. BLINKEN: Palestinian civilians must be protected. Food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So that would make it sound like the United States would vote in favor of a resolution like this, no?

KIRBY: Well, again, I -- I don't want to get ahead of where we are, and I certainly won't speak for our ambassador up at -- at the U.N. We certainly agree that the idea of humanitarian pauses should be seriously considered, again, as a chance to get aid, make sure it can get to the people that need it, but also help us get hostages out. So there's value there, Poppy, but again, I just don't want to get ahead of where we are in the -- in the -- in the process.

HARLOW: Well, in terms of, also, the hostages, yes. What about the 600 Americans, roughly, that are trapped inside...

KIRBY: Yeah.

HARLOW: ... of Gaza? I thought it was really notable that Jake told our Jake -- Jake Sullivan told our Jake Tapper yesterday something that's new, that Hamas is making, in his words, "demands" in order for you guys to get them out. What kind of demands? What nature?

KIRBY: I -- I'm going to be careful not to get too -- too much into the diplomatic conversations that we're -- that we're having right now, but -- but Jake's right, obviously. Hamas is -- is holding up people from getting out. They're the obstacle right now. We are working very, very hard with all our partners in the region, including those who are able to have conversations with Hamas, to see what we can do to break that logjam and to get those folks out. The Israelis are OK with it. The Egyptians are okay with it. Obviously, we have several hundred Americans that we want to look after, and we're working on this literally by the hour.

HARLOW: No doubt you're working on it. I -- there are Americans like a family we've been continuously speaking to and to their attorney on this show, (inaudible). He and his wife are trapped there with their one-year-old, and he told us last week that he got a letter, a notification, email, from the State Department, but it had no updated content in terms of a way to get out. Are the demands being made by Hamas, are any of them achievable at this point? Should they have hope?

KIRBY: We believe that there will be a way to get those Americans out. We'd like to do that today if we could. I don't -- I don't know how close we are.

HARLOW: OK.

KIRBY: We believe there's a way to do this. We just have to work at it, and we're going to -- and we're going to continue to do that.

HARLOW: I do want to ask you about what's happening here at home, and specifically, John, on college campuses. Jewish students at Cornell University -- and this is just one example, by the way -- were targeted in these online threats that included threats to shoot Jewish students at their kosher dining hall, so that building's now closed off. We've seen a number of anti-Semitic threats since the war began here. How did -- how does the White House characterize the threat to our Jewish community here at home? And what will the White House do to try to keep them safe?

KIRBY: That threat's rising, Poppy, no question about it. I mean, in 2022, there were more anti-se- -- Semitic events in this country than there had been since 1979, and -- and I -- and this year in '23 we continue to see that rise. It's dangerous, it's unacceptable anywhere in the world, certainly here in the United States of America.

And so what we're doing is we're working very closely at a federal level with state and local authorities to be able to better identify threats to the Jewish community and disrupt them before they can -- they can -- they can actually take action. We're working on that very, very hard.

Now, there's obviously also a rise in anti-Muslim hate and -- and activity, as well. We're watching that very -- very closely. But this is unacceptable, unacceptable in the United States of America in 2023.

HARLOW: Be -- before you go, John, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health has just released new numbers, and they say nearly 8,000 civilians have died in Gaza result of the Israeli strikes. They also say - and again, Hamas-controlled -- but the majority are children, women or the elderly. I -- I'd like your response to what Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said yesterday, calling out what she sees as a double standard from the administration. Here it was:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL, D-WASH.: The United States rightly called out Russia for its siege of Ukraine, rightly called out the attacks on the power infrastructure, the refusal to provide food and water and fuel to the Ukrainians, and we have to recognize that our credibility and our authority on the moral stage is -- is greatly diminished if we do not also call out these -- this siege that Israel is launching on Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What is the White House response to that, John?

KIRBY: We have, since almost the very beginning hours of this conflict, talked about the need to respect civilian life, talk about abiding by the laws of war, cautioned and urged our Israeli counterparts to be careful how they conduct these operations so that they minimize civilian casualties.

Hamas on the other hand, uses civilians to hide behind. They actually put the civilians out in front. Rather than protecting civilians, they're putting civilians at greater danger.

[08:15:00]

And I would tell you this about Russia and Ukraine: Atrocities against the Ukrainian people, that's part of Putin's war aims. That's built into his strategy. Look at what he did in Bucha. I mean, that -- you know, killing innocent, slaughtering innocent Ukrainians, that's what -- that's part of their strategy inside Ukraine.

That is not what we're seeing from Israel. I am not discounting the fact that civilians have been killed and injured, and I absolutely -- not discounting the fact that there is a humanitarian need. We're working on this very, very hard to try to get that aid and assistance in there. But Israel is not deliberately trying to kill civilians. They are going after Hamas. We want to make sure that they do it in a cautious, careful, deliberate way. But it is not a war aim of Israel to kill innocent civilians the way it is a war aim of Vladimir Putin to do that to Ukraine.

HARLOW: John Kirby at the White House, thank you for all the time this morning.

KIRBY: You bet.

MATTINGLY: New details of missed warning signs ahead of that deadly shooting rampage in Maine. CNN has learned police were sent to the gunman's home weeks ago after concerns that he would "snap" and commit a mass shooting.

HARLOW: And it was a very deadly weekend across the United States with multiple shootings reported at different Halloween parties. We have those details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back.

CNN has new reporting that reveals police were asked to check in on the mass shooter in Maine, Robert Card just weeks before the attacks last Wednesday in Lewiston. This came after a fellow National Guardsman expressed concern that he would "snap" and commit a mass shooting. Card was found dead Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His body was discovered inside of a box trailer belonging to a recycling facility that he had recently been fired from. Shimon joins us live from Portland, Maine with this reporting.

[08:20:04]

I was so struck when your reporting crossed, reading it, that there seemed to be multiple warning signs in weeks -- weeks ago.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Weeks ago, and really Poppy, what this now raises, of course, if the officers here, the sheriff's officers who were investigating these threats, had they intervened sooner, could this have been prevented?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice over): Just weeks before he went on a rampage, killing 18 people, the Maine National Guard asked local authorities to initiate a wellness check on Robert Card.

A source telling CNN, one National Guardsman was concerned, "Card is going to snap and commit a mass shooting."

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office went to the former reservist's home twice. A source telling CNN he wasn't home during one of those visits, prompting the sergeant who tried to check on him to send out a missing person's report.

The other visit was on September 16th. This time, they believed he was home. "Card could be heard moving inside the trailer, but would not answer the door." Officers left without making contact. Deciding "Due to being in a very disadvantageous position, we decided to back away."

Sources telling CNN, Sagadahoc County Sheriff's deputy spoke to his brother on September 17th. He told authorities he and his father would "... work with Robert to make sure he does not have any other firearms."

It's unclear if any further action was taken after that, and a source told CNN the case appears to have been closed on October 1st, twenty- four days before the shooting.

According to sources, the Maine National Guard initiated a wellness check because the reservist started hearing voices in the spring and say they had only gotten worse.

The National Guard also informed the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office of his history of mental illness, including his stay at a psychiatric facility in July.

According to a source, the National Guard was trying to get him to retire under the condition that he get mental health treatment. CNN started raising questions early on in the investigation.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): As you stand here today, was law enforcement notified of the threats that he was making of his condition?

MIKE SAUSCHUCK, MAINE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY: I won't answer or answer to any comments that he made, but based on what I've seen, we're going to continue to work through that.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): A spokesperson for State Police telling CNN Sunday, "DPS has no regulatory authority over law enforcement agencies in Maine."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (on camera): With this man off the streets, the sheriff here, the Sagadahoc sheriff has refused to answer our questions. We went to his home yesterday, his wife telling us he was done answering questions.

And obviously we've been asking investigators here about this, all of them refusing to answer any of our questions. And it was only because of officials here, brave sources who came forward who felt that officials here were not being transparent about what happened in the lead up to this horrific event. They came forward with this information.

And now obviously, there are many, many questions to be asked about what officials here, what the investigators were doing during this time period.

HARLOW: And we know you won't stop asking them.

Shimon, thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: We'll just days after the shooting rampage in Lewiston, Maine that left 18 dead and 13 more injured, more deadly shootings took place over the weekend.

In Indianapolis, one person was killed and nine others were injured after shots were fired at a Halloween party. At a Halloween party in Chicago, at least 15 people were shot early Sunday morning.

In Texarkana, Texas, three people are dead, three others are injured after a fistfight broke out and at least two men pulled out rifles and started shooting.

And in Tampa, Florida, a 22-year-old was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after killing two and leaving 16 others injured.

CNN's Isabel Rosales joins us live in Atlanta.

Isabel, what can you tell us about what happened in Florida?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you.

So this mass shooting happening in Ybor. This is a vibrant Tampa neighborhood. By day, it is rich with history, old cigar factories, plenty of Italian-Cuban cultural roots. And then by night, the city really transforms with hundreds of people packed into those streets, visiting bars and clubs.

Now according to Tampa Police Department, it is as those bars were closing just before 3:00 AM early Sunday morning that a fight broke out between two groups of people. That fight then escalated into a shooting.

Overall, two people were killed, 16 people were injured. Fifteen out of those 16 had gunshot wounds.

Now out of the two that were killed, that is a 22-year-old man -- young man and then a 14-year-old little boy.

Here is what the police chief had to say on the shooting and the young age of that victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF LEE BERCAW, TAMPA POLICE: I want you to know that what happened is completely unacceptable and the Tampa Police Department is not going to tolerate it.

[08:25:06]

Clearly, there is no place a 14-year-old should be at three o'clock in the morning, and that doesn't matter if it's Ybor or that's, you know, some other place. I can't find anywhere that I would want a 14-year- old out at three o'clock in the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And overall, 50 police officers were deployed to handle that fight. They charged Tyrell Phillips, a 22-year-old man with second degree murder. They're investigating whether other shooters may have been involved here.

And Poppy and Phil, I do want to mention that so far, there have been over 580 mass shootings this year in the United States. That's according to the Gun Violence Archive, 11 of those shootings happening this weekend. It's left 60 people injured so far and at least eight people dead.

MATTINGLY: Isabel Rosales, thank you.

HARLOW: Politics now, former Vice President Mike Pence dropping out of the GOP presidential field. We'll take a look at where the race for the Republican nomination stands.

Harry Enten is here.

MATTINGLY: And America is mourning one of television's most iconic characters. Tributes pouring in for "Friends" star, Matthew Perry.

(BEGIN "FRIENDS" VIDEO CLIP)

CHANDLER BING, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: No, I didn't read the box before I opened it. You can't return a box after you've opened the box.

RACHEL GREEN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Why not?

BING: Because it's too delicious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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