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Netanyahu Rejects Calls for a Ceasefire; Israeli Soldier 'Actively Rescued' in Special Op; Conditions in Gaza Unsafe Even for Evacuees; UAW and GM Reach Tentative Agreement to End Strike. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired October 31, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Breaking overnight, according to multiple reports, 76ers finally have traded James Harden to the L.A. Clippers. The Sixers getting four players back and some draft picks, Kasie.

[06:00:10]

This was the drama of the NBA season thus far, what was going to end up happening with James Harden there in Philly. But he is now on his way to the Clippers.

And hey, guess what? We could have more trade fireworks later today. The NFL trade deadline is on Halloween. So we'll see what happens today.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Andy Scholes, thank you very much for that. And as a Philly person, see ya later.

All right. And thank you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Glad you're with us. I'm Poppy Harlow with Phil Mattingly in New York.

And new this morning: the number of hostages believed to be held in Gaza has risen. It is now 240. That is according to the Israeli military. And this comes as Israeli soldiers and tanks push deeper into the Gaza Strip, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting calls for a ceasefire and refusing to halt the ground and air assault on Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7th. Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Hamas has released a hostage video of these three Israeli women who are being held captive: Daniel Aloni, Rimon Kirsht, and Yelena Trupanob. One of them begs Netanyahu to secure their release.

Netanyahu has called the video cruel propaganda.

Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, the IDF says troops have been battling terrorist cells arms -- armed with machine guns and anti-tank missiles. This morning, we've seen Israeli tanks and bulldozers on the move and even more air strikes pounding Gaza.

The IDF says combat forces have struck around 300 targets over the last day, including Hamas's underground compounds and tunnels beneath Gaza.

HARLOW: So as you can see, there have been a lot of developments overnight. Let's go to Rafael Romo. He joins us live in Tel Aviv.

Very strong message there from Netanyahu about absolutely no ceasefire. This as the international community, including the United States, are talking a lot about humanitarian pauses. What can you tell us this morning?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy, Phil, good morning to you.

If there were any doubts about what Israel's position is regarding the growing pressure from the international community, pushing for a ceasefire, these doubts were put to rest last night by Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a televised address, the Israeli prime minister said that calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorists, he said; surrender to barbarism. That will not happen.

Netanyahu also drew parallels, as we just heard before, not in Hebrew but in English, parallels to the United States position after Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the September 11th attacks in 2001, implying that, just as the U.S. went after its attackers, Israel also has the right to go after the terrorists who attacked his country on October 7th. This is a time for war, he said.

And Netanyahu also addressed the criticism that Israel is inflicting punishment on the Palestinian people by pursuing Hamas, saying the militant Islamic organization is the one preventing civilians from moving to a safe zone, he said -- Poppy, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Rafael, CNN is choosing not to air the hostage video released by Hamas, what Prime Minister Netanyahu called propaganda. But Daniel Aloni, Rimon Kirsht, and Yelena Trupanob. What do we know about these three women?

ROMO: Yes. So what we know is that Hamas has released a video of the three women. It's a short video showing the women, who are believed to be hostages.

In the video, one of the three women addresses Prime Minister Netanyahu directly, saying, You promised to release us all, which would imply that she's aware of ongoing hostage negotiations.

But because the women are in captivity, they could have been forced to appear in the video. And -- and by releasing this video, Hamas is probably trying to put Netanyahu in an even tighter spot, because he already faces pressure from the families of the hostages to stop the war and focus on their release.

So we have to take a look at everything the way it happened. And by the way, the family is also saying that they do not believe Hamas. In an interview with our very own Jake Tapper, somebody speaking from the family said that they have no message for Hamas absolutely.

But they want to tell the hostages to stay strong, because the families are doing everything they can to bring them home safely -- Poppy, Phil.

[06:05:06]

MATTINGLY: All right. Rafael Romo, live for us on the ground in Tel Aviv. Thank you.

HARLOW: The IDF says it is, quote, "actively" -- it has "actively rescued an Israeli soldier in a special operation." This is a big deal, because this is the first time that a hostage has been successfully extricated so far and not released as part of a negotiation.

Here you see Private Ori Megidish. She's in the middle there, with her family. She's wearing that Marvel T-shirt.

Watch the moment, though, when she was reunited with her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Look at that. The IDF says Private Megidish is well mentally and physically after the reunion.

With us now is CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

It's extraordinary story. She was one of the people guarding, on the lookout, watching videos, et cetera, right there on the border between Israel and Gaza when she was taken.

The fact that we know that Israel used special forces on the ground, that they have this intelligence to get her out, does that mean she's the first of what may be many more rescued this way?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, one can certainly hope, Poppy. And good morning to you.

But, yes, when it comes to Private Ori Megidish, she was, as you said, actively rescued in a special operation. And what that means is the Israelis went in deliberately looking for her. They had the intelligence that they needed in order to prosecute this target, as we would say in the military.

They went into Northern Gaza. Apparently, she was there, based on what we know.

The other thing that's interesting about this, Poppy, is this was a joint operation between the Israeli Defense Forces and ISA, or Israeli Security Agency, otherwise known as Shin Bet, which is the domestic intelligence agency for Israel.

MATTINGLY: Colonel Leighton, this obviously happens as the ground invasion has begun. U.S. special operators have been in country, working with them in an advisory capacity, over the course of the last several weeks.

Are you surprised it took this long for the first successful special operations effort, or do you believe the ground incursion was critical to that?

LEIGHTON: Well, I'm not surprised that it took that long, Phil. I think that the key thing to realize here with this is that it takes a long time to get the intel right.

So they needed to know where she was. She may have been moved between the 7th of October, when the Hamas attacks occurred and she was captured, to the time that she was reunited with her family and taken, of course, by the IDF and the ISA.

So this is one of those areas where it becomes really critical to prepare that battle space and go in and actually find these people, exactly where they are at that moment in time. And that's one of the most difficult tactical intelligence tasks that the Israeli forces have at this point.

But it could mean that they can do this again. But now that this has happened, they also have to realize that Hamas may do other things to keep the hostages away from the IDF or the Israeli Security Agency.

HARLOW: But on the other side of that, they're also going to have a lot more information from her about what it was like, how she was held, what can help them get more of the hostages out.

What about the ground incursion? Because now we've seen it for several days. The IDF going in, then coming out. There's also major questions about an Israeli tank shooting on what looks like a passenger vehicle there in Gaza. The Israeli forces are saying, Look, Hamas uses these passenger vehicles, et cetera.

LEIGHTON: Right. So Poppy, one of the key things here, let's go to the tank shooting incident.

So this occurred right here at this Netzarim Junction, which is on the road between Northern Gaza and Southern Gaza, which is, of course, the evacuation route. So here's the video. You see the car making a turn. And then all of a

sudden, there's a blast from the tank that has actually fired at -- at the vehicle.

One of the key problems that soldiers have in a situation like this is they don't know who is in that car. And when you see this kind of a situation, a soldier has about a second or less to make a decision as to whether or not they're going to shoot at a vehicle that is perhaps not following orders or they just don't know what it's doing.

If the vehicle were approaching at a high rate of speed, it would make it less questionable. In this case, the car is going -- moving very slowly, so there are a lot of questions as to whether or not it posed a threat to the soldiers that were -- that were dealing with this at that moment in time at that junction.

MATTINGLY: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you as always.

LEIGHTON: You bet.

MATTINGLY: Well, House Republicans' plan for aid to Israel is facing sharp pushback from Democrats and even some Republicans. The details of the new $14.3 billion proposal ahead.

HARLOW: Also, we have an update for you on our CNN colleague who fled Northern Gaza with his family. He says he is teaching his children how to survive in case he and his wife die. More on their dire situation in Gaza is next.

[06:10:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD AL-MALIKI, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY'S MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Gaza is now Hell on Earth. Saving humanity from Hell today means for the United Nations to save Palestinians in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-MALIKI: Two point three million Palestinians in Gaza face death every day and every night. Save them. Save them. Look at them as human beings. You cannot look only at one side and ignore this tragic humanity completely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: You were just listening to the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister making a desperate plea at the United Nations Security Council, asking to establish a durable humanitarian truce.

He insisted that the council must uphold its responsibilities to end the bloodshed. Israel, of course, is rejecting calls for a ceasefire as its troops

and tanks advance deeper into Gaza. Israel keeps urging people living in Northern Gaza to evacuate.

It seems like things aren't much better in the South. Our CNN colleague, Ibrahim Dahman, is in Southern Gaza with his family, where he's teaching his young children how to survive in case something happens to him and his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(ARTILLERY EXPLOSION)

[06:15:02]

IBRAHIM DAHMAN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: My family fled Northern Gaza, but we still don't feel safe.

(ARTILLERY EXPLOSION)

DAHMAN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: What's wrong? Don't be afraid.

(ARTILLERY EXPLOSION)

DAHMAN (voice-over): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Every night, airstrikes hit Khan Younis. With no sense of time, the days roll into one.

We pass the time by watching airstrikes. There are too many to count.

This used to be someone's home. Now, they've likely become one of the dead.

Strangers volunteer to search for their remains.

Food is scarce where we are staying. We cook and share whatever we can. We teach the children, too, so that if we are killed, they can feed themselves.

The tanks are filled with impure water. We try to keep our spirits up. There is camaraderie in the chaos.

The explosions became louder this weekend, as Israel expanded its ground operation, leaving us in a blackout.

Only Israeli phones worked, so some tried to keep a sense of normalcy.

All I could think of was my parents' safety, and pray my family made it through the night.

(ARTILLERY EXPLOSION)

DAHMAN (voice-over): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: But even in a war zone, there is light in the darkness. My wife is three months pregnant.

Just like our sons, this baby has the power to turn our fear into joy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Our thanks to Ibrahim. He continues to basically have a real-time diary, and the pieces are extraordinarily striking, extraordinarily important. And as a father, I can't fathom what they're going through.

HARLOW: And that last line, where he tells us his wife is three months pregnant, saying this joy brings some light into the darkness. It is their reality.

We promise to keep you updated day to day on how Ibrahim and his family are.

Just two days after expanding its strike against General Motors, it appears the United Auto Workers union has come to a tentative deal with America's largest automaker. Hear what workers won at the bargaining table.

MATTINGLY: And Israel issuing its highest travel alert for parts of Russia after an anti-Semitic mob stormed an airport. How the U.S. and Russia is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:31]

HARLOW: Welcome back. So there's a deal.

The six-week strike against the Big Three automakers looks like it is finally coming to an end. The United Auto Workers union reaching a tentative deal with General Motors, giving workers their biggest pay raise in decades.

It comes days after similar agreements with Ford and Stellantis. And now the deal must be approved and ratified by a majority of the union's members. That will take a couple of days.

Our Vanessa Yurkevich has been following it since the beginning and joins us now.

Good morning.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HARLOW: I know we don't have all the details.

YURKEVICH: Yes.

HARLOW: But generally, what did they get?

YURKEVICH: Generally, the General Motors tentative agreement, in the mix, what we've seen with Ford and Stellantis. So these are the wages -- some of the wages they've been looking for. Twenty-five percent wage increase over 4.5 years. A return to cost-of-living adjustments, which they gave up in 2009. That's now back in the deal.

And you're also looking at an immediate raise of 11 percent.

So when you put that all together, you're talking about 30 percent in wage increases over the life of this contract.

You're also seeing some more contributions to 401(k)s. You're going to be seeing a signing bonus.

In the General Motors deal, in particular, they're adding two plants to this agreement.

HARLOW: That was so interesting to me.

YURKEVICH: Yes. So these folks were not included in this original contract, but they're adding now, General Motors adding two additional plants to this contract, raising everyone's wages. And also adding a bigger sort of robust set of members to this contract.

HARLOW: These strikers --

YURKEVICH: Yes.

HARLOW: -- for six weeks took big pay cuts. I mean, they got paid a bit out of the fund, but not full pay. When will they get back pay and then the raises?

YURKEVICH: Yes, so once the contracts are ratified -- of course, this is all up to the rank-and-file members that you see right there. They are the ones that have to vote. They'll get the back pay for this contract.

However, in the meantime, they've been getting $500 a week --

HARLOW: Right.

YURKEVICH: -- in strike pay. For a lot of those folks that hasn't really been enough.

But we know that a lot of the workers at Ford and Stellantis already back on the job. In a couple days, we'll see General Motors folks get back into the plant and get back to work.

HARLOW: There are some things the union didn't get, right? They were pushing for a four-day workweek, 32-hour workweek. They didn't get that, right? And they were asking for 40 percent pay raises across the board.

YURKEVICH: They were asking for 40 percent. That was their top number. Obviously, this is a negotiation, so they came down to 30, if you account for everything.

They also didn't get a return to traditional pensions. That is something that they wanted to see. Instead, retirees are getting additional pay increases.

[06:25:00]

HARLOW: OK.

YURKEVICH: And then there's going to be additional contributions to 401(k)s. That's why you may have some of the senior employees a little bit upset that they still didn't get those pensions.

And some of the newer employees who maybe were looking for that, that's not in the deal.

But the 401(k) contributions, according to the younger folks that I spoke to, are what a lot of us have. And they seem to be pretty happy with that.

HARLOW: They got a little more time to earn on that 401(k) than the older ones.

YURKEVICH: Yes, yes.

HARLOW: But this is a huge deal that they came to.

YURKEVICH: Huge, historic, record-breaking. Both the union and the automakers saying that. So --

HARLOW: Thank you, Vanessa. Great reporting --

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

HARLOW: -- throughout all of this. We appreciate it -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: Well, we here at CNN THIS MORNING would like to extend our warmest wishes to those who observed Monday's holiday. The sports equinox, obviously, is what I'm talking about.

All five major American men's sports leagues -- the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB -- all playing on the same day. It is the greatest day. And yesterday was the only time this year that will happen.

By far the biggest game of the day, game three of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. The fall classic back in Phoenix for the first time since 2001. A very painful experience for Yankees fans. But didn't go the way they hoped.

Corey Seager on fire all post season, delivering the biggest blow of the night, a two-run missile in the third inning. That's all Texas would need. Five pitchers combined for nine strikeouts while giving up just one run. The Rangers are a perfect 9-0 on the road this post season, the first team in history with nine road playoff wins. And now take a two-run series lead heading into game four tonight.

HARLOW: I'm so glad you finally learned to celebrate the sports equinox.

MATTINGLY: Finally.

HARLOW: It's a tradition --

MATTINGLY: I'm growing. I'm learning.

HARLOW: -- in our household.

MATTINGLY: Just like you guys. You're teaching. I'm learning.

HARLOW: Mm-hmm.

House Republicans revealing the details of its $14 billion aid package for Israel. Why their plan faces an uphill battle in its own conference, let alone the Senate.

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