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Israel's Rejects Calls for Ceasefire as Troops Push Deeper into Gaza, IDF Says 240 Hostages Now Believed to be Held by Hamas; Hamas Releases Video of Hostages as Israel Forces Advance; Officials Under Fire Over Missed Red Flags for Shooter. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 31, 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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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- violations of epic proportions are taking place.

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M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Israel needs to do everything it can to minimize a number of civilian deaths.

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I know there's a lot more that needs to be done. We're working very hard at this.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Chilling anti-Semitic scenes are unfolding around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must be loud. We must be proud. And most of all, the Jewish community must remain and continue to be Jewish.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everyone. I'm Phil Mattingly with Poppy Harlow in New York.

New this morning, the number of hostages believed to be held in Gaza has gone up to 240. That's according to the Israeli military. And this comes as Israeli troops and tanks push deeper into the Gaza Strip. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is rejecting calls for a cease fire and refusing to halt the ground and air assault to wipe out Hamas.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen.

The bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war.

(END VIDEO CLIP) POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The Israeli military tells CNN a Special Forces operation was able to rescue a hostage held in Northern Gaza. She is an IDF soldier who was kidnapped during the October 7th terror attack. This is video of the emotional reunion, that's her with her grandmother.

Meanwhile on the ground in Gaza, the IDF says troops have been battling terrorist cells armed with machine guns and anti-tank missiles.

MATTINGLY: As Israeli forces advance, Hamas has released a new hostage video of three Israeli women, one of them begs Netanyahu to secure their release.

Our Jake Tapper has been in contact with some of the family members and actually had an interview. We want to play that sound for you right now.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: These are the ones that have been kidnapped and the bottom right is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. So, Yelena, okay.

TAPPER: She's on the hostage video?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. So, let me just show you the pictures. So, Yelena is the mother of the family. Her husband, Vitali, was murdered. He was found about ten days after this started on the outskirts of Gaza. They were kidnapped together. But he was shot and killed. She was kidnapped with her mother, Irina (ph). Irina is a doctor, a pediatrician, a children's doctor, as far as we know the only doctor among the hostages. So, we're pretty sure if there are children around her, she's taking care of them. Her son, Yelena's son, Sasha (ph). Sasha an engineer, a very bright, genius-like, 27, and his girlfriend, (INAUDIBLE). They staying on kibbutz. It was a holiday.

TAPPER: Which kibbutz?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nir Oz.

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MATTINGLY: We're going to have more with Jake and from that interview coming up, Jake's interview was with a friend of Yelena.

Joining me now is a cousin of Daniel. Daniel is the one in the video that criticized Netanyahu, saying, quote, you promised to release us all, and then began screaming, now, now, now. Obviously, we're not showing the video at this point. It was clearly under duress. Because the women are hostages, it is unclear what the circumstances are under which the video was made.

Joining us now is Alana Zeitchik, she has six relatives, including Danielle, she believes, are being held hostage by Hamas. Alana, thank you for doing this. I can't fathom what this has been like for your family.

You spoke at the United Nations Security Council. This whole process, where are you right now emotionally seeing these videos, seeing some hostages released, seeing others identified as deceased, what are you thinking?

ALANA ZEITCHIK, COUSIN OF DANIEL ALONI WHO'S SHOWN IN A HAMAS HOSTAGE VIDEO: The whole experience is surreal. It's kind of the only way I've been able to describe it. It's a nightmare that we're living in. So, it's really hard to put it into words.

MATTINGLY: When you see -- and, again, we aren't showing the video. And, obviously, the Israelis have called it propaganda. We don't know the circumstances in which it was filmed. But you see your cousin alive. The mixed emotions, I can't imagine.

ZEITCHIK: On the one hand, right, there's like a level of relief to see her alive, to have that proof of life. But on the other hand, I can hear her desperation and I can see how unwell she looks. And it's heart breaking to see her in this way and to hear her voice in this way, a voice that I loved so much. And to hear her cry out in such desperation, it's heart breaking.

MATTINGLY: When you say -- and I think this is hard part as you watched the videos, we don't know her. We don't know her personally. We don't know her voice, how she looks, feels, acts on a daily basis. She sounded unwell, sounded of desperation. Why?

ZEITCHIK: Why does she sound --

MATTINGLY: No. Why was that your take away from it? What did you see?

ZEITCHIK: I mean, I saw her crying out for help. What else can she do? My cousin is one of the strongest women I know. She's a single mother. She chose to have her baby on her own, Emelia (ph) is somewhere in Gaza as well.

[07:05:01]

And in a way, it's almost not surprising that they picked her. She's such a strong person. And I can see her pushing through to do whatever she can and they put her in this position to force her into this experience. And she's doing what she can to cry out for us to hear her and to be heard. And we just want to bring her back.

MATTINGLY: What have you heard from Israeli officials, U.S. Officials about where things stand right now?

ZEITCHIK: We're not receiving very much information, not from the U.S. at all, to my family here in the U.S. And Israel, the IDF checks in on my family there pretty regularly, as far as I know, but I think it's challenging to get any kind of information from them.

MATTINGLY: Last one, what do you want people to know about your family members? ZEITCHIK: I want people to know that they're innocent. They're babies. I have three-year-old twin cousins in there, five-year-old Emelia, (INAUDIBLE), my cousins Shalon (ph) and Daniel and David, they are good people. They're good civilians, peace-loving, peace-wanting people. And they deserve to come home immediately.

MATTINGLY: Our hearts and prayers are with you and your family. If there's anything you need going forward, please do let us know. Alana Zeitchik, thank you.

ZEITCHIK: Thank you so much.

HARLOW: All right. Let's go to Jake Tapper. He's in Tel Aviv. Jake, you just heard that interview. You did that remarkable interview yesterday. I mean, Alana's plea is they deserve to come home immediately. What is the Israeli government doing to do that, to accomplish that?

TAPPER: Well, there's a lot of -- there's a lot of friction right now between the families of the hostages and the Israeli government right now. I mean, obviously when you have 240 hostages, you have 240 families, and, you know, people all over the map, politically, people all over the map in terms of emotions. But the individuals with whom I've spoken, a lot of them feel you know that the number one priority of the Israeli government right now should be getting the hostages back, and everything else should be secondary, including going after Hamas, including the ground incursion, including every -- any other consideration.

And so there is a degree of frustration. I mean, there are questions about whether or not Hamas has offered any sort of prisoner exchange for the Hamas individuals who are in Israeli prisons. There is a question about whether or not the ground incursion is actually making it more difficult to get the kidnapped victims, the hostages out of Gaza as opposed to whether it's making it more easy. There are some, of course, in the Israeli government, in the IDF, who argue that this force makes it easier to get them out. But a lot of the families are concerned about that. So, there's a lot of friction right now.

I will say that the fact that four hostages have been returned and a fifth, that Israeli soldier on Sunday was rescued by IDF, does give sop hope to the families, but there's just a lot of anxiety about the fact that these individuals remain in Hamas custody, likely in the tunnels. And I will say also the fact that so many around the world are calling for a ceasefire and not calling for the hostages to be released as their number one call is also quite distressing to many of the families, Poppy.

MATTINGLY: Jake, for Israeli officials, it seems like impossible balancing act of prioritize the hostages but also prioritize response to October 7th, the ground operation that's under way, Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday very forcefully rejecting those calls for a ceasefire. What's the sentiment with the officials behind the scenes about trying to establish that balance if it's even possible at all?

TAPPER: Well, look, the Biden administration is very clearly behind the scenes pushing -- also not just behind the scenes but they're acknowledging trying to push the Netanyahu government to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. And they are also trying to get the Americans, 500 to 600 of them, that are trapped in Gaza out.

And Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, has made it very clear that it is Hamas that is preventing those 500 to 600 Palestinian-Americans around Americans stuck in Gaza, that Hamas is standing in their way.

But beyond that, the White House, the Biden White House, has made it very clear that they do not support the calls for a ceasefire that we are hearing from some quarters, including some Democrats on Capitol Hill, and from world leaders, especially Arab world leaders, and that they do think that that would give Hamas both the Netanyahu government and also the Biden government think that a ceasefire would give Hamas time to regroup.

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And the argument is that Israel has every right to defend itself and that what happened on October 7th is very clearly the government of Gaza and Hamas is that, the government of Gaza, sent into Israel a force, whether you call them freedom fighters or whether you call them terrorists, they sent in a force that killed 1,400 individuals, most of them civilians, and that Israel has a right to respond to that government. That's the view of the Biden administration. That's the view of the Netanyahu administration.

HARLOW: Yes, they certainly sound very aligned on that. Jake, thanks so much for joining us from Tel Aviv. We'll get back to you soon.

And we are getting a closer look at what this ground operation looks like. Next, CNN is live right ne front lines.

MATTINGLY: Plus, new documents reveal disturbing details about the Maine mass shooter and the glaring red flags that went under the radar. Stay with us.

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HARLOW: So, this morning, Israel Defense Forces are ramping up their ground operation inside of Gaza. Overnight, Israeli soldiers in tanks were seen pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip. This comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting calls for a ceasefire, refusing to halt the ground and air assault on Hamas.

Our Jeremy Diamond is live near the northern border with Gaza in Sderot, Israel. Jeremy, it seems like day by day, the last couple days, they have been going in further and further. What are you seeing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly have been. It appears that Israeli forces are approaching Gaza City on several sides. They were spotted -- Israeli tanks were spotted south of Gaza City at a main junction at the entrance to that city. And then they also appeared to be approaching from the north, on two axis, near the coastline and closer to where we are.

Behind me, you have the city of Beit Hanoun. And I believe there's a fresh -- we just heard the thud of artillery and there's a fresh plume of smoke in the background near some of the destroyed buildings in that northeastern most city here in Gaza.

Now, the IDF spokesman has been characterizing the fighting over the last several days as fierce battles between Israeli troops and Hamas militants, making clear that this will be a long battle and a costly battle, very much preparing the Israeli public for what is to come, saying that this will require resilience on the part of the Israeli public.

The IDF says that they have struck over 300 targets in just the last day. And as I said, they appear to be closing in on Gaza City on several axis. All of this as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, makes clear there is a time for war and a time for peace. He said that now is a time for war, rejecting calls from other world leaders for a potential ceasefire.

And amid the news that Israeli soldier was freed in an Israeli ground operation overnight, the previous day, making clear that he also believes that Israeli ground operations also open up the possibility of freeing additional hostages, effectively rejecting the criticism that this Israeli ground operation puts those hostages at risk, saying that it opens up the possibility to potentially free more and that it also ramps up the pressure on Hamas, strengthening the Israeli hand at the negotiating table. We know that those negotiations are still ongoing with Qatar and the United States trying to mediate a potential deal to free some of those civilian hostages at least. Phil, Poppy?

HARLOW: Certainly, we heard from our Jake Tapper how crucial it is to those families that releasing the hostages be the number one call. Jeremy, thank you for the reporting right there on the border.

MATTINGLY: Well, there are new details coming to light on what police and the military knew about the Maine shooter before he took the lives of 18 innocent people.

HARLOW: Also the cast of Friends this morning speaking out after the sudden death of their co-star, Matthew Perry.

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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: If law enforcement doesn't use the tools that are available to them, how are people supposed to feel safe?

GOV. JANET MILLS (D-ME): You're reporting on reports, and I know it's -- PROKUPECZ: No, it's my reporting, so --

MILLS: Excuse me. You're reporting on something that has not been finally determined.

PROKUPECZ: We know there's an alarming concern from the law enforcement community that activity and information here was ignored. And the simple answer is why was that done and are you concerned about that?

MILLS: I think those kinds of facts are yet to be determined. You're making assumptions. I'm not willing to make those assumptions.

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MATTINGLY: That was CNN's Shimon Prokupecz pressing Maine's governor, a Democrat, Janet Mills, on concerns that law enforcement ignored red flags in the months before the Lewiston mass shootings. And hours later, the county sheriff's office confirmed Shimon's reporting, clarifying details about what police and the military knew in the weeks and months before the gunman, Robert Card, killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar.

Almost six months ago, the gunman's son and ex-wife contacted the sheriff's office to report that his mental health is, quote, in question, reporting he was hearing voices in his head, saying derogatory things about him and that recently picked up 10 to 15 handguns and rifles from his brother's house. Officers in his Army reserve unit shared those concerns.

HARLOW: Also, after a medical evaluation in July, the Army declared that he, quote, should not have a weapon and was, quote, non- deployable over concerns of his well being. He also spent 14 days over the summer at a psychiatric hospital. Police visited Card's home twice in September after his Army unit reported, quote, Card is having psychotic episodes where he's hearing voices that are insulting him, calling him a pedophile. Card is also making threats to shoot up the Saco National Guard facility.

Andy McCabe is with us, CNN senior law enforcement analyst. Those are the facts, by the way. The governor said what she said. But what Shimon reported are the facts that were then verified by the sheriff's office. You also have the reporting from the Army there. It's the people who have lost so much.

I want you to listen to Leroy Walker Sr. He is the father of Joey, who was killed in the restaurant. He was on with us Friday in just a heart breaking conversation. Now here is what he says about all the signs that were missed.

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LEROY WALKER SR., SON JOEY KILLED IN MAINE MASS SHOOTINGS: I think we have seen enough facts to know that they totally missed what this man was capable of doing. They should have removed this man's guns immediately. This man went rampant on people saying that he was going to do this and we still let him run around two, three months later.

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HARLOW: Is he right?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, he's absolutely right. He's absolutely right. What we know so far, Poppy, is unbelievably alarming series of, as you say facts, that indicate many people, from his family, to local law enforcement, to his supervisors in the Army reserves, knew that he was suffering and knew that that suffering created a great danger to other people.

[07:25:09]

What didn't happen here was proactive action that would have taken him away from those weapons.

Now, the complicating factor is it's also not 100 percent clear how they would have done that legally because we're talking about Maine, and Maine does not have a red flag law.

So, you know, you look first to the psychiatric treatment that he received in July. Well, the FBI has already told us that there was no entries in any of the systems, the background check systems, that would have prohibited him from purchasing additional weapons. That means even though he was treated in a facility, he was not adjudicated mental defective. There was no court that demanded that sort of treatment.

Maybe it wasn't an involuntary commitment. We really have to see the records to know that. But, nevertheless, that's the first big miss. There's no record of an involuntary commitment that would have prohibited him from buying guns. And then the second miss here is Maine doesn't have a red flag law here.

So, in a state where a red flag law, back in May, when his family members went to law enforcement and said, we're really worried about him, he's struggling and he has 10 to 15 guns, if there were a red flag law, they could have gone in front of a judge right away and removed those weapons. Maine doesn't have that. They have a yellow flag law that requires that he be taken into custody and evaluated. And for whatever reason, law enforcement did not do that.

MATTINGLY: To that point, Andy, and, yes, the yellow flag law has a couple manufacture steps, including a law enforcement official having to sign, I believe, an affidavit, a medical professional as well. As you were noting, everything that we know about what happened in this process seems to lead one to believe that those were acceptable or possible thresholds to clear in this case.

And I think the question I have is we have seen this play out so many times where this turns into a battle between agencies on whose fault it is, or bureaucratic problems, things weren't entered into the NICS system. I don't know that I have ever seen something so clear cut that shouldn't get spun away as agencies infighting or bureaucracy. This was a disastrous failure.

MCCABE: No question. You are absolutely right. It was a failure that resulted in a disgusting massacre of violence. This is the worst one of these I have seen maybe since the South Carolina church shooter. But, nevertheless, what we need here is for the authorities in Maine to get together, pull these facts together, add to them the things that we don't know yet and be transparent about saying exactly what happened. There was failure here. No question.

And now this community and these families have a right to know how this happened because it's important to know how it's not going to happen in the future. And until we have that level of transparency and accountability, I don't think you can have any faith that it won't happen again.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's such a valuable point. Andy McCabe, we appreciate your expertise, as always. Thank you.

HARLOW: We do have some new details surrounding the death of Friends star Matthew Perry. The Los Angeles Fire Department says firefighters found Perry, quote, unconscious in a standalone Jacuzzi. A bystander had brought his head above the water and gotten him to the edge. Firefighters removed him from the water when they arrived. A rapid medical assessment sadly revealed he was deceased prior to the first responders' arrival.

MATTINGLY: The cast of Friends released a joint statement that reads in part, quote, we are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now, we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.

Perry reflected the bond between castmates in HBO's Friends reunion special in 2021. Just watch.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The best way that I could describe it is after the show was over at a party where any kind of social gathering, if one of us bumped into each other, that was it. That was the end of the night. You just --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sat with that person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- sat with the person all night long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's true. I remember that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that was it. You apologized to the people you were with, but they had to understand you had met somebody special to you and you were going to talk to that person for the rest of the night.

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HARLOW: Someone special to you. The executive producer of Friends, Kevin Bright, spoke with our colleague, Laura Coates, last night.

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KEVIN BRIGHT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, FRIENDS: It really was a family kind of situation. And I think, you know, for Matthew, with all of his troubles over the years, I think this cast really, you know, supported him in a way that allowed him to be the comic genius that he was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:30:02]

HARLOW: He was such a gift on our T.V. screens, but to so many people in need --