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One World with Zain Asher

Republican Lawmakers Set To Decide Whether Or Not To Elect Jim Jordan As Their House Speaker; President Biden Set To Fly To War Zone Israel. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 17, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:14]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". We are going to get to the latest in terms of what's happening

in Israel and Gaza in just a moment.

But first, so much to tell you about in terms of what's happening on Capitol Hill. We are expecting a critical vote this hour that could

determine who will be the next leader of U.S. House.

We're looking at live pictures there in about 30 minutes or so from now. Republican lawmakers set to decide whether or not to elect Jim Jordan as

their House Speaker.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, this could be another long process, though. It remains unclear if Jordan can corral enough support. He can only afford to lose

three Republicans today in his bid for the gavel assuming all Democrats are present. And the Judiciary Committee Chairman who is on the right to the

Republican Party is controversial.

He is one of Donald Trump's fiercest defenders in Congress and strongly supported his efforts to try and overturn the 2020 election. We will have

much more on the vote in the coming hour.

ASHER: All right, I'm going to turn now back to Israel. Israel, of course, on the brink of a full-scale invasion of Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden is

about to fly into a tinder box. He's going to be leaving the White House at some point today.

We're not exactly sure when, but at some point today, he's going to be leaving the White House for a high stakes visit to Israel. Of course, it is

an extraordinary show of support from the U.S. President.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. We know that the German Chancellor Scholz is meeting there today with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Biden is also trying to keep the

situation in Gaza from exploding into a larger conflict.

Multiple challenges lie in the wait, of course. The entire region is on edge with Israel now engaging in daily squirmishes with Hezbollah to the

north, even as it gears up for an expected invasion of Gaza in the south.

ASHER: And Iran making more and more noise about just that. Its supreme leader saying that if Israel continues to batter Gaza, that no one is going

to be able to prevent Islamic militants from responding as a result of Israeli attacks. This is now what much of northern Gaza looks like.

Take a look at this video here. Little more than rubble where homes and businesses -- these are the pictures here. Little more than rubble where

homes and businesses used to stand.

GOLODRYGA: And of course, somewhere in all of these, Hamas still holds around 200 hostages kidnapped from Israel. The first hostage video released

by Hamas on Monday has ratcheted up pressure on Israel to find a way to bring those innocent civilians home.

Just moments ago, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu said that it is Hamas' fault that innocent people are caught in the middle of this conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's important that the entire world understands this. The responsibility for the civilians who are there,

both the abducted people and both the people who are kept there and forced the citizens of our country and the citizens of dozens of countries and the

Palestinian civilians themselves, that responsibility sits squarely on the shoulders of the Hamas war criminals. They're committing a double war crime

-- attacking civilians, hiding behind civilians as human shields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, Netanyahu speaking there. I want to start our coverage at the White House where President Biden could depart at any moment now. MJ

Lee is there for us.

So, MJ, let's talk about this visit that Biden is making to Israel. It's extraordinary. But just talk us through his priorities. I mean, it's

everything from showing solidarity with Israel to sending a strong message to Hezbollah, you know, basically saying, listen, do not even think about

entering this war and also, trying somehow to negotiate Americans -- Americans who were trapped in Gaza, both hostages and

Civilians to get out, as well. Walk us through it, MJ.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, in just a few hours, we should be seeing President Biden wheels up to Israel and as you have been

saying, this really will be a remarkable trip for our U.S. President to be entering a war zone at such a moment of volatility and violence in the

region.

And what we are learning is that this decision, needless to say, was not made lightly. There was a ton of work by his top national security

officials in the last 48 hours or so, particularly by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been really hopscotching different countries in the

region and talking to his counterparts and laying the groundwork for the President's visit to even be possible.

And what we have learned is that one of the sticking points, really one of the conditions for President Biden agreeing to make this trip to Israel and

Jordan, was assurances from the Israelis that humanitarian aid would be able to get into Gaza, that that was a top condition for the President,

basically green-lighting this trip for himself to the area.

[12:05:00]

And what U.S. officials would like to see is for this humanitarian plan to be firmly in place before Israel makes that expected ground invasion into

Gaza. And our understanding right now is that Israel would essentially hold off on any kind of invasion of that sort until President Biden left the

region.

This isn't something that would have been communicated explicitly, but again, U.S. officials understand this to be the reality for the next 24, 48

hours or so while President Biden is on the ground.

Obviously, humanitarian aid is a top focus for the President and will be while he is there. But as you said, there are a number of other issues that

are going to be top of mind for the President as he is meeting with some of the leaders in the region, including the issue, as you said, of hostages

that are being held by Hamas.

Our reporting even this morning is that U.S. officials have very little information about the condition of around the handful of American hostages

that are believed to have been taken by Hamas. Working on that is going to be a top priority for President Biden.

And also, just this issue of trying to send a broader message of deterrence to any actors in the region, U.S. officials have been warning all along,

really ever since the attacks began last weekend, that keeping this conflict from spilling out over Israel's borders, that is really a top

priority for the United States.

One area to really watch is after the stop in Israel, the president traveling to Jordan. That is where he will be meeting with a number of

leaders, including from some Arab countries, including the President of Egypt.

That country is going to be so key and has been so key on this issue of creating a humanitarian corridor, really a way in which A, can both enter

Gaza, but also a way in which people that want to leave the area can safely leave.

So, just goes without saying that the president making this visit himself is incredibly remarkable and extraordinary, and just goes to show how much

U.S. officials, and including the president himself, believe that all of these things we talked about, they believe had a better chance of getting

done if the President himself were able to make this visit himself.

GOLODRYGA: And you bring up Egypt, of course, being a huge player in all of this. We've seen those images of Palestinians, foreign nationals, dual

nationals at the Rafah crossing, desperate to make their way out of Gaza and into Egypt. MJ Lee, live for us. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, from Washington, let's go to Jerusalem. That's where we find CNN's Jeremy Diamond. And Jeremy, in addition to President Biden's

visit, the U.S. has put roughly 2000 troops on alert for a potential deployment to Israel. This on top of the two carriers in the region, a

clear sign that the U.S. is making a forceful case of deterrence here, as MJ mentioned.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, there has been, you know, the President's visit is just the latest

element of deterrence that is coming from his administration.

There are those two aircraft carriers sent to the region. There are those 2000 plus Marines and sailors put on high alert. And excuse me, I'm just

getting some technical issues here.

And so basically, there is this kind of broader picture of deterrence in the region. And the President's visit certainly is going to send a signal

to Iran and to other countries not to take advantage of the situation of this conflict between Israel and Hamas, not to turn this into a broader

regional war.

And so, we'll see when he arrives the extent to which that message is received. Certainly, Secretary of State Blinken, over the last week, he has

been shuttling from one Arab country in the region to another, visiting everywhere from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, et cetera.

And so, when President Biden comes here, he'll be coming on the heels of those efforts.

Now, the question for me is, what exactly will the President have to announce when he is here. We know that there will be efforts on the Gaza

humanitarian front. The President and his Secretary of State have been working to get aid into Gaza, to get Americans out of Gaza via that Rafah

crossing. So, we will see on that. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And Jeremy, I know that you've been speaking with and meeting with some families in the region impacted by all of this bloodshed war.

What are you hearing from them?

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right. There are about 18,000 Gazans who had permits to work in Israel. And we believe now, according to UNRWA, the U.N. refugee

agency charged with Palestinian refugees, about 4100 of those were stuck in Israel since then. They had their work permits revoked. We spoke with

several hundred of them who were at a refugee camp in the West Bank.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISMAIL ABD ALMAGID (through translator): Yassin, he likes football.

[12:10:00]

And he likes the phones.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Sitting in a refugee center in the West Bank, Ismail Abd Almagid can't hold back his tears when speaking of his family. His wife

and five children are in Gaza, which has faced relentless bombing over the last week.

ALMAGID (through translator): They're my life. Of course, they are all my life.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Ismail should be there, too. When war broke out, he was in Israel, where the roughly 18,000 Gazans granted a permit to work

there.

ALMAGID (through translator): I always wanted this permit because the situation in Gaza is very dire. The financial situation, the debt, the

economy is zero.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Now, Ismail just wants to go home.

ALMAGID (through translator): In an instant, right now, I'll go back. This moment, I would go back.

DIAMOND: When Hamas carried out its attack in southern Israel, hundreds of those Gazan workers suddenly found themselves stranded far away from their

families as bombs began falling on the Gaza Strip. Now, several hundred of those workers are here in the Dheisheh refugee camp waiting to return home.

ADAM BOULOUKOS, U.N. RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY, WEST BANK DIRECTOR: Well, these numbers are really hard to get a handle on. And there might be 15 --

20,000 work permits that are issued on a daily basis. We don't know how many were working on that Saturday. It was Shabbat, so maybe the number was

half. Maybe it's more than that, more than 10,000. But the Israelis have kind of gathered them up and brought them to the West Bank.

DIAMOND (voice-over): At least 180 are living, sleeping and waiting here in the Dheisheh refugee camps event center, agonizingly powerless to help

their families.

MARWAN SAQER, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): What do I feel? I feel like I can't sleep. I'm super worried about them. And all-day I'm in

contact with them. And until now I spoke to my boy, I told him to leave to go to another area. Take your mother and your siblings and go to another

area. If I was there, I would be the one taking them from one place to another to protect them.

DIAMOND: So, who's taking care of your family now?

AHMAD ABU ASSI (through translator): Nobody. All of us, physically, we are here, but our minds are in Gaza.

ASSI: Hello?

DIAMOND (voice-over): During our interview, Marwan's family tries to call him, twice. The call got disconnected, he says, discouraged. There's no

reception.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that reporting. Needless to say, the last 10 days has changed everything for residents living in both Israel

and Gaza.

ASHER: Yeah, and speaking of Gaza, it has been an agonizing wait for the families of hostages who are being held there. Hamas now says that they're

holding as many as 250 people hostage in Gaza. And for the first time, it is releasing a video showing one of them in captivity.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, sadly, we had been warned that this would happen. This video, which CNN has chosen not to air shows Mia Shem alive but injured

with her right hand in bandages. The 21-year-old was one of the partygoers captured by Hamas at the Novo Music Festival.

That's where the Israeli military says Hamas killed at least 260 people. Her mother told reporters in Tel Aviv Tuesday that the video is the first

real sign that she's had that Mia survived the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEREN SCHARF SCHEM, MOTHER OF MIA SCHEM: My message to my daughter is that I love her so much and I miss her so much and all these days I just thought

how I'm hugging her when she's coming home and that's what kept me strong and, you know, and focused. I didn't know she's dead or alive until

yesterday. All I knew is that she might be kidnapped. I'm begging the world to bring my baby back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: In the meantime, the family of a Palestinian man says that they believe he was also taken hostage while driving passengers from East

Jerusalem to the Nova Music Festival. He's thought to be pretty much the only Palestinian taken hostage in the October 7th attack.

Joining us live now is Gershon Baskin, the Middle East Director for the International Communities Organization. He's also -- and this is really

crucial -- he's also a hostage negotiator who helped secure the release of Gilad Shalit, that's an Israeli soldier who was held in Gaza for five

years, captured by Hamas.

He was -- ended up being released back in 2011. And he's also been in contact with Hamas during the current crisis.

[12:15:00]

Gershon, you are the perfect person to speak to about what is happening here. Given that you have been in contact with Hamas -- given that Hamas is

now saying they're holding about 250 people hostage right now, what can you share with us about where their head is at, where their mindset is at in

terms of possibly releasing some of these hostages prior to a ground invasion? What do you know? What can you share with us?

GERSHON BASKIN, MIDDLE EAST DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES ORGANIZATION: I think that there's an opportunity, a window of opportunity,

a very small window for a very limited time to do a humanitarian deal with Hamas for the release of the women, the children, the elderly and the

wounded. I say a limited deal because Israel has in its prisons, 43 Palestinian women and 190 minors, youth, 17 -- 16 - 15-year-olds.

Most of them who have thrown stones or Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers, all of them are from the West Bank and are from Gaza. To the best

of my knowledge, none of them are Hamas operatives and also to the best of my knowledge, none of them have killed Israelis.

So, if there was a deal like this that Hamas was willing to accept, I know that there are people in the Israeli war cabinet who would say yes to it,

bringing home as many of those hostages as we can before the Israeli military incursion into Gaza. The question is whether Anah Palas will agree

to it.

To the best of our knowledge, formal negotiations are taking place, but unfortunately, they seem to be a bit convoluted. The leading party in the

negotiation of the Qataris, and they speak directly with Hamas -- Hamas leadership is in Qatar, so it's easy for them to talk to them.

But my understanding is that they're not talking directly to the Israelis. They are speaking to the Americans, apparently someone from Secretary

Blinken's team stayed in Doha to negotiate.

So, it's rather convoluted because the Qataris are speaking to the Americans who are speaking to the Israelis who go back to the Americans

while the Qataris are speaking to the Hamas people in Doha but not the Hamas people in Gaza.

As a result of the American involvement, I believe we had a situation of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Doha, flying to Tehran and getting the

Iranian foreign ministry involved in the negotiations. This further complicates it.

But I have to be honest, I don't really know what's happening at the official level. I will get some information tomorrow morning from an

Israeli source. This is my assessment of what's going on. And the window of opportunity is very small and very short in time. So, I appeal to those

involved to speed up the talks, to do what's necessary to bring home as many as possible.

I appeal to President Biden and the Americans to apply pressure on Qatar. They're hosting the Hamas leadership. The Qataris should issue a demand and

automate into Hamas to release the hostages or as many as possible or else the Hamas leadership should be exiled from Doha. I know that the Qataris

will demand an Israeli ceasefire.

That's negotiable for a short period of time, but the Israelis are dedicated to their primary military mission, which is to ensure that Hamas

will not be governing in Gaza tomorrow nor will be a threat to Israel ever again. This is an imperative, a result of the terrorist attack that took

place last Saturday.

GOLODRYGA: Gershon, I'm just curious. Given how convoluted these negotiations are as you've just laid out for us, I believe the Israeli

officials directly said that they would not mediating with Hamas themselves. They would be going through a third party.

Over the weekend, there was reporting that some officials, and Egyptian officials -- a Qatari --they say that their biggest obstacles, given how

dispersed leadership is outside of Gaza, is actually getting in touch with some of these hostage-takers.

They, quote, said, that they ditched their mobile phones. It was impossible to reach any of them. Is that a problem in and of itself if you have

leadership in Doha not being able to communicate or pinpoint exactly where these hostages are and where those that took them are?

BASKIN: Yeah, I think if I can speak to someone to Hamas leaders in Gaza, I'm speaking with two different Hamas leaders in Gaza, sending messages to

another who is reading my message and not answering them and sending them to another person in Doha who is reading my messages but not answering

them, I'm sure that the Hamas leadership in Doha and the Qataris have ways of getting messages through to the hostage holders in Gaza.

There's a further complication because it seems that Hamas is not the only one holding hostages. Islamic Jihad is holding hostages. The Popular Front

for the Liberation of Palestine is holding hostages and it's believed that there might be individuals who are not affiliated with any organization are

also holding hostages. So, it is a mess, and it is difficult and complicated.

[12:20:00]

And Hamas and their people need to understand that their day has come. Their days are numbered. Any person holding an Israeli hostage will be

killed. It's not sure how many hostages can be rescued.

I assure you that the Israelis are spending all these days and not doing the military incursion because they're collecting intelligence on the

tactical plans of Hamas, on the tunnel network, on surprises that might await the Israeli forces when they enter. But they're also collecting

intelligence information. You can't hide 200 or 250 hostages, even if they're spread out all over.

And the Israelis have -- despite the failure of intelligence last Saturday, have the very good ability to listen to phones, to take data from phones

all over Gaza. They have captured hundreds of phones from terrorists who were killed in Israel, and they will have a lot of information for Israel's

special forces to go in and attempt to rescue hostages. Some of those rescue operations will be successful, some will be less successful.

I think we can also hope that some of the hostage keepers will desert their post and run for their lives. This is not the top echelon fighting force of

Hamas that did the terrorist attack in Israel. We can assume that these are lower-level operatives who are holding and probably a lot less disciplined

than the hostage holders of Gilad Shalit, who was in captivity for five years and four months without ever knowing where he was being held.

ASHER: Gosh, that was extremely informative. You mentioned that you are going to speak to an Israeli source tomorrow about the status of

negotiations and the hostages. I really do hope, Gershon, that you keep us informed. So many people waiting to hear in Israel from their loved ones in

Gaza and just in terms of the hostages.

ASHER: Yeah, please share with us whatever information you get. Gershon.

BASKIN: Sure, and if I can learn where negotiations are stuck, I might be able to come up with some creative ideas to help.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, anything would be helpful at this point. So, thank you so much for what you're doing.

ASHER: Thank you. Thank you, Gershon.

BASKIN: Thank you.

ASHER: Gershon Baskin, Middle East Director at the International Communities Organization. So much information.

GOLODRYGA: That was a lot.

ASHER: That was a lot. But the fact that he said that's one of the reasons why the IDF is waiting -- waiting before launching this ground ingestion

into Gaza, the fact that they're trying to sort of map out, just using intelligence to figure out where these 250 hostages might be and what sort

of booby traps may await the idea when they enter.

GOLODRYGA: That would be reassuring for some of these families who are concerned that the Netanyahu government is not putting enough focus on this

hostage situation specifically. Well, as Israel prepares its expected ground offensive in Gaza, the world waits to see what Hezbollah will do. Is

international pressure enough to keep the terror group at bay? We'll take a look.

ASHER: And then, we will take you live to Capitol Hill where a vote that could determine the next speaker of the House is about to get underway.

We'll have that next, hear.

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[12:25:47]

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ASHER: All right, crossfire on the Israel-Lebanon border that is raising a lot of fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could actually escalate

into a broader conflict here. The Israeli military says that it is striking terror targets in Lebanon belonging to the Hezbollah militant group in

response to incoming fire.

GOLODRYGA: The Lebanese Red Cross reports at least four people were killed in Tuesday's strikes. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, backed by Iran, have

been trading fire almost daily for more than a week now.

ASHER: All right, let's bring in CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman who joins us live now from southern Lebanon. So, Ben, when you

think about Israel's war with Hezbollah back in 2006, that war essentially ended in pretty much a draw and Hezbollah's military might, their military

capabilities have only increased dramatically since that point in time. Just explain to us what Israel is up against here and can they really

manage a war on two different fronts?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israel, Zain, is up against a whole different order of opponent when it comes to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah back in 2006, and I covered the war from here in South Lebanon, really fought the Israelis to a standstill. They took maximum advantage of

their familiarity with the local terrain. They already had long experience fighting with the Israelis when they drove the Israeli occupation out of

the South, finally in May of 2000.

Since then, of course, their abilities have only increased. They've received, according to the Israelis, as many as 150,000 missiles and

rockets from the Iranians. And what we've been seeing in the last few days is that they are using very sophisticated, guided missiles to target

Israeli positions that are making precise hits. These are not random missiles fired in the general direction of the Israelis. They are hitting

tanks. They are hitting precise targets.

The rockets that have been fired from south Lebanon since the 7th of October have been by and large fired by Palestinian groups like Islamic

Jihad, like the military wing of Hamas. Those are sort of the crude rockets of the past, not what Hezbollah is using now.

And let's keep in mind that Hezbollah was a partner in the war in Syria, fighting alongside the forces of the Assad regime. They proved to be much

more effective fighters than the Syrian army itself. And in the course of the war in Syria, they gained very practical experience in urban warfare.

So, this is a battle-hardened military force that I've seen them in action. They're highly disciplined. They are not a rag-tag militia in any sense of

the word. So, if a front opens to the north of Israel along this border, this will be a war of a whole different magnitude. However, the Israelis

have made it clear that if Hezbollah does become involved in a war with Israel, that the price will be high.

Yoav Galant, the Israeli defense minister, recently said that in the event of a war between Israel will -- in his words, bomb Lebanon back into the

Stone Age. He's not talking about Hezbollah, he is talking about Lebanon itself, the country.

And therefore, obviously the stakes are very high for all sides, but Hezbollah at the moment seems to be skirting just below what the Israelis

are calling the threshold of escalation. Enough attacks just to keep everybody's nerves on edge, but not quite enough to spark a full war. Zain.

ASHER: And the situation, of course, highly flammable at the moment. Ben Wedeman, live for us there. Thank you so much. One small mistake could, of

course, lead to a dramatic escalation.

GOLODRYGA: In a sense, Hezbollah really testing the waters, though it was notable after 2006, Hezbollah leadership subsequently said that they did

not anticipate the scale of response from Israel.

[12:30:00]

We'll see what would happen if that were the case this time. And for that, let's bring in Israeli writer and journalist Yossi Melman. So, Yossi, given

the concerns about a possible second front opening in the north, it is notable that we have yet to see that massive large-scale ground incursion

into Gaza.

I want to read to you what an IDF spokesperson said today about that. He said, quote, we're preparing for the next stages of war. We haven't said

what they will be. Everybody's talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different. What, if anything, do you read into those words? Is

there a scenario that you can envision where we wouldn't see a large-scale incursion into Gaza?

YOSSI MELMAN, ISRAELI JOURNALIST AND WRITER: Well, it's a theoretical possibility at the moment because the Israeli authorities, the government

and the IDF made clear that without a land invasion, incursion into Gaza, the war goals would not be achieved. And therefore, it's about time to

happen. Probably, it will take another day or two.

The attack will not be launched as long as President Biden is in the region, but he's supposed to leave it on Thursday. So, I cannot imagine

anything else but a land incursion, a land attack. It might be complemented with continued -- not might.

It will be complemented with additional airstrikes and Navy bombardment from the Mediterranean, which already, the Israeli Navy was taking place in

the fighting. So, I can't imagine what else can be. Probably, special forces will be involved and so on.

ASHER: And Yossi, when you think about the fact that, you know, we've been reporting and talking about this for a week, this idea that any moment now,

the IDF is going to launch this ground incursion into Gaza.

Any moment now, obviously, it still hasn't happened at this point in time. There's obviously a lot to consider from the Israeli perspective, a lot in

terms of intelligence gathering. But now that Hamas has released this video of Mi'achshem, the way I sort of interpreted that video, just watching it,

it was almost as if Hamas is sort of trying to bait the Israelis to come to Gaza.

You know, a lot of people have talked about this idea of Gaza, Northern Gaza, being booby-trapped, that they're laying a trap for the IDF soldiers.

Just give us a sense of what the IDF is walking into here.

MELMAN: Well, the IDF goals and the government order was to destroy Hamas and its weapons and its armaments and its bunkers, and it's a very

ambitious goal. I don't know how it's going to be achieved, and it will take -- and Defense Minister Gallant is talking about weeks and weeks and

weeks.

So, if this is the goal, it will demand a lot of firepower and a lot of soldiers' boots on the ground. And in the midst of it, we have the hostages

problem.

At the moment, Israel identified the idea of identified for certainty, 199 hostages that were taken into Gaza, probably the number is higher when 230

maybe even will reach 250.

And this can be an obstacle during such an ambitious war plan. I thought that maybe it would be wiser to, first of all, to deal with the -- with the

hostage situation and then to launch -- and then to launch the attack.

GOLODRYGA: Yossi, quickly, another shocking development that we've seen today and yesterday was we just had the head of the IDF intelligence really

say the buck stops with me, take the blame and responsibility for this massive intelligence failure, this following the head of the Shin Bet doing

the same yesterday.

When all of this is said and done and this war ends in one way or another, do you expect -- do Israelis expect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do

the same -- to do what Golda Meir did and say the buck stops with me, I take the blame and the consequences, whatever they may be, perhaps a

resignation will come?

MELMAN: The security and military and intelligence chiefs, I know them, they have integrity and they took full responsibility for it. And I have no

doubt that once the war is over, they will resign.

[12:35:00]

However, even Golda Meir after the 73 Yom Kippur War, resigned after months only due to a public pressure. And therefore, at the moment, neither

Netanyahu nor Gallant admitted of any wrongdoing. They didn't share any responsibility. And therefore, I doubt it very much that Netanyahu would

step down after the war.

ASHER: All right, Yossi Melman, live for us there. I mean, 73, the references for the Yom Kippur War, obviously apt, given that was another

surprise attack, as well. Yossi, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

MELMAN: Thank you, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you. Well, coming up, two weeks after Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster, Republican lawmakers are deciding on a new House Speaker.

But the big question is, does Jim Jordan have the votes? Even he doesn't know. We'll go live to Capitol Hill to find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right, welcome back. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Our breaking news coverage continues. U.S. President Joe Biden is set to show his ironclad support for Israel as

he arrives Wednesday for a high stakes visit. He'll meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, then travel to Amman, Jordan.

This, as Israel continues to respond to last week's terror attacks by Hamas, which killed more than 1400 people. This was the scene in Gaza just

a short while ago. Plumes of smoke rising after another airstrike.

ASHER: Yeah, and as we've been reporting, the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic. I mean, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says that

at least 3000 people have now been killed inside Gaza, aid supplies piling up in Egypt, but the Rafah crossing into Gaza remains closed. That aid not

going through at this point in time.

[12:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: And so many people in desperate need of it. Another world leader, we should tell you, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has just arrived

in Tel Aviv, as well. Israel's Foreign Minister says his visit shows that Berlin understands Israel must eliminate Hamas.

ASHER: All right. Another story that we are keeping a close eye on as well, we are keeping a close eye on the House floor where members on the House

are now voting, deciding on possibly, a new House Speaker.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we have Groundhog Day all over again in search of a new speaker for Republicans. Now, it's unclear if Republican Jim Jordan will

get the 217 votes he needs to be speaker. Democrats strongly oppose his candidacy. And by CNN's last count, before the vote, Jordan was short of

the Republican votes needed to win the gavel.

Well, in troubled times that demand U.S. attention. What's happening on Capitol Hill is being watched not only in America, but around the world, as

well. So, for more on this, we want to bring in CNN Senior Political Analyst John Avlon. John, always great to see you.

So, before we get to the actual math of this all, can you explain to our viewers -- many of them around the world, why Jim Jordan is as

controversial as he is, why his speakership would be something unprecedented?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's an important point because this isn't simply about the circus of dysfunction in Congress. This is

about Jim Jordan, who would be the most extreme speaker, really in living memory, at least. And I say that because he has been directly implicated in

coordinating and meeting with members of the Trump White House and its flunkies to participate in the overthrow of the election.

Liz Cheney has said that he knew more than any other member of Congress at that time. He has the lowest legislative record of almost any member of

Congress, no bipartisan accomplishments per se.

And so, this is a potential elevation of the most far right extreme person in the caucus, endorsed by Donald Trump, without any ability or desire to

reach out. And the idea that he can unify the Republican caucus wouldn't be worth a laugh if we weren't at this point where some folks seem to be

believing there'll be a new Jim Jordan. Spoiler alert, there won't.

This is someone who a former Republican speaker from his home state of Ohio called a legislative terrorist because he was more interested in destroying

than building. And this person is potentially going to be who Republicans put forward as speaker. Well, they are putting him forward. We'll see if he

gets that.

ASHER: Wow. Tell us your real thoughts, John?

AVLON: I always will. You know that.

GOLODRYGA: That's why we have you on.

ASHER: No, but it's interesting because actually in 2018, one of our reporters, one of our anchors actually asked Jim Jordan, listen, has Donald

Trump ever told a lie? And his response was, not that I can recall, but as you point out, there's so much -- so much controversy in terms of, you

know, believing and going out there and saying that the 2020 election was stolen and what have you.

Just in terms of whether or not he actually does have the support here, what are you hearing? Is he actually going to make it through this time?

Will there be multiple rounds a la Kevin McCarthy?

AVLON: It shouldn't be close, by which I mean that if Stephen Scalise, who's very conservative, was considered unacceptable to a handful of

Republicans, and the sitting speaker was for the first time in U.S. history pushed out of power by the folks on the far right, Jim Jordan should have

negative capability to unite the Republican conference, let alone Congress, because there are 18 members of Congress who are Republicans who represent

districts where Joe Biden won.

They should want to have nothing to do with this, let alone anyone who is a self-styled moderate or independent-minded Republican. He can only afford

to lose four votes. Right now, according to the latest whip count, there are slightly more than that who say they are firmly opposed on reasons

like, as Congressman Ken Buck has said, the fact that Jim Jordan won't acknowledge reality that Donald Trump lost the election.

That election lies sort of a litmus test among folks on the far right, hard for perhaps people to understand overseas. But there are others whose --

who say they are inclined to vote against him. But he has said he will go multiple rounds.

I cannot see right now how that math will go unless people say, look, this is so pathetic to not be able to have a speaker that will back Jim Jordan.

That will lead to more dysfunction and division of the future, not less. Mark my words.

GOLODRYGA: So, John, I guess the big question is what are moderate Republicans going to do? We know where a lot of their votes are in the

first round. We don't know how many rounds this could go. And the feeling is that they may be able to be pressured to finally, reluctantly vote yes

if they do get into five, six, seven, eight rounds. What does that mean for them and their spots in a lot of districts that were Biden won in the past?

[12:45:00]

And their spots in a lot of districts that were Biden won in the past?

AVLON: They'll lose. They'll be signing their own, you know, firing notice in effect. But this is the problem in our politics in the United States.

They're also afraid of losing a primary to folks in the far right. And they're in many cases more likely to lose a primary than a general

election, except those 18 you mentioned.

So, this is a structural problem in U.S. politics. This should go at least -- Kevin McCarthy is nowhere near as polarizing and extreme as Jim Jordan

is. He went 15 rounds for McCarthy, it should go, you know, 45 rounds for Jim Jordan. It shouldn't even mean getting to a vote.

And I personally -- someone who is from the center, right, worked for a Republican once upon a time, I believe in both parties, just reasoning

together, it would be nice to see the center right have as much spine as folks on the far right. But they seem incapable of doing that.

And there's another alternate reality here that is not impossible, where you could have a very conservative, but still reasonable and widely

respected Republican come forward, maybe not get votes from folks on the far right but get enough Democrats to become speaker. That would actually

be a return to governance of the national interest.

That should not be idealistic pie in the sky stuff. That's how government is supposed to work in a democracy. And that is how -- I think there still

is a chance this could be the result. But it's going to require the center having some spine, which is something they're not in practice of doing

recently.

ASHER: A lot of a lot of moderates are saying that look, you know, we supported Kevin McCarthy. We don't want to end up supporting Jim Jordan

because that means we're rewarding the kind of behavior that led to Kevin McCarthy -- Kevin McCarthy's asked in the first place and they're not wrong

by the way, they're not wrong.

AVLON: They're 100 percent right. They are 100 percent right. All this would be doing is vindicating the far right -- the folks who tossed out the

sitting speaker and in ennobling and elevating election lies in advance of an election from somewhat informative to some who attacked the Capitol, Jim

Jordan's their candidate.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we'll be watching moderate Republicans and at some point see what Democrats, if there's any lifeline they're willing to offer if

this goes into, what did you say, 45? How many rounds did you say this should be going?

AVLON: I mean, look, I'm just saying it should be a lot more than Kevin McCarthy had.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

ASHER: John, can I just say we love having you on. We really do.

AVLON: My pleasure, guys.

ASHER: You're so great to talk to. You're so much fun.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Walk out this hour for the rest of your Mondays or Fridays, John Avalon. Thank you.

AVLON: Anytime, guys. Be well.

ASHER: Thank you. All right, still to come. We will bring you the story of one of our own CNN journalists forced to flee with his family inside Gaza.

It's a really terrifying story. We'll have that and more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: And what's happening in Gaza has been personal for so many of us. We're going to actually share a story of one of our own friends and

colleagues inside Gaza right now. Ibrahim Dahman, as you see there on your screen, is a CNN journalist who lives in northern Gaza with his wife,

Rasha.

ASHER: They have two boys, two children, and Rasha is pregnant with their third child. Can you imagine going through all of this while you're

expecting a baby? Ibrahim and his family, like so many others, were forced to flee and make the dangerous journey south in Gaza. This is his story so

far. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IBRAHIM DAHMAN, CNN JOURNALIST (through translator): I'm with my family fleeing airstrikes in Gaza.

[12:50:00]

DAHMAN (through translator): My son is terrified. I tell him, don't be afraid, son. But the truth is, I'm afraid, too. My name is Ibrahim Dahman

and I am a CNN journalist. For years, I have covered the stories of people in Gaza. I never thought that I would become a part of the story.

Last week, I was in Gaza City when I was told to evacuate. I don't know where to go. Where? But where do I go? My home, family and my life are

here. Like so many others, I don't have anywhere else to go. We reached a nearby hotel. There are journalists, families and people on their own.

We're now among the displaced, 1.1 million people told to evacuate Northern Gaza. They don't strike hotels, right? They don't strike hotels, no. I know

deep down, no building is safe. We watch air strikers and the sound of explosions keeps us awake at night.

On the third day, a nearby building is hit. Ghis man was injured in the explosion. He is my father's cousin. Thankfully, he only suffered minor

injuries. I must get away from the hotel. The situation is very difficult. We load our car and head south to Khan Younis. Seconds after, we left the

hotel. They fired a rocket that heavily damaged the entire area.

Now, we're in Khan Younis. There are still airstrikes but it is safer here. It's only a matter of time until we flee again. I hope one day, we can

return home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:55:32]

ASHER: All right, at this moment, lawmakers in the U.S. House are about to vote on the next House Speaker. The voting is set to begin any moment now.

You're looking at live pictures from the House floor. Four hundred and thirty-two House members are indeed present. One Republican lawmaker is

absent from the vote. Jim Jordan is vowing to continue going for as many rounds as necessary as it takes, really. We'll bring you the results of the

vote as soon as we get that. Stay with CNN.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, get comfortable. It could take a long time. That does it for this hour of "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Our coverage continues with my colleague Christiane Amanpour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END