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IDF: Military Has Completed Its Encirclement Of Gaza City; Hundreds Of Foreign Nationals Exit Gaza Thursday; Blinken Says He Will Discuss "Concrete Steps" With Israel On Minimizing Civilian Harm; Israel Says It Intercepted Missile From Southeast; Check Point: Cyberattacks Rising Since Oct. 7; Iran Hackers Target Israel, Saudi Arabia; Storm Ciaran Wreaks Havoc In U.K. And France; Devastation And Suffering In Jabalya; U.S. House To Vote On $14.3 Billion Israel Aid Bill; Eric Trump Testifies In Fraud Trial; South Africa Celebrates Rugby World Cup Win. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 02, 2023 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:35]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN Breaking News. I'm Julia Chatterley.
Tonight, Israel says its troops have completed the encirclement of Gaza City. The IDF confirming engineers are now working to find underground
infrastructure and a neutralizing threat to allowed troops to move around freely.
And as ground forces advance, IDF airstrikes continue. These images show the aftermath of a strike in the Al Zawayda refugee camp in central Gaza.
Ed Lavandera joins us now. Ed, let's talk about the encirclement of Gaza City. What more do we know? An important point and moment in their
operations.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Force announcing this evening here in Israel that these
Israeli forces inside Gaza have encircled Gaza City there. This has been one of the main focuses of the ground operation there inside the Gaza Strip
and the focus of much attention.
Israeli forces have been saying, for weeks, that the Hamas military operation really survives and is executing its plan from inside that
elaborate and sophisticated tunnel system underground -- the underground, these -- in these residential areas. And that's why they believe it is
crucial to reach these areas to be able to take out the Hamas military leadership. And that appears to be what we're seeing tonight here in
Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice over): The firefight on the ground between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters has intensified for days. And now, Israeli
military leaders say its forces have entered Gaza City. Israeli Defense Forces released these video images of soldiers moving through the war-
ravaged streets of Gaza.
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Our soldiers have been operating in Gaza City for the past
few days, surrounding it from several directions, deepening the operation. Our forces are in very significant operations of Gaza City.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Israeli forces have made their way into the northern and central areas of Gaza as well. This is where it says Hamas
military leaders are believed to be operating from a sophisticated system of underground tunnels.
Israel defense force officials say more than 10,000 munitions have been fired into Gaza, striking thousands of targets.
HAGARI (through translator): Fighters of the IDF continue to progress in Gaza, holding battles face-to-face with the Hamas terrorists, deepening
their combat.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Hamas released this video of what it says are its fighters emerging from underground tunnels, attacking Israeli soldiers
inside Gaza. The video does capture the dangerous nature of this ground fight.
The military wing of Hamas also says it released this video showing the moment of an aerial drone dropping munitions on a gathering of Israeli
forces in northeast Gaza.
The fighting has taken a deadly toll across the Gaza Strip since October 7th, over 9000 have been killed here, according to Palestinian health
officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave. Israeli aerial strikes have left massive craters in residential and refugee areas as the military says it's
trying to dismantle Hamas military operations underground.
The Israeli military says 20 IDF soldiers have been killed in the Gaza operation, one of those was 20-year-old, Roei Dawi. Dawi's funeral service
brought out hundreds of mourners, near Jerusalem, on Thursday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And, Julia, this really is a critical time in this war. And this is a very treacherous time for all sides there as the Israeli forces
have made their way, as they're announcing tonight, surrounding Gaza City. This really speaks to how much more difficult this ground fight will be
inside this area, very dangerous, especially for Israeli soldiers, as you saw there in that video. This is an area that the Hamas soldiers have
controlled, and have developed and built. So they clearly know their way around there.
And that is why you're hearing the spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Force saying tonight that part of the process they're trying to do is
trying to use engineers to be able to locate and understand the tunnel system that they are dealing with so that they can neutralize any kind of
gunfire or firefight that might emerge from all of that. So a very critical time in this situation here tonight.
[15:05:09]
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely, Ed. And to your point now, the most perhaps dangerous time for the IDF forces that are going in there now similarly so
for the remaining Palestinians, too.
Ed Lavendera there, thank you for that report.
Meanwhile, more than 300 foreign nationals finally crossed from Gaza into Egypt today. The Egyptians say they're paying for 7,000 foreign nationals
to arrive via the Rafah crossing -- all part of a deal brokered by Qatar between Egypt -- sorry, between Israel, Hamas, and Egypt.
And Becky Anderson is in Doha for us tonight, too. Becky, great to have you with us. Some very welcome good news amidst all the violence and the
sadness.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, and there are, Julia, believed to be between 6,000 and 7,000 people on the list of those who are
or will be able to leave Gaza through that Rafah crossing. A couple dozen Americans today made it through the process. And it was hope that that
number would be as high as 400, so expect to see more to come in the days ahead.
More than 100 Jordanians passed through with a number now having reached the capital. A man -- CNN, caught up with one woman who made that trip.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were in Rafah, but we moved to shelter in the schools. We thought schools would be safer than the
houses, because in the middle of the night, when people are sleeping, they would strike a house, a four-storey building that would fall on top of the
people inside. They'd be buried alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes, a lot of relief for those who got out. Others from Hungary and Holland, for example, also making it. But it will take days to get
everybody through.
And the talks behind the scenes to get this agreement on this evacuation have been painstaking, and they've been complicated for the negotiators.
They've been dealing with competing demands from Hamas and Israel, on the one hand, on who gets out and how, and then, from Egypt, which has very
real security concerns about who makes it into Egypt and for how long.
And it's interesting to note, the families that CNN has spoken to in the states have reported that some members of their families, who have made it
on to the list to evacuate, have had some people on the list, and others in Gaza have been left off. So, families, it seems, is sort of being split up
as far as these lists are concerned.
That's being described by one attorney of one family in Michigan as either callousness or incompetence. I think if you spoke to those who have been
involved in the negotiations, Julia, they will admit that it's been very chaotic. I don't think there's necessarily anything callous about what is
going on.
And examples of people's families being split, some getting on these lists and some not, I just think the -- you know, that the overall communication
has been so chaotic. Remember, at times, there's been no internet connection, no phone lines in Gaza. So it's been really difficult to ensure
that people understood how they get on to these lists to evacuate, where they need to go, when, and how quickly this process will happen.
But we do know that this process is now open, and ongoing. If it's upwards of 6,000, 7,000 people, it's going to take days, at this point, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And to your point, a chaos rather than callousness. I'm not sure anybody would want to deliberately leave anybody behind here, but
it doesn't stop the suffering and the confusion, and the concern, I guess, for the families, too.
Can we talk about US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's plans to head to Israel? He'll be there tomorrow, I believe, and then, of course, onto
Jordan. He's got other countries.
What caught my attention as he was leaving there was what he said. Of course, people are focused on the day of, but he also said we have to have
these conversations now about how we find sustainable durable peace for both the Israelis and the Palestinians, the Jordanians, of course, King
Abdullah himself being crucial to that conversation and the push for a ceasefire, too.
ANDERSON: That's right. Yes, and we are beginning to hear talk of, you know, what happens the day after tomorrow as it were. But the immediate
crisis is so overwhelming, still. But I think there's sort of two tracks going on here.
King Abdullah of Jordan has been at the forefront, of course, from Arab nations for a ceasefire and an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.
Remember, the Jordanian foreign minister led those calls for a vote on Friday next week at the G8, and he got that at the UN General Assembly. He
got that vote from, you know, over 140 countries in favor of an immediate humanitarian pause. Arab nations have a real concern that this conflict
risks escalating around the region.
[15:10:03]
Jordan, along with Egypt, of course, have been Israel's peace partners for years now. But their fears of a mass displacement of Palestinians, to their
respective countries, is a red line. And the recalling of the Jordanian ambassador today, from Israel, is a big diplomatic move. And that's one
that will certainly not have passed by Antony Blinken, as the Secretary of State flies back into the region today. He'll be in Israel and Jordan on
Friday.
And, look, to be clear, Egypt hasn't gone as far as some recall its ambassador. It wants to keep channels both with Israel and Hamas open
because those are extremely important, of course, given the ongoing issues, not the least for Egypt with the border.
But I think, you know, these discussions about what happens the day after tomorrow, what happens, you know, once -- and Israel, of course, have said
this could take, you know, a long time to execute on the Hamas removal. But what happens with Gaza next? Who runs it? How is it run? You know, how to
avoid the displacement of Palestinians? Many of whom are refugees in Gaza from 1948 since what they called the catastrophe or the Nakba.
And, obviously, Egypt and Jordan are very concerned of this mass displacement of Palestinians will push more Palestinians, for example, into
Jordan. Already, you know, half the country there is Palestinian.
So, I think these -- you know, Antony Blinken is here on a listening tour again. He did that tour that was all stopped right at the beginning of this
conflict, right around this region.
And it was only after that tour that you began to hear Washington talking, on the one hand, about Israel's right to self-defense, and they've never
dropped that line, but also on, you know, what happens now in this region to avoid an escalation. And then what happens next as far as a political
solution, a political horizon for the Palestinians going forward -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, lots of questions still to answer, but the conversations need to be had and need to be had now.
Becky, great to have you with us. Becky Anderson there, in Doha, for us. Thank you.
Now, the evacuation certainly come as a huge relief. Nabil Alshurafa, his mother has finally crossed into Egypt. That's a picture of them together.
He previously told CNN his mother had made multiple attempts to leave the territory and have been unsuccessful. And Nabil joins us now.
Great to have you back on the show. You and I spoke, what, just over a week ago now. And I vividly remember your story and your wife and her
grandmother as well and your concerns. How does this moment feel after all this waiting?
NABIL ALSHURAFA, SON OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN EVACUATED FROM GAZA: Julia, thank you for having me back. It's truly elating.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
ALSHURAFA: It's a huge relief. I mean, when I saw mom's name on that list, it took -- day one, her name was not on the list, day one.
But when I was looking and scrolling through the names of the United States citizens, and she was, like, number 347, my hand was on my heart. But when
I saw it, it was just a huge relief as I -- you know, it's such a bittersweet moment, Julia, for my mother, for all of us, because she sort
of leads now. You know, she's able to make it across the border, but she also leaves behind her siblings and her mother.
So imagine all this that I'm doing for my mother, how it must be for her, and how she feels leaving her sick mother behind.
CHATTERLEY: I know. And I remember when we spoke, that was the reason why she was there because she was there to take care of her mother who is not
well, and to support her siblings in that as well.
Have you managed to speak to her? What was that conversation like? Because you and I said she did want to come home, but it was that wrench having to
make the decision to leave her family, particularly given what's still going on there.
ALSHURAFA: Yes, yesterday we spoke before she left. I got a picture of her at the border from a taxi driver that knew her from beforehand. And --
so I know that she made it on the other side. She also was able to reach my uncle to tell him.
But it's just so sad, right? I mean, she -- when we were talking, she was telling me, "Nabil, are you -- were you able to get mom, my grandmother
out?"
And, you know, my grandmother now, her situation after the war is just deteriorating, right? She has constipation. She needs a lot more resources
than other individuals as an elderly needs medication.
So, it's sort of we're now falling into this, again, this equal protection issue we keep having where, you know, after October 7th, the Israelis were
-- you know, their visas, they were allowed. The visa requirement for them was removed.
But for the Palestinians, you know, they -- what do we do? Do we just leave them die -- leave them to die? So it's just -- it's a very difficult
situation for my mother.
[15:15:06]
Also, my uncle, he sent me the message, and I can sense the tears in his eyes. He's like (inaudible) that she escaped. She's on the other side. But
I could sense his tears.
And I just want him to know that, you know, and all my uncles and my grandmother, and all the people in Gaza, in Palestine, I just want you to
know your story. We are going to keep telling your story. Your story is not forgotten. And I hope we continue to tell that story.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. When -- and before your mother left, I know you've managed to get her from the north to the south. But she was staying in a
house with 40 to 50 people. Is that still the case for those left behind, that they're still struggling with all the issues that we discussed, food,
water? Can you just give us a sense of what things were like right before she left?
ALSHURAFA: It's still the case, Julia. They are increasingly now trying to take other people in, to shelter them as well, so the numbers keep going
up.
There's one US citizen. He's an 11-year-old boy. His name is Adam. And he - - his name was on the list to leave the Rafah border, but his two parents are not US citizens.
And so they are not able to leave the Rafah border. So they're having to choose between do we let our son go out on his own or do we keep him, you
know, with us, but with a chance of dying, right, and getting killed. So it's just an impossible decision to be making.
And so I'm really hoping that we're able to get these US citizens, children.
It reminds me of my story, Julia, in 1990, when President George H.W. Bush got -- set freedom (inaudible) to get the US citizens out before entering
the war in Kuwait. I was a US citizen, and he took my family completely. The US took my entire family and we made the US our home.
And so I really hope that the US can do this again for this boy, and also to allow these Palestinians to not die, right, to not be killed, to allow
them to leave this war -- this war zone. So .
CHATTERLEY: And again .
ALSHURAFA: . that's my hope.
CHATTERLEY: . do you know whether they've made a decision on whether to let Adam leave? And what are their names? I just want people to be aware of
this.
ALSHURAFA: Yes, this is Adam Al-Alami (ph) -- Ashraf Al-Alami and his wife also, Heba Al-Alami (ph). -- I'm just hoping that we can get their
names on the list. I've been in contact with the State Department with our attorneys as well to try to get their name on the list. Also, to try to get
my sick grandmother as well.
She fell -- she just got even more depressed. She was happy that her daughter left. We're all happy she left. But there's still that sadness,
right, where it's -- they don't know if they're going to see each other again, Julia. They just don't.
CHATTERLEY: As you said, elation, but bittersweet, and still fear for the remaining of the members of your family. And, Nabil, our hearts and
thoughts are with you. Thank you.
ALSHURAFA: Thank you, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Take care. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:27]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. The Israeli Air Force say it intercepted a missile in recent days launched from the southeast. It did not specify who
fired the missile or where exactly it was launched from.
Israel has been facing attacks from Romanian proxies in both Yemen and Lebanon. And the IT firm, Check Point, based in Tel Aviv, says Iran is also
increasing its cyberattacks on Israel and other nations in the region, including Saudi Arabia.
Gil Messing is the Chief of Staff for Check Point, and he joins us now from Tel Aviv.
Great to have you on the show. You also published reports detailing much of this information, and what I think is most apparent is the degree of
sophistication that we're now seeing from Iran-linked cyberattacks. This is not just about phishing or malware to raise money, it's about strategic and
self-collection of data. Just talk us through it.
GIL MESSING, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR CHECK POINT: Thank you for having me. So as you said, we're talking about a very, very sophisticated campaign, which
is not the regular cyberattack you would regularly see, but something that is extremely evasive, on the one hand, but on the other, is very, very
powerful.
We're talking about months over months, something in about a year that very high powerful entities from government with telecommunication, IT, and
banks, in different places around the Middle East, even an NGO in the United Arab Emirates were targeted by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence
and Security.
And during this campaign, they emergently managed to infiltrate inside the systems, get a lot of information from these entities, and infect them with
a virus which is extremely powerful.
And if you go back a bit, a few months before that, you can see the exact same operation attacking the Albanian government in Albania. And there they
really took down critical systems in the country. So overall, what you see here is one of the most sophisticated, if not the most sophisticated
cyberattack we have seen from Iran in a long time.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's powerful enough. I mean, you've cited the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense, agencies, as you mentioned, banks, telecom
firms. I mean, this is key infrastructure that's being infiltrated.
You also mentioned Israel. Can you tell us exactly what was targeted and perhaps where data was captured from and within Israel?
MESSING: It's the same characteristics also happening here. So you would see government entities or public services that are being targeted, all the
way to telecommunications, IT, and entities of this part.
And it's important to mention that all of these targets, they have a very clear common denominator. They're not allowed in terms of quantities, but
they have a lot of qualitative information inside of them. And this is one of the characteristics of this campaign. They're really looking into
specific targets that if they can get inside on formation, it's very valuable.
Now, at this stage of this attack, it's mostly about grabbing information from these entities and making sure that they have some sort of
surveillance, spyware, into what's happening there. But, as it always happens in cyberattacks, once you infect an entity with a virus, it can
easily transform into something else.
And during this war that we're suffering from now, we have seen entities in Israel that were infected with the same virus, but are now being attacked
by much more severe cyberattacks, something like we call it wiper or ransomware, which really take down an entire network.
Now, as of now, the targets were more low profile, but it's just in terms of a click of a button. Our attention from the Iranian side that it would
escalate much, much further than this. And I think we can anticipate that this will happen.
CHATTERLEY: Just to give our viewers a sense of this, a suggestion that video camera equipment in Israel had been accessed. Do you have any reason
to believe that some of the data that was perhaps collected or the access points that we're talking about here, in some way, were utilized or
contributed to the attacks that we saw by Hamas in Israel on October 7th?
MESSING: While we cannot really link the specific attack on October 7th to these attacks that we're talking about, we can definitely see the same
threat actors we're talking about, whether it's Hamas, their affiliates, Iran or their proxies are using the same tactics to try to grab information
from everyone that they can in Israel. By the way, anyone from citizens to high-profile ministries, they were trying to get the same -- use the same
tactics in order to either intimidate people or -- intimidate people or actually get valuable information.
The security cameras you have mentioned are internal to things like smart houses, things like .
CHATTERLEY: Right.
MESSING: . they're all targeted as we speak. So you can be a citizen living in your house, and sometimes, all of the sudden in the middle of the
night, the lights will go up and down, or the shades will go up and down because they want to intimidate you, or you can be a factory -- a food
factory that your entire control systems might be hacked by the same thing.
[15:25:16]
And they're doing it because Israel is a very difficult country. And we have a very wide network here that things are very connected because we are
an advanced western digital nation. And it only takes one mistake or one entity that would enable very sophisticated hackers, like the ones Iran is
using, in order to infiltrate through this mistake and make some damage. So while we cannot necessarily link it to October 7th, we can definitely see
an increasing interest on their side, but also increasing amount of attacks.
In terms of numbers, we're seeing almost 20% increase, from these days, amounts of attacks towards -- if you compare it to the time before the war.
Specifically, if you look at this government sector or security forces, there's a 52% increase of attacks on this sector in Israel versus the time
before. So it's very, very distinct.
It's very, very clear. We see their intention. And while it's not very clear if you want to join the war physically, it's definitely in a very
active part of this war in the cyber sphere.
CHATTERLEY: Two questions, where are the vulnerabilities coming from? Because I've read that it was one of the obvious, no one is the the
outdated versions of Microsoft Windows servers that they were using as an access point.
If you're talking about a country like Israel that's clearly very aware of this, as you've said, how good are these nations at protecting themselves?
And I guess my second question sort of tied to this in some way, is it coming from within Iran or do they hire people with a higher level of
sophistication?
As you said, we've seen this increasing of sophistication in the attack. Can they hire digital nomads from wherever, somewhere in the world, and pay
for play, essentially, to beef up their efforts? How are they actually achieving this?
MESSING: These are great questions that are actually linked because the short answer for both of your questions is this is a very wide range. It
works automatically by different kind of actors working for the same cause.
So to your first question, in terms of vulnerabilities, so there are numerous vulnerabilities that are out there and they are being patched. But
the patch are not necessarily automatic. And it only takes one vulnerability that isn't patched for whatever reason for the entire system
to be basically in jeopardy.
So here, the vulnerability was known for a while, but it was a very, very - - it was a vulnerability that was very, very dangerous, but not very easy to fix. And for whatever reason, it wasn't fixed at the entities that were
infected, but it can really be anything else.
Now, there's also another term in cybersecurity. It's called a "zero-day", a vulnerability we're not even aware of. And actors in the scale of Iran,
which are nation-state actors that are very, very powerful and they have a lot of budget, they can try to find new kind of vulnerabilities that are
not even published yet and try to infiltrate through that.
And that gets into your second question. It can really be anybody. So we have clear visibility for around 10 attack groups. They're affiliated from
-- by Iran, either sponsored by Iran or operating from Iran.
We're talking about the MOIS, which is the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Security. There's also the Revolutionary Guard in Iran.
These are the institutions that are working against Israel in terms of cyberattacks. But there are other groups that are working from within Iran,
whether they're getting paid, or outside of Iran, that can also be threat actors that are more about business affiliations.
Let's say they are entering the criminals that are being used by these countries, and they're being -- they're operated as proxies.
The range is very, very large, but you can see the common denominator. The interest is the same. The goals are the same. They're looking for very,
very specific victims, and they are trying to make large-scale kind of effects.
And if you look back a bit, not just from this war, let's say two or three years backwards, you would see that the biggest cyberattack that happened
in Israel was the biggest amount of victims of cyberattacks. They were against an insurance company and a service company, not government ones,
but the ones who are using data of millions of Israelis.
So -- because in our country, we call it very digital, we have a very wide range of protections. Some of us are protected very well, some of us are
not protected very well. But the amount of information is in so many places that the Iranians understood that they can attack the more softer areas of
the country, which still have a lot of information and can create a lot of damage.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
MESSING: Anything from daily sides of (inaudible) communities to insurance companies that ensure people in the security forces. So in order
to create big damage, don't necessarily to target the big ones, you can also target the ones that are actually being -- that you can -- that you
can exploit the vulnerabilities there, and it can be very dangerous.
And as I said, it's happening. It's part of the war. It was here before, but it's escalating as we speak.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah, and the asymmetric risks of the situation. Threat actors only have to get it right once. Defenders have to get it right every
single time to prevent it.
MESSING: Agree.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Gil, good to have you on. Thank you, sir. Gil Messing, Chief of Staff at the Check Point software there. Thank you, sir.
[15:30:10]
Now the United States views Iran and its proxies want to avoid a wider war in the Middle East. Washington is concerned however about Lebanon's
Hezbollah. They think the group's internal politics could risk escalating tensions. Its leader is set to give a widely anticipated speech on Friday,
as Ben Wedeman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message on clips circulating on social media, ambiguous but ominous. They are
stoking anticipation for a televised speech by Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Daily, since the 8th of October, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border. It's not a full blown war yet.
KARIM BITAR, ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY: I feel a sense of doom in Lebanon.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Professor Karim Bitar has lived through all his country's travails.
BITAR: Some of them are afraid that we might be on the verge of the apocalypse. So I have never seen this much tension in this country.
WEDEMAN: Hezbollah's leader has been unusually quiet since the war broke out in Gaza. But his allies in Iran have made it clear that, if Israel
crosses red lines in its operations against Hamas, new fronts could open.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): And what are those red lines?
AMAL SAAD, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY: These red lines for Hezbollah, Hamas, Hamas leadership, Hamas remaining intact as an organization and, of course, the
Palestinian people themselves, preventing another Nakba from occurring are Hezbollah's red lines.
They're also Iran's red lines; they're Hamas' and Islamic Jihad's red lines. They're everyone's red lines in the resistance axis.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The nakba, Arabic for catastrophe, is when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their
homes in what is now Israel. As the fighting in Gaza intensifies and the civilian death toll soars, the prospect of regional war looms.
And that could spell disaster for Lebanon, a country already in a state of economic collapse and political paralysis.
MAHA YAHYA, MALCOLM H. KERR CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: A war with Israel would literally send the country back not to the Stone Ages but pre-Stone
Ages, probably, unfortunately. It is not something that the country would - - it would take it ages to recover from.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): On Beirut's Cote Anish (ph), 70-year-old retired bank employee Basen (ph) waits for the fish to bite.
"Nobody knows what's going to happen," he tells me. "Everyone is worried. The situation is not reassuring."
The sea appears calm but a storm may be coming -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: The Jabalya refugee camp is reeling after being hit twice this week by Israeli airstrikes. We'll bring you some of the stories of people
trying to survive there.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:35:00]
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CHATTERLEY: Hello, I'm Julia Chatterley. Our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war continues in a moment when we will have a report from Gaza, where the
Palestinian health ministry says the death toll has now passed 9,000.
And Eric Trump is following his older brother, taking the stand in their father's civil fraud trial. We'll bring you the latest on that, too. But
before that, the headlines this hour.
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CHANCE (voice-over): Red alerts lifted across France following Storm Ciaran, which brought hurricane-force winds to the region. At least one
person was killed and violent gusts left more than 1 million homes without power.
A major incident was declared by the emergency services in southern England. The storm has felled trees and flooded some areas.
Former Memphis, Tennessee, police officer, Desmond Mills Jr., has agreed to plead guilty to state and federal charges in the death of Tyre Nichols, the
use of excessive force and obstruction of justice. It comes about 10 months after Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was violently beaten by police
officers and died from his injuries.
In New York, FBI agents have searched the home of a key fundraiser for mayor Eric Adams' campaign. Sources say FBI agents working as part of an
investigation with its public corruption squad took devices and files from the home of fundraiser Brianna Suggs.
The specific allegations behind the investigation are unknown. Adams has cut short a visit to Washington, D.C., to return to New York.
The Texas Rangers have won their first ever World Series title. They beat Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night in Phoenix. It's their first
championship in 63 years ending one of the longest active droughts in Major League Baseball.
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CHATTERLEY: Israel says its troops have now completely encircled Gaza City. The IDF announcing the engineers are working to find underground
infrastructure and on neutralizing threats to allow their troops to move around freely.
It comes after Israel said its forces are operating in a, quote, "very significant areas" of Gaza City. The Palestinian ministry of health,
meanwhile, says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Hamas-run Gaza since October the 7th.
More than 22,000 others, meanwhile, have been injured. The rising death toll comes amid airstrikes that have hit the Jabalya refugee camp. The main
U.N. refugee agency working in Gaza says four of its shelters have been damaged amid heavy bombardment.
Salma Abdelaziz has the very latest. We must warn you, this report includes disturbing and graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The victims of Jabalya victimized yet again. Some of the survivors of Israel's bombardment took
shelter here, a U.N. school, home to be cut down.
Desperate moments after an Israeli strike nearby shown on social media. This is one of four schools in Gaza impacted by strikes in a 24-hour
period. The U.N. said, in total, housing some 20,000 displaced people. Many of them, frightened young children.
"What did we do?" this boy cries. "We did nothing wrong."
The living conditions in these shelters are unbearable. But families come here for safety. That, too, is gone.
"Bring me my son, bring me my son," this father screams.
It's unclear if his child is dead or alive. Three straight days of airstrikes in Jabalya have brought horror and bloodshed. CNN has reached
out to the IDF for comment on the latest attacks.
[15:40:00]
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Israel says it is targeting Hamas infrastructure in this densely populated residential area and says it killed a senior
Hamas commander with its strike on Tuesday.
Those scores of civilians believed killed, the U.N. Human Rights Council warns what you see here are disproportionate attacks that could amount to a
war crime. Gazans don't understand why the world can't stop this.
"We keep pulling out bodies, small children, women. It is a catastrophe," this man says.
"If the countries of the world had any shame, we wouldn't be in this situation."
And more suffering is all but certain. Israeli troops are inching closer and as ground forces, backed by near constant air raids, move toward
central Gaza, the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians hang in the balance.
The IDF has warned all residents in the north of the Strip to leave, an order deemed inhumane and impossible by the United Nations. So many remain
in the crossfire.
"Where is the world?" this woman screams.
"Our children are being torn up before our eyes."
And with the death toll mounting, pressure is growing on the U.S. and Israel to stem the violence -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: The head of a U.N. organization spearheading aid to Gaza says his visit to the area yesterday was, quote, "one of the saddest days in my
humanitarian work." Philippe Lazzarini spoke with our Christiane Amanpour about conditions there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY: Gaza is a society I know very well. It was a vibrant society. It
was extraordinarily sad, because I visited a school, overcrowded school, sheltering thousands of displaced people.
And basically, the only asks people had at that time was, please, give me water. Please, give me a loaf of bread.
Later on, I was talking to my staff in Gaza and they were confirming that, today, the Gaza Strip is running out of everything, running out of fuel,
running out of water, running out of food, running out of medicine.
And the market is completely depleted. And it is extremely sad to see how much now this population is completely dependent on the international
humanitarian community, which is not in a position anymore to deliver at scope what they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: U.S. House lawmakers are set to vote today on aid for Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to offset the aid amount with $14 billion
in cuts to the IRS. Johnson said Washington must support Israel and mind its budget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Israel doesn't need a cease-fire. It needs its allies to cease with the politics and deliver support now. And
that's what we are doing. House Republicans planned to do that. We're going to do it in short order and provide Israel the aid it needs to defend
itself, free its hostages and eradicate Hamas.
Which is a mission that must be accomplished. All of this, all of this, while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of
the federal government to pay for that commitment to our friend and ally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, called the House bill, quote, "unserious." He says the Senate will work on a bill
that funds both Israel and Ukraine. Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill for us.
Annie, the honeymoon that the House Speaker never quite got is well and truly over here. Still having to make the concessions that his predecessor
had to make in order to try and garner votes, particularly from the hardliners in the party.
Do they have the votes?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, it's a good question. We are expecting this vote to come to the House floor in short
order. We are expecting it to pass the House.
But it's going to be in a much more partisan vote than was initially expected. That's because of decisions that speaker Mike Johnson and
Republicans made to this aid package to Israel.
This was initially supposed to be a bipartisan idea. And the White House suggested that Congress attached aid to Israel with aid to Ukraine. But
because that's not popular among Republicans, speaker Mike Johnson decided to separate those two aid packages.
In addition, add some partisan offsets to this aid package for Israel, which is upsetting a number of Democrats. House Democratic leadership is
whipping against this measure. The White House has issued a veto threat against the bill.
And as we saw, senator majority leader Chuck Schumer is throwing cold water, saying that this bill is essentially dead on arrival in the Senate.
So what we are seeing here is speaker Mike Johnson, the first big piece of legislation that he is putting on the floor, is very much having to placate
to the divisions within his conference.
[15:45:00]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and to no avail. As you said, Senate Republican leadership not on board with this. And President Biden said he'll veto it
if it does get to his desk. Going through the motions, I think that's what they're doing. Annie Grayer, thank you so much for that.
OK, coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP JR., FORMER PRESIDENT'S SON: Before even having a day in court, I'm apparently guilty, of fraud, for relying on my accountant to do,
wait for it, accounting.
CHATTERLEY: Donald Trump Jr. speaking out after his testimony in a $250 million civil fraud case. We will have all the details, next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.
Eric Trump is now on the witness stand in his father's civil fraud trial in New York. His testimony follows that of his older brother, Donald Trump Jr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think it went really well if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted but, unfortunately, the attorney
general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Both brothers say they had no involvement with former president Trump's financial statements. But a judge already ruled that
those statements were fraudulent. Brynn Gingras joins us now.
Brynn, this is far duller than when their father was in there and took the stand. But let's keep this exciting. The message seems to be blame the
experts that we had around us, even though in Donald Trump Jr.'s case, he did sign documents as a trustee. But I guess he didn't read them or was
unaware of what was in them.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was definitely Donald Trump's defense, essentially saying, listen, sure, I went to business school but I
rely on my accountants to do the paperwork. So I signed off on what they told me were factual statements.
It's actually gotten a little bit more dramatic, Julia, for Eric Trump's testimony. The state's attorneys are trying to catch him in some sort of
contradictions with his testimony on the stand today. But also, his deposition he gave the state's attorney's office last year.
And also just prior witness testimony, emails, so they're bringing up a lot of information, where they are trying to show Eric Trump not only knew
about the compilation of financial statements but also contributed to how they were made.
Listen, it's important for viewers to keep in mind, this whole case rests on those financial statements. And what the brothers, their father, Trump
Org knew about the preparation of those valuations of properties in order to get better business loans and tax credits and what they knew about it.
That's why their testimony is so important, in addition to the fact that they are defendants in this case. A little bit more dramatic with Eric
Trump than Don Jr., both those say they had no part in the preparation of these tax documents -- rather, these financial documents.
And we are not quite sure if Eric Trump is going to finish today. However, if he doesn't, he'll be back here tomorrow. Then, of course, on Monday --
[15:50:00]
GINGRAS: -- we are fully expecting the former president to take the stand in this case. And possibly even his daughter, Ivanka, later next week.
CHATTERLEY: Just very quickly, Brynn, just remind us what's at stake in this trial. I think for international viewers it's tough to keep up with
all the different cases and accusations against him.
What is at stake?
GINGRAS: Yes, totally. Listen, it's also so important, this is not a criminal trial. This is a civil trial. So what is at stake is really their
business empire. The state's attorney -- attorney general's office is essentially saying they committed fraud. They owe money back to the state.
They are asking for $250 million.
But in addition to that, the attorney general really just wants to put the Trumps out of business in the state of New York. She wants to cancel their
business licenses for the Trump Organization, for the Trump family members.
So if you think about, it for the Trumps, that's a big deal. That is their brand. This is the state where it's not only their home but it's where they
built their empire. So there is a lot at stake.
But it's so important to remember, it's a civil trial. So it is the judge who's going to decide, in this case, what the penalties could be at the end
of the day.
CHATTERLEY: Brand Trump in New York state. Brynn Gingras there, thank you.
South Africans have hit the streets to celebrate their second straight Rugby World Cup win. We'll bring you the latest on the national team's
countrywide tour to show off their sparkling new trophy.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.
South Africans have hit the streets to celebrate their second straight Rugby World Cup win. The Springboks national team is on a five city tour to
show off their brand-new trophy. South Africa's president said the victory lifted the spirits of the entire nation. David McKenzie got a first hand
look, at all the excitement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) raising what South Africans are calling the (INAUDIBLE) trophy. On his
right, you have other members of the champion team, their gold medal tour, hanging off their shoulders.
One of the team members, I believe, now gave it to a young South African at a presentation. I've really sensed, in the last few, weeks South Africans
come together in celebration.
My daughters were screaming at the television. In big cities like Johannesburg, here in Soweto, in small towns, in rural villages, all over
this country, you had this excitement building and building and the tension mounting.
There's really one point wins on Saturday, I had to say, here in Soweto, people just spilled out onto the streets. (INAUDIBLE) the second time
winning this cup. (INAUDIBLE) He's saying that this is all for South Africans, not about the team.
He said he's not able to (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE). In these incredible scenes. I'm holding up their cell phones to capture the moment, put it on
social media. (INAUDIBLE) slightly out of the way. From here, it's going to be a four city tour. And they're going to (INAUDIBLE) other parts of this
large country to celebrate.
(INAUDIBLE), let's go, let's go. (INAUDIBLE). Come with me. (INAUDIBLE) OK, here we go. (INAUDIBLE) behind me (INAUDIBLE).
[15:55:00]
MCKENZIE: Look at this, I'm going to get out of the way. Rugby world champions 2023 and 2022.
What a moment for South Africa. It was even better the last time, the fourth time winning this World Cup. The (INAUDIBLE) came close but this
nation actually won the cup. Back to you guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: David McKenzie, there struggling to hide his joy, almost risking being run over to get close to his stars. Yes, congratulations
South Africa. We'll be back after this.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.
A final reminder of our top stories. Israel says its troops have completed the encirclement of Gaza City. A lieutenant general says these reports have
pushed into very significant parts of it.
The IDF continues to deploy soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles near the Gaza border. Israel still hitting the enclave with airstrikes, too. These
images show the aftermath of a strike on the Al Zawaideh (ph) refugee camp.
And some good news, too. More than 300 foreign nationals crossed into Egypt from Gaza on Thursday. Cairo says it's preparing to facilitate the
evacuation of up to 7,000 more. It's the result of a deal brokered by Qatar between Israel, Hamas and Egypt. A Jordanian citizen who escaped described
living under the threat of airstrikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were in Rafah but we moved to shelter in the schools. We thought schools would be safer than houses
because, in the middle of the night, when people were sleeping, they would strike a house, a four story building, that would fall on top of the people
inside. They get buried alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: That just about wraps up this hour. Thank you so much for watching as always. I'm Julia Chatterley in New York. Our coverage of the
Israel-Hamas war continues. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" begins now.
END
