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One World with Zain Asher
IDF Soldiers Training To Improve Readiness And Capabilities For Ground Operations Inside Gaza; U.S. Urging Israel To Delay Ground Operations. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired October 23, 2023 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:48]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right, live from New York, thank you so much for being with us. I'm Zain Asher.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Our coverage of Israel at war continues. Israel appears to be inching closer to
an all-out ground incursion against Hamas as it bombards Gaza with hundreds of airstrikes and launches limited ground raids and prepares for what the
IDF warns is the next phase of this conflict.
ASHER: That next phase likely to be a full-scale invasion that is expected but it remains unclear at this point when exactly that ground incursion
will happen. This is the aftermath of one of those airstrikes you mentioned earlier, a refugee camp.
The Hamas-Ruwanah Ministry of Health claims that 436 people, including nearly 200 children, were killed in the overnight attacks, the majority of
them in southern Gaza.
Meantime, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has gone from desperate to dire. Aid is trickling in but it's nowhere near enough with millions of
Palestinian civilians facing critical shortages of food, of fuel, water and electricity.
GOLODRYGA: Supplies are so limited that one doctor told CNN patients are being operated on without morphine. And the fear is palpable. He says many
parents are writing the names of their children on their legs so they can be identified in case they're killed. The U.S. Secretary of State is
urgently calling for the protection of children on both sides of this war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: When I hear the stories, when I see the pictures of young children who have lost their lives in this conflict of
Hamas' making, whoever they are, wherever they are, whether they're Palestinians, whether they're Israelis, whether they're Jews or Muslims, it
hits me. That's why it's so important to do everything possible to protect them and why it's so important to do everything possible to get assistance
to those who need it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And it really is so hard to comprehend the severity of the situation that is unfolding in Gaza right now since the war started. Palestinian
officials say that the death toll now tops 5000 and the health care system is on the brink of utter collapse.
GOLODRYGA: They also add there is not enough fuel to power generators and not enough beds for the steady stream of wounded patients. CNN's Clarissa
Ward went inside one hospital in Gaza City and we want to warn you, some images in this piece are graphic and disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are entering the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. This is just one minute on one
day.
But doctors tell us it could be any minute of the last 16 days. It is a scene from hell. Many of the patients are young children. The reception
area, now a triage center. And everywhere you turn, another casualty.
Every one of these people has been ordered by Israel's military to evacuate the hospital, including the staff already outnumbered and overwhelmed. And
as the punishing bombardment continues, the wounded keep flooding in. Doctors say there's nowhere else for them to go, and no safe way to
transport them out.
MARWAN ABUSADA, DOCTOR, CHIEF OF SURGERY, AL SHIFA HOSPITAL: We had the mass casualties once or twice a day, but now we have every half an hour
casualties, so it is overloaded. Our emergency department and our OT department and our IBD department are overloaded with the patients.
WARD: Dr. Marwan Abu Sada warns that the situation is about to get dramatically worse. The hospital, he says, is just two days away from
running out of fuel, needed to power the generators that are keeping the hospital and its patients alive. If you do run out of fuel in two days,
what will you do? I mean, what can you do?
MARWAN: I think the international community will be part of the process of killing of our people. If they don't act on Israel to allow to get this
fuel enter Gaza, what to do for the people who are in the ICU and mechanical ventilator?
[12:05:00]
What about the new natal, the small babies? We have more than 130 in our unit, in the IC units. What to do with them? They will, okay, it is, I
think we are allowing them to die in peace. This is the issue if we don't have a fuel to run our generators in the hospital.
WARD (voice-over): Just a trickle of aid has been allowed to cross into Gaza, and none of it fuel. Blocked by Israel, it says over concerns, it
will be taken by Hamas. Hundreds of trucks are waiting along the Egyptian side of the border. But diplomatic efforts to establish a continuous
humanitarian corridor have failed, and there is no more time for debate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: The hardest part is seeing children suffer in the middle of war. Sources tell CNN, the Biden administration is pressing Israel to delay its
ground incursion into Gaza because it wants more time to negotiate the release of hostages and allow more aid to be shipped into Gaza.
ASHER: Yes, senior Israeli official is denying that and we haven't got much clarity from U.S. officials, but John Kirby says the U.S. is involved in
Israel's military strategy. Here's what he told CNN earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION, NSC: We've been talking to our Israeli counterparts about their plans, their intentions,
their strategy. We've been asking them for what -- how they're answering the tough questions that any military is going to have to do before you go
on and conduct major operations. And that's what we're doing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The IDF says its soldiers are taking part in training exercises right now to improve their readiness and capabilities for ground operations
inside Gaza. There are also huge numbers of troops and tanks massed at the border ready to attack.
ASHER: There's still no sign -- no clear sign at least, of when a ground offensive could begin in Gaza. Here's our Nic Robertson with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Bristling with battle-ready troops, farmers' fields north of Gaza churn with the
controlled fury of a nation readying for an incursion to strike Hamas.
Yet they are waiting with no explanation why. It feels like the early rush for battle readiness has passed. The troops are deployed standing by. The
question is, how long can they be kept out here? According to former IDF General Israel Ziv, as long as is needed. There are military gains.
ISRAEL ZIV, FORMER IDF GENERAL: We are now improving our intelligence and our capacity of targets.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): But the political calculation here is more complicated.
RON BEN YISHAL, MILITARY ANALYST: I think both in Washington and in Jerusalem, they understand that the legitimation, legitimization window is
closing quickly. Civilian losses in Gaza are growing, more than a third of them children, according to Palestinian health officials.
Lengthy negotiations have led to two American hostages released, as a tiny amount of humanitarian aid has crossed into Gaza that Israel fears ends up
in Hamas's hands. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's calculus of when to send in ground troops has never been so fraught under pressure from the
White House for more hostage releases.
YISHAL: Netanyahu is in real problem. He cannot say no to Biden, but he cannot say yes to the humanitarian aid that drifts into northern Gaza.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): But he is also under pressure at home, too. Military and others hawkish for a decisive blow against Hamas.
ZIV: We are finishing preparing, you know, the ground force because we've changed plans. We are going to -- for heavy maneuvering.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Netanyahu's dilemma compounded by his dependence on American weapons.
YISHAL: Their pressure is from Washington is real -- is real and strong, and the prime minister says many times to his ministers, this -- we are
getting from the United States more than you know.
ROBERTSON: Where less than a week ago, these fields were teeming with tanks, troops making last minute repairs. Today, there are just tracks in
the sand. There's a soldier's jacket here, bread in a bag on the table.
[12:10:00]
The question is, where have all the tanks gone? Forward for an incursion or back to base for a pause. Close to the frontline in Gaza these days, more
questions than answers. An incursion still highly probable, but when?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Nic Robertson for that report. Let's go live now to southern Israel and get more insight from our Jeremy Diamond, who is in
Ashkelon. Jeremy, good to see you. So, we heard from John Kirby earlier this morning, confirming that the U.S. is involved in whatever strategic
planning the Israelis are focused on right now. What more detail are you learning on any type of pressure the U.S. may be putting on the Israelis,
maybe not to hold off on an incursion, but perhaps to delay one?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there's no question that the United States is indeed bringing that kind of pressure to bear on the
Israelis, not only asking tough questions, as the White House said, about Israel's tactics going forward for this ground invasion, but also urging
them to delay that ground invasion in order to allow more time for these hostage negotiations that are being led and mediated primarily by the
Qatari government.
What's clear is that there's no question that Hamas is dangling the possibility of releasing additional hostages in order to achieve that very
goal of delaying, perhaps inevitably, an Israeli invasion. What's also clear is that the Israelis, even if they're willing to delay that ground
invasion for a time at least, that they're not going to do so indefinitely.
Whether you listen to the defense minister or the IDF Chief of Staff or other top generals, it is very clear that they intend to move forward with
a ground invasion. Frankly, to cancel those plans would be to suffer some kind of political embarrassment in the country, a country that has
certainly been preparing and in large part is eager for some kind of ground operation inside of Gaza after those shocking and barbaric terrorist
attacks like Hamas carried out two weeks ago.
So, now, the question only seems to be how much longer will Israel agree to delay that ground invasion and will there actually be any hostages released
as a result of those mediation efforts?
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the Hamas does seem to be using these hostages as a bargaining chip. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much, live for us from
Ashkelon, Israel. And later this hour, alarms are ringing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFESE SECRETARY: If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate
situation that we see, our advice is don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Warnings from defense officials as concerns about additional fronts rise. We'll speak with the former head of the Israeli intelligence
about what could happen next.
ASHER: All right, billions of dollars in proposed military aid for Israel and Ukraine remains in limbo for now, and that is because the U.S. House,
can you believe it, is now in its third week --
GOLODRYGA: Sadly, it can.
ASHER: - on its third week without a speaker, meaning it's effectively paralyzed. It can't pass laws, and it also can't release that crucial
funding.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the whole world is watching right now. Adding to this uncertainty, a new slate of nine contenders has now joined the race after
Congressman Jim Jordan withdrew his name following three failed attempts to secure the gavel. But with frustrations and divisions only intensifying
within the party, it's unclear whether any of them will be able to secure the 217 votes needed to win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUSTY JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: We are going to have a couple more days of chaos as we try to get a sense of what's next. To me, it reminds me
how incredibly irresponsible it was for 208 Democrats and 8 Republicans to put this House into absolute chaos without any kind of a plan for how we
were going to move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, later on Monday, the nine people, the nine Congressmen, women who are expected to make their pitches to Republican colleagues in
the candidate forum, then there will be likely a secret ballot election on Tuesday.
GOLODRYGA: Well, coming up for us, as tens of thousands of Palestinians are forced to flee their homes, family members in neighboring countries fear
history is going to repeat itself. CNN talks to refugees familiar with this exile.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:17:28]
GOLODRYGA: We want to step back from the news for a moment to talk about emotions. This is a very scary time to be a Jew. It does not matter if you
are in Israel or live far from the site of the horrific terror attacks on October 7th. On all corners of the globe, Jews are feeling attacked and
vulnerable.
ASHER: And while there certainly have been rallies and words of support for Jewish people and for Israel, there have been a terrifying number of hate
crimes, anti-Semitic hate crimes around the world designed specifically to scare and to intimidate. I want to give you a few examples of what I'm
talking about here.
Police in London say that hate crimes directed at Jewish people have increased by more than 1300 percent -- 1300 percent since the October 7th
Hamas terror attacks against Israelis. And in the vast majority of these cases, no arrests have been made.
GOLODRYGA: In Istanbul, Turkey, this was the scene at a rally outside the Israeli consulate last week. Israeli flags were distributed that contained
swastikas on them, the symbol, of course, of Nazi hate and genocide.
ASHER: And swastikas were also painted outside the entrance to the Israeli embassy in Bogota, Colombia. The word terror was also written in Hebrew,
too.
GOLODRYGA: And hate speech was painted on the walls outside the New York office of the Free Press. The Free Press founder and editor is Barry Weiss,
a Jewish journalist who has been a fierce critic of the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. Now, those are just a few examples. We could have cited
dozens more from dozens of other countries.
Joining us now is British-Israeli journalist Anshel Pfeffer. He writes for both "Haaretz" and "The Economist" and then his most recent piece from
"Haaretz" is titled, "There Is No Safe Place For The Jews".
Anshul, reading your piece was really a gut punch last week. And the reaction and fallout from October 7th has connected the Jewish diaspora and
Israelis in the most unfortunate of ways. You write in the piece, "The past two weeks have brought home the realization for anyone who still hasn't got
it that there is no safe place for Jews. This is a chilling but absolutely critical matter for us to understand."
Now, I would imagine perhaps the sentiment was similar after 1973, after 1967, but until the fact that this is happening in 2023, after not soldiers
or an army was attacked, but over a thousand civilians and so brutally. What does that tell you?
[12:20:00]
ANSHEL PFEFFER, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND COLUMNIST: Well, I think that the way -- the manner of this attack, the fact that it was targeted at so many
civilians, communities, families, parents and children being targeted in their own homes for extinction.
You had Hamas terrorists going from house to house in the Kibbutzim. So, going into the little houses, into the bedrooms of the families, and
shooting parents and children in their beds. This wasn't a military attack. This has nothing -- you know, people talk about you have to understand the
context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and yes, the context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is very important.
But this is not just that -- this is not the only context even people being marked down for extinction because they're Jews and if anybody still has
any argument, this is not because they're Jews. It's because they're Israelis, because they're Zionists, because they're occupiers, and so on.
Why are all these many cases which you just mentioned now of Jews around the world being attacked in the wake of this, of what happened on October
7th in Israel. There is a clear linkage here to a desire of Hamas -- of their supporters wherever they are to harm Jews, to kill Jews, to
exterminate Jews. It has nothing to do with any of the ideological arguments over what is the best solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Yes, that is part of the story, but the way in which this was carried out, the direct intention of exterminating entire Jewish communities in Israel
is not a question of politics. It's -- it's classic Jew hatred. And I think that we still have people alive with us today who remember another period
in which Jewish people were marked down for extinction and it's simply recurring. This is not a second Holocaust.
It's not happening on the same scale as the Holocaust and Jews today have a state which can, in this case, suddenly failed to protect them, but can
protect them, and does endeavor to protect them. But it's proof of the fact that same old hatred is still alive and kicking.
ASHER: Anshel, yes, it is the -- just in terms of the reaction to the October 7th attacks, the reaction we've seen around the world. Yes, of
course, it is the sort of heinous anti-Semitic hate crimes. But I think it's also the silence, as well. A lot of my friends say to me that they
cannot believe --they cannot believe how few of their non-Jewish friends have reached out to them at a time like this.
You know, I have friends who have talked about removing the mezuzah from their door, even beyond the acts of anti-Semitism. It's also the fact that
a lot of people just feel abandoned.
A lot of people feel afraid and alone. And the fact that you have people that you thought were your allies -- you thought were your allies who are
now in your deepest moment of pain, staying silent.
PFEFFER: Sadly, that word allies sounds very, very hollow right now. And I know a lot of Israelis and Jews living in diaspora feel what you just said
and have said to me in recent days. And I felt it myself.
All these people that we know, that we've worked with many years around the world, people who we felt has shared our values, haven't called us, haven't
told us that, you know, they're worried for us, that they're feeling for us.
And I think there is a problem here with many people to understand that there is really such a thing still as murderous anti-Jewish hatred. It's
not, it's the kind of thing that you don't want to imagine, don't want to conceive of still existing in 2023.
You want to think that this is something that happened so many years ago and we live in a much better world now and it's impossible that people
would do this kind of thing to Jews or to anybody.
And the very existence of Jewish -- murdered Jewish families is something that people don't want to contemplate and therefore they'll just try and
ignore it or you know, they'll say, well, actually this is some kind of political thing and Israel's fault, as well. And look what they're doing in
Gaza and so on.
And I'm not saying that any of these things have -- are not valid but it's creating a situation where people who in other in any other context are
liberal and progressive and care for you. Other human beings are totally blotting out what is happening, what is still happening, the threat that
exists, because it's inconvenient for some kind of liberal progressive view of the world. No, Israelis are white. Obviously, Israelis are not white.
Israelis are hard.
[12:25:00]
At least half of Israelis are from Oriental and African countries. But Israelis are white. Israelis are strong. They're oppressors. And therefore,
it's just too inconvenient to even conceive of Israelis being a victim of this murderous Jew hate.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and 20 percent of the Israeli population consists of Arabs, as well, who we should note were also among those murdered in this
heinous attack. Journalist Anshel Pfeffer, thank you for this piece, and thank you for taking the time to talk to us about this very important and
really sad reality that we're living in. Thank you.
ASHER: It was really powerful what he said about just the idea of being, you know, having allies, just that idea of feeling so hollow right now,
just talking about how alone a lot of people in the Jewish community really feel at a time like this.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, it's just, it's heartbreaking and so many of the bodies have yet to even be identified.
ASHER: All right, as anti-Semitic hate crimes soar, so are Islamophobic offenses in London specifically. The police there reporting that they have
seen a 140 percent increase of anti-Muslim offensives. Both the Jewish and Muslim communities there have previously complained about not feeling
protected enough from hate crimes.
Meantime in Gaza, more than a million residents have been displaced since the bombing campaign there began. Nada Bashir speaks to families in Jordan
who are all too familiar with the pain of exile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice-over): Through the narrow streets of Amman's Jabal al-Hussein refugee camp, the mood is clear.
Established more than 70 years ago, this community is now home to more than 30,000 Palestinian refugees.
Just a fraction of the more than 700,000 who were expelled or forced to flee their homes following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Families in this camp
know the pain of exile all too well. Denied by Israel their right to return to their homeland, it is a life sentence to separation from family, from
friends, from home. And for those with loved ones still in Gaza, they say it is a sentence to the cruelest form of anguish.
ABD MUNIM SADO DABABCH, PALESTINIAN REFUGEE IN JORDAN: Are we not human to you because we are Palestinian? At any given moment, I could get a phone
call telling me that my sister and her children had been killed. You know, my mother was killed during Gaza war in 2009. I hadn't seen her for 12
years.
BASHIR (voice-over): Ali Al-Utla says that he has more than 70 relatives in Gaza that have already been killed in this latest round of Israeli
airstrikes.
ALI AMEEN AL-OTTLEH, PALESTINIAN REFUGEE IN JORDAN (through translator): Our home is Palestine. We will never forget about Palestine. Imagine being
forced out of your home for 75 years. We have already spent 75 years as refugees. How could you expect the Palestinians to leave their homes and
move to Egypt or elsewhere?
BASHIR (voice-over): Now, the prospect of thousands more Palestinians being forcibly displaced to neighboring countries or even further afield has been
condemned by leaders across the Arab world and has been characterized by both the King of Jordan and other officials as both a war crime and a red
line for the country.
MUSTAFA AL-HAMARNEH, JORDANIAN SENATOR: The Israelis were always adamant about no return of refugees. And that's why the Palestinians cling to what
they call Law of Return or the Right of Return Back. So, any eviction, any new mass of Palestinian refugees for us is a repeat of 1948.
BASHIR (voice-over): That fear of history repeating itself, of another Nakba or catastrophe as Palestinians describe it, is felt across the
region. Many of Haniah Sadawi's relatives are trapped in Gaza. Now, Haniah spends every morning calling loved ones, hoping they are still alive.
HANIAH AL-SADAWI, PALESTINIAN LIVING IN JORDAN: I don't even know whether my family is going to be able to go back to their homes, if they are going
to have homes to go back to. And of course, the biggest fear is that they are going to be evacuated and turned into refugees. They don't want to
move. They would rather die in Gaza than move.
BASHIR (voice-over): The connection felt by Palestinians to their homeland is hard to overstate. At this church vigil in Amman, a poignant moment of
remembrance. Oh Jerusalem, they sing. A 1960s melody beloved across the region, dedicated to the holy city and to the Palestinian struggle. A cause
which has drawn people of all faiths, of all walks of life, together with a message of enduring solidarity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: It's a really strong piece there. Coming up for us, The Exchange.
[12:30:00]
We'll ask the former head of Israeli military intelligence to weigh in as fears of a wider Middle East conflict continue to grow.
ASHER: And some deeply emotional moments as the families of foreign nationals who've been working in Israel reunite with their loved ones back
home. We look at how governments are working to remove their citizens from dangers despite the enormous challenges.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Lebanon is making a declaration as it fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East continuing to grow. A government official
telling Russian state media that Beirut does not want a war with Israel. This comes as Israel's military says that it struck two Hezbollah terrorist
cells on the Lebanese side of the border on Sunday. The U.S. Secretary of State had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: No one wants a second or third front, including when it comes to Lebanon, northern Israel, southern Lebanon.
That's not in anyone's interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The problem is Lebanon doesn't have much control over what Hezbollah will choose to do or not do. Of course, we'll keep an eye on
Lebanon. We're also hearing about Israeli airstrikes against the Damascus and Aleppo airports according to Syrian state media, reporting that one
worker in Damascus has been killed and another wounded.
[12:35:00]
In the U.S., shortly after Washington announced the deployment of additional military assets to the region, the defense secretary offered
this warning.
AUSTIN: We're concerned about potential escalation. If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very
unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Reiterating the advice of many American officials. Time now for The Exchange. Major General Amos Yadlin is the former head of Israeli military
intelligence, and he joins us live now. Thank you so much for being with us.
So, the Israelis have just confirmed that 222 -- 222 hostages are being held inside Gaza at this point. A lot of them, of course, include foreign
nationals, as the Israelis and the Qataris work to secure their release.
Do we have any more clarity on why those two American hostages were released on Friday, the mother and daughter. What would Hamas have to gain
from releasing those two American hostages? What does that say about the possibility of other American hostages being released, as well?
AMOS YADLIN, RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL, FORMER CHIEF OF ISRAELI MILITARY INTELLIGENCE: I think Hamas is very aware of the objective of the Israeli
war against it. Israel decided that after the horrific, barbaric attack that killed thousands of Israeli citizens, children in front of their
parents, pregnant women, raping and burning, and all the atrocities, should not be happened again.
And Israel is going to destroy Hamas. Hamas try to delay the Israeli ground move into Gaza. And he has in his eyes, in his perspective, some chips to
play with. And the two women were the first play to see that they are still controlling Gaza and they still can deliver the hostages back.
Israel demands the release of all the 30 kids, nine months old baby to five, six, eight years old children. Some of them lost their parents and
they want Hamas to release the kids. The women that as we speak are continue to be raped and the elderly, some Holocaust survivors that need
their medicine.
At least this humanitarian package should continue. Hamas is very cynically trying to use, to release them in groups of two, but Israel will not agree
to it. So, Israel has to handle the tension between the military objective to destroy Hamas and saving as much hostages as possible through a deal or
through a military rescue operation.
GOLODRYGA: General, it does seem to be a matter of when, not if, we will see an Israeli ground invasion into Gaza. But the longer that we don't see
one, how do you view Hezbollah and Hamas as interpreting that delay?
YADLIN: You see, if you remember how long was your war against al-Qaeda after September 11, took 10 years to destroy al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. And
it took five years to destroy ISIS in northern Iraq and northern Syria. So, we are in the same position.
However, with more difficult conditions because we have the 200 hostages and you had an amazing large coalition of 65, maybe 72 countries and nobody
supported Daesh. Hamas is supported by some countries and we don't have any coalition, only the U.S. which is our largest and sometime only a lot.
ASHER: And just in terms of what's happening on the northern border, I mean, as things continue to get heated up on that front, what will that
mean for the timeline of a ground incursion into Gaza?
YADLIN: Israel can deal with the two fronts and it's up to the Hezbollah to decide whether they want to destroy Lebanon the way Gaza is now destroyed.
[12:40:00]
And Lebanon is more a country that there is a lot of targets in Lebanon and they're all Shia, southern villages that used to be, as we speak, our army
posts for launching missiles to Israel will be destroyed.
So, Nasuala has to decide whether he is staying on the level of giving Hamas a limited control, making sure that it will not escalate or he wants
to go one level up, which is still not a full-scale war. The U.S. forward a very strong deterrence message to Hezbollah and to the political masters in
Tehran.
But we are in the mining field of trying to read intentions. Intentions of leaders can be changed overnight. As we look at Nasrallah today, we
understand that he will not sacrifice Lebanon for the barbaric organization of Hamas. But it may be changed.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, the big question is, as you said, there's only one country that's part of the so-called coalition with Israel and that's the most
powerful country in the world, the United States. Whether the increased assets in the region will be enough of a deterrent to hold off Iran and
Hezbollah, only time will tell. Major General Amos Yadlin, thank you for your time.
And coming up after the break, appalling scenes and heartbreaking stories emerge from a kibbutz attacked by Hamas terrorists. Our Anderson Cooper
special report from Neeraj. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: On October 7th, armed Hamas terrorists entered a kibbutz called Nir Oz, which is a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Once inside, they
attacked every single home. Some were murdered on the spot. Others were abducted and driven away, terrified to an uncertain fate.
GOLODRYGA: And the aftermath of these appalling atrocities has now been documented by Anderson Cooper and his team. And we want to warn you,
Anderson's report does contain very distressing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Nir Oz was one of the first kibbutzim attacked on October 7th by Hamas gunmen. Security cameras recorded some of them
entering armed with automatic weapons and RPGs.
[12:45:00]
When we visited Nir Oz this week, the carnage was clear. No family, no home here was untouched by terror. People's possessions are strewn all around
left behind by men looted and killed for more than seven hours.
The silence now sounds sickening. A breeze blows through broken windows, flies buzz in the debris. The residents who survived are gone. Only some
cats have returned.
Every home -- it seems has been defiled. Family photos remain on the fridge. The people who lived here hid in their safe room. Lucky for them,
the door held strong.
You can tell gunmen tried to pry this door open. This handle has nearly been pulled off from tugging it. They weren't able, the lock held. It looks
like they tried to pry open the door, as well. You can fit your hand through here. They could just maybe look in, but they couldn't actually
break through this door.
Around back, we checked the window of the safe room. Inside, the bed and sheets are soaked with blood. One member of the family who hid here was
wounded, but he and they survived. But according to the IDF, about a quarter of the 400 people who lived in Nir Oz are dead or missing.
In another house in this kibbutz, gunman broke in and murdered a woman named Bracha Levinson. They not only killed her, they got access to her
Facebook account and they live streamed an image of her lying in a pool of blood on the ground so that her friends and family could see.
This is Bracha Levinson. She was 74 years old. Her neighbors, Adina and David Moshe, were also in their 70s. They'd lived in Nir Oz for more than
50 years. We found their home completely torched. Dishes were still in the dishwasher. They hid in their safe room when the gunman came. Her
granddaughter, Anat (ph), says Adina messaged her family they were okay.
ANAT (ph), RELATIVE HAMAS VICTIMS: My grandmother was a very, very strong - - she didn't want us to be panicked later on.
COOPER: Grandma was worried about you in that moment.
ANAT: Yeah, she's this kind of woman. She always takes care of us.
COOPER (voice-over): But inside the safe room, there was reason to panic. A pool of dried blood, evidence of what happened. David Moshe was shot and
killed here, holding onto the door handle to prevent the gunman from getting in.
ANAT (ph): He was a hero. And he was shot. So, there are three gunshots on the door that succeeded to break through the door.
COOPER (voice-over): Their attackers dragged Adina Moshi out through the safe room window. She later appeared in this video posted online sandwiched
between gunmen on a motorbike in Gaza. Some of the missing have been found.
The bodies of 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her 13-year-old granddaughter Noya were identified this week. Her former son-in-law, Afar Calderon, is
still missing, as are two of his children, Sahar and Erez.
This video shows Erez being dragged away by gunmen, one of whom appears to have blood on his hand. The geo located where the video was shot. This is
the last known location of Erez Calderon. He was twelve years old. He was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and he was videotaped as they were dragging him
away in this direction.
This is the fence to the kibbutz. Gaza is only about a mile and a half away. You can see an explosion that's just taken place in Gaza off in the
distance. So, the gunmen didn't have far to take him in order to get him back into Gaza.
There's video of Shari Baba (ph) being kidnapped as well, clutching her two children, Arielle and Kafar. Her husband is missing, too. We talked to her
cousin last week.
YIFAT ZAILER, COUSIN KIDNAPPED: I want my family back. I want my family back. I'm trying to be strong and stoic and speak clearly, but I'm
devastated.
COOPER (voice-over): All of the families of Nir Oz are devastated. David Moshe was buried there this week. His granddaughter, Anat, wanted us to see
a video that was played at his funeral from a celebration at the kibbutz earlier this year. That's David singing. He's then joined by other members
of the kibbutz.
ANAT (ph): He's singing the first sentence. This is what the song means.
[12:50:00]
Time will fix all that breaks. That's the message and you should -- you're allowed to be afraid and you're allowed to be sad. But tomorrow we can
rebuild and recover.
COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Nir Oz.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: As Israel prepares for the next stage of its war against Hamas, governments around the world are urgently working to bring home foreign
nationals who have been based in Israel. It's not an easy task. While some expats have been able to reunite with their families, others have sadly not
been as fortunate. Here's our Michael Holmes with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Out of harm's way, countries around the world are flying their citizens out of Israel on repatriation
flights filled with foreign nationals fleeing the Israel-Hamas war. Many of the people leaving Israel were there to earn a living, better than they
could in their homelands.
Officials in Thailand say at least 30 of their citizens have been killed since Hamas launched its attack on Israel two weeks ago. Eight bodies have
been returned. Many of the dead worked on Israeli farms. The Thai government says it's working to return the other bodies and also repatriate
thousands of Thai citizens who want to leave Israel.
PIROJ CHOTIKASATIEN, THAI LABOR SECRETARY (through translator): The number of Thai citizens who wish to return home keeps increasing. We're trying to
get Thai people back as much and as soon as possible.
HOLMES (voice-over): Emotional reunions in Manila as a flight carrying Filipinos who were working in Israel returned home. Many of the evacuees
were employed as caregivers in Israel when the attacks happened. And some say they still can't shake what they saw.
MYLENE RIVERA, EVACUEE (through translator): Apart from the gunfights, explosions were heard along with the sirens. I felt nervous. I was shaking
from fear.
HOLMES (voice-over): More than 200 agricultural students from a work-study program in Israel flew back to Nepal last week. Ten of their group were
killed in the attacks. On Saturday, the bodies of four students were flown back to Kathmandu. Grief-stricken families say it's hard to believe they
are gone.
DURGA NEUPANE, AUNT OF DECEASED STUDENT (through translator): He used to say that he would return home, build a concrete house and bring all of us
together. Now, even his body is not here.
HOLMES (voice-over): The families say the students were full of hope when they left. A chance to earn money as much as in $15,000 and learn new
skills in Israel's high-tech agriculture sector. This father says his son was going to use his savings to start a farming business back in Nepal.
[12:55:00]
BEJHULAL DANGAURA, FATHER OF DECEASED STUDENT (voice-over): If I had known about this danger, I would have stopped him. I thought he was going there
on a study visa, and it would be good for him and his bright future.
HOLMES (voice-over): A future cut short like so many others caught in the middle of the conflict far from their home. Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: If like so many of us, you've been deeply moved by what's happened in Israel and in Gaza over the past few weeks and you are moved to help,
simply go to cnn.com slash impact.
There are so many resources just in terms of aid organizations that are actively working to support efforts on the ground, as well as, you will of
course find out the very latest on this incredibly fast-moving story at cnn.com.
GOLODRYGA: Please take the time to visit our website and navigate on this very important issue. And finally, a renowned climber known as the French
Spider-Man climbed a massive building in Paris to call for peace in the Middle East.
It took Alain Robert two hours to get to the top of the 220-meter-high tower. He says he's not picking sides in the war but called on Israeli and
Palestinian leaders to hear each other out. Otherwise, he says, we are on the verge of a World War III. Well, that does it for this hour of "One
World". I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. Amanpour is up next and we will see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
