Transcripts For CNNW Anthony 20240703

Welcome to all of our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is now 9 00 a. M. In israel where the crisis that began early saturday rapidly escalated into war. With staggering death tolls on both sides. At least 300 israeli deaths are confirmed and palestinian Authorities Say more than 230 people in gaza have been killed. Thousands more have been wounded. Heres the israeli Prime Minister on saturday. I have ordered an extensive number of reserves that we would return fire that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price. Israel says up to 1,000 hamas militants poured across the border into towns. They rounded up israelis and taken to gaza. One woman describes the ordeal. Translator suddenly out of nowhere shots are coming in. They started shooting in every direction and i took the car keys and just drove and started moving forward to get out of the shots. Out of the shots. And at some point they overtook us. We were overtaken by the shooters. They started shooting at our vehicles. We got out of the vehicles. I didnt keep driving. We took cover. Reporter with us from tel aviv is the senior columnist of jerusalem post. Good to have you with us. Please talk us through this. What is happening right now . Right now, you have the second day of the war that was forced upon us in israel with the invasion yesterday. Over 1,000 Hamas Terrorists in israel. The murderous rampage, i would call it, what they did throughout israeli communities and the abduction of at least 100 israelis who have been taken across the border into gaza. Tens of thousands of soldiers, reservists have been called up. The up number of divisions have been called up. All indications is that israel is preparing for a larger Ground Offensive and assault into gaza. Hamas needs to be weakened. Hamas needs to be deterred. Hamas needs to be collapsed and toppled. It needs to pay a severe price for what it did yesterday in israel. This is not only unacceptable but unimaginable, what israelis went through yesterday. Now, we understand that there are still some areas in israel where fighting is ongoing. Do you know more about that . There are still some Hamas Terrorists. Around 1,000 crossed into israel yesterday. The Israeli Forces, it took hours for Israeli Forces to get control of most of those hot spots where the fighting and those gun battles were still taking place. Theres still some isolated incidents throughout southern israel. Most of them have been dealt with and neutralized but there are believed to be some Hamas Terrorists and gunmen in the area and there are warnings coming out all the time. There was a warning a few minutes ago of some sort of suspicious aircraft that had taken off from gaza and was seen somewhere in the south. We know some terrorists came in yesterday and paragliding, they have drones they used on israeli tanks. This was coordinated by hamas with significant capabilities. What you describe is a country in a State Of Shock from, you know, still reeling from what has happened less than 24 hours ago. About 24 hours. Im just wondering, whats the mood among people in israel . Are israelis, do they still have faith in their governments ability to keep them safe . Obviously, you know, huge, huge mistakes were made. Huge mistakes were made. There was a huge Intelligence Failure. How did israel not know this was happening . How did the defensive measures along the border not stop hamas from Crossing Over into israel in at the same time, israelis know how to come together and now is a moment when israelis need to come together. Last night after the holiday, after the shabbat, when i took my, our daughter, who is serving in the idf back to a bus to take her back to her base. These are emotional time for all israelis. We understand that this is a time we have to fight for our country and we have to come together and we have to understand that this is a fight for survival. It is a fight that israelis have known for 75 years. And unfortunately, with Terrorist Organization like hamas in the gaza strip, funded by the iranian republic, this is a fight we will have to wage in the years to come. What does this mean for the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has been embattled in the leadup to this, but as you just described, the country is rallying around the government during this very difficult time. He has some very difficult questions to answer. There are very difficult questions. From the tactical level, the Intelligence Failure, the whole misconception that israel had, the policy with containment with gaza, in the last 15 years as Prime Minister, how that has collapsed and failed, the belief that we can contain the conflict and it wouldnt grow out or escalate in a big way, but here it has. It blew up in our face. Also the distraction. Israelis for the last eight, nine months, have been completely distwraktd the judicial overall his government was trying to push forward. It saw an unprecedented level. You and i spoke about this a number of time in recent months and theres no question we appeared weak. We were rimmed apart from within and our enemies smelled that weakness. Our hope is that israelis can come back together. Well be able to defeat this enemy and there were mortars fired less than an hour ago. We have to hope and pray this doesnt escalate to other fronts. That they dont think they have an opportunity to also take advantage of what is happening right now. There is also that substantial hostage situation. Weve seen some terrifying images. How is that playing out . How are people discussing that kind of, the terrifying images weve seen, the idea that so many people are now, as we speak, held hostage in gaza . Lets also sharpen the question for a moment. They didnt just take hostages, soldiers. They took elderly. They took young children. They took families. Little babies. They took men, women, young and old. This is not about a military attack. This was about a coordinated assault to murder and kidnap israeli civilians who are living inside israel on a peaceful saturday morning. There is about 100 hostages that have been abducted and taken into the gaza strip. The hamas has been holding for years now the number of bodies of Israeli Soldiers, as well as Israeli Citizens. They use this for cynical purposes to abuse and manipulate the israeli population. Once the fighting is over, the Israeli Government will have to find a way to arrange some sort of swap with hamas. This is a number that is catastrophic but also, unimaginable until yesterday that hamas would be holding on to so many israelis. And it hurts everyone. I have friends whose children are missing. I know people who are searching frantically for their children, going hospital to hospital, maybe one of them is wounded and not abducted. This isto be a painful ordeal for the weeks and months to come. That is a very harrowing situation youre describing. What are some of the answers provided by the government. How are they publicly saying they want to retrieve these people . They havent been talking about it. First and foremost, there is this fight that needs to be waged and fought against hamas. And where we are at this moment, on this sunday morning, is the buildup of the forces, the preparation for the israeli retaliation that is still going to come. Theres still rocket fire. That war is still taking place. I think the possibility of some sort of explanation or plan of what will happen with the abductees is going to take some time to formulate. The Israeli Services are working on it. Theyre trying to locate and identify them. Theyre trying to identify who has been taken. There is still a fog of war around the exact situation of these people who have been abducted. That will have to move to the second place. Right now, first and foremost, is to fight and defend the state of israel. Thank you so much. Thank you. Regional reaction to the hamas assault and israels response to it. What have you been seeing and hearing . Look, this has really raised alarm bells across the region over the potential for this latest round of violence to escalate even further. We have had from multiple regional leaders, calls for the violence to be deescalated. The tensions to be eased. Offers from regional leaders to help alleviate in trying to ease the tensions. Of course, we have heard from the turkish government. Athletic put forward their offer to help mediate and ease tensions. The Turkish Foreign ministry has said it is holding intensive talks with both sides of the conflict. And weve had a message from the turkish president yesterday, tayyip erdogan. Translator it is real this morning. We call on all sides to act with restraint. To stay away from news that will heighten the tension further. Of course, the tension for this to escalate further is a huge concern for regional leaders. But there has also been comments, remarks from others in the region placing the responsibility on israel. Some choosing to highlight. This has really come in response to recent acts by israeli right wing government, and of course, the placement of palestinian rights. Take a listen from this statement from the saudi Foreign Ministry. They have said the kingdom is repeating its previous repetitive warnings of the danger blowing up with continuing occupation and depriving the Palestinian People of their legitimate rights. That message has been echoed by others. Weve had similar sentiments. Both have which said they hold the International Community for failing to respond to actions against the rights of the Palestinian People. Of course, we have also heard strong words of condemnation, particularly, of course, from the egyptian government. The egyptian Foreign Ministry has called for the utmost restraint, warning of the dire consequences an escalation could have from both sides of the conflict and the region as a whole. And there is serious concern as the death toll on both sides continues to rise. Do we know what the situation is this hour in gaza . Look, into the early hours of this morning, we have seen continued rocket by targeting gaza. The Israeli Defense forces gave a statement just a little while ago. The update, at the say they have that 400 targets. We heard that yesterday people in gaza to evacuate residential areas set to be targeted by the idf. Of course, that is almost impossible for many palestinians living in gaza. This is a densely populated enclave which has been under a land, sea and air blockade enforced by the Israeli Government since 2007. So theres Concern Particularlily Human Being Rights Organizations over the impact this latest round could have. We heard that they plan to cut of on electricity, fuel, and goods going into gaza in an attempt to stifle the operations of hamas. But this, of course, could have dire humanitarian consequences. Thank you so much. In washington, President Joe Biden said israel can count on u. S. Support as it reacts to the unprecedented attack. Mr. Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone on saturday telling him the u. S. Support will be rock solid and unwaivering. He also issued a strong condemnation of the hamas attack. Take a listen. Hamas terrorism crossing in israel killing not only Israeli Soldiers but israeli civilians. In the streets, in their home, innocent people murdered, wounded. Entire families taken hostage by hamas. Its unconscionable. Mr. Biden had a warning for israels enemies who may want to take advantage of the situation. Here he is. Let me say this as clearly as i can, this is not a mehmet to exploit these attacks, to seek advantage. The world is watching. Israels allies are speaking out forcefully on social media condemning the deadly hamas attacks, and affirming its rates to defend itself. He spoke with the Prime Minister and stands in solidarity with them. The leaders of germany, the netherlands, the u. K. Standing in support. Terrorism in its most despicable form and israelis getting support from another country, currently embroiled in its own deadly fight. Translator israel has every right to protect itself from terror. So does every other state. It is very important for the whole world to respond to terror in a united and principled fashion. No support for terrorists. Where they aim their missiles, terrorists must lose. Coming up, the surprise attack on israel is a blow to the countrys intelligence community. Well hear from a cia operative about why gathering information in the region is so difficult. Israel has continued to carry out strikes in gaza day after hamas militants launched a surprise attack. Israeli Authorities Say. They say the strikes have killed more than 250 people in the area. For its part, israel says at least 300 of its citizens have died in the attacks launched by hamas. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pledging to eliminate the militants saying this country faces a long and difficult war. An israeli mother who says she was on the phone with her children when militants broke into their home and kidnapped them. She described the terrorizing moments. Messages, texts from other people, telling that terrorists are Walking Around trying to get into houses. About 8 30, they heard the door break. They said someone was breaking the door, someone is breaking the door. I cant even imagine what they felt. And i wasnt there to help. I was on the phone. And i said, just be quiet. Stay quiet. Stay in the security room, lock the door. But the doors dont really lock. Theyre not meant to give a solution to that kind of situation. No one ever thought terrorists would walk down the street. About 8 45, i was on the phone. I heard the door break. I heard terrorists speaking out to my teenagers. And the youngest saying, im too young to go. 16 and 12. So it was very, very hard to hear. And the phone went off. The line went off. That was the last time i heard from them. It was a he have very hard day. Many, many people, they were talking. They took babies. They took 2yearolds, 5yearolds, mothers. Just innocent, they did nothing wrong. They were just sleeping in their bed. Even war has rules. They just dont have any morals. Its something that you dont do. Israel Defense Forces know there will be a lot of work ahead of them to figure out how the attacks caught them so badly off guard. Earlier, former cia operative bob baer spoke with jim sciutto. Going back to 2006, 2007, hezbollah has been preparing for attacks like this. Crossing borders by paragliders, keeping secrecy to the very last minute. And there is a close coordination between hezbollah and hamas. How that exactly worked in this case, i dont know. I would imagine that a lot had to do with it. More than anything, its hamass communications discipline. If theyre using push to talk radios, they werent on it. If they were using apps, they werent on those. They completely went Radio Silence before this attack and theyve gotten better over the years. They can the israelis listen to all their phone calls. All of them. Ive been in the israeli Listening Sites and exchanges on the border. Every single call, they listen in. The palestinians know that and accounted for that. And their fighting forces are Getting Better over the years. But more than anything, israel lacks sources inside the Military Command of hamas. That is a great failure. Know they try to get them but they cant do it. Look at gaza is like a prison, the israelis cant get in. They cant recruit people. The Military Command doesnt leave. Its a very, very hard target. Thats why they got away with this attack. There is been some discussion of where idf forces were focusing their attention and given the Military Operations inside the west bank, defensive settlements there, et cetera, is it possible that played into this as well . That forces were focused elsewhere . Exactly. The west bank is a lot easier to hit. Ive walked through those targets the israelis have hit before. And they can get into the west bank anywhere they want. Into refugee camps, builtup areas. They cant get into gaza which is a huge problem for netanyahu now, sending his forces in. There are very narrow alleys. A lot of hostages will be held in the apartment buildings. And it is going to be a slog getting through gaza. And not only that. There is no safeway to rescue these hostages, and trust me, thats foremost on netanyahus mind. If there is no safeway to rescue them, what does that mean . Does that mean negotiation is the only i spoke to the editorinchief of the jerusalem post. He said for one israeli soldier, the exchange was for 2,000, i believe, palestinian prisoners. Thats on his mind. Idf cannot rescue these hostages safely. We can go in combat entries. We come in with a lot of forceful well kill a lot of people and probably the hostages and theres no way around that. So it is up to him to decide whether to negotiate, which would be a political figure for netanyahu of incredible dimensions. Or go into gaza full force. Its a city basically, one large city. 2. 3 Million People that youre going to have to fight through. There is no easy outs on this. Coming up, the eyes of the world are now on hamas and their brazen, bloody attack on israel. Many are asking, what could they possibly hope to accomplish long term . Well ask an expert ahead. Welcome back to all of our viewers around the world. Youre watching cnn newsroom. Israels war against hamas is well into its second day with Staggering Number of deaths among israelis and palestinians. At least 300 israeli deaths are now confirmed and palestinian Authorities Say more than 250 people in gaza have been killed. Thousands more have been wounded. Here is the Prime Minister on saturday. Translator what happened today has never been seen in israel and we will make sure that it does not happen again. The entire government is behind this decision. The idf will immediately use all its strength. We will destroy them and we will take mighty vengeance for this black day they have forced on the state of israel and its citizens. Israel says up to 1,000 hamas militants poured across the border into nearby israeli towns on saturday. Disturbing video shows Israeli Citizens being rounded up in one of them presumably to be taken to gaza as hostages. Cnns diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in israel with more on the events of this horrific day. Reporter in the early hours of saturday, israelis woke to a sudden assault from gaza militants. The surprise attack claimed by the militant group hamas, a complex and massive operation marking a steep escalation of hostilities. The attack began with a huge barrage of missiles fired from gaza. Thousands of rockets. Some making direct hits on targets across southern israel. Under the cover of the missiles, a large scale infiltration began as hamas militants crossed by land, sea and air, even using paragliders to cross into israel. Videos show hamas fighters storming into israeli territory. A few miles away in the border town, hamas was seen driving and opening fire on civilians. The gunmen tore through the streets, leaving a trail of casualties behind. The full extent of the casualties is unclear but hundreds have been killed. More than 1,000 injured on both sides. A spokesman for the Israeli Defense force gave a frank assessment of the situation. A very severe morning in israel. A combined offensive by hamas by land, air and sea. We wont talk about numbers as we speak but the number are substantial. A very severe morning. We are very much focused on sending forces to the locations where theres ongoing fighting. Reporter during the raid, some fighters took israelis as hostages and prisoners of war. The Israeli Military said geo located by cnn Show Militants taking them captive. In gaza, a woman is seen forced into the custody of hamas. Israel quickly retaliated, hitting multiple targets along the gaza strip. In gaza city, two highrise buildings collapse after an air strike. The unrest continuing late into the night with both sides trading rocket fire as we touched down at Ben Gurion International in tel aviv. Air traffic was halted as sirens wail and travelers took cover. Literally just got off the plane at ben gurion airport. The sirens have gone off. People are taking cover. You can hear the intercepted missiles banging in the air. Nothing incoming here. Everyone got down. A lot of concern about what will happen here this night. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unwavering in his message that israel is at war with hamas. Now, israel rushes to regroup with its allies despite the Intelligence Failure that appeared to lead to the attack, it is clear that the true force of the Israeli Governments response is yet to come. Nic robertson, cnn, ashkelon, israel. Some analysts have been critical of an apparent Intelligence Failure by israel which was caught by surprise in the attack. The idf says as many as 1,000 hamas militants penetrated deep into southern israel. Opening fire on towns such as this. Waves of rockets estimated in the thousands rained down as far north as tel aviv. The former director of mossod said the barrage was, quote, beyond our imagination. We have had Intelligence Failures before and weve been surprised. This is the first time that the people from gaza have been able to penetrate into israel. It was a total surprise that war broke out this morning. He is an associate fellow for the Royal United Services inst institute. He joins me now from brisbane, australia. Good to have you with us. People are still very mystified by the unpreparedness of the intelligence and Security Services of israel. So what i wonder, is this a case of people overestimating Security Services or did israel underestimate hamas . I think the letter, israel holds hamas in fairly poor regard. This is a tactical surprise. Not a strategic surprise. Bear in mind, israel has a strategy called mowing the launch means regular wars, or small wars against hamas. There has been seven since 2008. It was just a matter of time before there was another one. Its a tactical surprise as far as the scale of the attack and the timing of it. That has clearly shocked the israelis. How long can hamas keep this up now . The israeli Prime Minister has basically declared war, not basically. He has declared war on hamas. And the potential of the Israeli Ground offensive. Are they prepared to confront that . So i think that hamas has been chasing a couple of things. The first one is that hamas wants to be treated, if you like, as a regular state and wants to sit down and talk peace with the israelis. But that means a compromise on both sides. The israelis have never been willing to compromise before. I think that hamas has looked back 50 years. Bear in mind, this is the 50th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War when the egyptians started a war purely to get the israelis to the negotiating table. I think this particular war might be similar. That goes to the second bit. Perhaps the first part of the war is over now. Hamas wanted those hostages. They have hundreds of them. So the israelis mounting a Ground Offensive into gaza will be very, very difficult. So i think the hostages are a part of this as well. I think the future path of the war depends upon those hostages. It depends upon those hostages because you think theyll be used as Human Shields . Very much so. The israelis have complete control over gaza. They can drop bombs anywhere and kill anybody. The only thing stopping them will be concern about them also killing hostages. What do you attribute hamass improved capabilities that have allowed them to carry out an operation of this scale . Its the old story that people everywhere are very smart and the israelis, there have been about seven wars large and small since 2008. So hamas has now found a way through the israeli strategy. One of the outcomes of this war will be that israel will have to change its mowing the Lawn Strategy and come up with something new. Come up with something new . What are some of the potential Exit Strategies . Sooner or later, you know, this has to end. Not necessarily. The israelis have been doing this for a long time now. I think at the present time, israel will assume that they will win the battle and they have overwhelming force. Im sure that they will. They will very likely lose the peace and there will be more wars after this. So the big trick now will be whether netanyahu and hamas can now use this war as a breaking point, as an Inflection Point and move from here into building. While the egyptians did it in 1973, they didnt reach peace until 1979. When we have a cease fire, hopefully that will lead on to something better. Otherwise, this is just one more war in a long state of wars. We keep seeing these flareups. This is much bigger than a flareup. It cant be described as such. You see these cyclical outbursts. There is an assault and then the seeds for the next flareup are planted. Is it time for the Security Paradigm to be kind of recon reconsidered . Getting more creative in terms of finding another way of dealing with the situation on the ground . Its groundhog day. It is ground hog day. War after war after war. The israelis before this were relatively sanguine. All of their wars involved very small loss of life on the israeli side. At times a thousand or so on the Palestinian Side. This particular war changes that completely. There is now real fear, and in southern israel, there will be real concern, i. E. , about the future. So hamas has caused a major Cognitive Shift. People will be thinking very, very differently. Whether that Cognitive Shift can be used to think differently and think about solving it, that longterm problem is hard to say. Well have to see how this goes the in next few days, whether the israelis can in fact make that leap. And bear in mind, the pictures out of gaza have to be very ugly. Based upon previous casualty estimates, you would expect this war will kill between 5,000 and 6,000 palestinians with about 10,000 casualties. So while the israelis have certainly suffered hundreds of losses, the Palestinian Side will look ugly as well. A very terrifying prospect. Peter layton, thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Thanks a lot. Cheers. Coming up on cnn newsroom, the attack in israel shocked to world. Well look at what kind of support israels allies are offering. A quick update in israel. Ground battles are underway in eight areas. Israeli troops are trying to push out remaining hamas militants. Israel conducted strikes after what it described as a shooting across the border. The Lebanese Group hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting three sites in israel. Meanwhile, israels air force is taking aim at targets at gaza once again on sunday. The death toll of palestinians has reached now more than 250 people with nearly 1,800 injured. Now to show us how other countries are reacting to the situation. Reporter an unprecedented attack by hamas on israel. Israels fullbore response including a declaration that it was at war with hamas and about to exact a huge price on those responsible. Translator i have ordered Sen The Return of reserves. Reporter of the allies say they stand with israel saying it has the right to defend itself after such a largescale and brazen attack. Let me say there as clearly as i can. This is not a moment for any party hostile to israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching. No signs of the previous rocky relations between biden and netanyahu. That flared between the two leaders after a controversial Ju Dirl Reform in israel. Germany, france and the u. K. Weighing in. All three countries calling the attacks an act of terror with germanys Foreign Minister Warning against the dangers of violence. It once again moved the region further away from peace. Through these terror attacks, there is now the incalculable danger of a large regional escalation. Reporter regional players like egypt and saudi arabia are calling for calm, for both sides to stop the fighting. Before the this, riyadh was in talks. With saudi arabia pushing for a resolution on the treatment of palestinians before any deal could be reached. Qatar, which historically has had both financial and political ties to hamas says it solely blames israel. Theres some experts say qatar could possibly play a part in future efforts to deescalate the crisis. It proves the relations with israelis but they have been very supportive of the islamists and i think they want to maintain their ties and contacts with hamas. They may well come in to play a role. Reporter the Lebanese Group backed by israels arched enemy Iran Praiseded the attacks saying it was in contact with Palestinian Resistance groups, at home and abroad adding further concerns what began with a shocking start could spread into a wider conflict. Cnn, london. Well have more breaking News Coverage of the war in israel including an indepth look at how the events unfolded on saturday. Stay with us. A number of countries around the world are lighting up famous landmarks in support of israel. The israeli flag is portrayed on the Brandenburg Gate in berlin. The israeli flag pronged onto the official residence of the Prime Minister. In new york, the Freedom Tower is lit up in blue and white of the israeli flag. Israel sith it has launched strikes into lebanon after the Lebanese Group hezbollah targeted three sites controlled by israeler in its northern border. The attacks happened as israels forces continue to fight off haurmts militants in eight areas to the south of the country. Earlier, evangelicali authorities said they had regained control of a police station. The idf has carried out more strikes in gaza, hitting over 400 targets. Israel says it also hit a compound in gaza belonging to the head of the hamas intelligence chief. Former head of mossad, israels intelligence service, told cnn there was no warning sign before saturdays attack and calls it a total surprise. Cnns tom foreman has more on how it all unfolded. Reporter this extraordinary series of attacks began at 6 30 in the morning when israel was asleep with this massive barrage of rockets flowing out of gaza. Note this would be the level at which their most rudimentary rockets would hit, six miles or so. Then maybe 25 miles. And their most advanced rockets that would most seem to rely on probably some Technology Beyond them, iran as many intelligence people would say, would reach up here to tel aviv, about 45 miles from here. Whatever the placement of them was, there were an awful lot of them. We dont have an exact count, but it appears to be in the thousands. That would matter because that would make it easier to overwhelm israels Missile Defense system, the iron dome system, and make sure that some got through even if many were stopped. More importantly, by doing this, all indications are that laid the groundwork for what came next. At 7 40, an hour and 10 minutes later, thats when armed soldiers, fighters, started coming out of gaza into israel. Some by knocking down walls and barriers here, some coming in by air with powered parachutes, some by boats going around here. This was something, again, that indicated it was a very planned attack. And soon you saw people with Rocket Launchers and rifles running in the streets. They even went and engaged Military Bases where you would think they would expect the most opposition. Gives an idea of their degree of planning and confidence as they went in to attack the israelis. And of course weve seen those videos of the towns that have been raided near that area where we had reports of people being taken hostage and other people being killed. All of it speaks to this very notion weve been hearing about from the beginning, that this represents a level of planning and execution that is far deeper than what has typically been seen before. That wraps up this hour of cnn newsroom. Im laila harrak. Com