Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

Fears and think clearly and strategically, and what is the best way to navigate this incredibly labyrinth and topography of the middle east. We are appreciative of the position of the president of the United States, and i have been involved in Foreign Relations for years as a historian and practitioner and i have never heard a speech like that, and we were all watching here with tears in our eye, and as the president spoke, and also when the Secretary Of State was here, and the things that he said about his personal connection, and we deeply, deeply appreciate it at this time, and we will defend ourselves. Ambassador, as so many people can say that im not unique in this and i have known you and reported on you and covered on you and interviewed you for a long time, and this is such a different time, and thank you for coming on. It is. Thank you. Thank you. We will talk again soon. So with that, we are going to continue our coverage right now on everything that is developing and playing out in israel. We have seen the troop movements along the gazan border, and also, is israeli shelling happening on the lebanon bord, and this is after they have call for an evacuation of more than 1 Million People out of gaza to tell them to move to the southern portion of gaza, so they can get out of the way for what israel is going to do next. This is an incredibly densely populated area, and 1 Million People are living north of the line, and it is including gaza city, and those people are told to get out as soon as possible, and the red cross is saying that it is creating a humanitarian catastrophe, and the red cross is telling them to stay put, and do not go anywhere, and we are stand big to hear from the Secretary Of State Antony Blinken who is going to be meeting with the Ka Terry Leaders to try to press hamas to release the hostages, some 150 of them held in gaza, but we are going to begin on the israeli lebanese border where we are seeing the shelling, and the back and forth border. Ben wedeman is there, and tell us what you are seeing. At the moment, john, nothing is happening. It is relatively quiet, but what we saw earlier was that, well, you heard some large explosions, and the smoke on the top of the hill, and then we realized that one of the positions that was hit, and i will get a shot above the cameraman that is going to zoom in, and you can see the lights to the right of that antenna. We saw smoke coming out of there. And that is basically an israeli Army Position that keeps the eye on the adjacent lebanese towns, and one of the towns, and that is on the other side of the wall, and the lebanese town was struck we believe by israeli artillery, and how this started, we are not altogether sure, and we have heard occasionally bursts of the gun fire behind me, and that is the town of ma tu matula, and it is a closed military zone, and nobody is allowed n and we have not seen much in the way of movement, and so we dont know if any civilians are in that town. Earlier today, several hours ago to the west of us here near lebanon border, according to the lebanese news agency, several rockets were fired in the way of israel, and intercepted by the iron dome system, and afterward, Israeli Military according to news agency, targeted a Lebanese Army observation point, and what followed is a continued exchange of fire, whether it is small arms fire or more tars ors mortars or artillery is not clear, but it is representing a dramatic escalation of tension along this border in the last few minutes, and the last 24 hours were relatively quiet. Now it is not altogether clear whether hezbollah who is the Major Military power in this area is sort of showing strikes in solidaire with gaza or indication of something more serious. I dont think so at the moment, and the Lebanese Army has deployed additional troops, and in fact, we went out to one of the villages on one checkpoint, and on the way back, we had four. So it is increasing presence, and meanwhile, the United Nations Uniform Ed Army is patrolling the area to prevent a further escalation if they can, john. All right. Ben wedeman at the israellebanon border. Keep us posted there. Kate . From the lebanese, israellebanese border, and down towards the southern Israeli Border where erin burnett is with us once again. And erin, every time we have come to you, there have been troop and tank movements, and what are you hearing from the sold soldiers . All right. Kate, we are by a Staging Corner near the gaza border, and near the egyptian border, and we saw another bus going in, and each one has a troop of about 50, and we have been searing them for hours here at this particular staging situation. We can see all of the staging here. And behind me over the hill, we saw six rockets in the past 20 minute, and those rockets were coming from hamas here, and they were intercepted by the iron dome. They were essentially come over the small town o f ofakim, and that is where we heard those rockets here. And this is not far from gaza which is egypt here. And now, Nic Robertson is over at sderot near gaza, and what y you seeing here, nic . Yeah, john. Typically this time of the day, sunset, there is a kick up in activity, and we are hearing it at the moment, and hearing the increased frequency of the military strikes on gaza, and i will ask you the pan over there to the smoke on the horizon, and also the aftermath here of the rockets, hamas rockets or the Islamic Jihad rockets there, and you can see the one plume of smoke there from the Power Stationf from ashkelon, and that is where there appears to be one strike, and john, if you will go along the horizon line, that is the coastline with the sea, and you cant see the sea, but skimming along the horizon up toward ashdod, there is a massive rising plume of smoke which has been appearing there since we have been Hearing Rocket strikes landing in that area. And so ha mass is able to put up the rocket fire, and the big Interesting Development coming from inside of gaza today, and late overnight last night, and we are standing here, and we heard if not so far, the heaviest Missile Barrage from the israeli fighter jets and huge repercussion, and shaking windows and the doors on the house, and vibrating the whole thing. That was and we didnt know it at the time, and perhaps well, we didnt know it at the time, but it seems to have been the heaviest night of bombardment so far, and the Israeli Defense says they have fired about 6,000 missile which is the number they have fired in the last major, major confrontation with hamas . 2014 over 50 days, so you will get a sense of the intensity of the firepower. And yesterday, telling the cities in Northern Gaza where they are heavy pounding. Hamas is telling them not the move. They dont want to get them to move, however, the israeli wants them to move to avoid civilian casualties. And this is setting up with historical precedent, the blame game with civilian casualties. The israelis are saying to move, but the u. N. Says it is impossible for them to move, and however, they are telling them to mo to get to a police of safety. And if and when there is a Ground Incursion or the military strikes continue, and it is one of the most difficult and complicated parts of this conflict. And Nic Robertson, this is one of the most comprehensive aspects here. Over nics shoulder is smoke rising where he is in ashkelon and ashdod where he is in se dot sderot. That is an incredible perspective. Now we go to Matthew Chance who is working feverishly to work with one of the most complicated situation, and this is 100 or 150 hostages in gaza right now, and what is the latest on these efforts . Yeah, and i think it is really important, john, to bear in mind as we are awaiting a Ground Incursion with the hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, that the Military Operation is going to be severe ly complicated if not hampered by the israeli hostages that have been scattered in secret location across the gaza strip. Well, the israelis say they are doing everything humanly possible, but stopping shortly that the negotiations are under way with three third parties, to rely the israeli postages or a portion of them, and in qatar, and of course, the overall hamas leader lives in qatar to try to get some accommodation from them, and try to get the hostages out. In the mientime, the Israeli Government has appointed a Hostage Affairs coordinator after complaints said that not enough was done to keep the families informed and the status of the coordination to get them free, and that coordinator is meeting with 500 members of the families of some of those hostages in israel to update them on what the latest status is on their situation. Although, no details are being given in public, and what the israelis is saying that anyone who mistreats the hostages either now or in future, they will face israeli wrath whether it is in five years or 15 years or 20 years. And so the israelis are furious this has happened and doing everything they can to get the people out. It is the most complicated a and we have not seen any proof of life from them, and so it is a difficult situation. Kate . And now, looking at a set of lecterns and tony blinken is expected to speak at one of them, as he come out of meetings qatari leaders and he is continuing to sweep across the middle east. We will bring you that shortly. Stay with us right here on cnn. Cnn is on the ground in the expected Ground Incursion near gaza and israel. You can see that the tanks rolled by a few moments ago, and erin burnett is seeing the tanks repositioning. She is seeing them move closer to the bord border, and more mot than she has seen. The idf today drop did leaflets into Northern Gaza warning the civilians there, and more than 1 million Palestinian Civilians there to leave, to evacuate to the southern portion of gaza, and do so immediately. Aid organizations are warning from the u. N. To several others are warning that the evacuation though it could trigger a catastrophic humanitarian consequences, and doing so immediately and quickly is nearly impossible. Again, some 150 hostages caught in the middle of it. And joining us is a man whose 84yearold grandmother who they believe was kidnapped in a kibbutz near israel and gaza, and we know that you are trying to get to your usofta, but you could not get in touch with her, and it was a Family Member who gave you a chilling account of what happened. My cousin was finally able to get through to my usoftas phone and a man said, it is hamas, hamas, and of course, they hung up immediately. Someone shouting hamas, hamas, into your usoftas phone. 84 years young she looks like here. And ultimately, you did see a video posted, you believe by hamas on facebook of your grandmother alive. What was it like to see that . It was a harrowing watch for us. It is not something that we have been sharing around, because we dont want to perpetrate any propaganda, but it is showing her house with a lot of shattered glass. You know, thankfully, this is kind of that they are showing the full options as they did not see her beaten up, but she is being pulled an shoved into a veeckhicle and taken away. So it is reassuring in a certain way. As lovely as she looks in the pictures, she is 84 years old. What is your biggest concern for her right now . For her, she has been without medication since saturday as far as we know. I dont know if hamas is providing any medical relief for their hostages or not. Im assuming not. Im not sure how severe some of the conditions are, but regardless, she is 84, and being held hostage, and it is already six days, and this is not good. So, for her, i am very concerned. Tell me about your usofta and did she live in fear living so close to the gaza border . Well, she is a very strong woman. She is a caring woman, and very caring at heart. She is a host in the town that was destroyed in the attack that she lived in. Over the course of her years there, she repositioned in the kibbutz, and she is an essential member. When she was 50 years old, she went back to school to get a degree in social work, and she has been working up until four years ago. I mean, she is a giver at heart. She welcomed anybody into her home. Always available, and she knows our favorite foods, and she nose everything. Family members separated in the holocaust, and even my grandfather who elad, if you can speak into the microphone, because we are losing your audio. Sorry about that. It is all good, but i wanted to note that it is almost surreal that it is. Talking about your 84yearold us usofta who is being held hostage, and what would you like to see happen . Obviously, i want her returned as soon as possible safe, and that in hands of the idf at this time, but beyond that, i would just like peace. Peace is what i want and peace is what we need, and the current Governing Bodies in each location are just not, not going to be heading in that direction. It is not something to happen immediately anyway. So, a shift in perspective and shift in motivation that happens where we are going towards peace and hamas is dissolved and the current Israeli Government may have to shift as well for that to happen. Elad, we are sending love to you and your family, and your usofta sounds like a wonderful woman, and a grandmother that we would all like to give a hug to right now. We wish you best wishes. Thank you. And we will check in with sara sidner right after this a quick break. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. Is it possible my network could take my business to the next level . It is with comcast business. Powering all your devices with gigspeed wifi. And you get fast downloads and uploads. Pick it up pick it up oh we got this because its powered by The Next Generation 10g network. More speed for your business . Its not just possible. Its happening. Get started for 59. 99 a month for 12 months. Plus, ask how to get an 800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. Comcast business, powering possibilities. Welcome back, everybody. We are following all of the developments out of israel. Sara sidner has arrived in tel aviv and she has arrived on the ground. Great to have you, there sara, and you were able to speak to one of the families the israeli hostages, and what were you able to learn . I left you and john to come to a place where i used to live and work for cnn and upon getting here, i spoke with one of the Family Members of the hostage who has been gone since saturday. They know she is a hostage, because they have actually seen video now of the people who took her, the hamas terrorist who took her, and very disturbing of course, for the family to see. I talked to her brother in law, partly because her sister, the woman who he is married to, she is so distraught, she cannot think of anything of her sister being rescued from the hands of hamas. I want you to hear from dan moore who is normally saying, look, we live a good life, and we love our lives, here, but this is completely and utterly devastated the family. She was at the festival where everybody was at the border, and she called up the family, and they could hear gunshots going off over and over and over again, and there is screaming and rushing and yelling, and then they lose her, and then they dont hear from her anymore, and they have not heard from her since, but what they have done is to see her now, video out on the tiktok, and this how he describes what he saw in the video. We could hear the gun fire. Reporter you could hear . Yes, it is the most scary, most surreal thing that you could imagine. A few hours after we lost contact, later on, a video showed up on tiktok, in arabicspeaking video in arabic reporter so he is talk about an arabic speaking video, and on that video, you can hear them talk about her saying that basically she was like an animal that they were hunting. That she was in a tree as they put it, and the tree was a bush where she was hiding, and this is how she was found. I have seen the video myself, and we will share it at a later time, but on the video, she is crouching on the Ground Shaking and holding her hands like this while these two men are standing around her making comments about her, and it is so incredibly disturbing the family at this point has no idea where she is, and they do believe she is in gaza with the other 150 or so hostages, and 17 of them americans, but they are at a loss. One thing that has a lot of the families really concerned now is the news today that israel has told the people in gaza that they need toe vac wait hal ne to evacuate half of the gaza strip, and they are not able to get into egypt or come out of the israel side, and the u. N. Is saying, look, they are stuck. For them families of the hostages hearing that, they know that it could mean real danger for their ones, too, but they are not military analysts, and they dont know how it works, but they want someone to go in to get their loved ones, but they realize just how difficult it is at the moment. Kate and john. Sara, you mentioned that you had lived in that region before, and you have been there at times of some conflict, and obviously, this is on a different scale, and i know that you have not been there long this time, but i am curious when you got there to the airport and getting around as you in the last few hours, what kind of a difference is the situation from now to before . That is such a good question, because the difference is literally everyone is talking about this. In this area in israel, you hear rockets going off really regularly, depending upon where you live, especially on the areas like ashdod, ashkelon, and near the border, it is not used to hearing the rockets going off every now and then, and people go on with their lives, because the iron dome will take care of it. One or two are injured, but what is different in this time is everyone that you come into contact with knows someone who has been killed, injured or kidnapped or children who have been injured, killed or kidnapped or family who has been killed or maimed in this attack by hamas. They also talk about what is happening in gaza, because they realize there are innocent civilians there as well, and they are seeing that horror happen as well. Again, so there is a sense here that it is very different. It is far more quiet. Though this is the is a both, and it is chabot and the sun is down, and people are observing, but it is much more intense, and much more filled with sorrow, john. And sara, hearing from the family of the woman who is now hostage, and that they, i mean, they need something to hold on to. How are they . Where are they . Anything. John spoke to a person from the idf and he said as far as they know, no proof of life of the hostages, and so it is adding to the sadness and the trauma of the family, and it must be unbearable. Kate, that is the right word. Unbearable. When i talked to dan moore, and he is the brotherinlaw, and he said, i dont know why i am not crying all of the time, and my wife is in such a state, and he is keeping all of it. Sara, the u. S. Secretary of state Antony Blinken is in doha meeting with the leaders in doha. Lets listen in. [ speaking in a global language ] [ speaking in a global language ] obviously, we dont have the translation just yet, and that is the Qatari Foreign minister talking about the talks that he has had with Antony Blinken, and this is quite a day for the u. S. Secretary of state, because he began meeting in jordan, amman, and he met with the king of jordan, and now, he is meeting with the leader of qatari, and there are leaders of hamas living there, and blinken is going to pressure them to release the hostages, and later, the secretary is going to bahrain, and ultimately today to saudi arabia, egypt, and the uae today, and this is a complicated diplomatic mission. And the role that qatar could play and is playing, is a very complicated one. As the Terror Attack happened, the qatari officials came out and blamed israeli for what was happening there. And then as the days progressed, qatar presented themselves as wanting to act as an and that they wanted to speak to hamas to try to get the hostages out. We just had the former ambassador to the United States michael oren talk about the real difficulty of how much you want, and rilz would want or the others will want from the u. S. It is a important show that he is pressuring for release of hostages. And also, we are waiting for translation. They have a border with gaza, and border that is closed. Perhaps, the u. S. Secretary is going to try to work with the egyptians to open the border to at a minimum let the aid in for the gazans or let the palestinians out, and that is unlikely, because egypt has been unwilling to open up the border. And three fronts ripe and Antony Blinken to show support to the namesake to and also, getting some reporting from the colleagues at the state department, tony blinken is also pushing for the Israeli Government to establish a safe zone for people in gaza to get out of harms way, as we can see what is soon to be expected the incursion into gaza. Into the kingdoms of bau ini n believe we are going to hear from the secretary, we will listen in. First, Will Et Me Express my gratitude to emir, and Prime Minister for as always very productive discussions. Qatar has been a partner with the United States for a broad range of topics to Work Together from Evacuating Americans and others from afghanistan, and for responding to the devastatingettequakes into eritrea and others of the killing of 27 american citizens, and holding at least 30 detail the efforts of any actor of state, nonstate creating a new front in the conflict. We are working intensely together to secure the release of the hostages, including American Citizens Being held. We are grateful for the urgency that qatar is bringing to the effort. I had the opportunity to be the anguish is profound to bring the loved ones home as israel continues to respond to the devastating attack, the United States wants be certain they have what they need. Secretary of defense Admiral Austin was there to proside what they need and we will do that on an ongoing basis. At the same time, we are in constant communication with the israeli officials, and the Multi Lateral organization, including the uts agency, and i said it has the right, and indeed, the obligation, to defend its people, and to ensure that hamas does not continue to do what it has done. Rerecognize that many palestinian families in gaza we mourn the life of every life, israeli, palestinian, christian, muslim and jew. Revalue every life. Lets not lose sight of why this is happened. Israel is conducting operations in gaza, because hamas carried out Terrorist Attacks that killed in a most horrific way 1,300 people. Hamas slaughtered, raped, mutilated, tortured and burned innocent civilians. Babies to the elderly. Men, women, boys and girls. Now, efforts to get humanitarian aid to gaza are complicated by the fact that the mosque is using and we know that humanitarian situation is urgent. We are working with partners including qatar to get the aid to who needs them. Thank you again, emir for all of the help in getting these questions okay. The u. S. Secretary of state there speaking in a very careful terms given where he is. Forceful and careful, right . Forceful and careful. He is grate and working very urgently to work to free tand they are working to take every precaution to not hurt them, but it is occurring, because it is because hamas carried out a terrorist attack, and saying it right there in the place where hamas lives and saying they raped, burn, mutilated innocent people, and that is why this is now happening. That is why they are here. And the Secretary Of State is doing that in a capital, doha, the way that the u. S. Secretary is going to be speaking and get some translation. And we will bring in Nic Robertson and appreciating that if blinken does start to speak again, we will go back to him in a moments notice, and i dont know if you heard the Secretary Of State, but he is talking about the urgency of qatar to help free the hostages. It is a very urgent effort. Israel is lining up for a Ground Incursion, and the game changes, and it is not a game, and that is the wrong word, because and it is possible they are using some of the hostages as Human Shields. Okay. We have to jump back in for the secretary who is speaking. Sorry, nic, we have to go back in. At the same time, the way that israel does this matters, and the way that any democracy deals with any situation maerts, and to that end, we have discussed with the israelis, and urged the israelis, to yuse caution it puts them in places where they will be in danger. It puts them in places where they are used in effect to try to protect hamas officials or their equipment or infrastructure. Civilians should not be the target of Military Operations. They are not the target of israeli operations. They are deliberately the target of hamas action. I mentioned as well that were actively engaged with u. N. Relief agencies, with the icrc, with others to address the needs of people in gaza torks protect them from harm and make sure that they have the ability to get what they need. We need to ensure that there are safe areas in fwaz is a. Were work through the details on that, and more to be said in the days ahead. Thats a priority for us. Were discussing this with the Israeli Government, were discussing it with others in the region. Are we getting the translation, so we can start . Were still working on that. We heard some more from tony blinken. Lets bring in Nic Robertson. We didnt mean to cut you off there, but we heard more from the secretary talking about, as he says, the fundment the the issue that complicates this whole thing is that hamas uses civilians as shields to what they are doing. Reporter and this is exactly what we have seen play out today. The Israeli Defense forces asked those civilians to move south. 1 million of them at one point to do it now. The u. N. Has said for so had many people to move it is impossible. John kirby has also said it would be a tall order to try to do that. Hamas controls the transportation, controls whether or not people can move around in big numbers like that, and hamas told those civilians to stay put. So then the situation is set, where israel is asking the civilians to get out of the way when they go in with the ground force is expected as the Secretary Of State was saying. If the civilians use the Human Shields, which appears they would be, there would be civilian casualties. Who gets the blame. There will be countries that absolutely blame israel and tell it to stop its Military Operation and they will say we asked for the civilians to move and hamas stopped them. Hamas is responsible. They will say hamas doesnt care about the population. This is a blame situation that we have seen play out before. It doesnt change what will happen on the ground. But it is something that absolutely complicate the situation on the ground. And the same for the hostages. I think the expectation is that the hostages on the ground could be used as Human Shields as well. So when were speaking before about the timeliness of this, the short timeframe that Secretary Blinken has here to do this, this is because the Ground Incursion could come very soon. So time is running out for the diplomacy that he is trying to execute today in kut canner. Standby for a second. I think its possible the secretary is getting a question in english. Democracies should strive for even when its difficult to do so. Stoday israel ordered residents of gaza to move south, something palestinian envoy called a crime against humanity. The translation wasnt great, so the gentleman before me might have asked something similar, but let me push a little more on this. How does that order square with that standard you mentioned, and also International Law . Does the United States support this relocation and since you had a conversation with Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, did you give your bresing for this move . Thank you. Thank you. Your question about hamas, right now, this office since this started being used as a way of communicate ing and bringing calm. Not to investigate anymore. This is the purpose of that office as long as we are keep ing the communication often right now and focusing on putting an end toward this conflict. This is useful. Thats been our main focus is this. Actually, now our key focus for us in the state of kwuter and the United States chairing this objective is how to put an end, how to create humanitarian corridor and get the hostages back. The first part of your question. I want to repeat it. I really thank qatar for the work they are doing to try to help secure the release of hostages. This is something that we deeply appreciate. I know that other countries do as well. Its something that were actively pursuing. I have also been making it clear in all of my conversations throughout this trip that there can be no more Business As Usual with hamas. Murdering babies, burning families to death, taking little children as hostages, these are unconscionable acts of brutality. Every country needs to condemn these actions and needs to hold them accountable. Well continue to make that clear. When it comes to providing for civilians in gaza, both ensuring that they can be out of harms way and that they can have access to the support they need, the humanitarian assistance, the food, the medicine, the water, our focus now is on help ining create safe zones. Were doing that with the leading international organizations. Were doing that engage d with israel and working with other countries to that end. So thats where our focus it is. Thats the best way to ensure civilians who are caught in a Cross Fire Hamas is making and be safe and receive the assistance they need. Thank you. I know the Situation Israel is highly larged and fluid, but are you worried about the medium and longterm consequences of whats unfolding in gaza . Are you worried that israel maybe simply retaliating in a fury because of the horrendous nape of these attacks and might not have a longterm plan. And secondly, im wondering how worried are you about a second front in this war. Iran and hezbollah have already made threats of opening this new front if attacks on civilians or an israeli blockade continues. What would the u. S. Response be if hezbollah ramps up its own attacks in response to a ground invasion. And the u. S. And israel are struggling with this Hostage Situation that the secretary was talking about. Can you tell us about your engage mments and are you optimistic about getting these people back alive, given reports that some of them miay have die in strikes on gaza there has been protests across the arab world as israels retaliation continues. Whats your view of how israel is conducting its Military Response . Are you worried about the potential for medium and longterm consequences of whats happening . Thank you. Thank you very much. First part of the question, no country can tolerate having Terrorist Group come in, slaughter its people in the most unconscionable ways and live like that. What israel is doing is not retaliation. They are defending the lives of its people and, as i said, trying to make sure this cannot happen again. And i think any country faced with what israel has suffered would likely do the same thing. Imagine if this happened in the United States. So thats what is happening. Of course, its important to think about, as one might put it, the day after. And where this goes. I believe that is very much a part of israels thinking and the thinking of many other countries in the region. One thing is for sure. We cant go back to the status quo that allowed this to happen in the first place