Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

It includesamassing thousands upon thousands of troops. Nic robertson is in sderot where troops are training in that area. Give us a sense of what you are talking about training and that entails along the border, nic. Yes, what they want to do is to send in a combined force. They want to send in tanks, infantry and combat engineers, and this is a spearhead advance, and lot of the armies do this, but when you have reservists in the force, and regular troops, you have bring them together to do that, and so they have been training to do that and training as well for fighting in a Combat Environment in these mock palestinian towns, and there are mosques. There are stores. There are traffic circles. There are home. So the troops are going to training for the exact environment absent the people they will face when they go into gaza. Now they have not been given the order, and everything that we see, the tanks parked in the field, and the lastminute repairs to the train tracks, and the dozens and dozens and hundreds of Armored Vehicles lined up nose to tail, and some of them waiting for the troops to join them, and you are getting a real sense that a possibility of an incursion is getting closer, and the whole force not ready yet, and the fighter jets are in the air in skies above us, and still the missile runs are taking place in the last half an hour or so. It is remarkable i know for you to see this, and you have been in the region for decades and explaining what is going on, and it is remarkable to see the possibility of a Ground Incursion at this point in time. I mean, allout fullscale war. Nic robertson, thank you for all of your reporting throughout the last week, and we appreciate you. I am hearing some sound a bit however light in my ear. Our Special Coverage continues right now. We want to show you the new video just in. This is northern gaza. This is where we are going to show you video of northern gaza right now, and new drone video coming in, and we will pull it up when we can, and it is showing a sea of devastation really from the air strikes coming from israel. This is as israel prepares to launch and expected Ground Invasion there. Right now, u. S. Secretary of state tony blinken is back in israel, and the state Department Says in meetings with israeli leaders this morning, that blinken reaffirmed u. S. Support of israel, and to reaffirm as the State Department hs said that blinken is focused on the efforts ongoing and under way to secure the safe release of the hostages being held by hamas terrorists, and today, the number of hostages has increased a great deal unfortunately. 199 people are believed to be held by hamas in gaza, john. Yes, i want to go back to where Nic Robertson is in sderot which a mile or so from the gaza border, and what are you hearing, nic . Yeah, we heard the fighter jets flying over, and heavy explosions that could have been artillery fired from the idf going into gaza, but then we heard iron dome intercepts, and john is going to pan up into the sky, and you could see a small gray cloud up in that area, and you are seeing the iron dome intercepts, and these are probably missiles fired toward ashdod or ashkelon, and not fired toward sderot where we are, but it is the uptick of the activity, and it has been relatively quiet, but now the Afternoon Activity is picking up again, and it is the impression that earlier on the day, a pause for diplomacy to play out for the rafah Border Crossing, and as the light is fading here, we are really sort of seeing the uptick in not only the artillery, but the missile strikes that are coming in, and of course, for all of the Ground Troops out there, and i dont know if you can see it on the camera, but we have been talking about the Tens Of Thousands Israeli troops in and around the border with the tanks out there in the open. And looking at the skies opening up, and there is Heavy Rain Flooding in here, and we have had some rain yesterday, but this is what is predicted. And so the troops are waiting for signal, and waiting for the order to get an incursion. This rain is obviously going to, it is going to impact them in the field, and therefore how long the military can keep them on the hold and poised Position Waiting for the order, john. Nic robertson, i want to point out where he is in sderot, and this is the town where some 20,000 people live there, and most of the people have left, and it is so close to gaza, and not even a mile separates two, and nic has said that some of the firing from gaza has been going to ashkelon and ashdod up there on the coast, and he is hearing more incoming, and nic, more information of the area here of people told to leave gaza and head south, and we are Hearing Information that u. N. Fuel trucks, and some five of them, they have crossed the rafah crossing right here from egypt into gaza bringing fuel one might presume into the southern part of the country. It is a significant development, because it is the first aid to get into gaza since the conflict began. And you know, you can get a sense of the distances, because it is only 20 miles or so where the fuel trucks from where there are explosions behind you now, nic. Yes, explosions down there in rafah, because the Border Crossing has been chewed up by the explosions, and so if the trucks have gotten through, that is proving to some degree that the road is passable. We knew that the empty fuel trucks were passing inside of gaza waiting to go through to pass into egypt, and if they have fueled up, and they are coming back into gaza, that is going if give some temporary relief principally into the hospitals and the medical facilities into gaza, and the u. N. Facilities are saying that the medical facilities generated power and mostly the electricity has been cut into gaza, and the generators have had fuel to run for another number of hours. And it is not clear how much fuel, and how many more hours the generators can keep running, but the hospitals in gaza ha approximately 3. 5 million beds for the people there in gaza, and to keep the hospitals running for the elderly and the many casualties and the people in there already on dialysis or life support machines, this fuel is vital to help keep them alive, and that is going to be what we expect to be the first principle use of the fuel, and the use that the border can be crossed by trucks. All right. Nic robertson in sderot, and we are seeing the rain fall around you, and first time we have seen anything like that, and one could imagine it could have an impact on the ground fosts and the Israeli Ground forces preparing to move into gaza, and nic, if you see or hear anything else, please, let us know, and that is where nic is up in sderot, and he is up here, and sara sidner is up here in haifa, where she is seeing the american citizens leaving on a boat, and she is not far from the lebanese border where there is some activity. Sara . That is right. There are sirens that have gone off in parts of northern israel, and we are about 85 miles or so, and about an hour and a halfs drive to the border. I want to talk about what is happening here in a little bit, but i wanted to bring in cnns jeremy diamond, because we have breaking news that the knesset which is the parliament here in israel had to evacuate and shelter. What do you know about that . Yes, there was barrage of rockets in israel from gaza in tel aviv as well as right here in jerusalem, and prompting the evacuation of the knesset as it was in session. The knesset is israels parliament, and the law maibl lawmakers on the floor were seen heading out to go to bomb shelter inside of that very same building. They waited there until they got the allclear to return. From the bureau here less than two kilometers away from the knesset, we heard the loud booms of the iron dome intercepting those rockets. In tel aviv, one of the rockets did make impact injuring at least one woman according to the Ambulance Service here in israel. All of this is coming amid the Secretary Of State Tony Blinkens visit here. He was in jerusalem shortly before the sirens went off meeting with the prime minister, and now he is in tel aviv where we are waiting to see the images of him alongside israels Defense Minister, and he meeting with the countrys opposition leader, pierre lapid, and what will they get out of israel today . It is capping off a trip that he has made through the middle east in half a dozen countries, and he is trying to get aid to flow in, an allowing american citizens and others to exit southward from the rafah crossing eastward. And also, he is trying to avoid the israelhamas conflict from blowing up into a larger regional conflict, and beyond that, the issue of the 199 hostages that we know that are being held in the gaza strip, and 20 of those are going to be american citizens as well. All of the issues are top of mind for the Secretary Of State as we await a possibility of the visit of president joe biden. We know that he has been invited by the israeli prime minister, but it has not been confirmed if he is going to be making trip this week, sara. That is going to be if it happens a significant moment in the relationship between israel and the United States. Jeremy diamond, thank you so much for that. I am going to go to david who is a former Obama Campaign adviser and former state Department Official as well. So, thank you, sir, for joining us at this really tense time in israel, and in gaza. And frankly in the west bank as well with the leadership there. And sir, can you give us a sense of how the diplomacy can work, and whether it is already working to some degree, because for the entire past eight days, nothing has come in and out of the rafah border, the border of gaza and egypt, and now we have learned and seen evidence, video of it, of five different trucks coming in with fuel into gaza from that rafah border that has been effectively closed to people trying to get out. Is that part of the diplomacy that is happening here . I would expect it is. You know, blinken is doing the Shuttle Diplomacy here, and going between israel and the gulf states. He is trying to get the Gulf States To Press Hamas to release some of the hostages, and press them to open up the rafah gate and that is super important to move the supplies into gaza and to create a safety valve forsome palestinians to leave gaza, and that is the most controversial for egypt, because they dont want a mass influx of refugees from the gaza into the Sinai Peninsula which is where the rafah gate opens up into egypt. And moreover, he is trying to show unwavering support for israel, but privately, he is asking iz rsrael to be proportil to response, and limitf civilia yes, they have to do what they need to do to decimate hamas, but he does not want to see ongoing humanitarian issue in gaza, and the continued infighting of the insurgency of gaza. Yes, that is important points and a whole different ball of wax when you consider going in and staying there and trying to govern a place right now like gaza. I do want to ask you about how we got here. I think that sometimes we have to step back a little bit from what is happening right now, which is a dire situation, where war is allout. People are suffering untold issues in gaza and death, and the israelis are terrified and dozen os people in the hospital from the initial attack, and rockets coming can over everyday. How did we get to this point, and what if anything is the solution. There are so many decades of this idea of the twostate solution. Do you think that is over now because of where we are, and because of the Surprise Attack by hamas, and now the israelis response it to . I still think that a twostate solution is really the only longterm solution. Unfortunately, we are moving further and further away from it right now. And you know, one of the ways that we got here is that hamas has provided very poor leadership in gaza. It has betrayed the average palestinian. And i would say that hamas had la last had elections in 2006. Half of the population is under 18, and that means that most of them were not alive the last time there were elections. And the reason that hamas has not had elections since then is because it knows the people of gaza are unhappy with the leadership so they have betrayed the palestinians, and of course, mistakes on the israel side. Of course, israel did not deserve this attack. Unwarranted and atrocious, but israel has made mistakes in terms of Going Forward with the settlements, and making it more difficult for there to be a twostate solution, and in terms of not working hard enough to press for the twostate solution, and to press the more moderate partners in the west bank to agree to some kind of deal to give the palestinians more rights to selfdetermination, and put the palestinian territories, both gaza and west bank on track to ultimately be independent. That is what the twostate solution requires. Yeah. I mean, there has been plenty of dire warnings from palestinians who do not have freedom of movement. They say that their land, and it is clear that land they once occupied, and they once lived on, has shrunken enormously over the past few decades. It is a huge bone of contention from the palestinian side. I wanted to talk to you about this visit from the Secretary Of State Antony Blinken, and the second time he has come to israel within a week, and this is highly unusual. We will look at the podium where he is going to be meeting with the Defense Minister here. This second visit, a sort of the Emergency Move to try and find some way to help those who are in particularly in gaza while also showing the United States full support to israel . I think that is right. You know, this is a multi pronged visit. Obviously, he needs to take care of the u. S. Citizens in israel and you are in haifa and a way now for american citizens in israel to leave by boat from haifa to the State Department that is likely involved in organizing that. He is very worried about the hostages, and so he is working on discussions with those who can have influence with hamas to release the hostages, and especially the hostages that our u. S. Citizens are dual u. S. Israeli citizens, and pressing for the opening of the rafah gate by egypt, and israel to allow in fuel, and allow in water, and food. On the average day, gaza is on the brink. Even before the crisis, it barely has enough in resources and barely enough in medicine, and barely enough in food. I spent a week in gaza several years ago, and it is a place that feels like set going to collapse even when it is not in the middle of a crisis like this. So Antony Blinken is worried about those thing, and trying to get israel to allow for humanitarian support the care for the civilian, and we have to do some protection for the civilian, because if you injure or harm the civilians, and put them in a humanitarian crisis or human rights violation situation, you are only going to promote the cycle of violence and a new generation of gazans who feel like they have been betrayed not only by hamas, but also by israel. David ta furi, you make great point, because history does not start where we want it to, because there is a long and protracted history here. And as you said, the state Department Working to try to get the americans out. And we saw that with the boat leaving here a few hours ago from haifa and the port. And thank you for reminding me where i am as well. Thank you, david tafuri for your insightful words. Thank you. You are looking at the live pictures from tel aviv where the Secretary Of State Antony Blinken is meeting with the israeli official, and we are waiting to hear from him shortly. And we have word from sderot on the israeli and gaza border that there is rain. And how might that impact the impending Ground Operation. And what about the tunnels, and how is this a key part of how hamas has been attacking israel for years. We are learning that key aid has crossed border from egypt into gae gaza, and the producer Saw Six Fuel Trucks crossing into gaza from egypt. We will continue our live coverage right after this. All right. A couple of important developments over the last hour or so. We are word that u. N. Fuel trucks, five of them have crossed from egypt into gaza over the rafah crossing and that is significant to get some of the supplies to people from Southern Gaza who have moved there over the last several days. Meanwhile, we know that, we know that Israeli Forces are amassing here for a possible Ground Invasion. It started to rain up here in sderot, and how might that impact a possible Ground Invasion, and israel announced this morning, the idf, there are 199 hostages they believe now being held in gaza. With us now is retired army general brigadier kimmet, and how is this going to impact the impending Ground Operation . Well, certainly, it is going to complicate things, but more importantly, it is going to shape how the israelis are going to fight. Obviously f ly obviously, if they go in too hard, there is a risk that hamas is going to retaliate, and if they go in too soft, it will complicate the matters. And one thing that the president said that he would not advise israel of reoccupying gaza. So you know the complications of the troops staying in one place for an extended period of time if they are not going to quote, unquote occupy northern gaza, what would they do there exactly, and how long would they stay and how would they get out . Well, keep the mission clear, free the hostages and rid the area of hamas. Hamas has been in power since 2006, and a lack of leadership has allowed them to take over. And so, a Military Mission to free the hostages and just as we have seen in so many of our own occupations, you dont win simply because you are on the ground general, we have to move to tel aviv, general, because we are seeing the u. S. Secretary of state Antony Blinken meeting with the israeli minister. We will see if they say anything. Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming. Mr. Minister. We always knew that the United States is a great ally. But today, the people in israel and in the world see it with their own eyes that you are here, the second time in this week, the senior official of america here everyday. The American Flag is sailing on the boat in mediterranean, and we know the meaning. So let me tell you, mr. Secretary, this is going to be a long war. The price will be high. But we are going to win for israel, for the jewish people and for the values that both countries believe in. With your permission, in hebrew. Yes. [ speaking in a global language ] that is the Israeli Defense minister speaking in hebrew, and they are in tel aviv having a meeting and it is blinkens second time in israel, and in just a few times, he left israel and did a whirlwind diplomatic tour with many countries in the region, and now back in tel aviv, and the Defense Minister also mentioned that the u. S. Military presence is not far off of the coast, and there is only one carrier group, the u. S. S. General ford and now a second carrier u. S. S. Dwight eise eisenhower as well they are speaking english again. And it is israels right and obligation to defend itself and its people. In that, you have and always have had the support of the United States. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. All right. All business from the Secretary Of State Antony Blinken meeting with the Israeli Defense minister gallant who did not take questions and firmly behind israel as it is preparing seemingly for a Ground Operation into gaza. We will have much more on the live Special Coverage continuing right after this. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are fleeing for their lives out of northern gaza. My next guest is a Palestinian American whose mother and sister are stuck near the gaza border and the rafah border as it is known trying to get out of gaza. May is joining us now from houston, texas. May, i hope that i am saying your name right, but you are trying to get your family out, as so many have, and can you tell us what it is like, because i know that it has to be terrifying for you on the other side of things. Hi, sara, good morning. I am so sorry that i cut off there, and the last thing that i heard you say was terrifying. Well, i was asking you what it is like for you to try and have contact with the family and try to figure out how to help them to get out, and how this is for you and for them there in gaza. So, as you have mentioned, it has truly been terrifying not only for them living through the war not knowing whether they are going to live to see tomorrow, but it is also terrifying for us here. We have been trying really hard, working with the State Department and local embassies in the region, and it has been difficult. This morning they were expected to leave from the rafah crossing point, but for the second time this week, they show up, and it is closed, and nobody is able to leave. So it is like the false sense of hope that they are going to be saved, and they are going to be able to go to the other side, but they are not able to. Yeah, i know it is frustrating, but i wanted mention to you that in the last half an hour or so, we have received some video, and we have a producer on the ground there in gaza watching the trucks come in from egypt into gaza, and they are filled with fuel, and there are about five or six of them that have been able to come through the bord, and so clearly, if they wanted people to come through the border, they could let that happen, and so far, that has not happened. What are you thinking about that . What are you making of that, because clearly if the trucks can get through, the people can, too. I think that maybe we are having a technical problem there, as she is using, you know, we are all going through this with the zooms and the skypes, but as we are waiting for mai to get reconnected with us, we are going to be talking about what is happening in gaza, and just the absolute fear that is going on from families that are outside of gaza trying to figure out how to get the families to safety. Mai, i dont know if you heard me, but i was talking about the number of trucks allowed in from rafah border from egypt into gaza, and the people are not let out, and i am curious about your sentiment of that. Right. So, looking at the statistics from the Health Ministry and the united nations, the Hospital System in gaza is on the brink of collapse, and there is a limited and of resources there to help the amount of people in need. Just yesterday, i was reading that almost 2,000 people have died, and more than 10,000 people have been injured and 47 families have been wiped out from the civil registry in gaza. So the Health Care Situation is very dire, and very dire need of supplies, resources. They are just not getting it right now, and so i am praying for the people of gaza. I am hoping that the International Community can come together and provide the necessary resources that they need to continue taking care of the innocent civilians that are suffering there. Mai, i know it is a difficult time for you, and im sorry that you and your family are going through this, and we are looking at the drone video that we got in today with the destruction of gaza city, and that is a place to be targeted for sure if israel does end up doing what we believe is an imminent Ground Incursion there into gaza. I hope that you will stay in touch with us, and let us know what is going on, and if we can help in any way with the people on the ground, we will do that. And may abushaaban, thank you for joining us on cnn cnn news central. Thank you, sara. It is known as the gaza metro and a huge labyrinth of Underground Tunnels Built and used by hamas. This is video of it from 2017, and what is meaning now for the looming underGround Incursion by israel. As israel is gearing up for the next stage against hamas, the idf is telling cnn that they have taken out 10 hamas commanders and vowing to decapitate the Terrorist Group and take it out. One of the complicating factors is the complex network of tunnels that they have used. This is what a spokesman told cnn. What makes it difficult is the fact that they are hiding underground. They are hiding in the tunnels that they have built Underneath Gaza which the civilians are not allowed to use. That is where hamas is hiding. That is also why the next stage of military activities, i think that we will find a better solution to the fact that they are hiding underground. Cnns john miller is joining us now, and there is a big tack or the of what is known and not known, and the latest assessment, and it is not an assessment, but a claim from ha m mas of a portion of a tunnel that hamas says that the network is more than 500 kilometers and three miles of Tunnel Underground and what is known . Clearly it is a problem. Well, the israelis have destroyed system of the tunnels before, but they have also had them rebuilt, rerouted, repaired. So there isis going to be intelligence gaps of the Tunnel Network and the mapping of it, and maybe they have good intelligence of what they believe it is, but once you figure out the entrances of, and hidden and once you get down inside, there are few good outcomes for firefights in a tunnel. It is literally built for the opposite. And exactly. And here is, and this is a depiction of it, and it is not as simple as obviously this looks. This is kind of the diagram of how it is, what this can look like. And what the tunnels do look like. And one of the things that was astonishing for you and it is when we were looking at this is how deep some of the tunnels go, and how that adds to the challenge and what they are going to do, and that is why they call this the gaza metro. What can the United States provide to assist . Well, they are deep for a reason, and they dont want the first bomb to fall to destroy a tunnel. So now, you would be talking about targeted bunker, cluster munition, and that kind of thing. To get all of the way down there. But it is also the possibility of is the hamas leadership down there and command and control centers, and to the extent that there is any command and control left, and the key is if there are hostages down there, and we saw a piece of a narrow tunnel. This is another look at it, and this is narrow, too, but the obviously portions of it are deeper and wider, and they have supply rooms, and Communications Centers deep down there. I have seen the cartel tunnels between the u. S. mexican border, and they are meant for moving things around. I was also in the tunnels in afghanistan where, you know, the leaders of the taliban had their headquarters, and you know, these had rooms. They had electricity and plumbing, and they were extensive. So hamas built these tunnels for multi purposes and not just moving the fighters underground and avoiding surveillance, but being able to operate, so we know that there are spaces down there that are operational and bigger. And in afghanistan, the biggest differences of the tunnels here and in the mountains of afghanistan is that the tunnels are under one of the most densely Populated Areas on earth. Gaza city, when they were evacuated there is like 2 Million People there, and that is what makes it impossible. That is right. It has been a challenge, but one of the reasons that we are seeing the Israeli Government say that people head south is that we are in a place where if they are doing a Ground Invasion, and they do it with hundreds of thousands of troops, they will be operating on the assumption that anybody who did not flee south is considered a combatant no matter what they are wearing or doing, and this is why the message. And anybody in the tunnels is considered a combatant, and so there is a lot of challenges. In the tunnels is where they believe and fear that the hostages are kept and moved right now. Great to see you, john. Thank you. John . There is no speaker of the house this morning, but we are getting word of major developments in jim jordans efforts to shore up the votes a. New whip count next. All right. Brandnew this morning were just getting word that three key republicans have now changed their minds and say they will vote for jim jordan to become the next house speaker. Californias ken calvert, alabamas mike rogers and ann wagner from missouri all now say they made this new decision after speaking with jordan. But no one knows yet how this one is going to go, yet again. Tomorrow republicans are expected to take this thing to the floor. A vote almost two weeks after Kevin Mccarthy was ousted by his fellow republicans. Cnns manu raju is on the hill for us this morning. So steve womack told me during the show that we will know how hes going to vote when he cast that is vote tomorrow. Is it clear yet where this thing is headed this time . Reporter well, theres definitely some progress has been made from the jordan camp by picking up these three keep members, including could thinkman mike rogers who is someone who has allied with the defense hawks within the house gop conference, had raised some serious concerns about jim jordan on dealing with key issues, the defense policy. Jordan was able to allay those concerns, also winning over ken calvert, another jordan skeptic. Wagner had been perhaps one of the most outspoken jim jordan critics, calling him a nonstarter initially, now she is work him after she had what she said were productive conversations with him. The question can he still get to 217 votes, remember, he can only lose four republican votes on a partyline vote and at the moment there are more than four republicans who are opposed to him, but Will Jordan Go not floor tomorrow and force that public roll call vote, put Public Pressure on these members who are opposed to him, force them to publicly say that they are voting for somebody else and will they be able to withstand the heat from the right from jordan allies, including former president donald trump, all key questions as jim jordan looks to push forward here. Hes been meeting with his holdouts Behind Closed Doors trying to convince them to come his way and there will be a key meeting tonight with the House Republican conference will meet in full. We will get a clearer sense of jordans plans and how much opposition there is to his ascension. They have become experts on meeting, if not experts on actually getting to a speaker of the house. We will see what comes of it, though jordan appears to have momentum now, manu raju, thank you very much. And thank you all so much tore joining us today. This is cnn news central. Inside politics is up next