Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

Overnight. Earlier, israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met soldiers on the front lines, offering words of support and telling them to be prepared. The u. S. Is now sending a second Carrier Strike group to the eastern mediterranean, as a deterrent of hezbollah to stay out of the conflict, and u. S. Embassy who says americans who want to leave israel will be evacuated by sea on monday. Palestinian authorities in gaza say the death toll from israeli air strikes is now more than 2,300 people, including 300 in the past 24 hours. It follows the hamas Terrorist Attack on israel last saturday, which killed more than 1,300 people. Now, earlier, i spoke with Lieutenant Colonel peter lerner, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense forces and he reveals how the idf killed a Commander Overnight who led one of the attacks last week. Cannot be more unimpressed how israel goes around in investing in life and saving life, and this Iron Dome Defense Mechanism just one of those examples of the extent that we go. Move over to what you ask, the idf is expanding its activities, and i can report that overthe night, we killed a Special Forces Commando from the nukba force. He was one of the commanders that broke that penetrated the fence and conducted the massacre in kibbutz. We are very, very determined to take out the terrorist that conducted the attack, those who orchestrated it and take out the leader of the, the master mind of the massacre, who orchestrated and governs the gaza strip as a Staging Ground for terrorism and utilized all the forces of hamas government to do so. Sadly, i understand some of the bodies of people abducted by hamas have been found. What more can you tell us about that . Ill be very cautious and careful around the issue of bodies. You know, there are still bodies and there are still people that are unaccounted for. You know, we have to be very respectful to the families that dont know about whats happened with their loved ones. You know, theyre at the top of our priorities, but well have to leave it at that at this time. Our operations are influenced by the scenario of the bodies and hostages and well do everything in order to try to retrieve them, but thats all i can say at this time. And eliot gotkin is covering all of this for us from london. And when i spoke to that spokesperson from the idf, i got a fascinate denial from israel about that explosion that killed dozens of people who were fleeing gaza, going south. What more can you tell us about that . It was an emphatic denial, wasnt it, kim . Yes, peter lerner there, the spokesman for the idf saying that quite simply the Israeli Air Force was not striking in that area at that time and apparently it seems that the explosion came from underneath the convoy and that it was most likely an Improvised Explosive Device or some kind of boob boobytrap, the Implication Clearing be that it was put by either hamas or islamic j ic jir others inside the gaza strip. But from israels perspective, the damage in terms of the Information War has already been done. The world has already seen these images of civilians, women and children among them, being killed, as they follow israels instructions to evacuate from the northern part of the gaza strip to the south, in order to preserve civilian life and in order to avoid civilian casualties. And i think because that information is already out there, people have already seen the images, reports have already gone out there saying that it was the israeli Defense Forces, even if and when presumably they present, you know, conclusive evidence that it wasnt the idf that struck that convoy, as far as the palestinians in gaza are concerned, it kind of will be a little bit too late, because theyve already seen those images and theyve already drawn their own conclusions, kim. Yeah, in the meantime, eliot, as the world awaits what might be an imminent Ground Invasion, the suffering in gaza right now gets worse. It gets worse, skand im sor to say, its probably going to get worse still once and if that Ground Invasion takes place from the israelis. And the number of civilian casualties is likely to rise significantly, too. The situation you have there, of course, is not only people trying to evacuate south to get out of harms way, israel certainly says that hamas not only, we know for a fact has been telling people to ignore the israeli warnings and to stay put, the israeli Defense Forces saying that hamas is actively trying to prevent people from moving south, as well. The fact of the matter is that the humanitarian situation has been deteriorating for some days. Lets not forget that israel has imposed, in its words, a complete siege on the gaza strip. Not allowing food, water, fuel, or electricity into the strip. And as far as the Water Situation is concerned, weve heard that palestinians are now being forced to drink brackish water, which could result in Severe Health issues coming about. And weve also heard, for example, from the world health organization, saying that orders for hospitals in the northern part of the gaza strip to evacuate is effectively a Death Sentence for some people in those hospitals. But as i say, kim, what weve seen now, im sorry to say, may not be anything really compared with what we are likely to see in the coming days and weeks, once this ground this expected Ground Invasion takes place. Sad but true. Thanks so much, eliot gotkin in london. Appreciate it. In the context of the israel hamas war, President Joe Biden announced denounced hatred in all of its forms. In a speech on saturday, he stressed that antisemitism, islamophobia, homophobia and transophobia are all connected. He said hate fed the hamas attack, calling it the worst massacre of jews since the holocaust. His speech came after he spoke again with israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Cnns Priscilla Alvarez has more. Reporter President Biden on saturday spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the fifth time the two leaders have talked since the attacks on israel last saturday. Now, in that discussion, the two talked about u. S. Military support, as well as protecting innocent civilians as this conflict unfolds. In a second call, the president also spoke with palestinian President Authority abbas. And in that call, they talked humanitarian splupplies reachin gaza, which is facing water and food shortages. The president also spoke at a Human Rights Campaign dinner, and he too talked about the Terrorist Attacks in israel as well as the humanitarian crisis in gaza. Take a listen. A week ago, we saw hate manifested in the worst massacre of the jewish people since the holo holocaust, more than 1,300 innocent lives lost in israel, including at least 27 americans. Children and grandparents alike kidnapped, held hostage by h hamas. The humanitarian crisis in gaza, innocent palestinian families that have nothing to do with hamas are being used as Human Shields. The focus for officials at the white house continues to be that this conflict not wind in the region, but they are sending a message of deterrence in the region, as well. And focusing their efforts, too, on bringing those americans who are held hostage by hamas home. Priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. U. S. Secretary of state Antony Blinken is pushing ahead with his middle east diplomatic tour. Hes heading to cairo for meetings with egypts president. Blinken was in the uae and saudi arabia on saturday. Since the conflict began, hes met with leaders in five arab countries and israel. Lincoln urged the arab nations to keep the violence from spreading and to help free those being held hostage by the terrorist group. Here he is. As israel pursues its legitimate right to defending itself people and to trying to assure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians. And were Work Together to do exactly that. Still to come, the u. N. Warns 50,000 pregnant women in gaza are struggling to get the health care they need, as hospitals and clinics come under attack. Also ahead, i speak with a gaza woman whos been forced to flee her home to the south of gaza and she is nine months pregnant. Stay with us. Syria says israeli air strikes hit the International Airport in the Northern City of aleppo again, rendering it nonoperational. The Syrian Military reported air strikes on saturday, originating from the mediterranean sea. State media reports all scheduled flights had to be redirected through another airport saturday. Aleppo airport was hit by an air strike earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Lebanese Militant Group hezbollah says it attacked five israeli positions in a disputed area near the lebanon israeli border. Israel says it hopes the group wont get involved, as israel is trying to avoid getting into a twofront war. Now, there are, of course, concerns that israel may still face a war on multiple fronts with lebanon in focus. Cnns ben wedeman reports. Reporter South Lebanon remains in a state of high tension as air fire continues to be exchanged. Saturday afternoon, Artillery Rocket and small arms fire echoed across the mountains in the disputed sheba farms air in the most prolonged exchange yet. The Israeli Military said 30 Mortar Rounds were fired from lebanon into israel, while hezbollah put out a statement, claiming its fighters had used Precision Weapons to target five israeli positions, including an israeli surveillance post. Late saturday, the groups media wing put out Video Showing precise hits on communications and surveillance equipment at those positions. The official Lebanese News Agency reported an elderly couple was killed when an israeli round struck their house in the town of sheba. He h hezbollah said one of its fighters were killed in confrontations with israeli forces. Earlier in the day, residents of a town came out to mourn the killing of a reuters cameraman, well known in The Middle East press corps for his work in conflict zones around the region. Friday afternoon, abdullah was filming an exchange of fire between israel and hezbollah when their position was struck with rockets fired. Witnesses told cnn from the israeli side of the border. Six others were injured, all wearing protective gear with press markings. Now, also saturday evening, the head of Israels National Security council in a televised briefing with journalists, said israel hopes to avoid a twofront war involving lebanon. He said the current level of clashes between israel and hezbollah is, in his words, below the escalation threshold. He also said, we hope hezbollah wont bring about the destruction of lebanon. Now, in the past, israeli leaders have warned among other things, if hezbollah goes to war with israel again, lebanon will send israel back to the stone stage. Im ben wedeman reporting from Southern Lebanon. As violence continues, Hundreds Of Thousands of palestinians are fleeing south towards egypt, since theyre unable to cross the northern border into israel, the only way out of gaza is through the southern border. Foreign nationals are gathered at the crossing, waiting for the chance to cross into egypt. The u. S. Has been in talks with egypt about creating a humanitarian corridor through which civilians can evacuate gaza, but egypt has been reluctant to allow them in. And joining me now from cairo, egypt is musafa khalil el saeed. Thank you very much for being here with us. So those in Northern Gaza that have been told to leave, a logical place for many would be the border with egypt, but that hasnt been possible for many reasons. Why not . I think as a matter of principle, egypt does not want to be engaged. I think this has been the plan of some israeli politicians that the right home for palestinians is probably jordan, and this would be for them the final solution of the palestinian problem. So i think egypt would like israel to negotiate with the pales palestinians how to achieve their settlement that would for them the state of their own and would sure so forcing the palestinians to leave gaza and to go to egypt, this runs against the commitments by israel and against the commitments under International Law, not to attack civilian populations, not to impose punishment on them. So egypt is, i think, completely opposed to any attempt by israel to evacuate, to force the palestinians in gaza to go to sinai. Sinai is not an alternative homeland for the palestinians. This is the basic position. Its not just for the palestinians good that theyre stopping them from crossing. It does seem most egyptians support the palestinian cause. I noted an opinion poll from an Egyptian Center for Research Found that 82 palestinians believe they have a right to respond with violence to israeli attacks. But for the Egyptian Government, its not that simple. What kind of threat does hamas pose to egypts government . My understanding that the Egyptian Government is not oppose to the presence of a humanitarian corridor, which would be used by foreigners, but it would like also this to be accompanied by facilitating the supply of medical equipment, food and water to gaza. So i think the u. S. Government should not continue to be acting all the time on behalf of israel. The American Government should persuade them to stop the ground offensive. And secondly, also, if it would like foreigners to leave gaza, it should also, you know, take into account the needs of the Palestinian People in gaza. The need for food, for medicines, for water. There is a Popular Campaign in egypt now to mobilize all the needs of the Palestinian People. There is a Popular Campaign in order to get medicine, the food, clothes, to be given to the palestinians. So the Egyptian Government would like, the u. S. Government to facilitate the supply of these vital supplies to the Palestinian People. Its not just a matter of facilitating the exit of foreigners, but also i think we are strongly in favor of helping the Palestinian People to meet the most basic needs. I guess the point im making is that the Egyptian Government itself hasnt been necessarily all that friend will with hamas. You know, its worked with israel, for example, to block tunnels and so on and so forth, so it might be not disposed to helping hamas at all, although they may want to help the Palestinian People. I want to ask you in terms of diplomatically, What Role Is Egypt Playing in sort of deescalating the crisis and are they playing any role in helping to get the hostages back. I think they have been involved in contacts with many foreign governments. I think they have been in contact with the British Government and the iranian government and the Turkish Foreign minister was in cairo, i think there has been contact with the italian government, with the saudi government, the jordan, the Palestinian Leader to find ways of dealing with this situation. In the past, egypt also had hamas and egypt tried to promote a sort of reconciliation between hamas and the palestinian authority. And in the past, when Israel Attacked gaza, the Egyptian Government tried to reach a sort of ceasefire between the two. So i think i am not a government official, but i think egypt did all it could in order to ensure piece on its eastern borders and also, it did its best in order to achieve between the israeli and the palestinians. The government continues to send its troops to attack palestinian camps, et cetera. So i dont think the Egyptian Government is responsible for this complicated situation. I think the blame should be Military Occupation against International Law and that the u. S. Government should be blamed also, because it has much influence over the Israeli Government and the wellknown domestic considerations, to do something in the best interests of israel. Well have to leave it there, but appreciate your perspective in cairo, egypt. Thank you. Thank you. Well be right back. Youre looking at live pictures from gaza, which is bracing for an offensive on the ground and taking a pounding from the air. Israel has conducted more than 100 air strikes overnight and reportedly killed a commander responsible for some of the hamas atrocities last weekend. Now theyre preparing for the next phase of the war, including what they call significant ground orpgss. Israeli strikes and blockades are causing what one official calls a complete catastrophe in gaza. Over 300 people were killed in israeli strikes over the past 24 hours alone and that brings the death toll to more than 2,300 people. Meanwhile, the u. S. Will help starting its citizens to leave israel by sea. An evacuation will leave on monday and take u. S. Nationals to cyprus. As israel prepares for The Next Stage of its war against hamas, the u. S. And other western nations are working to keep the conflict from spreading, as part of that effort, the pentagon is deploying more Military Resources into the region. Oren liebermann has more. The pentagon has ordered a second aircraft Carrier Strike group to the eastern med as a deterrence message to iran and iranian probaxies in the region as we see the u. S. Military bolster up its forces in The Middle East, as israels war prepares to enter what officials there have called a bigger stage, The Next Stage here. The uss gerald r. Ford Carrier Group is already in the eastern med and arrived there earlier this week. That will be joined by the uss dwight d. Eisenhower strike group. Elements of that group left Naval Station Norfolk on friday. It is a very significant statement for the u. S. To send two Carrier Strike groups, all the force and empower that entails to the eastern med. In doing so, the white house and the pentagon have made clear, it is not the role of the air craf on this deck or the warships here to get involved in the fighting with israel. Israel doesnt want that and the u. S. Doesnt want that. But the Biden Administration and the region are watching this very closely and trying to make sure it doesnt spread beyond israels borders to other areas. And the key message there is to iran. And thats what the point is of sending these forces to the region. A warning to iran not to get involved. A warning to iranian proxies not to get involved. Hezbollah in lebanon as well as shiite proxies in syria that could open fire on israel. So thats who the recipient of this message is. It has plussed up some Fighter Squadrons and more fighters expected. And theres the uss baton, part of an Amphibious Ready Group thats also in the region and could be ordered closer to israel in case, essentially as a message to iran and in case this escalates. Oren liebermann in the pentagon. And scott mclean joins us now from london with more on military moves in the region. Were seeing on one side, some Saber Rattling by the u. S. , by others, complex diplomacy. So talk us through the politics here. Kim, as you heard oren explain, the u. S. Has made very clear its not sending ground troops, not wanting to get involved in this conflict at all. The presence of one aircraft carrier, soon to be two Aircraft Carriers in the eastern tram is simply aimed to be a deterrent to iranian backed groups in the area, like hezbollah, the iranian backed military and Political Group which controls a large swath of Southern Lebanon. And we have already seen and continue to see Schexchanges Acs the border. But look, compared to whats happening in and around gaza, obviously, this is relatively minor despite the fact that there are casualties on both sides. The fear, as always, that these more minor incidents will snowball into a much wider conflict, which everyone has said they want to avoid, including israel. And for good reason. In 2006, it fought essentially to a draw with hezbollah in a war that lasted more than a month. And hezbollah has only gotten stronger since then. It now has precisionguided missiles. It says it has reservists, up to A Hundred Thousand of them, and the israelis also believe that there are hundreds, thousands of rockets stored in private homes in Southern Lebanon near the border region. That is simply a fight they dont want to get into, especially at this stage of the game. After nine days since all of this blew up, kim, we have not, though, heard directly from the hezbollah leader, hasan nesrala. We knew he met with the Foreign Minister. The Foreign Minister has warned of farreaching consequences and also saying that, look, if israel continues what its doing in gaza, that no one can guarantee, quote unquote, that the situation in the region will remain the same. Kim . Interesting, all right. In the meantime, we heard Prime Minister netanyahu telling israeli troops that, quote, The Next Stage is coming. What are we learning about what that next stage might look like . It is difficult to imagine any kind of ground war, Ground Incursion without a huge number of civilian casualties. Remember, were talking about one of the most densely Populated Areas on planet earth. Where you already had People Living in pretty poor conditions. You have hospitals,t of them in the northern part of gaza saying, essentially, we cant evacuate. We cant get patients to safety and so they are going to be staying put. And from israels perspective, they think that hamas is pretty happy to have what it would describe as Human Shields around for it to use. The idf says any advancement in this area would be slow and that the goal would be to completely dismantle hamas and all of its networks, including getting to the network of tunnels that they say it runs all underneath of gaza. This is how a former u. S. Army general described what a ground war might actually look like. Lis listen. If theyre going in, and going in hard, especially up towards the north, you lead with special operations. You try to get in there and try to get key hamas nodes and command and control points perhaps one hopes that they have a line on where the hostages are, and they would go for them, because thats a nightmare. So, kim, in addition to Smuggling Weapons and hiding hamas fighters, that network of tun tun tunnels, israel also believes that reason would dictate that hamas is also hiding the hostages that it has, as well. Kim . Scott mclean, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Flights in and out of israel have been hard to come by, as Major Airlines have canceled most of them, but that problem has led to the creation of israel friends, a charity formed after the hamas attacks last weekend. The group is helping to fund a private flight with israeli and american citizens who want to help israel during the war. Heres cnns Stephanie Elam with more. About 150 people met up at los angeles International Airport in the wee hours of the morning to board a Charter Flight to get back to israel. And this all coming together in just a matter of days, were told, by a nonprofit humanitarian Organization Called israel friends. Theyre looking to look to get people back to israel and wanted to get tons of humanitarian aid to the country as well. And the word went out and this Charter Flight gathered these people together. These people come together early in the morning, and weve seen some of them who were there alone, some of them there with loved ones, sad, devastated, but respecting the choice of their loved ones to go back to israel. And some of the people going, as one man that we spoke to, who is born and raised here in los angeles, but to israeli parents, he said that he just felt that he had to go back and that looking at everything that hed seen, he was just numb to it all and knew he had to go. Take a listen to him. Im american, im israeli, im an american israeli. Its very simple. And so my home is here, and my hope is there. So i feel obligate d and almosta desire and more so a need to go right now. So you dont feel like you could just stay . Thats not an option . Its not an option. Reporter its worth noting that many of these places were coming from many places outside of the los angeles area. Some live in israel, like david farage, who went the war started, he gathered up his wife and two young sons and fled to california so he could leave them with Family Members here, but he knew he was going to get called back and he also wanted to go. Take a listen to him. Im obviously nervous. I want to come home safely to my family. I want to see my boys grow up. But you have to put that aside and stop the madness thats happening. And frankel said he kissed his two young boys goodbye while they were sleeping before heading to the airport. Thats the difficult part for the people. For the people theyre leaving behind, they dont know when theyll see their loved ones again, and for the people heading back to israel, they dont know how long it will be before things calm down enough that they can be with their families again. But what we did see while we were in the Airport Terminal with them was a lot of camaraderie. And although people didnt necessarily know anyone else in the terminal, they were making fast friends, fast acquaintances because they were unified in their goal get back and defend israel. Back to you. The United Nations is urging all parties to put an end to the fighting in israel and gaza. The Organization Says that since october 7th, more than 400,000 people have been displaced. Whats more, the u. N. Says many of those displaced people are pregnant women who will be up able to move southwards to escape the fighting and are struggling to get the care they need. The u. N. Women report said that gaza is now home to 50,000 pregnant women who are struggling to Access Essential Health services, as health care workers, hospitals, and clinics come under attack. Some 5,500 of these women are due to give birth in the coming months. Earlier i spoke about with this dominick allen, who painted a picture of what those women are fighting. Here he is. The humanitarian crisis in gaza is catastrophic. And as you noted, there are over 1 million women and girls in gaza, and the unfpa and i are extremely concerned for gazas 50,000 pregnant women who right now cannot access the basic Maternal Health services they need, theyre facing a double nightmare. And as you referenced, the Health Care System itself in gaza is crippled. And these pregnant women that we are seriously concerned about have nowhere to go. Theyre facing unthinkable challenges. Lets talk about those challenges. Even if you, you know, put aside the danger from bombing, which is still huge, the lack of food, water, electricity, when youre pregnant, what kind of threat does that pose to their health and their unborn child . Exactly. And of these 50,000 women, we expect that 5,000 of these will give birth in the coming month. Imagine having been displaced from your homes, fearing for your life in shelters right now with very little food, very little water, very little fuel and with little access to the health care they need. Some of these pregnant women will suffer complications. They are anticipated to do so. So whilst eight days ago, they were thinking about the dream they would be fulfilling, this lifeaffirming process of giving birth, but right now in the shelters theyre in, theyre not able to access the health care that they need. And were hearing from the hospital staff, the midwives on the ground telling us some very harrowing stories. An entire family of six is among the missing. A mom, a dad, a baby, toddler, grandparents. You heard pleas from their relatives. My cousin was abducted from her home with their two babies, along with her husband and my aunt and uncle, both in their late 60s. Youve all seen her photos, holding her two redhead babies. He is a 9monthold baby being held captive underground somewhere. I dont know if he got his food, his formula, he doesnt eat food yet. My cousin and i gave birth two months ago. I have a 7monthold at home. I put him to bed every Night Thinking about him. My aunt suffers from parkinsons disease. Shes 63. Every day without her medication is torture. Shes being tortured. We dont know how long its going to take. I understand this can take a long ive. Those are innocent civilians. Those are innocent civilians. They have rights. This is hamas. Its a terror organization. You need to put the pressure on the right people, on other organizations, to turkey, on egypt. Please, they need to help the red cross enter. Those peoples lives are so important to us. We need to bring them back home alive. They were kidnapped alive and they will be back alive. Ill do everything i can and i will need your help. Hamas is holding an estimated 150 people hostage. One week ago, a powerful earthquake hit the herat region of afghanistan and now its happened again. Well have details on the quake thats hit the area. Thats coming up. 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. Were following a developing story out of afghanistan, where 5. 4 magnitude aftershock has hit north of herat. The latest tremor came out of a new 6. 3 earthquake. That quake came one week after another quake of the exact same magnitude hit the same area. Authorities say at least 50 people were injured in sundays quakes. And of course, scores of people were displaced by last weeks earthquake, which taliban Officials Say killed more than 2,000 people. Our anna coren shows us the aftermath and the chilling reason why 90 of the muslims were women and children. Reporter underneath Crystal Blue Skies on the outskirts of herat in eastern afghanistan, the sound of Vanished Hope fills the air. Under mounds of earth lie countless bodies. There are no survivors here. Only evidence of mother natures wrath and fury, unleashing further misery on a traumatized country. Last saturday, around 11 00 a. M. , a 6. 3 magnitude earthquake struck the district of zirndjan, completely flattening 11 villages. You can see the state of my home. Its now in ruins, says this 56yearold. There is no need for words. Zahir wasnt home when the earth violently shook for only a few seconds, but when he returned, he found 13 Family Members crushed to death, including his daughters, sons, and multiple grandchildren. Simple mud brick structures supported by wooden poles were the homes of villagers on these dusty plains. Theyve all been reduced to rubble. Aid agency tents are now their new homes. 32yearold lost two daughters when her house collapsed. The only reason she survived is because she was standing under the door frame. My children were buried under the wall, she explains. Everything is gone. Nothing remains for us. The taliban government and International Organizations estimate more than 2,000 people were killed across the region during saturdays earthquake. And according to unicef, more than 90 of the victims were women and children. U. S. Charity too young to wed, part of the humanitarian relief effort on the ground, says that there is a clear reason for this staggering statistic. Its because women and girls are forced to stay at home under taliban rule, denied their basic rights, banned from education, w work, and being part of society. They have been systemically stripped of their rights over the last two years. So instead of being at school and at work on a saturday, which is when they have their school week and their workweek, they were home, confined to their homes, imprisoned in their homes. Its a country where half the population is under house arrest. Reporter at this hospital in herat, makeshift boards have been erected in the court yard to cater to all the injured. Lying on a bed, 35yearold fatima, who was knocked unconscious when her home collapsed on top of her. While being rescued to the rubble, she woke to discover her seven children, ages 4 months to 14 years, were all dead. Ive experienced a great deal of pain and sorrow, she says. Weve lost everything in our life. Nothing remains. With the world firmly focused on the war in israel, Aid Organizations are pleading for the International Community not to forget the Earthquake Victims in afghanistan. The children in afghanistan deserve equally as all children in the world. Things happening in the world are not going to stop. It doesnt mean we abandon them. Anna coren, cnn, hong kong. Still to come, propalestinian supporters have been taking to the streets this weekend in the u. S. And around the world. Stay with us. Palestinian supporters marched in washington saturday, gathering in Lafayette Park and on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the white house. Heres one man explaining why he came to show his support. I wish i could do something. I wish we could all do something. I wish we could stop the war. Just stop the war. Thats what we need. Theyre in prison. Theyre in prison. These people are living in prison. No water, no food, no electricity, no nothing. This is not right. Like, wheres europe . Wheres everybody at, man . Like, this is not right. Whats going on right now is not right. Rallies in support of gaza are expanding across the u. S. This weekend, taking place in San Francisco and outside the israeli consulate in los angeles. On friday, thousands took to the streets in new york, gathering in times square and demanding palestinian independence. The longtime u. S. Sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live started on a serious and personal note last night. Guest host Pete Davidson shared a poignant message about israels war with hamas. Here he is. This week, we saw the horrible images and stories from israel and gaza. And i know what youre thinking, who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson. Well, in a lot of ways, i am a good person to talk about it, because when i was 7 years old, my dad was killed in a Terrorist Attack. So i know something about what thats like. I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, israeli children and palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. And you know, no one in this world deserves to suffer like that, you know, especially not kids. The actor and comedian says that comedy is sometimes the only way forward through a tragedy. And before we go, if you would like to help the humanitarian relief efforts in israel and gaza, well, cnn is compiling resources, and you can head to cnn. Com impact and there you can find a list of vetted organizations that are responding on the ground at cnn. Com impact. That wraps this hour of cnn newsroom. Im kim brunhuber. Cnn this morning is next with more of our breaking News Coverage of israel at war