on this dark question. is hamas not -- won't talk about being abused in captivity? also tonight the man who tried to overturn the election, he lost, is now warning that president biden and not he, is the real threat to democracy. that, as a former top republican warns, we are, quote, sleep walking into dictatorship if he wins a second term. later, harvard's -- trouble for facebook founder and $500 million donor mark zuckerberg. good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin with a very full night of developments in and around israel's war in hamas and a new focus today on allegations that rape was a central part of the atrocities hamas committed to start the war. it's been a heavy day and night of israeli air strikes in gaza, about 200 targets hit according to military officials. israeli forces using explosives to demolish large building in central gaza, housing the hamas-run justice ministry and courthouses. elsewhere on the ground, meantime, our first evidence that the idf is carrying out the plan it announced yesterday to launch operations in southern gaza. video geolocated by cnn showing israeli troops and at least one tank operating in the south. and as the fighting there picks up the humanitarian crisis grows for gazans who now have few options where to go and very little to eat. a world health organization team visiting a hospital in khan younis saying conditions are, in their words, catastrophic, and warning that intensified ground operations in the south will likely cut off thousands from health care. there's also new word tonight of near complete blackout of internet and phone service in gaza. ben wedeman reports on the desperation. >> desperate times call for desperate measures. and in gaza, if that means looting the local bakery destroyed overnight by an israeli air strike, so be it. look at the people, says this man, they're doing this out of hunger. it was the -- bakery, arabic for blessing, but now gaza is under the curse of a war. it was the last functioning bakery in this area. people's basic needs, striking it is a kind of terrorism. once the sun came up monday, people of all ages descended upon the bakery, taking away bags of flour, cooking oil, scraps of wood to use for cooking and heating, and just about anything else they could carry away. this man describes it in one word, chaos. the world food programs warn that people of gaza are reaching the breaking point. >> you have breaking down completely because people are becoming desperate, hopeless, hungry by the moment. this is, of course, bound to happen. >> reporter: and with israeli ground forces now operating in southern gaza, the hundreds of thousands who fled the north in search of safety are now even more than before, in the line of fire. gaza, after almost two months of war, has come to this. >> and ben wedeman joins us. how are humanitarian relief groups reacting to the israeli moves in southern gaza? >> reporter: all of them are extremely concerned about this situation, anderson. the world health organization, doctors without borders, the u.n. agency that looks after the palestinians, are deeply concerned that the israelis are essentially pushing the hundreds of thousands of people into a small corner of gaza where there's no infrastructure. there's no shelter. there's no food. there's no water. there's no medical care. all of the problems of gaza are being compounded into a fairly small area. and in fact, martin griffith, the chief u.n. relief officer, came out with a statement this evening and said, every time we think things cannot get more apocalyptic in gaeza, they do. anderson? the united nations today held a special session called hear our voices, aimed at raising awareness of sexual violence in wartime. the allegations that hamas carried out brutal and premeditated sexual assaults on october 7th. matthew miller said that he sees, quote, no reason at all to doubt those reports. he also cited as fact that it, quote, seems, unquote, that hamas isn't turning over its remaining women hostages because it does not want them to talk about what they've gone through in captivity. he was asked to elaborate. >> do you have evidence to suggest that that is what it is, or is it just -- >> i want to be very sensitive in my language when talking about people that continue to be held hostage, that have families on the outside. i will -- what i will say is we know hamas has committed atrocities. we know -- hold on. they continue to hold women. they were going to release these women, and then suddenly at the last point were never able to provide a credible reason why. >> israeli police, along with the civil commission, have already gathered evidence of sexual assaults as well as what the gunmen themselves reported on october 7th. cnn has more, but first a warning, some of her report is especially tough to hear. >> reporter: the details are horrific. listen to this israeli paramedic, whose rescue unit responded to the massacre at kibbutz be'eri. he did not want to be identified. >> while we were storming through those houses, one of the doors, i opened the bedroom. i see two girls, two teenagers, i guess 13 or 14 years old. one was lying on the floor. one was lying on the bed. the one on the floor was lying on her stomach. her pants are pulled down toward her knees, and there's a bullet wound on her back side of her neck near her head, and there's a puddle of blood around her head. and there's remains of semen on the lower part of her back. >> reporter: a volunteer at the military base, where many of the victims of the massacre have been sent, testified at a u.n. event in geneva last week, describing the evidence of sexual violence she saw on some of the bodies. >> our team commanders saw several soldiers who were shot in the crotch and intimate areas in their vaginas or they were shot in their breasts. this seemed to be systemic genital mutilation of a group of victims. >> reporter: despite all of that, the u.n. and its women's rights affiliates remain silent on the mounting specific allegations. >> their response was really devastating, was heartbreaking for me. >> reporter: professor right halburn is an international women's rights advocate and for 12 years helped lead the united nations committee on all forms of discrimination against women. >> neither of them acknowledged or recognized the existence, the fact that sexual violence was part of the hamas massacre. and by not acknowledging this, by dismissing, by ignoring, they are, in fact, almost, i would say, legitimizing the existence of these atrocities. >> reporter: i asked a representative from u.n. women about that. her answer speaks for itself. >> is there a reason though, sarah, that you can't specifically call out hamas and the mounting evidence now over seven weeks that israeli investigators have collected that we've shown our viewers about the atrocities they committed specifically on october 7th? >> indeed. u.n. women always supports impartial, independent investigations into any serious allegations of gender based or sexual violence. and within the u.n. family, these investigations are led by the office of the high commissioner of human rights. >> reporter: then three days later, finally an acknowledgment from u.n. women, a statement of their own. we unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by hamas on october 7th. we're alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks. and over the weekend, even more accounts coming to light. "the sunday times" quoting a 39-year-old witness who attended the nova music festival. i saw this beautiful woman with face of an angel and eight or ten of the fighters beating and raping her. she screamed, stop it already. i'm going to do die already from what you are doing. just kill me. when they finished, they were laughing, and the last one shot her in the head. a police commander leading the investigation into sexual violence and crime said, it's clear now that sexual crimes were part of the planning. and the purpose was to terrify and humiliate people. being able to prove that the crimes were planned is critical in prosecuting such cases. >> recall that the massacre actually took place in 22 locations at the same time. the same method in which these horrific atrocities were executed by the terrorists in separate locations, in different locations, all at the same time. this demonstrates a preconceived and premeditated plan. and that is why it does amount to crimes against humanity. >> cnn, new york. one of the women still being held hostage is 23-year-old roammy gone ig. he was at the music festival october 7th. she and a close friend ran for their lives and hid in bushes. the whole time roammy was on her phone with her family. a colleague at the festival picked them up and tried to drive off. but gunmen attacked and murdered her friends. roammy, her parents say, was shot in the hand. when she was taken, they could hear an attacker say, quote, she's alive. let's take her. her phone was later traced to gaza. her mother joins us. i know that the risk of assault facing female hostages in gaza is one of the reasons why you are speaking out. do you believe humanitarian groups have spoken out enough about the plight of female hostages, including romy? >> i'm sorry to say that that's not the situation. i feel that the humanitarian organization, the women organization around the world, social organization, have not yet spoke enough on behalf of the women that are in gaza now. we need more voices. their voices cannot be heard since they are, you know, underground, in houses, in captivity. they cannot talk. and somebody needs to raise their voice. and we are doing it because we need the help of the international organization. >> did you expect romi to be released last week during the temporary truce? >> yes. we were sure that romi would be released on friday. there are only 18 women in gaza now. and we were so sure she would be released on friday, even saturday. but that didn't happen. it was so horrible for us. it was so terrible. i was awake since 4:30 in the morning waiting to see if there is a list, when the list is coming out. and no list. not just no list, the fighting started again. and, you know, we were so close, so close to her back. her and all the other women. and it didn't happen. >> has anyone been able to give you any explanation why she wasn't released earlier? >> no. we have a cabinet meeting the next day. you know, it's already a tuesday in israel. so, today we will have a meeting with our cabinet, the war cabinet. and we expect to get answers regarding the fact that they weren't released. and we're afraid. we're worried. it's not just romi. it's young women, young women in the hands of those terrorists that made all those horrible actions during the 7th of october. >> we should also point out that your daughter is among a number of hostages who are known to have been injured. your daughter was shot in the hand. hersh goldberg-polin had his arm blown off. i understand some of the hostages told you that romi is still alive, that they had seen her, that you got proof of life for the first time. what did you learn? what did they say? >> they just said they saw her. she's alive. but they also said that the wound, the shotgun wound, is not treated well, and it is neglected and it is not properly treated. so, i'm worried. we are worried for all the people, not just people that have been shot, the people with illnesses inside gaza, which are not treated well. it's a matter of life and death. >> i know another reason you do interviews is if by chance romi is able to hear you and hear something you say. so, is there something you would want her to hear tonight? >> yes, yes. i will say it in english, and she understands. you know, it's not the world. it's not the word. it's what i feel about her. she's a strong woman. she's a strong and very beautiful woman. she knows we believe in her. she knows we love her. i told her on the phone when i thought she was going to die, i told her, you're not alone, romi. we are with you. i love you. i miss you. i know you are strong. i know that wherever you are, you're helping others. i know you help others, make them feel a little bit more safe together. so, i expect you to know that we are coming to take you out. we are doing everything we can to help you and all the other hostages come back home. >> i wish you continued strength in the difficult days ahead. and i hope you have good news soon. thank you. >> thank you very much. thank you, anderson. next, in the face of new reporting, what a second trump presidency would look like and allegations it could be a threat to democracy. the former president points the finger elsewhere without honest. we're keeping him honest. later a troubling story about a hero who was saving civilian lives but ended up shot by an israeli soldier. facing criticisms and concerns about his recent declaration about how he'll run a second term in office and the threat some say it poses to democracy, the former president is responding in a familiar fashion. he's accusing the accuser. here's how responded to the idea of president biden campaigning on that notion. >> so, if joe biden wants to make this race of a question of which candidate will protect our democracy and defend our freedoms, i say to crooked joe, the most corrupt president we've ever had, we will win that fight and we're going to win it very good. joe biden is not the defender of american democracy. joe biden is the destroyer of american democracy. >> the former president over the weekend, perhaps it should go without saying, there's no evidence that president biden is the destroyer of american democracy. also this is nothing new. here's his response during the final 2016 presidential debate to hillary clinton's allegation that vladimir putin wanted him to win. >> he'd rather have a puppet as president. >> no puppet, no puppet. you're the puppet. >> the man who would become the 45th president of the united states. his former lawyer and fixer michael cohen calls it deflection by projection. whatever you want to call it, the former president has done this again and again. the difference this time, though, a trump presidency is one with no guardrails. congresswoman liz cheney this morning issued this warning. >> do you believe if donald trump were elected next year that he would try to stay in office beyond a second term? that he would never leave office? >> there's no question. >> you think he would try to stay in power forever. >> absolutely. a vote for donald trump may mean the last election that you ever get to vote in. and again, i don't say that lightly. and it, i think, is heartbreaking that that's where we are. people have to recognize that a vote for donald trump is a vote against the constitution. >> perspective now from cnn chief correspondent and anchor of "the source," kaitlan collins, also adam kinzinger. congressman, what's your reaction when you see the former president trying to flip the script like this? >> yeah, i mean, it's his thing. this is what he does. he'll never admit fault. he always blames everybody else. he's the biggest victim of really any politician ever. he's always the victim of a circumstance, despite being the most powerful man in the world at one point. i don't think anybody's seen him say that actually believes it. nobody believes it. whether you're left, right, or center. the problem is, we've gotten to such a tribal moment that the republicans, many of them, particularly elected officials, have given up. they basically compromised themselves to empower the former president. and now when he says something like that, they won't call him out because now, if you turn around and call the former president out, you have to admit your role in what you've done to empower him. and trust me, anderson, it's much easier to go back to the tribe, have everybody put their arm around you, say you're fine, just stick with us, everything will be okay. then actually looking in the mirror and admitting this. nobody believes what he's saying. all that matters though -- >> plenty of people actually do believe what he's saying. a lot of his support es believe what he's says, no? >> yeah, they believe what he's saying. when they say, joe biden is a bigger threat to democracy. of course there are going to be some people that believe it. the vast majority of people in the job i used to have for instance, in congress, they know that's bunk. if you put them on cia truth ser m, they're going to tell you, yeah, donald trump is a bigger threat to democracy. doesn't mean you have to agree with joe biden's points or his policies, but absolutely. and that's the problem is when leaders don't come out and say that, then people that are watching tv or watching the former president, they have no counter that they trust to what the former president is saying. >> kaitlan, how confident do you think the trump team is this reduction of the no puppet strategy. >> it's completely predictable. but it's more sophisticated if that's the term to use here, given how much they're making it part of the campaign. this isn't just him spit balling. he isn't just saying this off the cuff. it's in his speech of repaired remarks. they've printed off signs saying, biden attacks democracy, in all caps. that's what they're passing out at these rallies. it's the same playbook we've seen trump use time and time again. remember when he brought the clinton accusers out after the "access hollywood" tape came out and his personal life was the subject of all of the headlines and the front pages. and his conduct, obviously he was the one running for president then. so, it's entirely predictable. but they're fashioning it into an actual campaign tool now. and they know what was clear this weekend listening to those speeches from the former president is they know biden's chief argument going into 2024 is going to be about trump being a threat to democracy. he used it the last time, and they're trying to push back on that by basically equating it. trump is literally accused of trying to overturn the election. he is going to be on trial for that not long from now portionly. so, i think that is at the heart of this, is even though he's trying to accuse biden of being the person who's antidemocratic, he is literally going to be on trial on charges that he tried to overturn the election. >> kaitlan, you've done a lot of reporting on trump and his supporters, do you think when he says it they believe it? >> yeah, i think they wholeheartedly believe it. and i don't think they draw the distinction. i think some republican lawmakers certainly are disingenuous and they say one thing publicly and privately acknowledge another thing. i think when you go to these rallies -- and i've been to more trump rallies than you can count on many hands -- they see it and they believe it and they listen to him. when he continues to push this and push this narrative about president biden, i think it gets through to them. >> congressman, we're seeing some republicans who allegedly don't support the former president, get wobbly. chris sununu when asked if he would support president biden, he said, i'm a republican. bill barr, who eviscerated trump on kaitlan's program this summer, said the former president shouldn't be anywhere near the oval office. he said he still wouldn't rule out voting for him. i mean, can you reconcile that? >> yeah, anderson. i have lost your audio there, but i'll tell you, look, i did catch the question. yeah, i mean, the bottom line on this is it doesn't make any sense to me, it doesn't make an ounce of sense, that a republican, who says that donald trump is a big threat, the biggest threat. he was awful in the oval office. would then turn around, purely based on politics, purely based on