Good morning, everyone. Welcome to cnn this morning. Its october 21st. Im amara walker. Im victor blackwell. Aid trucks have been allowed into gaza, but they warn those supplies are not enough. The needs are far higher. This morning the rafah Border Crossing between egypt and gaza opened. 20 trucks made it through before the crossing was closed again. According to the World Health Organization, they include medical supplies and food. Its been two weeks since hamas launched an attack on israel and now israel says its preparing for the next stages of war. Ground tanks are lined up. A Ground Incursion is looming. In Gaza The Hospital says israel has demanded the immediate evacuation of the building ahead of a possible air strike. The World Health Organization says such a demand would be impossible to carry out. The hospital currently houses around 12,000 displaced people plus, of course, hundreds of patients. And an American Woman and her teenage daughter are free now following their surprise release late last night. They were visiting family at a kibbutz when they were taken hostage by hamas. Its believed 210 are being held hostage by gaza. The group says the current priority is the return of all hostages. Cnns chief International CorrespondentClarissa Ward is with us now. So after weeks of waiting, The Rafah Closing opened just long enough to allow these 20 trucks in. 2 Million People plus are in gaza. Walk us through what happened. Explain what we saw today. Reporter so we got word at about 9 30 this morning that the rafah Border Crossing was going to open at 10 00 a. M. , that it was going to open for long enough to let in those 20 trucks. That is the initial amount that was agreed upon by all different sides. These were egyptian red crescent trucks. They drove through the gate. They took off the aid. Palestinian trucks then loaded the aid and it went through the gazaen side of the border. This is obviously very heartening for so many people who have been pushing so hard, but mostly, of course, for people in gaza who are in such desperate need of aid, but its importantlet to be clear its really a drop in the ocean in terms of what is actually needed, the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe to put it in some context or perspective for you. The u. N. Told us before this war, so two weeks ago, three weeks ago, roughly 455 trucks of aid would go into gaza every single day. So now youve had two weeks with zero aid. Today youve got 20 trucks of aid. The World Food Program saying that might be enough for 30,000 people, and the demand they have right now is for 900,000 people. They need at least, according to the u. N. , 100 trucks a day to be able to cross. Theyre hoping that starting tomorrow or starting monday potentially, that u. N. Trucks will start to flow through as well and that there will be a more continuous and sustained humanitarian corridor established. How do they even begin to distribute the aid, clarissa . That is staggering the comparison you made. Today, 20 trucks compared to the 45 5 aid trucks that have been going in every single day to gaza. Also, if you can clarify what are on these trucks, because the w. H. O. Says medical and medicine supplies, but the needs are food and water, and, of course, fuel for the hospitals. Reporter so in terms of the distribution its very complex for the u. N. And aid workers inside if its only 20 trucks. The concern is that people will mob the trucks. People will be in a panic. There will be scenes of chaos if its not clear its a sustained humanitarian corridor. Theres going to be more aid coming in every single day. That was a really, really big worry for the various different agencies on the ground there. The four things that the u. N. Says people desperately need, food, water, medicine, fuel. Fuel has been a controversial issue. The israelis have said there is no fuel in that first 20 trucks of aid. But when you talk to people on the ground, fuel is really desperately needed because its fuel that keeps the generators going, the generators that keep the hospitals going. There is no electricity. So generators became crucial to maintaining some semblance of, you know, functionality. And so theyre still going back and forth about the fuel. The hope is on the u. N. Side that were going to see more trucks, more equipment, and that fuel will be part of that. Clarissa ward, i appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much. The release of two american hostages is an enormous relief as youd imagine to the family back in illinois. Cnns whitney wild has more. Reporter the walk to freedom in a snapshot. 59yearold Judith Raanan and her 17yearold daughter natali are finally safe after two weeks after hamas hostages. Reporter theyre headed home after many prayers and tears. A communitys fear now replaced by joy. Our prayers have been heard for judith and natali and were so overjoyed. Judith and natali have been missing for two weeks since traveling from chicago. They were visiting a kibbutz for judiths mothers 85th birthday. Her family said they didnt know if shed ever return. My niece is not even 18. Shes supposed to be celebrating her birthday on the 24th of this month. We know young women are being raped and injured, and judith is shes not very, very healthy. Reporter she says hamas kidnapped 11 other Family Members from another kibbutz and theyre still missing, though cnn cannot independently verify that information. As you can imagine, we are devastated and were having quite a hard time. Reporter natalis brother said hes looking forward to hugging his young sister extend and helping her recover however he can from the trauma. As least from my father, natali is doing well, composed. Were ready to start this incredible journey of healing and trauma relief for her. Both judith and natali are artists, kind, giving, generous souls. Reporter the office of the is rah i will i Prime Minister says the Israeli Defense forces Met Judith And Natali at the Gaza Border Friday along with the the inteinhe international to cross. As one family gets ready to embrace their loved ones, many others are having to wait and wonder. Theyve gone through the most evil period of their life by people that inflicted just terror and horror to them and to so many others, and our job is to be there for them. Reporter the white house says President Biden spoke with Judith And Natalie By phone friday, this as u. S. Officials work around the clock to try to bring home ten other Americans Still missing in this this conflict. Victor and amara . Thank you. Joining us now, cnn legal analyst peter bergman. You said Qatar Brokering the release of these hostages is the best way to get the hostages released as we saw now, the u. S. Thanking qatar for their role and releasing these two. Do you think israel is at this point ready for negotiations . Well, i mean the qataries are one of the few governments that has some leverage with hamas because theyve been putting hundreds of millions of dollars into gaza. They obviously have a Good Relationship with the United States and have had a long track record of getting american hostages out of situations. Last month, the five americans held in iran were released because of qatari mediation. So i mean i hope that this is sorpt of a proof of concept and that this will continue because clearly the qataries have had success already with two americans. We apparently have ten more americans, but there are also nationals from other countries and, of course, a lot of israelis. Hamas may have a different view of the known israeli hostages compared to the israeli hostages. I dont have any special insight into that, but clearly theyve shown some willingness now to release some western hostages. The question is why. They say this is on humanitarian grounds. Every time we say humanitarian grounds, is there a reason . We remind people they just killed 1,400 people in israel, so take that as context. But what at this point does this release tell you about where hamas is two weeks into this war, that this is the point at which theyre willing to start to release these hostages . Well, i think its a very good sign, victor. I mean, this is you know, humanitarian reasons you know, i cover a lot of grounds. We certainly dont want a very ill hostage or even a dead hostage if youre a hostage taker. You know, when they seized these 200 plus we still dont really, i think, know the exact number of hostages, they have no idea if somebody was an american, an israeli, or somebody from some other country. They would target an opportunity, unfortunately. They would seize whatever they could. When it comes to the israelis, i think its going to be a different manner than what weve seen already unfortunately, and, you know, obviously this is a huge issue for theres a big, i think, contradiction between destroying hamas, which is the state of israeli position, and we need to save the hostages. Those are two very diametrically opposed kind of ideas. So, you know, we can only hope this is the beginning and hamas behaves. Obviously they havent been behaving in a responsible fashion in so many other ways, but im glad this happened. Let me ask you about the protests across the arab world. We just seen protests in egypt now. The first time cici has announced the public demonstrations. Whos the audience for this . Well, in the case of egypt, its a military dictatorship, and this is sort of i think there are egyptians who are very upset with whats going on in gaza, but its not like the government is allowing a protest, except in this one sort of case. I think yesterday was friday. Obviously thats a day when people are in the mosque or service and are often in a protest. From a National American security perspective, victor, i think the u. S. Embassies and consul late, which the states puts on a higher alert, this could go on for many months. The pictures coming out of gaza could continue to spread online. The suffering that weve seen, i think this is a preliminary thing. Its the beginning. Beginning. Pull that thread. What does this begin . Well, lets take at face value that the israelis are going to be vague. I told multiple experts on Urban Warfare actually ill give you a very good kind of analog, victor. Mosul, which was reportedly the headquarters of i. S. I. S. In iran, 2 Million People, about the same size as gaza, i. S. I. S. Had a lot of time to prepare itself, dig in, as did basically hamas. It took months with the support of american operations forces, with the support of the american air power, and basically destroy things in mosul. It gives you an idea how long these operations would take. The israelis face multiple thing, humans, tunnels, various forms of ieds, the fact that hamas has had years to prepare for this, bobby traipse, you name it. On the other hand, they have an advantage. The main thing is if youre an advanced military, a lot of your advantages are not on your side. You know, think about the americans in fallujah in 2004. It was a very tough fight. So this could go on for months chld and then i think the protests will continue as this conflict continues. Peter bergen, always good to have your insight. Still ahead, the Biden Administration is requests 405 million from congress in order to provide Security Assistance to israel. Well break down what that includes. Plus, israel is warning against all travel to jordan and egypt. Also in the u. S. , House Republicans in chaos. They have no clear path forward after jim jordan failed to get enough votes to win the House Speakership on his third floor vote. To provide Security Assistance enough votes to win the house the Biden Administration is asking for more than 100 million from congress as paret of an aid package that will provide Security Assistance for the war s in ukraine and israel they dont vote on anything until they get a speaker. Some republican lawmakers are continuing to provide aid for ukraine, which he has now tied for aid to israel. Priscilla has more from rehoboth beach. He has work to do. Reporter he does. Thats why he delivered a primetime address to americans to build up support for these two ongoing conflict, making the point of supporting them and providing aid to them is also a bid to support democracy. Now, the white house believes there is enough bipartisan support in congress for this package, but it does face an uphill battle. This is a 105 billion package. To break it down into numbers, 61 billion for ukraine, 14 billion for israel, and about 9 billion for humanitarian aid. It also includes funds for Border Security as well as the indopacific region. So a big ask here going to congress, which, as you mentioned, the house does not have a speaker. That makes all of this all the more difficult and complicated. In fact, just this week, House Republicans are again scrambling after republican jim jordan is no longer running for speaker. And so all of these factors are what the white house is monitoring. And in a statement yesterday, the white house called whats playing out on capitol hill, quote, kchaotic infighting. In the course of all of this, the president is keeping in close touch with Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. The two spoke again just yesterday on a phone call where they talked about continuing support as well as trying to get more support to help the hostages leave. This Funding Package will be a difficult one for the white house to pass, with Big Questions remaining as to how any of this can get through when the house remains without a speaker. Priscilla alvarez from rehoboth beach, delaware. The u. S. Has warned everyone to leave. In the past week there have been several protests in egypt and jordan against egypts constant Missile Attacks on gaza. The announcement recommended israelis avoid visiting all eastern arab regions including the United Arab Emirates and morocco. This is cairo. Thousands of protesters in the streets. Nadia bashir has more. What is it about the tensions that seems to be escalating . Reporter look, amara and victor, there is certainly a lot of anger on the front directed toward us real. When you speak to people on the ground here, when you speak to people across the middle east, theres a real sense of outrage of what is happening not only in dwz but the west bank. Of course, i cannot overthink the significance of it fwh the middle east, especially the arab nations. This is so deeply personal. Weve seen things cropping up across the middle east. These protests have been taking place from the outset. Weve seen them getting bigger a and stronger and what weve seen here. Take a look. In downtown, worshippers gathers for friday prayer, but its not just the call of prayer that has drawn these crowds today but a crowd of action and solidarity for the palestinian people. This protest is a pledge, they chant. The people of jordan will not leave gaza. Thousands of men, women, entire families draped in the symbolic scarf. You can hear how loud the crowds are. Thousands of people have taken to the streets, protesting against israel. They continue aerial bombing of the gaza strip. Translator were doing this for our families. At least we can stand in solidarity so they know we are with them with our hearts and everything. Reporter there is palpable outrage here in jordan over israels ongoing bombardment of the siege of the gaza strip and deepseated anger toward israel and their western allies, many here calling the jordanian government to close down the u. S. And israeli embassy. For days now protests have taken place not only across jordan but also across the wider region. In cairo where the state has clamped down on massive demonstrations, hundreds have gathered into times square. Hours earlier the rafah Border Crossing between egypt and gaza, u. N. Secretarygeneral gutierrez was forced to cut his visit short after protests erupted there. Gaza has faced relentless israeli air strikes for almost two weeks now. Protests across the arab world and the wider region are at a Boiling Point. Iraq, libya, yemen, and turkey, and even further afield. And with gaza on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, this Protest Movement is only growing stronger. Look, as you can imagine, we are seeing these protests reach a Boiling Point pushing for leaders to be vocal on this. They have been vocal from the outset. We have heard condemnation from King Abdullah whos in cairo at the peace summit. The egyptian president cici will also be there, focusing on the focus. Theyre trying to bring about some end of the israeli bombardment on the gaza strip and the crippling situation there. As you can imagine, this condemnation is only getting louder and louder as we continue to see the civilian death toll inside gaza rising. You see the horrifying images, civilian eras inside the gaza strip under blockade as youve seen on tv. Were hearing condemnation. This is a tense moment. We are anticipating we will continue to see these protesters taking to the streets. Nadia bashir, thank you. There are so many people impacted by the war. For more on how you can help, go to cnn. Com impact or text 7070720. Republicans with no clear path on selecting a new speaker after jim jordan lost three times and then lost a conference vote. Whats next . 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. Youre probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. But what if we told you its possible that Comcast Business mobile can save you up to 75 a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers . Its true. Plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. There are no Term Contracts or line activation fees. And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. Its happening. This is from the idf that says now 210 people are being held hostage in gaza, but the idf said theyre seeing some progress after an American Woman and her daughter were released by hamas. Another positive sign if you will. The first humanitarian aid convoy went across egypt into gaza this morning. The trucks were carrying food, water, and medical supplies. The World Health Organization says this is a good start, but they need a lot, lot more. A convoy from the United Nations is expected to cross monday, and we will have more updates on the humanitarian aid trying to get into gaza just ahead. Well, back home, the house is still paralyzed with no speaker. Congressman jim jordan is out of the race with the gavel. The House Republicans will hold a Candidate Forum on monday. We got a short list of who may get those coveted 217 votes to win. Reporter good morning, victor and amara. A chaotic week in a paralyzed house and many, many angry House Republicans in the aftermath of what has been just an absolute brutal battle within the house gop about how to move forward in the aftermath of Kevin Mccarthy who was then Speaker Of The House who was pushed out in a historic fashion. Now three weeksing a nothing has happen. They cant move on aid to ukraine, cant find ways to Av Avoid November shutdown because they must elect a speaker to allow the process to goforward. As jim jordan noted, he does not have enough votes. 35 voted against him on the floor after he lost 22 in the second and 20 on the first ballot, and Behind Closed Doors he went and asked the conference whether or not they would support him staying in the s speak speakership. A majority said no. As a result, he bowed out. Many are conservative at the eight ruepublicans. Also others furious at the members aligned with mccarthy and those who essentially ousted ended jim jordans bid for the speakership. Americas got real problems and this is a time where we need people interested in problemsolving, not selfaggrandizement. It ooh its time for big boys and bill girls to get back to work with the United States. I think its a republican conference. I think its time. We should. Have done that. Reporter this has been a total freeforall to be speaker in the house. Candidates continue to put their names on the list. That they have until sunday at noon eastern to actually declare theyll run for Speaker Of The House. A number of them continue on. Congressman by ron donald is one of them. Mike johnson being one of them. There are several republicans saying they will run. Theyll make their case to their members. Then theyll go and have a secret ballot. That only requires the majority of the House Republican conference. The majority of the 222 members of the house gop. That doesnt mean that that person will get to be elected Speaker Of The House. In order to be elected speaker, you need 217 votes of the full house. That meansperson can only lose four republican votes on the house floor. As jordan witnessed, that was not possible for him. As Steve Scalise was nominated, hes gone forward because h was losing support of a cup all dozen. Can one of the two cams get 117. Some are hooking for a way to move forward. Can someone get to the position or will we endure more days of chaos in the house gop . That remains a question at the moment they dont have an answer to. All right, manu, thank you so much. In trumps Fraud Civil Trial in new york, the president has been fined 5,000 after the judge issued a gag order. The judge warned trump twice. He could face imprisonment if he does not comply. Reporter the judge fined trump 5,000 and issued a stern warning that the former president could face harsher penalties or jail time. Make no mistakes, future violations, whether intentional or up intentional could lead to more violent violations which could include penalties, Holding Donald trump into Contempt Of Court and possibly imprison abouting him. Trump was being given the benefit of the doubt. But the judge notes hes received ample warning and is way beyond the case. He said it was changed at got lost in the campaign machinery. He told the judge there was no intention to evade or circum development or ignore the order. It was viewed by 3,000700 slums. The civil try ends it u week. And more will tiff as soon as tuesday afternoon. Still ahead, the Israel Gaza Border is raising Concernis Abot free speech on College Campuses. Well discuss next. The fighting in israel and fwz has raced concerns about free speech on College Campuses and the rise in antisemitism. At Columbia University in new york both sides held competing protests. That i had to close the campus on thursday for security reasons. They faced each other with signs and chats. There were also protests at Harvard University after students issued a declaration that is reeling was entirely responsible for the conflict. The backlash was quick with many donors threatening to pull their support from the university. Joining me nknow is alex. Good morning. This is a tinderbox. Weve been seeing Student Groups and universities making their stance known not all. Some on the backlash. What should universities be doing . Should they be taking a global stance on polarizing events like this one . No, they shouldnt, not unless they want do yat a sentence. Its bump such a difficult erb on College Campuses and one of the things universities are doing is bummer. It looks like we lost alex there. Well have to leave it there. Sorry, guys. Victor. Still ahead, the heartbreaking impact the israel hamas war is having on children and how they are suffering. Thats next. The magic of tv. Alex is back with us. We were just talking about universities which are typically a place where people come for fierce debate and to discuss even diverse opinions and polarizing issues. When it comes to this war in israel you say its best for universities not to take a public stance. Continue with your thoughts. Yeah. I mean thats going to be difficult than whats been happening in the last few years where universities have been coming out like corporations weighing in on everything from the war on ukraine to Supreme Court decisions to president ial elections. Its going to represent something of a change, but we think its really important for the climate of debate and opinions on College Campuses, which is what should be happening, for universities to say we are host to these debates rather than participating in them themselves. Instead they should be focusing their energies, their resources, and focusing on their incredibly unique mission to teach students the skills to engage in these incredibly difficult debates now so they have those skills when they go out into the real world and are called upon to, you know, help solve some of these incredible crises that are happening in our world right now. Yeah, but when it comes to this particular debate, there are Security Issues that surround it, right . It must be tough for universities to have these conversations, yet as we have seen even before the hamas attacks on october 7th, antisemitism has been on the rise in this country, and after the attacks, we so what kind of role can the universities play in this moment when it comes to safety and protection . Well setting the table for student ss to understand that ty are going to hear diverse opinions on campus. Sometimes even opinions that are incredibly offensive to them or even hateful and helping st students understand that words are not violence, instead they can be an opportunity to avoid violence. While also, as universities, making sure that students are safe from things like true threats or other violent things on campus that might stop Free Expression from happening, shout downs, things like that. People ripping down posters. Universities can take a strong stand against those things. Those are actionable misconduct under many existing university policies. So theres no need to censor student os or faculty. Instead they can point to those other Misconduct Policies and make sure student cans stay safe. Thank you for making two appearances here on cnn this morning. Thank you. As this War Against Hahs Mass enters its third week, it seems that children often suffer the most. Their stories are heartbreaking, but they are important to tell. Let me warn you that some of the images in this story are graphic. But again, its important that you see them. Why . Why have you gone, my son, he wails. He wanted to be a pilot. Youre only sleeping, he says. Kissing his boys lifeless body. Every day of this war has brought pain, pain no parent the wants to ever live through. Every 15 minutes in gaza, a child is killed. More than 1500 children killed so far in a war that just beginning. A war they didnt choose. One for which they are paying the heaviest price. Those Who Live Haunt Ed by what they survived, the lucky ones still have parents to hold their hands. This 10yearold still dount know the strike that left him injured took away his mom, dad and three sisters. His aunt, the only one left to try to comfort him. He wakes up, he cries, they give him painkillers and he goes back to sleep. Im worried ab about the shock when he wakes up and find out that his mother and father are gone. Hes the youngest. He was so attached to his parents. He used to play football with his dad. He would go with him everywhere. Families here say they all heeded the warning and moved south thinking it would be safe. But it wasnt. Injured in the hips and legs, she lost her mother and siblings in an airstrike. Did she shoot israelis . She didnt. Were peaceful people in our homes, she says. We didnt launch any rockets or shoot. We didnt do anything. This 9yearold was out playing when his family home was hit. Hes a hospital with head and leg injuries. We were playing in the guard skpn a missile landed on us, he had says. Trees fell on me. My mother and father and grandfather are injured. My uncle brought me unconscious to the hospital. Most of the injured in gaza, doctors say, are children and women, with no power, no water and no medical supplies. The health care they need is on the verge of collapse. Around half of gazas population are children. Most have only ever known life under a blockade and war. Now in this kill box, no place safe from israels relentless bombardment. Desperate for promise of safe tu many have flooded the hospital grounds. The constant buzz of military drones overhead has become part of existence in gaza. Some find a little escape from the living nightmare no child should ever endure. They say their neighborhood was flattened by airstrikes. We have been living in so much fear, panic and anxiety, she says. Whenever i hear airstrike, i dont know what to do. I hug my mom. This 7yearold says she holds her mom too and hides. They are now living under the stairs. I get upset when i see injured here in the hospital, she says. When i grow up i want to be a doctor so i can treat them and get better. Its a war hamas, but it is the youngest who bear the brunt. Violence, they cant control, trapped in this race against death. Cnn, london