Transcripts For CNNW Israel 20240703

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer in washington with cnns breaking News Coverage of Israel At War. One week after the hamas Terror Attack that triggered this horrible conflict, the israeli Prime Minister netanyahu just posted video of his visit with troops positioned near the gaza border telling them and im quoting him now, the next stage is coming. Theres growing anticipation of a potential ground war as Israeli Forces keep Pounding Targets Inside Gaza from the air. This comes amid new setbacks for efforts to try to evacuate civilians including americans. Egyptian authorities reportedly are not allowing u. S. And other foreign nationals to enter the country from gaza. The United States has expressed hope the crossing might be open to americans today. Tens of thousands of gazans have fled their home after israel urged more than a million civilians in the northern part of gaza to move south. A new window given by israelis for safe passage expired just a short while ago. This crisis in gaza growing worse by the hour. The United Nations warning of the life and death stakes with more than 1300 fwbuildings flattened, water running out, and the reported death toll in gaza rising above 2,000. At least one overwhelmed hospital in gaza now using Ice Cream Trucks as more. All this as israel is defending against new attacks on multiple fronts now. A cnn team reports outstanding rocket fire and extended shelling from lebanon into israel. Hezbollah confirming by the way it did attack israeli positions today from lebanon. Our correspondents are from the region following all the Breaking News. Ben is in South Lebanon, but first, to rafael in jerusalem. A significant new development with this report that egypt is now not allowing american citizens to enter the country from gaza. From that Southern Area of gaza, entry spot into the sinai, into egypt. Give us the latest. Yeah, it is very significant, indeed, wolf, because that is a Connection Point from that part of gaza into egypt and what happened over the last few hours is that after hearing the u. S. State department has said that Palestinian Americans with american passports, there was going to be an opportunity for them to cross into egypt, many people flocked to that location. They went there and not only americans, but also many other foreigners trying desperately to get out of gaza. What happened was that there was a movement this morning on the egyptian authorities. They brought Concrete Slabs into the Border Crossing to stop those people from crossing into egyptian territory. Palestinian border official who told cnn that he saw how the Concrete Slabs were being placed there and he said hundreds of palestinians with foreign passports flocked to the crossing. He also said that the gates were closed and that no one was being let through. Whats happening here is that apparently, egyptian officials are trying to make sure, get assurances, that humanitarian aid is going to be allowed to cross into gaza before they allow the foreigners to go into their territory. On the other side of gaza, wolf, in the north, a humanitarian crisis continues to get even worse because theres 1. 1 Million People that have been told by the Israeli Military that they needed to evacuate the area. There was a sixhour window. That window is now over. But theres a question as to whether these people got the message. Whether they heard the problem is that internet and electricity, theres been constant blackouts and many people probably didnt even hear that. The question remains, wochlf, h do you move 1. 1 Million People from the north in gaza into the south and were talking about families with children. Many of these people have not had water and food for many days. The roads are impassable because of the bombings. And let me tell you, we ourselves have to go to a shelter last night in tel aviv after we heard very loud explosions and this is significant because it tells us that even after seven days of bombing gaza by the Israeli Military, hamas still has the capability of launching Rocket Attacks into israel. So a very complicated situation here on the ground, wolf. Horrible situation by all accounts. Stand by, rafael. Were going to get back to you. I want to go to ben in Southern Lebanon. Ben, i understand you and your team heard extended artillery and rocket fire not long ago. Tell us about that. Yeah, wolf, that started about 3 15 local time and lasted approximately two hours and only gradually petered off. Now, according to hezbollah, statement they put out, they targeted five positions in the Shahbob Farms Area. An area, disputed area between lebanon and israel. Originally part of syria. The israelis, the israelis say that 30 mortars were fired into israel and israel responded with Artillery Fire and during this change between the two sides, the israelis say they saw individuals trying to infiltrate into israeli controlled territory and they were hit in an air strike. That summarizes the events of the afternoon here. Certainly since weve gotten here, its the most prolonged and Violent Exchange of fire between the two sides. But its significant that hezbollah seems to have chosen the Shahbob Farms Area because as far as hezbollah is concerned, thats actually lebanese territory. So for hezbollah, theyre attacking Israeli Forces in occupied lebanese territory. Not actual what is considered israel proper itself. It may be a fine point but it may suggest hezbollah isnt ready to engage in a full scale war with islamabad at the moment, wolf. Keywords, at the moment. Ben, tell us also about the funeral today for a reuters journalist who was killed in the region. Very sad development, indeed. This is sam abdullah. A friend of mine. Ive known him for many years. We worked together in syria, iraq, and here in lebanon. He was killed yesterday afternoon while he and another fairly Significant Group of journalists were in an area on the border with israel. This group included afp, reuters, and jazeera as well. They were filming this exchange of fire between the two sides when they were hit by two guided rockets. They were all wearing press gear. They were very much out in the open so they werent hiding in a suspicious manner. It appears that reuters has concluded that indeed they were struck by israeli fire. An israeli spokesman said they were aware of the incident but have yet to provide any more in the way of details. Our deepest condolences to his family. Ben, you know gaza well. Youve spent a lot of time in gaza. The challenges are very significant with whats going on. The Evacuation Efforts and the crisis thats unfolding. Give us your thoughts. That you can evacuate 1. 1 Million People out of Northern Gaza within 24hour span is really i think the u. N. Has said its impossible. And certainly given that its an active war zone, theres a shortage of fuel. That many of the roads are damaged by the israeli b bombardment. Plus the fact theres a come pl complete siege on gaza. No food, no water, no electricity. Its going to be very difficult for somebody to go that relatively short distance if you have a car and its a nice, open highway, but its not. And therefore, its, people have gone though it appears that some of those who have taken advantage of what were supposed to be safe corridors have been struck by israeli aircraft. But just getting through there and ive seen on social media, some people saying oh, you can walk. Its just a few miles. But just imagine you might have old people, little children, they may be thirsty, they may be hungry. Its very difficult just to ask an entire population of a very large city, 1. 1 Million People, to simply go somewhere else and where do they go . Is there food there . Shelter . Water . Is it even safe . Much of gaza is being targeted not just the northern part of this strip and therefore, no, this is not something that somebody would like to contemplate if they actually had to do it. Wolf. Ben, thank you very much. Youll be with us throughout the day and rafael in jerusalem. Guys, thank you. Humanitarian crisis in gaza is growing more and more dire. Well take a closer look at the efforts to try to get Tens Of Thousands of people to safety. Thats coming up next as our special cnn coverage of Israel At War continues. The deadline has run out. Thousands of gazans are fleeing. Hospitals are so overwhelmed theyre now using Ice Cream Trucks as morgues. Were following the story from london. Selma, what do we know right now . Whats the latest . We know that six hour deadline has expired, wolf, and so there are countless civilian, Hundreds Of Thousands of them, that are absolutely caught in the cross fires of this conflict. The Israeli Military as you know says that it has set up the safe passage but the United Nations did not acknowledge these as humanitarian corridors. The u. N. Called this a violation of the rules of war. Said it defied basic laws of humanity and said it was impossible. You can see why. 1. 1 Million People, ablebodied or not, were supposed to move southwards as quickly as they can under siege and under Bomb Boardment and i do have some footage to show you, wolf, of one of those designated roads, one of those designated routes. I have to warn our viewers this is extremely graphic social media material but we want to show it to you. It shows a street that leads south and what you are looking at is utter chaos and carnage on that road. Bodies in the streets. Cars on fire. People essentially killed right by their belongings. The Palestinian Health Ministry Says these are people, these are families who were struck by shelling as they fled. As they ran for their lives. Palestinian officials saying that dozens of evacuees have been killed or wounded in the last 48 hours. The Israeli Military said that it is looking into these allegations but it begins to give you a sense of just how dangerous it is to find refuge. To find safety. And then you have to ask of course when they get south, what is there . Well, humanitarian organizations, the u. N. Has said, think we cannot set up an entire infrastructure for 1 Million People in a matter of just hours. And those areas in the south, they have also been bombarded. They are also places of ruin an carnage in the last few days then of course you know that the border is closed there along the crossing. Very little will in cairo to open it at this time. So youre looking at potentially what Prime Minister netanyahu has already said is the beginning of this conflict. The very start of this conflict. Hundreds of thousands of israeli troops prepared potentially for a Ground Incursion and all of these families absolutely trapped in the middle. Thank you very much. Stay with us. Our special live coverage will continue right after a quick break. The Safe Passage Deadline has now run out. Thousands of gazans are trying to flee from the northern part of gaza to the south. Here with us now, peter, a spokesperson for the idf. Lieutenant colonel, thanks very much for joining us. The socalled Movement Advisory for gaza residents looking to evacuate has now expired. So what does that mean for the Tens Of Thousands still hoping to get out . Is there still a path for them to leave safely . Absolutely. The whole idea is that people will vacate. So that we can continue our strike. Our efforts to destruct and destroy hamas operational capabilities, its leadership. The master mind of the massacre down to the terrorist that breached the barrier into israel. So yes, we are calling on everybody in the north of the gaza strip to evacuate. And to go down south beyond the gaza in order to enable us to differentiate between palestinians not involved and the hamas terrorist organization. Lieutenant colonel, were just getting pictures coming in now on the Prime Minister netanyahu visiting troops, israeli troops, right near the gaza border. How imminent is the expected Israel Ground incursion into gaza . The idf has recruited some 300,000 reservice. We are gathering and mounting our forces on the border in order to be prepared for the direction if that is inside given to the idf in order to mobilize. We have to be prepared and we are preparing our forces so that we have the knowledge, know how, and operational plans to destroy hamas and prevent them from ever being able to wield that sword of death over our civilians ever again. When you say destroy hamas, ive been told Lieutenant Colonel that the israeli objective in moving thousands, Tens Of Thousands, maybe Hundreds Of Thousands of troops into gaza would be to capture or kill the hamas leadership and to destroy or capture all the hamas weaponry. That potentially could be used against israel. Are those the two main objectives . Our mission is very clear. Hamas can never be able to hold the government, the gaza strip as a Staging Ground for massacres against israel. We will destroy its infrastructure. We will take out its leaders and we will utilize all of the tools and weapons that we have in order to restore security to the state of israel. They cannot be permitted ever again to come into our houses and butcher our babies. They can never be permitted to launch Rocket Attacks at israel. You know, wolf, we destroyed yesterday some drones that they put on the rooftops of houses with explosives that they intended on launching them from those rooftops. They dont care whos in the house. They utilize the urban arena in order to launch their attacks and we are currently operating to destroy and all of those capabilities so that they can never be a threat to israel again. So much of those hamas capabilities are right in the middle of heavily populated palestinian areas in gaza. So how do you achieve those objectives without killing a lot of palestinians . Men, women, and children. Thats precisely the reason were telling people to leave. We need to be able to differentiate and part of the reason were calling on them is because hamas has embedded itself so deeply within gaza city specifically. Its become the fortress of terror. That is what theyre doing. We will strike them. That is why people need to move. That is why when we see them that people are actually listening to us and not listening to hamas, it means that people understand that we are serious this time and we have, we do mean business. The terrorist organization, hamas, has, they have failed miserably. The people of gaza. And we refuse to be held hodstae by them and so should the people of gaza so were happy to see them moving south and vacating the area up north and we hope we will be able to differentiate this way between those that are involved and those that are not. On the other Breaking News were following right now, our cnn team saw Heavy Artillery and outstanding rocket fire in Southern Lebanon as hezbollah says it attacked israeli positions. What can you tell us about the status . The situation in Southern Lebanon in the northern part of israel . I can confirm that about 45 minutes ago, we did have an exchange. We had some mortar rounds fired at israel from Southern Lebanon. We are responding to that as we rightfully should and we have lots of forces on the ground prepared for any eventually. Were on high alert and taking all necessary precautions to be prepared for a prompt on lebanon. And i would take advantage to tell hezbollah look very closely at whats happening to hamas in gaza. They need to be operate very cautiously and i would warn them from stepping over that line. So what i hear you saying is theyre potentially in the next few days, could be a two front war. A war in the south against hamas and gaza and a War In The North against hezbollah in lebanon. Is that what im hearing . I hope not. Hope is not a method and that is why we have recruited some 300,000 reservists. Many are located on the frontier with gaza but many of them are also prepared on the border with lebanon in the north. So we need to be prepared for that but we dont want that to happen as i said. Recommend that hezbollah do not take that step towards us. As far as the humanitarian situation in gaza thats now unfolding, Lieutenant Colonel, the u. S. Government says it has worked with both israel and egypt to try to open that Rafa Crossing in the southern part of gaza where american citizens who want to escape gaza. But were getting reports that some Palestinian Americans have been waiting hours and hours for the gates there to be open. Egyptian media says that egyptian officials are not allowing these american citizens out of gaza. What is your understanding of what is happening there . Wolf, we are the Idf Israel Defense forces. We are conducting our strikes against hamas. Lets leave the diplomacy for the diplomats and the defense for the defense forces. We are striking hamas. We are attacking them. We are pursuing their leaders and in order to restore safety and security to the state of israel. One quick question. Were out of time, Lieutenant Colonel. Precisely what does israel see as irans role in lebanon, with hezbollah, and in gaza with hamas . Iran is obviously in the background of everything happening here. The situation where hamas has been feeding off of irans funds for many, many years. They are responsible for helping them build their arsonal and facilitating in training so the special forces, hamas Commander Units are based on iranian training so there is a deep connection and in hezbollah, it goes without saying that hezbollah is a proxy. A Force Division of shiite terrorists on our border and theres a deep connection there. Of course, hezbollah are owned by iran and thats something thats of extreme concern so iran is definitely in the background of all of whats happening. So if iran is involved in these War Operations according to you against israel, is it in the cards that israel will take direct military action against various targets inside iran . So i dont know what to say but theyre specifically involved in whats happening over the past week. I cant confirm that they have anything specifically to do with the massacre in the Communities Just one week ago where 1,200 people were butchered but we need the follow the situation and follow where its going and whos come from. So i wouldnt go that far to put ourselves in a position but we are prepared and the idf has all of the tools and mechanisms in order to for any of it. Lieutenant colonel, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, wolf. Still to come, the hamas arsonal. What do they have and where the weapons came from. We have new information. Well be right back. Now to a special investigation looking into the de Deadly Weapons used in the Surprise Attacks on israel. An entire arsonal on display. Weapons fashioned in hamas home grown facilities but no less deadly. Cnn analyzed dozens of photos and videos of hamas militants during a Surprise Assault to identify the weapons used to kill at least 1200 people in israel. The most important characterist of the military equipment is that its easily interchangeable, reliable, dependable and you can get parts for it. Many like this Soviet Built Machine Gun appear to be russian or chinese firearms, relics from previous wars, that made their hands into the hamas. Ubiquitous, the ak 47. Preferred weapon for militant groups capable of Spewing Automatic Fire with horrific results. The Assault Rifles along with the grenades carried by hamas militants made them deadly when they reached israel in towns and villages near gaza. All theyre trying to do is provide the shock effect, provide dependability. So theyre very rudimentary, but based on their training, based on how they operate them, they are successful with them. Hamas main weapon has been their supply of rockets. Short range to long range. The Terror Attack on saturday morning began with a barrage of rocket fire. Thousands of rockets overwhelming the iron dome air defense system. A tactic hamas has refined over the years. Thats the capability for hamas to fire them up against potentially commercial aircraft and that i think is one of the major issues of these Terrorist Groups if they have those kinds of weapons in their hands. They used paragliders. In the chaos of the moment, the plan worked. Some of the weapons and equipment were decidedly more low tech. Israel built a complex underground barriers to stop tunnels from crossing the border. Hamas used a bulldozer to tear down the aboveground fence. They are just looking to create chaos with the kind of equipment they have and the equipment has got to be reliable. The weapons we just looked at are only what weve seen so far in the attack that came out of gaza. We know hamas has other weapons. We have seen them use anti Tank Missiles in the past and its weapons like that that make a Ground Incursion such a difficult proposition. Thank you. Were joined by mark hurtling. A cnn military analyst. The former commanding general for the u. S. Army europe and the southern army. General, thanks so much for joining us. First of all, whats your reaction to the type of weapons and tactics hamas was using in their surprise Terror Attack against israel . Couple of thing, wolf. First of all, theyve had several years to build up these weapons, caches. We have seen hamas and hezbollah for that matter have gradually increased their capability with different types of rockets. Were seeing some of the rockets come out of gaza now that used to be able to hit ashkalon, about 20 kilometers north of the strip, now can Reach Jerusalem and tel aviv, which are much further away. Anti tank guided Missile Systems that are going to be prevalent on this battlefield. Some of the weapons we saw in the film just now not only the ak 47 but the Heavy Duty Machine Gun are things that we havent seen hamas have before. The heavy machine guns, and what i suggest is even though the narrater said the rockets being shot out of gaza could shoot down aircraft, thats not quite true. Those are ground to ground roc rockets but there are indicators and intelligence that said hamas is also got air defense systems. Shoulder fired sa 6s, sa 9s. So they have expanded their capability with sniper, machine guns, anti tank guided missiles and as we saw on the attack last saturday, theyve incorporated a mini air force as well as a emotional Counter Attack with a lot of motorcycles that have been trained. So what were seeing is not only an improvement in weapons ability, but also the improvement of training. One of the things i note in watching some of the films is in the past, Terrorist Groups normally have what American Army calls prey and Spray Techniques with their ak 47. They dont point. They pull the trigger and get as many rounds off as possible. What we saw saturday, they were pointing at a target, they were precise in their hit and they had some of the things that western militaries have like actions on contact. The ability to set up an ambush. So these are things that are a result of training as opposed to just groups coming together. Where do you think hamas got all these sophisticated weapons . Certainly weve talked a lot about the iranian influence and even the russian influrence but as you know, being on battlefields all over the world as you have been, the Arms Market Is Ewe Bik by tis with the kinds of things theyre using. Its open air around the world. Its relatively easy. But in cases of Terrorist Groups that are supported by Nation States like iran, like russia, even like china at times, were seeing the transfer of those weapons through Smuggling Operations and the kinds of things like the underground tunnels that have been expanded in hamas make it relatively easy to move Weapon Systems around. So its from Nation States. It has to be and its from the armed markets. General hurtling, how soon do you expect that israel could begin its massive Ground Incursion into gaza . All of us are bracing for that to be fairly soon, but how concerned should those forces be about hamas resistance using these new weapons they have . The anti tank, the Anti Armor Missiles or some over unexpected weapons . To your first question, i believe the idf Ground Assault into gaza will occur within the next several days, wolf. The israeli spokesman that you talked to was commenting on the fact when you have as many reservists as theyve called up, it takes a while to get them in place, get their units orders out. Have different practices and rehearsals so it takes a long time when youre dealing with that many reservists. But when youre talking about the actual fight inside of gaza, weve had indicators of that from 2014 when the Israeli Defense forces conducted operation protective edge. You were in the area at the time. You saw how challenging that was. That was with 70,000 iraqi, excuse me, Israeli Forces. Now theres over 100,000 as youve reported. So its going to be much more difficult. Hamas is much more capable than they were ten years ago. Theyve had more time to practice. They have massive numbers of human shields, not only the palestinian population, but also the hostages theyve taken. This is going to be a difficult, difficult operation for the Israeli Defense forces but its also going to result, unfortunately, in a lot of casualties and deaths. Many more than we saw in 2014. Israeli military has mobilized between 300,000 and 400,000 reservists called up for active military duty. Many of them are along the border with gaza now. Others along the border with lebanon. Right now, others and syria and the west bank. This is a massive Military Mobilization that the idf has begun. General, thanks for joining us. Pleasure. Just ahead, hezbollah says the attack in disputed territory, could this escalate into a larger, regional conflict . Thats coming up. Breaking news from. A u. S. Citizen trying to cross from Jazzgaza To Egypt at the r crossing. What are you learning . Reporter were now hearing from the State Department that they should start making their way closer to that Rafa Crossing, which is the only way out of gaza right now. They are advising these people that there may be little notice when that crossing does open and it may not be open for very long. We still dont have a lot of clarity about what happened. We heard from americans who waited for hours with the hopes that they would be able to get out today and they were not ultimately able to do so. Egyptian local media reported that cairo would not open that crossing unless humanitarian aid was allowed in to gaza. We heard from one u. S. Official who also pointed to the fact that hamas does control part of this access. They do control the other side of the border. So there are still a lot of questions and confusion about what is actually going on when these 500 to 600 americans in gaza who are trying to get to safety in egypt and we still do not know when theyll be able to get there. Well follow it closely together with you. Thank you very much. Im joined now by middle east analyst, dan raviv. You know this area well. Youve reported from israel and throughout the middle east. How could an Israeli Ground incursion begin and how complicated of an undertaking would that be for israel . Realistically it could happen at any time. There are signs that as you heard from your Military Analysts for cnn that its not easy. Usually the standing armed forces of israel constitute 170,000 men and women. Theyve tripled their usable army. Thats a lot of organizing. Some of it is up north. Some of it is keeping an eye of the west bank. But a lot of it is focused on gaza. The implication is that Israel Intends to go in on the ground, something israel did not want to do for years, knowing it would be bloody on both sides. Israel didnt want to do it, but feels the massacres that happened a week ago make this necessary. What about in the north, the potential for a second front developing with hezbollah who has thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at israel in South Lebanon . That would be terrible president. In 2006, there was a brief war in which hezbollah was able to Rain Hundreds of missiles down on israel. Israel didnt have the iron dome Missile Defense system. Now israel does, but that system could be overwhelmed. Thats why we saw President Biden move the u. S. S. Gerald ford and that entire battle group close to the lebanon israel gaza coastline. They might even shell hezbollah if they were to attack israel. They feel that would be iran giving the order. So theyre watching that with great nervousness. Is it realistic to think u. S. Fighter plane missiles could be directly involved in this war in the middle east . Yes, i do. Youve probably noticed the pentagon hasnt been talking about why the fleet is there. President biden says its to show support for israel and to warn off anyone who might want to get involved and widen the war. To me, what that means is, yes, the u. S. Navy using its missiles, its aircraft, its longrange guns might hit hezbollah. That frankly has to be the u. S. Threat to try to keep hezbollah and its iranian financiers out of this war from opening another front. We keep hearing from u. S. Officials from President Biden on down to the Secretary Of Defense lloyd austin to secretary of state Antony Blinken that if other groups or countries get directly involved in this war against israel, they have one word of advice for them. Dont. We keep hearing that from the top u. S. Leadership. If they do get involved, well see what the u. S. Does. Potentially it could open a whole new front not just for israel but for the u. S. As well. We have covered this region a long time. Have you ever seen anything along these lines since a week ago when these Hamas Terrorists launched their strike . In some ways its reminiscent of the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago this month when israel was taken by surprise by egypt and syria. The egyptian attack was on the sinai on israeli troops there. The syrian attack was on the Golan Heights which israel captured in 1967. So israeli civilians were not massacred. Thats why israels level of anger is very high. Theres the unspoken truth within israel that people want answers, what was the Intelligence Failure a week ago . We have revealed that israeli sources tell us there were indications. On friday night, eight days ago, some unusual activity near the border fence and very high level discussions and even israels military Chief Of Staff on a Holiday Friday Night decided not to move troops or add extra patrols because they didnt want to cause any alarm to local civilians. Israel is sure to look at everybody and everything. I dont see how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can escape blame. Ive spoken to several sources in israel who have said this is the worst intelligence blunder in israels history. Well see what this Commission Of Inquiry concludes in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you for joining us. Our special live coverage of the conflict between israel and hamas will continue. Next hour, ill be speaking with former israel Prime Minister yare la paid