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CNNW CNN July 3, 2024

Well keep you updated. Thank you so much for joining us. Very excited now handed Overer O News Night with abby philip, which starts right now. Fears are rising of a two front assault on israel and a war on a wider and deadlier scale, as the american president gets ready to visit the war zone. Thats tonight, on news night. And good evening, im abby philip. The United Nations calls the middle east right now on of this, as the u. S. Racist keep this war from snowballing into an even deeper geopolitical crisis. And in major developments tonight, President Biden says he will visit israel on wednesday in a high stakes trip as the Pentagon Orders at least 2000 marines and sailors to prepare for deployment to the region. On wednesday, President Biden will visit israel. Hes coming here at a critical moment for israel, for the region, and for the world. Now, this visit comes as israel is preparing for a likely Ground Invasion against hamas, which began the conflict with the devastating attack on israeli civilians. There are now more concerns, however, including hezbollah, the Islamist Militant Group also deemed a Terrorist Organization by the u. S. Its far more deadly and powerful men hamas, potentially. Theyre attempting to infiltrate from lebanon, in the north. Meanwhile in syria, israel has struck hamas friendly targets there. And iran, which backs and funds hamas, is warning that a wider conflict may be inevitable if israel continues its retaliatory strikes. Now, the urgent questions tonight, What A Multi Front assault on israel force the United States to get even more involved . Would iran follow through on its threat . And what happens to the fate of the dozens of hostages, and of course, the millions of civilians who are caught in this cross fire. Joining me now is cnns anderson cooper, who is on the ground in tel aviv. Anderson, the news tonight that President Biden will visit israel this week, what does that mean for both the u. S. In israel, and how is that being received over there . Its certainly a huge sign of support by the Biden Administration for israel. The speech that President Biden made last week was very well received here, many people in israel, there were billboards put up thanking President Biden for what appeared to be unwavering support. Certainly, a visit by him here only bolsters that idea. Its also an opportunity for him to send a message, the president , to send a message to hezbollah, to iran, others in the region, of the u. S. Support, and perhaps sent a message more directly to Prime Minister and his war cabinet about what the u. S. Concerns are about a Ground Offensive and what they can do to try and meet some of those concerns. And anderson, theres also this video that hamas released today about a woman that it abducted. And you spoke with her family today. How are they taking that . I can only imagine, its got to be pretty bittersweet for them, knowing that shes alive, but seeing her there in that video. Yeah, mayhem is the name of the hostage. Shes a french israeli and shes 21 years old. Her family, i talk to her mom, karen, her brother, orient eli. They are relieved to see her. This is the first Proof Of Life that they actually have. They knew that they believe that she had been taken, but they didnt know where she might be. They had there is no video of her that they saw of her being captured, as there had been with other families, if anyone had seen their loved ones captured on hamas videos that they put out for propaganda purposes. So this was the first Proof Of Life. I asked karen about her thoughts, and shes just desperate to get her daughter home, obviously, lets listen. We are beginning the world to bring my baby home. Shes only 21 years old. She just went to a Festival Party after months that she didnt go anywhere. She had medical problems. She just wanted to have some fun. And she shouldnt be there. So we are begging the world to interfere and to bring her home. And all the others. Israel now says 199 people are being held hostage. Hamas has said the number may be as high as 250. I talked to a former senior mossad official who was involved in Hostage Negotiations in the past, and he said its very possible hamas doesnt even know how many people are being held hostage in gaza, that is not just hamas, theres also islamic jihad, who earlier said they had about 30 people, and the former official said also that in past hostage takings, sometimes its been sort of mafia groups that have also seized one or two hostages to get some Financial Leverage so that theres a lot of confusion on the ground, perhaps, about not only where these hostages are, but exactly who has them. But mm. Anderson, thank you, as always, for being there on the ground for us. And i want to turn out to the front lines of this war, my next guess left chicago, illinois, to take up arms and fight for israel after his friend was killed in the hamas attacks. An idf reservist Sergeant Joins me now. Andrew, who is not using his last name out of security concerns, is now in israel. Andrew, thank you for being here. I do want to start by asking you about President Bidens visit. He says he will be there on the ground on wednesday. You are there, on the frontlines. Do you think this visit will help or hurt the war efforts that you are engaged in now . I think President Biden coming is a step in the right direction. Obviously, it makes me proud as an american citizen to see our president standing up to terror in this way. And i think its a clear statement that the u. S. Stands with israel against the tyranny of hamas. And were also learning tonight that the secretary of defense says that they are preparing to have about 2000 u. S. Troops just get ready for a potential deployment to the region. Is that something that you are surprised to hear . Do you think that would be helpful . I think thats a question thats a bit above my pay grade. What i can say is that the idf is prepared for all scenarios. And you know, we will be ready for whatever comes at us. And speaking of scenarios, i mean, one of the likely scenarios here is that this becomes a broader war. Irans Making Threats, hezbollah, as you know, is also Making Threats as well, potentially getting involved in this war. For you, are you concerned about what this could mean for israel, if this becomes not just a war with hamas, but a broader regional conflict . Like i said, i think the idf is incredibly prepared for whatever comes at us. Theres plans in Contingency Plans that have been made going back years. And i can say as a foot soldier that weve trained for nearly every situation. So it doesnt specifically worry me. I trust that whatever commands come from above, that we will be ready to execute them to the fullest extent. And you are of course just 21 years old. You, i presume, had a life in the United States, and now you are answering the call to duty. How do you feel right now as you are preparing for what is to come . And now we are over a week after these horrific attacks on israel. I am a person that is part of a much larger group of american reservists that answer the call on that fateful saturday morning in order to come and serve. And you know, i think that im, you know, part of a lot of people that felt a responsibility to come and help israel in any way that we could possible. People are helping all over the world, whether thats donations, whether thats here in israel doing things like donating bloods, for me, its that the most effective way for me to help was to be in a pair of combat boots. So thats why im here. Are you worried about your own safety . I think every Combat Soldier has a slight amount of fear about their own safety. But its something you put to the side and you rely on your own training in order to execute the mission. All right, sergeant, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. And the u. S. Says it still knows nothing about the condition of the americans believed to be taken hostage by hamas. I mean while their whereabouts remain unknown, some do believe that they could be held in gaza s tunnels. My next guest has actually walked through those tunnels. I want to bring it veteran Foreign Affairs correspondent reena ninan. Reena, these tunnels are a little bit of a source of some mystery. But they are believed to be just literally under the feet of the palestinian people, as you can kind of see here, under buildings, utter apartments. We also have some somewhat rare video, this is from 2017, can you walk us through what we are looking at here, what youve been to . You know, we have to tell you, these tunnels are far more elaborate than the ones i went down. The ones i went down were built by a teenage boy that were essentially made of dirt, and were probably onetime usage. But you can see the potential of hostages being in these tunnels, fortified here with concrete, what also is so troubling is that as incredible as israeli antidetection systems are for these tunnels, which they do have, its really hard. Hamas has gotta release martyr over the years old ability to get in and destroy these tunnels. So you see how fortified it is, the concrete, the fact that they can go down into here and go undetected. I will show you a few more pictures here. You see the dirt around here, the ones i went through were essentially im 54, i was able to go down the whole entire route of these tunnels. And then it slowly started to cave down. These are far better engineered, and constructed, and the tunnels that likely these hostages are, i bet, are potentially the ones that are not intended for one time use, theyre intended for this type of warfare. Meanwhile, the other story here is about the civilians. They are now being asked to evacuate. Were looking here at this evacuation map. Theres really only one place for them to get out, and it would be right here, this is the Rafah Crossing that leads to straight to egypt. Im going to show you another image here. This is up close. What is the challenge for civilians youre trying to get out . One, its incredibly unpredictable and incredibly dangerous. We know that there have been israeli airstrikes. So you constantly dont know what could happen in this area. State department has also said if and when the Rafah Crossing eventually opens is what could happen is it will be open for a long extended period of time. It will open quickly and could potentially close. So youve got all these people here in the gaza strip looking to get out, thats the one exit point right now, its rafah, which enters into egypt sign 19 insulin. Theyre so youve got the unpredictability, its dangerous, and also, abby, the fact that we heard we dont know how long it could be open for. And of course, this is a very significant distance here. Its a small space, but a significant distance if you dont have a lot of means. If you dont have a lot of means, and you dont know how long you are camping out there. For the fact that people could be down there, trying to get humanitarian aid. The egyptians also dont want over 1 Million People absorbed into egypt. So thats a big concern, theyve said multinational people, come into egypt, leave via cairo. These palestines going through dont have that often. All right, reena ninan, thank you so much. And ahead for us, much more from the ground, including a mother whose son was killed in a firefight with hamas. Plus, a landlord reportedly obsessed with this war is now accused of killing a Palestinian American Boy in chicago because he was muslim. His story is next. And congresswoman alexandria ocasiocortez and president ial candidate Chris Christie both join me live onset as america gets more involved in this war. A first grader who just celebrated his sixth Birthday Plans to go to school in america today, but instead his family held his funeral because he was murdered for being a muslim. His name is lydia ill fire you may, a Palestinian American Boy living in a suburb of chicago. Now the familys landlord, 71 years old, his now accused of stabbing the young boy to death. Investigators say it was a hate crime, that the landlord targeted him and his mother over the war in israel. Everyone now, from President Biden to illinois governor, has condemned this attack. At one point, in quote, a local official says it is always the smallest coffins that are the heaviest. A neighbor says that he was playful, full of energy, and, above all, innocent and all of this. Its a tragic statement about violent radicalism and the risk that this war will inflame tensions in unexpected places. Joining me now is congresswoman alexandria cortez, the new york democrat serving in the congress. Congresswoman, thank you for being here, this is such a devastating tragedy. The sixyearold, he just had nothing to do with any of this. When you hear of this kind of thing happening in the United States what goes through your mind . I think one of the things that is so incredibly important for us to keep in mind, as a country, is in times of such great geopolitical peril we cannot allow the bigotry and racism and antisemitism and islamophobia to take root and bloom in the United States. Right now, especially new york city, there are also reports of muslim, a job the, also antisemitic attacks in jewish places of worship as well and it is extraordinarily important that we understand that people are not associated with many the political actors in this current situation. I want to ask you about some other news tonight. President biden, of course, saying on wednesday that he is going to israel. I wonder, do you think that is a good idea or are you concerned that that might inflame tensions in the region . I do believe that President Biden, especially with some of his most recent statements, has been playing a constructive role. The ability to acknowledge that we can condemn hamas and go after and ensure that we target their operations while also advocating for the protection and upholding of human rights in gaza, israel, and beyond, throughout the entire region. Our hope is that that stable presence can continue in momentum that direction. Also, at the same time, 2000 troops being told to get ready to potentially deployed to the region, it is that something that you support the Defense Department doing . You know, i know that, and i truly believe that its in the interest of every single actor in this region to have a cooling of tensions here. I dont believe that any singular actor wants to see an escalation in violence, an escalation in the volatile, the volatility of the situation and i think what is most important is that we focus on the moves that are necessary to achieve that aim and we know that Secretary Blinkens name throughout the last several days have focused on that and our hope is that the president s visit will as well. I would go back to something you just mentioned there about hamas. As all of this kicked off your and several others of your colleagues released a Statement Calling for a ceasefire in the region, but i wonder, what is israel supposed to do about hamas after they murdered, brutalized, a product it over 1000 of their citizens. Are they just post to do nothing . I think what is important to note about a ceasefire is that its not onesided. Hamas has been sounding thousands of rockets at israel as well, and its important for us to identify the goal, in terms of what safety means, in terms of what defense means, excuse me congresswoman, i think the position from israels perspective is that there is already an attack and hamas already committed an attack. After that happened, do you really believe that they should not respond to that . I think what is important, in terms of response, is israel does have a right to self defense. I think what we need to take a look at in this situation is, if collective punishment qualifies as defense. If the blockade on water, food, electricity, if the dropping of white phosphorus, which is an indiscriminate weapon, qualifies. So i do believe that there is a discussion to be had here. I dont believe that, in either or approach is what is necessary, but we should identify what our goal, is which is the cooling of tensions. Israels goal is to rig the region of hamas. They have been very clear about that. I certainly take what you are saying about the condition of gaza right now for civilians who, as you point out, are not synonymous with hamas. But, for israel to deal with a mosque, which is a force that is actually detrimental to palestinians, how else are they supposed to address a violent militant, some say a terrorist group, other than to go in there and take them on directly . Well, when we talk about going in there i think we should also keep in mind President Bidens statements as well about what the implications of a potential Ground Invasion would be. This is an inherently complex situation. I do believe that hamas needs to be dealt with but how is what im asking . What were trying to figure out right now is what this present situation of collective punishment and indiscriminate attack is one approach, but we are seeing the issues and complications of that approach now. Can we target them in terms of intelligence . Is there precision . What are the options available are entirely up t

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