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This conflict alone, and in the last conflict in may 21, we had the same amount, roughly the same amount of rockets fired and rockets that landed short inside the gaza strip. I remember clearly an event that was reported live on fox where he was standing inside gaza and the reports that came out was of an israeli strike which is the Knee Jerk Response around the world and he reported that he saw with his own eyes a rocket that misfired and landed in northern gaza. I think it was jabalia and caused casualties and the death of a palestinian family. So this is not unprecedented. It has happened many times in the past and it is do youcument and for those willing to listen and not to automatically blame israel for it there is ample truth of the fact that this has happened many times before, granted, not a hospital and not so many casualties, but the fact of the matter is rockets misfire and land in gaza and they have been doing so for years. We have been careful about our reporting and certainly what we know and what we do not know. We wanted to have you on to talk about what you know. Lieutenant colonel, we appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Thank you. Of course. Stay with cnn the lead with jake tapper starts right now. This is cnn breaking news. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Two massive stories today. The Israeli Defense forces today just a few minutes ago said that it was actually a misfired missile by Islamic Jihad, a group in gaza is the reason why 200 at least were killed in a Hospital Strike in gaza. In the hospital doctors and nurses were treating hundreds of already wounded palestinians. Cnn reports thousands of others were taking shelter at the hospital at the center of gaza city. The Palestinian Health ministry which is controlled by hamas blamed the incident on an israeli air strike and just seconds ago on its Telegram Channel announced that the strike was caused by this misfired missile from Islamic Jihad. Cnn has not independently confirmed this. We will have much more on all of that in a moment, but first, here in washington, d. C. , weeks of republican dysfunction, House Republican dysfunction crippling the Legislative Branch of the u. S. Government. Today we saw a new chapter in this chaos here in d. C. As House Republicans tried and failed to elect republican representative jim jordan, Speaker Of The House and that is the position second in line, third in line goes president and Vice President and then Speaker Of The House and the presidency includes Oval Office Meetings and photoopes with leaders and real power. You should know who congressman jim jordan is according to the january 6th select committee. He was a significant player in then President Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election. He met repeatedly with trump staffers and Rudy Giuliani to create, quote, strategies for challenging the election. Chief among them claims that the election had been tainted by fraud four days before the January 6th Insurrection and congressman jordan led a call with trump and others about ways to delay the legal certification of the election and discussed how to use social media to encourage Trump Supporters to come to the capitol that fateful day. On january 5th jordan texted then white house Chief Of Staff mark meadows to push him to say that Vice President pence should, quote, call out all of the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional and say that there are no electoral votes at all which, of course, is not in the power of the vice presidency. Jim jordan according to the january 6th committee spoke to President Trump On January 6th as the deadly insurrection was unfolding and we do not know what they discussed because jim jordan refused to comply with a subpoena and hes not offered up any clear answers publicly. I spoke to him On January 6th. I talk with President Trump all of the time. On january 6th did you speak with him before, during or after the capitol was attacked . Id have to go i i spoke with him that day after. I think after. I dont know if i spoke with him in the morning or not, i just dont know. I would have to go back i dont i dont know that when those conversations happened. So again, congressman jim jordan refused to comply with a congressional subpoena, a subpoena issued by the very body that he now wants to lead. In response to the idea of congressman jim jordan possibly becoming leader, Speaker Of The House, this is what former congresswoman and vice chair of the Committee Liz Cheney has to say. If the republicans decide that jim jordan to be Speaker Of The House there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected republicans could be counted on to defend the constitution. So thats where we are right now and the chaos continues after 20 republicans voted against jordan becoming the speakerer of the house sending the house into recess with no clear path forward at the moment, all of this as this brutal war plays out in the middle east. Well have much more on the war including more personal stories in the hours ahead. Lets go to cnns manu raju capitol hill. Theyre having a second rye and another ballot that they want to force at some point today. Does he have enough votes for the second ballot . At the moment he does not, jake, which is why right beheine the scenes right now jim jordan is in the republican whips Office Meeting with Top Republicans including Key Committee chairmen in an attempt to assuage those concerns and win over some of those holdouts and talk about things they want to bring them over to the jordan side, but we are told from jordan allies that there is a real fear that if this drags out into multiple ballots that perhaps the opposition can actually grow and it could completely undermine his speakership bid. Before this first vote today, was there an expectation from jordan allies that he would do better than Kevin Mccarthy did when he failed on the first ballot and he m mccarthy, day they tried to cleez close gap. We talked about this earlier and given the fact that some of those republicans voted for mccarthy on the floor and he is giving advice to jordan and hes urging him stay in the race for multiple round of balloting. Jordan has just as many votes as i had on the first round. The difference is we have rules and we can sit down, talk to the other members. I asked jordan himself whether he would continue beyond the second ballot if he falls short of 217 votes some time tonight, would he go to a third ballot . He would not answer that directly other than saying we need to elect a speaker. We need to get house moving because in the aftermath of that historic and unprecedented ouster of Kevin Mccarthy, Two Weeks Agoing is agoing in could and it was the ouster of mckarth whoa voted against jim jordan, they simply do not want to review the hard lean thats are that still speaks to the tension that still persists with the gop to how next person can bring us out of the state of paralysis. Jim jordan cannot get there. How many rounds will he go on, would there of them decide that its time to bow out. Manu raju thank you very much. Here with us in studio is congressman ken buck. Thank you very much for being here. One thing, i dont know if you heard that weve been praising you in the show. I hope it doesnt hurt you at home. It will. I hope it doesnt hurt you at home. Youre a very conservative republican and it is very important to you that the next Speaker Of The House acknowledge the pack that joe biden won the presidency and its just a fact that he did and you want the next spookeaker to acknowledge that. I dont want someone who was involved in the activities of january 6th. If we have a candidate who is denying that he lost the election and was obviously behind what happened On January 6th and we have a speaker in a similar situation, we have 20 republicans sitsing in Joe Biden Districts right now, districts that joe biden won in 2020 and those 20 republicans are going to be at risk. Theres no way we win the majority if the message we send to the American People is that we believe in the election was stolen, and we believe that january 6th was okay. It was a tour of the capitol. I think this is probably one of the reasons why republicans have had trouble winning elections in 2018 and 20 im sorry, 2022 and right . Like the midterms in 2018 and 2020, and then 2022, right . All those other midterm elections have had problems because there were a lot of suburban voters who might like some of the things republicans are offering, but they like democracy, too. One of the messages is we underperformed. Republicans in the house underperformed. The expectation was that we would have a 35vote majority. We, in fact, have a fourvote majority and so part of the dysfunction that you see is we dont have a large enough madge ority and that i attribute to the fact that the American Peoples message is muddled and went i a party with the rule of law. Youre only one speaking up about this. Kept Congressman Bacon he vote the same thing you did. Jake, i am not running for speaker, but i appreciate your kind words. We need to move beyond the narrative that is out there. Do other republicans feel the same way you do, just not willing to say it out loud. Absolutely. I have had several come up to me and almost itch whennered. Whispered . I dont understand . What are they afraid of. More republicans, absolutely. Want the cover of saying i voted for jim jordan, but now its time to move on. The problem is they are afraid of the primary. The calls that are coming in are ridiculous. Theyre in the hundreds if not thousands that are coming into every office right now. The Grassroots Campaign is very strong for jim jordan. And thats because of the farright activists that are pushing this, the political operatives like hannity, et cetera. I would say right, not far right. Yes. Theyre conservative activist groups that are calling in across the country. So you and i are old enough to remember when tom delay was a very effective majority leader, but there was always the push that if he became speaker he was just too toxic. It would be bad for the house, and i feel like he even understood that that he was too radioactive and jordan is probably in that vein, but maybe he doesnt understand that . Jim jordan has talked about defunding the fbi. Hes talked about some things that are fairly radical to most americans. The folks in the middle who we need to win if were going to win elections. So, yes, i think that he may not realize that and hoo may want to back off some of those statements if he does become speaker and right now those are the statements that he made. You voted for tom, but i thought he was a nice guy. And i was trying to make a joke and it doesnt go over well. Who do you think could be speaker . Steve womack . Is there someone who is conservative republican and kind of like a statesmantype character . Yeah. I think the next move that was discussed in conference a little bit last night was to have a 30day speaker. If a supplemental comes over thats like a 30day fiance show. Im not going to go there. If a supplemental comes over from the white house, we are able to vote for it and its sort of a pause, but it allows the house to operate. Yeah. Thats messy, man. You guys need to what about you . No, but thanks. Dont say i didnt do anything for you. All right. Thank you so much, Congressman Buck. Good to see you. Lets talk to my panel right here. Kevin, how are you doing, buddy . How are you doing . So you youve worked for these fellows on capitol hill. What do you make of this . You know, the thing when i worked on capitol hill you had a sense of inevitability that there was a Trend Operating in the right direction and something happened whether there was a bill on the floor or leadership decision. Right now im at a loss to see how this thing ends. I just do not see somebody or enough leverage by the leadership to drive towards 217 votes for one candidate, and so i think this drags on longer than we think. How can that be, jamie . There are unobjectionable House Republican leaders like i just mentioned like tom how can you ask these questions . These are just, you know, good House Republican leader types. Like, i dont understand even understand. Do you remember 15 rounds . Yeah. Kevin mccarthy. That was an objection to Kevin Mccarthy because they didnt think he was trustworthy. I understand that. Two things, i think Congressman Buck may be the bravest member of the republican conference right now to come out and say i am very sorry to say this. You sound like were going to hurt him in his reelection. You sound like liz cheney right now. Oh, my god, now were really doing it, but the reality is what the congressman is saying is common sense. The problem is youre the only one were hearing it from. Yeah. I am hearing from other republican members, though, about something you mentioned, congressman and that is the notion of letting the speaker pro tem Patrick Mchenry be empowered good forward 30 days, 45 days and maybe be extended. As long as the congressman hasnt been secretly whisked out. What do you think of Congressman Jimenez that was on the show earlier saying this, the idea of give mchenry some powers just so we can do supplemental bills and what do you make of that idea . I think its a good idea for a number of reasons. One, were getting beat up right now and it would pause that. Two, there is a very serious world situation in israel and ukraine. We would allow the congress to function. We havent gotten a supplemental from the white house, but it would allow us to function and third, it would give us time to get into conference Behind Closed Doors to lead us for one year and we have time running out on the clock for the shutdown if we dont fund the government. Yeah. Until you guys sneak him out like taylor swift at the restaurant well keep doing that. Just a warning. Listening to you talk about, isnt there some conventional conservative republican that there were some of those. Eric cantor was one. He lost in a primary. John boehner was one and he was ousted by a frededom caucus on the rise. Kevin mccarthy and he wvacated from his job. What is a conservative, established republican that can unify that way is no longer so for the critical swath of the Republican Party that is driving a lot of the energy inside the party. I think the key to understanding this is not to think rationally, you have to think in a very nonlinear way, but one of the questions i have for the congressman, if i may, what about the Legality Problems that you may have with empowering an Acting Speaker and this is still an institution that operates on precedence, the precedent that you would set if you were to give an acting spo speaker authority. Does not that Knock Concerns for a precedent like that . This is the first time this has ever happened. Youre right, theres no precedent for giving powers on a limited basis. I think what you probably have to do is trust that he would give up power in 30 days so he is the speaker, theres just an agreement that in 30 days we would have a new speaker or 45. And he has said he doesnt want the job . He said he does not want to be nominated by the democrats for the job. If it was a republican, one republican said he would file the motion and thats a little different. So he needs to go vote. So were going to let him go. Well take a commercial break, thank you one and all for being here. When we come back well keep covering these two massive stories, the United States of america Legislative Branch does not have a Speaker Of The House and of course, there is horrible bloodshed in the middle east. Stay with us. Reel be right back. We are back with todays other top story. Right now an explosion of violence in the middle east after a massive strike at a hospital in gaza that killed hundreds according to palestinian officials. All as President Biden prepares to head to israel in an extraordinary wartime trip. Well get to cnns Clarissa Ward on the ground in israel in a moment and lets bring in m. J. Lee at the white house. The gaza Hospital Strike is already impacting President Bidens trip to israel even before hes left wash wish. Thats right, jake. The president was supposed to be wheels up within a number of hours, but already his itinerary has been affected. The palestinian president Knee Jerk Response<\/a> around the world and he reported that he saw with his own eyes a rocket that misfired and landed in northern gaza. I think it was jabalia and caused casualties and the death of a palestinian family. So this is not unprecedented. It has happened many times in the past and it is do youcument and for those willing to listen and not to automatically blame israel for it there is ample truth of the fact that this has happened many times before, granted, not a hospital and not so many casualties, but the fact of the matter is rockets misfire and land in gaza and they have been doing so for years. We have been careful about our reporting and certainly what we know and what we do not know. We wanted to have you on to talk about what you know. Lieutenant colonel, we appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Thank you. Of course. Stay with cnn the lead with jake tapper starts right now. This is cnn breaking news. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Two massive stories today. The Israeli Defense<\/a> forces today just a few minutes ago said that it was actually a misfired missile by Islamic Jihad<\/a>, a group in gaza is the reason why 200 at least were killed in a Hospital Strike<\/a> in gaza. In the hospital doctors and nurses were treating hundreds of already wounded palestinians. Cnn reports thousands of others were taking shelter at the hospital at the center of gaza city. The Palestinian Health<\/a> ministry which is controlled by hamas blamed the incident on an israeli air strike and just seconds ago on its Telegram Channel<\/a> announced that the strike was caused by this misfired missile from Islamic Jihad<\/a>. Cnn has not independently confirmed this. We will have much more on all of that in a moment, but first, here in washington, d. C. , weeks of republican dysfunction, House Republican<\/a> dysfunction crippling the Legislative Branch<\/a> of the u. S. Government. Today we saw a new chapter in this chaos here in d. C. As House Republican<\/a>s tried and failed to elect republican representative jim jordan, Speaker Of The House<\/a> and that is the position second in line, third in line goes president and Vice President<\/a> and then Speaker Of The House<\/a> and the presidency includes Oval Office Meetings<\/a> and photoopes with leaders and real power. You should know who congressman jim jordan is according to the january 6th select committee. He was a significant player in then President Trump<\/a>s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. He met repeatedly with trump staffers and Rudy Giuliani<\/a> to create, quote, strategies for challenging the election. Chief among them claims that the election had been tainted by fraud four days before the January 6th Insurrection<\/a> and congressman jordan led a call with trump and others about ways to delay the legal certification of the election and discussed how to use social media to encourage Trump Supporters<\/a> to come to the capitol that fateful day. On january 5th jordan texted then white house Chief Of Staff<\/a> mark meadows to push him to say that Vice President<\/a> pence should, quote, call out all of the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional and say that there are no electoral votes at all which, of course, is not in the power of the vice presidency. Jim jordan according to the january 6th committee spoke to President Trump<\/a> On January 6th<\/a> as the deadly insurrection was unfolding and we do not know what they discussed because jim jordan refused to comply with a subpoena and hes not offered up any clear answers publicly. I spoke to him On January 6th<\/a>. I talk with President Trump<\/a> all of the time. On january 6th did you speak with him before, during or after the capitol was attacked . Id have to go i i spoke with him that day after. I think after. I dont know if i spoke with him in the morning or not, i just dont know. I would have to go back i dont i dont know that when those conversations happened. So again, congressman jim jordan refused to comply with a congressional subpoena, a subpoena issued by the very body that he now wants to lead. In response to the idea of congressman jim jordan possibly becoming leader, Speaker Of The House<\/a>, this is what former congresswoman and vice chair of the Committee Liz Cheney<\/a> has to say. If the republicans decide that jim jordan to be Speaker Of The House<\/a> there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected republicans could be counted on to defend the constitution. So thats where we are right now and the chaos continues after 20 republicans voted against jordan becoming the speakerer of the house sending the house into recess with no clear path forward at the moment, all of this as this brutal war plays out in the middle east. Well have much more on the war including more personal stories in the hours ahead. Lets go to cnns manu raju capitol hill. Theyre having a second rye and another ballot that they want to force at some point today. Does he have enough votes for the second ballot . At the moment he does not, jake, which is why right beheine the scenes right now jim jordan is in the republican whips Office Meeting<\/a> with Top Republicans<\/a> including Key Committee<\/a> chairmen in an attempt to assuage those concerns and win over some of those holdouts and talk about things they want to bring them over to the jordan side, but we are told from jordan allies that there is a real fear that if this drags out into multiple ballots that perhaps the opposition can actually grow and it could completely undermine his speakership bid. Before this first vote today, was there an expectation from jordan allies that he would do better than Kevin Mccarthy<\/a> did when he failed on the first ballot and he m mccarthy, day they tried to cleez close gap. We talked about this earlier and given the fact that some of those republicans voted for mccarthy on the floor and he is giving advice to jordan and hes urging him stay in the race for multiple round of balloting. Jordan has just as many votes as i had on the first round. The difference is we have rules and we can sit down, talk to the other members. I asked jordan himself whether he would continue beyond the second ballot if he falls short of 217 votes some time tonight, would he go to a third ballot . He would not answer that directly other than saying we need to elect a speaker. We need to get house moving because in the aftermath of that historic and unprecedented ouster of Kevin Mccarthy<\/a>, Two Weeks Agoing<\/a> is agoing in could and it was the ouster of mckarth whoa voted against jim jordan, they simply do not want to review the hard lean thats are that still speaks to the tension that still persists with the gop to how next person can bring us out of the state of paralysis. Jim jordan cannot get there. How many rounds will he go on, would there of them decide that its time to bow out. Manu raju thank you very much. Here with us in studio is congressman ken buck. Thank you very much for being here. One thing, i dont know if you heard that weve been praising you in the show. I hope it doesnt hurt you at home. It will. I hope it doesnt hurt you at home. Youre a very conservative republican and it is very important to you that the next Speaker Of The House<\/a> acknowledge the pack that joe biden won the presidency and its just a fact that he did and you want the next spookeaker to acknowledge that. I dont want someone who was involved in the activities of january 6th. If we have a candidate who is denying that he lost the election and was obviously behind what happened On January 6th<\/a> and we have a speaker in a similar situation, we have 20 republicans sitsing in Joe Biden Districts<\/a> right now, districts that joe biden won in 2020 and those 20 republicans are going to be at risk. Theres no way we win the majority if the message we send to the American People<\/a> is that we believe in the election was stolen, and we believe that january 6th was okay. It was a tour of the capitol. I think this is probably one of the reasons why republicans have had trouble winning elections in 2018 and 20 im sorry, 2022 and right . Like the midterms in 2018 and 2020, and then 2022, right . All those other midterm elections have had problems because there were a lot of suburban voters who might like some of the things republicans are offering, but they like democracy, too. One of the messages is we underperformed. Republicans in the house underperformed. The expectation was that we would have a 35vote majority. We, in fact, have a fourvote majority and so part of the dysfunction that you see is we dont have a large enough madge ority and that i attribute to the fact that the American People<\/a>s message is muddled and went i a party with the rule of law. Youre only one speaking up about this. Kept Congressman Bacon<\/a> he vote the same thing you did. Jake, i am not running for speaker, but i appreciate your kind words. We need to move beyond the narrative that is out there. Do other republicans feel the same way you do, just not willing to say it out loud. Absolutely. I have had several come up to me and almost itch whennered. Whispered . I dont understand . What are they afraid of. More republicans, absolutely. Want the cover of saying i voted for jim jordan, but now its time to move on. The problem is they are afraid of the primary. The calls that are coming in are ridiculous. Theyre in the hundreds if not thousands that are coming into every office right now. The Grassroots Campaign<\/a> is very strong for jim jordan. And thats because of the farright activists that are pushing this, the political operatives like hannity, et cetera. I would say right, not far right. Yes. Theyre conservative activist groups that are calling in across the country. So you and i are old enough to remember when tom delay was a very effective majority leader, but there was always the push that if he became speaker he was just too toxic. It would be bad for the house, and i feel like he even understood that that he was too radioactive and jordan is probably in that vein, but maybe he doesnt understand that . Jim jordan has talked about defunding the fbi. Hes talked about some things that are fairly radical to most americans. The folks in the middle who we need to win if were going to win elections. So, yes, i think that he may not realize that and hoo may want to back off some of those statements if he does become speaker and right now those are the statements that he made. You voted for tom, but i thought he was a nice guy. And i was trying to make a joke and it doesnt go over well. Who do you think could be speaker . Steve womack . Is there someone who is conservative republican and kind of like a statesmantype character . Yeah. I think the next move that was discussed in conference a little bit last night was to have a 30day speaker. If a supplemental comes over thats like a 30day fiance show. Im not going to go there. If a supplemental comes over from the white house, we are able to vote for it and its sort of a pause, but it allows the house to operate. Yeah. Thats messy, man. You guys need to what about you . No, but thanks. Dont say i didnt do anything for you. All right. Thank you so much, Congressman Buck<\/a>. Good to see you. Lets talk to my panel right here. Kevin, how are you doing, buddy . How are you doing . So you youve worked for these fellows on capitol hill. What do you make of this . You know, the thing when i worked on capitol hill you had a sense of inevitability that there was a Trend Operating<\/a> in the right direction and something happened whether there was a bill on the floor or leadership decision. Right now im at a loss to see how this thing ends. I just do not see somebody or enough leverage by the leadership to drive towards 217 votes for one candidate, and so i think this drags on longer than we think. How can that be, jamie . There are unobjectionable House Republican<\/a> leaders like i just mentioned like tom how can you ask these questions . These are just, you know, good House Republican<\/a> leader types. Like, i dont understand even understand. Do you remember 15 rounds . Yeah. Kevin mccarthy. That was an objection to Kevin Mccarthy<\/a> because they didnt think he was trustworthy. I understand that. Two things, i think Congressman Buck<\/a> may be the bravest member of the republican conference right now to come out and say i am very sorry to say this. You sound like were going to hurt him in his reelection. You sound like liz cheney right now. Oh, my god, now were really doing it, but the reality is what the congressman is saying is common sense. The problem is youre the only one were hearing it from. Yeah. I am hearing from other republican members, though, about something you mentioned, congressman and that is the notion of letting the speaker pro tem Patrick Mchenry<\/a> be empowered good forward 30 days, 45 days and maybe be extended. As long as the congressman hasnt been secretly whisked out. What do you think of Congressman Jimenez<\/a> that was on the show earlier saying this, the idea of give mchenry some powers just so we can do supplemental bills and what do you make of that idea . I think its a good idea for a number of reasons. One, were getting beat up right now and it would pause that. Two, there is a very serious world situation in israel and ukraine. We would allow the congress to function. We havent gotten a supplemental from the white house, but it would allow us to function and third, it would give us time to get into conference Behind Closed Doors<\/a> to lead us for one year and we have time running out on the clock for the shutdown if we dont fund the government. Yeah. Until you guys sneak him out like taylor swift at the restaurant well keep doing that. Just a warning. Listening to you talk about, isnt there some conventional conservative republican that there were some of those. Eric cantor was one. He lost in a primary. John boehner was one and he was ousted by a frededom caucus on the rise. Kevin mccarthy and he wvacated from his job. What is a conservative, established republican that can unify that way is no longer so for the critical swath of the Republican Party<\/a> that is driving a lot of the energy inside the party. I think the key to understanding this is not to think rationally, you have to think in a very nonlinear way, but one of the questions i have for the congressman, if i may, what about the Legality Problems<\/a> that you may have with empowering an Acting Speaker<\/a> and this is still an institution that operates on precedence, the precedent that you would set if you were to give an acting spo speaker authority. Does not that Knock Concerns<\/a> for a precedent like that . This is the first time this has ever happened. Youre right, theres no precedent for giving powers on a limited basis. I think what you probably have to do is trust that he would give up power in 30 days so he is the speaker, theres just an agreement that in 30 days we would have a new speaker or 45. And he has said he doesnt want the job . He said he does not want to be nominated by the democrats for the job. If it was a republican, one republican said he would file the motion and thats a little different. So he needs to go vote. So were going to let him go. Well take a commercial break, thank you one and all for being here. When we come back well keep covering these two massive stories, the United States<\/a> of america Legislative Branch<\/a> does not have a Speaker Of The House<\/a> and of course, there is horrible bloodshed in the middle east. Stay with us. Reel be right back. We are back with todays other top story. Right now an explosion of violence in the middle east after a massive strike at a hospital in gaza that killed hundreds according to palestinian officials. All as President Biden<\/a> prepares to head to israel in an extraordinary wartime trip. Well get to cnns Clarissa Ward<\/a> on the ground in israel in a moment and lets bring in m. J. Lee at the white house. The gaza Hospital Strike<\/a> is already impacting President Biden<\/a>s trip to israel even before hes left wash wish. Thats right, jake. The president was supposed to be wheels up within a number of hours, but already his itinerary has been affected. The palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas<\/a> pulling out of what was supposed to be his meeting with President Biden<\/a> that was supposed to take place in jordan with a number of other regional leaders. Obviously as these horrific images and scenes and reports of hundreds of casualties and deaths pouring out of this hospital in gaza, and so far, jake, i can tell you that white house officials, u. S. Officials that we have been reaching out to, weve really been met with radio silence. Nothing yet officially from the u. S. Side in terms of a reaction to this Deadly Strike<\/a> in gaza. This Hospital Strike<\/a> also just nothing in terms of any kind of reaction, any changes potentially to the president s trip. Again, that was supposed to commence in just a number of hours. Jake, i think it goes without saying that all of this just happens to show vividly and unfortunately, capture, just what an extremely volatile situation this is that the president is walking into both physically and diplomatically. Obviously, one of the key issues that the president planned to address and tried to sort of Make Progress On<\/a> was supposed to be sort of the Diplomacy Side<\/a> of this, trying to also stress, minimizing civilian casualties as much as possible and now we have a situation just on the eve of the president making this trip, a situation where the different sides are giving conflicting reports of who is even responsible for this Deadly Strike<\/a>. The idf is saying that it wasnt the israelis. This was a failed Rocket Launch<\/a> and obviously, hamas has been saying that this is the, you know, in the hands of the israelis. So even before the president has physically made this trip and has gone to the region we are seeing just what an incredibly volatile and complicated situation he is walking into. Again, jake, i think the fact that we have yet to hear anything official from the white house and u. S. Officials goes to show they are scrambling right now to try to gather as much intelligence as possible so that they can put something out, addressing the strike itself and obviously trying to figure out what all of this means for his trip because, again, a part of his agenda has already been affected. He is no longer going to be meeting with one of the key players that he was supposed to meet with in jordan. Mj lee at the white house, thank you so much. Lets go to Clarissa Ward<\/a> who is in ashkelon, israel, a few miles north of the border on the mediterranean sea. What do we know for sure about this Hospital Strike<\/a> . Well, we know for sure, jake, that there has just been an astonishing loss of life here. Just horrific scenes in the videos that are starting to come in. Weve been hearing from palestinian authorities 200 to 300 killed, but hamas is now saying on their official Telegram Channel<\/a> that they believe 500 people were killed. Obviously, its very difficult to know exactly those numbers as they will be going through the rubble through the night trying to find out how many people were killed in the attack. We do know that thousands of people were taking shelter in the Al Ahli Baptist<\/a> hospital, this is a hospital in gaza city. This is in the northern part of gaza. That is the part of the enclave that the idf had asked people to evacuate back on friday, but many people, jake, including many who weve spoken to simply were not able to evacuate either because they couldnt find somewhere to go or they didnt have proper means of transportation. There was also heavy israeli strikes along the border, the southern border this morning which then, of course, makes people afraid to leave their homes. So for the moment what we know is there is a huge amount of anguish and rage on behalf of People Living<\/a> in gaza and in the west bank and trafrankly all acs the region and a sense of disbelief that a hospital could be targeted. The idf, as you mentioned before saying that they were not responsible, that it was potentially a misfired rocket from a group known as Islamic Jihad<\/a> inside gaza. Palestinian officials categorically denying that saying that this was an israeli strike, but what we certainly know, jake is that this is a hideous and very bloody Inflexion Point<\/a> in this conflict. It raises the specter of much more violence, not just in gaza, but potentially in other flash points well and indeed throughout the region. Israel has already come out and urged its citizens to leave turkey and all of this happening, as you just heard from m. J. , as President Biden<\/a> is about to make his visit here, jake. Clarissa, you just mentioned the west bank. Weve seen violent protests there in the wake of the Hospital Strike<\/a>. Thats right. We saw them in the hours after it became clear just how many people had died in this Hospital Strike<\/a>. You heard hamas call on people throughout the world, basically to go out and do whatever they could to give voice to their rage and anguish. Clearly, that calls been met by many, even who dont necessarily support hamas and who believe this is an unjustifiable act of hideous violence. You saw the clash in the west bank and you saw, as well, Mahmoud Abbas<\/a> saying that he would not meet with president joe biden, canceling that meeting. They have declared a state of mourning for three days. Flags are to be flown at halfmast. We have also seen reports of violence outside the Israeli Embassy<\/a> in amman, jordan, and certainly the expectation is that it will only get worse, potentially, jake. Clarissa, stay with me. Well have more about this devastating Hospital Strike<\/a>, but we will take a quick break. Well be right back. Here in ths and all of our stuff where we want to go. But, our cars cant take us e with unpaid tolls. Vehicles with overdue, unpaid tolls may not be able to renew their registration until outstanding balances are paid. Payment assistance is available. Visit bayareafastrak. Org ase so go pay your unpaid tolls y and keep your wheels on the we are back with more on that awful Hospital Strike<\/a> in gaza. Cnns Clarissa Ward<\/a> is still with me. Clarissa, this obviously is awful, whomever is responsible. How does it complicate the humanitarian crisis in gaza beyond the obvious death and destruction of what happened . Well, i think it remains to be seen what the impact will be, jake, but the assumption is that you will have all parties now retracting from previous agreements to kind of Come Together<\/a>, in a sense and work to create a mechanism that would allow aid to go into gaza, that would allow foreign nationalses to leave, potentially also some of the most seriously wounded to leave. The u. N. Says that 600,000 people have left their homes in the northern part of gaza, are currently in the south. They dont have water. Our own cnn producer has described having to boil water from the toilet to give to his family. They dont have electricity, according to the u. N. , they have about six days worth of food left in the stores and after that people who are already hungry will potentially not have anything to eat at all, and it has been very difficult at the best of times during this conflict and there havent been any best times, but it has been difficult to get egypt and israel and hamas and the u. S. And all these parties to Come Together<\/a> and try to create this humanitarian corridor. One can only assume now that many people will want to simply walk away from it altogether despite that flurry and intensification of diplomatic efforts. And so its one of the oldest cliches of war, but it happens to be very true that it is the civilians who will suffer incredibly as a result of this. Already those people who had fled their homes and who had been told to leave the north and go to the south have found that they have arrived in the south of gaza and there have been strikes in khan younis. And i spoke to one family who said were not going to leave because a, theres nowhere to go and b, theres nowhere thats safe. President biden is arriving tomorrow and we heard from Antony Blinken<\/a> yesterday talking about this plan that had tentatively been agreed upon to create a humanitarian zone. There will be a massive intensification now of efforts to try to keep that plan in motion, but obviously, very real concerns that it will be completely suffered by this atrocity by the fallout and the backlash and the violence that will almost certainly ensue as a result of it, jake. I dont know if youve had a chance to look at it, but the Israeli Government<\/a> has posted on x, formerly known as twitter, some videos that they say show that it was a misfire of rockets by Islamic Jihad<\/a> that they classify as a Terrorist Group<\/a> that is the reason this atrocity happened at the hospital. I am not an expert on Sfiguring Out<\/a> what is a misfired missile and you are much more experienced, and have you had a chance to look at this . We do have wifi. What i would say is this is an information war, as well, jake, and as journalists we do our best to try to walk the line and we have many Different Actors<\/a> telling us all different sorts of things. We have an incredible open source Investigative Unit<\/a> that is poring over that video and many other videos as well trying to work out exactly what happened here and as soon as we get a fuller picture we will, obviously, bring it to our viewers. No question about it, and its just, as you know, everybody has the narrative that they want to push and then there are, of course, the facts and we want to bring the facts as soon as we can. Clarissa ward in israel doing a yeomans job over there. Thank you very much for everythinging that youre doing for our viewers. I really appreciate it. At the border of gaza and egypt, the rafah crossing, dozens desperate to escape and want allowed to escape as war rages on around them. We will bring you their stories next. Israeli Officials Say<\/a> the rafah crossing, The One And Only<\/a> passage for civilians to get out of gaza currently remains closed which means that the thousands of palestinians waiting along the Eej Gyptian Border<\/a> are stuc and trapped under an area that is constant bombardment from israeli strikes. Salma shows us the dire situation on the ground and a warning, some viewers may find this report disturbing. This city should be the way out of the war zone, but it, too, is caught in the crosshairs of israels relentless air assault. You are looking at the aftermath of air strikes on rafah. Thousands have flocked here in recent days seeking safe passage only to find more death. Translator my children, oh, god, please find my children, this man pleads theyre under the rubble, oh, god, please pull them out it is unclear if his children survived. Israeli bombardment has killed dozens here in recent days according to palestinian officials. The city which sits on the egyptian border is home to gazas only possible humanitarian corridor, a corridor that is now inoperable and unsafe. The w. H. O. Says because of Israeli Bombardment<\/a> and and at the border cross, footage shows Smoke Bell Lowing<\/a> from multiple air strikes. Desperate families gather here for hours a day, praying authorities will allow their exit. So far a diplomatic standoff keeping this crucial corridor shut. Cairo is reluctant to take in refugees and says it wants to see aid allowed into the enclave. Israels government has imposed a complete Siege Of Gaza<\/a> after hamas Terror Attacks<\/a> killed some 1400 people. It says it aims to wipe out hamas. We continue to operate and strike hamas targets as we have defined before and we try to do that according to the law of Armed Conflict<\/a> and of course, to minimize civilian casualties. Intensive efforts by the u. S. And u. N. Are yet to resolve the logjam, leaving countless people like this michigan resident stuck. With the car, i cant sleep. A lot of bomb. These people here. These people here need its not right. On the other side of the border lifesaving aid is piling up and more than 10,000 and the system on the brink every hour counts. Thats why its critical to get there. This is for people like pregnant women. We know there are 84,000 pregnant women and many of them are delivering every day. Babies dont care about bombs. They come when they come. Gaza is in a stranglehold, Rights Groups<\/a> say, under siege and under attack with innocent civilians desperate to escape a growing health scare. Salma aziz, cnn, london. Our thanks to Salma Abdul Aziz<\/a> for that report. Its been ten days since hamas launched its Terrorist Attack<\/a> and the horrors of what those terrorists did are still coming to light and we will bring you some of those grim details next. You know i got two home runs. You got two jacks. And then my grand slam. I signed a ball for you. Okay. And it says papa i love you. Why did you do that . Because youve taught me everything about baseball. Oh hunny bunny, thats so sweet. were still learning about t savery from hamas. Today Search And Rescue<\/a>, the First Responders<\/a> on scene held a Press Conference<\/a> to share their firsthand accounts of what they saw on that horrific day. Whats going on in the middle east right now is a direct result of what happened on that horrific day. So it is important for us to remember what happened. Cnns Jeremy Diamond<\/a> is live in jerusalem for us. Its a gutwrenching story, jeremy. Im sorry you had to go through it. We want to tell our viewers be careful. The story is difficult. But bearing witness is important. No doubt about it, jake. Listen, yossi landau is a 30year veteran of this Search And Rescue<\/a> group. He has been to the scene of Terrorist Attack<\/a>s and natural disasters around the world for decades now, but he says that he has never seen anything like he did two saturdays ago. We should note that cnn has not independently verified some of his testimony, although we do have evidence of similar atrocities committed by hamas. And i also want to warn our viewers once again that the testimony youre to be hear is very graphic. Reporter ten days after hamas carried out its attack in southern israel, yossi landau is still discovering fresh horrors if that day. When were going to clean up, to pick up the terrorists, it was like off the houses in the back were the field. And there was one Terrorist Body<\/a> over there. And we went and just right next to him was a body of this 14, 15ye 15yearold. Had chopped off. We were looking around for the head. Couldnt find it. Reporter landau is a 30year veteran of zaka, a Search And Rescue<\/a> group that specializes in recovering the victims of Mass Casualty<\/a> events. But he has never seen anything like the horrors of october 7th. On your way to kibitz beeri, you came across a shelter. You found 20 people inside, and they were burned alive . I first came into that place. I saw they were hugging. They were trying to escape and to defend themselves. Reporter when people are burned alive like that they suffer. They suffer until they burn. They suffer. Reporter for hours, landau and his team of 30 volunteers worked painstakingly to pry friends, relatives, and perhaps even lovers from each others arms. We have to take out each and every one, and take them apart while they were burned. Only this took us about four to five hours. Reporter at kibitz beeri, landau and his team found the family of four around a dining room table. On one side, the parents. On the other, a boy and a girl about 6 or 7, all with their hands tied behind their backs. You said that the bodies that day, they spoke to you. They told you stories. When you got to kibbutz beeri, what was the story that you found in that firsts house . The terrorists were having a ball, eating the food that was on the that was prepared for the holiday. Tough. Reporter landau said all four had a bullet hole in the back of their heads and signs of torture. And i saw the father was fresh. It wasnt something that he was suffering to be missing an eye. Was missing an eye. This happened next to the children. The children screaming im sure. Reporter in another house, landau found a pregnant woman, shot from behind and stabbed in her stomach. A Knife Stab Bed<\/a> in the baby and the mother lying on the stomach. A big pile of blood, and shot in the back. Same thing came up, question. Who was first . And we had debate. Are we going to use two bags or one bag . We decide were going use one bag. We are not the evil people to separate the infant from the mother. No. Were not going to do it. Reporter and that was an absolutely gutwrenching decision that yossi landau and his colleagues had to make. It was so striking to me in speaking with him. He kept talking about this notion that he felt like the bodies of these people were speaking to him and screaming out for him to tell their stories, to tell the story of how they died. He also told me that he has woken up in the middle of the night now, not only by the smell of the dead flesh in his nose that still stick, but also by the faces of those he saw in that burnt out shelter, despite having never seen their actual faces because of how disfigured they were, he said he can see their faces as clear as day. Jake . Jeremy diamond in jerusalem, thank you so much for that report. Coming up, the latest developments on the breaking news. This hospital in gaza that was struck killing hundreds. In just moments, were going talk to a top adviser to israeli Prime Minister<\/a> benjamin netanyahu. Were going to discuss exactly what happened. Stay with us","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia800508.us.archive.org\/12\/items\/CNNW_20231017_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper\/CNNW_20231017_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper.thumbs\/CNNW_20231017_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240703T12:35:10+00:00"}