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Israel-Hamas War Marks First Anniversary; Harris Boosts Her Presidential Campaign Through Various Guestings and a Scheduled Town Hall. Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton Days after Battering Hurricane Helene; United States on Alert Amid a Record Spike on Threats to Anti-Semitism. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 07, 2024 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN's Newsroom special coverage of the first anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel. And I'm Rosemary Church.

And we begin with a somber milestone in Israel where the country is marking that one year since the deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7th. Commemorations are being held to remember and honor the 1,200 people who were killed that day, the first event taking place early this morning at the Nova Music Festival site, where the final music track of the festival was replayed before a minute of silence.

Ahead of the anniversary, images of the hostages were projected onto the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. As of today, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office says there are a total of 101 hostages in Gaza, including 35 believed to have been killed. The mother of one victim had this heartbreaking message.

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ORIN GANTZ, DAUGHTER EDEN ZECHARIA'S BODY BROUGHT BACK FROM HAMAS CAPTIVITY (through translator): I'm a bereaved mother. I've yet to process the word. Stand before you today dear family wanting to shout that I'm not miserable because none of this actually happened. I'm still in denial. I'm being asked how it feels a year after but I'm still stuck on October 7th. The world keeps going but to me time has stopped. Still waiting to see you on the list of survivors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Hamas' surprise attack would spark a swift response from Israel, which launched its war against the terror group in Gaza. One year on, the Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll from the war is nearing 42,000.

CNN correspondents are following all the developments. Paula Hancocks is standing by in Abu Dhabi and will join us shortly. But we begin this hour with Nic Robertson, live from the Nova Festival site in southern Israel. So Nic, one year after the horror of these Hamas attacks in Israel, how is the country marking this day?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's been families that have been coming here today. You can see behind me all these different images of every single person that was killed here, more than 340 of them. You might also be able to see behind me, there a gaggle of people. That's the French foreign minister. He's come here, I just saw him speaking with the father of one of the victims, Israel's president has been here as well talking to families.

But I think the real feeling you get from here is this intense sadness, intense pain, so many tears, young friends who were at the festival who survived coming back to kiss the pictures of their friends who perished here. It is a very -- it's harrowing for families to come back here.

For some people, one young man I spoke to who'd survived the festival here, whose brother rather had survived it, he told me that this was his first time to come back. Other families told me that they've been back a couple of times and I spoke to the mother of the aunt rather of one young girl and this is what she told me about their pain and suffering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RINAT LIOR, AUNT OF VICTIM AMIT LAHAV: I feel like yesterday and we still -- we still haven't accepted that she's gone. And it's very hard to be here. We've been here a couple of times. And it's very emotional. And she was murdered with her best friend, Shira. It's very difficult to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And I think that's one of the sentiments we hear from everyone here is that time has stood still since that moment a year ago. That they've yet to reconcile the loss. They're still grieving. They're still in trauma for that moment. And when you ask them, you know, what's going to change that? They talk about peace, they talk about peace in the region, but they talk mostly about getting the hostages in Gaza back. That is hugely important for people here.

But I think this sets the tone for the day. This is one of the only of the sort of large commemorations that's actually going ahead at scale that was originally planned. Commemorations planned for later today in Tel Aviv.

[03:05:07]

Private citizens have been asked to stay away because there's a real concern that there could be rocket strikes, that there could be terror attacks for large groups of people gathered. There have been in the past couple of weeks a couple of gun attacks killing people. A young border police officer was killed yesterday.

About eight other people killed in another attack just outside Tel Aviv a couple of weeks ago. So that fear is very present at the moment. But the sense that you get from people is this is an important time to come out and remember but you just feel from it that the pain is as fresh as it was a year ago.

CHURCH: Totally understandable. Nic Robertson, we will come back to you in just a moment. Please just stand by.

I'm joined now by Maya Roman. Her cousin Yarden Roman was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri and released during the first humanitarian deal last year. Yarden's husband and child narrowly escaped captivity. Her sister-in-law, Carmel Gat though was also kidnapped that day and after 11 months in captivity was murdered by her captors. Thank you so much for talking with us at this difficult time for you and your family.

MAYA ROMAN, COUSIN TAKEN HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So what are your thoughts on this day as the people of Israel remember those horrifying events of October 7th last year?

ROMAN: My thoughts are very disorganized. It's been a devastating year for my family specifically, but for the entire country. I think the main issue for me and for a lot of those of us that are part of the hostage families is that it's not a day of remembrance because you can't remember something that's still going on.

It doesn't feel like we can let ourselves kind of look back at what we've done and start to heal and start to figure out how this terrible day is going to fit in with the rest of our lives and our history in the region because we're still in the middle of this war.

There are still hostages that are over there for over a year and might die every day. So I think for me it's very hard to look at this day as commemorating or remembering because it's just part of an ongoing fight and it just shows us you know how it's not going very well, how long it's been and how far we are from achieving our goal of having the hostages back home.

CHURCH: Yeah and you and other families of hostages have been advocating for a hostage deal. Do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu has any intention of making a deal for the release of the remaining hostages understood to be at 101?

ROMAN: I think, you know, people here are very sceptic about the possibility of another deal, partly because of Netanyahu, some of them because of Hamas and Sinwar. I don't know what might happen. I do know what has happened, which is we've had a deal, and in that deal my cousin came home and we now have her. Her four-year-old daughter now has her mother back.

And that is, you know, it's the luckiest thing to happen to any of us in our lifetime it's a blessing that all the other families deserve it and it has happened and so it's true that a lot has happened since then but it was possible at least at that point in time and so I still believe it is possible but it's true that Netanyahu, Sinwar, the Americans, everyone has moved on to focus on the war in Lebanon or to focus on other issues. And that's very, very hard. And for us families, you know, we have to every day try and make people remember that our focus still needs to be about the people we are able to save, about the lives we can still save.

CHURCH: And you know, you mentioned the war. So what are your thoughts as war rages in Gaza and now in Lebanon too? Do you see an end to these wars or do you feel that Prime Minister Netanyahu is keeping these wars going?

ROMAN: I think it's a complex situation. I think there are true security risks, and that's something people who don't live here sometimes don't, you know, it's hard to imagine. But as you can easily understand, what we've been through on October 7th makes living in this country hard and dangerous.

[03:10:05]

And so the desire to feel safety again is something that is completely understandable. And the same thing with Lebanon. You know, people in the north of Israel have not been able to go back to their homes for an entire year. A country can't go on like that. So there are real reasons for these words.

At the same time, I do believe that our country is founded on fighting for every last person, on saving all the lives we can. And in that sense, even if it means we have to give up on some security concerns, in the short run in order to save the lives of our citizens, we should do that.

And I believe the war in Lebanon, the war in Gaza, the only way to end both of them is through a hostage deal, which is something that the Biden-Harris administration has been pushing for the past year. But now with the upcoming election, we're very frightened that in the U.S. as well, the focus is elsewhere at the moment. And that's what worries me the most, I believe.

CHURCH: Maya Roman in Tel Aviv, want to thank you so much for talking with us at this time. I Appreciate it.

ROMAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Alright, let's go back now to our Nic Robertson. He is at the Nova Music Festival site. And Nic, as the country marks his one year anniversary of the Hamas attacks, the families of the hostages still being held by Hamas are angry with Prime Minister Netanyahu for not making a deal to bring their loved ones home. What are they saying about this?

ROBERTSON: Yeah, the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, talks about escalation for de-escalation, but by engaging in a fight with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hezbollah say they've been fighting in support of Hamas in Gaza, it sort of links the two together. You now need a ceasefire with Hezbollah to get a ceasefire with Hamas. It complicates the situation.

The government's narrative is that they're trying to de-link it. They're trying to tell Hezbollah, cease and desist. We'll deal with you, Hezbollah, and then we'll come back and deal with Hamas, and whether that's military, whether that's a deal.

But I think there's a real sense in the country and perhaps an assessment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Yahya Sinwar in Hamas doesn't want to negotiate over the hostages yet, so he's moved on to Lebanon.

But the reality is, I think for most people, there's a real sense that another layer of uncertainty has been opened here. Another front in the killing where huge numbers of civilians are being killed in targeting another terror group. They're targeting Hezbollah, but in fact a lot of civilians are being killed. In Gaza, you know, almost 42,000 people have been killed there.

The government believes 17; 18,000 of them might have been Hamas, but, you know, officials, health officials inside Gaza, say that a large number have been women and children and the elderly. So all of this does not sort of mitigate towards a ceasefire deal. And I think that's the sense that people get at the moment, that we are further away from a ceasefire deal with Hamas to get hostages freed than we were a couple of weeks ago. And adding to that the escalation of tensions with Iran.

Iran's ballistic missiles on Israel less than a week ago, Israel expected to respond for that. It all speaks to escalation and not getting back to that issue of the hostages. And obviously that is so painful for the families who still have hostages being held, be they dead or alive.

CHURCH: Yeah. Exactly. Stand by there, Nic. I want to turn to Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi now. Of course, the attack of October 7th was quickly followed by -- Not only Israel's incursion into Gaza, but also Hezbollah firing missiles into northern Israel.

It's forced thousands of Israelis from their homes. It's also seen Lebanon dragged into a wider conflict as Israel targets what it calls Hezbollah sites around the country, exacting a heavy toll on the population there. So Paula, what more are you learning about what's happening there?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we know that there were a number of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets overnight. We have heard from the Air Force itself that it was targeting Hezbollah intelligence headquarters, it says, as well as some weapons storage facilities. So certainly we have seen in the southern suburbs of Beirut, we've seen in southern Lebanon as well, a Hezbollah stronghold, significant impact as Israel continues with these air strikes.

[03:15:02]

We've also been seeing even more villages along that southern Lebanon area being ordered to evacuate by the Israeli military. They have told now 124 villages that civilians should leave those areas and they should go north of the Al Awali River, which is effectively a quarter of Lebanese territory is being told to evacuate so that they can focus on what they say is Hamas operatives and Hamas infrastructure in that particular area.

Now we know that the situation is becoming more dire for civilians within Lebanon. The official toll at this point is about 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced in large part from southern Lebanon itself. But many of them have moved to the capital believing it would be safer there and we have seen increasing air strikes certainly in the southern suburbs as well, but people are staying in schools which are not opening for the new school year. They've just pushed that back to November 5th, excuse me, November 2nd at this point, understanding that normal life cannot go on at this point.

They are also sleeping on the streets, in some cases. Humanitarian aid groups are trying to get food, water and shelter to those who need it in the streets of Lebanon. We're also seeing, though, coming the other side and the other way, Hezbollah still firing missiles and rockets into northern Israel.

In fact, they have hit an area in the city of Haifa. This was ended with the injury of at least five people, we understand. The Israeli military saying that they did try and intercept those rockets but some of them did actually hit saying that more than 130 rockets were fired on Sunday itself so we are seeing this continuation of back and forth on the border but an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation for many civilians in Lebanon. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right Paula Hancocks and Nic Robertson many thanks for those live reports.

And we are less than a month away from election day here in the United States. Both the Trump and Harris campaigns are ramping up their efforts in key battleground states in the final sprint in the race for the White House.

Plus Kamala Harris' big media blitz. We'll tell you about her upcoming round of high-profile interviews. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Election day in the U.S. is now 29 days away and the Harris and Trump campaigns are racing to win over undecided voters in critical swing states. Republican nominee Donald Trump addressed supporters in Wisconsin on Sunday, marking his fourth visit to the battleground state in nine days. Trump attacked the Biden-Harris administration's Hurricane Helene response and ramped up his grim rhetoric on what he thinks will happen if he loses in November.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But if you go four more years, you may never recover. In fact, I will say, some people say it. I think it's very severe, but I can understand it. Some people say you'll never have an election again. This would be your last election. And I can see it. Remember, I used to say we'll be Venezuela on steroids. And that's sort of what's happening. We're Venezuela on steroids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is reaching out to voters through a series of high profile interviews. The vice president sat down with Alex Cooper, host of the hugely popular "Call Her Daddy" podcast for an episode released on Sunday. She blasted Trump and Republicans over reproductive rights.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that's also why in state after state, so-called red states and so- called blue states, when this issue has been on the ballot, the American people are voting for freedom. Because ultimately it's about, look, this is not about imposing my thoughts on you in terms of what you do with your life or your body. It's actually quite the opposite. It's saying the government shouldn't be telling people what to do.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Harris campaign is going full steam ahead this week. CBS "60 Minutes" interview airs later today. Harris is doing a number of high-profile interviews on Tuesday, a Univision town hall and campaign stops in Las Vegas on Wednesday and has campaign events in Arizona on Friday.

So how close is the race? Well, any of the battleground states could tip the scales for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enton broke down the numbers for our Jessica Dean earlier.

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HARRY ENTEN, CNN SR. DATA REPORTER: This is again your Harris versus Trump margin. And look at these great like battleground states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin. Look, you see some blue on this side of the screen, right? These are a little bit more friendly to Kamala Harris than the Sun Belt that we'll get to in a second.

But look at this, a one point advantage in Pennsylvania, two points in Michigan, two points in Wisconsin, all well within the margin of error, too close to call. You come over now to the Sun Belt battleground states, you got a little bit more red here. Trump up by a point in North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Harris holding onto a one but again very, very tight.

So what does this mean for the electoral map, all right? So let's take a look and say, okay, imagine if the polls match what end up being the results perfectly, right? That's probably not going to happen, but for the sake of this exercise, let's do it. What we see of course is Harris carrying, let's get some green font

here, there we go, carrying all of these Great Lake Battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and then she also carries Nevada, but you see again Trump, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina. Look at this. Harris gets to exactly 276 electoral votes, slightly more than the 270 she needs to win. Donald Trump right behind at 262.

But the bottom line is, Jessica, at this hour, this race remains incredibly tight. We've done these segments over the last month. This battleground map, simply put, really hasn't changed. Maybe a slight advantage to Kamala Harris, but won a race that remains way too close to call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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CHURCH: Well, for more on the candidates' final sprint to the White House, Leslie Vinjamuri joins me now from London. She is the head of the U.S. and Americas program at Chatham House. Appreciate you being with us.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD OF U.S. AND THE AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So just 29 days to go until Election Day in America, and the race is historically tight. Both presidential candidates campaigning in battleground states. Donald Trump returning to the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, and suggesting without evidence that his political opponents may have tried to kill him. He's also spreading other falsehoods saying that if he loses, this will be the last election in America. How dangerous are falsehoods of this magnitude?

VINJAMURI: Oh, I think they're incredibly dangerous. They're very disturbing. We've seen this pattern of disinformation coming out. And it's not just disinformation, you know, in the news media or at the popular level. It's the fact that the disinformation is being, is coming from the former president of the United States and the leading nominee for president on the Republican side. So it's incredibly damaging. But I think the question is, who is persuaded by this? And also, which voters are repelled or turned off by this?

And what we're seeing in Donald Trump is a man who continues to try to speak to what is a powerful but limited base. And it suggests certainly that in Pennsylvania, where he was, he's really trying to stoke that enthusiasm amongst his base, ensure that they get out and that they deliver those votes. I don't think that we're going to see undecided voters. They're undecided for a reason. And part of the reason is because they lack some confidence in Donald Trump, but they're also not persuaded that Harris is their candidate.

So I don't think the disinformation plays to that really important set of voters. And this is a state that we know Harris is up maybe one percentage point. It is a dead heat. Pennsylvania couldn't be more important in this election and so really right now getting those letters to the polls. You know, this is also an extraordinary moment. We've seen a devastating hurricane.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the attacks, the Hamas attacks on Israel and the beginning of what has been a devastating year in the Middle East, something that really matters for certain Americans in key swing states.

So I think today in particular we're going to see Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, she has that interview that's playing tonight on "60 Minutes", trying to speak both to the people who are suffering the effects of the hurricane in North Carolina, a state that matters a lot, but also trying to speak to their ability to deliver stability in the United States, stability in the Middle East, and also to economic growth.

And for Kamala Harris, you know, a vice president in a leadership that has done very well in the economy, but in which those results are felt unequally, that message is not getting across. It's now really not getting across for reasons beyond their control in North Carolina, continuing to signal that she can lead, that she can deliver economic growth that matters for white male voters in particular will be absolutely essential and also demonstrating leadership in what is a very volatile time globally and especially in the Middle East.

CHURCH: Right, now you touched on this. Kamala Harris is on this media blitz with appearances tonight on "60 Minutes." "The View" also, the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert", the "Howard Stern" show, Univision, and on Sunday she appeared on the high rating "Call Her Daddy" podcast. How significant is a media blitz of this magnitude and will it satisfy critics claiming that Harris doesn't do enough media interviews?

VINJAMURI: You know, she is speaking to that. It's very important. She needs all the visibility that she can get. We know that she's had very limited time to define herself. But ultimately, if you look at the numbers and where this election will be won or lost. I don't think that those voters are really being persuaded to change their minds by these media blitzes, which isn't to say they're not important.

Remember, go back to that first comment I made. It's about getting the people that are already on Harris' side or on Trump's side to really feel the passion to turn out and vote. It's essential to demonstrate the solidity of their leadership to continue to reinforce that message for Kamala Harris going deep on reproductive rights and abortion rights is critical. But will it lead white men in Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to decide that they will turn out and vote for Kamala Harris? This is really critical.

In those three swing states, you have roughly 80 percent give or take depending on the state of voters who are white. They break for Donald Trump. And getting the white voters that really still support the Democrats to feel confident, to feel that they can trust the Democrats, that's what is critical, and that's why that ground campaign is so important right now.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Right, and Kamala Harris is trying to differentiate herself from the Biden administration on some issues. How does she do this and show that she represents change without alienating President Biden, especially after he came out last Friday in that surprise appearance before the media, saying Harris was a major player in everything his administration has done. They're trying not to pair them up to that extent. Aren't they?

VINJAMURI: It's extremely difficult. She is a vice president. She is part of the current administration. And President Biden has been very popular as a Democratic leader amongst a very critical demographic, which is white male voters in those swing states. This was one of the keys to his success in 2020. So it's a delicate line electorally.

I think on the broader questions of policy, the two candidates, Harris and Trump, are clearly very, very different. But Harris and Biden are much more similar. We'll only really know how significant those differences are between the vice president and her president if she's elected in November. So this is a difficult road to toe for her. But, you know, go back to the basics.

The economy is very strong. The jobs report that we saw just last week was phenomenal. Unemployment is low. Inflation has come down to about 2.5 percent. And so the numbers are all very good at a time though when people feel the impact of that hurricane, when the numbers are not universally translated to facts on the ground, prices are still high. So it is a difficult context for Vice President Harris.

But again, the fact that with such a short lead way she is up very marginally, but she is still up in those three critical swing states is very impressive. But this is undoubtedly a race that is just going to be unknown, the result of that unknown until that very last vote is cast and counted. And probably, and this is the concern that we all have that it may not be determined for several days or possibly weeks after that Tuesday election.

CHURCH: Indeed, a delay is expected. Leslie Vinjamuri, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.

VINJAMURI: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. Supreme Court is back in session on Monday with cases that include guns, pornography, and transgender medical care. The justices might also have to settle a range of last-minute election fights and they could potentially face a contested election outcome between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. That could thrust the court further into political controversy. Polls show current trust in the court is near record lows. The new term runs until next summer.

Still to come, new strikes are being reported in Gaza overnight as Israel marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks. Back with that in just a moment.

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[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Israel is marking one year since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7th that killed at least 1,200 people. You're looking at live pictures right now from the site of the Nova Music Festival. It's a day full of emotion as family members and friends gather to remember the lives lost and the hostages still being held in Gaza.

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UNKNOWN: You and your loved ones were on the front lines and you continue to be. But we, the Jews of America, deeply understand that an attack against you is an attack against us. And we, Jews in America, are vulnerable when Israel is vulnerable. The events of October 7 and the reverberations in America showed how deeply, deeply interconnected we truly are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, Israel's military launched a new ground operation in northern Gaza, saying their troops have encircled Jabalia after seeing signs of Hamas regrouping. That is despite nearly a year of fighting in the densely populated refugee camp, which Israel previously said was rid of Hamas. And we're now learning that three people have been killed at another refugee camp in central Gaza. As the Israeli military claims, it struck multiple Hamas targets across the enclave overnight.

And CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from London. Good morning to you Nada. So what is the latest on Israel's war on Gaza on this one- year anniversary of the Hamas attacks?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing hugely troubling videos coming out of central Gaza much as we have seen almost every day now for the last year, this time focused particularly around the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound in Deir al Balah in central Gaza. This is a hospital that works closely with the international organization Doctors without Borders for support to provide health and care to patients.

It is one of the last remaining hospitals actually able to take in patients in Gaza and overnight what we have seen is an Israeli drone strike targeting the compound surrounding this hospital, an area where dozens of families were gathered taking shelter. They had been of course displaced taking shelter around this hospital for their safety and protection.

[03:40:00]

According to reports at this stage, at least eight people have been injured, many of them of course taken into the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment there. We've heard from the Israeli military confirming this strike. They have claimed that they were targeting. Well, they have once again described as a Hamas command and control center. They have said that precise munitions were used to mitigate civilian risk.

But what we've often heard in the past from weapons experts working with CNN with regards to these so-called precise munitions is that in areas that are so densely populated with civilians as is much of the areas across the Gaza Strip. It is very difficult to of course mitigate civilian risks in these instances, particularly of course when the target is a hospital.

Now what we have also seen over the weekend is the targeting of the nearby Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque. At least 21 people killed in that strike. We've heard from eyewitnesses saying that more than 40 people had believed to be taking shelter in this mosque. Many of them would have of course been then taken to the hospital for treatment.

Again, this is one of the main hospitals still able to receive casualties and yet another strike at a nearby school, at least four people killed in that instance. So a hugely troubling situation in central Gaza. But as you mentioned, Rosemary, we're also seeing concerning developments in northern Gaza as well surrounding the Jabalia refugee camp. We know that civilians there have now once again been ordered to evacuate. We've seen civilians gathering whatever remains of their belongings to flee once again.

Again, these are civilians that have been forced to move time and time again because of these evacuation orders. And the Israeli military says it is focusing on targeting Hamas build up in northern Gaza. They have said that their troops have now encircled the Jabalia region. So it is concerning what could come next, particularly for the civilians who have remained.

And just a year on, these strikes are still continuing. More than 40,000 people killed, the majority, according to U.N. data, women and children. And clearly no sign of a let up there in the violence.

CHURCH: Nada Bashir with that live report. Many thanks.

Still to come, the death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to rise in the U.S. as states fight to get back on their feet. We will have the latest on their progress. But there's no rest for the state of Florida, which is facing yet another major hurricane. How millions there are starting to prepare for a direct hit later this week.

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CHURCH: The death toll from Hurricane Helene is now at least 232 across six states here in the United States. North Carolina has reported the majority of those deaths, with nearly 120 lives lost, according to officials. Helene's path of destruction battered the western part of the state, tearing up roads and making some areas unrecognizable. Florida has recalled assets deployed across the region to assist with its own cleanup. One resident told CNN there are, quote, "mountains and mountains of garbage and debris waiting to be disposed of." They fear if cleanup doesn't progress quickly, new weather threats could cause even more damage. And the latest threat to Florida now has a name. Hurricane Milton is

forming in the Gulf of Mexico right now and is set to make a direct hit on Florida later this week. It comes with the state still reeling from Hurricane Helene's devastating landfall less than two weeks ago.

Milton quickly grew to category one strength on Sunday and could become a major category three storm before its expected landfall on Wednesday. More than 15 million people in Florida are under flood watches with up to 15 inches or nearly 400 millimeters of rain possible in some areas.

Well more now on the preparations underway throughout Florida from CNN's Rafael Romo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In addition to declaring a state of emergency in 51 counties, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered management sites to remain open 24/7 so that many areas covered by debris after Hurricane Helene can be cleared before the arrival of Milton, which became a hurricane Sunday afternoon.

More than 800 guardsmen are currently deployed for debris removal. But DeSantis said there will soon be up to 4,000 available. We also heard from Florida Senator Rick Scott, who said that Milton has the potential of causing much greater damage than Helene, which pummeled Florida less than two weeks ago. With Helene, Scott said, over a million households were left without power. Milton has the potential of having an impact that will be much worse.

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): It seems like a lot of our storms have become water events. We got it all with this one. We're going to have storm surge, we're going to have flooding, we're going to have massive winds. And guess what? It means you're going to lose power.

ROMO: We heard a similar assessment from Governor DeSantis Sunday, who also said that Florida is going to see a lot of power outages and that is something that people should prepare for adding that crews are already getting staged to restore electricity as soon as possible.

His emergency management director warned people that evacuations will be necessary at a level Florida hasn't probably seen since 2017 when Hurricane Irma hit the peninsula. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says people should realize that evacuating is a life or death decision.

ASHLEY MOODY, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: If they say get out and it's going to hit us like this and they can't predict exactly that storm surge and you are in evacuation zone, you probably need to write your name and permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards.

ROMO: More than 500,000 people in Pinellas County, where we saw many getting sandbags ready on Sunday, could be ordered to evacuate Monday as well. Many of these people were also impacted by Helene and have yet to recover from it. Manatee County, located just north of Sarasota, earlier announced that they will begin evacuations Monday afternoon in preparation for the storm's arrival.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

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CHURCH: In Israel, prayers and mourning as the country honors those killed in the October 7th Hamas terror attacks. We'll be right back with that.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: At the Nova Music Festival Memorial, Israelis are paying tribute to the victims of the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th. Looking at live pictures here, the militants killed 347 people at the festival and took 40 others hostage, turning a joyful festival into a scene of horror and death. The images of the hostages were projected onto the walls of Jerusalem's old city Sunday. The friends and families of those still held captive in Gaza are demanding the Israeli government bring their loved ones home.

Well, meantime, here in the United States, law enforcement across the country will have a greater presence in some communities on Monday amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. It comes amid new data from the Anti-Defamation League showing a record spike in anti- Semitic threats.

CNN's Josh Campbell has details.

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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. tripled since last October's deadly terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas, that according to new data out from the Anti-Defamation League.

They say this is the largest number of incidents that they've recorded since they began tracking threats in the U.S. back in 1979. Now they say as of this point over 10,000 incidents that they've recorded since October 7th. Let's take a look at the numbers. They say at least 8,015 incidents involved verbal or written harassment. There were at least 1,840 incidents of vandalism and at least 150 incidents of physical assault.

Now the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League was on CNN Sunday with our colleague Dana Bash. He spoke about this very dire milestone.

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: ADL has been around for over 110 years and we've never seen data like this before.

[03:55:00]

Think about it, like we are honoring, commemorating the solemn anniversary of the murder of 1,200 people simply because they were Jewish, right? They were slaughtered, they were tortured, they were killed, they were kidnapped. And yet here in the United States, that triggered a tsunami of anti-Jewish hate.

CAMPBELL: Now the FBI, which enforces federal hate crimes law and collects statistics of its own on violence in this country, say that the number of incidents involving Jews far surpass any regarding religion. Take a listen here to FBI Director Christopher Wray. He spoke to Congress just after the October 7th attack.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: The Jewish community is uniquely, uniquely targeted by pretty much every terrorist organization across the spectrum. And when you look at a group that makes up 2.4 percent roughly of the American population, it should be jarring to everyone. That same population accounts for something like 60 percent of all religious based hate crimes.

CAMPBELL: And finally we're learning that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have issued a public advisory warning that Monday's one year anniversary of the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel, along with continued Mideast turmoil, could serve as motivators for violence by extremists. They didn't point to any specific and credible threat to the homeland, but they are urging the public to remain vigilant to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. Our coverage of the one-year anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks in Israel continues with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane next.

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