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Israel At War; Egypt: Aid Set To Begin Arriving In Gaza Friday; Biden Plans To Use Primetime Address To Make Case For US Aid To Israel And Ukraine; Protests Erupt After Deadly Gaza Hospital Blast; British PM Meets Israeli, Saudi Leaders; Israeli-Palestinian Debate Inflames College Campuses. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 19, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:27]

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Crucial aid may soon start flowing into Gaza just as Israel leaders hint at what might come next in

its war on Hamas.

Hello, I'm Julia Chatterley in New York and welcome to our continuing coverage of the war in Israel.

Tonight, hopeful signs that aid could begin flowing into Gaza within hours. An Egyptian security official told CNN, the Rafah Border Crossing will open

Friday morning. Volunteers and aid trucks are waiting along the Egyptian border. It comes after Israel agreed to let food, water, and medical

supplies in from Egypt bowing to US and broader international pressure.

The Rafah Crossing was in need of repair after being damaged in Israeli strikes. Now, the road to the Egyptian side is being prepared as dozens of

trucks prepare to enter.

Meanwhile, top Israeli officials have made comments indicating a ground offensive inside Gaza could now be imminent. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant

told troops they will soon see Gaza from the inside.

Becky Anderson is in Tel Aviv for us tonight.

Becky, let's focus in on that humanitarian aid convoy. I think Friday can't come soon enough. The question is, are those trucks safe when they cross

the border if they indeed do so?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, that is the big question, isn't it? We are hearing increasing calls for a pause in this fighting or a

temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian supplies to get into Gaza. Gaza, at least into the south. It's not clear those calls will be heeded with the

Israeli military readying itself for the next phase of this war, and you've just reported what Gallant said earlier today.

So, the safe delivery of humanitarian aid at least to those who have heeded these warnings to move south, to avoid this expected onslaught is an

absolute priority.

Now humanitarian groups say the aid set to enter Gaza on Friday is nowhere near enough. The WHO says people in Gaza must be allowed to have fuel for

hospital generators, for power pumps, for hospital generators and ambulances. It hopes to see a hundred trucks of aid distributed every day,

at least.

President Biden when he described this deal that he had brokered when he left here yesterday said only that some 20 trucks would get in to start off

with.

Well, Sherif Abdelazim is the founder and chair of Resala Charity Association. He joins me now from Cairo, and as I understand it, sir, your

organization has been collecting aid to send into Gaza.

What do you make of the opening up of this crossing in the first instance? This must be good news. What do you know about what may get through at this

point?

SHERIF ABDELAZIM, FOUNDER AND CHAIR, RESALA CHARITY ASSOCIATION: This is great news. This is -- we have been waiting on the Rafah Crossing for

several days hoping for the humanitarian aid to be delivered to the people in Gaza.

So this is great news. I hope will they will allow us to keep delivering humanitarian aid for the coming days, weeks.

ANDERSON: Right. Let's talk about what we know will actually get through and how long we believe this border will be open for. Do you have any

further details at this point?

ABDELAZIM: No, actually. I mean, our job is to prepare the humanitarian aid, so we have prepared everything and there are more than a hundred

trucks waiting on the border there full of food aids and medical supplies. Actually among the things that we're sending to the people in Gaza, we're

sending water and we're sending actually shrouds.

Can you imagine, we checked with some Palestinian people, they asked us for shrouds. So there is one truck that is full of shrouds to be sent to the

people in Gaza.

ANDERSON: Insufficient aid, of course, will lead .

ABDELAZIM: The situation -- the situation is disastrous.

ANDERSSON: . to more deaths. Yes, and that is absolutely clear. Anecdotally, I've been speaking to people in Southern Gaza and of course in

Northern Gaza. We are of course only talking about Southern Gaza and access to humanitarian supplies at this point because Israel hasn't opened the

border around the northern side.

[15:05:10]

Insufficient aid, of course, we know will lead to more deaths. So in the first instance, you've been collecting this aid, and ensuring it's ready to

go through. What are you putting on these trucks? What do we understand to be on these trucks, these first trucks going in?

ABDELAZIM: A lot of food -- food, water, shrouds, and medical supplies. This is what is there in the more than hundred trucks that are there.

They are collected by the different charitable organizations in Egypt. There is a National Alliance for Egyptian Civil Work. We are powerful, and

we are coordinating our efforts. So each charitable organization is providing what it can. So there is plenty, plenty of trucks that are there

and they have been there for several days. We have been waiting maybe for a week now, so I hope they will open the crossing more, I hope.

ANDERSON: Right. Sharif, and we are told that that is what is happening. What isn't clear is, you know, just how safe the other side of the border

is going to be. We're certainly well aware that there has been significant shelling out right down to the Rafah area.

Sherif, do you -- is it your understanding that it will just be UN trucks going through the border? Or is it your understanding that there will be a

wider group of trucks? Because my sense was I'm still trying to stand this up, that it was UN vehicles only carrying UN aid for UN organized

organizations because Israel has said that none of this aid must get into Hamas' hands?

ABDELAZIM: Well, we I'm not sure what will take place on the Rafah Crossing, but for us, it is not about Hamas, we are sending aid to

Palestinian people. Egyptians are unanimous in their support for Palestinians. So this is being sent to Palestinians who are suffering from

the situation right there in Gaza.

It's not about Hamas, by any means. It's about Palestinian people, and all Egyptians are in solidarity with the Palestinian people. So whether it is

UN trucks or --

ANDERSON: I --

ABDELAZIM: This, we are doing our job here. We are doing our job to help Palestinians.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. And that is the population who is in danger and insufficient aid, as I say, will cause more deaths. The reason I brought

that up is that Israel has been absolutely emphatic that the supplies that get through can't get into Hamas' hanged. Should they get any evidence of

that, of course, you know, one assumes that they will stop this operation happening.

So what do you understand to be happening on the other side of the border to ensure that this aid gets to the people who need it most?

ABDELAZIM: It is -- it is our job to provide the supplies to provide the food aid, the humanitarian aid, the medical supplies, and it is -- I hope

you -- maybe some UN coordination is needed to make sure that our concern is that the continuous delivery of the supplies.

So if the UN intervention is needed to guarantee the continuous delivery of the supplies, we are all for it, this is our job is to provide humanitarian

assistance. We are not there for a war or to be part of the war. We are there for the humanitarian assistance to help Palestinians who are really,

really suffering.

ANDERSON: Understood, Sherif Abdelazim, as we understand it, there have been as few as a hundred trucks a day, as many as 500 trucks a day going

through this border. That is what you are calling for. Is it an increased opportunity to get more trucks through than these initial numbers that

we've been talking about?

ABDELAZIM: Yes, yes and to keep the crossing open, because it has been closed and the constant shelling is making it impossible to go through.

So there is -- should be agreement to keep the crossing open and to stop the shelling and to keep the trucks flowing into Gaza, this is our hope.

We pray that this will take place. We have been waiting for a week and nothing of this has materialized yet.

ANDERSON: Well, the promise is there, Egyptian authorities have said, have confirmed that that border crossing will indeed be open. A deal

brokered by the president -- US President Joe Biden, a job done he said certainly getting an agreement to get this crossing open has been

important.

[15:10:08]

You have to wonder what other objectives he had on what was a very short trip to Israel, but certainly as in his words, job done in brokering this

deal. And we hope, of course as you do, that this border will be open tomorrow.

Sherif Abdelazim, chair of the Resala Charity Organization, thank you for joining us.

Well, President Biden is set to make a direct appeal to Americans tonight about US support for both Israel and Ukraine. Mr. Biden will deliver the

primetime address from the Oval Office. Administration officials say he plans to ask Congress for $100 billion foreign aid package on Friday.

Meanwhile, here in Israel, the Defense minister telling troops near the border, they will soon be inside the enclave. He also said the battle will

be long and hard.

Jeremy Diamond joining me from Ashkelon in Israel and Jeremy, as we await the US president's primetime address tonight and a very important moment

for the US president and the American people. So we might describe what's going on here as the drumbeat of the next phase of this war. Your

assessment.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no doubt about it. Two very different moments, and yet very much linked happening here in Israel and

over in Washington. Over here, what we're hearing is increasingly bellicose rhetoric from key officials, the Defense minister, the prime minister, as

well as one of the top generals in the Israeli military. The clearest indication -- getting very clear indications from all three of them, that

the next phase of this war is indeed going to involve a significant ground operation inside of Gaza, with the Israeli Defense minister saying

effectively that the command is going to come for you to go into Gaza, as he spoke directly to IDF troops.

Meanwhile, in Washington, President Biden is going to effectively continue to make his case and the American people for why the United States should

continue to support Israel as it prepares for that ground invasion. But what the President is also going to be doing tonight is really trying to

create, but also show the connective tissue between US support for Israel and its war against Hamas, as well as Ukraine in its war against Russia,

and kind of trying to make an overarching thematic case for America's role in the world as President Biden sees it, and trying to tell Americans why

these wars, why these conflicts should matter to them.

And what that really means is why they should continue to send taxpayer dollars this way, and that is because President Biden is about to request

over $100 billion from Congress for Ukraine aid for Israel's security assistance, as well as for several other matters, such as funding for the

border in order to get political support from Republicans.

But effectively, the president is going to be making the case to the American people directly so that Congress votes up that package and sends

it to his desk, and so that much needed security assistance gets to both Ukraine, as well as Israel.

ANDERSON: That speech, as we say, coming about five hours from now. Meantime here, and certainly a kind of heightened sense of anticipation

about what happens next in this conflict between Israel and Hamas and real fear on the part of those who are caught up in this conflict in Gaza, in

the north, those who haven't fled south.

Fleeing south of course, people are caught in a situation. There is a half a million people at least in UN shelters at this point, caught up with

very, very few supplies with regard food, water, electricity, fuel -- a very, very, very difficult situation in Gaza as we speak.

Jeremy Diamond with you tonight.

Coming up, planning for terror, an exclusive CNN investigation uncovers what appears to be a detailed blueprint for the attack by Hamas October the

7th, twelve days ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:10]

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.

One of Donald Trump's former lawyers may be called to testify against him in Georgia. Sidney Powell now admits to helping breach voting systems in

rural Coffee County. She is pleading guilty to election interference one day before the start of her trial.

As part of the plea agreement, she will be required to testify in the state's racketeering case. Powell is the second to enter a guilty plea. The

former president was charged along with 18 co-defendants.

Elie Honig is in New York for us and has more.

Now, Elie, good to see you.

The former president not mentioned in the plea documents, neither in the hearing today, but I think the inference and the implications here are

clear, there must be quite high-fiving going on with the prosecution at this moment.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I think that's probably accurate, Julia. This is bad news for Donald Trump.

First of all, you wouldn't ordinarily list out the names of the people against whom you expect someone like Sidney Powell to testify. So I don't

think Donald Trump can take any solace in the absence of his name.

The way this works now is prosecutors have decided that they believe Sidney Powell's story, that she is ready to accept accountability for her actions

and not just actions, criminal actions, and that they intend to use her testimony.

She is an insider, she was with Donald Trump. She was loyally, fiercely by his side throughout the key moments leading up to January 6, and she's

going to give the prosecution a real insider's perspective here.

CHATTERLEY: Six years' probation, an apology letter to the people of Georgia and pay $9,000.00 in restitution. Is she getting off lightly with

this? Or is this a measure of her worth to our point?

HONIG: It's both. So this is the way cooperation deals work. Oftentimes, people get substantial reductions in their sentence, way more of a

reduction than if they just pled guilty without cooperating. That's why someone cooperates.

So yes, Sidney Powell was looking at potential prison time, now she will avoid that. The apology letter is very unusual. I've never heard of that.

It's not really necessary. You make amends by coming clean and testifying. So perhaps that's a little touch by the DA there, it doesn't really matter

much. But yes, she is getting a very good deal and that's the way cooperation works.

And by the way, the defense will cross examine her on that, they'll say, you're getting a sweetheart deal. You're just making things up in order to

help the prosecutors. That's the back and forth that happens at trial.

CHATTERLEY: Do you expect to see more of this, Elie, as is stands?

HONIG: I do. I do Yes, there tends to be a domino effect here. And if you remember that, there was an earlier defendant this case, a guy named Scott

Hall, who was tied to Sidney Powell, he flipped. Now, Sidney Powell has flipped and often one cooperator leads to another. So there's a domino

effect, and I do expect to see more of this.

CHATTERLEY: And this is not the worst either for Sidney Powell. She is facing what? Defamation lawsuits against the two voting technology

companies among other cases. I mean, this is not the only consequence she is facing at this moment.

[15:20:00]

HONIG: Correct. She has some serious legal problems. She is facing, as you said, civil suits for defamation. She has had her law license suspended

in the jurisdictions where she used to practice.

She was once a former federal prosecutor and now, her law licenses have been pulled because of the many lies that she told not just to the American

public, but also to various courts when she filed lawsuits on behalf of Donald Trump.

So she is not in the clear, but this is a step for her towards making amends and getting herself back on track.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, with consequences. Elie Honig, great to have you. Thank you.

HONIG: Thanks, Julia. All right.

CHATTERLEY: Now 12 days after the Hamas attack in Israel, CNN investigations have uncovered what appears to be chilling new details about

how the militant group prepared as CNN's Matthew Chance reports, and a warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): CNN has gathered chilling, new insights and details on the Hamas assault inside

Israel, including disturbing video taken by the attackers themselves as they rampaged through Israeli homes, killing on site, and then being

killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

CHANCE (voice over): Searches of their dead bodies revealing a trove of highly specific Hamas battle plans, including these detailed maps, now

shared with CNN by the Israeli government, showing communities near Gaza, like Kfar Aza, targeted by the attackers.

These were the terrifying scenes inside as Hamas gunmen recorded themselves moving freely through the gardens of Israeli homes.

"Code red. Code red," the Israeli loud speaker blares in Hebrew, punctuating the sporadic gunfire. After the attack, Israeli first

responders saw bullet holes and bloodstains in room after room in what looks like a coldly, methodical killing spree.

CHANCE (on camera): But while hundreds of Israelis were killed, some Israeli communities managed to repel the Hamas gunman and save lives.

At kibbutz Mefalsim, also near Gaza, residents pushed back at Hamas attack and found documents on the bodies of the militants they killed with

disturbing, highly accurate intelligence on their homes.

CHANCE (voice over): Including precise numbers of armed guards there, regional defense force, at least 20 residents, one document reads, and 10

soldiers.

YARDEN RESKIN, KIBBUTZ MEFALSIM RESIDENT: They knew basically the size of our security team. They knew about the other three or four entrances to the

kibbutz.

CHANCE (on camera): It sounds like they knew everything.

RESKIN: They knew everything. Where the generators are. They knew where the armory is. They knew about rural roads around the kibbutz.

CHANCE (voice over): Security footage shows how Hamas gunmen killed an Israeli outside the kibbutz gates before being repelled. Even with detailed

intelligence on their targets, not every Hamas objective was achieved.

Nearby kibbutz Sa'ad wasn't even attacked, although we now have documentary evidence that Hamas intended to inflict the maximum possible human

casualties there, and to hold hostages.

A highly detailed street map found on another Hamas gunman, and obtained by CNN, shows individual buildings inside identified and accessed for their

military value.

The communal kitchen, for example, is described as the main place suitable for holding hostages. Inside the guard room, the soldiers must be

neutralized, the Hamas instructions say. While the kibbutz dental clinic is designated a place for first aid for both enemies and friends.

Israeli residents of Sa'ad say they also found that level of detail astounding.

SARAH POLLACK, KIBBUTZ SA'AD RESIDENT: Shockingly, the details are very accurate. The map is a map of our kibbutz. It's very accurate. It's

horribly accurate.

CHANCE (on camera): If they'd have come to your settlement, they would have known exactly where to go, exactly where to cause the most damage.

POLLACK: Yes. And we now see that their -- their goal was to take hostage, including children.

CHANCE (voice over): Israeli officials say they found other documents, too that advised attackers to kill anyone posing a threat or causing a

distraction, to keep captives away from arms or means of suicide, and to use them as cannon fodder.

It is a dark turn. Even for a group seen here parading before the attacks that's come to symbolize the uncompromising face of Palestinian resistance

and violence against Israel.

[15:25:10]

Israeli officials say a document referencing ISIS and al-Qaeda, which CNN has not been able to authenticate, was found on one Hamas gunman killed

during this attack on kibbutz Be'eri. The document, given to CNN by a senior Israeli government official, praises jihad against Jews and

crusaders. Israeli officials say that's evidence Hamas is in increasingly influenced by global jihad ideology, an assessment many experts have

dismissed.

But in the wake of the unprecedented brutality of these attacks, US officials tell CNN the Hamas threat may now be reassessed.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHATTERLEY: Coming up, growing concerns that the war in Israel could create further divisions between the Arab world and the West.

We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: To our top story, the war in Israel, and a message from the country's Defense minister telling troops they will soon see Gaza "from the

inside."

Yoav Gallant visited forces gathered not far from the Gaza Strip. He told them to be prepared and said, the command will come. The Israeli airstrikes

of course have now hammered Gaza for 13 days. This drone footage showing flattened buildings and smoking debris.

Well, the war against Hamas has led to a shift in relations in the Arab world. Regional leaders have united in blaming the IDF for Tuesday's

hospital blast in Gaza, that is despite Israel saying it has evidence it was caused by an errant Jihadis rocket and has also opened up new dialogue

between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iran's President Raisi have been speaking on the phone and the two countries' Foreign ministers met on

Wednesday to discuss the situation in Gaza.

[15:30:22]

Let me get you to Jordan, Amman in Jordan work Nada Bashir is standing by. And as I understand it, once again, there are crowds of protesters on the

streets close to the Israeli embassy now. Tell us what you were seeing and hearing at this point.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: You're absolutely right, Becky, for yet another night. Hundreds of people here in Amman have gathered here in Arabia area

near the Israeli embassy protesting in solidarity with the Palestinian people, protesting against Israel's continued aerial bombardment of the

Gaza Strip. And we've just moved behind the police line just to speak to you now.

But just behind this police zone is an enormous crowd, hundreds and hundreds of people waving Palestinian flags, chanting pro-Palestinian

slogans. This is a cause an issue that is deeply personal for many here in Jordan.

But as you mentioned, it's not just in Jordan, it is across the Middle East. And of course, as these airstrikes continue, and as concerns mount

over the rise in civilian deaths or in Gaza, these protests are only growing and intensifying. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): The people demand freedom for Palestine. It's a decade's old rallying cry, but one that still resonates across the Arab

world. Protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people have ramped up across the Middle East, a growing movement denouncing Israel's continued

aerial bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, which began in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7th.

But here in Jordan, the plight of the Palestinian people is an issue which lies at the very heart of the country's identity. More than 50 percent of

the country's population is Palestinian, or of Palestinian descent. The neighborhood of Baqaa just outside of Amman is one of several historic

refugee camps established a house Palestinians displaced by the 1967 Arab- Israeli war.

Khalil Raith (ph) has lived here for most of his life, and has spent years painting murals depicting the Palestinian experience. Each wall tells the

story of the injustice Palestinians here say they are faced for more than 75 years.

(on camera): This is the symbol of the right to return?

KHALIL RAITH (ph), PALESTINIAN: Yes, yes. And I still I have it. But I keep it in my home.

BASHIR (voice-over): Outraged over Israel's relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than 2 million people is felt by so many

here in Jordan. Mohamed Qasem has been attending protests in Amman from the outset of this war. It is a movement that has drawn people from across the

country, old and young.

MOHAMED QASEM: We know the narrative, because we survived it. We lived it. And, you know, our grandparents lived it, our parents lived it. We live it.

We thought we were going to tell stories, so kids, but now they're witnessing it as well. It's been 75 years. And right now it's happening all

over again.

BASHIR (voice-over): Protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people have gripped countries across the region including Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt,

Tunisia, and Libya. Arab leaders to have been vocal in their condemnation of Israel's air strikes on Gaza and the rapidly rising civilian death toll.

But there is also mounting concern that this war could create a deeper rift between the Arab world and the West.

AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The growing perception on the street as they see this unequivocal ironclad support for Israel in this

war. It is a growing perception that this is a Western Arab Muslim world. That's a place we don't want to get to.

BASHIR (voice-over): But it's not just the Arab world. The outrage and frustration felt in the Middle East is also mirrored in protests taking

place further afield from London to Washington, D.C., as millions across the globe, just like Mohamed and his family, demand an end to Israel's

airstrikes, an end to the siege of Gaza and an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR: And look, Becky, as you all know, this is not just being expressed on the popular front around the Middle East but we are seeing these

expressions of condemnation by Arab leaders including here in Jordan, King Abdullah meeting with President El-Sisi today both calling for an end to

the violence condemning what they've described as the collective punishment by Israel and the Palestinian people inside Gaza.

[15:35:19]

ANDERSON: I'm describing both of them as a red line, the idea is that those fleeing this conflict in Gaza would be accommodated, either in Egypt or in

Jordan, both of those countries saying enough is enough. This forced displacement of people is in King Abdullah's words, a war crime. Thank you

for that.

And as you discuss and bringing those pictures of what is going on in Jordan, let me just bring our viewers up to date on what is going on in

Egypt. King Abdullah, of course, has been there today meeting President Sisi. And in Egypt, there are calls for nationwide protests in support of

Palestinians on Friday.

Now, this, of course, will be the first government approved mass protests in Egypt since Sisi assumed power, strict anti-protest laws and security.

Crackdowns on dissent have prevented protests in the streets. But now, these being called by state align political parties and institutions

calling for protests in Egypt on Friday in support of Palestinians and have to report President Sisi's position not to allow the displacement of the

population of Gaza in Egypt.

There are a lot going on here, several western countries telling their citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon, or to leave that country

altogether. The U.S., U.K., Germany and France have all issued warnings, Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon have been exchanging fire with Israeli

troops across the border.

Lebanon, of course sits to the north of Israel. The Western governments also worried about protests throughout the region, demonstrators at the

U.S. Embassy in Beirut had to be forced back on Wednesday by Lebanese security forces. Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. Ben, what's the mood there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, people are watching very closely what is happening. We saw those protests against the

war in Gaza. And of course, tomorrow is Friday. So there's a very good possibility there will be more protests. But beyond that, there is the

growing concern that Lebanon will somehow be drawn into this war. That is why all of those countries you mentioned are advising against traveled to

Lebanon or advising their nationals in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible, particularly saying get flights now while you can.

Keep it in mind, of course, Becky, as you will remember that in the 2006 war at the very beginning, Israel struck Beirut's airport, it was out of

operation until after the war was over. And of course, we're seeing today yet again, more strikes and counter strikes on the border between Lebanon

and Israel. It's been yet another day where Hezbollah is making very, very targeted strikes, focusing on surveillance, communications and observation

equipment on the Israeli side. And the Israelis are responding to these attacks.

But it's still at a level as the Israelis are saying below the level of escalation, the threshold of escalation, but there's always the risk that

somehow there will be an unanticipated mistake. And all of that could change very dramatically very quickly, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. And you will know that better than most. Ben, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

[15:39:01]

Coming up, the British prime minister says the world needs to prevent a dangerous escalation as he meets with Israeli and Saudi leaders. More on

that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: The British prime minister saying, he's in region in the Middle East, saying that the world needs to ensure regional stability as he met

with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince earlier. Rishi Sunak said they need to work together to prevent a dangerous escalation. Earlier the Prime Minister

was here in Israel, where he said he absolutely supports Israel's right to defend itself in line with international law. Scott McLean has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prime Minister Rishi Sunak touches down in Israel, a public display of support for the

country at war.

RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm proud to stand here with you in Israel's darkest hours as your friend. We will stand with you in

solidarity. We will stand with your people. And we also want you to win.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Sunak also pushed Israel to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, and says Palestinians are also victims of

Hamas. He supports Israeli efforts to go after the terror group.

SUNAK: We absolutely support Israel's right to defend itself in line with international law.

MCLEAN (voice-over): But international law is precisely what some say Israel is breaking. That's why a Palestinian rights group and a British

legal organization have called on the U.K. to cut off arm sales to Israel. In a letter to the British trade secretary, they argue that Israel's

actions have starkly demonstrated its flagrant disregard for international law, in clear violation of the prohibition on collective punishment, and

the prohibition on starvation as a method of warfare.

The U.K. is the second largest defense exporter in the world. Britain also makes 15 percent of the F-35 fighter jet that Israel is using to fight

Hamas. But in the last decade, only a modest $627 million worth of arms export licenses were approved for Israel, U.K. is biggest defense recipient

by far is Saudi Arabia. In 2020, the campaign against arms trade lost a court case challenging the government's approval of British arms exports to

the kingdom with a long history of human rights abuses.

That same campaign group now also backs cutting Israel off from British weapons.

EMILY APPLE, SPOKESPERSON, CAMPAIGN AGAINST ARMS TRADE: It would definitely send a message. It would send a message that a ceasefire is needed. It

would send a message that the U.K. will not be complicit in war crimes, that the U.K. will not sit by while civilians are targeted.

MCLEAN (on camera): Don't you think that Israel would be left vulnerable if it didn't have access to weapons?

APPLE: Weapons don't make us safer, and Israel needs to take into account civilian life in any actions that it takes. And Israel is clearly not doing

this at the moment.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The British Department of Trade told CNN that there are no immediate plans to stop arms export licenses to Israel, but that all

export licenses are kept under continual review.

That answer has not been good enough for some activists who rammed a van through a gate at a drone factory in Leicester. Factories Israeli Parent

Company, Elbit Systems has publicly denied it supplies Israel with drones used in warfare.

[15:45:06]

During the 2014 War in Gaza, the British government did threaten to suspend some military exports to Israel, though at the moment there is no

indication that Prime Minister Sunak plans to do the same.

Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, tensions are high on U.S., college campuses with students, faculty members and donors at odds over the war in Israel. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST: U.S. officials telling CNN, a Navy warship intercepted multiple missiles near the coast of Yemen. One official says

they were fired by Houthi rebels. They've been engaged in ongoing conflict in Yemen. The Pentagon addressed the incident just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Information about these engagements is still being processed. We cannot say for certain what these

missiles and drones were targeting. But they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea, potentially towards targets in Israel. Our

defensive response was one that we would have taken for any similar threat in the region where we're able to do so against our interest personnel and

our partners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHATTERLEY: Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon for us. Oren, the decision to intercept is one thing, the direction upon which these missiles were

headed perhaps the key.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Julia, you're absolutely right. The Pentagon and the Biden administration here have been watching

very closely and trying to make sure this conflict in Gaza doesn't spread to a wider regional conflict. But the chance of that happening seems to be

escalating, given what we're seeing not only in Yemen and we'll get to that in just a second here but also what we're seeing in Iraq.

So first off the coast of Yemen, the USS Kearney, a destroyer, intercepted three cruise missiles as well as several drones that were headed north

along the Red Sea there as you just heard from Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson. Although it's not definitive, the Pentagon says

it looks like those were headed for Israel, which would be in and of itself a fairly shocking attack all the way from Yemen from Houthi rebels,

according to the Pentagon, aimed at Israel and attempt perhaps to try to widen the conflict, or for the Houthis, which are an Iranian proxy to try

to make their own statement as Iran essentially backs Hamas in this conflict.

The Pentagon and the U.S. have been watching this very closely and trying to warn others as a way from getting involved. The U.S. has sent some heavy

warships to the region to try to make sure that others don't think of getting involved. But at least from what we're seeing here, according to

the Pentagon, the Houthis trying to put their stamp on this with the cruise missile launch and drone launch.

[15:50:16]

But that's not the only thing here. We have now seen several attacks in Iraq over the course of the past 48, 72 hours on U.S. and coalition forces

there, on two separate facilities. Now, these are quite rare and especially have become more and more uncommon, ever since the U.S. role in Iraq

shifted away from a combat mission, and to advise and assist.

But this speaks to the tension in the region, and the threat that U.S. forces are facing given the protests we've seen against Israel and the U.S.

and essentially the overall tension and the risk of this conflict escalating beyond that. In light of these attacks, we've seen Defense

Secretary Lloyd Austin speak to a number of his counterparts in the region, including Israel.

He also spoke to leaders from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to try to make sure that Israel has the right to defend itself and the U.S. will do

what it can to avoid civilian casualties. But you see here, the tension amongst all these American regional partners, essentially, and how

difficult it is for the U.S. to try to keep this from being -- becoming even more volatile. Julia?

CHATTERLEY: Yes, the U.S. laser focused on trying to mitigate the risk of spillovers here, even to the point of intercepting missiles. Oren, good to

have you. Thank you. Oren Lieberman there.

Now here in the United States, the war in Israel triggering tense debates on college campuses, an exchange of ideas, of course, nothing new to a

university, nor a protests. But this conflict, however, has inflamed passions to the point where students and instructors are being disciplined

and donors are threatening to withhold their support.

Matt Egan is covering this story for us now from New York. Matt, just for an international audience, we should be clear that this is impacting some

of the top universities in the country, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, which many people will, of course, recognize. And it comes down to

concerns about anti-Semitism, the response from it, and some big donors around the country, not all Jewish to be clear, are threatening to withhold

money.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Julia, I mean, tensions are definitely running high at some of these college campuses across the

country. And again, as you mentioned, these are some Ivy League institutions. You know, there's often a debate over free speech at

universities. But that debate has been turbocharged by a war that is very much still ongoing, and it's playing out in front of all of us on our

television screens and our social media feeds.

And so we have seen situation where there's been these student protests where some faculty have been punished university presidents, they're on the

hot seat. And yes, some powerful donors are hitting schools where it hurts the most, their endowments. Now, the epicenter of this battle is at the

University of Pennsylvania.

And what's interesting is that the spark actually predates the attack by Hamas on Israel. The big controversy is over a Palestinian Literature

Festival that took place on campus last month, and notably, university leaders, they were aware that some speakers at this event had a history of

making anti-Semitic remarks. They went ahead anyway, hosted the event.

And now we've seen some powerful donors either pulled back or threatened to pull back. In just the last few days, we've seen a billionaire Marc Rowan,

the private equity executive. He has a cut off funding. So as former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, a hedge fund billionaire Cliff Asness, another

billionaire, Ronald Lauder, he has threatened to do the same thing. Louder is the president of the World Jewish Congress.

And he put out a statement where he said, quote, I have spent the past 40 years of my life fighting anti-Semitism around the world, and I never in my

wildest imagination thought I would have to fight it at my University, my alma mater, and my family's alma mater. And a former Penn trustee quit in

protest. He told me that he thinks that the University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, needs to step down. He warned that donors are going

to continue to pull their funding.

Now for their part, the University of Pennsylvania, they have put out statements. They said that the university quote did not and emphatically

does not endorse those speakers or their views. And the university has said that they're horrified by and condemn Hamas's attack on Israel.

Julia, this debate over free speech and the need to call out hate is going to just continue as this war continues to play out.

CHATTERLEY: You said something really important though, in the first couple of sentences, Matt, and you talked about the prospect of free speech and we

are at this intersection of free speech as we often talk about in the United States, morals, I think and morality and the most powerful of all,

perhaps money.

Where do you see this ending? Do we end up seeing change of leadership at some of these universities to your point for the past handling of incidents

not only now what we've seen what in the last 10 days, where does this end? Because some of these people have asked for the names of individuals

involved, and that could have prospects for the coming years for their employment prospects going forward, not to mention other aspects of their

lives.

[15:55:22]

EGAN: Yes, absolutely, Julia. Listen, it is clear that some of these university presidents particularly at the University of Pennsylvania, they

are definitely under fire. And it, you know, it's hard to see how universities can have a university presidents can survive a situation where

they're losing support from very powerful donors. I mean, that is a problem for sure.

But Julia, you also raise an interesting point over how much say some of these very wealthy donors should have over what happens at these schools.

And at Harvard, we've seen a similar situation play out where after the attacks on Israel, there was this anti-Israel student letter that was put

out. And that letter blamed Israel solely for the attacks by Hamas.

And understandably, that created a backlash amongst some wealthy donors who were outraged not just by the letter, but by the university's response to

the letter. So we had billionaire Bill Ackman come out and calling for naming and shaming some of these students, even though some of them had

distanced themselves from this letter.

And as you mentioned, that creates real safety issues as well. So Julia, no easy answers here. This debate will continue to rage on college campuses

across the country.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, and beyond. Matt Egan, thank you for that report. We'll be right back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. President Biden set to speak tonight to Americans about U.S. support for Israel. Ahead of that British Prime Minister Rishi

Sunak offered his support to Benjamin Netanyahu today in Jerusalem. He said Israel's war with Hamas must not escalate into a regional conflict. And he

voiced concern for Palestinian civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNAK: We also recognize that the Palestinian people are victims of Hamas too. And that is why I welcome your decision yesterday that you took to

ensure that routes into Gaza will be opened for humanitarian aid to enter. I'm glad that you made that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well amid the international push to get aid into Gaza Egypt says it's working to repair roads at the Rafah crossing. However, aid isn't

expected to enter Gaza before Friday. Mr. Biden said the first aid shipment will include just 20 trucks, stockpiles have been building up for days on

the Egyptian side of the border. Well, that's it for this hour as you hear the sirens wailing once again, in Tel Aviv. I'm Becky Anderson.

[16:00:25]

CHATTERLEY: And I'm Julia Chatterley in New York. CNN special coverage of Israel's war on Hamas continues next hour. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER"

starts right now.

END