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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire In Lebanon Due To Begin Within Hours; Top Harris Adviser Blames Loss On Strong "Tailwind" For Trump; Top Dem Donor: Harris Losing Despite Massive Campaign War Chest "Disqualifies Her Forever;" Trump Traffics Could Increase Prices of Gas, Produce, Cars And More; Inside One Of Northern Gaza's Last Remaining Hospitals; Rudy Giuliani Back In Federal Court Over Defamation Case. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 26, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: In the universe that we live in here at CNN. Join me and John Berman Thursday morning, 8:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN and also streaming on Max. Thanks so much for joining me on The Lead today. You can follow the show on X at The Lead CNN. And if you ever miss an episode, you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcast.

Stay tuned. The news continues on CNN with Alex Marquardt up next, who's in for Wolf Blitzer in the "Situation room."

[17:00:32]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Happening now, breaking news, after an 11th hour round of attacks, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is expected to take effect in Lebanon within just hours. President Joe Biden touting the U.S. backed deal and promising a new push for a pause in the fighting in Gaza as well.

Also this hour, fears of a global trade war are rising as President- elect Donald Trump vows to slap big tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he's back in the White House. What his plan could mean for the U.S. Economy and for the prices that you pay.

Plus, a top Harris campaign adviser speaks out about the Democrats election loss, blaming a strong tailwind for Trump. We're breaking down the party's efforts to come to grips with its loss of power and what happens next.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Alex Marquardt and you're in the Situation Room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

MARQUARDT: We do begin with breaking news in the Middle East. All eyes are on Lebanon where the newly agreed to ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is due to take place very soon. CNN's Arlette Saenz is following the reaction from President Joe Biden. But first, CNN's Nic Robertson in the region with a report on the ceasefire deal and how it may now playout. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLAMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): In the hours before agreeing to a ceasefire, Israeli warplanes pounding the Lebanese capital, even areas in the heart of Beirut previously off limits. And Hezbollah too, down to the very last minute, launching rocket salvos into Israel, announcing the ceasefire, Israel's prime minister claiming victory.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We destroyed Nasrallah, the rest of the senior personnel, its missiles and rockets, thousands of terrorists and destroyed the underground infrastructure of terror that's been built there for years.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And vowing to strike if Hezbollah breaks the agreement.

NETANYAHU (through translator): If Hezbollah will rearm itself, we will attack. If he'll fire missiles, if it puts tracks with missiles, we will attack.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): A 60-day ceasefire expected to begin almost immediately. Hezbollah fighters to pull back 30 miles north of the Israeli border with IDF troops returning inside Israel and the Lebanese army and the U.N. move in to fill the vacuum. Few other details available. Netanyahu saying time to shift focus and resupply.

NETANYAHU (through translator): So why doing ceasefire now? There are three main reasons. First, focusing on the Iranian threat. Two, refreshing the military forces and our equipment. And I'm telling you as it's not a secret, there's been delays in bringing more weapons and arms.

And this delay will finish soon. We will have advanced weaponry that will give us more power to finish our goals. And the third reason for ceasefire, detaching the front of the war from Hamas.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): More than 3,000 Lebanese civilians killed, more than 13,000 injured, 47 Israeli civilians and 31 Israeli security forces killed inside Israel and 46 Israeli troops killed in Lebanon. For now, a low grade war begun by Hezbollah backing Hamas' brutal October 7th attack last year that two months ago triggered Israel's full throttle response, decimating the Iranian proxy, killing its charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah and many others is over. Bittersweet for the Israeli families who will soon be able to return to their homes near the border. Many fear Hezbollah will be back.

[17:05:23]

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: And Nic Robertson joins us now live from Jerusalem. So, Nic, how likely is this ceasefire to hold? What needs to happen in the next few hours?

ROBERTSON: In the next few hours both sides could fire at each other. I think there's a concern here that in the remaining hours, Hezbollah may fire rockets, retaliation for what happened in Beirut today. But after that, the expectation is that it will go quiet.

I think it's over the long term. You heard the prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu, there say that even if Hezbollah tries to reconstitute itself, never mind fire missiles, they will be fired at. I think the perception is in Israel that this is a political game changer in Lebanon and that Hezbollah just won't be able to get that strong again. History has shown us that's not the case. I think over the longer run, the concerns of some of Netanyahu's cabinet members, the concerns of some of the people that live along the northern border, those fears that Hezbollah will become a threatening force again from where we stand today, those fears appear real over the longer term.

And I think therefore, while it gives Israel an opportunity to focus on Gaza and focus on other issues, the longer run, I really feel this has not changed the playing field, the military playing field, the political regional playing field that much in the Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah relationship.

MARQUARDT: Yes, Hezbollah may be down, but not out. Nic, stay with us. I want to bring in CNN White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz.

Arlette, we did hear President Joe Biden speaking about this ceasefire deal which was brokered by the United States. He then headed off to Nantucket, where you are, for the Thanksgiving break. What was his message about the ceasefire?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, President Biden hailed this ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, hoping that it will bring calm to at least one front of this conflict in the Middle East. President Biden said that he spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon who he said accepted the terms of this agreement as he is hoping that this could potentially end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah going forward. The Biden administration had worked on this deal for months. There had been fits and starts in these negotiations. Amos Hochstein, a senior White House adviser, really leading the White House charge on this front that ultimately culminated in that deal which is set to go in effect in just under four hours.

But here is how President Biden described his vision for this agreement when he spoke in the Rose Garden earlier this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's be clear, Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not seek that war either, nor did the United States. But lasting security for the people of Israel and Lebanon cannot be achieved only on the battlefield. And that's why I directed my team to work with the governments of Israel and Lebanon to forge a ceasefire to bring a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to a close.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAENZ: Now, the President said that the U.S. and other allies like Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel would also be making a push in the coming days to try to secure some type of ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. A senior administration official tonight said that they believe that this deal in Lebanon could be a game changer for those talks relating to the Gaza conflict, which have really stalled out in recent weeks. They are hoping that this could potentially push Hamas back to the negotiating table, as President Biden has really laid out, that he still has this in his eye, still is placing a priority on trying to get those hostages out, get more humanitarian aid in and end the conflict in Gaza before he leaves office.

MARQUARDT: And Arlette, we did learn that the Biden White House kept Trump's transition team briefed on these ceasefire negotiations. What more do we know?

SAENZ: Yes, the Trump team was not directly involved with any of these negotiations, but senior administration officials said that they did keep the Trump team fully informed and briefed as this deal was playing out. We also know that when President Biden met with President-elect Trump in the Oval Office about two weeks ago, that they talked about this conflict in the Middle East, specifically talking about needing to get those hostages back home. I remember speaking to some of the hostage families outside of the White House after they met with President Biden and they said that they had encouraged the White House to work hand in hand with Trump to try to get a deal in Gaza. Tonight, a senior administration official said that any work that they are doing in the next 55 days, they will be doing hand in hand, making sure that the Trump team is aware, as both sides are quite eager to put a conflict not just to this fighting in Lebanon but also to the conflict in Gaza.

[17:10:12]

MARQUARDT: Arlette Saenz is traveling with the President, Nic Robertson in Jerusalem, thank you both very much.

Joining me now is Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for being with us on this very, very important day. I want to talk first about how President Biden described what happened today. He projected a vision for this permanent ceasefire. Of course, he's hoping it will be permanent. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is saying that the duration of this truce between Israel and Hezbollah depends on what happens in Lebanon.

That essentially leaves open the door to more Israeli military action. How confident are you that this ceasefire can hold?

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: Well, I'm actually very hopeful that it'll go well beyond the 60 days and I commend the Biden administration for being at this. This has been -- I've talked to some of our intelligence community leaders even since the ceasefire has been announced. This has been a long road to ho. I might, you know, candidly, a little bit disagree with some of the earlier commentators.

I think it was important to get to the ceasefire for a couple reason. One, Israel has been very effective at taking out a lot of the capacity of Hezbollah. And yes, they have the ability to come back. But if they had continued the challenge, not only was it devastating for Lebanese citizens, but --

MARQUARDT: Right.

WARNER: -- Lebanon is a very complicated country with Sunnis, Shiites, Maronite Christians, the Druze, and a lot of folks who normally do not -- inside Lebanon who do not like Hezbollah, if Israel had stayed in, they would have sided more with Hezbollah. I think Hezbollah is on their back foot for some time and their path back to power or path back to military is going to be harder than people think. And that's good news for the Lebanese people who want peace. It's also obviously good news for Israelis who want to return home in the north.

I also think this now undermines even further Hamas. Israel has taken out the Hamas leadership. We need to end the conflict in Gaza as well, not only for the, obviously the enormous number of Palestinian casualties, but also the fact that those families can get returned. There is a moment that the hostage could be returned. There is a moment here and I hope the Netanyahu government takes advantage of it to also move towards a level of ceasefire in Gaza in return of those hostages.

MARQUARDT: That does seem to be the consensus that Hezbollah will be able to regroup, that they have not been completely taken out. How quickly do you think they could reequip? Do you think they could begin -- they would again be as formidable a force as they have been? And how much do you think that's a priority of Iran, their major backer?

WARNER: I think I actually -- you know, can they reequip? Yes, I think it will take them an extended period of time.

Remember, Hezbollah had been collecting weapons from Iran and others for decades. I think as information gets out, the Israelis were more effective than I think even we assume in terms of taking out a lot of the Hezbollah arsenal. I also think leading up to this, the Lebanese people were frankly getting pretty darn tired of Hezbollah putting them in harm's way. And this is why I'm glad we've got a ceasefire. Because the longer the Israelis stayed in, the longer they could actually unify the Lebanese people against Israel.

And I think the ability for Iran to get arms on a kind of business as usual basis in light of the conflict both in Lebanon and in Gaza over the last year plus actually has been diminished. Will they -- could they come back? Yes. Will they come back at near the same military strength in the near term? I do not think that is the expectation.

And I also think there may be some breathing room now for the other parts of the Lebanese society who are quite frankly getting sick of Hezbollah --

MARQUARDT: Right. WARNER: -- having so much dominance in their country to reemerge, hopefully.

MARQUARDT: But Lebanese society at the same time has paid a huge price. I agree with you, Israel certainly has been effective their degradation of Hezbollah. But just today we saw central Beirut getting pounded with 20 strikes in just two minutes. Dozens of villages in the south have been wiped out. Is the amount of death and destruction that we have seen over the past few months in Lebanon acceptable to you for what Israel has now accomplished?

WARNER: I think we need to remember who started this conflict. It was Hezbollah rockets at a rate that was well beyond what had been the status quo happening -- starting on October 8, the day after the murderous attack of Hamas into Israel on October 7th. Hezbollah started this. And then that overhang. I was in Israel earlier this year, that overhang, and literally hundreds of thousands of --

[17:15:09]

MARQUARDT: But the Lebanese people have paid much of the price.

WARNER: Amen. And that is why I think it is both from a humanitarian standpoint to bring this to a ceasefire. But also in Israel's long term, the longer -- the more you strike and take out Lebanese civilians that were not members of Hezbollah, you create the potential, which is also the problem why we need to get to a resolution in Gaza. You cannot destroy every terrorist if you're continuing to kill innocent civilians. And the potential to actually have a greater support for a terrorist type organization that would go beyond the Shia base in Lebanon to include Sunni, Druze, Christians even potentially was quite great.

So, I think that is diminished. But again, these next 60 days, to maintain that truce, is critically important. And I hope again this will increase the pressure on the remnants of the Hamas leadership. They've taken out Sinwar, the main leader, but the remnants of Hamas leadership to go ahead and move towards a hostage exchange and a ceasefire as well is critically important at this moment.

MARQUARDT: Yes, lots more to come for this ceasefire to get up and running and actually stay effective. Senator Mark Warner, thank you so much for joining us.

WARNER: Thank you, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Coming up, how President-elect Trump's proposal tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could spark a trade war and impact your finances. Plus, a new window into Kamala Harris' campaign and its postmortem on why she lost. You're in the Situation Room.

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[17:20:51]

MARQUARDT: As Democrats take stock of their election loss, Kamala Harris campaign insiders are now speaking out for the first time about what went wrong in the campaign. Listen to David Plouffe, who was a former -- a senior advisor for the Harris campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PLOUFFE, SENIOR ADVISER TO HARRIS/WALS CAMPAIGN: I think when Kamala Harris became the nominee, she was behind. We kind of, you know, climbed back. And even post-debate, you know, we still had ourselves down, you know, in the battleground states, but very close. I think where Kamala Harris campaigned, we were able to keep the tide down a little bit, but it ended up being a pretty strong, you know, tailwind for Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Our political experts are joining me now with more analysis. Bill de Blasio, to you first. David Plouffe there saying that Harris essentially started out behind, meaning because of President Joe Biden. He was her senior adviser. Why don't you think the campaign advised Harris to immediately draw a bigger and large distinction between her and President Biden?

BILL DE BLASIO, (D) FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Yes, I have to just be straightforward. I think that was a mistake. I appreciate Kamala Harris's loyalty to Joe Biden. And I think up through, say, the convention, it was important to celebrate and appreciate his achievements. But after that, it was time to draw some distinction.

It reminded me, unfortunately, of what Hubert Humphrey did with LBJ in 1968, where he just wouldn't separate enough on the Vietnam War to reach a lot of people who would have been his voters. So in the end, you know, that interview on "The View" was particularly damning, unfortunately, where Kamala Harris couldn't name something she would do different than Biden. And the people of this country, sadly, you know, have become disenchanted with Biden no matter how many successes. So, this is going to be, I think, part of the history. The campaign needed to create respectful separation from Biden, needed to show the American people passionately that we would do something different, and that never happened.

MARQUARDT: Yes, that does seem to have been a critical moment. Lauren Tomlinson, do you think there may be perhaps a small acknowledgment in those remarks by David Plouffe that it would have been tough to overcome the momentum that Trump had regardless of how well the Harris campaign had been run?

LAUREN TOMLINSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, I don't think that this was a question necessarily of how well the Trump campaign or how well the Kamala Harris campaign could have run. I think there were two problems here. One, it's really hard to distance yourself from a administration that most people view as failed if you are part of that administration. So she could not go out and distance herself and present this change message effectively, because she wasn't changed. She was a continuation of the existing administration of the past four years. And then two, Donald Trump did have a big advantage against her, especially in the battleground states. He had been out there speaking to the people for a long time, and she was having to introduce herself at the same time that she was trying to run against him. So there was a delay there.

I think the Democratic Party might have figured this out a little bit sooner, though, as part of the failed candidate discussion. If they had actually held a primary, if there had been time for that, if they had gone out and been able to select someone else from the roster of people who also wanted to run and been able to introduce them in a timely manner.

MARQUARDT: We did hear from the vice president today. She thanked her grassroots supporters in a virtual call. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We raised an historic $1.4 billion, almost $1 1/2 billion from grassroots supporters alone, the most in presidential campaign history. Nearly 8 million donors contributed an average donation of about $56 to fuel our people powered campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: But the campaign also burned through $1.5 billion in 15 weeks, which prompted the DNC to push for an internal analysis. One Democratic donor argued that it should end her political future. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MORGAN, DEMOCRATIC DONOR: I think this disqualifies her forever. Forever. If you can't run a campaign, you can't run America. And that would be the argument just day one. So it was terrible.

[17:25:09]

I don't -- look, I think she did a good job in the debate. I think she did as good a job as she could hope for in a short period of time. I told you, I told everybody she should not have been the nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Leigh Ann Caldwell, how much do you think this will shake confidence in donating to the next nominee from the Democratic Party?

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, EARLY 202 CO-AUTHOR, "THE WASHINGTON POST": So, I'm not sure we're in that post election phase where there's going to be a ton of finger pointing from every single Democrat pointing at the other Democrats standing right next to them on what went wrong, why Kamala Harris wasn't good enough, what they could have done better, Joe Biden should have stepped down earlier, there should have been a primary process. There's a whole host of things that you talk to 100 Democrats and you get 100 different answers of what went wrong in this election. This was a really stinging election for Democrats. They could not fathom the fact that the country could elect Donald Trump. And I think that's another reason why this one hurts so badly and why there's so many raw emotions.

And the thing is that there's no unified answer on what to do next. And I think that that is where the Democratic Party is really struggling and figuring out is this just a one-time thing? Was this Joe Biden? Was this Kamala Harris being a bad candidate? But how do they regroup in 2026 and they're start -- you're starting to see lots of conversations on how to push back against Donald Trump or how not to push back against Donald Trump and hoping that there is some political overreach by Republicans that will force voters to swing back in their direction.

But this is a difficult time for Democrats. And at that moment, we're in that moment where it's -- there's not a lot of clarity moving forward.

MARQUARDT: Mayor de Blasio, can you answer that question? How do they regroup both in terms of candidates and strategy for 2026, 2028?

DE BLASIO: Oh, first, I got to tell you, I've talked to Democrats all over the country and I'm very struck by how purposeful they are about regrouping because even though it does sting intensely, we saw the possibility we're going to be defeated this time. We didn't see it coming in 2016. And I think people were more ready for it. We understand a lot about how to confront the excesses of Donald Trump. So one, I think there's a kind of roll up your sleeves, we got work to do reality that a lot of people are feeling, that's a good thing.

But second, let's be honest. We've got to be more honest. Part of what happened here is American people were pissed off that they felt the Democratic Party was covering for Joe Biden. They were already upset with Joe Biden on a substantive level, not always fairly, but they were on things like inflation and people are hurting.

And, you know, look, I'll take my share to blame. I mean, I wanted to believe Joe Biden could make it through. He was a great president in many ways. I wanted to believe he could hang on. But it stood to reason that he should not continue as our candidate.

It stood to reason that one term was right. And a lot of Democrats kind of kept their mouth shut. And I think people felt out in the country a little betrayed by that. So this time, why don't we be the party of bluntness and authenticity? Why don't we take a, ironically, a page from Donald Trump's book and be a little blunter and a little less worried about diplomatic language.

And I think if we speak authentically to what people are going through and fight back, I actually think our prospects are pretty good in 2026, certainly to take back the House and then build from there.

MARQUARDT: Yes, there's certainly a lot of hand wringing and postmortem analysis right now. Thank you all so much for joining me this evening. Really appreciate it.

And up next, how Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on three top U.S. trading partners could hit your pocketbook. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:33:15]

MARQUARDT: Tonight, fears of a new Trump trade war are being felt here in the United States and around the world. And it all stems from the President-elect's declaration that he will impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on day one of his administration.

CNN's Tom Foreman has been taking a closer look. So Tom, explain to our viewers what these tariffs are and why they would have such a significant impact.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tariffs, in very simple terms, are taxes. That's what you have to know. These are fees attached to the value of imported goods. The United States is the largest importer in the world, taking in more than $3 trillion worth of imports each year. And these are the top suppliers out here.

Trump wants to slap an immediate 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico. And he also wants to push the tariffs, the existing tariffs on China up by 10 percent. But he's also talked about an across the board massive tariff hike on all countries. He's argued this could pressure foreign countries to lower their prices, protect American firms and pay for some of his proposed tax cuts, Alex.

MARQUARDT: So Tom, take us through what kind of goods are being imported into the United States.

FOREMAN: I'll put it in scientific terms, a lot, electronics, computers, tablets, phones, cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, camping gear, clothes, toys, appliances, furniture.

Let me put it this way. Wherever you are in this country, you're probably either touching or within arm's length of something that is imported or partially imported. That's just scratching the surface. Many items made in the U.S. rely on imported chemicals, plastics and other raw materials or components, all of which would almost certainly be subject to Trump's most wide ranging vision for these new tariffs or taxes, Alex.

MARQUARDT: So, bottom line. How much are these tariffs expected to impact the average American's wallet?

[17:35:10]

FOREMAN: You know, we have to see exactly how they really play out. We don't know. But let's -- let's look at one possibility here. Let's say you're thinking about a nice big $1,000 television for the holidays or something like that. But get past when this would be enacted after Trump's in office.

If you added the 60 percent that Trump is talking about here that he's touted as one of his potential targets for tariffs on China, that's what he would reach. That T.V. could then cost $1,600 if all of it went there. Trump says he will somehow make China eat that cost. Or maybe the American dealer you buy it from will swallow some of it.

But experts say almost always consumers pay the price and they estimate Trump's tariffs could cost, get ready for this, the typical American middle-class family an additional $2,600 per year if it plays out that way. Again, we have to find out the details, Alex. But this could be a whopper for people out there who are looking for prices to go down.

MARQUARDT: No small amount. Tom Foreman, thank you so much for breaking that all down. Appreciate it.

Just ahead, inside one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, one doctor's eyewitness account of really unthinkable death and devastation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:36]

MARQUARDT: In northern Gaza, only two hospitals remain open amid Israel's ferocious military offensive. And these hospitals are barely functioning. One of the last remaining doctors has been documenting what he calls an utterly catastrophic situation. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh walks us through his eyewitness account. And we want to warn our viewers that some of the footage in this report is graphic and disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a hospital brought to its knees and the man trying to save it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): We are facing a new challenge that will worsen in the coming hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): This is a distress call that must be heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): No one has slept since yesterday. The operating room ran all night.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Some of the desperate cries for help from Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He's one of the last doctors in northern Gaza. For weeks, he's been documenting the horror inside Kamal Adwan. He wants us to share his account with the world.

Outside his hospital, a renewed major Israeli offensive that began in early October on what's left of northern Gaza to destroy a resurgent Hamas, the military says. It's ordered civilians out for their safety, but Israel's been accused of besieging the civilian population. Human Rights Watch says this could amount to ethnic cleansing, something the military denies.

DR. HUSSAM ABU SAFIYA (through audio translation): There is real genocide occurring against the people of northern Gaza. There are injured people in the streets and we cannot reach them.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Inside Dr. Abu Safiya's hospital, they struggle to cope with the constant influx of casualties. A Palestinian journalist captured these scenes of panic in mid-October.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): A short time ago, they fired at the hospital entrance. They fired artillery shells. It is clear that the healthcare system is being directly targeted.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): And on October 24th, Israeli forces closed in on Kamal Adwan compound. For the next few days, this place of healing would itself become a war zone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through audio translation): There is no medicine. Where should we go?

SAFIYA (through audio translation): Instead of receiving aid, we're received tanks.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): It's the third time in a year that Dr. Abu Safiya, the pediatrician, finds himself and his hospital surrounded and under attack. They're running dangerously low on supplies, fuel and food. The Israeli military says it allows aid in, but the U.N. says it's nowhere near enough. This one of the few convoys that have reached Kamal Adwan.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): I have 195 injured patients, all of whom are on the ground floor.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The IDF ordered civilians who'd been sheltering here to evacuate. They hold up white flags and whatever they can carry. Dozens were detained, including more than 40 medical personnel, some seen in these photos posted to social media. Dr. Abu Safiya here with his hands up in the air, says he was interrogated for hours.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): A special forces unit was here a short time ago. They assaulted me. They had dogs with them, they made me go into some of the words, with a drone to check if there were any armed individuals, which is nonsense. Don't have a surgeon, they took the surgeons and the orthopedic specialists, most of them amputations and burins.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Still, Abu Safiya refused to abandon his patients. What followed appeared to be a brief lull. That's when families began to find the bodies of loved ones in and around the hospital compound. Dr. Abu Safiya was attending to the injured and he was called outside.

[17:45:04]

SAFIYA (through audio translation): We were accustomed to receiving martyrs and the wounded, but to receive your own son is catastrophic.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): His 21-year-old son Ibrahim was killed in an Israeli strike at the hospital gates. He tries to lead the funeral prayers, but it's just too much.

In the hospital's makeshift graveyard, he buried his boy. Ibrahim is still close to him in a place that's testament to this one man's struggle.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): I still feel his presence in every corner. His voice, his scent, and his character remain with us.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): In a statement to CNN, the IDF did not address Ibrahim's death. But said its operations in the area were based on precise intelligence and that dozens of terrorists were found hiding inside the hospital, some of them even posing as medical staff.

It says this is a medic in custody and that he's admitted that Hamas is operating inside Kamal Adwan. CNN cannot verify these allegations. The IDF has also released these images of weapons it says it found inside the hospital. Dr. Abu Safiya says they belong to its security guards. The Israeli military is long rationalized targeting Gaza's health facilities by accusing Hamas of using them for, quote, terror activities.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): Bring the children down. Bring the children down from -- from upstairs, quickly.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Days after the IDF said its operations at Kamal Adwan concluded its attacks did not.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): The hospital was directly hit. The upper floors the courtyard, the water tanks and the electric grid were struck.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The everyday for these medics now working under fire, it's hard to believe this once was one of Gaza's top healthcare facilities. There's no doubt about the kind of firepower unleashed here. The storage room left charred. The walls of the neonatal ICU pockmarked with bullet holes. Ambulances crushed. Kamal Adwan, like most of Gaza's hospitals now barely functioning.

SAFIYA (through audio translation): Imagine people are rescuing the injured using horse and donkey carts. It's a horrific scene.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is a fight for survival and giving up is not an option for Dr. Abu Safiya. Strikes on the hospital left him and others injured this week, paying the price for staying abandoned and alone in this nightmare on repeat.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.\

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: Extraordinary scenes. Our thanks to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh for that report. The Israeli military has told CNN that it is unaware of the strike that injured the doctor. The IDF also maintaining they adhere to international law and only go after military targets while taking all necessary measures to avoid harming civilians.

[17:48:36]

Coming up, Rudy Giuliani is back in court over accusations of withholding valuable assets that he owes to two Georgia election workers.

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MARQUARDT: A federal judge is not pushing back Rudy Giuliani's January trial date over valuable assets that he owes to two Georgia election workers. CNN's Kara Scannell has the latest. So Kara what happened in -- in today's hearing?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well again today, this is the case about Giuliani having to turn over assets to those two Georgia election workers. And the judge chided him on not complying with the order so far, which was to turn over some valuables, including a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt.

The judge also specifically called out this Mercedes that Giuliani did turn over to the women as well as the keys, but he didn't give them the title. So the judge highlighting that at some point during the hearing, though, Giuliani cut off the judge and was saying that he's tried to locate this title. And then he went on a rant about his financial condition, which he continued outside of the courthouse.

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RUDY GIULLIANI, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: I have no cash. It's all tied up. So right now if I wanted to call a taxi cab, I can't do it. I don't have a credit card. I don't have a checking account. I have no place I can go take cash out except a little bit that I saved and it's getting down to almost nothing.

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SCANNELL: Now Giuliani had also asked the judge to push back this trial date set for a -- in mid-January. And that trial date is to decide who is the rightful owner of World Series rings that could be valuable and that should be turned over to these women.

Giuliani had asked the judge to postpone it because he said he needed to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration. The judge saying he would not delay it, but he did say he would move it up and he asked both sides to file briefs on that in the next coming weeks, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Kara Scannell in New York. Thanks so much for that report.

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Coming up, a breakthrough in the Middle East, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah finally agreeing to a cease fire. I'll be speaking with one of President Biden's top national security advisers right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARQUARDT: Happening now, breaking news. Deadly fighting in Lebanon is expected to pause within a few hours as a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah takes effect. President Biden touts the agreement, one of his top national security advisors will be joining us live to discuss what this means for the broader conflict in the Middle East.

Also this hour, President-elect Trump's vow to impose huge new tariffs is threatening to increase prices on popular imports from Mexico to Canada and China. Will Americans who voted for Trump to ease inflation wind up with a serious case of sticker shock?

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