tv CNN Newsroom Live CNN October 30, 2023 1:00am-2:00am PDT
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♪ hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and all around the world. i'm bianca nobilo live from london. we begin this hour with new developments out of gaza, where the israeli military has killed dozens of hamas militants in ground spoperations overnight. a staging building and an anti-missile is among the targets hit. the idf says it's struck more than 600 targets according to cnn analysis of video published by israeli media idf forces advanced about 300 kilometers inside of gaza. as the operation expands, u.n. is warning.
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meantime the palestinian red crescent society says israel is continues to launch air strikes near the al quds hospital in gaza. that report is with scott mclean joining us here in london. let's begin with aid. >> over the weekend, we heard from the dutch prime minister that says getting aid is especial for israel maintaining its international support. you heard more blunt words coming from the norwegian prime minister who said the pace of aid going in his words are legal contrary to the rules of war. there is aid going in that direction. france sent 17 tons to egypt. whether or not it can get into gaza is another story. less than 100 trucks over the course of the war have been allowed to cross in, compared to 700 that would usually go in.
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the world food program said it's evidence of desperation. the fact that people are losing hope. when you look at pictures from the ground it's not hard to see why. >> reporter: there isn't much left of the building in central gaza. the building was flattened by the neighboring israeli air strike. people inside the apartment blocks were spared either. roofs were ripped right off, now covered in a pale shade of gray. more than a dozen were killed and more injured according to the medical staff at a local hospital where outside the bodies of those killed were wrapped in white sheets and marked with their names. both the idf and israeli prime minister had new calls for civilians to urgently evacuate the buildings in gaza. believing central gaza would be safer. there were no warnings at all, this survivor says. we're seeing the entire thing
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c collapsing on us. we didn't know exactly where the hit was, we started running to get our miracle out. it's a miracle they survived. this man said there were no warnings, it was a strong air strike, the people pulled us from beneath the rubble. cnn has reached out to the idf for comment. israel says overnight 450 terror targets were hit and say some strikes were directed by troops now on the ground inside gaza. this was the aftermath of one of those strikes on a family home in khan yunis in gaza. desperate scrambles to remove slabs of concrete. hoping to find survivors, at least they found at one body. by morning, the urgency is gone, the pile of rubble is all that's left. hospitals already at the breaking point are already getting more overwhelmed.
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doctors operated on this boy on the floor. the palestinian red crescent now says that israeli authorities called al quds hospital in gaza city, twice, with a clear and direct threat that the hospital must be evacuated at once. otherwise, the red crescent holds full responsibility for the lives of everyone inside. that amounts to hundreds of patients and thousands more people taking shelter. israel says it called more than twice since the war began. and says the hamas is shielding themselves inside hospitals. foreign aid is entering gaza at a trickle. the desperation, apparent in this video, people ransacking a u.n. warehouse, carrying out bags of food. it may be a temporary lifeline for those people the u.n. calls it a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down. it's the situation in gaza that only gets worse. >> scott, changing gears now to
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the fact that medics are defying orders to evacuate al quds hospital, so we're hearing, probably because of patients and there's no guarantee of safety if they did evacuate. this is despite the fact there are air strikes hitting targets very nearby. why are they doing this? >> the theory we have from the palestinian red crescent is that the israelis are striking targets in the immediate vicinity of this hospital. they say three as of yesterday morning, in order to essentially force their hand. to force people to evacuate, because things will have gotten so miserable in that area. video, you know, you're seeing it here, shows, you know, some of the dust that's gotten into the building. they say there was also extensive damage to the building as well. and look, the red crescent, the hospital director there, calling on the international community to try to protect this hospital and others like it. the hospitals have maintained
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since the outset of this war since the operation of the hospitals in northern gaza, they maintained it's not realistic to do that. a., there's no safe place for them to go in gaza, hospitals in central parts are already overwhelmed. they say, look, you have patients some babies in incubators, you have injured people. and on top of that, you have 12,000 people taking shelter inside this hospital. they say the vast majority of them are women and children. the hospital director also very firmly denied the accusation coming from israel that this hospital is being used as a shelter, or as a shield, for hamas fighters. he says that, look, the hospital doesn't let anyone in if they're armed. >> all right. thank you. >> you bet. joining us now from geneva is robert mandeni, director general of the red cross. thank you so much for being with us, this morning, sir.
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let's start with the fact that the icrc is obviously calling for an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire. do you feel lick that message is being heard by those who need to hear it? >> we really hope it's heard, because this is the only reasonable thing to do, given the unspeakable level of suffering gazans of facing now, hour by hour, day in and day out. people are struggling to survive, with little water, with little food. they are in conflict here of violent death. there is nowhere safe in the gaza strip today. there is no electricity. no fuel. hospitals are at the breaking point, in brief, civilians today are running out of options. they are in a state of despair. we hear from our colleagues that while parents are writing the names of their children on their arms to make sure they don't end
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up in mass graves. and if death was unavoidable. the only thing to do is ensure long pauses, to ensure the safe provision of aid to ensure the safe treatment of civilians in the severely wounded people, because humanity must prevail. >> do you get the sense of momentum building in terms of international pressure towards a cease-fire or a humanitarian pause, whatever language you want to use? well, i won't speculate now, but this is a call that our president conveyed, and we have been very forceful in putting forward. because we know for a fact, we bear witness, our teams are on the ground, and they're bearing
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witnesses to the same challenges, of the gaza people. we need this to happen. and it needs to happen now. >> there are so many humanitarian groups on the ground that are trying to alleviate some of this suffering, contribute to the humanitarian effort. what is communication like on the ground in gaza. we know there are issues with using phones and the internet, that are making things much harder. >> of course. over the weekend, it was terrible, because we lost all communication with our staffs. but more importantly, civilians don't have the option to call an ambulance from the palestinian society. phone communication was re-established yesterday, but it's still extremely difficult, extremely dire for people. and there is another ticking bomb with waste water treatment
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plant not working. and sewage and waste water flooding some streets and no clean water to drink. there is a rising risk of outbreaks. and this is another ticking bomb. >> can you speak, though, of the icrc in terms of the hostage negotiations that are ongoing? >> well, first, i'd like to say i really want the families of hostages to know that the plight of their loved ones are one of our top priorities. and we have been very clear from the very outset, that all hostages should be released unconditionally. at the same time, we left no stone unturned to our engagement bylaws with hamas and the israeli officials to offer, to visit those hostages to ensure they are to check on their
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health, to ensure if they need any medicines, we can provide those medicines. and, of course, we stand ready to facilitate the release of those hostages. so far, we've been successful in taking release of four of them. but, of course, much more needs to be done. and our efforts are unabated in that respect as well. >> we know that aid trucks carrying essential supplies are still only trickling in. last hour, i think we had the number of 94 trucks through the rafah crossing into gaza, since the beginning of this siege. obviously, that is not nearly enough. what is the current justification for such a small amount of essential supplies being provided? >> actually, there should be no justification because this is -- this is totally unacceptable. the gaza strip, even before the escalation, the situation was already dire.
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and close to 5 00 trucks were entering on a daily basis to keep the population afloat with regards to basic needs. so a couple of dozen of trucks are nowhere near enough for the people living in such -- in such a tragic -- humanitarian tragedy unfolding. for us, there should be no justification. we have requested for sustained flow of regular humanitarian aid flowing in. so this aid can reach those who need it most. >> robert mardini, thank you for joining us this morning. of course, we hope the humanitarian effort manages to continue with the brave colleagues on the ground and more of that aid can get in, thank you. now, to some disturbing images how the conflict between israel and hamas is having a ripple effect in other regions.
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>> is this was the chaotic scene in the russian airport, video showed a large crowd storming the airport, making it on to the tarmac, some waving palestinian flags after a plane arrived from tel aviv. authorities have closed the airport in tuesday, investigating to ensure it's safe going forward. and a local religious leader appealed for calm. >> translator: we will talk with the reluctant people, and we will continue to try to resolve the issue differently. not with emotions, not with rallies, but in an appropriate way. >> israel said it was working with russian authorities to secure the well-being of jews
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♪ diplomatic sources tell cnncnn the u.n. security council will hold an emergency meeting on monday regarding israel's ground incursion into gaza. the united arab emirates is about to select a solution tour the immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting. the uae is the only arab country a member of the security council. and today, they've vetoed at the security council calling for a cease-fire and a similar resolution introduced by jordan at the general assembly on friday. u.s. president joe biden sfrefd the need for nor humanitarian aid to get into the gaza with the leaders of egypt
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and israel. here's cnn's kevin liptak with more on that. >> reporter: president biden spoke for the first time today with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. since israel expanded its sought on gaza. in that phone conversation, the president reiterated that israel had a right to defend itself, but he also underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law, that prioritizes the protection of civilians and that was from the white house summary of the call. of course, this is you illustrate traitive of the fine line that president biden is walking as he confronts this growing crisis in the middle east. on the one hand, he is a staunch defender of israel and certainly a defender of its right to protect itself. but he's also calling for protection of civilians and calling on israel to adhere to international humanitarian law and avoid targeting civilians. and certainly, as the images out of gaza come to light, there
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will be pressure on president biden, certainly from the progressive left in the united states, but also from american arab partners to do more and to say more to ease the humanitarian suffering. and in that phone call with netanyahu, president biden did say that was a need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance. now, we did learn more from the u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan about those negotiations to free hostages who are being held in gaza, among them potentially americans. he said that the expanded israel effort in gaza had not stopped those negotiations, but that so far, hamas had not been forthcoming in releasing the hostages. and he also addressed his efforts to get americans who are stuck in gaza, hundreds of them, out across the border into egypt. he did say that the egyptians are willing to accept foreign nationals and that the israelis
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are also not putting up resistance to that effort. but that so far, hamas is making its own demands and putting up resist tones opening that border. so president biden certainly remains focused on the situation in the middle east. we also learned that he did speak to the egyptian president. with him, he discussed the humanitarian aid efforts. and he also discussed the expanded gaza offensive, but interestingly, the two men also discussed the importance of ensuring that palestinians in gaza are not displaced to egypt or any other nation. and so while the egyptians appear receptive to having foreign nationals cross the border into egypt, it does not appear as if they're receptive to having palestinians cross that border. kevin liptak, cnn, wilmington, delaware. the families of hostages being hollywood by hamas are calling on israel's government to do more to help secure their release. families and crowds gathered in
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the tel aviv over the weekend, demanding swift action from the government. families of hostages want the prime minister to trade all of israel's palestinian prisoners for all of hamas' hostages. netanyahu vowed to exhaust all options to secure the release of their loved ones. meantime, the u.s. government says it's also working to help american citizens in gaza leave the strip. white house national security adviser jake sullivan says the matter has to stay a top priority. >> we are in almost hourly contact with regional partners and with israel to try to get to a point where there is a deal to have the hostages released. it is difficult. it is challenging. the hamas terrorists have not been forthcoming about allowing these hostages to go. but we believe that there can still be a pathway to get their release and we're going to work
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tirelesslily to make that happen. even though we've started to see israel move on the ground that has not changed our view that this has to remain a priority and we have to keep working ton and those negotiations are ongoing. just ahead, a stark warning from the prime minister saying israel has crossed the line. plus, tensions continue to flare along israel's border with lebanon when we return.
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♪ welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm bianca nobilo in london with more on the top story, the conflict between israel and hamas. the israeli defense forces released this video of their troops operating inside gaza. they say they killed dozens of terrorists and a fighter jet launched a missile strike in the area of the university. israel's military said it was increasing the urgency of calls of people in northern gaza to flee south. human taken groups have criticized the demand, citing the difficulty of moving within gaza while it's under attack. iran's president says israel
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has, quote, crossed the red line in gaza. president ebrahim raisi warns israeli's response in gaza may force other nations to take action. qatar's prime minister said he spoke with iran's foreign minister by phone to discuss the war and stressed a need for immediate cease-fire in the conflict. on a statement on x formerly known as twitter said the risk of violence spilling over into other region will have, quote, dire circumstances. sources tell cnn that a rapid force is moving towards the mediterranean sea for a broader wider conflict. cnn's oren liebermann has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: we have watched very closely as the u.s. has sent considerable forces to the middle east, that includes not only the land forces and patriot groups and air defense systems
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but of course, the naval troops as well. the gerald r. if ford carrier is in the eastern med. and to the strait of gib bramenter on its way in that direction. and the am bib use ready group, and a marine rapid response force, the marine ed exhibition force or mew for short. first, it's a tremendous show of u.s. powers off the coast ofs legal and lebanon. a clear message for iranian proxies not to get involved. that message we've seen explicitly from president joe biden on down the chain. but the mew also serves another purpose. it's special operations capable which is certainly notable and worth remembering. but it's also a critical force in a nonconbat tant operations
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or a neo, one of its mission essential tasks. the u.s. has said last week there was no education or execution for a knee yoshgs an evacuation right now, but john kish berks the national security council's spokesperson said it would be irresponsible and imprudent not to plan for contingency operations including an evacuation. since he said that the u.s. has said the risk of this conflict spreading wider in the region is growing and remains a serious consideration for the u.s. meanwhile, the u.s. state department, the embassy in beirut has advised americans to leave now before a crisis has begun there. there has been some contact between israel and hezbollah along the israel/lebanon border, it has not casey slated too much but any fire along that border is certainly not worthy. that's what the u.s. is watching to see if it escalates. if it does, those are the
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situations that can quickly get out of hand and the cop flick in gaza can quickly spread to the region. that's perhaps one of the reasons the marine rapid response force is there, in case the u.s. looks at the situation and the possibility for assessment for evacuation if the situation deteriorates. oren liebermann, cnn, at the meant gone. israel's ambassador to the u.s. said he's glad that the pentagon is evacuating that unit. >> that, i believe, sends a very strong message to iran, i think they're listening. i think this could be very helpful in deterring iran, hezbollah and the other iranian forces. >> and as oren mentioned, tensions are flaring on israel's northern border. israel says its fighter jet struck hezbollah military structure in southern lebanon on sunday in response to shelling towards israel. it's the latest in a series of
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cross-border clashes over the past few weeks as cnn's jim chute to tell reports. >> reporter: towns like this, along israel's border with lebanon are mostly deserted now. evacuated due to fear of attacks from hezbollah. this man is one of the few who stayed behind. from his roof, he shows where hezbollah fighters attempted to cross the israeli border just a few days ago. minutes after we arrive, we see the threat is constant. hezbollah shells fired from across the border, land on the hillside, just opposite us. we're on a border town, between israel on this side, and just beyond the fence is lebanon. as we've been standing here, you see the smoke off in the distance that is the result of hezbollah artillery fire from lebanon into israel. you can see the smoke rising in the distance. and speaking to residents here,
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this is a regular event. it's happening every day. he and his twin brother sent their families south for safety. but stayed behind themselves to protect their homes. the question for them and others like them is how long before this area is safe again. does anybody talk about how long people will have to leave here? as the shelling picks up, we head back south, minutes later, israeli soldiers block the road, warning of more incoming hezbollah fire. we're very close to the lebanon border in northern israel. and soldiers have just blocked the road here in both directions. we can't go either way, you can hear mortar and artillery fire going out towards lebanon, we've
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heard artillery fire coming from lebanon, and the concern is the soldiers telling us there is possible infiltration across the border from lebanon by presumably hezbollah fighters and that's why the level of concern is so great. the israeli military is focused on gaza, but the northern front now faces daily attacks. on sunday, a rocket fired from lebanon landed in the city, setting this home ablaze. hezbollah also claimed a strike on an israeli tank a few days ago. the idf responds by targeting hezbollah positions in southern lebanon. all the while, the constant exchange of artillery fire rumbles across the frontier. >> for more on the ricksk of spillover, i'm joined by malcolm david, thanks for joining us, this morning, this evening where you are, sir. >> my pleasure.
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>> i'd like to start by discussing what you think now the risk of horizontal escalation, especially as we've been hearing from the idf about, according to them, israel is striking targets of military infrastructure in syria now, as well as lebanon? >> well that horizontal escalation basically means the spreading of the war geographically to bring in other participants. and i think the risks are going up quite high. i think if hezbollah intervenes on a significant level, beyond what it's doing now, then, i think, it's almost unavoidable to see the war spread geographically beyond what is currently the practice on gaza. you would see then, northern israel come into play. you could see iran come into play, and iranian control of militias across the region. so, we go very quickly from a
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war between israel and hamas in gaza, to a regional middle eastern war that would potentially bring in the united states directly on the ground. >> what, if your view, could prevent that regional spillover and escalation at this stage? what would need to happen? >> i think what would need to happen would be a combination of israel and the united states, working together, potentially with some other u.s. allies to deter iran. to make it clear to tehran that any intervention by hezbollah or by their -- the iranian sponsored controlled militias and terrorist organizations, would be unacceptable and bring about a devastating response. and then it really gets down to the calculations of the government in tehran, as to are they prepared to risk their wider war. they talk about an axis of resistance, well, are they really prepared to go to war with united states, with israel, potentially with other u.s.
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allies and probably see the end of their regime? or are they prepared to back down and void such a conflict. so it really does come down then, to what the regime in tehran decides. >> let's return to the issue at the heart of this for a moment which is israel's stated objective to destroy hamas. in your view, as a counterterrorism strategy in terms of eradicating this group, how effective is israel's retaliation? because i'm constantly reminds of the analogy of hydrohead, you know, you get rid of certain terrorists and that just generates more in its place because of anger and tragedy and frustration. >> yeah, look from a purely military perspective, israel can certainly do damage to hamas. they can destroy their fighting forces on the ground which are lilted in numbers. they can attack their leadership
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and command and control, they can attack their logistics. so they can rip apart hamas as an organization. but if they -- in doing so, if they then inflict heavy civilian casualties amongst the palestinian population, it's only going to radicalize the palestinian people. you can see the emergence of new heads in that hydra. so, i think what the israelis have to somehow do, defeat hamas, deter iran, and deter hezbollah. and at the same time, engage with the palestinian people on a humanitarian level to try and assure that a son of hamas or son of islamic state didn't re-emerge. that's going to be almost impossible to do given the circumstances. i can't see any path, really, to achieve that goal. so, sadly, i think, even if israel is successful against hamas, they don't necessarily win the piece. >> precisely. this is one of many, many
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americans about what we're seeing unfold. has the alignment of any countries on this war surprised you? >> well, look, i'm not surprised that the sort of language and the vibes, i guess, coming out of moscow and beijing. i think from putin's perspective, this war is an opportunity in the sense that it distracts attention of the united states and europe from ukraine. and potentially diverts funding and weapons away from ukraine. so for putin, this is a good opportunity that, you know, i think he's probably fully exploiting as best as possible. with china, i think the same thing is happening here. if the u.s. gets drawn into another middle eastern conflict directly, as a result of iran coming into the conflict against israel, then that will take u.s. attention away from the indo-pacific. and the need to deter china
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threatening taiwan. so, the two main u.s. peers china and russia are exploiting this conflict. and i'm sure that they're courting hamas and hezbollah in some way. and i think we need to be conscious of that and try to mitigate the risks posed by that sort of coordination. >> lastly and very briefly, if i may, what do you make of president erdogan's comments, his recent comments this morning, i think? >> it is worrying there in the sense that president erdogan is essentially seems to be aligning with hamas which is, you know, not a good sign. he seems to be referring to turkey's past in the empire. and seems to be seeking return to those days in the same way,
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for example, that putin seeks a return to the glory of the former russian empire. so if turkey has, you know, sees imperialist opportunities here, they need to think twice because any move by turkey to support hamas, and by definition, extension, iran, could seriously destabilize nato's flank to a crucial point. so there is worry that erdogan is making sort of nationalist statements that he's making. >> which is another reason why russia, in addition to the distraction from the invasion of ukraine, would also probably be seeing this as a strategic opportunity to divide nato further. malcolm davis, thank you very much for joining us. appreciate your time. >> thank you. we'll have much more for you, after this short break.
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israel's war in gaza in just a moment. first, other news we've been following the los angeles county medical examiner is releasing the remains of actor matthew perry to next to kin even as the agency continues to investigate the cause of death. the star was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi in his los angeles home in an apparent drowning. he was just 54. cnn's camila bernal has more. >> reporter: the los angeles police department is examining his death. it came in at 4:07 p.m. as a water emergency. and 4:10, they responded and characterized it as a death investigation. the "los angeles times" reporting he was found unresponse any of a hot tub and citing law enforcement sources. but no official cause of death has been released. his body is now with the l.a. county medical examiner's office. and an autopsy is pending but
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normally, a complete autopsy and toxicology report takes several weeks. now, perry's family released a statement to "people" magazine saying they're heartbroken by the tragic loss of a beloved son and brother. they went on to say that he brought joy to the world as an actor, and also as a friend. matthew perry wanted to be remembered as someone moo helped people. that's part of the reason why he shared his addiction struggles in he is memoir that was released in november of 2022. he said he wanted to help people individually or as a group and shared this in many interviews that he'd done. he also said he wanted to be remembered as someone who lived well and loved well and who was a seeker. but many remember him by his acting career, he started with small roles and landed more prominent roles but it was really his role as chandler that made him famous. it was that funny sarcastic character that many are remembers today.
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the cast of "friends" very close on and off the screen. many here in los angeles remembering him and in shock many saying it's a big loss for hollywood but also his fans. camila bernal, cnn, los angeles. now, to the aftermath of a mass shooting in maine troubling new details shared with cnn reveal authorities were warned about the gunman weeks before his rampage that left 18 dead. police tried to conduct a welfare check on robert card after concerns he would, quote, snap and commit a mass shooting. he had a history of mental health issues and violence and his family and the maine national guard have shared disturbing details with law enforcement. still to come, we hear from ultra orthodox jews who have changed their opinion on the mandatory israel service and have enlist for the first time.
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>> reporter: he reads the tora at least an hour every day. his family is one of the 1.2 million ultra orthodox jews who live here in israel. for decades many in his community have fought against israel's mandatory service for every israeli man or women as soon as they turn 18. this year, they tried to get a law passed to exempt them from having to enlist a major friction in society. then october 7th happened. have you ever fired a weapon, picked up a weapon before? >> no. i have held a gun something like this. >> reporter: that is about to change. >> in a few days i will go to the israeli army. >> reporter: leitner enlisted after the horrific attack by hamas on men, women and children
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in israel. it completely shook us. broke all conceptions, he says, we thought we had the privilege to stand at the side and not be part of. and now we realize it's just not sustainable. he says most of the ultra orthodox here believe their jobs is to keep the jewish religion live and well, spending their days studying the tora. the israeli military reported between between the 19 and 2021 only about 1200 orthodox jews can constripted annually. why did the ultra orthodox not want to serve in the army? the ultra orthodox have an ethos including studying the torah which gives them a meta physical sense, he says. but he says he can't see how
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that is enough now. and he said many feel the same. i personally sat in my living room and just cried for a day. we can't just go on with our daily lives. we said never again after the hal holocaust. if we want to be able to say that again next generations and promise our children a sustainable future, we have to solve this issue. in hebrew, the sign says together we will win. it's very rare to see this kind of nationalistic language in ultra orthodox neighborhoods in israel. you're also seeing israeli flags plastered all over the place. that just doesn't really happen in normal times gives you a sense that opinions among ultra orthodox have changed. his wife's opinion has certainly changed, but she does worry about one thing. >> i worry more if he don't know how to hold a weapon. and i also want to know how
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to -- i want a license for a gun also. no, we're not in switzerland. >> reporter: there is one more difficult thing he has to do with his family before he goes to serve. tell his children, 9, 7 and 6 years old. they play oblivious to the changes they're about to experience at home due to war. sara sidner, israel. >> tens of thousands of people came out across europe this weekend to demonstrate their support for the palestinian people in gaza. in rome, not just carrying the palestinian flag rallied near the coliseum. in berlin, protesters poured into streets demanding a cease-fire on the conflict. london's third straight week of protests.
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