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Large Police Presence at UCLA Amid Protests; U.S. House Passes Bill Expanding Definition of Antisemitism; Israel Reopens Erez Crossing for Aid Deliveries to Gaza; Heat Wave in Southeast Asia. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired May 02, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:28]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Standoff on campus. Police set to move in and clear hundreds of pro- Palestinian protesters at the University of California in Los Angeles. Protesters hunkering down, looks set to refuse to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The progress is real but it needs to be accelerated, it needs to be sustained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The aid convoys roll into northern Gaza. Israel reopens the Erez Border Crossing, but only after immense pressure from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My soul, my soul. My soul was gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The ultimate loss and unbelievable pain. Her daughter and nine other children died in an Israeli airstrike, which the IDF insists was based on accurate and timely intelligence.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: We begin this hour with a standoff on campus at the University of California in L.A. where hundreds of police officers and other law enforcement officials appear ready to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters. A source familiar with law enforcement plans has told CNN police have declared the protest encampment an unlawful assembly. The first step before police move in asking individuals to disperse or face arrest.

The Los Angeles Police Department has issued a citywide tactical alert placing all personnel on notice. They may be called to UCLA if needed. Just 24 hours ago, the university was the scene of violent clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and a counter group which left at least 15 people injured.

CNN's Nick Watt live at the scene at UCLA for us this hour.

So, Nick, where you stand right now, how is this set to play out?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've heard from a source, John, that the basic clan is this. The Los Angeles Police Department will provide basically crowd control. As the rumors have spread over the past few hours that an incursion into the encampment was coming crowds have gathered of pro-Palestinian protesters at the east side and the west side. Hundreds of people.

So the LAPD in riot gear is facing outwards towards those crowds. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is also going to be involved, I'm told, because these crowds are perhaps bigger than were anticipated. Now the people who are actually going to go into that encampment are the California Highway Patrol. They are a state agency. This is state land. Now their concerns are human waste in there. That camp has been there for about a week.

They're also concerned that some of the protesters in that encampment might have bear spray. So I'm told that that is going to be a very slow and a very methodical process. We have also heard reports from my colleague Josh Campbell that buses are being staged about an hour -- a mile away, I'm sorry. They would be to take away the arrested people. As you say, an unlawful assembly, that is what these people could be charged with.

As I mentioned, this encampment, you can almost see through the darkness, has been there for about a week, John. Ong only a few hours ago did they declare it an unlawful encampment. That was really a clue that something was going to happen. Now, over much of this week, the law enforcement present here on UCLA campus has been very minimal. The college officials did not want to antagonize. They did not want to provoke. They did not want to see those clashes that we've seen on other campuses.

However, last night, as you mentioned, a group of pro-Israel counter protesters sort of attacked that encampment. A firework, there were some chemicals sprayed, there were physical altercations. After that, the governor of California made it very clear that he wanted a far greater, a far more robust law enforcement presence on this campus. That has been growing all day today.

Just a few hours ago, just before night started falling, we heard the rumors of this impending incursion. That's when the crowd gathered. That's when these LAPD officers gathered facing outwards towards that crowd, and as I say, sources telling me it's California Highway Patrol that will actually be going in at a time we do not yet know -- John.

VAUSE: So, Nick, just in pure numbers in terms of numbers here, what are we looking at here in terms of the police, the LAPD, the L.A. Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol versus the number of protesters who are there.

[00:05:04] And also, there's also been this allegation throughout these protests that maybe they're not all students. They're outside agitators as well. What do we know about that?

WATT: Well, I mean, I can tell you I know some of them are not students because I recognize them from other protests that are inside the encampment. A lot of these people gathered around me now, who say that they will stay here as long as it takes. They do appear to be students. In terms of numbers of people inside that encampment, we frankly don't know because they've barricaded the encampment and they won't really let media in.

So we don't really know. The last estimate I had which was yesterday was about 100 people. So I don't know how many people are inside, but I can tell you there are now hundreds outside and this was perhaps not anticipated. This is why the sheriff's department will be coming in to try to deal with this crowd. Obviously, it makes it much harder to go into an encampment, clear out an encampment, if you have to deal with hundreds of other people on the outside.

Now one headache they don't appear to have to deal with tonight is counter protesters, pro-Israel protesters. We did see a small cluster of them here earlier. They have gone. It is now pro-Palestinian protesters on both ends of the encampment. And as I say, an unknown number of people still inside.

Now, what we do see in these cases, John, is the law enforcement will give the people in that encampment a chance to leave. They will give them a warning. They will give him a way out. And those who choose to stay, they were the ones -- they will be the ones who will face this incursion of the California Highway Patrol -- John.

VAUSE: Nick Watt there live on the scene at UCLA. Nick, we'll come back to you as soon as something happens. We appreciate the update but for now thank you.

These campus protests are now a political fodder for many U.S. lawmakers. The Republican-led House approved a bill Wednesday, which would broaden the definition of antisemitism. It passed by a large margin. Supporters saying the bill will help combat antisemitism on campus but opponents say it overreaches and threatens to limit free speech.

House Speaker Republican Mike Johnson has called pro-Palestinian protesters common criminals, accuses the U.S. president of being afraid to speak to the issue. But the college protests have put Joe Biden in a difficult position as he seeks reelection with the war in Gaza dividing many Democrats. His administration has condemned the forceful takeover of campus buildings and instances of antisemitism, while remaining mindful of students' right to protest.

That's according to White House press secretary. President Biden will drive home -- drive home the need rather to fight antisemitism when he delivers a keynote address next week at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Remembrance Ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is being kept regularly updated on what's happening. As you just stated across the country, he is monitoring the situation closely, so is his team. And I would just add that no president, no president has spoken more forcefully about combatting antisemitism than this president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now from Los Angeles is Michael Genovese, political analyst and president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. He's also author of "The Modern Presidency."

Michael, it is good to have you with us this day.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So right now these protests are growing and it seems a heavy- handed approach, like sending in riot police. It will almost guarantee they continue to grow. Are we close or have we reached a point where this is now some kind of national movement like the anti-war protests during Vietnam? They come out, they become a life unto themselves.

GENOVESE: Well, I think this is -- there are some similarities and there are some differences between this and the 1960s and early '70s. Some of the similarities include that it's a protest over a war, protest centered in campuses, a lot of student activism. Also, there's a parallel between 1968 and the Democratic convention in Chicago. The Democrats are in Chicago again this time around.

But I think the differences are really striking because in the early '60s, the early '70s, the war was in America's homes, by a television, and it was being fought by Americans, young American boys, and some women. My friends, my classmates went to Vietnam, and there was the draft. And so there was an incredible involvement very directly by students in America in the '60s. And there was the hippie movement and the Civil Rights Movement.

There was the women's movement, the -- it's an age of revolution. And so you had incredible activism on campuses. The campus I was on, St. Mary's College, we shut down after the Cambodian invasion in 1970. But it's very different because it was much more direct, much closer, and much more personalized in that era.

VAUSE: Well, one of Mark Twain's saying, history does repeat itself, but it sometimes rhymes. I want to go to the protesters themselves. Most of college students, they're young voters, a key demographic for Democrats, key for Joe Biden here, and they say because the president gave Israel a blank check from the very beginning of this war, he is partly to blame for, in large part rather, for the high death toll in Gaza and the destruction.

[00:10:10]

Biden, though, is sticking with Israel for the most part. A senior Democratic adviser told CNN, if politics was driving this, the president obviously would have changed course months ago, but there is not a simple political solution to this. It's driven by complex policy decisions without easy answers.

That's true. You know, all that is relevant, but at the end of the day, it seems Biden has painted himself quite badly into a corner. Could this ultimately cost him a second term?

GENOVESE: He's in danger of this and, you know, if Biden seems to be lost, it's because he is. And in some ways it's through no fault of his own. But for the most part, this is a classic rock and hard place dilemma. There's no winning solution for him. Do you support Palestine, in which case you lose Israel and the Jewish vote. Do you support Israel and therefore losing the young voters, and he needs the young voters.

The young voters who are very significant part of his coalition in 2020. He can't win unless he can put that coalition back together again. And right now, he's in trouble. Young voters very much opposed to U.S. policy in that region and are opposed to Joe Biden. I had a class right after the October 7th attacks, and I was really surprised, I was taken aback. I did not realize that the strength and the depth of support among younger Americans for the Palestinian cause.

It really caught me by surprise. And I think it caught the administration and most Americans by surprise.

VAUSE: Yes. Indeed it did. It seemed to come out of nowhere in some ways. And through all of this, Biden decided he's keeping his head low, a very low profile right now. And that's opening the way for Republican rival Donald Trump to launch political attacks after political attacks like this. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The radical extremists and far-left agitators are terrorizing college campuses as you possibly noticed, and Biden is nowhere to be found. He hasn't said anything. But they're his political base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In many ways this is classic Donald Trump. You know, he's calling out antisemitism on campus. Suddenly he's concerned about the safety of Jewish students. The same man who said this about protesters in Charlottesville back in 2017, who marched with tiki torches alongside Neo-Nazis and white nationalists, chanting Jews will not replace us. Here's Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He did at that moment condemned nationalists and Neo-Nazis, that kind of thing. But you know, he supported those people who are still with them, and you know, he's a master at playing all sides here. But for Trump and Republicans, taking a hard line against student protesters at the end of the day seems to be all upside politically, right?

GENOVESE: There is an upcycling. Republicans are going to take advantage of t. They wanted -- like the '60s and the early '70s, when the Republicans claimed to be the law-and-order party. And I know Donald Trump makes this difficult for Republicans, but they want to claim, again, the mantle of being the law-and-order party against these student radicals, against outside agitators, against these disruptions.

And to the extent that Americans feel insecure, to the extent that they feel that these protests are unjust, unfair, Republicans have a real in there. I'm not sure Donald Trump is the greatest and most effective voice for that. But Republicans in Congress, especially the Senate, can really have an impact.

VAUSE: Michael, thank you for being with us. Your experience and your knowledge about all things that have happened over the years is very much appreciated this hour. Thank you, sir.

GENOVESE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: And for the first time in 208 days, desperately needed aid is once again flowing into northern Gaza through the Erez Crossing. A convoy of 31 trucks from Jordan passed through the checkpoint Wednesday, soon after the Israeli government agreed to reopen it for humanitarian deliveries. The announcement by Israel came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his trip to the country, his seventh visit to the Middle East since the war erupted back in October.

He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blinken reiterated his message to Hamas that take the hostage and ceasefire deal currently on the table. And to Israel U.S. will not support a major military operation in Rafah without an effective plan to protect more than a million civilians who've gathered there. Blinken also visited Kerem Shalom, a key border crossing in southern Gaza, where an additional 48 Jordanian aid trucks were due to pass Wednesday.

He received a closed briefing on the aid operation and while he noted this progress, he reminded Israel it must be accelerated and sustained.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: We have seen in recent weeks real meaningful progress that is starting to make a difference for people in Gaza. Yesterday, we were in Jordan, some of you saw the trucks being loaded in Jordan. They went through Erez for the first time today, and that's very important because that's direct access to the north of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:09]

VAUSE: Regardless of progress conditions remain dire across the Gaza Strip. A new report from Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders says the necessary conditions for survival are absent in Rafah in the south.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has more on this slow-moving but growing humanitarian crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Children queue for food in Deir al-Balah. For many in the central Gaza city, it's the first nutritious meal they have had in weeks.

This child says, I haven't been given a meal for months because the kitchen team was struck. We only had canned food.

The World Central Kitchen has resumed operations in Gaza saying it served 200,000 meals Tuesday, one month after seven of its workers were killed by an Israeli military strike.

ASHRAF AL SULTAN, WORKING FOR WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN (through translator): We can see people's desperation. People have no food and we are all displaced.

HANCOCKS: More aid is starting to get in. The U.N. group responsible for supporting Palestinians, UNRWA, says it is the most since late October. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls it measurable progress. But both he and UNRWA say it still falls woefully short. Last week, the World Food Programme said the flow of aid is still crippled by red tape.

MATTHEW HOLLINGWORTH, COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR PALESTINE, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Spending hours a day to get through a checkpoint is not good enough. Being able to only use checkpoints for a short period of the day is not good enough. We have enough food. It's do we have enough access?

HANCOCKS: The Israeli army said Wednesday it is expanding areas in the south of Gaza to which civilians can move and where they say humanitarian aid will flow. It's assumed to be part of Israel's plan to evacuate more than one million civilians from Rafah on the southern border before a long-threatened ground offensive. A move that humanitarian agencies warned would be catastrophic.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: More than 1.2 million people are now seeking shelter in Rafah governorates. They have very little to eat, hardly any access to medical care, little shelter, and nowhere safe to go.

HANCOCKS: In Gaza every day is a battle to survive the bombing, injuries, the lack of food, water or shelter, and the situation is worsening by the day, according to the U.N., saying disease and starvation are on the rise.

GUTERRES: We must do everything possible to avert an entirely preventable human-made famine.

HANCOCKS: U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths warned this week, we are in a race to stave off hunger and death, and we are losing.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With us now from Jerusalem is Shaina Low, communications adviser with the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Shane, thanks for being with us.

SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATION ADVISER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Good morning.

VAUSE: So the focus of the Israeli military in Gaza seems to be shifting, actually if it's to be believed, from the scorched earth policy to now delivering humanitarian assistance. Here's part of a written statement from Israel's defense minister. We are taking significant measures in order to increase the volume of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This, he adds, is essential.

So we're seeing almost 358 trucks now arriving daily into Gaza. That's up from 80 when the war began. But it was notable the U.S. secretary of state said the number of trucks is essentially meaningless if they're not bringing in the stuff people need and that stuff is not being distributed to where it's needed most.

So to you, from your experience, what you know, from what you're hearing, are the people in Gaza receiving what they need? Is this at the very least meaningful progress?

LOW: You know, the people in Gaza still are not receiving a fraction of what's needed. It's not just a matter of an increase of a few dozen trucks. What we need are thousands of trucks each day to hemorrhage the suffering and the damage that's been inflicted across Gaza over the last seven months. 31 trucks through the Erez Crossing yesterday is not going to solve the issue of a looming famine in northern Gaza.

These are issues that are going -- that have been developing over the last several months and a handful of trucks are simply just not going to make a difference at this time.

VAUSE: Even before the war began, and I think there's something like 500 aid trucks which would arrive every day for the people of Gaza, that's before the war. That's when about a million people who were reliant on food assistance. Now, everyone is reliant on food assistance. So that would indicate that, yes, we're a long way short of what's needed at this point.

LOW: Look, the 500 trucks that were entering Gaza each day were mostly commercial trucks actually with very few of them being humanitarian aid. But what we have to remember is that this was before the destruction of nearly all of the Gaza Strip, destruction of critical infrastructure, the spread of diseases, people suffering from malnutrition. And it was a time when Gaza had some production, food production, and other forms of production, and a functioning economy inside of Gaza.

[00:20:05]

Since then, we've seen Gaza completely -- nearly completely destroyed through Israeli bombardments over the last seven months, and so what's needed is much more than the 500 trucks per day that were going in. And what we should be doing is we should stop counting the number of trucks, and really be focusing on whether needs are being met. There's been this fixation on how many trucks are getting in.

Some of these trucks are coming in without full loads on them and are being counted as trucks worth of aid. What we really need to see at this point is whether or not people's needs are being met. And I can tell you that it is impossible under the current conditions and with the current amount of aid flowing into Gaza are trickling into Gaza that needs are being met for the civilian population in Gaza.

VAUSE: It is a very good point. There is a fixation on truck numbers. It would be good to get away from that. The Israeli government would have everyone believe, though, that the surge in humanitarian aid has always been part of the overall military plan. No mention of the pressure from the White House after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen a month ago.

I want you to listen to the Israeli general who coordinates what comes into Gaza and what goes out. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MOSHE TETRO, HEAD OF GAZA COORDINATION AND LIAISON ADMINISTRATION: Even though that I'm very sorry about what happened with WCK, it's the only occasion that we had such a very sorry event and we are doing everything that we can in order to prevent it. They will lesson that we've learned from what happened in WCK and those lesson were implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The only event? That statement will be true only by the most narrow of definitions. Yes, there's been only one Israeli airstrike on workers with the World Central Kitchen. But there have been mortal strikes on other aid groups, especially U.N. workers, who've been trying to distribute aid. So at this point, are you aware of any notable change in how the Israeli military operates in Gaza?

LOW: You know, the -- I'm as shocked as you sound by that statement that this is the only incident. Over 200 humanitarians have been killed since the start of this escalation back in October. And we've continued to see humanitarian convoys be targeted or be caught in crossfire be not protected. It's clear that the deconfliction system, the notification system for humanitarians to let Israel know of where they are going and ensure that humanitarians and civilians seeking humanitarian assistance are protected, is failing. And the only way that we can guarantee safe access for humanitarians

and for civilians is to impose a ceasefire, implement a ceasefire. That way we can surge the amount of aid that's going in and be able to access people in need throughout all of Gaza without worrying whether or not humanitarians will be able to do their jobs and stay alive.

VAUSE: It seems the opening of Erez Crossing was timed specifically for the arrival of the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It all comes a month since that deadly strike on the seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen. Also 207 days since the October 7th attack by Hamas. So if you look at the timeline here, it indicates I guess in many ways that just a few weeks were needed to open that border crossing.

The Israelis were able to do it at a time of their own choosing because of pressure from the White House. So in theory, at least could Erez have been opened or re-opened long before now?

LOW: I don't know what the condition of Erez was and what work was being done. So I can't speak to that, but what I do know is that there's the ability to scale up the amount of aid that's going into Gaza. And even from the Kerem Shalom crossing alone, which prior to October 7th, had the ability to scan and process 1,000 trucks per day, and we're processing about 500 trucks per working day.

And so we're seeing that Israel is really dragging its feet in terms of allowing humanitarians to scale up its response. It still is arbitrarily denying entry of essential humanitarian assistance. We know that all of these are decisions that are being made, and that these -- to allow certain things in, to not allow certain things in, and to have this process go so slowly and have aid waiting for hours, days, to enter Gaza when it's desperately needed today.

And so these are all decisions that are being made and we call on third countries to continue to exert pressure on Israel to allow for a surge of aid. What we've seen is a slight increase in the trickle of aid, but nowhere near enough to meet humanitarian needs.

VAUSE: Shaina Low there, we really appreciate your time and your insights. Thank you so much for being with us.

LOW: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, straight ahead, Russian trophies of war. Western tanks and weapons captured in Ukraine now on public display in Moscow.

[00:25:07]

Also, a scorching heat wave across Southeast Asia. What authorities are doing to ensure people remain healthy as temperatures soar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Spoils of war now on display in Moscow. The weapons were captured by Russian forces and they include tanks from the United States as well as Germany. The weapons are onshore in Moscow, ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations, May 9th, one of the biggest public holidays marking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany. Kyiv called the exhibition propaganda meant to discredit Western assistance.

Ukrainians relied heavily on military aid from partners across the world, in particular, the U.S., which just approved a new aid package worth $61 billion.

In Kenya, we're seeing brief moments of hope after weeks of torrential rain and deadly floods. The Red Cross says 11 people were rescued from floodwaters south of Nairobi Wednesday. More than 90 were rescued in Western Kenya where a river broke its banks. Tourist camps were flooded, tents swept away. The death toll from the flooding across the country now approaching 200. More heavy forecast set for later this month.

Well, meantime, Southeast Asia enduring a record smashing heat wave. Temperatures are soaring, humidity is also high, making it difficult for many just to cool down. It's not just miserable, it's actually life-threatening.

CNN's Chad Myers has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): In the Philippines, dry cracked soil plagues crop fields. In Manila, zookeepers give their big cats icy treats and shower them with water. Meanwhile, pet shop workers in Bangladesh work overtime just to keep their animals cool, while demand for air conditioning units skyrockets.

People searching for solace during what's been a record heat wave.

LE THI HONG, TOURIST (through translator): It's too hot. I have this one day off, so I took the opportunity to bring my child here, but the heat is unbearable. I am tired. He is also tired despite being excited.

MYERS: Across South Asia, humans, animals, and crops alike can't take the heat. All week temperatures in the region had run from five to eight degrees, even 10 degrees above the norm. Peaking at 44 degrees Celsius, or 111 degrees Fahrenheit, the sweltering heat made even more harsh by intensified humidity ahead of the expected monsoon.

PETCH MANOPAWITR, CONSERVATION SCIENTIST: Even in tropical region like Southeast Asia now, we're experiencing the new normal. I can say climate scientists already talking about at shifting baseline.

MYERS: Many schools across the region had closed due to the scorching temperatures, while others like this primary school in Northern India take a different approach. The school says attendance has gone up since implementing a makeshift cooler. But other areas are drying up. Low water levels in the Vietnam's Song May Reservoir had killed hundreds of thousands of fish. And the heat wave threatening crops and the livelihoods of those who farm them.

[00:30:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the heat is very extreme, we can't produce good quality fruits and vegetables. That is the effect of the heat. Farmers have to suffer a loss from low prices because of the poor quality.

MYERS (voice-over): On the opposite end of the delivery chain, food delivery drivers do what they can to avoid succumbing to the sweltering temperatures.

In Thailand, the extreme heat means fewer pedestrians and more traffic jams, leaving bike riders to face the heatwave with minimal stops for water or AC.

SURIYAN WONGWAN, FOOD DELIVERY RIDER (through translator): Riders have to work harder as our delivery rate has decreased, but the more rides we take, the longer we stay under the heat. And it affects us.

MYERS (voice-over): Experts saved these heat waves are becoming hotter and more frequent with climate change. A University of Cambridge study said heat waves in India could cross the survivability limit for a healthy person in the shade by 2050.

And as average temperatures rise in a region most susceptible to heat, daily life will become more and more unbearable for the millions that live there.

Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Two weeks since ten children were killed in one Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Finally, a response from the IDF.

When we come back, the Israeli military responds to CNN's request to explain how it could happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Two children are among the most recent victims of an Israeli airstrike on Rafah. According to Palestinian officials, they died in the al- Jubeira (ph) refugee camp in the Southern Gaza City, which was targeted late Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces says operations are underway in the area to dismantle Hamas and the infrastructure, adding precautions are being taken to mitigate civilian harm. But adding that remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks.

Well, a man who survived the airstrike said he plans to leave. It's not exactly clear where he will actually go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MOHAMMED ABU YOUSSEF, INJURED IN AIRSTRIKE (through translator): I was spending the night at my relative's home. I came back home at around 9:30, 10, prayed, and as I was turning around here to pick up two loaves of bread to make dinner, the rocket hit us. We did not do anything.

Do you see the ceiling? If it was made out of cement, then I would have lost all my children. What can we do? Where will we go? I'm waiting to get my tent to leave. I'm waiting for it so I can leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Two weeks ago, ten children were killed in a similar airstrike on a refugee camp in central Gaza. The Israeli military is now finally responding to questions from CNN's Jeremy Diamond about just what happened and how it could happen.

Friends and families of victims still mourn their loss. A warning now: some of the images in Jeremy's report are graphic, and the content is difficult to hear as well as watch.

[00:35:09]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This grainy home video is the closest Mona Owdetallah (ph) will ever get to seeing her ten- year-old daughter.

A stack of school certificates, a wardrobe of her favorite clothes, the perfume she used to wear. All that remains of the daughter Mona (ph) poured everything into.

MONA OWDETALLAH (PH), DAUGHTER KILLED (through translator): There is no Shahed (ph) now. Every time she came in, she said, "Mom." I would say, "My soul, my soul. My soul is gone."

DIAMOND (voice-over): Shahed (ph) was one of ten children killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the crowded street in the al-Maghazi (ph) refugee camp where she was playing with her friends.

Her pink pants, impossible to miss among the small bodies splayed around the foosball table in the chaotic aftermath.

Two weeks later, the Israeli military still won't take responsibility for the strike that killed her.

CNN provided the IDF with the coordinates and time of the attack, based on metadata from two different phones in the immediate aftermath. The IDF said they did not have a record of that strike. They said they carried out a strike at a different time than described and that the collateral damage, as described in the query, is not known to the IDF. "The IDF makes great efforts to mitigate harm to the civilian population from areas where strikes are being carried out."

Evidence recovered and documented by CNN at the scene of the strike, paints a very different picture of Israeli military responsibility. This circuit board and bits of shrapnel. Walls and shop steps distinctively pockmarked. And a small crater, barely a foot wide, all pointing three munitions experts to the same conclusion: the carnage was likely caused by a precision-guided munition deployed by the Israeli military.

CHRIS COBB-SMITH, WEAPONS EXPERT: I've seen these stripes so many times. There's a relatively small crater in the road. There's no large shrapnel holes or fragmentation holes it would have been -- which would've been caused by say, a mortar round or an artillery round. The fragmentation is consistent.

DIAMOND: So in your view, this strike was caused by a precision-guided drone-fired missile?

COBB-SMITH: Absolutely. This is an Israeli munition. The local militias, the local forces do not have anything with this amount of sophistication.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Before carrying out the strike, Israeli drones would have surveilled the al-Maghazi (ph) refugee camp from above.

Seconds later, the missile hits the street below. Landing in the middle of the road, just a few feet away from the foosball table where Shahed and her friends were playing that day, delivering certain death.

Against all odds, these children have returned to play at the very same foosball table, including some of Shahed's (ph) friends.

"I miss her a lot," Salma (ph) says, wearing a necklace Shahed made her. She says she was nearly killed with her friends, going home moments before the strike to drink water.

Others were not as lucky. Eight-year-old Ahmed (ph) is fighting for his life, bleeding from his brain, his skull fractured. His chances of surviving are slim, his doctor explains. He is fighting not to become the 11th child killed in that same strike.

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VAUSE: Despite widespread protests outside Parliament, lawmakers in the former Soviet republic of Georgia are moving closer to passing what's known as the Foreign Agents Bill, described by critics as similar to a Russian law used to suppress dissent by President Vladimir Putin.

The law would require organizations to register as agents of foreign influence if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

If the bill passes one more vote, it will become law. Harvey Weinstein is still a rapist, but he's now facing a retrial over

sex crimes in New York. The Manhattan district attorney's office made the announcement on Wednesday, the disgraced movie producer's first hearing since his conviction was overturned.

CNN's Jean Casarez has details.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prosecutors announced that they will retry this case, and they want to retry it as soon as possible. Prosecutors saying on the record that it was strong in 2020. It is as strong in 2024, and it was not overturned because of the strength of the accusers.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Now on the defense side, Arthur Aidala told the court that when Harvey Weinstein found out that the case had been overturned, he said, "Good. I want to go to trial, because I want to show my innocence."

Harvey Weinstein was wheeled into court in a wheelchair. He looked healthy, although his attorney says that he has many serious medical issues. And it is true that he is not going back to Rikers at this point. He is remanded, continues to be in custody.

CASAREZ: But the defense and the prosecution both are ready to go. No trial date has been set, but they want it after Labor Day. But the next hearing will be at the end of May.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause, back at the top of the out with more CNN NEWSROOM. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. We leave you now with images live from the campus of the University of California in Los Angeles, where police from the LAPD, the L.A. Sheriff's Department, and the California Highway Patrol now set to move in, it appears, on protesters who were there in an encampment, had been there for quite some time. We'll continue to monitor the situation, bring you the very latest, as it happens.

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