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Destruction in Nuseirat Refugee Camp after Israeli Operation; FBI on Alert as Jewish Community in U.S. Prepare for Passover; Promise of U.S. Aid Boosts Morale Among Ukrainian Troops; Opening Statements Hours Away in Trump's First Criminal Trial; China Hosts Foreign Naval Officers at Conference; Reducing the Impact of Plastics on the Environment; World Press Photo Honors 2024 Global Winners. Aired 12- 12:45a ET
Aired April 22, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.
[00:00:31]
Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, Israel says the next moves, as they put it, for the war in Gaza have been approved, with an apparent focus on the densely populated city of Rafah.
We're just hours away from the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president, as we learn the first expected witness in Donald Trump's hush-money case.
And documenting war and loss, perseverance, and courage. We'll look at the indelible images captured by photojournalists in this year's World Press Photo Contest.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to increase military pressure on Hamas and land, quote, "additional and painful blows" as Israel prepares for its next moves in the war in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu made those comments ahead of a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet, which focused on the fate of the hostages who remain captive in Gaza. He again pledged action to bring them home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): On this seder night, our hostages in Hamas captivity stand before our eyes. Their suffering and the suffering of their families break our hearts and only strengthen our determination to return them.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: The Israeli war cabinet also said to be turning its attention
to an expected ground offensive in the Southern city of Rafah in Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought shelter, forced from their homes.
Although the exact plan of such an operation are not clear, without providing - getting any details, the IDF spokesperson said this on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The chief of staff visited the Southern Command today and approved the next moves for the war in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, in the West Bank, mourners gathered for the funeral of 14 Palestinians that the Health Ministry says were killed during an Israeli military offensive at the Nur Shams refugee camp.
The Israel Defense Forces says what they called ten terrorists were killed and eight wanted suspects arrested in that operation that has now ended.
And weeks after Israeli forces withdrew from the Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza, more bodies being recovered from under the rubble every day. The Palestinian civil emergency service says 60 bodies were discovered on Sunday. Local officials say most of the bodies were buried during the conflict by hospital staff and relatives of the deceased.
Palestinians in central Gaza are also digging through rubble and debris days after Israeli forces ended military operations in the area of one refugee camp. Many there now searching for personal belongings and mementos of their life before the war began.
CNN's Nic Robertson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Like so many layers of paper, Palestinian homes pancaked. Nuseirat refugee neighborhood in central Gaza demolished during a weeklong IDF raid.
"Is this what threatens the Israeli army?" wedding dress store owner Mohammed Azra (ph) asks.
This was his store before the attack, he says. He opened it a year ago. "I've put all my blood, sweat, and tears and money into building this business," he says. "Now there is nothing. This is an indescribable feeling: the push of one button ended our lives."
The IDF destruction here, as Iran attacked Israel and the world worried about regional escalation. Israel's war in Gaza, though, not missing an ugly beat.
This mother holding her children's schoolbooks from the rubble, clinging to memories, bravely bitter about those the Israeli military claims to target.
"I hate Hamas, first and foremost," she says. "Don't cut my words. Keep rolling. They brought this on us. This is not jihad. This is not resistance. Go resist at the border. Don't resist between the buildings and the people. They're destroying the people."
[00:05:14]
Meanwhile, in Rafah, where the IDF says Hamas brigades are still hiding, strikes continue and, despite U.S. pressure. Still, no publicized plan of how to protect the 1.2 million Palestinians living there, ahead of an expected Israeli assault.
At a Rafah morgue, wrapped in a single large body bag, an uncle brings the remains of several children who were among 12 of his relatives killed overnight.
"They were children," Abu Hatam Jamal (ph) says, "the youngest, 3, 4 years old. May God take revenge for them on Israel."
"No one cares," their aunt, Susan Abu Touha (ph) says. "The Israeli are committing massacres while the world watches. Look at what they've done. We can't find whole bodies, only bits of them."
More than 34,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza now, according to the Health Ministry. Irrespective of who they blame, all here feeling helpless to hold back the seemingly inevitable IDF offensive in Rafah.
ROBERTSON: Over the past week, the IDF calling up two reserve brigades for operational activities in Rafah. And on Thursday, two senior Israeli officials briefed President Biden's national security adviser on their planning, which until now at least has not satisfied the White House that civilians will be safe.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Here in the U.S., pro-Palestinian protests raged on at Columbia University ahead of the Passover holiday.
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(CHANTING)
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HOLMES: The White House has urged calm, saying, quote, "While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous. They have absolutely no place on any college campus or anywhere in the United States of America." That was from the White House.
A rabbi associated with the university urging Jewish students to return home. And the university announcing students can attend classes virtually starting Monday.
Students have been camping on the university's lawn since Wednesday to protest against what they say is Columbia's continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israel's war in Gaza.
Meantime, the FBI says the federal law enforcement are on alert for any potential threats to the Jewish community as families get ready to celebrate Passover on Monday.
CNN's Camila Bernal has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENIOR RABBI SARAH HRONSKY, TEMPLE BETH HILLEL: Yes, roll it down.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the Passover preparations at the Hronskys.
HRONSKY: You got your blue waves (ph)?
BERNAL (voice-over): As a mother and a rabbi --
HRONSKY: Some people call them Lego people. We call them Israelites.
BERNAL (voice-over): Sarah Hronsky knows this year, the holiday will be different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matza.
BERNAL (voice-over): Not only are many leaving empty seats at the table --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are for the hostages this year.
BERNAL (voice-over): But those celebrating are also being told to be on alert.
HRONSKY: The threats are every day. They're all the time, and they're very, very real.
BERNAL (voice-over): According to the FBI, anti-Jewish hate crime cases tripled in the wake of the October 7th attack, and they are currently on alert for threats ahead of Passover.
RABBI NOAH FARKAS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, JEWISH FEDERATION LOS ANGELES: We put out an alert to congregations, to schools, to organizations, agencies, anywhere where Jews gather, for us to be a little bit more vigilant this year.
BERNAL (voice-over): Rabbi Noah Farkas is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation, Los Angeles. While he's also preparing for the seder, the organization he leads is recommending people know who they invite into their homes, keep outdoor lights on, and report any incident or crime.
FARKAS: One of the saddest things about being a Jew in America today is that we have to pay for private security to express our First Amendment right.
BERNAL (voice-over): For large gatherings, cameras and extra security has become the norm.
ELTAN BAZAZ, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, DAVID SHIELD SECURITY: In recent years, especially since October 7, the demand for our services increased at least, like, 3 to 400 percent.
BERNAL (voice-over): The increase, says Eltan Bazaz with David Shield Security, is in part because of protests, campus threats, and Middle East tensions, causing angst in the U.S.
[00:10:04]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you do, sir? How can I help you?
BERNAL (voice-over): In 2023, almost 9,000 antisemitic incidents have been tracked in the U.S., the highest number of incidents reported since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking them in the 1970s.
HRONSKY: It has increased phenomenally in a way that we can't even count anymore, the hundreds of percentage points that it's increased.
BERNAL: What have you seen?
HRONSKY: I'll give you an example. Today a woman drove by my synagogue, filming and shouting antisemitic slurs.
BERNAL (voice-over): But despite the threats, the worry, the sadness, there will also be joy.
HRONSKY: Grounding and having a seder and being -- celebration of your roots, and your core, and your heritage. This is a sign that we, too, will get through to the other side.
BERNAL: And the FBI director said that his remarks about safety were not intended to stir alarm, but he did note that it's a time to remain vigilant.
And the people that I spoke to told me it's the little things making sure your porch lights are on and making sure that, even though you can open the doors to your home to other people, just making sure that you are familiar with who is coming inside of your house.
Camila Bernal, CNN, Beverly Hills, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the U.S. to send weapons to the front lines as soon as possible after the House of Representatives passed a massive aid package over the weekend. The bill, which is expected to be approved by the Senate this week, includes $61 billion just for Ukraine and comes as Mr. Zelenskyy says the country's preparing for a potential major Russian offensive in the coming months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This aid will strengthen Ukraine and send the Kremlin a powerful signal that it will not be the second Afghanistan. The United States will stay with Ukraine, will protect the Ukrainians, and they will protect -- they will protect democracy in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The passage of the long-awaited aid bill in the U.S. House is boosting morale among Ukrainian troops. They've been fending off Russian attacks for months now with a dwindling supply of weapons, ammunition, and equipment.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the relief certainly was palpable here in the Ukrainian capital, with politicians from Ukraine --
PLEITGEN (voice-over): -- thanking the United States, thanking the House of Representatives, and thanking Speaker Mike Johnson after the House passed that Ukraine military aid package.
Now the Ukrainians, of course, have been suffering a great day still from a shortage of ammunition, and also a shortage of weapons, and were certainly looking for this aid package to try and boost their position on the front lines.
Right now, the Russians are the ones who have the momentum on their side.
We were actually able to speak to a couple of troops who are fighting on the front lines. And one of them, who's fighting on the Southern front, said that the Ukrainians there had felt that their allies had all but forgotten them.
PLEITGEN: And now, of course, that's changed as morale has been boosted.
Another one who's fighting on the -- on the Eastern front also said that this aid package definitely boosts morale for the Ukrainian forces. They say, right now, they desperately need air defense weapons, as the Russians, of course, have launched a massive campaign against Ukraine's civilian and energy infrastructure.
And they also need the artillery ammunition, as well.
The president of this country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he also came out and praised the United States. Here's what he had to say.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We appreciate every manifestation of support for our state and independence, our people, and our lives, which Russia wants to bury in ruins.
America has shown its leadership from the first days of this war.
PLEITGEN: The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking there. And the Ukrainians believed that with this aid package, they'll not necessarily totally be able to reverse things on the battlefield, but certainly, they believe that they'll be able to hold up some of those Russian advances.
We also got a message from Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. And he said the following -- this is a quote: "Enabling Ukraine to push back Russian aggression is equal to preventing a larger war in Europe and averting the risk of all wannabe aggressors plunging our world into chaos."
Clearly, the Ukrainians are trying to say that they believe that this aid package is not good only for them, but also good for the United States, as well.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We are just hours away from opening statements in the first- ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts for his alleged role in a hush-money scheme to conceal an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
There will be increased security around the courthouse this week after a man set himself on fire in a nearby park on Friday in a protest seemingly unrelated to the trial itself.
[00:15:10]
And a source tells CNN the prosecution's first witness will likely be David Pecker, on the left of your screen there, the former publisher of "The National Enquirer," who was said to be a key player in the hush-money plot.
CNN's Marshall Cohen gives us a closer look now at several of the potential witnesses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's finally here. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday morning in New York City --
COHEN (voice-over): -- in former President Donald Trump's hush-money criminal trial.
This is, of course, the very first time in American history that a former president is standing trial for alleged crimes.
This is all about a cover-up in 2016. Donald Trump paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star, to prevent her from going public with allegations of an affair. He denies the affair.
The alleged crime, the prosecutors' theory of this case, is all about the falsification of business records at the Trump Organization: how Trump Org paid back Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney at the time, paid him back for that hush-money payment.
According to the prosecutors, the Trump Organization and Donald Trump, at the head, falsified business records, falsely suggesting that those were routine legal retainers and legal services, when really, it was a hush-money payment intended to prevent the voters from learning about Stormy Daniels' allegations.
It's a novel legal theory that will be tested and under the microscope for perhaps the next six weeks. That's how long we're expecting things to go.
So opening statements are Monday, and eventually, we will get into witness testimony. And there is a big cast of characters that are expected to swear to tell the truth in front of the jury.
Michael Cohen himself, in many ways, is the star witness of this case. His credibility will be crucial.
There's also Stormy Daniels. She is expected to tell her side of the story. There's also Hope Hicks, a Trump 2016 campaign official; Karen McDougal, who is a -- another woman who alleged an affair with Donald Trump.
COHEN: And then there's also David Pecker. He was involved with "The National Enquirer" or the tabloid that is central to this alleged scheme.
According to the indictment, Pecker and Cohen and Trump met shortly after Trump announced his campaign in 2015, and they all agreed, according to the prosecutors, that they would, quote unquote, "catch and kill" negative stories about Trump, basically paying people off, buying their silence, agreeing to purchase the rights to their story, and burying it so that the voters would never learn of those allegations.
And the voters did -- did not actually learn about the alleged Stormy Daniels affair until after the election, after Trump had made his way to the White House.
That's what we're expecting from opening statements. The prosecutors will be telling the jury their side of the story for the very first time. And of course, Trump's defense attorneys have their own opportunity, as well. It all starts New York City, Monday morning.
Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, navigating turbulent waters. China's navy hosts officers from dozens of countries at a key conference ahead of U.S.-Philippine joint drills, set to kick off Monday.
Also still to come, the World Press Photo Contest names its winners, including photo of the year. I'll be speaking with their executive director on how four photographers beat out thousands of entries.
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[00:21:11]
HOLMES: A somber Sunday on Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, where hundreds gathered to mourn the six people killed in last Saturday's Westfield Mall knife attack.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in attendance and paid tribute to the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We gather here in Bondi to grieve for all that has been stolen from us. All the possibility and potential. All the kindness and humanity. All the love and laughter of the six lives snatched away on that hardest of Saturday afternoons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Twelve other people were injured in that attack, including a nine-month-old baby whose mother was among those killed.
Mass -- mass casualty events are very rare in Australia, and this was one of Sydney's worst violent crimes in recent years.
The top naval officers for more than two dozen countries are attending a four-day conference hosted by China's navy.
The Western Pacific Naval -- Naval Symposium began Sunday, just one day before the start of joint U.S.-Philippine military exercises in the South China Sea.
CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang is at that naval conference and has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: We are aboard the Guiyang, a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, one of the country's more than 340 warships. And that number is expected to grow to an astounding 400 in the near future, according to the Pentagon's assessment.
That's why the Chinese navy is now the world's biggest in terms of fleet size, surpassing the United States some four years ago. Now, some analysts say quantity does not translate into superiority,
but there are experts who say, when it comes to naval warfare, the bigger fleet almost always wins.
That prospect unnerving many officials and politicians, not just in Washington, but in many Asian capitals, as well, at a time when tensions are running high on the high seas of Asia Pacific between China and the United States and some of its key allies, with the Pentagon repeatedly accusing the Chinese military of conducting unsafe, unprofessional maneuvers targeting the U.S. and its allies when they conduct so-called freedom of navigation operations in the region.
In more recent weeks and months, we have seen increasing confrontations and clashes between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the South China Sea over disputed territory, with the Chinese obviously outnumbering and outgunning the Filipinos.
And the Chinese, of course, have been pushing back all these allegations very strongly, pointing a finger at Washington, saying it's the U.S. and using its allies to provoke troubles in the region, trying to harm China's security and interest and containing its rise.
But nonetheless, the U.S. has been strengthening its military alliances with key allies in the region, including Japan, but also increasingly, the Philippines.
The U.S. Army recently sent its newest missile launch system to the Philippines. And also on Monday, the two sides launching weeks-long joint military drills, for the first time involving the Northern-most part of the Philippines, less than 100 miles away from Taiwan. That's the island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its own territory.
And the Chinese are not sitting idly by. With their rapidly expanding military budget and massive shipbuilding capability, they're churning out more worships like this one, not just destroyers but also submarines and even aircraft carriers.
So it is in this contest that made what brought us here on this ship all the more timely and some would say relevant. The Western Pacific Naval Symposium, hosted by China this year, but gathering up naval commanders and officers from more than two dozen countries, including the United States.
Whether or not there are discussions or exchanges behind closed doors, leading (ph) to any meaningful dialogues that could have impact on strategic and policy directions, remains a huge question mark above the increasingly contentious waters of East and South China seas.
[00:25:07]
Steven Jiang, CNN, Qingdao, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A large crowd gathered in Northern Niger on Sunday, demanding the swift withdrawal of U.S. troops.
American military personnel are expected to leave Niger after the country's ruling junta revoked a military cooperation deal with the U.S. last month.
A U.S. official says a timeline for military withdrawal will be discussed in the coming days. But the U.S. will continue to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country, of course.
The move comes amid serious U.S. concerns about Niger's deepening relationships with Russia and Iran after a military coup last year.
Well, they say a picture is worth 1,000 words. When we come back, I'll be joined by the head of the World Press Photo Foundation on their picks for this year's photo contest and what those winning photos say about us.
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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, Monday marks Earth Day here in the United States, where for more than 50 years, activists and educators have worked together to drive positive action for the planet.
Planet versus Plastics is this year's theme, with EarthDay.org pushing to raise awareness about the harm plastic does, both to humans and the environment. And they say recycling is not the always the answer.
Instead, the group has set a bold goal for the planet: reducing plastic production by 60 percent by the year 2040.
Some of the ways they think that can happen includes phasing out single-use plastics by 2030, advocating for the policies to combat the impact of fast fashion, or clothes that include fabrics made of plastics. Finally, the group calling for larger investments in technology to find alternatives to plastics.
CNN's Eleni Giokos has more on companies trying to reduce the amount of plastic in landfills, but also trying to find alternatives to the material.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tons of plastic waste flow through the conveyor belts at Site Zero every hour. This high-tech plant in Sweden is one of the world's largest plastic sorting sites.
Using infrared lights, lasers, camera tech, and even A.I., the fully automated plant operates more efficiently than smaller plants to divide plastic materials, sorting up to 12 types of plastics to be recycled, rather than the usual three or four.
[00:30:08] MATTIAS PHILIPSSON, CEO, SWEDEN PLASTIC RECYCLING: Every time you see this infrared light looks like sunshine, that detects a plastic type. And when we identify the right type, it will blow this particular type in a certain direction. The rest continues to be sorted.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Site Zero reduces the amount of plastics that produce pollution or end up as waste.
PHILIPSSON: So there is huge amounts of tons that we are now able to not only sort out, but recycle separately, so it can become a new packaging of the same type again.
GIOKOS (voice-over): But even with 200,000 tons of plastic recycled a year, some experts say this new way of recycling shouldn't be the focus.
HENRI BOURGEOIS-COSTA, PLASTIC WASTE SPECIALIST (through translator): The challenge is to replace them and eliminate them. We shouldn't reverse the problem. The tool itself is interesting, but it is interesting if it serves a global approach for society to reduce, and then better sort and recycle what we have sorted.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Seaweed is one possible alternative to plastic, according to the World Economic Forum. It says seaweed's becoming more popular and could be a game changer.
Dissolvable seaweed packaging has been used in Europe. Five years ago, London marathon runners were given edible capsules called Ooho instead of bottled water.
The concept didn't take off as fast as the company hoped. They've pivoted to add other products, like these dissolvable capsules that are a bit sturdier, to replace sauce packets.
So whether its biodegradable packaging or zapping away to sort recycled materials, experts are revolutionizing the way we use plastic and working to reduce the carbon footprint.
Eleni Giokos, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: As it should be. CNN NEWSROOM continues after the break. See you on the other side.
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HOLMES: Whether it is documenting war -- from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the Israel-Hamas war -- or covering pressing issues like climate change and immigration, photographers are there to record history and bring us the images.
We want to take a moment now to focus on those at the front lines, the photojournalists around the world who often risk or even lose their lives so they can provide us with indelible and thought-provoking images. After reviewing more than 61,000 entries by nearly 4,000 photographers from 130 countries, the World Press Photo Foundation has honored four global winners for the top awards of 2024.
You're looking at some of their work there.
Joining me now from Amsterdam is the executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation, Joumana El Zein Khoury. And it's wonderful that you could get up early, too, for us, so we appreciate that.
[00:35:12]
JOUMANA EL ZEIN KHOURY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION: Thank you.
HOLMES: The -- the photo of the year, of course, was Mohammed Salem's heartbreaking image of Inas Abu Maamar, who's holding the body of her five-year-old niece, Saly, killed by an Israeli missile that killed her mother and sister. We're looking at that photo now: devastation frozen in time.
Tell us why it was picked, what it projects.
KHOURY: Well, I mean, first off, if you look at it to, at the first glance, you see a really beautiful, almost Madonna-like image, basically. That's reminds us of Renaissance images, et cetera.
But then when you take a step forward, and you look at it deeper, you really see a woman and holding her niece in her arms.
What the jury really wanted to depict was respect to these bodies. You can't see the faces. You can't see the corpse. You can just read it, immediately feel the devastation and the -- what -- what human impact these wars, this Hamas (ph) war has, Hamas-Israel war. But also wars all over the world have on people.
HOLMES: Yes, that is so well put. It does have a -- a tragic horrible beauty about it.
You know, before we move on, I want to -- I think it's important to put a face to Saly, as well. So I want to put up a photograph and see the little girl that she was.
KHOURY: Yes.
HOLMES: Which Mohammed put up, as well. And we're going to put that up. And you can -- people who are watching can see that's Saly there when she was alive. And it's important we see her.
KHOURY: Yes.
HOLMES: And we'll look at her white while we talk about why Mohammed's work is important, also in that at represents the world of so many Palestinian journalists. Because Israel isn't letting international media into Gaza. It's Palestinians who are showing the world what is happening there. Courageous, resourceful, talented people doing the job for the rest of us.
KHOURY: Yes, absolutely. I mean, freedom of press today is under pressure all over the world. But Gaza is a real case study, because it has it all. It has the fact that they're not have -- letting access.
So journalists cannot have access.
Photographers and journalists are being targeted. Since the beginning of the war, 97 journalists have lost their lives, most of them Palestinians, of course.
And I can't even start to tell you about the problems that they have in terms of Internet access, in terms of sending their images out, in terms of being directly targeted, especially photojournalists who you can see immediately, because of all of the equipment that they have.
Actually, just one side note. Mohammed, this photo is very personal from Mohammed, because just a couple of days before taking this image, he had his -- the third son who was born and whom he still hasn't seen since.
HOLMES: Yes.
KHOURY: And when I spoke to Mohammed about this image, he told me all around him there was the chaos of, you know, people crying, devastation, war.
And then he just saw this woman holding Saly in her arm and didn't want to let go of her. And that's how he zoomed in immediately on her, on that personal story that speaks to universal tragedy.
HOLMES: It is so often the individual stories that tell the broader truth. The photo -- the photo story of the year showcases some incredible work by Lee-Ann Olwage, a photo essay of a man with dementia cared for by his daughter in Madagascar. We'll show some of those for people that and tell us about those.
KHOURY: Yes. This -- this work is really -- well, first of all, really beautiful. It's very personal. It links to a very big problem all over the world. Also very much on the African continent, but it speaks all over the world about how the elderly generation is not being cared of. And it's let go of and just isn't considered.
And here, this story speaks about how a family cares for their elderly, how there's a very -- a transition between one generation and the next.
And it's that -- it's that also solution-driven. How actually things can work in that way, how -- how you can bring different generations together and care for your elderly that really showcases this and puts a spotlight on this specific issue --
HOLMES: Yes.
KHOURY: -- in a very different manner.
HOLMES: The long-term project award. That's the migrant journey North.
KHOURY: Yes.
HOLMES: That's the focus of photographer Alejandro Cegarra. He has an impressive body of work. It's very powerful, too, because he is a migrant.
[00:40:08]
Briefly outline that, and then I want to ask you a final question.
KHOURY: Yes. I mean, this -- this work is incredible, because as you said, he himself is a migrant. What's very important for journalists, and photojournalists specifically, is to have trust. What is very important also is who is telling whose story.
And here, the fact that he comes from this community, he has actually lived himself this -- this experience brings enough trust with the people that he is photographing that you immediately see in the images that are depicted.
And it tells -- therefore, it tells again, a much more personal story of something that we don't -- there's something called compassion fatigue, that we just don't feel anymore. And that's why zooming in on the personal is so important in order to be able to understand how big these tragedies are.
HOLMES: That's so -- that's so important.
I want to come back to something you said, because, you know, I've covered conflicts most of my life. And the one -- the one thing I always try to do is to tell the story through a person --
KHOURY: Yes.
HOLMES: -- and their story representing the broader picture. And the thing that -- with all these winners, that they had in common, in listening to interviews with them and so on, is that focus on the human: to give voice and to give face to dreadful situations.
KHOURY: Yes. And that's a bit what we have been doing at World Press Photo for so many years we exist, since almost 70 years.
And every -- and every year, there's a new independent jury that chooses these images. And every year you feel that there's this choice, but by each different jury, to bring out these personal stories.
And especially -- especially in the Gaza-Israel war, which is the winner of the year with Mohammed Salem, where there weren't -- all of these victims were numbers, were dehumanized.
Here, it was really -- and the jury really underlined the fact that they wanted to give a personal story and a human story to this conflict and a story that you can directly relate to. The way that people have reacted when they've looked at this image.
Just yesterday, I was with someone, and they immediately started crying, looking at it. They immediately could relate to it. And that is what we try and do with our work.
HOLMES: Yes.
KHOURY: And with the photojournalists.
HOLMES: In all conflicts, it's all too often too much about numbers and not about names and faces.
We're going to leave it there. Unfortunately, we're right out of time. Joumana El Zein Khoury, thank you so much. Amazing photographs. It's so great, the work that you do. Thank you.
KHOURY: Thank you so much.
HOLMES: And thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. Stick around. I'll be back with more news in about 15 minutes or so, a bit over that. WORLD SPORT coming up next.
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