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New Day Sunday

Gaza Officials: 10 Dead in Shelling Near A School; U.S. Spy Plane Evades Russian Military Jet; American Ebola Patient Enters U.S. Hospital

Aired August 03, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Glad to have you on board with us here this morning. I'm Christi Paul.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miguel Marquez, in for Victor Blackwell this morning. It is 7:00 on the East Coast, 4:00 out West. This is NEW DAY SUNDAY.

PAUL: And we want to begin with you regarding the conflict between Israel and Gaza as things seem to be heating up.

MARQUEZ: Indeed. New this morning, an attack near the U.N.-run shelter has led to more deaths, according to Gaza officials. Ten people were killed when shells struck twin city of the shelter. It's unclear which side may to be blame.

PAUL: Meanwhile, though, the Israeli military now says Hadar Goldin, the soldier reportedly captured and killed by Hamas, was not, in fact, kidnapped, rather killed during a blast by a suicide bomber in a Gaza tunnel. Hamas countered that claim saying it believed he died in an Israeli air strike.

MARQUEZ: And the death toll continues to rise for both sides. Israel says 64 IDF soldiers have been killed, along with three civilians, while Gaza officials claim the death toll now -- it has topped 1,700. Palestinian health officials estimate some 450,000 people have been displaced since the Israeli operation began, and the U.N. says some of them were staying in a school located near this latest shelling attack.

PAUL: CNN's John Vause is in Gaza with more on the situation on the ground.

John, have you learn anything about that latest shelling near the school?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No, look, what we're hearing is that many people had gone to that school because there has been such intense fighting around the area of Rafah, even fighting kind of sounds misleading bus what has been happening there has been a constant bombardment of Israeli artillery and tank fire. We're also being told that a number of air strikes also carried out in the southern part of Rafah. That's from witnesses who live down there as well as Palestinian health ministry.

I was down there on Friday and I managed to speak with some residents who went to a U.N. school, I'm not too sure if it's the same one. But they had gone there because they thought they would be safe. What we're now hearing from the United Nations is that, in fact, there was some kind of explosion in the vicinity of the school. So, again, not too sure if it hit the school or hit near the school and we're now hearing from Palestinian officials and we're waiting to confirm this with the United Nations that at least ten people have been killed, once again in the vicinity of the school.

This is part of Israel's military offensive, which, according to the Israeli prime minister is now entering a new phase. In some parts, Israeli troops are withdrawing back to the border closer to Israel. It seems that they are wrapping up the ground operation of looking for those tunnels and destroying those Hamas tunnels as well.

Paul Hirschon, We have a spokesperson for Israeli foreign ministry. He is live for us this morning in Jerusalem.

Mr. Good to speak with you. Thank you for being with us.

We know negotiations are ongoing in Cairo right now.

PAUL HIRSCHON, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: The Palestinians are there. Thank you.

Hamas is there. Why not go? Why not send an Israeli delegation? What is the harm in talking?

HIRSCHON: Look, you know, a package was put together just two days ago which we accepted, and we were supposed to be this weekend in the middle of a humanitarian corridor providing aid for people who most needed it and engaging in a conversation as to how to get out of this mess that Hamas has brought down on both sides. You know, Hamas can't pick one or two pieces out of a hundred and say we like this cherry and we like that chocolate and we'll trample all over the rest of them.

They made it abundantly clear, personal assurances -- personal assurances were given to the secretary-general of the United Nations, given to the secretary of state of the United States.

VAUSE: I'm sorry. I get it. Look, we all understand. We understand the cease-fire was broken. You blame Hamas, the United States blames Hamas. Hamas, of course, blames you guys.

Look, we're never going resolve that part of the issue. I understand people are entrenched and you have what you believe is absolutely fact, undisputable fact and I'm not disputing it but Hamas does.

So, let's just -- can we just move beyond that and let's get to this point. Does Israel want to try to find a negotiated settlement to this or are the Israelis now -- because of all the frustrations which you just outlined there -- is Israel just prepared to end this on its own terms, not willing to even enter the possibility of having talks with Hamas?

HIRSCHON: OK. Let's be clear, OK. There's no frustration involved. There's a very clear, calm, cold analysis of what's going on. There have been six or seven cease-fire proposals that we accepted and implemented all of them. Hamas either rejected or violated or both all of them.

The United Nations, secretary-general of the United Nations himself just said you can't place any venue in Hamas' words. Look, I'm a diplomat and I believe more than anything else in the diplomatic formula, OK? There's nothing we would like more than to resolve our differences with the Palestinian people, and with the Arab world at large. Hamas has shown us all in very, very clear terms that they are a school of thought which is elevated suicide. It's a place in society which amounts to nothing less than the wisdom of death. The obstacle to us reaching a negotiated settlement is the absence of the disarming of Hamas and other terror organization.

VAUSE: But isn't there -- isn't there a way of finding, you know, a solution to this problem, because Israeli prime minister once told me he said talking is always better because while you're talking you're not shooting regardless -- maybe that's not the case here. At least there are those negotiations which are ongoing. It seems to me that Israel is now moving into this different phase now.

HIRSCHON: Well, this is precisely the reason why we accepted every one of the cease-fire proposals that were put on table. But, you know, if personal assurances are given to the secretary-general of the United Nations by us -- but never mind by us -- by Hamas themselves, given to the secretary of state of the United States, it's almost as if Hamas just spat directly in their faces.

You have to question the veracity of their statements and of their actions. We would like nothing more --

VAUSE: I understand.

HIRSCHON: -- than to find a negotiated solution.

VAUSE: Very quickly.

HIRSCHON: If they bring an option, we're there. Yes?

VAUSE: Very quickly, very quickly, will Israel establish a security buffer inside the Gaza strip? Is this where this all heading to?

HIRSCHON: I don't know that I can speak to operational considerations. We didn't want to be in this conflict in the first place.

VAUSE: OK.

HIRSCHON: We said so. We did everything we could to not get dragged in. And we don't want to be there. We've already redeployed our troops out as we finish working in various places. As soon as we know there's no threat on our population, we're out there was. We don't want to be there.

VAUSE: OK. I really appreciate it. I hope I didn't --

(VIDEO GAP)

VAUSE: Thank you for coming in.

HIRSCHON: I think I lost you.

VAUSE: -- the spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry.

Christi Paul, back to you.

HIRSCHON: Thank you very much.

MARQUEZ: All right.

PAUL: Thank you both so much. John Vause and Paul Hirschon, we appreciate it.

MARQUEZ: Navigating the tricky territory there, our John Vause.

Now, to another story we are following. A U.S. Air Force spy plane, similar to this one, evaded an encounter with the Russian military a day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down.

PAUL: Let's bring CNN's Erin McPike, who's been looking into this.

Some people might be asking, first of all, what was the U.S. Air Force plane doing in international airspace?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Miguel, President Obama says the U.S. is not going back to the Cold War with Russia, but with episodes like this it sure feels that way. So, this U.S. spy plane had to fly into Swedish airspace without permission two weeks ago to avoid a potential clash with the Russians.

Now, this was one day after the Malaysian airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine. This time it was a U.S. Air Force spy plane. So, it avoided this encounter with the Russian military on July 18th. U.S. plane was an RC-135 Rivet Joint. And the U.S. was using it to eavesdrop on the Russian military.

But then, they, the Russians that is, begin tracking it with land radar, and sent one fighter jet to intercept it. Well, that's when the American plane flew into another zone without permission.

So, a U.S. State Department official tells us, quote, "We acknowledge U.S. aircraft veered to Swedish airspace and will take active steps to ensure we properly communicated with Swedish authorities in advance to prevent similar issues before they arise." Now, there was a similar occurrence in April near Japan between

the U.S. and Russia, Christi and Miguel, but apparently the land radar detection the Russians used in this case was rare and unusual.

PAUL: All right. Erin McPike, we appreciate the explainer. Thank you.

MARQUEZ: The first known Ebola patient is on U.S. soil this morning.

PAUL: Doctors are quick to remind us, though, there's more to consider here than just the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a virus. This is a patient. This is one of our neighbors. This is a parent. This is a child. This is a spouse. This is a sibling. It's a sick person who needs our help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: A look at Dr. Kent Brantly's struggle, just ahead.

MARQUEZ: And a gunman shoots through the doors of a casino, causing multiple injuries. We'll have that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Thirteen minutes past the hour.

And an American doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus is fighting for his life right now on U.S. soil.

MARQUEZ: Dr. Kent Brantly, who contracted the virus while treating patients in Liberia landed in Georgia yesterday. He's the first person ever to be treated in the States for the disease.

PAUL: Upon landing, though, Brantly was rushed to Emory Hospital where he was placed in isolation and he did briefly get to reunite with his wife.

MARQUEZ: And according to a family spokesperson, the couple spent about 45 degrees together but had to be separated by a glass wall.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The fight to keep American Dr. Kent Brantly alive is now in the hands of infectious disease experts at Atlanta's Emory Hospital. The 33-year-old Brantly, a missionary with Samaritan's Purse made the long journey from Liberia to the United States in a specially equipped jet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm worried about him. Yes, I am. But he'll be OK, regardless.

GUPTA: After nearly 6,000 miles, 14 hours in the air, Brantly touched down Saturday morning in Atlanta. But not before a brief refueling in Bangor, Maine. He's the first known Ebola patient on U.S. soil.

I spoke with Dr. Bruce Ribner, one of the leading physicians overseeing Brantly's care. He says there was never a question of bringing the two Americans who contracted Ebola to Emory. They were ready for them.

(on camera): Why take the risk at all?

DR. BRUCE RIBNER, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I think you've been in that part of the world. You know the level of care that can be delivered. These are Americans who went over there to supply a humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals. And our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get.

GUPTA (voice-over): By early Saturday afternoon, Brantly was transferred from his isolation on board the plane on to an ambulance on the tarmac. Caravan took to the streets of Atlanta where every move was tracked by air and ground. Awaiting him at the hospital, a specially outfitted containment unit, one of only several on the world.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What sort of message do you have for folks at home, general public, that were concerned about having an American with the Ebola virus here in their backyard?

DR. JAY VARKEY, INFECTIOUS DISEASES DOCTOR, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I think that's the key point. That this is not a virus, this is a patient. This is one of our neighbors. This is a parent. This is a child. This is a spouse. This is a sibling. This is a sick person who needs our help.

GUPTA: The other American missionary, Nancy Writebol, is awaiting her trip back to the United States as well. Around 12:30 Saturday afternoon, about an hour after the plane landed at Dobbins Air Force Base, it was back in the air and she's expected to join her colleague at Emory early next week.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: That picture --

PAUL: Of him walking.

MARQUEZ: Unbelievable. His wife in the hospital watching it on CNN live as he's getting out of that ambulance.

PAUL: Can you imagine what she was going through?

MARQUEZ: And he was moving so gingerly. Poor guy, but he wasn't -- incredible. Incredible. Must be a tough, tough doctor.

Be sure to watch "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." at 7:30 a.m. Eastern today, right here on CNN. He goes even more in-depth on the Ebola epidemic.

Heavy smoke seen in the skyline in northern Gaza. We'll have the latest live.

PAUL: Plus, the Palestinian delegation we know is on the ground now in Cairo ready to discuss a cease-fire. But with no one from Israel to talk with, how productive is this going to be?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Updating you on the situation in the Middle East. Rockets are still firing. We got some factions in Cairo ready to talk. Some who are not.

Let's talk with Aaron David Miller about this.

MARQUEZ: He's vice president of Woodrow Wilson International Center. He's also a former adviser to six secretaries of state on the Arab-Israeli peace process.

A Palestinian delegation has arrived in Cairo for talks. What would it take for a viable cease-fire? I mean, can these talks really get going unless the Israelis are there as well?

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: No. I think the Israelis are waiting for an Egyptian proposal from the Palestinians, number one. Number two, I don't think they want to get drawn into the kind of tick tock that we've witnessed over the last 72 hours.

And there's another reality I think that needs to be pointed out, and that is, you know, after 27 days, 1,700 Palestinians dead, Gaza humanitarian disaster, 67 Israeli soldiers dead and three civilians, the end game that is to say a stable state is no closer -- more easily able to identify and it's going to be extremely difficult to achieve because at root cause, the realities are Hamas basically survived its political and military leadership intact, its repository of high trajectory weapons more or less intact. I doubt if the Israelis destroyed all of the tunnels. Gaza is a humanitarian and economic disaster.

And we're no closer, frankly to getting at the root of the problem. So, I suspect that's the real terrifying truth and tragedy. We're likely to see an outcome that is going to fall way short of what it really takes to stabilize the situation into a durable settlement and set of arrangements.

PAUL: What about the fact that this is playing out in Egypt? Will Egypt itself play more than a mediating role at this point?

MILLER: You know, Christi, it's a fascinating question. The Egyptians in 2012 really drove this process. Then you had a President Mohamed Morsy, who is very close to the Brotherhood. Now, you've got another guy, Abdel Fattah Sisi, the former supreme commander of the Egyptian military, who shares a common goal with Israel and that is to squeeze Hamas to weaken it.

So, the Egyptians aren't trusted, nor do I believe they have the same sort of stake in committing their own prestige and credibility to a settlement. You really don't have right now -- and this is another problem as if we needed more, an effective mediator. The Qataris and Turks are too close to Hamas. The Americans have demonstrated at unique degree of fecklessness and weakness in their efforts to produce a solution.

U.N. is mistrusted. So, you don't have anyone frankly who has real credibility with both Hamas and the Israelis, and no one in the international community appears ready to put their arms around this problem in order to really take it seriously. So, a lot of work to be done and a lot of uncertainty.

MARQUEZ: Before all of this, a lot of the Arab states were very, very concern, you've rain lot about this, about political Islam. How has this changed the dynamic? Has this caused them to change their opinion of Hamas and has it pushed even moderates Palestinians away from the Israelis, away from Fatah, away from a more amenable place to do negotiations.

MILLER: Yes. You know, Miguel, they are really good questions. I've been around this problem for a long time. And rarely have I seen the kind of deafening silence from the Arab world. In part, it's because they are preoccupied, distracted in case of Syria and Iraq. They are burdened with civil war and major challenges.

The Egyptians are fundamentally anti-Hamas and they are joined by the Saudis and the UAE who fear not only political Islam and Sunni jihadists, they fear Iran as well and mistrust that connection.

So, the Arab world really doesn't have the kind focus or capacity. What's so stunning is the degree to which the Arab street, Arab public opinion, no demonstration or there have been some but hardly demonstrations that have been really decisive or determinative.

And that distracts from the urgency again of coming to grips with this problem. So, you really have a situation in which Israel and Hamas have emerged without the fundamental resolution of what has driven this conflict to begin with and frankly the end state is going to be very difficult to achieve.

PAUL: All right. Hey, Aaron David Miller, we appreciate you walking us through all it as it's a complicated scenario. Thank you.

MARQUEZ: Thanks.

MILLER: A pleasure. Thank you.

MARQUEZ: Now, a suspect opens fire at a casino in Arizona.

PAUL: We know several people were hurt. How police finally stopped the gunman. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I want to share some new video into the newsroom that we're getting in here at CNN. An attack near a U.N.-run shelter has led to more deaths this morning, in the mounting conflict in the Middle East. You are seeing the pictures of where that happened near the shelter.

According to Gaza officials, 10 people were killed when shells struck within the vicinity of it. Not clear which side may be to blame but we did talk to Chris Gunness of UNWRA who told us there were 3,000 people housed in that shelter near where this hit.

MARQUEZ: Now, police shot and killed a suspect who opened fire last night in a casino in eastern Arizona. Officials say an unnamed suspect shot through the doors at the Hon-Dah Casino.

PAUL: At least four people we know were hurt. One victim shot in the head. Another in the abdomen, the motive is under investigation.

Hey, we're glad you spent some time with us this morning.

MARQUEZ: Thanks for being here.

And here's "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D.", that starts right now.