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CNN International: Negotiations Continue as IDF Withdraws from Khan Younis; Inside President Biden's Phone Call with Netanyahu; Zelenskyy: Ukraine Will Lose the War Without U.S. Aid; Weather Concerns for Solar Eclipse. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are our people, and we can't stand another day without them coming home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The troops pulled out to prepare for their future missions.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, is facing a daunting road ahead as he tries to navigate competing politics within his own conference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is the final countdown to Solar Eclipse Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're watching those clouds so closely on the path of totality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Monday, April the 8th, 9 a.m. here in London, 10 a.m. in Cairo, where Egyptian state media is reporting significant progress in talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage deal. But no details on what, if anything, has been accomplished.

And with the ongoing talks, thousands took to the streets in Jerusalem on Sunday to demand the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAL NACHSHON, TEL AVIV RESIDENT: These are our people, and we can't stand another day without them coming home. And it's above politics, it's above religion, it's a humanitarian issue, and that's what we're here to shout today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile in Gaza, the Israeli military says it has withdrawn ground forces from the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel says a significant force still remains in Gaza, and the departing troops are leaving to recuperate and prepare for future operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: The troops pulled out to prepare for their future missions. We saw examples of such missions in the operations at Shifa Hospital, and also for their future mission in the Rafah region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Nada has been following developments for us. The question, the big question, is whether the troops are being withdrawn so they can then get ready to go into Rafah. And it does sound, from that soundbite, as if that is the plan.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've certainly seen that in the past with the withdrawal of Israeli troops from other parts of northern and central Gaza. Of course, what we have seen now following the withdrawal of troops from Khan Younis is complete and utter destruction left in the wake of that latest military operation.

This is an operation which has been ongoing for months, and we've heard from Israeli military officials saying that they have concluded their targets in the Khan Younis area, but that their troops are being withdrawn to recuperate, to prepare for another operation.

Unclear where that operation will be, but of course we've been hearing those warnings about a ground operation in Rafah for some time now, although Israel continues to come under international pressure to protect civilian lives. We know, of course, that there are some 1.5 million civilians currently sheltering in the southern city.

And what we've seen just in the last few hours is civilians returning now to Khan Younis. Many of them have been unable to return for months, and what they have been returning to is complete destruction, absolutely nothing left. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED ABOU DIAB, KHAN YOUNIS RESIDENT (through translator): It is a shock, a shock. What happened was not small, really. While coming on the way in the car, I saw things. The destruction is unbearable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, it's unclear how many troops have exactly withdrawn, how many remain in Gaza. Typically, Israeli brigades would have a few thousand troops within them. Again, there's no details as to how many are actually being withdrawn or redeployed at this current point in time.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that some troops would remain around the Netzarim crossing, which is essentially a division line that has been established by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two. And, of course, as we've heard from the Israeli military, they have said that while they are withdrawing from Khan Younis, they maintain a significant presence in other parts of Gaza.

FOSTER: They have promised, the Israelis, to allow more aid in through the land borders, but more issues there.

BASHIR: Yes, I mean, there's been mounting pressure on Israel to open up more of those borders, not just the Rafah border crossing. We did hear from Israeli authorities saying they would open up the Erez crossing.

We were expecting to see the first crossing of aid trucks coming in on Sunday, but that hasn't happened. Authorities saying that they are looking into logistical preparations now.

[04:05:00]

No clear date as to when trucks will be actually able to pass through the Erez crossing. And, of course, we were hearing those warnings before from aid agencies.

The destruction that we have seen in northern and central Gaza means it is a huge logistical challenge for these aid trucks to move around to transport aid through this border crossing into parts of northern and central Gaza. And, of course, this delay is only going to add to the dire shortages and need of those in Gaza. We've heard from aid agencies saying that they have amassed tons and tons of aid on those borders waiting to get into Gaza, but they simply haven't been able to distribute the aid that is so desperately needed.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you.

U.S. President Joe Biden is taking a tougher stand, warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to do more to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza or face consequences. That warning came last week during a phone call. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more about what he said between, well, what was in that conversation between the two leaders.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: CNN is learning new details about a pointed call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. That call coming at a pivotal moment, only days after World Central Kitchen employees were killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza.

Now, according to sources, President Biden placed additional pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change his policies in his war against Hamas. That included primarily getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza by opening a land crossing, a port and also ramping up supplies. Now, according to a source, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to that, saying that there would be more done.

But the president went a step further, saying that it needed to be done soon. And indeed, hours after the call, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved of the measures. The White House has so far welcomed the moves and the changes that they've seen thus far, acknowledging that there has been frustration and that more needs to be done.

But what is clear is that the U.S. is steadfastly supporting Israel and its right to defend itself. Difference now is that they are more willing to change their policy if Israel doesn't change what it's doing. Of course, what that would be still remains an open question, as well as what metrics the U.S. is using to determine if Israel is making the necessary changes.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The Israeli military says it is ready to deal with Iran, quote, offensively and defensively, after Iran blamed Israel for a strike on its embassy compound in Syria, killing seven officials last week. The IDF's chief of staff says Israeli troops are prepared and operating in the north, south, West Bank and beyond. CNN has reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.

Meanwhile, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is calling Iran an octopus of terror. He says, quote, its head is in Tehran, then it sends its tentacles all around Israel and the Middle East. Bennett told CNN that Iran has been using its proxies in several countries in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Israel.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the U.S. is ready to respond swiftly against any attacks by Iran or its proxies.

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I know the president and his team are working hard to prevent escalation and are prepared to defend any attack and respond swiftly if necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: While Iran is vowing to retaliate after that deadly strike in Damascus, the U.S. is on high alert and preparing for a significant Iranian attack, as officials believe Tehran could target Israeli or American assets in the Middle East.

Ukraine's president giving his strongest, starkest warning yet about the state of war between or against Russia without military aid from the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war and we need to find a public format for this. If Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Volodymyr Zelenskyy also says Russia will soon be, quote, more and more insistent on dragging nuclear weapons into the debate.

Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee says Russia propaganda has absolutely spread through Congress, particularly amongst some of his Republican colleagues. A number of hardline House conservatives have refused to back a $95 billion aid package, which includes $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine. The refusal is also putting House Speaker Mike Johnson in a really tough spot. If he does push ahead for more Ukraine aid, he risks being ousted by his own party.

CNN's Manu Raju has the latest on Johnson's dilemma.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, is facing a daunting road ahead as he tries to navigate competing politics within his own conference as well as demands for action on aid to Ukraine.

[04:10:00]

Remember, an aid package that passed the Senate earlier this year has been stalled in the House because of Republican opposition to that bipartisan $95 billion package that includes money for Israel, for Ukraine, for Taiwan.

Mike Johnson at the time said he wanted that to include border security measures. Then the Senate cut a bipartisan border security deal. Mike Johnson, along with Donald Trump, opposed it.

Eventually, it was killed in the U.S. Senate. So where do they go from here? Because there is still this demand for Ukraine aid. Mike Johnson is trying to move behind the scenes to try to cobble together a plan that can win over significant amount of Republican support and try to woo Democrats as well.

It is uncertain whether he can do that. He wants to put border provisions in there. He wants to narrow the Ukraine package, all of which still could be too much for the Ukraine critics within his conference, namely Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is threatening to oust him from the speakership.

She has already filed a resolution that would call for his vote, seeking his ouster. Remember, this happened last fall to Kevin McCarthy. He was the first speaker ever ousted by his own colleagues on a vote on the House floor. Greene is threatening to do that again.

She told me last week that Johnson should absolutely not move forward with any Ukraine aid package, saying they would move the needle with her, suggesting that that could actually force that vote. The question will be, would Democrats come to Johnson's defense, and would they do that even if Johnson moved forward with the Ukraine aid package? That was not something that they ultimately could get behind. All major questions for the speaker going forward.

Now, the speaker has been busy himself trying to raise money for Republican candidates as they try to scramble to keep their razor-thin Republican majority. On the Democratic side, I have learned new details about the push by the Democrats to take back the House in the fall.

The Democratic super PAC, House Majority PAC, plans to invest more money than it ever has to win back the House. They are announcing today $186 million, split between $140 million or so for TV ads, the rest for digital ads in some key swing districts, going after Republicans in Biden districts, trying to defend Democrats in Trump districts. All going to lead to a furious battle, or as the leader of the group told me, trench warfare with Republicans district by district to try to keep the Republican -- to win over -- take the Democrats back to the majority.

But there are so few districts truly at play here, so enormous sums will be spent, but it will have huge implications. As we can see right now, the majority decides the agenda, and if the Democrats take the majority, their agenda would be much different than the Republicans.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, the latest on the total solar eclipse that's seen, or will be seen, across America. Just in the coming hours as well, how best to enjoy that view.

Plus, ahead of a key meeting this week with Joe Biden, Japan's prime minister tells CNN the world is at an historic turning point.

So the Vatican is set to release new documents addressing gender roles and surrogacy. Will it stick to the church's traditional views or offer something new?

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: It is the final countdown to the solar eclipse today when millions of people in the U.S., Mexico and Canada will watch the moon block out the rays of the sun.

The forecast for part of the eclipse's path of totality could ruin the view, though, of this once-in-a-lifetime experience for many. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're watching those clouds so closely on the path of totality.

It looks like we have a storm system, though, developing on the southern end of the path where a severe risk is growing for damaging winds, large hail, even isolated tornadoes from Texas into Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The good news is, though, it looks like the storms do blow up after the eclipse. We've got a couple of showers kind of right as the eclipse is starting, that partial eclipse, and then they blow up right after that peak, probably after 3 or 4 o'clock.

So you might have a 1- to 2-hour window to seek shelter if you're in a place like Dallas outside to watch the eclipse. Though it will come with cloud cover, mostly cloudy skies in Dallas, temperatures in the 70s. 1:42 is your total solar eclipse time. Then it ends at 3:00, and those storms will fire up shortly after.

It's all part of the system that kind of stalls right near that path of totality, bringing you some showers from middle Tennessee and then over towards the Carolinas. We do have some clouds that will come with it from Texas into Louisiana on the southern end of the path, some clearing across the Ohio Valley, and even some clearing in New England, too. Also looks like a pretty good spot to catch the total solar eclipse.

If you're looking at some places like Little Rock, where we'll have some mostly cloudy skies, a little bit close to that system, your totality is at 1:51. Places like Rochester, also finding some mostly cloudy skies with your peak at 3:20.

Now, what's so cool about this, too, is we will find temperatures taking a dip while you have the peak totality of that shadow because it's cutting off the energy from the sun, so those temperatures are going to briefly come down and will pop back up once the shadow moves away from the sun and we get those temperatures to rebound, so something that we'll have to watch out for closely.

So not only will you experience the total darkness in totality, you'll experience that temperature drop, the relative humidity increases as the temperatures dip closer to that dew point. The winds could decrease, too, and so could your cloud cover.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, I'm joined now by Anna Gammon-Ross, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich here in London. Thank you so much for joining us. I mean, I think one of the things that's unusual about this is that so many people will get the chance to see this eclipse because the path, the shadow will create across Northern America, of course.

[04:20:00]

But in terms of science, how exceptional is it?

ANNA GAMMON-ROSS, ASTRONOMER, ROYAL OBSERVATORY GREENWICH: Well, we do see total solar eclipses like this roughly every 18 months from somewhere in the world, but because the shadow that the Moon casts on the Earth's surface is actually relatively small. You really do have to be in the right place at the right time, and because we have so much sort of water covering the surface of our planet, a lot of the time it's not visible at all or it could be from various different locations in the world. So the U.S. is very lucky this morning that they are going to get to see such a beautiful eclipse.

FOSTER: Well, many people have planned -- Many people have planned for years, apparently, and they're heading there. And lots of people are just rushing there to see what they can. Unfortunately, a lot of them are going to be disappointed, aren't they, if we look at that weather report. But will the weather affect any sort of scientific managements you take as well?

GAMMON-ROSS: Weather is always a problem. Usually here in the U.K. we find it's a massive problem as well.

In terms of the science that is done around eclipses, there's not loads that is sort of currently done. Eclipses have been studied for a very long time as they're such an easy thing for everyone to be able to spot.

One thing that is a really useful thing that you can study during an eclipse, though, is the outer atmosphere of the Sun. So the outer atmosphere is much fainter compared to the Sun itself, which is incredibly bright. And so it's only when the main disk of the Sun itself is blocked out that we're able to see those fainter layers. Clouds, of course, will block that and get in the way a little bit, but it shouldn't be anything too much of a problem in terms of that side.

FOSTER: A few fears out there about eyesight being damaged by people looking at it. Can you just give us the -- I know you're not a medic, but you've got experience with these things. What is the advice?

GAMMON-ROSS Yes, definitely do not look at the eclipse directly. Don't look at the Sun directly at all, ever. Do not look at it through sunglasses, only through special solar eclipse glasses.

If you don't have access to those, though, it is very easy to make your own pinhole camera. All you need is two sheets of paper, put a little hole in one of them, hold it up so the rays of the Sun can pass through that hole and project it onto your second sheet of paper, and you can see it very safely through that.

FOSTER: What is it like? I remember there was one that crossed over London a few years ago. I wasn't there, and I remember it suddenly going cold. Just describe what it's like.

GAMMON-ROSS: Well, I've actually never experienced one myself. The last one we had that reached totality here in the U.K. was back in 1999.

I was a little too young to fully remember it at that time, though I do have memories of going into the garden with my mum when I was very young, and we made our own little pinhole camera then.

But yes, it is a very exciting thing to happen. Lots of people, as you've mentioned, go all over the world trying to chase these because it's so exciting to be in that position, to see the dynamics of the solar system playing out over your head is just such a special thing that I hope to properly experience one day myself.

FOSTER: One last question. People that don't believe the world is round, what does this say to them?

GAMMON-ROSS: Yes. It's always an interesting theory that people somehow still have to this present day. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary. The biggest being we've sent spacecraft out to take a look at the Earth from above and look down.

But there's even things like if you look out over the sea and are watching ships go by, they can appear to sort of come up over the horizon because of the Earth's curvature and lots of things like that.

So there's plenty of evidence out there, though I realize a lot of people choose to ignore certain evidence.

FOSTER: We call them flat Earthers, I think they'll be, but Anna Gammon-Ross thank you so much indeed for joining us today. An exciting day for your community.

Now, still to come right now, Ukraine's fight for survival depends in part on U.S. lawmakers. That fight isn't easily won.

And how rising global tensions are causing Japan to move away from decades of pacifism.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us here are some of our top stories today.

Aid is not flowing through the Erez crossing into Gaza yet after Israel says there are additional logistical preparations needed. Once a date has been set, an Israeli spokesperson says they will announce the crossing's opening.

Negotiators for Israel and Hamas are still working on a potential hostage and ceasefire deal. But Egyptian officials say there's been significant progress on many points and negotiations are expected to continue for the next 48 hours.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine will lose the war with Russia if the U.S. Congress doesn't approve military aid. Zelenskyy's warning comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson faces mounting pressure to decide whether to move forward with an aid bill.

Joining me now from Vienna is Franz-Stefan Gady, an Associate Fellow of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. I mean, it was very clear language, wasn't it, from President Zelenskyy? But it's the sort of argument that's been made in Washington for some time for all of those who feel that Ukraine needs that money from the U.S.

FRANZ-STEFAN GADY, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: Well, I think it's fair to assume that we are currently in a transitional phase when it comes to the war in Ukraine. Russia is conducting probing attacks along the front line.

It is trying to advance where it can. And it is preparing what seems to be a future offensive down the road. And this is, of course, very, very worrying because Ukraine currently is also already losing territory, men.

And the biggest handicap that Ukraine currently has in its war against Russia is manpower. It is, of course, related to ammunition, but it's not exclusively the lack of Western support. I do want to emphasize this here.

FOSTER: Losing the war, how do read that? Does that mean Russia keeps the land that its got, or that Russia continues --