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Gaza Officials Say Israeli Gunfire Kills 73 People Seeking Aid; Humanitarian Aid Crisis Worsens as Supplies, Food Dwindle in Gaza; Officials Investigating After Police Clash With Anti-ICE Protesters in Roebling Bridge; Beef Prices Hit Record High in the U.S. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired July 21, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:31:42]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We're tracking yet another horrific example of starving civilians in Gaza being killed while simply trying to get food relief. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 73 people were killed by Israeli gunfire Sunday as they waited for aid trucks north of Gaza City. Israel claims its forces fired warning shots to break up what they described as an imminent threat. The director of Al-Shifa Hospital says they are inundated with injured and starving civilians.
One desperate scene captured in this footage as medical teams face the onslaught of patients. CNN Jerusalem Correspondent, Jeremy Diamond has been covering this, joins us now for more. Jeremy, this has become, as you've know and have witnessed, a frequent event at aid distribution centers. Do Israeli forces or the IDF acknowledge any responsibility for these deadly events?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Jim, what's fascinating about this in covering it for the last month and a half or so, since these shootings began near these aid distribution centers, is that the first time it happened, we investigated it. We -- following Israeli military denials about this, and we found at the time that, it was very likely that it was indeed Israeli troops who had opened fire on those Palestinians approaching that Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site.
Now, nearly seven weeks later, this has become an almost daily occurrence of Israeli troops opening fire on hungry Palestinian civilians trying to reach these aid sites. Israel now no longer denying these with the same fortitude that they did early on, in fact, acknowledging them effectively. The Israeli military acknowledges firing "warning shots" at Palestinians on a regular basis. And they acknowledge that those "warning shots" have indeed killed people.
In addition to that, the Israeli military disputes the number of people who have been killed from these shootings, but they aren't denying them altogether anymore. And that speaks, of course, to the larger problem that exists as a result of this aid distribution model, which only exists because the Israeli military and the Israeli government have decided that this is the way they want aid to enter because they claim that Hamas steals aid that is going into Gaza.
And so, they have created this aid distribution system that has very few hubs, not enough aid getting into the Gaza Strip, enormous numbers of people traveling long distances, coming in very close contact with Israeli troops trying to get to these aid sites. And so, what's so tragic about the humanitarian situation in Gaza right now is not just the high levels of hunger and malnutrition that exists in Gaza, the fact that not enough food is getting in. But in addition to that, it is these instances of violence that we have seen near these aid sites, not only the near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site, but also as we saw yesterday, when dozens of people were killed by Israeli troops opening fire on people who were approaching a World Food Program convoy in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
SCIUTTO: And I mean, one of the issues here, right, is that this new distribution plan puts those in need in closer proximity to Israeli forces than they were in the past, right? I mean, that is one of the differences with the new distribution plan.
[13:35:00]
DIAMOND: Absolutely. And in addition to that, Jim, it's also about the number of sites that exist. You know, we're now talking about two or three Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites that are open any given day. Yes, the United Nations is getting some aid into Gaza, but they're having trouble distributing it at the moment. And the IDF isn't giving them enough safe routes to be able to distribute that aid. But you talk about just a few GHF sites compared to the hundreds, nearly 400 distribution points that previously existed, run by the United Nations and other international organizations inside of Gaza.
SCIUTTO: And people are starving there now. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much. Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Let's talk more about this ongoing crisis with Ciaran Donnelly. He oversees the IRC's work in Gaza as Vice President of International Programs. Ciaran, we have been following the death of a four-year-old girl, Razan Abu Zaher, who died from hunger on Sunday, one of at least four children in the last few days here. How many more children are at risk?
CIARAN DONNELLY, VP OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: I think at this point, Brianna, the entire population of Gaza is at risk, not only from starvation, but from the impact of lack of access to safe water, sanitation, and of course, the ongoing violence. So, every child in Gaza is at risk and Razan's tragic story is important in highlighting the impact on one child, but also illustrates the risks for everybody in Gaza today.
KEILAR: Yeah, and there are certain groups that, and I mean when we look at the numbers, yes, everyone is at risk, right, we're seeing that in the numbers. It is getting grave. But certain populations are specifically vulnerable, including kids, including pregnant women. Why are children so vulnerable, Ciaran?
DONNELLY: So particularly young children, at such a formative age of their life, they need -- they need safety. They need nutrition. They need safe spaces to be able to receive that care. When they don't get food over a period of time, when they don't get nutritious food over a period of time, they succumb to what we call wasting, which is essentially the effects of malnutrition on their bodies. In that state, they rapidly become weakened to a point where they're very susceptible to even simple infections or diseases that normally their bodies would be able to fight off.
And then they enter a kind of spiral where without support and intervention, they're rapidly descending into a very sick state and ultimately into death. The tragedy of this, in Gaza and conflict zones around the world, is that there are effective treatments, cost effective cheap treatments that can be made available, but they require a humanitarian intervention. They require access for aid agencies to be able to set up not just distribution points that can reach into these communities, but the kind of services that their families need, their communities need, specialized treatment, to be able to save these kids. They are savable if people if there's the political will to create the conditions to do that.
KEILAR: The distribution has experienced huge changes here though recently. Can you talk to us a little bit about that? Talk to us about how aid distribution has changed since the Israel and U.S. backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing the aid, that was in the end of May. How that has changed broadly when it comes to how all NGOs are doing this and the GHF are doing this, but also specifically for the IRC?
DONNELLY: Yeah. So, so what we're seeing in Gaza today is aid distribution that goes against every principle, every good practice of modern humanitarian aid. It's unsafe and dehumanizing for people who have to travel distances across very difficult, dangerous terrain to be able to access it. It's insufficient and inadequate because it's only focused on basic food supplies and not in quantities that are enough for the population, but doesn't provide access to other services, to specialized treatments that kids like Razan and others need to survive.
And fundamentally, it's not scalable and it's not sustainable because it's being operated without the involvement of the wider humanitarian community and without the involvement of the wider -- the wider Palestinian communities in Gaza. For organizations like ours and for our partners in the U.N. agencies, other NGOs, we're ready to scale up. We have supplies ready to go in, but we're not getting the permissions and the access we need to be able to do that. And so right now, our activity is really kind of squeezed.
We are able to reach people. We've reached 24,000 children through the end of May with nutritional support services, but that is just a drop in the ocean of human suffering in Gaza. And we need -- we need a significant change in the operating conditions on the ground and ultimately, of course, a ceasefire and end to the violence to be able to scale up rapidly into the level that the population desperately needs.
[13:40:00] KEILAR: Ciaran Donnelley, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it.
DONNELLY: Thank you.
KEILAR: And thank you. Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
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SCIUTTO: A Kentucky Police Officer is on desk duty and an investigation is now underway after an anti-ICE protest in Cincinnati. We should warn you, some of the video you're about to see is disturbing. It shows demonstrators clashing with police last Thursday this along a major bridge that connects Ohio and Kentucky.
At one point, an officer can be seen repeatedly punching protesters while other officers wrestled that protester to the ground. CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more of that video. And Rafael, as I understand it, an attorney for some of the suspects has accused officers of overreacting. I wonder an officer is on desk duty. There's an investigation underway.
[13:45:00]
Have police publicly acknowledged any potential excessive use of force here?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not that far, Jim. What police are saying is that people blocking the bridge failed to comply with multiple orders to disperse from officers trying to clear an active roadway. The protest held on Thursday started peacefully, but quickly, Jim, turned chaotic and violent when demonstrators decided to block the Roebling Bridge that carries traffic between Ohio and Kentucky. At one point, protesters tried to block an SUV that kept moving, creating a very perilous situation.
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ROMO (voice-over): One of the protesters on the bridge was punched by -- in the head by a Covington police officer, as authorities were trying to disperse people blocking traffic on the bridge. The protesters -- the protester, Brandon Hill, said this about the confrontation.
BRANDON HILL, PROTESTER ARRESTED BY POLICE: Everything happened so quickly. I just know that I was fired at, I had shots on my leg. If there was an ask for an order to disperse, I personally didn't hear it,
ROMO (voice-over): But police say, Hill not only ignored orders to disperse, but also tried to get a pepper ball gun from the officer who tussled with him and moments later, appeared to reach toward a bag secured around his waist, which prompted the officer to reach for his own handgun.
CHIEF BRIAN VALENTI, COVINGTON POLICE: What happened here, it wasn't -- wasn't a protest. It was -- it was an unlawful disturbance. We don't mess around on bridges. This is not an intersection. It's not in a park. It's not on a sidewalk. This is on a bridge, and almost a hundred feet above water. So it's a very dangerous, precarious situation.
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ROMO: And Jim, the reason for the protest was the arrest of Ayman Soliman, a 51-year-old Egyptian National who worked as a Muslim chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. According to the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, he is known as an interfaith Imam and was beloved for his steady presence at the site of ill children, parents, and other caregivers. The Associated Press reports, asylum revocation proceedings started late last year and Soliman's asylum status was reversed in early June.
He was detained on July 9 during a check-in with immigration officials in Ohio. In an interview before his arrest, Soliman discussed what it would mean for him if he's returned to his native country.
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AYMAN SOLIMAN, DETAINED BY ICE: If anything happens, just to speak about me, going back to Egypt for me is a death sentence. It's not -- I didn't come to America seeking a better life. I was escaping death from the regime and missupporters.
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ROMO: Ayman Soliman remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. As for why he was detained in the first place, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that this Egyptian national was flagged on the FBI terror watch list. He had his asylum status revoked. More than a dozen people were arrested in the protest at the bridge, including Jim, two journalists. Now, back to you.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Listen, as I watch it there, I mean, one question as you see this protester here, is it necessary to throw that person to the ground or do you handcuff them and take them away? I mean, the force, the dog, the weapons, it's remarkable to watch. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.
Well, first, it was soaring egg prices and now, it is beef. Ahead, what is behind a sudden hike in beef prices and how long it could last? Please do stay with us.
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[13:53:17]
KEILAR: Just as egg prices fall, beef prices are starting to soar to the point where one CEO is calling this one of the most challenging markets they've ever seen. According to the Department of Agriculture, prices are up almost 9 percent since January and that number is even higher if you're looking at more expensive cuts like steak. CNN Business and Politics Correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich is with me now. I knew something was behind that spike in my grocery bill there, Vanessa. What's going on?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we were just getting over egg prices, which have since come down because the avian flu, which was killing millions of birds, has subsided and supply has built back up. But now, it's beef prices at the grocery store and as you mentioned, up 9 percent since January. That's such a short time period. So on average, the retail price for a pound of beef is about $9.26. And as you mentioned, CEO of Tyson, a major, major producer of beef saying that this is really the most challenging market he's ever seen.
Now, this has been 10 years though, a decade in the making and there's a couple reasons behind this. One, smaller herd sizes of cattle out there in the United States. Also, there's been years-long droughts in key states where there's a lot of ranchers and a lot of cattle, and then shifting consumer preferences. Something we've really seen in the last year or so, about 8 percent of all the beef that's consumed in the United States is now imported from places like Australia and Argentina. And then because of that drought, higher feed costs for the animals, for the cattle because there's not as much free grass for them to graze on.
[13:55:00]
And then all of this Brianna with sustained demand, Americans still like their beef. You add all of that together, that's why you're seeing that rise in beef prices.
KEILAR: All right, I know people are noticing it. Vanessa, thank you so much for taking us through that. Still ahead, a close call in the skies over North Dakota is now under investigation. A pilot on a passenger jet says he was forced to pull a last second and aggressive maneuver to avoid colliding with a B-52 bomber. We'll have details next on "CNN News Central."
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