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Israel Rules Out Immediate Cease-Fire With Hamas; President Bush Monitoring Events in Middle East; Challenges for Obama in Middle East
Aired December 30, 2008 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, December 30th, one day to go in the year 2008. And here are the stop stories we're following in the NEWSROOM.
Israel rules out an immediate cease-fire with Hamas and signals the bombardment of Gaza will go on for a while. We will take you live to the border between Israel and Gaza in just a couple of moments.
Al Franken versus Norm Coleman and the fight for the Minnesota Senate seat. Election workers begin reviewing hundreds of rejected absentee ballots today. Those ballots just may determine the winner.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
More incoming fire, a rising death toll. It is day four of escalating violence between Israel and Hamas. Israel's prime minister now describing the massive bombing blitz in Gaza as merely the first stage of a wider military campaign.
The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli assault jumping to more than 375, most of them militants, but several children also killed. Hamas militants still able to fire off rockets into Israel despite the ferocity of the Israeli airstrikes. The Palestinian rockets killing four Israelis, three of them civilians.
Let's get you right to the region now. Our Ben Wedeman live in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, about seven miles north of Gaza.
And Ben, give us an update here. Has Ashkelon come under attack from Hamas rockets today?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: No, it has not, Tony, unlike yesterday, when the pounding was fairly intense. We did hear within the past hour and a half about five impacts, but those were to the south of Ashkelon. By and large, it's been much quieter today than yesterday.
The latest tally, according to the Israeli police, is about 25 rockets landing today. But certainly, as I said, compared to yesterday, much less incoming -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Ben, is a ground offensive in the offing for the Israeli military? And describe, if you would, the kind of battle that would mean for Israeli forces.
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly all indications from Israeli leaders, Tony, is that they are seriously contemplating a ground operation. They've massed tanks, bulldozers and infantry around the borders of Gaza. There's been a limited call-up of the reserves. And certainly they have been training for months and months for this kind of operation, and they've been training because they know certainly for the Israelis, compared to the air bombardment, a ground operation is going to be a huge challenge.
Gaza is one of the most crowded places on earth. Hamas has been training for months as well in anticipation of this sort of onslaught.
In fact, the last time I was in Gaza I heard a lot of gunfire. I asked some friends there what it was. They said Hamas is training. Hamas is training around the clock in anticipation of this kind of operation. And they have said that they would welcome such an operation because it would allow them to sort of fight the Israelis on more equal terms than the current military situation -- Tony.
HARRIS: Ben Wedeman for us in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Ben, appreciate it. Thank you.
Controversial accounts about why an Israeli warship hit a boat taking medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza. The Dignity limped into Lebanon this morning with heavy damage visible to the forward port side. Israel denies it struck the boat intentionally. Its foreign minister says the aid boat was trying to outmaneuver an Israeli blockade when the collision happened overnight.
Our Karl Penhaul was aboard the Dignity at the time of the incident, and he says he finds it very hard to believe it was an accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was no previous radio communication, according to the Dignity's captain. One of those Israeli patrol boats with no lights on rammed the front left side of the Dignity very hard.
Now, that shattered the glass windows around the wheelhouse. It also caused part of the roof to peel back and punctured the hull. At that stage, the captain sent out a Mayday distress signal. Another crew member came back to the passenger area, issued us all with life jackets, and said that we should be prepared in the next few minutes to take to the life rafts for fear -- the very real fear at that stage was that the vessel was going to sink.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Let's take a look now at Hamas, a bit of a closer look, one of two -- the two main Palestinian political groups.
Hamas candidates swept Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2007 and later took control of Gaza. Hamas is branded a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, but it is also popular among Palestinians for its social initiatives such as building schools and clinics and providing other civic services.
The group was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in Israel.
The Bush administration blames Hamas for the current violence. A White House spokesman yesterday called on Hamas to halt its ongoing rocket fire in order to bring an end to the violence. We are awaiting another White House statement next hour.
Right now, live to our Elaine Quijano in Crawford, Texas.
Elaine, good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.
Well, President Bush is closely monitoring the events from his ranch nearby, here in Crawford, Texas, but leaving it to a spokesman to lay out the U.S.' position. The U.S. believes that in order for violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel.
Now, interesting to note, the United States is not calling for restraint, even as Israel is moving tanks and troops near the Gaza border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON JOHNDROE, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I can't speak to any potential ground operation. I think that any ground operation, according to the Israelis, would be part and parcel of the overall operation given their statements saying that they don't want to retake Gaza, that they simply want to protect their people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been in touch with senior Palestinian and Israeli officials trying to work towards what the United States is calling a sustainable and durable cease-fire. As for President Bush, he continues to receive updates on the situation from his top aides by phone and by secure video -- Tony.
HARRIS: Elaine Quijano for us with the president in Crawford, Texas.
Elaine, appreciate it. Thank you.
The current Israeli/Palestinian crisis is likely to fall squarely in Barack Obama's lap. The president-elect already facing an economic meltdown and two wars.
Brian Todd looks at the challenge he faces in the Middle East. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an age-old conflict that has defied countless American leaders' attempts to solve it. Soon, it will be Barack Obama's turn.
AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISER: He'll inherit the hundred-year headache that many of his predecessors have inherited, except with a much weaker American hand.
TODD: That's because America is tight on cash, Israel is waiting for elections and Palestinians are divided between two factions. Now, the Obama team has to figure out how it will deal with Hamas, which Gaza voters picked to run their government, ousting the moderate Palestinian wing, Fatah, last year.
NATHAN BROWN, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: They're not going to deal directly with Hamas. That's clear.
But do they want to sort of foster some kind of Palestinian reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, so when you're talking to the Palestinians, you're talking to a unified front?
Or do they want to continue with the Bush administration policy, which is to keep Hamas bottled up in Gaza?
TODD: Mr. Obama visited moderate Palestinian leaders in July, as well as an Israeli city targeted by rockets from Gaza. He said he'd understand if Israel were to strike back.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect the Israelis to do the same thing.
TODD: Now the Israelis have done exactly that. But their strikes have prompted outrage in the Arab world. The challenge for the new president -- how to get peace talks started again and how to fulfill his pledge to win Arab respect for America, while also maintaining America's staunch alliance with Israel.
MILLER: The question is, will Obama allow a continuation of the exclusive relationship which we have developed with the Israelis over the last 16 years? Will America be able to maintain its credibility and understand what is required to actually broker an agreement?
TODD (on camera): The president-elect still has three weeks to deliberate on all this. But one analyst says there may simply be too much political fatigue in America right now for him to make this a top priority given all the other crises and the fact there have been so few breakthroughs in the Middle East over the past 60 years.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: And much more on Obama and the Middle East crisis later this hour. Senior White House Ed Henry is traveling with the president-elect, and he joins us live from Honolulu at the half-hour.
And be sure to log on to our Web site for more on the conflict, the international response, and the history behind it, including a look at the important players and the latest pictures and video. Just check it out at CNN.com.
Helping the unemployed help themselves. Free suits and interview tips.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The federal government is pumping $6 billion into GMAC. That is the financing division of General Motors. Five billion dollars will go directly to GMAC.
In return, the government will get GMAC stock. The remaining $1 billion will be in the form of a loan funneled through GM. Last week, the Federal Reserve allowed GMAC to become a bank, making it eligible to tap into the $700 billion financial industry bailout program.
Signs are pointing to one of the weakest holiday sales seasons in decades. So somebody had to be first.
The parent company, Internet Retailer, has become the first to file for bankruptcy since Christmas. The company operates retail Web sites such as eToys, my twinn, baby universe, ePregnancy and Post (ph) Tots. Analysts are predicting the number of retailers in trouble will quadruple by the end of 2010.
A nonprofit that helps unemployed women land a job is seeing a dramatic increase in demand and having trouble keeping up.
CNN's John Zarrella has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SONYA JACOBSON, "DRESS FOR SUCCESS": Squeeze it harder. Harder. Like that.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all begins with the handshake.
JACOBSON: Good.
ZARRELLA: In the Miami office of the worldwide nonprofit Dress for Success, Sonia Jacobson teaches job hunters the basics. She's dressing people in need for free, helping them make that very important first impression. The office is busier now than ever.
JACOBSON: We are turning people away. We really are. We just don't have the capacity. We don't have the manpower. We don't have the funds to be able to really meet the demand.
Let's try this for size. I don't know if it's going to fit, but we won't know until we try it on.
OK. How do you like that? It's pretty, isn't it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
JACOBSON: Good. Go on in here, try that on for me.
ZARRELLA: Dress for Success provides one free outfit to women for a job interview, another once they land a job. Ernsline Perdue (ph) is trying to reenter the workforce after being out of work for several years due to illness.
JACOBSON: Come on out. Oh, that looks beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I like it.
JACOBSON: I like that on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.
JACOBSON: Great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it.
JACOBSON: It fits you perfectly.
ZARRELLA: Widespread job cuts and layoffs have dramatically increased Dress for Success's client load. Miami is up about 100 percent over last year. Denver, up 68 percent. And Portland, Oregon, up a whopping 144 percent.
JACOBSON: When we get a phone call from a woman who is crying that her husband just left, she lost her job, she can't afford to go out and buy clothes, and she needs to find a job immediately, how can we say no to that?
ZARRELLA: The charitable organization relies on donations like these from a law firm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've met with lots of different clients and friends and neighbors, and we have these beautiful clothes that we'd like to donate.
JACOBSON: Here is the complete outfit. How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel great.
JACOBSON: Good. That's good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And blessed.
ZARRELLA: Sometimes, they say, you have to dress from the outside in.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Ballot battle in Minnesota. Coleman versus Franken. We are following developments today that could be crucial in the still undecided Senate race.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are watching developments today in the still undecided Minnesota Senate race. Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman unable to agree on which unopened absentee ballots should be counted. A series of regional meetings that begin today will determine which ballots make the final cut. Franken leads Coleman by just 47 votes after a recount of more than 2.9 million ballots.
Impeachment hearings for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on hold while the legislative panel waits for a judge to decide if it can hear recorded wiretaps. Yesterday, a feisty courtroom showdown over what Blagojevich may have said in the taped calls.
Here is CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Verbal swords slash away in Illinois...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perhaps we have different sets of ears.
LAVANDERA: ... between the committee of state lawmakers deciding whether Rod Blagojevich should be impeached and the governor's attorney.
ED GENSON, BLAGOJEVICH'S ATTORNEY: But the fact of the matter is -- and I said this to Mr. Lang -- offering is a crime. Where does it say he offered anything?
REP. ROGER EDDY (R), ILLINOIS: I just respectfully would suggest that the reading comprehension classes I took are much different than the ones you had. Thank you.
LAVANDERA: The impeachment committee is one step closer to hearing selected portions of the wiretapped recordings, now that federal prosecutors are asking a judge to release four of the taped conversations. But, until that happens, both sides are arguing over what the tapes will reveal.
GENSON: There's nothing in that tape that shows that people were asked to -- to give money or -- or campaign contributions or anything. It's just talk. That's what it is, unfortunate talk, talk that -- that was -- was -- shouldn't have been made perhaps, but not action -- but not actions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the fact is that it's a crime in the state of Illinois to offer to do a public act for value. Whether somebody takes you up on that offer is irrelevant. LAVANDERA: Ed Genson says the impeachment hearings are unfair to the governor and that there's not enough evidence to justify pushing Blagojevich out of office.
GENSON: The fact is, we're fighting shadows here. We're fighting unnamed people. We're fighting witnesses that aren't available. We're fighting people that are -- haven't been indicted.
LAVANDERA: But the governor is facing an unconvinced audience, skeptical of his claims that he did not seek to profit from appointing someone to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat.
The committee is also considering unrelated allegations regarding his administration and fund-raising practices.
GENSON: Is anyone here to going to stick up for the governor?
LAVANDERA: It's clear Blagojevich is digging in for a long fight, but Illinois's lieutenant governor predicts Blagojevich will be out of office by mid-February.
LT. GOV. PAT QUINN (D), ILLINOIS: You know, the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth is February 12thof next year. And I don't think Governor Blagojevich will be governor at that time.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Governor Blagojevich insists he has done nothing wrong and, in fact, continues on business as usual, showing up to work every day at his Chicago office.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Politics, Russian style. President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law extending presidential terms from four to six years. Many say the move may be a way for Vladimir Putin to regain the office. There is rampant speculation Medvedev could resign, opening the door for his mentor to step in.
The Russian constitution barred Putin from a third consecutive term. He is currently the prime minister and continues to hold great power.
While explosions rocked the Middle East again this morning, Palestinian medical sources put the death toll at 375 in Gaza. Hundreds have been wounded in the attacks.
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with a look at the types of injuries seen and the treatment available.
First of all, let's say for the record, again, for everyone who may not know and may have been living under a rock and not watching your career as closely as we certainly have, you are a neurosurgeon.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
HARRIS: Not only that, you have seen some of these injuries in these war zones first hand.
GUPTA: Yes.
HARRIS: Would you please describe for us, what are the most traumatic injuries, these brain, traumatic brain injuries, and how difficult it is to treat these injuries under the best of circumstances? Certainly not what we're seeing in Gaza right now.
GUPTA: Yes. I mean, you have classic war zone triage going on right now. I mean, people literally making decisions between people who otherwise could have been saved, not being able to be saved because there's imply not enough resources.
HARRIS: Yes.
GUPTA: We talk about resources, we're talking about fuel for electricity, narcotics for pain, antibiotics for infections, things we take for granted, simply not available to many of the folks over there. We heard from some of the doctors earlier, that's what they're describing, it is classic war zone triage.
The types of blast injuries, to your point, Tony, you get primary blast injuries from the strikes themselves. That's from the munition itself. Secondary blast injuries from all the shrapnel that is tossed up as a result of the strike, and tertiary blast injuries when bodies are literally thrown against each other or against walls, for example, in closed spaces.
You also see burns. We've shown some video of some of the patients who have suffered burns from some of these blast injuries as well.
So these types of things are what is happening.
The traumatic brain injuries are particularly difficult to treat. And they're saying they're not able to operate on these people.
You have swelling in the brain. You have bleeding in the brain. Oftentimes you need to take that pressure off. That is the key.
See what happens there as the brain rattles back and forth and it starts to swell up? It's got nowhere to go because a skull is a hard, firm surface, and the brain literally just expands.
HARRIS: You get that concussive impact back and forth that you see there.
GUPTA: That's right.
HARRIS: You know, I'm sort of curious -- it must be hard -- as I look at that list of injuries that you described in war zones, it must be difficult. Not every hospital can handle every injury that they encounter.
Look at this list here. How difficult is it to move patients from one place to the other? And under the stress of wartime conditions, how difficult is it for hospitals to communicate with one another?
GUPTA: It is extremely difficult. You know, hospitals have a bit of redundancy built in them. Most hospitals, trauma hospitals, are able to take care of mass casualties. We've seen that here in Atlanta, for example, after the bus accident, after the bridge collapse.
HARRIS: Yes.
GUPTA: When you talk about a war zone, though, and talk about hundreds and hundreds of people all showing up at the hospital at the same time, it really doesn't matter, for example, how many hospitals there are. It is difficult for them to communicate with one another, so sending a patient from one hospital to the other, you can't even tell the other hospital the patient is coming sometimes.
And also something that we're hearing, and it's very disturbing, I think, is that the ambulances, the Red Cross workers, the health care personnel are often in the target zone themselves. So you're taking these precious commodities that are typically located in hospitals, putting them out in the battlefield. And that, Tony, as you can guess, is just a very dangerous situation.
HARRIS: So the medical personnel overworked, overwhelmed and severely stressed out.
GUPTA: Yes. And I think the emotional stress of not being able to care for somebody that would otherwise have been able to be saved is just hard to overestimate.
HARRIS: Sanjay, good to see you. Thanks for your time.
GUPTA: Same -- yes.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, the attacks in Gaza, a preview of the challenges ahead for Barack Obama. The latest on Obama and the Mideast in a live report from Honolulu.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Death toll rising, day four of the violence between Israel and Hamas. And here's what we know: 375 Palestinians now reported killed in the Israeli assault. Most of the dead are militants, but several children also killed.
Hamas rockets still slamming into Israel despite the ferocity of the Israeli air strikes. The death toll on the Israeli side stands at six, five of them civilians. No end in sight to the attacks. Israel's prime minister calls the massive bombing blitz in Gaza merely the first stage of a wider military campaign.
Israel's former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his country's ultimate goal is to bring down Hamas. Netanyahu spoke to our John Roberts earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Well, I think stopping the rocketing of Israel's cities is obviously a paramount goal. The question is, how do you stop it so it doesn't resume later after the Hamas lick their wounds. Ultimately, we'll have to bring down the Hamas regime because it's an implacable flow.
It's like an al-Qaeda with a base supported by Iran next to New York City. That's more or less what we have in Gaza. We have Hamas supported by Iran that is rocketing, as of yesterday, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Yavne, minutes away from downtown Tel Aviv.
So, they are committed to our destruction. They're firing missiles at our civilians. They're hiding behind their civilians. That's a double war crime right there. I think ultimately, we'll have to get rid of the regime. Whether it will be done in this operation remains to be seen.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, what happens if you do get rid of Hamas? Because everybody knows about the split between Fatah and Hamas. And there are many analysts who say that if you topple the Hamas government, there would be chaos in Gaza because there would be nobody there to pick up the power vacuum?
NETANYAHU: It's pretty chaotic right now, I'd say. I mean, they're holding their own people hostage. They're planting their rocket launchers and their rocket caches inside people's homes, in schools and universities precisely in order to use them as human shields. I think the Palestinian population is right now held at gunpoint by Hamas.
Now, clearly, you know, Israel responds. It kills Hamas operatives. There are incidental civilian casualties, which we regret, and we genuinely regret them, whereas they celebrate every time they succeed to kill our civilians and our children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: The attacks in Gaza could provide Barack Obama with his first international challenge as president. But is there an opportunity for the incoming administration to move the peace process forward? I talked with a Mideast expert about factors working in Obama's favor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROF. SHIBLEY TELHAMI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: There are four factors. One, there's Bush fatigue. So, people are tired of the Bush administration. A new president is going to make a difference. Second, there's Obama mania. I mean, you know, a lot of people are fascinated by Barack Obama outside of this country. That is very clear.
And third, there is a sense of a vacuum of leadership in the international community at a time of crisis, including economic crisis. People are hungry for leadership. And fourth, the president himself on this issue has stated over and over again -- the President- elect that is -- has stated over and over again that he believes the Arab-Israeli issue is an important issue, that he will not do what the Bush administration has done and just ignore it for a number of years. But He's going to make it a central issue for him from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry traveling with the president-elect. He joins us now live from Honolulu. And Ed, in announcing his national security team, the president-elect said the Middle East would be a top priority.
What do we know about how he and his team are keeping abreast of the crisis? And are any clues available as to how an Obama approach to this ongoing conflict might be different from the Bush approach?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, Obama advisers have been optimistic previously, as your analyst there noted, about some of those potential factors of turning the page, moving forward next year. But on the other hand, Obama advisers are now saying given what's happening what's happened in the last few days, the equation in the Mideast has changed yet again.
And they don't know exactly what hand they're going to be dealt on January 20th of next year. What's going to happen between now and tomorrow, let alone between now and January 20th? And so, what the president-elect is doing right now is he's not speaking out until he formally takes office because he doesn't want to step on President Bush's toes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): As his aides continue the mantra there's only one president at a time, the crisis in Gaza is not stopping President-elect Barack Obama from working on his golf game. But Mr. Obama has been staying in the loop. A telephone briefing from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the weekend and phone calls with his own top advisers, retired Marine General Jim Jones and Senator Hillary Clinton. During a July visit to Jerusalem as a candidate, he had high hopes of a peace deal.
PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: It's my hope I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a United States senator or as a president, in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region.
HENRY: Now, Mideast experts say the best Mr. Obama can hope for is managing the conflict, rather than actually resolving it.
AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPT. ADVISER: He'll inherit the hundred-year headache that many of his predecessors have inherited, except for a much weaker American hand. Because at the end of this, Israel and Hamas will still be at war.
HENRY: Mr. Obama is deferring to President Bush, who's also on vacation in Texas, and through a spokesman is blaming Hamas for the spiraling situation without urging restraint from Israel. GORDON JOHNDROE, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire.
HENRY: There's not a lot of daylight between the Bush approach and what Mr. Obama said this summer during another round of violence.
OBAMA: If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.
HENRY: That statement was made in the heat of the campaign, when Republicans were charging that Mr. Obama was not a strong defender of Israel.
MILLER: When we don't call the Israelis out on actions that they take that undermine and hurt American interests, when we have to run everything in negotiations through the Israelis first, then you have a problem, because then America loses its credibility and effectiveness as an independent mediator.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (on camera): Now, there are some analysts who say that U.S. presidential leadership is the key here. As you were noting, Tony, that maybe turning the page from President Bush, who had a hands-off approach, that this could make the difference, being more hands-on in the days ahead.
But there are other analysts who point out, look, at the core of this it has to be about the Palestinians and Israelis coming together. And regardless of whether it's a Democratic or a Republican president, if they can't come together, there's only so much that a U.S. president can do as many, many of Barack Obama's predecessors have found, Tony.
HARRIS: I think you make a very good point. All right. Ed Henry with the president-elect in Honolulu. Ed, good to see you. Thank you.
A new development by the hour on both sides of this conflict. Israel says Hamas rockets are reaching farther into Israeli territory. And Palestinian officials say the death toll in Gaza has jumped as Israel pounds the areas with more missiles. Our Josh Levs is here to talk us through these latest developments. Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey there, Tony. We have a new map that I want to show you that the Israeli government has released today. And it's what the Israeli government is saying exists as a threat in southern Israel from Hamas. Let's zoom in on it.
I want to show you what these colors are all about. This section right here is Gaza. And in each of these sections, gray, yellow and red, Israel is saying that given the types of weapons that Hamas has, each of these areas is now under threat from a different type of Hamas weapon. The red they say is under threat from Qassam rockets, improved Qassam rockets. The yellow they say is from Qassam rockets. This gray area they say is under danger, under threat from mortars. And altogether, Tony, they're saying that that comes out to about 267,000 people who are under threat.
Now, I'd like to do one more thing. I want to take you to a simpler map, because sometimes these more complicated ones just throw things off. Let's zoom back in on the board. I'm going to take you to the State Department map of Israel, and we're going to see if we can go to it right here. Good. Look at this.
This right here is Gaza. Now, I'll tell you what some of the key cities are that Israel is talking about. This area called Ashqelon has been hit before by Hamas. But they're saying now that rockets have gone as far as Ashdod, which is new, up to there. And if you go a little bit farther up, you can see Tel Aviv is right there. So, reaching Ashdod is a sign it that could be reaching more populated areas.
They're also concerned that rockets could be reaching this area that they're calling -- there's Beersheba. They're saying that they're getting closer to Beersheba, to the big concerns that Israel is talking about today from that side of the conflict.
HARRIS: Do you have, I don't know, a map or something that provides us a look inside Gaza that maybe you can show us some of the key locations there...
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: ... that are being hit?
LEVS: Yes. Let's do that. Let's zoom back in on the board. I want to take you to one more map. This is directly from inside Gaza. And this is again what's available from the U.S. State Department. They break down the key areas here.
I was speaking with our folks in Gaza. Check this out. This right here is Gaza, twice the size of Washington, D.C., 1.5 million people total. The key areas to know about, Gaza City, Khan Yunis and down here, Rafah. Now, Rafah is this area where there have been these tunnels into Egypt. Israel says they've been used to smuggle weapons.
I spoke with our folks in Gaza. They're telling me that all of the above have at some point in recent days have been hit by Israeli missiles. Now, that doesn't mean they're specifically targeting civilian areas.
But Hamas runs Gaza. So, Hamas has sites all over here. So, they are saying that throughout this entire area, basically throughout all of Gaza, at this point, since it's so small, you can find places that have been hit by those Israeli missiles.
And, obviously, with that kind of population there...
HARRIS: Tight, tight quarters, yeah.
LEVS: ... (INAUDIBLE) civilians.
HARRIS: OK, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And later today, Israel's ambassador to the United States will discuss the escalating conflict. You can see the statement live right here on CNN.
And from rockets in Gaza to sludge in Tennessee, your iReports with Tyson Wheatley are next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. We are getting word of a report that is coming out later today from NASA that will shed new light on the 2003 space shuttle Columbia tragedy. Our John Zarrella is on the line with us right now. And, John, what can you tell us about this report?
VOICE OF JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, what I can tell you is that this report that's taken more than five years for NASA to compile takes us through -- a very, very detailed, graphic report -- it takes us through the last minutes of the space shuttle Columbia, of course which broke up as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere back on February 3rd in 2003.
And it is so graphic, we are told, that the families of the astronauts who died were brought in specifically to take a look at it, even in some cases to help with the preparation of this report. Now, we remember that what happened was that the leading edge of one of the wings on Columbia was hit by a piece of debris off the shuttle as it left the Kennedy Space Center, took off, puncturing that wing.
Of course, no one knew that that's exactly what had happened when the vehicle left the earth. And when it re-entered, that hole in the wing allowed hot gases, plasma gases to get into the wing, destroy the wing and, of course, then Columbia fell apart as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere.
They also took a very extensive look, NASA, at the seatbelt system, the harness system that held the astronauts in their seats during reentry. And all of this report and the extreme detail we expect to see in the report, NASA is saying that that is because they want to make space travel safer for future travelers in space and future space vehicles. Of course, we know there are only about nine space shuttle flights left now. The shuttle program is coming to an end. Completion of the space station, they expected with those last shuttle flights.
But again, in about a half an hour or so, we are expecting this very extensive report. Again, it took about five years to complete on exactly what happened. Taking us through what happened to the seven- member crew of the shuttle Columbia as that vehicle re-entered the earth's atmosphere and broke apart. Tony?
HARRIS: OK. John Zarrella for us this morning. John, appreciate it. Thank you.
HARRIS: You know, wherever news happens all over the world, our iReporters are there to help us tell the story. Let's take a trip right now to CNN.com's iReport desk. And when we're there -- it will take a minute here -- we'll check in with one of the guys helping run things down there at our iReport operation.
After a couple of weeks off for a well-deserved vacation, he is back in the saddle again. There he is, our producer, Tyson Wheatley. Tyson, good to see you.
TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN IREPORT PRODUCER: Hey, good to be seen, Tony.
HARRIS: It's good to see you, good to see you. And I understand you're going to start us off with some iReports from Gaza protests...
WHEATLEY: All over the world.
HARRIS: ... in Stockholm? All over the world? Yes.
WHEATLEY: Yes, right. We're going to start in Stockholm, Sweden, though. In fact, go ahead and take a look at this picture. You know, the recent bloodshed in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas has drawn protests and demonstrations in major cities across the world.
This image was captured by Jesper Dahl. He's a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, and -- or, I'm sorry. He's not a -- this was taken of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, I should say, outside the Israeli Embassy there.
And you know, Jesper says the crowd was mostly young people. They were very loud but peaceful, chanting "close the embassy" but keeping their distance from police. And all of this in freezing temperatures.
Also making news across the globe, we've got a really great iReport out of Ghana. Check out this video. This is where voting recently wrapped up in the nation's presidential runoff election. This video comes to us from Dr. Saleh Rahman. And he's a university professor who captured this scene of voting in a rural part of the country there.
Now, much of the world is celebrating Ghana's peaceful elections as a model for developing countries, particularly in Africa. But the election results are still very close at the moment, and there are reports of high tensions between supporters on both sides. So, let's hope this remains peaceful.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
WHEATLEY: And, you know, here in our own back yard, one of the stories that we've been following very closely is the cleanup efforts following last week's massive coal waste spill in central Tennessee.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
WHEATLEY: Now, this photo comes from us iReport contributor Josh Singletary. He was visiting family there in Kingston, Tennessee, and he shared this photo of a nearby river, the Clinch River, and it's clearly clouded there. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency said today that they have detected high levels of arsenic and heavy metals in two rivers in central Tennessee.
Now, they're not saying the water is dangerous for humans yet. But obviously, this is a big concern for community members who are living in that area. So, we thank Josh for sharing that story.
HARRIS: Hey, and Tyson, if you would, I know you've got an assignment today. What is it for the folks?
WHEATLEY: This is kind of fun. Obviously, new year's right around the corner. There's unique celebrations happening across the country. Here in Atlanta we drop a peach. In Ohio they drop a giant acorn.
So we want to know, you know, how are you celebrating New Year's? How are you planning to ring in the new year? Are you doing something unique? Does your town celebrate in a special way? I can't say I'll be waiting up till midnight to see it, but I will be looking for them early in the morning.
HARRIS: Well, said. All right, Tyson, good to see you. Thanks, man.
WHEATLEY: Take care.
HARRIS: The government is throwing GMAC a $6 billion lifeline. Will the money go to new loans? We'll check in with Stephanie Elam in just a minute.
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HARRIS: GMAC gets $6 billion of your money, and the government agreeing to help the troubled financing arm of General Motors. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Stephanie, good to see you.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too, Tony.
HARRIS: Hello, hello, hello.
ELAM: Hola.
HARRIS: Hola. Yes, yes, Hola, amiga. This isn't exactly a blank check that GMAC is getting here, is it?
ELAM: Oh, no. You've got to have some strings attached. At least in these days, you're going to give out the money, you're going to get some strings in return.
And the automakers definitely have to -- or, this automaker, I should say -- definitely has to meet certain conditions. GMAC, the largest lender to General Motors, 6,500 dealers nationwide, is seen as a key part of the survival for GM. GMAC says it will use the money from the Treasury Department to broaden its lending and will relax its lending standards to make more potential car buyers eligible for a loan.
So, here's the deal with the rescue package. It has two parts. First, the Treasury Department will inject $5 billion directly into GMAC in an effort to jump-start lending again. Last week the Treasury approved GMAC's request to become a bank-holding company. But, here's the deal. To do that, GMAC needs money. And it's also necessary to get a slice of that bailout money that they so desperately wanted.
So that's part of that part. Now, the second part here to this deal, the government will lend $1 billion to GM so that it can invest in GMAC. And more strings. In return, the government will get a stake in GMAC and dividend payments, as well. The idea being there being that GMAC, as it recovers, the government will be able to recover taxpayer money and maybe just maybe, no time soon, turn a profit, Tony.
HARRIS: So Tony's Stereo and Storm Doors would like to become a bank and get a piece of that. It's not going to happen, is it? It's not going to happen. All right. I got you on that.
ELAM: No, no, no.
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ELAM: Sorry. Out of luck.
HARRIS: Well, you know, other recipients of the bailout funds had rules about, it was executive compensation. Is that the case with GMAC?
ELAM: Oh, definitely. In this case, for sure. GMAC executives will have limited compensation and top officials will not eligible for severance packages. Also, the bonus pool for those top executive was like 25 top executives or so. It has to be 40 percent less than 2007 levels. So, in some ways the conditions GMAC is facing are a little bit more strict than those the banks got out of those bailout funds.
But, that's probably not too much of a surprise. Since so many people were not feeling giving a bailout to Detroit. So, just to give you a number update, really quickly, Tony. The Dow up 143 points, 8626. NASDAQ better by 31, at 1541.
So right now, we've got some green on the green, Tony.
HARRIS: Love it. All right, Stephanie, good to see you. Thank you.
ELAM: Thanks. HARRIS: What is the world saying about the situation in Gaza? Veronica De La Cruz is monitoring the web.
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HARRIS: The world wide web is always is good resource to get additional information on the crisis in Gaza. Veronica De La Cruz has been online this morning and has been gauging your reaction.
Veronica, no shortage of opinions, I would imagine.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You're right about that. Definitely lots of discussion taking place. But, I want to go ahead and start with this, Tony.
Want to show you think special report that can you find online. It's called Crisis in Gaza. You can find it at CNN.com. Lots of articles, also galleries, Tony, that really show the gravity of the situation. I want to show you this one.
This is called Humanitarian Plight in Gaza. It documents the situation there. One doctor working in a hospital in Gaza City says, people are suffering and dying because of shortages of medical equipment and the hospital is not accustomed to accept mass casualties like the one that they've been seeing.
Also, in this online special, Tony, there are lots of pictures, video, history on the crisis. Also, this blog. This is really interesting. This is a blog from one of our correspondent who's there's in the field.
This is from Cal Perry, who writes, "As painful as it is, you get a feel for where things are, what the situation is, and how the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. It's because between the flight and the airports and border crossings are the cab drivers. They fill in the gaps, despite the massive amounts of information coming across your BlackBerry.
So, some really interesting perspective from our correspondents in the field. Also, gauging reaction on the web this morning, like you were just saying, Tony. This is from DaveBenjamin on twitter. He says, current fighting looks like every other fight between the two sides. A vicious cycle without an ending. It's sad, really."
And then, also from Facebook, William Jose Valez Gonzalez. He sent us a message and he says, "The issue has been around so long, that both sides are simply not willing to concede anything leading to the current situation. The United States must call for an immediate ceasefire and try as hard as possible to broker a deal, which I think most would agree, has to establish the Palestinian state. The current position of the Bush administration is really disappointing. They're basically pointing fingers but doing nothing at all. The U.S. must try to bring the parties to the table and negotiate a deal, assuring Israel of our support, but actually serving as moderators to try and solve this old dilemma." And of course, we are still asking for your opinion. You can find us on Facebook. All you have to do is search Veronica De La Cruz in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris. You can also find us on Twitter. You can follow me at Twitter at veronicadlcruz -- Tony.
HARRIS: Awesome, awesome. Veronica, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.
