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Cease-fire Lasted Less than Two Hours

Aired August 01, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Now, listen, you capture an Israeli soldier, you have to call a spade a spade. That's an escalation in the violence and certainly a violation of the spirit of the cease-fire but it does show a weakness in the cease- fire. And this is something I said last night that all the fire did not cease. And that's a weakness there.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So, David, in essence, what Israel is claiming is that Hamas used a U.S.-U.N. brokered cease-fire to capture an Israeli soldier. That's just -- that just sounds bad.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, this is another ominous turn and I think it guarantees that we're going to have a continuing fight here for a while until one or two things happens. Either the Israelis basically take care of the tunnels and demolish most of them and most of the rockets and feels safe or alternatively, a long shot, we can finally get some sort of international peacekeeping force in there and divide the sides. So we don't have that.

But, Carol, and Jim has looked into this, I think this issue of the tunnels, the Israelis insisted as a condition of the truce that they be able to continue demolishing the tunnels and this seems to me that was entirely reasonable. When they find soldiers down in those tunnels, you know, armed and suicide bombers, it's almost inevitably going to lead to some sort of conflict and some sort of shooting.

As long as these two people -- these two sides are so intermingled they are armed, and somebody points a gun at somebody on the ground, you know, people are going to be fire back. There's going to be shootings. And it's going to escalate.

So it's - this is a very difficult situation. It must be so frustrating to the people in the White House and in the State Department.

COSTELLO: Yes. But that's the basic question, Jim -- right. Like how can you broker a cease-fire when all the fire doesn't cease?

SCIUTTO: It's a fair question. Clearly, this is something -- this was a red line for Israel. The Prime Minister Netanyahu had said yesterday that he would not accept any cease-fire that does not allow Israel to defend itself by continuing operations against these tunnels. As David gets to you there, it's just such an intertwined conflict. The soldiers, fighters on both sides are so intertwined in such quarters. And it just shows the risk, the risk of them continuing to come into contact with each other, even when you make -- when the diplomats make an attempt at stopping the fighting.

But listen, as David said as well, you know, you capture a soldier, these soldiers are advancing there, they come across a suicide bomber, they are going to fire back and that gets at a question as to how much did both sides want this cease-fire, and that's a real question going forward.

COSTELLO: So final question to you, David, and I just wonder because Israel has not been altogether happy with the United States through this whole thing, right?

GERGEN: Right. You could say that again.

COSTELLO: So bigger picture here, will this most recent conflict damage relations between the two countries even more?

GERGEN: Well, there have obviously been strains between Netanyahu and President Obama. Now there are strains with Secretary Kerry. I'm told underneath this the Israelis actually like Kerry in many ways. They just -- they think what he has done in trying to broker the peace was too one-sided for Hamas in the last generation.

I wondered, Jim, it does seem to me that the breaking of this truce yet again makes the prospects for getting some sort of understandings in Cairo very, very difficult. It's hard to know how this is going to end unless there is the international will to do what the Israelis want and I think it's quite sensible; that is, to have some sort of international force in there.

Would the Americans be willing to participate in that given our fatigue with Iraq and Afghanistan? Hard to say we would do that. Who would go in and actually be there, Jim? What do you think the prospects are for peace talks now given this fighting?

SCIUTTO: In a word, David, if I can and Carol -- lousy. I mean you had the break down of one cease-fire attempt a couple of weeks ago which the Israelis were on board for, Egypt presented. That didn't go anywhere. Hamas did not agree to it. Hamas apparently agreed to this and gave assurances and yet you have this attack and you have this soldier taken.

And Israel will respond. We talked about this earlier -- Carol. There's this national pact between Israel and its mothers and fathers, we take your sons and daughters to fight. If one of them is captured, we're going to fight back and make every effort.

When you have a soldier captured, that necessitates a ground operation. In fact they've already begin going house to house. They've already issued warnings to tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Rafah area to evacuate in advance of these operations.

Then you have the retaliation aspect. Israel has to retaliate here as well. How long will that last? David, I think I probably share your pessimism that there will be a massive Israeli response that's going to last a length of time. Even when that has, you know, gone on for a certain amount of time, how do you bring the Israelis back to the table and say this cease-fire unlike the last two is going to work?

GERGEN: Right, right.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Jim Sciutto, David Gergen -- I have to end it there. Thanks to both of you.

GERGEN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it. We'll be right back.

SCIUTTO: Thanks -- Carol.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning in the Middle East, the cease-fire is over and the Israel-Hamas conflict appears to be escalating to a whole new level. This is the scene over Gaza as Israeli air strikes erupt into massive clouds of smoke and dust. Gaza health officials say at least 33 people were killed but say the death toll will climb because many victims are buried in the rubble. The pulverizing attacks are in retaliation for the apparent capture of an Israeli soldier.

Israel says Hamas shattered the truce in a tunnel attack that captured one soldier and killed two of his comrades.

Let's head to the region now. Wolf Blitzer is in Jerusalem. CNN's Sara Sidner is near the Israel-Gaza border. But I want to start with you -- Wolf. Tell us more.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: the Israelis are insisting that they didn't break the cease-fire. They insist Hamas broke the cease-fire. The cease-fire was supposed to go into effect at 8:00 a.m. They say this incident occurred at 9:30 a.m., when two Hamas elements got through a tunnel Israel was decommissioning or destroying that tunnel which Israel says was their right to do it during this carefully negotiated cease-fire. Two Israelis soldiers were killed. Israel says one soldier was taken -- was captured by Hamas.

All of this is raising the specter of an even more brutal military operation under way right now.

Listen to my conversation just a little ago with the spokesman for the IDF -- Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Was the incident that occurred on the Israeli side of the tunnel or the Gaza side of the tunnel?

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, SPOKESMAN FOR THE IDF: It all took place within the Gaza strip in the areas where we were operating in recent days. Indeed they were on defensive positions dealing with decommissioning a tunnel. This is something we said that we would be doing throughout the cease-fire because these tunnels as have been proven in this incident are a serious threat. This is what they said that they would do time and time again. This is a modus operandi of these people and this is what we're up against.

BLITZER: They said that the agreement that was spelled out by the U.S. and the U.N., the secretary of state, said Israel had to remain within its line but it could go on defensively continue the decommissioning or the destruction of those tunnels of those tunnels. Was that within Israel lines, that incident that occurred where these two Israeli soldiers were killed and one Israeli soldier was captured?

LETER: Absolutely. We were operating in order to decommission these tunnels that have one goal, terrorism, death, destruction. As we've talked about several times abduction is one of those things that they're doing. We are in a situation now where they have opened to this reality where Israel again is in a situation where we have no choice, we have to operate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, when he says they have to operate, they are literally -- Carol, they're going house to house right now in that area around Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. They're looking for this captured Israeli soldier.

Earlier the IDF said there was a suspicion a soldier had been captured. Spokesman for the Prime Minister, Mark Regev said it was alleged that the soldier had been captured. But Lerner told me flatly the soldier has been captured by Hamas and they're looking for him. And the Israelis are going to do whatever they can to try to find him.

This situation is clearly escalating as we speak.

COSTELLO: It is escalating. We just got new numbers in -- Wolf. This is according to Palestinian minister of health. 40 Palestinians have been killed, more than 250 injured -- this is in Rafah. Rafah, of course is near the border with Egypt where that tunnel incident took place.

So let's head live to Sara Sidner. She is on the Gaza-Israeli border. What do things look like from your perspective -- Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fighting is absolutely fierce. We have been hearing air strikes over and over again -- huge booms. We saw just a bit ago, some plumes of smoke coming up from Gaza. We are on the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel looking over. It's just over my soldier there where you see Gaza. It is quite hazy, a very bright day but the fighting intense, we can hear right now. It sounds like 50-caliber weaponry being fired. You can hear it over and over and over again. Did you hear that, another big boom. Meaning another likely air strike -- again, I mean again, again, and again. We also know that on this side of the border there have been a lot of mortars falling. We were actually told we could not go to the spot that we were at yesterday when the fighting was starting to cease a little bit because the mortars are just falling over and over again as you get closer and closer to the border.

You know a lot of people talking about this capture and talking to former soldiers, for example. We also talked to some of the soldiers who have been injured. All of the families they are worried about their soldiers that are fighting, all of the Israelis that have children who are soldiers -- very, very worried about their safety.

But they are all talking about this capture because it reminds them of the 2006 capture of Gilad Shalit. He was captured for five years and eventually that story ended happily because he was released when Israel eventually agreed to hand over more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners. That is how that one ended.

Everyone hoping that the ending will be different this time, there will be a shorter time that he will be released alive but everyone is talking about this. The capture of Gilad Shalit really cast a shadow over Israel and the whole idea of going into Gaza always, always creates a lot of concern, a lot of worry, a lot of fear, that something like this is going to happen.

And of course, on the Gaza side of the border, they know, Hamas knows that if something like that happens, there is going to be all out barrage and that is exactly what is happening now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sara Sidner, reporting live from the Gaza-Israeli border. Wolf Blitzer, reporting live Israel. we'll get back to you -- thanks so much.

I've got to take a break. I'll be back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As the fighting intensifies, so does the tension between Israel and the United Nations. It seems each day a different U.N. agency all but accuses Israel of everything from war crimes to lying.

Richard Roth covers the United Nations for us. Tell us more about this -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel and the United Nations have always had a difficult relationship for decades and the Gaza flare up is certainly not helping things. Israel always thinks the U.N. is overwhelmingly opposed to Israel and it does come down to the numbers. Dozens of countries here, membership in the U.N. lined up against Israel for various reasons. Some in the United States and elsewhere say it comes down to anti-Semitism. Those countries who support the Palestinians say it's because of Israel's policies and occupation.

Now, regarding the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier and the developments over night, U.N. officials are frustrated the cease-fire has ended. They may not be totally surprised the way things go in the Middle East. One U.N. official told me that they only their talks could get back on track right now in Cairo as planned would be if this Israeli soldier was immediately turned over. Stay tuned on that. Robert Seri (ph) the U.N.'s Middle East peace process coordinator said it's a serious violation of the case-fire agreement and should be condemned in the strongest terms should it be officially confirmed on the kidnapping front.

Riyad Mansour, the U.N.'s Palestinian envoy told CNN's "NEW DAY" show this morning that the Palestinian Authority would like to have the talks resume as scheduled in Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINE'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It's the Israelis right now that is declaring that the cease-fire is over. We are ready and willing, you know, to commit ourselves to the 72-hour cease-fire, and by we, it means all Palestinian components under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: How can you be --

MANSOUR: -- and we are ready to begin the negotiations in Cairo through the Egyptians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The Security Council does not have any planned formal meetings. There could be some consultations later considering the crisis but it's still divided. A council meeting yesterday failed to produce any statement regarding the fighting. This was precease-fire. Now it's resumed. Carol -- back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Richard Roth reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BLAIS, CHEF: I'm Richard Blais -- chef, author, restaurateur. Today I'm here in Atlanta Georgia. We're here at Paris on Ponce. It's a vintage old shop. It's one of the really neat things here. Paris on Ponce is the puree curators. So you're in one shop but you're really in like 40 shops.

This is a cutting board and this is actually some reclaimed walnut wood here. This is going to be perfect for my restaurants.

This is kind of new, this fridge. The clam shell wind chime -- you don't see that every day. This is a mortar and pestle. I can use this to make some great pesto maybe. You also have weird and interesting stuff like a stuffed skunk. This dome actually I might be able to use. It's got a skull under it right now. But I think in a restaurant some (inaudible) might be a little bit better.

My goodness, look at this chair. This is what I'm talking about. See you come for knives and forks and plates, you leave with a king's throne. Right now, we're in La Maison Rouge -- the Red Room. They do a lot of private events and I totally can see why.

Another amazing thing here is it's totally dog friendly. They always wanted to wear fencing mask. These are the fun things you can do here as well even if I'm not going to buy a fencing mask. Now, I just need my source.

And just when you thought you've checked every nook and cranny, you find what you've been looking for -- some vintage knives.

Let's see what we've got. Got some inspiration, some really cool stuff. Thanks for checking out Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. Checking some top stories for you at 55 minutes past. At least 25 people are dead and an unknown still missing after suspected gas leaks triggered a series of explosions in Taiwan. The blast flipped vehicles, sent flames leaping into the air. It tossed motorcycles as high as three stories. It also collapsed a large street and scarred the area with craters and deep trenches several miles long.

New developments on the ebola outbreak. The World Health Organization says the outbreak is moving faster than its efforts to control it. One of two Americans infected with ebola may be coming back to the United States today. An especially-equipped plane with an isolation pod is en route to Liberia to meet two missionaries. At least one of them is expected to be brought to a hospital in Atlanta.

The day before 9/11, Former President Bill Clinton said he passed up the chance to kill Osama bin Laden because of concerns of civilian deaths. That statement heard on a recording that just surfaced in Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a very smart guy. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. And I nearly got him once. I nearly got him. And I could have killed him but I would have had to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children. And then I would have been no better than him and so I didn't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The recording is said to Clinton speaking to a group of Australian business leaders.

Republican Congressman Eric Cantor will resign on August 18, a month earlier than expected. Cantor told the Richmond Times Dispatch about his position hours after stepping down as House Majority Leader. His 14-year career in Congress ended with his shocking primary loss in June. All right. Let's lighten the mood a bit, shall we? Because it is

Friday, you're about to witness the first steak grilled as far as we know on lava -- volcanic barbecue if you will.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on what some call the best steak ever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fire up the grill. Not that one -- this one. Time to grill a steak on lava.

SAM BOMPAS: Most chefs could only dream of the feat.

MOOS: Seriously, they grilled a couple of rib-eye steaks on a man- made stream of lava.

A London food designer named Sam Bompas dreamed up the idea.

BOMPAS: It cooks like greased lightning.

MOOS: But where to get the lava. Only this guy has the proper furnace. Syracuse university sculpture professor Robert (inaudible) man has been heating the salt gravel to make artificial lava for almost five years. For art and geology experiments but never before had he cooked steak and corn on the cob.

This wasn't the kind of cookout where just any old apron would do. You need a protective leather jacket, visor and look at those other myths.

BOMPAS: Unlike a normally barbecue, you're not getting any smoke come out.

The steaks were seared at 2,100 degrees. They were taken off the grill then returned for a couple of minutes once the lava had cooled. Sam Bompas called it the best steak he had ever eaten.

BOMPAS: You get a really thick char on the outside which frankly tastes delicious but when we cut into it, it was medium rare, juicy and unctuous.

MOOS: Unctuous meaning rich and fabulously fatty. I haven't had this much fun watching meat cook since the time we cooked veal wrapped in aluminum foil in the engine of a car. After an hour of driving, it looked like road kill but was --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exceptionally tasty.

MOOS: Unless you live near an erupting volcano your only hope of enjoying a lava cooked steak seems remote.

BOMPAS: what we would like to do is offer a lava barbecue party and say if you're having an epic party, call us up. We'll come down with our furnace and cook out the best steak of your life.

MOOS: There was one casualty, sadly, an ear of corn was engulfed in lava. They even roasted marshmallows for desert. Still we prefer our volcanoes rare.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, I'm John Berman. Michaela is off today. It's 11:00 a.m. in the East; it's 8:00 a.m. out West.

We want to get straight away to the breaking news. The Middle East cease-fire blown to pieces and an Israeli soldier now in the hands of Hamas.