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More Israeli Airstrikes and Hamas Rocket Fire; India Surpasses 24 Million COVID-19 Cases; Pressure to Cancel Games Grows Within Japan as Cases Surge; IDF's Iron Dome Intercepts Incoming Rockets from Gaza; Civilians React to Escalating Violence; Pipeline Hack; CDC Fully Vaccinated People Can go Maskless in Most Cases; Prince Harry Gets Personal. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 14, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:25]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live around the world from the CNN Center in Atlanta. Hello, again. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour:
Northern Gaza bombarded by Israeli artillery, and tanks, firing from just across the border while thousands of Israeli troops are called out ahead of possible ground invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, I am hearing the siren for incoming rockets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Reporting from the front line, with incoming rocket fire from Gaza.
And also, how to earn millions of dollars without re-trying. Hacking in oil supply line, disrupt supply and demand payment, bonus points for living in Russia, and not getting caught.
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VAUSE: Hopes of finding an off-ramp in an escalating violence between Israel and militants in Gaza appear to being dashed for now. A senior Israeli official tells CNN, a cease-fire is not on the table. Egyptian mediators in Tel Aviv have been unable to broker a deal.
At the same time, thousands of Israeli massive troops are now massing near the border, with heavy artillery, and tanks firing into the northern part of Gaza.
Israel says ground forces have not yet crossed the border, but preparations are underway for a ground incursion, which one military commander said could happen at any moment. Overnight, more than 100 rockets who were fired indiscriminately from
Gaza landing in, and around Tel Aviv, as well as other cities. So far, at least seven Israelis have been killed during the five days of conflict. The IDF says about 90 percent of incoming fire, having been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense.
Though Israelis say they've gone to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, the death toll in Gaza sense at 109, including 28 children. Airstrikes have, allegedly, targeted a missile production site, as well as the Hamas naval facility, as well as Hamas security ministry. Police buildings, banks, and the homes of senior Hamas commanders.
And Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warns these strikes on Gaza are far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The defense activity of Iron Dome battery is giving an offensive space and the Israeli Defense Forces already attacked hundreds of targets, and we'll soon pass 1,000 targets. We'll continue striking Hamas while defending our citizens. We'll take more time. But with great firmness on offense, as well as defense, we will achieve our goal of bringing back calm to the state of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Prime Minister Netanyahu also considering a wave of mob violence, spreading through Israeli cities and towns. He's granted police emergency powers to impose curfews, to try and stop clashes between Arab and Jewish citizens who have lived side by side in these cities for decades.
CNN's Hadas Gold reports now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Hamas and the Israeli military waged battle in the skies over Israel and Gaza, tensions are escalating with the Israeli government downplaying the prospect of an immediate ceasefire.
LIOR HAIAT, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: If we'll cease the fire right now, Hamas will gain, or will get to its goal, and its objective of hitting Israel and not paying a price. We have -- we will attack the Hamas infrastructure.
GOLD: Back on the ground, an alarming level of rage spilling into the streets beyond Jerusalem. Mob violence, spreading through mixed Arab and Jewish cities like Lod, Acre and Bat Yam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I saw death, death. You know what's death is? People jumping at me with stones, throwing stones at me.
GOLD: Arab citizens attacking a man they think is Jewish. Jewish citizens attacking someone that they believe is Arab.
The communal violence reaching such a fevered pitch, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily warning that rogue vigilantes to stop, or face dire consequences.
NETANYAHU: I do not care at all if your blood is boiling. It's boiling, but it's not interesting. You cannot take the law into your own hands. You cannot come and take a simple Arab citizen, and try to lynch him. Just as we cannot see Arab citizens doing this to Jewish citizens. This will not stand.
GOLD: Police getting reinforcements on horseback, in riot gear, in cities like Lod, to quell the unrest.
A siren's ring constantly, a warning from above of incoming rocket fire.
[01:05:03]
The Iron Dome, stopping 90 percent of the more than 1,800 rockets fired into Israel thus far, according to the Israeli military.
With Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza, the casualty count arising with each exchange. The displaced in Gaza growing with every building reduced to rubble.
The threat in the sky is so grave that many Western airlines have canceled flights to Tel Aviv. And, on a new front, Hamas releasing a slick propaganda video launching what it says our suicide drones, drones that Israeli forces say they have shot down.
Diplomatic efforts underway overseas, with nations weighing in on the conflict and urging calm. While in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, signs popping up, urging peaceful coexistence.
SUBHI TALAIB, LOD, ISRAEL RESIDENT (through translator): We need to live here together. Coexistence. We need to be together. Partners, to be partners with each other.
GOLD: In the meantime, a barrage of rockets are ongoing. While along the Israeli Gaza border, tanks in position take aim, and fire.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Elliott Gotkine is live this hour again for us in Tel Aviv.
And, Elliott, you know, apart from deploying border troops, and declaring a state of emergency in cities like Lod, is there anything being done to try to calm the situation within Israel, within the Israeli Palestinian citizens and the Jewish population?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Well, there is talk of the curfew in the city of Lod, where perhaps the most intense flare-ups between Israeli Arabs and Jews have taken place. There's talk of curfew being brought forward to 5:00 p.m.
Right now, more police officers have been sent to these areas, and they are trying to calm the situation, and reach out to community leaders. There was a message going around on social media yesterday, like a school parents group, imploring parents to ensure that their children were not going to meet any of these locations that were being talked about for gatherings, for Israeli Jews to get together, to try to create more violence between Arab citizens, and Jewish citizens, in places like here, like an Jaffa.
Now, we're told by some locals, in fact, until recently, until the police just got them to leave, they were waiting on the roof you're saying, they were protecting the mosque, and that a few cars came here, and a couple of fights broke out. But there's no major outbreak of violence here.
But the situation across Israel where there are Arab and Jewish populations doesn't seem to calm down, despite pleadings by the prime minister, and threats for punishment, and also, pleading from President Reuven Rivlin calling for an end to the madness.
So, unfortunately, right now, it's hard to see when this or how this communal violence is going to -- is going to end.
VAUSE: Elliott, thank you. Elliott Gotkine there in Tel Aviv.
Well, France's president had spoken to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, also plans to speak to Israel's prime minister. Emmanuel Macron says he's determined to work with all parties to end the violence as quickly as possible.
Meantime, a U.N. Security Council meeting about the recent hostilities has been rescheduled. That is after it was initially blocked by the United States. Two U.N. diplomats say that the U.S. stop the meeting because it opposed discussion at an international forum. As always, the U.N. mission tweeted that the meeting will now be held on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden says that his administration is now talking to leaders across the region. Here's what he had to say when asked of the Israeli prime minister has done enough to stop the unrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has not been a significant overreaction. The question is, how -- how do we get to a point, or they get to a point where, there is a significant reduction in the attacks, particularly, the rocket attacks that are indiscriminately fired into population centers. But, I expect I'll be having some more discussions. And it wasn't -- we haven't just spoken with the Israelis. the Egyptians, the Saudis, and others. So, it's a work in progress right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining me now from Jerusalem, Ron Dermer, former ambassador to the United States and a former senior adviser to prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ambassador Dermer, thank you for being with us.
RON DERMER, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good to be with you, John.
VAUSE: Did Israel want this confrontation with Hamas? Or was it forced on Israel by Hamas?
DERMER: Absolutely not. We were trying to avoid it. We took several steps several days ago in order to reduce tensions. But, unfortunately, Hamas one of this confrontation. It's largely about internal Palestinian politics, trying to take over from the Palestinian Authority.
[01:10:00]
They tried to stir the pot in Jerusalem. They did it in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where they basically perpetrated a huge lie about what was going on. Then they perpetrated another lie, regarding the Al-Aqsa mosque, as if Israel was storming it.
Then they fired a rocket into Jerusalem, and that led to what we see now. And Israel has to do what it has to do to restore security to its citizens and also to restore deterrence. To make it clear that a terror organization that rules Gaza is not going to be able to fire thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians with impunity.
VAUSE: So, if Israel is a reluctant participant in this, you have the defense minister, Benny Gantz, who tweeted out, Israel has many more targets, and no time limit on this military operation. An official with the foreign ministry told CNN that a cease-fire, at least for now, is not on the table.
It seems you've gone from reluctant to, you know, very much engaged in this conflict, which is now open-ended.
DERMER: Yeah, well, there is no inconsistency there. We didn't want to start it, but once a terror organization attacks you, you have to restore deterrence. What does that mean? You have to exact the price high enough from Hamas, that they actually regret having started this in the first place, and even more important, we need to make it clear to them that it doesn't pay for them to pay for this for a very, very long time.
That is what Israel's doing now. That's why we've taken up many, many Hamas terrorists, and that's why we're going after their terrorist infrastructure. There's been action, according to reports in Israel over the last few hours, that we were able to destroy a part of their subterranean tunnel network, where they use that network to move people, and arms from one place in Gaza, to another place in Gaza, and that would be a very big blow for the military terror fighting capability. I hope that will be a turning point in this conflict.
VAUSE: Yeah, there's always a lot of criticism of Israel, a lot of civilian casualties in Gaza. That often comes from regime, so we got that locking credibility or any right to criticize. But then, there are those who do have a high moral ground. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALALA YOUSAFZAI, ACTIVIST: After decades of oppression against Palestinians, we cannot deny that a asymmetry of power and the brutality from Israeli airstrikes, on women, and children, in Gaza, the stun grenades, targeting worshippers in Al-Aqsa, forced displacement, arrests, beatings, and killings, are a crime against humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When you hear those words from someone like Malala Yousafzai who now campaigns for education rights for girls. She survive a bullet in the head from the Taliban, because she wanted to go to school. Does that, at least, to give you pause for a moment? To think maybe there's a different way to think about what we're doing?
DERMER: Not at all. It doesn't give me pause, because she doesn't know what she's talking about. It doesn't matter if you are a Nobel Prize winner, you should know the facts.
Israel is not deliberately targeting civilians in Gaza. You have seen, John, in the last few days, 15-story buildings collapsed. Did you ever ask yourself, why is it there aren't thousands, or tens of thousands of civilians killed in Gaza? It's because we are doing everything to avoid civilian casualties.
She's also perpetrating a lie, a libel against Israel regarding Hamas. I don't know about you, John, in church, or synagogues, but when I go to synagogues, I don't see -- or go to a synagogue, I don't see tons of rockets there, Molotov cocktails, firebombs. That is what happened in Al-Aqsa mosque.
You had fanatics who went to the Temple Mount to start violence, to riot, to attack Jews who were worshipping at the Western Wall. And the last thing Israel wants to do is send its military into Hamas, that would -- and certainly not into Al-Aqsa. The only reason they did that is because they had no choice, and had to restore public order.
So, it's very unfortunate. You have a Nobel Peace Prize winners for several years, who were sometimes make wild statements. I'm sure she's a terrific person. She's had a remarkable life, but she doesn't know the facts about what is going on in Israel, and I think she should learn the facts before she speaks out.
VAUSE: The other side always has to say on how and when the conflict will end. I wonder where Israel stands when it comes to the civilian death toll in Gaza, because clearly, Hamas doesn't care how many Palestinians are killed in the conflict.
DERMER: That's right.
VAUSE: -- maybe in the next few weeks. Does Israel? How many is too many? Is there a limit here? DERMER: No, absolutely. And here I would tell you, John, that the
international media has a critical role to play, because what Hamas does is it is committing this double war crime, which I know you are aware of, where they deliberately targeting our civilians, trying to kill as many as possible with indiscriminate rocket fire, and at the same time, they embed their terrorists, their missiles, their arms depots, in civilian areas, because they're trying to get Israel, even when we conduct the most surgical strikes, you're going to unintentionally have civilian casualties.
And the key part of the Hamas strategy is the international media, because when the international media shows the pictures of the people who are unintentionally killed by Israel, and that is a tragedy for us. We are doing everything we can to keep Palestinian civilians out of harm's way. If the international media blames Israel, and forces governments to pressure Israel, and calls on governments to pressure Israel, then Hamas wins.
[01:15:06]
If the international media blames Hamas, puts it indoor doorstep, where it should be, then, actually, Hamas loses, and that's good for Israel. It's good for the Palestinians, and it's good for peace.
VAUSE: Ambassador Ron Dermer in Jerusalem, thank you, sir. Good to see you.
DERMER: Thank you.
VAUSE: Earlier, I spoke with a Palestinian journalist about the Israeli military buildup on the Gaza border. We'll hear what he had to say later this hour.
Well, Britain is keeping an eye on the COVID variant which was first detected in India.
Up next, a rapid rise in cases for some of the countries gains against the virus.
Also ahead, hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition to cancel the Tokyo Games. Now, it's in the hands of officials. We'll have the very latest when we come back.
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VAUSE: Sobering numbers continue to come from India, just a short time ago, passing 24 million confirmed coronavirus cases. That's since the beginning of the pandemic.
So far, nearly 5 million infections have been reported just this month, and we are 2 weeks.
And meantime, vaccines are in short supply, and while India's government says it's securing an additional 2 billion doses by the end of the year, at least one state is turning to the global COVAX program for help. CNN senior international correspondent Sam Kiley live from Delhi with
more on this.
Two billion doses by the end of the year, that will be great at the end of the year. What about now?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the moment, John, they are hitting about 2.8 percent, possibly scraping 3 percent of the population now who have been vaccinated here in India. There is a severe shortage of vaccinations. A number of states and it's interesting here in India, that is state responsibility to conduct and even procure vaccinations, rather confused picture indeed, with the central government sort of dictating policy, but leaving it to the states as to how they get a hold of vaccines.
So, we got one state to supply to the COVAX, the international aid distribution effectively, of subsidized vaccinations. Many of them supplied by India that were not for particularly poorer countries around the world, particularly in the African continent. That state is actually applying to that program for vaccinations, because they're cheaper than buying them here in India.
But elsewhere, there are severe shortages of vaccinations. And it's through vaccination obviously as we've seen elsewhere in the world where you can start to come out of these pandemic waves, but there's no sign here, John, that that wave is cresting yet. There has been a slight decline in the reported number of infections, but the level of testing here is actually on the decline because the country has been so overwhelmed with a massive increase in the number of people, whether or not they're not tested, who are falling ill, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Indian's most populous state.
[01:20:01]
People in the rural areas are falling ill in very large quantities, they're simply being described as feverish and there are chronic shortages right across the country, even here in the capital, of oxygen. The central government is saying that it is trying to get to grips with shortages, and frankly, decades of under investment in public health in this country simply mean that they have been overwhelmed.
The issues, though, elsewhere in the country, interesting comparison between Delhi, for example, and Mumbai, which is much more simply structured city, a massive city on a similar scale, but because it got a unitary government rather than multiple administrations all competing with each other, they seem to have been able to weather the storm a bit more effectively. But it's certainly not over in India -- John.
VAUSE: Sam, thank you. CNN's Sam Kiley live for us in Delhi. Appreciate it.
Well, from Malaysia to Singapore to Taiwan, rising COVID cases are forcing lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions around the region. That's all -- not in the region of India. Kristie Lu Stout has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As India's COVID-19 catastrophe worsens, new waves of infection are engulfing South and Southeast Asia.
Now, if you look at this, the 7-day average of new coronavirus cases, Asia is the global coronavirus hot spot. The international Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Societies is sounding the alarm. The Asia- Pacific director says this, quote, COVID-19 is exploding across much of Asia, overwhelming hospitals and health care.
In Nepal, cases are spiking. COVID-19 patients are begging for oxygen and hospital beds. At least 72 out of Nepal's 77 districts are under full or partial lockdown.
The virus is also threatening Southeast Asia. On Monday, the director general of the World Health Organization says that cases and deaths are still increasing rapidly in the region. Cases have been rising in Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Thailand is reporting a record number of cases, including thousands of infections in prisons in Bangkok.
As cases rise, Malaysia announced a new nationwide lockdown on Monday. All social gatherings are banned, along with interstate and inter district travel.
Taiwan, a pandemic success story, is dealing with an outbreak linked to China Airlines pilots. The island is quarantining all pilots from the airline for 14 days.
Singapore has generally kept the pandemic under control, but it too is managing a COVID-19 cluster linked to staff at Changi Airport. Singapore closed the airport's passenger terminal buildings from Thursday for two weeks. The airport remains open for air travel.
This week, the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 variant first identified in India as a variant of concern, warning that it may be highly contagious. The variant has already spread to 44 countries, including many in South and Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh, to Nepal, to Singapore, and the Philippines.
The virus and this new variant of concern have no respect for borders.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Britain officials are increasingly concerned the variant first detected in India and now spreading across the U.K. could undo some of the hard-fought progress made against COVID-19.
Here is Cyril Vanier reporting in from London. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.K.'s battle against COVID has been tremendously successful in the last few months. But there is now a small cloud forming on the horizon due to one of the COVID variant first identified in India. The number of cases of the mutation has more than doubled over the past week from 520 to more than 1,300. That number isn't overwhelming yet, but the prime minister has acknowledged that he's concerned about it.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is a variant of concern. We are anxious about it. It has been spreading. You know, provided this Indian variant. B1617 doesn't take off in the way that some people fear. I think we could get much, much closer to normality.
VANIER: This mutation was classified just last week of one of concern, meaning there could be significantly more contagious and perhaps more resistant to vaccines as well. Authorities say they plan to implement additional control measures in communities where there is spread, northwest England and some parts of London.
More testing, tracing, and genetic sequencing is being deployed to those areas. The idea, contain this variant before it gets out of hand. England is poised to remove many restrictions on social gatherings on Monday, in hopes the very real progress against COVID in this country won't be undone by a new, more aggressive form of the virus.
Cyril Vanier, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Just over 2 months before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics and public pressure to cancel the Summer Games is growing across Japan.
[01:25:07]
With rising coronavirus numbers, at least 35 host towns are canceling deals to house athletes.
CNN's Blake Essig is in Tokyo live this hour.
And, Blake, the organizing committee says the games will go on. There is a determination there. Is there a point where they may balk at this and say, okay, it's off?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the statements we have heard from months and months is that these games are happening, essentially no matter what, no plan B. You know, while the International Olympic Committee does remain confident the games will go ahead on schedule, pointing even most recently to several test events that were held with overseas athletes that were successful in their words, there is a growing chorus of voices that aren't so sure. And earlier today, a petition with 352,000 signatures collected just this past week called for the games to be canceled were submitted in person to Tokyo's metropolitan government and by email to the IOC.
Now, recently, tennis superstars Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori and Serena Williams cast doubt over whether the games should take place. At least 35 host cities have canceled plans to welcome athletes from around the world in the buildup to these games.
But it's not just cities canceling. It's also Olympic teams. Most recently, the USA track and field team. They canceled their trip -- their July training camp saying they don't see an end in sight to the pandemic and expressed concern for the safety of athletes.
Now, several local governors have also said they won't free app hospital space for athletes. Just yesterday, the head of a medical doctors union here in Japan which consists of about 130 doctors said that the Tokyo Olympics should not be held, and he went to say that having people from all over the world come to Tokyo has the potential to develop the virus and spread variants.
And even without spectators, safe and secure games is simply not possible. As for the current COVID-19 situation across Japan, it's getting much worse. Cases are on the rise of. And the number of severe cases has once again set a new record.
Japan's prime minister is expected to announce today if another 6 prefectures will be added to the list of locations currently under a full or partial state of emergency order. If they do, that will bring the total to 19 prefectures under current restrictions to try and stop the spread of the virus -- John.
VAUSE: So, with no -- with no international visitors actually, you know, being allowed to attend the game, so it's just basically the people of Japan who will be there. This is shaping up to be the most miserable Olympic Games ever.
ESSIG: You know, I covered the games in Sochi. I had high expectations for what these games would look like. You can scrap anything you thought might be the case here. Again, you're getting the idea. I attended a test event not too long ago. And it's just -- you know, nobody in the stands, athletes kept away, the media area was a little congested, I don't think they've quite figured everything.
But again, I mean, just the overall experience left a lot to be desired. Again, you can understand that if these games do happen, the cheering and excitement will be kept to a minimum.
Really, during the event that I went to, a swimming event and music was blaring throughout the entire time, you know, essentially kind of masking the sound of silence.
Again, whatever these games look like, you know, it's going to be a very different experience than anything anyone thought would be the case. And again, to temper expectations I think is very realistic at this point.
VAUSE: Given that, what, 126 million Japanese people don't want them. I mean, it's not universal, but it does seems overwhelming. Blake, thank you. Blake Essig there live for us in Tokyo.
Still ahead, it seems Israelis and Palestinians are not ready to stop killing each other. Militants fired hundreds of rockets to Israel, Israel hit Gaza with artillery and airstrikes, and civilians once again are caught in the middle and dying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There is a lot of shelling and the children are all afraid. Even us adults have been at war since our childhood. We are afraid and cannot bear it anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause.
Well, thousands of Israeli troops are now massing on the border with Gaza ahead of a possible invasion. The Israeli military says no troops are currently inside Gaza, but a ground invasion is being considered. The decision could come within days.
Israeli civilians near the Gaza border have been told to stay inside shelters.
Gaza is now under intense shelling from Israeli artillery and airstrikes continue. The IDF says it's targeting Hamas military sites and has struck more than 600 so far.
According to Palestinian health officials in Gaza, 109 people have been killed, including 28 children. At least seven Israelis have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza. The IDF says it's intercepted about 90 percent of rockets which have cross into Israeli territory.
CNN's Ben Wedeman was reporting live from the Israeli city of Lod when sirens warned of incoming rocket fire from Gaza. This is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Clearly, the Israeli government is very alarmed at the prospect of that. In fact, now I'm hearing the siren for incoming rockets, and of course, now the soldiers here are taking cover.
And if we just turn around here, I can show you that the Palestinians in front of the mosque are cheering and shouting Allahu Akbar. So you can see there is a very great divide between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Israelis when it comes to the situation here.
In fact, somebody has just let off a firework, and I guess, you could say to cheer on these rockets.
What is this? Hold on -- all right. well, I'm seeing some rockets. Yes. Yes we've seen rockets sort of flying over our heads, and it appears they have been -- they've been intercepted by the so-called Iron Dome System. We might want to move to a better location just in the event something falls from the sky.
And I'm hearing gunfire as well. That seems to be celebratory gunfire from some of the Arab residents of this town. Also as a form of celebration for rockets that are fired. That is a firework that you just heard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman that the report.
Well, the violence has left Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as Jewish citizens badly shaken. Here is how Israeli residents described their thoughts and feelings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDEN MALTZUR, ISRAELI RESIDENT (through translator): Some 100 Arabs came up to me and asked if I am a Jew or an Arab. I told them Arab. They heard that my accent was not Arab, ran up to my car, and they started throwing stones.
I was lucky that there were no cars behind me so I reversed. I drove full gas in reverse and almost ran into people and cars, I didn't see anything, I saw death, death. Do you know what death is? People jumping at me with stones, throwing stones at me.
[01:35:00]
ESTHER GELBERG, ISRAELI RESIDENT: We are all Israelis, Arabs, Jews -- we are Israelis. They are wonderful people. And it's just so heartbreaking what happened. And may it never happen again.
MONI JOSEF: It's not the fear. It's more than very sad not just to me, I'm saying it's sad for all the people in our community. Because people are losing money, losing the hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Palestinians have talked about the rising tensions with Israel during the Muslim Holy holiday of Eid El Fatah.
THURAYA RAMADAN, GAZAN RESIDENT (through translator): Our neighbors got hit. My neighbor and her daughter were killed in the conflict. We are very close. We are like one family, so we are very sad.
The violence stole the cheer of Eid from the children. They are terrified and panicked. RABAH AL-MADHOUN, GAZAN RESIDENT: The army called our neighbor and
told him we have a minute and a half to evacuate the house. He fled his house screaming, and they destroyed the area and all the buildings in the neighborhood.
No one had time leave their house. My cousin and his wife were killed, and his son was seriously injured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: this year is not normal. It is an atmosphere for war.
Every year we celebrate Eid, but this year we will not celebrate because of the war and the martyrs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Rami Younis joins us now from the region. He's a Palestinian journalist and filmmaker. Rami, thank you for being with us. There is now this added Israeli firepower from artillery and tanks just across the border in the north.
It seems to add a whole new element of destruction and death. Do you know what's been happening in the past few hours in northern Gaza? What have you heard?
RAMI YOUNIS, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST: Well, it's not just what's been happening in northern Gaza, to be honest. I have not been able to get much sleep at night. I've been following up on news from the state of Haifa and the city of Lid. What they call an ideologue (ph).
We've been seeing unprecedented events in the last couple of days within Israel itself. Last night, things really escalated. During the day, we saw Palestinian houses, apartments being mobbed by right wing rioters so that they could come and attack them later on tonight. I repeat this is -- this is something quite familiar from history.
Palestinian house are being marked now.
I've been out - -
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Wait, they're being marked in what way?
YOUNIS: Like putting a signal on them, like marking them with something on the outside, marking the doors, marking a nearby post --
VAUSE: Targeting them?
YOUNIS: Yes, so that settlers could move in later and attack them. We have been seeing, you know, in the city of Lid, police have announced that they lost control of the city two or three nights ago. They announced the city was under curfew.
Yet, they allowed Israeli settlers to riot and to harm Palestinians in the city. And we have countless evidence showing them, the Israeli police officers escorting these right wing rioters as they attack mosques, as they attack peoples homes, sometimes even attacking with them.
This is something that the Israeli mainstream media will not show you. But, I mean, fortunately -- I mean fortunately maybe it's -- it's not easy to say fortunately these days but there is social media, and it's very hard you see to hide things now.
VAUSE: CNN has yet to confirm that, but as you say, there is social media video out there and images I'm sure but, you know, it will be released to the public relatively soon --
This is a very unusual situation when it comes to --
YOUNIS: That's the thing. It's being released now. It's being released now, and this is what we need to be talking about right now.
We are cloning -- I mean friends of ours are asking us, you know, we the journalists, people who speak to international media, that this is the time to call for international protection.
I'm not a Palestinian in Gaza. I'm not a Palestinian in Ramallah, not even Jerusalem. I'm talking to you from I don't want to expose my exact location but I'm calling you from within Israel. And Palestinians here feel that they want international protection because can you imagine, what it feels like to be attacked also by that group that is supposed to be protecting you, which is the police.
It's just -- it's very hard to fathom what it means to be a Palestinians right now. Whether it's in Gaza, to be honest -- as a human being, I mean I know we are journalists, we are supposed to keep track of the news and follow up with the news, but I just couldn't --
(CROSSTALK)
[01:39:47]
VAUSE: I understand Rami. This is a difficult situation for a lot of people who are under fire, under attack, who are living in appalling conditions right now, who are living in fear. That could be shown on, you know, both sides of the border.
But there're obviously clear differences is here in what's happening in terms of just sheer devastation and death toll.
But the situation with it so as far is Palestinian-Israeli citizens, who are living in Israel, you know, rising up as part of this, as this continues on, and there have been these clashes with mobs.
I guess, you can get into a back and forth about who started what. But this has never really happened before, at least not in living memory that's seen what I can see.
Why is it taking -- why is it happening now? What was the trigger here for this? YOUNIS: Years of pent up anger and rage towards the government, and in
mixed cities, and this is why we saw what we are seeing right now in mixed cities.
I mean I can give you Lid as an example. Lid is a city that used to be Palestinian before 1948 after the occupation and the founding of Israel. It became a mixed city, meaning a city for Jews and Arabs to live together.
For the past 15 years, a group -- a right-wing group has been openly trying to Judaize the city. Judaize the city meaning giving it more of a Jewish nature, thus asking more Jews to move to the city so they could have more Jewish residents.
How does the militias of Palestinians grows a lot, then -- we also started seeing 10 or 15 house demolitions a year since 15 years ago.
So I mean add to this a very racist mayor, add to this police brutality. Ad to this years of neglect in allocating funds and what- not, and you get so many years of oppression that are now coming out. Mind you, this started as a popular uprising.
And mind you, this started as a popular uprising . this all started in Jerusalem. People took to the streets in all of Israel, all Palestinian -- and all of the sounds -- the Palestinian sounds in Israel. And they were protesting for El-Aqsa mosque and for Jerusalem.
Israeli brutality, Israeli police, especially in mixed cities, made these protest violent and now, we are not seeing protests anymore. We are just seeing clashes. Y know what, we're not even seeing clashes anymore. We are seeing one side who's staying locked in their neighborhoods, in their homes, protecting their neighborhoods and their homes --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Rami --
YOUNIS: -- while they're being attacked by settlers and police.
VAUSE: All right. We're going to leave it there. We are running short on time.
YOUNIS: Thank you.
VAUSE: You raised some real issues there. That's something for us to look into. Thank you for being with us.
Palestinian journalist Ramey Units. Thank you sir.
VAUSE: Thank you,.
Colombia's foreign minister is stepping down after nationwide protests which at times turned violent. Claudia Blum did not give any reasons why in her official resignation letter, but she is the second senior member of the government to resign since demonstrations began more than two weeks ago.
Initially as a protest against tax reform but quickly grew into demands for police reform. At least 42 people have been killed in the clashes.
Well, the gasoline flowing once again through the Colonial pipeline in the United States, but at what cost? The company paid a cyberattack ransom demand, setting what some say is a dangerous precedent.
[01:43:09]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) but the Colonial pipeline hack in the United States which cut gasoline supplies to about a dozen states as well as Washington D.C. Two sources tell CNN, the company caved and paid the ransomware hackers. Two other sources say, they were demanding almost $5 million. CNN though has not been able to confirm the final amount which was paid.
The cyberattack crippled the pipeline for six days. It's causing gas shortages still across the southeastern United States. Even though oil is now flowing once again many gas stations remain shut down.
Juliette Kayyem joins us now. She's a CNN national security analyst who served as homeland security assistant secretary under President Obama. Juliette, as always, it's good to see you.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you.
VAUSE: Ok. So, if the actual amount of ransom paid was $5 million, if that was the amount, experts say it was a bargain because demands of $25 to $35 million, are more likely for hack on the scale. But does it actually really matter if it was $5 million, or whether $5? you know, it's rewarding bad behavior, and that tends to encourage more bad behavior.
KAYYEM: That's exactly right. And why most people, in the field are against paying this ransomware. There is a number of reasons why you are, essentially, if your company pays it, you are paying a criminal enterprise. I mean there's no better way to put it.
The second thing is -- remember, there was an exchange going on here. So you are paying, as a company, for some sort of technology, that you were going to be dependent on to sort of clear your to clear your data that seems very, very risky.
And so, overall, don't pay ransomware. But here's the weird thing about this. And I do have a lot of questions, as well as some answers for you.
That is a very, very low sum of money, regardless of how Colonial responded, and whether it should've responded that way. So, $5 million maybe all we hear about, but that I mean honestly, for companies like Colonial that's like, you know, that's like chump change.
VAUSE: And the other weird thing about this is that group responsible for the hack, actually issued a statement on their Website. And they kind of distancing themselves from any governments out there, as well as sort of apologizing for what they did.
The statement, which was reported by Vice News Red, our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society. From today, we introduced moderation, and checked each company that our partners want to encrypt, to avoid social consequences in the future.
And on that issue, of having direct links with any government, here is what President Biden had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We do not believe, I emphasize, we do not believe the Russians government was involved in this attack. But, we do have strong reason to believe that the criminals who did the attack are living in Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Here's my thing. The U.S. went to war to tell about it 20 years of heartbreaking Ozama bin Lades who was a Saudi national.
So what would have happened if this criminal group you a bomb and not a cyber attack. Would U.S. keep the Kremlin in the past.
KAYYEM: No. And I think this is the beginning of us stopping from separating the cyber attack from an attack. It's just an attack.
Now in these instance, as you say, it is complicated. The company -- the hacker seem to want to walk away from what happened.
I think they did not anticipate that Colonial would take everything off line. We have to get better about both our understanding of what the consequences of cyberattack could be, which is including taking gas off line. But also, what tools we can use, in response.
I think the President Biden statement was judicious, and maybe, accurate in the sense that he wants to say that there is a criminal enterprise, in Russia. I think from the Russian perspective, the fact that the hackers are not getting punished, or we don't believe they are getting punished is proof that Putin, at least sort of acquiesce to their existence.
So if we learn that there's some sort of punishment for them, then we can believe that the Biden administration, really, did put heavy pressure on the Russians to clean this up. This is, literally, a bridge too far.
VAUSE: Right. there is what happened after the attack, but then there's how this attack was led to happen on the first place.
And again, listen to President Biden, here on infrastructure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Let me say that this event has provided an urgent reminder of why we need to harden our infrastructure, and make it more resilient against all threats -- natural and man-made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:49:58[
VAUSE: So, just how weak, I guess, are the security structures in place right now, within this infrastructure, that would allow these hacks to take place? And what needs to be done?
KAYYEM: So there is a lot that can still be done, and I think Colonial is going to have to explain how it was seemingly so vulnerable, given how much it owned, you know, 45 percent of New England, and the northeast region oil distribution system. So, you have to assume breach. This is the way we think now, and security.
In other ways, you try to try to fortify your wires and your networks and you have things called like layered systems you get rid of your single point so f failure all the wonky words that people like me think about.
But I think, also, Colonial has taught us that if there is a breach, we have to have a way in which we can respond, without bringing the whole system down.
For someone like me, looking at what happened it seemed like Colonial's only response was an on-off switch. And that just can't be given the interconnected world that we have. So there's going to be a lot lessons learned out of this.
VAUSE: We'll see. Juliette, as always. Thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the royal revelations just keep coming. After the break, Prince Harry tells us all about his royal upbringing. It may shed new life on the separation from the firm. Those details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Who is that unmasked man at the White House? Yes, it's President Joe sans face mask because new released by the CDC now says anyone fully vaccinated no longer needs to wear masks, pretty much everywhere -- indoors, outdoors in any situation.
President Biden said it was a great days for America and urged everyone to get vaccinated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The rule is very simple. Get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. If you are vaccinated, you can be around the vaccinated or unvaccinated people. But, if you're not vaccinated, or not fully vaccinated, you should wear a mask for your own protection, and the protection of other unvaccinated people. The choice is yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. still has a long way to go though with the CDC reporting that 36 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated.
We are learning new details about what led Prince Harry to leave Britain and move to the United States, with his wife Meghan and young son. The Duke of Sussex was talking on a podcast, and he spoke about confronting his own personal pain.
And as CNN's Max Foster reports, he's once again tracing those issues back to his royal upbringing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Just when you thought Prince Harry couldn't lift the lid on British royal life any further, comes this analysis of the pain he suffered as he grew up.
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I don't think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly when it comes to parenting, if I have experienced some form of pain or suffering, because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I am going to mare sure that I break that cycle, so I don't pass it on, basically.
FOSTER: Appearing on actor Dax Shepard's (ph) podcast called Armchair Expert, the Duke of Sussex spoke of genetic pain, something, he says, he inherited from Prince Charles, and something he is coming to terms with, during therapy.
PRINCE HARRY: I never saw it, I never knew about it, and then suddenly, I started to piece it all together and go, ok, so this is where he went to school. This is what happened. I know this bit about his life. I also know that's connected to his parents.
[01:55:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: yes.
PRINCE HARRY: So, that means that he's treating me the way that he was treated --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
PRINCE HARRY: -- which means, how can I change that for my own kids? Well, here I am. I now moved my whole family to the U.S. but that wasn't the plan.
Sometimes, you have to make decisions and put your family first, and put your mental health first.
FOSTER: Harry puts his wild partying days down to childhood trauma, joking about being photographed, playing naked billiards. He compared royal life to mixture between "The Truman Show" and being in the zoo.
PRINCE HARRY: It's the job, right? Grin, bear it and get on over it. Was it in my early twenties, I was the case of, I don't want this job. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be doing this. Look at what it did to my mom. How am I ever going to have to settle down, I have a wife, and a family, when I know that it's going to happen again?
FOSTER: Harry recalls going on a secret supermarket run, in the early stages of his relationship with Meghan.
PRINCE HARRY: The first time that Meghan and I met up, for her to come and stay with me, we met up in a supermarket in London. Pretending as though we didn't know each other, so texting each other from the other side of the aisle --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cloak and dagger.
PRINCE HARRY: There are people looking at me, giving all these weird looks and then coming up to say hi, and whatever.
FOSTER: They've since married, relocated to Los Angeles, and had one child, with another on the way.
PRINCE HARRY: So, living here now, I can actually like lift my head, and I feel different, my shoulders have dropped, so has hers, and you can walk around, feeling a little bit more free, I get to take Archie on the back of my bicycle. Now I've said that, they're probably going to take --
(CROSSTALK)
PRINCE HARRY: But it's like , I would never have the chance to do that.
FOSTER: Prince Harry, haunted by his past but now rebuilding his future.
Max Foster, CNN, Hampshire, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us.
CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break with Michael Holmes.
Thanks for watching, have a good weekend.
[01:56:57]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Israel warns of more targets, when it comes to the conflict with Gaza. As some Israeli cities are rocked with clashes between Arabs and Jews.
Then lockdowns and a vaccine shortage, adding to India's growing covid crisis.
Also, Prince Harry, opens up.
