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Death Toll Tops 5,000 Amid Race to Find Survivors in Turkey- Syria Earthquake; Israel and Palestinian Authority Both Sending Aid; Ukraine: Russia Plans to Mobilize Up To 500,000 Extra Troops. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 07, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: We have a somber update from Syria and Turkey. We are now hearing more than 5,000 people are confirmed dead from Monday's catastrophic earthquake.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly 3,500 of the victims died in Turkey, according to authorities there, who said that more than 20,000 others are wounded. And we're told that some 11,000 buildings are damaged. Keep in mind these figures will only keep rising as emergency crews move deeper into the disaster zone.

FOSTER: In neighboring Syria, volunteer rescuers, the White Helmets, say hundreds of families are stuck in rubble and more than 200 buildings there have been totally collapsed. Most of the destruction has been in northwestern Syria which borders Turkey is controlled by anti-government forces. The region had already been suffering from more than a decade of civil war.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We Are in the street. We do not have a place to go. There is either the mosque or the street. We remember the days of the war, but this is god's will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Monday's earthquake was so strong that it was felt as far away as Israel and the Palestinian territories.

FOSTER: Now the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority are both sending humanitarian aid and assistance. Our Hadas Gold is standing by in Jerusalem. Hadas, talk to us about the assistance that's being provided and also the significance of putting politics aside and just expressing solidarity and giving humanitarian support.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so both the Palestinian Authority and Israeli governments are sending aid. The Palestinian authority in the last few minutes confirming to us that they are sending two different groups, one to Syria by land through Jordan and another through Turkey. Those will be departing tomorrow and the next day. On each group there will be about each ten search and rescue specialists, and then the rest will be dozens of people like medical personnel, paramedics, doctors, people who can help on the medical side but also on the humanitarian aid side.

On the Israeli side, there actually have already been two planes that have landed in Turkey with Israeli search and rescue teams, about 150 members of specialized search and rescue as well as humanitarian aid workers. Most of this are sort of the military side of things. They landed in Antalya, which is about an hour and half to 2 hours away from the epicenter and have already started getting to work.

[04:35:00]

We've also heard from Israeli minister of defense that they will be sending a field hospital in the coming hours and days. This will be a military grade field hospital that will be set up in the disaster zone. We've also heard from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel sending aid to Syria. Now this is rather extraordinary because Israel and Syria, although they are neighbors, they have no formal relations and they are actually technically at war. Take a listen to what he had to say.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): During the past 24 hours, there has been a very severe earthquake in Turkey that surrounded other areas as well. I ordered to send at the request of the Turkish government rescue teams and medical aid. This is what we do around the world and this is what we do in areas close to us. Since a request was also received to do this for many victims of the earthquake in Syria, I instructed do this as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD: Now Netanyahu later said that the request for helping Syria came from a diplomatic channel. We have learned through an Israeli security official that that channel was actually Russia, that Russia made the request to Israel to assist the Syrians.

Now a Syrian government source speaking to a pro government outlet there denied that Syria had asked for requests from Israel. Saying that instead Netanyahu was trying to exploit the situation. But I spoke to Israeli officials who do say that there will be aid sent to Syria. Those will be things like bedding, warm clothing, and medical supplies. But I have not yet confirmed exactly how that will be brought to Syria.

Meanwhile independent groups and charities here, I just spoke to United Hatzalah, an EMT group, as well as a group called IsraAid, have chartered a joint flight that taking off in the coming hours, a special chartered El Al flight that will be landing as close as they can to the disaster zone. On that flight will also be about ten search and rescue experts and dozens of EMTs. And also interestingly they will be bringing with them water filtration experts as well as people who are experts in psycho trauma, people who can help talk to people and hopefully help them especially children sort of process what they have been through.

I also know that there are other groups and the military here is also working to try and send as many planeloads with as just many tons of supply and equipment and people who can help as much as possible. Importantly though this is all being done in coordination both for the Israelis and Palestinian Authority in coordination with the Turkish authorities who can really help and determine where the help is most needed -- guys.

NOBILO: Hadas Gold in Jerusalem, thank you. And as Hadas was indicating there, we're starting to see beyond the immediate tragedy and trauma the other types of assistance that will be required, whether psychological support or water infiltration, help with infrastructure. I mean, it's just impossible to imagine.

FOSTER: And then the rebuilding. And joining us now is Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, the country director in Turkey for the Syrian-American medical societies based in Gaziantep. Thank you so much for joining us. Obviously a lot of support coming in, the world really rallying around Syria and Turkey at the moment, but it is very important that this aid is coordinated, isn't it, as Hadas says.

DR. BACHIR TAJALDIN, DIRECTOR SYRIAN-AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETIES, GAZIANTEP, TURKEY (via phone): Yes, it is as you mentioned in your introduction, it is a desperate situation both in Turkey and Syria. But also, although in Syria it's more disastrous as you know. More than one decade of the conflict in northern Syria that health facilities have been targeted many times, between medical staff, lack of medical staff, medications, the lack of shelter, the lack of water and hygiene, sanitation. So the poor economic health situation, all of those. And along with last earthquake and this disastrous earthquake, has a huge impact on the population there.

Hereto we are trying to coordinate as an NGO with others, and including other NGOs, UN agencies, in our response. But still we are struggling in saving as much as we can from the people's lives.

NOBILO: And Dr. Tajaldin, you are describing there the distance in available infrastructure and support in Syria and Turkey and outlining the level of catastrophe that are you seeing in Syria. How will the nature of aid and help be different in terms of what Syria needs versus what is needed in Turkey?

[04:40:00]

TAJALDIN: We feel very sorry for all the injured people and the families of the people who have been lost everywhere in Turkey and here in Syria. You know, the situation in Turkey is coordinated through very different government, there are infrastructure, there are rescue teams, there is the infrastructure is very good and very well managed through a central government.

Right in northern Syria, mainly northern Syria, you know, the multiple different services are provided mainly by the NGOs and through the humanitarian aid. So there's no central government who can take care of the sector. And so as NGO and civil society organizations, we are taking this responsibility. And as you know, we are depending on available resources and also on the available infrastructure given the previous 12 years of this crisis in Syria. All the focus is about the emergency aid. There has been no big

adjustment in humanitarian or infrastructure as in health or other services. So, this is the main differences. And also you can imagine that many of the others have been (INAUDIBLE) as the quake rubble, yesterday we evacuated two maternity hospitals because of the physical impact of the earthquake on the infrastructure.

Dr. Tajaldin, thank you very much indeed for giving us your insight and your very important work. One of the big issues is that the aid will have to come through Turkey to get to Syria. But there is only one crossing at the moment. So they are looking at the U.N. to try to open up more crossings, but so sensitive.

NOBILO: And air as well. Absolutely. A number of historic sites have also been impacted by the quake. A Syrian government agency says that a 13th century Aleppo citadel suffered minor to moderate damage, and ancient mosques in western central Syria were also impacted.

FOSTER: In Turkey these are the before and after pictures of the Gaziantep castle, UNESCO World Heritage site. The dome and eastern wall of an adjacent mosque built in the 17th century was also damaged.

NOBILO: For information on how you can help the earthquake victims, go to CNN.com/impact and there you will find a list of organizations working on rescue and relief efforts. Again, that is CNN.com/impact.

Still to come from us today, as battles rage in eastern Ukraine, one official says that Russia is looking to mobilize hundreds of thousands of additional troops. Details ahead.

[04:45:00]

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FOSTER: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is amongst the world leaders offering messages of support following the devastating earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria.

Mr. Zelenskyy tweeted, quote, we stand with the people of Turkey in this difficult time. We are ready to provide the necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the disaster.

NOBILO: Nearly a year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a top Ukrainian official says that Moscow is planning to call up even more soldiers in the months ahead.

FOSTER: Russia denied the claims, but the deputy head of Ukraine's defense intelligence says Kyiv expects Russia to mobilize up to half a million additional troops to carry out operations in the east and south. He says this proves the Kremlin has no intention of ending the war.

NOBILO: CNN's Clare Sebastian is following developments and joins us here in London with more. We know, Clare, that Russia has struggled with the mobilized effort and it has weaken morale within the country and raised more questions about the war. What do we know? Is there a mobilization effort, an additional one currently under way ahead of this much touted spring offensive?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is very unclear. The Kremlin officially has denied it. Many people in Russia didn't believe official statements at the time back at the end of October that the first wave was finished. There have been reports that it may have been sort of ongoing in a covert way.

The information that we're getting today is coming from the Ukrainian defense intelligence military intelligence. They say that not only are they expecting another mobilization wave, but it will be bigger than the first one. They expect it to be up to half a million men. They expect it to take two months, which is twice the official length of the first one. And they expect this to be a way of fueling the expected spring offensive.

I think that it is clear that manpower has certainly been an advantage for Russia since that first mobilization. We know that part of the tactics at least in the Eastern front, is to send in wave after wave of infantry. They've suffered heavy losses at least according to the Ukrainian side. They don't often admit this themselves. So certainly there does need to be it seems a way to replenish that and certainly to increase those numbers if they want to mount a spring offensive. But as of yet, nothing official from Russia.

NOBILO: And this has always been Russia's advantage in any war historically, has been manpower, but usually not necessarily advanced equipment. And that's why Ukraine is pushing so hard for that. Clare Sebastian, thank you very much for joining us.

FOSTER: Now basketball superstar Lebron James is on the brink of setting the new NBA scoring record. We'll show you how he feels about his milestone accomplishment next.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: All eyes in the basketball world -- the sporting world, what you say? Are on LeBron James at the moment. He's within stance of breaking the scoring record that fellow Laker Kareem Abdul Jabbar held for nearly 40 years. Despite all the attention James told ESPN he is at ease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has this been stressful at all, the chase?

LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKER FORWARD: No, because it was never a goal, it was never a journey. You know, the stressful part for me is competing every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: That's what makes his great.

FOSTER: Isn't that amazing. James will probably break the record during one of the next two games. His next game is at home in Los Angeles against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. If he doesn't break the record then, his next chance will be against the Golden State Warriors which is on Saturday.

NOBILO: And now to the National Football League where Tom Brady wants to reassure everyone that his playing days really are over.

FOSTER: But are they?

NOBILO: It's hard to tell now. The seven-time Super Bowl champion says that he's focused on starting his broadcasting career in the fall of 2024. Brady announced his retirement for the second time on the first of February after 23 years in the league. The 45-year-old is overwhelmingly regarded as the best quarterback ever to play the game.

FOSTER: But can he do TV? That's the question. I'm sure he can.

NOBILO: I'm sure he can because it's the same perfectionist approach and he'll master all the skills. And he's very good at communicating anyway.

FOSTER: Yes. Lawyers for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried say they've reached a deal with prosecutors to ease some of his bail conditions as he awaits trial on four charges. The agreement would allow him to contact some current and former employees of the crypto trading platform that he founded but he would still be barred from using encrypted messaging apps or making certain financial transactions.

NOBILO: The world's largest crypto exchange says it will temporarily pull its transfers of U.S. dollars starting on Wednesday. They say that only a small portion of users will be impacted and that it's working to restart the service as soon as possible. And all other methods of buying and selling crypto still work.

Binance U.S., which is run separately is not affected and its users can still make deposits and withdrawals in U.S. dollars.

FOSTER: Google throwing its hat into the AI space.

[04:55:00]

On Monday it debuted a new chat bot tool called "Bard," are hot on the heels of ChatGPT.

NOBILO: Bard is now available to what Google calls trusted testers and will roll out to the public in the coming weeks. It comes as Google search feature is facing its first real threat in years.

FOSTER: Google says the tool will be able to help users do many things, including planning a baby shower or come up with meal ideas based on what's in your pantry. That's what I want.

NOBILO: I'd would not be interested in either of those things.

FOSTER: No, there must be better.

NOBILO: I'm sure there's more out there.

AMC theaters, the biggest cinema chain in the United States, is changing the way that movie tickets are priced based on the seat location. The new initiative called sight line AMC will be rolled out at all of the roughly 1,000 theaters this year.

FOSTER: There are three pricing tiers. Preferred for seats in the middle of the theater, standard seating, and value which is for seats in the front row. Some people want the front row don't they.

NOBILO: They to.do. What would you pick?

FOSTER: I would go right in the middle. Because I'm just, you know, like that. AMC says the new model more closely aligns with how other entertainment venues charge for seating.

My reason really is I always figure that the sound is going to be better and configured for people in the middle.

NOBILO: Also, you're quite tall, so would you have to crane your neck up if you were in the front?

FOSTER: Yes, and I'd annoy more people in the front.

Finally, a winner on Mondays Powerball lottery jackpot worth more than $757 million. The games website says a single ticket sold in Washington state -- if you're watching from there -- matched all the winning numbers winning the contest's fifth largest ever prize.

NOBILO: And they can have that price spread out for more than $750 million, or the lump sum of a little more than $407 million with taxes. And there were other winners too. Two tickets sold in Michigan and three in New York won $1 million. And a ticket in Texas won $2 million by using the power play.

FOSTER: We might have just made someone's day watching this show.

NOBILO: I would be nice to have some really good news.

FOSTER: Yes, it would for a change. Thanks for joining us here on CNN newsroom. I'm Max Foster.

And I'm Bianca Nobilo. And "EARLY START" is up next right here on CNN of.

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