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Israel Presses On With Military Operation In Jenin; Russia: Five Drones Were Intercepted Near Moscow; Confident Putin Meets With Eurasian Leaders; NATO Secretary General's Term Extended; Meta Takes Aim At Twitter With New "Threads" App; U.S.: Gershkovich In Good Health, Remains Strong; Two Killed In Russian Attack On Sumy; Israel Conducts Major Military Operation In West Bank. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 04, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:03]

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, a car ramming attack in Tel Aviv leaves several injured. Hamas has praised the attack. More from the scene in a moment. This is thousands of Palestinians fleeing the Jenin refugee camp as Israel presses ahead with this largest military operation there in more than two decades.

Also ahead, Russia claims to intercept Ukrainian drones near Moscow causing one airport to divert flights. Details on that.

Israeli police are describing instance as a terror attack. A car rammed into a number of pedestrians standing at a shopping center in Tel Aviv, injuring eight people. Israeli authorities say the driver then got out of the vehicle and try to stab people with a sharp object. The driver of the car was killed by an armed civilian, according to police.

Meanwhile, as Israel's largest military operation in the occupied West Bank in decades enters its second day, the death toll is rising and Palestinian authorities are urging the international community to respond.

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FOSTER: Israel has deployed hundreds of soldiers to target what is calling a militant command and control center in the crowded refugee camp. But as streets are bulldozed, cutting water and electricity streams of families are fleeing the camp. Palestinian officials say at least 10 people have been killed than almost 100 injured. U.N. aid agencies are expressing alarm at the scale of the operation.

CNN's Hadas Gold joins me now live in Tel Aviv. Hadas? HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Hey Max, I'm actually just arrived at the scene of this car. I mean, police have already cordoned off several blocks here. This is a neighborhood, I would say it's in northeast Tel Aviv. And according to police in the last hour, two hours is when this ramming attack took place, it took place just outside a shopping center.

I spoke to a witness who says that they saw the car come up and hit what looked to be pedestrian standing outside the shopping center, potentially at a bus stops. They say that the bus stop, and we can see it is completely destroyed. Police say that the driver then got out and tried to stab people. It was shot dead by an armed civilian who was on the scene.

We know that at least eight people are injured. At least one of them is critical. And police are calling this a terror attack. A Israeli defense official telling CNN that the driver was a Palestinian from the southern part of the West Bank from Hebron. There's still a question as to whether this person entered Israel with a permit or whether they crossed illegally.

FOSTER: Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have praised the attack. But as of this very moment, they have not claimed responsibility. Although, of course, Hamas had called on its own, its members all of it cells to react to what's been happening in Jenin by striking Israel, it said, wherever they can. Of course, this coming on the second day now of that massive Israeli military operation in Jenin, which is still ongoing as we speak.

FOSTER: Hadas, thank you.

We're going to go to journalist Elliott Gotkine now live in Tel Aviv with more on that military operation in Jenin, which is ongoing. Elliott?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Very much so, Max. It started, what, 38 hours ago, so more than a day and a half ago. And it began, of course, with a drone strike on what Israel says was a command and control center that was being used by the Jenin brigades, which is a militant group affiliated with Islamic Jihad.

It said that that particular building was also being used as an observation post, and also as a refuge for militants that they would seek refuge there after carrying attacks out against Israelis or Israeli settlers. So this operation is ongoing. As you say the death toll is now 10, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Israel says that all of them were either militants, or they were attacking their troops. They say that there were no uninvolved civilians that have been killed so far. Around about 100 have been injured, according to the Ministry of Health, the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Now 20 of those critically.

Israel also saying that it's detained around 120 people. And what it says it's got 10 more targets, 10 targets or infrastructure related, according to Israel, which it will -- which it is going to be targeting in order to be able to say that it is job done. Now we don't know when this operation is going to be concluded. It could be a few hours, it could be another day, it's pretty much open ended.

And of course, the longer this operation goes on, the greater the concern will be both for the civilian population there and also for the risks of some kind of escalation.

[08:05:09]

Now, the Palestinian Authority, the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the Emiratis have all condemned Israel's incursion into Jenin. We've seen some 3,000 civilians, according to the Palestinian Red Cross -- Red Crescent, excuse me -- leaving the Jenin refugee camp to take shelter in other parts of the refugee camp or in Jenin itself.

Israel says it didn't ask them to leave, that they left obviously to get out of harm's way. But as I say, the greater risk here is that there could be some kind of escalation. The U.S. while reiterating its support for Israel's right to defend itself, has highlighted the need to avoid civilian casualties as well.

And of course, for now, itis very much focused in Jenin. We've seen this attack in Tel Aviv. And, of course, Israel is saying that it is prepared for all eventualities and will no doubt be keeping a very close watch on the borders with Gaza and Lebanon and Syria as well. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Elliott, thank you so much for that. Back with you when we get more.

Russia accusing Ukraine of trying to attack Moscow with at least five drones, calling it an attempted terrorist attack. But the Russian Defense Ministry says they were all shot down. No one was injured. Moscow's mayor says some flights were diverted at one of the city's airports because of the alleged attack, but now the airport is operating as normal.

Ben Wedeman joins us from eastern Ukraine. What more have you heard on that, Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, we understand that there were five drones. Four of them were shot down by air defenses, one by electronic warfare, means there was no damage, no casualties. The task, the news agency reports that 17, or rather 14 flights were diverted from one of Moscow's four airports.

We heard Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Press for the Foreign Ministry, saying that the target was an area that included civilian infrastructure, as well as that airport. Now, the Ukrainians, as is the case, as it's always the case, have not claimed responsibility for this.

But we did get a statement from an adviser to the Ukrainian President basically saying it's rather ironic that a country that has spent almost 16 months pummeling civilian infrastructure. And just last week hitting a pizzeria in Kramatorsk, killing 13 people, that they are complaining about some targeting, alleged targeting of civilian infrastructure in Moscow.

Now, this isn't the first time that drones have been sighted and perhaps brought down over Moscow. Last in May, there was a similar incident in which one drone allegedly exploded above the Kremlin. Russian officials claimed it was an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. And in that instance as well, the Ukrainians did not comment. Max?

FOSTER: Ben, thank you.

Now, just a short while ago, Vladimir Putin made his first appearance on the world stage since the attempted insurrection by Wagner mercenaries two weeks ago. He used his virtual address at the Shanghai Corporation Organization summit to thank the Russian allies in attendance for backing him.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The Russian people are consolidated as never before. The solidarity and high responsibility for the fate of the fatherland was clearly demonstrated by Russian political circles and the entire society by coming out as a united front against the attempted armed rebellion.

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FOSTER: Clare Sebastian has been tracking that summit for us. This is all part of his effort to show he's in control of everything that's been happening recently, Clare.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is part of what we've seen the president out and about a lot over the last 10 days or so since we saw the insurrection. The Russian people, he said, more consolidated, more united than ever. It was a united front against the mutiny.

I think the audience of this is not just the Russian people, of course, to show that he's still in charge, but the global stage, and in particular, this grouping made up of key Russian allies who have not condemned its war in Ukraine. Very important for Putin right now to make sure that they don't think that Russia is on the verge of collapse. He needs these alliances in particular for economic reasons now more than ever.

China and India, don't forget, are some of the key customers now for Russia's oil, oil that has been displaced as a result of this war and sanctions from former European customers. Russia's oil revenue, by the way, Max, oil and gas revenues in the first five months of this year was half what it was the previous year.

So I think you can tell from that why these economic relationships are now so important. Russia, of course, also spending a lot more on defense than it's used to. But the idea that the image that Putin wants to show the world that they have failed to isolate Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine that is bearing out.

[08:10:04]

This is a grouping already 40 percent of the world's population that is expanding. Iran's flag was raised in Beijing today to mark its accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Agreement -- Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Belarus took another step towards joining.

So, a grouping that Russia already sees as a counterpoint to Western influence now, now being repopulated again with Russian allies. Max?

FOSTER: OK. Clare, thank you.

Now, it's official. Jens Stoltenberg will remain NATO's chief for at least another 15 months. His term as Secretary General has been extended until October of next year. Stoltenberg has been in that post since 2014 after serving as Prime Minister of Norway and the U.N.'s special envoy for climate change. He says the alliance is more important than ever right now.

A new app is jumping into the social media space. If you needed another one, it's called Threads, and offers real time conversations aimed at taking some of Twitter's users. This comes as Twitter is mired in problems after being sought -- bought rather, by Elon Musk. Threads, which is made by Facebook's parent company Meta, is expected to go live on Thursday.

Now, the upcoming Barbie movie has been banned in Vietnam.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Ken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Ken.

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FOSTER: The live action movie, distributed by CNN sister company Warner Brothers was supported to hit -- was supposed to hit Vietnam's big screens on July the 21st. However, local media say the film won't be screened because it shows a map of Beijing's claims to the South China Sea, which is depicted in the U-shaped line, you can see there.

Vietnam considers some of the oil rich territory its own continental shelf. An international tribunal in The Hague ruled against China's territorial claims, but Beijing rejected that judgment. Warner Brothers has not yet commented on the issue.

Still to come, as Israel's major military operation in the West Bank rolls on, thousands are forced to flee their homes. The latest on what we know next.

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FOSTER: The U.S. says Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong despite his circumstances. The U.S. ambassador to Russia met with Gershkovich on Monday at the prison in Moscow where he's being detained. It was the first time embassy officials were granted access since April.

Gershkovich faces up to 20 years behind bars on espionage charges both he and the Wall Street Journal strongly deny.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is live in Washington. This was a moment, you know, all his family had wanted, obviously, and the authorities.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And as you said, this is the first time since April, almost three months since the U.S. ambassador in Russia was able to visit Evan in Russian prison. And we should know that the U.S. embassy, U.S. diplomats have been putting in requests with the Russian government to actually visit Evan over the course of the last few months. But those requests, multiple of them, have been denied.

[08:15:11]

So it is good news that he was able to actually visit with the U.S. ambassador. And as you said, they reported that he is in good health. He is doing -- he is strong, considering the circumstances, of course. We should note that he was arrested back in March, Evan, while he was reporting in Russia for The Wall Street Journal.

He faces charges of espionage that, of course, he denies, the U.S. government denies. And the State Department again yesterday after this visit, calling for his immediate release and also calling for the immediate release of Paul Whelan, who is another American who's wrongfully detained in Russia and has been for more than four years.

And, of course, we know behind the scenes that the U.S. government is trying to figure out a way, something to offer up to the Russians to get these two Americans released. But because they're facing spy charges, that makes it really complicated. The Russians want something in return that will be additional for their spying, their international spying apparatus.

The United States doesn't currently have any Russian spies in its custody, so that makes it incredibly challenging. Now, when it comes to Evans case, he is going to be in pretrial detention until at least the end of August. And, of course, we continue to watch where this goes in the Russian court system.

FOSTER: OK. Kylie, thank you.

We'll be back in just a moment.

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FOSTER: Now to Ukraine, where the Ukrainian president acknowledges that the fighting in the past week has been difficult for his forces. But he insists they're making progress slowly but surely. Ukrainian military officials say Russia has deployed more than 180,000 troops to the two major eastern fronts. With some 50,000 troops near Bakhmut, the fighting is fierce and tricky, with the same position changing hands several times a day.

Ben Wedeman brings us the latest from inside Ukraine.

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WEDEMAN (voice-over): Ukraine's much anticipated counteroffensive now well into its fourth week. The front lines ever more intense. But the gains so far are small and incremental. Ukrainian forces are pushing forward in the south liberating just over 150 kilometers, that's only 60 square miles.

But as Ukraine advances, the country's deputy defense minister says Russia is stepping up attacks in the east. The enemy is trying to force our troops out of their positions, but is receiving a worthy rebuff, she said in her latest update.

On several front, Russian forces are managing to move forward now on the offensive in the town of Svatove in the Luhansk region. Back in Moscow, Russia's military leaders continued to project strength even after the recent mutiny by Wagner mercenaries.

SERGEI SHOIGU, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: These plans failed primarily because the personnel of the Armed Forces showed loyalty to their oath and military duty. The provocation did not have impact on the actions of the groupings of troops. The servicemen courageously and selflessly continued to solve the tasks assigned to them.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Russia's assault on Ukraine also continues further from the front lines, hammering civilian infrastructure.

[08:20:06]

Monday, four Russian drones were launched at the northeastern city of Sumy, hitting two residential apartment blocks at a local administrative building. That attack killed two people and injured at least 19. Rescuers are determined to quickly clear up the aftermath, just as Ukrainian forces tell CNN they're determined to keep inching forward.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

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FOSTER: Israel's largest military operation in the occupied West Bank in decades is still unfolding at this hour. Israel calls it a counterterrorism operation. Palestinians call it a new war crime. The Palestinian Health Ministry says 10 Palestinians have been killed and around 100 others injured. The operation involves drones and hundreds of soldiers. Videos obtained by CNN show Israeli bulldozers tearing up the streets in Jenin.

Palestinian officials say thousands of people have been forced to flee the densely populated Jenin refugee camp, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is urging the international community to respond. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated the military operation might not end anytime soon.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will continue this operation as long as needed in order to restore quiet and security for the citizens of Israel.

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FOSTER: Joining me now, Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestinian or the Palestine Red Crescent Society. She joins me live from Ramallah in the West Bank. Thank you so much for joining us.

In terms of actual facts, because we're getting so many different messages from all sides today, what can you tell us about exactly what's been happening today and in the lead up?

NEBAL FARSAKH, SPOKESPERSON, PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: Yes. So far, PRCS teams have dealt with around nine mercenaries in Jenin, that's the one we were able to evacuate, to transfer, as well as around 167 injuries. That ranges from moderate to critical conditions. Our medical teams are working under very tough conditions due to the destruction in the refugee camp.

As you all know, the infrastructure, the roads and houses were devastated. There has been great destruction inside the refugee camp. So our medical teams having great difficulty moving inside the camp to reach the wounded people and the injuries, as well as Israel occupation forces, denied access of our teams on -- in some occasions.

Last night, we have documented that two of our ambulances were stopped and the EMTs that are working on those ambulances were took out of the cars. And the Israel occupation soldiers took the keys of the ambulances and the phone -- the mobile points that were wells with our medical teams.

At the same time, we were delayed access in other occasions or complete denied access to certain locations inside the refugee camp. The humanitarian case is very hard for people, civilians who are inside the refugee camps.

Yesterday, we received tens of calls of families asking us to help in evacuating them. We were able to evacuate some humanitarian cases for elderly people, sick people, families who have children to outside the camp. Until now, we are still monitoring the situation, coordinating with our partners in international organizations to coordinate our response, humanitarian response in Jenin.

We're still assessing the number of people who are now inside the shelter and what are the basic needs for those family who were evacuated outside of the refugee camp. Taken into consideration that most of the families were evacuated outside the camp to houses of family, relatives or friends. However, there is a number of families. They are in a shelf right now.

FOSTER: Israel denies it's preventing ambulances from reaching civilians, but you are saying that they're preventing access or that it's just very difficult to get access because of the operation?

FARSAKH: As I clearly said, we -- yesterday, we documented two cases where two of our ambulances were completely denied access to -- inside the camp to transfer the injuries. And most of the time, there were certain locations inside the camp. We are denied, fully denied access to certain locations.

[08:25:04]

However, in other locations inside the camp, we were able to work even though of this very hard conditions. So basically, since the beginning of January until the end of May, our PRCS team documented around 149 violations against our medical emissions. This is consisting of denial of access, delaying of access, and violations against medical teams or against our ambulances.

So, so far, we have seen great increase on the number of violations from the Israeli occupation forces against our medical teams. So to conduct our work and dealing with the humanitarian cases inside the camp, whether transferring injuries or even helping families who are in urgent needs to be evacuated, we call to the protection of our medical teams so we can conduct our role properly.

FOSTER: OK, Nebal Farsakh in Ramallah, thank you for your time today.

Thank you for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "World Sport" with Coy Wire is up next.

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