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Israel Receives List of Hostages to Be Released Saturday; Group of 24 Hostages Released by Hamas Friday; All Former Hostages Receiving Medical Care in Tel Aviv; War's Toll Tempers Joy for Freed Palestinians; Ten Thai, One Filipino Citizens Free on First Day of Truce. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 25, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome, everyone, I am Michael Holmes. Appreciate the company.

It is midnight here in Atlanta, 7 am in Gaza, where a truce between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding as it enters its second day. Israel says it has received a list of Israeli hostages that Hamas is prepared to release sometime on Saturday and has notified their families.

According to an Israeli source, several children are on Saturday's list. They one of the truce saw Hamas release 24 people who had been held hostage since October 7th; 13 of them were Israelis, 11 were foreign nationals. All were taken to several Tel Aviv hospitals for medical evaluations.

Among the non-Israelis were 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino, who spent the night at the same medical center near Tel Aviv. A spokesperson for the Israeli military lauded the hostages released but cautioned that the process is far from over.

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REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The sight of those who have safely crossed the border into Israel evokes a profound sense of relief. Yet our hearts still remains with the hostages still held in Gaza. Tonight, we embrace the families of the hostages, keeping them constantly in our thoughts.

It is our moral obligation to ensure a safe return of everyone home. We are only at the beginning of the process. We are preparing to continue implementing the plan for the return of the abductees.

The days ahead will present complexities. Nothing is certain until it is accomplished. We must be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: As part of the deal, 39 Palestinian women and children were released from three Israeli prisons and return to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now live from Istanbul.

Scott, first of all, tell us more about how the day unfolded?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michael. Look, it's been almost exactly 24 hours since the pause in fighting began.

It was not until nine excruciating hours later that the actual handoff of the hostages began in Gaza and the prisoners began in the West Bank or in Israel to be taken back to their communities in the West Bank.

Of the 13 Israeli citizens who were released, all but one were from kibbutz Mir Oz. This is a place where over the quarter of the community went missing or was abducted or was murdered after that horrific terror attack on October the 7th.

The oldest hostage released yesterday, 85 years old; the youngest was just 2. Hamas released their part of the hostage handover in a video that was edited. CNN had no control over the contents of how that video was edited or what it showed. And obviously, Hamas is showing the world exactly what it wants them to see.

So take it with a grain of salt but I want to walk you through this video and what it shows, it shows Hamas fighters with their unmistakable green headbands, directing some hostages from a van and from a truck, into Red Cross vehicles.

In another part of the video it shows a Red Cross staff helping elderly people into their vehicles. It also shows a boy that we can only assume is 9-year-old Ohad Munder. He is wearing a Spider-man hat. A Hamas fighter has an arm wrapped around him.

Then he actually lifts him into that Red Cross vehicle. At another point in the video you can see a Hamas fighter carrying one of these hostages into these vehicles. There are also people taping on their phones. Some of them cheering as well.

Plenty to cheer about, at least from their point of view. Hamas has very few cards to play in this war. And certainly these hostages are one of the few points where they have some real leverage.

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MCLEAN: Also Michael, keep in mind that this deal was brokered by the U.S., Egypt, Israel and, of course, Hamas. But the precise implementation of the details have been agreed upon here were implemented by the Red Cross, which says that look, this was incredibly complex, there was also a lot of pressure to get it just right. Listen.

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FABRIZIO CARBONI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Sometimes it looks like it's just driving people from one place to another but it is about agreeing on when, how, what. And all of this needs to be coordinated with different movements also outside Gaza.

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MCLEAN: The hostages from Gaza were, at first, taken through Egypt and driven back into Israel, where they were taken to various hospitals across the country by helicopter. One of those places where the helicopters landed or at least one helicopter landed in Tel Aviv, the hostages were offloaded into ambulances.

As the ambulances went by, people on the streets were cheering, they were clapping. One piece of evidence of just how emotional this handoff is and these days are for people on both sides of the conflict and, of course, for the hostages themselves and for their families that they are being reunited with as well, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, and if it holds, another group today, Scott McLean in Istanbul, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

What more lies ahead for the newly-freed hostages, let's talk about that. We are joined from Tel Aviv by psychoanalyst Merav Roth, who is an expert in traumatic bereavement.

Thank you so much for being with us. Most people I think are familiar with the term, post-traumatic stress disorder.

How might that term apply in this scenario for these people?

MERAV ROTH, PSYCHOANALYST: Yes, well this is a very complicated trauma because usually we have an event. But here it is a complicated event, because these hostages were, beforehand, under many hours of shooting.

And most of them, the houses were burned down and that's why they sneak out and they were caught by the Hamas. Several of them saw their family members butchered. So this is a very complicated trauma.

And also when they come out, they do not have a home to come back to. So that is why we need to take care of them immediately. That's what we do with post-traumatic trauma stress disorder, we take care immediately because the first days are crucial.

We know that they will have symptoms, but we pray that they won't have post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a very severe disorder.

HOLMES: Israeli media were reporting that day, that the Israeli welfare ministry put out guidelines for the treatment of the hostages, including those who saw them first.

They were saying things like, quote, "Hostages may not want to be touched or may be sensitive to specific sounds, assuming that they have been held underground for several weeks. Sunlight might be uncomfortable for them."

Very specific things, what are the psychological considerations for people who have gone through something like this?

Particularly in the first days?

ROTH: Yes, well we don't actually have experience with 2 years old and 4 years old like, for instance, right when the vehicle came out yesterday. We only have experience with soldiers who were war prisoners.

But we are much more psychologically minded today. We do know that you need to be very specific; it is very particular with each individual. And you have to give them their control back, their agency.

So you need to ask them all the time -- because they lost control for six weeks. They were probably in the darkness, they were in extreme stress but completely passive and incompetent in dealing with the situation.

So you give them the most; in everything you give them control. You give them their agency back.

So you ask them, the soldiers were taught how to speak to the kids that they meet, ask them, can I put a hand on you or take your hand? is it OK for you to walk from here?

Now I am going to do this and that with you. You want them to gain control, to regain control, To regain their sense of agency, to regain their sense of competence from the very first moment.

HOLMES: Yes, and you touched on this. I think it is important. On top of the trauma of captivity, which would obviously be considerable, many of those taken -- most, probably all -- would've seen dreadful scenes on October 7th. And I know you spent a lot of time with the victims of that day.

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ROTH: Yes, that's true. And also they do not know what happened. Many of them lost their family members. I was accompanying two girls, who had to -- the Red Cross offered to write letters to the families. And they have a mother and sister kidnapped.

So they wrote a letter and they asked me, what do we do when we cannot sign with the father, because the mother and the sister do not know what happened to the father?

So when they come out they will find out, many of them will find out that their family members are not alive. Some members are left behind. They kidnapped the hostages' families.

And they're all very amendments (ph), very complicated to be happy with those who come out. But their own family members are still kept hostage. So it is a very complicated state.

HOLMES: How lasting are the impacts?

Or how lasting can the impacts of something like this be? What sorts of resources are going to be needed going forward?

Presumably, potentially, for years?

ROTH: Yes, absolutely for years. It is a very long-lasting bereavement, very complicated bereavement. So they will have to be taken care of with therapy for many, many years and very well taken care of.

And they will have symptoms for the rest of their lives, although, I also count on the life instinct and the resilience which is also there. They will be wrapped with a lot of love and care. So I hope the internal strength will be with them to adjust.

HOLMES: Yes. Merav Roth in Tel Aviv, thank you for making the time this morning. Appreciate it.

ROTH: Thank you.

HOLMES: The United Nations says 137 trucks filled with humanitarian goods were off-loaded in Gaza on Friday. The first day, of course, of the truce. It is the largest aid convoy into Gaza since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.

The U.N. humanitarian affairs office says 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of cooking gas were also delivered to Gaza on Friday. And the agency says the food, water, medical supplies and other essential items will help hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza who so desperately need it.

Still to come here on the program, Israel's release of 39 Palestinian prisoners prompted some mixed emotions for many Palestinians. Joy at their freedom, yet, mourning the toll of the war in Gaza. We will have reaction from the West Bank when we come back.

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HOLMES: Thirty-nine Palestinians are free now after being released from Israeli prisons on Friday as part of that hostage agreement with Hamas. They returned to their homes and families with hugs and celebrations in the West Bank in Jerusalem. But for some, the joy of their freedom tempered by the suffering in Gaza. CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A joyous celebration as 23- year-old Malak Suleiman finally arrives home in East Jerusalem after six years in an Israeli prison. Convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison at the age of 17 for attempted murder. Police say they found a knife in her possession in the old City of

Jerusalem. It is a charge she and her family have long denied.

Suleiman is one of 39 prisoners, all women and minors released from jails in Israel on Friday. In exchange for the release of hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza.

BASHIR: We saw many of those detainees now released -- those prisoners now released, rather, being carried on people's shoulders to the municipality building where a number of their family members were waiting among them; 15 minors who were released being carried up this road on people's shoulders, too.

Much cheering and celebration, even fireworks being set off. We've also been speaking to people, including relatives, who say they didn't want to see these crowds.

WAEL HAJ AHMED, GAZA RESIDENT, WEST BANK (through translator): This celebration is not necessary. They need to be mindful of us in Gaza. This celebration is wrong. I am torn to pieces. Have a little mercy on us. They can be joyful but the joy is in the heart because we are dying in Gaza. Have some respect for us a little.

BASHIR (voice-over): The release of this first group of Palestinian prisoners comes as Israel and Hamas begin a four-day truce, a window of desperately needed respite for civilians in Gaza. According to Hamas run health authorities in Gaza, nearly 15,000 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed over the last seven weeks alone.

Israel says, it is targeting Hamas in response to the terror attack of October 7th, which killed more than 1,200 Israeli citizens. But in Gaza, it is civilians that are paying the highest price.

More than 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, including more than 3,000, according to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex- Prisoners' Affairs held under administrative detention, meaning no clear charges and no clear legal process.

But for those gathered in the occupied West Bank on Friday night, this is a welcome moment of, in their eyes, long overdue justice.

UM TARIQ, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN CITIZEN: People want to gather and be together in this moment. And however, folks internalize that in terms of their own emotional, sort of, reaction to it, that's for them to speak to.

But I think people want to be here to be together. To welcome home these prisoners and that's part of the spirit of being Palestinian.

BASHIR (voice-over): With over 100 Palestinian prisoners still set for release over the next few days, scenes like this are expected to continue, though some say at too high a price -- Nada Bashir, CNN, in Jerusalem.

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HOLMES: For more on those Palestinian prisoners, let's bring in Omar Shakir, who is the Israel and Palestine director for Human Rights Watch.

Thank you so much for making the time. Israel of course, let's talk about this, practices what it calls administrative detention, where Palestinians, including children, could be locked up for months or longer without charge, let alone conviction.

And the vast majority of those released today appear to have been in that category, detained or not charged or not convicted.

Could this prisoner release shine more of a spotlight on administrative detention of Palestinians, which has been an issue for them for many years?

OMAR SHAKIR, ISRAEL AND PALESTINE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: For more than 56 years, Israeli authorities have been holding Palestinians in a form of detention, as you noted, without trial or charge, based on secret information.

International humanitarian law allows this form of detention as a temporary exceptional measure. In one year, 57 of an occupation, were more than 2,000 Palestinians as of November 1st reporting to Israeli government figures are held in this sort of detention.

They're virtually all Palestinians; almost no Jewish Israelis are held in this way. Imagine that situation: you are held and you don't know on what basis. You don't have a form to contest it. And this sweeping use of administrative detention is simply unlawful.

So hopefully this conversation can focus on these sorts of abuses, which is endemic to Israel's occupation.

HOLMES: And to give us a sense of the breadth of the issue, do we know exactly how many Palestinians are in administrative detention overall?

Again, kept without charge or trial, let alone conviction?

SHAKIR: Absolutely. According to Israeli prison services' figures obtained by the Israeli human rights group Hemel Ket (ph), there were 2,070 Palestinians on November 1st, held in this form mentioned.

And that is separate from the thousands of laborers from Gaza whose permits were revoked and who were detained after October the 7th. That is separate from some of the fighters that were detained on October the 7th -- 2,070 Palestinians from the Occupied Territory held in this draconian form of detention.

Again, without trial or charge, based on secret information.

HOLMES: So is it true, as many Palestinians claim, that with some of these cases, they are not really even told why they are being held?

And how long does it go on for? SHAKIR: Absolutely, so the insidious thing about this form of detention is that there are renewable orders and, in many cases, they are renewed periodically every three months, sometimes every six months.

There have been administrative and human rights defenders that have document the cases held in administrative detention. There have been Palestinian political figures that are a very core part of the political discourse.

And yes, the information for their detention is entirely secret. The judge makes a decision; there is no evidence presented in a court. Sometimes they're given a few words as the general basis but none of the underlying information. This has been going on year after year for decades.

HOLMES: And how young are we talking about?

Because I was going through the list of the Palestinians released, the children under 18 and the women as well. There were a handful who had been charged, convicted and were serving terms. The vast majority had not.

Does that surprise you?

Certainly, being that the Israeli spokespeople in the media saying that they are releasing terrorists, is that the case from what you have seen of the list?

SHAKIR: Look, I think it's important to understand the nature of the Israeli military court system. The conviction rate is nearly 100 percent, according to the government data.

So even in cases when you have people who have been convicted or accepted a plea bargain, they often do so because they don't have a fair chance in these rigged court systems. There are severe due process rights violations.

Those in detention including kids are often detained at nighttime. Data that experts have looked at say the majority of kids -- we has done this research -- are roughed up during their nighttime arrests.

They are often denied access to having their parents or lawyers in the courtroom, which is a right for Jewish Israelis who are detained in the West Bank have. And in many cases they sign -- they agree to plea deals to avoid prolonged detention and mistreatment there.

So I think we have to take these convictions in a system in which there really is no due process for Palestinians with such a high conviction rate. We have documented many of these cases that have been miscarriages of justice.

We really take them with a grain of salt. We cannot generalize about every case. But I think as a general rule of thumb, this is a system that is rife with serious abuse, torture, mistreatment and miscarriages of justice. [00:25:00]

HOLMES: So what happens when groups like yours, Human Rights Watch, complains about it?

Or perhaps protests to the Israeli system about administrative detention, particularly when it is involving children and the accusation is something like throwing stones or whatever?

What happens when it is raised with Israel?

SHAKIR: With administrative detention, the Israeli government takes this narrow loophole that allows it as a temporary exceptional measure. And justifies a near 57 (INAUDIBLE) thousands of Palestinians there.

When it comes to mistreatment and torture, 1,400 complaints have been filed with the Israeli justice system since 2001 by Israeli human rights groups. Three of those led to investigations. Zero led to indictments.

There is endemic impunity from mistreatment. Administrative detention is at a 30 year high. So the numbers have only increased over the years. And we continue to see Palestinians, thousands of them, being held.

You also have to understand the effect on the society. One study shows that 40 percent of male Palestinians, of men and boys, have experienced since 1967 have been detained. So you have virtually every family that has had someone go through this unjust system or know someone..

HOLMES: All right. Omar Shakir, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

SHAKIR: Thank you.

HOLMES: And thank you for watching CNN. For our international viewers "Bold Pursuit" is next. For those here in North America, I'll be right back with more news.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. We're now about 30 minutes into the second day of the temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, which appears to be holding.

Some good news: Israel now says they have a list of the next group of Israeli hostages expected to be released in the coming hours as part of that truce agreement. On Friday, 13 Israeli women and children held captive in Gaza were

released by Hamas. In exchange, 39 Palestinian prisoners, also women and children, were freed from Israeli jails. Also on Friday, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino were freed by Hamas as part of a separate hostage arrangement.

All of the released hostages are now receiving medical care. Three American hostages are expected to be released by Hamas during this temporary truce, including a young girl who turned 4 while in captivity. President Joe Biden says he will not stop until they're all brought home. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden welcomed the initial release that occurred of these hostages being held by Hamas.

He said that this was just a start to the process but said that he believes that this had unfolded well. But it does come as Americans were not included in that initial batch of hostages that were released.

So the president said that it is his hope and expectation that there will be three Americans coming out in the coming days.

That includes two women and also 4-year-old Abigail Idan. It was her birthday on Friday. Her parents were killed on the -- in the October 7th attack by Hamas and she has been held hostage over the course of the past seven weeks.

But President Biden had very few details to offer as relating to his expectation on when exactly these Americans would be getting out. Take a listen to what he had to tell reporters.

BIDEN: We don't know when that will occur but we're going to be expected to occur. And we don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they'll be released but we know the numbers when they're going to be released. So it's my hope and expectation it'll be soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And of the time 10 Americans that are unaccounted for, do you know all of their conditions?

Are they all alive?

BIDEN: We don't know all of their conditions.

SAENZ: So still a number of unanswered questions about the fate of these American hostages being held by Hamas.

But President Biden's also expressed some optimism that there -- this fight -- this pause in the fighting that's currently slated for four days, he believes that that could possibly be extended to get even more than the 50 women and children that had been negotiated in this initial deal. Now President Biden had been working the phones throughout the week, including to the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Israel. He said that he will remain in contact with those leaders, the counterparts in the region, as they are trying to make sure that this deal stays on track.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Friday's release included 11 foreign nationals, 10 Thai and one Filipino. They were freed as part of a separate agreement. Israel says they are spending their first morning of freedom in a hospital southeast of Tel Aviv, undergoing medical evaluations. Manisha Tank is in Singapore with more details on that.

Good to see you, Manisha; 10 Thais and one Filipino, what do we know about them and the reaction in their home countries to the news of their release?

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: There's a lot of joy and delight, Michael, as you can well imagine. And from the last report, a lot of surprise because some families didn't know if it would be their loved one. Let me tell you the story of one of the 10 from Thailand.

Her mother saw her in two video clips and knew from her hairstyle and the way she walked. She realized it was her daughter among the hostages being released. She described how she ran around the house with her 8-year-old granddaughter and how happy they were.

She said that she couldn't keep the happiness inside. You can imagine, this is not just a story of the hostages but the hostages' families and community. Many were migrant workers from very poor communities and just didn't get any information.

We know from the Thai government, members of the Royal Thai embassy are notifying the relatives of the hostages released.

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TANK: But the ones in Israel at the moment, they will be in the hospital for up to 48 hours. But of course, Michael, we still know some 20 Thai nationals remain in custody with Hamas, remain abducted. That is being confirmed by the government.

Let me tell you about Jimmy Pacheco, the Filipino who has been released. In fact, the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Jr., expressing that he was overjoyed at the release of this particular hostage.

Jimmy was working on that southern border. He has seen atrocities in these last couple of months and he is also being treated in the hospital not just for physical injury but emotional trauma. You can imagine the kind of harrowing scenes that many of these hostages would have witnessed.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Manisha, thank you for that. Manisha Tank in Singapore. Now as Palestinians welcome the pause in the constant bombardment in

Gaza, many that fled to the southern part of the enclave are trying to get back home to the north. But that journey still too dangerous, as CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the sounds of life, not death, today on the streets of Gaza. For first time in nearly 50 days, they are not running for their lives. No bombs raining down on them from the sky. So children can even smile again, even if only for a brief while.

But there's nothing to celebrate. Too many lives have been lost, so much gone. They know there will be more.

The Israeli military dropping leaflets on Friday warning people that the war is not over. It will soon resume. Telling them to stay away from northern Gaza and its troops.

Many tried to head back to the homes they fled with nothing more than the clothes on their backs to see what's left and grab what they can find, including their dead.

We want to see what's happened to our loved ones. So many are under the rubble for 20 days, Abu Hamad says. We need to get them out.

"Who else will bury them?

Who will bury our 2-year-old and her father?" says Hama Abdullah (ph). What did she do to them?

It was a tense scene on the Salah al Din Street, the highway linking north and south, people here saying Israeli forces opened fire on those trying to head back north. We want to get to our homes, they say. We're civilians. They shot people. One was shot in the head and the other in the mouth.

Gunfire and the panic that ensued captured in this video geolocated by CNN. Asked about these shootings, the military says its troops are stationed along the, quote, operational lines in accordance with the framework of the agreement but that didn't stop those determined to get back to what's left of their lives.

Sisters Hanin (ph) and Saira (ph) are cradling their cats who have been through it all say they know the risks but they just want to go back home. Gazans know all too well what comes after the brief calm.

What's this truce for, to hand over the hostages?

What happens after they hand them over?

What happens to us, Hama Abdullah (ph) asked?

We feel like we are dead, she says.

They hope it doesn't all start again but all they can do now is prepare for a crucial winter ahead -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

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HOLMES: U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq have faced dozens of attacks in the past month, including four separate times on Thanksgiving Day. That is coming up after the break.

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HOLMES: We're going to show you the moment when some of the Israeli and foreign hostages had their first taste of freedom after weeks in Hamas captivity.

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HOLMES: The video was released by Hamas and CNN had no control over its content. It shows six of the foreign nationals getting out of an unmarked minivan before being handed over to the Red Cross.

The footage was edited and had only a few seconds of audio before that cut out. Some of the clips also show Israeli female hostages and one of the children held by Hamas. It's still unclear if all the clips were recorded at the same location. Obviously, the video shows only what Hamas wanted the world to see.

A U.S. official says American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked four separate times on Thanksgiving. CNN's Alex Marquardt with the details.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The number of attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria has now shot past 70 in just the past few weeks. Four attacks alone on Thanksgiving Day.

On Thursday, according to the Pentagon, rockets and drones were used to try to strike two bases in Iraq and two sites in Syria. There was no damage reported nor were there casualties, according to the Pentagon but the growing attacks highlight the concerns about a wider conflict that could draw in U.S. troops.

The U.S. has retaliated and tried to send a message of deterrence. The Pentagon says, including hitting two locations in Iraq earlier this week, which belonged to the Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah, following an earlier attack by the group with close range ballistic missiles.

In all, the U.S. has now carried out four sets of airstrikes for these dozens of strikes against U.S. and coalition forces.

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MARQUARDT: The U.S. strikes included three in Syria against facilities tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Iran-backed proxy groups.

The Pentagon argues that the deterrence is working because the conflict has not yet spread more widely in the Middle East -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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HOLMES: Now during a rise in respiratory illnesses, the World Health Organization is advising people in China to do what they can to stop the spread of infectious disease. And that includes staying home when sick, wearing a mask when appropriate and using good hand hygiene.

As for visiting China, the WHO Is not recommending that travelers change their plans or take any particular precautions, other than to avoid traveling if they are sick. CNN's Ivan Watson with more on that.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long lines of patients at crowded Chinese hospitals. A warning from the World Health Organization about an upsurge of respiratory illnesses among children in Northern China.

And administrators from several pediatric hospitals in and around the Chinese capital saying the spike in patients exceeded their capacity.

WATSON: Should people be worried?

JOHN NICHOLLS, CLINICAL PROF. OF PATHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: I don't think they should be too worried because there are -- we have to look at a number of factors. The first is that is winter and it's cold. And wherever you have this, you're going to be getting an increase in respiratory infections.

WATSON (voice-over): The W.H.O, says, according to Chinese government data, there's been an increase of RSV, adenovirus and influenza since October and an uptick of Mycoplasma pneumonia since May but not a novel pathogen like COVID-19.

Chinese health officials reported the increases to the WHO but are downplaying the severity of this strain of pneumonia, which the WHO says can be treated with antibiotics.

JIN DONGYAN, PROF. OF VIROLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: So far, there is just zero evidence that there is a new virus being circulating in Beijing or elsewhere.

WATSON (voice-over): The global COVID-19 pandemic first appeared to originate in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

[04:50:00]

WATSON (voice-over): Critics accused the Chinese government at the time of not being transparent about what later became a global health crisis. Long after the rest of the world moved on from social distancing, Beijing maintained strict COVID restrictions. Epidemiologists say the surge in illness now is China playing catch up to other countries.

NICHOLLS: What we are seeing is what's actually been seen in many other countries before, is that after COVID, is that when kids get together, there will be an increase in respiratory viruses.

WATSON (voice-over): But the increase is putting real pressure on some Chinese hospitals, where doctors say patients have to wait hours to get an appointment.

DR. GUO LINGYUN, BEIJING CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL (through translator): Every night we have doctors from different departments working overtime and each doctor will take at least 30 online consultation sessions per night.

WATSON (voice-over): Due to China's relatively underdeveloped primary care system, hospital emergency rooms often serve as the first point of contact for patients with even mild illness.

So during flu season in China, scenes like this aren't unusual. Even when they're sick and receiving an IV drip, children are expected to do their homework. Health officials are urging parents not to rush their kids to children's hospitals in China's first winter since COVID.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

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HOLMES: Still to come on the program, Black Friday has long been one of the top shopping days of the year in the U.S.

But could Cyber Monday finally pull in more shoppers?

That report coming up.

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HOLMES: Now a source telling CNN former police officer Derek Chauvin was assaulted in a federal prison. He was, of course, convicted in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and is serving time at the federal correction institute in Tucson, Arizona.

Chauvin is in stable condition according to the source. His attorney telling CNN they're working on getting confirmation. The chief of police in Minneapolis says, quote, "Violence is barbaric and tragic and should never be cause for celebration." South African prison authorities have granted parole to the Olympic

sprinter Oscar Pistorius. He was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013. Steenkamp's mother says she's not convinced that he's been

rehabilitated. She's worried for the safety of other women once he's released. That's expected to happen on January 5.

Pistorius was known as the Blade Runner for the carbon fiber prosthetics legs he wore as an Olympic sprinter.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has long been one of the biggest shopping days of the year in the U.S. But Cyber Monday seems to be hot on its heels when it comes to attracting shoppers. Here's Jenn Sullivan.

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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Demand discount dash associated with Black Friday appears to be slowing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly the month of November has changed since the pandemic.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): More shoppers are looking to score deals online as many consumers gear up for Cyber Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pretty big shift from the Black Fridays of a decade ago, people would line up early outside of stores. Now people are shopping in their pajamas.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): It's not just the convenience of shopping from home that has consumers scaling back on in-store shopping. Many retailers rolled out their discounts much earlier this year to entice people to spend sooner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It actually started as early as early October and will go right to Christmas time.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Ben Wasetmui (ph) say the lag in lines this year is also due to inflation, higher interest rates.

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SULLIVAN (voice-over): So shoppers are scaling back altogether.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite inflation moderating somewhat, the holidays are pretty expensive so people will still try to find the best deals.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): The deals you see on Cyber Monday are likely not much different than Black Friday. If you're hoping for discounts to dip further, experts say it's unlikely because retailers still want profits heading into the year end quarter. I'm Jake Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Scientists say the world's biggest iceberg is on the move

after three decades on the sea floor in Antarctica. It's more than twice the size of London, England; nearly 4,000 square kilometers or more than 1,500 square miles.

The huge chunk of original ice broke in 1986 and fell to the sea floor almost immediately. Scientists tell CNN it's probably shrunk enough in size to have loosened its grip from the sea floor and has now started moving.

With ocean currents, the iceberg is expected to be moving about 5 kilometers or 3 miles a day.

I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'll have more coverage from the Middle East after a quick break.