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CNN Marks the Third Year of Environmental Education Initiative; Wild Beavers Reintroduced to London's Wetlands; U.S. Pushes for Extension of Israel-Hamas Truce; In Burlington, Suspect in Shooting of Three Palestinian Students Pleads Not Guilty; Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter Expected to Attend Rosalynn Carter's Memorial Service in Georgia. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 28, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. More Israeli hostages are expected to be released in the hours ahead after Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce by two days. The pause in fighting is also revealing the scale and scope of the destruction in Gaza after almost eight weeks of war.

And our shared home this year, CNN's Call to Earth Day explores the ties between cities and more distant natural spaces.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemarie Church.

CHURCH: Hello, everyone. It is 9:00 in the morning in Gaza where the truce between Israel and Hamas has been extended by two days, opening the door for the release of more hostages and Palestinian prisoners. On Monday, the fourth day of the truce, 11 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas. All were taken to a medical center in Tel Aviv for any care they may need and also to be reunited with their families anxiously awaiting their return.

The nine children and two women released are all residents of the same kibbutz in southern Israel and all have dual citizenship. Families in Israel are describing a mix of emotions now that their loved ones held by Hamas are finally free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IDO DAN, RELATIVE OF WOMAN WHOSE CHILDREN WERE FREED: This is a momentous day in our lives were filled with excitement. But we've not yet fully processed what has happened. I'm finding that it's difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate, to a state of relief and joy. I believe it will take time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Also on Monday, 33 additional Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons as part of the agreement. They included 30 teenagers and three women.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following developments for us. She joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what more are you learning about this two-day extension of the temporary truce and what it could ultimately mean?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. As we understand it, things are progressing. We understand that Israel has received the next list of hostages to be released on Tuesday. And as informed family members this comes to us from a family member. So, that is going down the right path that might suggest that things are on a slightly firmer footing even to Monday when we know there were delays because of concerns that Israel had that the list included children without their mothers.

That was eventually resolved but did lead to a slight delay in the hostages being released. The question now, of course, that we have this two-day extension agreed is could it even be extended further? Israel is making it clear that they see the ball is in Hamas' court. If they continue to release hostages, then Israel will continue to extend the pause by 24 hours for each 10 hostages that are released to the U.S.

The White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby also say that they are hopeful that there could be further extensions even beyond this. Now there is a logistical question because we know that Hamas is potentially not in custody of all of the hostages that were taken on October 7th. That could complicate proceedings as we look to increase the numbers of hostages that are released.

Mark Regev who is a senior adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he believes there are enough women and children hostages still in Gaza that Hamas will be able to fulfill this deal. But that they are also saying that because Hamas is the government in Gaza, that they bear responsibility, even if they don't have physical custody of these hostages.

CHURCH: So, Clare, what does this mean for Israel's military operation in Gaza?

SEBASTIAN: So, Israel is promising that it will not only continue once this pause is up, but will do so with a stronger force. Those are the words of Yoav Gallant. The Israeli Defense Minister who was speaking on Monday before the news of this extension came out. He was addressing soldiers saying, you know, you may face a tougher enemy but they are going to go and he said with a stronger force and will fight all across the Gaza Strip.

He said the second thing that Israel has continued to maintain is that the two war goals, the release of these hostages and the goal of eliminating Hamas completely in Gaza are not mutually exclusive. They believe the idea of Israel coming back in with us stronger force is enough of an incentive for Hamas to want to extend the pause. [02:05:04]

Of course, the reality is that if Israel comes back with a stronger force, Hamas may do the same. They will have had these six days minimum to regroup. There's been a drop in overflights by reconnaissance drones from Israel as part of this deal. So, they may have had time to regroup as well. I think this is going to be the next phase of this war that we're looking at potentially more difficult battles inside Gaza. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian for that live report from London. Joining me now from Tel Aviv is Gideon Levy. Columnist with Haaretz newspaper and former adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Appreciate you joining us.

GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, HAARETZ NEWSPAPER: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend this pause in the fighting by another two days to allow for the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid going into Gaza. So, what impact could extending the temporary truce have on the political future of Prime Minister Netanyahu?

LEVY: You see, Rosemary, two days are only two days. And the question is what follows those two days boasts about the continuous of the war, if it will continue. And to your question about the care -- about the continuous of -- the carry of Netanyahu. Netanyahu in my view is dead walking men politically. He will not survive this fiasco that he is responsible to, but nobody is going to touch him until this war will be over which might, I don't accuse him before anything, but it might also be a consideration for him to prolong the war.

I really hope this is not the case. But it might be a case because as long as the war is going on, nobody's going to touch Netanyahu. Netanyahu lost, lost, he lost it. You see it in his public appearances, it's not Netanyahu that we knew. You hear it in his own party, people speak differently than before the sevens. So, the coming period will show where does it go. But by the end of the day, I've no doubt one way or the other, he will have to step down.

CHURCH: So, you're saying it is politically useful for Netanyahu to continue this war. Of course, his goal is to destroy Hamas. And that's clearly hindered by this pause in fighting. So, he's making it very clear that once the temporary truce is over the war in Gaza will resume, he said that himself. He's told President Joe Biden that saying that it will resume with full force. But does language like that help the prime minister or hurt him politically, given the families of these hostages have very successfully brought considerable pressure to bear on Netanyahu and his government to do more for the hostages and focus less on destroying Hamas?

LEVY: Netanyahu will react to your question that by threatening to renew the war, you are doing also for releasing the hostages because that's the biggest leverage that Israel has right now. So, there must be a difference or there might be a gap between talking sense readings and deeds. Me personally, I hope that the war will not be renew because it's really created enough of catastrophes to those people but it's not for me to decide.

Netanyahu right now has no other way back to threat to continue the war because that's his leverage. But I hope that some new dynamics and some American pressure will prevent him for getting back to those killing fields, to those destruction fields. And they hope the one of the two goals will be achieved without continuing the war, namely, releasing all the hostages.

CHURCH: And while the world has been focused on the war in Gaza now, of course, the release of some hostages. Vigilante groups made up of far-right Jewish settlers in the West Bank have been stirring up trouble with Palestinians living there. What is the political impact on Netanyahu for standing up to these Jewish settlers? And is he doing enough to prevent rising tensions in the West Bank? Because if that does happen, that could very well scuttle any two-state solution, couldn't it?

LEVY: One of Netanyahu's biggest mistakes and in my point of view in crimes was to surround himself with all those extremist racist, settlers and in fence of the settlers and letting them go wild -- before the war, before the 7th of October. But after the 7th of October for those settlers, this was a great opportunity, really money time to try to go while -- to try to transfer Palestinians from the villages and they did so already in 16 different shepherds' villages that their inhabitants had to evacuate because the terror of the settlement -- settlers.

[02:10:18]

And this is going on Netanyahu is doing nothing to stop it and Israel might pay a price for it because it might open a new front. It might explode. What we are doing now to the Palestinians have been yesterday to the West Bank. But we are doing now and when I say we, I mean the army and the settlers doing now to the Palestinians might have a price because it's in regular time. It's horrible what's going on there. But what is happening ever since the 7th of October is unprecedented, unprecedented really.

CHURCH: Gideon levy joining us live from Tel Aviv. Many thanks for being with us.

LEVY: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come. A pause in fighting has revealed the utter devastation of Israel's military offensive on Gaza. A detailed report coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The temporary truce between Israel on Hamas has highlighted the full scale of devastation across Gaza for the first time.

[02:15:05]

Weeks of fighting and airstrikes have left entire neighborhoods leveled and have destroyed critical infrastructure. The U.N. estimates more than 1-1/2 million Gazans have been internally displaced. CNN's Ben Wedeman has more on the dire situation there.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In Gaza City, they collect the dead, line in the streets and load them onto donkey carts. Hundreds perhaps thousands more remain trapped under the rubble. The fate of so many still unknown.

We can't contact our relatives, says Reda Al-Jamal. We don't know who's died and who's still alive.

According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry, the death toll the day before the truce began reached nearly 15,000. Two-thirds of whom were women and children. A few days of relative calm have allowed people to emerge and see what this war has wrought, destruction on a scale Gaza which has been through so much over the decades has never seen before. According to the U.N., around 1,700,000 Gazans have been displaced. About 80 percent of the population, many of those crammed into the south.

The pause has allowed people to resupply, but so far it's only been a drop in the ocean says the U.N. All the while people are hoping, wishing today's calm will not be followed by the storm.

We hope says Abu Odai, the truce continues and holds permanently and the Israelis pull out of the north so that everyone who was forced to flee can return to their homes, even if they're in ruins, even if they have to live in tents. With winters grip tightening hundreds wait for a bag of flour from the U.N. More supplies are getting into Gaza not enough.

How many days is this bag of flour supposed to last us asks, Sabrin Al-Najar. One? Two? Three days? And how many days before this war (INAUDIBLE)

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to calm, the ordeal of this Russian-Israeli hostage and how Moscow helped secure his release. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:12:06]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The truce between Israel and Hamas is now in its fifth day extended by at least another 48 hours. And that should mean the release of more hostages by the militant group. Hamas freed to women and nine children on Monday. Helicopters carried them to a hospital in Tel Aviv. All 11 Israelis have dual citizenship. Three French citizens, two Germans and six Argentine citizens. Israel has released another 33 Palestinians who had been held in Israeli prisons. All of those freed so far are women and children. No males over 18 had been released. Many were detained but never charged.

Well, a Russian Israeli hostage freed by Hamas was able to escape captivity for days before he was recaptured according to his aunt. The 25-year-old's release was not part of the truce deal between Israel and Hamas. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Israel is rejoicing over the hostages released in the prisoner swap

with Hamas almost exclusively women and children. Only one military age male Israeli has been set free so far. Roni Kriboy pictured in this Hamas video showing the exchange with the Red Cross.

Kriboy is also a Russian citizen and his brother thanked the Russian government for making the release happen.

IGOY KRIBOY, BROTHER OF RONI KRIBOY (through translator): We see what Russians can do. They helped us and we believe that they can help others too

Roni Kriboy's aunt told Israeli media that he escaped his captors after the house he was kept in was bombed, but that he was apprehended by Hamas again after four days. His released now was not part of the larger prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas. It happened, thanks to Moscow's good relations with Hamas' leadership, Russian officials say.

His released was possible following direct intensive contacts between our diplomats and Hamas representatives, Russia's ambassador to Israel says. After Hamas' October 7th assault on southern Israel, killing more than 1200 people and leaving more than 200 in captivity inside Gaza. Much of the world condemned Hamas, but not Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, the Kremlin invited a high-level Hamas delegation to Moscow for talks.

And Putin has ripped into Israel over its military response to Hamas' raid which has killed and wounded many people across the Gaza Strip. Putin even comparing his invasion of Ukraine to Hamas' war against Israel.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): I understand that this war with Ukraine death of people must be shocking. But what about the bloody State coup in Ukraine in 2014 which was followed by the war of the key of regime against their own people in Donbas, is it not shocking?

[02:25:09]

Was about the elimination of civilians in Palestine? In Gaza?

PLEITGEN (voiceover): For its part, Hamas clearly views Moscow as an ally. Hamas leader is making clear Russian hostages captured on October 7th will get preferential treatment and have good chances of getting released faster.

MOUSA ABU MARZOUK, DEPUTY CHIEF OF HAMAS' POLITICAL BUREAU (through translator): This request from Russia, we treat more positively and attentively than others due to the nature of our relations with Russia.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come. CNN marks its third annual Call to Earth Day. We will take you live to schools in Beijing and Hong Kong where students are taking action to help protect the environment.

Also ahead, a damn good idea in London. How the city is reintroducing wild beavers to the area centuries after they were wiped out in the U.K.

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[02:30:15]

CHURCH: Today is CNN's third annual "Call to Earth Day" to raise awareness of environmental issues and to promote conservation and education around the world. This year's theme is "our shared home," focusing on our impact on urban areas, as well as wilderness environments around the world. And we have Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, but we will start with Steven Jiang in Beijing. Steven, what's going on?

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STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, we are at the British School of Beijing, Sanlitun. They have a very diverse student population. These 10- or 11-year-old students behind me coming from some 15 different countries, but for most of them, there is one thing in common. They are city kids, but already though, they are learning even for sprawling metropolises like Beijing. You have more than bustling city streets, you have mountains, rivers, a lot of biodiversity. Right, Elizabeth (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

JIANG: Tell me what you're doing here. What is this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Beijing now. We used our imagination to create more wildlife corridors like bridges and tunnels to link the (inaudible) which is the mountains to the center of Beijing, to make Beijing more biodiverse and for the animals to travel more safely.

JIANG: Yeah. So, it's all connected. But you know, for these kids, it is not much of a debate when it comes to climate change. Some of them already experienced firsthand the negative impact of climate change like flooding in a historically dry city like Beijing and I think they're trying to show it here, right? Jade (ph), what is this? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, this is a project that we've been working on in the humanities, and it is a 3D model of a settlement that is in a coastal region. As you can see, this city is very prone to flooding since, has (ph) not developed any flood defenses yet.

JIANG: Yeah. There is really alarming real-time flooding going on as we speak, but they're not just focusing on the present, they're also focusing on the future using the latest technology to try to find potential solutions. Right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In this activity, we made reports based on what we think the city of the future would be like and also, we used AI technology to help us visualize the city of the future, including roof-top farms and green walls.

JIANG: Thanks, Poppy (ph), that looks really futuristic. And reassuring because all of these projects and activities, in a way, shows despite these alarming trends, some of them illustrate these kids are not only keenly aware of the problem, they're already very much immersing themselves into the process of trying to find potential solutions to the problems that affect both cities and their surroundings, really taking the future into their own hands. I think that is really a very positive note to end on, Rosemary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Indeed, and very impressive too. Steven Jiang, many thanks. I want to go to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong now. Kristie, what's happening there?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary, here in Hong Kong, I'm just outside of one of hundreds of schools around the world, marking " Call to Earth Day," a day of action to protect the planet. And this year, the theme is "our shared home." And here I am, right now, is stage ten of the world-famous MacLehose Trail which is located right behind Harrow International School. And every day after school, a number of students come here to pick up the litter that is on the trail.

The trail here is beautiful, but it needs care and protection. The students come here to pick up the litter and also to bring out their cameras, to take photographs as they learn about conservation and the environment through their geography courses. Hong Kong is known as a dense urban jungle, but 40 percent of Hong Kong is protected parkland. But even safe haven like this, here and around the world, are under threat because of poaching, because of pollution, because of rapid urbanization. And this is what the students here want to address, especially this day on "Call to Earth Day."

Earlier, we spoke to some sustainability prefects, champion for environmental causes here on campus. We attended a charity fair that is raising awareness and funds for sustainability NGOs. We also went to a year-five classroom where students there were writing poetry and presenting posters about what it means to have a shared home. Now, here, at Harrow well as other schools around the world, the community from the parents to the teachers, primary, secondary students are all in as we answer the "Call to Earth." Back to you, Rosemary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout and Steven Jiang.

Wild beavers have been reintroduced to a parkland in London after they were hunted into extinction in the U.K. over 400 years ago. Their release is part of a wider movement to re-wild cities. Here is CNN's Anna Stewart with this "Call to Earth" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): This is the moment that a family of five Eurasian beavers happily settled into their new home.

[02:35:00]

SEAN MCCORMACK, VET AND CONSERVATIONIST: It's been a massive day. I'm so excited. It's a bit of a weird, surreal moment to know there is beavers now living in urban Greenford in Ealing behind me. I have to admit, my heart was going like the clappers when I opened that first box and a big mama beaver came out. She is a whopper.

They did fantastically, I was absolutely thrilled. They came out, they showboated in front of the world's media. It is only a few generations ago that they were exterminated and yeah, it was a real proud moment to see them swimming around here in this main pond at Paradise Fields again like they had never been absent.

STEWART (voice-over): Hunted to extinction over 400 years ago, Britain's largest rodent was welcomed back to a wetland haven on the outskirts of the capital, adjacent to a retail park and a busy highway. The project has been done with the support of the Mayor Sadiq Khan's "Rewild London Fund."

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: One of the reasons why we (inaudible) have invested millions of pounds in this project is that it's good for humans, it's good for nature, it's good for our city. It's really important to create environments like this where we as Londoners can appreciate nature.

MCCORMACK: 84 percent of people now in the U.K. live in towns or cities. So, we can't think of nature and thriving ecosystems as being a countryside issue. Actually, we need to embrace nature and nature- based solutions on our doorstep in cities as well.

STEWART (voice-over): One month on and the beaver family is already having a positive impact on the local habitat.

MCCORMACK: So we are in almost a low-lying basin, surrounded by urban landscape and heart standing (ph) in roads and things like that. In high rainfall event, we're getting flooding of this area and the water is basically gushing through and it's going into the storm drain systems and into the sewers and it's gushing out in urban Greenford downstream.

STEWART (voice-over): Sean McCormack from "Ealing Wildlife Group" believes that nature has the answer.

MCCORMACK: So here it is, they are magnificent creation, their first dam. So, absolutely incredible, it started as just a couple of twigs across the stream bed and, as you can see now, we have got almost a meter difference in height between the water upstream and the water downstream.

STEWART (voice-over): Beavers create dams under the cover of darkness, not because they care about urban flooding, they have an instinct to create pools of deep water to hide in. The happy consequence for us is that their refuge systems actually slow down the flow of water.

MCCORMACK: The land will actually, overtime, act as a giant sponge and it will absorb those high rainfall events and it will release it slowly. Even if you're not interested in wildlife or nature, it is a win for the urban community in Greenford to not have so much flooding. So they build resilience in the landscape, especially in times of climate change.

I've been in a very privileged position to be coming in here every day, on my own, or with a pair of volunteers at a time and seeing it for myself. But I think the real proud moment will come when we are showing the urban community here in Ealing just what beavers can do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Aren't they marvelous? Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary church. For our international viewers, "World Sport" is coming up next. And for those of you here in the United States and in Canada, I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment. Do stay with us.

[02:40:00]

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[02:45:00]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.

With the Israel-Hamas truce extended by at least another 48 hours, we are expecting the militant group to release more hostages in the day ahead. In total, 69 captives have been freed so far, including 11 Israelis on Monday. Hamas has agreed to release at least ten hostages on each day of the truce. Israel has freed another 33 Palestinians who were held in Israeli prisons, all of them women and teenagers as agreed.

Meanwhile, two American women remain in captivity in Gaza, but the White House is hopeful they could be freed now the truth has been extended. CNN's Alex Marquardt has more on the U.S. role in the negotiations. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The United States has been pushing for an extension of this pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas since the news came that a deal had been reached for a four-day temporary truce. More time the Biden Administration has argued would mean that Hamas would release more hostages and it would be easier to get aid into the Gaza Strip.

Israel agreed, as long as Hamas kept releasing at least ten hostages per day. The U.S. has had a central role in getting to this point, in large part because an estimated ten Americans were being held in Gaza by Hamas and other groups. The U.S. used its considerable leverage to press mediators, Qatar and Egypt, to pressure Hamas, while speaking directly with Israel. On Monday, for example, as the fourth day of the hostage release looked uncertain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Qatari counterpart, the foreign minister. Over the thanksgiving weekend, President Joe Biden spoke directly to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Emir of Qatar, evidence of how personally involved he is.

Now, one of the main players in brokering this original deal is Bill Burns, the Director of the CIA. He quietly worked with Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari counterparts to get the negotiations across the finish line. American officials have said that, no matter how long this current pause lasts, they will keep working towards freeing the rest of the American and all of the other hostages, a prospect that may become more complicated if or when Israel re-launches its military operations in Gaza.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Meantime, as hostages are released and reunited with their families, many are anxiously awaiting the return of their loved ones still held in Gaza. 75-year-old Alexander Dancyg is still in Hamas captivity and CNN's Kaitlan Collins spoke with his son who is working to bring him home and telling his story to anyone who will listen, including the Pope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every night, Yuval Danzig watches from his living room as Israeli hostages are released and reunited with their families.

YUVAL DANZIG, SON OF HAMAS HOSTAGE ALEXANDER DANCYG: (Inaudible) go out is like one of my family members.

COLLINS (voice-over): He watches knowing that his 75-year-old father, Alexander Dancyg, won't be one of them.

DANZIG: I am sure that he will want all the children out before him, yeah. I am sure. COLLINS (voice-over): On October 7th, Yuval's dad was at home in Nir Oz when Hamas attacked, killing or kidnapping more than a quarter of residents of the kibbutz.

DANZIG: My uncle was also kidnapped, my -- the brother of my mother. And all of them were in the kibbutz.

COLLINS (voice-over): He had 14 family members in Nir Oz that day, including an uncle who is kidnapped and Yuval's brother-in-law and mom who fought off the terrorists.

DANZIG: My brother-in-law fought the terrorists for like one hour, an hour and a half with only a pistol. And my mother also (inaudible) she held the door for seven hours, while they tried to open it, with two nephews inside.

COLLINS (voice-over): His dad wasn't as lucky. Yuval was the last person to speak with him that day.

DANZIG: He said that it was going to OK. We can manage this. And then, we finished the talk and from this time, he didn't answer again.

COLLINS (voice-over): For 52 days, his father has been held in Gaza without the daily medication that he is taken since his heart attack four years ago.

COLLINS: How worried are you about him?

DANZIG: Very much, very much. I don't know if he can survive this situation for 50 days. He needs to take medication, he needs to eat properly.

COLLINS (voice-over): For Yuval and his family, a glimmer of hope as two of his dad's neighbors were released, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz.

DANZIG: They say he was alive and fine when he was kidnapped.

COLLINS (voice-over): Five days after the October 7th attack, Yuval's 13-year-old son had his bar mitzvah, without grandpa there to celebrate.

[02:50:00]

DANZIG: Yeah. It was a really tough day because we were really waiting for this bar mitzvah, because he is the only boy in his -- from the grandchildren. So he really waited for this bar mitzvah, but we had to do it without him.

COLLINS (voice-over): For weeks, Yuval has been traveling to Poland where his dad was born to raise awareness about the hostages and Rome where he met with the Pope.

DANZIG: When I told him about my dad, he stopped me and he said, I know the story from before. I know him from before.

COLLINS: The Pope knew about your dad?

DANZIG: Yeah, it was really amazing for us.

COLLINS (voice-over): When they are reunited, Yuval says he has so much to tell his dad.

DANZIG: I want to tell him what happened here from the beginning.

COLLINS (voice-over): For now, Yuval says he has no choice but believe that one evening it will be his dad on the news on his way home.

COLLINS: Are you hopeful that he'll be released?

DANZIG: I'm sure he will be released.

COLLINS (voice-over): Why are you so sure?

DANZIG: Because we have to be. We have to have hope, because if we don't have hope, we can do nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In Vermont, authorities are looking into the whether the shooting of three Palestinian college students constitutes a hate crime. One of the three students has now been released from the hospital, a source tells CNN. Meantime, the suspect accused of shooting them has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges and is being held without bail. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR MIRO WEINBERGER, (D) BURLINGTON, VERMONT: The Saturday evening shooting of three young Palestinian college students visiting Burlington on their holiday break was one of the most shocking and disturbing events in the city's history.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a shooting at Vermont left three young Palestinian men scarred forever, at least one of them still in critical condition, the suspect now charged with three counts of second-degree murder. 48-year-old Jason Eaton was arraigned at Burlington this morning. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

CHIEF JON MURAD, BURLINGTON, VERMONT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Upon knocking on one door, the ATF agents were greeted by a man who stepped out of the hall -- out of the door towards them with his palms up at waist height and stated something to be effect of, "I've been waiting for you." The ATF agents said, "Why is that?" And the gentleman said, in summon substance (ph) "I would like a lawyer."

SANDOVAL (voice-over): The three victims, each 20 years old, are Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island, who now has a bullet lodged in his spine. Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, who was shot in the glute. And Tahseen Ali Ahmed, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut, still has a bullet in his chest. They studied together at Ramallah Friends School, a non-profit Quaker

school in the occupied West Bank. Police say the students were walking down the street Saturday evening while visiting one of their relatives for thanksgiving.

MURAD: They were speaking in a mixture of English and Arabic, which is -- is their want (ph). Two were wearing keffiyehs, and they had no knowledge of this individual, had not encountered him before. He stepped off a porch and produced a firearm and began discharging that firearm.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Amid rising reports of targeted violence against Jews and Palestinians since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, this shooting immediately prompted calls it should be considered a hate crime.

RICH PRICE, UNCLE OF VERMONT SHOOTING VICTIM HISHAM AWARTANI: I believe the families fear that this was motivated by hate, that these boys were -- these young men were targeted because they were Arabs, that they were wearing keffiyehs. I think that is our fear.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Federal officials investigating whether it was a hate crime in the eyes of the law. Families of the victims say they thought their loved ones would be safe here.

RADI TAMIMI, UNCLE OF VERMONT SHOOTING VICTIM KINNAN ABDELHAMID: Kinnan grew up in the West Bank, and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety, and sending him here would be the right decision. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here. And we're just trying to come to terms with everything.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, Burlington, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is expected to attend a memorial service for his late wife Rosalynn here in Atlanta in the day ahead. Current U.S. President, Joe Biden, is also expected to attend. The former first lady passed away last week at 96. Right now, her body is lying in repose at the Carter Center. Rosalynn Carter is being remembered as a tireless advocate for mental health reform and her dedication to humanitarian causes. A private funeral service is set for Wednesday in the Carters' hometown of Plains, Georgia.

I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment.

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