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Truce Extended by Two Days as More Hostages and Prisoners were Freed; CNN Celebrates Call to Earth Day. X Owner Visits Israel Amid Anti-Semitic Posts; Ukrainian Commander Shared Scenes from a Battle in a Ukrainian town; Court Hearings Underway in China for Compensation of the MH370 Victims. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 28, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Flying to Safety, 11 Israeli hostages released on Monday in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners.

Two more days, Israel and Hamas agree to extend their truce by at least 48 hours.

And helping the dogs of Delhi. On CNN's Call to Earth Day, how children are befriending animals in need.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin 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. The nine children and two women released are all residents of the same kibbutz in southern Israel and all have dual citizenship.

Also 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. She joins us now live, from London. Good morning to you again, Clare. So who was on that list Monday and who wasn't?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, as you said, of the 11 that were released, nine were children. There were two mothers. Now, that is critical because there was a slight delay on Monday, we understand, because Israel had protested that mothers of children in captivity had been left off the list. We had seen this happen on Saturday. That was resolved. We then saw these 11 come out of the nine children. All of them, according to Israel, still have fathers in captivity. So that gives you a sense of the trauma that they have faced and are still facing.

Now, I think the thing here is who wasn't on the list, two American women. There had been some expectation that they would be released as part of this initial 50 under the framework of the first four days of this truce that they would be on the list. They haven't been there.

The Biden administration, a senior administration official saying at this stage, they don't believe that Hamas intentionally left them off the list. And there is hope that in the next two days of this extension they may be released, although there is also concern that perhaps they may be held, and this was voiced by one of the families of these women, they may be held by a group that isn't Hamas, by a different group within Gaza, which would of course complicate things.

So that is the situation right now, 11 are out, a total of 50 Israelis have been released, 69 in total over the past four days, and Israel now has the list, they say, of Tuesday's potential hostage releases, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. And Clare, we know of course that the truce has been extended by two additional days. So when would that technically come to an end? Or, of course alternatively, when might a decision be made to further extend it?

SEBASTIAN: So it's pretty fluid in terms of sort of the hour by hour of when a truce begins and comes to an end. Mark Regev, who's a senior advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu, said that the extension began once Monday's hostages were back in Israel. Israel has making it very clear that how this goes from now, the ball is in Hamas' court, that if further hostages can be released they will extend the pause by another 24 hours for every 10 Israeli hostages that come out.

They are also saying, though, that once this truce is up, they will go back into Gaza and continue their effort to completely eliminate Hamas with a stronger force. Those are the words of the Israeli defense minister and they are also maintaining that the goal of eliminating Hamas is not necessarily mutually exclusive, does not necessarily threaten the safety of the remaining hostages. Listen to Mark Regev on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK REGEV, SR. ADVISER TO THE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The fear that Hamas has of Israel resuming combat actually is an incentive for them to continue with the pause, because they know that when Israel goes back to the campaign against Hamas, we'll be destroying their military infrastructure, we'll be taking out and eliminating their senior leadership, their senior command, they will be on the receiving end of massive blows from the IDF.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [03:05:02]

SEBASTIAN: So look, this is an information war. There may also be a messaging tactic here, perhaps the hope from Israel that the threat of greater violence will prompt Hamas to release more hostages, thereby extending the pause. I think the reality on the flip side is that Israel knows that Hamas will have had a number of days to regroup, that they've paused reconnaissance flights, they might have moved their leadership around, that the next phase could be even more difficult in Gaza, Rosemary?

CHURCH: Indeed. Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London. Many thanks.

CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins me now from Washington. Thank you, sir, for being with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's my pleasure, Rosemary. Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So Israel and Hamas have now agreed to extend the pause in fighting for another 48 hours to allow for the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid to Gaza. But Once that truce ends, Prime Minister Netanyahu is vowing to resume the war with, quote, "full force." So what would that look like and what could that potentially mean for any remaining hostages in Gaza?

LEIGHTON: Well, Rosemary, I certainly think the remaining hostages, any that would be remaining after these last moments of truce, would be in a degree of danger. And that's something that will have to be calculated by the Israelis as they move forward. But if they do move forward with offensive operations, as Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated, it would probably be in the southern and central areas of Gaza.

Right now they control the northern areas more or less. That control is, you know, in places a bit tenuous, but to the less they have occupied a lot of territory there. But in the southern part and in the central part, that's where they would devout their activities. And based on what we're hearing right now, it seems as if what the Israelis will do is move into those areas with more targeted operations.

So it won't look like what happened in the north from the 7th of October on. It will look a bit different, more targeted approaches, more of a counterterrorism-type effort, as opposed to a full-on frontal assault using infantry and tanks.

CHURCH: And we know, of course, that Israel's goal in this war is twofold, to get all the hostages released, while also destroying Hamas. But how achievable is that goal, to destroy Hamas militarily and politically? And does that work against any efforts to release all the hostages? LEIGHTON: I think it does work against those efforts to release the

hostages, because Hamas is the controlling entity for the hostages, and it is also, of course, de facto government of Gaza. The other part of that is that Hamas' ideology has permeated large segments of the Gaza population, and that ideology has probably gained more adherence since the Israeli counterattack after the 7th of October.

So I think that when it comes to the kinds of things that will happen next, it will definitely be in an area where the Israelis are going to move forward with some of their efforts in more of a specialized fashion. But the goal of destroying Hamas is not realistic because it's basically within the society, within Gaza's society, and that ideology is not going anywhere soon.

CHURCH: And Colonel, you touched on this. But I do want to ask again, what will likely happen once all the civilian hostages have been released and only IDF soldiers remain? And why has Hamas only released one American hostage so far, four-year-old Abigail Edan?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, I think that as far as the American hostage release is concerned, it seems that Hamas may be holding out until the very last moment to release American hostages. The White House believes that it's not a deliberate effort by Hamas, but I'm not so sure. I think it's possible that they may be waiting to see how much they can get, and perhaps they'd even extend the ceasefires, or the truces, I should call them before that. But, you know, as far as other efforts are concerned, the IDF will move in, I think, very quickly, and they will do so regardless of whether or not they have released all the hostages.

And that will mean that they're going to have a very direct, very violent campaign against the remaining areas of Hamas that they can find. And it's going to be something that will probably take several weeks, if not several months for them to complete. But that's only on the military side. When it comes to the ideological side, that effort is going to continue for a very long time and it's very doubtful that it will be completely successful.

[03:10:09]

CHURCH: So how likely is it then that the truce in Gaza, which is currently holding, would be extended again and perhaps even become a permanent ceasefire given the immense international pressure that's being brought to bear on Israel, right now?

LEIGHTON: Well, if it were up to the parties involved, if it were up just to the Israelis and Hamas, the ceasefire may not or truce may not hold. But in this particular situation, international pressure both from the United States and from Qatar is going to make a big difference. And that was going to perhaps be the way in which this truce could be extended several times and potentially could serve as the basis for a ceasefire because both Qatar and the United States for different reasons want to basically peace in this area. They want a cessation of hostilities and they want it to be very quick.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, a pleasure to have you on the show and of course to talk about military analysis relating to Gaza. Many thanks.

LEIGHTON: You bet Rosemary, anytime.

CHURCH: Hostages released by Hamas have been describing their experiences to their families and loved ones. Efrat Machikawa was reunited with four family members who had been kidnapped, including her 78-year-old aunt, and she spoke about her to CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EFRAT MACHIKAWA, HAD FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS RELEASED: Once they got to where they go down in the tunnels, she actually took the role of taking care of others, and she helped many of them. Even in the tiny little things like getting up from the mattress, they're all very old, they were all the oldies together, so it was challenging.

And knowing she was there for all the others. I think made her even stronger. And I think it's a lesson for all of us. We don't have to be masculine, or we don't have to have special powers. There is something inside us that is growing stronger when we're in the weakest point, and I adore that in her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Dozens of Palestinians also were reunited with their families as part of the Israel-Hamas deal. The Israeli Prison Service says 33 Palestinians were released on Monday, but as CNN's Nima Elbagir reports, the euphoria was short-lived, as many recounted the injustices they say they faced while in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment a mother finally sees her daughter for the first time after eight years in an Israeli prison. The relief, the anguish, the utter joy.

Malak Salman was part of the first wave of hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

MALAK SALMAN, RELEASED PRISONER (through translator): It was painful because I was leaving the sisters I made inside prison, and I feel like my freedom was paid for with the blood of the 14,000 Gazans killed.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Malak, then 16, was charged with an attempted stabbing of Israelis. Israeli authorities say no one was injured, and yet she was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years. When her family appealed, it came down to nine. Malak served almost eight of those years, spending the remainder of her teenage years behind bars. Her family maintains her innocence.

Fatina, Malak's mother, had dreamed of this day for years, to embrace her daughter to share that joy with her community. She says this was denied. FATINA SALMAN, MOTHER OF RELEASED PRISONER (through translator): The

Israeli authorities were with us from 2 pm. They surrounded the house and ripped down the decorations of any display of celebration. They stole the joy of my daughter's release.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): To be released doesn't mean you are fully free. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was himself found guilty in 2007, before he was a minister, of incitement to racism against Arabs and suppressing a terror organization, Ben-Gvir instructed Israeli forces to use an iron fist, preventing Palestinians from celebrating the release of their loved ones, saying the prisoners were terrorists.

ITAMAR BEN GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (through translator): Expressions of joy or support for terrorism, celebrations of victory give strength to those same human scum, those Nazis. The policy here is very, very, very clear not to allow these expressions of joy and resolutely strive to make contact and stop any support for these Nazis.

[03:14:56]

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Another night, another scene of Israeli forces removing well-wishers and journalists at the home of a released Palestinian prisoner, taking a heavy-handed approach as ordered by their national security minister.

In Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, they were able to defy Ben- Gvir, celebrating the release of Fatima Shahin and others from the city. Fatima left her home walking and returned almost seven months later with life-changing injuries. Shot by Israeli soldiers and accused of attempted murder.

FATIMA SHAHIN, RELEASED PRISONER (through translator): They accused me of carrying out a stabbing. It's not true. They opened fire on me. I was hit in the spine with two bullets. Two vertebrae were damaged. They replaced them with titanium. I cannot feel my legs or stand up. They also removed five centimeters from my liver and one kidney.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): For months, Fatima's family say they were denied access, even as her detention stretched on.

SHAHIN (through translator): It was forbidden for my relatives to visit me or even the lawyers. I was not allowed to make any calls.

ELBAGIR: Israel says Fatima attempted murder and yet she was only detained, not charged. She didn't go to trial. She wasn't given any opportunity to defend herself. And this is a story we keep hearing again and again from released prisoners, that they aren't given due process. And yet this crime exists alongside their names.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Israeli Prison Service responded to these allegations, saying, national security prisoners who were released from the Israeli prison during the past two days were serving time for serious crimes such as attempted murder, assault, and throwing explosives. All prisoners in IPS custody are held according to the law.

That's not true. CNN broke down the numbers in a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners identified by Israel as eligible for release. 80 percent are listed as just detained, which means they have not been formally sentenced.

Israel operates two systems of law in the occupied territories, Palestinians under the military, Israelis under civil law, creating a low bar for the arrest of increasing numbers of Palestinians.

And as Israeli hardliners like Ben-Gvir and others in this far-right government seek to characterize every Palestinian as a terrorist, that number is rising every day.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In Vermont, authorities are looking into 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 told CNN. The shooting comes amid a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents ever since the war between Israel and Hamas began. Meantime, the suspect, 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton has pleaded not guilty to attempted second degree murder charges and is being held without bail.

Still to come, CNN marks its third annual Call to Earth Day. We will take you live to Delhi, where students are learning how to safely interact with the world around them. Back with that in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Today is CNN's third annual Call to Earth Day to raise awareness of environmental issues and to promote conservation education across the globe. This year's theme is Our Shared Home, focusing on our impact on urban areas as well as wilderness environments around the world.

And CNN's Vedika Sud is in Delhi where students are learning about another type of important relationship. Vedika, what's happening there?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Rosemary I want to first introduce you to this four-legged creature here. Our little guest in this classroom at OPG World School in Delhi. He doesn't have a name yet and that's because he was rescued from one of the streets of Delhi about two months back. And the non-profit organization that's been taking care of him are hoping he will be adopted in the coming weeks and his new parents will be giving him a name.

Now there are about 30 to 60 million stray dogs like him around India. And the non-profit organization, Straw, that's holding a workshop in this classroom is hoping to create awareness through education. That's their motto.

And that's exactly what they're doing through these worksheets that you can see around the room and a presentation that they had made about half an hour earlier talking about how to sensitize these children, their families, their neighborhoods, their communities to the plight of these stray dogs.

I'm going to just put this little one down here so that we can talk to these students around me to understand what they've learned from this workshop. Can I get your name?

YUVRAJ, STUDENT: My name is Yuvraj.

SUD: Yuvraj, what have you learned from this workshop today?

YUVRAJ: From this workshop I learned that as much as we need love, food and shelter, dogs need the same. And instead of adopting new dogs, Australian breeds and all that, we can just adopt and stray dogs.

SUD: That's the education that you've learned today from this session?

YUVRAJ: Yes.

SUD: Very valuable indeed. Your name?

AGRAHM, STUDENT: My name is Agrahm.

SUD: And what have you learned today?

AGRAHM: I learned that like the breeds which like Australian breeds which live in India right now do not have like a perfect climate to live. So they are facing danger in living in India.

[03:25:01]

So, we should, instead of doing that we should just pick up stray dogs which are like sensitive and we should adopt them so that they do not get killed or harm.

SUD: Thank you. So there you have it, Rosemary. These young minds there, so sensitive to the idea and the needs of these young pups, these stray dogs that you find on every nook and cranny of Delhi streets and other cities. The idea is to share your space with them, to share homes with them and share the love that you can give them in the near future. We're hoping that both these dogs, one of them is still running around here settling down, but we're hoping they get homes, permanent homes very soon. Back to you.

CHURCH: Indeed. Wonderful students and a great message there. Vedika Sud, many thanks. Joining us from Delhi.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "Call to Earth: Our Shared Home Special" is up next. And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. The truce between Israel and Hamas is now in its fifth day, extended by at least another 48 hours. And Israel has notified the families of 10 more hostages expected to be released today. That is according to a family member.

Hamas freed two women and nine children on Monday. All 11 Israelis have dual citizenship, three French citizens, two Germans, and six Argentine citizens.

On Monday, Israel has released another 33 Palestinians who had been held in Israeli prisons, all women and children. Many were detained but never charged. A top Israeli official says Israel also has a list of Palestinian prisoners. They plan to release today and that for every group of 10 hostages Hamas releases, Israel will extend the truce for one additional day.

Well, at least 170 hostages are still being held in Gaza. And eventually, this pause in fighting is likely to end. When it does, Israel's defense minister is warning the military operation will intensify. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A nation celebrates once again, as more Israeli women and children feel freedom. Fragile truce now extended by 48 hours sealed with the release of hostages.

Already, some of the freed hostages, like Margelit Moses, are being discharged from the hospitals, ready to head home.

MARGALIT MOSES, FREED HOSTAGE (through translator): I need to tell you how amazing you are, really, for everything you have done.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Meanwhile, others rejoice in their first moments of reunion. Mayan Zin waited 51 days to see her two daughters. Among those freed over the weekend, four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Edan. Still, the only U.S. citizen to be released from Gaza. All of Monday's group from the devastated community of near Oz.

The truce agreement now set to be extended by two days. Hamas will release another 20 Israeli women and children, and Israel will release 60 Palestinian women and children from prison. Humanitarian aid will flow into Gaza, and the temporary ceasefire will last a bit longer.

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We will return to fighting. We will apply the same force and more. Therefore, this is the mission now.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The pause, revealing a hellscape in parts of northern Gaza with barely a building left untouched. A few days of quiet in the devastated Palestinian territory does not mean any peace.

ABDEL QADER MOHAMMED AL-KAHLOUT, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): I came from the north. There is nothing left in the north. The north has become a large plane. Nobody knows where their houses are. We don't know what happened to us. Overnight, we became displaced from the north to the south.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Aid trucks are bottlenecked at the gate to Gaza, meager relief for the crushing humanitarian crisis beyond the border. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians have rallied as women and children have been released. But according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, nearly twice as many have been detained as have been set free since Friday. At best, this remains an uneasy truce between two sides that vow to keep fighting as the sun sets on the first stage of this agreement.

Oren Lieberman, CNN, in Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Earlier I spoke with Gideon Levy, columnist with "Haaretz" newspaper and former adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. I asked him what impact extending the truce could have on the political future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, "HAARETZ" NEWSPAPER: You see Rosemary, two days are only two days. And the question is what follows those two days, both about the continuous of the war, if it will continue, and to your question about the continuous of the career of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, in my view, is a dead walking man, 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 is going to touch Netanyahu.

[03:34:56]

Netanyahu 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 7th. So the coming period will show where does it go, but by the end of the day I have no doubt that one way or the other he will have to step down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And meeting with Israeli leaders on Monday, the billionaire Elon Musk. He also toured one of the sites of Hamas' attacks. His visit comes as the billionaire tries to calm outrage over his endorsement of an anti-Semitic post on his social media platform X, as Nick Watt reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world's richest man taken by Israel's Prime Minister to a kibbutz attacked by Hamas. October 7th.

There were umbrella bearers. Musk took some pictures. The editor of a prominent Israeli newspaper calls this a P.R. visit, calls Musk a blatant anti-Semite, accuses Netanyahu of amoral sycophancy.

The backdrop to this visit? Well, Musk recently replied, you have said the actual truth to a tweet espousing anti-Semitic tropes that Jews push hatred of whites and promote minority immigration to Western nations.

That theory also espoused by the man who murdered 11 Jews at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. Many accuse Musk of overseeing the descent of X into a cesspool of hate, particularly since October 7th.

A self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, Musk bought Twitter, now X for $44 billion. That investment is now in danger. There's an exodus of heavyweight advertisers over the hate.

Musk has said claims he's anti-Semitic could not be further from the truth. Today, we could not reach him for comment, but Musk and Netanyahu had a chat live on X. They agreed on a lot.

ELON MUSK, CEO OF X: Those who are intended murder must be neutralized. Then the propaganda must stop and making Gaza prosperous. And if that happens, I think it will be a good future.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope you'll be involved in it.

MUSK: I'd love to help.

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: Welcome to Israel, Mr. Musk. Your visit means a lot to us.

WATT (voice-over): Israel's president implored Musk to help fight anti-Semitism.

HERZOG: You have a huge role to play, and I think we need to fight it together, because under the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there's a harboring of a lot of old hate, which is Jew hate, which is anti-Semitism.

MUSK: We have to do whatever we whatever is necessary to stop the -- I mean essentially these people have been fed propaganda since they were children.

AVI MEYER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "JERUSALEM POST": We in the Jewish faith believe in repentance and atoning for one's sins. Perhaps that's what's going on right now but the proof will be in the pudding. We'll have to see what happens on his platform.

WATT: Elon Musk also controls Starlink, a satellite internet service, and he had pledged to make that service available to aid organizations in Gaza. The Israeli government was not happy about that, suggesting that Hamas would use the service for terrorist activities.

Well, today an Israeli minister posted on X that they had reached an understanding with Musk that Starlink units will only be used in Israel and Gaza with the approval of the Israeli government. We have not yet confirmed that understanding.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And I'll have more news in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, nearly 300 children have been evacuated from the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, according to police. Earlier this month, local officials ordered families with children to leave some communities that were being bombarded by Russia.

Also in the east, Ukraine says Russian forces are still trying to surround the town of Avdiivka as fierce fighting continues. CNN's Anna Coren spoke to a soldier who recorded an intense battle from the trenches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the pre-dawn light, a cacophony of military firepower fills the air.

Incoming explosions. Outgoing fire.

As one of Ukraine's assault infantry units, the 47th Mechanized Brigade tries to take back trenches in Avdiivka captured by Russian forces.

We need drones, we need drones, says company commander Oleh Sentsov filming on his GoPro. The bastards are sitting in the tree line shooting at us, he explains.

In a rare interview, the former filmmaker, imprisoned by the Russians in 2014 for five years tells me about last month's mission in what has become one of the hottest spots on the eastern front.

OLEH SENTSOV, COMPANY COMMANDER, 47TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (through translator): My goal was for people to watch this and know what this war is really like because it's very important to record it so that people know now and know later what a cruel and terrible war it is.

[03:45:02] COREN (voice-over): One of his troops has been hit. They remove his body armor to reveal a bullet hole.

As they apply a chest seal, the team has even bigger problems on their hands.

Duck, the tank is coming, yells one of them.

And then the war from the sky begins.

Drone, drone, FPV, cries a soldier.

I see it, another shouts back.

Minutes later another soldier is hit, this time shrapnel to the legs.

While talking on the radio, reporting on his injured troops, Oleh also gets hit, but doesn't realize for a few moments.

There's a small hole, I see the blood, you're bleeding, says the female paramedic.

Quickly patched up, Oleh remains focused and composed until suddenly they hear the rumble of tanks.

Oleh's unit tries to bury themselves in the earth as one drive-spot.

The female paramedic cries, we are surrounded, the tanks are shooting on us. Approximately 40 tons of terror so close, the earth is shaking.

Drone footage taken by the Ukrainian military shows four Russian tanks firing on the tree line. Positioned in those trees are three Ukrainian assault groups in trenches spread out over a kilometer. Oleh's unit is in the middle. They were the only ones to be spared.

SENTSOV (through translator): We failed to hold our position and had to retreat. We had injuries but survived, but the other two groups were almost completely destroyed.

COREN (voice-over): This is the first time Oleh has failed a mission as commander in the almost two years that he's been fighting. The 47- year-old tells me he wants the world to know the truth on the front line.

A war this father of four is returning to this week.

Anna Coren, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, nearly 10 years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, compensation hearings have begun in China for dozens of families who lost loved ones. Details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Dozens of Chinese families who lost loved ones when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished nearly 10 years ago are taking the airline Boeing and others to court. CNN's Paula Hancocks says more on the compensation hearings in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A heavy police presence outside this Beijing courthouse Monday as one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history is finally being heard in court.

Around 40 families of those on board Malaysia Airlines 370 are suing the airline and companies related to the flight. The defendants include Malaysian Airlines, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Allianz Insurance.

Mr. Fu represents the first family to have their case heard. He says, as a relative, I'm under a lot of pressure because I was the first to go to court, but I'm also very excited because it's not easy to reopen the court hearing after so many years.

MH370 disappeared from radar almost 10 years ago, explanations remain elusive. The majority of families of the 239 passengers and crew settled out of court over the years, but these families are still pushing for accountability.

Some families have protested for years. Now the trial is finally starting, emotions are high.

JIANG HUI, FAMILY MEMBER OF MH370 VICTIM (through translator): I feel a sense of both relief and helplessness. The family members of MH370 are not murderers, barbarians or people making trouble for nothing. We are victims. But it has almost been 10 years and we have not received an apology or a penny of compensation.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Jiang Hui's mum was on her way back to Beijing from a brief holiday in Malaysia. The former telecom manager has quit his job so he can focus on finding her.

HUI (through translator): We hope that the verdict will include the establishment of search funds.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Jiang and other families were so desperate for clues that they flew to the corners of the earth to examine the debris and the locations where they were discovered.

On March 8, 2014, Passenger flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur. It disappeared from radar shortly before reaching Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Its final destination was Beijing.

Twelve cabin crew, 227 passengers, were on board, most of whom were Chinese citizens. Satellite data shows the final location of the plane, somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. The news was crushing for the families of the passengers. Devastated and angry, their questions remain unanswered.

A multinational search effort lasted more than four years, costing tens of millions of dollars and involving 26 countries.

From 2015, pieces of airplane debris started to emerge on beaches and islands of southern Africa, some of them later confirmed to be from MH370.

HUI (through translator): The disappearance of MH370 should not become a historical mystery. I believe that with advancements in current technology, it will surely be found in the near future.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): The fate of the flight has spawned documentaries, books and endless fascination for the world. But for the families, it is a torturous mystery they once solved.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:55:04]

CHURCH: And finally, you're about to see a police chase of a forklift in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And that's not even the half of it. The forklift was allegedly stolen by a 12-year-old. And the pursuit went on for more than an hour. Thankfully, no one was hurt. It ended when the person driving it was eventually pulled over and taken into custody. Investigators say the forklift was taken from a middle school where it was left unlocked with the keys hidden inside. Not smart.

And thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN NEWSROOM continues next with Max Foster.

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