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Israeli Combat Ops Spread into Southern Gaza; Humanitarian Aid Trucks Face Hurdles; Ukraine's Long Fight Ahead. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired December 02, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, even as the fighting between Israel and Hamas resumes, talks between the two sides to release more hostages are ongoing.
And world leaders gather at the U.N. World Climate Action Summit. We'll go live to Dubai for the latest on what's coming out of COP28.
And owning a book from author Jane Austen's personal collection is up for auction. I'll tell you how high the final price could go.
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HARRAK: Israel is pressing its renewed military offensive against Hamas into the southern regions of Gaza, which is already crowded with displaced Palestinians.
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HARRAK (voice-over): The IDF released this video of what it said was a strike against Hamas targets operating close to Israeli troops in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said at least 178 people have been killed since the truce ended.
Despite the resumed fighting, a U.S. official said talks to release more hostages are ongoing. The IDF believes 136 people are still being held in Gaza, including 17 women and children.
The families of three hostages have now confirmed that their loved ones died in Gaza. Sources tell CNN that both the U.S. and Israel fear young women abducted at the Nova music festival are among the remaining hostages. Hamas has been insisting they did not have any more nonmilitary female hostages to release.
And hospitals in southern Gaza say Palestinian casualties have been mounting quickly since the truce ended early Friday. CNN's Matthew Chance has our report -- and a word of caution, some of the images are disturbing. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what Israel vowed would happen if Hamas stopped releasing its hostages. After a seven-day pause and more than 100 freed, Gaza is being pounded again. Israeli officials say military pressure will force Hamas to release more.
EYLON LEVY, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Having chosen to hold onto our women, Hamas will now take the mother of all thumping.
CHANCE (voice-over): Israel says it was Hamas that broke the truce, firing rockets out of Gaza, striking Israeli tanks. But it's inside the Gaza Strip where the intensity of this war has resumed. Hospitals, already overwhelmed, now facing a new flood of casualties.
JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: We cannot see more children with the wounds of war, with the burns, with the shrapnel littering their body, with the broken bones. Inaction by those with influence is allowing the killing of children. This is a war on children.
CHANCE (voice-over): Amid U.S. calls to protect civilians, Israel has distributed leaflets in Gaza with links to this online map, dividing the entire territory into a group. Israel says it's warning Palestinians which blocks to avoid.
"I'm asking you to look at this map carefully," this Israeli military spokesman says in Arabic, "and move from your residence as instructed."
But with unreliable Internet access, it's unclear how many Gazans will get the message.
It's unclear also now when there will be more hostages released. Mediators say talks to free more are ongoing, despite the fighting. But until there's a new pause, relief for so many families may have to wait -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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HARRAK: CNN's Melissa Bell joins us from Paris with the latest.
A very good morning, again, Melissa. Now that the fighting has resumed -- and it's now turning into an eight-week-long war -- talk to us about how the operation has expanded and what it has meant and means for the people in Gaza.
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fact is that it's expanding toward the south, Laila.
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It is the most worrying thing. You're talking about a part of Gaza where many of the 1.8 million internally displaced people have headed and are living in appalling humanitarian conditions. And that appears to be what's happening. The south of Gaza now
targeted with some of those leaflets that you've heard just mentioned, distributed in Khan Younis, urging people to leave. The trouble is, where they then go.
So that seven-day truce, of course, not only a respite from the fighting but also an opportunity to get some of that much needed aid inside the Gaza Strip.
That also has stopped as a result of the resumption of fighting. Again, those very difficult humanitarian conditions have not been alleviated anywhere near enough by the seven days of aid that was able to get in.
HARRAK: Talk to us a little bit more about the IDF, seeing that interactive map that we saw in Matthew Chance's report, which seems to be dividing the Gaza Strip into hundreds of blocks.
BELL: That's right, the IDF urging Gazans to check and see where they need to evacuate from. Again, bear in mind that, as you heard a moment ago, there's very little internet access, very difficult to see how these interactive maps can be accessed by many people.
And even when they are, where then people can go. Still, the IDF says this is about protecting civilian lives where they can. This is what the IDF spokesperson had to say.
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LT. COL. (RES.) JONATHAN CONRICUS, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: It's not an ideal situation in Gaza.
What we are doing is the best thing we can in order to disseminate the information, to get it out to Gazans and to give it to them in good enough time so that they can actually use it and it can become something that helps them make the right decision.
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BELL: That message from the IDF comes, of course, as the second day of fighting continues. Already, 178 Palestinians have died as a result of the resumption of the fighting. That seven-day truce nowhere near long enough to alleviate the suffering that was needed.
Nowhere near enough time to get humanitarian aid in that was needed. And still, those talks continuing despite everything. But for the Gazans inside, it was a very short reprieve with the needs extremely great at this stage -- Laila.
HARRAK: Melissa Bell reporting in Paris.
Thank you so much, Melissa.
And the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt emerged as a key link for humanitarian aid, especially during the truce. It's also a critical lifeline for people in Gaza who need urgent medical care. CNN's Larry Madowo reports on its importance now that the fighting has resumed.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rosa's (ph) innocent laughter as her family arrives in Egypt.
Her sister, born in Gaza during the war, too young to comprehend the horrors in her homeland.
Their mom, Rawan Madi, her leg amputated just days before she gave birth. She says they miraculously survived when a missile hit their home.
RAWAN MADI, MISSILE STRIKE VICTIM, GAZA (through translator): In just one second, the house collapsed on us. We were lying down and the ceiling was just over our heads. We were shocked. We started calling out to each other.
MADOWO (voice-over): Her leg could've been saved but doctors were overwhelmed with more serious injuries. As a family, they have lost everything but their lives.
Dozens from Gaza arrive at the Rafah crossing with critical injuries. Not everyone makes it. Sometimes they go home in body bags.
Fifth grader Yehia is learning to play Egyptian Monopoly as he recovers from a broken arm, leg and a fractured skull.
YEHIA, FIFTH GRADE STUDENT (through translator): I wasn't injured in the first strike. I was injured in the second one. I was asleep and woke up to find myself in the hospital in this state. My mother and father are injured.
MADOWO (voice-over): He doesn't know yet that both his parents were killed.
MADOWO: These Egyptian ambulances now crossing from Rafah into Gaza have brought back nearly 400 critically wounded to be treated at Egyptian hospitals.
MADOWO (voice-over): Hundreds of trucks on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing awaiting clearance to deliver much-needed aid to Gaza hours before a truce expired. It had allowed about 200 trucks in daily.
Even with the pause in fighting, getting food, fuel, water, medicines and clothes into Gaza was a painstaking process. After leaving Egypt, they go to an Israeli security check at the Nitzana crossing. Drivers say it can take up to three days to get cleared. Mahmoud (ph) has done the trip twice and is waiting in line to make his third aid delivery.
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"I am sad, annoyed and frustrated. I want to do something to help but my hands are tied (INAUDIBLE). When I see that my brothers and sisters can't find food or water, I feel life is worthless." But at Egypt's El Arish airport, planeloads of donations are flowing
in, day and night, turning this military facility into a humanitarian hub.
MADOWO: We just saw this Qatari military transport aircraft coming in. When we got here, there was an aircraft from Singapore, another one from the European Union, all bringing essential aid as the world surges humanitarian supplies to Gaza.
MADOWO (voice-over): The U.N. says all this is still a drop in the ocean and with the uncertainty of the truce, barely anything is going in -- Larry Madowo, CNN, Rafah, Egypt.
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HARRAK: Earlier, I spoke to Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at The Soufan Group. And he said we shouldn't tolerate a massive amount of civilian deaths and continued loss of life in Gaza as this war enters the next phase.
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COLIN CLARKE, DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND RESEARCH, THE SOUFAN GROUP: As an international community, there needs to be more pressure on Israel to rein that in. The United States is working to pressure the Israelis. It's not really working.
But as to what phase this is, we're now entering a different phase where fighting is going to be concentrated primarily in the south. The Israelis are going to be looking for Hamas high value targets. It's going to be some more intense urban counterinsurgency warfare. And I think we're in for some bloody fighting ahead.
HARRAK: Now Israel's the stated objective remains the eradication of Hamas but it's also, at the same time negotiating with Hamas for the release of hostages, albeit indirectly.
What does that mean for the end game of this war?
And will they have to continue to talk to Hamas?
And how are they squaring that?
CLARKE: It's not entirely uncommon in a conflict like this to have what we would call fight and talk. These kinds of talks ebb and flow. There's progress, then progress stops. And so both sides continue to wage war throughout.
In terms of an end game, I think, that something I would like to hear more of, particularly from the major players involved, the Israelis but also the Palestinian Authority, regional players.
What does a political settlement look like?
What does a negotiated settlement look like?
I think just focusing on the military phase of this conflict is myopic and quite shortsighted.
HARRAK: Let's talk about that, because I think what we understand is that Israel hopes to create buffer zones to prevent any repeat of the October 7th attacks.
Would these buffer zones guarantee safety?
CLARKE: No, of course, not, nothing can guarantee safety. Even a totally asymmetric advantage with the Israelis in terms of conventional military forces, they've got that. They had a buffer zone, they had a border, they had soldiers guarding the border.
But look, this is a long-standing conflict. Hamas is a terrorist group, supported by Iran with training, with weaponry, with expertise. So this is not something that's going to go away.
Again, unless there's some kind of political settlement at some point, we're going to be looking at this kind of a scenario ad infinitum, as we have been, right?
This is just the latest in iteration of fighting between Hamas and Israel or Israel and various Palestinian groups.
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HARRAK: World leaders at the COP28 summit clash over fossil fuels as they look to curb the global climate crisis. Why some countries are at increased risk. A live report from Dubai just ahead.
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HARRAK: World leaders are gathering for the second day of the U.N. World Climate Action Summit in Dubai. Governments are expected to unveil a slew of new provinces focused on green energy, including plans to triple renewable energy capacity and rein in methane emissions.
On Friday, E.U. chief Ursula van der Leyen said more than 110 countries agreed to triple renewable energy by the year 2030, joining early adopters that agreed to the plan last spring.
And the head of the International Rescue Committee is urging COP28 leaders to deliver what he calls action, action, action. David Miliband warns that climate change is putting some of the world's poorest nations at massive risk. And our David McKenzie joins us now live from Dubai.
Good to have you back, David. The global climate talks got off to a controversial start.
But what are some of the big stories coming out COP right now?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The big story is that there is a little bit of hope and certainly a lot of pressure to get concrete action on the phasing out of fossil fuels, particularly coal, gas and oil.
But whether they can actually iron out the differences, the very significant differences between countries here, remains to be seen. At the outset of the high level days of this conference, the U.N. secretary general put it in very stark terms.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: We cannot save a burning planet with a fire hose of fossil fuels. We must accelerate a just, equitable transition to renewables. The science is clear. The 1.5- degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning our fossil fuels, not reduce, not abate.
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MCKENZIE: Well, here are the terrible facts, Laila. The world is on track for significantly more warming than the Paris agreements agreed to or aspired to get to in 2015.
While there are commitments to cut emissions, there is record gas production and gas exploration -- oil and gas, that is, across the world. And it's that disconnect between what people are saying and what actions they are doing on the world stage.
Of course, the COP28 is hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a significant oil and gas player. Some have pointed to the deep irony of that. But they say -- and the president of COP says that they need to be part of the solutions when it comes to negotiating what the world does about the climate crisis.
HARRAK: And David, how is the war in Gaza impacting the meeting where you are?
MCKENZIE: Certainly, it's a backdrop to a lot of the discussions here on the early hours of the leaders' summit. Several leaders criticized Israel heavily, particularly Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the -- President Erdogan of Turkiye and others. It has impacted it.
But I think what climate activists are saying and even scientists is that there are unfortunately going to be crises that face the world on a regular basis. Last, year at the COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, the dominant conversation other than climate was the war in Ukraine.
There is a hope from some diplomats at least is that, whatever the very real crises the world faces, that climate change at least can be a topic, that there can be common ground across nations, because, in many ways, it's the ultimate crisis that we face.
HARRAK: David McKenzie reporting from Dubai. Thank you so much.
And Ukraine takes stock of the battlefield situation amid signs its war with Russia has no clear end in sight.
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HARRAK: Still ahead, a somber assessment from Ukraine's top general and a message to the West about why it should not walk away from Kyiv.
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HARRAK: A Ukrainian defense source says his country is behind two sabotage operations in Russia, thousands of kilometers from Ukraine itself. Its security service reportedly planted explosives that hit two cargo trains in the Buryatia region.
The source said the goal was to disable the main railroad between Russia and China, which is reportedly used for military logistics. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, while Russia has acknowledged only one explosion without blaming anyone.
Russia is also boosting the size of its army by some 15 percent. The Kremlin says president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that will add 170,000 new troops. Russia says it's necessary in part because of NATO's expansion. As Anna Coren reports, Ukraine's top general has issued a blunt assessment about a long fight ahead.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a harsh winter begins to set in, Ukraine's war is becoming more difficult, painful and exhausting as this conflict grinds toward the end of its second year.
A stalemate is how General Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, labeled the war, making international headlines while upsetting President Zelenskyy, who projects a far more upbeat assessment.
But in a rare interview, a Zaluzhnyi senior adviser, General Nazarov, tells me his boss stands by those controversial comments.
COREN: General Zaluzhnyi was just giving an honest assessment of the war, which was a wake-up call, I think, to the West.
GEN. VIKTOR NAZAROV, SENIOR ADVISER TO UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES COMMANDER: Yes, I agree with you. It was some kind of message and some kind of alarm signal to -- for some politicians and for Western society. But we are ready to fight this, our enemy. But we need help, we need support.
COREN (voice-over): Equipment is what Ukraine desperately needs -- artillery pieces, ammunition, long-range missile systems, specifically ATACMs, drones, electronic warfare and air defense systems.
Last weekend, Kyiv experienced how vital those air defense systems are at protecting the population when Russia launched what local officials called an unprecedented number of attack drones on the capital.
The general fears if Ukraine doesn't receive advanced weaponry, his country faces a very difficult 2024.
COREN: General, is there one specific weapon that would be a game- changer in this war?
NAZAROV: I don't think so. But importance of F-16 is the -- I believe that will help us to change the situation concerning the Russian air superiority on the front line.
COREN (voice-over): The problem, however, is that Ukraine needs those F-16s now, not in spring of next year when they're due to arrive. But Russia is stepping up its military production on an industrial scale.
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General Nazarov's biggest fear is whether the West has the patience for what is turning out to be a much longer war.
COREN: There are concerns that the West is losing interest in this war and the support is waning, especially in the U.S. amongst Republicans.
What is your message to those Republicans?
NAZAROV: American support is vital for Ukraine, real vital. It's very important for us. What I want to say to Republicans, we need to understand that now we have a problem to conduct this war.
But if we don't manage to win this war, in future we'll have more problems not only for our country, for my country, for our populations, but only for Europe as a whole. It will be a problem for United States also.
COREN (voice-over): Anna Coren, CNN, Kyiv.
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HARRAK: With the help of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, South Korea has launched its first ever spy satellite into orbit just days after North Korea launched its own spy satellite. Friday morning's launch at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was deemed a success by the South Korea defense ministry.
This is the first of five spy satellites South Korea has contracted SpaceX to launch by 2025 with the goal of having 24 hour surveillance of the Korean Peninsula.
And Europe's tallest and most active volcano erupted Friday night. Italy's Mount Etna can be seen lighting up the night sky. Its plume of ash covered several towns in Sicily. Red hot lava flowed and loud explosions were heard. Mount Etna last erupted in August, causing the closure of the Catania
airport. But no disruption of air services is expected this time around. Etna's eruptions usually cause little damage.
Now it is a rare find and now a book owned by the late British author Jane Austen is up for sale. Sotheby's in New York is auctioning a copy of "Curiosities of Literature" by Isaac D'Israeli. It is one of 20 books Austen is known to have owned during her lifetime.
Her signature is on the title page and the collection of essays includes passages Austen is believed to have underlined, which relate to topics she wrote about. The book has been privately owned since the 1940s. It's expected to fetch up to $150,000. Bidding opens on December 7th.
So get in there.
Thank you so much for spending time with us. I'm Laila Harrak. "Mission Tiger" is up next and then more CNN NEWSROOM in about 30 minutes' time with my colleague, Kim Brunhuber.
