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CNN International: Israel Pushing Deeper Into Southern Gaza; Reports Of Fierce Fighting In Khan Younis; U.N. Says 85 Percent Of Gaza Residents Have Been Displaced. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 11, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:20]

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, Israeli forces push further south, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza. Plus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to the U.S. this week and meet U.S. President Joe Biden. With Congress still stalled on aid, will it be enough to tip the balance?

And then China, and the Philippines lock horns over what both countries are calling dangerous incidents in the South China Sea. The latest from Beijing just ahead.

The 2.3 million people who live in Gaza are being crammed into tighter and tighter spaces as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas. UN officials say 85 percent of Gaza's population has been forced from their homes, and they are now living in hellish conditions. This was the scene on the streets of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, as gunfire rang out over the weekend. Israel issued another urgent appeal for people there to evacuate.

Let's go straight to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. He is near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, speaking to an aid worker a couple of days ago, and he was basically having people go up to him saying, where should we go? I mean, this is the situation. Isn't it? They're being asked to move but there is nowhere to go particularly.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And the situation on the ground is growing increasingly desperate, whether you listen to doctors on the ground or international humanitarian organizations, the Secretary General of the United Nations, all of them warning that the situation is growing more dire by the day, and that is in part, because even as Israeli forces are making more efforts to direct civilians to evacuate from areas that are going to be the scenes of heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas, many of these civilians either don't have the ability to move to where they're being told to go, or when they do get to where they're told to go, what they are finding is areas where the shelters are overcrowded. They are under resource. Thousands of people flooding in daily to the city of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

And not only are they facing a lack of resources there, but they are also still facing bombing from the Israeli Military in that area as well. We have seen as there have been efforts to ramp up the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza as well. Israeli officials days ago said that they would open up the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, which also has a gate to go from Egypt into Israel for the inspection, at least of humanitarian aid trucks, the security inspection, that would double the capacity of the Israelis to inspect the trucks which they inspect before they go into Gaza. We were expecting that that crossing might open today. But, it appears not to be the case, in part because Egyptian officials were clearing that Rafah crossing for a VIP visit into Gaza today. So, some questions about when exactly that will open.

But, the United States, for its part, is continuing to pressure the Israeli government to do more to not only open up those humanitarian aid routes and deconfliction times with humanitarian aid agencies to allow for the flow of goods, but also to do more to protect civilians. And even the Secretary of State Tony Blinken saying that even as he believes that Israel has the intent to protect civilians, that there is still a big gap between that intent and what's actually happening on the ground.

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond in Sderot, thank you for that.

Now, the war in Gaza is taking center stage at an important international forum right now in Doha, Qatar. Qatari officials who brokered a recent truce and hostage release are pressing for another pause in the fighting. They say they're not optimistic.

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MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN HASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: It always takes two parties to be willing to such an engagement. Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And the Palestinian Prime Minister suggests that Israel's goal of eradicating Hamas isn't realistic.

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MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think it's very important that we should all realize that Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian political mosaic. And therefore, for Israel to claim that they are going to eradicate, eliminate Hamas, I think this is something that is totally -- it's -- first of all, it's not going to happen and totally is not acceptable to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: General strikes have been declared in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan today in support of Gaza.

[08:05:00] In East Jerusalem, shops are closed, and streets and alleyways are virtually empty. It's a similar scene in Jordan and the occupied West Bank, which has also shut down public transport. And in Lebanon, according to the National News Agency, government institutions and schools are closed.

Now, Ukraine says its air defenses destroyed eight ballistic missiles launched by Russia towards Kyiv. An all clear has been issued for the city after air raid sirens went off earlier on Monday morning. Authorities say falling rocket fragments caused a fire at an unfinished building. So far, at least four injuries have been reported but no deaths.

Ukraine's President heading to the U.S. this week, his third trip to Washington since Russia invaded his country nearly two years ago. A statement from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office says he'll meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday about "further defense cooperation". His visit comes at a critical moment, as negotiations over billions of dollars in additional aid for Ukraine's war effort remain stalled in the U.S. Congress.

Donald Trump has been there, done that, and he is not coming back. The former U.S. President posted on social media he will not testify in his civil fraud case, saying he has testified already and has nothing more to say. He was scheduled to take the stand later this morning. Trump and his sons are accused of falsifying financial documents to get better terms on loans. They risk losing their rights to do business in New York State. The trial therefore resumes on Tuesday.

There is a fierce debate across American universities about where free speech ends and antisemitism begins. Three of the country's most prestigious schools are at the epicenter of that debate, Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. U.S. lawmakers grilled their leaders last week. And as you may recall, things didn't go very well for them. So bad in fact that Penn's President has already resigned this weekend. However, at Harvard, some 600 faculty members signed a petition to resist the calls for its president to step down, and MIT's governing board vows to stand behind its school's president.

CNN Jason Carroll joins us from Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard and MIT, and these are very well known around the world. It does - many people asking the question, how can MIT and Harvard's presidents stay when Penn's was forced out?

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, that is the question that some folks here at Harvard are raising, some of the people that we've spoken to. It's very clear to them that even though we heard apologies from Harvard President Claudine Gay after she made those remarks as just -- after she testified to Congress last week, that the apology simply was not enough.

The feeling after speaking to a number of students here on campus here at Harvard is that while you have some people who say, look, this is a woman who should step aside, there are some who say she should be allowed to stay. And that is a decision they say that should be made not by outside forces, not by politicians, not by the media, and not by critics. But, that's a decision that should remain within the university. So, that's just sort of the back and forth that we're getting here.

What's also interesting, Max, is how many people we spoke to who didn't want to talk about this subject matter at all. It's not that they didn't have an opinion about the subject matter. But, the feeling was that no matter what you say, it's going to be taken in the wrong way, or no matter what you say, it's going to hurt someone on the other side. And so, that was fascinating as well, how many people had opinions, but just didn't feel like this was the environment that they were able to express it.

FOSTER: All three of them, obviously, very accomplished people, are very -- at the top of their professions. They got -- they made a real mess, didn't they, during that hearing. Can you just explain to people what this argument was about freedom of speech that they used to defend themselves in what they said?

CARROLL: Well, what it came down to -- right, what it came down to was during the line of questioning during this congressional hearing, where you have these three presidents seated there, and the line of questioning had to do with calling for the genocide of Jews and whether or not doing that violated university's policies about free speech, about harassment. And the answer that these presidents gave, basically, was legal speak, rather than a declarative statement saying that type of statement about the genocide of Jews is wrong. And that's what caused this uproar. That's why all three of these presidents were widely criticized, not only domestically here in the United States, but around the world.

[08:10:00]

And when you think about these, that these are the three of the most prestigious universities in the United States, you can see why so many people were taken aback by those comments. Again, you had apologies by all three of these university presidents, one forced to resign over the weekend. And now, folks are looking at the president of MIT and Harvard and thinking what will be next. MIT for its part came out in support of its president. Harvard's board of governors had a regularly scheduled meeting yesterday. They're having another regularly scheduled meeting today, waiting to see if they will come out with some sort of statement about Harvard's president.

FOSTER: OK. Jason, thank you for explaining all of that. Thank you.

In the U.S. state of Tennessee, at least six people are dead and dozens more injured after multiple tornadoes and strong thunderstorms tore through the state over the weekend. One tornado hit Madison, nearby Hendersonville, with peak winds of 125 miles an hour, according to a preliminary survey by the weather service, and another tornado devastated Clarksville over, an 11-mile path where officials say nearly 100 military families lost their homes.

The Philippine government has summoned China's Ambassador over what it says were aggressive actions in the South China Sea. A spokesman said that China's Coast Guard shot a water cannon at Philippine boats. The Philippines is one of several countries at odds with China over who has control of the area. Steven Jiang has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: The two governments, and surprisingly, blamed each other as the culprit for the latest incidents over the weekend. But, the root cause, of course, is this long-running territorial dispute between Beijing and many of its neighbors, including the Philippines, because China claimed sovereignty over almost the entirety of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea. But, there are strategic and tactical reasons why we are hearing more about these dramatic encounters, because the Philippine government under President Marcos has been increasingly publicizing them, obviously trying to draw global attention to but also presumably more international support for the Philippines because they do have that sense of urgency.

Part of what the Philippines has done was back in 1999, they deliberately ran ashore a World War Two era vessel on the Second Thomas Shoal that's part of the Spratly's to stake its claim. And ever since then, they have been that ship as a military outpost, and mostly able to rotate their Marines in and out and resupplying it with civilian ships. But, that has changed since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took power with China's foreign policy and military operations in the region becoming more assertive, and some will say more aggressive.

Now, with the Filipino ship being so old that they need to urgently repair it. Otherwise, the fear is it's going to be rusting away and being washed away by waters, and that would allow the Chinese to just swoop in and take control of that reef, and potentially militarizing it as they have done too many other previously uninhabited reefs and islands in the South China Sea. That's why strategically President Marcos has been deepening and broadening cooperation with the U.S. Military by giving additional access to Filipino bases to the U.S. Military and also restarting joint air and sea patrols with the U.S.

And all of that, of course, in the eyes of the Beijing, is the Philippines doing the U.S. bidding to stir troubles in the region to challenge China's interests and the supremacy in the region. That's why the U.S. is very much seen as part of this growing saga despite the recent thaw in U.S.-China relations. So, that's why these latest incidents are worrisome to many analysts because it doesn't really bode well for where the situation is headed with regional and global implications. Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: As the COP28 climate summit comes to a close, officials are warning that progress isn't coming fast enough. The President of the Climate Change Conference says major divisions remain over whether or not fossil fuels should be phased out. If so, how and at what pace? With the conference due to end on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says in general or in order for the summit to be considered a success, an agreement about fossil fuels must be made.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones now back on X, formerly known as Twitter. The move comes after X owner Elon Musk asked users in an unscientific poll over the weekend, is Jones' account should be restored. 70 percent of people said, yes. Jones was banned from Twitter in 2018 by its previous owners -- under its previous owners for repeatedly breaking rules, prohibiting harassment and hate.

Now, still to come, brand new polls in a hypothetical match between Biden and Trump, this presumed Republican presidential candidate ahead in the two critical states, or the presumed candidate, rather. We will tell you who is on top when we return.

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FOSTER: Now, the race for the White House. We have brand new CNN polling that shows President Joe Biden trailing Donald Trump. That's in two crucial battleground states that the President won in the last election. In Georgia, a hypothetical rematch between Trump leading Biden 49 percent to 44 percent. In Michigan, Trump leads 50 percent to 40 percent of unregistered voters.

CNNS Political Director David Chalian joins us now from Washington. Not welcome reading, I'm sure, in the White House.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Certainly not, Max. There is no doubt about it. You noted, these are not only the two battleground states that President Biden won three years ago. They are two of the five states he flipped from red to blue. These were in Donald Trump's corner in 2016 and Joe Biden flipped them, and they were part of what delivered him to the White House. To see him now losing to Donald Trump in the states is obviously a real warning sign. I would note that the Biden campaign believes that we're 11 months away. That is true. And that over the course of this next year, they are going to define such a clear contrast between him and Donald Trump, that that will alone rally the Democratic troops to his side. But, that is starting a reelection campaign from a position of weakness, not one of strength.

FOSTER: So many issues, of course, coming up in this, but the economy is the one consistent issue that often swings it for U.S. presidents, indeed other world leaders as well. Where does Biden stand on the economy?

CHALIAN: So, take a look here. We asked in our Georgia poll, we asked in both states, but I'll show you the results here from Georgia, about whether or not voters think that economic conditions have worsened under Joe Biden or if they've gotten better. And what you see is a -- this is not the right graphic, but if you were to look at the economy findings, you would see a majority of Georgia voters say that the economy has gotten worse under Joe Biden's policies. 54 percent say that the economy has worsened. And by the way, in Michigan, that number is 56 percent. So, clear majorities in these two battleground states on what is the most important issue, say Joe Biden has made things worse, not better. FOSTER: And in terms of how engaged the public is on this, is it --

are we at that point in the process where people are getting really involved, or is it quite -- is this part of the commentary in the media as opposed to what people are engaged with? When do you expect that process to play out?

CHALIAN: Yes, a little more the latter. There is no doubt. We've got lots and lots of time before the full electric gets engaged. But, we do see in these battleground state polls that Republicans have an enthusiasm advantage right now over Democrats.

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So, among Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters, they express more motivation and enthusiasm to vote in 2024 than do Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents right now. That's another mission for the Biden team. They're going to have to close that enthusiasm gap as the electorate becomes more engaged throughout the next year, Max.

FOSTER: OK. David, as ever, thank you so much for joining us.

CHALIAN: Thank you. Take care.

FOSTER: Still ahead, polls in Egypt don't close until Tuesday night, but all signs are pointing to another win for incumbent President El- Sisi, as he tries for an unprecedented third term in power.

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FOSTER: Argentina's new president is promising that his inauguration marks the start of a new era for the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAVIER MILEI, ARGENTINA PRESIDENT (Translated): We do not seek nor do we want the hard decisions that will need to be taken in the coming weeks, but unfortunately we have been left with no choice. However, our commitment to Argentines is unchangeable. We are going to make all the necessary decisions to fix the problem caused by 100 years of waste by the political class, even if it is going to be hard at first. If a country is lacking in reputation, as is unfortunately the case with Argentina, businesses will not invest until they see a fiscal readjustment. And no less important for gradualism is it necessary that there is financing, and unfortunately, I have to tell you again that there is no money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the world is watching to see how he addresses an economic crisis of epic proportions. President Milei claims no government has ever received a worse inheritance.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more on the ceremony and Mr. Milei's approach to the presidency.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Argentina has a colorful and controversial new President. For much of his candidacy, Javier Milei seemed like the longest of long shots. His brash style has been compared to that of Donald Trump's. He calls himself an anarcho- capitalist, and he campaigned with a chainsaw, a symbol of the slashing cuts he said he wanted to make to Argentina's bloated bureaucracy. But, Milei also was able to tap into the deep anger that many Argentines feel to the previous leftist administrations that governed Argentina, and have brought it to the brink of financial collapse.

Milei has thrown out many radical ideas that he said he would adopt as President, including adopting the U.S. Dollar as a national currency, reducing the number of ministries that the Argentine government has, and upending many of the relationships that Argentina has with countries in the region and around the world, and that perhaps why we saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Argentina for Milei's swearing in. It remains to be seen though how much of this Milei will actually be able to get done? His coalition does not control Argentina's Congress, which means it's going to be an uphill battle for getting many of these sweeping reforms adopted, and it may turn out that while it was politically successful for Milei to campaign as a radical outsider, governing as one, maybe much more difficult.

[08:25:00]

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: This is the second day of voting in Egypt's presidential election where Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is widely expected to solidify his grip on power. The incumbent President is going for an unprecedented third term after a change in Egypt's constitution permitting it, and critics are calling the poll a sham. If Sisi wins, he will continue to face calls for economic reform as well as attempt to navigate the war in neighboring Gaza. Results expected on December the 18th.

This is winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Narges Mohammadi, describes herself as one of the millions of resilient Iranian women who have risen up against oppression, repression, discrimination and tyranny. That's part of the acceptance speech the Iranian activist wrote from her prison cell in Tehran. Mohammadi was awarded the prize back in October, but on Sunday, her children accepted it on her behalf and read her speech aloud.

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ALI RAHMANI, SON OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE NARGES MOHAMMADI (Translated): I'm confident that the light to freedom and justice will shine brightly on the land of Iran. At that moment, we will celebrate the victory of democracy and human rights over tyranny and authoritarianism. The anthem of the people's triumph on the streets of Iran will resonate worldwide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Mohammadi has been sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison in Iran for her decades of human rights activism.

Well, thanks for joining us here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is up next.

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