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Ukrainians Face Winter at War; Netanyahu Says Mistaken Hostage Killings an "Unbearable Tragedy"; Palestinians Accuse Israeli Forces of Abuse in Detention; Arizona Governor Deploys National Guard to Southern Border; Rudy Giuliani Ordered to Pay Nearly $150 Million in Defamation Case. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired December 16, 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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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world, I'm Kristie Lu Stout.
Ahead, outrage in Israel after Israeli forces mistakenly kill three hostages in Gaza. Now families of Israelis still held captive by Hamas are renewing their desperate calls for more to be done to bring their loved one's home.
Plus, Ukrainians are facing another winter at war as another major batch of foreign aid gets put on hold.
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STOUT: We begin with grief and outrage in Israel, after the Israeli military says it mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza, after misidentifying them as a threat. Several dozen protesters gathered on the streets of Tel Aviv Friday night.
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STOUT (voice-over): The crowd chanted, "Everyone now," demanding the government take immediate action to bring the remaining hostages home safely.
The IDF has identified the three Israeli civilians it killed in northern Gaza. All three were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th terror attacks. The White House says the deaths of three Israeli hostages during a combat mission are, quote, "heartbreaking." The U.S. National Security Council spokesperson explains what officials might be able to glean from the incident about where the hostages are being held in Gaza.
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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Hamas is probably holding them in various groups, not all together, certainly putting them in harm's way, willingly putting them in harm's way and potentially in crossfire.
Again without speaking specifically this event, Hamas absolutely wants to hide behind innocent humans, including hostages. So it is a reminder. It underscores the very difficult challenge that the Israeli Defense Forces have before them, as they go after these leaders of Hamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: CNN's Melissa Bell is following all of the developments from Paris.
Melissa, a very grim development. Three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops.
What happened, what led to this?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The very details of what went on have not been released. What we are told by Israeli officials is that the investigation is just getting underway.
To exactly what went on, we understand that checks were going on, searches going on in northern Gaza, when these three Israeli hostages were mistaken for a threat. All three had been kidnapped from kibbutzes on October 7th.
Now the IDF says that it is taking extra precautionary steps whenever it encounters civilians on the streets of Gaza.
A huge tragedy for Israel, especially at a time when these families have watched other hostages get released during that humanitarian pause. They were waiting for the men. Some of the Israeli men who had been taken hostage got out. None of these, so far, have made it out.
Even as we await the next pause, it is tragic news for the families of these three men that will not be coming home at all.
STOUT: Melissa, after this huge tragedy, families, friends, supporters of the hostages rallied in Tel Aviv.
What kind of pressure they applying on the government?
BELL: Bear in mind, cast your mind back to the start of the conflict. This group of families of the hostages have been extremely vocal, speaking of their anger directly to Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the cabinet.
Regularly making their pleas for their loved ones to come home, being very vocal in their criticism of the way Israel has conducted attempts to bring their loved ones back.
This terrible tragedy described by Benjamin Netanyahu as a terrible tragedy. Of course, an unbearable tragedy. Of course, reminds them and brings them back out onto the streets because the language that we have heard so vocally expressed over the past few weeks.
Now this terrible blunder, chanting as they did on the streets of Tel Aviv, "Everyone home."
There is huge anger among the families and parts of Israeli society.
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BELL: That more has not been done to bring these people home. Of course, this adds an extra layer of grief and outrage to that.
STOUT: In the wake of the grief and the outrage, after the deaths of these hostages, will Israel, as urged by the U.S., as we heard from Jake Sullivan on Friday, move toward the next phase, the precise targeting of Hamas leaders?
BELL: We have no indication of any timeframe for that. Simply the fairly vague words from Jake Sullivan after he emerged from meetings with the head of Mossad and Israeli leaders of the war cabinet, that there was agreement that this should be a war carried out in phases.
Israel had been clear about. That the U.S. is now urging that the next phase of the war should move on to something much more targeted, through intelligence, targeting Hamas leaders or those they want to kill.
Rather than the bombings that we have seen since the start of the war, in the aftermath of October 7. This will certainly add to pressure on the Israeli government, that the nature of their strikes is different.
The caution with which they go into the Gaza Strip changes and ratchets it up a notch. Certainly this is a reminder, of just how delicate of a balance they are trying to strike. Going in with an iron fist and trying to get to Hamas forcefully as they are, with all of the dangers that involves.
Not the least to the danger of the lives of the hostages themselves.
STOUT: Melissa Bell reporting live in Paris, thank you.
Among those taking part in demonstrations in Tel Aviv on Friday was Udi Goren. His cousin was taken captive on October the 7th and was killed by Hamas in Gaza. I spoke with him in the last hour about the mistaken killing of the three Israeli hostages.
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UDI GOREN, COUSIN OF HAMAS VICTIM: Last night was the worst reminder of what we have been saying for over 2.5 months: the ground invasion is killing the hostages.
We did not mean it this way but this is the way it turned out in the most literal sense. Two days ago or three days ago, we received notice that my cousin is confirmed dead. He is still a hostage but now his body is being held by Hamas. We know that.
I thought, after 2.5 months, of just being 24/7 in the struggle, I would just take the weekend off to grieve with my family, stay at home, stay with my little daughter and find some solace in this catastrophe.
And then, in the evening, I was already in bed, in my pajamas, when I heard this. And just imagine a mother, who has been waiting for her child for over 70 days. She heard that he was on his way to freedom. He could have been in Israel last night.
And instead, he was shot dead. We do not blame the military or the soldiers. They are in an impossible situation. But this is not a sad event, this is not. This is a catastrophe of a colossal magnitude.
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STOUT: That was Udi Goren, speaking to us earlier.
Some Palestinian civilian men and boys are revealing allegations of abuse, torture and humiliating treatment while being detained by Israeli forces. The Israeli military denies those claims. Jeremy Diamond has the story.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bruised, lacerated and swollen, these are the hands of Nimir Abu Raz (ph) after he was detained for five days by Israeli forces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These are from the plastic wires. We were handcuffed behind our backs.
DIAMOND: His wounds are not unique in this corner of Gaza's Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Here, six boys and four men, their hands numbered with red marker, were being treated hours after Israeli forces released them without charge.
Mahmoud is just 14 years old.
MAHMOUD ZENDAH, 14, ISRAELI MILITARY DETAINEE (through translator): This is from the boots.
DIAMOND: He and his father were detained by Israeli soldiers in the Al Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City where the Israeli military has been engaged in heavy fighting.
ZENDAH: They would tie your hands behind your back. Depending on the mood of one of them, they would come quick you with their boots. I didn't do anything to him. He just decided to come and kick me.
DIAMOND: Mahmoud and his father are among hundreds of Palestinian boys and men, many of them identified by their relatives or employers as civilians, who have been blindfolded, stripped and detained over the last week.
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MOHAMMED ODEH, 16, ISRAELI MILITARY DETAINEE (through translator): They put us on the floor and put their feet on our heads. They would ask, are you Hamas and beat us. When we wanted to sleep, we couldn't because it was so cold. When we asked for something to wear or cover ourselves with, they would beat us.
DIAMOND: The 10 boys and men who spoke to CNN described nearly identical accounts of abuse. Several said they were not allowed to go to the bathroom, made to sleep on grains of rice on the floor and given little to no food or water.
A day after he arrived at the hospital, 40-year-old Mahmoud Azlin (ph) can barely stand. His relatives say he's diabetic and had no access to insulin during his five-day detention.
DR. KHALIL AL DAQRAN, SPOKESPERSON, AL-AQSA MARTYRS HOSPITAL (through translator): All arrived psychologically and physically exhausted. There were signs of torture in the arms and signs off beatings all over their bodies.
DIAMOND: In a statement, the Israeli military said it was detaining individuals expected of involvement in terrorist activity and those who are found not to be taken part in terrorist activities are released.
The IDF said the individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law and it strives to treat any detainee with dignity. Any incident with which the guidelines were not followed will be looked into.
A spokesman for the Israeli military declined to address specific allegations of mistreatment or provide an explanation for the detention of the 10 boys and men interviewed by CNN.
OMAR SHAKIR, ISRAEL AND PALESTINE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: International law is quite clear that you can only detain civilians when absolutely necessary for imperative reasons of security.
Whether the detention is of a civilian or a combatant, the law protects those in detention and custody against degrading and humiliating treatment and outrageous and personal dignity.
DIAMOND: For 14-year-old Ahmad, the trauma is not just physical.
AHMAD NIMER SAIMAN ABU RAS, 14, ISRAELI MILITARY DETAINEE (through translator): I don't want to speak. I'm afraid.
CNN: What are you afraid of?
SAIMAN: I'm scared of the Israelis. I don't want them to do something to us.
DIAMOND: With his father's permission, he adds his story to the allegations of abuse -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, near the Israel-Gaza border.
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STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, another major batch of aid for Ukraine has been put on hold. Kyiv faces a tough winter in its war with Russia. And now Ukrainian troops in the trenches start to feel the impact. That story straight ahead.
Also, new concerns for the jailed Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, as we get an alarming new update from his spokesperson.
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STOUT: Welcome back.
Ukraine says it has largely foiled a barrage of Russian drones fired overnight. Ukrainian air force says it shot down at least 30 drones that went after targets across the country, including Kyiv. Only one Russian drone may have gotten through, according to the statement.
Officials say drone debris crashed down in Kherson, damaging two buildings and causing a fire. So far, there are no injuries. Reports came after Russia claimed it destroyed more than 30 Ukrainian drones over Crimea on Friday night.
Ukraine is fighting political headwinds to keep foreign aid for its war efforts. Coming on Friday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban blocked the next batch of E.U. military aid worth $55 billion. That happened after an even bigger U.S. aid package became stalled in Congress. Because of that, Ukraine's will to fight is taking a hit. Nick Paton Walsh reports.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Even if U.S. and E.U. billions do end up finding their way to Ukraine, the damage of this delay on both parts has been to Ukrainian morale. This has been a ghastly summer for Ukrainian troops, trying to prosecute a counteroffensive that hasn't had the success they wanted.
Now they face a winter where their invigorated Russia, using everything they possibly can -- Drones, prisoners -- to attack their positions. But no longer, do they feel that the pretty much the West unified has their back.
That is essentially the big change this week. I think it will slowly deteriorate Ukraine's readiness here. It is going to be a very difficult winter. But it is going to be, frankly, impossible to continue their defense, if the U.S. and E.U. money dries up.
One medic I spoke to, who had lost a friend in the last month, he said to me, without this aid, we are finished.
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STOUT: There are fears the jailed Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been moved to a distant penal colony. A spokesperson tells CNN that they can no longer find him in any Moscow's prisons.
This is not the first time Navalny has gone missing but it has never been for this long. It will now be more than 10 days since they have had any information about him.
The spokesperson says that he could be isolated and, quote, "all alone in the hands of people who once tried to kill him."
The prominent Kremlin critic had his sentence extended by another 19 years in August, a move his team says is politically motivated.
As the surge of migrants overwhelm local law enforcement at points of entry at the southern U.S. border. what the governor of Arizona is doing to handle the crisis. We got a report from one southern border town, after the break.
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STOUT: Welcome back.
The growing migrant crisis along the southern U.S. border has prompted the governor of Arizona to mobilize the National Guard to the region. The governor is also urging President Biden to reopen some points of entry that were closed, because workers have been reassigned to take migrants into custody.
Rosa Flores reports from one Arizona border town.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jason Owens, the U.S. border Patrol chief, says his agency is overwhelmed by the unprecedented migrant surge with thousands of people entering the U.S. illegally every day.
One hot spot, Lukeville, Arizona, where Maida (ph) and her three children from Ecuador waited in the cold overnight to be transported for immigration processing.
JASON OWENS, THE U.S. BORDER PATROL CHIEF: It's the border being exploited by the criminal elements, the transnational criminal organizations.
FLORES: Owens says some border patrol facilities are 200 to 300 percent overcapacity with about 20,000 migrants in custody. The federal government has temporarily closed three ports of industry -- Eagle Pass, Texas; Lukeville, Arizona and a pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro, California, interrupting lawful trade and travel.
OWENS: It's frustrating for all of us. FLORES: Owens says several dozens employees at the crossings have been reassigned to process migrants.
GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D-AZ): That's certainly not the right response.
FLORES: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to use the National Guard to reopen the Lukeville crossing.
HOBBS: The tourism is being greatly impacted in Rocky Point.
FLORES: Rocky Point is a resort town on Mexico's Sea of Cortez, where many Americans own investment property like Bo Ruelcava (ph) from Utah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's only our source of income.
FLORES: He owns seven vacation properties and says he has lost $35,000 in cancelled reservations since the Lukeville crossing closed. It's how Americans access the beach town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me very upset because I feel like our leaders are failing us.
She said that it's on TikTok, that it's on Facebook, that the border is open.
Apparent misinformation fueling the flow.
What's the backup in Lukeville?
OWENS: It's a very remote location.
FLORES: Owens says the cartels have dropped off thousands of migrants in the rugged Arizona desert, creating a logistical nightmare for agents.
OWENS: And while we're doing that, we can't be out on patrol. So guess what the cartels and smugglers are doing?
They're using that opportunity to cross other things.
FLORES: Like fentanyl, cash and criminals, he says. Apprehensions of people on the terrorist watch list have spiked, 15 in fiscal year 2021, 169 in fiscal 2023.
OWENS: These are the things that keep us up at night. There is nothing that crosses our borders illicitly that's not in the control of TCO and the cartels.
FLORES: Scary thought.
OWENS: It's very scary.
FLORES: Owens says the only things scarier are the gotaways, the people detected on the border but not apprehended. There's been more than 1.1 million since 2019.
OWENS: They're making millions, tens of millions of a week.
FLORES: A few after hours after talking to Chief Owens on this boat ramp, an apparent coyote used the same ramp to smuggle a man into Laredo, Texas.
OWENS: These folks probably are the ones that have the criminal histories, that are coming in with bad intent.
FLORES: I asked the U.S. Border Patrol chief what he needs to keep the border safe. Take a look at this wide shot of the scene. You see the Arizona desert, the border wall and Mexico on the other side. Owens says he needs technology, infrastructure and more border patrol agents.
In the past few days, there's been a steady flow of migrants walking down this path. Let me show you how they get into the U.S. smugglers on the Mexican side cut the border wall. Then on the U.S. side, you see these white markings, these are repairs to the border wall. These pieces of metal are welded on to close the gaps.
Take a look at this one because this is not just a freshly cut border wall. It was just repaired last week. Now I do not want to mess with the integrity of the border wall.
But if I were to swing this open, this would swing and that is how migrants are able to slip into the United States. This just shows you all of these repairs, just how relentless the smugglers are at crossing people into the U.S. and making a buck -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Lukeville, Arizona.
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STOUT: Rudy Giuliani, the man once known as America's mayor, is now on the hook for nearly $150 million. A Washington jury ordered Giuliani to pay over $148 million in damages to the two Georgia election workers he defamed after Trump's 2020 presidential defeat.
Upon leaving the court on Friday, Giuliani mocked the verdict and says he plans to appeal. We should add, Giuliani could have testified in the case but chose not to.
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STOUT: Argentina's newly elected president, Javier Milei, has devalued the peso by more than 50 percent as part of emergency economic reforms. With the country's poverty rate at 40 percent and rising, some fear that will have a devastating impact on much of the population. Rafael Romo reports.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Forty-six-year-old Eduardo Casado, a mason in Buenos Aires, he, like many other working-class Argentinians, is feeling the impact of the struggling economy. EDUARDO CASADO, ARGENTINE MASON (through translator): If the prices go
up -- and I want to believe there will be a plateau and that they will stagnate at some point -- but at the rate that all of this is happening, I do not know if they will stagnate or not.
I bought two kilos of potatoes last week at 800 pesos. This week it's almost 1,200. I don't know if next week we'll be able to buy them.
ROMO (voice-over): Argentina's economic minister recently announced that the peso will be devalued by more than 50 percent to help the country dig out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
The move comes just days into president Javier Milei's term in office. On the campaign trail, he promised to eliminate the peso and replace it with the U.S. dollar. The peso has been artificially supported since 2019 by strict capital controls. Its value has plunged 52 percent this year against the U.S. dollar.
The government's new economic policy also includes deep cuts to public spending, in hopes of slowing short term inflation and reducing debt. The president warned that things will get worse before they get better.
JAVIER MILEI, ARGENTINE PRESIDENT (through translator): We are going to be worse off than before for a few months, particularly in terms of inflation. I say that because, as the president says, it is better to tell an uncomfortable truth, than a comfortable lie.
ROMO (voice-over): That is no consolation for many who are already struggling with the poverty rate at roughly 40 percent and rising. Some fear the measures will be devastating for most of the population.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I see prices rising almost every day. It is worse. How long can we take it? If wages are low and prices are rising, we will not have enough to eat.
ROMO (voice-over): While the government tries to reassure the citizens that things will get better, with inflation nearing 150 percent, Argentines are rushing out to find the best prices everything they need just to survive -- Rafael Romo, CNN.
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STOUT: Now President Milei fulfilled an unusual campaign promise on Friday. The Argentine leader raffled off his last paycheck as a member of congress on Instagram and announced the winner on the social media platform.
Milei says his number one focus is the country's economic woes, calling it, quote, "the worst inherited crisis in history."
I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Isa Soares will be here at the top of the hour. "The Next Big Trip" is next after this break.
