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U.S. Launches Fifth Round of Strikes Against Yemen's Houthis; Iran Conducts Military Exercises after Cross-Border Strikes; Concern Over Rising Tensions on Korean Peninsula; Russia: Intercepted Drones Near Moscow; Cameron Compares Putin's War to Hitler in the 1930s; Gaza Cemeteries Damaged Amid Conflict; Philippines Looking to Replace Iconic Vehicles with Modern Buses. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired January 19, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN.

[00:00:47]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: If at first you don't succeed. The U.S. president doubles down on military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reconstruction impact (ph) is going to be huge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Throwing good money after bad. The huge cost of rebuilding Gaza. Again.

And why now is the time to take threats of war seriously from North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: U.S. forces have again hit Houthi targets in Yemen. And despite five separate strikes in less than a week, Houthi fighters have continued their attacks on commercial shipping in the region and warned those attacks will not stop until Israel ends the war in Gaza.

U.S. Central Command says two Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed at the critical waterway the Red Sea were ready for launch and were destroyed Thursday. The Pentagon says the military strikes have degraded the Houthi's capability, but by how much remains unknown.

A Houthi spokesperson says attacks by the U.S. and U.K. are a persistent act of aggression. Says vessels linked to Israel will continue to be targeted. Thursday the U.S. president admitted the strikes have been unable to stop the Houthi attacks but will continue, nonetheless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?

BIDEN: Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: More now with CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, joins us from Washington.

Well, it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thanks, John. It's good to be with you.

VAUSE: OK. So let's start with a Pentagon spokesperson with an assessment on the impact on the Houthis' capabilities after these five U.S. military strikes. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They still retain some capabilities. They've been degraded in some areas, but I can't predict when they'll continue to launch or how long they'll continue this trend for. All we can say is that we continue to urge them to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is that at least a partial admission of sorts that right now, the U.S. doesn't really know the full extent of the Houthis military capability, their weapons stockpiles, what they're actually capable of doing?

LEIGHTON: Yes. I think in many ways it is, John. I mean, it's clear that the Houthis have certain capabilities, most of which they've received from Iran, the latest figures that we had in the open press or somewhere around 30 to 35 percent of their capability had been degraded by the previous strikes that were launched against them, primarily the U.S.-U.K. strikes plus the solo, U.S. strikes that happened a few days after that.

But I think the key thing here is that the intelligence picture of the Houthis is very limited. And it's going to be one that changes quickly, especially if the Iranians are successful in resupplying them with missile parts, with actual missiles, and with the warheads that they need in order to accomplish this mission.

And then the other thing, of course, to keep in mind is that they have certain capabilities on the intelligence side that the Iranians have given them. There's an Iranian ship that is in the vicinity of the Gulf of Aden. And that is providing intelligence support to the Houthis at this time.

VAUSE: OK. So you mentioned the -- sort of the scorecard over the past week, in terms of Houthi military hardware taken out by the U.S. and its allies.

So starting last Friday, when U.S. and U.K. forces hit more than 60 Houthi targets across Yemen, that included radar systems, air defense systems, storage, and launch sites for attack drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

The next day, the U.S. destroyed a Houthi radar site. Then on Tuesday, four anti-ship ballistic missiles were destroyed, followed by another 14 on Wednesday. Two more anti-ship missiles hit on Thursday.

So that's what we know from, you know, the reporting, the public reporting. That's either a huge blow or barely scratches the surface. Without an accurate assessment of their weapons stockpile, I guess it could be either. What we do know, though, is that the Houthis continue to fire missiles at ships in the Red Sea, and they continue to be this ongoing threat, right?

[00:05:08]

LEIGHTON: That's right, John. And in fact, one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that, when we have store cards like this, they don't give us the complete picture.

There's still a possibility that the Houthis have weapons in storage and that, although we hit 60 targets on the first day, we may not have hit the right 60 targets.

And it just takes one launched site, one UAV area, one radar site to keep them active. And if those are active and they continue to be active, then it's something that will require a continual restrike capability on the part of the U.S. and its coalition partners.

VAUSE: And the thing is, with this strategy that they're using. They don't need to be successful. They don't have to have it hit a ship every single time. They fire a missile or a drone, they just have to continue to be a threat.

LEIGHTON: Exactly. And that's a key point, because what is actually happening is they're really not very successful in terms of the percentage of weapons fired and weapons that successfully hit an intended target.

In fact, that percentage is fairly low on the Houthi side. It's probably somewhere around 12, 15 percent, if that. But the very fact that the threat exists is forcing all these shipping companies to change the roots of their -- of their vessels. It is also forcing the U.S. military and its coalition partner militaries to move into the region. And that is what is really creating this issue.

VAUSE: During a televised address in Yemen, the leader of the Houthis, Mr. Al-Houthi, said, "We confirm to the world that, as it continues, the American-British aggression will contribute more and more to developing our military capabilities even further."

He said they've always emerged from any conflict stronger than before, which I guess is -- you know, I guess that's a fair point. But here's a question.

Aren't they still fighting a civil war against the Saudi-backed government of Yemen? And wouldn't this be a good time for that Saudi- backed government in Yemen to do something?

LEIGHTON: It would be. And the key problem that that Saudi-backed government has is that the Saudis themselves are reluctant to provide that support. In fact, they want a peace agreement with the Houthis. And of course, the Houthis are taking advantage of that.

And one of the reasons that we've been reluctant in U.S. and in the U.K. to actually do more against the Houthis, because we don't want to derail this possible peace agreement between the Saudis and the Houthis.

So this very complex situation that everybody is tripped into is one in which, yes, the Yemeni duties and the Yemeni state that is finding them are at loggerheads.

But the Houthis are definitely getting an advantage out of this, because they are seen as the ones that are defending the Yemeni homeland. And that is going to provide them with a lot of political benefits.

VAUSE: Colonel Leighton, as always, sir, good to see you. Thank you for your insights. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, John. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: The latest now on an unexpected rise in tensions between Iran and Pakistan after tit-for-tat air strikes earlier this week. Islamabad has signaled a willingness to de-escalate this crisis. But at the same time, Tehran says it's carried out a large-scale military exercise.

CNN's Ivan Watson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Survivors sifting through rubble after a series of deadly cross-border missile strikes.

This week's flare-up between Iran and Pakistan, adding fuel to a region already on fire.

WATSON: The Islamic republics of Iran and Pakistan share a long and porous border. In a 48-hour period, their militaries have carried out tit-for-tat drone and missile strikes into each other's territory, an unexpected crisis for two neighbors who just days ago appeared to be getting along.

WATSON (voice-over): On Tuesday, Pakistan's prime minister held face- to-face talks with Iran's top diplomat in Davos.

But hours later, Iran carried out what it called precision missile and drone strikes on what he claimed were Iranian terrorists in Pakistan's Baluchistan region.

Pakistan condemned what it called a breach of its sovereignty that killed at least two children. And on Thursday, the Pakistani military struck back.

MUMTAZ ZAHRA BALOCH, PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: This morning, Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Sistan and Balochistan province of Iran.

WATSON (voice-over): Using killer drones, rockets, and loitering munitions, the Pakistani military says it targeted separatist militants from the Baluch ethnic group.

Iranian authorities say at least ten people died, prompting Tehran to condemn Pakistan. In fact, this week, Iran also carried out missile strikes against Northern Iraq and Syria.

[00:10:07]

A deadly show of force after ISIS claimed responsibility for twin blasts in the Iranian city of Kerman on January 3rd, which killed scores of civilians.

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: This was really primarily a demonstration of force in a place that Iran taught I would have limited repercussions in terms of the risk of escalation.

I think they underestimated how this would put the Pakistani government in a very difficult situation.

WATSON (voice-over): For its part, the Pakistani government seems to be willing to deescalate.

BALOCH: Iran is a brotherly country. And the people of Pakistan have great respect and affection for the people of Iran.

WATSON (voice-over): The question now: Does Tehran want a conflict with its much more populous nuclear armed neighbor?

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have publicly rejected U.S. calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state once the war with Hamas is over.

The Biden administration says the only way to ensure Israel's long- term security is with a two-state solution. Netanyahu has long opposed Palestinian sovereignty and appear to do so again during a nationally televised news conference on Thursday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Any agreements, with or without agreements, the state of Israel must control security between the Jordan River to the sea. And the clashes with the sovereignty idea, I'm telling our American friends I stopped at a reality (ph) which would have hurt the security of Israel.

The prime minister of Israel should have the ability to say no, even to our greatest friends, when he has to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, response to Netanyahu's comments, a senior Biden administration official said, we think we see things differently.

Yara Asi is an assistant professor of global health management and informatics at the University of Central Florida. Thank you for taking the time to be with us.

YARA ASI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATICS, UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So the Israeli president spoke publicly about the post- Hamas plan for Gaza during an appearance of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Here's part of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: We should see a horizon of a coalition of nations who are willing to commit to rebuilding Gaza in a way that, No. 1, enables safety and well-being of Israel. No. 2, enabled safety and well-being of the Palestinians and brings a future, a different future to Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A different future. But we have been down a similar road about a decade ago. That was after the two-months-long war in 2014. There was an international donors conference. More than $5 billion was promised to help rebuild Gaza.

But as your assessment found, at the time, "While the pledges were generous, the deliverables were meager. Months after the conference, less than 2 percent center the money had been transferred to the Palestinians." You know, a lot of detail on that, but back then, the concerns were that some kind of political solution to this conflict were necessary.

Otherwise, any investment in Gaza was simply throwing good money after bad.

So fast-forward to the present day. It seems that problem hasn't gone away. That's where we're at right now.

ASI: That's right, absolutely. And you can imagine, after being called to spend millions and billions to help rebuild Gaza in the past, because Gaza has never been fully rebuilt.

At this point, donors have been rebuilding the same hospitals, the same greenhouses, the same houses in some cases, schools, hospitals, multiple times.

And so at this point, I believe that they're seeing this level of destruction, the level of investment it would take to even get back to a baseline standard of living. And they're saying, we don't want to commit unless were sure that we won't have to rebuild these structures yet again.

VAUSE: We also heard from the Israeli prime minister who was also clear over what he sees as Israel's role when it comes to reconstruction of Gaza, once this war is over. Here's Netanyahu. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): We will not settle for less than complete victory. Complete victory requires that Gaza be demilitarized and under the full security control of Israel, and Israeli control over everything that enters Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Doesn't that already happen now? Israel has total control over everything that goes in under the Gaza reconstruction mechanism, which was only meant to be temporary anyway.

ASI: Yes, absolutely. So Israel already has not just approval and veto controls over what gets into Gaza, but has actually maintained a list of what they call dual use items, of items that they either block completely or delay the import of, which in the past has included items as basic as cement, pipes, lumber.

[00:15:07]

This has existed in some capacity since the initial blockade started in 2007. So it's very unclear how that differs from the situation which existed because, of course, Gaza remains under occupation.

VAUSE: So it's just a matter of getting this stuff here. It's all just getting up, getting the funding for it. It's actually, you know, getting across the border from either Egypt, or from Israel into Gaza itself.

And then there is a question of costs. His early assessment of what will be needed to rebuild the damaged or destroyed residential areas of Gaza. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED MUSTAFA, PALESTINE INVESTMENT FUND CHAIRMAN: At least 350,000 housing units were -- were either completely damaged. Or partially damaged. Three hundred fifty thousand. Do a simple calculations. If you were just -- want to build 150,000,

not 350, assume that 200 will be repaired. Three hundred and fifty thousand units, a few have an average cost of hundred thousand units, $100,000 per unit. That's $15 billion, with housing units.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Fifteen billion dollars are a lot of money, obviously, but it seems way too early for any kind of meaningful assessment at this point, isn't it?

ASI: Absolutely. We are still talking at this moment, before there's any form of temporary or permanent ceasefire. Recent reports indicate that we're not even close to that at this point.

We're already almost twice as long as the previous longest war in Gaza in 2014, as you referenced. And drone footage and footage from local journalists in Gaza shows destruction beyond anything we've seen before.

So we certainly know that, I mean, even just imagine the cost of clearing all of this rubble, ensuring that, you know, there's not environmental hazards that make it safe or unsafe for rebuilding.

And that's before anything is constructed. And, of course, anywhere that there's homes, there needs to be bakeries. There needs to be schools. There needs to be healthcare facilities that have expensive equipment that, under current Israeli restrictions, can take weeks or months to receive permits for.

So there is a lot that will go into rebuilding. And as you said, we can't even begin to estimate how much yet.

VAUSE: It will be quite the bill, to say the least. And as long as this goes on, the bigger that gets, I guess. Yara Asi, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate your time.

ASI: Thank you so much for having me.

VAUSE: When I go back, Ukraine flies, drones deep into Russian territory, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines. And why that could happen more often in the months ahead.

Also, North Korea says reunification with the South is no longer on the agenda, and Seoul is enemy No. 1, raising fears about a possible conflict in the offing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: North Korea claims to have successfully tested an underwater nuclear-capable drone. According to state-run media, the test came after joint U.S.-South Korean and Japanese naval drills earlier this week, which Pyongyang described as a serious threat to North Korean security.

[00:20:11] South Korea's prime minister is unconcerned by rising tensions with the North. Han Duck-soo spoke with CNN's Richard Quest at the World Economic Forum in Davos, brushing off comments from Pyongyang that they were no longer interested in reconciliation with the South.

But others say those comments should actually be, of course, were concerned along with other nuclear preparations by the North. And CNN's Will Ripley has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Korean Peninsula, staring down the barrel of a catastrophic conflict. That warning from one of America's leading nuclear scientists, one of two long-time North Korea observers, who say Kim Jong-un is sending signals in state media he may be prepared to take advantage of global chaos to exploit what he sees as weakness and vulnerability between the U.S. and close allies, South Korea and Japan.

SIEGFRIED S. HECKER, PROFESSOR, MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: They're talking about war. They're talking about war preparations for their country. And so we're quite concerned.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For years, former Los Alamos director Siegfried Hecker had unparalleled access to North Korea's highly secretive nuclear program seeing more than almost any American.

What he's seeing now, he says, reminiscent of the leadup to the catastrophic Korean War, more than 70 years ago. A chilling shift in leader Kim Jong-un's strategy, far more than the usual saber rattling.

HECKER: I think this time it's different. He may have decided that it is time to actually take some actions.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For the past 30 years, North Korea's goal was normalizing ties with the U.S. Hecker says that ended in 2019, when summit talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, collapsed.

Former President Donald Trump and Kim walked out, humiliating and infuriating the North Korean leader, riding his armored private train back to Pyongyang, empty-handed, perhaps giving up on U.S. diplomacy, making a strategic turn towards conflict.

HECKER: He may believe that there actually, there is some way, sort of what one would say, what's a path to victory that he may be thinking very differently than what our conventional thinking is.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Kim's confidence may be bolstered, he says, by closer ties with China and a deepening military alliance with Russia. North Korea's foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, visiting Moscow just this week, also labeling South Korea a hostile country.

CHOE SON-HUI, NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER: This is a political provocation.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And not just political. North Korea testing a new hypersonic missile, potentially nuclear capable, adding to Kim's growing arsenal.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Russian air defenses have appeared to intercept a number of drones, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. According to the Russian defense ministry, the drones were heading from Moscow and St. Petersburg, causing all flights to be suspended for a time at one of Moscow's airports.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details now, reporting in from Dnipro in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Drones are increasingly having an impact in this war, and the Ukrainians have now apparently managed to fly a combat drone all the way to the area around St. Petersburg.

Now that's hundreds of miles away from Ukrainian-held territory. And the Ukrainians would also have had to fly that drone grown through the Western part of Russia, where the Russians have some pretty capable air defenses.

It's unclear what exactly happened with this drone. The Ukrainians are saying that it managed to hit its target, that the mission was successful.

The Russians, for their part, however, are saying that they managed to take the drone down and that it crashed in the area of an oil terminal near the city of St. Petersburg.

All this, of course, happening as the war here in Ukraine is continuing to heat up. And as the Russians are pressing this offensive in several areas along the Southeastern and Eastern front line.

All this a big concern for the Ukrainians. And one of the things that the defense minister of this country has said is that Ukrainians are suffering from a shortage of ammunition. He said that that's both real and pressing, a big concern for the Ukrainians.

Of course, in general, the fact that the Ukrainians are struggling also a huge concern for NATO, as well. And NATO has now started its largest exercise since the end of the Cold War. It's going on in areas in North America across the Atlantic and in Europe, as well, with some 90,000 troops that are involved.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Dnipro, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Was U.S. military aid for Ukraine on hold? Other Western allies are stepping up shipments of ammunition and weapons. Twenty-three countries have agreed to form an artillery coalition during a meeting in Paris on Thursday.

Ukrainian president thanked his French counterpart for leading that effort. The Ukrainians bought six of the French-made Ceasar Howitzers. Paris is gifting another dozen and hopes allies will foot the bill for 60 more.

[00:25:10]

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron compared Russian leader Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Those remarks came during an interview with Politico at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He explained what he meant to CNN's Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: How you used an analogy that it was like the 1930s. It was like being a minister in the 1930s or a government in Europe in the 1930s. At the same time, the prime minister has said this is the most unstable time in decades. So how do we -- you navigate in the 1930s?

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: The reason I made that analogy is in the 1930s, we didn't sufficiently stand up to a bullying dictator who was taking parts of other people's countries. And I think what we've seen with Putin's invasion of Ukraine is the most naked, the most flagrant breach of another country's sovereignty and territorial borders.

And so I think it's the challenge for our generation. How do we respond to that? Do we back the Ukrainians with all that we've got? Do we stay in for as long as it takes. I say yes.

QUEST: The latest reports suggest that the Ukrainians are finding it much more difficult. And Russia, if not exactly prevailing, is certainly seeming to be on a stronger footing. It's got armor, but production and all of this.

CAMERON: I would challenge that because look at the Black Sea. There, you've seen the Ukrainians pushed the Russian navy right back across the Black Sea. They've opened a grain corridor. They're exporting grain. Six hundred ships have been through that corridor, and they've sunk about 20 percent of the Russian navy.

So there is a different narrative here, that Putin's, he's lost 300,000 people. He's lost half of the territory that he took.

He's seen NATO get bigger and stronger. This has been a strategic catastrophe for Putin.

QUEST: But now how he's got longer, and he has to keep going. And from the Ukrainians' point of view, they look at the E.U., who can't decide on whether to -- well, they've decided to provide the aid, but they can't find the mechanism.

And in the U.S., they, the Republicans are holding it up in Congress.

And before you said, I'm aware of what the prime minister has offered, these other two big groupings are not giving that same full-throated.

CAMERON: But that will happen. The E.U. money will be taken through. And I'm pretty confident the U.S. money will, too.

There is a majority in Congress to support Ukraine, because ultimately, America knows that Ukrainian security, European security is also American security.

If you allow Putin to win in Ukraine, he'd be back for more. And we know from our history that, when that happens, America ends up paying a bigger price in treasure and also in lives lost.

I mean, right now, the Americans for the use of 10 percent of their defense budget, have destroyed about 50 percent of Russia's military capacity without the loss of a single American life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron there, speaking with CNN, well, in Gaza, it seems even the dead can't rest in peace. More than a dozen cemeteries damaged, according to CNN reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANINA DILL, CO-DIRECTOR OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY'S INSTITUTE FOR ETHICS LAW AND ARMED CONFLICT: There is huge symbolic meaning to the notion that not even the dead are left in peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That story and a lot more after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:37]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Two suspects have been arrested in Ecuador for their alleged involvement in the assassination of prosecutor Cesar Suarez.

According to a source of the attorney general's office, Suarez was gunned down Wednesday while driving to a drug-related hearing in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city.

At the time of his murder, Suarez was overseeing the investigation into an attack by armed men on a television station, all of it broadcast live at the time, just one of a slew of violent incidents which prompted a 60- day declaration of a state of emergency.

Well, this week, Israel Defense Forces exhumed graves and removed bodies from a cemetery in Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza, officials telling CNN, all part of an effort to find the bodies of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. But it's not the only cemetery in Gaza damaged during the conflict. And CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on this story. But first a warning. Viewers may find some of the following images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Gaza, even the dead cannot escape the indignities of war. More than a dozen cemeteries like this one in Jabalia, desecrated by the Israeli military. Gravestones destroyed, soil upturned, tread marks leaving little left for the living to honor their dead.

This is that same graveyard before the war. One month later, a series of tread marks can be seen on the Northwestern edge.

It is no exception. A CNN analysis of videos and satellite imagery found that 16 cemeteries have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli military since it launched its ground offensive.

As Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza, they crushed the graves of thousands of Palestinians between November and January.

Janina Dill, co-director of Oxford University's Institute for Ethics Law and Armed Conflict, says destroying graveyards violates international law, except under very limited circumstances.

DEAL: Cemeteries are not military objectives. They are in fact, what international law would consider a -- an object that is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, like places of worship generally.

So this is protected from intentional attack. It can only be intentionally attacked or destroyed if it becomes a military objective.

DIAMOND (voice-over): In some cases, like this cemetery in the Shajaiye, a refugee camp, Israeli bulldozers turned cemeteries into military outposts, parking armored vehicles behind freshly raised berms.

The damage is often deliberate and progressive. Over two weeks in December, the military bulldozed more and more of this cemetery East of Khan Yunis, building defensive fortifications.

CNN witnessed firsthand the results of Israel's bulldozing of graveyards while embedded with Israeli forces last week. The armored personnel carrier CNN was traveling in drove right through this cemetery in Al-Biraj (ph) on a freshly bulldozed dirt road.

And then there's this: tombs opened at a cemetery in Khan Yunis this week, bodies removed from their graves.

In a statement, the Israeli military acknowledged exhuming bodies from the cemetery as part of its search for the bodies of Israeli hostages. An IDF spokesman could not account for the damage to the 16 cemeteries identified by CNN, but said that, in some cases, there is no other choice, providing this photo of what it says is a Hamas rocket launcher at a cemetery in Gaza.

CNN could not independently verify where it was taken.

The spokesman could not account for the military posts over graveyards, but said, "We have a serious obligation to the respect of the dead. And there is no policy to create military posts out of graveyards."

In at least one case, the Israeli military appears to have taken pains to maneuver around a graveyard. The Deir El-Balah War Cemetery, which holds the remains of many Christian and Jewish soldiers from World War I, left intact, despite devastation all around.

At the Al-Tafar (ph) cemetery, a very different picture. Residents say bodies were uprooted by Israeli bulldozers.

[00:35:06]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're currently retrieving the corpses of the martyrs that are present in the cemetery. The occupation forces have run over most of them with their bulldozers. And we've only identified a small number of corpses and losses (ph).

As for the rest, their identities remain unknown.

South Africa cited Israel's destruction of cemeteries as part of its case, arguing Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the allegation, but experts say cemetery destruction could be evidence of Israel's intent.

DILL: There is huge symbolic meaning to the notion that not even the dead are left in peace. It suggests that disrespect towards the kind of spiritual life of your enemy, their cultural property inherent, it's evidence of an animus against your enemy that -- that is unhelpful in this context.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military is still desecrating graves in Gaza.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: They dug up the graves. These are the graves.

DIAMOND (voice-over): At the Khan Yunis Cemetery, where the military dug up bodies this week, the damage is extensive and all too familiar. Tombs destroyed, shrouded bodies sticking out of the soil. The dead roused from their final rest.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, could the reign of the Philippines' king of the roads come to an end? We'll have that story about the Jeepneys in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four, three, two, one. Ignition.

VAUSE: Well, it was just hours ago SpaceX launching a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, carrying European astronauts on a highly international mission organized by the private space company Axiom Space.

Those on board include the first Turkish citizen to go into space, on a ticket paid for by his government. They'll conduct experiments at the international space station for the next two weeks.

For decades, the smoke-belching, jerry-rigged Jeepneys have ruled the roads in the Philippines. The iconic vehicle, initially built in the 1940s from leftover parts from U.S. Army Jeeps, are now being scrapped by the government to make way for cleaner, modern buses.

But as CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports, some in the Filipinos -- in the Philippines, rather, are upset by the phaseout.

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Jeepneys, an unofficial national symbol of the Philippines, are known for their loud honking and even louder designs.

The vehicles are a staple of the country's transport system, converted from abandoned U.S. Jeeps after World War II, when bombs destroyed cable cars in the Philippine capital of Manila, many having made Jeepney driving their livelihood, and roughly 40 percent of commuters using them to get around.

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But almost 80 years after the birth of this now iconic ornament of Filipino life, the government plans to phase out the vehicles that it says are worn-out and highly polluting.

RESTITUTO ROCAFORT, JEEPNEY DRIVER (through translator): If the Jeepney phaseout is implemented, many will starve. Not only my family, but a lot will starve if the phase-out program pushes through on January 31st. That's why we're fighting. Until now, we're fighting, hoping that our government listens to us.

STOUT (voice-over): Hundreds of protesters and a convoy over 150 Jeepneys drove through Manila on Tuesday, protesting the phase-out plan, which aims to replace the vehicles with modern minibuses.

The phase-out has continually been put on hold since its original launch in 2017 due to protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, drivers must join cooperatives that will have two to three years to replace their Jeepney fleet with the more modern version. A pricey reality that, although the government plans to subsidize and allow bank financing, many drivers say will drive them deep into debt.

ROCAFORT (through translator): Replacing my Jeep with a modernized one is very expensive. I would be in a huge debt. I already have my own Jeepney that's almost paid off.

I've always paid off my debt, and now I would be in a huge debt again.

STOUT (voice-over): Under the new co-operatives, drivers used to working as long and often as they'd like, will have to work on a fixed schedule.

Some drivers, like Rocafort say they will need to meet contribution requirements of more than ten times what they make now. And older workers fear that, because of their age, they'll be forced out of the driver's seat.

ARTEMIO CINCO, JEEPNEY DRIVER (through translator): Honestly, I sometimes cannot sleep, because I keep thinking about the nearing deadline. It's only a few days from now. I would always think about it at home. I would cry sometimes. I would hide inside my room, so my children wouldn't see me crying, because I know they would cry, too, if they saw me tearing up.

STOUT (voice-over): Filipino Jeepney drivers had until the end of 2023 to join a co-operative. And more than three-quarters have, according to official data.

Those who missed that deadline can continue operating until the end of January. And then, it's cooperate or pump the brakes.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

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VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a very short break.

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