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CNN International: Casualties Reported Among Crowd Waiting For Aid In Gaza City; Israeli Prime Minister Purportedly Calls Qatar "Problematic" In Leaked Audio Recording; Israeli War Cabinet Expected To Discuss Truce, Hostages. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 25, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNNI HOST: Hello, and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, a leaked audio recording allegedly showing the Israeli Prime Minister criticizing Qatar has sparked outrage. This as intense fighting in southern Gaza continues and the civilian death toll rises by the hour. We're live in the region. Then, a prominent Russian pro-war blogger has been found guilty of extremism charges. He criticized Vladimir Putin's handling of the war in Ukraine. Plus, lawmakers in France are proposing a bill that will put the rights to abortion in the Constitution. We'll take a closer look with the national debate.

Beginning with pictures from near Gaza City where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says at least 20 people have been killed and 150 injured when shells struck a crowd who were awaiting a delivery of aid. The ministry said multiple casualties have been taken to hospitals. CNN is asking the Israeli military for comments. Meanwhile, Qatar is slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of undermining its mediation efforts in the war between Israel and Hamas. It comes after a leaked audio recording which aired on Israeli television, allegedly captured Mr. Netanyahu criticizing the Gulf nation. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (TRANSLATED): For me, Qatar is no different in essence from the UN. But, it's no different in essence from the Red Cross. And in a certain sense, it is even more problematic. I was very angry recently and I didn't hide it from the Americans that they renewed the contract on the military base they have with Qatar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, all of this comes today as Israel's own war cabinet expected to meet to discuss different proposals put forth by those involved in negotiations. This while intense fighting in and around the embattled city of Khan Younis continues a day after a UN shelter was struck. Nic Robertson is live in Tel Aviv, bringing all of this together. I mean, I guess he was being honest on the tape. But, how much of a problem will it be for him that it's been broadcast?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That's a very good question, Max. And I think if -- when we talk about the Qatari response, that may get us to that point, a better point of understanding how problematic it will be. And just to set the stage here, of course, it was the Qataris who were the middlemen between Israel and Hamas that got the pause in fighting back in November that got almost 100 hostages released. And it was only a couple of days ago that the spokesperson for the foreign ministry in Qatar said, look, the conversations right now for another hostage release are sort of positive there, at least in as much as we're hearing serious conversations from both sides. Communications are passing through us. So, that was a positive sign.

Now, you have this situation where the Qataris are getting this slamming by -- apparently by Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I'll just read you a part of their response here, because it's stinging. This is barbed criticism coming from the Qataris. The spokesperson said, "We're appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister in various media reports about Qatar's mediation role. These remarks, if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising." What did he mean by but not surprising? Well, he got to that in another tweet. In that he said that it gives the appearance that the Israeli Prime Minister cares more about his own political future than he does about the hostages.

And what are the Qataris getting out here? They're saying in a Machiavellian way, the Prime Minister of Israel may be trying to sort of torpedo the hostage release at the moment. What would be the benefit implied by the Qatari statement here? Because that would prolong his political life, because there is an assessment here in Israel that if there was to be a deal on hostage release, you would have a long pause in the fighting. That would effectively be the end of the war. That would effectively be the end of the war cabinet. Prime Minister Netanyahu is deeply unpopular. There'll be potentially a trigger arise for new elections and he wouldn't be reelected.

So, that's what the Qatar is are getting out. So, their response is very, very bad. How damaging it will be for these hostage talks? I don't think we can judge that at this time. But, there was some hoped that they were potentially going to make some progress in the in the coming weeks, maybe. Max.

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FOSTER: OK. Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.

Ben Wedeman joining us from Beirut with the latest context of those pictures we're getting from Gaza.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Max, that is a strike that took place earlier today. I'm talking about the one in Gaza City on the Kuwait Roundabout, which apparently thousands of people, according to journalists, were there waiting to receive humanitarian aid when there was some sort of strike on that location. Now, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 20 people were killed, 150 wounded. They expect the death toll to rise from those strikes. The wounded were taken to the Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals in Gaza City.

Now, apart from that, the focus of Israel's current offensive seems to be on the Khan Younis area, particularly on the east of the city. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the Al-Amal Hospital, which is on the grounds of the PCRS -- PRCS, was struck overnight in addition to the Nasser medical complex, which are both in the eastern Khan Younis. Now regarding that strike, what the UN said were two Israeli tank rounds on a building in a UN Vocational Training Center. The death toll there has risen to 12 with 75 wounded, including 15 of them in critical condition. Max.

FOSTER: OK. Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thank you for that.

One of Israel's best-known entertainers says he'd return to combat if he is able. Idan Amedi spoke to reporters earlier for the first time since being badly wounded whilst fighting in the Gaza Strip. Amedi is a star of the Netflix show "Fauda". He says shrapnel penetrated his neck and spine area, but thankfully didn't hit the spinal cord. Amedi said he'll need a few months' recovery and rehabilitation before returning to his acting and singing career and fighting, if he is needed.

United Nations Security Council meeting later today to discuss the downing of a Russian military plane. Russia says all 74 people on board were killed when the plane crashed in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border on Wednesday. Russia accuses Ukraine of shooting the plane down. Kyiv, meanwhile, says it's launched its own criminal investigation into the crash. Moscow has claimed the plane was carrying Ukrainian soldiers for a prisoner swap.

Fred Pleitgen has been covering the story since it broke, and joins us from eastern Ukraine. And it's very difficult to make sense of exactly what's happened here because we're relying on this incomplete information.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You're absolutely right. Incomplete information. You certainly had these claims and counterclaims going on, and really at this point in time, Max, I would say that there is probably more questions than answers out there.

The Russians, though, continuing to stick by their story, saying that they tracked a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile after it was launched from Ukrainian territory towards the area around Belgorod and all the way to when it hit that aircraft, an IL-76 cargo aircraft from the Russian military. They say that they had, among others, among the flight crew and some accompanying personnel, 65 Ukrainian POWs on board and that everybody who was on board that plane died when the plane crashed outside of the city of Belgorod.

Now, the Ukrainians are saying they have absolutely no information to verify any of that, and they accused the Russians of playing with the emotions of the loved ones who were expecting those soldiers to come home. I want to listen into what the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): It is evident that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their families, and with the emotions of our society. It is necessary to establish all clear facts to the extent possible, considering that the plane crash occurred on Russian territory, beyond our control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, Ukrainians, as you've said, Max, are calling for an international investigation. Right now, there is no indication that that could be in the cards. There are several things, though, that the Ukrainians are saying. They're not denying that they did shoot the plane down. However, they're also not acknowledging that they did shoot the plane down. There is two things at the Intelligence Service of Ukraine. The SBU, however, has said -- they said that according to their intelligence, that a lot of bodies were not recovered from that debris field. In fact, only five bodies, they say, were brought to a local morgue in the city of Belgorod. They also say that they have absolutely no indication that those 65 POWs were in fact on that plane. They do say that they have information that that very specific plane in the past was used to bring missiles to the Belgorod area that the Russians then used to shell Ukrainian towns.

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So, they consider this aircraft to, in every way, shape, or form, be a military asset, a military aircraft, and therefore for their own air defense systems a legitimate target. Now, the Ukrainians, of course, are saying they want this investigation to happen. It's actually unclear to them whether or not those POWs were on board. But, certainly, all of this, of course, as you can imagine, causing a lot of grief to a lot of people who are hoping for the loved ones to come home. Max.

FOSTER: OK. Fred, thank you for that.

A high-profile Russian pro-war blogger has been convicted on extremism charges and handed a four-year prison sentence. Igor Girkin has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's handling of the war in Ukraine, although he denied inciting extremism. Girkin is a former military commander who played a crucial role in Russia's annexation of Crimea.

In a separate case, a Russian woman has been sentenced to 27 years for the killing of a different pro-Kremlin blogger. Daria Trepova was convicted of killing of Vladlen Tatarsky. He was an outspoken military blogger who died in an explosion at a cafe last spring.

Joining me now, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. In terms of the Girkin case, I mean, he is known as being a big supporter of Putin.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Max. Staggeringly, I remember him back in 2014 when Russia was first invading Ukraine. He was the guy held up by Russian extremists as kind of a hero who was doing the dirty work of leading so-called separatist taking over parts of Donetsk, leading the fighting, and was then convicted of obscenity of Israel and the downing of the Dutch aircraft MH17. Remember, many holidaymakers killed in that. But, since the war began again in 2022, he has become part of this sort of inner coterie of Russian extremists who are criticizing how the war had been conducted very publicly as well.

Now, the first one we saw coming to a sticky end was Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led that abortive coup. He then died in an enormously convenient plane crash, which most rational analysts think the Kremlin must have had a hand in. Igor Girkin, outspoken increasingly online, and while criticizing how the war being conducted, he essentially said Russia needed to be harsher. Now, I'm sure many Ukrainians who have seen their civilians bombed and seen appalling Russian tactics would essentially wonder quite what was left in the Kremlin armory to do that. But, he then got personal against Vladimir Putin himself. And that is ultimately, I think, the crime that even the most hardened extremist or nationalists end up being put inside for.

He called Putin shortly after Prigozhin led that failed coup. He called him a cowardly lowlife, called him a bum, and essentially said he wasn't up for the job of leading Russia through these difficult times. He went a step further, saying he'd run for President. Now, that's always extremely dangerous to do in Russia unless it's at the Kremlin's behest. He wasn't able to register because he was already imprisoned by then. And now, we're seeing this sort of end to the chapter here with four years in prison, keeps him well out of the way likely of the future conduct of the war.

But, it's also a signal to have two things, one that any kind of dissent about how Putin is running Russia, and particularly that invasion isn't tolerated, but also too, the Kremlin is still pretty paranoid, locking someone up like this in a high-profile way just for mince (ph) dissidents against how badly the Kremlin has been running this war, to some degree, although he seems to be doing better now. And so, it's a sign perhaps that Vladimir Putin isn't totally calm, and the whole Prigozhin affair has left him slightly unsettled, although still very much in charge.

FOSTER: I guess they could have sort of -- I mean, they've allowed the pictures to get out of there. Haven't they? So, they're really making sure Russians see it, as you say, also could be seen as a -- an element of weakness to it as well.

WALSH: Yeah. I mean, it's being seen to be in control and also being in control. I think the Kremlin would have learned now there is nothing more dangerous than letting people flirt around and stir up dissent. That was the issue with Prigozhin. Suddenly, he went from somebody giving telegram videos criticizing the Ministry of Defense, to leading a march, it seemed, though, sending his people on a march towards Moscow. Girkin, a much lower level here, running something online called the Angry Patriots Club. But, it was their constant nature of their criticism of how the war had been conducted at a time, really, when it was going pretty badly for Russia. This led to this increased sense of paranoia, I think, from the Putin administration, putting something like that out of the way. But, ultimately, the ultimate crime here is publicly calling Putin

names to do that, kind of you're going to see the inside of a jail cell pretty fast.

FOSTER: OK. Thank you.

Just ahead, in a few hours' time, this man will face the death penalty using a method that's never been tried in the U.S. before. We are live in Alabama with the details next.

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FOSTER: In just hours, an inmate in the U.S. state of Alabama will face the death penalty using a never-before-tried method. Kenneth Smith is set to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed using nitrogen gas. The U.S. Supreme Court has so far declined to intervene in Smith's case. He was convicted for his role in the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett. Smith was part of a team of hitmen hired by Sennett's husband to kill her. Smith's lawyers argue that using nitrogen gas to execute him could result in a painful death.

Let's bring in Isabel Rosales. She is in Atmore, Alabama. I mean, this has really captured the nation's consciousness, isn't it, because it's never been tried before. We don't know whether or not it will cause pain because it obviously hasn't been tested on humans before. Give us the timeline and the reaction.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Untested and controversial, only three states have actually approved for this to be used in a death sentence. Alabama, however, will, if this all works out without any legal challenges, will be the first to use it ever in an execution. Now, as far as the timeline, I did speak with Reverend Jeff Hood, who is Kenneth Smith's spiritual advisor, and he told me that he is scheduled to go into the death chamber with Smith sometime after 7 p.m. today. So, that is a very concise timeline that we have so far.

And as far as the details of what we can expect in this execution, well, I have read through the state of Alabama's execution procedures. A lot of it, Max, as you see right here, redacted. That's drawn a lot of criticism from critics who say that the state is really shielding from public scrutiny. The state says that that is -- these redactions are for safety reasons.

So, what I could find out is that Smith will be strapped to a gurney, a respirator, five point respirator face mask will be attached, a pulse oximeter as well. The warden will read his death warrant, give him a moment to make a final statement up to two minutes. And then, they're going to pump 100 percent pure nitrogen gas through his face mask until his organs start shutting down. The plan here is for that to be administered for 15 minutes or five minutes after he flatlines on an EKG, whichever one is longer. Now, let me talk about Reverend Jeff Hood a little bit more. He told

me that Smith has been regularly vomiting due to migraines and PTSD, and now that the state will not allow him to eat past 11 a.m. Eastern. So, here in a couple of hours to mitigate the risk of him throwing up, and that's important because his attorneys have been very sensitive to that and court documents. They have said that this could be the reason that this execution leads to excessive pain and torture. The concern here is that he is going to bomb it inside of his mask, and then he will choke on that, instead of actually dying from the nitrogen gas.

Now, Reverend Hood is also worried about his own safety. He is concerned that the nitrogen could leak out into the room, into that execution chamber. And in fact he had to sign a waiver indicating that he acknowledged the risk of entering that chamber.

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He feels that the state of Alabama is unprepared for this execution. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF HOOD, KENNETH SMITH'S SPIRITUAL ADVISOR: It's lunacy. I mean, it is absolute lunacy. I mean, for months we have been asking the Alabama Department of Corrections for more information, is this going to be safe? What's going to happen? Today, I go into the chamber to orient myself with the warden and one of the captains of the execution squad, and as I ask questions, he is consistently saying either we don't know or we can't tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Meanwhile, the state of Alabama says that it is ready to go. That death by nitrogen hypoxia, as they're calling it, is painless, that the goal here is for the prisoner to quickly lose consciousness, and then as oxygen leaves the body. And in court documents, the state is also saying that the expectation here is for him to go unconscious in seconds, and then, Max, die within minutes.

FOSTER: OK. Isabel Rosales, thanks for joining us on there.

Still to come, France debating whether or not to make access to abortion a constitutional right. Details from Paris just ahead.

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FOSTER: Lawmakers in France are attempting to do a world first. They are proposing a bill to enshrine a woman's right to get an abortion into the Constitution. The bill is backed by President Emmanuel Macron and his supporters. The lower house is expected to vote on it next week, and then send it to the Senate. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A heartfelt cry on the streets of France, just days before the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, a ruling that was to impact women in the United States, but reverberate around the globe.

SARAH DUROCHER, PLANNING FAMILIAL (TRANSLATED): With what happened in the U.S., there was a strong reaction in France by politicians. Several laws were proposed and the Prime Minister came to see us here at Family Planning to tell us how worried she was about the right to abortion.

BELL (voice-over): A right that's hard won in France as it was elsewhere. The procedure only legalized in 1975 after a battle led by the lawmaker and then-health minister Simone Veil, a woman speaking to a Parliament of men.

SIMONE VEIL, FORMER FRANCE HEALTH MINISTER (TRANSLATED): This is an injustice that must be stopped.

BELL (voice-over): Now, France is looking to go further, making abortion a constitutional right.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): This will enshrine the freedom of women to choose abortion and to be a solemn guarantee that nothing will ever limit or abolish this right because it will have become irreversible.

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BELL (voice-over): Among those supporting the move, the singer Barbara Pravi, her own experience of abortion at 17, so traumatic, that she wrote a song about it.

BARBARA PRAVI, SINGER/SONGWRITER: I felt very alone because the woman who took me was -- wasn't very good, actually. She was very judgmental. Like -- she was like, how old are you? Why are you here? You're not ashamed?

BELL: What difference do you think it'll make to have it inscribed in the Constitution?

PRAVI: Having the rights to do abortion cannot be like a condition of politics, you know. It has to be something we have, and no discussion.

BELL (voice-over): Recent polls suggest that over 80 percent of the French population supports safeguarding abortion rights. But, France too has its anti-abortion movement with both sides taking to the streets over the weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really against it, and for the doctors practicing it, for the ladies living it, for the babies dying, and even for the fathers.

BELL (voice-over): But, for those in favor of the change, it's about putting an end to the argument once and for all.

PRAVI: If you put something in the Constitution, it automatically change people's mind. It could takes maybe years, like five, six, seven, maybe 10 years. But, I know that my children will never think about the question about abortion.

BELL (voice-over): Barbara says she was able to put her loneliness and shame into song, but believes that France's constitutional change might help women in the future to feel neither. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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FOSTER: Thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is next.

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