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MSF: Collapse of Vital Medical Services; UNRWA Fires Workers Involved in Terror Attack; Saving the Lorises; British Oil Tanker on Fire After Houthi Attack; Ukraine Says No Evidence its POWs Were on the Plane; Biden Administration Plans to Sell F-16s to Turkey. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 27, 2024 - 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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[03:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Coming up, Doctors Without Borders warns of the dire situation at a hospital in Gaza, saying vital medical services have collapsed.
Donald Trump ordered to pay more than $83 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll. Why that amount is so high.
And saving the lorises. How a conservation group is working to keep these nocturnal primates from going extinct.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN NEWSROOM" with Lynda Kinkade.
Well, Doctors Without Borders say vital medical services have collapsed at Gaza's largest remaining hospital. And a warning, this video from the World Health Organization shot during the last couple of days is hard to watch. Doctors Without Borders warns that a handful of medical staff at Nassar Hospital in Khan Younis don't have enough supplies. The aid group, MedGlobal, tells CNN there's absolutely no room in the hospital whatsoever.
And an investigation is now underway into some U.N. workers who were allegedly involved in the Hamas terror attack. Israel claims there were staff members with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. That's the group that helps Palestinian refugees in Gaza.
The agency says it has fired those accused while it looks into the allegations so it can continue its vital humanitarian work. The White House says there is no imminent prospects of a deal for Hamas to release its hostages. The talks are said to be productive, but not yet successful.
Our Scott McLean is live in Istanbul with more on all of this. Scott, good to have you with us. I want to start first with those serious allegations by Israel about the U.N. workers being involved in the Hamas terror attack. What are you learning?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Lynda, what we don't know at this stage of the game is precisely what the allegations are against those 12 staff beyond the fact that they have been accused by Israel, who informed UNRWA and informed the United States that they were involved in the October 7th terror attack. But we don't know who they are or precisely what their involvement may have been.
But this is already having big impacts on the U.N. agency that is an essential component of the humanitarian response to the war in Gaza right now. And frankly, also a very important critical component of day-to-day life in the Palestinian territories.
This organization has been around for more than 70 years, created specifically to cater to the needs of Palestinian refugees and now several generations of their descendants. The U.N. or UNRWA put out a statement yesterday, as you mentioned, saying that those 12 people have had their contracts terminated while they look into this. This has been a welcome step for many observers.
But just this morning, we're learning that Australia is cutting funding for the organization, at least for now. We know that the United States State Department is pausing additional funding for UNRWA as well. And this organization, frankly, has been a lightning rod of criticism in Israel and the United States in recent years.
In 2018, it was the Trump administration that actually cut off United's -- American funding for the group, which it relies on heavily. Because not only does it draw some money from the U.N. regular budget, but primarily it relies on voluntary donations from U.S. -- U.N. members. The United States is obviously a very big one.
In 2021, the Biden administration restored that funding, but that hasn't stopped criticism coming from Republicans. The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, said in a statement yesterday, for years, I have warned the Biden administration about resuming funding to UNRWA, which has a history of employing people connected to terrorist movements like Hamas. Today's news is yet another example that underscores how corrupt this organization truly is.
We're also hearing criticism from Israel. Here's the -- an adviser to the Israeli prime minister. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: So, you have these international people, often Europeans, who come to head the UNRWA organization, but they come and go. The staff that actually runs the organization, the civil service, so to speak, the bureaucracy is Hamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [03:05:00]
MCLEAN: Yes. So, Israel has long called for the agency to be replaced by something different. It's also important to note a little bit of context here, Lynda, and that is that Israel for years and years has been highly critical of the United Nations. It views the international organization as specifically targeting Israel in many of its resolutions while not being -- having so much scrutiny on some of the world's worst human rights abusers.
KINKADE: All right. Scott McLean for us. Good to have you staying across that story for us from Istanbul, Turkey. Thank you.
Well, now to the historic decision from the International Court of Justice. A majority of the 17 judges from the U.N.'s top court calling for Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza, preserve evidence, and submit a report within a month on all the measures taken in response to the court's order.
As Melissa Bell reports, it stops short of calling for a ceasefire.
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JOAN DONOGHUE, PRESIDING JUDGE, INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: In the court's view, at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the convention.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world's top court declaring that it will move forward with South Africa's case against Israel, in which Israel is accused of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention with its military response in Gaza after the October 7th Hamas attacks.
DONOGHUE: The Palestinians appear to constitute a distinct national, ethnical, racial, or religious group and hence a protected group within the meaning of Article 2 of the Genocide Convention.
BELL (voice-over): Created in response to the Second World War, the International Court of Justice is the judicial backbone of the United Nations.
It's judges now ruling that it does have jurisdiction over the case and issuing emergency measures on Friday, but stopping short of calling for a ceasefire.
DONOGHUE: Israel must take measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to the members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.
The court further considers that Israel must ensure with immediate effect that its military forces do not commit any of the aforementioned acts. BELL (voice-over): Among the provisional measures, the court ruling that Netanyahu needs to ensure that humanitarian aid can enter the Strip. A ruling desperately needed by a population that's been pushed past the brink of starvation. Their homes further reduced to rubble with every passing hour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There's no safe area. Where shall we go? Stop the war. It is enough. We are drained. Everyone is drained. Children are gone. Adults are gone. Everyone is gone. And the world is watching.
BELL: What the world was watching this Friday was what was going to come from this court, unless the case here could last for years. This initial ruling is considered significant, even if it falls slightly short of what South Africa had been hoping for.
NALEDI PANDOR, SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN MINISTER: In exercising the order, there would have to be a ceasefire. Without it, the order doesn't actually work.
NADIA SLIMI, CO-ORGANIZER OF PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTEST: It feels like a victory and a significant milestone and a step in the right direction in the liberation of the Palestinian people. In a way, it is also very disappointing that the court did not rule in favor for an immediate ceasefire at this time.
BELL (voice-over): And yet, the pressure on Israel now undeniable as the U.N.'s top court rules that it is plausible that genocidal acts are being committed in Gaza and that that must stop.
Melissa Bell, CNN, The Hague.
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KINKADE: Well, Israel and South Africa have both responded with neither entirely getting what they were asking for, though both appraising the ruling.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel's commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering. It is our sacred commitment to continue to defend our country and defend our people.
Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself. The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected. The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it's outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.
PANDOR: I live in hope that Israel will act in accord with the decisions and will show the court that it does take the court seriously. If it doesn't, what happens is we are opening up room for all to act with impunity against innocent people. And I certainly don't wish to live in a world like that.
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[03:10:00]
KINKADE: Well, the final and binding ruling on the genocide claim could take the court years to determine. And in practice, the court has no way to enforce its verdicts.
Well, joining me now is Michael Becker. He's a former associate legal officer for the World Court. He's now an assistant professor of international human rights law at Trinity College in Dublin. Good to have you with us.
MICHAEL BECKER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW, TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So, firstly, just could you further give us some explanation about this ruling by the International Court of Justice? Why it is historic and what it calls for?
BECKER: Right. So, well, any case brought at the ICJ invoking the Genocide Convention is significant. And it's of course significant that the court found that South Africa has put forward what is at least a plausible case.
It's really important to understand that what happened yesterday was not the court making any kind of determination about whether South Africa's claims, based on the Genocide Convention, have been proven. The court wasn't making any determinations about whether what's happening in Gaza constitutes genocide. This was forward looking. This was about trying to prevent the situation from getting worse while this case can be heard.
But I think it's really important to understand that -- we just heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu in the clip there -- that Israel views these claims relating to genocide as outrageous. But what the court was saying here yesterday was that those claims aren't outrageous. They at least have a plausible basis in fact and law and the case can continue.
KINKADE: And of course, a majority of judges from the U.N.'s top court agreed. What does that tell you?
BECKER: I thought that was quite significant. What really struck me in listening to the decision being read out yesterday was the court's emphasis on the scale of the humanitarian crisis. That's really where the court put the focus yesterday. It was very powerful, I think, to hear Judge Donoghue, the court's president, reading out some of these accounts from U.N. reports and other bodies on the ground. And I think that that really mattered to judges coming from a range of countries.
Judges aren't there as representatives of the states that they come from, but we saw judges from the U.S., Russia, China, Germany, all agreeing with all of the majority -- they were in the majority on every point of the court's decision. And even the judge that Israel was permitted to appoint to the court for the purpose of hearing this case, ruled in favor of some of the measures that the court has now indicated against Israel.
I think that's really important in part to defuse some of these accusations that the court is somehow inherently biased against Israel, which just is not the case in my view.
KINKADE: Yes. That -- you make some interesting points there. But the ruling did fall short. It did not go so far as to call for a ceasefire. Why not?
BECKER: I think that this order was just about as good as South Africa could have reasonably expected because that call for a complete suspension of military operations was always going to be problematic, in part because, unlike some other cases, here we have an armed conflict where one of the parties to that conflict, Hamas, isn't a party to the case. They can't be a party to the case.
And so, this put the court in an almost impossible situation, in my view, of being asked to order a ceasefire when both parties that would be a party to that ceasefire aren't within its authority.
Now, it's really interesting, I think, that we see these different interpretations of what the court has said emerging. And it really mirrors the fact that we have two completely different narratives out there about this entire case and this conflict in the first place.
So, South Africa's position has been, yes, the court didn't order a ceasefire, but in practice, it should be understood as a de facto ceasefire, because that's the only way that Israel will be able to meet its obligation to deliver humanitarian aid.
Israel says, no, the court's just asking us to do what we already are supposed to be doing under the Genocide Convention, and we -- our position is that we are completely in compliance with the Genocide Convention. I think the real way to read the court's decision is somewhere in between these two understandings, and that's that the court is directing Israel to show far greater restraint in the military campaign.
That doesn't mean the operations have to completely stop, but the court and the world that is watching is going to expect Israel to find ways to moderate its approach in meaningful ways. And that's linked to that obligation to make sure that humanitarian assistance can start to get into Gaza in an effective way.
KINKADE: All right. We'll wait and see whether Israel does abide by the ruling and submit documents showing its efforts to prevent a genocide within the month. We appreciate your time today. Michael Becker, thanks so much.
BECKER: Thank you.
[03:15:00]
KINKADE: We are getting reports that a British oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden was hit by a missile on Friday after it moved through the Red Sea. Now, this is the latest in a string of attacks along that key shipping route.
The U.S. says one of its warships and others have responded to a distress call from the burning tanker. So far, there are no reports of injuries. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the strike, saying they did it in support of the Palestinian people.
Well, still to come, we'll have the latest on Donald Trump's multimillion dollar courtroom loss.
Plus, the safe takeoff and landing of a jetliner filled with passengers. Normally, that wouldn't make the news, but right now it is. We'll explain why.
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KINKADE: Well, Ukraine says there's no evidence its prisoners of war were on a plane that went down in Russia despite corroborating a list of passengers released by Russia. Kyiv says the names on the list match the POWs scheduled for a prisoner swap on Wednesday. But Ukraine says that doesn't prove they were actually on that flight.
Russia posted a video that it claims shows the POWs boarding the plane before the crash. CNN can't independently often -- confirm this footage. Moscow claims Ukraine shot down the Russian transport plane, killing 65 Ukrainian POWs plus nine Russian service members. Russia's president has doubled down on that claim.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We weren't just bringing them there, but the main intelligence department of the Ukrainian armed forces even knew that we were taking 65 servicemen there, while the planned number was, I think, 190. And knowing this, they struck that aircraft.
I don't know whether they did it by mistake or thoughtlessly, but it's obvious that they did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Ukraine says it never received any notification from Russia that prisoners would be flown to the area which is near Ukraine's border.
The Biden administration told U.S. Congress on Friday that it plans to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. The move comes after Turkey approved Sweden's NATO membership. The $23 billion sale caps off more than a year of behind-the-scenes negotiations, which also include the sale to Greece of nearly $9 billion in F-35s. Congress is expected to approve both those sales. Sweden still needs approval from Hungary before it can become a fully-fledged NATO member.
After nearly a month, the U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, is expected to be back at the Pentagon on Monday. His highly controversial absence led to some in Congress to call for his resignation.
During surgery for prostate cancer, Austin underwent general anesthesia. Following his discharge from hospital and emergency return, President Biden was unaware that his defense secretary was still out of commission. The House Armed Services Committee has called on Austin to testify on Capitol Hill about his failure to notify key government officials.
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A jury says Donald Trump should pay the writer, E. Jean Carroll, more than $83 million in damages for the defamation comments he made about her in 2019. Carroll's attorney says their courtroom victory sends a message to other women who have been victimized by powerful men.
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ROBERTA KAPLAN, E. JEAN CARROLL'S ATTORNEY: She is overjoyed. She cried. She showed more emotion and I've known her for a long time now than I've ever seen her show. She feels that she got justice from the jury today and from the court. And she feels she's really stood up, and she has. She stood up for almost every woman who's been defamed, who's been kicked down, who's been shut up.
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KINKADE: Trump says the verdict is "absolutely ridiculous." He abruptly left the courtroom during the closing statement. CNN's Kara Scannell has more.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After about three hours of deliberations, the jury returned its verdict awarding E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages. That's a significant win for Carroll, who has been pursuing Trump for years in this defamation case for statements he made in 2019 when he was president.
The way the jury broke down this verdict, they were awarding Carroll $7.3 million for emotional harm, $11 million for to repair her reputation, and $65 million in punitive damages. That is the punishment phase for Trump, which they were sending a clear message to Trump and agreeing with Carroll's attorneys closing arguments.
In their closings, they said that the only way to hold Donald Trump accountable was to hit him in his pocketbook to make him stop repeating the defamatory statements that a previous jury had already found to be defamatory. They argued to the jury that if Donald Trump had disregarded that verdict, didn't respect it, and has repeated those defamatory statements ever since. It was at that moment in closing arguments that Donald Trump stood up, walked out of the courtroom.
Now, he did later return for his lawyer's closing arguments. They made the case that Donald Trump couldn't be held accountable for mean tweets and that E. Jean Carroll had asked for some of this attention. Obviously, the jury of seven men and two women disregarding Donald Trump's argument and awarding Carroll this significant amount of money. She's asked initially for more than $10 million. This verdict sending a message to Donald Trump.
Now, he responded by calling it ridiculous. His attorney said it was a witch hunt. Take a listen.
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ALINA HABBA, TRUMP'S LAWYER: So many Americans are so proud that he is running again and so excited to run to the ballot box. But don't get it twisted. We are seeing a violation of our justice system. This is wrong. But we are in the State of New York. We are in a New York jury, and that is why we are seeing these witch hunts, these hoaxes, as he calls them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCANNELL: Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, also said that they would appeal the verdict. The judge said he would enter a final judgment in this case over the next few days.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
KINKADE: WWE founder, Vince McMahon, has resigned as executive chairman of the wrestling company's parent organization. He's facing disturbing allegations of sexual assault, trafficking, and physical abuse in a lawsuit filed by a former staffer last week.
McMahon has denied the allegations but says he's now resigning "out of respect for the WWE universe." Reports that McMahon paid out settlements to multiple women while serving as CEO and chairman have been circulating since at least 2022.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 returned to the skies Friday in an uneventful flight from Seattle to San Diego with Alaska Airlines chief operating officer sitting next to the infamous door plug. CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean has more.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Airlines are trying to put this chapter behind them. They had to cancel thousands of flights during the FAA's 19-day long emergency grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9, that officially ended on Wednesday. And the onus is now on airlines to do the final ungrounding inspections to make sure that these planes are safe.
Alaska Airlines says its first few inspections are done, meaning its Max 9s are carrying passengers again. United Airlines says it's Max 9s will be back on the schedule on Sunday. The first Max 9 to fly since the grounding. Alaska Airlines Flight 1146 on Friday flew from Seattle to San Diego, exactly three weeks to the day since that door plug violently blew out of Alaska Flight 1282.
The FAA is now requiring what it calls detailed visual inspections of the door plug, and for any abnormal conditions to be corrected. Remember, both Alaska and United found loose door plug bolts over that 19-day grounding period.
[03:25:00]
Since then, and going forward, the focus will be on Boeing's production quality control. Remember, Boeing paused production for a whole day on Thursday at its 737 plant in Renton, Washington. They called it a quality control stand down, and they're planning to do more of them on their other production lines.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun wrapped up two days of meetings with top lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday, one of them with Senator Maria Cantwell. She chairs the committee that oversees aviation, and now she's calling for public hearings about the 737 Max 9, which means we have not heard the last of this.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
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KINKADE: Let's talk about this now with Henry Harteveldt. He is a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. Good to have you with us.
HENRY HARTEVELDT, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ANALYST AND PRESIDENT OF ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH GROUP: Hello, Lynda. Thank you.
KINKADE: So, three weeks after a door flew off -- or a door plug rather flew off a 737 Max 9, they're now back up in the air. The chief operating officer of Alaska Airlines flew in that seat next to the door plug today. A PR move to be sure. But really, every effort must be made to restore confidence, right?
HARTEVELDT: Correct. Look, the airlines have a role to restore confidence, Boeing has to work to restore confidence, and the FAA needs to help the airlines and Boeing in their efforts to make people trust the 737 Max 9.
KINKADE: And United is the other airline that operates this type of aircraft here in the United States. Its first flight is Sunday. Take us through the inspection process that happened over the last three weeks. What did that require?
HARTEVELDT: Certainly. Well, I think what's interesting is there were four revisions to the inspection process between the first attempt about three weeks ago and the one that was finally approved. The first attempt was two hours per plane. The last one, revision four, was between 10 and 12 hours per plane.
In that, basically the airlines remove the interior panel. They take out the door. They inspected the bolts, the torque, things like that to make sure the door is installed correctly. The bolts are where they need to be, that they are properly tightened.
Only after the airlines are satisfied with that and the FAA signs off do they then put all the pieces back together like the insulation and the sidewall panel. So, these planes are being very carefully inspected because nobody wants to see a repeat of what happened three weeks ago.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And of course, the Federal Aviation Administration has given the green light for these planes to take off. But no doubt there are some people with concerns. How can you tell if your next flight is on a Boeing 737 Max 9?
KINKADE: Well, if you are shopping for your flight online, you can look at the flight details that will be either on the website or the mobile app, and the aircraft should be displayed there. If you've already booked a flight, you can take a look at your schedule itinerary, again, online or through the app, or if you book through a travel agency through their website, through their app or by calling them.
However, if you're at the airport and you're not sure there is a way to spot this, the door panel is basically not visible to the naked eye. It blends in with the side of the plane. But towards the back of the plane and back of the wing, you'll see a window with a bit more a fuselage, if you will, between that single window and others next to it. And that is where the door plug goes. But you have to be real -- have really sharp eyes to see it because it's intentionally designed to fade into the rest of the plane.
KINKADE: So, for anyone who does want to avoid flying on this particular aircraft, they can avoid it through the way they book online.
HARTEVELDT: Correct. Now, if you find that you are on a flight with the 737 Max 9, and you don't want to be on that, both Alaska and United have said that for a limited time they will allow passengers to move to other flights without a fare increase, but you'll need to contact the airline, or if you've booked through a travel agency or business travel management company, you need to contact the travel agency or travel management company.
KINKADE: All right. Henry Harteveldt, good to have your perspective. Thanks for joining us.
HARTEVELDT: Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, CNN investigator reports of civilians in Gaza being shot while waving white flags. We're going to show you what we uncovered after the break.
And the latest on Britain's King Charles after a planned medical procedure. Stay with us.
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KINKADE: The World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders are renewing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. And a warning, this video, which was shot by the WHO a couple of days ago, is hard to watch.
The group says, sounding the alarm about the state of health care there. Doctors Without Borders say that vital medical services have collapsed at Gaza's largest remaining hospital.
And there's new reaction to an initial ruling from the International Court of Justice. The court says Israel must take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. And within the next month, provide a document to show how it's doing that. The decision on -- is not ruling on whether Israel's actions constitute genocide. A number of countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East say they welcome that decision.
Well, disturbing videos are emerging showing people in Gaza being shot as they are trying to flee, waving white flags. CNN's Clarissa Ward takes a closer look at the growing number of these incidents. But a warning that some of the images in her report are difficult to watch.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the last moments of Hala Khreis' life. You can see her here leading a group of 30-odd people, they wave white flags, a plea for safe passage out of their neighborhood, now surrounded by Israeli forces.
She holds the hand of her five-year-old grandson Taim tightly, and then suddenly. Little Taim quickly runs away, as her son, Mohammed, rushes towards her. If you slow the video down, you can see Hala start to turn just before she is shot. As if she had caught sight of something.
From the angle of her fall and the movement of the fleeing group, it is clear that the bullet came from the west or the south.
CNN has geo-located the intersection. Mohammed told us, when he reached his mother, he looked up and saw two Israeli tanks ahead of him to the south. And just 200 meters to the West, we know Israeli troops were stationed at the new Gaza prep school for boys. As captured here in satellite images and a photograph published on November 12th, the day Hala was killed.
SARA KHREIS, DAUGHTER (through translator): It's really hard for me to look at the pictures, but I try to remember the beautiful gatherings that we used to share together.
WARD (voice-over): Hala's 18-year-old daughter, Sara, was further back in the group. Now safely in Istanbul, she tells us the family had agonized over whether to leave their home. But after two nights of the most intense bombardment yet, decided to move.
[03:35:00]
KHREIS (through translator): I remember that my mom, after we all sat down and discussed, she got up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone in the house. When she was making breakfast, she also went to pray a Duha prayer. It's really hard, really hard.
WARD: Take your time.
KHREIS (through translator): My mother was my whole life. She was my friend and my everything. WARD (voice-over): She wants Hala to be remembered as she was in life. A devoted grandmother who still made Sara sandwiches to take to university for lunch, a retired Arabic literature teacher, beloved by her students and family.
The month before October 7th had been the happiest of times for the family, celebrating Sara's engagement and Mohammed's graduation from university.
KHREIS (through translator): My mother was going to be 58 years old on December 30, and had her grandson with her. So, why would you shoot her? What's between you and her? You made us feel like it's safe to leave. We had white flags on our hands. So, what happened? Nobody knows. Nobody knows.
WARD (voice-over): It is a question many are asking as more videos have emerged of unarmed civilians displaying white flags apparently shot dead.
The Geneva based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor tells CNN they are investigating nine such incidents. We analyzed four. The most widely reported is the shooting of the three Israeli hostages with the IDF admitted killing under the mistaken impression that their surrender was a trap.
The most recent incident, just this week in Mawasi, in Southern Gaza. 51- year-old Ramsey Abusahu (ph) says he is trying to get back to the house where his brother is being held by Israeli forces to plead for his release. The camera zooms in on two Israeli tanks beyond a berm. A drone can be heard overhead.
Ramsey (ph) and four other family members move tentatively forward, hands in the air, white flag held high, then suddenly a burst of gunfire, Ramsey (ph) falls to the ground.
If you slow down the video, you can see the impact, the first round against the wall, clearly fired from the direction of the tanks. The men hastily drag Ramsey's (ph) body away, the white flag now soaked in blood. His wife runs after him, but he is already dead.
Another video obtained by CNN was recorded by journalist, Rami Abu Jamous, on November 10th. He says the IDF ordered his family to evacuate their home and to carry white flags. As they walk, gunshots can be heard. On the other side of the street, a man is wailing over the body of his dead son.
I told you, let's stay home my son, he says over and over, still clutching his white flag. If only we had stayed home.
Around the corner, two more people shot, also carrying white flags. CNN cannot say who fired the shots. We sent the coordinates of all the incidents to the IDF and repeatedly asked for comments.
Hala Khreis was buried in a shallow grave in a small alleyway next to the family home. Her gravestone written in chalk. Her family hopes there will be justice for her killing and a proper burial when this war is finally over.
WARD: We flew to Israel to sit down with the IDF and we offered to share our findings and footage with them on or off camera. Ultimately, they declined to meet us. But several hours after our report first aired, they did provide us with this statement, "CNN refused to provide the footage in question prior to the broadcasting of the article as the IDF requested to receive in order to thoroughly examine the incident and provide any sort of comprehensive response."
"CNN's hesitancy to share the materials discloses the partial nature of their report, doing a disservice to the complex nature of the operational reality on the ground. The incident is being examined."
The IDF statement does not say which of the incidents in our report is in fact being examined. And just to reiterate, we repeatedly offered the IDF to come and meet with them ahead of publication and show them and go over our findings.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, farmers in France created major traffic disruptions Friday. A roadblock on the A1 Motorway led to kilometers long traffic jams just north of Paris. Other protests bogged down roads in other parts of the country. Unions representing the farmers accused the government of not doing enough to help them cope with low food prices and excessive regulations.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced some relief measures, but the head of the biggest farming union dashed hopes for a swift end to the protests, calling for continued mobilization.
CNN has learned Britain's King Charles is "doing well" after undergoing a scheduled prostate procedure. Queen Camilla was seen leaving the hospital in West London Friday. CNN's Max Foster has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: We knew the king was going into hospital, we just didn't know when. But we got a brief statement from Buckingham Palace, saying he has been admitted for this scheduled treatment.
Also saying that his majesty would like to thank all of those who sent their good wishes over the past week, and that the king is delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness. What he's referring to there is that the palace didn't necessarily need to reveal that he had an enlarged prostate because it didn't have a huge public interest as head of state.
But the king wanted to release that information to encourage other men to go and get themselves checked. And it did have that effect, because there was large increase in inquiries to the National Health Service about enlarged prostates off the back of the king's announcement. A source has told me that the king has gone to visit the Princess of Wales who's in hospital for abdominal surgery. She's in recovery at the moment. The king went to see her before his own surgery. We believe they're in the same hospital.
I don't think we're going to get any more information. A source saying they're not going to reveal any more details about the treatment that the king is receiving. Whilst they accept, they need to reveal some medical details, they do think there's a line there. And at some point, they start invading their privacy.
Max Foster, CNN London.
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KINKADE: Well, explicit A.I.-generated images of one of the world's most famous women, Taylor Swift, made the rounds on social media this week. They mainly circulated on X, formerly known as Twitter, and were viewed millions of times before being removed.
While much of the recent concern about artificial intelligence relates to misinformation that targets elections. Tech journalist Laurie Segall warns that the threat it can pose to women and girls.
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LAURIE SEGALL, TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST: We've all been talking about A.I. and misinformation and how it can impact the election. And I have been sitting here saying like the number one thing we really do need to worry about is the future of A.I. and consent, and the fact that this is happening, and it is rampant.
And yes, it's happened to Taylor Swift, which is horrifying, but it's actually happening behind the scenes at high schools around the country with young victims being harassed and women are being stripped of their consent as this unintended consequence of this technology.
So, what can Congress do? I mean, Congress -- in the same way that back in 2015, Congress started passing law -- state laws against nonconsensual pornography, they need to be doing this and they need to be doing this at a quicker pace than they actually are when it comes to deep fakes.
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KINKADE: Segall says she hopes that Swift's megastar status will help the push for change around issues of deep fakes and consent.
I'm going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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[03:45:00]
KINKADE: Well, as the world pauses to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day today, one woman's journey to escape the reach of the Nazis as a young girl is being shared on the big screen. Hundreds of children made that trip to safety with the help of a British businessman. CNN's Isa Soares reports.
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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: And this is your passport?
SOARES (voice-over): Vera Schaufeld was just nine years old when her parents sent her to England.
VERA SCHAUFELD, KINDERTRANSPORT REFUGEE: It's totally bewildering.
SOARES (voice-over): It was May 1939. After Adolf Hitler's Nazi troops invaded her homeland.
SCHAUFELD: Czechoslovakia wasn't a safe country for Jewish people. These are some of the pictures.
SOARES (voice-over): Now, age 93, her journey and her escape from Hitler's wrath is being retold in the motion picture, "One Life."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are working to evacuate these children by train to safety in Britain.
SOARES (voice-over): Vera was one of 669 children who made it to England thanks to the work of British stockbroker, Nicholas Winton. Moved by the horrific situation he had seen in Prague, Winton organized a rescue operation for children in what's now known as the Kindertransport program.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ordinary people wouldn't stand for this if they knew what was actually happening.
SOARES (voice-over): He managed against the odds to get eight trainloads of children out. The ninth one never made it.
SCHAUFELD: We just looked out and waved goodbye, and that was the last time I saw my family. And I felt really scared. I thought, you know, nobody's going to come and collect me. To our darling.
SOARES (voice-over): Vera was hopeful she'd be reunited with her family, until she and the world learned the true extent of the atrocities under Hitler. The slaughter of 6 million Jews in concentration camps.
SCHAUFELD: I heard from the Red Cross that my parents and my grandmother and all my family weren't alive anymore.
SOARES: How old were you at that point?
SCHAUFELD: I was 14.
SOARES (voice-over): A teenager with only words and memories to hold on to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there anyone in the audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton?
SOARES (voice-over): Vera and the other Kindertransport children had no idea who saved them until a TV show nearly 50 years later.
SCHAUFELD: I didn't know if somebody had organized and made it possible for me to come and for all of us.
SOARES (voice-over): Despite the trauma she had lived through, Vera committed herself to a life of service. Sharing her story to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.
SCHAUFELD: I hoped that that would mean end of genocides. You know, people kept saying, never again. But, yes, I mean, it's gone on and on.
SOARES: Do you think humanity has learned from it?
SCHAUFELD: I wish I could say I feel it has. But when you look at the world, I don't think we have learned very much.
SOARES: You would have seen also after the horrendous attacks committed by Hamas on October the 7th that we saw a sharp rise in antisemitism.
SCHAUFELD: Yes.
SOARES: Across Europe. But we've also seen such a horrendous death toll in Gaza.
SCHAUFELD: Yes.
SOARES: Who's responsible for this?
SCHAUFELD: Well, I think Netanyahu and the government. Hamas really started it, planned it, and that was horrendous. But this is a reaction that goes, I think, very far.
SOARES (voice-over): A clarity many leaders struggled to formulate. A wisdom Nicky shared with Vera before he died.
[03:50:00]
SOARES: People who listen, learn history, and people don't learn anything from history. They learn when they have empathy for other people. That's when they understand.
SOARES (voice-over): Isa Soares, CNN, London.
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KINKADE: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. The Australian Open Women's Singles Final is just getting underway in Melbourne. China's Zheng Qinwen is facing defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who bested American Coco Gauff in the semifinals in two straight sets.
Sabalenka, the world number two women's player, lost to Gauff in the U.S. Open final last year. Zhang, who's currently ranked number 15, is the only the second Chinese player to reach the Australian Open. And if she wins, this would mark her first Grand Slam title.
Well, after a nine-year tenure at Liverpool, which saw the Reds win their first league title in 30 years and their sixth Champions League trophy, the manager says he's going to be leaving at the end of the season. The football world was shocked by this announcement, none more than Liverpool fans who adored him. Klopp opened up about how he's processing this monumental decision.
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JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: The relief was there when I made a decision for myself, to be honest, that was another thing I realized. So, I didn't know that it would have -- it would be the case, but it was like that.
Today, it's mixed. It's mixed. But it's not -- I'm not as emotional as I will be when it comes to an end, finally.
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KINKADE: Club says he will never manage any other England club.
We are learning more about the U.S. ski star Mikaela Shiffrin's condition after her crash on the slopes in Italy Friday. It happened during a women's downhill event.
As you can see in this video, Shiffrin lost control and flew into the net surrounding the slope. She was taken to a nearby clinic to have her left leg evaluated. No serious injuries were found.
Well, later, Shiffrin posted a picture of herself on social media with an ice pack on her left knee. She confirmed that she'll take the rest of the weekend off and will skip a World Cup event on February 1st, adding that she's "very thankful it's not worse."
Well, concerns are growing over the fate of a unique nocturnal primate in Indonesia. Between steeply declining numbers, a loss of habitat, and abuse by poachers, conservationists fear the Javan slow loris could become extinct. But one group is working to turn the tide.
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KINKADE (voice-over): These small, fuzzy animals with big brown eyes are nocturnal primates, known as the Javan slow loris. They may look adorable, but many are in distress. Habitat loss and the wildlife trade have forced them from their home of Java Island in Indonesia.
In the past two decades, their population has been declining. Conservationists estimate 80 percent wiped out over that time, and less than 20 percent of suitable habitat remains. In addition to losing their home, they're also part of the illegal wildlife trade. Sold as pets, slow lorises are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
[03:55:00]
NUR PURBA PRIAMBADA, VETERINARIAN, INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE (through translator): Only one step away from the brink of extinction, the population has been in rapid decline because of the loss of habitat due to human land use, not to mention poaching and illegal trade for pets.
KINKADE (voice-over): Organizations and activists have stepped in to save these tiny creatures. In 2015, International Animal Rescue launched a campaign exposing what these animals endure. They call it torture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you think it was cute if you knew that tickling a slow loris is actually torturing it?
KINKADE (voice-over): The campaign also shows how their teeth are removed without anesthetic. In Indonesia, the IAR is the only organization there which specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of slow lorises.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They have undergone rehabilitation processes at Yari and Bogor for several days to make sure that they are healthy and with normal behavior.
KINKADE (voice-over): Now rescue teams are focusing more on the earlier stages of trade, stopping the abuse before it begins, and intercepting poachers while they still have them.
Their efforts to save these animals from captivity are paying off. And now, seven more lorises are getting a new start and slowly settling back into their home.
PRIAMBADA (through translator): The released location has been selected because of its natural food, the presence of populations of similar species, and less potential of predators or animals that could compete with it when it comes to natural food. And we also had to avoid other threats, such as potential poaching by humans.
KINKADE (voice-over): This isn't the first set of slow lorises to be released. So far, according to the IAR, 1,000 have been rescued, and more than 600 released to the wild.
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KINKADE (on camera): The European Space Agency is partnering with NASA for two new missions. Among them, plans to send a satellite to Venus. The Envision Venus Explorer will study the planet in unprecedented detail.
Scientists hope to understand why the hot, toxic planet didn't turn out like Earth. Considering Venus is similar size to Earth and about the same distance from the sun.
The other mission will be a trio of spacecraft that will fly some 31 million miles behind Earth as it orbits the sun. It will study gravitational waves and look for the first black holes ever formed after the Big Bang.
Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues with my colleague and friend Anna Coren after a very short break. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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